Jonathan Klawans shows how the link between moral impurity and physical defilement, as understood by the ancient Hebrews, can be followed through to St Paul and the Christian era when the need for ritual purity was finally rejected.
In this work, Christopher D. Stanley provides a Hebrew Bible textbook which approaches the Bible through the categories of comparative religion. It carefully distinguishes the religion of ancient Israel from the religion represented in the Bible.
A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is idea for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and all who want to understand the Bible in today's world. SGBC is organized into three easy-to-use sections, designed to help readers live out God's story: Listen to the Story; Explain the Story; and Live the Story. Praise for SGBC: "The easy-to-use format and practical guidance brings God's grand story to modern-day life so anyone can understand how it applies today." -- Andy Stanley "Opens up the biblical story in ways that move us to act." -- Darrell L. Bock "It makes the text sing and helps us hear the story afresh." -- John Ortberg "This commentary breaks new ground." -- Craig L. Blomberg
From Gods, to ritual observance to the language of myth and the distinction between the sacred and the profane, Religious Worlds explores the structures common to all spiritual traditions.
Wil Rogan argues that, contrary to twentieth-century interpretation, the Fourth Gospel did not replace purity with faith in Jesus. Instead, as with other early Jewish writings, its discourse about purity functions as a way to make sense of life before God in the world. He suggests that John's Gospel employs biblical and early Jewish traditions of purity associated with divine revelation and Israel's restoration to narrate how God's people are prepared for the coming of Jesus and enabled by him to have life with God characterized by love. After evaluating different theories of purity for the interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, Rogan explores John the Baptist as an agent of ritual purification, Jesus as the agent of moral purification, and the disciples of Jesus as ones who are (or are not) made morally pure by Jesus. While purity is not one of the Fourth Gospel's primary focuses, Rogan stresses that the concept figures into some of its most significant claims about Christology, the doctrine of salvation, and ethics. Through purity, the Fourth Gospel guards continuity with the past while placing surprising conditions on participation in Israel's future.
While comparative studies on purity and impurity presented in the last decades have mostly concentrated on the ancient world or on modern developments, this volume focusses the hitherto comparatively neglected period between ca. 300 and 1600 c. E. The collection is innovative because it not only combines papers on both European and Asian cultures but also considers a wide variety of religions and confessions. The articles are written by leading experts in the field and are presented in six systematic sections. This analytical categorization facilitates understanding the functional spectrum that the binomial purity and impurity could cover in past societies. The volume thus presents an in-depth comparative analysis of a category of paramount importance for interfaith relations and processes of transfer. Contributors are: Aziz al-Azmeh, Matthias Bley, Sven Bretfeld, Miriam Czock, Licia Di Giacinto, Hans-Werner Goetz, Elisabeth Hollender, Nikolas Jaspert, Stefan Köck, Stefan Leder, Hanna Liss, Christopher MacEvitt, Hermann-Josef Röllicke, Paolo Santangelo, and Ephraim Shoham-Steiner.
The Divine Companion James Allen - It cannot be said of this book that James Allen wrote it at any particular time or in any one year, for he was engaged in it over many years and those who have eyes to see and hearts to understand will find in its pages the spiritual history of his life. It was his own wish that The Divine Companion should be the last MS of his to be published. " It is the story of my soul," he said, " and should be read last of all my books, so that the student may understand and find my message in its pages. Therefore hold it back until you have published everything else." There remain now only his dramatic works and a few poems to be included in the next edition of Poems of Peace. That The Divine Companion will prove a companion indeed to thousands who have read his books in the past, I have no doubt. To read it is to hear again the voice of tne writer, and to study its message is to once again sit at his feet. He trod the Way himself - every bit of it, and he therefore speaks as one having authority. Lovers of James Allens works will indeed be filled with joy to know that there is yet another book from his inspired pen, and will eagerly welcome The Divine Companion.
Musaicum Books presents to you a meticulously edited James Allen collection. This ebook has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Content: As a Man Thinketh Out from the Heart (Sequel to "As a Man Thinketh") From Poverty to Power (aka The Realization of Prosperity and Peace) - The Path to Prosperity - The Way of Peace All These Things Added - Entering the Kingdom - The Heavenly Life Through the Gate of Good (aka Christ and Conduct) Byways of Blessedness Poems of Peace Eolaus (A Lyrical Dramatic Poem) The Life Triumphant: Mastering the Heart and Mind Morning and Evening Thoughts The Mastery of Destiny Above Life's Turmoil From Passion to Peace Eight Pillars of Prosperity Man: King of Mind, Body and Circumstance Light on Life's Difficulties How Pain Leads to Knowledge and Power Foundation Stones to Happiness and Success Men and Systems The Shining Gateway The Divine Companion James Allen's Book of Meditations for Every Day in the Year