Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity

Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity PDF Author: Richard Temple
Publisher: HarperElement
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description

Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity

Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity PDF Author: Richard Temple
Publisher: HarperElement
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description


Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity

Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity PDF Author: Richard Temple
Publisher: Element Books Limited
ISBN: 9781852301866
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
Uses the imagery of icons as a basis for exploring the true mystical source of the Christian faith.

Christianity

Christianity PDF Author: Linda Woodhead
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199687749
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
This is a short, accessible analysis of Christianity that focuses on its social and cultural diversity as well as its historical dimensions.

Inner Christianity

Inner Christianity PDF Author: Richard Smoley
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 083482440X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
An eye-opening introduction to the complex world of esoteric Christianity—perfect for the general reader This guide to mystical and esoteric Christianity speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "the Fall" really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.

The Icon Painter's Handbook

The Icon Painter's Handbook PDF Author: Ian Knowles
Publisher: Youcanprint
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
This handbook is an in depth introduction to the theory and practice of Byzantine icon painting in egg tempera. The aim is to help all students aspire to create icons that are both sound theologically while being aesthetically beautiful. This volume focuses on the Face of Christ, especially in the Mandolin icon, and covers all the basics of icon painting. Subsequent volumes are planned which will look at the figure and the Kyykotissa icon, the design of festal icons, backgrounds and buildings . This handbook uses dozens of precisely chosen, clear illustrations, gives precise recipes for colours and mixtures, provides step by step instructions to follow, and links directly to video demonstrations which show some of the most difficult processes close up. It puts the practical aspects of icon painting in a clear historical and theological framework, introducing the application of the timeless principles on which the aesthetics of icon painting are built. As art for the Church's Liturgy, icon painting calls for the highest aesthetic standards and this book aims to help make that achievable for the average committed student. Icon painting is presented here as a vocation, rather than a hobby or an interesting artistic technique though this handbook will be of interest to anyone drawn to the world of the Byzantine liturgy and its icons. By encouraging students to do more than simply copy good examples from the past but to understand how the medieval Christian artist understood what he or she was doing and how they put that into practice, this handbook brings the world of the Byzantine artist back to life. Icon painting is opened up as a living art form for today's Church. The author, who has theology degrees from Oxford University and Heythrop College in London, has many years of icon teaching experience, founding the Bethlehem Icon School in 2010 at the Emmanuel Greek Catholic Monastery in Bethlehem, where he continues to teach from time to time. This handbook began as handouts for his students on the Prince's School of Traditional Arts icon painting course, while that was being run at the Bethlehem Icon Centre in Palestine, and has finally emerged as a companion to the online Academy Course in Icon Painting and for members of the Arbor Vitae Icon Academy which the author established during the Covid pandemic.

A History of God

A History of God PDF Author: Karen Armstrong
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307798585
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
Why does God exist? How have the three dominant monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—shaped and altered the conception of God? How have these religions influenced each other? In this stunningly intelligent book, Karen Armstrong, one of Britain's foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present. The epic story begins with the Jews' gradual transformation of pagan idol worship in Babylon into true monotheism—a concept previously unknown in the world. Christianity and Islam both rose on the foundation of this revolutionary idea, but these religions refashioned 'the One God' to suit the social and political needs of their followers. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, Karen Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one superbly readable volume, destined to take its place as a classic. Praise for History of God “An admirable and impressive work of synthesis that will give insight and satisfaction to thousands of lay readers.”—The Washington Post Book World “A brilliantly lucid, spendidly readable book. [Karen] Armstrong has a dazzling ability: she can take a long and complex subject and reduce it to the fundamentals, without oversimplifying.”—The Sunday Times (London) “Absorbing . . . A lode of learning.”—Time “The most fascinating and learned study of the biggest wild goose chase in history—the quest for God. Karen Armstrong is a genius.”—A.N. Wilson, author of Jesus: A Life

Moving beyond Theoria toward Theosis

Moving beyond Theoria toward Theosis PDF Author: Justin A. Davis
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666949566
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Moving Beyond Theoria Towards Theosis focuses on the telos of man as understood in Plato’s theoria, envisioned in the allegory of the cave, and early Christian reinterpretation of theoria as theosis. In his famed allegory of the cave, Plato maintains that real life exists beyond our base perceptions of reality and is found in the realm of ideas. Theoria is eternal rest in this realm and is understood as the telos of mankind. Plato’s theoria underwent change as it was reinterpreted under middle-Platonic and neo-Platonic thought. These systems incorporated a more mature idea of the divine than Plato, but still minimized the material world. This book explores how early Christianity inherited Plato’s cosmology and terminology. Theoria was also reinterpreted within the Christian context. Eventually the term was abandoned for theosis. Theosis is beyond theoria, as it includes contemplation of the forms as well as union with the source of the forms and the affirmation of the material realm. In this volume, Justin A. Davis shows how the Orthodox use of icons can be key to understanding theosis. The icon is a material object that connects to a higher reality, and ultimately toward union with the divine. Plato’s cosmology is collapsed and transfigured in union with the uncreated energy of God. Icons are the depiction of spiritual ascesis and the new telos of man, theosis.

Building on Bion-- Branches

Building on Bion-- Branches PDF Author: Robert M. Lipgar
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 9781843107118
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
The enduring influence of Bion's work is the central theme of this book. Chapters by distinguished international contributors from the fields of psychoanalysis, group analysis, management consultancy and social science cover work with large groups, Bion and the Tavistock conferences, and his ideas about thinking, learning, dreams and mentality.

The Mountain of Silence

The Mountain of Silence PDF Author: Kyriacos C. Markides
Publisher: Image
ISBN: 0385504918
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
An acclaimed expert in Christian mysticism travels to monasteries high in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus and offers a fascinating look at the Greek Orthodox approach to spirituality that will appeal to modern seekers. In an engaging combination of dialogues, reflections, conversations, history, and travel information, Kyriacos C. Markides continues the exploration of a spiritual tradition and practice he began in Riding with the Lion. His earlier book took readers to the isolated peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece and into a group of ancient monasteries. There, in what might be called a “Christian Tibet,” two thousand monks and hermits practice the spiritual arts to attain oneness with God. In his new book, Markides follows Father Maximos, one of Mount Athos’s monks, to the troubled island of Cyprus. As Father Maximos establishes churches, convents, and monasteries in this deeply divided land, Markides is awakened anew to the magnificent spirituality of the Greek Orthodox Church. Images of the land and the people of Cyprus and details of its tragic history enrich The Mountain of Silence. Like the writings of the great mystics, the book brilliantly evokes the confluence of an inner and outer journey. The depth and richness of its spiritual message echo the thoughts and writings of Saint Francis of Assisi and other great saints of the Western Church as well. The result is a remarkable work–a moving, profoundly human examination of the role and the power of spirituality in a complex and confusing world.

The Liberation of Thought

The Liberation of Thought PDF Author: Gary Bryant
Publisher: Balboa Press
ISBN: 1504345444
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
The most profound thinkers, East and West, have concluded that thought or reason cannot know what is real, cannot discover truth. The universal insight that led to this conclusion is that thought itself is not free but enslaved by desire or passion. Modern and postmodern Western thought has resigned itself to this inability to discover truth, while Eastern thought offers varied remedies intended to liberate thought. The Liberation of Thought will show how ancient Western thought also offered remedies, explaining how modern Western thought was unable to retain this remedial teaching. In so doing, The Liberation of Thought will present a universal teaching, born in the East and brought to the West, that restates ancient Eastern and Western remedies to thought's enslavement, pointing the way to a direct and certain discovery of truth.