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Spirituality and Religion January 2017
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Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey
by Marie Mutsuki Mockett
In Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye, author Marie Mutsuki Mockett vividly and movingly relates her visit to Japan after the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster. Mockett was grieving the death (before the calamity) of her Japanese grandfather and the unexpected demise of her American father, while in Japan there was widespread mourning for those lost to the earthquake, subsequent tsunami, and nuclear contamination. In this spiritual memoir, Mockett portrays her visits with Buddhist priests, attendance at Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies of commemoration, and her own gradual healing, drawing readers into a culture that connects deeply with a common human desire to maintain contact with the dead.
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Putting God Second: How to Save Religion From Itself by Donniel HartmanWhy have the monotheistic religions failed to produce societies that live up to their ethical ideals? A prominent rabbi answers this question by looking at his own faith and offering a way for religion to heal itself. In Putting God Second, Rabbi Donniel Hartman tackles one of modern lifes most urgent and vexing questions: Why are the great monotheistic faiths-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-chronically unable to fulfill their own self-professed goal of creating individuals infused with moral sensitivity and societies governed by the highest ethical standards? To answer this question, Hartman takes a sober look at the moral peaks and valleys of his own tradition, Judaism, and diagnoses it with clarity, creativity, and erudition.
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| Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary by Joe JacksonThe best-known book about the Lakota Sioux healer named Black Elk is Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt, which adapts Black Elk's spiritual vision into English, but which isn't a biography. In Black Elk, author Joe Jackson presents the first comprehensive account of this Lakota holy man, who was present at many of the crucial events in Native American history: as a fighter at Little Big Horn, a leader in the traditionalist Ghost Dance movement, and -- perhaps ironically -- a performer in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. In this "major contribution" (Publishers Weekly) to the subject, Jackson brings Black Elk to life in the context of world history. |
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| Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis by Mark K. ShriverWhen author Mark Shriver was asked to write a book about the newly elected Pope, he embarked on a pilgrimage to trace the roots of the Jesuit priest Jorge Mario Bergoglio who became Pope Francis. In this engaging and thoughtful portrait, Shriver recounts interviews with Bergoglio's novice master, Argentinian friends and colleagues, political critics, and poor people with whom Bergoglio kept in touch once he became a cardinal. Confessing his own doubts about the church after his parents' deaths, Shriver also expresses hope for the church's renewal under the new pope. For another accessible biography of Francis, try Austen Ivereigh's The Great Reformer. |
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| Genghis Khan and the Quest for God: How the World's Greatest Conqueror Gave Us... by Jack WeatherfordThough Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan's conquering armies were merciless to those who resisted, Khan's techniques for uniting his conquests into the largest empire in history were based on tolerance. In addition to promoting justice and peace (after the bloodshed was over), he allowed his subjects to practice their religions without restriction. Drawing on recently discovered documents, anthropologist Jack Weatherford also finds that Khan became a student of religion in his later years, learning from the peoples he had conquered. Though Genghis Khan and the Quest for God doesn't minimize Khan's bloodthirstiness, it presents a more peaceable aspect than history usually acknowledges. |
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| The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith by Matthew BowmanIn The Mormon People, religion professor Matthew Bowman provides an accessible and thorough history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Founded by Joseph Smith after he received visions of a new revelation of Christ appearing in ancient North America, the Mormon Church has survived brutal persecutions that drove its members continually westward, finding opposition wherever they tried to settle. Although its teachings consist of an especially American blend of Catholic liturgical formality and Protestant evangelical zeal, few outside the LDS community know much about the faith. If you're curious to learn more about the "distinctively American riddle of Mormonism" (Booklist, starred review), be sure to check out this book. |
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| The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad by Lesley HazletonThe Prophet Muhammad was orphaned as an infant and brought up in Bedouin society by his wet nurse. As a teenager he learned business dealings as an agent for his uncle's caravans. Biographer Lesley Hazleton attentively traces Muhammad's life from infancy to death, relating his marriage to Khadija, a much older widow, his mystical experiences in quiet meditation, and the great revelation that was transcribed as the Quran. Without glossing over the violence that marked the new religious movement, The First Muslim details Muhammad's political skills and the personality and character that impressed his followers. Library Journal calls this a "balanced, readable" introduction to the prophet's life. |
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| Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity by James J. O'DonnellReligion in the Roman Empire during the first four centuries A.D. assumed that there were many gods. People were devoted to their deities but also tolerant of different beliefs. The early followers of Jesus asserted a strange, novel idea when they claimed that their God was the only one. In Pagans, Georgetown University scholar James O'Donnell offers an easy to follow tour of ancient Roman religions preceding Christianity. He also explains how Christian doctrine began to drive out polytheism and eventually dominated Western religion. Though it's packed with historical scholarship, this book "employs the classical texts with irony and irreverence" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson... by Joseph TelushkinRabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson founded a Jewish community in Brooklyn that grew into a highly influential worldwide movement. Schneerson attracted devoted followers who promoted his teachings and created the Chabad-Lubavitch organization; he also advised world-renowned figures such as Ronald Reagan, Menachem Begin, Yitzchak Rabin, and Bob Dylan. In Rebbe, Rabbi and historian Joseph Telushkin offers an anecdotal and impressionistic portrait of the powerful teacher who some thought would be the Messiah. He also includes a chronological outline of Schneerson's life. Publishers Weekly calls this an "admiring but honest look" at the man and the organization he set in motion. |
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| Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to Religious... by Steven WaldmanIn Founding Faith, Steven Waldman, the co-founder and editor in chief of Beliefnet.com, clarifies the U.S. Founders' intentions in establishing religious liberty. He says that the Constitution was meant neither to favor a "Christian nation" nor to require a secular state. In this challenge to people on both sides of the American debate over the meaning of the Constitution's "establishment clause," Waldman explores in detail the history of its background and the religious beliefs of its authors. If you're interested in the "separation of church and state" question, don't miss this thoroughly documented, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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The Public Library 501 Copper NW Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 505-768-5170abqlibrary.org |
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