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Number of Pages : 777
Publisher : Ktav Publishing House
List Price : $36.88
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Customer reviews A good collection of texts but strange arrangement and disjointed  by .. ()
I am using this book for a class on the History of the Second Temple Period in Israel. It is a required text, so I had no choice. The book presents a good selection of texts, although it does not include some that I would have included. It also jumps around in a strange order that I can't completely figure out. You can't use it without a good instructor or another text to set the texts in context and give the historical framework. I also have Schiffman's From Text to Tradition which is supposed to do this but I don't find it very readable. There are better treatments of the material.
The most comprehensive 2nd Temple Period anthology  by .. N. Caine (Los Angeles, CA)
I have been teaching Jewish Studies at the college and high school level for ten years, and this is the most helpful primary source anthology for the 2nd Temple Period. As a primary text anthology, there is little instruction as to what the texts mean, as that is intended to be covered in Schiffman's companion book. But as a teacher, there is no book I use more to prepare lessons, and this makes a perfect (and affordable) textbook for a college level 2nd Temple Period course. We have extended excerpts from all parts of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles alongside of contemporaneous materials from Josephus, Apocraphya, wisdom literature, and sects. In addition, the excerpts from the Talmud and Mishna are invaluable: included are all of the more famous passages, such as the Hillel-Shammai debates, Achnai's Oven, and the 13 Midrashic principles, as well as more obscure and fascinating material, for example debates over canonization of Song of Songs, or the imperative that it is forbidden to write down Oral Torah (which is nevertheless written down as Mishnah and Gemara). The only drawback of the anthology is that all of the texts are in English, with no bilingual passages. But the translations are very good. This book makes an outstanding gift for Hebrew School teachers and Jewish education professionals. It is, as well, an excellent textbook for a Jewish Studies course, as long as the teacher supplements the texts with explanatory materials. I am amazed at how few rabbis and teachers are aware of this book, and treasure the copies I give them.
Okay by .. ()
I had prof. Schiffman as my teacher for this text. While it is fairly comprehensive, it seems to have excess and be mostly useful if Schiffman is teaching you. I would not reccomend it unless it is being used in a college level course.
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Author : Louis P. Pojman
Edition : 2
Number of Pages : 600
Publisher : Wadsworth Publishing
List Price : $125.95
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Product Description Critically explore all the major lines of thinking and the major schools of thoughts formed around philosophy's basic fields--the philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and the meaning of life with Pojman's PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS: A TEXT WITH READINGS. This broad group of philosophical selections has been hand-picked for clarity and includes commentaries by the author so you'll not only quickly pick up the concepts, you'll also be familiar with some of history's greatest works. Customer reviews Making the best of philosophy acessible by .. Claudio F. Costa (Natal, RN Brazil)
This is simply the best general introduction to philosophy presently available. The only competitor I know is Modern Philosophy, from Roger Scruton, which is more vast, but not so extremely clear and readable as Pojman's book.
Related Search : readings , text with , philosophical traditions
Author : Lawrence H. Schiffman
Number of Pages : 299
Publisher : Ktav Pub Inc
List Price : $28.69
Amazon Price : $20.65
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Customer reviews Good stuff by .. Daniel Z. Loewenstein ()
This is a very important book on a somewhat tricky topic, probably of interest to anyone interested in Jewish History but particularly to Jews looking to better understand how Tanach turned into now. Very interesting. And, as with all books like this, read critically.
We Use This Text in Rabbinics Class by .. Israel Ben David (Massachusetts, USA)
Although no single book exists that covers everything one would want to know about the second temple period in the development of Judaism and also immediately following the destruction of the temple, this is a really good book related to that subject. My Rabbinics teacher really likes it as one of the textbooks for the class (for its historical treatment of that era). We use it in conjunction to studying the Talmud. This allows you to understand some of the trends, traditions and historic events that led to the development of Rabbinic Judaism that we all love today.
