Recent scholarship focused on the role of embodiment within cognition and communication reminds us that part of how we “know” is through our physical senses. We only know the softness of a kitten by touching its fur, or the tastiness of bread by eating. How might this influence our understanding of biblical texts, such as Jesus’s claim, “I am the bread of life,” and the invitation to eat? This study explores the I am sayings of John’s Gospel, their sensory elements providing an imaginative entry into the narrative and contributing tangible value to the participatory theology of the Fourth Gospel.
This book examines the spiritual experiences of the first British Methodist lay people and the language used to describe those experiences. It reflects on physical manifestations such as shouting, weeping, groaning, visions, and out-of-body experiences and their role in the process of spiritual development. These experiences offer an intimate perspective on the surprisingly holistic origins of the evangelical revival. The study features autobiographical narratives and other first-hand manuscripts in which “ordinary” lay people recount their first impressions of Methodism, their conflicted feelings throughout the conversion process, their approach toward death and dying, and their mixed attitudes toward the task of writing itself. The book will be relevant to scholars of Methodism, evangelicalism and religious history as well as those interested in emotions and religious experience.
By exploring the sensory aspects of the seven predicated I am sayings of the Fourth Gospel, this study addresses how embodiment and the senses contribute concrete, tangible, and affective qualities of participation into the notion of believers' union with Christ.
This book explores the role of bodily, sensory experience in early Christianity (first – seventh centuries AD) by focusing on the importance of smell in ancient Mediterranean culture. Following its legalization in the fourth century Roman Empire, Christianity cultivated a dramatically flourishing devotional piety, in which the bodily senses were utilized as crucial instruments of human-divine interaction. Rich olfactory practices developed as part of this shift, with lavish uses of incense, holy oils, and other sacred scents. At the same time, Christians showed profound interest in what smells could mean. How could the experience of smell be construed in revelatory terms? What specifically could it convey? How and what could be known through smell? Scenting Salvation argues that ancient Christians used olfactory experience for purposes of a distinctive religious epistemology: formulating knowledge of the divine in order to yield, in turn, a particular human identity. Using a wide array of Pagan, Jewish, and Christian sources, Susan Ashbrook Harvey examines the ancient understanding of smell through religious rituals, liturgical practices, mystagogical commentaries, literary imagery, homiletic conventions; scientific, medical, and cosmological models; ascetic disciplines, theological discourse, and eschatological expectations. In the process, she argues for a richer appreciation of ancient notions of embodiment, and of the roles the body might serve in religion.
Have you ever wondered why achieving your goals doesn’t always bring you happiness? It’s because those goals might not have been what you truly needed in the first place. In today’s world, a major problem is that many people search for joy in material possessions like money, fame, and respect. But here’s the truth: even the most successful and admired individuals often struggle with unhappiness. They might even seek therapy and rely on medications to maintain a sense of normalcy. What are the fundamental problems that we all face? We often feel a sense of lack, loneliness, incompleteness, restriction, and fear, especially the fear of death. These problems can only be overcome through self-investigation. There’s no way around it. Being happy is a natural state for human beings, just as fire is naturally hot. The mistake we make is searching for happiness externally, which is impossible to achieve. Think about it: when you finally obtain something you’ve desired for a long time, you may feel happy initially, but soon you’ll find yourself craving something else. It becomes an endless cycle. But here’s the good news: there’s a way to experience happiness at every moment. To make it happen, you must first understand, in a peaceful state of mind, “Who Are You?” You need to engage in self-inquiry. This book is based on the renowned Indian scripture called the “Ashtavakra Gita,” which reveals the ultimate truth of humanity. It will guide you on how to attain self-knowledge and fearlessness. Your fears and doubts will vanish, not temporarily, but permanently. Internal conflicts will cease, and psychological pain will fade away. This is not just another self-help book; it’s a spiritual workbook that can lead you to liberation and spiritual wisdom. By Reading This Book: ✔️ You’ll attain lasting peace. ✔️ You’ll understand the true meaning of spiritual awakening. ✔️ You’ll grasp the essence of spirituality beyond religion. ✔️ You’ll find the answer to the question, “Who Are You?” ✔️ You’ll become fearless. ✔️ You’ll break free from bondage and achieve liberation. ✔️ You’ll discover the key to eternal happiness and joy. ✔️ You’ll gain deep insight into spirituality and self-awakening. ✔️ You’ll experience the bliss of self-realization. ✔️ You’ll learn how to attain spiritual enlightenment. ✔️ You’ll understand what happens after spiritual enlightenment. ✔️ You’ll find the reasons why you should embark on a spiritual awakening. And remember, this book is not only for adults but also suitable for kids and teenagers. So why wait? Claim your copy today and discover a profound journey toward self-discovery and enlightenment.
