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Given the significance of spiritual direction in modern Christianity, surprisingly little attention has been given to the tradition upon which today s spiritual direction is built. This book delinates the history of spiritual direction for women and by women within the larger context of the history of Christian spirituality and its understanding of human perfectibility. By examining the ways in which women practiced spiritual direction, this study reveals the degree to which women influenced society by using an avenue of influence previously overlooked by scholars.
In her Women and the Religious Life in Premodern Europe, Patricia Ranft synthesizes the most recent research on women religious in chronological order and places these women in the center of the narrative. Starting with the fourth century birth of monasticism and continuing until the seventeenth century birth of the active congregation, Ranft's book puts to rest any lingering doubts about the pivotal role women have played in the development of Western culture and the Roman church. Written with both the scholar and student in mind, this is a long-awaited work that fills a gap in the history of western civilization, in the history of women, and in the history of the church.
This text challenges the assumption in contemporary discourse that Christianity is exclusively misogynist by documenting the presence of a long, strong, and positive tradition based on women's spiritual equality. In chronological order, references and images of women in church writings and lay culture are explored, as well as the actual lives of women and their vitae. Ranft shows how the accumulated evidence provides data that this positive tradition co-existed with the misogynist tradition.
This book introduces students to Christian mysticism and modern critical responses to it. Christianity has a rich tradition of mystical theology that first emerged in the writings of the early church fathers, and flourished during the Middle Ages. Today Christian mysticism is increasingly recognised as an important Christian heritage relevant to today's spiritual seekers. The book sets out to provide students and other interested readers with access to the main theoretical approaches to Christian mysticism – including those propounded by William James, Steven Katz, Bernard McGinn, Michael Sells, Denys Turner and Caroline Walker-Bynum. It also explores postmodern re-readings of Christian my...
This volume addresses Jewish, Christian and Muslim future visions on the end of the world, focusing on the respective allies and antagonists for each religious society. Spanning late Antiquity to the early modern period, the collected papers examine distinctive aspects represented by each religion’s approach as well as shared concepts.
The tenth-century Old English lament and twentieth-century blues song each speak the language of a distinct poetic tradition, yet the voices are remarkably similar in their emotive expression of loneliness. This innovative study juxtaposes the texts of each corpus to explore the features that characterize their vocal poetics
In Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women’s Life Writing, Claire E. Wolfteich presents a series of case studies in Christian spirituality, bringing mothers’ autobiographical writing into focus for theological reflection. From the medieval mystic Margery Kempe to the twentieth-century activist Dorothy Day, from African American preacher Jarena Lee to labor organizer Dolores Huerta, the book mines women’s first-person writing, surfacing critical issues for theological analysis. Listening deeply to these diverse maternal voices, the book advances creative theological reflection on work, vocation, time poverty, Sabbath, and spiritual guidance. Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women’s Life Writing demonstrates the significance of the study of mothering for theology and spirituality studies and the import of life writing as an underutilized source for practical theology.
In 100 A.D., Christianity was practiced only by a small, oppressed minority. Three hundred years later, Christianity had become one of the world's major religions. But this change did not happen easily. The imperial government of Rome, intellectual tradition and battles within the church itself influenced the transformation. Every viewpoint had its champions and opponents and whether they were "defenders of the faith" or those whom history later labeled heretics, they were part of the early evolution of Christianity. This volume discusses more than 50 figures who played a role in the transformation from primitive Christianity to early Medieval Catholicism. As it examines the lives and influence of imperial rulers such as Constantine, proponents of the intellectual tradition including Gregory of Neocaesaria and Julius Africanus, and early Bible translators such as Tatian, Origen and Jerome, the work provides a fascinating look at Christian history.
In recent years scholars have increasingly challenged and reassessed the once established concept of the 'crisis of the nobility' in early-modern Europe. Offering a range of case studies from countries across Europe this collection further expands our understanding of just how the nobility adapted to the rapidly changing social, political, religious and cultural circumstances around them. By allowing readers to compare and contrast a variety of case studies across a range of national and disciplinary boundaries, a fuller - if more complex - picture emerges of the strategies and actions employed by nobles to retain their influence and wealth. The nobility exploited Renaissance science and edu...
Sport and the Emancipation of European Women: the Struggle for Self-fulfilment explores the contributions of European women to the emancipation of women worldwide. It expands understanding of the need for their attitudes and actions and celebrates their achievements in freeing the female body from unwarranted political, cultural and social restraint in the courageous pursuit of the Enlightenment 's ' secular value system: ‘the unity of mankind and basic personal freedoms and {a} world of tolerance, knowledge, education and opportunity' (from Roy Porter, Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World, 2004). The Collection records the pulling down of European barriers via sport...