"A furiously complex age; a powerful narrative."--New York Times Book Review, Editor's ChoiceAt the ... beginning of the eighth century, the Arabs brought a momentous revolution in power, religion, and culture to Dark Ages Europe. David Levering Lewis's masterful history begins with the fall of the Persian and Roman empires, followed by the rise of the prophet Muhammad and the creation of Muslim Spain. Five centuries of engagement between the Muslim imperium and an emerging Europe followed, from the Muslim conquest of Visigoth Hispania in 711 to Latin Christendom's declaration of unconditional warfare on the Caliphate in 1215. Lewis's narrative, filled with accounts of some of the greatest battles in world history, reveals how cosmopolitan, Muslim al-Andalus flourished--a beacon of cooperation and tolerance between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity--while proto-Europe, defining itself in opposition to Islam, made virtues out of hereditary aristocracy, religious intolerance, perpetual war, and slavery. A cautionary tale, God's Crucible provides a new interpretation of world-altering events whose influence remains as current as today's headlines. 8 pages of illustrations; 4 maps

In recent decades, religious conservatives and secular liberals have battled over the "appropriate" role of women in society. In this absorbing... exploration of Women's Aglow Fellowship, the largest women's evangelical organization in the world, R. Marie Griffith challenges the simple generalizations often made about charismatic or "spirit-filled" Christian women and uncovers important connections between Aglow members and the feminists to whom they so often seem opposed. Women's Aglow is an international, interdenominational group of "spirit-filled" women who meet outside the formal church structure for healing prayer, worship, and testimony. Aglow represents a wider evangelical culture that has gained recent media attention as women inspired by the Christian men's group, Promise Keepers, have initiated parallel groups such as Praise Keepers and Promise Reapers. These groups are generally newcomers to an institutional landscape that Aglow has occupied for thirty years, but their beliefs and commitments are very similar to Aglow's. While historians have examined earlier women's prayer groups, they've tended to ignore these modern-day evangelical groups because of their assumed connection to the "religious right."God's Daughters reveals a devotional world in which oral and written testimonies recount the afflictions of human life and the means for seeking relief and divine assistance. A relationship with God, envisioned as father, husband or lover, and friend, is a way to come to terms with pain, dysfunctional family relationships, and a desire for intimacy. Griffith's book is also valuable in showing the complex role that women play within Pentecostalism, a movement that has become one of the most important in twentieth-century world religions.

Following in the footsteps of the storytellers of his native India, R. K. Narayan has produced his own versions of tales taken from the Ramayana and the... Mahabarata. Carefully selecting those stories which include the strongest characters, and omitting the theological or social commentary that would have drawn out the telling, Narayan informs these fascinating myths with his urbane humor and graceful style."Mr. Narayan gives vitality and an original viewpoint to the most ancient of legends, lacing them with his own blend of satire, pertinent explanation and thoughtful commentary."—Santha Rama Rau, New York Times"Narayan's narrative style is swift, firm, graceful, and lucid . . . thoroughly knowledgeable, skillful, entertaining. One could hardly hope for more."—Rosanne Klass, Times Literary Supplement

Ancient Mesopotamia was a rich, varied and highly complex culture whose achievements included the invention of writing and the development of... sophisticated urban society. This book offers an introductory guide to the beliefs and customs of the ancient Mesopotamians, as revealed in their art and their writings between about 3000 B.C. and the advent of the Christian era. Gods, goddesses, demons, monsters, magic, myths, religious symbolism, ritual, and the spiritual world are all discussed in alphabetical entries ranging from short accounts to extended essays. Names are given in both their Sumerian and Akkadian forms, and all entries are fully cross-referenced. A useful introduction provides historical and geographical background and describes the sources of our knowledge about the religion, mythology and magic of "the cradle of civilisation".

The third edition of Martens's well known study of Old Testament theology which has become a standard textbook at evangelical seminaries and bible... colleges. Exodus 5:22-6:8 reveals God's design for building his kingdom, a design with four components: 1) Deliverance, 2) Community, 3) Knowledge of God, 4) The Abundant Life. From these components, Martens constructs a grid through which the entire message of the Old Testament can be read. God's Design presents an overview of the Old Testament all Bible students will find fascinating.

God’s Ear marks the debut of Jenny Schwartz, “an indelibly clever playwright, possessed of linguistic playfulness and a lively sense of rhythm”... (Alexis Soloski, The Village Voice). Through the skillfully disarming use of clichéd language and homilies, the play explores with subtle grace and depth the way the death of a child tears one family apart, while showcasing the talents of a promising young playwright who “in [a] very modern way [is] making a rather old-fashioned case for the power of the written word” (Jason Zinoman, The New York Times). Fresh from its critically acclaimed off-off-Broadway run this past spring, God’s Ear moves off-Broadway to the Vineyard Theatre in April 2008.

