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Short description: A major treatment of the early history of the Evangelical Movement in the Church of England in the 18th century, showing how evangelicalism was distinct from the Methodist revival under Wesley and Whitefield. ... Read more

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Both the Church and the Library have traditionally been storehouses of knowledge. Likewise, this volume collects knowledge in the form of academic studies by renowned scholars from such fields as history, education, inter-faith relations, and theology. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

I believe the author thought he was being unbiased
but somehow he concludes that:
- The Jonangpas are crypto-Hindus (Samkhya), not really Buddhist
- The Kagyus are in decline
- The Sakyas have been great, but are in decline
- The Nyingmas have had great practitioners in the past, but their methods may not be so suitable for today's lesser people...

In other words, only the Gelugpas have the fully unerring system for the Dharma in Tibet. Guess what? He's a Gelugpa.

Of course, this is a snapshot as of about 1800; but still, I think his descriptions are highly flavored by his opinion as to the best school for presenting the Dharma.

I got this book mostly for a Tibetan view of how the Dharma spread in the rest of Asia. It's interesting to get that view.

It's an interesting book, I'm sure it's written with great sincerity, and I don't regret buying it. But don't expect a fair comparison of the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism. If you want to understand the different traditions, read further and visit centers from the different lineages.

A Treasure
This is another wonderful addition to this translation project. I have two other volumes in this series: Mind Training & The Book of Kadam (see links below). None of these books is the kind I can read right through. Mind Training is a compilation of teachings on Exchanging Self and Other. This is lifetime practice, so the book is not something to read, but an anthology of practices.

The Crystal Mirror is an 18th Century encyclopedic guide to Tibetan and other Asian philosophies. It has a lot of information I'm not interested in as well as a great deal I want to know. It is well produced. It has an excellent index. I have used it to look into areas where I have questions - Mahamudra, for instance. It is clear and concise. I found out why Amulet Mahamudra has that name. Its two parts fit together like the front and back of an amulet box (gau). I have had instruction that did not include this explanation. I also found out that Mahamudra includes a range of things and is not just one teaching.

This is a book I already treasure and I am sure its value to me will grow over the years.

Mind Training: The Great Collection (Library of Tibetan Classics)

The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts (Library of Tibetan Classics)

Excellent book
The library of tibetan classics has put together a commendable collection of texts. The cristal mirror of philosophical systems offers a thorough view of buddhism in Asia with particualr emphasis in the tibetans shcools of buddhism. It is a must for any serious student of buddhism in general and tibetan buddhism in particualar. I find it particularly useful for a person deciding which school of buddhism to join. It has ample notes, a rich glossary and a fair analytical index. It is most auspicious that the Hersey family foundation is supporting this effort and making the tibetan classics available to a wider audience. ... Read more

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Early Christians articulated their christological claims by narrating miracles of Jesus. The Gospels depict Jesus as a healer and an exorcist who preaches the nearness of the kingdom of God. The miracles he reportedly performed are often regarded as eschatological signs of the nearness of the kingdom. Thus Jesus the miracle worker is understood from the perspective of Jesus the preacher of the kingdom. In a history-of-religions approach, however, the narratives on Jesus' miracles do not stand apart, but should be interpreted as part of the religious vocabulary of antiquity. They are closely related to other miracle stories narrated in the world within which the early Christian movement originated.

Given the need to position miracle stories on Jesus within their religious and historical contexts, the present volume discusses evidence on miracles and the narrating of miracle stories from both the New Testament itself and its religious environment. It asks for the literary and religious dynamics of miracle stories and studies different contexts out of which miracle stories originated. The various contributions intend to demonstrate for what reason miracle stories were told in different religious, political and historical circumstances. All authors are experts in their field and position the narrating of miracle stories within a specific literary and religio-historical context.

This is volume 288 in the JSNTS series and is part of the ESCO series. ... Read more

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Hermann Gunkel's commentary on Psalms (Die Psalmen, HKAT) - by many considered to be his magnum opus - was published in 1926. But he was unable to complete his final work on the Psalms. The severe suffering of his final months of life forced him to hand over his incomplete manuscript, at Christmastime 1931-1932, to his pupil Joachim Begrich. Gunkel died on 11 March 1932. Begrich put the final touches on the organization of Gunkel's last work on Psalms, and it was published in 1933 as Einleitung in die Psalmen: die Gattungen der religiosen Lyrik Israels. ... Read more

