History of Religion Commons^™

(Review) Walter Ziegler, Die Entscheidung Deutscher Länder Für Oder Gegen Luther..., Marc R. Forster

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of America's Prophet: Moses And The American Story, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hopedale, A Moderate Utopia: Distinguishing Practical Christianity From Radical Idealism, Noah Symynkywicz

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Historians often define the utopian communities of the nineteenth century as those that tried to alienate themselves from their contemporaries in thought. However, a spectrum of these communities developed with a more ordinary worldview. Specifically, a community called Hopedale tried to balance elements of mainstream New England society with those of its “Christian socialist” leader, Adin Ballou. By looking at the community’s day-to-day life, this equilibrium becomes clear.

‘That Ye May Know Each Other’: Late Victorian Interactions Between British And West African Muslims, Brent D. Singleton

Library Faculty Publications & Presentations

From the early 1890’s to 1908 members of the Liverpool Moslem Institute led by Sheik William Henry Abdullah Quilliam had extensive contacts with their West African Muslim counterparts. This era was marked by several trends including the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, European colonialism, extensive overseas Christian missionary activities as well as the vast expansion of Islam in West Africa. In this milieu, the British and West African Muslims built a mutually beneficial relationship with equality, respect, and brotherhood as its cornerstone. Their contacts developed and flourished quickly, leading to extensive correspondence, visits, and general support for one another’s causes. …

Broadsheet Of Koheles Shlomo: Beney Israel Rahmanim Vegomley Hasadim (1738), Shalhevet Dotan-Ofir

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

This is a translation of a 1738 Broadsheet of Koheles Shlomo "Beney Israel rahmanim vegomley hasadim"

The Hebrew Library Of A Renaissance Humanist: The Bibliography To Andreas Masius' Edition Of The Book Of Joshua (Antwerp: Christopher Plantin 1574), Theodor Dunkelgrün

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Andreas Masius' 1574 polyglot edition of the book of Joshua with copious annotations and commentaries is a monument of Renaissance biblical scholarship. In an appendix - the text presented here - Masius recorded the Hebrew and Aramaic books he consulted in preparing his edition. In spite of the brevity of its descriptions, this bibliography has much to tell us about Christian readership of the Hebrew book in the 16th century. It reveals the depth, breadth, and sophistication of Masius' grasp of Jewish literature. It is a snapshot of his own library, but at the same time also a panorama of …

Sefer Or Le-Et Erev: A History Of A Misunderstanding, Pawel Maciejko

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

This presentation explores the boundaries of the concept of the ‘Jewish book’ on the basis of Yiddish and Hebrew texts distributed by Protestant missionaries among the Jews in 18th-century East Central Europe. Such texts were not always recognised as Christian by their Jewish readers. The case in point is the brochure Or le-Et Erev circulated by the Halle Pietists. The Yiddish text does not give the name of the author or the place of publication; it does not refer explicitly to Jesus’s identity with the Jewish Messiah until the final pages; and it bases much of its argument on Jewish …

Early Modern Yiddish Readers: Immoderately Addicted To Rhyme?, Ruth Von Bernuth

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Roughly one third of Old Yiddish literature is based on traceable European literary sources, mainly German. Given how close Old Yiddish is to Early New High German, some of these Old Yiddish texts with European sources feel like mere transcriptions, others more like legitimate translations and yet others more like free adaptations. From the Yiddish reader's perspective, the texts become accessible through transcription into Hebrew characters and more accessible the more that the translator engages the text as representative Jewish reader. A large proportion of these Yiddish books with German sources are prose novels–a genre newly popular with German readers …

From Apologetics To Polemics: Isaac Orobio De Castro’S Defences Of Judaism And Their Use In The French Enlightenment, Adam Sutcliffe

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

This presentation explores the use by non-Jews in eighteenth-century France of controversialist works written primarily for manuscript circulation within the seventeenth-century Sephardic communities of the Netherlands. In response to sustained theological doubts regarding Judaism posed by Sephardim deeply conditioned by having lived as outward Catholics in the Iberian peninsula, several community leaders in seventeenth-century Amsterdam, such as the doctor and controversialist Isaac Orobio de Castro (c.1617-1687), authored trenchant attacks on Christian doctrine, in particular emphasizing the enduring validity of Jewish law and the superiority of Jewish biblical exegesis. French translations of some of these texts - which circulated in Paris …

The Power Of Texts In The Conversion Of An Old Christian Hebraist, Miriam Bodian

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Lope de Vera y Alarcón was an Old Christian Hebraist at the University of Salamanca in the late 1630s. In his professional training, he had access to texts that few people in Spain were permitted to see. His subversive reading of Erasmus and the Hebrew diary of David Reuveni, among other works, were not the only factors in his becoming a "judaizer," but by his own account they were of great importance. The texts I will present are excerpts from his Inquisition trial (1639-1644).

