Yolo County Library
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Spirituality and ReligionJanuary 2016
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"Apparently they had been searching quite purposefully for ancient manuscripts of the Bible, such as the one they had found." ~ from Janet Soskice's The Sisters of Sinai
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How to Read the Bible
by Harvey Cox
The Bible contains a complicated mix of writings that readers who aren't biblical scholars may find confusing, especially if they think they should be taken literally. In How to Read the Bible, acclaimed religion expert and Harvard Divinity School professor Harvey Cox explores scholarly and personal approaches to biblical interpretation and reveals their common ground. Those who would like to study the Bible at a deeper but still accessible level will find an insightful discussion of biblical interpretation through history and into the present day. For another recent exposition of the topic, read Dominic Crossan's How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian.
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| Brand Luther by Andrew PettegreeOn All Hallows' Eve, 1517, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther posted a diatribe against the Vatican's sale of indulgences on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The resulting controversy eventually coalesced into the Protestant Reformation and contributed to a major shift in European civilization. In Brand Luther, historian Andrew Pettegree depicts Luther's writing and publishing juggernaut, showing how he leveraged an accessible writing style, printing technology, and the rise of capitalism to create a wildly successful marketing campaign. This thoroughly researched portrait of Luther (including a discussion of his anti-Semitic rants) will engage those interested in the Reformation or the history of marketing strategy. |
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| Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler by Mark RieblingIn this "absorbing, polished" (Kirkus Reviews) history of Pope Pius XII's World War II activities, intelligence expert Mark Riebling suspensefully recounts the Vatican's risky efforts to undermine Adolf Hitler. While Pius XII has been labeled "Hitler's Pope," Riebling's research uncovers a different story: the Pope refrained from speaking out against the Nazis for fear of betraying his covert anti-Nazi campaign. Drawing on recently unsealed files, audio recordings from the Pope's library, and research into the German Resistance, Church of Spies will fascinate students of Vatican history, World War II, and spycraft. |
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| The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy by Rainn WilsonBest known as Dwight Schrute on television's The Office, comedian Rainn Wilson didn't fit in while growing up (and never was a bassoon phenom), and he struggled financially early in his acting career. He also floundered spiritually until he reconnected with Baha'i, the faith of his childhood. In The Bassoon King, Wilson irreverently and movingly details the challenges of his youth, dishes gossip on The Office, and shares the importance of openly embracing Baha'i and living according to its teachings. Whether you're a fan of his career (which he broadcasts on Twitter) or interested in his spiritual life, be sure to pick up this autobiography. |
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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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Focus on: Religious Journeys
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| The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden... by Janet SoskiceTwin sisters Margaret Smith Gibson and Agnes Smith Lewis, prosperous 19th-century Scottish widows, felt called as faithful Presbyterians to extend the reach of biblical scholarship. After they learned of the manuscript collection at St. Catherine's, a Greek Orthodox monastery on a remote mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, the sisters traveled there in 1892, hoping to discover previously unknown copies of biblical texts. Relating details of the status of women in the period, the rigors of travel to such a remote place, and scholarly controversies about ancient manuscripts, Cambridge theologian Janet Soskice paints a colorful picture of the sisters' lives, illuminating the significance of their contribution to biblical studies. |
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My spiritual journey : personal reflections, teachings, and talks
by Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho
The author details his long, fulfilling spiritual journey, from his childhood memories to being a Buddhist leader to his continuing work for world peace, including his views on 9/11 and religious militancy, stopping bloodshed in Tibet, humans' responsibility to the environment and more.
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| Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine by Eric WeinerFaced with a mid-life medical scare, author Eric Weiner is startled when a hospital nurse asks him, "Have you found your God yet?" As a non-observant Jew, he decides after he recovers to explore a variety of religions to find the God who is right for him. Traveling around the globe, he visits (and whirls with) Sufi dervishes, meditates with Tibetan monks, and attends a convention of Raelians (who are inspired by their belief in UFOs). During his final stop, in Israel, he studies the Kabbalah. With self-deprecating humor, Man Seeks God recounts Weiner's experiences and shows his sincere appreciation for what he learns. |
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Sojourner in Islamic lands
by Russell A. Fraser
"Sojourner in Islamic Lands takes us on a journey from Kazakhstan in the far north of Central Asia, across the mountains to the former Soviet Union, then south to Iran just below the Caspian Sea. Russell Fraser follows the ancient Silk Road wherever possible. For centuries the Silk Road was the primary commercial link between Europe and Asia, with much of it over desert sands and accessible only by camel. Building on history and personal experience, Fraser's narrative describes this vast territory with an eye to geography, artistic culture, and religion over more than two thousand years. The book that he gives us depends first of all on travel, but the author's eye is on an interior landscape, and he focuses on the influence of religious ideology on the cultural landscape of Central Asia. Delving deeply into art and architecture, he takes them to be Islam's most significant creative expressions. Although Islam is currently the predominant religion in the region, the book also examines the two other belief systems with modern-day followers--Christianity and an antireligious sect Fraser calls secular progressivism. His aim is to present Islam to Western readers by describing its achievements during the High Middle Ages and comparing and contrasting them with those of modern Islam. The book offers insights into the history of a major world religion through the eyes of a well-known literary scholar on a journey through exotic parts of the world. He steeps us in the latter, inviting the reader to share the journey with him and participate in the sensations it gives rise to."
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Yolo County Library
226 Buckeye St. Woodland, California 95695 530-666-8005
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