This rare and important contribution to the field of Islamic studies, philosophy, and comparative religion achieves a twofold objective. First, it draws from a broad and authoritative well of sources, especially in the domain of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism. The scholarship is impeccable. Second, it is an in-depth meditation on the relationship between love and knowledge, multiplicity and unity, the example of the Prophet Muhammed viewed as Universal Man, spiritual union, heart and intellect, and other related themes--conveyed in fresh, contemporary language.

The book is as much a work of Sufism as it is a book about Sufism. Many of these themes have a universal appeal for students of mysticism; consequently, there are distinct resonances with other traditions, especially within certain schools of Christian mysticism dominated by the language of love.

In our day, when the divisions between many Muslims and many Christians have broadened into chasms of suspicion and fear, books such as this one are especially important for the help they can offer in bridging these rifts. The capacity of scholars to understand these two religions, which stem from the same Abrahamic source, is of the utmost significance, and the best approach to better understanding may be through the mystical traditions, which tend to reflect more tolerance and to recognize a potential for seeing unity in a multiplicity of perspectives. This work conveys the beauty at the heart of the Islamic tradition in a language devoid of technical terminology.

The explosive growth of the immigrant population since the 1960s has raised concerns about its impact on public life, but only recently have scholars begun to ask how religion affects the immigrant experience in our society. In Religion and the New Immigrants, Michael W. Foley and Dean R. Hoge assess the role of local worship communities in promoting civic engagement among recent immigrants to the United States.
The product of a three-year study on immigrant worship communities in the Washington, DC area, the book explores the diverse ways in which such communities build social capital among their members, provide social services, develop the "civic skills" of members, and shape immigrants' identities. It looks closely at civic and political involvement and the ways in which worship communities involve their members in the wider society. Evidence from a survey of 200 worship communities and in-depth studies of 20 of them across ethnic groups and religious traditions suggests that the stronger the ethnic or religious identity of the community and the more politicized the leadership, the more civically active the community.
The explosive growth of the immigrant population since the Local leadership, much more than ethnic origins or religious tradition, shapes the level and kind of civic engagement that immigrant worship communities foster. Catholic churches, Hindu temples, mosques, and Protestant congregations all vary in the degree to which they help promote greater integration into American life. But where religious and lay leaders are civically engaged, the authors find, ethnic and religious identity contribute most powerfully to participation in civic life and the largersociety.
Religion and the New Immigrants challenges existing theories and offers a nuanced view of how religious institutions contribute to the civic life of the nation. As one of the first studies to focus on the role of religion in immigrant civic engagement, this timely volume will interest scholars and students in a range of disciplines as well as anyone concerned about the future of our society.

This is the history of the relationship between mass produced visual media and religion in the United States. It is a journey from the 1780s to the present - from early evangelical tracts to teenage witches and televangelists, and from illustrated books to contemporary cinema.

David Morgan explores the cultural marketplace of public representation, showing how American religionists have made special use of visual media to instruct the public, to practice devotion and ritual, and to form children and converts. Examples include:

• studying Jesus as an American idol
• Jewish kitchens and Christian Parlors
• Billy Sunday and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Uncle Tom's Cabin and the anti-slavery movement.

This unique perspective reveals the importance of visual media to the construction and practice of sectarian and national community in a nation of immigrants old and new, and the tensions between the assimilation and the preservation of ethnic and racial identities. As well as the contribution of visual media to the religious life of Christians and Jews, Morgan shows how images have informed the perceptions and practices of other religions in America, including New Age, Buddhist and Hindu spirituality, and Mormonism, Native American Religions and the Occult.

La question ecologique inquiete les ecologistes et les climato-septiques. Sans se confondre, avec eux, le theologien Augustin Kalamba propose a travers ce livre une " ecologie theo-logique ". Fondee sur la cosmologie du salut d'Adolphe Gesche et l'ecologie integrale du pape Francois, elle est un projet spirituel d'ordre superieur qui, partant d'une approche phenomenologique de la crise ecologique, reaffirme la responsabilite de " l'homme-parlant-de-Dieu-dans-la-foi " dans le projet du salut du cosmos. L'homme est invite a redecouvrir l'identite eco-theologique du monde comme " creation " et " maison commune " afin de le cultiver, labourer, proteger, et sauve-garder avec gratitude et dans la serenite qui vient de la foi en un Dieu Createur du ciel et de la terre, de l'univers visible et invisible.

