The Witch Studies Reader
Stories about witches are by their nature stories about the most basic and profound of human experiences-healing, sex, violence, tragedies, aging, death, and encountering the mystery and magic of the unknown. It is no surprise, then, that witches loom large in our cultural imaginations. In academia, studies of witches rarely emerge from scholars who are themselves witches and/or embedded in communities of witchcraft practitioners. The Witch Studies Reader brings together a diverse group of scholars, practitioners, and scholar-practitioners who examine witchcraft from a critical decolonial feminist perspective that decenters Europe and departs from exoticizing and pathologizing writing on witchcraft in the global South. The authors show how witches are keepers of suppressed knowledges, builders of new futures, exemplars of praxis, and theorists in their own right. Throughout, they account for the vastly different national, political-economic, and cultural contexts in which "the witch" is currently being claimed and repudiated. Offering a pathbreaking transnational feminist examination of witches and witchcraft that upends white supremacist, colonial, patriarchal knowledge regimes, this volume brings into being the interdisciplinary field of feminist witch studies. Contributors. Maria Amir, Ruth Asiimwe, Bernadette Barton, Ethel Brooks, Shelina Brown, Ruth Charnock, Soma Chaudhuri, Carolyn Chernoff, Saira Chhibber, Simon Clay, Krystal Cleary, Adrianna L. Ernstberger, Tina Escaja, Laurie Essig, Marcelitte Failla, D Ferrett, Marion Goldman, Jaime Hartless, Margaretha Haughwout, Patricia Humura, Apoorvaa Joshi, Govind Kelkar, Oliver Kellhammer, Ay癟a Kurtoğlu, Helen Macdonald, Isabel Machado, Brandy Renee McCann, Dev Nathan, Mary Jo Neitz, Amy Nichols-Belo, Allison (or AP) Pierce, Emma Quilty, Anna Rogel, Karen Schaller, Jacquelyn Marie Shannon, Shashank Shekhar Sinha, Gabriella V. Smith, Nathan Snaza, Shannon Hughes Spence, Eric Steinhart, Morena Tartari, Nicole Trigg, Katie Von Wald, Tushabe wa Tushabe, Jane Ward
My Qaza Salah
IMPORTANCE OF SALAH Salah is the foremost of all obligations in the life of a Muslim. No obligation has greater priority than Salah. Salah is a complete and universal exercise that guides and disciplines a person in every respect. Salah teaches us to disconnect from the preoccupation of the world and connect our hearts and souls with Allah Ta'ala. Salah cleanses us, gives us control over our passions, protects us against materialism and prevents us from becoming misdirected. Salah has tremendous spiritual, physical, mental and psychological benefits. It is the door to prosperity, success, salvation in both worlds and grants the adherent the ultimate prize of Allah Ta'ala's pleasure and love. Salah is also the eraser of misdeeds as Allah Ta'ala says, "And establish Salah at both ends of the day, and in the early hours of the night. Surely, good deeds erase bad deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful." (Surah Hud) Overview of book: Virtues of SalahHarms of Neglecting SalahWho is Sahibut TarteebHow to Complete Missed SalahMethod to Performa Qaza SalahUp to 10 Years of Table for Record Missed Salah
POTHURAJU, A Calumniated Pre-Vedic Deity
A hunt for what's lost. A pastoral deity who has various names in various regions. Stories of this deity has too many versions depending on the cultural exchanges, native languages and a hint of imagination in folklores. Few of this deity's names are: - Mhasoba/ Mhaskoba/ Mhatoba- Pothuraju/ Pothiraja- Karuppu- Sudalai Maadan- Vishnu Maya/ Sathan Swamy- Mula Maysondayya/ Maisonday- Bhootharaja- Uramma and Marikambe - Buffalo/ Emme- Betal/ Vetal- Gorla- Mahisasura- Yamantaka/ Vajra-Bhairav He is considered as the deity of the ignoble compared to the Puranic or Vedic deities. The topic is too vast to comprehend, hence we are going to take this step by step for easier understanding. In this, there are numerous stories associated with each name of the same deity. There was once a period where nomads, tribes of various kind and diverse cults walked on this land. They coexisted without having to prove the superiority of their deities and belief systems.
God Spoke Once, I Heard Twice
Bible commentary, according to Rabbi Goldberg, should mirror the many ways God enters into the human experience. Offering philosophic inquiry, personal reflection, and fresh exegesis-plus a touch of poetry, humor, and storytelling--God Spoke Once, I Heard Twice is a brilliant, learned, and inspired contribution to an ongoing chronicle of faith.
