The Ethics and Religious Philosophy of Etty Hillesum contains the proceedings of the second international Etty Hillesum Congress at Ghent University in January 2014 and is a joint effort by fifteen Hillesum experts to shed new light on the life, works and vision of the Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum (1914-1943), one of the victims of the Nazi-regime. Hillesum’s diaries and letters illustrate her heroic struggle to come to terms with her personal life in the context of the Holocaust. This volume revives Hillesum research with a comprehensive rereading of her texts. With the current rise of interest in peace studies, Judaism, the Holocaust, inter-religious dialogue, gender studies and mysticism, it is evident that this book will be invaluable to students and scholars in various disciplines.

Within this fascinating new book, Barbara Morrill analyses the journal writings of Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman in the 1940s, as she began analysis with a Jungian oriented practitioner in 1941. While Anne Frank is an inspirational figure, little is known about Etty Hillesum, also from Amsterdam, who kept a diary recounting her life and experiences during early World War II. This book is a compelling example of how we can use Etty Hillesum’s writings in the present to stand firm against the problems we’re currently facing globally. Being a Jungian oriented Integral psychologist and professor, the author examines what Hillesum recorded in her time, as well as employing Etty’s ideas to illuminate the chaos in our time. She explores Hillesum’s own process of individuation and realization, encouraging others to “develop yourselves!” This will be a unique volume of interest to Jungian analysts, analysts in training, as well as readers with an interest in the time period and concern about democracy and “our times.”

In The Existential Philosophy of Etty Hillesum Meins G.S. Coetsier breaks new ground by demonstrating the Jewish existential nature of Etty Hillesum’s spiritual and cultural life in light of the writings of Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Hillesum’s diaries and letters, written between 1941 and 1943, illustrate her struggle to come to terms with her personal life in the context of the Second World War and the Shoah. By finding God under the rubble of the horrors, she rediscovers the divine presence between humankind, while taking up responsibility for the Other as a way to embrace justice and compassion. In a fascinating, accessible and thorough study, Coetsier dispels much of the confusion that assails readers when they are exposed to the bewildering range of Christian and Jewish influences and other cultural interpretations of her writings. The result is a convincing and profound picture of Etty Hillesum's path to spiritual freedom.

This book investigates the response of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland to the conflict in the region during the late Twentieth Century. It does so through the prism of the writings of Cardinal Cahal Daly (1917-2009), the only member of the hierarchy to serve as a bishop throughout the entire conflict. This book uses the prolific writings of Cardinal Daly to create a vision of the ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ and demonstrate how Catholic social teaching has been used to promote peace, justice and nonviolence. It also explores the public role of the Catholic Church in situations of violence and conflict, as well as the importance for national churches in developing a voice in the public square.Finally, the book offers a reflection on the role of Catholic social teaching in contemporary society and the ways in which the lessons of Northern Ireland can be utilised in a world where structural violence, as evidenced by austerity, and reactions to Brexit in the United Kingdom, is now the norm. This work challenges and changes the nature of the debate surrounding the role of the Catholic Church in the conflict in Northern Ireland. It will, therefore, be a key resource for scholars of Religious Studies, Catholic Theology, Religion and Violence, Peace Studies, and Twentieth Century History.

This book takes one step further the long-standing debate among scholars of religious antiquity over when and why a parting of the ways happened between Judaism and Christianity in the early centuries of the Common Era. It explores three interrelated questions: what might have happened to prevent that split; how might Western religion have looked had the split not occurred; and how might features of that religion, which never existed, nonetheless manifest in some of the literature and artworks of the past half millennium. The book envisions a religion that stands between historical Judaism and Christianity—a counterfactual construction that challenges Jews and Christians to rethink their actual identities today.

Our history, mythologies, and even popular entertainment are filled with stories upholding the concept of sacred vows and covenants-between warriors, rulers and subjects, friends, and allies. Take, for example, King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table or the Three Musketeers. However, the concept of "blood brothers" and sworn oaths is not a product of Western Civilization as we might suspect; the history of covenants goes back to the days before Christ. So where did it originate? And how did it develop? Here Dr. Meyer van Rensburg seeks to answer these questions while also addressing the significance of covenant in the Christian's life today. Covenant: God's Love-deal with us provides a vast survey of the meaning behind such vows and the far-reaching history of these bonds. Largely setting his foundation in Scriptural references to what makes a covenant and the many examples of Biblical covenants, Dr. van Rensburg emphasizes the ritual of the nine required steps to a covenant and their meanings then and now (consider the elements of a typical wedding ceremony) to see how adherence to these covenant steps continues today. Furthermore, the many covenants God made with man throughout early history (with Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Moses, and especially Jesus) continue to touch Christians' lives: these are dealt with in detail by the author. However, he also goes beyond these Scriptural models and the covenants between God and man to explore the history of covenants between men throughout the world, and particularly the existence of covenants in Africa and their role in the history of the continent, past and present. Through this wealth of examples and attention to ritual, Dr. van Rensburg reveals a path to agape love and peace if only one adopts the principles of the covenant. Dr. Meyer's books can be seen on Amazon and his oil paintings on UK craft fairs.

Christian Ethics focuses on understanding the relationship between one's ethical self, society's rules, and the consequences of one's actions. It operates from a Judeo-Christian perspective that also takes into account the ethical system of other major world religions. Christian Ethics draws from philosophy, theology, and psychology. It considers the roles of personality development, conscience formation, gender difference, religious values, and social structures in ethical decision making. It probes the questions and dilemmas of good vs. evil, personal vs. communal values, authority vs. conscience, religion vs. society, and civil vs. moral law. Examples and case studies drawn from the fields of social, medical, sexual, business, political, environmental, and personal ethics are used throughout the book and illuminate the process for personal decision making.

Postmodern Apologetics provides an introduction to contemporary French thinkers who argue for the coherence and viability of Christian faith and religious experience with phenomenological and hermeneutical tools. It treats both French philosophers and appropriations of their thought in the North American context.

An inherent tension exists in the history of psychoanalysis and its applications between the concepts of freedom and security. In Managed Lives, this tension is explored from the point of view of therapeutic experience. Set against the background of Freud’s contested legacy, the book examines ways of managing oneself under psychiatric supervision, in the analytic encounter and in the emotional and moral contexts of everyday life. Through a series of detailed case studies Steven Groarke addresses therapeutic experience as a formation of managed society, examining the work of Donald Winnicott on types of management, Colin Murray Parkes on bereavement and Anthony Giddens on the sociological appropriation of psychoanalysis. Managed Lives forms an original critical analysis of contemporary managerial culture and its self-reflexive project as well as presenting the idea of management as a source of inner security and vital morality. Presented in three parts, the book addresses: The Criterion of Maturity The Reflexive Norm The Managed Society Together, the book’s arguments provide a fresh and challenging perspective on post-Freudian uses of faith, the risks of critical rationality and the difficulties of living an ethical life under modern conditions. Managed Lives is ideal for academics and research students working on psychoanalytic studies, social theory and mental health studies as well as students and trainees taking courses in psychotherapy, counselling, social work and health and social care.

"This book provides an introduction to the importance of Levinas's work and an explication of the manner in which the practicality of his insights can assist ethical judgment within the human community"--