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Empirical theology in texts and tables : qualitative, quantitative and comparative perspectives /
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Empirical theology offers fresh and stimulating insights into the concerns of both the Church and the Academy. It does this by accessing relevant empirical evidence using the tools of the social sciences, and placing this evidence in the context of theological critique and contemporary debate. In this pioneering collection of focused essays, leading experts of empirical theology illustrate key perspectives within this rapidly expanding discipline. The first section of the book explores theoretical issues underpinning the main methods of obtaining empirical data, and the use of these data within theology. The other two sections display the role both of qualitative studies, and of the analysis of quantitative data, in exploring a range of theological beliefs and religious, social and educational concerns.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047442394 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Theologies in conflict in 4 Ezra : wisdom, debate, and apocalyptic solution /
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Recent scholarship on 4 Ezra has taken two divergent approaches, the first reading the dialogues between Ezra and Uriel as a reflection of theological debates in the author's time, and the second focusing on the psychological development of the protagonist. Combining the two approaches, this book offers a new interpretation of the dialogues as a literary representation of a debate between covenantal and eschatological wisdom, two branches of Jewish wisdom that emerged in the late Second Temple period. The inconclusive quality of the dialogues indicates the author's dissatisfaction with Uriel's attempt at a rational theodicy. Ezra's subsequent transformation points to the symbolic visions as the locus of the author's apocalyptic solution to the intractable theological problems raised in the dialogues.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [237]-252) and indexes. :
9789047441809 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A Companion to Comparative Theology /
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A Companion to Comparative Theology offers a unique survey of a rapidly developing field of modern theology in 32 chapters coordinated by five editors. Its first part discusses some of the main historical developments in theology and religious studies before 1985 that are relevant for understanding contemporary approaches in comparative theology. The main part of the companion traces developments in five specific areas of comparative research, starting with classical approaches by Christian comparative theologians, and continuing with responses by scholars from Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and Chinese religious comparative perspectives. The final part of the companion highlights a number of new avenues in comparative theology, discussing new methods, new forms of awareness, new partnerships with other fields of study, and finally some preliminary conclusions. Contributors are: Nadeen Mustafa A Alsulaimi, María Enid Barga, Bede Benjamin Bidlack, André van der Braak, Francis X. Clooney, Catherine Cornille, Jonathan Edelmann, Marianne Farina, James L. Fredericks, Rouyan Gu, Paul Hedges, Holly Hilgardner, Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Louis Komjathy, Christian S. Krokus, LAI, Pan-chiu, Kristin Johnston Largen, John Makransky, Jerry L. Martin, Vahid Mahdavi Mehr, Marianne Moyaert, Emmanuel Nathan, Robert Cummings Neville, Hugh Nicholson, Jerusha Tanner Rhodes, Devorah Schoenfeld, Klaus von Stosch, Axel Marc Oaks Takacs, Pim Valkenberg, Maureen L. Walsh, Kijin James Wu
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1 online resource :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004388390
9789004388383
Religion, politics and law : philosophical reflections on the sources of normative order in society /
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Modern, liberal democracies in the West living under the rule of law and protection of human rights cannot articulate the very values from which they derive their legitimacy. These pre-political and pre-legal preconditions cannot be guaranteed, let alone be enforced by the state, but constitute nevertheless its moral and spiritual infrastructure. Until recently, a common background and horizon consisted in Christianity, but due to secularisation and globalisation, society has become increasingly multicultural and multireligious. The question can and should be raised how religion relates to these sources of normative order in society, how religion, politics and law relate to each other, and how social cohesion can be attained in society, given the growing varieties of religious experiences. In this book, a philosophical account of this question is carried out, on the one hand historically from Plato to the Enlightenment, on the other hand systematically and practically.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047425380 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Fragile identities : towards a theology of interreligious hospitality /
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Interreligious dialogue is one of the major challenges confronting contemporary theology. In particular, the so-called "dialogical tension" between openness and identity has been a central issue: Can one maintain one's religious identity without closing oneself off from the other? In general, Christian reflection on interreligious dialogue begins with a theological reflection on religious plurality that assumes that one cannot engage seriously in interreligious dialogue without a sound theology of religions. In this book Marianne Moyaert critically assesses the various models for a Christian theology of religions (exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism, particularism) by asking how these models relate to the dialogical tension between openness and identity. She argues that we need to overcome the classical theological approach of religious plurality and move in the direction of a theological hermeneutics of interreligious hospitality. To that end she turns to the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur, whose philosophical and hermeneutical insights can give a new turn to the discussion of the criteria, possibilities, and particularly the limits of interreligious dialogue.
