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Holy Imagination: A Literary And Theological Introduction To The Whole Bible
by Judy Fentress-WilliamsThe many voices in scripture form a dialogue with readers, which produce theological truths that are larger than the individual parts. This introduction is informed by both literary theory and theology. It groups sections of the whole Bible together by genre. Each section identifies and describes the genre (such as historiography, poetry, prophecy, gospel, letter, apocalypse), and then moves into a discussion about the literary characteristics and theological insights. The words of scripture not only come a long way to find us but like a poem must be read with attention. Poetry doesn’t yield meaning easily, and it doesn’t promise to make sense. We know to look past the words on the page and find the images, tropes, sounds, and metaphors that are meaning-full. This type of writing invites, rather demands, the imagination. We must accept that we will only get so close, but that this is close enough. Our imagination spans the gaps left by sparse language and incomplete narratives. We return again and again, with more information and perhaps more experiences. The words are the same, but we are not; and for that reason there are always new discoveries. “At last, an introduction that students will enjoy reading, because it is at once engaging, informative, and eye-opening, as well as completely lucid. Fentress Williams shows how many books of the Bible reflect the experience of marginalized persons and communities in precarious situations, and therefore how they speak in ways both realistic and encouraging to contemporary readers. Do your students and yourself a favor: adopt this text and get ready for serious conversation about ancient texts that never go out of date.” – Ellen F. Davis, Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology, Duke Divinity School
Holy Imagination: A Literary and Theological Introduction to the Whole Bible
by Judy Fentress-WilliamsThe many voices in scripture form a dialogue with readers, which produce theological truths that are larger than the individual parts. This introduction is informed by both literary theory and theology. It groups sections of the whole Bible together by genre. Each section identifies and describes the genre (such as historiography, poetry, prophecy, gospel, letter, apocalypse), and then moves into a discussion about the literary characteristics and theological insights.The words of scripture not only come a long way to find us but like a poem must be read with attention. Poetry doesn’t yield meaning easily, and it doesn’t promise to make sense. We know to look past the words on the page and find the images, tropes, sounds, and metaphors that are meaning-full. This type of writing invites, rather demands, the imagination. We must accept that we will only get so close, but that this is close enough. Our imagination spans the gaps left by sparse language and incomplete narratives. We return again and again, with more information and perhaps more experiences. The words are the same, but we are not; and for that reason there are always new discoveries.“At last, an introduction that students will enjoy reading, because it is at once engaging, informative, and eye-opening, as well as completely lucid. Fentress Williams shows how many books of the Bible reflect the experience of marginalized persons and communities in precarious situations, and therefore how they speak in ways both realistic and encouraging to contemporary readers. Do your students and yourself a favor: adopt this text and get ready for serious conversation about ancient texts that never go out of date.”– Ellen F. Davis, Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology, Duke Divinity School
Holy Is the Lord (Expanded Edition)
by Jim CowanHoly is the Lord: Into Thy Presence (Vol 1), Lord, Draw Me Nearer (Vol 2), I Worship You (Vol 3), With All My Heart (Vol 4), Forever to Reign (Vol 5), In This Upper Room (Vol 6). Millennium III: Walk on Water (Vol 1), Awesome God (Vol 2), The Days of Elijah (Vol 3), I'm Trading My Sorrows (Vol 4), Jesus Lifted High (Vol 5)
Holy Labor: How Childbirth Shapes a Woman's Soul
by Aubry G. SmithWomen are valued for their ability to bear children in many cultures. The birth process, though supposedly the most painful experience of a woman's life, is seen as a necessary evil to achieve the end goal of children and motherhood. And yet, in the face of a typically masculinized Christianity that nevertheless professes that women are equally created in the image of God, shouldn't childbirth--a uniquely feminine experience--itself shape Christian women's souls and teach them about the heart of the God they love and follow? Drawing on her own experience of giving birth and motherhood--and the conflicting assumptions attached to them, by Christians and the culture at large--Aubry G. Smith presents a richly scriptural exploration of common conceptions about pregnancy and childbirth that will not only help mothers and soon-to-be mothers understand how to think biblically about birth, but also walks them through how to put the ideas into practice in their own lives. Along the way, she shows all readers how to see God's own experience of the birth process--and how childbirth leads to a deeper understanding of the gospel overall.
