The history of belief, piety, and theology ("Frommigkeitsgeschichte") has long stood in the center of Erlangen church historian Berndt Hamm's research interest. Inspired by his work, scholars from Europe and the U.S. have produced this interdisciplinary volume covering topics from the early Middle Ages to the present and dedicate it to him on his sixtieth birthday. Theologie- und frommigkeitsgeschichtlichen Phanomenen gilt das besondere Forschungsinteresse des Erlanger Kirchenhistorikers Berndt Hamm. Die Impulse aus seinen Forschungen aufnehmend, widmen ihm Forscher/-innen aus Europa und den USA zum 60. Geburtstag diesen interdisziplinar angelegten Sammelband mit Beitragen vom Fruhmittelalter bis zur Gegenwart.

Interest in Fromm is increasing: as a prominent Marxist, sociologist, psychoanalytic theorist, and public intellectual, the unique normative-humanist thrust of his writings provides a crucial critical reference point for those seeking to understand and transcend the societal pathologies of our age. The essays in this volume retrieve, revive, and expand upon Fromm's central insights and contributions. They offer a critical theory of culture, the self, psychology and society that goes beyond what is typical of the narrower concerns of the fragmented and isolated disciplines of today, demonstrating the pan-disciplinary potential of Fromm's work. But this book does not simply reassert Fromm's ideas and rehash his theories, but rather reconstructs them to bring them into meaningful dialogue with contemporary ideas and cultural, political and economic developments. Providing new approaches to Fromm's ideas and work brings them up-to-date with contemporary problems and debates in theory and society and helps us understand the challenges of our times.

Arabic texts dating from the 3rd-4th/9th-10th centuries by the following five authors are here presented: Ab? Shaykh al-Burjul?n?, Ibr?h?m al-Khuttal?, Ibn al-Na???s, Ab? ?Abd All?h al-R?dhab?r? and Ibn ?amak?n. The texts appear in transliteration along with a German translation. Their chains of transmission (isn?ds) are analyzed and parallels with other authors are noted. The subject dealt with throughout is mystical piety. These highly interesting materials throw light on Islamic mysticism's early stage of development.

Toshimasa Yasukata offers a detailed study and interpretation of the German theologian Ernst Troeltsch, discerning a systematic unity in his thought. Despite the obvious diversity of his interests and published works, Troeltsch is shown to be thoroughly consistent in exploring the possibility of establishing normative values in the face of the relativizing efforts of history. In his closing remarks, Yasukata suggests the wide-ranging significance of Troeltsch's work for the future of theology.