Religion

This monograph aims to explore the production of political landscapes in Anatolia under the Hittite rule (1650-1200 BCE). The focus of the research is the geopolitical role played within the Hittite domain by three interconnected regions, located in South-Central Anatolia: Tarhuntassa, the Lower Land, and the port city of Ura.

Tarhuntassa, briefly the capital of the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II, later became the center of an influential appanage kingdom after the restoration of the capital back at Hattusa. Geographically, the kingdom of Tarhuntassa overlapped with the 'Lower Land,' a buffer territory vital for Hittite military engagements in Western Anatolia. Ura served as a crucial Hittite-controlled port on the southern Anatolian coast, that facilitated trade with the Eastern Mediterranean, especially Ugarit.

The research combines material data from archaeological excavations and surveys with textual sources, offering a holistic diachronic perspective on the impact of Hittite power networks in the target region. It also explores pre-Hittite and prehistorical interactions in South-Central Anatolia to provide a broader view of long-term structures and their impact on Hittite imperial dynamics.

Leviathan, a manifestation of one of the oldest monsters in recorded history (3rd millennium BCE), and its sidekick, Behemoth, have been the object of centuries of suppression throughout the millennia. Originally cosmic, terrifying creatures who represented disorder and chaos, they have been converted into the more palatable crocodile and hippo by biblical scholars today.

However, among the earliest Jews (and Muslims) and possibly Christians, these creatures occupied a significant place in creation and redemption history. Before that, they formed part of a backstory that connects the Bible with the wider ancient Near East. When examining the reception history of these fascinating beasts, several questions emerge.

Why are Jewish children today familiar with these creatures, while Christian children know next to nothing about them? Why do many modern biblical scholars follow suit and view them as minor players in the grand scheme of things? Conversely, why has popular culture eagerly embraced them, assimilating the words as symbols for the enormous? More unexpectedly, why have fundamentalist Christians touted them as evidence for the cohabitation of dinosaurs and humans?

In the first half of the 2d millennium BCE, translation occasionally depicted semantically incongruous correspondences. Such cases reflect ancient scribes substantiating their virtuosity with cuneiform writing by capitalizing on phonologic, graphemic, semantic, and other resemblances in the interlingual space. These scholar–scribes employed an essential scribal practice, analogical hermeneutics, an interpretative activity grounded in analogical reasoning and empowered by the potentiality of the cuneiform script. Scribal education systematized such practices, allowing scribes to utilize these habits in copying compositions and creating translations.

In scribal education, analogical hermeneutics is exemplified in the word list "Izi", both in its structure and in its occasional bilingualism. By examining "Izi" as a product of the social field of scribal education, this book argues that scribes used analogical hermeneutics to cultivate their craft and establish themselves as knowledgeable scribes. Within a linguistic epistemology of cuneiform scribal culture, translation is a tool in the hands of a knowledgeable scholar.

Babylonia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE is one of the most understudied periods of Mesopotamian history. In the last few years, discoveries of new texts and archaeological materials from the Sealand Dynasty have emerged, which expand the possibilities to fill this gap in our knowledge of Mesopotamian history. At the same time, scholars have started to revive Kassite studies using new materials, methods, and questions.

While those works are groundbreaking contributions to the field, many questions about the history and chronology, archaeology, economy, language of Babylonia during this period are still unsolved. This volume brings together eleven contributions by leading scholars in the Sealand and Kassite period, approaching those questions from an archaeological, ethnological, historical, linguistic, and economical point of view. The book opens with an introduction into the history and research on Babylonia under the Sealand Dynasty and the Kassites.

This book is the first comprehensive study of debts and credit system at Emar. It focuses on the socio-economic aspects of credit access and indebtedness as well as on the motivations behind debts and debt settlement in the city of Emar.

The credit system is analyzed through several factors: the purpose of debts, i.e., productive or consumptive; the procedures for granting loans; the strategies put in place to meet an obligation and to cope with economic difficulties; the consequences of non-fulfillment, which may lead to servitude or slavery; the different types of slavery; slave prices; the mechanisms of enslavement; and termination of slavery. Moneylending practices and the formation of servile conditions at Emar are studied in the context of the Syrian economy aiming to understand whether the Emar evidence conforms with a socio political and economic crisis that is generally acknowledged to have struck Syria, Anatolia and Northern Mesopotamia at the end of the Late Bronze Age.

This work is of sure relevance for scholars interested in socio-economic history, not only of the pertinent historical-geographical area.

People sometimes say, “I will see you on the other side.” But how certain can one be of this other plane of existence? Where exactly is that “other side”, and how can you be sure you will reach it? Everything begins with a fundamental truth: those whom we have buried from our loved ones are not truly dead. They have merely passed into a special realm known as the Barzakh, a stage of existence between this life and the Hereafter. In that world, the souls of the deceased continue to live: some in peace, others in torment. The souls of martyrs may dwell in the bodies of green birds, flying freely in Paradise, while others may suffer and drown in rivers of blood. Some are reunited with long-deceased loved ones in beautiful homes, while others are subject to terrifying punishment at the hand of the Angels. What is this realm? Who resides within it? And how does knowledge of this world affect the understanding of our current location? To reflect on the Barzakh is to reflect on our ultimate return to Allah and to reconsider the spiritual path we are on today in a world that is plagued with injustice and confusion.

The Qur’an Has It All presents answers to universal questions we all have about our purpose, relationships and life’s challenges. Based on Dr Shaykha Haifaa’s compelling Ramadan 2024 series with Jannah Institute, this book draws on verses of the Qur’an that guide reader’s soul-searching thoughts about their existence; their home and communal life; their work, responsibilities and trials that come with every stage of life. Alongside the guidance, readers are invited to reflect on key points at the end of each chapter to deepen their connection with the Qur’an. Whatever you seek, The Qur’an Has It All offers wisdom, peace and direction to find our way back to Allah’s divine message.

Imam Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim is one of the most highly regarded works in Islamic thought and literature. Accepted by every Sunni school of thought and foundational in the Shaafi school, this text, available for the first time in English, is famed throughout the Muslim world. After the Qur'an, the prophetic traditions are the most recognised source of wisdom in Islam. Amongst the collected Hadith, Sahih Muslim is second only to the collection of Imam Bukhari. With a commentary by Imam Nawawi, whose other works are amongst the most widely-read books on Islam, and translated by Adil Salahi, a modern scholar of great acclaim, this immense work, finally available to English readers, is an essential addition to every Muslim library, and for anybody with an interest in Islamic thought.

This volume includes The Book of Greetings, The Book of Medicine, The book of Propriety in Speech, The Book of Poetry, The Book of Dreams, The Book of Excellent Qualities, The Book of the Prophet’s Companions’ Merits till Chapter 11. 

THE MUCH ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO THE BESTSELLING REVELATION 911

The historic, comeback reelection of President Donald J. Trump was not just a monumental geopolitical event; it was a world-shaking moment in a spiritual battle of biblical proportions. This conflict, which involves global institutions, corporate entities, and the deep state, has roots in Bible prophecy, especially in the books of Daniel and Revelation. The fight between these competing forces has intensified, and as Trump faces unprecedented media attacks, legal challenges, and the constant threat of assassination, the tension is building toward what Bible scholars call the “end times” and the prophesied rise of a global dictator known as the “beast.” 