The Rabbis of old believed that the Torah was divinely revealed and therefore contained eternal, perfect truths and hidden meaning that required... elucidation. The meaning of a text was more complicated than simply reading it. And meaning changed over time. This understanding of how the Bible mystically relates to all of life is the fertile ground from which midrash emerged. "The rabbis believed that nothing in the Bible, not the choice of words or their spellings, not the order of events or the relationship of one text to another, was haphazard or inconsequential. Everything was there with purpose. They deemed it their reponsibility to discover connections and harmony where on the surface none appeared to exist. A text may contain multiple meanings. Time is of no consequence. They felt free to read back into old stories what happened in future eras, and to see in the early stories of Genesis a foreshadowing of future events." In this engaging book, Rabbi Sasso explores how midrash originated, how it is still used today, and offers new translations and interpretations of more than twenty essential midrash texts.

Professional ministers and their work as church leaders have dominated church and pastoral ministry studies. Lay ministry studies have been neglected.... In the local church, lay ministries are often defined solely by their voluntary service in the local church, and even then are regarded as secondary to the work of the professional minister(s) leading the local church. This study proposes that the word "minister" should be applied to all believers and that professional ministers and their ministries should serve the larger group doing ministry: the laity. Lay ministry should not be understood only as that service done in the local church, but should be understood as a call received and obeyed by the laity to "do the work of ministry" in their work places and their neighborhoods, as well as their local churches. Following Amos Yong's theology of disability and the formation of the L'Arche communities found throughout the world, this God's Empowered People will show how the local church can welcome all in Christ's name into a community of the Spirit in which people are loved and respected for who they are. From such a welcoming, loving, and respectful community can come people of varying abilities who discover their special gifts of ministry, then take their gifts into the work world, market place, and neighborhoods to "do the work of ministry" in Christ's name. They will be able to go places and do things no professional minister could go or do, yet still need the professional minister to help prepare them to "do the work of ministry." Thus, professional and lay ministries are not competitive but complementary. In such a community of professional and lay ministries operating cooperatively, all have the opportunity to express wisely their gifts in their arenas of calling and influence."Offering a fresh and creative way for organizing Pentecostal churches and for understanding the Spirit's mission, Steven Fettke's seminal piece on a theology of the laity contributes beneficial insights not only for the Pentecostal churches but for others across the ecumenical spectrum. The chapter on enabling the disabled is worth the price of the book alone."--Robby WaddellAssociate Professor of New TestamentSoutheastern University"Anglican Charismatic David Watson once remarked that the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements have the greatest potential for realizing Luther's vision of the priesthood of all believers. In God's Empowered People, Steven Fettke contends that the laity is vital in the development of healthy churches. Empowering the laity to work in the ministries of the church offers opportunity for the community of faith to fulfill its mission in offering love, life, and hope to the world."--Peter AlthouseAssociate Professor of TheologySoutheastern University"The passion that is the hallmark of Pentecostal spirituality comes through palpably in this book: a passion for the church, for bridging the academy and the pew, for people with disabilities and for their place among the people of God, for local pastors and their congregations, and, most importantly, for American laypeople across the spectrum and for all that they might achieve by the Spirit of God. Beware: laywomen and men who pick up this accessible book will surely catch the fire of Fettke's contagious fervor! And good thing too since the world is surely ready for the ministry of God's empowered people."--Amos YongRodman Williams Professor of TheologyRegent University School of DivinitySteven M. Fettke is Professor of Religion at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. He is the author of Messages to a Nation in Crisis: An Introduction to the Prophecy of Jeremiah (1982).

Engagingly and clearly written by a highly respected theologian, God, Sex, and Gender is the first comprehensive introduction to a theology of both... sexuality and gender available in a single volume.Makes a theological contribution to understanding the unprecedented changes in sexual and gender relationships of the last fifty yearsDiscusses many topics including: sexual difference; sexual equality; gender and power; the nature of desire; the future of marriage in Christian sexual ethics; homosexuality and same-sex unions; the problems of sexual minorities; contraception in a time of HIV/AIDS; the separation of sexual experience from marriage; and offers new arguments for marriage and for chastityOffers a consistent and engaging introduction at the cutting edge of theological inquiry, which is contemporary, undogmatic, questioning, and relevant to readers' experience, interests, and needsWritten lucidly and engagingly by an established and respected academic who has published widely in this area

