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Mysticism
This sweeping study of mysticism by Jess Hollenback considers the writings and experiences of a broad range of traditional religious mystics, including Teresa of Avila, Black Elk, and Gopi Krishna. It also makes use of a new category of sources that more traditional scholars have almost entirely ignored, namely, the autobiographies and writings of contemporary clairvoyants, mediums, and out-of-body travelers. This study contributes to the current debate about the contextuality of mysticism by presenting evidence that not only are the mystic's interpretations of and responses to experiences culturally and historically conditioned, but historical context and cultural environment decisively sha...
Recovered Roots
Because new nations need new pasts, they create new ways of commemorating and recasting select historic events. In Recovered Roots, Yael Zerubavel illuminates this dynamic process by examining the construction of Israeli national tradition. In the years leading to the birth of Israel, Zerubavel shows, Zionist settlers in Palestine consciously sought to rewrite Jewish history by reshaping Jewish memory. Zerubavel focuses on the nationalist reinterpretation of the defense of Masada against the Romans in 73 C.E. and the Bar Kokhba revolt of 133-135; and on the transformation of the 1920 defense of a new Jewish settlement in Tel Hai into a national myth. Zerubavel demonstrates how, in each case,...
Birth of God
Jean Bottero, one of the world's leading figures in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, approaches the Bible as an astounding variety of documents that reveal much of their time of origin, historical events, and climates of thought.
The Forgotten Sage
Just after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., there lived a poor and ugly nail-maker who was also, for a time, the leading rabbi of his generation. His name was Joshua ben Hananiah, and he helped give us the Judaism we know--the complicated, word-filled tradition of debates, multiple viewpoints, and endless questions. Through his humanity, humility, and occasional audacity, Joshua helped set Judaism on its course towards becoming the decentralized, multi-opinionated, exile-surviving, other-religion-respecting, pragmatic-yet-altruistic, wounded-yet-hopeful religion that it is at its best. And yet, inside and outside the Jewish community, few people know about him. This book wants ...
Scroll Or the Sword ?
First Published in 1997. The title of this book is derived from an ancient Jewish teaching, attributed to a certain Rabbi Eleazar of Modi'in, who lived in the land of Israel during the third century of the common era. As far as we know, Rabbi Eleazar was the first sage to take homiletic advantage of the alliteration of safra and saifa, Aramaic terms which literally translate (respectively) as 'a scroll' and 'a sword'. A plain reading of this text leaves no doubt that its author intended to project a figurative contrast between two distinct spheres of human endeavour.
Biblical Interpretation
This volume offers a unique approach to the history of biblical interpretation, examining the historical, theological, and philosophical presuppositions of select interpreters in order to tease out the complexity of factors that shape one s engagement with biblical texts. Taking seriously the power of biblical texts to shape and address questions common to all humanity, these essays not only provide a window into how the biblical text was read at specific times and places and but also suggest fruitful ways to read it today. Contributions in both English and German focus on biblical interpretation in Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity, nineteenth-century German philosophy, and contemporary biblical theology. The contributors are Harold Attridge, Wilhelm Gräb, Stephan Grätzel, Garrett Green, Christine Helmer, Bernd Janowski, Maren Niehoff, Joachim Ringleben, Marvin Sweeney, and Karen Torjesen.Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)
Beside Still Waters
A compelling question for people of faith today is how to remain committed to one's own religious tradition while being open to the beauty and truth of other religions. For example, some fear that Buddhism is a threat to Western faith traditions and express grave doubts about interreligious and cross-cultural encounters. Yet, many who have actually broadened their experience profess to have developed a deeper understanding of and a deeper commitment to their tradition of origin. This is what makes Beside Still Waters: Jews, Christians, and the Way of the Buddha such a new and meaningful contribution. Rather than offering research or lectures, Beside Still Waters takes a deeply personal appro...
Faith and the Professions
Thomas L. Shaffer argues that the morals of modern American lawyers and doctors have been corrupted by misguided professionalism and weak philosophy. He shows that professional codes exalt vocational principle over the traditional morals of character; but that, in practice, America's professionals and business people cultivate the ethics of character. The ethics of virtue have been neglected. The ethical argument in Faith and the Professions is in part an application to professional life of the position taken by Alasdair MacIntyre in After Virtue and in Revisions, and by Robert Bellah and his collaborators in Habits of the Heart. It is also, in part, an argument for the relevance of religious ethics.
Holy War in Judaism
Holy war, sanctioned or even commanded by God, is a common and recurring theme in the Hebrew Bible. Rabbinic Judaism, however, largely avoided discussion of holy war in the Talmud and related literatures for the simple reason that it became dangerous and self-destructive. Reuven Firestone's Holy War in Judaism is the first book to consider how the concept of ''holy war'' disappeared from Jewish thought for almost 2000 years, only to reemerge with renewed vigor in modern times. The revival of the holy war idea occurred with the rise of Zionism. As the necessity of organized Jewish engagement in military actions developed, Orthodox Jews faced a dilemma. There was great need for all to engage i...
