This book demonstrates the importance of the study of fetishes and fetishism in the study of popular culture. Some of the essays cover rather "conventional" manifestations in the world today; others demonstrate the fetishistic qualities of some unusual items. But all illustrate without any doubt that, like the icon, the ritual, and many other items in society, fetishes, fetishism and fetishists must be studied and understood before we can begin to understand the complexity of present-day society.

Objects of Devotion: Religion in Early America tells the story of religion in the United States through the material culture of diverse spiritual pursuits in the nation's colonial period and the early republic. The beautiful, full-color companion volume to a Smithsonian National Museum of American History exhibition, the book explores the wide range of religious traditions vying for adherents, acceptance, and a prominent place in the public square from the 1630s to the 1840s. The original thirteen states were home to approximately three thousand churches and more than a dozen Christian denominations, including Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Congregationalists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Quakers. A variety of other faiths also could be found, including Judaism, Islam, traditional African practices, and Native American beliefs. As a result, America became known throughout the world as a place where, in theory, if not always in practice, all are free to believe and worship as they choose. The featured objects include an 1814 Revere and Sons church bell from Salem, the Jefferson Bible, wampum beads, a 1654 Torah scroll brought to the New World, the only known religious text written by an enslaved African Muslim, and other revelatory artifacts. Together these treasures illustrate how religious ideas have shaped the country and how the treatment and practice of religion have changed over time. Objects of Devotion emphasizes how religion can be understood through the objects, both rare and everyday, around which Americans of every generation have organized their communities and built this nation.

God is often at work through the ordinary: ordinary people, ordinary objects, ordinary grace. Through the ordinary, God communicates epiphanies, salvation, revelation, and reconciliation. It is through the mundane that we hear Gods quiet voice. In this devotion for the season of Lent, Jill J. Duffield draws readers attention to ten ordinary objects that Jesus would have encountered on his way to Jerusalem: dust, bread, the cross, coins, shoes, oil, coats, towels, thorns, and stones. In each object, readers will find meaning in the biblical account of Jesus final days. Each week, readers encounter a new object to consider through Scripture, prayer, and reflection. From Ash Wednesday to Easter, Lent in Plain Sight reminds Christians to open ourselves to the kingdom of God.

At Christmas, God came into our ordinary world in the form of a child, and still today, God is at work through the ordinary stuff of life, if we train our eyes to see. In this daily devotional for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, Jill J. Duffield draws readers' attention to ten ordinary objects that appear in the biblical narratives of messianic prophesy and incarnation—objects we encounter in our own lives. Through objects such as gates, trees, cloth, light, and water, readers will find new meaning in the biblical account of Jesus’ coming. By connecting everyday objects with biblical texts, Advent in Plain Sight prompts readers to see the near kingdom of heaven on earth and ponder what that divine proximity enables and asks them to do and be. Each daily devotional features a Scripture reading, prayer, and reflection, reminding Christians that God still dwells among us, even in the most ordinary places.

(This title is also available as an ebook on the GooglePlay Store) The key to happiness is the mind. With the mind, we can switch our life to suffering or we can switch it to happiness, just as we change television channels, choosing to watch programs about fighting and war, or peaceful things, like the nature programs people seem to enjoy. Experiencing happiness or suffering depends entirely on what we do with our mind. -Lama Zopa Rinpoche Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings is the record of a remarkable series of powerful and clear Dharma teachings given by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2014 to students at Leeds and London in the United Kingdom. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive's editor Gordon McDougall was present throughout these teachings and has now has skillfully edited them into written form that retains the flavor of a great master giving precise instructions to the students sitting before him. Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains how to take care of our minds so that our happiness is in our own hands, gives profound teachings on the Buddhist philosophy of emptiness, discusses the need for ethics and a solid refuge, shows us how to cut the root of samsara, explores why practicing certain tantras is important and especially emphasizes how the guru is the most powerful object of our Dharma practice. The subjects taught by Rinpoche are presented in the order in which they were given, beginning with a deep commentary on the meaning of sang-gya, the Tibetan term usually translated as "buddha," and retaining the powerful method by which Rinpoche would repeatedly reinforce and expand upon earlier topics. Rinpoche also spends much time discussing the great qualities of Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma), the incredible being who has become so important to Tibetan Buddhism, FPMT and the world. This book is made possible by kind supporters of the Archive who, like you, appreciate how we make these teachings freely available in so many ways, including in our website for instant reading, listening or downloading, and as printed and electronic books. Our website offers immediate access to thousands of pages of teachings and hundreds of audio recordings by some of the greatest lamas of our time. Our photo gallery and our ever-popular books are also freely accessible there. Please help us increase our efforts to spread the Dharma for the happiness and benefit of all beings. You can find out more about becoming a supporter of the Archive and see all we have to offer by visiting LamaYeshe.com. Thank you so much.

Redigeret af Henning Laugerud og Laura Katrine Skinnebach.Sekulariseringen af den vestlige kultur er om ikke en myte, sa betydeligt overvurderet. I dagens aktuelle debatter om religiositet, anerkender langt de fleste kristendommens indflydelse pa Europas historie, filosofi og kultur.Instruments of Devotion er en tvAerfaglig antologi skrevet af internationalt anerkendte forskere fra The European Network on the Instruments of Devotion, ENID, og i 11 artikler fokuseres specifikt pa de instrumentielle aspekter af andagt og fromhedspraksis i perioden fra det 14. arhundrede og frem til i dag. Artiklerne diskuterer relationen mellem den materielle kultur og det religiose liv; hvordan musik, bonneboger, litteratur og billeder har udtrykt og intensiveret fromhed og pietet i den kristne kultur i et historisk perspektiv.Antologiens mange forskelligartede indgangsvinkler spAender fra middelalderens visuelle teorier til postmodernismens perspektiver pa katolicismen og illustrerer saledes det komplekse monster af Aendringer, kontinuitet og sammenhAenge i den europAeiske kultur- og pietetshistorie.