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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Worship
In today's multicultural society we are increasingly likely to meet
and become friends with people from different religious
backgrounds, and to find ourselves attending an unfamiliar
ceremony. When this happens, there can be few of us who know
exactly what to expect, or are confident about how to behave.
This book will help you:
- to understand the backgrounds to the key festivals, ceremonies,
and practices of the major world religions
- to participate in the main holidays and festivals of the
different religious calendars
- to know what to expect and how to behave when invited to attend a
Protestant, Catholic, Christian Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu,
Sikh, or Buddhist service
- to join in the family celebrations of friends from different
backgrounds
Armed with this basic information, you will feel relaxed enough to
enjoy the occasion-and perhaps inspired to discover more about the
spiritual world view of another cultural tradition.
It is very easy to potentially give offence when you are unfamiliar
with another's faith tradition. So here's some quick Top Tips:
1. Don't take alcohol to a Muslim celebration
2. Never point your feet at the Murti (sacred deity) in a Hindu
Temple
3. Be prepared to stand for up to three hours at an Orthodox
Christian wedding
4. Don't take flowers to a Jewish funeral
5. Keep your head covered at all times inside a Sikh Gurdwara
(Temple)
6. Flowers are welcome at a Catholic or Protestant funeral
7. Be prepared to be gender segregated at a Muslim wedding
8. Cover your arms, legs and chest, but not your head, at a
Buddhist Temple
The Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya in eastern India has long been
recognised as the place where the Buddha sat in meditation and
attained enlightenment. The site, soon identified as the 'Diamond
Throne' or vajrasana, became a destination for pilgrims and a focus
of religious attention for more than two thousand years. This
volume presents new research on Bodhgaya and assesses the important
archaeological, artistic and literary evidence that bears witness
to the Buddha's enlightenment and to the enduring significance of
Bodhgaya in the history of Buddhism. The book brings together a
team of international scholars to look at the history and
perception of the site across the Buddhist world and its position
in the networks of patronage and complex religious landscape of
northern India. The volume assesses the site's decline in the
thirteenth century, as well as its subsequent revival as a result
of archaeological excavations in the nineteenth century. Using the
British Museum's collections as a base, the authors discuss the
rich material culture excavated from the site that highlights
Bodhgaya's importance in the field of Buddhist studies.
The study of pilgrimage often centres itself around miracles and
spontaneous populist activities. While some of these activities and
stories may play an important role in the emergence of potential
pilgrimage sites and in helping create wider interest in them, this
book demonstrates that the dynamics of the marketplace, including
marketing and promotional activities by priests and secular
interest groups, create the very consumerist markets through which
pilgrimages become established and successful - and through which
the 'sacred' as a category can be sustained. By drawing on examples
from several contexts, including Japan, India, China, Vietnam,
Europe, and the Muslim world, author Ian Reader evaluates how
pilgrimages may be invented, shaped, and promoted by various
interest groups. In so doing he draws attention to the competitive
nature of the pilgrimage market, revealing that there are
rivalries, borrowed ideas, and alliances with commercial and civil
agencies to promote pilgrimages. The importance of consumerism is
demonstrated, both in terms of consumer goods/souvenirs and
pilgrimage site selection, rather than the usual depictions of
consumerism as tawdry disjunctions on the 'sacred.' As such this
book reorients studies of pilgrimage by highlighting not just the
pilgrims who so often dominate the literature, but also the various
other interest groups and agencies without whom pilgrimage as a
phenomenon would not exist.
This definitive guide for Reform Jewish practice is a complete
source for those who wish to incorporate Jewish practice into their
everyday lives. Mark Washofsky, a highly respected professor at
Hebrew Union College, leads the reader to an understanding of the
whole of Jewish lives -- from blessings to bar/bat mitzvah,
Havdalah to haftarah, and tikkun olam to tikkun Leil Shavuot. This
user-friendly compendium for living a Jewish life is a wonderful
tool for those seeking an understanding of current Reform Jewish
practice.
