Will the Christian church live or die? What is the way ahead? Answering these questions, this book challenges all people of God to seek unity in and beyond the norms of dogma and hierarchy.

Beautifully illustrated in color for young elementary school readers, King of the Shattered Glass is a gentle parable about asking for forgiveness and receiving God's mercy!

This innovative study sheds new light on one of the most spectacular changes to occur in late antiquity--the rise of pilgrimage all over the Christian world--by setting the phenomenon against the wide background of the political and theological debates of the time. Asking how the emerging notion of a sacred geography challenged the leading intellectuals and ecclesiastical authorities, Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony deftly reshapes our understanding of early Christian mentalities by unraveling the process by which a territory of grace became a territory of power. Examining ancient writers' responses to the rising practice of pilgrimage, Bitton-Ashkelony offers a nuanced reading of their thinking on the merits and the demerits of pilgrimage, revealing theological and ecclesiastical motivations that have been overlooked, and questioning the long-held assumption of scholars that pilgrimage was only a popular, not an elite, religious practice. In addition to Greek and Latin sources, she includes Syriac material, which allows her to build a rich picture of the emerging theology of landscape that took shape over the fourth to sixth centuries.

Sacrifice dominated the religious landscape of the ancient Mediterranean world for millennia, but its role and meaning changed dramatically in the fourth and fifth centuries with the rise of Christianity. Daniel Ullucci offers a new explanation of this remarkable transformation, in the process demonstrating the complexity of the concept of sacrifice in Roman, Greek, and Jewish religion.
The Christian Rejection of Animal Sacrifice challenges the predominant scholarly model, which posits a connection between so-called critiques of sacrifice in non-Christian Greek, Latin, and Hebrew texts and the Christian rejection of animal sacrifice. According to this model, pre-Christian authors attacked the propriety of animal sacrifice as a religious practice, and Christians responded by replacing animal sacrifice with a pure, ''spiritual'' 'worship. This historical construction influences prevailing views of animal sacrifice even today, casting it as barbaric, backward, and primitive despite the fact that it is still practiced in such contemporary religions as Islam and Santeria.
Rather than interpret the entire history of animal sacrifice through the lens of the Christian master narrative, Ullucci shows that the ancient texts must be seen not simply as critiques but as part of an ongoing competition between elite cultural producers to define the meaning and purpose of sacrifice. He reveals that Christian authors were not merely purveyors of pure spiritual religion, but a cultural elite vying for legitimacy and influence in societies that long predated them. The Christian Rejection of Animal Sacrifice is a crucial reinterpretation of the history of one of humanity's oldest and most fascinating rituals.

Edition and translation of Anglo-Saxon text, shedding light on Sunday observance and other issues. Few issues have had as far-reaching consequences as the development of the Christian holy day, Sunday. Every seven days, from the early middle ages, the Christian world has engaged in some kind of change in behaviour, ranging fromparticipation in a simple worship service to the cessation of every activity which could conceivably be construed as work. An important text associated with this process is the so-called Sunday Letter, fabricated as a letter from Christ which dropped out of heaven. In spite of its obviously spurious nature, it was widely read and copied, and translated into nearly every vernacular language. In particular, several, apparently independent, translations were made into Old English. Here, the six surviving Old English copies of the Sunday Letter are edited together for the first time. The Old English texts are accompanied by facing translations, with commentary and glossary, while the introduction examines the development of Sunday observance in the early middle ages and sets the texts in their historical, legal and theological contexts. The many Latin versions of the Sunday Letter arealso delineated, including a newly discovered and edited source for two of the Old English texts. DOROTHY HAINES gained her PhD from the University of Toronto, where she is currently an instructor of Old English.

In Christmas as Religion, Christopher Deacy explores the premise that religion plays an elementary role in our understanding of the Christmas festival, but takes issue with much of the existing literature which is inclined to limit the contours and parameters of 'religion' to particular representations and manifestations of institutional forms of Christianity. 'Religion' is often tacitly identified as having an ecclesiastical frame of reference, so that if the Church is not deemed to play a central role in the practice of Christmas for many people today then it can legitimately be side-lined and relegated to the periphery of any discussion relating to what Christmas 'means'. Deacy argues that such approaches fail to take adequate stock of the manifold ways in which people's beliefs and values take shape in modern society. For example, Christmas films or radio programmes may comprise a non-specifically Christian, but nonetheless religiously rich, repository of beliefs, values, sentiments and aspirations. Therefore, this book makes the case for laying to rest the secularization thesis, with its simplistic assumption that religion in Western society is undergoing a period of escalating and irrevocable erosion, and to see instead that the secular may itself be a repository of the religious. Rather than see Christmas as comprising alternative or analogous forms of religious expression, or dependent on any causal relationship to the Christian tradition, Deacy maintains that it is religious per se, and, moreover, it is its very secularity that makes Christmas such a compelling, and even transcendent, religious holiday.

