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Rabbis and Classical Rhetoric: Sophistic Education and Oratory in the Talmud and Midrash
by Richard HidaryTraining in rhetoric - the art of persuasion - formed the basis of education in the Roman Empire. The classical intellectual world centered around the debate between philosophers, who boasted knowledge of objective reality, and sophists, who could debate both sides of any issue and who attracted large audiences and paying students. The roles of the Talmudic rabbis as public orators, teachers, and jurists, parallel that of Roman orators. Rabbinic literature adopted and adapted various aspects of the classical rhetorical tradition, as is demonstrated in the Talmudic penchant for arguing both sides of hypothetical cases, the midrashic hermeneutical methods, and the structure of synagogue sermons. At the same time, the rabbis also resisted the extreme epistemological relativism of rhetoric as is evident in their restraint on theoretical argumentation, their depiction of rabbinic and divine court procedure, and their commitment to the biblical prophetic tradition. Richard Hidary demonstrates how rabbis succeeded in navigating a novel path between platonic truth and rhetorical relativism.
Rabbis and Revolution: The Jews of Moravia in the Age of Emancipation
by Michael Laurence MillerThe Habsburg province of Moravia straddled a complicated linguistic, cultural, and national space, where German, Slavic, and Jewish spheres overlapped, intermingled, and sometimes clashed. Situated in the heart of Central Europe, Moravia was exposed to major Jewish movements from the East and West, including Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment), Hasidism, and religious reform. Moravia's rooted and thriving rabbinic culture helped moderate these movements, and in the case of Hasidism, keep it at bay. During the Revolution of 1848, Moravia's Jews took an active part in the prolonged and ultimately successful struggle for Jewish emancipation in the Habsburg lands. The revolution ushered in a new age of freedom, but it also precipitated demographic, financial, and social transformations, disrupting entrenched patterns that had characterized Moravian Jewish life since the Middle Ages. These changes emerged precisely when the Czech-German conflict began to dominate public life, throwing Moravia's Jews into the middle of the increasingly virulent nationality conflict. For some, a cautious embrace of Zionism represented a way out of this conflict, but it also represented a continuation of Moravian Jewry's distinctive role as mediator-and often tamer-of the major ideological movements that pervaded Central Europe in the Age of Emancipation.
Rabbis of our Time: Authorities of Judaism in the Religious and Political Ferment of Modern Times (Routledge Jewish Studies Series)
by Marek Čejka Roman KořanThe term ‘rabbi’ predominantly denotes Jewish men qualified to interpret the Torah and apply halacha, or those entrusted with the religious leadership of a Jewish community. However, the role of the rabbi has been understood differently across the Jewish world. While in Israel they control legally powerful rabbinical courts and major religious political parties, in the Jewish communities of the Diaspora this role is often limited by legal regulations of individual countries. However, the significance of past and present rabbis and their religious and political influence endures across the world. Rabbis of Our Time provides a comprehensive overview of the most influential rabbinical authorities of Judaism in the 20th and 21st Century. Through focussing on the most theologically influential rabbis of the contemporary era and examining their political impact, it opens a broader discussion of the relationship between Judaism and politics. It looks at the various centres of current Judaism and Jewish thinking, especially the State of Israel and the USA, as well as locating rabbis in various time periods. Through interviews and extracts from religious texts and books authored by rabbis, readers will discover more about a range of rabbis, from those before the formation of Israel to the most famous Chief Rabbis of Israel, as well as those who did not reach the highest state religious functions, but influenced the relation between Judaism and Israel by other means. The rabbis selected represent all major contemporary streams of Judaism, from ultra-Orthodox/Haredi to Reform and Liberal currents, and together create a broader picture of the scope of contemporary Jewish thinking in a theological and political context. An extensive and detailed source of information on the varieties of Jewish thinking influencing contemporary Judaism and the modern State of Israel, this book is of interest to students and scholars of Jewish Studies, as well as Religion and Politics.