-- Definitive source for Reform Jewish practice
-- Easy-to-use format
-- Excellent resource for study or reference
One of the First Books to Demonstrate the Power of Positive
Thoughts
Fresh with contemporary relevance, this classic of positive
thinking from one of the world's greatest motivational writers
offers stirring insights on self-transformation. Based on Emmet
Fox's simple message that "thoughts are things" and all potential
rests in their creative and constructive use, these thirty-one
inspiring essays show how to have it all--health, success,
happiness, and a liberated spirit--through the power of
constructive thought. First published in 1940, "Power Through
Constructive Thinking" has been a never-failing source of strength
and renewal for generations of readers.
After a close encounter with death, Tom Morton realised he needed a
change of pace and perspective. He decided to become the only
independent funeral celebrant on the remote Shetland Islands, an
unusual new profession that would lead him on an extraordinary
journey into the world of the dead. In a vivid narrative that
reveals the fascinating realm of the unspoken - from extraordinary
undertakers and death cafes, to pilgrimages and taboos - Tom
quickly learns that death and speaking for the dead requires you to
think on your feet and often take a magpie approach to faith and
philosophy. From Humanism to hymns, Theravada Buddhism to Star Wars
theology, he discovers the importance of ritual, humour, and the
empowering act of trying to find words for something beyond
language itself. This is an accessible and thought-provoking guide
to celebrating mortality. When grief must be an inevitable part of
life, Tom shows how we can mourn together in a way that feels
appropriate to the life of the one who has passed on, and
ultimately cultivate a healthy attitude to our own eventual demise.
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Amen
(Paperback)
Gretta Vosper
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R379
Discovery Miles 3 790
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Ships in 18 - 22 working days
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This book presents current research in the study of the types,
efficacy and myths of ritualistic behaviours. Topics gathered by
the authors from across the globe include the modern case studies
of ancient Greek cave rituals; rituals marking transitions between
different life stages in the elderly; ritual complexes of
North-West Siberia in the 17th-18th centuries; healing rituals of
Brazil; the myth of the ayahuasca ritual in Europe and the cult of
the horse in the Sakha religious and ritual practice of the 19th
century.
The unique role that Westminster Abbey has played in the life of
the nation is revealed, detailing the special relationship it holds
with the Royal Family and what it meant to the Queen. The Queen,
when she was 21, declared that her whole life, whether it was long
or short, would be devoted to service. At her coronation, she was
set apart for service after the example of Jesus Christ. During Her
Majesty's diamond jubilee year, the Dean of Westminster recalled
the coronation, and special commemorations attended by The Queen in
Westminster Abbey, including the marriage of the Duke and Duchess
of Cambridge (which reached a television audience of 2.2 billion
people). He offers an insight into some very special occasions -
not all widely known - and reflects on a pattern of leadership as
devoted service.
"It's a nice piece of pageantry. . . . Rationally it's lunatic,
but in practice, everyone enjoys it, I think."--HRH Prince Philip,
Duke of EdinburghFounded by Edward III in 1348, the Most Noble
Order of the Garter is the highest chivalric honor among the gifts
of the Queen of England and an institution that looks proudly back
to its medieval origins. But what does the annual Garter procession
of modern princes and politicians decked out in velvets and silks
have to do with fourteenth-century institutions? And did the Order,
in any event, actually originate in the wardrobe malfunction of the
traditional story, when Edward held up his mistress's dropped
garter for all to see and declared it to be a mark of honor rather
than shame? Or is this tale of the Order's beginning nothing more
than a vulgar myth?With steady erudition and not infrequent
irreverence, Stephanie Trigg ranges from medieval romance to
Victorian caricature, from imperial politics to medievalism in
contemporary culture, to write a strikingly original cultural
history of the Order of the Garter. She explores the Order's
attempts to reform and modernize itself, even as it holds onto an
ambivalent relationship to its medieval past. She revisits those
moments in British history when the Garter has taken on new or
increased importance and explores a long tradition of amusement and
embarrassment over its formal processions and elaborate costumes.
Revisiting the myth of the dropped garter itself, she asks what it
can tell us about our desire to seek the hidden sexual history
behind so venerable an institution.Grounded in archival detail and
combining historical method with reception and cultural studies,
"Shame and Honor" untangles 650 years of fact, fiction, ritual, and
reinvention.
A NYT Bestseller, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by former Muslim Nabeel
Qureshi provides an intimate window into American Muslim life,
describing how a passionate pursuit of Islam led him to Christ through
friendship, apologetics, dreams and visions.
