Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2006

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Dealing with a time when "Christians" were moving towards separation from the movement's Jewish origins, this inaugural volume of A People's History of Christianity tells "the people's story" by gathering together evidence from the New Testament texts, archaeology, and other contemporary sources. Of particular interest to the distinguished group of scholar-contributors are the often overlooked.phpects of the earliest "Christian" consciousness: How, for example, did they manage to negotiate allegiances to two social groups? How did they deal with crucial issues of wealth and poverty? What about the participation of slaves and women in these communities? How did living in the shadow of the Roman Empire color their religious experience and economic values? With Horsley, contributors include: Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Allen Dwight Callahan, Warren Carter, Neil Elliott, Steven J. Friesen, William R. Herzog II, Clarice J. Martin, Carolyn Osiek, Raymond Pickett, Barbara R. Rossing, Antoinette Clark Wire.

This very timely book will provide readers with a complete understanding of what Jihad is and is not - how it has been used and abused, understood and misunderstood, as a philosophy of both Islamic theology and politics. This book will trace the history of Jihad and its multiple interpretations and numerous applications.

With over 75 million currently practicing Methodists worldwide, this book treats Methodism as a global religious tradition, examining its rich diversity as well as the core beliefs and attitudes that all Methodists share. It serves as an introduction to the patterns of Methodist life, demonstrating how the religion has developed from British and American roots in different cultural contexts. In addition to the lasting traditions of John and Charles Wesley, An Introduction to Methodism reflects the on-going contribution of Methodism to the ecumenical movement and inter-religious relations. Its analysis includes abundant resources encouraging further study. Kenneth Cracknell is Professor of Theology and Global Studies at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas. He has been a theological teacher in Nigeria, a Methodist pastor in Britain, and Director of Interfaith Relations for the British Council of Churches. He has also been a consultant to the World Council of Churches on interfaith issues since 1979 and has visited churches in all parts of the world. He is the author of Toward a New Relationship: Christians and People of Other Faith (Epworth Press, 1986) and Justice, Courtesy and Love: Theologians and Missionaries Encountering Other Religions 1846-1914 (Epworth, 1995). Susan J. White is Alberta H. and Harold L. Lunger Professor of Spiritual Resources and Disciplines at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas. She has been a member of the Church of England Liturgical Commission, and the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain and Ireland, and consultant for liturgical revision to the Methodist Faith and Order Committee and the Office of Worship of the Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. She is the author of Groundwork of Christian Worship (Epworth, 1997) The Spirit of Worship: The Liturgical Tradition (Orbis Books, 2000) and A History of Women in Christian Worship (Pilgrim Press, 2003)

In the ancient Near East, when the gods detected gross impropriety in their ranks, they subjected their own to trial. When mortals suspect their gods of wrongdoing, do they have the right to put them on trial? What lies behind the human endeavor to impose moral standards of behavior on the gods? Is this effort an act of arrogance, as Kant suggested, or a means of keeping theological discourse honest? It is this question James Crenshaw seeks to address in this wide-ranging study of ancient theodicies. Crenshaw has been writing about and pondering the issue of theodicy - the human effort to justify the ways of the gods or God - for many years. In this volume he presents a synthesis of his ideas on this perennially thorny issue. The result sheds new light on the history of the human struggle with this intractable problem.

This comprehensive study of the intersection of death and religion offers a unique look at how religious people approach death in the twenty-first century. Previous scholarship has largely focused on traditional beliefs and paid little attention to how religious traditions evolve in relation to their changing social context. Employing a sociological approach, Death and Religion in a Changing World describes how people from a wide variety of faiths draw on and adapt traditional beliefs and practices as they deal with death in modern societies. The book includes coverage of newly emerging social and religious phenomena that are only just beginning to be analyzed by religion scholars, such as public shrines, the role of the media, spiritual bereavement groups, and the use of the internet in death practices.

Acknowledgments ix Prelude: Decision 1 Chapter One: Dreams 5 Chapter Two: Dist inct ive 28 Chapter Three: Paths 47 Chapter Four: Folk 74 Chapter Five: Attract ions 105 Chapter Six: Shadows 131 Chapter Seven: Moment um 158 Appendix A: Shifting Visions: A Brief History of Metaphors for U.S. Race and Ethnic Relations 173 Appendix B: Statistical Tables 194 Appendix C: Methodology 200 Appendix D: Instruments 209 Bibliography 245 Index 257

Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Emotion and Evolution Chapter 3. A Life Shaped by Wonder: John Muir Chapter 4. Adaptation and Humanity's Appetite for Wonder Chapter 5. A Life Shaped by Wonder: William James Chapter 6. Wonder and Psychological Development Chapter 7. A Life Shaped by Wonder: Rachel Carson Chapter 8. Experience and Personal Transformation Chapter 9. Wonder, Emotion, and the Religious Sensibility Notes Suggestions for Further Reading Index

A stimulating new examination of the life and thought of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science.

Does God want us to be wealthy? Many people believe that God offers not only eternal joy in the hereafter but also material blessings in the here and now. Other Christians see this "prosperity theology," as nothing more than vulgar materialism, incompatible with orthodox Christianity. In Righteous Riches, Milmon F. Harrison examines the Word of Faith movement, an independent, non-denominational Christian movement that preaches the so-called "health and wealth gospel."The Word of Faith movement is an international network loosely bound by a basic doctrine called the "Faith Message," which teaches that it is God's will for Christians to be prosperous, successful, and healthy in the present life. Drawing on his personal experiences as a former insider and in-depth interviews with members, Harrison takes us inside the movement, revealing what it is like to belong, and how people accept, reject, and reshape Word of Faith doctrines to fit their own lives. Although the movement is not exclusively African American, many of its most prominent and recognized leaders are African American ministers with large congregations and national television audiences. Analyzing the movement's appeal to African Americans, Harrison argues that, because of their history of oppression and discrimination, African American religious institutions have always had to address the material--as well as spiritual--concerns of their members. The Word of Faith Movement, he says, is one of several prosperity movements that resonate strongly with African Americans. Situating the movement in the contexts of both contemporary American religion and the history of the Black Church, Righteous Riches offers a fascinating look at a quintessentially American phenomenon.

The particular excitement of this volume lies in its focus on the everyday realities of Christians' lives in the era of Christian ascendancy and Roman decline. Popular fiction, childrearing and toys, rituals of inclusion, the beginning of veneration of saints and shunning of heretics, the ascetic impulse, food practices -- all these and more lend color and texture to the story of a "people's" Christianity in this formative stage. With Burrus, contributors include: Kimberly Bowes, Elizabeth A. Clark, Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert, David Frankfurther, Cornelia B. Horn, Robin M. Jensen, Rebecca Lyman, Andrew MacGowan, Harry O. Maier, Judith Perkins, Dennis Trout, Robin Darling Young.

Focusing on more recent classical ethnographies, this important study provides a critical introduction to the social anthropology of religion. It covers all the major religious traditions that have been studied concretely by anthropologists--Shamanism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and its relation to African and Melanesian religions and contemporary Neopaganism. Treating religion as a social institution and not simply as an ideology or symbolic system, the book follows the dual heritage of social anthropology in combining an interpretative approach with sociological analysis.

The most widely read and beloved historian of religions in the world, Huston Smith, engages in a series of ten conversations with American Indian leaders about their five hundred year long fight for religious freedom.