The Prophets


Book Description

The prophets remain figures of enduring interest and importance in contemporary Judaism, Christianity, and even secular society. The Prophets introduces students to the rise of prophecy in ancient Israel, possible ancient Near Eastern parallels, the messages of individual prophets, and the significance of the compositional and editorial history of the prophetic writings. The book guides students into leading questions and issues in contemporary scholarship, and surveys different contemporary approaches to the messages of the prophets. Part 1 introduces the prophets and prophecy in context. The rise of prophecy, the role of the prophet, key themes, and the fate of prophecy are explored. Part 2 profiles Israel's prophets during the eighth century, the exile, and the postexilic period. This section will also look at each book of the prophets and how the prophetic writings fit within the complete Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. These chapters also provide insights into interpreting the prophetic writings today, including Jewish and Christian interpretations, prophecy and prediction, and the secular legacy of Israelite prophecy. This textbook includes numerous images, charts, and maps to enhance the experience of the students.




Prophetic Grappling


Book Description

An eye-opening text looking at the art of wrestling as practised by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and early Muslims.




Daughter Zion


Book Description

This volume showcases recent exploration of the portrait of Daughter Zion as “she” appears in biblical Hebrew poetry. Using Carleen Mandolfo’s Daughter Zion Talks Back to the Prophets (Society of Biblical Literature, 2007) as a point of departure, the contributors to this volume explore the image of Daughter Zion in its many dimensions in various texts in the Hebrew Bible. Approaches used range from poetic, rhetorical, and linguistic to sociological and ideological. To bring the conversation full circle, Carleen Mandolfo engages in a dialogic response with her interlocutors. The contributors are Mark J. Boda, Mary L. Conway, Stephen L. Cook, Carol J. Dempsey, LeAnn Snow Flesher, Michael H. Floyd, Barbara Green, John F. Hobbins, Mignon R. Jacobs, Brittany Kim, Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Christl M. Maier, Carleen Mandolfo, Jill Middlemas, Kim Lan Nguyen, and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer.




In the School of Prophets


Book Description

The distinctive prophetic quality of Thomas Merton's spirituality, shaped by figures ranging from the Hebrew prophets to Thich Nhat Hanh, emerges from this fresh examination of the works Merton read, responded to, and celebrated in his own writing. In the School of Prophets examines the final decade of Merton's life, mainly through the lens of his journals and letters, and helps to fill a gap in contemporary Merton studies. William Blake and various Latin American poets; novelists Boris Pasternak, Albert Camus, and William Faulkner; existentialists Søren Kierkegaard and Gabriel Marcel; monks of the Egyptian desert; and Bernard of Clairvaux number among those who helped shape Merton's prophetic consciousness, leading him to reexamine what it means to be both a human being and a contemplative monk of the twentieth century.




Prophecy


Book Description

More than any other topic, prophecy represents the point at which the Divine meets the human, the Absolute meets the relative. How can a human being attain the Word of God? In what manner does God, when conceived as eternal and transcendent, address corporeal, transitory creatures? What happens to God's divine Truth when it is beheld by minds limited in their power to apprehend, and influenced by the intellectual currents of their time and place? How were these issues viewed by the great Jewish philosophers of the past, who took the divine communication and all it entails seriously, while at the same time desired to understand it as much as humanly possible in the course of dealing with a myriad of other issues that occupied their attention? This book offers an in-depth study of prophecy in the thought of seven of the leading medieval Jewish philosophers: R. Saadiah Gaon, R. Judah Halevi, Maimonides, Gersonides, R. Hasdai Crescas, R. Joseph Albo and Baruch Spinoza. It attempts to capture the `original voice' of these thinkers by looking at the intellectual milieus in which they developed their philosophies, and by carefully analyzing their views in their textual contexts. It also deals with the relation between the earlier approaches and the later ones. Overall, this book presents a significant model for narrating the history of an idea.




