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Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness
by Maureen O'ConnellA personal and historical examination of white Catholic anti-Blackness in the US told through 5 generations of one family, and a call for meaningful racial healing and justice within CatholicismExcavating her Catholic family&’s entanglements with race and racism from the time they immigrated to America to the present, Maureen O'Connell traces, by implication, how the larger Catholic population became white and why, despite the tenets of their faith, so many white Catholics have lukewarm commitments to racial justice.O'Connell was raised by devoutly Catholic parents with a clear moral and civic guiding principle: those to whom much is given, much is expected. She became a theologian steeped in social ethics, engaged in critical race theory, and trained in the fundamentals of anti-racism. And still she found herself failing to see how her well-meaning actions affected the Black members of her congregations. It seemed that whenever she tried to undo the knots of racism, she only ended up getting more tangled in them.Undoing the Knots weaves together narrative history, theology, and critical race theory to begin undoing these knots: to move away from doing good and giving back and toward dismantling the white Catholic identity and the economic and social structures it has erected and maintained.
Startling Figures: Encounters with American Catholic Fiction (Studies in the Catholic Imagination: The Flannery O'Connor Trust Series)
by Michael O'ConnellStartling Figures is about Catholic fiction in a secular age and the rhetorical strategies Catholic writers employ to reach a skeptical, indifferent, or even hostile audience. Although characters in contemporary Catholic fiction frequently struggle with doubt and fear, these works retain a belief in the possibility for transcendent meaning and value beyond the limits of the purely secular. Individual chapters include close readings of some of the best works of contemporary American Catholic fiction, which shed light on the narrative techniques that Catholic writers use to point their characters, and their readers, beyond the horizon of secularity and toward an idea of transcendence while also making connections between the widely acknowledged twentieth-century masters of the form and their twenty-first-century counterparts.This book is focused both on the aspects of craft that Catholic writers employ to shape the reader’s experience of the story and on the effect the story has on the reader. One recurring theme that is central to both is how often Catholic writers use narrative violence and other, similar disorienting techniques in order to unsettle the reader. These moments can leave both characters within the stories and the readers themselves shaken and unmoored, and this, O’Connell argues, is often a first step toward the recognition, and even possibly the acceptance, of grace. Individual chapters look at these themes in the works of Flannery O’Connor, J. F. Powers, Walker Percy, Tim Gautreaux, Alice McDermott, George Saunders, and Phil Klay and Kirstin Valdez Quade.
William James on the Courage to Believe (American Philosophy)
by Robert J. O'ConnellWilliam James’ celebrated lecture on “The Will to Believe” has kindled spirited controversy since the day it was delivered. In this lively reappraisal of that controversy, Father O’Connell contributes some fresh contentions: that James’ argument should be viewed against his indebtedness to Pascal and Renouvier; that it works primarily to validate our “over-beliefs” ; and most surprising perhaps, that James envisages our “passional nature” as intervening, not after, but before and throughout, our intellectual weighing of the evidence for belief.
The Great War and the Death of God
by Charles A. O'ConnorA compelling analysis of how World War I spurred the rise of atheism and the subsequent effect on Western theology, philosophy, literature, and art. The catastrophic Great War left humanity in a world no longer trustworthy and reassuring but seemingly meaningless and indifferent. Instead of redressing humanity’s cosmic alienation, postwar Western culture abandoned its concern for cosmic meaning, lost its confidence in human reason, and enabled the scientific worldview of neo-Darwinian materialism to emerge and eventually dominate the Western mind. According to the proponents of that worldview, science is the only source of genuine truth, nature is the product of a blind evolutionary process, and reality at bottom is just physics and chemistry. Thus, God is dead and continued belief in a transcendently purposeful universe is intellectually indefensible and either disingenuous or delusional. By turning away from the eternal questions about the nature of reality, Western culture effectively ceded unwarranted credibility and prominence to neo-Darwinian materialism, including its recently strident New Atheism.“O’Connor revisits the 20th century’s journey from Nietzsche’s declaration of the ‘death of God’ to the rise of materialism as the dominant worldview of western intelligentsia. We live in a world that has largely expelled both mind and meaning from the citadels of serious intellectual pursuit, and O’Connor’s book is a fascinating and scholarly expedition into the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of that troubling development.” —Carter Phipps, author of Evolutionaries“I found this topic to be top-rate. The book is well researched and conceived, nicely narrated and analyzed, and an original body of inquiry into a challenging, fascinating intellectual tradition.” —Ronald M. Johnson, Professor Emeritus of American History, Georgetown University
Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Hume on Religion (Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks)
by David O'ConnorDavid Hume was the most important British philosopher of the eighteenth century. His Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion is a classic text in the philosophy of religion.Hume on Religion introduces and asseses:*Hume's life and the background to the Dialogues *the ideas and text of Dialogues *Hume's continuing importance to philosophy.
