The first comprehensive study of the monastery of St Catherine at Mt Sinai in its full historical, art historical, and religious dimensions, the nineteen collected essays in Approaching the Holy Mountain provide a unique view of the longest continuously inhabited Christian monastery. As an important pilgrimage site, Sinai enjoyed an international reputation in the Middle Ages. The monastery also benefited from regional connections to Egypt and the Holy Land. The essays in this volume examine the pilgrims, monks, artists, builders, and scholars who came to the mountain and left their marks on the monastery and its holdings, as well as the image of the monastery that was promoted outside of Sinai. Because of its dry, isolated location in the Sinai desert, the monastery possesses the world's greatest collection of Byzantine icons. These icons have been celebrated in highly popular exhibitions in Athens, London, St Petersburg, New York, and Los Angeles, few longer studies of the icons have been attempted. In this volume authors investigate icons from the sixth to the sixteenth centuries and offer new interpretations of their meaning, provenance, and function. Essays also explore celebrated illuminated Byzantine manuscripts in the library of St Catherine's, pilgrim's accounts of the monastery, a recently excavated early church on the summit of Mt Sinai, liturgy at Sinai during the first Christian millennium, the influence of Sinai on later paintings and engravings, and the recent history of Sinai studies. The result is a significant advance in our understanding of one of the most important centres of early Christianity.

Reformation 21's End of Year Review of Books Preaching's Survey of Bibles and Bible Reference "Who shall ascend the mountain of the LORD?" —Psalm 24:3 In many ways, this is the fundamental question of Old Testament Israel's cult—and, indeed, of life itself. How can creatures made from dust become members of God's household "forever"? The question of ascending God's mountain to his house was likely recited by pilgrims on approaching the temple on Mount Zion during the annual festivals. This entrance liturgy runs as an undercurrent throughout the Pentateuch and is at the heart of its central book, Leviticus. Its dominating concern, as well as that of the rest of the Bible, is the way in which humanity may come to dwell with God. Israel's deepest hope was not merely a liturgical question, but a historical quest. Under the Mosaic covenant, the way opened up by God was through the Levitical cult of the tabernacle and later temple, its priesthood and rituals. The advent of Christ would open up a new and living way into the house of God—indeed, that was the goal of his taking our humanity upon himself, his suffering, his resurrection and ascension. In this stimulating volume in the New Studies in Biblical Theology, Michael Morales explores the narrative context, literary structure and theology of Leviticus. He follows its dramatic movement, examines the tabernacle cult and the Day of Atonement, and tracks the development from Sinai?s tabernacle to Zion's temple—and from the earthly to the heavenly Mount Zion in the New Testament. He shows how life with God in the house of God was the original goal of the creation of the cosmos, and became the goal of redemption and the new creation. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

This treasury of personal counsels and homilies given by Elder Ephraim clearly delineates the Patristic path to sanctification. In "Counsels from the Holy Mountain" he gives advise on every aspect of the spiritual struggle with insight acquired from his experience as a monk for more than fifty years and as the spiritual father of thousands of clergy, monastics, and laymen.

Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo helped inaugurate the midnight movie phenomenon. Its success spawned The Holy Mountain, through interventions by John Lennon and Allen Klein. After a scandalous release and a 16-month midnight career, The Holy Mountain was relegated to the underground world of fan bootlegs for over thirty years until its limited restored release in 2007. This short study reveals how The Holy Mountain, a poetic, hilarious, and anarchist cult film by an international auteur, anchored in post-1968 critiques, is – at the same time – an archaeological capsule of the counterculture movement, a timely subversion of mystical tenets, and one of the most mysterious films in the history of world cinema.

This story is about the development of my heroin addiction and my recovery from it. I struggled to escape from addiction for 17 years, but only succeeded after an ibogaine treatment. It is autobiographical, but I only describe traumatic episodes that contributed to addiction and sketch the highlights and milestones in my recovery. It is a memoir, as it offers a thematic view of my life and is moderate in scope; and a personal essay in which I offer insights about societys role in addiction. My intent is that addicts and their loved ones may better understand the nature of addiction so their approaches to treatment are better informed and more compassionate. At 66, I am a gentleman/hipster/Seeker and scholar, but Im not an armchair academic who wrote this book from a library: I was an addict for 22 years! Now I am blessed to be alive and have 18 years clean. My mission is to help addicts by educating the public and the professional community about addictions complexity and the efficacy of ibogaine for its treatment. I hope my story supports a change in social and medical attitudes so that the unheard voices of addicts will be honored, instead of just seeing them as social problems. Addiction put my life into suspended animation when I had a third of the credits I needed for a bachelors degree. 27 years later I returned to school; now I have bachelors degrees in Anthropology and Psychology and a Masters degree in East-West Psychology (EWP). I am currently a PhD. candidate in EWP at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California.

USE THESE HOLY MOUNTAINS! Late at night, on July 23rd, 1958, on a barren mountaintop in Devon, England, a Western Master of Yoga held a rendezvous with a Cosmic Master from the Planet Venus which forever changed the future of mankind upon Earth. Tremendous Spiritual Power from the Cosmic Being, through the Yogi, prevented a dangerous war in the Middle East and Charged the mountain as a New Age Power Centre. Thus began a modern odyssey which was to give to humanity 19 Spiritual Power Batteries—The Holy Mountains Of The World Charged In Operation Starlight. The Yoga Master was His Eminence Sir George King, Founder/President of The Aetherius Society, who had been designated Primary Terrestrial Mental Channel for Interplanetary Parliament in 1954. Operation Starlight and the 19 new Holy Mountains were to become a vital cornerstone for the building of a New Age of World Peace and Enlightenment soon to be born upon Earth. Thousands of people—ordinary people except for their desire to serve their brothers—have climbed these mountains; have opened their hearts to contact the mighty Power; and have sent this outward through Prayer to suffering humanity. The Holy Mountains Of The World are there for YOU, whoever you are! Whatever your age, race or belief, their Power will flow through you! Read this history. Then CHOOSE and ACT, to become one who helps to build the New Age!