The Virgin of Guadalupe, though quintessentially Mexican, inspires devotion throughout the Americas and around the world. This study sheds new light on the long-standing transnational dimensions of Guadalupan worship by examining the production of sacred space in three disparate but interconnected locations - at the sacred space known as Tepeyac in Mexico City, at its replica in Des Plaines, Illinois, and at a sidewalk shrine constructed by Mexican nationals in Chicago. Weaving together rich on-the-ground observations with insights drawn from performance studies, Elaine A. Pena demonstrates how devotees' rituals - pilgrimage, prayers, and festivals - develop, sustain, and legitimize these sacred spaces. Interdisciplinary in scope, "Performing Piety" paints a nuanced picture of the lived experience of Guadalupan devotion in which different forms of knowing, socio-economic and political coping tactics, conceptions of history, and faith-based traditions circulate within and between sacred spaces.

""Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world "" (John 1:29)
No work of modern literature can usher you so powerfully and intimately into the Savior's heart like "The Day I Was Crucified."
Master storyteller, Gene Edwards (author of Divine Romance) recounts the harrowing scene of Calvary as if the crucifixion narrative was being told by Jesus Himself.
In this book, you will... Encounter the depths of God's unfathomable love as you walk side by side with Jesus during His final moments on Earth. Live in new levels of thankfulness as you come face to face with the full measure of what Jesus carried to the Cross on your behalf. Take an unforgettable journey, where the heartache of the Cross and victory of the Resurrection have never been more real to you. Step into history's most powerful and defining moment as you gaze upon the Lamb of God with new eyes.

The popular Unity minister who authored the acclaimed Discover the Power Within You offers a non-theological, non-ritualistic guide to prayer for contemporary seekers of oneness, guidance, and self-regulation.

In Seven Words of Christmas, bestselling author and pastor Robert Morris explains each word of prophecy: an inspired utterance of a prophet, the words of God through man. He illustrates the story of Jesus surrounding the word, and applies the prophecy to our modern lives.

Find the words of:

• Salvation through Zacharias,
• Favor through Mary,
• Blessing through Elizabeth,
• Guidance through Joseph,
• Joy through the Shepherds,
• Redemption through Anna, and
• Peace through Simeon.

This book includes ideas about using festivals to build relationships with the community. Contains 15 complete all-age worship outlines for use throughout the year, including key occasions like Christmas, Mothering Sunday, Easter, Father's Day and Harvest.

How can children 'develop' spiritually and how do their teachers know when 'development' has occurred? This volume traces the roots and growth of school worship and spiritual development from Victorian times and earlier through the 1960s and beyond in order to see how we have reached the present situation. The subject is examined in various contexts: its historical and cultural background; politics and legislation; philosophy and values; curriculum development. The book addresses the problem of how to define spiritual development and the contentious issue of compulsory school worship. It offers new insights and a thesis for the way forward.

This omnibus edition brings together Phillip Keller's three devotional classics, A Shepherd Looks and the 23rd Psalm, A Shepherd Looks at the Good Shepherd, and A Shepherd Looks at the Lamb of God. As a shepherd, Phillip Keller knew what it was to protect a vulnerable flock on a daily basis. The special skills of a shepherd demanded compassion, care, and guidance. His practical experience provides a wellspring of profound spiritual insight, reflected in these timeless meditations on the most famous psalm of all, on the relationship between the Good Shepherd and his sheep, and on the sacrificial role of Christ the Lamb of God.

The history of the Eastern liturgical rituals reveals the variety and splendour of the world of the Christian Orient, and the profundity of its theological thought. The ritual bears witness to the deep impact these liturgies made on the Mediterranean cultures and societies of Late Antiquity. Gabriele Winkler, a specialist in Oriental liturgies and Armenian studies, here explores the beginnings and early development of these rituals in their historical, philological, and doctrinal context. Her work elucidates the interdependence of the Syriac, Greek, and Armenian cultures; it also demonstrates the interest of this material for the religious and political history of the era.

