Reformist voices of Islam : mediating Islam and modernity

edited by Shireen T. Hunter. The premise underlying this edited volume is that the loud roar of Islamic radicals has drowned out moderate and reformist voices in Islam. The collection of articles by nine leading experts on contemporary Islam goes a long way toward restoring that balance, and students will find here a useful starting point for broaching the question, "Where are the alternative voices within Islam?" At the same time, though the comprehensive scope of the various nationally and regionally focused chapters is impressive, the volume suffers from unevenness throughout; some single countries receive nearly twice the space devoted to entire regions, and some chapters offer schematic overviews of a variety of thinkers while others focus on only a few trends or individuals with greater depth. The unevenness is compensated, to some extent, by the editor's effort to draw the reader's attention to important issues addressed across chapters (e.g., democracy, human rights, and women's and minority rights) and the relationship of these issues to central and overarching conceptual questions. The reader is likely to walk away from this volume more convinced of the breadth and diversity of Islamic reformist thinking and movements, but still lacking a comprehensive grasp of the strengths and prospects of modern reform along Islamic lines. --Choice. (Check Catalog)

Beauty

by Roger Scruton. In this short work, Scruton (philosophy, Inst. for the Psychological Sciences; England: An Elegy) uses the writings of Plato and Kant along with specific artistic works to create a philosophical explanation of beauty. According to Scruton, when we say that an object is beautiful, we are making a rational judgment about the object that is based on our contemplation of its appearance. He explains that beauty is not a subjective preference but a universal value, founded on reason and our value system, to which all rational agents should agree. Scruton examines four kinds of beauty-human, natural, everyday, and artistic. He is not concerned with defining the qualities of beauty; he works to show how the experience of beauty is similar to religious experiences in that it allows us to "look with reverence on the world." The book's tone is scholarly, yet it remains highly accessible and offers readers a unique and well-argued approach to the concept of beauty. --Library Journal. (Check catalog)

The only true God : early Christian monotheism in its Jewish context

by James F. McGrath. McGrath (Butler Univ.) examines the meaning of monotheism in the first century CE, establishing the point that belief in one true God had a wide variety of meanings for both Jews and early Christians beyond the basic belief that one worships and sacrifices only to God. He explains his approach to understanding early Jewish and Christian thought about God, and then examines worship and the understanding of Jewish monotheism in the Greco-Roman era. Next, he explicates the concept of monotheism in the letters of Paul, the Gospel of John, and the Book of Revelation. Finally, he sheds new light on the date and reasons for the division between Jewish and Christian monotheism. The author carefully lays out his arguments, accompanying them with extensive endnotes and an excellent bibliography. This is a good book for undergraduates and scholars alike to explore new understandings of ancient concepts by examining their usage in the first century. McGrath stresses throughout that readers should approach these concepts by remaining as free as possible of modern definitions and cultural biases. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers. B. L. Muller University of Tampa --Library Journal. (Check catalog)

Moving bodies : Kenneth Burke at the edges of language

by Debra Hawhee. Praise to this significant critical addition to the literature on Burke and to its depth of understanding of the divergent philosophical foundations of rhetoric. Hawhee (English and communication, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) provides a meticulous reading and analysis of Burke's works, looking at them in terms of concepts of body and mind. She evaluates Burke's experiences pertaining to his 1930 and 1940 writings: as medical researcher at the Rockefeller Foundation, as music critic for The Dial, as observer of the mystical dance performances of G. I. Gurdjieff, and as reader of Aristotle and William James in particular. The author explores Burke's notion of the mysterious relationship of body and mind as degrees of entity and activity particularly in terms of rhetoric, and the distinctions of motion and action at the "edges of language." In all, the book explores the transdisciplinary perspective of Burke's efforts in helping to solve the "eternally unsolvable enigma." This volume joins Heehaw's Bodily Arts: Rhetoric and Athletics in Ancient Greece (2004), which lists background texts that critique the topic of mind-body-language. Summing Up: Highly recommended. --Publisher's Weekly. (Check Catalog)

In the river they swim : essays from around the world on enterprise solutions to poverty

