Showing 1–20 of 58 results
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life
In the ten years since “90 Minutes in Heaven” was published, millions of people worldwide have read the incredible true story of Don Piper’s experience with death and life–and in reading they have found their own lives changed. After a semi-truck collided with Don Piper’s car, he was pronounced dead at the scene. For the next ninety minutes, he experienced the glories of heaven. Back on earth, a passing minister felt led to stop and pray for the accident victim even though he was told Piper was dead. Miraculously, Piper came back to life, and the pleasure of heaven was replaced by a long and painful recovery. With a personal update from Don on the impact the book has had on him, his family, and the millions who have heard his story, even those who have read the original book will want to be part of the continuing story of “90 Minutes in Heaven” with this new edition. Also includes a note from the publisher, stories from readers, favorite Scriptures and quotations on heaven from Don Piper, and a photo insert.
About the Author
Don Piper has been an ordained minister since 1985. He is the author of the “New York Times” bestseller “90 Minutes in Heaven” and other popular books. He has appeared on “Today,” “The 700 Club,” James Robison’s “Life Today,” and other television and radio programs, and teaches across the United States and around the world. He and his wife, Eva, live in Texas. Learn more at www.donpiperministries.com. Cecil Murphey has written or coauthored more than one hundred books, including the autobiography of Franklin Graham, “Rebel with a Cause.” A collaborator on the bestseller “Gifted Hands” with Dr. Ben Carson, Cecil resides in Georgia.
A Civilized Woman: M. L. Boonlua Debyasuvarn and the Thai Twentieth Century
Boonlua Debyasuvarn was born into a noble Siamese family in 1911 and not only witnessed but participated in the great events of her century. Boonlua became one of the first Thai women to earn a university degree. As an official in the Ministry of Education, she worked to improve education and represent Thailand at international conferences. Her essays on literature became the foundation of modern Thai literary criticism and her novels are now recognized as unique social histories of the times in which she lived.
Susan Fulop Kepner is a writer, translator, and former professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
A Spiritual Economy: Gift Exchange in the Letters of Paul of Tarsus (Synkrisis)
The exchange of gifts is a fundamental part of society and a foundational element in Greco-Roman religions. Combining theories of gift exchange, both modern and Greco-Roman, Thomas Blanton reveals how religious discourse-in the guise of “spiritual gifts” believed to come from Israel’s god-is instrumental in the formation of sociopolitical hierarchies and the assignment of honor and prestige. Blanton uses an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates religion, classics, sociology, and anthropology to investigate the economy of gift exchange shown in Paul’s letters.
About the Author
Thomas R. Blanton, IV, is auxiliary professor in New Testament studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He lives in Glendale, WI.
After Migration and Religious Affiliation : Religions, Chinese Identities and Transnational Networks
This is a timely book that fills the gap in the study of Chinese overseas and their religions in the global context. Rich in ethnographic materials, this is the first comprehensive book that shows the transnational religious networks among the Chinese of different nationalities and between the Chinese overseas and the regions in China. The book highlights diverse religious traditions including Chinese popular religion, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, and discusses inter-cultural influences on religions, their localization, their significance to cultural belonging, and the transnational nature of religious affiliations and networking.
An Introduction to the New Testament: The Abridged Edition (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library)
A long-awaited abridgement of Raymond Brown’s classic and best-selling introduction to the New Testament Since its publication in 1997, Raymond Brown’s Introduction to the New Testament has been widely embraced by modern readers seeking to understand the Christian Bible. Acknowledged as a paragon of New Testament studies in his lifetime, Brown was a gifted communicator who wrote with ease and clarity. Abridged by Marion Soards, who worked with Brown on the original text, this new, concise version maintains the essence and centrist interpretation of the original without tampering with Brown’s perspective, insights, or conclusions. The biblical writings themselves remain the focus, but there are also chapters dealing with the nature, origin, and interpretation of the New Testament texts, as well as chapters concerning the political, social, religious, and philosophical world of antiquity. Furthermore, augmenting Brown’s commentary on the New Testament itself are topics such as the Gospels’ relationship to one another; the form and function of ancient letters; Paul’s thought and life, along with his motivation, legacy, and theology; a reflection on the historical Jesus; and a survey of relevant Jewish and Christian writings. This comprehensive, reliable, and authoritative guidebook is now more accessible for novices, general readers, Bible study groups, ministers, scholars, and students alike.
