In the last elections in Turkey, in December 1995, an Islamic party had come to power by means of free elections for the first time in history. The rise to power of the Turkish Islamists is a result of several decades of revivalism. In this process the veil has been a prominent symbol of the new religious puritanism, causing resentment among those who regard the bare-headed woman as the symbol of progress and emancipation. In the light of a century-long conflict between secularism and popular Islam, this study describes the conflict over the veil as it became a burning issue in the decade following the military intervention of 1980, and remains a matter of controversy. While focusing on the issue of veiling, the author also considers the wider picture of tension between official secularism and popular Islam in present-day Turkey. Although she does not discount this tension, the author argues that the fact that the Islamic movements is on the rise does not mean that it threatens the very foundations of modern Turkish society

In this series of lectures on of the most eminent Christian theologians of our time, Metropolitan John Zizioulas, give his account of the fundamental teachings of Christian theology. He presents Christian doctrine as a comprehensive account of the freedom that results from relationship with God. The whole lecture series lays out complex ideas with the utmost simplicity, illustrates the grandeur of Christian teaching, and is a profound exploration of freedom.

In this unique collection, theologians born and formed during the Cold War offer their insights and perspectives on theological relationships with such musical artists and groups as Joy Division, U2, Nick Cave, and John Coltrane. These essays demonstrate that one's personal music preferences can inform and influence professional interests.

In India, God can be female. The goddesses of Hinduism and Buddhism represent the largest extant collection of living goddesses anywhere on the planet. Feminists in the West often draw upon South Asian goddesses as theological resources in the contemporary rediscovery of the Goddess. Yet, these goddesses are products of a male supremacist society.

What is the impact of powerful female deities--their images, projections, textuality, and history--on the social standing and psychological health of women? Do they empower women, or serve the interests of patriarchal culture? Is the Goddess a Feminist? looks at the goddesses of South Asia to address these questions directly.

Not a book about a single goddess or even about a variety of South Asian goddesses, the volume raises questions about images of deities as symbols and the ways in which they function. Contributors discuss contemporary Indian women who have embraced goddesses as spiritually and socially liberating, as well as the seeming contradictions between the power of Indian goddesses and the lives of Indian women. They also explore such topics as the element of male desire in the embodiment of female deities, the question of who speaks for the goddesses, and the politics and theology of Western feminist use of Hindu and Buddhist goddesses as models for their feminist reflections.

It has become a commonplace that Biblical religion bears a heavy share of responsibility for our past negligence towards the environment. In this provocative book, Norman Wirzba argues that the Biblical doctrine of creation actually holds the key to a true understanding of our place in the environment and our responsibility toward it. Wirzba contends that an adequate response to environmental destruction depends on a new formulation of ourselves as part of a larger whole, rather than as radically free individuals. Drawing on the work of biblical scholars, ecologists, agrarians, philosophers, theologians, and cultural critics, Wirzba presents a compelling vision of a new religious environmentalism.

This is a comparative translation of the two earliest versions of the Syriac (or Aramaic) Gospels, with some interesting differences between the Aramaic and traditional Greek texts. This work is useful for theologians, interested laymen and students of Syriac.

