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In March 2017, the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa-Akufu announced his intention to build a national cathedral to the people of Ghana. The announcement elicited watertight counter arguments that morphed into two a priori re-litigated assumptions: First, Ghana is a secular country and second, religion and state formation are incompatible. Informed by a frustrating paradox of an overwhelming religious presence and concurrent pervasive corruption in the country, public conversation reached a cul-de-sac of “conviction without compromising.” In The Political Economy of Heaven and Earth in Ghana, Charles Prempeh deploys the national cathedral as an entry point to provide both interdisciplinary and autoethnographic understanding of religion and politics. The book shows the capacity of religion, when properly cultivated and curated as a worldview to answer the why questions of life, will foster personal, moral, collective and ontological responsibility. All this is needed to stem the tide against corruption, commodity fetishism, environmental degradation (illegal mining—galamsey), heritage destruction and religious exploitation. Prempeh recuperates a historical fact about the mutual inclusivity between religion and politics—politics helping to manage differences, while religion provides a transcendental reason for unity to be forged for human flourishing. Separating the two is, therefore, ahistorical and an obvious threat to the intangible virtues that answers, “why and how” questions for public governance.

Delving into a traditionally underexplored period, this book focuses on the treatment of Greek Jews under the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas in the years leading up to the Second World War. Almost 86% of Greek Jews died in the Holocaust, leading many to think this was because of Metaxas and his fascist ideology. However, the situation in Greece was much more complicated; in fact, Metaxas in his policies often attempted to quash anti-Semitism. The Fourth of August Regime and Greek Jewry, 1936-1941 explores how the Jews fit (and did not fit) into Metaxas's vision for Greece. Drawing on unpublished archival sources and Holocaust survivor testimonies, this book presents a ground-breaking contribution to Greek history, the history of Greek anti-Semitism, and sheds light on attitudes towards Jews during the interwar period.

Although it is fashionable among modernists to claim that globalism emerged only since ca. 1800, the opposite can well be documented through careful comparative and transdisciplinary studies, as this volume demonstrates, offering a wide range of innovative perspectives on often neglected literary, philosophical, historical, or medical documents. Texts, images, ideas, knowledge, and objects migrated throughout the world already in the pre-modern world, even if the quantitative level compared to the modern world might have been different. In fact, by means of translations and trade, for instance, global connections were established and maintained over the centuries. Archetypal motifs developed in many literatures indicate how much pre-modern people actually shared. But we also discover hard-core facts of global economic exchange, import of exotic medicine, and, on another level, intensive intellectual debates on religious issues. Literary evidence serves best to expose the extent to which contacts with people in foreign countries were imaginable, often desirable, and at times feared, of course. The pre-modern world was much more on the move and reached out to distant lands out of curiosity, economic interests, and political and military concerns. Diplomats crisscrossed the continents, and artists, poets, and craftsmen traveled widely. We can identify, for instance, both the Vikings and the Arabs as global players long before the rise of modern globalism, so this volume promises to rewrite many of our traditional notions about pre-modern worldviews, economic conditions, and the literary sharing on a global level, as perhaps best expressed by the genre of the fable.

Jesus's Final Week leads readers through a close examination of the last experiences of Jesus's earthly life, including his entry into Jerusalem, cursing of the fig tree, and final Passover meal. Author and pastor William F. Cook doesn't merely comment on the events themselves but studies the key biblical passages carefully, evaluating their meaning and significance. Substantive enough for classroom and church use, this book will delight any Christian who wants to learn more about the events of Holy Week and to prepare for celebrating Easter.

How you should think about religious diversity. We live in a diverse world. Religious pluralism holds that each religion is of equal worth and offers a legitimate lifestyle. But Christianity claims Jesus is the only way to be saved. Is Christianity bigoted? In Are All Religions True?, Harold A. Netland offers a Christian response to religious pluralism. Netland considers the nature of religious claims, tolerance, and the great commission. Wisdom is needed. While Christians should support aspects of religious diversity, we also believe that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of all. Learn how you can be devoted to Christ while showing love for those of other faiths. The Questions for Restless Minds series applies God's word to today's issues. Each short book faces tough questions honestly and clearly, so you can think wisely, act with conviction, and become more like Christ.