In this open-access monograph, Paul Weller explores how the movement known as Hizmet (meaning "service") is undergoing a period of transitions in Europe. Inspired by the teaching and practice of the Turkish Islamic scholar, Fethullah Gulen, Hizmet has been active in Europe (and other continents) for several decades. It has always been subject to some degree of contestation, which has intensified following the July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, for which the current Turkish government holds Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet as responsible - a claim they strongly deny. In Turkey, thousands of people associated with Hizmet have been imprisoned. In Europe, pressures have been brought to bear on the movement and its activities. In charting a way forward, Hizmet finds itself in a significant transitional period, the nature and possible future trajectories of which are explored in this volume. The book is informed by a comprehensive literature review and a recent research project which includes primary research interviews with key Hizmet figures in Europe and beyond. It contends that to properly understand Hizmet in Europe, one has to situate it in its interactive engagement both with its diverse European national contexts and with Fethullah Gulen's teaching and practice.

Transformational Coaching is a clarion call to bridge the work-world and personal life of the 21st century ministry and marketplace leader through the experience of a dynamic coaching relationship. Transformational Coaching points to the powerful connection that can take place at a heart-to-heart level, building the bridges that will impact, connect and resource ministry and marketplace to advance the Kingdom of God.

Il n'est pas toujours aise d'etablir une relation entre la theologie et les phenomenes scientifiques complexes comme le changement climatique. La complexite du changement climatique requiert de ne pas s'arreter uniquement sur le concept de climat, mais d'ouvrir des breches sur les sciences de l'ecologie et de l'environnement. L'auteur tente de repondre a la question suivante: comment l'ethique chretienne, basee sur les notions de bien commun et de temperance, peut-elle contribuer a relever le defi du changement climatique en ce 21eme siecle ? Ce travail fait recours a la methode historico-analytique dont l'auteur se sert particulierement dans les deux premiers chapitres ou il analyse le caractere scientifique qui entoure le changement climatique. La methode historique regardera de maniere detaillee et scrupuleuse les faits et donnees scientifiques sur lesquels les hommes de science s'appuient pour demontrer l'existence scientifique du changement climatique. La methode analytique aidera a examiner la nature et la place du bien commun dans le contexte actuel de la crise climatique.

This powerful book deals with the issue of how Christians, especially those called to counsel, can help survivors of sexual abuse find healing and hope. From 20 years of experience, the author demonstrates how counselors can walk alongside people deeply wounded by sexual abuse as they face the truth about who they are, who their abuser was, and who God is as the Savior and Redeemer of all life. Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse issues a strong call to the church at large to walk with survivors through the long dark nights of their healing.

Die Publikation prasentiert den kurzesten und kompaktesten Text der Vision einer Jenseitsreise des Hochmittelalters. Sie wurde im 12. Jahrhundert von einem Moench aus Luttich erstellt und zeichnet mit minimalistischen Mitteln ein eigenwilliges Bild von Himmel, Fegefeuer und Hoelle. Der Text ist didaktisch angelegt zur Belehrung des Visionars selbst, aber auch seiner Mitbruder, und soll weiterhin in einer Schachtelvision die Bauern des Klostergutes ansprechen. Der Text ist in drei Handschriften aus dem 15. Jahrhundert aus Kloestern des heutigen Belgien erhalten geblieben. Dieses Buch beinhaltet die erstmalig erstellte kritische Edition mit einer UEbersetzung und einem ausfuhrlichen Kommentar.