Good overview by .. J. Plunk (Ellerslie, GA United States)
I was not disappointed with this book and learned a lot I didn't know. I think for the money, it is an excellent value. If you look up some of the books Schiffman lists in his bibliography, you can't get them for under $50, so this one is a steal. Now that I have a basic understanding of the period, I can do some more in depth reading. Two things I learned, 1) that the Jews were self-governing in Israel (even though they might have been part of an Empire) for many more years than one would think given the way people today seem to portray the Jews as "stealing" the land for the State of Israel, and 2) things really didn't get bad bad bad for the Jews until Christianity became prominent, really until Rome became officially a Christian state. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because it is an overview.
Invaluable Study of the Development of Rabbinic Judiasm by .. D. N. Goldman (San Francisco, CA USA)
For those who have wondered how the Jewish religion transformed the practice of animal sacrifice depicted in the Bible to the one we know today, this book is for you. Professor Schiffman writes a careful, thoughtful history of Jewish religious thought from the time of return from Babylon (about 560 B.C.E.) to the closing of the Talmud (about 200 C.E.). Focusing on the Greek and Roman periods, the reader is treated to the historical facts that account normative rabbinic Judaism. This is not a flashy read, but it is always engaging. Highly recommended.
Prof's shouldn't use their own books in their courses . . .  by .. ()
I purchased this book for a course about Ancient Israel, and Schiffman was the professor. Taking this course and reading this textbook only confirmed my belief that professors should not use their own textbooks in their courses. It's not a terrible book, but he spends far too much time going into the derivations of words, etc. and not enough time discussing the history of Judaism after the destruction of the First Temple, which is what the book's supposed to be about. The chapters are divided in such a way that one chapter will deal with the history of a period, the next the literature, etc., which could work if the different topics were tied together better. In addition, often when he discusses the texts of a particular period, he does not take care to clearly define each text but jumps into a discussion of its development and impact on the culture. I found this particularly striking in the discussion of the rabbinic texts, whose divisions were so confusing I couldn't even follow it! Like I said before, it's not a terrible book, but it's not a particularly good one, either.
Related Search : tradition history , times history , temple rabbinic  |
Author : David H. Richter
Edition : Third Edition
Number of Pages : 1696
Publisher : Bedford/St. Martin's
Amazon Price : $73.40
Used Price : $59.08 |
Product Description This bestseller balances a comprehensive and up-to-date anthology of major documents in literary criticism and theory — from Plato to the present — with the most thorough editorial support for understanding these challenging readings. Customer reviews I cannot recommend this book highly enough by .. English PhD Student (Los Angeles, CA)
I am a new English PhD student struggling to learn the history of critical theory and simultaneously find my place within it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It offers extremely helpful overviews of various critical movements (and how they fit together/comment on one another, which is hard to find in most critical overviews) along with seminal primary texts. However, you don't have to be a beginner to appreciate this text -- its really great for everyone.
A Comprehensive Critical Anthology by .. Sherringford Clark (Mayor's Income, Tennessee)
"The Critical Tradition" provides a comprehensive mixture of classic and contemporary literary criticism. However, another reviewer has already pointed out the book's deficiencies regarding some schools of contemporary criticism.
Other problems with this book are of a more incidental nature. Considering the great price of the book, the pages are far too thin and it is difficult to underline or highlight sections. You can see the text on the other side of the page even when it is lying flat.
Another big problem is the quality of the translations for those works not originally in English. Many of the translations, esp. of the classic texts, are outdated, and more readable, contemporary translations exist. These are relatively minor quibbles, though, and as a whole, "The Critical Tradition" is a comprehensive presentation of the history of literary criticism and of contemporary schools of theory. Moreover, Richter's introductions to the authors and schools of theory are insightful and concise, and possibly the most invaluable part of the book.
limited view of contemporary criticism by .. litprof (San Diego, CA)
I have found this book really useful to students in all its editions. It persists, however, in omitting the significant theoretical current of body studies. The new edition has Donna Haraway's "Cyborg Manifesto"-- great. But what about cultural studies of the body, illness, and disability? This is a field that has arrived at this point, and what's more, it speaks to our students. The Norton remains head and shoulders above Richter in this regard, and for me, this is a deal-breaker.
