Kathleen Garces-Foley
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195311082
- eISBN:
- 9780199785322
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311082.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
While religious communities often stress the universal nature of their beliefs, it remains true that people choose to worship alongside those they identify with most easily. Multiethnic churches are ...
More
While religious communities often stress the universal nature of their beliefs, it remains true that people choose to worship alongside those they identify with most easily. Multiethnic churches are rare in the United States, but as American attitudes toward diversity change, so too does the appeal of a church that offers diversity. Joining such a community, however, is uncomfortable — worshippers must literally cross the barriers of ethnic difference by entering the religious space of the ethnically “other”. Using the story of one multiethnic congregation in Southern California, this book examines what it means to confront the challenges in forming a religious community across ethnic divisions and attracting a more varied membership.Less
While religious communities often stress the universal nature of their beliefs, it remains true that people choose to worship alongside those they identify with most easily. Multiethnic churches are rare in the United States, but as American attitudes toward diversity change, so too does the appeal of a church that offers diversity. Joining such a community, however, is uncomfortable — worshippers must literally cross the barriers of ethnic difference by entering the religious space of the ethnically “other”. Using the story of one multiethnic congregation in Southern California, this book examines what it means to confront the challenges in forming a religious community across ethnic divisions and attracting a more varied membership.
Michael W. Foley and Dean R. Hoge
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195188707
- eISBN:
- 9780199785315
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188707.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book assesses the role of local worship communities — churches, mosques, temples, and others — in promoting civic engagement among recent immigrants to the United States. The product of a ...
More
This book assesses the role of local worship communities — churches, mosques, temples, and others — in promoting civic engagement among recent immigrants to the United States. The product of a three-year study of immigrant worship communities in the Washington, D.C. area, the study looked at churches, mosques, temples, and other communities of immigrants from Korea, China, India, West Africa, the Muslim world, and El Salvador. The researchers surveyed 200 of these communities and studied twenty in depth. Communities vary widely in how much they build social capital, provide social services to immigrants, develop the civic skills of members, and shape immigrants' identities. Local leadership and group characteristics much more than ethnic origin or religious tradition shape the level and kind of civic engagement that the communities foster. Particularly, where leaders are civically engaged, they provide personal and organizational links to the wider American society and promote civic engagement by members. Homeland causes and a strong sense of religious and ethnic identity, far from alienating immigrants from American society, promote higher levels of civic engagement in immigrant communities.Less
This book assesses the role of local worship communities — churches, mosques, temples, and others — in promoting civic engagement among recent immigrants to the United States. The product of a three-year study of immigrant worship communities in the Washington, D.C. area, the study looked at churches, mosques, temples, and other communities of immigrants from Korea, China, India, West Africa, the Muslim world, and El Salvador. The researchers surveyed 200 of these communities and studied twenty in depth. Communities vary widely in how much they build social capital, provide social services to immigrants, develop the civic skills of members, and shape immigrants' identities. Local leadership and group characteristics much more than ethnic origin or religious tradition shape the level and kind of civic engagement that the communities foster. Particularly, where leaders are civically engaged, they provide personal and organizational links to the wider American society and promote civic engagement by members. Homeland causes and a strong sense of religious and ethnic identity, far from alienating immigrants from American society, promote higher levels of civic engagement in immigrant communities.
David Atkinson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Responding to the onset of tipping points evokes a combination of fear, bravado, greed, wonder, and worship. The Christian ethos bestows responsibility and care upon the human conscience and ...
More
Responding to the onset of tipping points evokes a combination of fear, bravado, greed, wonder, and worship. The Christian ethos bestows responsibility and care upon the human conscience and behaviour, widening the perspective to compassion, to living for sufficiency, and to sharing burdens. In tipping points there can be hope without fear so long as the ethics are firmly but respectfully in place.Less
Responding to the onset of tipping points evokes a combination of fear, bravado, greed, wonder, and worship. The Christian ethos bestows responsibility and care upon the human conscience and behaviour, widening the perspective to compassion, to living for sufficiency, and to sharing burdens. In tipping points there can be hope without fear so long as the ethics are firmly but respectfully in place.
