Through the 'dark night of the soul' to the depiction of the erotically-charged union of the soul and God, the poetry and prose works of the Spanish friar John of the Cross (1542-1591) offer a striking account of the transformation of the individual in the course of the Christian life.
Focusing on Rumi, the best-selling Persian mystical poet of the 13th century, this book investigates the reception of his work and thought in North America and Europe - and the phenomenon of 'Rumimania' - to elucidate the complexities of intercultural communication between the West and the Iranian and Islamic worlds.
The life and many afterlives of one of the most enduring mystical testaments ever writtenThe Life of Saint Teresa of Avila is among the most remarkable accounts ever written of the human encounter with the divine.
Reveals the discovery of an artifact that many experts believe may be the Holy Grail *; Traces the journey of the Grail from the Holy Land to Rome and eventually to a ruined chapel in Shropshire, England *; Uncovers new evidence identifying the historical King Arthur and his connection to the Holy Grail The popular Arthurian stories of the Middle Ages depict the Holy Grail as Christ's cup from the Last Supper, which was believed to have been endowed with miraculous healing powers and the ability to give eternal life to whoever drank from it.
One of the important ecclesial developments over the last century has been the extraordinary rediscovery, retrieval and reinvigoration of the Christian contemplative tradition, a recovery that has been extraordinarily influential Theologians have begun to explore how aspects of the Christian contemplative tradition challenge certain prevalent views about the nature of God, the world, and persons, but this contemplative renaissance also raises crucial questions about a variety of more philosophical arenas such as how we construe the relationship between faith and reason, religious epistemology, theological metaphysics, philosophical hermeneutics and so forth.
One of the important ecclesial developments over the last century has been the extraordinary rediscovery, retrieval and reinvigoration of the Christian contemplative tradition, a recovery that has been extraordinarily influential Theologians have begun to explore how aspects of the Christian contemplative tradition challenge certain prevalent views about the nature of God, the world, and persons, but this contemplative renaissance also raises crucial questions about a variety of more philosophical arenas such as how we construe the relationship between faith and reason, religious epistemology, theological metaphysics, philosophical hermeneutics and so forth.
A pathbreaking history of Sufism, from the earliest centuries of Islam to the presentAfter centuries as the most important ascetic-mystical strand of Islam, Sufism saw a sharp decline in the twentieth century, only to experience a stunning revival in recent decades.
Kabbalistic initiatory teachings for becoming a vessel for illumination, prophecy, and peace by creating an inner dwelling place for God's divine presence *; Reveals practices for self mastery and revelation based on the holy design of the first Hebrew Sanctuary, the lives of the Hebrew Prophets, and the Tree of Life *; Shows how the Tree of Life's ten sefirot correspond to the Torah's prophetic Ten Songs of Creation; to alchemical ritual practices of fire, water, air, and earth; and to specific parts of the body, emotions, and aspects of the soul Many synagogues and churches, including the First and Second Temples of the Hebrews, follow an archetypal design first used in the Ohel Moed, or Tent of Meeting, and its sacred Tabernacle, which housed the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments.
Focused on Shi'ism and Sufism in the formative period of Islam, this book examines the development of the concept of walaya, a complex term that has, over time, acquired a wide range of relationships with other theological ideas, chiefly in relation to the notion of authority.
The "e;Scholastic Problem"e; was the focus of much debate in Islam for some centuries before it became the chief crux of learned discussion in medieval Christianity.
In this fascinating book, Richard Smoley examines the roles God has played for us and reconciles them with what we today know through science and reason.
Margaret Froelich examines the Gospel of Mark using political and empire-critical methodologies, following postcolonial thinkers in perceiving a far more ambivalent message than previous pacifistic interpretations of the text.
Revealing, in an original and provocative study, the mystical contents of the works of famous atheists Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch, Donna Lazenby shows how these thinkers' refusal to construe worldviews on available reductive models brought them to offer radically alternative pictures of life which maintain its mysteriousness, and promote a mystical way of knowing.
Jesus' Crown of Thorns has become one of the most ubiquitous features of Christian religious art, but was the crown of history anything like the crown of popular medieval art and piety?
The Katha Upanishad embraces the key ideas of Indian mysticism in a mythic story we can all relate to the quest of a young hero, Nachiketa, who ventures into the land of death in search of immortality.
This thematic introduction to classical Islamic philosophy focuses on the most prevalent philosophical debates of the medieval Islamic world and their importance within the history of philosophy.
The ancient origins and divinatory power of the runes *; Uncovers the original divinatory meaning of each rune through the myths of its corresponding Norse god or goddess *; Includes beautiful full-color illustrations of the runic gods and goddesses *; Presents rune-casting spreads for divination and character analysis *; Explores the controversial history of runes from the Paleolithic Stone Age to today Invented long before the appearance of the runic alphabet Futhark less than two thousand years ago, the runes were originally created as symbols for specific deities.
Mystics who have spoken of their union with God have come under suspicion in all three major religious traditions, sometimes to the point of condemnation and execution in the case of Christianity and Islam.
The apostle Peter is a pillar of the church whose writing has been overlooked until recently when scholarship remedied this gap, significantly elevating Peter's letters.
Re-imagining at the Sources offers the fruits of a lifetime's reflection on the Bible and its role within the Christian faith, from a respected scholar and priest.
*; Traces the journey of Otto Rahn, the occultist and one-time SS member who sought the Holy Grail and traveled widely throughout Europe as a researcher until his mysterious death in 1939*; Explores the modern legacy of the officially heretical Christian sect known as the Cathars*; Follows the author's own investigations into the location of the Grail and Rahn's legacy, taking readers on a journey through occult EuropeMeticulously following controversial 20th-century occultist, historian, and partially Jewish SS member Otto Rahn's investigations into the Holy Grail and Catharism, author and filmmaker Richard Stanley enters into the occult world of Europe.
Apophatic theology, or negative theology, attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God.
By integrating conversations across disciplines, especially focusing on classical studies and Jewish and Christian studies, this volume addresses several imbalances in scholarship on reading and textual activity in the ancient Mediterranean.