A Worthy Choice by .. Q (my office)
This is certainly one of the best comprehensive anthologies of Literary criticism from Plato to postmodernism available. The only other such anthology that is worthy of comparison is the NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF THEORY AND CRITICISM (2001). Which one you prefer will be largely a matter of personal taste. They are both equally massive in size. THE CRITICAL TRADITION leaves out Augustine, Moses Maimonides, Aquinas, Giraldi, Mazzoni, and Lessing, which the NORTON includes; so I would say the NORTON's coverage of the Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance is more comprehensive. THE CRITICAL TRADITION includes, however, Shklovky's great essay on "defamiliarization," as well as an essay by Brecht, glaring omissions of the NORTON. Both anthologies omit Rene Girard, one of the most important theorists of the 20th century. THE CRITICAL TRADITION includes Clifford Geertz's great essay on "Thick Description," lacking in the Norton. THE NORTON's coverage of African-American criticism is better though. But THE CRITICAL TRADITION includes an essay by Rey Chow, one of the major players in Post-Colonial criticism. Overall, the NORTON has more authors, but whether they are better authors will depend on personal preference. A notable feature of THE CRITICAL TRADITION is the inclusion of several "dialogues" between different authors, such as Frank Lentricchia's critique of Stephen Greenblatt's New Historicism. THE NORTON includes substantial introductions to individual authors; THE CRITICAL TRADITION gives substantial introductions to the older authors, but for the modern period, they take a different approach. For each major theoretical movement (such as Reader-response or Feminism), there is a substantial (10-15 pages) essay by the editor on the movement and its leading figures; but the introductions for individual authors are omitted, except for a brief list of books published.
Annoyingly, the table of contents is hard to find, coming only after a 15 page preface. What were the editors thinking?
Both THE NORTON and THE CRITICAL TRADITION are excellent anthologies with slightly different strengths and weaknesses. They both cover many of the same authors, but for modern theorists, the editors have often chosen different selections. Graduate students and Professors of English might well want to have both.
Indispensable intro to any and all literary theory by .. Volkswagen Blues (Chico, CA)
Time and again, I've watched students--whether grads or undergrads--stress and strain in an attempt to get their heads around the thoughts of people like Derrida, Foucault, Kristeva, Spivak, etc. I've come to the conclusion that this confusion stems from the average university's habit of throwing new critical thinkers in at the contemporary deep-end of critical thinking. Richter's book is absolutely indispensable, as it is one of the few anthologies willing to acknowledge the existence of and include well-chosen examples from the long history of critical thought and how it helps us understand what we read, why we read, and what we value. You could buy the Adams/Searle two-volume deal, split into critical theory before and after 1965, but you'll notice right away that the date they've arbitrarily chosen as their critical divide doesn't hold water. In order to introduce the post-1965 thinkers, Searle and Adams are forced to include a bevy of far earlier thinkers, from Heidegger to Lukacs to Wittgenstein. You're safer to stick with Richter, who lets the interconnectedness of these thinkers speak for itself. The greatest strength of Richter's tome is that it simply starts at the beginning (which is, as Julie Andrews reminds us, a "very good place to start") and moves forward (until about the mid-19th century, when things get trickier), charting a course through what is aptly termed "the critical tradition." This movement provides an astonishingly broad context in which one can more usefully engage more contemporary thinkers. Present-day debates over representation, for example, and the dangers thereof, weigh a great deal more when one is familiar with the long history that underpins this debate, from Aristotle to Horace ("just representations of general nature") to Sidney, etc. An unexpected bonus to this focus on thinkers other than those 20th-century bastions of critical theory, is a broader understanding of intellectual currents in other periods. Romanticism? You've got Kant, Shelley, Keats and Coleridge explaining it to you. The Enlightenment? You've got Johnson, Hume and Pope. The more context one has, the more one understands, in my experience. I've harped on the critical tradition in Richter, but he has chosen the contemporary essays well, too. They're selected and organized in such a way as to give a sense of a debate taking shape. This not only helps the readings speak to each other more directly, but it also forces the reader to keep in mind that the critical tradition is never a finished product. Its construction continues, and by the end of a semester spent in Richter's anthology, we become a part of this development, feel its workings around and beyond us. I highly recommend this volume.