Thomas H. Troeger
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195398885
- eISBN:
- 9780199866236
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195398885.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book explores an issue at the nerve of the long-term health of all churches: how godly wonder can be reborn through renewed attention to the place of beauty in preaching and worship. The book ...
More
This book explores an issue at the nerve of the long-term health of all churches: how godly wonder can be reborn through renewed attention to the place of beauty in preaching and worship. The book opens with an exploration of the theological and cultural difficulties of defining beauty. It traces the church’s historical ambivalence about beauty and art, and how in our own day the concept of beauty has been commercialized and degraded. Troeger develops a theologically informed aesthetic that provides a countercultural vision of beauty flowing from the love of God. The book then demonstrates how preachers can reclaim the place of beauty in preaching and worship. Chapter 2 employs the concept of midrash to mine the history of congregational song as a resource for sermons. Chapter 3 introduces methods from musicology for creating sermons on instrumental and choral works and for integrating word and music more effectively. Chapter 4 explores how the close relationship between poetry and prayer can stir the homiletical imagination. Each of these chapters includes a selection of the author’s sermons illustrating how preachers can use these varied art forms to open a congregation to the beauty of God. A final chapter recounts the responses of congregation members to whom the sermons were delivered. It uses the insights gained from those experiences to affirm how the human heart hungers for a vision of wonder and beauty that empowers people to live more faithfully in the world.Less
This book explores an issue at the nerve of the long-term health of all churches: how godly wonder can be reborn through renewed attention to the place of beauty in preaching and worship. The book opens with an exploration of the theological and cultural difficulties of defining beauty. It traces the church’s historical ambivalence about beauty and art, and how in our own day the concept of beauty has been commercialized and degraded. Troeger develops a theologically informed aesthetic that provides a countercultural vision of beauty flowing from the love of God. The book then demonstrates how preachers can reclaim the place of beauty in preaching and worship. Chapter 2 employs the concept of midrash to mine the history of congregational song as a resource for sermons. Chapter 3 introduces methods from musicology for creating sermons on instrumental and choral works and for integrating word and music more effectively. Chapter 4 explores how the close relationship between poetry and prayer can stir the homiletical imagination. Each of these chapters includes a selection of the author’s sermons illustrating how preachers can use these varied art forms to open a congregation to the beauty of God. A final chapter recounts the responses of congregation members to whom the sermons were delivered. It uses the insights gained from those experiences to affirm how the human heart hungers for a vision of wonder and beauty that empowers people to live more faithfully in the world.
Jill Middlemas
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199283866
- eISBN:
- 9780191603457
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199283869.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Neo-Babylonian defeat of Judah and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 resulted in an era — commonly, though now anachronistically, known as the ‘exilic age’ — considered to be of fundamental ...
