ATLA Monograph Series – serie

Examines the religious dimensions of an early twentieth century black power movement, the universal Negro Improvement Association, whose founder, Marcus Garvey, is here regarded as a religious thinker self-consciously endeavoring to construct their historical experience as a people.

Nuclear weapons challenge traditional moral and political categories for the evaluation of war. This book argues that political and technological changes have demonstrated the inadequacy of both just war theory and political realism in relation to modern war, and examines how these changes have transformed the way in which war is conceived and fought. War with nuclear weapons is no longer a contest of military strength but a bargaining process characterized by the manipulation of risk. Current thinking often rests on an outdated understanding of war. This unique book spans the disciplines of history, ethics, and international relations theory in its search for an adequate response to the criminal burden of nuclear weapons.

Emphasizes the English hymn as a literary entity within denominational and historical contexts, from the early Church through the twentieth century. With a listing of works for further reading and an index to all hymns discussed.

Few questions have troubled Christians more than the destiny of those who do not hear the gospel. For reasons described in this work, Irenaeus (second century Bishop of Lyons) did not directly address the issue of the salvation of the unevangelized. A careful analysis is therefore made of the saving effects of the various modes of revelation about which Irenaeus wrote, in the context of his conflict with the Gnostics. Particular attention is given to his understanding of the respective roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in divine revelation, the role of the Church, and the human response to divine revelation which is necessary for salvation.Tiessen concludes that Irenaeus should not be cited as an early proponent of Karl Rahner's "anonymous Christianity" without careful qualification. Some aspects of his thought, however, indicate that he might have granted the possibility of salvation for individuals outside of the institutional Church, if he had known a situation such as we know today.The work will be of particular interest to patrologists, missiologists, and theologians interested in the issues of revelation and salvation.

Rastafari is one of the most significant yet least understood new religious movements in the twentieth century. Originating in Jamaica in the 1930s, it has evolved into a popular international phenomenon. Yet scholars have continued to view Rastafari in a marginal way as an other-worldly, fragile, or avant-garde social emergent. This book argues, rather, that Rastafari represents a transformative consciousness of "I-Sight" which is paradigmatic of a new social ethic. This ethic reflects a distinctive self-understanding (I-n-I), lifestyle (livity), and center of value (Ethiopia).The author is the first researcher to interpret Rasta poetry and song lyrics in relation to systematically constructed concepts of Jamaican religion and culture. Analyzing the meaning of key symbols in a wide cross-section of dub and other Rasta poetic expressions in the past quarter century, he explains many of the ambiguities and inconsistencies in the previous scholarship on Rastafari.As an interpretive sociological account of Rastafarian ethics, the book should be of interest to students and scholars in cultural analysis, Caribbean Studies, new religious movements and ethics, as well as students of English literature and aesthetics.

Composed in 1809 in order to organize and direct a loosely assembled network of Scots-Irish Presbyterians on the Western Pennsylvania frontier, the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington never quite achieved the immediate objectives that compelled its composition. Yet the document's lofty vision of a unified Christian Church, restored to the peace and purity that the New Testament had preached and promised, has for generations fueled the imagination and fired the commitment of millions of Christians worldwide—with, often, quite contradictory results. Emerging from the work of an international online seminar, this truly monumental volume presents a definitive text with critical apparatus for a landmark document in the history of American religion and worldwide Christian ecumenism, along with eighteen insightful, incisive studies of the document's historical provenance, its theological and ecclesiological significance, and its continuing influence.