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Author : Mary Ann Glendon; Paolo G. Carozza; Colin B. Picker
Edition : 3
Number of Pages : 990
Release Date : 2006-12-27
Publisher : West Group
List Price : $132.00
Amazon Price : $105.60
Used Price : $65.00 |
Product Description This new edition includes some significant revisions since the last edition was published in 1994. The new edition includes: A greater emphasis on Public Law in the Continental and Common law traditions; More coverage of the impact of the regional European law (EC EU and ECHR) on the legal traditions;Some updated Problems (including one concerning Mixed Jurisdictions); and Numerous updates to the Common Law Tradition materials in light of the many significant reforms in England over the last ten years. Related Search : casebook series , series american , comparative legal  |
Author : Anthony Grafton
Number of Pages : 340
Publisher : Harvard University Press
List Price : $26.95
Amazon Price : $24.25
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Product Description Anthony Grafton is erudite and elegant in the style of the best historical writers who make the past come alive for the reader. In a full-scale presentation of the world of scholarship, from the Renaissance to the modern period, Grafton sets before us in three-dimensional detail such seminal figures as Poliziano, Scaliger, Kepler, and Wolf. He calls attention to continuities, moments of crisis, and changes in direction. The central issue in Defenders of the Text is the relation between humanism and science from the mid-fifteenth century to the beginning of the modern period. Treatments of Renaissance humanism in English have emphasized the humanists' commitment to rhetoric, ethics, and politics and have accused the humanists of concentrating on literary matters in preference to investigating the real world via new developments in science, philosophy, and other technical disciplines. This revisionist book demonstrates that humanism was neither a simple nor an impractical enterprise, but worked hand-in-hand with science in developing modern learning. Anthony Grafton makes clear that humanism remained an integral and vital part of European culture until the eighteenth century, maintaining a technical component of its own--classical philology--which developed in as rich, varied, and unexpected a way as any other field of European thought. Attention to the text led the humanists to develop a whole range of cools and methods that lent power to science and learning for centuries to come. Grafton shows the continued capacity of classical texts to provoke innovative work in both philology and philosophy, and traces a number of close and important connections between humanism and natural science. His book will be important to intellectual historians, students of the classics and the classical tradition, and historians of early modern science. Related Search : age science , defenders text , 1450 1800  |
Author : Jeremy Naydler
Number of Pages : 480
Release Date : 2004-12-09
Publisher : Inner Traditions
List Price : $22.95
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Product Description A radical reinterpretation of the Pyramid Texts as shamanic mystical wisdom rather than funerary rituals • Reveals the mystical nature of Egyptian civilization denied by orthodox Egyptologists • Examines the similarity between the pharaoh’s afterlife voyage and shamanic journeying • Shows shamanism to be the foundation of the Egyptian mystical tradition To the Greek philosophers and other peoples of the ancient world, Egypt was regarded as the home of a profound mystical wisdom. While there are many today who still share that view, the consensus of most Egyptologists is that no evidence exists that Egypt possessed any mystical tradition whatsoever. Jeremy Naydler’s radical reinterpretation of the Pyramid Texts--the earliest body of religious literature to have survived from ancient Egypt--places these documents into the ritual context in which they belong. Until now, the Pyramid Texts have been viewed primarily as royal funerary texts that were used in the liturgy of the dead pharaoh or to aid him in his afterlife journey. This emphasis on funerary interpretation has served only to externalize what were actually experiences of the living, not the dead, king. In order to understand the character and significance of the extreme psychological states the pharaoh experienced--states often involving perilous encounters with alternate realities--we need to approach them as spiritual and religious phenomena that reveal the extraordinary possibilities of human consciousness. It is the shamanic spiritual tradition, argues Naydler, that is the undercurrent of the Pyramid Texts and that holds the key to understanding both the true nature of these experiences and the basis of ancient Egyptian mysticism. Customer reviews Hopefully Naydler has hit the button of Egyptology by .. Jason A. Voss (Santa Fe, NM United States)
First of all, Naydler's book is an outstandingly thorough and convincing argument that the Ancient Egyptian religion was a shamanic practice designed to bring on mystical experiences.