This book explores the ways that Christians, from the period of late antiquity through the Protestant Reformation, interpreted the Bible according to its several levels of meaning. Using the five bodily senses as an organizing principle, Karlfried Froehlich probes key theological developments, traditions, and approaches across this broad period, culminating in a consideration of the implications of this historical development for the contemporary church. Distinguishing between "principles" and "rules" of interpretation, Froehlich offers a clear and useful way of discerning the fundamental difference between interpretive methods (rules) and the overarching spiritual goals (principles) that must guide biblical interpretation. As a study of roots and reasons as well as the role of imagination in the development of biblical interpretation, Sensing the Scriptures reminds us how intellectually and spiritually relevant the pursuit of a historical perspective is for Christian faith and life today.
"Smith's history of the sensate is destined to precipitate a revolution in our understanding of the sensibilities that underpinned the mentalities of past epochs."--David Howes, author of Sensual Relations: Engaging the Senses in Culture and Social Theory "Mark M. Smith presents a far-ranging essay on the history of the senses that serves simultaneously as a good introduction to the historiography. If one feels in danger of sensory overload from this growing body of scholarship, Smith's piece is a useful preventive."--Leigh E. Schmidt, author of Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality "This is a masterful overview. The history of the senses has been a frontier field for a while now. Mark Smith draws together what we know, with an impressive sensory range, and encourages further work. A really exciting survey."--Peter N. Stearns, author of American Fear: The Causes and Consequences of High Anxiety "Who would ever have guessed that a book on the history of the senses--seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling--could be informative, thought-provoking, and, at the same time, most entertaining? Ranging in both time and locale, Mark Smith's Sensing the Past makes even the philosophy about the senses from ancient times to now both learned and exciting. This work will draw scholars into under-recognized subjects and lay readers into a world we simply but unwisely take for granted."--Bertram Wyatt-Brown, author of Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South "Mark M. Smith has a good record of communicating his research to a broad constituency within and beyond the academy . . . This will be required reading for anyone addressing sensory history."--Penelope Gouk, author of Music, Science and Natural Magic in Seventeenth Century England "This is a fine cultural history of the body, which takes Western and Eastern traditions and their texts quite seriously. Smith views a history of the senses not only from 'below' but places it squarely in the historical imagination. It will be of interest to a wide range of readers."--Sander L. Gilman, author of Difference and Pathology
It is a commonly held belief that medieval Catholics were focussed on the 'bells and whistles' of religious practices, the smoke, images, sights and sounds that dazzled pre-modern churchgoers. Protestantism, in contrast, has been cast as Catholicism's austere, intellective and less sensual rival sibling. With iis white-washed walls, lack of incense (and often music) Protestantism worship emphasised preaching and scripture, making the new religion a drab and disengaged sensual experience. In order to challenge such entrenched assumptions, this book examines Tudor views on the senses to create a new lens through which to explore the English Reformation. Divided into two sections, the book begins with an examination of pre-Reformation beliefs and practices, establishing intellectual views on the senses in fifteenth-century England, and situating them within their contemporary philosophical and cultural tensions. Having established the parameters for the role of sense before the Reformation, the second half of the book mirrors these concerns in the post-1520 world, looking at how, and to what degree, the relationship between religious practices and sensation changed as a result of the Reformation. By taking this long-term, binary approach, the study is able to tackle fundamental questions regarding the role of the senses in late-medieval and early modern English Christianity. By looking at what English men and women thought about sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, the stereotype that Protestantism was not sensual, and that Catholicism was overly sensualised is wholly undermined. Through this examination of how worship was transformed in its textual and liturgical forms, the book illustrates how English religion sought to reflect changing ideas surrounding the senses and their place in religious life. Worship had to be 'sensible', and following how reformers and their opponents built liturgy around experience of the sacred through the physical allows us to tease out the tensions and pressures which shaped religious reform.
Think! In Mark 12:24 Jesus said, "Are you not therefore deceived, not being acquainted with the Scriptures nor yet the Power of God?" Be knowing, the Scriptures are the Word - the complete expression of God's Thought and contain the Power of God's Thought. The Bible on the other hand is but the letter, men's letters, men's interpretations of the Scriptures and contain not the Power of God's Word but contain only the force of men's reasoning, men's intellect. One could say that the Bible is but the survey for the Scripture Digs. The Great Journey in Pursuit of Jesus' Way, Truth & Life is my personal daily journal during the years of 1998 and 1999. Everything I write is hand written so great care was taken in transcribing my written journal into this format. By great care I mean transcribing word for word along with their misspellings and errors so that it would allow you the reader to travel with me every day. In this journal I share what I took notice of and took notes on during my journey. Some things I perceived during this journey gave me new questions to question as well as answers to questions that I have repeatedly asked myself over many years. Travel with me through my 1998-1999 journal as we embark on this Great Journey in pursuit of Jesus' Way, Truth and Life.