Das Buch legt theologische Deutungen der Thematik Flucht, Migration und Integration, ausgehend von verschiedenen kulturellen und sozialen Kontexten, vor. Viele der Beitragerinnen und Beitrager sind an Orten tatig, in denen dieser Themenkomplex ahnlich bedeutend ist, wie in Westeuropa. Sie besprechen Flucht, Migration und Integration als Fragen an die christliche Theologie und Diakonie. Ihre individuellen Antworten und Sichtweisen bereichern die kritische Debatte uber diese aktuellen Herausforderungen. This book presents theological approaches to the subject flight, migration and integration from various cultural and social contexts. Many of the contributors are active in places where the issue of flight, migration and integration is similarly significant as it is in Western Europe. They discuss flight, migration and integration as questions for Christian theology and diaconia. Their individual responses and views illuminate and inform the critical discussion for the challenges facing today's world.

Louise Omer was a Pentecostal preacher and faithful wife. But when her marriage crumbled, so did her beliefs. Haunted by questions about what it means to be female in religion that worships a male God, she left behind a church and home to ask women around the world: how can we exist in a patriarchal religion? And can a woman be holy? With less than GBP300 in her pocket and the conviction that she was following a divine path, Louise began a pilgrimage that has taken her to Mexican basilicas, Swedish cathedrals, Bulgarian mountains, and Moroccan mosques. Holy woman combines travel writing, feminist theology, and confessional memoir to interrogate modern religion and give a raw and personal exploration of spiritual life under patriarchy.

Saladin is perhaps the one and only Muslim ruler who emerges with any clarity in standard tales and histories of the Crusades; this is a translation of Baha' al-Din Ibn Shaddad's account of his life and career. Ibn Shaddad (1144-1234) was clearly a great admirer of Saladin and was a close associate of his, serving as his qadi al-'askar (judge of the army), from 1188 until Saladin's death in 1193. His position and his access to information make this an authoritative and essential source for Saladin's career, while his personal relationship with the sultan adds a sympathetic and moving element to the account of his final years. Aside from its inherent value as a source for the history of Egypt and the Middle East, it therefore provides a much-needed complement and corrective to the widely-known Latin accounts of the Crusades and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. The present translation is based on a fuller edition of the text than that used in the previous 19th-century translation, and takes into account the translator's readings of the earliest manuscript of the work, dated July 1228.

The NASB Pew and Worship Bible is perfect for any church pew or classroom and matches page-for-page with the NASB Preacher's Bible. While both Bibles retain their own distinct page layout and font size, they were skillfully designed so that the pages of these two different Bibles begin and end with the same word. This will allow pastors and congregations to literally be on the same page during sermons. Universally recognized as the gold standard among word-for-word translations, the beloved New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition, is now easier to read with Zondervan's exclusive NASB Comfort Print (R) typeface. Features The full text of the New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition Matches page-for-page with the NASB Preacher's Bible Premium, durable hardcover binding High-quality paper Double-column, verse-by-verse format Exclusive Zondervan NASB Comfort Print typeface 9-point print size

Die mittelalterliche armenische Geschichtsschreibung ist von Bedeutung nicht nur fur die Kenntnis der Ereignisse im Gebiet des Transkaukasus, sondern auch Kleinasiens, des Nahen Ostens und Zentralasiens. Ebenso grundlegend ist sie aber auch fur das Verstandnis der modernen Entwicklungen und politischen Verhaltnisse in diesem geographischen Grossraum. Wie sehr die armenische mit der Geschichte der gesamten Region verknupft ist, wird im Werk des Kirakos Ganjekec'i (d.h. aus Ganjak, dem heutigen Ganca/Gandscha) anschaulich. Die Darstellung fasst Ereignisse vom 4. bis zum 13. Jahrhundert zusammen und beschreibt Armenien neben kurzen Perioden der politischen Machtentfaltung als Schlusselposition konkurrierender Grossmachte, Schauplatz von Invasionen, Kampfplatz religioes-politischer Konzepte und Durchgangsroute von Handelswegen. Diese Quelle in ihrem Kontext zu analysieren, ist Zielsetzung dieses Buches.

