Fertile Visions conceptualises the uterus as a narrative space so that the female reproductive body can be understood beyond the constraints of a gendered analysis. Unravelling pregnancy from notions of maternity and mothering demands that we think differently about narratives of reproduction. This is crucial in the current global political climate wherein the gender-specificity of pregnancy contributes to how bodies that reproduce are marginalised, controlled, and criminalised. Anne Carruthers demonstrates fascinating and insightful close analyses of films such as Juno, Birth, Ixcanul and Arrival as examples of the uterus as a narrative space. Fertile Visions engages with research on the foetal ultrasound scan as well as phenomenologies, affect and spectatorship in film studies to offer a new way to look, think and analyse pregnancy and the pregnant body in cinema from the Americas.

Proselytism remains one of the most divisive issues in global Christianity, jeopardizing many ecumenical initiatives and projects. Almost all traditions accuse others of proselytism, but none readily confess to it, as one tradition's mission and evangelism is another's proselytism. This work brings together, for the first time, significant formal statements from Christian bodies and churches alongside articles from leading commentators in this hotly contested issue. It gives clergy, academics, and students a vital resource in understanding the perspectives of different traditions, and therefore the opportunity to study and understand viewpoints and opinions from competing perspectives. The volume originates in a process of work commissioned by the World Pentecostal Fellowship, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance, and the Roman Catholic Church, under the auspices of the Global Christian Forum. We discovered that there are no easy answers that resolve the tensions and debates about proselytism, but through listening and understanding different voices, new opportunities for establishing constructive relationships can and do emerge.

This volume of ecumenical documents, key texts, and critical essays is the first collection of its kind exclusively dedicated to Pentecostalism and its contributions to Christian unity. In the first part, a cadre of internationally renowned scholars addresses the ecumenical heritage and perspectives of the Pentecostal movement since the early twentieth century. Part 2 offers a collection of final reports from international dialogues with Pentecostal participation. The final part contains programmatic essays in response to The Nature and Mission of the Church, a major study on the doctrine of the church published by the World Council of Churches. Most of these essays were first presented by the ecumenical-studies group of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, currently the only organized ecumenical think tank among Pentecostals in North America. Since its formation in 2001, the group has encouraged Pentecostal participation in ecumenical concerns, has hosted Roman Catholic-Pentecostal conversations at the annual meeting of the Society, has invited international scholarly debates on ecumenical matters, and has engaged in the study of ecumenical consensus statements. The essays and documents in this collection model the dedication and commitment among Pentecostals today that engage the challenges and opportunities of Christian unity from the perspective of a tradition that has often been falsely accused of being anti-ecumenical. This collection presents an invaluable resource for teachers, scholars, and pastors interested in engaging the global Christian arena from the worldwide and ecumenical image of Pentecostalism. "Of all of the dialogues with whom the Roman Catholics have been involved in the evangelical community, the Pentecostal may be the most interesting and influential. The Pentecostal and Catholic communities have experienced serious tension in certain parts of the world, especially in Latin America. Therefore these dialogues, and the reflections brought together in this book, should be a rich source for the task of making the results of the dialogues a common heritage in Catholic and Pentecostal seminaries, colleges and universities, and congregations around the world. Dr. Vondey has assembled a line-up of Pentecostal scholars known for their depth, scope, and fairness, a set of essays that should be of interest well beyond the Catholic and Pentecostal communities."---Jeffrey Gros, FSC Memphis Theological Seminary "In the field of ecumenism the common perception is that the youngest and fastest growing movement in global Christianity has been absent. Pentecostalism and Christian Unity will not only expose this misunderstanding, but also prove to be an invaluable resource. Along with official bilateral documents, a series of essays documents the nature of Pentecostal ecumenical engagement and provides mature theological reflection on how to proceed. The ecumenical movement will be both enriched and challenged by this contribution."---Ralph Del Colle Marquette University

The religious life of Native Americans is a panorma featuring an immense diversity of beliefs, cermonies, and ways of life. Native Religions of North Ameria reflects this rich tradition as it admirably distills a complex subject in a practical and engaging manner. Through concise expression and careful choice of examples, Hultkrantz identifies the diversity and continuities in American Indian spirituality. He introduces the hunters and farmers, the past and presents, and the physical contexts and the sublime speculations of tribal religions, even the subtle shades of meaning within an Indian community. --

Despite the global spread of Western medical practice, traditional doctors still thrive in the modern world. In Recipes for Immortality, Richard Weiss illuminates their continued success by examining the ways in which siddha medical practitioners in Tamil South India win the trust and patronage of patients. While biomedicine might alleviate a patient's physical distress, siddha doctors offer their clientele much more: affiliation to a timeless and pure community, the fantasy of a Tamil utopia, and even the prospect of immortality. They speak of a golden age of Tamil civilization and of traditional medicine, drawing on broader revivalist formulations of a pure and ancient Tamil community. Weiss analyzes the success of siddha doctors, focusing on how they have successfully garnered authority and credibility. While shedding light on their lives, vocations, and aspirations, Weiss also documents the challenges that siddha doctors face in the modern world, both from a biomedical system that claims universal efficacy, and also from the rival traditional medicine, ayurveda, which is promoted as the national medicine of an autonomous Indian state. Drawing on ethnographic data; premodern Tamil texts on medicine, alchemy, and yoga; government archival resources; college textbooks; and popular literature on siddha medicine and on the siddhar yogis, he presents an in-depth study of this traditional system of knowledge, which serves the medical needs of millions of Indians. Weiss concludes with a look at traditional medicine at large, and demonstrates that siddha doctors, despite resent trends toward globalization and biomedicine, reflect the wider political and religious dimensions of medical discourse in our modern world. Recipes for Immortality proves that medical authority is based not only on physical effectiveness, but also on imaginative processes that relate to personal and social identities, conceptions of history, secrecy, loss, and utopian promise.

Representing Latina/x Reproductive Decision Making examines representations of reproductive decisions in cultural texts and engages with scholarship on Latina/x representation to interrogate what these representations mean for Latinx popular culture. Melissa Huerta demonstrates that cultural texts ranging from the work of Teatro Luna and television series like Jane the Virgin and Vida to the film Quinceañera and Favianna Rodriguez’s artwork can challenge traditional notions of Latina/x reproductive decisions, pointing to more inclusive understandings of people’s experiences. Huerta argues for the importance of cultural representation in theater, television, film and art and analyzes the roles language and images play in shaping meaning. This book will be of interest to scholars of cultural studies, gender studies, Latin American studies, and film and media studies.

The book, The Thoughts You need to Think, is a down-to-earth, practical, motivational and inspirational book exclusively garnished with powerful thoughts, self-improvement counsel and illustrations to unleash the hidden potentials in you. Instructive, unique, thought-provoking, inspiring, and expository in its content and design, this ingenious exposition tactically unearths the guidelines and principles you need in understanding the thoughts of your mind. It presents from a cutting-edge approach the thoughts you need to think and how to identify your needed thoughts in the midst of myriads of thought bombarding your mind. The book provides compelling answers to some of the critical questions people ask about dreams, visions, thoughts, empowerment, intelligence, knowledge, potentials, gifts, talents and uniqueness. This book is one of the best, easy-to-read and concise books ever written on thoughts.