Holy Lands: Reviving Pluralism in the Middle East
by Nicolas PelhamWhen the Ottoman Empire fell apart, colonial powers drew straight lines on the map to create a new region - the Middle East - made up of new countries filled with multiple religious sects and ethnicities. Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, for example, all contained a kaleidoscope of Sunnis, Kurds, Shias, Circassians, Druze and Armenians. Israel was the first to establish a state in which one sect and ethnicity dominated others. Sixty years later, others are following suit, like the Kurds in northern Iraq, the Sunnis with ISIS, the Alawites in Syria, and the Shias in Baghdad and northern Yemen.The rise of irredentist states threatens to condemn the region to decades of conflict along new communal fault lines. In this book, Economist correspondent and New York Review of Books contributor Nicolas Pelham looks at how and why the world's most tolerant region degenerated into its least tolerant. Pelham reports from cities in Israel, Kurdistan, Iraq and Syria on how triumphant sects treat their ethnic and sectarian minorities, and he searches for hope - for a possible path back to the beauty that the region used to and can still radiate.
Holy Life: Living in Purity and Obedience to God
by L Santos"You can 'accept Jesus' all you want, but Romans 6:16 teaches us that if you keep on sinning and do not turn to God wholeheartedly, it leads to death," writes author L. Santos. In Holy Life, Santos passionately dismisses the widely-held misconception that being a Christian requires little or no effort on our part, while explaining that the Christian life should flow from a heart full of love, not lived by a set of rules. Relevant for new believers and Christians seeking to renew their commitment to living their lives for the Lord, Holy Life takes the guesswork out of finding the answers to pivotal questions like, How is a true believer to act, behave, and think in this world? How should I live my life to prove to God that I have repented of my sins and turned to Him?
Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction
by Margaret GuentherGuenther uses the images of the spiritual director as host, teacher, and midwife to describe the ministry of spiritual direction today. She pays particular attention to spiritual direction for women, and addresses such down-to-earth questions as setting, time, and privacy. The stories of real people bring the practice of spiritual direction alive.<P><P> “In the pages that follow, I will attempt to describe the shape that spiritual direction might take for people of our time, aware that the subject is an elusive one. I am speaking to the beginner, those persons lay or ordained, with or without formal theological training, who find themselves drawn to this ministry. Perhaps they feel the stirring of their own unacknowledged gifts. Or perhaps they wonder about receiving direction, whether it is a ministry available to ‘ordinary people' or reserved for the especially holy. I hope some dark corners will be illuminated and some questions answered.”
Holy Living: Spiritual Practices for Building a Life of Faith (Holy Living)
by Jorge Acevedo"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8 CEB) Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. The spiritual disciplines are historical practices that can guide us in our daily walk, bringing us closer to Christ. The Holy Living series brings a fresh perspective on the spiritual disciplines, enabling us to apply their practices to our current lives. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens us to God's transforming love.Both the Old and New Testaments call the people of God to love God completely as well as to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jesus told his followers these were the greatest commandments. What if by "neighbor," Jesus literally meant the precious people who live in your neighborhoods? What if by "neighbor," Jesus meant all of your neighbors, regardless of age, socioeconomic status, or any other potentially divisive designation? This book first defines what is meant by the spiritual practice of "neighboring" and then looks at ways we can live into neighboring as a spiritual practice in our own lives and in the lives of our churches and communities.This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Confession, Discernment, Prayer, Simplicity, Study, and Worship.
