The Allure of Decadent Thinking

The Allure of Decadent Thinking PDF Author: Carl Olson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199959838
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The use of postmodern thought to approach the study of religion threatens to call into question the values and representational mode of thinking typical of the field. Religious studies with a radical scepticism grounded in an embrace of decadence by postmodern thinkers has the potential to undermine, subvert, and distort the study of religion, making it difficult to understand the subject if such an approach is uncritically adopted by scholars seeking new ways to study it.

The Allure of Decadent Thinking

The Allure of Decadent Thinking PDF Author: Carl Olson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199959838
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The use of postmodern thought to approach the study of religion threatens to call into question the values and representational mode of thinking typical of the field. Religious studies with a radical scepticism grounded in an embrace of decadence by postmodern thinkers has the potential to undermine, subvert, and distort the study of religion, making it difficult to understand the subject if such an approach is uncritically adopted by scholars seeking new ways to study it.

The Book

The Book PDF Author: Michael F. Suarez
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019967941X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 769

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Book Description
"This volume seeks to delineate the history of the production, dissemination, and reception of texts from the earliest pictograms of the mid-4th millennium to recent developments in electronic books."--Page xi.

The Truth Within

The Truth Within PDF Author: Gavin Flood
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199684561
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Explores the metaphor of inwardness and the idea of truth within, along with the methods developed in three religions to attain it, such as prayer and meditation.

Sacred Texts Interpreted [2 volumes]

Sacred Texts Interpreted [2 volumes] PDF Author: Carl Olson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1013

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Book Description
Covering the major monotheistic religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—as well as selected Eastern religions and Bahá'í, Zoroastrianism, and Mormonism, this cross-cultural book offers excerpts of sacred texts and interprets passages to enable a deeper understanding of these religious writings. Sacred Texts Interpreted: Religious Documents Explained gives readers the opportunity to examine—directly—the primary sources of different religions and to better understand these texts through expert commentary on selected passages. The interpretative material investigates the nature of sacred texts along with the relationship between sacred scripture and canon, and it explains why these sacred texts have enduring significance and influence. The author provides suggestions on how to read a sacred text before turning to the textual selections from 13 religious traditions arranged alphabetically, beginning with the Bahá'í religion and ending with Zoroastrianism. Each chapter is devoted to the primary textual sources of a particular religious tradition and is prefaced by an introduction to the literature that places it within its historical and cultural heritage. The emphasis for each religion is on its foundational scriptures that are often considered sacred by its adherents. Readers will gain a much greater appreciation of how powerful religious texts have always been across human culture and throughout millennia—and of how religious thought and ideology have shaped daily life, built civilizations, inspired art and literature, and incited wars and violence.

The Stain of Errors on the Self

The Stain of Errors on the Self PDF Author: Carl Olson
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004701559
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
Using an interdisciplinary approach to the problem of the self, this study focuses on a gap left by previous philosophers. This shortcoming is related to the nature of the self to commit errors that become part of the identity of the self. These errors stain the self and make "I" what it is. This study shines light on the self that will give the reader a more balanced understanding of it. Fictional literature will be invoked to illustrate features of the self associated with errors. The book is divided into two parts: a review of selected theories of the self and a reconsideration of the self and errors producing being.

The Bhagavad-gītā

The Bhagavad-gītā PDF Author: Ithamar Theodor
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000193446
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
This volume is a systematic and comprehensive introduction to one of the most read texts in South Asia, the Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is at its core a religious text, a philosophical treatise and a literary work, which has occupied an authoritative position within Hinduism for the past millennium. This book brings together themes central to the study of the Gītā, as it is popularly known – such as the Bhagavad-gītā’s structure, the history of its exegesis, its acceptance by different traditions within Hinduism and its national and global relevance. It highlights the richness of the Gītā’s interpretations, examines its great interpretive flexibility and at the same time offers a conceptual structure based on a traditional commentarial tradition. With contributions from major scholars across the world, this book will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of religious studies, especially Hinduism, Indian philosophy, Asian philosophy, Indian history, literature and South Asian studies.

Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests

Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests PDF Author: Jason Sion Mokhtarian
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520385721
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
"...examines the impact of the Persian Zoroastrian Empire on rabbinic identity and authority as expressed in the Babylonian Talmud."--

Indian Asceticism

Indian Asceticism PDF Author: Carl Olson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190225319
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Throughout the history of Indian religions, the ascetic figure is most closely identified with power. A by-product of the ascetic path, power is displayed in the ability to fly, walk on water or through dense objects, read minds, discern the former lives of others, see into the future, harm others, or simply levitate one's body. These tales give rise to questions about how power and violence are related to the phenomenon of play. Indian Asceticism focuses on the powers exhibited by ascetics of India from ancient to modern time. Carl Olson discusses the erotic, the demonic, the comic, and the miraculous forms of play and their connections to power and violence. He focuses on Hinduism, but evidence is also presented from Buddhism and Jainism, suggesting that the subject matter of this book pervades India's major indigenous religious traditions. The book includes a look at the extent to which findings in cognitive science can add to our understanding of these various powers; Olson argues that violence is built into the practice of the ascetic. Indian Asceticism culminates with an attempt to rethink the nature of power in a way that does justice to the literary evidence from Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain sources.

Understanding Religion

Understanding Religion PDF Author: Paul Michael Hedges
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520298896
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 583

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Book Description
A cutting-edge introduction to contemporary religious studies theory, connecting theory to data This innovative coursebook introduces students to interdisciplinary theoretical tools for understanding contemporary religiously diverse societies—both Western and non-Western. Using a case-study model, the text considers: A wide and diverse array of contemporary issues, questions, and critical approaches to the study of religion relevant to students and scholars A variety of theoretical approaches, including decolonial, feminist, hermeneutical, poststructuralist, and phenomenological analyses Current debates on whether the term "religion" is meaningful Many key issues about the study of religion, including the insider-outsider debate, material religion, and lived religion Plural and religiously diverse societies, including the theological ideas of traditions and the political and social questions that arise for those living alongside adherents of other religions Understanding Religion is designed to provide a strong foundation for instructors to explore the ideas presented in each chapter in multiple ways, engage students in meaningful activities in the classroom, and integrate additional material into their lectures. Students will gain the tools to apply specific methods from a variety of disciplines to analyze the social, political, spiritual, and cultural aspects of religions. Its unique pedagogical design means it can be used from undergraduate- to postgraduate-level courses.

Rethinking Religion in the Theatre of Grotowski

Rethinking Religion in the Theatre of Grotowski PDF Author: Catharine Christof
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351854623
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
This book opens a new interdisciplinary frontier between religion and theatre studies to illuminate what has been seen as the religious or spiritual nature of Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski’s work.The central argument is that through an embodied, materialist approach to religion, and through a critical reading of the concepts of the New Age, a new understanding of Grotowski and religion can be developed. This is a vital reference for academics in both Religion and Theatre Studies that have an interest in the spiritual aspects of Grotowski’s work.