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"A different version of chapter six (201-19) originally appeared in Horizons: the journal fo the College Theology Society 36 (2009) ... and a shorter version of chapter six (219-32) in Exchange: journal of missiological and ecumenical research 37 (2008)"--Title page verso. :
1 online resource (352 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 315-339) and indexes. :
9789042032804 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Positive peace : reflections on peace education, nonviolence, and social change /
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Positive Peace is a scholarly and creative compilation of articles on peace education, nonviolence and social change. Arun Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) sets the scene in his introduction with the challenge that positive peace is both a resisting of the physical violence of war and the passive violence of the psychological structures that lead to conflict. Peace education rises to meet that challenge. In twelve chapters, philosophers and educators look at a variety of topics from Gandhian nonviolence, to pragmatic conflict solving; hope and the ethics of belief, to the way we use violent language; mothering and peace activism, to multiculturalism and peace. Recurring themes are: pragmatic nonviolence, the ethics of care as an antidote to violence, and hope in a violent world. Chapters on the use of film in peace education, song and nonviolent activism, and teaching art history and peace, demonstrate pragmatic possibilities for would-be peace educators. Arun Gandhi in his introduction asks, "For generations human beings have strived to attain peace, but with little or no success. ... Why is peace so illusive? Is it unattainable? Are humans incapable of living in peace?" This book suggests that peace education has a large part to play. It is an important attempt to begin to meet the challenge.
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1 online resource (xxii, 183 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789042029927 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
African and European readers of the Bible in dialogue : in quest of a shared meaning /
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Far too long, the relationship between European and African biblical scholarship has been a non-relationship. Divergent insights into how biblical texts should be interpreted and made fruitful for the current context, cultural differences, colonial past and post-colonial future, radically different social situations - this all made companionship and real interaction difficult. This rich and multilayered volume (result of a Stellenbosch conference 2006) attempts to disclose new modes of dialogue between readers of the Bible from those two worlds. More than twenty theologians from Africa and Europe reflect together on how readers from radically different contexts - professional and ordinary alike -, may become allies in an ethically accountable way of relating the biblical text to their current (global) situations and how a process of mutual learning may be established. This book provides important insights in intercultural hermeneutics, the relationship between classical historico-literary approaches and new forms of interpretation. It also gives examples of new forms of how to read the Bible in the secularised European context and the HIV/Aids stricken Africa. Particularly enriching is that every contribution is followed by a personal letter of response of another contributor to the book, giving impulses for further dialogue and debate. The book is useful for all biblical scholars and students, in particular for those interested in how to do contextual exegesis in a manner that also takes into account the context of the other.
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Result of a conference held in Stellenbosch, South Africa in January 2006. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047442400 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Christ who Embraces : An Orthodox Theology of Margins /
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Jacob Joseph's book, The Christ who Embraces: An Orthodox Theology of Margins , explores the intersection of Orthodox Christian mission and caste dynamics among St. Thomas/Syrian/Orthodox Christians in India. It defines a liturgical touch or embrace in the context of 'untouchability,' where people identify as equal without discrimination, reflecting the inseparable unity of Christ's transcendental (divine) and immanent (human) nature. See Less
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1 online resource (231 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004703629
Faith in African lived Christianity : bridging anthropological and theological perspectives /
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Faith in African Lived Christianity - Bridging Anthropological and Theological Perspectives offers a comprehensive, empirically rich and interdisciplinary approach to the study of faith in African Christianity. The book brings together anthropology and theology in the study of how faith and religious experiences shape the understanding of social life in Africa. The volume is a collection of chapters by prominent Africanist theologians, anthropologists and social scientists, who take people's faith as their starting point and analyze it in a contextually sensitive way. It covers discussions of positionality in the study of African Christianity, interdisciplinary methods and approaches and a number of case studies on political, social and ecological aspects of African Christian spirituality.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004412255
The embattled but empowered community : comparing understandings of spiritual power in Argentine popular and pentecostal cosmologies /
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The global phenomenon of Pentecostal growth continues to interest scholars, particularly its local manifestations. Although previous explanations may have noted the connections between the cultural substrata and local Pentecostal practices, this book concentrates on seeking out the connections. Using both extensive field research and reflection on Latin American scholarship, the author proposes that a major link exists at the level of worldview assumptions, particularly in understandings of spiritual power. The book concludes with a reflection on the implications a conversion based on the search for spiritual power has for the future of the evangelical church in Latin America.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047440659 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Philosophy of religion and the African American experience : conversations with my Christian friends /
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Most white philosophers of religion generally presume that philosophy of religion is based on what is a false universality; whereby the white/Western experience is paradigmatic of humanity at-large. The fact remains that Howard Thurman, James H. Cone and William R. Jones, among others, have produced a substantial amount of theological work quite worthy of consideration by philosophers of religion. Yet this corpus of thought is not reflected in the scholarly literature that constitutes the main body of philosophy of religion. Neglect and ignorance of African American Studies is widespread in the academy. By including chapters on Thurman, Cone and Jones, the present book functions as a corrective to this scholarly lacuna.