This book begins with the premise that there is a crisis of hope today, especially in the modern/postmodern west. For many, including the baby boomer generation that came to adulthood in the 60s and 70s, optimism about the future has been increasingly challenged by historical realities such as global conflicts, ecological crises, economic distress, and political disillusion. Often the religious response to historical despair is to remove hope from history to an afterlife or from ethical action to aesthetic experience. This books seeks instead to re-imagine hope in history and in life by exploring the narratives of time which shape and determine how human beings understand their lives. Within those narratives, human beings are habituated to think and act in ways that may no longer be fruitful. The book, therefore, proposes new habits that are more life giving and hope producing. It outlines practices meant to cultivate these habits. The book sets up the problem of hope as located in the dominant western narrative of time, which is derived from Jewish and Christian perspectives. In this narrative, God is directing time and history toward the eschaton, which is not only an end, but a culmination and a resolution. The plotline of this narrative of time, which is also the story of redemption, is linear and comedic. In modernity, the linear vector of history was also understood to be progressive. The movement of time and history was toward a better future. "Time for Hope" examines and criticizes this dominant view of time and looks at attempting to revise or correct it. It also explores alternative views of time that attend more to the past, especially a traumatic past that cannot be resolved by any future fulfilment, and to the present moment. Attention is given to views of time that are more cyclical and/or which focus on past/present/future as converging. The most familiar example of such convergence is in ritual or liturgical time that seems to offer an alternative experience that holds promise for learning to tell time differently. The goal of the book is to offer a remedy for hope, not only by proposing alternative narratives, but by suggesting specific practices and habits that will lead to thinking about and living in time differently. The book outlines a theology of hope that is life giving and thus appropriate and adequate for the historical, social, and theological challenges of life today.

Belief in the possibility of truth demonstrates a belief in God. Professor Markham places this striking argument, which lies at the very heart of Augustinian theology, within the modern debate about truth and defends its underlying claim. Belief in God is, he claims, an all-embracing world view about the nature of reality of which the possibility of truth is a part. Drawing on the work of St Augustine and St Anselm, Richard Rorty, Don Cupitt, and in particular Alasdair MacIntyre, Markham demonstrates that the necessary assumptions underpinning the realist account of truth must entail the existence of God. Referring to Nietzsche, and again to St Augustine, Markham concludes with the stark choice: either God and truth, or no God and no truth.

From the author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People comes an inspiring new bestseller that puts human feelings of guilt and inadequacy in perspective - and teaches us how we can learn to accept ourselves and others even when we and they are less than perfect. How Good Do We Have to Be? is for everyone who experiences that sense of guilt and disappointment. Harold Kushner, writing with his customary generosity and wisdom, shows us how human life is too complex for anyone to live it without making mistakes, and why we need not fear the loss of God's love when we are less than perfect. Harold Kushner begins by offering a radically new interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve, which he sees as a tale of Paradise Outgrown rather than Paradise Lost: eating from the Tree of Knowledge was not an act of disobedience, but a brave step forward toward becoming human, complete with the richness of work, sexuality and child-rearing, and a sense of our mortality. Drawing on modern literature, psychology, theology, and his own thirty years of experience as a congregational rabbi, Harold Kushner reveals how acceptance and forgiveness can change our relationships with the most important people in our lives and help us meet the bold and rewarding challenge of being human.

Peter Annet was probably one of the most aggressive deists that the eighteenth century produced. His collection of statements on deistic principles invoked the following praise from one of his twentieth-century admirers, Ella Twyman, who compared him with Voltaire: 'these two great Deists lived in different countries, and under different conditions, there is a remarkable resemblance between them for classical knowledge, originality of thought and view-points, and, especially, for the brilliant wit and humour that flow, like sparkling sunlit streams, through the fair fields of their works.'

This book presents a new, contemporary introduction to medieval philosophy as it was practiced in all its variety in Western Europe and the Near East. It assumes only a minimal familiarity with philosophy, the sort that an undergraduate introduction to philosophy might provide, and it is arranged topically around questions and themes that will appeal to a contemporary audience. In addition to some of the perennial questions posed by philosophers, such as "Can we know anything, and if so, what?", "What is the fundamental nature of reality?", and "What does human flourishing consist in?", this volume looks at what medieval thinkers had to say, for instance, about our obligations towards animals and the environment, freedom of speech, and how best to organize ourselves politically. The book examines certain aspects of the thought of several well-known medieval figures, but it also introduces students to many important, yet underappreciated figures and traditions. It includes guidance for how to read medieval texts, provokes reflection through a series of study questions at the end of each chapter, and gives pointers for where interested readers can continue their exploration of medieval philosophy and medieval thought more generally. Key Features Covers the contributions of women to medieval philosophy, providing students with a fuller understanding of who did philosophy during the Middle Ages Includes a focus on certain topics that are usually ignored, such as animal rights, love, and political philosophy, providing students with a fuller range of interests that medieval philosophers had Gives space to non-Aristotelian forms of medieval thought Includes useful features for student readers like study questions and suggestions for further reading in each chapter