Christians sing because we are people of hope. Yet our hope is unlike other kinds of hope. We are not optimists; nor are we escapists. Christian hope is uniquely shaped by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and by the promise of our own future resurrection. How is that hope both expressed and experienced in contemporary worship? In this volume in the Dynamics of Christian Worship series, pastor, theologian, and songwriter Glenn Packiam explores what Christians sing about when they sing about hope and what kind of hope they experience when they worship together. Through his analysis and reflection, we find that Christian worship is crucial to both the proclamation and the formation of Christian hope. The Dynamics of Christian Worship series draws from a wide range of worshiping contexts and denominational backgrounds to unpack the many dynamics of Christian worship-including prayer, reading the Bible, preaching, baptism, the Lord's Supper, music, visual art, architecture, and more-to deepen both the theology and practice of Christian worship for the life of the church.

A history of holy wells from the pagan cult of water to the Christian wells of the middle ages, and including a full gazetteer. The holy well is the absolute combination of mystery and utility. There are hundreds of them still to be found, some easily, others with good maps. This useful book lists them all, and in so doing takes us into the realm of a still little-known spiritual area... It also leads us through many exceedingly interesting though remote areas of Celtic and English Christian history. RONALD BLYTHE [TABLET] Holy wells are an ancient and mysterious part of the landscape, yet have been the subject of little serious study. James Rattue has been fascinated by them for many years, and has now written the first general history of wells and their religious and cultural associations. He begins the story in the ancient world, exploring the archetypal motifs present in the cult of water, then traces the distinctive development of the holy well in England, examining pagan wells and their Christianisation, the role played byecclesiastical history and institutions, the importance of saints' cults, and the social functions of wells in the middle ages.

This book delineates the individualist "interpretation problem" that has long beset Protestant biblical interpretation, and engages theological resources that could serve to move beyond it. Lauren Smelser White argues that readers of Scripture-specifically those who long to submit their lives to God's transforming Word, which they believe the Bible discloses-ought to reckon with the participatory role that human bodies (corporeal and corporate) play in producing revelation's norms. Such a reckoning need not entail giving up on Scripture delivering the life-changing address of a divine Other. In support of that claim, White distills a picture of revelation as a divine-human discursive encounter: a process wherein our hermeneutic constructions are incorporated into the Word's self-disclosure, and whereby interpreters who embrace this venture in vulnerability may experience graced transformation. The work concludes by proposing that this "Christomorphic" interpretation process is analogous to a mother's embodied responsiveness in caring for her child. Such a hermeneutic paradigm suggests distinctive commitments from communities who desire to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in interpretive acts.

The subject of this volume is that of the establishment and embedding in the Tuscan countryside, and especially round Florence, of the new forms of piety propagated above all by the Mendicant orders. The volume brings together Professor de La Ronciere's major articles on this topic, both detailed research studies and syntheses. Against the background of existing religious attitudes, he aims to describe the many new forms of pastoral activity and structures that were instituted, and to provide a picture of what the religious side of their life really meant to these communities. The final articles extend this analysis to include the city of Florence itself, examining the role of the confraternities there and the religious views of its merchants, its socio-economic elite. Ce volume a pour sujet l'etablissement et l'enracinement de nouvelles formes de piete propagees surtout par les ordres mendiants en pays toscan et, plus particulierement, aux alentours de Florence. Le volume rassemble les articles les plus importants du professeur de La Ronciere sur ce sujet; A la fois etudes de recherches detaillees et de synthese. C'est sur cet arriere-plan d'attitudes religieuses en existence, qu'il tente de decrire les nombreuses formes nouvelles d'activites et de structures pastorales qui furent instaurees dans ces communautes et ce que signifiait pour elles le cAte religieux de leurs vies. Les derniers articles etendent cette analyse A la ville de Florence elle-mAme, en y examinant le rAle des confreries et le point de vue religieux de l'elite socio-economique qu'etaient ses marchands.