More
The Neo-Babylonian defeat of Judah and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 resulted in an era — commonly, though now anachronistically, known as the ‘exilic age’ — considered to be of fundamental significance in the historical, social, and theological development of ancient Israel. Although perceived by the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and modern scholarship as a foundational epoch, examinations of the exile tend to focus on the fraction of the community who experienced forced deportation after the collapse of Jerusalem, namely, those members of the community relocated to Babylonia. Since recent scholarship has raised awareness of renewal among the community left in Judah, the book reassesses the historical circumstances and the theological reflection made in the homeland. In drawing together recent analyses of the archaeological data and the strategies of governance adopted by the Neo-Babylonian empire, the evidence points to sufficient infrastructure in sixth-century Judah to allow for communal and religious life. The author then surveys the heterodox and Yahwistic worship practices thought to stem from this community. It is shown that interpreters have accepted perspectives of the religiosity of Templeless Judah generated by ideological stances in the ancient world and in modern scholarship. In order to gain access to the thought and distinguish themes from the people in the homeland, the author studies the book of Lamentations. Rather than formulating great theological constructs, the Judahites agonised over their troubles in prayer. In so doing, the laments attributable to Templeless Judah helpfully provide a means to ascertain other literature with a similar provenance.Less
The Neo-Babylonian defeat of Judah and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 resulted in an era — commonly, though now anachronistically, known as the ‘exilic age’ — considered to be of fundamental significance in the historical, social, and theological development of ancient Israel. Although perceived by the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and modern scholarship as a foundational epoch, examinations of the exile tend to focus on the fraction of the community who experienced forced deportation after the collapse of Jerusalem, namely, those members of the community relocated to Babylonia. Since recent scholarship has raised awareness of renewal among the community left in Judah, the book reassesses the historical circumstances and the theological reflection made in the homeland. In drawing together recent analyses of the archaeological data and the strategies of governance adopted by the Neo-Babylonian empire, the evidence points to sufficient infrastructure in sixth-century Judah to allow for communal and religious life. The author then surveys the heterodox and Yahwistic worship practices thought to stem from this community. It is shown that interpreters have accepted perspectives of the religiosity of Templeless Judah generated by ideological stances in the ancient world and in modern scholarship. In order to gain access to the thought and distinguish themes from the people in the homeland, the author studies the book of Lamentations. Rather than formulating great theological constructs, the Judahites agonised over their troubles in prayer. In so doing, the laments attributable to Templeless Judah helpfully provide a means to ascertain other literature with a similar provenance.
Korie L. Edwards
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195314243
- eISBN:
- 9780199871810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314243.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The second chapter examines the worship styles and practices of interracial churches and compares them to those of other kinds of churches. Focusing on a conflict over worship practices that emerged ...
More
The second chapter examines the worship styles and practices of interracial churches and compares them to those of other kinds of churches. Focusing on a conflict over worship practices that emerged during the case study, this chapter further discusses African‐Americans' and whites' perspectives on worship and illustrates how the worship styles and practices preferred by whites can come to prevail in interracial churches.Less
The second chapter examines the worship styles and practices of interracial churches and compares them to those of other kinds of churches. Focusing on a conflict over worship practices that emerged during the case study, this chapter further discusses African‐Americans' and whites' perspectives on worship and illustrates how the worship styles and practices preferred by whites can come to prevail in interracial churches.
June McDaniel
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195167900
- eISBN:
- 9780199849970
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167900.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. The book identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred ...
More
This book provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. The book identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred texts, and practitioners. Drawing on years of fieldwork and extensive research, the book paints a portrait of this religious tradition.Less
This book provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. The book identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred texts, and practitioners. Drawing on years of fieldwork and extensive research, the book paints a portrait of this religious tradition.
Sanford Levinson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691152400
- eISBN:
- 9781400839872
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691152400.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This book examines the “constitutional faith” that has, since 1788, been a central component of American “civil religion.” By taking seriously the parallel between wholehearted acceptance of the ...
More
This book examines the “constitutional faith” that has, since 1788, been a central component of American “civil religion.” By taking seriously the parallel between wholehearted acceptance of the Constitution and religious faith, the book opens up a host of intriguing questions about what it means to be American. While some view the Constitution as the central component of an American religion that serves to unite the social order, the book maintains that its sacred role can result in conflict, fragmentation, and even war. This book takes the view that the Constitution’s value lies in the realm of the discourse it sustains: a uniquely American form of political rhetoric that allows citizens to grapple with every important public issue imaginable. A new afterword looks at the deepening of constitutional worship and attributes the current widespread frustrations with the government to the static nature of the Constitution.Less
This book examines the “constitutional faith” that has, since 1788, been a central component of American “civil religion.” By taking seriously the parallel between wholehearted acceptance of the Constitution and religious faith, the book opens up a host of intriguing questions about what it means to be American. While some view the Constitution as the central component of an American religion that serves to unite the social order, the book maintains that its sacred role can result in conflict, fragmentation, and even war. This book takes the view that the Constitution’s value lies in the realm of the discourse it sustains: a uniquely American form of political rhetoric that allows citizens to grapple with every important public issue imaginable. A new afterword looks at the deepening of constitutional worship and attributes the current widespread frustrations with the government to the static nature of the Constitution.