Holy Living: Spiritual Practices for Building a Life of Faith (Holy Living)
by K. Kale Yu"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8 CEB) Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. The spiritual disciplines are historical practices that can guide us in our daily walk, bringing us closer to Christ. The Holy Living series brings a fresh perspective on the spiritual disciplines, enabling us to apply their practices to our current lives. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens us to God's transforming love.In order to fully embrace study as a spiritual practice, we must first rid ourselves of the idea that study is a boring, dull, and unimaginative exercise. Study as a spiritual practice is, in fact, just the opposite: exciting, stimulating, and imaginative. It is a way to encounter and experience the living God; examine and discover more of ourselves in relation to God; and deepen our faith in God. It helps ground us in what God thinks and helps us reorder our priorities. It enlivens and energizes our faith. Study fills us with God’s words, and the more we study, the more of God’s words fill our hearts and minds and inform our thoughts, words, and actions. This book challenges our preconceptions of study and offers practical steps on how to develop the habit of study. This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Confession, Discernment, Neighboring, Prayer, Simplicity, and Worship.
Holy Living: Spiritual Practices for Building a Life of Faith (Holy Living)
by Matthew E. Johnson"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8 CEB) Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. The spiritual disciplines are historical practices that can guide us in our daily walk, bringing us closer to Christ. The Holy Living series brings a fresh perspective on the spiritual disciplines, enabling us to apply their practices to our current lives. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens us to God's transforming love.So often we equate the spiritual practice of worship with the hour-long worship service we attend each week (or each month). But what happens when we no longer consider worship something we do, but a way we live? When we break the concept of worship outside the walls of a sanctuary, we find new energy for living a "Godward" life, a life of turning toward God for guidance moment by moment, day by day. Such a life is fuel for genuine worship. Living a Godward life opens us up to God's transforming love and enables us to engage in practices of worship in locations and situations we never dreamed of before.This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Confession, Discernment, Neighboring, Prayer, Simplicity, and Study.
Holy Living: Spiritual Practices for Building a Life of Faith (Holy Living)
by Wendy J. Miller"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." ~ 1 Timothy 4:8Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. Spiritual disciplines are activities and practices that guide you in your daily walk through life bringing you closer to Christ. They also help you to make a difference in our world. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens you to God's transforming love and help you experience Holy Living.At its core, the spiritual practice of simplicity enables us to eliminate from our lives all the things—both material possessions and thoughts, habits, and attitudes—that distract us from God so that God has complete freedom to work in and through us. Simplicity brings freedom, balance, and perspective to our lives and enables us to align our priorities with the priorities of God. It reorients us and allows us to be open to the present moment. Developing the spiritual practice of simplicity is key to a healthy, vibrant relationship with God and others. This book helps us know how to begin and implement this practice.This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Confession, Discernment, Neighboring, Study, and Worship.
Holy Living: Spiritual Practices of Building a Life of Faith (Holy Living)
by Beth Ann Estock"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8 CEB) Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. The spiritual disciplines are historical practices that can guide us in our daily walk, bringing us closer to Christ. The Holy Living series brings a fresh perspective on the spiritual disciplines, enabling us to apply their practices to our current lives. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens us to God's transforming love.Many believers are familiar with the fruits of the Spirit Paul wrote about in his letter to the Galatians: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Discernment is a contemplative practice that opens us to these gifts. It offers us the capacity to see more clearly and touch the depth of our holy existence here on earth. This book introduces us to this ancient practice and helps us discover how practicing it can lead us to moments in which we sense meaning and purpose in our lives by desiring what God desires and embodying the love that is God.This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Confession, Neighboring, Prayer, Simplicity, Study, and Worship.
Holy Living: Spiritual Practices of Building a Life of Faith (Holy Living)
by Paul W. Chilcote"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." ~ 1 Timothy 4:8Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. Spiritual disciplines are activities and practices that guide you in your daily walk through life bringing you closer to Christ. They also help you to make a difference in our world. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens you to God's transforming love and help you experience Holy Living.Confession may be good for the soul, as the saying goes, but most people give little thought to its practice, at least on a daily basis. Like prayer, a person’s needs tend to trigger a confessional response. As a result, we often have a limited understanding of the true nature of the practice. Confession is so much more than a call to apologize, though that is an integral part. Confession is fundamentally relational, providing the opportunity to experience a much fuller relationship with God. This book provides opportunities both to examine and to practice the many forms that confession takes. It begins by looking at our confession of faith (not sins) and what we affirm about the nature and purposes of God. From there it moves to exploration and practices of individual confession, mutual confession, and worship, which provides one of the most significant contexts for the people of God to confess their sin before God and one another. This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Discernment, Neighboring, Simplicity, Study, and Worship.
