Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom, sits majestically atop the plateau that commands the straits separating Europe and Asia. Located near the acropolis of the ancient city of Byzantium, this unparalleled structure has enjoyed an extensive and colorful history, as it has successively been transformed into a cathedral, mosque, monument, and museum. In Hagia Sophia, 1850-1950, Robert S. Nelson explores its many lives. Built from 532 to 537 as the Cathedral of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia was little studied and seldom recognized as a great monument of world art until the nineteenth century, and Nelson examines the causes and consequences of the building's newly elevated status during that time. He chronicles the grand dome's modern history through a vibrant cast of characters—emperors, sultans, critics, poets, archaeologists, architects, philanthropists, and religious congregations—some of whom spent years studying it, others never visiting the building. But as Nelson shows, they all had a hand in the recreation of Hagia Sophia as a modern architectural icon. By many means and for its own purposes, the West has conceptually transformed Hagia Sophia into the international symbol that it is today. While other books have covered the architectural history of the structure, this is the first study to address its status as a modern monument. With his narrative of the building's rebirth, Nelson captures its importance for the diverse communities that shape and find meaning in Hagia Sophia. His book will resonate with cultural, architectural, and art historians as well as with those seeking to acquaint themselves with the modern life of an inspired and inspiring building.

Woman Wisdom in Proverbs 9 invites any who want to learn her ways to come and eat at her table—an image for the rich and satisfying teaching that she offers. In this book Barbara Reid invites readers to this feast, drawing on women's wisdom to offer fresh new interpretations of biblical texts in a way that promotes equal dignity and value for women and men alike. Reid begins by presenting feminist methods of biblical interpretation and explaining why they are important, giving attention not only to gender perspectives but also to race, class, and culture as determinative factors in how one understands the biblical text. She then presents fresh, readable feminist interpretations of selected Old and New Testament texts. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions for group or personal use. Making feminist interpretation of Scripture understandable, compelling, and usable, Wisdom's Feastwill be valuable to any readers hungry to learn from the rich insights of feminist biblical scholars.

This inspiring book contains admonitions, challenges, and encouragements for the reader to move up another step on the spiritual ladder. In short, these are spiritual self-help exercises for personal improvement.The gentle hints and suggestions come in the form of meditations and brief contemplative insights, which will help the hesitant inquirer who is making the first gestures towards inner contentment.

Womanist Midrash is an in-depth and creative exploration of the well- and lesser-known women of the Hebrew Scriptures. Using her own translations, Gafney offers a midrashic interpretation of the biblical text that is rooted in the African American preaching tradition to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Gafney employs a solid understanding of womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Near East. This unique and imaginative work is grounded in serious scholarship and will expand conversations about feminist and womanist biblical interpretation.

"This personification of wisdom with golden hair and a radiant aura echoes both the eternal feminine and the world soul. Rooted in Christian and Jewish mysticism, Eastern Orthodox iconography, Greek philosophy, and European romanticism, the Sophiology that suffuses Solovyov's philosophical and artistic works is both intellectually sophisticated and profoundly inspiring. Judith Deutsch Kornblatt brings together key texts from Solovyov's writings about Sophia: poetry, fiction, drama, and philosophy, all extensively annotated and some available in English for the first time (with assistance from the translators Boris Jakim and Laury Magnus)."--Amazon website.

Dr. Schneider draws upon a detailed and telling analysis of eleven well-known horror stories: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Invisible Man, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Birds, Forbidden Planet, Vertigo, and Alien. He finds that a spiritual understanding of life can be attained through horror. Classic horror steers a middle path between fanaticism and despair: the path of wonderment. Horror teaches us that the human personality is paradoxical, that revulsion and disgust are the obverse of excitement and freedom, and that both poles are vital to individual, social, and ecological well-being.