"Technicians of the Sacred presents 'primitive' and ancient poetries as the incantations they are, loaded with power and very full of the magic that invests all good poetry. The treatment is fascinating...the commentaries are a gold mine of responses to the material by a strong poet (the editor), and his selection of analogous writings from a broad range of contemporary poets."—David P. McAllester
"In 1895 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her "Revising Committee" produced The Woman's Bible, a commentary on passages in the Bible that "do not exalt or dignify women" and "those also in which women are prominent by exclusion." The women's movement has come a long way in the last hundred years, but so too have our knowledge and appreciation of religions other than Judaism and Christianity." "Serinity Young's Anthology of Sacred Texts by and about Women is the first comprehensive comparative sourcebook on women and religion. It makes available readings by and about women from the primary texts of the world's religions. The religions treated include not only the "big seven," Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, but the religions of northern Europe, the Ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome, shamanism and tribal religions, as well as more recent alternative religious movements. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction to the religion in question, providing a historical overview with particular regard to women. Then follow representative texts about women (each with its own introduction) from works that are central to their respective traditions. These texts include creation stories, biographies of founders (in which women often play a prominent role), law codes, folklore and fairy tales, the "texts" of tribal peoples, and works explicitly by women. Folklore and fairy tales have particular importance in this book because they generally reveal the beliefs of the "little tradition," which are often in the hands of women, while the "great tradition" is represented by the male-dominated forms of orthodoxy. The works by women here take many forms from theological treatises to mystical poems to poems mourning the loss of a child or husband to the matter-of-fact statements by tribal women, such as Nisa, expressing the uncertainties of any religious knowing." "Many of the texts included in this anthology are not only "representative texts about women" but formative texts of the various traditions, texts that have seeped into the language and consciousness of their culture and shaped its view of women. In her introduction the author sketches certain themes that are of central importance for the cross-cultural or comparative study of women in world religion: representations of women as evil, women as role models, wisdom as feminine, women religiosi, dualities, goddesses, sex changes and sex disguises, myths and stories of gender conflict. These themes can help guide the reader as she makes her way through virtual libraries of the world's sacred texts. Reading sacred texts in this way, from the perspective of women, can be a radical activity, an activity that, at its best, subverts male dominance of the text."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
For a contemporary world in which religious belief exercises a more potent - some might say more dangerous - influence on global events than many would have thought possible a generation ago, the nature and interpretation of the core tenets of religious faith has become a matter of compelling and widespread interest, both within and outside practising religious communities.Each of the 14 chapters of Sacred Texts is devoted to one of the principal religious and other belief systems of humanity, both defunct and extant. The chapters follow a consistent pattern: a short and accessible introduction to the faith in question, followed by extracts that clearly illustrate its mythic narratives, its spiritual and theological doctrines, its central moral teachings, its rituals and modes of worship, and its mystical traditions. Accompanying notes make clear the meanings of all the quoted passages. Taken together, the extracts provide a rounded and coherent picture of each religious tradition.Sacred Texts covers not only Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism and Sikhism, but also small-scale traditional religions, new religions, and secular worldviews such as humanism. It is an essential reference for those who wish to understand the nature - and continuing appeal - of religious belief in a globalised, multi-faith world.
A collection of essays concerning religion and art, including contributions by Barbara Novak, Leo Steinberg, Paul Tillich, Wassily Kandinsky, John Dixon Jr., David Tracy, Joshua Taylor, and Langdon B. Gilkey.