The Edge of Sadness
by Edwin O'ConnorThis haunting novel shattered reigning cultural stereotypes of priests and parish life when it was first published. Father Hugh Kennedy is a recovering alcoholic, committed to his vocation, yet struggling with the demands of it. The Edge of Sadness is a sensitive portrait of both one man's inner life and the mid-20th century transformation of ethnic Catholicism.<P><P> Pulitzer Prize Winner
Good Things out of Nazareth: The Uncollected Letters of Flannery O'Connor and Friends
by Flannery O'ConnorA literary treasure of over one hundred unpublished letters from National Book Award-winning author Flannery O'Connor and her circle of extraordinary friends. Flannery O'Connor is a master of 20th-century American fiction, joining, since her untimely death in 1964, the likes of Hawthorne, Hemingway, and Faulkner. Those familiar with her work know that her powerful ethical vision was rooted in a quiet, devout faith that informed all she wrote and did. Good Things out of Nazareth, a much-anticipated collection of many of O'Connor's unpublished letters, along with those of literary luminaries such as Walker Percy (author of The Moviegoer), Robert Giroux, Caroline Gordon (author of None Shall Look Back), Katherine Anne Porter (Ship of Fools), and movie critic Stanley Kauffmann, explores such themes as creativity, faith, suffering, and writing. Brought together they form a riveting literary portrait of these friends, artists, and thinkers. Here we find their joys and loves, as well as their trials and tribulations as they struggle with doubt and illness while championing their Christian beliefs and often confronting racism in American society during the Civil Rights era.Advance praise for Good Things Out of Nazareth“An epistolary group portrait that will appeal to readers interested in the Catholic underpinnings of O'Connor's life and work . . . These letters by the National Book Award–winning short story writer and her friends alternately fit and break the mold. Anyone looking for Southern literary gossip will find plenty of barbs. . . . But there’s also higher-toned talk on topics such as the symbolism in O’Connor’s work and the nature of free will.”—Kirkus Reviews “A fascinating set of Flannery O’Connor’s correspondence . . . The compilation is highlighted by gems from O’Connor’s writing mentor, Caroline Gordon. . . . While O’Connor’s milieu can seem intimidatingly insular, the volume allows readers to feel closer to the writer, by glimpsing O’Connor’s struggles with lupus, which sometimes leaves her bedridden or walking on crutches, and by hearing her famously strong Georgian accent in the colloquialisms she sprinkles throughout the letters. . . . This is an important addition to the knowledge of O’Connor, her world, and her writing.”—Publishers Weekly
Novelas
by Flannery OconnorAdemás de sus extraordinarios cuentos, Flannery OConnor, unas de las escritoras fundamentales del siglo XX, publicó también dos novelas excelentes, ahora reunidas, por primera vez en castellano, en este volumen.Sangre sabia, publicada en 1952, cuenta la historia de Hazel Motes quien, tras servir en el ejército, regresa al evangélico y profundo sur de los Estados Unidos. Allí empieza a librar una guerra privada contra la religiosidad de la comunidad y, en particular, contra Asa Hawkes, el predicador y su degenerada hija quinceañera. Presa de la desesperación, Hazel encuentra su propia religión, La Iglesia sin Cristo.En 1960, OConnor publicaba su segunda y última novela, Los violentos lo arrebatan, donde el huérfano Francis Marion Tarwater y su sobrino, el maestro de escuela Rayber, desafían la profecía de su difunto tío según la cual Tarwater se convertirá en profeta. A partir de entonces, Tarwater vive una íntima batalla entre su fe innata y las voces que le llaman a ser profeta, mientras Rayber trata de llevarle a un mundo más razonable y moderno.Lúcida y tormentosa, radical y sobrecogedora, la obra de Flannery OConnor constituye una de las aventuras más intensas de la literatura de todos los tiempos.