Sinceits founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church" was a document of outstanding importance which sold millions of copies worldwide. Many critics at the time of publication said the Catechism lacked sufficient coverage of the social teaching of the Catholic Church, teaching on justice, peace and human rights. To remedy this, the Vatican commissioned this remarkable new publication from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Burns & Oates are now its proud publishers. Throughout the course of her history, and particularly in the last hundred years, the Church has never failed, in the words of Pope Leo XIII, to speak the words that are hers with regard to questions concerning life in society. To maintain this tradition, Pope John Paul II has for his part published three great encyclicals that represent fundamental stages of Catholic thought in this area. Moreover, numerous Bishops in every part of the world have contributed to a deeper understanding of the Church's social doctrine as have numerous scholars. This book also shows the value of Catholic social teaching as an instrument of evangelisation because it places the human person and society in relationship with the light of the Gospel. The principles of the Church's social doctrine, which are based on the natural law, are then seen to be confirmed and strengthened in the faith of the Church by the Gospel of Christ. The Pope hopes that the present publication will help humanity in its quest for the common good.

This book contains a collection of easy to read biblical skits and devotionals with an emphasis on evangelism. These writings are designed to be used for various aspects of church ministry. Though initially written with youth groups in mind, these skits and devotionals are not limited in their appeal to all ages. Each skit is based on scriptures from the Holy Bible and injects dialogue from everyday life. The shortness of each skit makes them adaptable for use in enhancing a regular worship service as an added feature or as the main feature of the program. All writings are designed to positively impact people and to create versatility in the method of spreading the gospel to all generations. The format of each work is simple, yet effective in providing interesting, informative, and spiritual messages. The length of each performance can be varied through the inclusion or elimination of songs. Successful performances can be rendered without hours of rehearsal and preparation. Speaking parts can be read or memorized without depreciating the effectiveness of the underlying message. Program committee leaders for women's auxiliaries, brotherhoods, usher boards, choirs, and youth groups can use these writings in their monthly or annual programs. Since each skit has only a few characters, each work is adaptable for groups of any size. Flexibility in altering the method of presentation without changing the message affords the users an opportunity to customize a skit to meet their specific needs. Each skit has been successfully presented by several church organizations of which I am affiliated. This book, Write, is designed to glorify God, magnify Jesus Christ, and spread the gospel throughoutthe world.

Bold, faithful, challenging - this volume uncovers the social and political implications of the gospel message by looking at Anabaptist theology and practice from a female perspective. The contributors approach the gospel from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, liberating the radical political ethic of Jesus Christ from patriarchal distortions and demonstrating that gender justice and peace theology are inseparable. Beautifully illustrated with pen drawings, Liberating the Politics of Jesus recognizes the authority of women to interpret and reconstruct the peace church tradition on issues such as subordination, suffering, atonement, the nature of church, leadership, and discipleship. The contributors confront difficult topics head-on, such as the power structures in South Africa, armed conflict in Colombia, and the sexual violence of John Howard Yoder. The result is a renewed Anabaptist peace theology with the potential to transform the work of theology and ministry in all Christian traditions.

Full Subtitle: When the World's Religions Sit Down to Talk about the Future of Human Life and the Plight of This Planet This short volume seeks to capture the energy and dynamism of these world religious traditions-a central force in human history and society-for illuminating and addressing major global issues: population growth, environmental destruction, freedom, the rights of women and minorities, the place of economics and work, issues of sexuality and the body. Based on consultations of leading scholars and religious leaders from a variety of traditions, and worked out in conjunction with international conferences sponsored by the Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health, and Ethics, this book highlights the special insights and lessons each major religious tradition has to offer today.