Holy Living: Spiritual Practices of Building a Life of Faith (Holy Living)
by Ray Buckley"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8 CEB) Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. The spiritual disciplines are historical practices that can guide us in our daily walk, bringing us closer to Christ. The Holy Living series brings a fresh perspective on the spiritual disciplines, enabling us to apply their practices to our current lives. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens us to God's transforming love.Prayer has always been a central component in the life of a Christian. For many people, prayer is as natural as breathing; for others, it's a challenging task. No matter your comfort level or experience with prayer, this book will help you explore the purpose of prayer, the nature of prayer, and the results of a life of prayer. It leads you to be open to the transformation prayer can bring to your life and helps you better engage in prayer both individually and with others.This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion.Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Confession, Discernment, Neighboring, Prayer, Simplicity, Study, and Worship.
Holy Love: A Biblical Theology for Human Sexuality
by Steve HarperDo conservatives or progressives "own" the teachings about what the Bible says about human sexuality and marriage? For some—perhaps a vocal minority—the question is no longer up for debate or discussion: conservatives win. For others, the issues are not that simple. A fresh, rigorous, but yet concise, theological examination of the Bible’s teachings is required. There are other ways to interpret scripture faithfully with respect to sexuality other than the conservative interpretation.In Holy Love, Steve Harper strives to articulate the truth about the teachings of the Bible and Wesleyan tradition on human sexuality. This very accessible book is intended for church leaders, small groups, and those interested in understanding the Bible’s teaching on this fundamental component of human life, experience and relationships. The book will help church leaders and small groups make the constructive case that biblical, Christian teaching is compatible with faithful, covenantal love and intimacy amidst all sexual orientations.
Holy Luck
by Eugene H. PetersonThroughout his many years of pastoral ministry, almost everything Eugene Peterson has done -- preaching, teaching, praying, counseling, writing -- has involved words. To keep himself attuned to the power of words and to help himself use language with precision and imagination, Peterson both reads and writes poetry.Holy Luck presents, in one luminous volume, seventy poems by Peterson, most of them not previously published. Speaking to various aspects of “Kingdom of God” living, these poems are arranged in three sets:Holy Luck -- poems arising out of the BeatitudesThe Rustling Grass -- poems opening up invisible Kingdom realities through particular created thingsSmooth Stones -- occasional poems about discovering significance in every detail encountered while following JesusEchoing the language of Peterson’s popular Bible translation, The Message, the poems in Holy Luck are well suited for devotional purposes. An ideal gift item, this volume is one that readers will look to again and again.
Holy Luck: Selected Poems
by Eugene H. PetersonThe renowned Christian pastor and author of The Message and Run with Horses shares his spirituality in a very personal collection of poetry. Eugene H. Peterson had long been known as a pastor, professor, and provocateur. With his first-ever collection of verse, Peterson became known as a poet, too. Holy Luck emerged over many years, initially as individual poems sent to family, friends, and church congregations. Now, the translator of the bestselling Bible paraphrase The Message has collected his poems into three thematic sections of verses—on the Beatitudes, the kingdom of God in the ordinary, and following Jesus everyday—here released as one transcendent volume.