Rabbis, Reporters and the Public in the Digital Holyland (Routledge Studies in Middle East Film and Media)
by Yoel CohenFocused on the triangular relationship between rabbis, journalists and the public, this book analyses each group’s role in influencing the agenda around religion in Israel. The book draws upon the author's original research, comprising an analysis of the coverage of religion on four Israeli news websites, a series of surveys of rabbis, journalists, and the public, as well as a large number of interviews conducted with a range of stakeholders: community rabbis, teacher rabbis, and religious court judges; reporters, editors, and spokespersons; and the Israeli Jewish public. Key questions include: What are rabbis’ philosophical views of the media? How does the media define news about Judaism? What aspect of news about religion and spirituality interest the public? How do spokespersons and rabbis influence the news agenda? How is the triangular relationship between rabbis, journalists and the public being altered by the digital age? Despite a lack of understanding about mass media behaviour among many rabbis, and, concurrently, a lack of knowledge about religion among many journalists, it is argued that there is shared interest between the two groups, both in support of mass-media values like the right to know and freedom of expression. It is further argued that the public's attitude to news about religion is significant in determining what journalists should publish. The book will be of interest to those studying mass communications, the media, Judaism and Israeli society, as well as researchers of media and religion.
Rabbis, Reporters and the Public in the Digital Holyland (Routledge Studies in Middle East Film and Media)
by Yoel CohenFocused on the triangular relationship between rabbis, journalists and the public, this book analyses each group’s role in influencing the agenda around religion in Israel.The book draws upon the author's original research, comprising an analysis of the coverage of religion on four Israeli news websites, a series of surveys of rabbis, journalists, and the public, as well as a large number of interviews conducted with a range of stakeholders: community rabbis, teacher rabbis, and religious court judges; reporters, editors, and spokespersons; and the Israeli Jewish public. Key questions include: What are rabbis’ philosophical views of the media? How does the media define news about Judaism? What aspect of news about religion and spirituality interest the public? How do spokespersons and rabbis influence the news agenda? How is the triangular relationship between rabbis, journalists and the public being altered by the digital age? Despite a lack of understanding about mass media behaviour among many rabbis, and, concurrently, a lack of knowledge about religion among many journalists, it is argued that there is shared interest between the two groups, both in support of mass-media values like the right to know and freedom of expression. It is further argued that the public's attitude to news about religion is significant in determining what journalists should publish.The book will be of interest to those studying mass communications, the media, Judaism and Israeli society, as well as researchers of media and religion.
Rabbit Moon
by Jean KimRabbit Moon weaves together a tale of wishes, play, loneliness, and friendship -- beautifully illustrated in a style that evokes Kevin Henkes, Jon Muth, Shaun Tan, and Renata Liwska.Bedtime wishes take flight on paper airplanes, traveling all the way to the moon. There Rabbit gathers the night's haul, grinds the wishes into stardust, and fills the sky with their starlight. It is a beautiful sight to behold, but lonely work. So one night, Rabbit takes a wish and makes it float down to earth; when it comes true, he makes new friends and the star work takes a back seat to some well-earned fun. But as each day fades, so do the night stars. And with the first starless sky, Rabbit realizes it's time to make the journey home. It is a sad departure, but Rabbit's friends make one last wish, and send an astronomical gift.
Rabble-Rouser for Peace: The Authorized Biography of Desmond Tutu
by John AllenTo be a rabble-rouser for peace may seem to be a contradiction in terms. And yet it is the perfect description for Desmond Tutu, Nobel laureate and spiritual father of a democratic South Africa. Tutu understood that justice -- a genuine regard for human rights -- is the only real foundation for peace. And so he stirred up trouble, courageously engaging in heated face-to-face confrontations with South Africa's leaders; he stirred up trouble in the streets, leading peaceful demonstrations amid the barely controlled fury of police battalions; he stirred up trouble on the world stage, seeking international disinvestment in the apartheid economy. Tutu has led one of the great lives of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and to read his story in full is to be reminded of the power of one inspired man to change history. In this authorized biography, written by John Allen, a distinguished journalist and longtime associate of Tutu, we are witnesses to courage, stirring oratory, and a demonstration of the power of faith to transform the seemingly intransigent. We know in retrospect that the apartheid resistance movement was successful and that South Africa, though not without its problems, today faces an infinitely brighter future than it might if it had not been for the efforts of Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and other leaders. But no such outcome was ever a certainty. Through the author's personal experiences, total access to the Tutu family and their papers, and considerable research, including the use of new archival material, Allen tells the story of a barefoot schoolboy from a deprived black township who became an international symbol of the democratic spirit and of religious faith. Allen personally observed how Tutu, at genuine risk to his own safety, repeatedly intervened between armed soldiers and stone-throwing students to keep the peace, how he faced constant death threats and angrily stood up to the leaders of the cruel apartheid system. Using his own faith as a cudgel, Tutu asked those officials to confront their own Christian background and made them reconcile their actions with their own professions of belief. Often through the sheer power of moral example and with a lyrical command of the English language, Tutu was able to appeal to the conscience of the world and to the emotions of an angry crowd in the streets. And then, when the battle for South African rights was finally won, it was Tutu who insisted on finding a path to forgive the former oppressors by strongly backing and serving on the unprecedented Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Today, the archbishop continues to appeal to the world's conscience by opposing the continuance of war and the inadequacy of the international response to the AIDS/HIV crisis sweeping Africa. He has led a life of commitment, one that continues to matter. John Allen has movingly captured the flavor and details of that life and marshaled them into a commanding story, one that sheds light on the struggles and triumphs of our times.
