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Book Displays: Religions 12/24

A historical file on books on display at the Monroe University Libraries - and the occasion for which they were displayed

Monroe University Libraries - Introduction to Religions

Books at the Dr. Donald E. Simon Memorial Library (BX)

I Ching for Beginners

For more than three thousand years, the I Ching has offered guidance to emperors, generals, and philosophers. Amazingly accurate, this ancient oracle anticipates change and recommends timely action in all the important areas of your life. With clear summaries of each of the I Ching's sixty-four passages, this friendly divination book makes it fun and easy to consult the beloved classic--and all you need is pocket change or a deck of cards. Call upon the wisdom of the I Ching to guide you through life's challenges and rewards.

What Is Religion?

We all know what religion is - or do we? Confronted with religious pluralism and cultural diversity, it manifests itself in many forms. What is Religion? serves not only as an introduction to the different belief systems flourishing throughout the modern world, but asks us to consider how the very boundaries of faith might be drawn now and in the future. How might religion interact with political ends, or permeate culture, society and everyday life? And what logic separates 'common-sense' or academic knowledge from the immutable but unstable boundaries of faith? Which is the more certain? What does it mean to believe? Combining clear accounts of contemporary global religious practice with an incisive philosophical interrogation of the dynamics and aims of belief, What is Religion? offers a fresh and wide-ranging introduction to perennial human questions.

How to Know God

"Dr. Deepak Chopra takes a scientific approach to spirituality in this mini version of the enormously inspiring New York Times bestseller, proposing that """The human brain is hardwired to know God."

Santeria

Santeria represents the first in-depth, scholarly account of a profound way of wisdom that is growing in importance in America today. A professional academic and himself a participant in the Santeria community of the Bronx for several years, Joseph Murphy offers a powerful description and insightful analysis of this African/Cuban religion. He traces the survival of an ancient spiritual path from its West African Yoruba origins, through nearly two centuries of slavery in the New World, to its presence in the urban centers of the United States.

An Introduction to Judaism

Beginning with the question 'who is a Jew?', this book offers a lucid account of Judaism and the Jewish people. Written for Jews and non-Jews alike, be they students, teachers, or general interested readers, the book brings out the extraordinary richness and variety of Judaism: its historical depth, and the vigor and at times amazing endurance of its traditions - in the home, in the synagogue, in its literature, in individual and community life. The history and details of inherited rituals and customs; of established religion; of concepts such as Zionism, Diaspora, Messianism. Half of the world's Jews live in North America, and the book is sensitive to the global context of Judaism.

Jews and Feminism

By interrogating America's promise of a home for Jews as citizens of the liberal state, Jews and Feminism questions the very terms of this social "contract". Maintaining that Jews, women, and Jewish women are not necessarily secure within this construction of the state, Levitt links this contractual construction of belonging and acceptance to legacies of marriage as a contractual home for Jewish women. Exploring the immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe for America, as well as their desire to make this country their permanent home, Levitt raises questions about the search for stability in specific Jewish religious traditions as well as feminist study, thus offering an account of an ambivalent Jewish feminist embrace of America.

The Key to Understanding Islam

While the way of life known as Islam continues as the world's most populace religion - the availability of useful Islamic information has struggled to keep pace with the expanding community.

Buddha

A world-renowned religious thinker contemplates one of the world's most sacred figures Karen Armstrong has been acclaimed for her scholarship and vision, in works. "Her rich, timely, highly original portrait of the Buddha explores both the archetypal religious icon and Buddha the man. Armstrong follows the Buddha--born Siddhama Gotama--as he leaves his wife, his young child, and his prominent caste position for a life of spiritual enlightenment. Following his quest from renunciation to revelation to a wellspring of wisdom, Buddha expands the focus to meditate on its place in the spiritual history of humanity, as we again face a crisis of faith. It is a profound blend of biography, religion, history, and philosophy that will engage an audience that continues to be fascinated by Buddhism.

The Black Church in the African American Experience

Black churches in America have long been recognized as the most independent, stable, and dominant institutions in black communities. Drawing on interviews with more than 1,800 black clergy in both urban and rural settings, combined with a comprehensive historical overview of seven mainline black denominations, present an analysis of the Black Church as it relates to the history of African Americans and to contemporary black culture. In examining both the internal structure of the Church and the reactions of the Church to external, societal changes, the authors provide important insights into the Church's relationship to politics, economics, women, youth, and music. This study is complete with a comprehensive bibliography of literature on the black experience in religion.

The Catholic Church : a short history

Presents the history of the Roman Catholic Church from its origins to the present, discussing the role of the Pope, the schisms that split the Church, and its role in the twenty-first century.

Mormon America

In this candid examination of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of America's leading religion journalists covers every aspect of this little-understood community of faith whose family values, business success, and evangelistic missions have helped it become one of the world's fastest growing religions. They explore the dramatic changes in its policies on polygamy, its conviction in its manifest destiny as the true religion of America, its vocal dissenters, and the ways in which the church handles its vast financial, media, and educational resources. They give readers a comprehensive and insightful look into this intriguing religion. They shed light on the church's phenomenal success and the strong appeal of its teachings. Illuminating the church's continuing surge in power and popularity.

Called to Be a Soldier : Exploring the Soldier's Covenant

Called to be a soldier is timely as it challenges us to engage personally in an active, obedient faith. We are becoming increasingly aware of the ways in which our world id interconnected. How we relate to each other as individuals, communities and nations is crucial for our society and environment

Books at the New Rochelle Campus Library

The World's Religions

From the internationally celebrated authority on religion, Huston Smith. With a new preface and fresh package, this completely revised and updated version of The Religions of Man explores the essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the native traditions of the Americas, Australia, Africa, and Oceania. Smith emphasises the inner -- rather than institutional -- dimensions of these religions and gives special attention to Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, and the teachings of Jesus.