#1 New York Times bestselling author and investigative reporter David Corn tells the wild and harrowing story of the Republican Party's decades-long relationship with far-right extremism, bigotry, and paranoia.​ A fast-paced, rollicking, behind-the-scenes account of how the GOP since the 1950s has encouraged and exploited extremism, bigotry, and paranoia to gain power, American Psychosis offers readers a brisk, can-you-believe-it journey through the netherworld of far-right irrationality and the Republican Party's interactions with the darkest forces in America. In a compelling and thoroughly-researched narrative, Corn reveals the hidden history of how the Party of Lincoln forged alliances with extremists, kooks, racists, and conspiracy-mongers and fostered fear, anger, and resentment to win elections—and how this led to Donald Trump's triumph and the transformation of the GOP into a Trump personality cult that foments and bolsters the crazy and dangerous excesses of the right. The Trump-incited insurrectionist attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was no aberration. American Psychosis shows it was a continuation of the long and deep-rooted Republican practice of boosting and weaponizing the rage and derangement of the right. The gripping tale in American Psychosis covers the last seven decades. From McCarthyism to the John Birch Society to segregationists to the New Right to the religious right to Rush Limbaugh to Newt Gingrich to the militia movement to Fox News to Sarah Palin to the Tea Party to Trumpism, the Republican Party has deliberately nurtured and exploited rightwing fear and loathing fueled by paranoia, grievance, and tribalism. This powerful and important account explains how one political party has harnessed the worst elements in politics to poison the nation's discourse and threaten American democracy.'[Corn is] a great journalist. I love the way he thinks. I love the way he writes. I'm so glad he's done a super-readable, modern history of the right...We just need smart, digestible history about this stuff right now...[American Psychosis] is perfectly timed...Relevant history for where we are right now.'—Rachel Maddow, host, The Rachel Maddow Show'With American Psychosis, David Corn'did the full homework to take us all the way back to where it really begins.''—Lawrence O'Donnell, host, The Last Word

In this volume, on the basis of three consultations which took place in Seoul and Geneva (2016, 2017, 2018), theologians from Yonsei University's College of Theology in Seoul, South Korea, and from the Theological Faculty at the University of Geneva reflect together on three of the main challenges facing Christian theology today. First, questions related to religious pluralism and multiple religious belonging are addressed. Second, the `promise'of an enhanced human being through technology and other means is discussed. Third, the reality of the threat humanity represents to our ecosystem is considered. Each of these themes is examined from a Korean as well as from a Western European perspective, for Christian theology, in our day, can no longer afford to remain limited to its own geographical context.

Dante's Divine Comedy in Early Renaissance England compares the intellectual, emotional, and religious world of Dante in 13th-century Florence with that of a group of English intellectuals gathered around Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, uncle of the King, Henry VI. Here, Jonathan Hughes establishes that there was a Renaissance in 15th-century England, encouraged by the discovery and translations of works of Greek philosophers and developments in science and medicine; and that vernacular writers in Gloucester's circle, such as John Lydgate and Robert Hoccleve, were of fundamental importance in exploring the meaning of the self and man's relationship with the natural world and the classical past. However, the appearance in 15th-century England of Dante's'Commedia', the most popular work of the Middle Ages, served to remind writers and readers of the cost of intellectual enquiry: the loss of faith in a harmonious and beautiful world; the redemptive power of the love of a woman; and the tangible presence of an afterlife.Engagingly written and meticulously researched, this innovative study shines a new perspective on Dante scholarship as well as offering a unique anaylsis of intellectual thought and culture in 15th-century England.

This book explores recent developments in South African Pentecostalism, focusing on new prophetic churches. The chapters engage with a number of paradigm shifts in Christology, identified as complementing Christ, competing with Christ, removing Christ and replacing Christ. What are the implications of these shifts? Does it mean that believers no longer believe in Christ but in their leaders? Does it shift believers'faith towards materiality than the person of Christ? This volume will be valuable for scholars of African Christianity and in particular those interested in the neo-prophetic movement and Christology in a South African context.

