The American Baptist church originated in British North America as "little tabernacles in the wilderness," isolated seventeenth-century congregations that had grown into a mainstream denomination by the early nineteenth century. The common view of this transition casts these evangelicals as radicals who were on society's fringe during the colonial period, only to become conservative by the nineteenth century after they had achieved social acceptance. In Bodies of Belief, Janet Moore Lindman challenges this accepted, if oversimplified, characterization of early American Baptists by arguing that they struggled with issues of equity and power within the church during the colonial period, and that evangelical religion was both radical and conservative from its beginning. Bodies of Belief traces the paradoxical evolution of the Baptist religion, including the struggles of early settlement and church building, the varieties of theology and worship, and the multivalent meaning of conversation, ritual, and godly community. Lindman demonstrates how the body—both individual bodies and the collective body of believers—was central to the Baptist definition and maintenance of faith. The Baptist religion galvanized believers through a visceral transformation of religious conversion, which was then maintained through ritual. Yet the Baptist body was differentiated by race and gender. Although all believers were spiritual equals, white men remained at the top of a rigid church hierarchy. Drawing on church books, associational records, diaries, letters, sermon notes, ministerial accounts, and early histories from the mid-Atlantic and the Chesapeake as well as New England, this innovative study of early American religion asserts that the Baptist religion was predicated simultaneously on a radical spiritual ethos and a conservative social outlook.

InBelief, Bodies, and Being, twelve distinguished contributors present diverse and illuminating viewpoints on feminist issues of embodiement, materialism, and agency from feminist and postmodernist philosophical perspectives. Beginnning by positing non-traditional ways of approaching ontological concerns (through the acknowledgement of agential realties and the usage of an ontology of tropes), the volume concludes by addressing highly specific, culturally constituted types of postmodern bodies (monstrous, anorexic, and pharmaceutical bodies).

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From its beginnings in prehistoric religion to its central importance in Western faith traditions, the soul has been a constant source of fascination and speculation. Brain & Belief seeks to understand mankind's obsession with life, death, and the afterlife. Exploring the latest insights from neuroscience, psychopharmacology, and existential psychology, McGraw exhaustively researches the various takes on the human soul and considers the meaning of the soul in a postmodern world. The ambitious scope of the book is balanced by a deeply personal voice whose sympathy for both science and religion is resonant.

Have you ever asked yourself what changed when you were "born again?" You look in the mirror and see the same reflection - your body hasn't changed. You find yourself acting the same and yielding to those same old temptations - that didn't seem to change either. So you wonder, Has anything really changed? The correct...

Imagine waking up feeling refreshed, strong, and vibrant, with your hormones in balance and your body nourished, stable, and supported on both the emotional and physical levels. For the millions who are grappling with rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel disease, type one diabetes, and numerous other autoimmune conditions, this vision seems so distant from the daily reality that it seems an impossibility. In spite of increasing knowledge and awareness, the causes and effects of autoimmune conditions are often misunderstood, and the connection between inner well-being and physical health is not fully explored.As an acupuncturist and herbalist with over 15 years of clinical experience, Aimee Raupp, M.S., L.Ac., has treated a variety of autoimmune conditions, as well as managed her own. Her Body Belief Plan bridges the gap between our internal and external healing to present a holistic and practical approach based on the core pillars of reconnecting to ourselves, renewing our beliefs, and reawakening our health and avoiding body disconnect, behavioral sabotage, and environmental toxins. As you follow Raupp's two-phase Body Belief diet and Body Belief lifestyle roadmap, your whole self will begin to thrive, both inside and out.Raupp guides you step by step through a 12-week diet plan, weekly Body Belief guide, shopping lists, menus, meditations, mantras, and DIY and commercial suggestions for bath, beauty, and home products for self-care. With warmth and sensitivity, Raupp explores how our beliefs dictate our behavior, which ultimately dictates our health. Every person deserves to feel good, and everyone is capable of making their optimal self a reality.