Providing an intimate view into a loving Muslim home, Qureshi shares
how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against
his will, evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God.
Unable to deny the arguments but not wanting to deny his family,
Qureshi struggled with an inner turmoil that will challenge Christians,
Muslims, and all those who are interested in two of the world's
greatest religions and the quest for truth.
Qureshi - with great courage and intimacy - wrote this book with three
major purposes in mind:
• To tear down walls between two of the world's major religions by
giving non-Muslim readers an insider's perspective into a Muslim's
heart and mind.
• To equip the reader with facts and knowledge, showing the strength of
the case for the gospel contrasted with the case for Islam.
• To portray the immense inner struggle of Muslims grappling with the
gospel, including all the sacrifices and doubts that rise up along the
way.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus is more than the memoir of a man's pursuit
of answers to the most important issues of life and faith. Ultimately,
it's the story about the transformative grace and mercy of the one true
God.
This edition has been expanded to include:
• A revised foreword and introduction
In his pathbreaking Israel in Egypt James K. Hoffmeier sought to
refute the claims of scholars who doubt the historical accuracy of
the biblical account of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt. Analyzing a
wealth of textual, archaeological, and geographical evidence, he
put forth a thorough defense of the biblical tradition. Hoffmeier
now turns his attention to the Wilderness narratives of Exodus,
Leviticus, and Numbers. As director of the North Sinai
Archaeological Project, Hoffmeier has led several excavations that
have uncovered important new evidence supporting the Wilderness
narratives, including a major New Kingdom fort at Tell el-Borg that
was occupied during the Israelite exodus. Hoffmeier employs these
archaeological findings to shed new light on the route of the
exodus from Egypt. He also investigates the location of Mount
Sinai, and offers a rebuttal to those who have sought to locate it
in northern Arabia and not in the Sinai peninsula as traditionally
thought. Hoffmeier addresses how and when the Israelites could have
lived in Sinai, as well as whether it would have been possible for
Moses to write down the law received at Mount Sinai. Building on
the new evidence for the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, Hoffmeier
explores the Egyptian influence on the Wilderness tradition. For
example, he finds Egyptian elements in Israelite religious
practices, including the use of the tabernacle, and points to a
significant number of Egyptian personal names among the generation
of the exodus. The origin of Israel is a subject of much debate and
the wilderness tradition has been marginalized by those who
challenge its credibility. In Ancient Israel in Sinai, Hoffmeier
brings the Wilderness tradition to the forefront and makes a case
for its authenticity based on solid evidence and intelligent
analysis.
Knowing Body, Moving Mind investigates ritualizing and learning in
introductory meditation classes at two Buddhist centers in Toronto,
Canada. The centers, Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti, are led
and attended by Western (sometimes called "convert') Buddhists:
that is, people from non-Buddhist familial and cultural
backgrounds. Inspired by theories that suggest that rituals impart
new knowledge or understanding, Patricia Campbell examines how
introductory meditation students learn through formal Buddhist
practice. Along the way, she also explores practitioners' reasons
for enrolling in meditation classes, their interests in Buddhism,
and their responses to formal Buddhist practices and to ritual in
general.
Based on ethnographic interviews and participant-observation
fieldwork, the text follows interview participants' reflections on
what they learned in meditation classes and through personal
practice, and what roles meditation and other ritual practices
played in that learning. Participants' learning experiences are
illuminated by an influential learning theory called Bloom's
Taxonomy, while the rites and practices taught and performed at the
centers are explored using performance theory, a method which
focuses on the performative elements of ritual's postures and
gestures. But the study expands the performance framework as well,
by demonstrating that performative ritualizing includes the
concentration techniques that take place in a meditator's mind.
Such techniques are received as traditional mental acts or
behaviors that are standardized, repetitively performed, and
variously regarded as special, elevated, spiritual or religious.
Having established a link between mental and physical forms of
ritualizing, the study then demonstrates that the repetitive mental
techniques of meditation practice train the mind to develop new
skills in the same way that physical postures and gestures train
the body. The mind is thus experienced as both embodied and
gestural, and the whole of the body as socially and ritually
informed.
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