One hundred sermons that display the victorious, although sometimes painful, historical and spiritual pilgrimage of black people in America. A groundbreaking anthology, Preaching with Sacred Fire is a unique and powerful work. It captures the stunning diversity of the cultural and historical legacy of African American preaching more than three hundred years in the making. Each sermon, as editors Martha Simmons and Frank A. Thomas reveal, is a work of art and a lesson in unmatched rhetoric. The journey through this anthology—which includes selections from Jarena Lee, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Gardner C. Taylor, Vashti McKenzie, and many others—offers a rare view of the unheralded role of the African American preacher in American history. The collection provides new insights into the underpinnings of the black fight for emancipation and the rise and growth of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. Sermons from the first decade of the twenty-first century point toward the future of African American preaching. Biographies of the preachers put their work in the cultural and homiletic context of their periods. The preachers of these sermons are men and women from a range of faiths, ancestries, and educational backgrounds. They draw on a vast and luminous landscape of poetic language, using metaphor, rhythm, and imagery to communicate with their congregations. What they all have in common is hope, resilience, and sacred fire. “Even during the most difficult and oppressive times,” Simmons and Thomas write in the preface, “the delivery, creativity, charisma, expressivity, fervor, forcefulness, passion, persuasiveness, poise, power, rhetoric, spirit, style, and vision of black preaching gave and gives hope to a community under siege.” This magnificent work beautifully renders the complexity, spiritual richness, and strength of African American life.
(Vocal Collection). This indispensable volume is a great resource full of vast variety, useful for any singer trying to please any bride or groom. The selections are in five musical styles: classical/traditional, Broadway, standards in custom arrangements, pop/rock classics in custom arrangements, and contemporary Christian. CLASSICAL TRADITIONAL: Alleluja (Mozart) (high voice only) * Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod) * Ave Maria (Schubert) * Bist du bei mir (Stozel) * Dank sei Dir, Herr (Ochs) * Entreat Me Not to Leave Thee (Gounod) * Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach) * Let the bright Seraphim (Handel, with trumpet part) (high voice only) * The Lord's Prayer (Malotte) * Mein glaubiges Herz (My Heart Ever Faithful) (Bach) * Now Thank We All Our God (arr. Walters) * Panis Angelicus (Franck) * Pur ti miro, pur ti godo (Monteverdi, duet from L'incoronazione di Poppea). BROADWAY: All Good Gifts (Godspell) * All I Ask of You (duet, The Phantom of the Opera) * And This Is My Beloved (Kismet) * The Greatest of These (Philemon) * More I Cannot Wish You (Guys and Dolls) * Some Enchanted Evening (South Pacific) * Someone like You (Jekyll & Hyde) * Sunrise, Sunset (Fiddler on the Roof) * Till There Was You (The Music Man) * Unexpected Song (Song & Dance). STANDARDS: All the Way * Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) * I Could Write a Book * Let It Be Me (Je T'appartiens) * The Promise (I'll Never Say Goodbye) * Starting Here, Starting Now * Time After Time * Walk Hand in Hand * The Way You Look Tonight * With a Song in My Heart. POP/ROCK CLASSICS: Annie's Song * Endless Love * Grow Old with Me * Here, There and Everywhere * I Will * In My Life * We've Only Just Begun * You Are So Beautiful * You Raise Me Up. CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN: How Beautiful * I Will Be Here * If You Could See What I See * Love of My Life * My Place Is with You * Parent's Prayer (Let Go of Two) * This Day * This Is the Day (A Wedding Song).
The revelation of unity and a renaissance of caring and sharing is quietly transforming our world! The first two sections of the book put this sacred shift in perspective. Section three shares secrets about protecting the potential of our children and posterity. Section four reveals simple, economic ways to bring prosperity and peace down to Earth. Contributors to this anthology include Barbara Marx Hubbard, Steve Bhaerman, AKA Swami Beyondanada, Diana Cooper, Patricia Cota-Robles, and assorted experts in various fields. This book was compiled for anyone who ever wondered how God could possible turn what we have today into the prophesied Golden Age. It reveals exactly how we're going to get from here to there -- co-creating our future with family, community, and God!
Jane Hirshfield, the award-winning author of THE OCTOBER PALACE and editor of WOMEN IN PRAISE OF THE SACRED, presents a scintillating new volume of poems to be published to coincide with the hardcover release of NINE GATES, the author's primer on the reading and writing of poetry.