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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy
This volume is a systematic and comprehensive introduction to one
of the most read texts in South Asia, the Bhagavad-gita. The
Bhagavad-gita is at its core a religious text, a philosophical
treatise and a literary work, which has occupied an authoritative
position within Hinduism for the past millennium. This book brings
together themes central to the study of the Gita, as it is
popularly known - such as the Bhagavad-gita's structure, the
history of its exegesis, its acceptance by different traditions
within Hinduism and its national and global relevance. It
highlights the richness of the Gita's interpretations, examines its
great interpretive flexibility and at the same time offers a
conceptual structure based on a traditional commentarial tradition.
With contributions from major scholars across the world, this book
will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of religious
studies, especially Hinduism, Indian philosophy, Asian philosophy,
Indian history, literature and South Asian studies.
This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical
authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for
inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary
History. Through detailed analysis of the text, Gnuse contends that
there are numerous examples of clear influence from late classical
and Hellenistic literature. Deconstructing the biblical and Greek
works in parallel, he argues that there are too many similarities
in basic theme, meaning, and detail, for them to be accounted for
by coincidence or shared ancient tropes. Using this evidence, he
suggests that although much of the text may originate from the
Persian period, large parts of its final form likely date from the
Hellenistic era. With the help of an original introduction and
final chapter, Gnuse pulls his essays together into a coherent
collection for the first time. The resultant volume offers a
valuable resource for anyone working on the dating of the Hebrew
Bible, as well as those working on Hellenism in the ancient Levant
more broadly.
The Mahabharata has been explored extensively as a work of
mythology, epic poetry, and religious literature, but the text's
philosophical dimensions have largely been under-appreciated by
Western scholars. This book explores the philosophical implications
of the Mahabharata by paying attention to the centrality of
dialogue, both as the text's prevailing literary expression and its
organising structure. Focusing on five sets of dialogues about
controversial moral problems in the central story, this book shows
that philosophical deliberation is an integral part of the
narrative. Black argues that by paying attention to how characters
make arguments and how dialogues unfold, we can better appreciate
the Mahabharata's philosophical significance and its potential
contribution to debates in comparative philosophy today. This is a
fresh perspective on the Mahabharata that will be of great interest
to any scholar working in religious studies, Indian/South Asian
religions, comparative philosophy, and world literature.
In the public sphere, it is often assumed that acts of violence
carried out by Muslims are inspired by their religious commitment
and encouraged by the Qur'an. Some people express similar concerns
about the scriptures and actions of Christians and Jews. Might they
be right? What role do scriptural texts play in motivating and
justifying violence in these three traditions? Scripture and
Violence explores the complex relationship between scriptural texts
and real-world acts of violence. A variety of issues are addressed,
including the prevalent modern tendency to express more concern
about other people's texts and violence than one's own, to treat
interpretation and application of scriptural passages as
self-evident, and to assume that the actions of religious people
are directly motivated by what they read in scriptures.
Contributions come from a diverse group of scholars of Islam,
Judaism, and Christianity with varying perspectives on the issues.
Highlighting the complex relationship between texts and human
actions, this is an essential read for students and academics
studying religion and violence, Abrahamic religions, or scriptural
interpretation. Scripture and Violence will also be of interest to
researchers working on religion and politics, sociology and
anthropology of religion, socio-political approaches to scriptural
texts, and issues surrounding religion, secularity, and the public
sphere. This volume could also form a basis for discussions in
churches, synagogues, mosques, interfaith settings, and government
agencies. The editors of Scripture and Violence have also set up a
website including lesson plans/discussion guides for the different
chapters in the book, available here:
https://www.scriptureandviolence.org/scripture-and-violence-book-and-chapter-discussion-guides
This book focuses on the expressions used to describe Job's body in
pain and on the reactions of his friends to explore the moral and
social world reflected in the language and the values that their
speeches betray. A key contribution of this monograph is to
highlight how the perspective of illness as retribution is
powerfully refuted in Job's speeches and, in particular, to show
how this is achieved through comedy. Comedy in Job is a powerful
weapon used to expose and ridicule the idea of retribution.
Rejecting the approach of retrospective diagnosis, this monograph
carefully analyses the expression of pain in Job focusing
specifically on somatic language used in the deity attack
metaphors, in the deity surveillance metaphors and in the language
connected to the body and social status. These metaphors are
analysed in a comparative way using research from medical
anthropology and sociology which focuses on illness narratives and
expressions of pain. Job's Body and the Dramatised Comedy of
Moralising will be of interest to anyone working on the Book of
Job, as well as those with an interest in suffering and pain in the
Hebrew Bible more broadly.
In this highly original study, David Gillis demonstrates that the
Mishneh torah, Maimonides' code of Jewish law, has the structure of
a microcosm. Through this symbolic form, Maimonides presents the
law as designed to perfect the individual and society by shaping
them in the image of the divinely created cosmic order. The
commandments of the law thereby bring human beings closer to
fulfilling their ultimate purpose, knowledge of God. This symbolism
turns the Mishneh torah into an object of contemplation that itself
communicates such knowledge. In short, it is a work of art. Gillis
unpacks the metaphysical and cosmological underpinnings of
Maimonides' scheme of organization with consummate skill, allowing
the reader to understand the Mishneh torah's artistic dimension and
to appreciate its power. Moreover, as he makes clear, uncovering
this dimension casts new light on one of the great cruxes of
Maimonides studies: the relationship of the Mishneh torah to his
philosophical treatise The Guide of the Perplexed. A fundamental
unity is revealed between Maimonides the codifier and Maimonides
the philosopher that has not been fully appreciated hitherto.