TRUMP VS THE BEAST explores the 2nd Trump presidency as a focal point in the broader context of a spiritual and geopolitical war. At the heart of this battle are the figures and institutions that hold vast power across the globe—figures who, according to prophecy, may very well serve as the “Ten Kings” of Revelation 17:12-13 who help the beast—a.k.a. the Antichrist—ascend to power. These are not traditional monarchs, but rather powerful individuals and entities who, during the final days, will be chosen by the beast to carry out his agenda. This system will not just be political—it will be cultural, economic, and technological, influencing every aspect of life. According to Revelation, the beast’s kingdom will dominate the earth, and the ten kings will play a pivotal role in enforcing his rule. We are already witnessing the early phases of this new world order, with global institutions pushing agendas that seem to align perfectly with the prophecy. 

Rather than focusing on a singular figure who could be the Antichrist, Pastor Begley and Anderson focus on the groups and networks of power that could pave the way for such a leader. The “Ten Kings”, as described in Daniel and Revelation, are often understood to be powerful individuals, corporations or geopolitical regions who will hold sway over the earth’s systems during the final days. TRUMP VS THE BEAST explores the rise of these ten kings—the global elites who control finance, technology, healthcare, media, and other spheres of society—and marks the early phases of a new global order. Although no one can definitively be identified as the Antichrist at this point, the actions of the “Ten Kings” and connections demonstrate a clear path toward a system of global domination that would make the rise of a singular, powerful ruler possible. In this new world, the Antichrist may not emerge as a lone figure but as the culmination of years of shadowy collaboration, ideological manipulation, and technological control. 

TRUMP VS THE BEAST explores the deep state’s strategies to sabotage Trump’s presidency, the media attacks, lawfare, and ideological warfare that are being used to prevent him from fulfilling his mission, particularly in light of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. Trump is exposing how unelected bureaucrats and behind-the-scenes power brokers are spending hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to fund the beast system and its anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Israel agenda—supporting communistic and terroristic regimes, human trafficking, and the flow of Fentanyl and other deadly drugs into America, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Trump is cutting off the flow of taxpayer money to the beast system, and it is waging an all-out counterattack. These efforts are part of a larger spiritual battle, and understanding them will provide critical insight into the forces at play in the coming global conflict.

Die Frankfurter Schule um Gestalten wie Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno und Friedrich Pollock, zählt zu den wirkmächtigsten philosophischen Bewegungen des 20. Jahrhunderts, Paul Tillich wiederum gilt als einer der einflussreichsten Theologen jenes Jahrhunderts. Dass zwischen diesen und jenem biographische wie auch intellektuelle Verknüpfungen bestehen, wurde in der Forschung oft erwähnt, jedoch bisher kaum ausgeführt. Vorliegende Arbeit geht der Verbindung zwischen Tillich und den Mitarbeitern des Instituts für Sozialforschung nach, auch gestützt auf bisher unbekanntes Archivmaterial und über den Zeitraum der Jahre 1929 bis 1965. Vor dem Hintergrund eingehender Analysen von Diskussionsprotokollen aus dem Jahr 1931 bzw. der ersten Hälfte der 1940er Jahre etwa gewinnen die gemeinsamen intellektuellen Voraussetzungen sowie die theoretischen Differenzen des thematisierten Personenkreises Kontur. Insbesondere zu Horkheimer (aber auch zu Pollock und Leo Löwenthal) entwickelte Tillich im Laufe der Jahre eine Freundschaft mit stark intellektueller Komponente. Es gab Austausch über vielfältige Themen: Antisemitismus, Theologie und Symboltheorie, oder auch die Diagnose der Gesellschaft angesichts autoritärer und totalitärer Bedrohungen.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

Inspiring, engaging reflections to encourage readers to become followers of Jesus in their everyday lives, in a lovely keepsake format.

The term disciple is used hundreds of times in the New Testament. In Matthew, 4:19 Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” The call to be a disciple is a call to a life of grace, to engage and live with others in the community of Christ, aligning ourselves with his virtues; embracing his values as our own. It begins and is rooted in divine love. Come, Follow Me, is a book of reflections based on scripture passages about following Jesus. It helps us discover how we can be modern-day disciples who learn from Jesus, live like Jesus, guide others to be like Jesus, and engage the community in the ways of Jesus.

This beautifully designed book includes a brief scripture verse, a thoughtful reflection, and a takeaway for readers to implement in their daily life so they may live out their Christian calling. Perfect for building your own faith or as a gift for loved ones.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

The Psalms are some of the most cherished and powerful texts in the Bible, offering a timeless voice of prayer, praise and lament. With their poetic beauty and deep emotional resonance, the Psalms reflect the full range of human experience - joy, sorrow, hope and despair. From David's passionate expressions of longing and gratitude to the comforting assurances of divine presence, the Psalms speak to the heart, providing a spiritual anchor for those seeking peace and strength. For centuries, these sacred verses have been recited in times of celebration, mourning and everything in between, reminding us that we are never alone.

Discover peace, inspiration and timeless wisdom in The Little Book of Psalms. This beautifully compact collection brings together the most beloved Psalms, offering a daily source of comfort and reflection. Whether you're seeking solace, spiritual guidance or a deeper connection to your faith, this book provides a rich treasure of ancient prayers that continue to resonate with people of all walks of life. Perfect for personal devotion or as a thoughtful gift, The Little Book of Psalms will uplift your spirit, nourish your soul, and remind you of the enduring power of these sacred words. Keep it close for moments of prayer, reflection, and quiet meditation - wherever life takes you.

SAMPLE TEXT

"The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance."
C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

"My strength returns to me with my cup of coffee and the reading of the psalms."
Dorothy Day

"Come, let us sing a psalm."
Martin Luther

Feasts, fireworks, friends and family - Diwali's festival of lights is a millennia-old religious and cultural tradition that celebrates more than just the defeating of evil spirits with an abundance of light, it is also a time where knowledge triumphs over ignorance, and the Indian nation enters a New Year with a new harvest and new fortunes. Diwali is India's No.1 national holiday, a day observed and enjoyed by more than 1.7 billion people globally, and the largest multi-faith celebration on earth.

This Little Guide to Diwali shines a brilliant and pure light of illumination on this incredible festive celebration with more than 175 easy-to-remember (and hard-to-forget) facts, quotes and trivia about Diwali's deep-rooted origins and traditions, serving as an ideal introductory reader to those wishing to learn more, as well as the ultimate gift for those who already observe this happy, holy holiday every year.

So, put on your kurtas and saris, light up your diyas, unwrap your mithai and wrap up your uphaar, because it's time for the festival of lights to begin. Shubh Deepavali!

SAMPLE CONTENT

"Let's not only celebrate with lights but also with the light of wisdom."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Diwali is about setting goals, not accumulating gold. As Lakshmi comes from Lakshya, meaning Goal."
Tapan Ghosh

Diwali is celebrated over five days, with each day observing its own unique traditions.

While Diwali is primarily a festival celebrated by Hindus it is also celebrated by Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists with each religion honouring different origins and traditions.

This volume contributes to a vibrant ongoing debate about the degree to which religion is treated as a defining feature of Muslim-majority societies. The first book of its kind focusing on literature from across to Islamic world to explore the question of what the concept of the “Islamic” means, this collection of well-researched and highly readable essays by renowned experts in their fields to examine different time periods, places and languages. Individually and collectively, the essays ask and answer questions such as how being “Islamic” is articulated, how such particularities help shape a universal concept of the Islamic, and how are they themselves shaped by it.