Rabi'a From Narrative to Myth: The Many Faces of Islam's Most Famous Woman Saint, Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya
by Rkia Elaroui CornellRabi&‘a al-&‘Adawiyya is a figure shrouded in myth. Certainly a woman by this name was born in Basra, Iraq, in the eighth century, but her life remains recorded only in legends, stories, poems and hagiographies. The various depictions of her – as a deeply spiritual ascetic, an existentialist rebel and a romantic lover – seem impossible to reconcile, and yet Rabi&‘a has transcended these narratives to become a global symbol of both Sufi and modern secular culture. In this groundbreaking study, Rkia Elaroui Cornell traces the development of these diverse narratives and provides a history of the iconic Rabi&‘a&’s construction as a Sufi saint. Combining medieval and modern sources, including evidence never before examined, in novel ways, Rabi&‘a From Narrative to Myth is the most significant work to emerge on this quintessential figure in Islam for more than seventy years.
Rabia's Eid (Step into Reading)
by Rukhsana KhanJoin a young girl and her family in this Step 2 reader as they celebrate Eid-al-fitr, a holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Perfect for readers ages 4-6.It's Eid-al-fitr—the last day of Ramadan, which means it is the last day for Rabia to fast with the rest of her family and she has never done it before. Rabia is so excited! She eats just before sunrise and then the day of fasting begins! Rabia gets to have her hands painted with henna, wear a new dress, and put her family's donation in the box at the mosque. It's a special Eid all around!Step 2 Readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories, for children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help.
Race Against Time
by Christy BarrittWere it not for her cop neighbor, widowed mother Madison Jacobs would be dead. Thankfully, Detective Brody Philips interrupts an attempt on her life in the nick of time. But the would-be killer hasn't given up, and each tick of the clock brings the madman closer to finishing what he started. Brady vows to catch the serial killer plaguing the sleepy Virginia town...especially when he realizes the danger has followed him from the big city. With everyone around him at risk, it'll take everything Brody's got to do his duty and keep Madison and her son safe.
Race Against Time (Mills And Boon Love Inspired Suspense Ser.)
by Christy BarrittA single mother is caught in a killer’s crosshairs and needs a protector in this suspenseful romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Christy Barritt.Were it not for her cop neighbor, widowed mother Madison Jacobs would be dead. Thankfully, Detective Brody Philips interrupts an attempt on her life in the nick of time. But the would-be killer hasn’t given up, and each tick of the clock brings the madman closer to finishing what he started. Brady vows to catch the serial killer plaguing the sleepy Virginia town…especially when he realizes the danger has followed him from the big city. With everyone around him at risk, it’ll take everything Brody’s got to do his duty and keep Madison and her son safe.From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.