Nailing It
Nailing Outdated Leadership Practices to the CrossTraditional leadership teachings and styles haven't changed much in years. But the world is changing and so are Christian leaders--women need room for their natural gifts to shine and people of color needed space to elevate the values they bring into their roles. Even seasoned leaders are growing weary of the status quo, craving innovative ways to lean into new ways of thinking for the good of their organizations and the emerging generations they serve.In this transformative resource for leaders of all ages, Nicole Massie Martin inspires us to crucify our ministry idols and nail our outdated leadership practices to the cross. Sharing leadership principles and case studies wrapped in biblical precepts and pastoral wisdom, she leads us through seven areas of traditional leadership that need to be reframed: PowerEgoSpeedPerformancePerfectionLoyaltyScaleGet ready to take the leap of faith into new leadership realities, and discover how crucified living can lead you to nail it.
Why Me?
You will never understand why you're here if you don't know the One who brought you here. You will never understand why you were blessed with something, if you don't know what it means to be a blessing yourself. You will never understand why you're in pain, if you don't believe in the virtue of patience. You will never make sense of this life, if you don't believe in an afterlife. You will never know who you are, if you don't know who you want to become. You will never know where you are going, if you don't know where you came from. We live in a world full of suffering which is meant to wake us from our slumber. But if we constantly dwell on what we feel has missed us, we may be missing out on a far greater sense of purpose and self-worth. A life with less confusion and more certainty. A life of meaning where we learn to live in harmony with divine decree, so that we could get to know our Lord who created us and our stories. You may have asked before, why me? But have you ever asked, why not me?
Christianity and the Qur'an
A leading Qur'anic scholar's revisionary account of how Islam emerged in dialogue with Christian traditions Challenging the dominant narrative about the history of the Qur'an and the emergence of Islam in a predominantly pagan context, Gabriel Said Reynolds presents the Qur'an as a text born within a largely Christian culture. As he examines the ways the Qur'an engages with Christian traditions--not only those of the New Testament but also those of late antique Christian literature--and with Christians themselves, Reynolds also draws on recent scholarship on pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions suggesting that monotheism, Christianity in particular, was a significant presence in the pre-Islamic Hijaz, the region in which Muhammad preached. This study re-situates the Qur'an as a text thoroughly concerned with Christianity, not just the longer narratives of individuals such as Mary and Jesus but also passages that do not mention Christians explicitly. The Qur'an's stance toward Christianity is on occasion controversial, aiming to advance Islamic theology and undermine Christian apologetical arguments, yet the Qur'an is not always polemical. At times, the text makes use of the audience's knowledge of the Bible to advance its own vision of God and God's relationship with humanity.
The Ministry of Louis Farrakhan in the Nation of Islam
In the first scholarly biography of Minister Farrakhan, leader of the controversial religious movement, the Nation of Islam (NOI), Dawn-Marie Gibson challenges popular portrayals of Farrakhan in American media.Placing Farrakhan's life and leadership in historical context, she traces his evolution from a fiery Black Nationalist in 1960s Harlem to a respected leader in sections of the USA and abroad, and uncovers Farrakhan's work in rebuilding the NOI's reputation following Malcolm X's assassination.Archival material includes FBI's files on the NOI and its leaders, Farrakhan's writings in the Muhammad Speaksand The Final Callnewspapers, and lectures and interviews from the late 1970s to the present day. Excerpts from first-hand interviews from NOI officials, pastors, imams, and community groups provide important insights into Farrakhan's religious life.
Sufis in Medieval Baghdad
This book examines the political and social activities of Sufis in Baghdad in the period 1000-1258. It argues that Sufis played an important role in creating a public sphere that existed between ordinary subjects and the government. Drawing on Arabic sources and secondary literature, it explores the role of Sufis and their institutions including their ribats or lodge houses, from the use of Sufis as political ambassadors to their role in redistributing charity to the poor. The book reveals the role of Sufism in structuring a wide range of social and political arrangements in this period. It also reveals the role of ordinary, non-elite actors who, by taking part in Sufi-affiliated religious or professional associations, were able take part in public life in late-Abbasid Baghdad.
Gagaku
Gagaku, the ceremonial music of the imperial court, Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in Japan, was established in the early 8th century and has been continuously performed since then. Despite its importance in the cultural and religious history of Japan, this is the only book on the cultural history of Gagaku published outside of Japan. The chapters, written by the leading experts on Gagaku in Japan and elsewhere, address religious, philosophical, and socio-cultural aspects of this music with focus on Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto, and also explore the impact of modernization and globalization. The book discusses developments from the 1600s until the present (most previous works focus on the 8th through 12th centuries), including the samurai appropriation of Gagaku and the diffusion of this music among learned commoners. It also traces the history of the global interest for Gagaku among contemporary composers in the early 20th century. This book brings a new understanding of the cultural history of Japan, by focusing on music, its conceptual system, and its impact on religion, society, and politics. A must read for specialists of Japanese religion and culture, musicologists, and all those who are interested in world music.