The essays tackle literature from the medieval to the modern period in a broad range of languages: Arabic, Bengali, Persian, Punjabi, Urdu, Telugu, and Turkish. They deal with several genres of prose and poetry, including romantic, courtly and religious verse, epics, ethical treatises, satire, erotica, metaphysics and politics. Taken together, they answer important questions about the place of religion in society, secularity and literature, the complexities of treating religion as a stable category, and its relationship to virtue, ethics, legitimacy and social hegemony.

Contributors: Jamal J. Elias, Matthew L. Keegan, Pasha M. Khan, Oscar Aguirre Mandujano, Afsar Mohammad, Austin O’Malley, Tony Stewart, Sarah R. Bin Tyeer.

The mourning traditions of Moharram comprise a collection of Shiʿi Muslim devotional performances commemorating the martyrdom of Hosayn ibn ʿAli, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the Third Imam of the Shiʿi, in 680 CE. These traditional rites are performed during a period of communal mourning when Shiʿis remember Hosayn’s sacrifice and affirm their allegiance to him and to the Prophet’s family. Through remembering the martyrs of Karbala, Shiʿi Muslims reflect on their own afflictions and aspirations, and how these bear consequences for everyday ethical and devotional conduct.

Babak Rahimi analyzes Moharram in Iran through the five senses—sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste—with an emphasis on the relationship between religious practices as embodied experiences and how these performances—and practitioners’ experiences of them—have changed over time. Rahimi begins his investigation in the nineteenth-century Qajar period, when Moharram became a pervasive urban communal practice across most of Iran. He covers the Qajar-era dramatic performances of taʿziyeh, their transformation into cultural spectacles during the Pahlavi era, the public processions in the form of urban street protests in 1978, the tent-burning rituals in the southern city of Bushehr in 2006, and, lastly, the votive performances during Moharram in the digital sphere during the pandemic in 2020.

Through the study of mourning in terms of the senses in a specific historical and social context, Senses of Mourning not only shows the changing embodied dimensions of religious practices that have played an integral role in the complex lifeworld of Shiʿi Iranians but also details the transformation of Moharram within the broader history of Shiʿi Iran in an increasingly interconnected global era. The book’s multisensory approach sheds new light on the performativity of embodied practices, in which spiritualities, materialities, and the politics of the sacred are articulated through lived performances over time.

Hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage for many, and as women, we often have unique concerns about purity, mobility, and worship. Dr Haifaa Younis breaks down the rulings in an easy-to-understand Q&A format so you can focus on ibadah with confidence. This essential guide is more than just a list of rules; it also highlights the importance of du'a, offering powerful supplications and reaffirming the significance of the remembrance of Allah.

Ready for your spiritual journey? 

Confronting racism, sexism, and clericalism in Catholic life and inviting real conversion and justice.

In The Wounded Church, theologian Annie Selak argues that the Catholic Church must confront its own injuries in order to credibly be Church. Using a feminist framework, she develops a new ecclesiology around three wounds, racism, sexism, and clericalism, that actively harm the Body of Christ and distort its witness.

Attentive to history, pastoral practice, and lived experience, Selak shows how each wound is both inflicted by the Church and borne within the Church. She offers the resurrected body of Jesus, scarred yet no longer bleeding, as a guiding metaphor for ecclesial renewal, a body that does not deny its wounds but is transformed through them. Drawing on Karl Rahner, she grounds hope in the reign of God while insisting on concrete institutional and spiritual conversion.

Written for students and scholars, ministers and lay leaders, The Wounded Church uncovers overlooked histories tied to racism, sexism, and the clergy sexual abuse crisis, and proposes clear theological principles for reform. The result is a constructive, pastorally engaged vision that tells the truth about harm and imagines credible paths toward change, accountability, and justice.

Die Festschrift zu Ehren von Holger Strutwolf, dem Direktor des Instituts für Neutestamentliche Textkritik und des Bibelmuseums Münster, anlässlich seines 65. Geburtstages umfasst über 40 Beiträge von wissenschaftlichen Weggefährtinnen und Weggefährten, die das große und breit gefächerte Forschungsinteresse des Jubilars widerspiegeln. Neben Abhandlungen zu der alten Kirchengeschichte und der Patristik liegt der besondere Schwerpunkt auf dem Text des Neuen Testaments. Behandelt werden verschiedenen Fragen zu der handschriftlichen Überlieferung, dem Ausgangstext, der Entstehung der Varianten, der versionellen und patristischen Einflüsse, dem Textverständnis und den (digitalen) Methoden der Textedition.

Ein Vorwort, ein Schriftenverzeichnis des Jubilars sowie eine ihm gewidmete tabula gratulatoria komplettieren den Band.

Most of the scholarly research about the Christian textual production engaging with Islam in medieval and early modern times concentrates on the role of the Qur’anic text in such works. The role of Tafsīr (Qur’an commentary) in those texts has not been directly and systematically object of research. This book reunites contributions by international specialists that look for the presence of Tafsīr in texts by authors that go from Syrian and Coptic Christians from the 9^th and 11^th centuries (like Usṭath al-rāhib and Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ) to Latin scholars on the Iberian Peninsula in the high Middle Ages (Robert of Ketton, Ramon Martí) and at the Renaissance court of the Duke of Urbino (Flavius Mithridates), finally dealing with the use of Tafsīr by early-modern intellectuals in eastern and western Europe in their efforts in the fields of philology, interreligious polemics, linguistics and historical studies (with contributions, among others, on the Lead Books of Granada, Abraham Wheelock, Germanus de Silesia, Ludovico Marracci and Dimitrie Cantemir). This shows the relevance of Tafsīr in Christian textual production and fills the gap about this fundamental aspect of Christian-Muslim relations.

Дитрих Бонхёффер (1906–1945) — немецкий лютеранский пастор, теолог, а также участник движения Сопротивления нацизму. Он много размышлял и писал о политической жизни, однако делал это не как теоретик или активист, а как христианский богослов. Его идеи о политическом сопротивлении можно понять лишь в контексте его теологии, поскольку большинство его высказываний на эту тему было связано с его церковной деятельностью. В книге подробно изложены его взгляды на политическое сопротивление, в том числе на насильственные формы.

Майкл Дейонг показывает, как Бонхёффер смотрел на мир через призму христианства: сотворение мира Богом, его грехопадение и искупление через спасительную жертву Христа. Он также рассматривает ключевые лютеранские идеи, которые формировали взгляды Бонхёффера на политику. Затем автор переходит к анализу политических взглядов немецкого теолога, его пониманию роли церкви и государства, а также его теории и практики сопротивления.

Among scholars of Jewish Studies, the process, history, and literature of exiting one’s native religious community is increasingly recognized as a new area within the field which, ironically, has a history stretching back to antiquity. By presenting scholarship from a diverse range of disciplines—including history, sociology, psychology, and gender studies—this volume deepens and broadens readers’ understanding of the complexity of the topic of taking leave of the Orthodox community in which one has been raised and establishing a different kind of life that is outside of its borders.

A Landmark Series of Studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer — Volume Nine presents options for inclusive and expansive liturgical language for God.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

Volume 9 comes 10 years after the ratification of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. This study presents options for inclusive and expansive liturgical language for God and a framework for teaching about these liturgies and concepts to both children and adults.

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer — Volume Eight presents the crowning study: an introduction and explanation of the new prayer book as a whole. 

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

Volume 8 completes the contents of the proposed prayer book and contains the crowning study--an introduction and explanation of the new prayer book as a whole. The Daily Offices materials are more of a completion than a revision and introduces a new Daily Office Lectionary; the other study completes the rites related to church structures. 

