Volume 1 of Two Liturgical Traditions, surveyed the origins and growth of Christian and Jewish liturgy from the first century of the common era until our time. This second volume The Changing Face of Jewish and Christian Worship in North America, follows up with an examination of the recent revolution in Jewish and Christian liturgies. The book reflects the particular role of North America in the worldwide experiment in liturgical renewal.

Although little is known about Elizabeth Dabney's youth, she often said she learned the value of prayer from her mother, who always kept a family altar in their home. Mother Dabney sat down and documented for the world, her detailed thoughts and experiences about really living a life devoted to prayer and what the resulting effects would be to personal ministry.

If you want to have a conversation with God, then you need to do two things: pray and fast. In this primer focusing on these fundamental activities of faith, Rev. Dr. Lionel Stokes shares her transforming life experiences, exploring

what the Bible says about prayer;

why there are so many misconceptions about fasting; and

how fasting and praying interact with each other.

True prayer is a conversation with God, but many think of it as a monologue because of the way it occurs in church. It's often like a one-way telephone conversation, in which one person goes on endlessly without the slightest pause for even an "aha" from the other party-and then the caller hangs up before a response can be made. Whatever our circumstances or situations, there are times when we want or need to communicate with God or to hear from Him. The means by which we do this, therefore, must be simple and clear.

If you want to have a real conversation with God and develop a stronger relationship, with Him, then praying and fasting are the answers-but you need to do it right. Take a balanced approach that's safe and effective, and move closer to the Lord with Prayer and Fasting.

This interdisciplinary collection is a new landmark in the study of the world's pilgrimage traditions. Experts from many disciplines approach the subject from a variety of perspectives that are designed to lead to the understanding of pilgrimage in general. Specific case studies represent most of the major religious traditions of the world. Anthropologists, historians, sociologists, social psychologists, and students of religion will find that these theoretical and case studies suggest new areas for further research. Alan Morinis presents a many faceted examination of sacred journeys in India, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, West Asia, Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. The introduction provides a framework for the case studies which follow. In-depth accounts of patterns of pilgrimage ranging from Hindu practices to a comparison of Catholic and Baptist pilgrimage in Haiti and Trinidad, to a narration of a Maori sacred journey, provide valuable comparative information. Pilgrimage is viewed in relation to methodological issues, and an analysis is offered showing how pilgrimage and tourism are related. Victor Turner's foreword and Colin Turnbull's postscript lend authoritative weight to this increasingly significant field of study.

In The Encoded Cirebon Mask: Materiality, Flow, and Meaning along Java's Islamic Northwest Coast, Laurie Margot Ross situates masks and masked dancing in the Cirebon region of Java (Indonesia) as an original expression of Islam. This is a different view from that of many scholars, who argue that canonical prohibitions on fashioning idols and imagery prove that masks are mere relics of indigenous beliefs that Muslim travelers could not eradicate. Making use of archives, oral histories, and the performing objects themselves, Ross traces the mask's trajectory from a popular entertainment in Cirebon-once a portal of global exchange-to a stimulus for establishing a deeper connection to God in late colonial Java, and eventual links to nationalism in post-independence Indonesia.

This book of Catholic prayers is designed to help believers participate at Mass and receive the Sacraments and to be united with God in the circumstances of life and celebrations of the Mysteries of salvation during the Liturgical Year.

The Buddha left his home and family and enjoined his followers to go forth and become homeless. With a traditionally celibate clergy, Asian Buddhism is often regarded as a world-renouncing religion inimical to family life. This edited volume counters this view, showing how Asian Buddhists in a wide range of historical and geographical circumstances relate as kin to their biological families and to the religious families they join. Using contemporary and historical case studies as well as textual examples, contributors explore how Asian Buddhists invoke family ties in the intentional communities they create and use them to establish religious authority and guard religious privilege. The language of family and lineage emerges as central to a variety of South and East Asian Buddhist contexts. With an interdisciplinary, Pan-Asian approach, "Family in Buddhism" challenges received wisdom in religious studies and offers new ways to think about family and society."