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1 online resource (viii, 403 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 377-400) and index. :
9789004332218 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Bible and poverty in Kenya : an empirical exploration /
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Many strategies have been formulated to reduce poverty, the most recent being the need to include the poor as co-agents in the development process. Culture, understood as commonly shared values, then becomes an important element in poverty alleviation. Likewise religion becomes an important element of culture when the values of that religion are considered as widespread in the society. Additionally, political and economic factors are equally important for poverty alleviation. This work is centered on a conceptual model postulating that cultural attitudes influence attitudes towards ends of poverty alleviation directly and indirectly through political and economic attitudes. The study maps out the paths of influence of cultural (religious values), political and economic attitudes on those towards ends of poverty alleviation.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-208) and index. :
9789047432692 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Discourse in ritual studies /
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Discourse in Ritual Studies invites you to enter a conversation on the topic of liturgy from the perspective of ritual studies. Since liturgical topics are not among the most frequently addressed issues in ritual studies, this volume supplies a need for studies of public worship that take into account the multidisciplinary and innovative research in ritual studies while dealing with basic issues of religious studies and theology. The contributing authors share an action-oriented and empirical interest in ritual studies while not losing sight of perennial and normative questions that characterize the study of liturgy. Thus, a valuable discourse unfolds that opens up new opportunities for worship research in ritual studies. Contributers are: Johannes van der Ven, Ronald Grimes, Chris Hermans, Jacques Janssen, Jean-Pierre Wils, Georg Essen, Aad de Jong, Thomas Quartier, Remco Robinson, Lieve Gommers, Irene Houwer, and Hans Schilderman.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047429524 :
1389-1189 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Human rights or religious rules? /
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The relation between religion and human rights is a contested one, as they appear to compete with one another. Religion is often considered to represent a tradition of heteronomy and subordination in premodern times. Human rights emerged from early modern and modern times and stand for principles like human dignity, autonomy, equality. The first question in this book is how to define religion, its meaning, functions and structures, and how to study it. The second question is how to understand religion from its relation with human rights in such a way that justice is done to both religion and human rights. These questions are dealt with using a historical and systematic approach. The third question is what the impact of religion might be on attitudes towards human rights, id est human rights culture. For an answer, empirical research is reported among about 1000 students, Christians, Muslims, and nonreligious, at the end of secondary and the beginning of tertiary education in the Netherlands.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004188860 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Encounters of the children of Abraham from ancient to modern times /
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Christianity, Judaism and Islam - the Children of Abraham - constitute the spiritual foundations of Western civilization. They affect the interactions of entire nations and individuals, though their history is often understood as one of conflict and controversy. The present volume documents past encounters and confrontations, though it also shows that the history of the three faiths is not merely one of conflict but also one of co-existence and dialogue. The rich shared theological traditions of the Abrahamic religions provide positive encouragement to present-day meetings between their followers. The book contains 16 contributions by scholars from various fields of religious studies. It should appeal to everyone interested in interreligious encounters.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004188501 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Salvation is from the Jews : The Image of Jews and Judaism in Biblical Interpretation, from Anti-Jewish Exegesis to Eliminationist Antisemitism /
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"Unheil," curse, disaster: according to German scholar Gerhard Kittel, this is the Jewish destiny attested to in scripture. Such interpretaions of biblical texts provided Adolf Hitler with the theological legitimatization necessary to realizing his "final solution." But theological antisemitism did not begin with the Third Reich. Ferdinand Baur's nineteenth-century Judaism-Hellenism dichotomy empowered National Socialist scholars to construct an Aryan Jesus cleansed of his Jewish identity, building on Baur's Enlightenment prejudices. Anders Gerdmar takes a fresh look at the dangers of the politicization of biblical scholarship and the ways our unrecognized interpretive filters may generate someone else's apocalypse.