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer — Volume Seven presents new prayers and Thanksgiving and a defense of proposed liturgical revisions.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy.

Volume 7 contains the Prayers and Thanksgivings--not seen before--and also a response to the skeptical reception by some of the proposed Christian Initiation materials. In addition to a new set of liturgies, a lengthy supplement explains and defends the new approach.

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer returns to print — Volume Five concerns new draft liturgies presented to the Church’s general convention.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

Volume 5 contains the first group of draft liturgies presented to the General Convention of 1970. These studies provide liturgies for the Calendar, Christian Initiation, and the Ordinal.

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer — Volume Six presents new draft liturgies for the Eucharist, Daily Office, the Psalms and Pastoral Offices.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

Volume 6 contains the second group of draft liturgies presented to the General Convention of 1970. These studies provide liturgies for the Eucharist, Daily Office, the most used Psalms, and the Pastoral Offices.

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision the of Book of Common Prayer — Volume Two addresses the Litany and the Daily Office.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformations in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

In Volume 2 The Litany and Daily Office--including the Calendar-- are addressed, completing the chief elements of Anglican/Episcopal public worship. The materials here begin with the Litany study published in 1953; the others appeared in 1957.

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer — Volume Three addresses marriage, baptism, minor holy days and the burial of the dead.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

In Volume 3, the Standing Commission on Liturgy takes up the Pastoral Offices outside of Christian Initiation in publications from 1958 and 1959. The concluding study is not a study at all, but a plea to General Convention in 1961 to allow Trial Use for the liturgies produced up to this point.

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of the Common Prayer — Volume Four revisits the Church Calendar and the Eucharist.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy.

The two studies in Volume 4 revisit two important subjects addressed in earlier work: the Calendar and the Eucharist. Notably, their publications in 1963 and 1966 address and incorporate important ecumenical developments resulting from the dramatic events of Vatican II (1962-1965).

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer — Volume One concerns the core liturgy of the Church: Communion, Confession and the Eucharist.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

The studies included in Volume One were published between 1950 and 1953, and address Christian Initiation, the Epistles and Gospels for reading at Holy Communion, Confession, and the Holy Eucharist.

The goal of this book is to suggest that Jesus as a creative artist was heavily influenced by the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Proverbs. It posits that he created some of his short parables from specific verses found in Proverbs, suggests that he expanded some basic sapient themes present in this book when composing his parables, and shows him reacting negatively to the commonly held belief that this Book’s overall concept of wisdom is that the wise are rewarded and the fools are punished by God through their own self-destructive choices and subsequent actions. Thus this text points to Jesus as an inventive artist, a concept not usually associated with him, and it complicates simplistic ways of defining biblical wisdom. Part I demonstrates how Jesus might have created his tales from specific proverbs found in the Book of Proverbs. The overarching theme for these parables is wisdom: Jesus as wisdom (I Cor. 1:24) speaking wisdom in new ways.

Part II discusses Jesus as a self-actualized artist who creatively designed these tales. It examines what shaped Jesus’ artistry, what might have been the sources of his literacy, why he might have chosen to expand individual proverbs imaginatively in order to create his moral tales, and how his wisdom enhanced conventional attitudes toward wisdom as the former included and clarified his new ""kingdom of God"" concepts. This book could be used in courses treating Literature and the Bible, Biblical Art, The Humanity of Jesus, and Wisdom Literature Common to Christians and Jews.

RUS:

Цель этой небольшой книги — показать, что евангельский Иисус находился под сильным влиянием Книги Притчей из древнееврейской Библии (Ветхого Завета). Как объясняет Кэрол Дж. Ламберт, некоторые из его притч, вероятно, были задуманы как комментарии к конкретным стихам этой книги. Кроме того, он творчески переосмыслял ключевые идеи Притчей, связанные с темой Премудрости, а также оспаривал интерпретацию, по которой мудрые неизменно получают награду, а глупцы — наказание. Во второй части книги исследуется, что повлияло на творческий метод Иисуса: какими могли быть источники его образованности, почему он избрал путь расширения содержания отдельных библейских притч и каким образом его мудрость обогатила традиционные представления — например, концепцию «Царства Божьего».

Автор представляет Иисуса как мыслителя и рассказчика, искусным образом сочетавшего глубокое знание письменной традиции с силой живого слова. Книга будет полезна не только специалистам по Новому Завету, но и всем, кто интересуется библеистикой, историей религии и духовным наследием Иисуса из Назарета.

Препятствует ли Православная церковь свободному развитию культуры? Сторонники западноцентричных моделей полагают, что да. Тем не менее американский славист Дональд Островский демонстрирует, что непредвзятое изучение феномена «интеллектуального молчания» древней Руси рисует куда более сложную и многослойную картину.

Большая часть древнерусской культуры остается скрытой от восприятия: вера здесь превалировала над критикой и рассудком, а диалектическая логика не только не считалась необходимой, но и воспринималась как помеха прямому созерцанию божественного

В приложении книги публикуются статьи научной дискуссии из журнала Russian History No 46 (2019), дополняющие и углубляющие основное исследование. Для всех, кто интересуется православием, культурой и наследием Древней Руси.

Противостоят ли религия и биология друг другу в вопросе о происхождении человека? Принято считать, что они дают взаимоисключающие ответы. Однако, по мнению Теренса Кила, в современной теории происхождения рас отчетливо прослеживаются следы христианской интеллектуальной традиции. Религиозные представления не были окончательно вытеснены из науки — напротив, они по-прежнему во многом формируют ее облик. 

Книга заинтересует всех, кто занимается историей религии и науки, исследует проблему человеческого разнообразия или размышляет о соотношении веры и разума.

That the God of the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature, "the God of the Jews," is perfectly good is challenged by apparently immoral acts of that God, by contemporary standards, as well as by the classic problem of evil. In this book, Jerome Gellman aims to alleviate the first challenge, the so-called ideological critique, for the traditional believer by recommending replacing the God of the Jews with a different God, a "Jewish God," one in whom many traditional Jews have come to believe. And the problem of evil is lightened for the traditional believer, mainly by a possible theodicy explaining much evil. The book is at once analytic in style and Hasidic in broad orientation.

RUS:

Абсолютная благость Бога древнееврейской Библии и раввинистической литературы — «Бога евреев» — нередко ставится под сомнение. Критика исходит как из сферы морали, где Его поступки воспринимаются как противоречащие универсальным человеческим нормам, так и в связи с «аргументом от зла», утверждающим, что количество зла в мире перевешивает любое добро. Обращаясь прежде всего к религиозному читателю, Джером Геллман стремится преодолеть первую из этих трудностей — так называемую идеологическую критику, — предлагая заменить образ «Бога евреев» на «еврейского Бога», в Которого верят последователи иудаизма. Вторая проблема — теодицея — получает у Геллмана новое осмысление, укорененное в еврейской философской и этической мысли.

Книга написана в аналитическом ключе, но при этом вдохновлена богословскими моделями хасидизма.

An intriguing look at how the city's built environment influences the shape of Muslim communities in Chicago

Zoning Faith offers a rare in-depth look at three distinct Muslim communities in Chicago, one Shia
Muslim, one Sunni, and one Black Muslim community. The volume explores how these communities
navigate their social and political environments, and how their experiences in urban settings help to
explain the emergence of new Islamic organizations, practices, and theologies in America.

