We’ve decided to collaborate on this anthology on something very near and dear to our hearts, and that is the matter of law, what is legal what is right. Since the book will delve into very real, very deep social issues, we will start with a couple of poems by amazing writers who share a love for poetry. As the world continues evolving we continue encountering new and continuously more social problems that all affect and impact someone’s life regardless of race, gender, religion, or social status, one of the problems these incredible writers have addressed will very likely resonate with any reader. This collaborative work could not have been accomplished by any single author, from the very first to the very last, none of the writings is placed in any particular order. Every one of the authors wrote on a topic near to their heart and from their own life experience, this will be an amazing read, so I would suggest that any reader feel free to start up and enjoy reading from the first poem, to the last deep social issue addressed.

McKenzie argues that to comprehend the Bible we must grasp the intentions of the biblical authors themselves--what sort of texts they thought they were writing and how they would have been understood by their intended audience. In short, we must recognize the genres to which these texts belong. McKenzie examines several genres that are typically misunderstood, offering careful readings of specific texts to show how the confusion arises, and how knowing the genre produces a correct reading. The book of Jonah, for example, offers many clues that it is meant as a humorous satire, not a straight-faced historical account of a man who was swallowed by a fish. Likewise, McKenzie explains that the very names "Adam" and "Eve" tell us that these are not historical characters, but figures who symbolize human origins ("Adam" means man , "Eve" is related to the word for life ). Similarly, the authors of apocalyptic texts--including the Book of Revelation--were writing allegories of events that were happening in their own time. Not for a moment could they imagine that centuries afterwards, readers would be poring over their works for clues to the date of the Second Coming of Christ, or when and how the world would end. For anyone who takes reading the Bible seriously and who wants to get it right, this book will be both heartening and enlightening.

The Paulist Biblical Commentary (PBC) is a one-volume commentary on the books of the Bible designed for a wide variety of Bible readers, especially those engaged in pastoral ministry. The volume consists of a commentary on each of the seventy-three books of the Catholic canon of the Bible along with twelve general articles. While based on classical approaches to Scripture, the commentaries and articles are not limited to historical-literary issues, but draw upon relevant theological and pastoral ideas found in the text. The Paulist Biblical Commentary presents: · Solid exegesis of the biblical text. · A useful tool for preaching and spiritual nourishment. · An essential aid to deepen the understanding of Scripture. · Current biblical research that is relevant to pastoral or spiritual ministry. The Commentary brings together the collaboration of more than seventy international biblical scholars, each with expertise in their area of study drawn from their experience and interest in pastoral or spiritual ministry.

The concept of human dignity is already embedded in the constitutional architecture of the European Union and throughout the world, but it remains a slippery and elusive concept. In this volume, leading commentators from across the globe address the shift from the monolithic influence of major world religions in the past towards religious pluralism coupled with the increased secularism of civil society. The contributors, drawn from different backgrounds and traditions, explore how the deployment of a nuanced understanding of human dignity can provide a way to maximise religious liberty for all within liberal democracies. Specific consideration is given to the reasonable accommodation of religious practices through exemptions to generally applicable laws, conscientious objection on the grounds of religious beliefs, the interplay between religious pluralism and legal pluralism, balancing religious sensibilities with same-sex marriage, exercising the right to change one’s religion, both generally and with a particular focus on data protection, protecting the right to asylum in the light of recent changes in migratory flows and exploring its impact on those enjoying non-theistic beliefs, as well as the complex relationship between the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Churches in these febrile times. Through the prism of informed investigation of these matters of specificity, the volume offers readers fresh insights and analysis which collectively contribute to an overall picture of governments in liberal democracies being encouraged and enabled to foster laws and practices whereby pluralism can be encouraged, and human dignity can flourish. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of Law and Religion, Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law and International Relations.

This timely volume represents one of the first comprehensive, student-oriented guides to the under-published field of early modern women's writing. Brings together more than twenty leading international scholars to provide the definitive survey volume to the field of early modern women's writing Examines individual texts, including works by Mary Sidney, Margaret Cavendish and Aphra Behn Explores the historical context and generic diversity of early modern women's writing, as well as the theoretical issues that underpin its study Provides a clear sense of the full extent of women's contributions to early modern literary culture

Contending that early modern fictional portrayals of sexual violence identify the position of the author with that of the chaste woman threatened with rape, Amy Greenstadt challenges the prevalent scholarly view that this period's concept of 'The Author' was inherently masculine. Instead, she argues, the analogy between rape and writing centrally informed ideas of literary intention that emerged during the English Renaissance. Analyzing works by Milton, Sidney, Shakespeare and Cavendish, Greenstadt shows how the figure of 'The Author' - and by extension ideas of the modern individual--derived from a paradigm of female virtue and vulnerability. This volume supplements the growing body of studies that address the relationship between early modern textual representation and notions of gender and sexuality; it also adds a new dimension in considering the wider origins of modern concepts of selfhood and individual rights.