The Hindus : an alternative history

An engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth, The Hindus offers a new way of understanding one of the world's oldest major religions. Hinduism does not lend itself easily to a strictly chronological account. Many of its central texts cannot be reliably dated within a century; its central tenets arise at particular moments in Indian history and often differ according to gender or caste; and the differences between groups of Hindus far outnumber the commonalities. Yet the greatness of Hinduism lies precisely in many of these idiosyncratic qualities that continues to inspire debate today.

Tao Te Ching

A classic Chinese text dating from the 6th century B.C., the "Book of the Way" consists of 81 short poems that unfold the spiritual nature of Taoism, one of the ancient Chinese religions. In describing the universal life force implicit in all things, this work shows readers a path that teaches contentment and balance. The simple language of Lao Tzu's manual on the art of living essentially encourages being humble, temperate, and considerate in the face of life's predicaments.

Judaism

Part of an eight-volume series on the world's great religions, this book tells the story of Judaism, describing its history and rituals, including the origins of its rites of passage, traditional places of worship, the sacred use of Hebrew and the beliefs of those practising Judaism today.

Who Speaks for Islam? : What a billion Muslims really think

Based on the largest study of its kind, this book is the first to present the fascinating findings of the Gallup Poll of the Muslim World. Who Speaks for Islam? is about this silenced majority. This book is the product of the Gallup World Poll's massive, multiyear research study. As part of this groundbreaking project, Gallup posed questions that are on the minds of millions: Is Islam to blame for terrorism? Why is there so much anti-Americanism in the Muslim world? Grounded in Gallup World Poll data, not in contentious rhetoric, Who Speaks for Islam? brings data-driven evidence -- the voices of a billion Muslims, not those of individual "experts" or "extremists"-- to one of the most heated and consequential debates of our time.

Yoga: the Science of the Soul

Much of what is known as yoga today emphasizes physical postures and exercises to increase flexibility and help relaxation. But in fact, yoga has its roots in centuries of rigorous investigation and research in the East to develop an understanding of human consciousness and its potential. In Yoga, Osho explains the meaning of some of the most important Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, With a fresh translation of these ancient texts, and unique Osho insights into the modern mind and its psychology, Patanjali comes to life on the pages with an approach to using yoga for greater self-understanding that is absolutely relevant to our times.

Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian

Being a Christian isn't easy. Sustaining belief without any doubts for one's entire life is a very rare accomplishment. Indeed, many would say that examining one's faith at least once is a central part of the Christian condition. In this landmark work, explains the unique path that he took to overcome his doubts, becoming a stronger Christian in the process. Honest and unflinching, Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian narrates each common spiritual dilemma that Knitter has struggled with and explains how a Buddhist worldview has allowed him to resolve each. From the 'petitioning' nature of Christian prayer to how Christianity views life after death, Knitter argues that a Buddhist standpoint can help inspire a more person-centred conception of Christianity, where individual religious experience comes first, and liturgy and tradition second.

A New History of Early Christianity

The relevance of Christianity is as hotly contested today as it has ever been. Charles Freeman’s meticulous historical account of Christianity from its birth in Judaea in the first century A.D. to the emergence of Western and Eastern churches by A.D. 600 reveals that it was a distinctive, vibrant, and incredibly diverse movement brought into order at the cost of intellectual and spiritual vitality. Looking with fresh eyes at the historical record, Freeman explores the ambiguities and contradictions that underlay Christian theology and the unavoidable compromises enforced in the name of doctrine. Freeman shows how freedom of thought was curtailed by the development of the concept of faith. The imposition of "correct belief," religious uniformity, and an institutional framework that enforced orthodoxy were both consolidating and stifling. He examines its relationship with Judaism, Gnosticism, Greek philosophy and Greco-Roman society, and he offers dramatic new accounts of Paul, the resurrection, and the church fathers and emperors.

Saint Augustine

For centuries, Augustine's writings have moved and fascinated readers. Garry Wills examines this famed fourth-century bishop and seminal thinker whose grounding in classical philosophy informed his influential interpretation of the Christian doctrines of mind and body, wisdom and God. Saint Augustine explores both the great ruminator on the human condition and the everyday man who set pen to parchment. It challenges many misconceptions - among them the myth of his early sexual excesses. Illuminates both the man and the age with the eloquent economy that will introduce to a new generation of readers this once popular genre.

What the Gospels Meant

Garry Wills interprets the four Gospels Wills turns his remarkable gift for biblical analysis to the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Wills brilliantly examines the goals, methods, and styles of the evangelists and how these shaped the gospels' messages. The earliest book, Mark, emphasizes Jesus the sufferer; in Matthew, Jesus the teacher; in Luke, Jesus the reconciler; and in John, Jesus the mystic. Wills guides readers through the maze of meanings that have accrued around these foundational texts, revealing their essential Christian truths.

A History of God : the 4000-year quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

How the three dominant monotheistic religions of the world—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—have shaped and altered the conception of God. One of Britain's foremost commentators on religious affairs, Armstrong traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the modern age of skepticism, Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one compelling volume.

A History of the Amish

This book brings together for the first time in one volume a thorough history of the Amish people.

               THIS RESEARCH OR "LIBGUIDE" WAS PRODUCED BY THE LIBRARIANS OF MONROE UNIVERSITY             

    EMAIL: library@monroeu.edu -- Bronx Campus (646) 393-8333 / New Rochelle Campus (914)-740-6437