God, Sex, and Politics examines both sides of the church controversy over homosexuality to consider the ways in which people develop, in everyday... thought and interaction, their beliefs about God and justice. Dawne Moon explores how members of Protestant congregations determine what is just and what is not, what is right and what is wrong, what is loving and what is sinful.Through this compelling work we learn that the considerable turmoil surrounding homosexuality in churches has less to do with homosexuality than with the fear of weakening the church's spiritual, communal solidarity. We learn too how the church mirrors the secular world—the fear of division and politics leads members to avoid conflict in the congregations Moon examines. And so, the Protestants who are the subject of her study avoid debating the key issue of whether homosexuality is sinful because of its potentially polarizing effects. The religious culture Moon uncovers is ultimately critical of politics and of the intense moral and social discord that members believe it entails.God, Sex, and Politics will be of enormous value to sociologists of religion and anyone interested in religious controversies over sexuality.

Cromwell spent only nine months of his eventful life in Ireland, yet he stands accused there of war crimes, religious persecution and ethnic cleansing.... The massacre of thousands of soldiers and civilians by the New Model Army at both Drogheda and Wexford in 1649 must rank among the greatest atrocities in Anglo-Irish history: a tale that makes decidedly uncomfortable reading for those keen to focus on Cromwell's undoubted military and political achievements elsewhere.In a century of unrelenting, bloody warfare and religious persecution throughout Europe, Cromwell was, in many ways, a product of his times. As commander-in-chief of the army in Ireland, however, the responsibilities for the excesses of the military must be laid firmly at his door, while the harsh nature of the post-war settlement also bears his personal imprint. Cromwell was no monster, but he did commit monstrous acts. A warrior of Christ, somewhat like the crusaders of medieval Europe, he acted as God's executioner, convinced throughout the horrors of the legitimacy of his cause, and striving to build a better world for the chosen few. He remains, therefore, a remarkably modern figure, somebody to be closely studied and understood, rather than simply revered or reviled.

The play God's Favorite is a light hearted and yet very poignient modern look at the Scriptural Character of Job - a man who has everything and loses it... all before finding what is truly important.

“Provides a fascinating and nuanced study of the transformations in religious and social ideals among Moravians as they worked to implement their... aspirations in the harsh realities of a North Carolina landscape shaped by racism. Ferguson reveals the intersecting dynamics of religious aspirations, sectarian prejudices, conflicting designs across cultural landscapes, paradoxical divergences of religious ideals and social realities, and the life stories of African Americans working to navigate such contested terrain.”—Christopher C. Fennell, author of Crossroads and Cosmologies“A fascinating examination of the tension of race relations in the antebellum South. God’s Fields unfolds like a murder mystery and is hard to put down.”—Christopher E. Hendricks, author of The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia The Moravian community of Salem, North Carolina, was founded in 1766, and the town—the hub of nearly 100,000 piedmont acres purchased thirteen years before and named “Wachovia”—quickly became the focal point for the church’s colonial presence in the South.            While the brethren preached the unity of all humans under God, a careful analysis of the birth and growth of their Salem settlement reveals that the group gradually embraced the institutions of slavery and racial segregation in opposition to their religious beliefs. Although Salem’s still-active community includes one of the oldest African American congregations in the nation, the evidence contained in God’s Fields reveals that during much of the twentieth century, the church’s segregationist past was intentionally concealed.            Leland Ferguson’s work reconstructing this “secret history” through years of archaeological fieldwork was part of a historical preservation program that helped convince the Moravian Church in North America to formally apologize in 2006 for its participation in slavery and clear a way for racial reconciliation. Leland Ferguson is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of anthropology at the University of South Carolina. He is the author of Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Colonial African America, 1650–1800, a recipient of the Southern Anthropological Society’s James Mooney Award. A volume in the series Cultural Heritage Studies, edited by Paul A. Shackel

The sequence of civil wars that ripped England apart in the seventeenth century was one of the most devastating conflicts in its history. It destroyed... families and towns, ravaged the population and led many, both supporters of Charles I and his opponents, to believe that England's people were being punished by a vengeful God. This masterly new history illuminates what it was like to live through a time of terrifying violence, religious fervor and radical politics. Michael Braddick describes how pamphleteers, armies, iconoclasts, witch-hunters, Levellers, protestors and petitioners were all mobilized in the chaos, as they fought over new ways to imagine their world.

Making Religion, Making the State combines cutting-edge perspectives on religion with rich empirical data to offer a challenging new argument about the... politics of religion in modern China. The volume goes beyond extant portrayals of the opposition of state and religion to emphasize their mutual constitution. It examines how the modern category of "religion" is enacted and implemented in specific locales and contexts by a variety of actors from the late nineteenth century until the present. With chapters written by experts on Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and more, this volume will appeal across the social sciences and humanities to those interested in politics, religion, and modernity in China.