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Inquisition file of Lope de Vera y Alarcón (1639-1644)

Jews Under Surveillance: Censorship And Reading In Early Modern Italy, Federica Francesconi

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

This talk explores how Counter-Reformation’s dynamics affected the readings of Italian Jews, after the political changes of the 1550s and the promulgation of the Index by Clement VIII in 1596 (with the ban of the Talmud). Dealing with censorship, expurgation and banning of books, in fact, Italian Jews found themselves caught up between the intricate and often conflicting positions between the Congregation of the Index and the Office of the Inquisition. Based on the analysis of both Inquisitorial sources (proceedings, guidelines and censors’ reports) and biographical accounts, I will explore how rabbis and converts, who worked as appointed censors for …

Putting Hebrew Books In Order: The First Printed Hebrew Bibliography, Avri Bar-Levav

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Siftey yeshenim (The lips of those who are asleep, Amsterdam 1680) is the first printed Hebrew bibliography. In his introduction,the author, Shabtai Meshorer Bas of Prague (1641-1718), explains why such a novel book is needed, and what are its usages for Heberw readers and writers with various interests.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Siftey yeshenim (The lips of those who are asleep, Amsterdam 1680)

The Paratexts Of Jacob Marcaria: Addressing The (Imagined) Reader In Mid-Sixteenth-Century Italy, Adam Shear

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

For a few years in the middle of the sixteenth century (1557-1564), a Hebrew press was active in Riva del Garda (Riva di Trento) under the management of Jacob Marcaria, a physician. The business arrangements of the press seem complicated and difficult to reconstruct (having only the evidence of the printed editions): Marcaria was printer for most of the books and may be considered the publisher of some; for others, he was in partnership with Rabbi Joseph Ottolenghi of nearby Cremona. The activities of Marcaria and Ottolenghi were undertaken with the permission of the Prince-Bishop of Trent, Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo …

Leon Modena's Ari Nohem Between Print And Manuscript, Yaacob Dweck

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

This presentation examines Leon Modena's critique of Kabbalah, a Hebrew treatise composed in Venice in 1639 entitled Ari Nohem (The Roaring Lion). One of the primary causes of Modena's critique was the printing of kabbalistic books such as the Zohar, Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut, and Sefer Yetzirah. In Modena's argument, the printing of kabbalistic books in the sixteenth century had disrupted prior patterns of the transmission of kabbalistic knowledge. In particular, Modena argues that kabbalistic books had begun to be read in new ways by new audiences. Using Modena's analysis as a point of departure this presentation will focus on two questions: …

Shlomo Lutzker's Introduction To Magid Devarav Le-Ya'akov, Moshe Rosman

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

ABSTRACT: This presentation analyzes Shlomo Lutzker's Introduction to Magid Devarav Le-Ya'akov as a key source of information on the process of formation and publication of early hasidic books and the activities of printers and aditors. It also bears on the questions of whether there existed "hasidic publishers" and how it might be possible to identify a "hasidic book".

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Shlomo Lutzker's Introduction to Magid Devarav Le-Ya'akov: Likutei Amarim (1781)

A Publisher In Service Of His Readers: Prefaces To Amsterdam 1711 Edition Of The Tsene Rene, Shlomo Berger

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

The Amsterdam 1711 edition of the Tsene Rene is a particularly interesting because it contains prefaces that include allusions to and discussions of Yiddish texts and book production, the roles of publishers and the envisaged demands of readers. It enables us to determine and evaluate the status of books with the early modern Ashkenazi culture.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Preface to the 1711 edition of Tsene Rene

Technology, Preservation, And Freedom Of Expression: Isaac De Latters As Printer In Sixteenth-Century Italy, Bernard D. Cooperman

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

The presentation discusses broader questions of the relationship between technology and freedom of expression in sixteenth-century Italy. It takes into account the Counter-Reformation context and its impact on Jewish printing and culture.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Responsa of Rabbenu Nissim of Gerona (1546)
• A ruling against rabbis who have sought to delay the printing of the Zohar (1558)
• The "imprimatur" by Isaac de Lattes (1558)

Emw 2009: Reading Across Cultures: The Jewish Book And Its Readers In The Early Modern Period, Emw 2009

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

The sixth Early Modern Workshop will focus on the topic of "Reading across Cultures: The Jewish Book and Its Readers in the Early Modern Period." The workshop was held at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University from Sunday, August 23, 2009 and to Tuesday, August 25, 2009.