Karen Pechilis
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195145380
- eISBN:
- 9780199849963
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195145380.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher, but is often worshipped as an embodiment of the divine. In the past these gurus ...
More
A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher, but is often worshipped as an embodiment of the divine. In the past these gurus have almost always been men. Today, however, female gurus are a noticeable presence, especially in the United States. This book containing nine chapter looks at the phenomenon of the female guru both in its original Indian context, where Hindu women leaders have been unusual but not unknown, and as it has evolved on the American scene. Each chapter is devoted to a particular female guru, ranging from the 5th-century Tamil saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar to Gurumayi, who today presides over the worldwide movement of Siddha Yoga, headquartered in the Catskill resort town of South Fallsburg, New York.Less
A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher, but is often worshipped as an embodiment of the divine. In the past these gurus have almost always been men. Today, however, female gurus are a noticeable presence, especially in the United States. This book containing nine chapter looks at the phenomenon of the female guru both in its original Indian context, where Hindu women leaders have been unusual but not unknown, and as it has evolved on the American scene. Each chapter is devoted to a particular female guru, ranging from the 5th-century Tamil saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar to Gurumayi, who today presides over the worldwide movement of Siddha Yoga, headquartered in the Catskill resort town of South Fallsburg, New York.
Graeme Forbes
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199274949
- eISBN:
- 9780191699801
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199274949.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
Ascriptions of mental states to oneself and others give rise to many interesting logical and semantic problems. This problem presents an original account of mental state ascriptions that are made ...
More
Ascriptions of mental states to oneself and others give rise to many interesting logical and semantic problems. This problem presents an original account of mental state ascriptions that are made using intensional transitive verbs such as ‘want’, ‘seek’, ‘imaginer’, and ‘worship’. This book offers a theory of how such verbs work that draws on ideas from natural language semantics, philosophy of language, and aesthetics.Less
Ascriptions of mental states to oneself and others give rise to many interesting logical and semantic problems. This problem presents an original account of mental state ascriptions that are made using intensional transitive verbs such as ‘want’, ‘seek’, ‘imaginer’, and ‘worship’. This book offers a theory of how such verbs work that draws on ideas from natural language semantics, philosophy of language, and aesthetics.
Geoffrey Rowell
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263326
- eISBN:
- 9780191682476
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263326.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, History of Christianity
The year 1983 marked the 150th anniversary of John Keble's Assize Sermon, a sermon which Newman recognized as the beginning of the Oxford Movement. The religious revival which it signalled, though ...
More
The year 1983 marked the 150th anniversary of John Keble's Assize Sermon, a sermon which Newman recognized as the beginning of the Oxford Movement. The religious revival which it signalled, though originating in a particular political challenge to the Church of England, was far-reaching in its effect. The continuity and catholic identity of Anglicanism was powerfully affirmed; sacramental worship was restored to a central place in Anglican devotion; religious orders were revived; and both in the mission field and in the slums, devoted priests laboured with new vigour and a new sense of the Church. This study of some of the major themes and personalities of the Catholic revival in Anglicanism highlights some of these aspects, and in particular, points to the close relationship between theology and sacramental spirituality which was at the heart of the movement. To recognize this central characteristic of the revival can contribute much, the book states, to the renewal of the Catholic tradition in Anglicanism today.Less
The year 1983 marked the 150th anniversary of John Keble's Assize Sermon, a sermon which Newman recognized as the beginning of the Oxford Movement. The religious revival which it signalled, though originating in a particular political challenge to the Church of England, was far-reaching in its effect. The continuity and catholic identity of Anglicanism was powerfully affirmed; sacramental worship was restored to a central place in Anglican devotion; religious orders were revived; and both in the mission field and in the slums, devoted priests laboured with new vigour and a new sense of the Church. This study of some of the major themes and personalities of the Catholic revival in Anglicanism highlights some of these aspects, and in particular, points to the close relationship between theology and sacramental spirituality which was at the heart of the movement. To recognize this central characteristic of the revival can contribute much, the book states, to the renewal of the Catholic tradition in Anglicanism today.