The studies by Cyrille Vogel (1919-1982) collected here provide a detailed exposition of the penitential system of the Latin Church and its evolution during the Middle Ages. They complement in this way the general treatment of his books and document the stages of the system's development - from the early forms of Late Antiquity, to the tariffed system that emerged in the early Middle Ages, and its eventual replacement by the practices of modern times. The work is based on the systematic exploitation and analysis of all available sources, archeological as well as literary and hagiographic, and on careful attention to their dating; access to this store of material will now be facilitated by the detailed indexes to the present volume. Les etudes de Cyrille Vogel (1919-1982) rassemblees ici, sont un expose detaille du systeme penitenciaire de l'Eglise Latine et de son evolution au cours du moyen Acge. Elles viennent ainsi en complement de ses ouvrages et documentent les differents stades du developpement de ce systeme - des premieres formes de penitence non-reiterable durant l'antiquite tardive, au systeme tarifaire qui fit surface au debut du moyan-Acge, jusqu'aux pratiques modernes qui finirent par le remplacer. Cet ouvrage repose sur l'exploitation et l'analyse systematique de l'ensemble des sources disponibles, archeologiques ainsi que litteraires et hagiographiques, et sur une attention minutieuse quand aux dates qui leur ont ete assignees; l'acces A cette source de documentation sera dorenavant facilite par les indexes detailles contenus dans le present volume.

Ritual Practices in Congregational Identity Formation investigates the educational roles of ritual practices in the process of congregational identity formation. Son identifies and analyzes various kinds of Christian rituals with respect to how rituals influence the formational processes of a congregation's identity. Based on Victor Turner's ritual theory, this book also investigates the pedagogical and transformative efficacies of ritual practices within the dynamics of congregational education.

'This book is simply written and will be of much help to new converts and defeated Christians in starting them off to a victorious spiritual life.' -- Bibliotheca Sacra 'Major Thomas points out how many dedicated people, ministers, Sunday school teachers, and the like, have come out of the old life but never gone on to the full, joyous life in Christ. He writes with fresh insight into many Bible passages, and challenges Christians to walk on and take the victory that is already won.' -- Faith at Work '. . . a very inspiring and helpful book.' -- Baptist Standard 'This is one of the most helpful treatments of a neglected subject which has come to this reviewer s attention.' --The Baptist Bulletin '. . . the author evidences keen insight into the definition and activity of the two natures of the believer and the path to victory. This path is explained with refreshing theological objectivity.' --The Sunday School Times 'A deeply spiritual study of the doctrine of the indwelling Christ. . . . Complete surrender is our need that Christ may live through us. We found the book helpful and enriching.' -- The Southern Baptist S.S. Board"

This collection of essays examines how the paratextual apparatus of medieval manuscripts both inscribes and expresses power relations between the producers and consumers of knowledge in this important period of intellectual history. It seeks to define which paratextual features - annotations, commentaries, corrections, glosses, images, prologues, rubrics, and titles - are common to manuscripts from different branches of medieval knowledge and how they function in any particular discipline. It reveals how these visual expressions of power that organize and compile thought on the written page are consciously applied, negotiated or resisted by authors, scribes, artists, patrons and readers. This collection, which brings together scholars from the history of the book, law, science, medicine, literature, art, philosophy and music, interrogates the role played by paratexts in establishing authority, constructing bodies of knowledge, promoting education, shaping reader response, and preserving or subverting tradition in medieval manuscript culture.

Reflections, meditations, prayers and liturgies for Holy Week following the journey of Jesus from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. A book which affirms that, even in the darkness of betrayal and denial and death, we can rise up and live different lives: where the justice, peace and love poured out in Christ's life can be resurrected in our own. You stepped gently on the earth, O Christ of all; and you treat gently all those who come your way - Call us down into the world you love and put us to work. Call us down into the streets you walk and have our footsteps keep to yours. Call us down into the places where you are needed and make us your body.

The rhythms of the earth can be seen in, for example, the daily cycle of day and night, or in the changing seasons. Rudolf Steiner spoke about how Christian festivals such as Easter, Whitsun and Christmas fitted not just into these patterns, but also into larger cosmic rhythms and, on a smaller scale, human rhythms. In this concise, readable book Charles Kovacs explores the structure of our calendar year and looks in detail at the background to each Christian festival, including lesser-known ones such as St John's Tide and Michaelmas. This book is based on lectures Charles Kovacs originally gave at the Rudolf Steiner School in Edinburgh. Kovacs strove to develop in the children a love and understanding of the seasons in the cycle of the year; parents were keen to be involved too, and asked Kovacs to give a series of lectures on the subject to deepen their own understanding.