After several trips to Egypt and many hours spent inside of the ancient culture's temples and tombs, I was overwhelmed with the grandeur, scale, scope, artistry and FEELING of these sacred places. It was obvious to me that these folks were deeply steeped in mystical tradition. So I came back to the States seeking as much information as possible about ancient Egyptian religion. After many months of exploring the continuum of possibilities, I have to confess that I was very disappointed. On one side of the continuum were the extraordinarily dry and uninteresting and disconnected books such as "Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt" by Rosalie David; and on the other end of the continuum were the strange, seemingly unfounded and ungrounded books such as "Initiation in the Great Pyramid" by Earlyne Chaney. I was NOT looking for a book that simply confirmed my assumptions, instead I was looking for a book by a scholarly enthusiast. Naydler has fit the bill. His work uses as its source material the ancient Egyptians' own writings - the Pyramid Texts - so his work is grounded in reality. Yet, Naydler is also clearly a true believer in mystical experience as brought on by shamanic practice. Thus, his work has reinserted some of the passion into the scholarly landscape that clearly drove the Egyptians to erect such magnificent monuments. Bravo Jeremy Naydler.
I must also tell you that I was initially disappointed to discover that this book does not contain a full translation of the Pyramid Texts. After discovering this fact I bought my own copy of a full translation of the Pyramid Texts, as translated by R.O. Faulkner. Then as I would read a passage in Naydler I would go to the source material. What I was very pleased to discover is that while Naydler has not translated every passage for us, he has paraphrased all of the information where a direct translation was not provided. What is more, in his interpretations he often includes much background material on ancient Egyptian religion or on shamanic practice that is extremely helpful. So, in other words, Naydler's approach is a net win for the reader. My appreciation for Naydler was certainly enhanced by having Faulkner's translation of the Pyramid Texts right next to me at all times. Incidentally, I chose Faulker because of Robert Bauval's whole-hearted endorsement of him due to Faulkner's interpretation that the ancient Egyptians were more a star cult than a sun cult. Any time spent at all in the temples and tombs of ancient Egypt clearly demonstrates their obsession with stars much more so than the sun (also a star, by the way).
In addition to the above praise I must state that I very much appreciated that Naydler included a 3-D rendering of King Unas's pyramid and indicated always where a certain passage was written relative to the architecture of the Pyramid.
It is my sincere hope that this book hits the button on mainline Egyptologists and gets them to rethink the thinking and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians.
One Facet of the Mysticism of Ancient Egypt and Its Cover Up/Misinterpretation of Modern Western "Science" by .. Bonam Pak (Berlin)
Originally published in 2005, this book is some 480 pages thick. Some 330 pages are filled with regular text (including 131 figures), 85 pages with small print footnotes (including 4 figures). That makes the footnotes equalling more than a fourth of the regular text, part of them may be forgiven...
The author is taking neither the pyramids nor their texts as funerary or funerary only respectively. The focus is on the pyramid of Unas, with many references to other pyramids as well. He is not alone in the knowledge that the pyramids were used primarily/only for spiritual purposes, not tombs or referring solely to the afterlife. Instead as an initiation or renewal of initiation of a pharao for the well being of the entire kingdom. Hence, the hyroglyphs and vignettes are not describing the so-called afterlife of the pharao, but induced "near death" experiences of very much alive pharaos.
For a better overstanding of ancient Egyptian religion, Jeremy Naydler reasons to take the learning on ancient Egypt away from the realm of Egyptologists with their modern scientific attitude of culture references and give it to the mystics. Of any ages, as the Europeans of classic, medievil and later Imes up to the end of the 18th century hadn't been conditioned yet to belittle the ancient Egyptian religion and the knowledge of the latter representing the very roots of all the "world religions". The way of overstanding is the phenomenological approach, already taught by early 19th century Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The (universal) mystical message being: "Unless you make yourself equal to God, you cannot understand Him." Naydler goes further by suggesting the shamanic roots of the ancient Egyptian religion. Which makes perfect sense, I may say, as in: How else than ancient Egypt representing the "missing link" between shamanic religion and organised/world religion? Also the related so-called Egyptian Book of the Dead and Coffin Texts are to be seen in the light of this mystical reading of the pyramid texts.