Discover the fascinating true stories of spies and secret agents throughout history in this ultimate collection of espionage trivia.Whether you're a wannabe 007 or just a fan of subterfuge, the fun facts and legendary stories in this big book of spy trivia are sure to shock and fascinate. Discover how the most infamous spy organizations like the CIA and MI6 came began, how they recruit agents, and how they have helped shape world events. You'll even learn real tactics that spies use on missions, from escaping zip ties to reading the body language. This collection spans centuries and countries, including: • One of history's first spy operations: the Trojan Horse in ancient Greece• America's first spy organization: George Washington's Culper Ring • Real KGB spies from the Cold War era: American citizens Ethel and Julius Rosenberg• And much more!This fact-packed book quizzes readers on their spy knowledge, from pop culture icons to unsung heroes that history books have forgotten.

This lavish book highlights a selection of the wonderful illustrations held in the archive of The Florilegium Society at Sheffield Botanical Gardens. Each illustration included in the book is accompanied by a plant profile, stating where the plant was found in the wild and explaining something of its history, uses and botany. The book also gives an introduction to florilegia dating from the early herbals, and a history of the Society's Herbarium and the Gardens themselves. Featuring over 100 colour illustrations and 67 plant profiles, it is a book for everyone to enjoy, whatever the season. The Botanical Gardens are in the heart of the City of Sheffield and are a much-loved venue enjoyed both by the people of Sheffield and visitors to the City. This book has been written by the Society's founding chair Valerie Oxley. Valerie developed the diploma in Botanical Illustration with colleagues at the University of Sheffield.

Archbishop Averky approaches the New Testament first and foremost not as a literary work of antiquity, but as the revelation of Jesus Christ as God in the flesh. Writing in the tradition of biblical exegetes, he provides a commentary that is firmly grounded in the teaching of the Church, manifested in its liturgical hymnography and the works of the Holy Fathers. Analyzing all four Gospels chronologically and simultaneously, he allows readers to see the life of Christ as an unfolding narrative in accessible, direct language.HIs commentary on the Book of Acts deals with questions of authorship and time of composition. He elucidates the moral and pastoral aspects of the Pauline and Universal Epistles and the Book of Revelation. The final commentary on the Apocalypse, in which Archbishop Averky relies heavily on the ancient commentary of St Andrew of Ceasaria, is provided in the popular translation by Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose), together with the Scriptural text itself. Archbishop Averky's commentaries on the New Testament have become standard textbooks in Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary and have been published in Russia to widespread acclaim. This present collection makes the complete commentary available in one collection for the first time. It is an indispensable addition to the library of every student of Holy Scripture.

Christian Theology after Christendom: Engaging the Thought of Douglas John Hall brings together contemporary thinkers to engage and build upon Douglas John Hall's work—and to take up his challenge to reclaim a contextual and de-colonizing theology of the cross as a means to speak to the realities of life and faith today. With a focus on contemporary issues, this edited collection critically analyzes and deconstructs the centuries-old colonial triumphalism of Christian theology and the church in the West. This book seeks to frame present day crises in ways that honor a deeply rooted theologia crucis that does not colonize the “other.” It explores constructive decolonizing possibilities for Christian theology at the end of Christendom.

The prevalence of global pandemics has been timeless and universal. In 1918, the Spanish Flue grounded Spain and her neighbours. In 1997, 2014 and 2020, the Ebola virus wreaked havoc in West Africa in the same manner that polio had ravaged the globe. Since 2019, the Coronavirus has forced most economies onto a downward spiral. Despite concerted global attempts at observing World Health Organization guidelines, the Coronavirus has been changing peoples'lives, forcing most economies onto their knees, endangering lives and livelihoods, making a mockery of global medicine and causing the widespread despair and helplessness that has come to be known as'the new normal'. Unlike the other pandemics, the mayhem, complexities and dialectics caused by Covid-19 have been matchless, requiring a systematic study and necessitating a volume like this one. The volume's 16 well-researched chapters argue that despite Covid-19's enormous lessons and predictions about even greater future pandemics, humanity can ill-afford to relent in its determination to conquer the pandemic in the same way that human resolve has defeated past pandemic. As such, the volume provides hope and direction to the global community on how best to deal with Covid-19 and pandemics of similar or even higher magnitude in the future.

