Ursula King's Christian Mystics tells the story of sixty men and women whose mystical devotion to God transformed the times in which they lived and still affects our present-day search for spiritual meaning. Moving from key figures of the early Christian age to the great mystics of modern times, special emphasis is given to the great high points of mysticism in the medieval, early modern and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The lives of visionaries, including Clement of Alexandria, Saint Bonaventure, Blaise Pascal and Simone Weil are studied in detail. It reveals the richly diverse expressions that mystical experience has found during two thousand years of Christian history and shows how it underpins Christian ritual and doctrine as a source of spiritual inspiration for all believers. Beautifully illustrated and written by a prominent name in the British academic world, this significant text has received high acclaim and is the only book to feature biographies of key mystics.

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin was a French Jesuit theologian and scientist renowned for his pioneering field work in paleontology. His visionary writings on the reconciliation of faith and evolutionary theory aroused the suspicions of the Vatican and he was forbidden to publish on religious matters during his lifetime. After his death, the publication of his many books marked him as one of the most influential Catholic thinkers of this century - a mystic whose holistic vision speaks with growing relevance to contemporary to contemporary spirituality. Often considered ahead of his time, Teilhard's writings have more relevance and impact on our current times than when he was first published.

At the beginning of the third millenium, concepts of spirituality are undergoing rapid transformation. While still closely connected to Christian values and beliefs, they are now also applied cross-culturally and used in interfaith and secular contexts. Around the globe there is an urgent need for greater spiritual well-being, yet it is not clear how this can best be achieved or even what it means. The development of a wholesome spirituality relating to profound personal and social transformations may well be the most urgent task humanity has to address today.;In this text leading scholars of theology and religion explore the complex dynamics of different spiritual beliefs and practices and their effects on contemporary society. The editor's introductory essay examines the many understandings of spirituality in a postmodern intellectual and social context, but also looks at spirituality as both a personal quest and a new academic field. The essays which follow, from a range of international contributors, present a rich tapestry of reflections on different aspects of spirituality.

Full of vision, hope, and inspiration, this profound and passionate manifesto provides a fascinating overview of the incredibly rich and diverse spiritual landscapes of the world--feeding a deep longing for a life of wholeness and meaning and a society of greater peace and justice. Drawing from a wide variety of faiths and secular traditions, this book looks at cultural diversity and religious pluralism; clarifies the meaning of spirituality in different languages, faiths, and societies; and shows how numerous new approaches to spirituality have emerged. Also explored are the spiritual dimensions of nature, science, and technology; the transcending experiences of art and spirit; and the powerful expressions of ecological spirituality found around the world. New insights are provided that highlight the major differences that exist between spiritualities while also pointing out the various parallels and points of convergence.

At the beginning of the third millennium, concepts of spirituality are undergoing rapid transformation. While still closely connected to Christian values and beliefs, they are now also applied cross-culturally and used in inter-faith and secular contexts. Around the globe there is an urgent need for greater spiritual well-being, yet it is not clear how this can best be achieved or even what it means. The development of a wholesome spirituality relating to profound personal and social transformations may well be the most urgent task humanity has to address today.

An in-depth examination of Teilhard de Chardin's knowledge of the Middle and Far East, especially China, his comments on eastern religions, and his comparative reflections on mysticism and spirituality.

Religious Studies was first introduced as a new discipline in universities and colleges around the world in the 1960s. This discipline brought about a reorientation of the study of religion, created new perspectives and influenced all sectors of education. The essays presented in this volume provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the history of Religious Studies as an academic discipline, the turning points it faces and the directions it might take in the future. The work is organised in three sections. The first presents a succinct case study of the historical development of Religious Studies in Britain. The second considers the development of Religious Studies throughout the world in its major constituents, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, 'traditional' African religions, Christianity, Islam and new religious movements in Africa, the study of truth and dialogue in religion, science and the rediscovery of religious experience, mysticism. The third section looks to developments in Religious Studies, in particular at religion in relation to the arts, gender, information technology and to Religious Studies in a global perspective.

Gender, Religion and Diversity provides an introduction to some of the most challenging perspectives in the contemporary study of gender and religion. In recent years, women's and gender studies have transformed the international study of religion through the use of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural methodologies, which have opened up new and highly controversial issues, challenging previous paradigms and creating fresh fields of study. As this book shows, gender studies in religion raises new and difficult questions about the gendered nature of religious phenomena, the relationship between power and knowledge, the authority of religious texts and institutions, and the involvement and responsibility of the researcher undertaking such studies as a gendered subject. This book is the outcome of an international collaboration between a wide range of researchers from different countries and fields of religious studies. The range and diversity of their contributions is the very strength of this book, for it shows how gendering works in studying different religious materials, whether foundational texts from the Bible or Koran, philosophical ideas about truth, essentialism, history or symbolism, the impact of French feminist thinkers such as Irigaray or Kristeva, or again critical perspectives dealing with the impact of race, gender, and class on religion, or by deconstructing religious data from a postcolonial critical standpoint or examining the impact of imperialism and orientalism on religion and gender.