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Spirituality and Religion March 2020
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Heaven and hell : a history of the afterlife
by Bart D Ehrman
Explores literary and cultural sources to reveal that common perceptions about heaven, hell and the afterlife are modern, competing beliefs that are neither found in the Old Testament nor what Jesus taught. 100,000 first printing.
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A History of Islam in 21 Women
by Hossein Kamaly
Beginning in seventh-century Mecca and Medina, A History of Islam in 21 Women takes us around the globe, through eleventh-century Yemen and Khorasan, and into sixteenth-century Spain, Istanbul and India. From there to nineteenth-century Persia and the African savannah, to twentieth-century Russia, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq, before arriving in present-day Europe and America.
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| Religion As We Know It: An Origin Story by Jack MilesWhat it is: a scholarly and thought-provoking look at how the place of religion in Western society has evolved over time, and how those changes created the field of religious studies.
About the author: A Pulitzer Prize winner and fellow of both the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations, Jack Miles is also the author of God: A Biography and edited the most recent edition of the Norton Anthology of World Religions. |
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Acts Against God : A Short History of Blasphemy
by David Nash
Blasphemy is a phenomenon that spans human experience, from the ancient world right up to today&;s ferocious religious debates. Acts Against God is the first accessible history of this crime; its prosecution, its impact, and its punishment and suppression. While acknowledging blasphemy as an act of individuals, Acts Against God also considers the act as a widespread and constant presence in cultural, political, and religious life
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Ancient Egyptian Magic : A Hands-on Guide to the Supernatural in the Land of the Pharaohs
by Christina Riggs
Ancient Egyptian MagicReaders will learn how to cure scorpion bites, discover why you might want to break the legs off your stuffed hippopotamus toy, and uncover whether mummies really can come back to life. Readers can also learn how to save a fortune on pregnancy tests—urinating on barley grains will answer that question— as well as how to use the next street parade to predict the future or ensure that an annoying neighbor gets his comeuppance.Was magic harmless fun, heartfelt hope, or something darker? Featuring demons, dream interpreters, the Book of the Dead, and illustrations from tomb paintings and papyrus scrolls, Riggs breathes new life into ancient magic and uses early texts and images to illuminate the distinctions between magic, religion, and medicine.
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| Confessions: A New Translation by Augustine, translation by Peter ConstantineWhat it is: a new translation of Augustine of Hippo's most well-known work by noted translator Peter Constantine (who has also translated Rousseau, Machiavelli, and Chekov).
What sets it apart: Constantine takes great pains to present Augustine's theological points with clarity and puts Augustine's candid, erudite reflections into a contemporary voice that makes Confessions more accessible to general readers. |
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| Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty: An Intimate Portrait of My Grandmother by Kate HennessyWhat it is: a richly detailed and intimate biography of radical reformer, candidate for sainthood, and founder of the Catholic Worker movement Dorothy Day, written by her granddaughter Kate Hennessy.
Don’t miss: the candid exploration of Day’s sometimes contentious relationship with her daughter Tamar, the author’s mother.
Why you might like it: Hennessy’s access to people, places, and papers that might otherwise be off-limits to a traditional biographer provide invaluable details that create a portrait of Dorothy Day that is as human as her work was revolutionary. |
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| Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal RoperWhat it is: a thought-provoking new biography of Protestant reformer Martin Luther, published in 2017 to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the posting of his 95 Theses at All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Saxony.
Why you should read it: Historian Lyndal Roper presents a comprehensive narrative of Luther's life that doesn't shy away from the theologian's uncompromising nature and antisemitism, and manages to balance thorough research with an approachable, engaging readability. |
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| Paul: A Biography by N.T. WrightWhat it is: Combining solid scholarship of what is known about the apostle Paul with a careful reading of the writings he left behind, Anglican bishop N.T. Wright provides both a biography and an examination of Paul's intentions.
Reviewers say: Written "not for the skeptic but for the believer" (Kirkus Reviews), this is a thought-provoking analysis that will inform interested readers and likely prompt debate. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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