Our globalized world, with its increasingly pluralistic societies, necessitates a theological framework that enables Christians to embrace their neighbors – with respect, understanding, and love – without compromising the essential components of their own faith. In Revelation and Grace, Dr. Philip Djung explores the ways in which Hendrik Kraemer's theology of religions offers the church such a framework. By placing Kraemer in conversation with other twentieth-century Dutch Reformed theologians, namely Herman Bavinck, Johan H. Bavinck, and Abraham Kuyper, Dr. Djung allows the doctrine of revelation and grace to inform his interpretation of Kraemer's work. He provides a critical assessment of Kraemer's theology, illustrating the significance of Kraemer's commitment to the uniqueness of Christ and the necessity of Christian mission, while advocating for the need to amend certain aspects of Kraemer's perspective to more fully reflect God's presence in world religions.

Indispensable for the student or researcher studying women's history, this book draws upon a wide array of cultural settings and time periods in which women displayed agency by carrying out their daily economic, familial, artistic, and religious obligations.Since record keeping began, history has been written by a relatively few elite men. Insights into women's history are left to be gleaned by scholars who undertake careful readings of ancient literature, examine archaeological artifacts, and study popular culture, such as folktales, musical traditions, and art. For some historical periods and geographic regions, this is the only way to develop some sense of what daily life might have been like for women in a particular time and place.This reference explores the daily life of women across civilizations. The work is organized in sections on different civilizations from around the world, arranged chronologically. Within each society, the encyclopedia highlights the roles of women within five broad thematic categories: the arts, economics and work, family and community life, recreation and social customs, and religious life. Included are numerous sidebars containing additional information, document excerpts, images, and suggestions for further reading.

In this book, African Christian theology is introduced as a Kpelelogical reflection about life in the context of Africa, which exists in the context of the cosmos. Kpelelogy is the ontological mode of being grasped by the agape of God in Christ by grace through faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. By this mode, African theology is introduced by way of a definition, a principle of paradox, and a description, as well as a critical view of the works of African theologians. It examines the issues of method, criteria, and sources of doing theology in Africa and introduces the method of Kpelelogy as an African theological method. This is explored further as a holistic theological method that is conscious of its being in existence, and its life in history, that is driven by faith in the triune God in a pneumatic experience that has been termed in this book as the Kpelelogical ontological mode. The book is ecumenical in view of its engagement with Christian tradition. It presents a Kpelelogical theology that is concretely African and universally Christian in the Okpelejen Wulormor--the cosmic Jesus Christ who is and was, but beyond the munus triplex (Priest, King and Prophet, threefold office of Jesus Christ) that is to come. Hence it is a theology which embraces elements of Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox theological insights in the African context.

Stephen “Monty” Montgomery is a lonely city-based defence lawyer; who, despite being skilled in legal debate, is nowhere near to being offered a partnership by his firm when he is faced with compelling evidence of an age-old supernatural struggle between celestial entities and their arcane human disciples, forcing him to rapidly adjust his theological beliefs. Monty soon finds himself called upon to represent ex-police officer Christopher Forsyth. Forsyth had been involved in investigating an alleged paedophile ring among the Edinburgh establishment which resulted in his commanding officer being gunned down in the street. Monty's new client has since been railroaded out of the police and finds himself in their custody on a trumped-up murder charge. Finding themselves opposed by a faceless conspiracy that is politically ambitious and prepared to destroy anything that gets in its way, the defence team will need every gram of their ability to get Forsyth off the hook. What Monty hasn't reckoned upon, however, is being brought face to face with an immortal enemy – one more diabolical, cunning, and dangerous than any human conspirator. Martone revives his haunting Kertamen tale with this vividly compelling and politically astute thriller, which is littered with moral complexity and legal intrigue. Told with ceaseless imagination through a rapid and intense narrative, The Orcadian File effortlessly meanders between ancient and contemporary judicial mischief.

