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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions
The current volume is an annotated translation of selections from a
noteworthy Muslim theologian Said Nursi (1876-1960) on the Quranic
theme of oneness of God (tawhid). Given the scarcity of theological
themes in Islamic literature in English as well as the lack of
studies on Said Nursi, who wrote in Ottoman Turkish, the book is an
important contribution to the field. It offers a contemporary peek
into the view that faith in God could be profoundly meaningful and
fulfilling spiritual path.
'Ammar al-Basri (d.c. 850) was the first Christian to write a
systematic theology in Arabic, the language of the Muslim rulers of
'Ammar's Middle East. This study of his two works that were only
discovered in the 1970's seeks to analyse the way he defends
Christian beliefs from criticism by Muslims over the authenticity
of the Gospels, the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, the
Incarnation, the death of Christ by crucifixion, the resurrection
of Christ, and the nature of the afterlife. 'Ammar al-Basri wrote
his theology in dialogue with Muslim thinkers of his time and his
work offers guidance to Christians in today's world who live in
Islamic contexts in how to relate Christian convictions to a Muslim
audience.
This very important work offers penetrating dialogues between the
great spiritual leader and the renowned physicist that shed light
on the fundamental nature of existence. Krishnamurti and David Bohm
probe such questions as 'why has humanity made thought so important
in every aspect of life? How does one cleanse the mind of the
'accumulation of time' and break the 'pattern of ego -centered
activity'?The Ending of Time concludes by referring to the wrong
turn humanity has taken, but does not see this as something from
which there is no escape. There is an insistence that mankind can
change fundamentally; but this requires going from one's narrow and
particular interests toward the general, and ultimately moving
still deeper into that purity of compassion, love and intelligence
that originates beyond thought, time, or even emptiness.
The seminal medieval history of the Second Commonwealth period of
ancient Jewish history. Sepher Yosippon was written in Hebrew by a
medieval historian and noted by modern scholars for its eloquent
style. This is the first known chronicle of Jewish history and
legend-from Adam to the destruction of the Second Temple-since the
canonical histories written by Flavius Josephus in Greek and later
translated by Christian scholars into Latin. Sepher Yosippon has
been cited and referred to by scholars, poets, and authors as the
authentic source for ancient Israel for over a millennium, until
overshadowed by the twentiethcentury Hebrew translations of
Josephus. It is based on Pseudo Hegesippus's fourth-century
anti-Jewish summary of Josephus's Jewish War. However, the
anonymous author (a.k.a. Joseph ben Gurion Hacohen) also consulted
with the Latin versions of Josephus's works available to him. At
the same time, he included a wealth of Second Temple literature as
well as Roman and Christian sources. This book contains Steven
Bowman's translation of the complete text of David Flusser's
standard Hebrew edition of Sepher Yosippon, which includes the
later medieval interpolations referring to Jesus. The present
English edition also contains the translator's introduction as well
as a preface by the fifteenth-century publisher of the book. The
anonymous author of this text remains unique for his approach to
history, his use of sources, and his almost secular attitude, which
challenges the modern picture of medieval Jews living in a
religious age. In his influential novel, A Guest for the Night, the
Nobel Laureate author Shmuel Yosef Agnon emphasized the importance
of Sepher Yosippon as a valuable reading to understand human
nature. Bowman's translation of Flusser's notes, as well as his own
scholarship, offers a well-wrought story for scholars and students
interested in Jewish legend and history in the medieval period,
Jewish studies, medieval literature, and folklore studies.
In this warm and personal book, Dr. Phil Parshall looks at what Muslims believe and how this affects their behaviour.
Parshall compares and contrasts Muslim and Christian views on the nature of God, sacred scriptures, worship, sin, and holiness.
This book uses the mythological hero Heracles as a lens for
investigating the nature of heroic violence in Archaic and
Classical Greek literature, from Homer through to Aristophanes.
Heracles was famous for his great victories as much as for his
notorious failures. Driving each of these acts is his heroic
violence, an ambivalent force that can offer communal protection as
well as cause grievous harm. Drawing on evidence from epic, lyric
poetry, tragedy, and comedy, this work illuminates the strategies
used to justify and deflate the threatening aspects of violence.
The mixed results of these strategies also demonstrate how the
figure of Heracles inherently - and stubbornly - resists reform.
The diverse character of Heracles' violent acts reveals an enduring
tension in understanding violence: is violence a negative
individual trait, that is to say the manifestation of an internal
state of hostility? Or is it one specific means to a preconceived
end, rather like an instrument whose employment may or may not be
justified? Katherine Lu Hsu explores these evolving attitudes
towards individual violence in the ancient Greek world while also
shedding light on timeless debates about the nature of violence
itself.
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