Race For Freedom (Freedom Seekers #2)
by Lois Walfrid JohnsonLate at night, as the Christina puts out into the Mississippi River, Caleb and Libby keep watch on deck. Close by, the runaway slave, Jordan, creeps forward without a sound. Drawing near the lantern, he stops, as if afraid to enter the circle of light. On the streets above them no one stirs. Then a dark shape steps from the shadows. Jordan moans. "It's Riggs!" (The slave-trader. ) The cruelest man Caleb knows. Jordan's owner stepping out, so they know he's on their trail. From that moment the Freedom Seekers can never forget that because of a fugitive slave law Jordan can be taken back into slavery, even from a free northern state. Nor can they forget that if Captain Norstad is caught hiding a fugitive he can lose the Christina. Then Elsa, a new-found immigrant friend, faces illness and possible death. Will Libby's need for courage bring her to the Lord who promises, "Do not fear, for I am with you"? Can the Freedom Seekers live the courage that offers life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to every person? Can they go beyond fear to put that courage into practice? As steamboats race for St. Paul, stakes are high. To escape capture, Jordan makes a mighty leap. In a time when captains did not stop for a man overboard, will Jordan survive his fall into icy waters? The Freedom Seekers series is a six-novel middle-reader set in 1857. Feel the rush of immigrants to the new land, and the dangers of the Underground Railroad in these true-to-life Riverboat stories. The characters will receive a heart-warming response from readers of all ages. Adult readers will ask themselves, "Would I have been one of those who helped runaway slaves?" Lois Walfrid Johnson uses strong historical research, great writing, and wonderful storytelling to bring alive a critical time in American history.
Race You to the Fountain of Youth
by Martha Bolton Brad DicksonThe men are on one side. The women on the other. They're ready -- they're set -- they're off!... Well...maybe not. Seasoned comedy writers Martha Bolton and Brad Dickson take an unconventional, refreshing look at the over-forty race to the Fountain of Youth. Instead of heaping on the pressure to exercise more, eat less, manage your time, and save all your money for retirement, Bolton and Dickson offer a take-it-easy approach to aging with chapters like: If Menopausal Women Ruled the World How to Calculate Your Real Age I Am Woman, Where'd I Go? Desperate Grandmas He Died of What? Gimme a Head with Hair Filled with gentle encouragement and rolling humor, Race You to the Fountain of Youth will remind you to focus on the things that truly matter -- contentment, personal growth, faith, and joy. Relevant, real, and always funny, this look at the better half of life doesn't ask you to change one thing about yourself -- except maybe to laugh a bit more and worry a bit less.
Race and Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation
by Soong-Chan Rah David P. LeongGeography matters.Race and Place
Race and Political Theology
by Vincent W. LloydSenior scholars come together to explore how Jewish and African American experiences can make us think differently about the nexus of religion and politics, or political theology. Some wrestle with historical figures, such as William Shakespeare, W. E. B. Du Bois, Nazi journalist Wilhelm Stapel, and Austrian historian Otto Brunner. Others ponder what political theology can contribute to contemporary politics, particularly relating to Israel's complicated religious/racial/national identity and to the religious currents in African American politics. Race and Political Theologyopens novel avenues for research in intellectual history, religious studies, political theory, and cultural studies, showing how timely questions about religion and politics must be reframed when race is taken into account.
Race and Racism in Britain: Fourth Edition
by John SolomosThis Fourth Edition of a pioneering handbook provides a critical analysis of the origins and evolution of political and policy debates regarding race and racism in British society. Drawing on a broad range of both theoretical and historical research, the focus of the book is on the development of policies and debates in the period from the second half of the 20th Century to the present. The book is organized into twelve chapters which provide an overview of key trends, situating the development of policies and developments in relation to immigration and citizenship, race relations policies and broader agendas about multiculturalism and living with difference. In the substantive chapters of the book there is also a detailed discussion of such issues as policing, urban unrest and protest, racist politics, black and ethnic minority politics and conversations about multiculturalism. This new edition engages with both the historical background as well as contemporary developments to provide a novel and wide-ranging account of the role that questions about race and racism play in British society.
Race and Redemption: British Missionaries Encounter Pacific Peoples, 1797-1920 (Studies in the History of Christian Missions (SHCM))
by Jane SamsonRace and Redemption is the latest volume in the Studies in the History of Christian Missions series, which explores the significant, yet sometimes controversial, impact of Christian missions around the world. In this historical examination of the encounter between British missionaries and people in the Pacific Islands, Jane Samson reveals the paradoxical yet symbiotic nature of the two stances that the missionaries adopted—"othering" and "brothering." She shows how good and bad intentions were tangled up together and how some blind spots remained even as others were overcome. Arguing that gender was as important a category in the story as race, Samson paints a complex picture of the interactions between missionaries and native peoples—and the ways in which perspectives shaped by those encounters have endured.