Andrew R. Holmes
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199288656
- eISBN:
- 9780191710759
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199288656.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Until now, scholars of Ulster Presbyterianism have focused upon internal theological debates, institutions, and the political implications of Presbyterian theology as a way to explain the origins of ...
More
Until now, scholars of Ulster Presbyterianism have focused upon internal theological debates, institutions, and the political implications of Presbyterian theology as a way to explain the origins of the United Irish movement and the swift conversion of Presbyterians to support for the Union with Great Britain thereafter. This book breaks new ground by considering the religious beliefs and practices of Presbyterians in their own right. It examines the various forms of public and private religiosity in order to determine how the community should be characterized. By stressing the integrity and importance of religious motivation, this book examines the dynamic relationship between the beliefs and practice prescribed by the church and those held by the laity, the rise to prominence of evangelicalism and its roots within the Presbyterian theological tradition, and the variety of Presbyterianism in terms of theological belief, social standing, gender, and regional location. During this period, Presbyterian belief and practice was shaped by three principal influences: tradition in the form of the doctrinal standards of the church and also those beliefs and customs of long continuance held by the laity; the forces of reform, particularly evangelicalism, that attempted to transform the structures and beliefs of the church and remove the popular accretions upon official Presbyterian belief and practice; finally, the programme of reform evangelicals embarked upon from the 1820s was stimulated by a broader revival of religion from the 1790s, entailed a revival of traditional Presbyterian practice as laid down in the Westminster standards, and would act as a stimulus to a further revival of religion within the denomination. Rather than seeing evangelicalism as a byword for religious enthusiasm and unbridled individualism, this book defines it as a movement for reformation and revival within Presbyterianism that had its roots in the Presbyterian religious tradition and which ultimately produced the 1859 revival.Less
Until now, scholars of Ulster Presbyterianism have focused upon internal theological debates, institutions, and the political implications of Presbyterian theology as a way to explain the origins of the United Irish movement and the swift conversion of Presbyterians to support for the Union with Great Britain thereafter. This book breaks new ground by considering the religious beliefs and practices of Presbyterians in their own right. It examines the various forms of public and private religiosity in order to determine how the community should be characterized. By stressing the integrity and importance of religious motivation, this book examines the dynamic relationship between the beliefs and practice prescribed by the church and those held by the laity, the rise to prominence of evangelicalism and its roots within the Presbyterian theological tradition, and the variety of Presbyterianism in terms of theological belief, social standing, gender, and regional location. During this period, Presbyterian belief and practice was shaped by three principal influences: tradition in the form of the doctrinal standards of the church and also those beliefs and customs of long continuance held by the laity; the forces of reform, particularly evangelicalism, that attempted to transform the structures and beliefs of the church and remove the popular accretions upon official Presbyterian belief and practice; finally, the programme of reform evangelicals embarked upon from the 1820s was stimulated by a broader revival of religion from the 1790s, entailed a revival of traditional Presbyterian practice as laid down in the Westminster standards, and would act as a stimulus to a further revival of religion within the denomination. Rather than seeing evangelicalism as a byword for religious enthusiasm and unbridled individualism, this book defines it as a movement for reformation and revival within Presbyterianism that had its roots in the Presbyterian religious tradition and which ultimately produced the 1859 revival.
Joanne Punzo Waghorne
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195156638
- eISBN:
- 9780199785292
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156638.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
From Chennai (Madras), India to London and Washington D.C., contemporary urban middle-class Hindus invest earnings, often derived from the global economy, into the construction or renovation of ...