The Collar: Stories of Irish Priests
by Frank O'ConnorCompelling tales of the clergy from the renowned author. &“The work of Frank O&’Connor lies at the very heart of the modern story in Ireland&” (The Washington Post). Over the course of his long and distinguished career, Frank O&’Connor wrote many stories about priests. Some of his most iconic characters are men of the cloth, and few writers have portrayed the unique demands of the priesthood with as much empathy, honesty, and wit. This collection, edited and introduced by his widow, Harriet O&’Donovan Sheehy, brings together the best of O&’Connor&’s short fiction on the subject. From &“An Act of Charity,&” the ironically titled tale of church efforts to cover up a curate&’s suicide, to &“The Sentry,&” an exquisite blend of drama and satire sparked by the British army&’s invasion of a priest&’s onion patch, these sixteen stories capture the full range of pressures visited on the Irish clergy. &“Peasants&” is a lesson in what happens when a man of God places law and order above compassion, while &“Achilles&’ Heel&” reveals that even a bishop can be rendered powerless by his housekeeper. &“The Frying-pan&” and &“The Wreath&” are sad and lovely portraits of priests caught between their vows of celibacy and their natural desire for human connection. In the rituals and contradictions of the priesthood, Frank O&’Connor found one of his greatest motifs. The Collar showcases an artist at the peak of his powers and shines a brilliant light on a fascinating world too often hidden in shadow and sentiment.
Fancy Nancy's Elegant Easter (I Can Read!)
by Jane O'ConnorNancy prepares an elegant Easter affair in this fancy new lift-the-flap book! Throwing a fabulous and fancy Easter party is a very big job--and Nancy and Bree are in charge of decorating! This book includes thirteen flaps that open to reveal hidden surprises that will delight all festive Fancy Nancy fans! Don't miss these other Fancy Nancy books!<P> Fancy Nancy The 100th Day of School<P> Fancy Nancy<P> Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy<P> Fancy Nancy's Absolutely Stupendous Sticker Book<P> Fancy Nancy Bonjour, Butterfly<P> Fancy Nancy Poison Ivy Expert<P> Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words<P> Fancy Nancy Heart to Heart<P> Fancy Nancy Halloween or Bust<P> Fancy Nancy Pajama Day<P> Fancy Nancy's Fashion Parade<P> Fancy Nancy's Glamorous Gift<P>
Gettin' Old Ain't for Wimps
by Karen O'ConnorThe title says it all--delightful poems and stories to make the reader smile, laugh, and think.
When I Find You Again, It Will Be in Mountains: The Selected Poems of Chia Tao
by Mike O'ConnorChia Tao (779-843), an erstwhile Zen monk who became a poet during China's Tang dynasty, recorded the lives of the sages, masters, immortals, and hermits who helped establish the great spiritual tradition of Zen Buddhism in China. Presented in both the original Chinese and Mike O'Connor's beautifully crafted English translation, When I Find You Again, It Will Be in Mountains brings to life this preeminent poet and his glorious religious tradition, offering the fullest translation of Chia Tao's poems to date.
Islam in Hong Kong
by Paul O'ConnorMore than a quarter of a million Muslims live and work in Hong Kong. Among them are descendants of families who have been in the city for generations, recent immigrants from around the world, and growing numbers of migrant workers. Islam in Hong Kong explores the lives of Muslims as ethnic and religious minorities in this unique post-colonial Chinese city. Drawing on interviews with Muslims of different origins, O'Connor builds a detailed picture of daily life through topical chapters on language, space, religious education, daily prayers, maintaining a halal diet in a Chinese environment, racism, and other subjects. Although the picture that emerges is complex and ambiguous, one striking conclusion is that Muslims in Hong Kong generally find acceptance as a community and do not consider themselves to be victimised because of their religion.