Zoning Faith provides the first comprehensive spatial examination of Muslims' experiences in global
cities. Although cities play a crucial role in the enactment of faith, they are often treated as places
Muslims happen to live, or as places that are transformed as many Muslims come to inhabit them. Little
attention has been paid to the ways in which cities may transform faith groups in meaningful ways,
from zoning regulations and debates about where a mosque can be situated to how a building’s
structure can influence prayer and communal life. This book pays careful attention to the intersections
of urban space and religion, approaching “built spaces” as profoundly political and particularly
illuminating of the experiences of minority faiths.

Drawing on a multi-year and multi-site ethnography, the volume provides a previously unobtainable, in-depth look at how Muslim communities in Chicago defy the expectations of conventional places of
worship. Crossing the boundaries of urban studies, theological studies, architecture, and public policy,
Zoning Faith offers new insights into how Islam is vernacularized and grounded in the US in many
different ways.

Over the centuries, from the transatlantic slave trade to voluntary mass migrations through the digital era, African cultural practices have taken root and transformed in the Americas. Even though Afro-Brazilians make up a large share of the global Black diaspora, and Brazilian culture in turn has been deeply shaped by African influences, their particular contributions remain overlooked.

Imagining the Past, Remembering the Future investigates the interlinked art, history, religion, philosophy, and cosmology of oral traditions across the Afro-Brazilian diaspora, arguing that these varied cultural expressions together constitute distinctive forms of knowledge. Through case studies of sacred and secular performances, Isis Barra Costa shows how Afro-Brazilian concepts and practices preserve and renew an ever-changing diasporic philosophy. Ranging across parades of Black royal courts, Carnaval performing groups, oracular literature, “spirit-dictated” novels, and many other forms, she illuminates the survival and transformation of African cosmologies, epistemologies, and poetics in the Americas. Foregrounding oral narratives, Barra Costa sheds light on the nonhegemonic protagonists and canons of the Black Atlantic: the spaces and beings, kingdoms and heroes, philosophers and historians that orient Afro-Brazilian memory and imagination. By tracing forms of knowledge across the global African diaspora, this deeply interdisciplinary book reveals the transformative potential of Afro-Brazilian philosophical paradigms.

"Muggeridge's masterpiece, the greatest achievement of his life as a writer."—The London Times

One of the most arrestingly insightful reflections ever written on the life, person, and teachings of Christ. 

In Jesus, the Man Who Lives, the celebrated British author Malcolm Muggeridge offers meditation that was deemed by The London Times to be his “masterpiece, the greatest achievement of his life as a writer.” Muggeridge's portrait of Christ is at once deeply personal and universally accessible.

Beginning with the assertion that the “coming of Jesus into the world is the most stupendous event in human history,” Muggeridge provides astute commentary on the events of Christ’s life, his teachings, his parables, his prophecies, and his relationships. Along the way, he happily punctures many of the cherished myths held about Jesus—and about itself—by the modern, self-satisfied, largely post-Christian world. With his trademark honesty and wit, Muggeridge concludes that “either Jesus never was or he still is. I assert that he still is." 

This new, fiftieth-anniversary edition proudly reintroduces Malcolm Muggeridge’s profound spiritual meditation to a new generation of readers.

A powerful new study provides a Womanist theological framework to understand high levels of depression in Black women.

In a remarkable and poignant series of case studies, clinical social worker and ordained minister Rochelle Johnson provides a cogent study of the causes and effects of depression in Black woman in contemporary America. 

Inspired by Womanist theology and the insights of the pioneering psychoanalytic theories of Heinz Kohut, she shows how societal and historical barriers hinder the healing journeys of Black women thanks to the lack of mental health resources and systemic racism. By examining Black women's experiences at the intersection of oppression, trauma, culture, and church life, she demonstrates how historical trauma, racist myths, and harmful theological interpretations intensify the unique difficulties they encounter.

The book is a collective work that addresses a critical gap in understanding the role of Islamic populations in European history through their manuscript cultures. By examining a diverse array of Islamic texts—particularly those preserved only in manuscript form—this book highlights the multifaceted interactions between Islamic and European traditions.

The volume offers case studies based on four thematic cores: cataloguing and describing manuscripts, analyzing manuscript circulation and textual traditions, studying various scripts, and conducting diachronic linguistic analyses. The chapters delve into manuscripts of the Tatars of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ottoman influences on South-Slavic literature, and significant Arabic texts in European collections.

This collective volume not only enriches the scholarship on European Islam but also serves as an essential resource for historians, linguists, and manuscript scholars interested in the complex legacies of multicultural exchanges in Europe.

On Palm Sunday 1960, three women knelt in front of an altar to be ordained as the first female priests in the Church of Sweden. During the 1960s, 54 women were admitted into the priesthood. This book tells the story of these pioneers through an analysis of their own personal narratives.

Viewed through the dual analytical lens of the theological concept of vocation and the social theorist Axel Honneth’s concept of recognition, these narratives provide a rich and complex picture of a groundbreaking reform that complements and challenges established historical narratives and contributes to the understanding of similar processes of change in other churches.

In this innovative intellectual biography, Oded Yisraeli offers an unprecedented, comprehensive portrait of Rabbi Moses b. Nahman, or Nahmanides (1194ca. 1270), one of the greatest Jewish thinkers and writers of the Middle Ages. Nahmanides' creative energy spanned his long life, covering diverse fields—Talmudic and halakhic exegesis, biblical commentary, Kabbalah, homiletics, polemics, and poetry—that have all individually been the object of extensive scholarly study. This book brings the many facets of Nahmanides' work together, and breaks new ground by relating the circumstances of his life to the long arc of his intellectual career.

Yisraeli examines Nahmanides' oeuvre in light of his time and place, reading his writings as a discourse with both movements within the Jewish world of his day and the lively scholasticism of thirteenth-century Western Europe. He takes account of changes over time both in the religious world around Nahmanides, and in his doctrine throughout his career, raising new questions about Nahmanides' work and the influences on his thought. Rooted in deep historical research and attention to social context, this book offers a new historical and biographical perspective that illuminates Nahmanides' religious and intellectual world.

What does it mean to wonder in awe or terror about the world? How do you philosophically understand Judaism? In How to Measure a World?: A Philosophy of Judaism, Martin Shuster provides answers to these questions and more.

Emmanuel Levinas suggested that Judaism is best understood as an anachronism. Shuster attempts to make sense of this claim by alternatively considering questions of the inscrutability of ultimate reality, of the pain and commonness of human suffering, and of the ways in which Judaism is entangled with the world. Drawing on phenomenology and Jewish thought, Shuster offers novel readings of some of the classic figures of Jewish philosophy while inserting other voices into the tradition, from Moses Maimonides to Theodor W. Adorno to Walter Benjamin to Stanley Cavell.

How to Measure a World? examines elements of the Jewish philosophical record to get at the full intellectual scope and range of Levinas's proposal. Shuster's view of anachronism thereby provokes an assessment of the world and our place in it. A particular understanding of Jewish philosophy emerges, not only through the traditions it encompasses, but also through an understanding of the relationship between humans and their world. In the end, Levinas's suggestion is examined theoretically as much as practically, revealing what's at stake for Judaism as much as for the world.

Что значит испытывать благоговение или страх перед миром? Как философски осмыслить иудаизм? В книге «Как измерить мир? Философия иудаизма» Мартин Шустер предлагает ответы на эти и многие другие вопросы.

Эммануэль Левинас считал, что иудаизм следует понимать как анахронизм. Шустер пытается осмыслить это утверждение, исследуя вопросы непостижимости высшей реальности, непреодолимости страданий, а также то, каким образом иудаизм вплетен в повседневность. Опираясь на феноменологию и классическую еврейскую мысль, автор предлагает оригинальные интерпретации ключевых фигур, вводя в традицию современные голоса — от Маймонида до Теодора В. Адорно, Вальтера Беньямина и Стэнли Кавелла.