About the Author
Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) was a distinguished professor of biblical studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Marion L. Soards is professor of New Testament studies at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky.
Asian Encounters: Exploring Connected Histories
The centuries-old interactions between the different regions of Asia took various forms including the migration of people, trade in raw materials and goods, and the exchange of religious, literary, and aesthetic ideas and forms. Covering diverse aspects of these interactions, this volume studies the connections between India and other parts of Asia including China and Southeast Asia. It, therefore, approaches the subject of Asian cultural interactions during the pre-modern and early modern periods through the prism of politics, art, religion, and trade. By bringing together these inter-related aspects of cultural encounters, it explores the complex connected histories of the Asian people in a comprehensive manner. The diversities of cultural interactions addressed in this book range from issues of war and diplomacy to trade, trade routes and ship-wrecks; from the making of grand monumental edifices to the circulation of tiny terracottas and coveted carpets, and from the religious to the secular domains in the exchange of cultural ideas and forms. Crucial for a comprehensive understanding of contemporary networks between the Indian subcontinent and various other parts of Asia, this work shows that interactions across cultures in pre-modern Asia were motivated not only by commercial but also cultural ties and explores the historical context in which they took place.
Asian Religions in Practice: An Introduction
“Princeton Readings in Religions” is a new series of anthologies on the religions of the world, representing the significant advances that have been made in the study of religions in the last thirty years. This volume brings together the introductions to the first five volumes of this acclaimed series: “Religions of India in Practice” (1995), “Buddhism in Practice” (1995), “Religions of China in Practice” (1996), “Religions of Tibet in Practice” (1997), and “Religions of Japan in Practice” (1999).The introductions to these volumes have been widely praised for their accessible, clear and concise overviews of the religions of Asia, providing both historical context and insightful analysis of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, and Bon, as well as many local traditions. The authors of the chapters are leading scholars of Asian religions: Richard Davis (India), Stephen Teiser (China), George Tanabe (Japan), and Donald Lopez (Buddhism and Tibet). They bring together the best and most current research on their topics, while series editor, Donald Lopez provides an introduction to the volume as a whole. In addition to providing a wealth of detail on the history, doctrine, and practice of the religions of Asia, the five chapters offer an opportunity for sustained discussions of the category of “religion.”
Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women
About the Author
Kate Cooper is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Machester. Born in Washington, DC, she was educated at Princeton, Harvard, and Wesletan universities.
Becoming a Blessed Church: Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power 2nd Edition
Becoming a Blessed Church will help you discern God’s purpose and the path God is calling your congregation to walk. This book will help you find Christ in your midst and become aware of the many ways the blessings of God’s Spirit flow through your congregation. This second edition includes three new practical chapters that answer the questions the author is most frequently asked.
About the Author
N. Graham Standish is pastor of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople, Pennsylvania. Calvin Church has almost tripled in size under his leadership and has garnered national attention in several studies, including one by Diana Butler Bass who featured the church in her groundbreaking book Christianity for the Rest of Us. Standish is also coordinating pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Butler, Pennsylvania, and teaches at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Tyndale Theological Seminary.
Becoming a Woman of Destiny: Turning Life’s Trials into Triumphs!
About the Author
Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook is one of the most distinguished pastors in the nation. She served as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom under President Obama. In addition, she was the first black woman to serve as president of the 10,000-member Hampton University Ministers’ Conference, to be elected the senior pastor of the two-hundred-year-old American Baptist Churches of the USA, to be appointed chaplain of the NYPD, and to receive a White House Fellowship. A graduate and faculty member of Harvard University, Cook has worked closely with NBC, ABC, and CBS, and has been featured everywhere from “Time Out New York” and “Ebony” magazines to “Good Morning America” and “The Tavis Smiley Show.”
Being German, Becoming Muslim: Race, Religion, and Conversion in the New Europe
About the Author
Esra Ozyurek is an associate professor at the European Institute of the London School of Economics. She is the author of “Nostalgia for the Modern: State Secularism and Everyday Politics in Turkey”.
Best Chinese Myths: Beginning of Time
Heroes abound in the land of Chinese myths. Generations have been enthralled and inspired by characters of yesteryears, drawing upon their wisdom and virtues for motivation and guidance. The enduring quality of these myths has been proven with the passage of time. Witness how our world was created by Pangu and how human beings were fashioned by Nuwa. Come face to face with famous personalities like Houyi as he battled the 10 suns and various hideous monsters; as well as Fuxi, the man behind the Eight Trigrams. Find out why Kuafu chased the sun relentlessly till his death. Coupled with life-like and intricate drawings by cartoonist Kok Hao Yun, these classical Chinese myths are bound to entertain and educate.