Race and Redemption: British Missionaries Encounter Pacific Peoples, 1797-1920 (Studies in the History of Christian Missions (SHCM))
by Jane SamsonRace and Redemption is the latest volume in the Studies in the History of Christian Missions series, which explores the significant, yet sometimes controversial, impact of Christian missions around the world. In this historical examination of the encounter between British missionaries and people in the Pacific Islands, Jane Samson reveals the paradoxical yet symbiotic nature of the two stances that the missionaries adopted—"othering" and "brothering." She shows how good and bad intentions were tangled up together and how some blind spots remained even as others were overcome. Arguing that gender was as important a category in the story as race, Samson paints a complex picture of the interactions between missionaries and native peoples—and the ways in which perspectives shaped by those encounters have endured.
Race and Religion Among the Chosen Peoples of Crown Heights
by Henry GoldschmidtIn August of 1991, the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights was engulfed in violence following the deaths of Gavin Cato and Yankel Rosenbaum—a West Indian boy struck by a car in the motorcade of a Hasidic spiritual leader and an orthodox Jew stabbed by a Black teenager. The ensuing unrest thrust the tensions between the Lubavitch Hasidic community and their Afro-Caribbean and African American neighbors into the media spotlight, spurring local and national debates on diversity and multiculturalism. Crown Heights became a symbol of racial and religious division. Yet few have paused to examine the nature of Black-Jewish difference in Crown Heights, or to question the flawed assumptions about race and religion that shape the politics—and perceptions—of conflict in the community. <p> In Race and Religion among the Chosen Peoples of Crown Heights, Henry Goldschmidt explores the everyday realities of difference in Crown Heights. Drawing on two years of fieldwork and interviews, he argues that identity formation is particularly complex in Crown Heights because the neighborhood's communities envision the conflict in remarkably diverse ways. Lubavitch Hasidic Jews tend to describe it as a religious difference between Jews and Gentiles, while their Afro-Caribbean and African American neighbors usually define it as a racial difference between Blacks and Whites. These tangled definitions are further complicated by government agencies who address the issue as a matter of culture, and by the Lubavitch Hasidic belief—a belief shared with a surprising number of their neighbors—that they are a “chosen people” whose identity transcends the constraints of the social world. <p> The efforts of the Lubavitch Hasidic community to live as a divinely chosen people in a diverse Brooklyn neighborhood where collective identities are generally defined in terms of race illuminate the limits of American multiculturalism—a concept that claims to celebrate diversity, yet only accommodates variations of certain kinds. Taking the history of conflict in Crown Heights as an invitation to reimagine our shared social world, Goldschmidt interrogates the boundaries of race and religion and works to create space in American society for radical forms of cultural difference.
Race and Restoration: Churches of Christ and the Black Freedom Struggle
by Barclay KeyFrom the late nineteenth century to the dawn of the civil rights era, the Churches of Christ operated outside of conventional racial customs. Many of their congregations, even deep in the South, counted whites and blacks among their numbers. As the civil rights movement began to challenge pervasive social views about race, Church of Christ leaders and congregants found themselves in the midst of turmoil. In Race and Restoration: Churches of Christ and the Black Freedom Struggle, Barclay Key focuses on how these churches managed race relations during the Jim Crow era and how they adapted to the dramatic changes of the 1960s.Although most religious organizations grappled with changing attitudes toward race, the Churches of Christ had singular struggles. Fundamentally “restorationist,” these exclusionary churches perceived themselves as the only authentic expression of Christianity, compelling them to embrace peoples of different races, even as they succumbed to prevailing racial attitudes. The Churches of Christ thus offer a unique perspective for observing how Christian fellowship and human equality intersected during the civil rights era. Key reveals how racial attitudes and practices within individual congregations elude the simple categorizations often employed by historians. Public forums, designed by churches to bridge racial divides, offered insight into the minds of members while revealing the limited progress made by individual churches.Although the Churches of Christ did have a more racially diverse composition than many other denominations in the Jim Crow era, Key shows that their members were subject to many of the same aversions, prejudices, and fears of other churches of the time. Ironically, the tentative biracial relationships that had formed within and between congregations prior to World War II began to dissolve as leading voices of the civil rights movement prioritized desegregation.