More
From Chennai (Madras), India to London and Washington D.C., contemporary urban middle-class Hindus invest earnings, often derived from the global economy, into the construction or renovation of temples. South Indians often lead such efforts to re-establish authentic temples that nonetheless become sites for innovative communities, new visions of the Gods, and distinctive middle-class religious sensibilities. Although a part of the much-discussed resurgence of Hinduism, Gods and their ritual worship — not nationalistic ideology — center these enterprises. This book aims to go beyond the more common analytical starting points of identity, multiculturalism, transnationalism, or globalism to understand contemporary Hinduism. In both conversation and contention with current theory, the book highlights the Gods, their shrines, and the middle-class people who re-establish them. Using surveys of modern temples in Chennai, London, and Washington D.C. patronized by South Indians, it focuses on the ubiquity of certain Gods and Goddesses — but not all — their portrayal, the architecture of their new “homes”, and their place in the modern urban commercial and social landscapes. Arguing that this migration of Gods in tandem with people is not new, the book traces current temple architecture to Indian merchants who constructed new temples within a decade of the founding of Madras by the East India Trading Company in the initial era of the current world economic system. In the process, it questions the interrelationships between ritual worship/religious edifices, the rise of the modern world economy, and the ascendancy of the great middle class in this new era of globalization.Less
From Chennai (Madras), India to London and Washington D.C., contemporary urban middle-class Hindus invest earnings, often derived from the global economy, into the construction or renovation of temples. South Indians often lead such efforts to re-establish authentic temples that nonetheless become sites for innovative communities, new visions of the Gods, and distinctive middle-class religious sensibilities. Although a part of the much-discussed resurgence of Hinduism, Gods and their ritual worship — not nationalistic ideology — center these enterprises. This book aims to go beyond the more common analytical starting points of identity, multiculturalism, transnationalism, or globalism to understand contemporary Hinduism. In both conversation and contention with current theory, the book highlights the Gods, their shrines, and the middle-class people who re-establish them. Using surveys of modern temples in Chennai, London, and Washington D.C. patronized by South Indians, it focuses on the ubiquity of certain Gods and Goddesses — but not all — their portrayal, the architecture of their new “homes”, and their place in the modern urban commercial and social landscapes. Arguing that this migration of Gods in tandem with people is not new, the book traces current temple architecture to Indian merchants who constructed new temples within a decade of the founding of Madras by the East India Trading Company in the initial era of the current world economic system. In the process, it questions the interrelationships between ritual worship/religious edifices, the rise of the modern world economy, and the ascendancy of the great middle class in this new era of globalization.
Richard Kalmin
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306194
- eISBN:
- 9780199784998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306198.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter argues that Persian attitudes and practices with regard to idols and idol worship had a significant impact on Babylonia, constituting another respect in which Babylonia was more Persian ...
More
This chapter argues that Persian attitudes and practices with regard to idols and idol worship had a significant impact on Babylonia, constituting another respect in which Babylonia was more Persian than Roman during the period under discussion. Specifically, it is argued that the Babylonian Talmud attests to a distinction between Parthian and Sasanian Babylonia that corresponds to and provides a measure of confirmation of scholarly claims regarding the different policies of the Parthian and Sasanian dynasties with respect to idols.Less
This chapter argues that Persian attitudes and practices with regard to idols and idol worship had a significant impact on Babylonia, constituting another respect in which Babylonia was more Persian than Roman during the period under discussion. Specifically, it is argued that the Babylonian Talmud attests to a distinction between Parthian and Sasanian Babylonia that corresponds to and provides a measure of confirmation of scholarly claims regarding the different policies of the Parthian and Sasanian dynasties with respect to idols.
Stephen T. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284597
- eISBN:
- 9780191603778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284598.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
In this chapter, C.S. Lewis’ famous trilemma argument in favor of the divinity of Christ (Jesus was either mad, bad, or God) is developed, and a version of it is defended. The crux of the argument is ...