Maimonides' artistry in composition is repeatedly shown to serve
his aims in persuading us of the coherence and wisdom of the
halakhic system. Gillis's fine exegesis sets in high relief the
humane and transcendental purposes and methods of halakhah as
Maimonides conceived of it, in an argument that is sure-footed and
convincing.
This acclaimed spiritual masterpiece is widely regarded as one of the most complete and authoritative presentations of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings ever written. A manual for life and death and a magnificent source of sacred inspiration from the heart of the Tibetan tradition, The Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying provides a lucid and inspiring introduction to the practice of meditation, to the nature of mind, to karma and rebirth, to compassionate love and care for the dying, and to the trials and rewards of the spiritual path.
Imperialism and Biblical Prophecy is a radically new interpretation
of prophetic poetry. Using more than thirty new translations from
the Hebrew Bible, it shows that this poetry is inseparable from
imperialism, that each of the three major waves of biblical
prophecy which have survived in the Old Testament occurred in
response to simultaneous waves of imperialist conquest.
He is risen Now what? How does the resurrection of Jesus impact my
everyday life, and why should I care? Pastor Ray Johnston provides
a resource for individuals and communities who want to explore the
implications of the Resurrection on Christian life. This Changes
Everything explores thirty practical ways Christ's victory over the
grave changed the lives of early believers and can transform us
today. This resource has been given to thousands of new Christians
at Bayside Church where the author is the founding pastor. While
not primarily an apologetics text, This Changes Everything provides
helpful apologetics resources while speaking practically about the
impact of the resurrection of Jesus in ordinary life. Let your
whole life declare, "He is risen, indeed "
Read the inspiring tales that gave birth to fifty of today's most
beloved worship songs.
As the world becomes increasingly globalised Islam faces some
important choices. Does it seek to "modernise" in line with the
cultures in which it is practised, or does it retain its traditions
even if they are at odds with the surrounding society? This book
utilizes a critical rationalist viewpoint to illuminate many of the
hotly contended issues in modern Islam, and to offer a fresh
analysis. A variety of issues within Islam are discussed in this
book including, Muslims and modernity; Islam, Christianity and
Judaism; approaches to the understanding of the Quran; Muslim
identity and civil society; doctrinal certainty and violent
radicalism. In each case, the author makes use of Karl Popper's
theory of critical rationalism to uncover new aspects of these
issues and to challenge post-modern, relativist, literalist and
justificationist readings of Islam. This is a unique perspective on
contemporary Islam and as such will be of significant interest to
scholars of Religious Studies, Islamic Studies and the Philosophy
of Religion.
Having translated The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, and
following with The Platform Sutra, Red Pine now turns his attention
to perhaps the greatest Sutra of all. The Lankavatara Sutra is the
holy grail of Zen. Zen's first patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy
of this text to his successor, Hui-k'o, and told him everything he
needed to know was in this book. Passed down from teacher to
student ever since, this is the only Zen sutra ever spoken by the
Buddha. Although it covers all the major teachings of Mahayana
Buddhism, it contains but two teachings: that everything we
perceive as being real is nothing but the perceptions of our own
mind and that the knowledge of this is something that must be
realized and experienced for oneself and cannot be expressed in
words. In the words of Chinese Zen masters, these two teachings
became known as  have a cup of tea" and  taste the tea."This is
the first translation into English of the original text used by
Bodhidharma, which was the Chinese translation made by Gunabhadra
in 443 and upon which all Chinese Zen masters have relied ever
since. In addition to presenting one of the most difficult of all
Buddhist texts in clear English, Red Pine has also added summaries,
explanations, and notes, including relevant Sanskrit terms on the
basis of which the Chinese translation was made. This promises to
become an essential text for anyone seeking to deepen their
understanding or knowledge of Zen.
In the current political and social climate, there is increasing
demand for a deeper understanding of Muslims, the Qur'an and Islam,
as well as a keen demand among Muslim scholars to explore ways of
engaging with Christians theologically, culturally, and socially.
This book explores the ways in which an awareness of Islam and the
Qur'an can change the way in which the Bible is read. The
contributors come from both Muslim and Christian backgrounds, bring
various levels of commitment to the Qur'an and the Bible as
Scripture, and often have significantly different perspectives. The
first section of the book contains chapters that compare the report
of an event in the Bible with a report of the same event in the
Qur'an. The second section addresses Muslim readings of the Bible
and biblical tradition and looks at how Muslims might regard the
Bible - Can they recognise it as Scripture? If so, what does that
mean, and how does it relate to the Qur'an as Scripture? Similarly,
how might Christian readers regard the Qur'an? The final section
explores different analogies for understanding the Bible in
relation to the Qur'an. The book concludes with a reflection upon
the particular challenges that await Muslim scholars who seek to
respond to Jewish and Christian understandings of the Jewish and
Christian scriptures. A pioneering venture into intertextual
reading, this book has important implications for relationships
between Christians and Muslims. It will be of significant value to
scholars of both Biblical and Qur'anic Studies, as well as any
Muslim seeking to deepen their understanding of the Bible, and any
Christian looking to transform the way in which they read the
Bible.
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