Well-presented and engaging essays, by some of the foremost religious scholars working today, examining the histories of 12 diverse religious institutions. An outgrowth of the University of Chicago Divinity School's Congregational History Project, the lengthy first volume looks at what the editors view as the basic unit of religious association: the congregation. Though this term is often thought of as having distinctly Jewish or Christian connotations, it is used here more broadly to encompass any religious community that gathers together on a regular basis in a specific place to carry out its principle function, worship. Having opened up the definition in this manner, the volume is free to look at a variety of religious expressions. Though some of the communities examined are Jewish (Rockdale Temple in Cincinnati) or Christian (St. Peter's Parish, a Roman Catholic church in San Francisco; Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago; and others), the authors also examine Lac La Biche Muslim Community in Alberta, Canada; Swaminarayan, a Hindu temple in Chicago; and Sugar House, a Mormon ``ward'' in Utah. In their essay on Center Church (founded in 1638) in New Haven, Conn., Harry Stout (American Christianity/Yale Univ.) and Catherine Brekus (History of Christianity/Univ. of Chicago) describe an aging mainstream denomination experiencing such typical difficulties as declining attendance and preoccupation with the institution's past more than its present. One of the most interesting essays, by Lawrence Mamiya (Religion and Africana Studies/Vassar), covers Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, one of the black neo- Pentecostal churches that emphasize progressive politics and community outreach. All congregations raise the same issues, the editors maintain: changing American religious attitudes, generational transition, race, ethnicity. Essays in the short second volume, by the same editors ($22.50; ISBN 0-226-90188-2), address these themes, building on the data gathered in the first. A fascinating and important social history of religion.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-226-90186-6
Page Count: 736
Publisher: Univ. of Chicago
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1994
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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