Cosmic ode, poetic masterpiece, spiritual summit, prayer for peace, call to fraternity: the Canticle of Brother Sun is known by all, or at least its title is, and it has been celebrated in many ways, set to music so many times. Yet, there is something in it that resists, which is why it will never completely be a classic. It continues to vibrate with its initial transgression which pushes it towards the universal while remaining in the assumed particularism of a vernacular dialect. The cal...

This book introduces the Talmud, the age-old storehouse of Jewish wisdom, in an easy-to-read prose. The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (Hebrew: משנה, c. 200 CE), the first written compendium of Judaism's Oral Law, and the Gemara (c. 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. The whole Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long. It is writ...

For those contemplating religious choices, Unitarian Universalism offers an appealing alternative to religious denominations that stress theological creeds over individual conviction and belief. In this new edition of the classic introductory text on Unitarian Universalism, which includes a revealing, entertaining foreword by best-selling author Robert Fulghum (All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It), a new preface by UU moderator...

In this cogent volume, renowned Christian historian Martin Marty delivers a brief yet sweeping account of Christianity and how it spread from a few believers two thousand years ago to become the world’s largest religion.Comprising nearly one third of the world’s population–more than two billion followers–Christianity is distinctive among major faiths in that it derives both its character and its authority from the divinity of its central figure, Jesus Christ. Examining this facet o...

The question and answer format is the most popular way of providing specific answers to specific quetions about Catholicism. Father John A. Hardon, using the material from his best-selling Catholic Catechism, has put together a book of over 1,700 questions and answers to provide the modern Catholic with easy access to the issues of the Catholic faith.The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism is divided into three parts:Christian Belief -- a study of...

With more than 3,000 entries and cross-references on the history, main figures, institutions, theory, and literary works associated with Islam's mystical tradition, Sufism, this dictionary brings together in one volume, extensive historical information that helps put contemporary events into a historical context. Additional features include:·chronology of all major figures and events·introductory essay·glossary of 400 Arabic, Berber, Chinese, Persian, and Turkish term...

If youre unsure of which patron saint to call on when confronting obstacles, then you need this ready reference.Arranged alphabetically by subject and by saint, it includes thousands of listings and hundreds of holy advocates. Youll discover one hundred and fifty titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary resulting in more than seven thousand invocations.Youll learn about saints from the British Isles, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Mexico, Northern Europe, So...

One of America's foremost scholars of religion examines the tumultuous era that gave birth to the modern Judeo-Christian traditionIn The Crucible of Faith, Philip Jenkins argues that much of the Judeo-Christian tradition we know today was born between 250-50 BCE, during a turbulent "Crucible Era." It was during these years that Judaism grappled with Hellenizing forces and produced new religious ideas that reflected and responded to their changing world. By...

The places that trace Clare’s footsteps are sacred places, not just because they record her life-story, but because they hold the potential to be thresholds for our own transcendent experiences. A sacred place recalls past events of God’s revelation at that site. Pilgrims visit such places to recall the history and to experience the spirit of the Holy that is specific to the place. At the same time, a sacred place holds the promise of future encounters with the Holy. Visiting sacred places...

Including contributions from twenty-two leading moral theologians, this volume is the most thorough assessment of modern Roman Catholic social teaching available. In addition to interrogations of the major documents, it provides insight into the biblical and philosophical foundations of Catholic social teaching, addresses the doctrinal issues that arise in such a context, and explores the social thought leading up to the "modern" era, which is generally accepted as beginning in 1891 with t...

Now in its second edition, Islam: The Basics provides an introduction to the Islamic faith, examining the doctrines of the religion, the practises of Muslims and the history and significance of Islam in modern contexts. Key topics covered include:the Qur'an and its teachingsthe life of the Prophet Muhammadgender, women and IslamSufism and Shi’ismIslam and the western worldnon-Muslim approaches to Islam....