Religion on the Rocks
Religion on the Rocks

Author: Aaron Michael Wright

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781607813644

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Winner of the Don D. and Catherine S. Fowler Prize We are nearly all intrigued by the petroglyphs and pictographs of the American Southwest, and we commonly ask what they "mean." Religion on the Rocks redirects our attention to the equally important matter of what compelled ancient peoples to craft rock art in the first place. To examine this question, Aaron Wright presents a case study from Arizona's South Mountains, an area once flanked by several densely populated Hohokam villages. Synthesizing results from recent archaeological surveys, he explores how the mountains' petroglyphs were woven into the broader cultural landscape and argues that the petroglyphs are relics of a bygone ritual system in which people vied for prestige and power by controlling religious knowledge. The features and strategic placement of the rock art suggest this dimension of Hohokam ritual was participatory and prominent in village life. Around AD 1100, however, petroglyph creation and other ritual practices began to wane, denoting a broad transformation of the Hohokam social world. Wright's examination of the South Mountains petroglyphs offers a novel narrative of how Hohokam villagers negotiated a concentration of politico-religious authority around platform mounds. Readers will come away with a better understanding of the Hohokam legacy and a greater appreciation for rock art's value to anthropology.

God on the Rocks
God on the Rocks

Author: Phil Madeira

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2013-06-11

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 1455573159

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Musician and songwriter Phil Madeira turns his talent for evocative lyricism from the stage to the page as he invites us to wander with him on his relentless search for God. From a joke involving a glass eye in a family that doesn't always see eye-to-eye, a judgmental "Grandmonster" who makes an (almost) redeeming connection in her final moments, or a crumbling marriage and the surprise of new love, Madeira's raw and tender stories illustrate the journey we all share, along with wise reflections to get through it. Roaming from his evangelical roots to discover a successful career in Americana music, Madeira boils away the detritus of religion to discover a faith "on the rocks": sometimes leaving him stranded on the rocky shore, sometimes savored like a smooth drink on a summer's day, but always leading to a God "not worrying about changing or chastising his broken children, but singing in a low, guttural hum, forged in the heat of his passion for humans, a God almighty love song." Just like a sweet old hymn can rekindle even a doubting cynic's longing for God, Madeira's beckoning voice can turn a wandering heart toward home with laughter and hope.

Rocks of Ages
Rocks of Ages

Author: Stephen Jay Gould

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2011-07-20

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0307801411

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"People of good will wish to see science and religion at peace. . . . I do not see how science and religion could be unified, or even synthesized, under any common scheme of explanation or analysis; but I also do not understand why the two enterprises should experience any conflict." So states internationally renowned evolutionist and bestselling author Stephen Jay Gould in the simple yet profound thesis of his brilliant new book. Writing with bracing intelligence and elegant clarity, Gould sheds new light on a dilemma that has plagued thinking people since the Renaissance. Instead of choosing between science and religion, Gould asks, why not opt for a golden mean that accords dignity and distinction to each realm? At the heart of Gould's penetrating argument is a lucid, contemporary principle he calls NOMA (for nonoverlapping magisteria)--a "blessedly simple and entirely conventional resolution" that allows science and religion to coexist peacefully in a position of respectful noninterference. Science defines the natural world; religion, our moral world, in recognition of their separate spheres of influence. In elaborating and exploring this thought-provoking concept, Gould delves into the history of science, sketching affecting portraits of scientists and moral leaders wrestling with matters of faith and reason. Stories of seminal figures such as Galileo, Darwin, and Thomas Henry Huxley make vivid his argument that individuals and cultures must cultivate both a life of the spirit and a life of rational inquiry in order to experience the fullness of being human. In his bestselling books Wonderful Life, The Mismeasure of Man, and Questioning the Millennium, Gould has written on the abundance of marvels in human history and the natural world. In Rocks of Ages, Gould's passionate humanism, ethical discernment, and erudition are fused to create a dazzling gem of contemporary cultural philosophy. As the world's preeminent Darwinian theorist writes, "I believe, with all my heart, in a respectful, even loving concordat between . . . science and religion."