Skateboarding and Religion
by Paul O'ConnorThis book explores the ways in which religion is observed, performed, and organised in skateboard culture. Drawing on scholarship from the sociology of religion and the cultural politics of lifestyle sports, this work combines ethnographic research with media analysis to argue that the rituals of skateboarding provide participants with a rich cultural canvas for emotional and spiritual engagement. Paul O’Connor contends that religious identification in skateboarding is set to increase as participants pursue ways to both control and engage meaningfully with an activity that has become an increasingly mainstream and institutionalised sport. Religion is explored through the themes of myth, celebrity, iconography, pilgrimage, evangelism, cults, and self-help.
Religion, the Community, and the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders
by Thomas P O'ConnorExplore the relationship between faith-based programs, religion, and offender rehabilitation! This book reports on current research from several disciplines to help the reader understand the nature and impact of the relationship between faith-based programs, religion, and offender rehabilitation. Religion, the Community, and the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders is a unique resource-there has been very little research published on this important topic. President Bush's faith-based initiative recognized that religion plays a role in the justice system and corrections that is overlooked but essential-it increases the role of community and caring in the system in a unique and important way. This pathbreaking book points the way toward a system of faith-based programs that are not only effective but also economical, as these programs are often staffed by volunteers. Religion, the Community, and the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders addresses important questions regarding the importance and effectiveness of faith-based rehabilitation programs, including: What is the relationship between prison religion and offender rehabilitation? What motivates inmates to become involved with religious programs and activities? What is the prison chaplain's role in rehabilitation? Are certain religious denominations more effective than others in preventing crime, delinquency, and recidivism? How does religious activity help inmates adjust to the prison environment? What do inmates have to say about the religious programs they encounter within the system? How did Islam develop within American correctional institutions and what changes has the movement gone through in recent years? Why do female African-American inmates tend to resist conversion to Islam while their male counterparts embrace the Muslim faith in increasing numbers? How can sacred texts and social theory be utilized as teaching tools and intervention strategies in the transformation processes of men incarcerated for violent crimes? (A fascinating study from the Sing-Sing prison) and more!
Sheba: Ancient Customer Service Secrets Repackaged in a Social-Media Driven Era (Biblical Economics Series 5)
by Comfort Ocran Albert OcranTreating people well, delighting your customers and giving them moments to treasure should be the preoccupation of every service organisation be it a business, not-for-profit, church or sporting club. The Queen of Sheba travelled across the world to visit King Solomon and had an incredible experience that made her declare that “What I have seen far exceeds what I was told. Indeed, half of your greatness was not told to me.” What does it take to get your customer experience to exceed all expectations? What do customers look at beyond the main product or service? This book will inspire and equip you to build wonderful relationships with all who meet you, visit you online or patronise your services. Applying the principles in this book could lead to longevity, thriving customer relationships and prosperity for your business, church, NGO or service organisation.
Speak Like A Pro: 10 Commandments of Public Speaking
by Comfort Ocran Albert OcranLearn more about good habits of public speaking that will inspire, entertain and educate your listeners
Divine Gardens: Mayumi Oda and the San Francisco Zen Center
by Mayumi OdaKnown to many as "the Matisse of Japan," Mayumi Oda combines traditional Japanese and Buddhist iconography with her own unique sense of color, line, and movement. In this collection, her groundbreaking artwork is paired with essays by San Francisco Zen Center and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center practitioners (including Richard Baker, Linda Ruth Cutts, Wendy Johnson, Edward Espe Brown, and Norman Fischer) who have owned, loved, and been changed by Oda's work over the years.Mayumi Oda's internationally-recognized artwork plays with traditional Japanese and Buddhist images, refiguring them as celebrations of the feminine and the natural world. Where most traditional Buddhist iconography features male figures, Oda introduces female "Goddesses" that seem to jump off the page, imbued with the vibrancy of Oda's color and line.Originally from Japan, Oda settled in Muir Beach, California in the 1970s and began practicing and painting at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, which Oda calls her "California Buddha Field." Divine Gardens pairs Oda's artwork with essays by her fellow practitioners, for whom Oda's artwork has been a constant companion. Suitable for study by art students or for display on a coffee table, Divine Gardens captures the essence of Mayumi Oda's art and life as a Zen practitioner. The forty-five full-color works of art and twenty-four essays contained in the collection are a joyful celebration of her work and the community forged through the years at the San Francisco Zen Center.