Aprenda acerca de...- La epidemia de caidas morales que amenaza tanto a los lideres como a los cristianos en general- Como vivir una vida moral de pureza y santidad- Como guarder su matrimonio de comtaminacion moral- Como proteger su ministerio y su testimonio de las aschanzas del pecado sexual- Porque los pastores y lideres cristianos son blancos para los ataques de Satanas en el area moral- Cuales son las senales de alerta cuando uno corre el peligro de una caida moral- Los deferentes tipos de pecado sexual y lo que la Biblia dice acerca de ellos- Cuales son las influencias que puenden llevar a un problema moral

Larry nos ensena como vivir en pureza de pensamiento y accion. -- Wayne Myers, misionero veterano a Mexico

This companion to "History of the World Christian Movement explores how varied and multi-cultural Christian origins and history really are.

Behind many of the challenges facing us today is a failure of leadership. This is not a new problem. Yearning for wise guidance and effective authority is a perennial human longing. We need leaders who are credible, competent and committed. But many leaders seem to be caught up, even consumed, with their own power and agendas. Some see the leadership crisis as an intellectual problem, believing we lack a clear theory of leadership. Others view the breakdown of leadership as a result of increasing deficiency in moral character. Most leadership books today revolve around the concepts of motivation, inspiration, empowerment, and teamwork. Helpful as these themes might be, they miss something more fundamental. Leadership needs a theological foundation, that will be useful for shaping the undergirding principles, and evaluating current leadership theories and practices. We need to view leadership from the vantage point of God. In Rooted Leadership, John E. Johnson explores how Christian theology provides an overarching leadership framework and applies that theory to leadership practices. Spiritual reflection, guided by scripture, points us to the very center of leadership--God--and the purpose of leadership--that we might display his glory. All the best forms of leading take their cues from who God is, his purposes, and his ways of working with people that he has progressively revealed. Building on three decades of research, study, and experience as a global leader, Johnson surveys the landscape of contemporary leadership theory, unpacks the assumptions and beliefs that underly current trends, and responds by offering a robust approach to leadership, founded on the character, work, and words of God.

How does God respond to trauma in a world full of horrors? Beyond their physical and emotional toll, the horrors of this world raise difficult theological and existential questions. Where is God in the darkest moments of the human experience? Is there any hope for recovery from the trauma generated by these horrors? There are no easy answers to these questions. In God of All Comfort, Scott Harrower addresses these questions head on. Using the Gospel of Matthew as a backdrop, he argues for a Trinitarian approach to horrors, showing how God-in his triune nature-reveals himself to those who have experienced trauma. He explores the many ways God relates restoratively with humanity, showing how God's light shines through the darkness of trauma.

More than perhaps any other theologian in the twentieth century, Karl Barth has dominated the subject-matter of theology and posed the questions with which the theologians of the different churches have been, and are, occupied, although they may want to "go beyond" him, go back behind him, or even protest against his answers.' (Eberhard Busch). Karl Barth's theological legacy provides both opportunity and challenge for historic, confessional evangelicalism. While there are now numerous excellent studies highlighting the value of Barth's theology, often receiving it with ringing endorsement, there are fewer more cautionary or critical responses. This volume engages critically and courteously with Barth on a range of vital topics where, for the contributors, his interpretation of Scripture, reading of church history, and confession of Christian doctrine are unsatisfactory. This engagement is offered as a positive contribution to the wider programme of constructive theological reflection that seeks to articulate the gospel of Jesus Christ in and for the contemporary world, in the conviction that the 'pattern of sound teaching' (2 Timothy 1:13) really matters. The contributors are Henri Blocher, Oliver Crisp, David Gibson, Ryan Glomsrud, Paul Helm, Michael Horton, Donald Macleod, A. T. B. McGowan, Michael Ovey, Sebastian Rehnman, Mark Thompson and Garry Williams.