The workshop opened a discussion of the culture of reading in Jewish society, as well as of the reading of Jewish books in Christian society, during a period of rapid cultural transformation. What was a "Jewish" book, one participant asked? What were the different or parallel developments within Jewish society, …

Sea Of Stories, Ananya Vajpeyi

History Faculty Publication Series

Ananya Vajpeyi reads Wendy Doniger's capacious study of the diversity of Hindu tales and traditions, which serves as a riposte to the self-appointed guardians of Indian culture by celebrating the multiple varieties of Hindu religious experience.

Religion And Immigration, Old And New, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

Two great waves of immigration since the middle of the nineteenth century have had great impact on United States culture and religion. While there have been tensions and conflicts, the benefits to both the civil and religious communities continue to be striking.

Bearing The Marks Of Jesus: A History Of The Christian Reformed Church In Cuba, Eduardo B. Pedraza, Daniel R. Miller

CRCNA Histories

The Christian Reformed Church in Cuba from its origins in Matanzas up to the start of the third millennium of our age: A historical essay based on collected testimonies written by Eduardo B. Pedraza. Translated by Daniel R. Miller

Joseph Smith And The Bible: "Extending The Text And Filling The Silences", Sylvan Eugene Needham Iii

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the first chapter, the underlying argument of the thesis indicates that Smith was very familiar with the Bible. His written work that reflects the scriptural nature of the Bible and is today canonized by Mormons is argued that it "extends the Bible's text and fills [many of] its [doctrinal] silences." A complete reading of this thesis could make some readers think that the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is integral to the sense of the Bible and a novel explanation for the existence of the universe.

The second chapter indicates that many have grappled with the summary doctrine …

The Catholic Experience In Utah, Thomas G. Evans

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State University has in its collection an infamous book that is talked about by both Mormons and non-Mormons alike: the first edition of Bruce R. McCon.1de'sMormonDoctrine.l Shocking and controversial when it first appeared in print for its characterization of the Catholic Church, among other controversial assessments, I had heard about it myself growing up as a member of the L.D.S. Church in various tales of Mormon folklore. McConkie's penchant for brusque, un-apologetic apologetics and bold declarations of the truth of the Mormon faith was legendary. One day, as I perused the book in the Library, …

Secrecy, Textual Legitimation, And Inter-Cultural Polemics In The Book Of Daniel, Alan Lenzi

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

The article presents a critical examination into the Old Testament book of Daniel, questioning the role and interpretation of secrecy in the narrative. An overview of the cultural-historical context of the concept of secrecy and of the story within ancient Mesopotamian civilization is given. The centrality of secrecy to the legitimization of Daniel's authority is asserted and further implications on the concept of Biblical revelation are explored.

Revival And Revolution: The Political Social And Religious Role Of Colonial Virginia's New Light Presbyterians, Bethany N. Austin

History Theses & Dissertations

Throughout historical scholarship and popular memory, Presbyterians have been considered one of the more radical elements in the colonial American population because of ethnic background, theological ideas relating to the Scottish Enlightenment, and dissenting Protestants' position in opposition to Church-State structures. This study will examine the political theories, activities, and results of the New Light Presbyterians in Virginia's Tidewater and Piedmont regions between 1740 and 1780.

Chapter I describes trends in the historiographical literature of the Great Awakening, religion and the American Revolution, and more specifically, the politics of Presbyterianism in colonial Virginia, in addition to outlining the origins of …

Vocabularies Of Grief And Consolation In Ninth-Century Francia, Frederick S. Paxton

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Resistance And Accommodation: The Catholic Church In Post-Mao China, Anthony E. Clark

History Faculty Scholarship

The Catholic Bishop of Shanghai, Gong Pinmei, who was imprisoned from 1955-1985 for being a "counter-revolutionary," once said: "If we renounce our faith, we will disappear and there will not be a resurrection. If we are faithful, we will disappear, but there will be a resurrection." For China's Catholic Community, the knotty problem of how to faithfully retain and practice religious belief has resulted in a highly complex system of resistance and accommodation. Two communities have emerged in China's Catholic landscape, the "underground" church that navigates precariously outside of party sanction, and the "aboveground" church that operates under the watchful …

2009 Morehead First Christian Church Echo Newsletter, First Christian Church Echo (Morehead, Ky.)

Morehead First Christian Church Newsletter Archive

Morehead First Christian Church Echo Newsletter from 2009.

2009 Morehead First Christian Church Board Of Directors Minutes, First Christian Church (Morehead, Ky.)

Morehead First Christian Church Records Archive

Morehead First Christian Church Board of Directors meeting minutes for 2009.

Menorah Review (No. 70, Winter/Spring, 2009)

Menorah Review

A Poem by Richard E. Sherwin -- Believing Christian... Agnostic Believer -- From the Classics -- New and Notable Books -- Oy Vey Is Mir -- The Ancient Grudge: The Merchant of Venice and Shylock's Christian Problem