In reading this book and the pyramid texts with it, Naydler invites us to actually learn from the Egyptians. For example that they considered a progression of Imes (time) a degeneration of history and human society. Considering the loss of a large section of society of mystic knowledge, but ever more constructs of separations ever more severely persecuted, they were perfectly right. As were the ancients from Mesopotamia, India, Persia and Greece who all adopted this view until the modern global society reversed that philosophy, bribed by technical advancement in most areas.
The author is only slightly repetitive. He obviously uses the progressive Imes frame of ancient Egypt without diving into that issue. Yet, he uses the Western rendered versions of ancient Egyptian names other than Khufu ("Cheops"). Likewise he provides occasional references only to modern Western derivations of ancient Egyptian sources such as the Christian concept of the ladder of virtues into heaven. Other references he leaves out, obviously not to overstrain the reader. (Some 150 pages are devoted to disconnecting old synapse links of faulty believes about the pyramid( text)s, before even starting with them.) For example he mentions the "running with the bull" by the pharao, but doesn't reference the later Spanish tradition of this. (Read about the connection in Egyptian Romany: The Essence of Hispania.)
Definitely too much would have been the gender concept. Mystics eliminate all constructs of separations, all dualisms. The gender construct is no exception. Yet, today's mainstream is blinding it this intensely that Naydler would have lost the very most readers. Many references to gender bending are still included, some of them unavoidably so as they are part of the pyramid texts. We hear about the male pharao drinking the milk from the nipples of "Isis" (female) and Horus (male). Even though metaphorical, there is such a thing as male lactation. The pharao's bones transform into ones of falcon godDESSES. In spiritual and sexual prowess, we are told, he merges with Min (male), depicted with an erection. A godDESS named Mowe is defined as possibly being the personification of semen, while Atum (male god) takes the form of Mafdet (female). And the pharao says to Ra (male, as much as "he" may be male with no concept of gender): "I will love you with my body."
I concur with Naydler that the pyramid texts have to be seen as mystical for the LIVING pharao, not funerary. Yet, he fails to mention that mystics do not believe in the construct of death anyway. In other words, when the pharao really passes on, the texts are largely valid the same way, other than that certain rituals to be performed by a BODILY living pharao cannot be performed anymore. This train of thought would probably have confused the non-mystic reader too much, who has to get convinced that the ancient Egyptians didn't "deny death" in these supposed funerary texts. As the thought behind this current orthodox Egyptologists' approach is wrong indeed.
The upper line is: This is a very good, in fact a very informative and important book. Be sure not to leave it at that, but to read further progressive/mystic/African centered books on ancient Egypt, her strong influence on the later ancient and the modern world, as well as books on mysticism in general and Egypt specifically. A good start is The Mystical Journey from Jesus to Christ, but also other books by Muata Ashby, such as Egyptian Yoga Vol. 1:: The Philosophy of Enlightenment which references e.g. Ani's Book of the Dead in a mystical context.
***** A Gift to the Gods of Truth -- a.k.a., Thoth ***** by .. John Jay Harper (Spokane, WA United States)
"The trance state is actually the real perception of mankind. It is just that it has been consigned to oblivion by a grand-scale cover-up strategy."--Holger Kalweit, German psychologist and author of Shamans, Healers, and Medicine Men
A masterpiece of scholarship! Indeed I have found no other single text today that confirms my own musings on this point: The oldest and wisest are the shamans of every culture. Why? It is because as we healers of every tradition realize, "The psychotherapist listens, the shaman speaks!" In other words, the shaman has knowledge based upon the ability to see via the mind's eye in trance the aura and soul travel multi-dimensionally to correct the dysfunction at its source: the energy field. This skill separates the true medicine people from the charlatans in fact. So, when are schools, licensing agencies, and insurance companies going to start distinguishing between the two medics with a test focused on who can -- and cannot -- see into the invisible realms of spirit? I can't wait to watch the fireworks on that day that this legislation becomes a reality in our modern world ... can you?
Dr. Harper is author of Tranceformers: Shamans of the 21st Century and the DVD Science of Soul: The End-Time Solar Cycle of Chaos in 2012 A.D.
