Divine Suspense

Divine Suspense
Author: Andreas Seland
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2018-07-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110563509

What is suspense, and why do we feel it? These questions are at the heart of the first part of this study. It develops and defends the ‘imminence theory of suspense’ – the view that suspense arises in situations that are structurally defined by something essential being imminent. Next, the study utilizes this theory as an interpretative key to Søren Kierkegaard’s seminal work ‘Frygt og Bæven’ (‘FB’). FB is an exploration of what it means to take the story of Abraham and Isaac as a paradigmatic example of faith. The study argues that a core aspect of how Kierkegaard conceptualizes faith through the figure of Abraham is suspense. The argument is built upon the observation that to have faith is to be a hero. To be hero means to belong to a story. Stories manifests different conceptualizations of time. Abraham’s story, as FB frames it, is radically geared towards something imminent – it is characterized by an essential relation of suspense. The study then explores how suspense not only forms part of the conceptualization of faith, but is also part of how this conceptualization is communicated. Thus, the study argues that there exists a symmetry of suspense between the rhetorical and the conceptual levels of the text.

Divine Suspense

Divine Suspense
Author: Andreas Seland
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2018-07-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110562871

What is suspense, and why do we feel it? These questions are at the heart of the first part of this study. It develops and defends the ‘imminence theory of suspense’ – the view that suspense arises in situations that are structurally defined by something essential being imminent. Next, the study utilizes this theory as an interpretative key to Søren Kierkegaard’s seminal work ‘Frygt og Bæven’ (‘FB’). FB is an exploration of what it means to take the story of Abraham and Isaac as a paradigmatic example of faith. The study argues that a core aspect of how Kierkegaard conceptualizes faith through the figure of Abraham is suspense. The argument is built upon the observation that to have faith is to be a hero. To be hero means to belong to a story. Stories manifests different conceptualizations of time. Abraham’s story, as FB frames it, is radically geared towards something imminent – it is characterized by an essential relation of suspense. The study then explores how suspense not only forms part of the conceptualization of faith, but is also part of how this conceptualization is communicated. Thus, the study argues that there exists a symmetry of suspense between the rhetorical and the conceptual levels of the text.

Divine Horror

Divine Horror
Author: Cynthia J. Miller
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2017-05-15
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476629846

From Rosemary's Baby (1968) to The Witch (2015), horror films use religious entities to both inspire and combat fear and to call into question or affirm the moral order. Churches provide sanctuary, clergy cast out evil, religious icons become weapons, holy ground becomes battleground--but all of these may be turned from their original purpose. This collection of new essays explores fifty years of genre horror in which manifestations of the sacred or profane play a material role. The contributors explore portrayals of the war between good and evil and their archetypes in such classics as The Omen (1976), The Exorcist (1973) and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), as well as in popular franchises like Hellraiser and Hellboy and cult films such as God Told Me To (1976), Thirst (2009) and Frailty (2001).

The Divine Travel Agency

The Divine Travel Agency
Author: A Frank Corso Mystery
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2021-11-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1665713992

Frank Corso runs his own Wall Street research consultancy and has an unusual ability to make friends. A forty year old bachelor living in New York, he is getting increasingly comfortable to a high-life marked by eroding moral virtue. On a business trip to visit a New Orleans based company, he gets more than he bargained for. In the weeks before Christmas of 2004, he is recruited by his ex-girlfriend to find her friend, a young mystic, who has disappeared. New Orleans is a city in Transition. The economy has been improving post the dot com crash, and local government and business leaders are leveraging the city’s crown jewel, The French Quarter. The haven for tourists also has a dark side. The city is marred by political corruption and violence. In 2004, it has the distinction of being the murder capital of the United States. Corso soon finds The Big Easy culture known for its architecture, food and music, filled with a rich marinade of diverse and unusual characters. Befriending people with deep roots in the shallow clays of the Mississippi River, his life is about to change course. He is about to discover the secrets of...The Divine Travel Agency.

The Secrets God Kept

The Secrets God Kept
Author: John Van Diest
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2005
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781414300481

God does keep secrets. Even great heroes of faith like Abraham, Moses, and the Old Testament prophets faced mysteries about God and his kingdom. Understanding God's plans is like watching a train emerge from a tunnel: you can see the cars that have emerged and get a sense of where the train is going, but you can't see the cars still in the tunnel. While many details of God's revelation train are still shrouded, secrets hidden for centuries are now revealed to us. John Van Diest and Alton Gansky help us see and understand these secrets, which are hiding in plain sight in the words of Jesus and throughout the Bible.

Glimpsing the Mystery

Glimpsing the Mystery
Author: Barbara M. Leung Lai
Publisher: Lexham Press
Total Pages: 141
Release: 2016-10-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1577997751

The stories in the first half of the book of Daniel are Sunday School favorites, and the visions of the second half are sometimes hard to understand. How do either of them relate to the world today, with its frequent news of conflict, injustice, and human suffering? In Glimpsing the Mystery, Barbara M. Leung Lai succinctly takes readers through Daniel, showing throughout how God responds to the needs of his people in difficult times. In a world that seems out of control, God provides glimpses into the mystery of his glory and sovereignty, showing that he has not stopped working and reassuring us that he is still the God of gods and Lord of lords. It is a message that is as necessary today as it was in Daniel’s time.