Cult 45


Book Description

Emerson Montgomery, noted political reporter, recounts his personal views of Martin Wagner, the 45th President of the United States. He compares Wagner to other world leaders and notes the similarities with them. Emerson adds personal anecdotes from experience dealing with the president as well as those of his family and colleagues.




Christianity with an Asian Face


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Zero O'Clock


Book Description

For sixteen-year-old Geth Montego, zero o’clock begins on March 11, 2020. By June, she wonders if it will ever end. “An insightful, eye-opening, and inventive story. C.J. Farley has penned a novel that sheds an important light on real issues facing young people today.” —Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give In early March 2020 in New Rochelle, New York, teenager Geth Montego is fumbling with the present and uncertain about her future. She only has three friends: her best friend Tovah, who’s been acting weird ever since they started applying to college; Diego, who she wants to ask to prom; and the K-pop band BTS, because the group always seems to be there for her when she needs them (at least in her head). She could use some help now. Geth’s small city becomes one of the first COVID-19 containment zones in the US. As her community is upended by the virus and stirred up by the growing Black Lives Matter protests, Geth faces a choice and a question: Is she willing to risk everything to fight for her beliefs? And if so, what exactly does she believe in? C.J. Farley captures a moment in spring 2020 no teenager will ever forget. It sucks watching the world fall apart. But sometimes you have to start from zero.




Glimpses of a Strange Land


Book Description

In this challenging book Cyril Rodd questions many of the assumptions that lie behind recent studies of Old Testament ethics. He views the 'strangeness' of the biblical world and wonders whether there is an Old Testament ethics in the modern sense of the word - finding rather that the Old Testament writers did not regard many of today's ethical dilemmas as problems at all.Dr Rodd examines all the Old Testament writings on five ethical issues: the poor, war, treatment of animals, ecology and the position of women. He considers their validity and relevance for today and discusses the extent to which they can be referred to for authority - or for inspiration and guidance..




Hidden Polemics in Biblical Narrative


Book Description

In current usage polemics is broadly defined as the practice of rhetorical persuasion or as the rhetorical presentation of an argument in dispute. The phenomenon of polemics is found throughout the whole corpus of biblical literature. In most instances the polemics is direct, but sometimes indirect, and occasionally it appears to be deliberately covert. This book is primarily concerned with exploring the phenomenon of covert polemics. Dealing first with considerations of method, definition and characterization, the study moves on to the analysis of a number of narrative texts and the uncovering of their covert polemical content. Polemics of this type is a feature of biblical writing on a range of central issues, and can be instructively isolated in texts relating to cultic locations (Beth El, Jerusalem), questions of leadership (the houses of Saul and David), community boundaries (the Samaritans) and other problems of legitimation.




State Responses to Minority Religions


Book Description

The response of states to demands for free exercise of religion or belief varies greatly across the world. In some places, religions come as close as imaginable to autonomous existences with little interference from government. In other cases religion finds itself grinding out a meagre living, if at all, under the jealously watchful eye of the state. This book provides a legal and normative overview of the variety of responses to minority religions available to states. Exploring case studies ranging from Islamic regions such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and the wider Middle East, to Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Russia, Canada, and the Baltics, contributors include international scholars and experts in law, sociology, religious studies, and political science. This book offers invaluable perspectives on how minority religions are currently being received, reviewed, challenged, or ignored in different parts of the world.




The Religions of the Roman Empire


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The Re-Enchantment of the West


Book Description

As a book about emergent spirituality in the contemporary West, this books focuses on the nature, evolution and significance of new forms of religion and alternative spiritualities. Part One of the book provides the theoretical background and guides the reader through some of the principal debates. After an overview of the secularization thesis, which argues that the West is becoming increasingly disenchanted, the second chapter turns to the sociological analysis of new religions and alternative spiritualities. Particular attention is given to the ideas of the sociologist of religion Ernst Troeltsch, especially his enigmatic analysis of the emergence mystical religion, which presciently provides helpful insights into understanding the contemporary alternative religious milieu. Against sociologists such as Bryan Wilson and Steve Bruce, this and the subsequent chapter argues that, rather than being insignificant, new forms of spirituality are actually proving to be a significant part of Western re-enchantment. Chapter 3 constructs a general theory of the re-enchantment of the West.




Clothing the Body of Christ at Colossae


Book Description

What we think of our bodies and what we wear says something about who we are and how we belong. This was the same in the ancient world. Rosemary Canavan explores the imagery of clothing and body in the first century CE Christian writing. An examination of statuary, funerary monuments and coins in this geographical location contemporaneous with the letter's writing reveals how clothing and body images were understood. This is then placed in dialogue with the metaphorical use of clothing and body in other texts, especially the Letter to the Colossians. Social identity and rhetorical studies draw on archaeological, epigraphical, iconographical and literary sources to formulate a new approach to biblical interpretation aptly named "visual exegesis."




Vinyl


Book Description

This history of the LP is a must-have for any music connoisseur! When vinyl LP records took over the music industry in the late 1950s, a new era began. No longer bound by the time constraints of the shellac 78s that had been in use since the 1910s, recording artists could now present an entire album—rather than a lone three-minute single—on a vinyl LP, giving listeners a completely new way to experience their music. In recent years, vinyl has found a second life as an art form, collected and appreciated by music connoisseurs across the world. Vinyl: The Art of Making Records examines the origins of the vinyl format and its evolution throughout the 20th century, and also provides an in-depth look at how vinyl LPs are manufactured and packaged—often with striking artwork that makes them beloved by music enthusiasts today. Also included are four removable art prints, each representing a sample of album covers from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.