Balkan Contextual Theology: An Introduction (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Stipe OdakThis book opens a new research field in Balkan contextual theology. By embracing culturally rich traditions of the Western Balkans as its starting point, it explores their existential and theological bearings. Placed at the crossroads of civilizations and religions, this region has witnessed some of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. At the same time, it has produced unique textures of inter-cultural life. The volume addresses some of the most poignant phenomena endemic to the region, such as sevdalinka music, intimate forms of neighborhood, archetypes of ‘sacred warriors,’ the experience of democratic jet lag, collective melancholy, and intergenerational trauma. As the first book of this nature, it aims to encourage further development of contextual theological thinking in the region and promote its international reception.
Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding: The Role of Religious Leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina
by Stipe OdakThis book provides fresh insights into the role of religious leaders in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Based on a large dataset of interviews with Christian and Muslim leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it offers a contextually rich analysis of the main post-conflict challenges: forgiveness, reconciliation, and tragic memories. Designed as an inductive, qualitative research, it also develops an integrative theoretical model of religiously-inspired engagement in conflict transformation. The work introduces a number of new concepts which are relevant for both theory and practice of peacebuilding, such as Residue of Forgiveness, Degree Zero of Reconciliation, Ecumene of Compassion, and Phantomic Memories. The book, furthermore, proposes two correlated concepts – “theological dissonance” and “pastoral optimization” – as theoretical tools to describe the interplay between moral ideals and practical limitations. The text is a valuable resource for religious and social scholars alike, especially those interested in topics of peace, conflict, and justice. From the methodological standpoint, it is an original and audacious attempt at bringing together theological, philosophical, and political narratives on conflicts and peace through the innovative use of the Grounded Theory approach.
The Conscious Activist
by James O'DeaAn extraordinary and rousing manifesto from award-winning author James O'Dea, The Conscious Activist is both a compelling narrative and a deep reflection on the demands of mystical realization and effective activism. Throughout the book, O'Dea poses that an integration of the two has the power to permanently transform the social order and to wake up humanity from its course of rapid self-destruction. Divided into two parts, Part I offers parallel narratives of author James O'Dea's training and spiritual development as both a mystic and an activist. The mystic, he explains, must move past petty ego concerns in order to experience oneness with each other and our divine source. The activist, on the other hand, explores the role of passion and conscience in activating social change. In Part II, O'Dea pursues this fascinating concept of a meeting ground between the two worlds, where spirituality and action unite to spark an accelerated transition towards our greater goal: a more evolved civilization. He asks us all to become conscious activists - to learn, collectively, how to move beyond our rigid conformity to beliefs of the past and its archaic structures of power and control.