The Hong Kong protests that began in the second half of 2019 captured the world's attention as demonstrations against an extradition bill grew into a larger civil liberties movement. While protests began as peaceful demonstrations, the disproportionate police force with which the government responded escalated the situation to an international crisis.Kwok Pui-lan and Francis Ching-wah Yip bring together an international cohort to discuss the relation between Christianity and Communism and the neoliberal economy, as well as civil disobedience, religion and social movements, and the roles of the churches in social conflict. This interdisciplinary volume showcases theological reflections by many scholars and activists in Hong Kong.

The goal of this book is to help change misconceptions that have historically pervaded Christianity by educating both laity and clergy about serious mental illness. It will accomplish this goal via an in-depth, exegetic examination of biblical accounts of what may have been untreated serious mental illness from the perspective of a psychiatrist and Christian. This in-depth examination will demonstrate that 1) serious mental illness was likely present and relatively common in biblical times, and similar in phenomenology to how it manifests today, and 2) that some instances of demon-possession and exorcisms as described in the Bible could, in a post-Enlightenment narrative, be better explained by occurring in the context of untreated mental illness, and that this could reveal a great deal of information about the biblical view of mental illness. Some of these accounts are from the Old Testament and some from the New Testament. Each essay will provide an in-depth examination of the biblical account from the perspective of a board-certified psychiatrist who is an expert in the field of serious mental illness and who is also a practicing Christian.

Liberating the Gospel is prefaced by Tom Wright's claim that Christians have for too long'read scripture with nineteenth-century eyes and sixteenth-century questions,'and that it is urgently necessary they learn to read'with first-century eyes and twenty-first-century questions.'The central section of the book concentrates on reading the narratives of the Galilean ministry of Jesus within their first century context, then exploring Paul's mission in the setting of the urban and imperial world of Rome, before offering reflection on the Apocalypse in the changed world following the destruction of Jerusalem. Smith then concludes his treatise facing the'twenty-first-century questions,'seeking to build a hermeneutical bridge to our globalized world. As a whole, this major book on Christian mission aims to contribute toward an understanding of how the dynamic message of Christ might be liberated to be heard as genuinely good news today, in the process potentially transforming Christianity, provided there is willingness to face opposition from a world resistant to the exposure of its injustices.

Dances of José Limón and Erick Hawkins examines stagings of masculinity, whiteness, and Latinidad in the work of US modern dance choreographers, José Limón (1908-1972) and Erick Hawkins (1908-1994).Focusing on the period between 1945 to 1980, this book analyzes Limón and Hawkins'work during a time when modern dance was forming new relationships to academic and governmental institutions, mainstream markets, and notions of embodiment. The pre-war expressionist tradition championed by Limón and Hawkins'mentors faced multiple challenges as ballet and Broadway complicated the tenets of modernism and emerging modern dance choreographers faced an increasingly conservative post-war culture framed by the Cold War and Red Scare. By bringing the work of Limón and Hawkins together in one volume, Dances of José Limón and Erick Hawkins accesses two distinct approaches to training and performance that proved highly influential in creating post-war dialogues on race, gender, and embodiment. This book approaches Limón and Hawkins'training regimes and performing strategies as social practices symbiotically entwined with their geo-political backgrounds. Limón's queer and Latino heritage is put into dialogue with Hawkins'straight and European heritage to examine how their embodied social histories worked co-constitutively with their training regimes and performance strategies to produce influential stagings of masculinity, whiteness, and Latinidad.