Traveling through the gates of death for superbundant life by .. Robert Moss (Way of the Dreamer, United States)
Jeremy Naydler has rescued the deep wisdom of Egypt - experiential insight into the deeper reality and how we can travel there for initiation and empowerment - from the Egyptologists. For all of us who have long suspected, or remembered, that the palace tombs and pyramid texts of Egypt are about much, much more than funerary arrangements, here is ringing confirmation that the Egyptians traveled beyond the gates of death while very much alive, not only to bring back first-hand knowledge of the afterlife, but to enter into sacred union with the gods and enthrone their power in the body, and so acquire the spiritual and sexual potency to marry the worlds. Shamanic Wisdom of the Pyramid Texts is a splendid melding of fine scholarship and passionate engagement with themes that are vitally important to us today. It is must reading not only for lovers of Egypt, students of shamanism and religion, and modern practitioners of soul travel, but for all of us who hunger for the real history of humanity's encounters with the more-than-human
Related Search : pyramid texts , ancient egypt , shamanic wisdom  |
Author : Steve Harper
Number of Pages : 94
Publisher : Upper Room Books
List Price : $7.00
Amazon Price : $3.50
Used Price : $3.75 |
Product Description Steve Harper exhorts us not to have just a devotional time, but to have a devotional life. The seven weekly sessions in this workbook illustrate how John Wesley's devotional life can be applied to our own. The devotionals cover scripture, prayer, and fasting, among other topics. Customer reviews Devotional Life in rhe Wesleyan Traditrion by .. George Ramseyer (Baldwinsville, NY USA)
When I order this book from Amazon, there was no indication that it was in Korean. So it was in for quite a suprise when the 10 books that I order arrived. But the good news is that Amazon has updated their web page to reflect this. I of course returned the books, and ordered the English version from another vendor.
A valuable concise education in the Wesleyan teaching by .. Karen Goodman (Cedar Park, TX)
I am pleased to learn more about the Methodist's background. It will aide me in gathering other believers to strengthen our lives; to nurture and continue the discipline we must have to become mature in the Spirit.
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Author : James Keenan
Number of Pages : 208
Publisher : Sheed and Ward
List Price : $17.95
Amazon Price : $9.18
Used Price : $8.03 |
Product Description "Writing in a conversational style filled with stories and examples, Jim Keenan breaks open the treasure trove of resources in the Catholic tradition for developing moral wisdom. He reclaims four key texts that bishops and lay people alike appealed to in nurturing their moral wisdom--the person of Jesus in the New Testament, the ten commandments in the catechism, the practice of the corporal works of mercy, and the development of the four cardinal virtues--and lifts up the lessons on love, conscience, sin, and suffering within these texts that form the content of the Catholic moral tradition." Customer reviews Moral Wisdom by .. James F. Barth (Frederick, MD USA)
An excellent and easy to read book, and would highly recommend it to anyone studying beginning moral theology. Fr. Keenan uses his personal life experiences to add insight and enrichment to each topic presented within the book. It was hard to set down, once I started reading it.
Great Book by .. Frater ()
"Though virtues assist us to harness weaknesses and overcome pitfalls, their overriding function is to develop strengths" (p.30). Fr. Keenan is a wonderful storyteller in that he weaves the virtues through drama and practice. In Psalm 51 we pray, "Indeed you love truth in the heart; then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom." This book, Moral Wisdom, is the answer to this prayer request!
