Murphy's Santer°a (1988) was a dramatic firsthand, if scholarly, account of that African-Cuban religion. The Georgetown theology professor's new book—equally scholarly and at once more controversial yet more subdued—more often employs others' eyewitness reports as he traces the threads connecting five African-inspired religions: Santer°a, Brazil's CandomblÇ, Haitian Vodou, Jamaica's Revival Zion, and the ``Black Church'' in the US. The author's basic contention—radical when he applies it to an expressly Christian church like the one he visits in Washington, D.C.—is that in all of these religions, the same force, which he calls ``the spirit,'' may be experienced and manifested by celebrants as they ``work'' it through physical ceremonies involving song, rhythm, and dance. A black Christian transported by ecstatic gospel singing, then, may be communing with the same spirit as a Santer°a initiate ``mounted'' by a Yoruban god—despite the different theological explanations given by the respective religions: The ``actions of ceremony are at least as important.'' Moreover, Murphy says, there's a reciprocity between community and spirit in these religions, with their respective ceremonies—which allow the spirit to manifest in the community—reminding the congregations of their African heritage. Murphy takes each religion in turn, looking at its history, rituals, and relationship to the spirit. His coverage of ritual invariably highlights each discussion, enlivened as it is by, in turn, Maya Deren's account of Vodou ceremony; a recap of a film of a CandomblÇ ritual, complete with possession; and his own observations of Revival Zion and black Christian ceremonies. Surprisingly, though, Murphy (who's white) relies not on his own Santer°a initiation to elucidate that religion's method of ``service'' but on a recent film, The King Does Not Lie. Though couched in well-mannered, even cautious, prose, Murphy's linkages offer a provocative new interpretation of the black American religious experience—one that's likely to inspire Afrocentrics even as it wrinkles the collars of conservative clerics and theologians.
Pub Date: Dec. 6, 1993
ISBN: 0-8070-1220-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1993
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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