検索キーワード： 歴史

Over a billion copies of the Qur`an exist–yet it remains an enigma. Its classical Arabic language resists simple translation, and its non-linear style of abstract musings defies categorization. Moreover, those who champion its sanctity and compete to claim its mantle offer widely diverging interpretations of its core message–at times with explosive results. Building on his intimate portrait of the Qur`an’s prophet in Muhammad the World-Changer, Mohamad Jebara returns with a vivid profile of the book itself.

In 1943, Austrian adventurer Heinrich Harrer escaped from a British internment camp in India and traveled through the rugged Himalayas seeking refuge from the war. He ended up in the Forbidden City of Lhasa in Tibet, with no money or permission to be in the country. His intelligence and his European ways intrigued the curious young Dalai Lama, and Harrer became his tutor and trusted confidant.

When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was engaged in the practice of the deep Prajnaparamita, he perceived that there are the five Skandhas; and these he saw in their self-nature to be empty. "O Sariputra, form is here emptiness, emptiness is form; form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form; that which is form is emptiness, that which is emptiness is form."

Why do Hindus feed their dead ancestors? And why do they prefer burning the dead to building tombs? Does Hinduism have no concept of Judgement Day? What is the impact of death on its notions of womanhood and caste? Is the Vedic approach to death different from the Tantric one? The idea of death and rebirth is embedded in the Hindu mind through ritual and story. Death is not just tragic, but ambiguous too. For instance, it is the end of one journey, but it is also the beginning of another.

King David, the second king of Israel, is a pivotal figure in biblical history. David is legendarily known for defeat of the giant Goliath. His life, spanning approximately 1040-970 BCE, was marked by significant events that shaped the Israelite kingdom. David's rise to power was unprecedented, as he transitioned from a humble shepherd to a mighty king. This transformation was facilitated by his exceptional leadership skills, military prowess, and divine favor.

My name is Thomas, and like the apostle I was named after, I have had my share of doubts. But I have also had a deep longing—a longing for unity among believers in Christ. I grew up Roman Catholic, went to Mass weekly, memorized catechism answers, and felt a deep respect for tradition. But when I married a Protestant woman and began attending her church too, a flood of questions washed over me. Why were we so divided when we professed the same creeds? Why did we debate communion, baptism, saints, and Scripture as if they were walls between us rather than shared treasures?

Embark on an enlightening journey through the rich tapestry of Hindu mythology with Hindu Mythology Simplified: Vishnu, Shiva, and the Great Epics of India. This comprehensive guide demystifies the complex narratives and profound philosophies that have shaped Indian culture for millennia, making them accessible to modern listeners seeking spiritual insight and cultural understanding.

Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion—an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus—was to be worshipped as a god.

Until now, the standard narrative of American religious history has begun with English settlers in Jamestown or Plymouth and remained predominantly Protestant and Atlantic. Driven by his strong sense of the historical and moral shortcomings of the usual story, Thomas A. Tweed offers a very different narrative in this ambitious new history.

Prem Pradhan was led to Christ by members of Bakht Singh's people, in a city near Nepal. He was Nepal's first modern convert. Later, he became Nepal's apostle. By the end of his life, Prem had spent half of his Christian life in prisons. His crime? Preaching Christ and baptizing others. His very first converts were all fellow prisoners. (By law, every convert had to spend one year in prison for the crime of being baptized.) Prem insisted that all his converts obey the law.

According to the legend, Sage Vasugupta received a divine revelation in a dream where Lord Shiva instructed him to seek out a specific stone near a serene stream. To his amazement, the stone turned over at his touch, revealing the sacred Shiva Sutras etched upon its surface. These profound sutras, reserved for those deemed worthy of divine grace, unravel the mysteries of our true nature and the illusory existence we inhabit. Ranjit Chaudhri has translated some important texts of Kashmir Shaivism from Sanskrit into English.

Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.

Considered to be the first autobiographical work in history, this timeless book is completely applicable to everyone who has experienced the struggle between good and evil in his own soul. Saint Augustine, born in Constantine in 354 C.E., was raised by a devout Christian mother. He abandoned the Christianity of his upbringing and had an illegitimate son. After hearing the sermons of Ambrose, he began his great internal struggle which led to his conversion in 387 C.E. The Confessions describe his conversion, shedding light on the questions that had troubled him on his way to the Cross. Outside Scripture it is the most famous - and perhaps the most important - of all spiritual books.

Fundamentalism and American Culture has long been considered a classic in religious history, and to this day remains unsurpassed. Now available in a new edition, this highly regarded analysis takes us through the full history of the origin and direction of one of America's most influential religious movements.

The Gnostic Gospels provides engaging listening for those seeking a broader perspective on the early development of Christianity. Author and noted scholar Elaine Pagels suggests that Christianity could have developed quite differently if Gnostic texts had become part of the Christian canon.

Today there are two seemingly mutually exclusive notions of what “the Jews” are: either a religion or a nation/ethnicity. In this provocative book, based on his decades of study of the history of the Jews, Daniel Boyarin lays out the problematic aspects of this binary opposition and offers the outlines of a different—and very old—answer to the question of the identity of a diaspora nation. He aims to drive a wedge between the “nation” and the “state,” only very recently conjoined, and recover a robust sense of nationalism that does not involve sovereignty.

Progressive Islam is a celebration of faith. The book focuses on the Muslim faith's rich liberal ideas, including freedom, opportunity, responsibility, and cooperation. By focusing on China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, Imam Daayiee Abdullah also presents diverse perspectives on Islam. The book is divided into five sections, including an introduction, a short autobiography of the author, the life of Prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, and Progressive Islam.

Hasidic Williamsburg is famous as one of the most separatist, intensely religious, and politically savvy communities. Less known is how the community survived in one of New York City's toughest neighborhoods during an era of steep decline, only to later oppose and also participate in the unprecedented gentrification of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Nathaniel Deutsch and Michael Casper unravel the fascinating history of how a community of determined Holocaust survivors encountered, shaped, and sometimes fiercely resisted the urban processes that transformed their gritty neighborhood.

For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign - a miraculous, brutal, and irrational time of superstition and strange relics. The pursuit of heretics, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the domination of the "Holy Land" come to mind.

A groundbreaking dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, and the real-life quest for the Holy Grail that could shake the Church to its foundations.