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1 online resource (354 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004530140
Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 32 : Lesser Heard Voices in Studies of Religion /
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The present volume brings together scholars from all over the world in an open section and three special sections that explore how lesser-heard and unheard voices may be studied. Special section 1, Religion in Higher Education interrogates lived experiences of religion in higher education contexts and how certain voices are marginalised and minoritised. Special section 2, Cultural Blindness in Psychology, explores how culture as a lived experience, especially in its religious dimension, is rendered invisible in psychological science. Finally, special section 3 entitled Religious Authority in Practice in Contemporary Evangelical, Charismatic, and Pentecostal Christianity outlines "evangelicalism" and introduces "authority" as a sociological concept from various theoretical perspectives.
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The present volume explores lesser-heard and unheard issues in the study of religion. Among other things, lived experiences of religion in higher education are interrogated; culture is studied as lived experience; and "evangelicalism" is outlined as an emic and etic concept. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004505315
9789004505308
Artists and intellectuals and the requests of power /
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A much discussed question in classical studies is the comparison between the situation of poets in Augustan Rome and that of artists and intellectuals in the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. As instructive as this question proves to be for an understanding of the relation between the freedom of art and thinking on the one hand and power on the other, it also reveals the insufficiency of our present grasp of this crucial articulation of our humanity. This volume offers a multidisciplinary and comparative approach to the problem, complementing the historical perspective with a regard on Eastern traditions. It thus explores tentative paths for future research on an issue of critical importance for the shaping of the global world.
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Papers given at the workshop 'Artists and Intellectuals and the Requests of Power', held from 26 to 29 July 2007 at the Accademia di studi italo-tedeschi. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047425601 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic ministry : informing a dialogue on gender, church, and ministry /
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Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic Ministry: Informing a Dialogue on Gender, Church, and Ministry , co-edited by Margaret English de Alminana and Lois E. Olena, concerns women and Pentecostalism. It introduces the way the Pentecostal/charismatic movement has been shaped by and has shaped women from its beginning and offers a wide variety of responses to the opportunities and limitations women have experienced in their commitment to religious service. Scholars, activists, leaders, and exemplars from a variety of disciplines reflect on the question: How have women responded to a religious context that has depended upon their gifts while, at the same time, limited their voices and perspectives? This volume offers missing and/or silent voices an important corrective and a way forward to shape gender-focused discussions. Contributors are: Estrelda Yvonne Alexander, Peter Althouse, Linda M. Ambrose, Melissa L. Archer, Amy C. Artman, Denise A. Austin, Kate Bowler, Barbara Cavaness-Parks, Loralie Robinson Crabtree, Naomi Dowdy, Margaret English de Alminana, Beth (A. Elizabeth) Grant, Jacqueline Grey, Mimi R. Haddad, Jennifer A. Miskov, Stephanie L. Nance, Lois E. Olena, Ava Kate Oleson, Joy E. A. Qualls, and Zachary Michael Tackett.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004332546 :
1876-2247 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
From a virgin womb : the Apocalypse of Adam and the virgin birth /
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Scholarly researches on the virgin birth have often focussed rather narrowly on the theological and historical difficulties it tends to raise. The Nag Hammadi Apocalypse of Adam, however, provides for the first time a glimpse into the wider background of ideas and myths to which it belonged. Prophecies there concerning a universal 'Illuminator' mention his birth 'from a virgin womb'. Several of the stories, drawn from Iranian and other sources , also appear in apocalyptic and testamental literature contemporary with Christian origins. The book centrally analyses a body of extraordinarily detailed narrative parallels between a cluster of stories in the Apocalypse and the infancy narratives of Mt. 1-2, concluding that these stories serve to identify Jesus as the True Prophet who is the fulfilment of history - though not as Son of God. The question of Mt.'s special tradition and its relation to Lk. is also cast in a new light.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [211]-217) and index. :
9789047423577 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.