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Spirituality and Religion July 2020
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Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife by Bart D. Ehrman What it is: an accessible and thought-provoking look at historical conceptions of heaven and hell across continents, cultures, and faiths.
Topics include: the Epic of Gilgamesh, Homeric Hades, Plato's views on the idea of an immortal soul, and what the Bible actually says about the afterlife.
About the author: Noted biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman is the author of numerous books about early Christianity, including Misquoting Jesus and Jesus Before the Gospels. | | Thin Places: Essays from in Between by Jordan Kisner What it is: Pushcart Prize-winner Jordan Kisner's thoughtful and engaging essays about her roller coaster teenage relationship with Christianity, with reflections on similar trends in American society as a whole.
Topics include: the religious ripple effects of American attitudes toward race; discomfort with the body; Mormon social media influencers; hip young pastors who "could be J. Crew models;" and Kierkegaard's relationship with doubt. | |
The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
by
Katherine Stewart
What it is: an upsetting but well-researched exploration of "Christian nationalist" politics, from the Moral Majority movement of the 1970s to the modern effects of contemporary Christian-right figures such as Betsy DeVos.
Why you should read it: The Power Worshippers is a comprehensive look at issues that will affect every American no matter their place on the political spectrum.
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The Princess and the Prophet: The Secret History of Magic, Race, and Moorish Muslims...
by
Jacob S. Dorman
What it's about: the remarkable and largely unknown story of how Gilded Age America's fascination with "the exotic Orient" provided black performers with career opportunities and indirectly led to the Black Muslim movement and the foundation of the Nation of Islam.
Starring: John Walter Brister (aka Noble Drew Ali), a black former child star who turned his fantastical "Arabian" circus act into the quasi-Islamic Moorish Science Temple; his wife Eva Alexander, who performed as the lion-taming, snake-charming "Princess Sotanki."
Why you might like it: Besides recounting an important chapter in American religious history, this dramatic story includes secret societies, corrupt politicians, faked deaths, and the Chicago mob.
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Joan of Arc: A Life
by
Mary Gordon
A thought-provoking biography of this enduring figure searches for the reason why this humble peasant girl, failed soldier, martyr, and executed heretic has survived in consciousness of Western Civilization.
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Women and Islam
by
Zayn Kassam
This balanced exploration provides the basis for an energetic engagement with what it means to be a Muslim woman in a globalized world. The expert essays in Women and Islam are designed to stimulate discussion and help readers achieve a more sober understanding of the lives of Muslim women around the world. They explore the issues Muslim women face as they fight for gender justice and meet the challenges of living in a globalized, post-9/11 world―whether in Iran or France, Ethiopia, or the United States.
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Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the world
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Mary Bray Pipher
The psychologist author of Reviving Ophelia shares her personal journey in pursuit of a meditative life, describing her nontraditional childhood as a daughter to a doctor mother and jack-of-all-trades father who where frequently absent, her struggles with fame and her haphazard entry into the spiritual arena.
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The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem by Stacy Schiff What it's about: the road to and fallout of the notorious witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.
Read it for: the analysis of the social, political and religious forces that created the perfect circumstances for paranoia and superstition to spiral out of control.
Author alert: Guggenheim fellow and Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff has also written biographies of historical and cultural notables such as Cleopatra, Vera Nabokov, Benjamin Franklin, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. | |
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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