In this volume, on the basis of three consultations which took place in Seoul and Geneva (2016, 2017, 2018), theologians from Yonsei University's College of Theology in Seoul, South Korea, and from the Theological Faculty at the University of Geneva reflect together on three of the main challenges facing Christian theology today. First, questions related to religious pluralism and multiple religious belonging are addressed. Second, the `promise'of an enhanced human being through technology and other means is discussed. Third, the reality of the threat humanity represents to our ecosystem is considered. Each of these themes is examined from a Korean as well as from a Western European perspective, for Christian theology, in our day, can no longer afford to remain limited to its own geographical context.Christophe Chalamet is Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Geneva (Switzerland).Hyun-Shik Jun is Professor of Systematic Theology at Yonsei University's College of Theology in Seoul, Korea.

First full English translation of a major text, narrating the adventures of the Jouvencel whilst interweaving them with advice on military tactics and strategies.Le Jouvencel is one of the most important and revealing sources for the study of medieval warfare and chivalry. It tells the story of a poor young soldier whose skill at arms enables him to rise through the ranks and eventually marry a foreign princess. Jean de Bueil (1406-1477 wrote the book around 1466, following his retirement from military service, drawing heavily upon his own experiences as one of the most prominent French soldiers of the fifteenth century. The pages of Le Jouvencel are filled with unusually detailed descriptions of military campaigns, sieges and battles, capturing the tactics, weapons and everyday life of the soldier with a vivid eye for detail.Many of the characters, places and events described in the apparently fictional story were actually inspired by recent history, as was revealed in a Commentary written just a few years after Bueil's death by one of his squires, Guillaume Tringant. Jean de Bueil wrote Le Jouvencel to provide future generations of soldiers and military leaders with advice on chivalry, knighthood and the art of warfare. As a result, this remarkable chivalric narrative offers a window into the martial culture of French soldiers during the final stages of the Hundred Years War. This first English translation is presented with an introduction to the text and to Jean de Bueil, and explanatory notes. CRAIG TAYLOR is Reader in Medieval History at the University of York; JANE H.M. TAYLOR is Emeritus Professor of French at Durham University.

Why do the Capulets bite their thumbs at the Montagues? Why do the Venetians spit upon Shylock's Jewish gaberdine? What is it about Volumnia's act of kneeling that convinces Coriolanus not to assault the city of Rome?Shakespeare's Body Language is a ground-breaking new study of Shakespearean drama, revealing the previously unseen history of social tensions found within the performance of gestures – and how such gestures are used to shame those within the body politic of early modern England. The first full study of shaming gestures in Shakespearean drama, this book establishes how shame is often rooted in the gendered expectations of the Renaissance era. Exploring how the performance of gestures such as figging, the cuckold's horns, and even the in-action of stillness created shaming spectacles on the early modern stage and its wider society, Shakespeare's Body Language argues that gestures are embodied social metaphors which epitomise the personal as political. It reveals the tensions of everyday life as key motivators behind the actions of Shakespeare's characters, and considers how honour and its opposite, shame, are constructed in terms of gender norms.Featuring in-depth analyses of plays across Shakespeare's career, this book explores how the playwright's understanding of shame and humiliation is rooted in performance anxiety and gender politics, explaining how theatrical gestures can create dramatic tension in a way that words alone cannot. It offers both rich insights into the early modern context of Shakespeare's drama and confirms the startling relevance of his work to modern audiences.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Music and Culture presents key concepts in the study of music in its cultural context and provides an introduction to the discipline of ethnomusicology, its methods, concerns, and its contributions to knowledge and understanding of the world′s musical cultures, styles, and practices. The diverse voices of contributors to this encyclopedia confirm ethnomusicology′s fundamental ethos of inclusion and respect for diversity. Combined, the multiplicity of topics and approaches are presented in an easy-to-search A-Z format and offer a fresh perspective on the field and the subject of music in culture. Key features include: Approximately 730 signed articles, authored by prominent scholars, are arranged A-to-Z and published in a choice of print or electronic editions Pedagogical elements include Further Readings and Cross References to conclude each article and a Reader's Guide in the front matter organizing entries by broad topical or thematic areas Back matter includes an annotated Resource Guide to further research (journals, books, and associations), an appendix listing notable archives, libraries, and museums, and a detailed Index The Index, Reader's Guide themes, and Cross References combine for thorough search-and-browse capabilities in the electronic edition