More
In this chapter, C.S. Lewis’ famous trilemma argument in favor of the divinity of Christ (Jesus was either mad, bad, or God) is developed, and a version of it is defended. The crux of the argument is the assertion that Jesus himself implicitly claimed to be divine. This assertion is buttressed by the notion that prayers and worship were addressed to Jesus, that he forgave sins, that he addressed God as Abba, that he spoke with authority and even in places overthrew the law, and that he declared that one’s relationship to him would determine one’s eternal fate. The trilemma argument is also defended against objections.Less
In this chapter, C.S. Lewis’ famous trilemma argument in favor of the divinity of Christ (Jesus was either mad, bad, or God) is developed, and a version of it is defended. The crux of the argument is the assertion that Jesus himself implicitly claimed to be divine. This assertion is buttressed by the notion that prayers and worship were addressed to Jesus, that he forgave sins, that he addressed God as Abba, that he spoke with authority and even in places overthrew the law, and that he declared that one’s relationship to him would determine one’s eternal fate. The trilemma argument is also defended against objections.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198240709
- eISBN:
- 9780191598586
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198240708.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Investigates whether the claim that there is a God can be spelt out in a coherent way. Part 1 analyses how we can show some claim to be coherent or incoherent. God is supposed to be a personal being, ...
More
Investigates whether the claim that there is a God can be spelt out in a coherent way. Part 1 analyses how we can show some claim to be coherent or incoherent. God is supposed to be a personal being, omnipresent, perfectly free and creator of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, a source of moral obligation, and eternal. Part 2 analyses how these divine properties can be understood in a coherent and mutually consistent way. Part 3 considers divine necessity and claims that God's existence necessarily must be understood as this being the ultimate brute fact on which all else depends, but his having the divine properties necessarily must be understood as his having these properties being logically necessary for his existence. The final chapter argues that, if a God of the kind analysed in earlier chapters exists, he is worthy of worship.Less
Investigates whether the claim that there is a God can be spelt out in a coherent way. Part 1 analyses how we can show some claim to be coherent or incoherent. God is supposed to be a personal being, omnipresent, perfectly free and creator of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, a source of moral obligation, and eternal. Part 2 analyses how these divine properties can be understood in a coherent and mutually consistent way. Part 3 considers divine necessity and claims that God's existence necessarily must be understood as this being the ultimate brute fact on which all else depends, but his having the divine properties necessarily must be understood as his having these properties being logically necessary for his existence. The final chapter argues that, if a God of the kind analysed in earlier chapters exists, he is worthy of worship.
Rufus Black
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198270201
- eISBN:
- 9780191683947
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198270201.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book describes the shape of a Christian ethic that arises from a conversation between contemporary accounts of natural law theory, narrative, and virtue ethics; and an insistence that any ...
More
This book describes the shape of a Christian ethic that arises from a conversation between contemporary accounts of natural law theory, narrative, and virtue ethics; and an insistence that any Christian ethic begin with a distinctively Christian description of reality. The key partners in this conversation are the leading Christian ethicists, Germain Grisez, Stanley Hauerwas, and Oliver O'Donovan. The ethic that emerges from this conversation seeks to resolve the tensions in Christian ethics between creation and eschatology, narrative and natural law, objectivity and relativity, the cultivation of virtue, and a focus on the resolution of moral dilemmas. In defence of its philosophical foundations, this book argues that a thoroughly realist ethic can respect the logical claim that no ‘ought’ can be derived from ‘is’. The book moves from this analytic foundation to conclude that worship lies at the heart of a theologically grounded ethic whose central concern is the flourishing of the whole human person in community with both one another and God.Less
This book describes the shape of a Christian ethic that arises from a conversation between contemporary accounts of natural law theory, narrative, and virtue ethics; and an insistence that any Christian ethic begin with a distinctively Christian description of reality. The key partners in this conversation are the leading Christian ethicists, Germain Grisez, Stanley Hauerwas, and Oliver O'Donovan. The ethic that emerges from this conversation seeks to resolve the tensions in Christian ethics between creation and eschatology, narrative and natural law, objectivity and relativity, the cultivation of virtue, and a focus on the resolution of moral dilemmas. In defence of its philosophical foundations, this book argues that a thoroughly realist ethic can respect the logical claim that no ‘ought’ can be derived from ‘is’. The book moves from this analytic foundation to conclude that worship lies at the heart of a theologically grounded ethic whose central concern is the flourishing of the whole human person in community with both one another and God.