Rock Gets Religion
Rock Gets Religion

Author: Mark Joseph

Publisher:

Published: 2018-02-13

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9781944229184

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Rock music, once largely the domain of hedonism and debauchery of every kind, is now populated by a surprising case of upstanding and in many cases devout citizens who create all different kinds of music and oftentimes are animated by religious ideas that would have been completely alien to rock stars of yesteryear. The religious and religiously influenced are now commonplace in rock 'n' roll (Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Katy Perry, 21 Pilots). But is that good for either rock or the faith? In Rock Gets Religion producer and author Mark Joseph explores the tensions caused when religious youth are thrown into the world of rock 'n' roll. He weaves thoughtful commentary amidst the stories of devout and not-so-devout rockers--along with a warning about the inherent dangers of sanctifying rock. Four major trends caused this big-tent takeover: (1) Dozens of rookie artists are bypassing the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) scene altogether going directly to mainstream labels; (2) established CCM artists are switching to mainstream recording companies; (3) Those artists who experience religious conversions are staying in mainstream music instead of leaving for the church circuit; and (4) the American Idol phenomenon resulted in pop stars being picked by the American people instead of music industry gatekeepers who selected the stars of yesteryear. As a result, while CCM sales of Christian music as a genre may have been in a steady decline, the religious influence on rock has never been greater. Rock Gets Religion lays out the case for people of faith to continue to make their music in the middle of popular culture, and updates the scene with dozens of success (and not so successful) stories of Christians who have done just that. "Mark Joseph has been a key voice in the transformation of American popular music," says former Van Halen singer Gary Cherone. "In this book, his final in a three-part series, he shows us how the transformation happened and outlines a vision for the future of the unlikely alliance of rock music and serious faith."

The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood
The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood

Author: David R. Montgomery

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2012-08-27

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0393083969

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How the mystery of the Bible's greatest story shaped geology: a MacArthur Fellow presents a surprising perspective on Noah's Flood. In Tibet, geologist David R. Montgomery heard a local story about a great flood that bore a striking similarity to Noah’s Flood. Intrigued, Montgomery began investigating the world’s flood stories and—drawing from historic works by theologians, natural philosophers, and scientists—discovered the counterintuitive role Noah’s Flood played in the development of both geology and creationism. Steno, the grandfather of geology, even invoked the Flood in laying geology’s founding principles based on his observations of northern Italian landscapes. Centuries later, the founders of modern creationism based their irrational view of a global flood on a perceptive critique of geology. With an explorer’s eye and a refreshing approach to both faith and science, Montgomery takes readers on a journey across landscapes and cultures. In the process we discover the illusive nature of truth, whether viewed through the lens of science or religion, and how it changed through history and continues changing, even today.

The Mediatization of Religion
The Mediatization of Religion

Author: Luis Mauro Sa Martino

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-03

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1317024273

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Filling a significant gap in the literature by offering a theoretical framework by which we can understand the issues of media, religion and politics Luis Mauro Sa Martino asks how can a religious denomination have any sort of influence on people in a secular age? The author presents data which suggests that the presence and influence of religion in public affairs around the world has been strongly supported by the use of media communication, and highlights the way some religions have adopted media communication and drawn on popular culture to build their message. The use of media enables a religion to reach more people, attract more members and generate more income but also increases religious influence on public matters. The book offers a number of case studies and contemporary examples to illustrate the theory, and will be essential reading for all students and scholars of media, politics and all those interested in the part religion plays in our society.

Their Rock Is Not Like Our Rock
Their Rock Is Not Like Our Rock

Author: Daniel Strange

Publisher: Zondervan Academic

Published: 2015-02-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780310520771

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As the West becomes more religiously diverse, Christians are aware of questions raised by proclaiming Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. Can objections to Christian exclusivity be answered, and how should Christians understand other religions and their followers? Their Rock is Not Like Our Rock presents a theology of other religions.

Flowers on the Rock
Flowers on the Rock

Author: John S. Harding

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2014-06-01

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 0773590498

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When Sasaki Sokei-an founded his First Zen Institute of North America in 1930 he suggested that bringing Zen Buddhism to America was like "holding a lotus against a rock and waiting for it to set down roots." Today, Buddhism is part of the cultural and religious mainstream. Flowers on the Rock examines the dramatic growth of Buddhism in Canada and questions some of the underlying assumptions about how this tradition has changed in the West. Using historical, ethnographic, and biographical approaches, contributors illuminate local expressions of Buddhism found throughout Canada and relate the growth of Buddhism in Canada to global networks. A global perspective allows the volume to overcome the stereotype that Asia and the West are in opposition to each other and recognizes the continuities between Buddhist movements in Asia and the West that are shaped by the same influences of modernity and globalization. Flowers on the Rock studies the fascinating and ingenious changes, inflections, and adaptations that Buddhists make when they set down roots in a local culture. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Buddhism, religious life in Canada, and the broader issues of multiculturalism and immigration. Contributors include Michihiro Ama (University of Alaska), D. Mitra Barua (University of Saskatchewan), Paul Crowe (Simon Fraser University), Melissa Anne-Marie Curley (University of Iowa), Mavis Fenn (University of Waterloo), Kory Goldberg (Champlain College), Sarah F. Haynes (Western Illinois University), Jackie Larm (University of Edinburgh), Paul McIvor (independent), James Placzek (University of British Columbia), and Angela Sumegi (Carleton University).