Prophetic Rivalry, Gender, and Economics


Book Description

Olivia Stewart Lester examines true and false prophecy at the intersections of interpretation, gender, and economics in Revelation, Sibylline Oracles 4-5, and contemporary ancient Mediterranean texts. With respect to gender, these texts construct a discourse of divine violence against prophets, in which masculine divine domination of both male and female prophets reinforces the authenticity of the prophetic message. Regarding economics, John and the Jewish sibyllists resist the economic actions of political groups around them, especially Rome, by imagining an alternate universe with a new prophetic economy. In this economy, God requires restitution from human beings, whose evil behavior incurs debt. The ongoing appeal of prophecy as a rhetorical strategy in Revelation and Sibylline Oracles 4-5, and the ongoing rivalries in which these texts engage, argue for prophecy's continuing significance in a larger ancient Mediterranean religious context.




Prophetic Witness


Book Description

The role of religious prophetic witness in the public discourse of modern civil societies is a vital question, not only for the churches, but for society as a whole. Is it still appropriate for churches to make use of prophetic witness as a mode of public discourse in contemporary democratic societies? Can biblical tradition be a referential source for prophetic public statements of the churches in highly debated political questions? Or must public discourse in pluralistic societies be strictly grounded in purely reason-based arguments? This book deals with these questions in a multi-disciplinary perspective, looking at historical settings of biblical texts and discussing contemporary issues and contexts. (Series: Theology in the Public Square/Theologie in der Offentlichkeit - Vol. 1)




The Prophetic Blueprint


Book Description

Unlock your prophetic calling and step into a world of limitless potential and possibilities. Are you grappling with doubts about your prophetic calling? Are you exhausted being a passive bystander to your own potential? Tired of playing small? Are you ready to step into the greatness that's within your reach? Do you feel an intense desire to make an undeniable impact and touch lives? Dylis takes you on an inspiring journey, guiding you through a transformative process that leads to profound impact and purposeful living. Through insightful processes, keys, and practical guidance, Dylis empowers you to . Shed self-doubt and fear. . Embracing the true essence of your prophetic nature . Break free from limitations and obstacles . Step into a life where your prophetic gifts flow effortlessly . Strengthen your relationship with God . Amplify your visionary abilities . Transition from struggling to prophesy to a natural, powerful flow. . Become a shining light for others to find their own greatness and calling. This book propels you beyond the ordinary, activating a heightened prophetic state that's extraordinary. Elevate your spiritual life, strengthen your connection with God, and unleash your prophetic power. Allow your prophetic gifts to shine in their natural, unstoppable brilliance. “The perfect guide for those who want to live a meaningful and fulfilling life and make a difference in the world”.




Monstrous Possibilities


Book Description

This book focuses on how the abject spectacle of the ‘monstrous feminine’ has been reimagined by recent and contemporary screen horrors focused on the desires and subjectivities of female monsters who, as anti-heroic protagonists of revisionist and reflexive texts, exemplify gendered possibility in altered cultures of 21st century screen production and reception. As Barbara Creed notes in a recent interview, the patriarchal stereotype of horror that she named ‘the monstrous-feminine’ has, decades later, ‘embarked on a life of her own’. Focused on this altered and renewed form of female monstrosity, this study engages with an international array of recent and contemporary screen entertainments, from arthouse and indie horror films by emergent female auteurs, to the franchised products of multimedia conglomerates, to 'quality' television horror, to the social media-based creations of horror fans working as ‘pro-sumers’. In this way, the monograph in its organisation and scope maps the converged and rapidly changing environment of 21st century screen cultures in order to situate the monstrous female anti-hero as one of its distinctive products.




Prophecy without Contempt


Book Description

The culture wars have as much to do with rhetorical style as moral substance. Cathleen Kaveny focuses on a powerful stream of religious discourse in American political speech: the Biblical rhetoric of prophetic indictment. It can be strong medicine against threats to the body politic, she shows, but used injudiciously it does more harm than good.