Black Women’s Christian Activism: Seeking Social Justice in a Northern Suburb
When a domestic servant named Violet Johnson moved to the affluent white suburb of Summit, New Jersey in 1897, she became one of just barely a hundred black residents in the town of six thousand. In this avowedly liberal Protestant community, the very definition of “the suburbs” depended on observance of unmarked and fluctuating race and class barriers. But Johnson did not intend to accept the status quo. Establishing a Baptist church a year later, a seemingly moderate act that would have implications far beyond weekly worship, Johnson challenged assumptions of gender and race, advocating for a politics of civic righteousness that would grant African Americans an equal place in a Christian nation. Johnson’s story is powerful, but she was just one among the many working-class activists integral to the budding days of the civil rights movement. In Black Women’s Christian Activism, Betty Livingston Adams examines the oft overlooked role of non-elite black women in the growth of northern suburbs and American Protestantism in the first half of the twentieth century. Focusing on the strategies and organizational models church women employed in the fight for social justice, Adams tracks the intersections of politics and religion, race and gender, and place and space in a New York City suburb, a local example that offers new insights on northern racial oppression and civil rights protest. As this book makes clear, religion made a key difference in the lives and activism of ordinary black women who lived, worked, and worshiped on the margin during this tumultuous time.
About the Author
Betty Livingston Adams is Research Fellow and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of History. She was previously Associate Fellow at the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis, Global Scholar at the Institute for Research on Women, and Associate Fellow of the Yale Initiative for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion.
Brick Greek Myths: The Stories of Heracles, Athena, Pandora, Poseidon, and Other Ancient Heroes of Mount Olympus
Meet the Greek gods as you have never seen them–in LEGO form! Enjoy these fascinating myths, reimagined through elaborate scenes and colorful LEGO bricks in one thousand color photographs! This book shares a unique retelling of some of the most widely known and loved Greek myths, from the stories of Athena, Poseidon, and Pandora to the twelve labors of Hercules. Watch Athena spring from the head of Zeus, and see Poseidon as he rules the seas with his mighty trident. Maintain hope with Pandora as her curiosity gets the best of her, and beware the Nemean Lion as Hercules repents for his misdeeds. Be awestruck by the amazing Mount Olympus made completely from LEGO bricks! These exciting retellings of ancient tales are consistent with the mythology behind them, while also capturing the creativity and whimsy of the stories with elaborate brick scenery. Brick Greek Myths will be a delight for LEGO tinkerers of all ages, a fun introduction to the tales for young readers, and an enchanting return to the stories for even the most devoted admirer of mythology.
About the Author
Amanda Brack is a freelance illustrator who loves dogs, horror movies, and homemade smoothies. She recently graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and is currently living near Boston, Massachusetts. Monica Sweeney loves all things related to Spain and Chaucer and has yet to say no to a mini powdered doughnut. She graduated with honors in English from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst and lives in Needham, Massachusetts. Becky Thomas enjoys breaking the bindings of all books Jane Austen, playing video games, and trying out new recipes. She graduated with honors in English from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, and she lives with her husband, Patrick, and their two cats in Burlington, Massachusetts. Monica Sweeney and Becky Thomas are also the authors of Brick Shakespeare: The Tragedies–Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar, Brick Shakespeare: The Comedies–A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew, and Brick Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, and More.