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Author : Ralph A. Rossum
Number of Pages : 298
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
List Price : $34.95
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Product Description Lionized by the right and demonized by the left, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is the high court's quintessential conservative. Witty, outspoken, often abrasive, he is widely regarded as the most controversial member of the Court. This book is the first comprehensive, reasoned, and sympathetic analysis of how Scalia has decided cases during his entire twenty-year Supreme Court tenure. Ralph Rossum focuses on Scalia's more than 600 Supreme Court opinions and dissents-carefully wrought, passionately argued, and filled with well-turned phrases-which portray him as an eloquent defender of an "original meaning" jurisprudence. He also includes analyses of Scalia's Court of Appeals opinions for the D.C. circuit, his major law review articles as a law professor and judge, and his provocative book, A Matter of Interpretation. Rossum reveals Scalia's understanding of key issues confronting today's Court, such as the separation of powers, federalism, the free speech and press and religion clauses of the First Amendment, and the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. He suggests that Scalia displays such a keen interest in defending federalism that he sometimes departs from text and tradition, and reveals that he has disagreed with other justices most often in decisions involving the meaning of the First Amendment's establishment clause. He also analyzes Scalia's positions on the commerce clause and habeas corpus clause of Article I, the take care clause of Article II, the criminal procedural provisions of Amendments Four through Eight, protection of state sovereign immunity in the Eleventh Amendment, and Congress's enforcement power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The first book to fully articulate the contours of Scalia's constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence, Rossum's insightful study ultimately depicts Scalia as a principled, consistent, and intelligent textualist who is fearless and resolute, notwithstanding the controversy he often inspires. Customer reviews Impressive Overview of Justice Scalia's Approach to Law and the Constitution by .. Seth Cooper (Seattle, WA)
Accomplished scholar Prof. Ralph Rossum has penned a well-crafted book analyzing the legal opinions and writings of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The result is a solid read about how Justice Scalia views the role of a judge and how he sees himself. At least, Rossum gives his own take on how Justice Scalia sees himself. Obviously, the only person who truly knows how he sees himself is Justice Scalia.
One of the two most interesting chapters is Chapter 2: "Text and Tradition." It summarizes Justice Scalia's textualist approach to statutory and constitutional interpretation. In short, when deciding a given case, the plain meaning of the words contained in statutes or constitution provisions matters. Where the plain text is unclear, a jurist should consult the tradition behind the text to understand what the words mean to those who adopted it. The original understanding of the text rather than any original or even secret intent should be controlling. Justice Scalia's approach is tied to an emphasis upon the democratic decision-making process as the basis for legitimate exercise of governmental authority. Not judicial adventurism and second-guessing of democratic decision-making evidenced by statutes and constitutional provisions.
This book is not lengthy. Nor is it written at a highly technical level. So although Rossum indicates on pg. 37 that Justice Scalia "simply has not developed a well-thought-out understanding of the principles of democracy," Rossum does not elaborate much on the point. One will just have to consult law review articles and the like for more in that regard.
The other chapter making for the most interesting reading is Chapter 3: "Constitutional Structure and Separation of Powers." This portion transitions nicely from the previous chapter and underscores the importance that governmental structure plays in Justice Scalia's views of the constitution. During his SCOTUS confirmation hearings, then-Judge Scalia testified that our division of federal power into three branches with a system of checks and balances has been crucial to the defense of our liberties. Rossum proceeds to analyze important separation of powers opinions written by Justice Scalia, including his infamous, lone-ranger dissent in Morrison v. Olsen (1988) concerning the Ethics in Government Act's provision for an independent counsel. At issue was the constitutionality of vesting the independent counsel of executive power despite its detachment from the President. Also important is Rossum's analysis of Justice Scalia's majority opinion in Printz v. United States (1997). The case is typically known as an anti-commandeering decision, but Rossum highlights the separation of powers rationale that Justice Scalia includes in the opinion.
Later chapters deal with Justice Scalia's approach to substantive individual rights and to individual procedural rights. Justice Scalia's textualist emphasis is to prevent "backsliding" or erosion of important freedoms by judicial re-interpretation of democratically-adopted protections.
Some familiarity with Justice Scalia's opinions or his book, A Matter of Interpretation, makes Rossum's book more worthwhile. But it is not essential. One need not be a lawyer to follow Rossum's overview. Nor need one even agree with Justice Scalia's approach to law or decisions in the cases discussed in the book to benefit from reading this book. The book has a sympathetic tone towards its subject, but it is not an advocacy publication. Rossum even insists while Justice Scalia is remarkably consistent in his jurisprudence that he is nonetheless inconsistent in a few areas of law (e.g., state sovereign immunity.)
Rossum set out to describe the jurisprudence of perhaps the most interesting and discussed jurist on SCOTUS today. The author succeeds and the product is an accessible, informative, and interesting read.
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