Race and Rhyme: Rereading the New Testament
by Love Lazarus SechrestA leading womanist biblical scholar reads passages from the New Testament in dialogue with modern-day issues of racial justice. The narratives and letters of the New Testament emerged from a particular set of historical contexts that differ from today&’s, but they resonate with us because of how the issues they raise &“rhyme&” with subjects of contemporary relevance. Listening for these echoes of the present in the past, Love Sechrest utilizes her cultural experience and her perspective as a Black woman scholar to reassess passages in the New Testament that deal with intergroup conflict, ethnoracial tension, and power dynamics between dominant and minoritized groups. After providing an overview of womanist biblical interpretation and related terminology, Sechrest utilizes an approach she calls &“associative hermeneutics&” to place select New Testament texts in dialogue with modern-day issues of racial justice. Topics include:antiracist allyship and Jesus&’s interaction with marginalized individuals in the Gospel of Matthewcultural assimilation and Jesus&’s teachings about family and acceptance in the Gospel of Lukegendered stereotypes and the story of the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of Johnthe experience of Black women and girls in the American criminal justice system and the woman accused of adultery in the Gospel of Johngroup identity and the incorporation of Gentiles into the early Jesus movement in Actsprivilege and Paul&’s claims to apostolic authority in 2 Corinthianscoalition-building between diverse groups and the discussion of unity in Ephesiansgovernment&’s role in providing social welfare and early Christians&’ relationship to the Roman Empire in Romans and RevelationThrough these creative and illuminating connections, Sechrest offers a rich bounty of new insights from Scripture—drawing out matters of justice and human dignity that spoke to early Christians and can speak still to Christians willing to listen today.
Race and Secularism in America
by Vincent W. Lloyd Jonathan KahnThis anthology draws bold comparisons between secularist strategies to contain, privatize, and discipline religion and the treatment of racialized subjects by the American state. Specializing in history, literature, anthropology, theology, religious studies, and political theory, contributors expose secularism's prohibitive practices in all facets of American society and suggest opportunities for change.
Race and Secularism in America (Religion, Culture, and Public Life #30)
by Vincent W. Lloyd Jonathon S. KahnThis anthology draws bold comparisons between secularist strategies to contain, privatize, and discipline religion and the treatment of racialized subjects by the American state. Specializing in history, literature, anthropology, theology, religious studies, and political theory, contributors expose secularism's prohibitive practices in all facets of American society and suggest opportunities for change.
Race and Theology (Horizons in Theology)
by Elaine A. RobinsonWhite privilege and racial injustice persist in the Church; and despite a commitment to promote justice for all, racism is a reality of life, and has been since before the founding of our nation. In addition throughout most of our nation’s history, theology, as a discipline, has remained silent about racism and, at its worst, overtly supported racist practices. This book, examines: 1) what racism is and how it functions, especially in the contemporary setting; 2) how the United States has claimed to be God’s chosen nation, yet systematically disadvantages persons of color; 3) how theology’s silence sustains racial injustice in the Church, rather than excises it; and 4) how reformulating theological discourse can contribute to racial justice within ecclesial communities and the larger landscape of society. The Horizons in Theology series offers brief but highly engaging essays on the major concerns and questions in theological studies. Each volume addresses in a clear and concise style the scope and contours of a fundamental question as it relates to theological inquiry and application; sketches the nature and significance of the subject; and opens the broader lines of discussion in suggestive, evocative, and programmatic ways. Written by senior scholars in the field, and ideally suited as supplements in the classroom, Horizons will be an enduring series that brings into plain language the big questions of theology. It will inspire a new generation of students to eagerly embark on a journey of reflective study.
Race and the Cosmos: An Invitation to View the World Differently
by Barbara A. HolmesIn Race and the Cosmos, Barbara Holmes boldly suggests that theoretical physics and cosmology have the power to break through our stalled and difficult discussions about race. At the intersection of ethics, cosmology, and physics, a new view of human life is emerging ”a view not neatly divided along lines of race, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation. Human life at cosmic and quantum levels has a unity independent of external social categories such as science and religion.The ways that modern culture defines us can no longer provide spiritual connections, Holmes says. Quantum and cosmic metaphors about self, society, and God point to origins, mysteries, and ultimate things. The worlds of cosmology and quantum mechanics offer us the resonance and rhetoric of a multi-dimensional universe, and give us new ways to talk about the individual and communal quest for moral fulfillment. The language of cosmology can replace older ways of thinking and talking about race and ethnicity. This new language unifies rather than divides, in a cosmic universe that is both staggering and healing in its human/divine scope.