America's problem with race has deep roots, with the country's foundation tied to the near extermination of one race of people and the enslavement of another. Racism is truly our nation's original sin. "It's time we right this unacceptable wrong," says bestselling author and leading Christian activist Jim Wallis. Fifty years ago, Wallis was driven away from his faith by a white church that considered dealing with racism to be taboo. His participation in the civil rights movement brought him back when he discovered a faith that commands racial justice. Yet as recent tragedies confirm, we continue to suffer from the legacy of racism. The old patterns of white privilege are colliding with the changing demographics of a diverse nation. The church has been slow to respond, and Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour of the week. In America's Original Sin, Wallis offers a prophetic and deeply personal call to action in overcoming the racism so ingrained in American society. He speaks candidly to Christians--particularly white Christians--urging them to cross a new bridge toward racial justice and healing. Whenever divided cultures and gridlocked power structures fail to end systemic sin, faith communities can help lead the way to grassroots change. Probing yet positive, biblically rooted yet highly practical, this book shows people of faith how they can work together to overcome the embedded racism in America, galvanizing a movement to cross the bridge to a multiracial church and a new America.

Buddhism: The Basics provides a thorough and accessible introduction to a fascinating religion. Examining the historical development of Buddhism and its presence today, this guide covers:

• principal traditions
• practices and beliefs
• ethical guidelines and philosophy
• religious texts
• community

With helpful features including a detailed map of the Buddhist world, glossary of terms and tips for further study, this is an ideal text for students and interested readers wanting to familiarise themselves with the Buddhist faith.

Cathy Cantwell is an academic researcher at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. She specialises in Tibetan Buddhism, and has worked on eleventh century manuscripts, an eighteenth century scriptural collection, and contemporary Buddhist ritual manuals and practice. She has taught widely in UK Higher Education and is joint author of Early Tibetan Documents on Phur pa from Dunhuang.

Night of Beginnings is a groundbreaking new haggadah for the Passover seder from acclaimed poet, translator, and liturgist Marcia Falk, beautifully designed and illustrated with original color drawings by the author. Unlike both traditional and new haggadahs, which do not contain a full recounting of the biblical story, Night of Beginnings presents the Exodus narrative in its entirety, providing a direct connection to the ancient origins of the holiday. This retelling highlights the actions of its female characters, including Moshe's sister, Miriam; Pharaoh's daughter, who adopts the baby Moshe; and the midwives Shifrah and Pu'ah, who save the Hebrew male infants. Falk's revolutionary new blessings, in Hebrew and English, replace the traditional, patriarchal seder blessings, and her kavanot-meditative directions for prayer-introduce a genre new to the seder ritual. Poems, psalms, and songs are arranged to give structural coherence to the haggadah. A new commentary raises interpretive questions and invites us to bring personal reflections into the discussion. Like the author's widely acclaimed previous prayer books, The Book of Blessings and The Days Between, Falk's poetic blessings for the seder envision the divine as a Greater Whole of which we are an inseparable part. The inclusive language of Falk's blessings makes room for women to find and use their voices more full-throatedly than they were able to do with the male-centered prayers inherited from the early rabbis. Men, too, will encounter here a spiritually moving and thought-provoking experience.

Can there be rational examples of the compatibility between natural science and Judaism? This book offers a strikingly novel perspective on traditional and contemporary Judaic practices. For those with some Judaic knowledge, there are biological explanations in these chapters not seen elsewhere. For those well-versed in evolutionary theory, the authors' perspectives suggest new approaches to the scientific study of religion. Topics include the monistic tendency, biblical polygyny, biblical family conflict, circumcision and proselytes, sacrificial-ritualistic mitzvot (obligations), periodic conjugal separation, Judaic traditionalism, male and female reproductive strategies, and the relationship between costly signaling and prestige.

Carl Trueman identifies the historical, philosophical, and technological influences that have shaped present-day identity politics and teaches believers how to shift their modern understanding of personhood to a biblical perspective.

The complete guide to spirit-filled speech and speaking with spirit

This book is a spiritual guide to using the holy gift of speech. It is a ... how-to ... grounded in a humble way of being, expressing an attitude of gratitude toward the tongue, in the knowledge that speech is a gift from God and we have a choice to use our mouths virtuously, in the most humble and searching sense of that word. from the Introduction

So much of our time is spent in conversation, yet little time is devoted to thinking about the words we choose to use, or the manner in which we speak. Taking the time to make our words count to make our speech sacred can lead to positive changes in our lives, and improve our relationships with others.

"Sacred Speech" is a personal, warm-hearted approach to a complex matter how we can use speech in holy ways. Drawing support from literary and spiritual sources, Rev. Donna Schaper offers compelling advice from her own experience as a clergyperson, teacher, partner, and parent, empowering us to: Acknowledge the Divine in the words we use Use speech to maximize the possibility of love and care Use speech to minimize fear Link, connect, and contact with others through words

A clear invitation to improve our communications with others, "Sacred Speech" is ideal for spiritual and religious leaders, professionals who work in multifaith settings, the politically correct and the not-so politically correct, and anyone who wants to do more than simply "watch what they say."

