This lovely book presents essays and recent works in porcelain by Brother Thomas Bezanson, praised as "one of the greatest artists in the Western pottery world" by well-known Japanese ceramicist Tatsuzo Shimaoka. Brother Thomas explores his faith and the process of creation side by side with illustrations of the celebrated porcelain vases, plates, and tea bowls that are his life's work. The book also contains a nineteen-page photo essay on Brother Thomas at work in his studio by Bill Aron of Los Angeles, an introduction by Joan Chittister, and an illustrated index of the works of Brother Thomas now held in more than fifty museum collections around the world.

Most cultures have myths of origin. The Babylonians were the first to combine blocks of traditions about primeval time into primeval histories where humans had a central role. In the first millennium there were different versions that influenced the concepts of primeval history within Jewish religion, both in the Bible and in the parallel Enochic tradition. Atrahasis and the traditions of primeval dynasties had crucial impact on Genesis; the traditions of the primeval apkallus as cosmic guardians were lying behind the Enochic Watcher Story. The book offers a comprehensive analytic comparison between the images of primeval time in these three traditions. It presents new interpretations of each of these traditions and how they relate to each other.

An Introduction to Religious and Theological Studies walks students through topical issues to be encountered in the study of the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as these religions encounter other religions in the context of the wider ecumenism. The text is written from a Christian point of view and aims at helping students understand that to be Christian is to be ecumenical. African Traditional Religions (ATRs) has been included in this survey to provide background for the religious traditions and cultures of peoples of Africa as Christianity moves inexorably southward. The book has been written with undergraduate general education students in mind--including meeting the needs of those in seminaries and theological institutes.

"While the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are understood to be related texts, the sacred scripture of Islam, the third Abrahamic faith, has generally been considered separately. Noted religious scholar Gabriel Said Reynolds draws on centuries of Qur'anic and Biblical studies to offer rigorous and revelatory commentary on how these holy books are intrinsically connected."--Dust jacket.

“An authoritative, and accessible, introduction to Milton’s life and an engaging examination of the process of composing Paradise Lost” (Choice). In early 1642 Milton promised English readers a work of literature so great that “they should not willingly let it die.” Twenty-five years later, the epic poem Paradise Lost appeared in print. In the interim, however, the poet had gone totally blind and had also become a controversial public figure―a man who had argued for the abolition of bishops, freedom of the press, the right to divorce, and the prerogative of a nation to depose and put to death an unsatisfactory ruler. These views had rendered him an outcast. William Poole devotes particular attention to Milton’s personal life: his reading and education, his ambitions and anxieties, and the way he presented himself to the world. Although always a poet first, Milton was also a theologian and civil servant, vocations that informed the composition of his masterpiece. At the emotional center of this narrative is the astounding fact that Milton lost his sight in 1652. How did a blind man compose this intensely visual work? Poole opens up the world of Milton’s masterpiece to modern readers, first by exploring Milton’s life and intellectual preoccupations and then by explaining the poem itself―its structure, content, and meaning. “Poole’s book may well become what he shows Paradise Lost soon became: a classic.” —Times Literary Supplement “Smart and original . . . Demonstrates with astonishing exactitude how Milton’s life and―most impressively of all―his reading enabled this epic.” ―The Spectator “This deeply learned and lucidly written book . . . makes this most ambitious of early modern poets accessible to his modern readers.” ―Journal of British Studies

All around the world, myths address questions that humans have always posed about their origins, their environments, their ultimate destinies, and the meanings of their lives. This book examines 30 common motifs that thread their way through mythological tales across history and around the globe. The themes are presented in alphabetical order, moving from The Afterlife and Animals in Myth to The Underworld, World Tree, and Ymir Motif. Each thematic section defines and discusses a single recognizable motif, compares a number of different mythological traditions, and traces the repeated occurrences of one of these patterns through several different categories of narratives. The discussion of The Afterlife, for example, examines the theme's earliest known occurrences in ancient Mesopotamia and compares them with those in Greek, Aztec, Norse, and other ancient cultures, as well as with contemporary views from Innuit and Polynesian cultures. A glossary provides concise definitions of recurring terms. A list of suggested readings on these topics will further aid students who desire to deepen their knowledge of world mythology.

You have just discovered the literary masterpiece that answers your questions about God, life in the inhabited universe, the history and future of this world, and the life of Jesus. The Urantia Book harmonizes history, science, and religion into a philosophy of living that brings new meaning and hope into your life. If you are searching for answers, read The Urantia Book! The world needs new spiritual truth that provides modern men and women with an intellectual pathway into a personal relationship with God. Building on the world's religious heritage, The Urantia Book describes an endless destiny for humankind, teaching that living faith is the key to personal spiritual progress and eternal survival. These teachings provide new truths powerful enough to uplift and advance human thinking and believing for the next 1000 years. A third of The Urantia Book is the inspiring story of Jesus’ entire life and a revelation of his original teachings. This panoramic narrative includes his birth, childhood, teenage years, adult travels and adventures, public ministry, crucifixion, and 19 resurrection appearances. This inspiring story recasts Jesus from the leading figure of Christianity into the guide for seekers of all faiths and all walks of life.

Comprehensive yet portable, this account of the development of Chinese literature from the very beginning up to the present brings the riches of this august literary tradition into focus for the general reader. Organized chronologically with thematic chapters interspersed, the fifty-five original chapters by leading specialists cover all genres and periods of poetry, prose, fiction, and drama, with a special focus on such subjects as popular culture, the impact of religion upon literature, the role of women, and relationships with non-Sinitic languages and peoples.

Christians often feel they are faced with a choice: "Either I compromise my commitment to biblical authority, or I embrace male authority over women, as the Bible teaches." Such a dilemma tends to prod Christians, often reluctantly, down one of two paths. One path involves relegating the Bible's teaching to an antiquated past. Certain passages are labeled artifacts of a "patriarchal" culture and deemed irrelevant for today. The other path involves a doubling-down, in which Christians commit themselves to the Bible's perceived teaching about male authority, and thereby set themselves over against a full commitment to equality. Untie the Cords of Silence shows through careful readings of relevant biblical passages that Christians need not go down either of these paths. It is possible to hold to both biblical authority and the full equality of men and women. In fact, doing so is the most logically coherent way of applying the Bible's message to the Christian life. This book does not merely provide a way to tolerate the "problem" texts. Instead, it restores these texts to their rightful place as coherent, integrated parts of the Bible's message of salvation and freedom in Christ.