Позиция Левинаса рассматривается не только с теоретической, но и с практической точки зрения, это позволяет глубже понять, что именно поставлено на карту — как для  иудаизма, так и для мира в целом.

This book explores how modern religious thought and religious Zionism have addressed the profound question of evil, with a particular focus on the Holocaust. It delves into the theological and philosophical challenges posed by absolute, undeniable, and inexplicable primal evil. The awareness of this primal evil serves as the foundation connecting the chapters, which trace the perspectives of influential thinkers such as Rabbis Zvi Yehuda Kook, Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, and Eliezer Berkowitz, as well as figures like Rabbi David Hartman and Eliezer Goldman.

Through a combination of philosophical and theological inquiry alongside historical and conceptual analysis, the book creates a rich mosaic of religious thought in the modern era. It also examines the responses of leaders and activists to the enduring question of evil in the shadow of Auschwitz.

A new collection of thought-provoking essays explores the impact of questions of culture and history across the Anglican Communion. 

Edited by Michael Battle, an Anglican thought leader and innovator, Conversations in Global Anglican Theology: Culture, the second book in this new series, appears at a moment in time when culture wars bedevil national and international politics, as well as Christian communities across the globe.
 
Featuring contributions by a diverse group of theologians including Mercy Tabitha Wambui Kamau, Khushnud Azariah, Walter Brownridge, James Tengatenga, Noah Mbano, and Chanmi Byun, this volume addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion. From classical issues such as Christ against Culture, to the possibility of common prayer among diverse cultures, to the problems of ethnocentrism, the conversation on Culture challenges the Western church how to better engage the global one.

As the world seems to be pivoting away from a compassionate global order the voices in this volume shy away from the typical tropes of peace on earth and instead present the practical steps needed to first practice and resemble a communion of churches.

Platforming non-Western theologians, the Conversations in Global Anglican Theology series addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion, featuring thought-provoking essays by established and emerging scholars.

Die Forschungsschwerpunkte von Ludwig Schmugge, seit 1979 Ordinarius für mittelalterliche Geschichte an der Universität Zürich und Herausgeber des »Repertorium Poenitentiariae Germanicum«, bilden den Rahmen dieser Festschrift, die ihm Schüler und Freunde zu seinem 65. Geburtstag widmen. Seinem Beispiel folgend, daß interessante Quellen es verdienen ediert zu werden, veröffentlichen zahlreiche Autoren in ihren Beiträgen bisher unbekannte einschlägige Quellen zur Geschichte des Papsttums, des mittelalterlichen Pilgerwesens und der päpstlichen Pönitentiarie.

This edition offers a newly worked critical edition of the text of the Liber ad Renatum monachum, a didactic letter written in the 1st quarter of the 5th century on the correct lifestyle for monks. The letter is rhetorically ambitious and linguistically polished, combining satire, theology, and parainesis in the style of Hieronymus.

The papers in this volume revolve around the history of the influence exerted by the person of Moses and the traditions associated with him. They deal not only with the function of the figure of Moses in the Pentateuch, the salvation in the Red Sea and the final day of Moses’ life, but also with the way Moses was received in the Deuteronomic history, the Psalms, the Book of Jeremiah, the Septuagint, in Qumran, early Jewish extra-biblical literature, the New Testament and the Early Church.

It is crucial today to understand how religions can exist harmoniously in a shared environment, whether local or global. A reasoned approach to this question was sought by participants at a stimulating conference of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) in a predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia. Themes treated include the relation between theoretical approaches and religious viewpoints, practical problems and conflict resolution at the local level, and religious education with special reference to the role of Muslim schools (pesantren) in Indonesia.

In biblical as well as in non-biblical texts war is a widespread theme often embedded in a narrative framework. In this volume that contains the proceedings of a conference in Kerkrade (Netherlands) in July 2009, a whole series of war narratives has been analyzed, such as 1 Maccabees, Ben Sira, the Book of Judith, the Book of Chronicles, Esther. Special attention is paid to the Scrolls of War from Qumran, to the concepts of Holy War and Divine Warrior, to Josephus and to war and peace in the Book of Psalms.
Visions of peace are discussed in contributions that give attention to the Idea of Peace in Antiquity, to peace in Jewish Prayer, to the collocation ‛covenant of peace’, as well as to specific passages in the books of Micha and Isaiah, and in the Gospel of Matthew.

Alttestamentliche Texte zum Sabbat, zur hauswirtschaftlichen Verwertung von Tieren und zum Rechtsleben werden auf Spuren von Profanität und Sakralisierung hin untersucht. Die Quellen lassen nicht erkennen, ob die Profanität der betrachteten Lebensbereiche das Ergebnis eines Säkularisierungsprozesses ist. Sie zeigen den Kult jedoch eher auf dem Vormarsch: Die Kultgemeinde bietet ihre spezifischen Möglichkeiten für die Erhaltung schützenswerter Sitten und Gebräuche sowie die Herstellung des Rechtsfriedens an.

Well-known scholars in the study of religions bring up to date and elucidate the discussion on the three most debated approaches in comparative religion, namely, the hermeneutical approach, the explanatory or cognitivist approach, and the critical approach. The approaches and methods of studying religion are disputed in an outspoken and challenging way, critically and radically arguing pros and cons. This work is unique, unrivalled, and full of essential insights into the dialogue of today and of the challenges of tomorrow.

Das "Testament Salomos" liegt hier erstmals zur Gänze in deutscher Übersetzung der bislang maßgeblichen Textedition von McCown - unter konsequenter Berücksichtigung der griechischen Textvarianten - vor. Die ausführliche religionsgeschichtliche Kommentierung und Einleitung präsentieren es nicht als jüdische Schrift mit christlicher Überarbeitung, sondern als genuin christliche Schrift aus dem 4. Jahrhundert, womöglich als die erste christliche Dämonologie überhaupt.

Two major texts of Justin Martyr are now available in one volume (reprint of 1994/1997 editions):
Iustini Martyrs’ Apologiae pro Christianis, a critical edition of Justin Martyrs’ Apologia Maior and Apologia Minor (approx. A.D. 150), consisting of an introduction, Greek text (with double apparatus), Appendix, and a complete Index verborum.
Iustini Martyrs’ Dialogus cum Tryphone, a critical edition of Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, consisting of an introduction, Greek text (with double apparatus), and an Index locorum and Index nominum.

Jewish religion, Greek philosophy and Islamic thought mold the philosophy and theology of Maimonides and characterize his work as an excellent example of the fruitful transfer of culture in the Middle Ages. The authors show various aspects of this cultural cross-fertilization, despite religious and ethnic differences. The studies prompt thoughts on a question which is important for the present and the future: How may the different religions, cultures and concepts of knowledge continue to be conveyed in synthesis?

The volume publishes the lectures given at the July 2004 international congress at the occasion of the 800th anniversary of Maimonides’ death.

Der Band versammelt Beiträge des Kongresses zum 200. Todestag Herders, der im Dezember 2003 in Weimar als gemeinsames Projekt der Stiftung Weimarer Klassik und Kunstsammlungen und des Sonderforschungsbereichs 482 „Ereignis Weimar – Jena. Kultur um 1800“ stattfand. Die Beiträge stellen unter interdisziplinären Gesichtspunkten (Germanistik, Geschichte, Pädagogik, Philosophie, Romanistik, Theologie) das theologische Schaffen Herders in den Mittelpunkt. Das Themenspektrum reicht dabei von seiner exegetischen Arbeit über die Pantheismusfrage bis hin zu Herders Tätigkeit im Kirchen- und Schulwesen Weimars.