Salazar (Prime Minister of Portugal) Says...
Originally published in 1939, the following pages which can almost be considered a collection of aphorisms, contain two hundred thoughts extracted from the writings of a scholar-turned-statesman. They reflect ideas, concepts and principles that are essential to the Art and Science of good government. They are the words of a wise man. They are the words of Ant籀nio de Oliveira Salazar.
Religion in the Media Age
Religion in the Media Age remains an exciting assessment of the state of modern religiosity. Drawing on fascinating research into household media consumption, Stewart M. Hoover charts the way in which media and religion intermingle and collide in the cultural experience of media audiences.
Ben Ammi Ben Israel
This text introduces Ben Ammi, the leader and theologian of the African Hebrew Israelite community, as a systematic thinker and theologian. It examines his many books and speeches in order to provide a comprehensive introduction to his thought in the context of both African American and Jewish contemporaries and precursors. Divided into three thematic sections, History, Law, and Language, the text introduces Ben Ammi's understanding of the nature of God, the responsibilities of the human, and the narrative of history. Ben Ammi was a deeply spiritual but also remarkably modern thinker who blended scientific thought into his evolving socio-theology, while seeking to remove religion from the realm of mythology. The book evaluates how Ben Ammi's theology is one bound to concepts of humility and learning how to go with the grain of the natural world in order to find humanity's true center as a part of nature.
The Samaritans
Etienne Nodet examines the Samaritans and their religion, using Jewish and Christian sources, including rabbinic literature and the latest archaeology. Nodet tells the story of the Samaritans and their religion, showing how they were faithful to a classical form of monotheism. Nodet traces the Samaritan story from more recent to more ancient times. He begins by looking at the importance of the Samaritans in the time of Josephus and the New Testament, taking in the area formed by Galilee, Samaria, and Judea and recognizing how this corresponds approximately to Canaan at the time of Joshua, between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. He then examines the account of 2 Kings 17, which shows the Samaritans as descendants of the settlers sent by the Assyrians, who were initiated to a certain Yahwism after the fall of the kingdom of Israel (North) in 721 BC. Next Nodet looks at the time of the Maccabean crisis, when the Samaritans separated from the Jews, showing how before then there was a peaceful coexistence. Finally, Nodet turns to the Persian period, showing how after the return from exile there was a restoration of the Babylonian-derived form of religion, which the local Israelites (including the Samaritans) opposed. Nodet contends that, as such, the Samaritan religion, with its succession of high priests up to the present day, and is of 'immemorial permanence', linking to the earliest worship of YHWH in Israel.
When Courage Calls
'A crucial and compelling read' NATALIE COLLINS @GodLovesWomen 'The story of Josephine Butler is astonishing, shocking, inspiring, recounted here by a narrator who understands the very core of her subject. A powerful read.' CLAIRE GILBERT, author of I, Julian'When Courage Calls allows us to hear Butler's message afresh at a time when women's value and safety is again at risk.' ALISON MILBANK, Professor of Literature and Theology, University of Nottingham 'This is an inspiring book written by an inspiring writer' RACHAEL TREWEEK, Bishop of Gloucester Millicent Fawcett, the leader of the British suffragist movement, described Josephine Butler as 'the most distinguished English woman of the nineteenth century'. Among the first feminist activists, Butler raised public awareness of the plight of destitute women, worked to address human trafficking and led a vigorous campaign to secure equal rights for women before the law. In her pursuit of justice, Butler did as much for women as William Wilberforce did for African slaves within the British Empire, and yet, while Wilberforce remains a household name, Butler is forgotten. Social historian Sarah C. Williams presents a re-examined biography of the radical political activist Josephine Butler. From the beauty of her childhood in Northumbria, to the stifling intellectual environment of mid-Victorian Oxford; from the impoverished streets of Liverpool and the brothels of London, Brussels and Paris, to the offices of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. Butler's relentless drive to secure rights for women against the sexual double standard of her day captures a remarkable woman with deeply held values for equality. Underpinning Butler's public life of political activism lies the full corpus of her writing and the spirituality that grounded her activism. When Courage Calls offers a profound examination of Butler's inner life of prayer, defined by her radical sense of justice that was able to transform Victorian society. Such conviction offers us a taste of the possibility for our time and culture. This biography presents a fresh interpretation of the relationship between Josephine Butler's public leadership, her political activism and her spirituality.