Buddhism Across Asia: Networks of Material, Intellectual and Cultural Exchange, Volume 1
“Buddhism across Asia is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and spread of Buddhism in Asia. It comprises a rich collection of articles written by leading experts in their fields. Together, the contributions provide an in-depth analysis of Buddhist history and transmission in Asia over a period of more than 2000 years. Aspects examined include material culture, politics, economy, languages and texts, religious institutions, practices and rituals, conceptualisations, and philosophy, while the geographic scope of the studies extends from India to Southeast Asia and East Asia. Readers’ knowledge of Buddhism is constantly challenged by the studies presented, incorporating new materials and interpretations. Rejecting the concept of a reified monolithic and timeless ‘Buddhism’, this publication reflects the entangled ‘dynamic and multi-dimensional’ history of Buddhism in Asia over extended periods of ‘integration,’ ‘development of multiple centres,’ and ‘European expansion,’ which shaped the religion’s regional and trans-regional identities.” – Max Deeg, Cardiff University, UK. “Buddhism Across Asia presents new research on Buddhism in comprehensive spatial and temporal terms. From studies on transmission networks to exegesis on doctrinal matters, linguistics, rituals and practices, institutions, Buddhist libraries, and the religion’s interactions with political and cultural spheres as well as the society at large, the volume presents an assemblage of essays of breathtaking breadth and depth. The goal is to demonstrate how the transmission of Buddhist ideas serves as a cultural force, a lynchpin that had connected the societies of Asia from past to present. The volume manifests the vitality and maturity of the field of Buddhist studies, and for that we thank the editor and the erudite authors. ” – Dorothy C. Wong, University of Virginia, USA. Co-publication: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies / Manohar Publishers & Distributors.
Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road
Winner of the 2011 Award for Excellence in the Historical Study of Religion from the American Academy of Religion
About the Author
Johan Elverskog is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University
Class in Contemporary China
More than three decades of economic growth have led to significant social change in the People s Republic of China. This timely book examines the emerging structures of class and social stratification: how they are interpreted and managed by the Chinese Communist Party, and how they are understood and lived by people themselves. David Goodman details the emergence of a dominant class based on political power and wealth that has emerged from the institutions of the Party-state; a well-established middle class that is closely associated with the Party-state and a not-so-well-established entrepreneurial middle class; and several different subordinate classes in both the rural and urban areas. In doing so, he considers several critical issues: the extent to which the social basis of the Chinese political system has changed and the likely consequences; the impact of change on the old working class that was the socio-political mainstay of state socialism before the 1980s; the extent to which the migrant workers on whom much of the economic power of the PRC since the early 1980s has been based are becoming a new working class; and the consequences of China s growing middle class, especially for politics. The result is an invaluable guide for students and non-specialists interested in the contours of ongoing social change in China.
About the Author
David S. G. Goodman is Academic Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, where he is Professor of Chinese Politics. He is also Professor in the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Nanjing University.
Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam: Explaining the Conservative Turn
“Over the course of the past decade, journalists and other observers have noted a ‘conservative turn’ in Indonesian Islam, but without seriously investigating or explaining the nature and extent of the transformation(s) under way. With the publication of this excellent new volume, Martin van Bruinessen and his collaborators have now provided a fine-grained account of the complex and diverse manifestations of this ‘conservative turn’, with in-depth treatments of developments and trends across a range of different arenas and institutions – and regions – of Indonesian Islam. Van Bruinessen has always been a pioneering figure in the study of Islam in Indonesia, and with this volume he once again brings unparalleled insight and illumination to our understanding of Islamic life in the archipelago. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in Indonesian politics and society today.”–John Sidel, Professor of International and Comparative PoliticsLondon School of Economics and Political Science.
About the Author
Martin van Bruinessen is Emeritus Professor of Comparative Studies of Contemporary Muslim Societies at Utrecht University, the Netherlands and from 1999 to 2008 was one of the chairs at the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World.
Explaining Islamist Insurgencies : The Case of al-Jamaah al-Islamiyyah and the Radicalisation of the Poso Conflict, 2000-2007
Since 9/11 many books have been published on Islamic terrorism, but few of these have considered the issue from the perspective of strategic studies or in terms of an “insurgency.” As a result, much of this literature ignores the process of radicalisation and fails to ascertain why some people turn to terrorism, while others from the same background do not. To counter this trend, Explaining Islamic Insurgencies explains how and why the process of Islamist radicalisation is an important step towards acts of terrorism and in the formation of terrorist organisations by focusing on Poso, a small town in Indonesia that experienced years of armed sectarian conflict between Muslim and Chrisitian communities in 2000-2007. Building on the frameworks provided by previous studies, Muhammed Tito Karnavian employs communications theory to explore the necessary precursors for the legitimising ideology, in this case Salafi-jihadism, to be effectively disseminated.With nearly 20 years of experience in academia and counter-terrorism operations in Indonesia, and as the current Chief of Papua Police, Karnavian employs his unparalleled access to information and individuals to delineate the various stages of the radicalisation of the Poso conflict and how radical organisations, such as al-Jamaah al-Islamiyyah (JI), came to be involved. This unique first-hand account of a counter-terrorist operation concludes by offering general policy implications that will be of use to both academics and practitioners.