Andrew R. Holmes
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199288656
- eISBN:
- 9780191710759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199288656.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter describes the opportunities for fellowship and spiritual development that existed alongside public worship by assessing family worship and the development of prayer and fellowship ...
More
This chapter describes the opportunities for fellowship and spiritual development that existed alongside public worship by assessing family worship and the development of prayer and fellowship meetings. It offers some comments about the impact of evangelicalism upon lay involvement in religious life in general, and Presbyterian church life in particular.Less
This chapter describes the opportunities for fellowship and spiritual development that existed alongside public worship by assessing family worship and the development of prayer and fellowship meetings. It offers some comments about the impact of evangelicalism upon lay involvement in religious life in general, and Presbyterian church life in particular.
Michael W. Foley and Dean R. Hoge
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195188707
- eISBN:
- 9780199785315
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188707.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Recent theories of civic engagement suggest three major pathways by which worship communities could promote the social and civic incorporation of recent immigrants: providing immigrants with social ...
More
Recent theories of civic engagement suggest three major pathways by which worship communities could promote the social and civic incorporation of recent immigrants: providing immigrants with social capital and supplying linkages to the wider society (the social capital argument); playing a role themselves as civic actors (the civil society argument); and giving them civic skills and mobilizing them for civic or political action (the civic participation model). Both as civic actors and in mobilizing members, worship communities also shape people's conceptions of themselves as citizens, promoting a particular identity as players in the civic arena. Worship communities differ in the way each of these pathways plays out, depending upon the circumstances of the group's immigration and reception in the United States, the organizational culture of the worship community, and the interpretation of its religious tradition that shapes it.Less
Recent theories of civic engagement suggest three major pathways by which worship communities could promote the social and civic incorporation of recent immigrants: providing immigrants with social capital and supplying linkages to the wider society (the social capital argument); playing a role themselves as civic actors (the civil society argument); and giving them civic skills and mobilizing them for civic or political action (the civic participation model). Both as civic actors and in mobilizing members, worship communities also shape people's conceptions of themselves as citizens, promoting a particular identity as players in the civic arena. Worship communities differ in the way each of these pathways plays out, depending upon the circumstances of the group's immigration and reception in the United States, the organizational culture of the worship community, and the interpretation of its religious tradition that shapes it.
Michael W. Foley and Dean R. Hoge
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195188707
- eISBN:
- 9780199785315
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188707.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Worship communities can be important sources of both bonding and bridging social capital, but not all such communities provide significant levels of material support or economic opportunities, nor do ...
More
Worship communities can be important sources of both bonding and bridging social capital, but not all such communities provide significant levels of material support or economic opportunities, nor do all facilitate the social and civic incorporation of recent immigrants. Worship communities that are primarily houses of worship in organizational culture, such as Hindu temples, some mosques, and some Catholic parishes are least likely to provide bonding social capital for their members. Those that organize themselves more as a family, like many evangelical churches, provide bonding social capital but may do little to encourage civic engagement. Finally, more diverse communities and those with extensive ties to the larger society provide richer opportunities and resources to their members.Less
Worship communities can be important sources of both bonding and bridging social capital, but not all such communities provide significant levels of material support or economic opportunities, nor do all facilitate the social and civic incorporation of recent immigrants. Worship communities that are primarily houses of worship in organizational culture, such as Hindu temples, some mosques, and some Catholic parishes are least likely to provide bonding social capital for their members. Those that organize themselves more as a family, like many evangelical churches, provide bonding social capital but may do little to encourage civic engagement. Finally, more diverse communities and those with extensive ties to the larger society provide richer opportunities and resources to their members.