Julian of Norwich was a fourteenth-century woman who at the age of thirty had a series of vivid visions centred around the crucified Christ. Twenty years later, while living as an anchoress in a church, she is believed to have set out these visions in a text called the Showing of Love. Going against the current trend to place Julian in the category of mystic - a classification which defines her visions as deeply private, psychological events - this book sets Julian's thinking in the context of a visionary project used to instruct the Christian community. Drawing on recent developments in philosophy that debate the objectivity and rationality of vision and perception, Kevin J. Magill gives full attention to the depth and richness of the visual language and modes of perception in the Showing of Love. In particular, the book focuses on the ways in which Julian presented her vision to the Christian society around her, demonstrating the educative potential of interaction between the 'isolated' anchoress and the wider community. Challenging Julian's identification as a mystic and solitary female writer, this book argues that Julian engaged in a variety of educative methods - oral, visual, conversational, mnemonic, alliterative - that extend the usefulness of her text.

Lynne Renoir began life as a devout Christian, but after many years, she realized that her faith was not working. She sought an explanation for her situation by completing postgraduate degrees in psychology and philosophy and carrying out research in quantum theory. Drawing on the insights that the universe is multidimensional and that everything is ultimately one, Renoir proposes that we, too, are multidimensional beings. She points out that what we believe about anything is generally deemed to be either true or false. This approach in her view is applicable to our everyday three-dimensional reality, but that transformation occurs when what we consciously accept as fact resonates with the oneness that lies at the deepest level of our being.

This book is the first comprehensive study of images of rape in Italian painting at the dawn of the Renaissance. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, Peter Bokody examines depictions of sexual violence in religion, law, medicine, literature, politics, and history writing produced in kingdoms (Sicily and Naples) and city-republics (Florence, Siena, Lucca, Bologna and Padua). Whilst misogynistic endorsement characterized many of these visual discourses, some urban communities condemned rape in their propaganda against tyranny. Such representations of rape often link gender and aggression to war, abduction, sodomy, prostitution, pregnancy, and suicide. Bokody also traces how the new naturalism in painting, introduced by Giotto, increased verisimilitude, but also fostered imagery that coupled eroticism and violation. Exploring images and texts that have long been overlooked, Bokody's study provides new insights at the intersection of gender, policy, and visual culture, with evident relevance to our contemporary condition.

Can there be rational examples of the compatibility between natural science and Judaism? This book offers a strikingly novel perspective on traditional and contemporary Judaic practices. For those with some Judaic knowledge, there are biological explanations in these chapters not seen elsewhere. For those well-versed in evolutionary theory, the authors' perspectives suggest new approaches to the scientific study of religion. Topics include the monistic tendency, biblical polygyny, biblical family conflict, circumcision and proselytes, sacrificial-ritualistic mitzvot (obligations), periodic conjugal separation, Judaic traditionalism, male and female reproductive strategies, and the relationship between costly signaling and prestige.

Sarah Milledge Nelson's bold thesis is that the development of states in East Asia-China, Japan, Korea-was an outgrowth of the leadership in smaller communities guided by shamans. Using a mixture of historical documents, mythology, archaeological data, and ethnographic studies of contemporary shamans, she builds a case for shamans being the driving force behind the blossoming of complex societies. More interesting, shamans in East Asia are generally women, who used their access to the spirit world to take leadership roles. This work challenges traditional interpretations growth of Asian states, which is overlaid with later Confucian notions of gender roles. Written at a level accessible for undergraduates, this concise work will be fascinating reading for those interested in East Asian archaeology, politics, and society; in gender roles, and in shamanism.

Sarah Milledge Nelson's bold thesis is that the development of states in East Asia-China, Japan, Korea-was an outgrowth of the leadership in smaller communities guided by shamans. Using a mixture of historical documents, mythology, archaeological data, and ethnographic studies of contemporary shamans, she builds a case for shamans being the driving force behind the blossoming of complex societies. More interesting, shamans in East Asia are generally women, who used their access to the spirit world to take leadership roles. This work challenges traditional interpretations growth of Asian states, which is overlaid with later Confucian notions of gender roles. Written at a level accessible for undergraduates, this concise work will be fascinating reading for those interested in East Asian archaeology, politics, and society; in gender roles, and in shamanism.

