The Devil's Mousetrap

The Devil's Mousetrap
Author: Linda Munk
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 159
Release: 1997-09-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0195354117

The Devil's Mousetrap approaches the thought of three colonial New England divines--Increase Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and Edward Taylor--from the perspective of literary theory. Author Linda Munk focuses on the background of these men's ideas and on the sources from which they drew, both directly and indirectly, in framing their theology. She notes that the language used in the pulpit by Mather, Edwards, and Taylor is full of allusions to the Bible and Apocrypha, to Puritan treatises, and to post-biblical exegesis, Jewish and Christian. Munk proceeds to unpack many allusions that have, for the most part, proven to be unclear to contemporary readers, in order to provide essential insights into the construction of Puritan theology.

The Devil's Mousetrap

The Devil's Mousetrap
Author: Linda Munk
Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 159
Release: 1997
Genre: American literature
ISBN: 0195114949

The Devil's Mousetrap approaches the thought of three colonial New England divines--Increase Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and Edward Taylor--from the perspective of literary theory. Author Linda Munk focuses on the background of these men's ideas and on the sources from which they drew, both directly and indirectly, in framing their theology. She notes that the language used in the pulpit by Mather, Edwards, and Taylor is full of allusions to the Bible and Apocrypha, to Puritan treatises, and to post-biblical exegesis, Jewish and Christian. Munk proceeds to unpack many allusions that have, for the most part, proven to be unclear to contemporary readers, in order to provide essential insights into the construction of Puritan theology.

The Devil Wins

The Devil Wins
Author: Dallas G. Denery II
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2016-09-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691173753

A bold retelling of the history of lying in medieval and early modern Europe Is it ever acceptable to lie? This question plays a surprisingly important role in the story of Europe's transition from medieval to modern society. According to many historians, Europe became modern when Europeans began to lie—that is, when they began to argue that it is sometimes acceptable to lie. This popular account offers a clear trajectory of historical progression from a medieval world of faith, in which every lie is sinful, to a more worldly early modern society in which lying becomes a permissible strategy for self-defense and self-advancement. Unfortunately, this story is wrong. For medieval and early modern Christians, the problem of the lie was the problem of human existence itself. To ask "Is it ever acceptable to lie?" was to ask how we, as sinners, should live in a fallen world. As it turns out, the answer to that question depended on who did the asking. The Devil Wins uncovers the complicated history of lying from the early days of the Catholic Church to the Enlightenment, revealing the diversity of attitudes about lying by considering the question from the perspectives of five representative voices—the Devil, God, theologians, courtiers, and women. Examining works by Augustine, Bonaventure, Martin Luther, Madeleine de Scudéry, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and a host of others, Dallas G. Denery II shows how the lie, long thought to be the source of worldly corruption, eventually became the very basis of social cohesion and peace.

What Great Paintings Say

What Great Paintings Say
Author: Rose-Marie Hagen
Publisher: Taschen
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2003
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9783822813720

Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen provide answers to these and other questions about world-famous works of art. Guiding our eye to revealing details, they also shed fascinating light on fishions and lifestyles, loves and intrigues, politics and people, and transform our encounter with art into an exciting adventure. Book jacket.

Writing Women Saints in Anglo-Saxon England

Writing Women Saints in Anglo-Saxon England
Author: Paul Szarmach
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2013-12-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1442664584

The twelve essays in this collection advance the contemporary study of the women saints of Anglo-Saxon England by challenging received wisdom and offering alternative methodologies. The work embraces a number of different scholarly approaches, from codicological study to feminist theory. While some contributions are dedicated to the description and reconstruction of female lives of saints and their cults, others explore the broader ideological and cultural investments of the literature. The volume concentrates on four major areas: the female saint in the Old English Martyrology, genre including hagiography and homelitic writing, motherhood and chastity, and differing perspectives on lives of virgin martyrs. The essays reveal how saints’ lives that exist on the apparent margins of orthodoxy actually demonstrate a successful literary challenge extending the idea of a holy life.

A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature

A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature
Author: David Lyle Jeffrey
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 1000
Release: 1992
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780802836342

Over 15 years in the making, an unprecedented one-volume reference work. Many of today's students and teachers of literature, lacking a familiarity with the Bible, are largely ignorant of how Biblical tradition has influenced and infused English literature through the centuries. An invaluable research tool. Contains nearly 800 encyclopedic articles written by a distinguished international roster of 190 contributors. Three detailed annotated bibliographies. Cross-references throughout.

The Christian Theology Reader

The Christian Theology Reader
Author: Alister E. McGrath
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 646
Release: 2016-10-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1118874382

Regarded as the leading text in Christian theology for the last 25 years, Alister E. McGrath’s The Christian Theology Reader is now available in a new 5th edition featuring completely revised and updated content. Brings together more than 350 readings from over 200 sources that chart 2,000 years of Christian history Situates each reading within the appropriate historical and theological context with its own introduction, commentary, and study questions Includes new readings on world Christianity and feminist, liberation, and postcolonial theologies, as well as more selections by female theologians and theologians from the developing world Contains additional pedagogical features, such as new discussion questions and case studies, and a robust website with new videos by the author to aid student learning Designed to function as a stand-alone volume, or as a companion to Christian Theology: An Introduction, 6th edition, for a complete overview of the subject

The Devil: A Very Short Introduction

The Devil: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Darren Oldridge
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2012-05-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191633534

Why do the innocent suffer in a world created by a loving God? Does this mean that God cannot prevent this suffering, despite His supposed omnipotence? Or is God not loving after all? This in brief is 'the problem of evil'. The Devil provides one solution to this problem: his rebellion against God and hatred of His works is responsible for evil. The Christian Devil has fascinated writers and theologians since the time of the New Testament, and inspired many dramatic and haunting works of art. Today he remains a potent image in popular culture. The Devil: A Very Short Introduction presents an introduction to the Devil in the history of ideas and the lives of real people. Darren Oldridge shows us that he is a more important figure in western history than is often appreciated, and also a richly complex and contradictory one. Oldridge focuses on three main themes: the idea of the Devil being integral to western thought from the early Middle Ages to the beginnings of modernity; the principle of 'demonic inversion' (the idea that as the eternal leader of the opposition, the Devil represents the mirror image of goodness); and the multiplicity and instability of ideas about the Devil. While belief in the Devil has declined, the idea of an abstract force of evil is still remarkably strong. Oldridge concludes by exploring 'demonological' ways of thinking in our own time, including allegations of 'satanic ritual abuse' and the on-going 'war on terror'. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The Cross in Christian Tradition

The Cross in Christian Tradition
Author: Elizabeth Dreyer
Publisher: Paulist Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2000
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780809140008

For the past two thousand years, the cross has been a powerful symbol of the Christian faith and an anchor of its symbol system. In this volume, a group of distinguished scholars delves into the theologies and spiritualities of the cross at select moments in the tradition. They examine biblical texts and commentaries, lectionaries, liturgical poetry, sermons, and theological spiritual treatises in: Paul, the early liturgy, Origen, Augustine and Bonaventure. Each chapter provides a window into how particular contexts influenced the interpretation of the cross and how the cross functioned in each unique historical moment. Originally presented at Saint Mary's College, these papers offer a fresh and distinctive approach to the literature on the cross. The authors' historical perspective points to the tradition as a transforming agent for theology and spirituality today. Contributors: - Elizabeth A. Dreyer - Jerome Murphy-O'Connor - Nathan D. Mitchell - Peter J. Gorday - John Cavadini Here is a book that will interest liturgists and Christian educators, university and seminary students and members of religious orders. Although scholarly in tone, can be read with profit by adult educated Christians as well. +