Pluspunkte

• Umfassende Würdigung des theologischen Werks Herders
• Interdisziplinäre Perspektive
• Von Interesse für die Fachgebiete Theologie, Germanistik und Geschichte

The study assesses the main issues in the current debate about the early history of Pesach and Easter and provides new insights into the development of these two festivals. The author argues that the prescriptions of Exodus 12 provide the celebration of the Pesach in Jerusalem with an etiological background in order to connect the pilgrim festival with the story of the Exodus. The thesis that the Christian Easter evolved as a festival against a Jewish form of celebrating Pesach in the second century and that the development of Easter Sunday is dependent upon this custom is endorsed by the author’s close study of relevant texts such as the Haggada of Pesach; the “Poem of the four nights” in the Palestinian Targum Tradition; the structure of the Easter vigil.

Als Beitrag zur Wiederentdeckung der Theologie Ernst Lohmeyers (1890-1946) untersucht diese Monographie die Verbindung von Philosophie und Theologie in Lohmeyers Denken.

Philosophisch orientiert sich Lohmeyer an der Erkenntnistheorie Richard Hönigswalds. Die historische Frage nach neutestamentlichen Inhalten ist für Lohmeyer untrennbar verbunden mit ihrer sachlichen Begründung. So interpretiert er zum Beispiel die mythische Ausdrucksweise des Neuen Testaments, indem er nach den Gründen dieser historisch bedingten Sprache fragt. Damit stellt sein Denken sowohl eine Alternative zur rein historisch-kritischen Forschung wie auch zur existentialen Interpretation der Bultmann-Schule dar.

Much of the primary research summarized here relates to Cambridge Genizah manuscripts, a thousand-year-old source that testifies to liturgical (as well, of course, as non-liturgical) developments that greatly predate other source material. When the research is concerned with pre-Genizah history, the Genizah evidence is also relevant since the historian of religious ideas must ultimately decide how to date, characterize, and conceptualize its contents and how to explain where they vary significantly from what became, or is regarded (rightly or wrongly) as having become, the standard rabbinic liturgy sanctioned by the Iraqi Jewish authorities from the ninth to the eleventh century.

Die Studie unterzieht das gesamte Hoseabuch einer redaktionsgeschichtlichen Analyse und kommt, ausgehend von einem Kern in Hos 4-9, zu dem Ergebnis, dass es erst sukzessive zu seiner heutigen Gestalt angewachsen ist. Die Geschichtsrückblicke ab Hos 9,10 und die biographischen Symbolhandlungen in Hos 1 und 3 gehören demnach späteren Redaktionsschichten an. So wird ein literatur- und theologiegeschichtlicher Bogen von den Anfängen prophetischer Überlieferung im 8. Jh. v. Chr. bis hin zu ihrer Rezeption in Qumran geschlagen.

This collection of essays analyzes ‛tradition’ as a category in the historical and comparative study of religion. The book questions the common assumption that tradition is simply the “passing down” or imitation of prior practices and discourses. It begins from the premise that many traditions are, at least in part, social fabrications, often deliberately serving particular ideological ends. Individual chapters examine a wide variety of historical periods and religions (Congolese, Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Cree, Esoteric, Hawaiian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, New Religious Movement, and Shinto). Different sections of the book consider tradition's relation to three sets of issues: legitimation and authority; agency and identity; modernity and the West.

The world chronicle of Jo(h)annes Antiochenus is a decisive source in the development of Christian universal historiography and world chronicles in the Christian Orient. It stretches from Adam to the beginning of the reign of Heraclius (610). The author was an educated official in the imperial administration in Constantinople. The chronicle was written in the context of the cultural and political debate about the renewal of the Emperorship after the deposition of the tyrant Phokas (October 610); the model is provided by the political structure of the Roman republic.

In this volume, the chronicle has been made available for the first time in a modern edition (with an Italian translation) and with a detailed introduction. The edition of the fragments includes new texts on Greek prehistory, Roman history, the chronology of biblical and Greek history, and the history, topography, and archaeology of Constantinople.

Der Autor bietet eine Studie zur seinsgeschichtlichen Entfaltung der christlichen Zentralbotschaft von der Liebe Gottes. Ausgehend vom Begriff der „Agape“ wird die kirchliche Wirklichkeit in ihrer Spannung zwischen Ganz-Sein und Seins-Krise erschlossen. Indem dabei die Möglichkeiten der Agape voll ausgelotet werden, lässt der Autor die Vision der originalen christlichen Seins-Alternative wieder aufleben. Als die Versöhnungsbereitschaft Gottes weist die Gottesliebe insbesondere der Ökumene einen verheißungsvollen Weg und lässt erkennen, wie das Christentum zu neuer Glaubhaftigkeit und Zukunftsfähigkeit finden kann.

This volume examines the specific role of horoscopic astrology in Western culture from antiquity to the nineteenth century. Focusing on the public appearance of astrological rhetoric, the essays break new ground for a better understanding of the function of horoscopes in public discourse. The volume's three parts address the use of imperial horoscopes in late antiquity, the transformation of doctrines and rhetorics in Islamic medieval contexts, and the important status of astrology in early modern Europe. The combination of in-depth historical studies and methodological considerations results in an important contribution to religious and cultural studies.

Finanzierung und Unterhalt von Kulten, Verwaltung von Heiligtümern und Ausdrucksformen von Religiosität sind wichtige Aspekte zum Verständnis der Organisation menschlicher Gemeinschaften in der Antike. Die Autorin untersucht unter anderem den Umfang an Landbesitz von Heiligtümern, die landwirtschaftliche Nutzung des Landes, Einnahmemöglichkeiten aus Verpachtung, Vorschriften zum Schutz von 'heiligem Land' sowie möglichen Wandel von Religiosität im Umgang mit Besitz der Götter (7. - 4. Jh. v. Chr.).

The commentary that Moses ibn Tibbon (approx. 1195 - 1275) wrote on the Song of Solomon serves in this book as an example of the interlacing between Judaic-Arabic philosophy and Judaism’s traditional interpretation of hymns of praise. The authentic text is first established through philological manuscript analysis, a step that allows the true contour of Moses ibn Tibbon’s philosophy to emerge. He sought to render an exoteric materialist reinterpretation of the esoteric-metaphysical philosophy of Maimonides. This attempt not only aimed at a democratization of knowledge in medieval Jewish society but also led Moses ibn Tibbon to a philosophy of language that based the cognitive act on the aesthetic experience of the reader.

Der Apostel Paulus hat mit seinen Briefen nicht nur Theologie vermittelt, sondern auch persönliche Beziehungen zu den angeschriebenen Gemeinden gepflegt. Die Studie untersucht, wie die Briefe die bleibende Bedeutung des Paulus, so sie nicht bereits mit dem Apostolat gegeben war, für die Gemeinden entwerfen und sichern. Dies geschieht vor allem durch Metaphern. Im Mittelpunkt der Studie stehen Eltern-Kind-Metaphern (1 Thess 2; 1 Kor 4; Gal 4), mit denen Paulus seine "Kinder" in besonderer Weise an sich binden will.