This volume gathers together studies on various ""engagements"" between Judaism and Christianity. Following an introduction on ""my odyssey in New Testament interpretation,"" Professor Davies examines such topics as the nature of Judaism, canon and Christology, Torah and dogma, law in Christianity, and the promised land in Jewish and Christian tradition. Part II focuses on Paul and Judaism, with special attention to Paul and the exodus, Paul and the law, and the allegory of the two olives in Romans 11:13-24. Part III looks at the background and origins of the Gospels, centering specifically on Matthew and John. Part IV takes up an exclusively American engagement with Judaism, that is, the Mormon's claim to be Christian and their assertion that they are genealogically connected with Jews and therefore physically a recovered, restored, and reinterpreted Israel. The volume concludes with a discussion and critique of ""mystical anti-Semitism,"" that is, ascribing to ""The Jews"" (not to ""Jews"") the central role in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, leading to a view of ""The Jews"" as essentially satanic or demonic. This collection of seminal essays by a preeminent New Testament scholar highlights the encounter of two great religious traditions and stimulates the dialogue between them. W. D. Davies was Emeritus Ivey Professor of Advanced Studies and Research in Christian Origin at Duke University. He was the author of many books, including Paul and Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish and Pauline Studies.

Following the failure of the Bar-Kokhba revolt in the second century, the majority of the Jewish population of Palestine migrated northward away from Jerusalem to join the communities of Jews in Galilee and the Golan Heights. Although rabbinic sources indicate that from the second century onward the demographic center of Jewish Palestine was in Galilee, archaeological evidence of Jewish communities is found in the southern part of the country as well. In The Ancient Synagogues of Southern Palestine, 300-800 C.E., Steve Werlin considers ten synagogues uncovered in southern Palestine. Through an in-depth analysis of the art, architecture, epigraphy, and stratigraphy, the author demonstrates how monumental, religious structures provide critical insight into the lives of those who were strangers among Christians and Muslims in their ancestral homeland.

"Cultural Blending in Korean Death Rites" examines the cultural encounter of Confucianism and Christianity with particular reference to death rites in Korea. As its overarching interpretive framework, this book employs the idea of the 'total social phenomenon', a concept first introduced by the French anthropologist Marcel Mauss (1872-1950).
From the perspective of the total social phenomenon, this book utilizes a combination of theological, historical, sociological and anthropological approaches, and explores Korean death rites by classifying them into three categories: ritual "before" death (Bible copying), ritual "at" death (funerary rites), and ritual "after" death (ancestral ritual). It focuses on Christian practices as they epitomize the complex interplay of Confucianism and Christianity. By drawing on a total social phenomenon approach to the empirical case of Korean death rites, Chang-Won Park contributes to the advancement of theory and method in religious studies.

PRAYER AND CONFESSION OF SCRIPTURES ARE THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPONS WE CAN HAVE IN LIFE

"Twilight Anointing Prayers" rout out demonic influences and release God's power to work in your situation. Your breakthrough is not negotiable. You have the divine power to go into the enemy's camp, battle, decree, and declare the victory over your health, your finances, and your family. God loves to see his children victorious.

IT IS TIME TO RECLAIM WHAT THE ENEMY HAS STOLEN FROM YOU

At the center of this book stands a text-critical edition of three chapters of the Gathas, exemplifying the editorial methodology developed by the "Multimedia Yasna" (MUYA) project and its application to the Old Avestan parts of the Yasna liturgy. Proceeding from this edition, the book explores aspects of the transmission and ritual embedding of the text, and of its late antique exegetical reception in the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) tradition. Drawing also on a contemporary performance of the Yasna that was filmed by MUYA in Mumbai in 2017, the book aims to convey a sense of the Avestan language in its role as a central element of continuity around which the Zoroastrian tradition has evolved from its prehistoric roots up to the modern era.

For Christians, prayer is the main way we communicate with God - but what can we do when we struggle with the question of how to pray or feel our prayer lives are lacking? Seven Ways to Pray explores how by looking to ancient prayer practices of Christianity, we can find fresh ways to relate to God today. Discovering these tried and tested tools will not only strengthen our relationship with him but will bring us joy, contentment, growth and transformation. With warmth and encouragement, Amy Boucher Pye takes us through seven ways to pray to God: praying with the Bible, receiving and extending forgiveness, practicing God's presence, listening prayer, the prayer of lament, praying with the gospels imaginatively and the prayer of examen. Guiding us through their history, she shows us how easily we can make these prayer practices part of our lives and use them to grow closer to God. Along with prayer exercises to help us engage directly with God, there are questions for individual reflection or small-group discussion, making Seven Ways to Pray perfect to use as a family, in churches or with friends. This is a book for anyone who has ever wondered how to pray or is looking for ways to revitalise their prayer lives. It will give you an understanding of some of the oldest prayer practices of Christianity, and equip you with the tools you need to renew and refresh your relationship with God. Come along, and discover Seven Ways to Pray.