Original Thinking
by James O'Dea Glenn Aparicio ParryIn Original Thinking, Glenn Aparicio Parry delves into the evolution of Western thought to recover the living roots of wisdom that can correct the imbalances in our modern worldview. Inspired by groundbreaking dialogues that the author organized between Native American elders and leading-edge Western scientists to explore the underlying principles of the cosmos, this book offers a radical revisioning of how we think. Asking questions such as, Is it possible to come up with an original thought?, What does it mean to be human?, and How has our thinking created our world today?, Parry challenges us to consider many of our most basic assumptions. To think originally--as in thinking new thoughts that have never been thought or said before--is according to Parry, largely an illusion. So, too, is the idea of linear human progress. Most of us have traveled far from our ancestral lands, and in so doing, lost connection with place, the origin of our consciousness.Original Thinking offers a radical revisioning of how we think and what it means to be human. It invites us to reintegrate our hearts with our heads and to expand our self-imposed narrowing of consciousness. In doing so we reconnect with the living, original source--nature and her interconnected elements and cycles--and embrace the communion of old and new, rational and intuitive, and masculine and feminine. Ultimately, Parry shows us how to create the tapestry of truly original thinking and to restore thought as a blessing, as a whole and complete transmission from Spirit.ContentsPART ONE (ORIGIN): Is it possible to come up with an original thought?Chapter 1. Original Thought, Time, and the Unfolding of ConsciousnessChapter 2. Looking Backward to Go ForwardChapter 3. Wheels Within Wheels Chapter 4. It's About Time PART TWO (DEPARTURE): What does it mean to be human? Chapter 5. Purpose, Potential, and Responsibility of Being Human Chapter 6. Rational Thought and Human Identity Chapter 7. Re-thinking Language Chapter 8. Beyond Rationality Chapter 9. A Tale of Two Directions PART THREE (RETURN): How has our thinking created the world today,and what is emerging? Chapter 10. The Essence of Thought Chapter 11. To Make Thought Whole Again Chapter 12. To Think Without Separation Chapter 13. Re-Thinking the "Dismal Science" Chapter 14. Toward An Original Economics PART FOUR (RENEWAL): Can education promote the renewal of original thinking? Chapter 15. Education as Renewal Chapter 16. Childhood and EducationChapter 17. Higher Education Chapter 18. A New (and Ancient) Vision Chapter 19. A Vision for Higher Education
Mobility, Markets and Indigenous Socialities: Contemporary Migration in the Peruvian Andes (Vitality of Indigenous Religions)
by Cecilie Vindal ØdegaardExploring how people from Andean communities seek progress and social mobility by moving to the cities, Cecilie Ødegaard demonstrates the changing significance of kinship, reciprocity and ritual in an urban context. Through a focus on people´s involvement in land occupations and local associations, labour and trade, Ødegaard examines the dialectics between popular practices and neoliberal state policies in processes of urbanization. The making and un-making of notions of the Indigenous, communal work, and gender is central in this analysis, and is discussed against the historical backdrop of the land occupations in Peruvian cities since the 1930s. Through its close ethnographic description of everyday life in a new urban neighbourhood, this book reveals how social and spatial categories and boundaries are continually negotiated in people´s quest for mobility and progress. Cecilie Ødegaard argues that conventional meanings of prosperity and progress are significantly altered in interaction with Andean understandings of reciprocity. By combining a unique ethnographic account with original theoretical arguments, the book provides new insight into the cultural, cosmological and political dimensions of mobility, progress and market participation.
The Gift of Rumi: Experiencing the Wisdom of the Sufi Master
by Emily Jane O'DellAn authentic exploration of the real RumiAs one of the world's most loved poets, Rumi's poems are celebrated for their message of love and their beauty, but too often they are stripped of their mystical and spiritual meanings. The Gift of Rumi offers a new reading of Rumi, contextualizing his work against the broader backdrop of Islamic mysticism and adding a richness and authenticity that is lacking in many Westernized conceptions of his work. Author Emily Jane O'Dell has studied Sufism both academically, in her work and research at Harvard, Columbia, and the American University of Beirut, and in practice, learning from a Mevlevi master and his whirling dervishes in Istanbul. She weaves this expertise throughout The Gift of Rumi, sharing a new vision of Rumi’s classic work.At the heart of Rumi’s mystical poetry is the “religion of love” which transcends all religions. Through his majestic verses of ecstasy and longing, Rumi invites us into the religion of the heart and guides us to our own loving inner essence. The Gift of Rumi gives us a key to experiencing this profound and powerful invitation, allowing readers to meet the master in a new way.
Always Yesterday
by Jeri OdellAs a female cop, Delanie Cooper is on her most difficult assignment yet. To stop a baby-selling ring, she goes undercover as an unmarried, pregnant teen. Her new partner, Eli Logan, plays the father. With his rugged good looks, Delanie doesn't have to fake attraction, but Eli's rough exterior and bitterness toward women make it hard even to be friends. Eli is outraged at having another female partner. His last one nearly got him killed, and she wasn't the first woman to let him down. He's sure he'll never need another woman in his life or anyone else, not even God. His past has shown him he can only count on himself. Amid danger and deceit, can Eli forget the pain of yesterday to see something different in Delanie? And will he come to know God, the only One who will never let him down?