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This collection of articles by distinguished scholars is introduced by a chapter dealing with general matters of the current hermeneutics of magic: what is the nature of magic and what is the understanding of magic in the Western world-view and what - for instance - in the African world? Centred around studies on Jesus and magic, the second part contains studies on the use of the term "magic" in the New Testament and especially in Acts. The third section broadens the understanding of magic through selected case studies in different approaches to magic in the environment and background of the New Testament (Old Testament, Quran, "Apuleius", "Women as Magicians"). Early Christianity subsequent to the New Testament develops its own view of magic, criticizing pagan magic but not being uninfluenced by magic or magic-like practices. This development is part of the fourth and last chapter of the collection along with two different papers on the possible use of Jewish and Christian themes in later magical texts.The collection explores the importance of magic within Early Christianity, an issue shared with its Old Testament and Jewish roots and with its ancient background, implying reluctance and critique. Both magical traits and the critique of non-Christian magic have an impact on later scripture and still exert influence now on modern theoretical discussion and popular ideas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Prophetess of Health
This book sounds like is a postive depictation of Mrs. White's life. It is not. It is a narrow, degrading view, very biased negatively of her life. I do not recommend this book.

WhySeventh-day Adventism has enduring concern for human health
Unless you are a Seventh-day Adventist, you may never have heard of Helen Gould White, nee Harmon. She lived from 1827 - 1915 in bad, often wretchedly bad, health most of her long life. In the mid and later 1840s she co-founded with her husband James White and retired sea captain Joseph Bates the Seventh-day Adventist movement. With support from her husband and private secretaries, Ellen went on to write a small library of books on religion, health, women's dress and other topics. She also inspired and built hospitals, clinics and schools in several continents. All these accomplishments and the American environment from whence Ellen Harmon White drew her practices of religion, inspirations and ideas are laid out in leisurely, lucid detail in PROPHETESS OF HEALTH: A STUDY OF ELLEN G. WHITE.

This book first came out in 1976 and was reissued with revisions in 1992 and 2008. It was written by University of Wisconsin Professor of History Ronald L. Numbers. He had been raised a member of an elite Adventist family and for a time enjoyed access to hitherto closely guarded documents of the White Estate. In this book, Professor Numbers is not writing hagiogaphy, i.e., a life of saint. He methodically samples Mrs White's writings and identifies her likeliest literary sources (which she herself often did not). But he also describes her as others saw her, including friends and foes. Even in 2009 Ellen G. White is less well known outside her own denomination than other prophets outside theirs, such as the Mormon Joseph Smith and the Christian Scientist Mary Baker Eddy. In 1976 there were many Adventists who regarded Ellen G. White as an oracle of God, infallible, utterly trustworthy.Then along came Numbers's biographic study, and it was a great shock to many believers. Since then many former Adventists and still faithful Adventists have revisited the critical road that Numbers pioneered. But, with updates, his 2008 third edition still reads very well to non-experts and non-Adventists such as me. It is quite a good introduction to an important and still growing Protestant Evangelical movement. There is nothing mean-spirited in its telling.

Professor Numbers tells Ellen's White's story, warts and all, her fainting spells, comas, visions, prophesying and criticism allegedly from God of people around her. With wife Janet S., Professor Ronald Numbers wrote an Afterword analysis, from the prophetess's own words, of her mind and personality, described by the Numberses as "histrionic" and responding positively and thirstily to attention and public praise.

The 2008 text begins with the prefaces to the editions of 2008, 1998 and 1976 -- in that order. Thereafter the next 266 pages are essentially biography, illustration and commentary -- in loosely chronological order.

There are several appendices of which three deserve showcasing.

Appendix I is a chronological review (pp. 291 - 319) of Ellen's life from 1827 to 1915, drawing upon her own words. Its focus is the subject's physical and mental health.

Appendix 3 is the transcript of a February 17, 1845 public trial in Maine of Millerite/proto-Adventist charismatic leader, Israel Dammon for disturbing the peace and for having no visible means of support. At trial's end, Dammon affirmed "that the end of the world would come within a week" (p. 341). Seventeen year old Ellen Harmon and a second somewhat older prophetess are portrayed as they were seen in raptures at church assemblies by a number of witnesses for both prosecution and defense.

Especially fascinating is Appendix 4 (pp. 344 - 401). It is the transcript of a hitherto unpublished 1919 conference in Maryland in which top Adventist administrators, teachers and pastors, among other things, assessed the role that Ellen G. White should henceforth play not only in progressive Adventist inner circles but also in the churches among the more conservative laity. It is a sensible discussion, but ends with a consensus not to trouble ordinary Adventists with the issues that Professor Numbers would raise in 1976.