Holy Matter: Changing Perceptions of the Material World in Late Medieval Christianity
by Sara RitcheyA magnificent proliferation of new Christ-centered devotional practices—including affective meditation, imitative suffering, crusade, Eucharistic cults and miracles, passion drama, and liturgical performance—reveals profound changes in the Western Christian temperament of the twelfth century and beyond. This change has often been attributed by scholars to an increasing emphasis on God’s embodiment in the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ. In Holy Matter, Sara Ritchey offers a fresh narrative explaining theological and devotional change by journeying beyond the human body to ask how religious men and women understood the effects of God’s incarnation on the natural, material world. She finds a remarkable willingness on the part of medieval Christians to embrace the material world—its trees, flowers, vines, its worms and wolves—as a locus for divine encounter.Early signs that perceptions of the material world were shifting can be seen in reformed communities of religious women in the twelfth-century Rhineland. Here Ritchey finds that, in response to the constraints of gendered regulations and spiritual ideals, women created new identities as virgins who, like the mother of Christ, impelled the world’s re-creation—their notion of the world’s re-creation held that God created the world a second time when Christ was born. In this second act of creation God was seen to be present in the physical world, thus making matter holy. Ritchey then traces the diffusion of this new religious doctrine beyond the Rhineland, showing the profound impact it had on both women and men in professed religious life, especially Franciscans in Italy and Carthusians in England. Drawing on a wide range of sources including art, liturgy, prayer, poetry, meditative guides, and treatises of spiritual instruction, Holy Matter reveals an important transformation in late medieval devotional practice, a shift from metaphor to material, from gazing on images of a God made visible in the splendor of natural beauty to looking at the natural world itself, and finding there God’s presence and promise of salvation.
Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace
by Phillip Luke Sinitiere Shayne LeeJoel Osteen, Paula White, T. D. Jakes, Rick Warren, and Brian McLaren pastor some the largest churches in the nation, lead vast spiritual networks, write best-selling books, and are among the most influential preachers in American Protestantism today. Spurred by the phenomenal appeal of these religious innovators, sociologist Shayne Lee and historian Phillip Luke Sinitiere investigate how they operate and how their style of religious expression fits into America’s cultural landscape. Drawing from the theory of religious economy, the authors offer new perspectives on evangelical leadership and key insights into why some religious movements thrive while others decline.Holy Mavericks provides a useful overview of contemporary evangelicalism while emphasizing the importance of "supply-side thinking" in understanding shifts in American religion. It reveals how the Christian world hosts a culture of celebrity very similar to the secular realm, particularly in terms of marketing, branding, and publicity. Holy Mavericks reaffirms that religion is always in conversation with the larger society in which it is embedded, and that it is imperative to understand how those religious suppliers who are able to change with the times will outlast those who are not.
Holy Mayhem
by Pat G'Orge-WalkerTwo church-ladies-turned-sleuths are sure to raise more than a little hell when they decide to make crime-solving miracles in this hilarious new novel. . .They've been laid off, they're broke, and their faith is really being tried. But dedicated Mount Kneel Down Baptist Church members Patience Kash and Joy Karry figure now is the perfect time to pursue their other true calling--becoming private detectives. And if that means putting up with their thug-wannabe cousin Porky's delusions while hilariously interfering with their famous detective godson Percy's investigations, it's still a heaven-sent opportunity to hear all the town dirt and find customers. . .When a thief steals the prized family Bible right out from under Porky's nose and church funds are missing on Patience's watch, these sisters-in-God find themselves sleuthing out the strangest family and church secrets--and up against someone more than ready to send them to their heavenly reward. Now, they'll need their most inspired hunches, their not-real-fierce dog Felony, and their license-to-missionary to uncover the truth and crack this holy case. . . "Walker shines a little light on a wacky family reunion with her usual inspirational, knee-slapping style." --Publishers Weekly on Don't Blame the Devil"Deeply entertaining. . .a rip-roaringly comical read." --The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers on Mother Eternal Ann Everlastin's Dead"A comic novel about mistakes and second chances." --Library Journal on Don't Blame the Devil
Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult
by Raphael CormackAn international history of the uncanny in the 1920s and 1930s. The interwar period was a golden age for the occult. Spiritualists, clairvoyants, fakirs, Theosophists, mind readers, and Jinn summoners all set out to assure the masses that just as newly discovered invisible forces of electricity and magnetism determined the world of science, unseen powers commanded an unknown realm of human potential Drawing on untapped sources in Arabic in addition to European ones, Raphael Cormack follows two of the most unusual and charismatic figures of this age: Tahra Bey, who took 1920s Paris by storm in the role of a missionary from the mystical East; and Dr. Dahesh, who transformed Western science to create a panreligious faith of his own in Lebanon. Traveling between Paris, New York, and Beirut while guiding esoteric apprenticeships among miracle-working mystics in Egypt and Istanbul, these men reflected the desires and anxieties of a troubled age. As Cormack demonstrates, these forgotten holy men, who embodied the allure of the unexplained in a world of dramatic change, intuitively speak to our unsettling world today
Holy Mother: Being the Life of Sri Sarada Devi Wife of Sri Ramakrishna and Helpmate in his mission (Routledge Revivals)
by Swami NikhilanandaFirst Published in 1963, Holy Mother presents the life and teachings of an extraordinary saint of modern India, who lived outwardly the life of an ordinary Hindu woman. Sri Sarada Devi (1853-1920) was brought up in poverty but also in contentment. She gained her sainthood not through unusual austerities, but through regular practice of prayer and meditation, utter devotion in the service of her husband, and discharging her duties towards her demanding worldly-minded relatives. Yet her spiritual experiences were as deep as those of Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886). Her life was a demonstration of the inner peace that comes from communication with God, even to one who is occupied with the activities of the world. Sri Ramakrishna trained her for her future role as his spiritual successor and through her he demonstrated the Motherhood of God. Her advent acted as a leaven silently raising the newly awakened consciousness of womanhood everywhere. This book is indispensable for scholars and researchers of Hinduism, religion, Indian philosophy, Indian culture, and heritage.
Holy Nation: The Transatlantic Quaker Ministry in an Age of Revolution
by Sarah CrabtreeEarly American Quakers have long been perceived as retiring separatists, but in Holy Nation Sarah Crabtree transforms our historical understanding of the sect by drawing on the sermons, diaries, and correspondence of Quakers themselves. Situating Quakerism within the larger intellectual and religious undercurrents of the Atlantic World, Crabtree shows how Quakers forged a paradoxical sense of their place in the world as militant warriors fighting for peace. She argues that during the turbulent Age of Revolution and Reaction, the Religious Society of Friends forged a "holy nation," a transnational community of like-minded believers committed first and foremost to divine law and to one another. Declaring themselves citizens of their own nation served to underscore the decidedly unholy nature of the nation-state, worldly governments, and profane laws. As a result, campaigns of persecution against the Friends escalated as those in power moved to declare Quakers aliens and traitors to their home countries. Holy Nation convincingly shows that ideals and actions were inseparable for the Society of Friends, yielding an account of Quakerism that is simultaneously a history of the faith and its adherents and a history of its confrontations with the wider world. Ultimately, Crabtree argues, the conflicts experienced between obligations of church and state that Quakers faced can illuminate similar contemporary struggles.
Holy Nation: The Transatlantic Quaker Ministry in an Age of Revolution (American Beginnings, 1500–1900)
by Sarah CrabtreeEarly American Quakers have long been perceived as retiring separatists, but in Holy Nation Sarah Crabtree transforms our historical understanding of the sect by drawing on the sermons, diaries, and correspondence of Quakers themselves. Situating Quakerism within the larger intellectual and religious undercurrents of the Atlantic World, Crabtree shows how Quakers forged a paradoxical sense of their place in the world as militant warriors fighting for peace. She argues that during the turbulent Age of Revolution and Reaction, the Religious Society of Friends forged a “holy nation,” a transnational community of like-minded believers committed first and foremost to divine law and to one another. Declaring themselves citizens of their own nation served to underscore the decidedly unholy nature of the nation-state, worldly governments, and profane laws. As a result, campaigns of persecution against the Friends escalated as those in power moved to declare Quakers aliens and traitors to their home countries.Holy Nation convincingly shows that ideals and actions were inseparable for the Society of Friends, yielding an account of Quakerism that is simultaneously a history of the faith and its adherents and a history of its confrontations with the wider world. Ultimately, Crabtree argues, the conflicts experienced between obligations of church and state that Quakers faced can illuminate similar contemporary struggles.