Was schreibt man einer trauernden, kaiserlichen Witwe? Wie macht man ihr ein asketisches Leben schmackhaft und bringt sie dazu, obwohl man sie persoenlich nicht kennt, mit einem Freundschaft zu schliessen? Derartige Fragen durfte sich Hieronymus gestellt haben, als er sich ca. im Jahre 399 brieflich an die Dame Salvina wandte. Diese kunstvoll gestaltete Epistel nimmt Philip Polcar in ihren Details und grossen argumentativen Linien in den Blick. Sie ist ein Kleinod der spatantiken Konsolationsliteratur und gleichzeitig ein Werbetraktat fur eine lebenslange Keuschheit. Die individuellen Trostgedanken und Ratschlage entpuppen sich als Zugang zur asketischen Froemmigkeit und zur Kommunikation unter Gebildeten in der christlich werdenden Spatantike.

The full text of the trustworthy New King James Version with robust study notes and dozens of study resources in a convenient size to help you grow deeper in your faith. Available for the first time in large Comfort Print, the beloved Foundation Study Bible is now more readable and helpful than ever! A rich resource for everyone longing to understand more of God's Word, whether you're a beginner or an experienced disciple, The Foundation Study Bible includes extensive study helps: verse-by-verse study and theological notes, full-color maps, a concordance, and cross-references. Featuring an easy-to-use layout that is concise and trustworthy, with straightforward and broad study notes that help you study God's truth, the NKJV Foundation Study Bible, Large Print Edition is a great choice for any Bible student or church leader. Intended for both beginning and experienced students of Scripture who want a Bible that contains the key features of a study Bible in a convenient and portable size, even in large print, the NKJV Foundation Study Bible, Large Print Edition is a solid foundation to build one's faith upon. Features include: The Presentation page is a special place to personalize this special gift by recording a memory or note Bible book introductions provide a concise overview of the background and historical context of the book about to be read Over 32,000 End-of-page cross references allow you to find related passages quickly and easily Concise study notes with over 293,000 words provide helpful comments on passages of Scripture Over 300 theological notes and index draw attention to important doctrinal themes Ribbon markers make it easy to navigate and keep track of where you were reading Extensive study aids: Prayers of the Bible of nearly 100 prayers in the Bible, who prayed them, and what they prayed about. Prophecies of The Messiah Fulfilled in Christ provides 43 Old Testament prophecies and where they have been fulfilled in the New Testament. Harmony of the Gospels details the life and ministry of Jesus in chronological order showing where each event and teaching occur in the Gospels. Miracles of Christ shows where you can find 37 miracles in the Gospels. Concordance with over 1,000 terms provides an alphabetical listing of important passages by key words Full color maps show the layout of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Durable and flexible Smyth-sewn binding allows the Bible to lay flat wherever you are reading Easy-to-read large 11-point NKJV Comfort Print

Globalization, pluralism, urbanization and increased mobility are just some of the challenges of twenty-first-century cross-cultural mission, and Martin Goldsmith helpfully equips us to respond wisely to them. With humour, confidence and enthusiasm, he enables us to see potential barriers to mission as opportunities waiting to be grasped. The unchanging nature of Jesus' Great Commission contrasts strongly not only with our changing world but with our dynamic God. While his commands are set in stone, his methods are not. This book will give you fresh ideas about mission. It will help you pray, plan and advise those who want to get involved.

The great city of Alexandria is undoubtedly the cradle of Egyptian Christianity, where the Catechetical School was established in the second century and became a leading center in the study of biblical exegesis and theology. According to tradition, St. Mark the Evangelist brought Christianity to Alexandria in the middle of the first century and was martyred in that city, which was to become the residence of Egypt's Coptic patriarchs for nearly eleven centuries. By the fourth century Egyptian monasticism had began to flourish in the Egyptian deserts and countryside. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology from around the world, examine the various aspects of Coptic civilization in Alexandria and its environs, and in the Egyptian deserts, over the past two millennia. The contributions explore Coptic art, archaeology, architecture, language, and literature. The impact of Alexandrian theology and its cultural heritage as well as the archaeology of its 'university' are highlighted. Christian epigraphy in the Kharga Oasis, the art and architecture of the Bagawat cemetery, and the archaeological site of Kellis (Ismant al-Kharab) with its Manichaean texts are also discussed.