Against this rich backdrop, Professor Numbers focuses on and details with many a photograph Ellen White's contributions as a popularizer of other people's ideas about health: against hypnotism, for water cures, against poisonous medicines, for fresh air, simple foods and healthier clothing for women -- including shortened skirts that did not drag the ground and styles that did not require corsets. She traveled widely inside and outside the USA, including a long missionary stint with others in New Zealand and Australia. In the latter country a woman attendingone of her lectures made a huge impression on the prophetess by urging her to consider the suffering imposed on animals raised and slaughtered for human consumption.

Ellen White's thinking about health evolved, and in some cases, went back and forth on stimulants, food and drink. Butter? Meat? Tobacco? Spirits? Some were rejected from the beginning, notably tobacco. Her thinking and practice on meat eating wavered but eventually came down vegetarian. By book's end, a fair-minded reader, I think, regards Mrs White as a woman with a lot of common sense, believing strongly that God wants people to be healthy and that they are therefore obliged to adopt a life style promoting health. Before 1870 she was moving to create Adventist-run health centers, based on water cures, healthy meals and exercises. She will also be forever remembered for boosting Dr John Kellogg at Battle Creek, Michigan, the pioneer of granola and corn flakes. And the Adventist learning and medical centers at Loma Linda, California are among her lasting monuments.

Ellen G. White's impact was confined for decades within the small but growing inward-looking Adventist movement. Adventists, by and large, accepted her ideas because she claimed they came directly from God and they believed her.It was once that simple.-OOO-

Remarkable treatise!
Dr Ronald Numbers' book is a historical tour-de force.When I was finished reading it,I felt that I could no longer believe in the prophetic claims of Ellen White and the special mission of the S.D.A. church.

I particularly found Ellen White's notions around human sexualitly,interesting and shocking!Also her peculiar views on the moral effects of flesh eating on human beings is silly and almost comedic.I certainly can not believe that God told Ellen White the things that shesaid He did,particularly about masturbation,sexual excess,and vegetarianism.

What I found disturbing was that Ellen White ate meat for a very long time,after her alleged health reform vision while chastising others who partook of the same.I was appalled as an S.D.A.to learn that Ellen White ate duck and oysters after her alleged health reform vision!

Ronald Numbers has done the laity and well meaning clergy of the S.D.A. church a wonderful service!!He should be commended.

Belief-altering book
When this book was published in the 70's, it changed the way Seventh-day Adventists, myself included, viewed Ellen G. White. It devastatingly showed the "true believers" in the SDA church how her many books were truly written. I remain a Seventh-day Adventist but my view, and I believe, the entire church's view of EGW, became healthier. Ron Numbers made a major contribution to the understanding of religious "inspiration."

Well-written and documented history
Some historical accounts can be dull, but not this book. Regardless of what you believe about Ellen White or Seventh-day Adventism, there can be no denying Mrs. White was an important figure in 19th century health reform. This book describes why Mrs. White jumped on the health reform bandwagon in the 1860s, and tells of the reformers she adopted her teachings from. What I like best about this book is that it is not a slanted, one-sided view of Ellen White. It presents both the good and the not so good: The health reforms that worked (stop smoking and drinking), and the ones that didn't work out so well (dress reform, marital excess). This book paints the picture of a real woman, a human being, who acquired her teachings not so much from "heavenly visions", but from her readings and interaction with other leading health reformers of her day. If you are tired of reading sugar-coated histories of Ellen White, then look no further. This book tells the REAL history of Ellen White and her health reforms. ... Read more

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To find more information about Rowman and Littlefield titles, please visit www.rowmanlittlefield.com. ... Read more

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Dowden's critical study of 1875 approaches Shakespeare from the human side, showing how Shakespeare the man is visible through his art. Moving from Shakespeare's early plays to his late period, and grouping the plays according to key stages in his career, the book traces the growth of Shakespeare's intellect and character from youth to full maturity. Dowden does not seek to align Shakespeare with any particular single character from his plays, but sees aspects of Shakespeare in many of his dramatic creations, demonstrating how Shakespeare represents many different sides of human life. The reader is provided with an insight into the questions at the forefront of Shakespeare's mind, his most intense moments of inspiration and his discoveries about human life. Outlining the differences between the youthful Shakespeare and Shakespeare as a mature and experienced man, the book enables us to better understand Shakespeare's character and genius. ... Read more