Creativity as Sacrifice


Book Description

Theological interest in art is at a premium. However, theological engagement with art is often enacted without a clear sense of method. This text argues for a theological methodology in engaging the arts, and, specifically, the author puts forward a theological model for understanding human creativity in the light of Jesus’ sacrificial redemption. In dialogue with theology, philosophy, psychology, and art theory, the author establishes the relevance and applicability of an incarnational and sacrificial model of human creativity. Theological models also do more than provide a conceptual framework for theological inquiries. They engage the imagination. A theological model for human creativity is like an invitation to join in the creative vision God has for the world, and to embody this vision in one’s own creative work. Therefore, Creativity as Sacrifice does not merely articulate a conceptual framework for human creativity; it also casts a vision for human life as a creative response to the gracious gifts of a creative God.




The Art of Sacrifice in Chess


Book Description

The 21st Century Edition of Spielmann’s Classic Work Austrian Grandmaster Rudolf Spielmann’s The Art of Sacrifice in Chess first appeared in the mid-1930s. It was immediately recognized as a classic, a masterpiece that examined the nature of chess sacrifices. In this modernized, 21st century edition, all of Spielmann’s original work has been preserved. The antiquated English Descriptive Notation has been replaced with modern Figurine Algebraic, and German grandmaster Karsten Müller has added his own notes to Spielmann’s original text. But the German grandmaster has gone far beyond simply inserting clarifying commentary. Müller has virtually doubled the size of the original work by adding eleven new chapters, including: The Greek Gift Sacrifice Bxh2/7+; Disaster on g7; The Achilles’ Heel f7; Strike at the Edge; Destroying the King’s Shelter; Sacrifices on f6; Sacrifices on e6; The Magic of Mikhail Tal; Shirov’s Sacrifices; and The Fine Art of Defense. There are exercises at the end of each new chapter to help you hone your skill of sacrificing. “Grandmaster Karsten Müller’s notes to the original text, along with the new material, brilliantly complements Spielmann’s classic work. A welcome addition to any chessplayer’s library...” – Garry Kasparov




Slaying the Mermaid


Book Description

Slaying the Mermaid addresses the great numbers of women of all ages who find themselves constantly disregarding their own well-being to put the needs of others first. Drawing on the experiences of a diverse array of women, Stephanie Golden examines the dichotomy between selfhood and sacrifice, enabling women to become conscious of self-defeating behavior. Using the image of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, the ultimate ideal of the self-sacrificing woman, Golden offers a new paradigm: in order to run with the wolves, you must first slay the mermaid. Slaying the Mermaid uncovers the mythic and archetypal roots of the need felt by women to sacrifice their personal potential for the good of others. This book will help women reclaim their energy, creativity, and identity, while rediscovering the original, empowering meaning of sacrifice as an expansive and self-fulfilling act.




Songwriters On Songwriting


Book Description

The classic collection of candid interviews with the greatest songwriters of our time, including Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Patti Smith, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, and dozens more This expanded fourth edition of Songwriters on Songwriting includes ten new interviews--with Alanis Morissette, Lenny Kravitz, Lou Reed, and others. In these pages, sixty-two of the greatest songwriters of our time go straight to the source of the magic of songwriting by offering their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on their art. Representing almost every genre of popular music, from blues to pop to rock, here are the figures that have shaped American music as we know it.




Diversity of Sacrifice


Book Description

The term "sacrifice" belies what is a complex and varied transhistorical and transcultural phenomenon. Bringing together scholars from such diverse fields as anthropology, archaeology, epigraphy, literature, and theology, Diversity of Sacrifice explores sacrificial practices across a range of contexts from prehistory to the present. Incorporating theory, material culture, and textual evidence, the volume seeks to consider new and divergent data related to contexts of sacrifice that can help broaden our field of vision while raising new questions. The essays contributed here move beyond reductive and simple explanations to explore complex areas of social interaction. Sacrifice plays a key role in the overlapping sacred and secular spheres for a number of societies in the past and present. How religious beliefs and practices can be integral parts of life on individual and community levels is of fundamental importance to understanding the past and present. In addition to aiding scholarly research, Diversity of Sacrifice enables students to explore this rich theme across Europe and the Mediterranean with clear discussions of theory and data.




Salt and Sacrifice


Book Description

Exiled for their beliefs, the faithful have been imprisoned deep inside the salt mines of ancient Rome. For the empire, salt is a symbol of life and prosperity; for the Christian slaves who mine it, its only meaning is death. Barbaric persecution and cave-ins threaten to stamp them out entirely, but beyond the shafts their outlawed religion is growing more quickly each day.




Karma and Creativity


Book Description

The conception of karma in the religious traditions of India has prompted numerous interpretations, many of which equate karma with notions of fate. Karma and Creativity presents a perspective on karma that emphasizes the efficacy of human activity in bringing about desired results--from upholding societal order to the attainment of spiritual liberation. Karma is examined in light of several classical Indian texts. Special attention is given to the concept of mind-only in both Hinduism and Buddhism. The study focuses on the positive approach to action first learned by the sage Vasisin the Mahabharata and then taught by him to Sri Rama in the Yogavasis. It concludes with an exploration of the theological and ethical implications of action and creativity.




The Creativity Code


Book Description

“A brilliant travel guide to the coming world of AI.” —Jeanette Winterson What does it mean to be creative? Can creativity be trained? Is it uniquely human, or could AI be considered creative? Mathematical genius and exuberant polymath Marcus du Sautoy plunges us into the world of artificial intelligence and algorithmic learning in this essential guide to the future of creativity. He considers the role of pattern and imitation in the creative process and sets out to investigate the programs and programmers—from Deep Mind and the Flow Machine to Botnik and WHIM—who are seeking to rival or surpass human innovation in gaming, music, art, and language. A thrilling tour of the landscape of invention, The Creativity Code explores the new face of creativity and the mysteries of the human code. “As machines outsmart us in ever more domains, we can at least comfort ourselves that one area will remain sacrosanct and uncomputable: human creativity. Or can we?...In his fascinating exploration of the nature of creativity, Marcus du Sautoy questions many of those assumptions.” —Financial Times “Fascinating...If all the experiences, hopes, dreams, visions, lusts, loves, and hatreds that shape the human imagination amount to nothing more than a ‘code,’ then sooner or later a machine will crack it. Indeed, du Sautoy assembles an eclectic array of evidence to show how that’s happening even now.” —The Times




The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion


Book Description

The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion explores the three ends of the Sacrament of Sacraments: God’s true presence, His redemptive sacrifice, and spiritual nourishment through communion with Him. In this follow-up to his groundbreaking work, Faith Comes From What Is Heard, Lawrence Feingold constructs a biblical vision of the Eucharist from its prefigurement in the Old Testament to its fulfillment in the New and presents the Eucharistic theology of the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and magisterial teaching from centuries past through today. The Eucharist is a masterful text, both challenging and spiritually rich, that comprehensively examines the unspeakable mystery that is the Eucharist.




Wisdom in Action


Book Description