Douglas Geyer's illuminating analysis of Mark 4:35-6:56 explains why the Gospel ends as it does in the earliest manuscripts-abruptly, at 16:8, with the words, "for they were afraid." This ending, with women fleeing the empty tomb in "trembling and astonishment," has long been considered "problematic," and, in the several attempts to rewrite it, Mark 16 has become a source of unending mischief. Geyer's work draws on a vast literature of fear, anomaly, terror, and dread in the ancient world to demonstrate that this ending is a consistent, overriding theme of Mark's Gospel.In Mark we see and hear the story of Jesus through the eyes and ears of the Roman world. Geyer brings to bear the literature of that world in a way that helps his readers to understand what Mark is doing and how the story that Mark tells continues to touch his readers and hearers ancient and modern (and "postmodern"). Geyer guides the reader through a vast and uncharted primary literature, demonstrating its relevance for New Testament study. In so doing he clearly proposes a fresh and original understanding of Mark that cuts across many of the critical controversies and renews its purpose and usefulness as "good news"—Gospel—for the terrors and uncertainties of our own time.

New in Paperback!"...a model for the kind of study that other denominations now deserve and need."—THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY"...a sympathetic but balanced treatment...Important for social history collections and essential for those emphasizing the sociology of religion or American religious history."—CHOICE"...a selective, yet sensitive, authentic account of the movement...No available work competes...in its description of the varied phenomena of the holiness movement."—LEON O. HYNSON, CHRISTIAN SCHOLAR'S REVIEWCloth edition previously published in 1974.

People have been denied citizenship in America for many reasons. Would it surprise you to learn that four of those people were denied because they were conscientious objectors to war? The government believed that because they were not willing to bear arms in defense of the country, they were not attached to the principles of the Constitution, as required by naturalization law. Ironically, none of these people were eligible for military service because of their age, and two of them were women. Furthermore, when both women were denied citizenship it was during a period when women could not serve in the military. Following overviews of the history of immigration and pacifism in America, chapters are devoted to the four different forms of conscientious objection: philosophical absolute pacifism, religiously informed absolute pacifism, selective conscientious objection, and conscientious cooperator. Each chapter discusses the individual, the arguments for their claim to citizenship, the government's arguments against them, and an analysis of the Supreme Court Opinion in their case. In short, each chapter gives a comprehensive treatment of the personalities and the issues involved. A fascinating and informative read for theology and law students, scholars and for those intrigued in immigration and/or pacifism.

Traditionally, university students have gained access to world religions by reading primary texts. Discovering World Religions at 24 Frames Per Second takes students beyond the written page, offering an exploration of the same religious traditions through the study of feature films. The many definitions of religion are examined along with its various components, including doctrine, myth, ethics, ritual, and symbol. Specific religious traditions, including Hinduism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, popular religion, and Shinto are examined. Biographical sketches of directors whose films tend to focus on a particular religious tradition are also included, such as Zhang Yimou, Hayao Miyazaki, Deepa Mehta, and Akira Kurosawa.Discovering World Religions at 24 Frames Per Second is unique in the area of religion and film studies in that it isn't just a collection of essays. Instead it provides the introductory student with the necessary background information on the various religions before looking at how their ideas can be understood not through texts but through the cinematic medium. To keep the conversation fresh, most of the films used in the book were made within the last decade. Furthermore, examples range from popular, mainstream fare, such as Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings trilogy to lesser-known foreign films, such as The Wooden Man's Bride and The Great Yokai War. Several films with a "cult-like" following are also discussed, including Fight Club, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Jacob's Ladder. This book is also unique in that instead of drawing upon the Judeo-Christian tradition, it draws from Eastern traditions.

From Altar-Throne to Table: The Campaign for Frequent Holy Communion in the Catholic Church investigates what the celebrated scholar of liturgy Robert A. Taft, SJ, calls the greatest and most successful liturgical reform in Catholic history. Only a century ago, faithful, practicing Catholics received Holy Communion only once a year; now, among American English-speaking Catholics, Holy Communion is a routine, weekly devotional practice. This book explains how and why this ritual sea-change happened.This book emphasizes that significant ritual change may occur while liturgical texts remain the same, and it also proposes a method for understanding the causes for such a ritual change. It admonishes not to project current ritual practice into even our recent past. Further, it implies an explanation for the massive decline in Catholics' use of the sacrament of reconciliation.