The poor you will always have with you, says Jesus Christ in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. In God Knows, Holman (academic research writer & editor, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Ctr. for Health & Human Rights, Harvard Sch. of Public Health; The Hungry Are Dying) surveys how Christians have historically responded to poverty and discloses her own journey to awareness. The result: a unique fusion of memoir and research. Holman filters each example of Christian reactions to human need and social welfare through three paradigms: sensing need, sharing the world, and embodying the sacred kingdom. Holman's historical analysis of ancient writers (e.g., Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom) will prove to be didactic for 21st-century social activism and ecumenical approaches to addressing poverty. It will find its appropriate home with students of religion, theology, and social work. In the River They Swim also addresses the Gordian knot of poverty and features a foreword by Rick Warren, who reminds readers of this sober truth: three billion people live in poverty. Government handouts are not the answer; instead, the "enterprise solutions" offered in these essays are empowering, for they provide knowledge, training, and opportunities for the poor. Contributors speak a combined 20 languages, and they include Rwandan president Paul Kagama, American Express VP David Rabkin, and Malik Fal, who heads Microsoft's Business Marketing and Operations Group, which spans 49 African countries. Contributors share their personal journeys of working in abject conditions, along with their tribulations and successes in implementing enterprise solutions to poverty. In short, this work is a global and holistic approach to a perennial problem, and the message is clarion clear: governments, businesses, and churches must align, collaborate, and innovate to combat destitution. Overall, this eclectic and challenging title is recommended for both students and lay readers. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

Daily splashes of joy

by Barbara Johnson. If you need a fresh breath of joy in your life, Barbara Johnson's 365 Day Devotional will help you look for "life's little sparkles," even in the midst of life's most crippling sorrows. Love and hilarity bubble through these pages in equal doses as Barbara dispenses her unique blend of wisdom and zaniness to help thousands of hurting readers learn to laugh again. This daily devotional features a scripture passage and encouraging thought all wrapped up in Barbara's trademark style of offering firsthand advice about handling life's hardest hurts, while dispensing infectious laughter and outrageous joy. --Publisher (Check catalog)

Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty: War, Religion, Commerce, Climate, Terrain, Technology, Uneasiness of Mind, the Spirit of Political Vigilance, an

by Paul Anthony Rahe. This fresh examination of the works of Montesquieu seeks to understand the shortcomings of the modern democratic state in light of this great political thinker’s insightful critique of commercial republicanism. The western democracies’ muted response to victory in the Cold War signaled the presence of a pervasive discontent, a sense that despite this victory liberal democracy itself was deeply flawed. Paul A. Rahe argues that to understand this phenomenon we must re-examine—starting with Montesquieu—the nature of liberal democracy, its character, and its propensities. In a brilliant exposition of the works of Montesquieu Rahe identifies the profound sense of uneasiness fostered by the modern republic as a source of weakness and as the principal cause of the present discontents. --Publisher. (Check Catalog)

Love & war : finding the marriage you've dreamed of

by John Eldredge. The Eldredges' newest book has bestseller written all over it. The pair addressed men and women separately in Wild at Heart (John) and Captivating (Stasi) and now put that knowledge together in a book on marriage. Christianity, they say, is a love story set amid war, with marriage "a living, breathing portrait laid out before the eyes of the world so that they might see the story of the ages." For them, marriage is the perfect storm that brings together basic differences in men and women, individual styles of relating, sin, and brokenness. The Eldredges offer sound advice on topics such as the delights of companionship, understanding the enemy is Satan and not your spouse, finding your marriage's mission, taboo topics, and, yes, sex. They are honest and forthright, never skirting a difficult issue; instead, they offer hope, insight, and their own lives as examples of what God can accomplish. Their summation of marriage: "It can be done. And it is worth it." So is this book. --Publisher's Weekly. (Check Catalog)

Transformative yoga : five keys to unlocking inner bliss

by Wade Imre Morissette. Morissette, who has studied yoga for over 17 years and teaches it internationally, focuses on yoga as a spiritual practice. He explains five steps-physicality, energy, meditation, awareness, and inner peace-to lead the practitioner to an inner connection with Atman, God, and truth. Physicality consists of mainstream yoga sequences-beginner, intermediate, and advanced-which are insufficiently illustrated here. The book concludes with an appendix that classifies the yoga postures used in the book. Verdict Yoga has become Westernized as an exercise regimen; readers curious about its philosophical aspects will find much to enjoy here. Those interested in yoga as exercise will benefit more from a better illustrated work such as Martin Kirk's Hatha Yoga Illustrated. --Library Journal. (Check Catalog)

The future church : how ten trends are revolutionizing the Catholic Church

by John L. Allen. There hasn't been much revolutionizing in the Catholic Church since Vatican II. In fact, recent years have witnessed a semi-resurgence of conservative movements both within and outside the confines of the church hierarchy. Veteran Vatican analyst and journalist Allen, however, outlines a set of trends he believes will truly transform the church as we know it. Individual chapters that are devoted to examining these trends in detail include a world church, Evangelical Catholicism, Islam, the new demography, expanding lay roles, the biotech revolution, globalization, ecology, multipolarism, and Pentecostalism. Separately, these trends have little impact; together, they point to the possibility of a radically different future for the Catholic Church. Allen provides reasonable food for thought in this intriguing must-read for all church watchers. --Booklist. (Check catalog)