Religious rivalries have been at the root of many human conflicts throughout history. Representatives of nine world religions offer insights into the teachings of nonviolence within their tradition, how practice has often fallen short of the ideals, and how they can overcome the contagion of hatred through a return to traditional teachings on nonviolence. Included are a new Foreword and Preface, a new Introduction by Daniel Smith-Christopher, two new chapters on Islam and the indigenous religion of the Maori, and a new Epilogue. In addition, study questions have been added to each chapter.

The conversion of Spanish Roma to Pentecostal Evangelical Protestantism is one of the most unknown yet important religious movements of the past century. Its current transnational extension and its spectacular boom are due, among others factors, to the fact that it is directed, organized and composed of gypsies. This volume provides an important historical, theological, and ethnographic account of the Pentecostal Revival movement that has been sweeping through the Southern European Roma/Gypsy communities of France and Spain especially. Written by Manuela Canton-Delgado, an anthropologist from the University of Seville, together with three others collaborators, it is a fascinating and careful account of the social impact of this movement in contemporary Europe. As such, it represents one of the first serious analyses of a religious, ethnic and political movement largely unknown in North American, to be made available in English.

From the Wisdom of Ben Sira to the writings of Paul, many Second Temple Jewish and early Christian texts recognize the inescapable role of testing and temptation in human experience. Though God is often presented as one who tests, testing is also attributed to Satan, Mastema, the people of God, and individual humans. How did ancient interpreters react to texts that depict the God of Israel as testing, tested, or intervening on behalf of those undergoing a test? What assumptions do authors have about the role of testing in human experience? How does the vocabulary used for testing and temptation influence the meaning of the text? The essays in the present volume constitute an opening foray into addressing these questions, and this volume aims to catalyze further research into additional dimensions of testing and overlooked motifs in the relevant literature.

Is there a controversial issue in the contemporary world that does not involve religion? Whether it's a debate over the beginning of life, or on sexuality and family life, or on the stewardship of humans over the environment, almost all of the most contentious matters that impact today's society involve people's deeply held religious beliefs. Battleground: Religion helps clarify these complex topics by examining how various religious beliefs and practices impact current political, social, and cultural debates. Each of the approximately 100 entries examines a hot-button issue - from war and peace to the culture wars - and discusses, in a balanced and objective way, the points of view on these topics from all parts of the religious spectrum. Students will come away from Battleground: Religion with a better understanding of the issues that they will be encountering for years to come. Battleground: Religion contains dozens of entries that address how religion impacts the major debates of contemporary society: BLWar and Peace - "Just War," Religion and Genocide BLSexuality and Personal Ethics - Homosexuality, Abortion, Divorce BLHuman Rights - Religion and Organized Labor, Poverty and Hunger, Missionary Work BLCrime and Punishment - Capital Punishment, "Jailhouse Conversions," the War on Drugs BLMedia and the Arts - Blasphemy vs. Artistic Expression, Religion in the Movies. Each entry includes a bibliography or resources for further information.

The Christian church continues to seek ethical and spiritual models from the period of Israel's monarchy and has avoided the gravity of the Babylonian exile. Against this tradition, the author argues that the period of focus for the canonical construction of biblical thought is precisely the exile. Here the voices of dissent arose and articulated words of truth in the context of failed power.