A major monument, Luca Signorelli's Orvieto Cathedral frescoes rendered with vigor and invective the most ambitious consideration of the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment in Italian Renaissance art. In a fresh interpretation of these frescoes, Jonathan Riess explores the intriguing, violent style and complex iconography and places the works in their richly faceted historical setting. Begun by Fra Angelico in 1447 and completed by Signorelli at the turn of the century, the frescoes reflect the turmoil within the Papal States, the suffering brought on by a surge of natural disasters, the fear of the Turks, and the anti-Judaic campaigns of the day. The book centers on the mural depicting the "Rule of Antichrist," the single monumental portrayal of the subject during the Renaissance and a revealing indicator of widespread apocalyptic obsessions. Drawing on historical, theological, literary, and artistic sources, Riess examines the reasons behind the commissioning of the murals and considers the broad meaning of the program. "The Rule of Antichrist," for example, is seen as a "summa" of the doom-laden worlds of Rome and Orvieto and as a blistering condemnation of the political realm. Signorelli's references to Dante, Virgil, and Cicero and to contemporary theology and dramatic performances come into play as Riess interprets the monument as a representation of the struggle between a penitential Christianity and the forces of heresy and tyranny.

Historians--some specializing in the Middle Ages, some in religion, and some in a particular European country--describe the major areas scholars are working in with regard to the friars' preaching to and writing about the Jews from the early days of the mendicant order about the turn of the 13th century to the 16th century. Their topics include the.

During his long, productive life the great English philosopher and exponent of utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) wrote not just on political philosophy but also clandestinely on religion. Under the pseudonym of Philip Beauchamp he published an attack on natural religion called "Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind" and under the pseudonym of Gamaliel Smith he published a book of New Testament criticism called "Not Paul, But Jesus." In addition, Bentham bravely released under his own name" Church-of-Englandism and Its Catechism Examined," a thorough, biting critique of Anglican doctrine. These little-known works are discussed at length by philosopher Delos B. McKown in this informative contribution to Bentham scholarship. McKown introduces these major works on religion, and then presents an extensive synopsis of each. He defends Bentham against the criticisms of opponents where necessary, but does not hesitate to criticize Bentham when he feels he goes astray. McKown also shows how Bentham's attacks on the Christianity of his time, which denigrated human life in the here-and-now for some imagined future postmortem state of glory, fully complemented his utilitarian philosophy of the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. This thorough analysis of three little-known works by one of philosophy's great minds makes an outstanding contribution to Bentham scholarship and will be of interest to humanists and philosophers of religion.

Restores the rich tradition of the Sibyls to the position of prominence they once held in the culture and society of the English Renaissance. This book explores the many identities, the many faces, of the prophetic sibyls as they appear in the works of English Renaissance writers.

The Renaissance New Testament is a monumental 18-volume work more than fifty years in the making. Randolph O. Yeager has realized here a lifelong dream, and created one of the most important biblical works of the twentieth century. It offers: The King James Version verse by verse The Yeager translation Exhaustive Greek/English concordance Lexicographical analysis Each Greek word in order of occurrence Grammatical identification The Greek text verse by verse The literal meaning A harmony of the Gospels Commentary Each volume contains approximately 600 pages, with the complete set totaling more than 10,000 pages. A true Renaissance man, Dr. Yeager holds a Ph.D. in American history, took his seminary training at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago, and is a former university professor. He has twelve years of experience as an evangelist and has spoken at Bible conferences in forty-five states. In 1988 the Laymen's National Bible Committee honored Yeager with a Citation of Appreciation for outstanding service to the Bible cause. Publishers Weekly featured an article on Yeager and the completion of The Renaissance New Testament in its 1985 Spring Religious Books issue.

No volume about the spectacles and public performances of early modern England could pretend to treat comprehensively a body of materials so conspicuously vast. Rather than efforts to survey the territory, these essays are best understood in the original sense of the term as “essays”—as trials, attempts, experiments to open alternative ways of understanding that vast corpus of mystery plays, civic pageants, court masques and professional dramas that constitute its subject. The book crosses traditional period lines, including studies of Medieval as well as Renaissance entertainments. Once more, the essays are not organized according to a single critical or historical methodology. They employ an eclectic range of interpretive practices, reflecting the variety of interpretive approaches now current in the field. Contributors include: Tiffany J. Alkan, Robert W. Barrett, Jr., Sarah Beckwith, Tom Bishop, Peter Cockett, Richard K. Emmerson, Peter Holland, Nora Johnson, Richard C. McCoy, Lauren Shohet, and Robert E. Stillman.

One of philosophy's most accessible and easily understood works, this denunciation of Christianity and organized religion consists of 62 brief chapters, each an aphorism that advances the philosopher's argument.