This is a unique and powerful presentation of the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism on the five elements: earth, water, air, fire, and space. In their gross and subtle forms, these elements combine to make up the infinite illusory display of phenomenal existence. Through teachings, stories, and his distinctive use of language, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche relates how the energies of the elements manifest within our everyday world, in individual behavior and group traditions, relationships and solitude, medicine and art. He explains their links to the five Buddha families and their respective Wisdom Dakinis, and shows how each element relates to our senses, temperament, passions, habits, and karmic potentials. This magic dance of the elements, he concludes, can be transformed through meditation practice and cultivating the calm, vast, and playful state of consciousness that he calls "playmind."

The first-known Yiddish book to be written by a woman, "Meneket Rivkah" (Rivkah's Nurse) reveals a great deal about 16th-century Jewish women's lives and religious practices. It includes Rivkah bat Meir's sermons, her interpretations of the Bible, and other religious instructions on various topics to guide women in their familial relationships.

First published posthumously in Prague, in 1609, "Meneket Rivkah" pre-dates the work of Glueckel of Hamelin and makes a new contribution to the fields of Yiddish literature and Jewish women's literature. Von Rohden's critical introduction and commentary serve to place the work within biblical and rabbinical literature, and within other Yiddish ethical works of Rivkah bat Meir's time. This is the first book to include the original Yiddish text in English translation, as well as the original Yiddish manuscript of Rivkah bat Meir's unpublished "Simhes Toyre Lid." The book also includes the original Yiddish text of Meneket Rivkah.

Bringing the body-mind insights of Rinzai Zen from the mountains of Japan to the Western world, Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner and Sarah Bladen present simple meditation techniques to help achieve health, wellbeing and success. Taking the reader through the first 100 days of practice, the book then shows how to adapt the new learned techniques to the rest of your life. Including case studies at the end of each chapter to show how people's lives have been transformed through their meditation journeys, this is an accessible and practical guide to adapting Eastern meditation into busy Western lives.

Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi (1903-79), one of the twentiet-century's leading Muslim intellectuals and revivalists, wrote Islami Tahdhib awr uskey Usul-o-Mabadi in the 1930s at a time when the momentum for independence was growing in British India. In Islamic Civilization: Its Foundational Beliefs and Principles, Mawdudi attempts to bring out the vital relationship between the concept of civilization and Islam's underlying worldview and vision of life. He argues that the true understanding of Islamic civilization is possible only by having access to the soul of that civilization and its underlying fundamental principles - belief in God, the angels, the Prophets, the Revealed Books and the Last Day - rather than to its manifestations in knowledge, literature, fine arts or rhetoric, its social life, its notions of refined living or its system of governance. With a Foreword by Zafar Ishaq Ansari, this is an authoritative first complete English translation by Syed Akif, which will be of interest to students and experts alike.

Whenever people from different cultural and religious backgrounds converge, it produces tension and ambivalence. This study delves into conflicts in interreligious educational processes in both theory and practice, presenting the results of empirical research conducted at schools and universities and formulating ground-breaking practical perspectives for interreligious collaboration in various religious-pedagogical settings.

Demonstrating the vibrancy of an Early Modern Muslim society through a study of the natural sciences in seventeenth-century Morocco, Revealed Sciences examines how the natural sciences flourished during this period, without developing in a similar way to the natural sciences in Europe. Offering an innovative analysis of the relationship between religious thought and the natural sciences, Justin K. Stearns shows how nineteenth and twentieth-century European and Middle Eastern scholars jointly developed a narrative of the decline of post-formative Islamic thought, including the fate of the natural sciences in the Muslim world. Challenging these depictions of the natural sciences in the Muslim world, Stearns uses numerous close readings of works in the natural sciences to a detailed overview of the place of the natural sciences in scholarly and educational landscapes of the Early Modern Magreb, and considers non-teleological possibilities for understanding a persistent engagement with the natural sciences in Early Modern Morocco.

In this book, Ari Mermelstein examines the mutually-reinforcing relationship between power and emotion in ancient Judaism. Ancient Jewish writers in both Palestine and the diaspora contended that Jewish identity entails not simply allegiance to God and performance of the commandments but also the acquisition of specific emotional norms. These rules regarding feeling were both shaped by and responses to networks of power - God, the foreign empire, and other groups of Jews - which threatened Jews' sense of agency. According to these writers, emotional communities that felt Jewish would succeed in neutralizing the power wielded over them by others and, depending on the circumstances, restore their power to acculturate, maintain their Jewish identity, and achieve redemption. An important contribution to the history of emotions, this book argues that power relations are the basis for historical changes in emotion discourse.

Given its eschatological orientation and its marginal position in the Roman Empire, emergent Christianity found embodiment, as an aspect of being in the world, problematic. Those identified and identifying as Christians developed two broad responses to that world as they embraced the idea of being in, yet not of it. The first response, martyrdom, was witness to the strength their faith gave to fragile bodies, particularly those of women, and the ability by suffering to overcome bodily limitation and attain the resurrection life. The second, asceticism, complemented and later continued martyrdom as a means of bodily transcendence and participation in the spiritual world.