This monograph explores the theology of the Acts of the Apostles while taking seriously the status of the writing as ancient historiography: What does it mean to speak of theology in a historiographical work? How can this theology be apprehended? What does this theology have to do with the overall character of the writing and with how the writing functioned for its original audience? Acts 19 is both, case study and source to generate the answers.

This work uses anthropological theory and field studies to investigate the social function and meaning of sacrifice. All rituals, including sacrifice, communicate social beliefs and morality, but these cannot be determined outside of a study of the social context. Thus, there is no single explanation for sacrifice - such as those advanced by René Girard or Walter Burkert or late-19^th and early-20^th century scholars. The book then examines four different writings in the Hebrew Bible - the Priestly Writing, the Deuteronomistic History, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles - to demonstrate how different social origins result in different social meanings of sacrifice.

The Hebrew Bible portrays King Manasseh and child sacrifice as the most reprehensible person and the most objectionable practice within the story of 'Israel'. This monograph suggests that historically, neither were as deviant as the Hebrew Bible appears to insist. Through careful historical reconstruction, it is argued that Manasseh was one of Judah's most successful monarchs, and child sacrifice played a central role in ancient Judahite religious practice. The biblical writers, motivated by ideological concerns, have thus deliberately distorted the truth about Manasseh and child sacrifice.

This study explores the interplay between the commendation of enjoyment and the injunction to fear God in Ecclesiastes. Previous studies have tended to examine these seemingly antithetical themes in isolation from one another. Seeing enjoyment and fear to be positively correlated, however, enables a fresh articulation of the book’s theology. Enjoyment of life lies at the heart of Qohelet’s vision of piety, which may be characterized as faithful realism, calling for an authentic engagement with both the tragic and joyous dimensions of human existence.

Winner of the 2007 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise

In Abgrenzung zur romantischen Ästhetik der Originalität geht die Analyse des Textes von Gen 26 und seinen Kotexten von einer Ästhetik der Wertschätzung von Wiederholungen und "Doppelungen" aus. Nach der Vorstellung des rezeptionsästhetischen Auslegungskonzeptes wird der Lektüreprozess von Gen 12,10-20; Gen 20 und Gen 26 rekonstruiert, wobei nicht nur die christliche Sekundärliteratur, sondern auch jüdische Exegesen intensiv einbezogen werden. Die drei Geschichten von der Gefährdung der Ahnfrau und die beiden Brunnenstreit-Erzählungen werden als jeweils neue Folgen sichtbar, die mit Gen 26 in einer erzähltechnisch anspruchsvollen Friedens- und Segensgeschichte ihren Höhepunkt finden.

Die Interpretation der Vätererzählungen im umfangreichen Corpus Philonicum zeigt exemplarisch: Schriftauslegung konnte formal und intentional in einer komplexen Wechselbeziehung zu spezifischen regionalen, milieubedingten, gesellschaftlichen und religiösen Faktoren im 1. Jh. n. Chr. stehen. Philos drei Werke zum Pentateuch sind ein Ausweis dafür, in welchem Maße hermeneutische Prinzipien bei einem Exegeten konstant bleiben konnten und in welchem Umfang Entwicklungen unterschiedlichen Adressaten gegenüber möglich waren. Solche Ergebnisse bilden Grundlagen, die für spezielle neutestamentliche Fragestellungen fruchtbar gemacht werden müssen.

Die Tübinger Dissertation bietet eine Neubesinnung auf die Thematik der Sünde in Gestalt einer Auseinandersetzung mit Julius Müllers Die christliche Lehre von der Sünde (zuerst erschienen 1839–44). Müllers zweibändiges Werk - nach dem Urteil Karl Barths das "wichtigste literarische Spezialwerk, das der schwierigen Materie ... bis jetzt zugewendet worden ist" - wird hier erstmalig umfassend dargestellt und als eine Theorie der Freiheit interpretiert, die auf die Einsicht in die Unbegreiflichkeit der Sünde zuläuft. Søren Kierkegaard hat "Müllers Lehre von der Sünde sehr hoch geschätzt und aus ihr für seine Bekämpfung Hegels gelernt" (Emanuel Hirsch). Die entsprechenden Tagebuchnotizen über Julius Müller werden im Anhang zum ersten Mal vollständig in deutscher Sprache dokumentiert.

In recent discussions, increasing attention has been focussed on the question of how knowledge and the interpretation of reality come about. This volume presents a collection of papers dealing with this topic from historiological, philosophical and theological perspectives. In this way, a dialogue is conducted which transcends the boundaries of specialist disciplines and places the problem in a broader humanities perspective.

In der jüngeren Forschung haben die beiden klassischen Hypothesen einer Aufstiegsgeschichte Davids und einer Thronfolgeerzählung an Überzeugungskraft verloren. Damit rücken die Texte in II Sam 1-5 verstärkt in den Blick, denen eine Schlüsselstellung für die literarische Genese der Davidüberlieferung zukommt. Die vorliegende Studie ermittelt einen ersten durchlaufenden und noch vorexilischen Darstellungszusammenhang, der im 7. Jh. v. Chr. entstanden ist. Entsprechend erklärt sie das Doppelkönigtum Davids über Israel und Juda als eine protodeuteronomistische Gründungsgeschichte der späten Königszeit. Die Untersuchung schließt mit einer redaktionsgeschichtlichen Skizze der Daviderzählungen im zweiten Samuelbuch und einer Revision der geschichtlichen Zeugnisse.

The hermeneutics employed in this work is partly referred to as hindsight hermeneutics, and upholds the resonance and dissonance between the Epilogue of the Book of Job and the preceding sections. Within the Theophany-epilogue continuum, rebuke and approval, retribution and its suspension, divine transcendence and accessibility are all held together. The dramatically discordant traditions in the preceding section are not interpreted as competing alternatives but as complementary possibilities for understanding the nature of the divine-human relationship and responding to the threat and reality of chaos and suffering.

Eusebs Lexikon der biblischen Ortsnamen ist das grundlegende Handbuch zur historischen Landeskunde des Heiligen Landes diesseits und jenseits des Jordans. In seiner lateinischen Fassung hat es das Abendland stark beeinflusst. Die syrische Fassung hat auf den Orient ähnlich stark gewirkt. Sie enthält die Weiterungen der lateinischen Fassung nicht und ist damit auch für die Textgeschichte der griechischen Fassung von erheblicher Bedeutung. Die syrische Fassung wird hier erstmals in einer interlinearen Form geboten: griechisch und syrisch, samt englischer und deutscher Übersetzung. Für den griechischen und für den syrischen Text sind vollständige Indices der Personennamen, der Wörter, der Zahlen und Entfernungsangaben erstellt.

Pluspunkte:

• Erste kritische Edition des syrischen Textes von Eusebs "Onomastikon".
• Eingehender Vergleich der syrischen mit der griechischen Version.
• Ausführlicher textkritischer Kommentar.
• Mit interlinearer englischer und deutscher Übersetzung.
• Vollständige Konkordanzen zum griechischen und syrischen Text.

Der Autor stellt anhand einer Analyse antiker Vorstellungen und Begriffe vom Lehrer, Schüler und Studenten Ausbildungswege, Bildungsideale und literarische Bildung in hellenistischer Zeit dar. Vor diesem weiten Hintergrund und mit Blick auf die Herkunft des Paulus wird anschließend Paulus’ Bildungsgang diskutiert. Analysen seiner Briefe (besonders 1 Kor 7 und 2 Kor 10 – 13) belegen seine hohe Textkompetenz, so dass eine literarische und rhetorische Bildung vorausgesetzt werden muss.