A Spectrum of Faith invites readers on a vivid journey through words and pictures into the diverse religious communities of greater Des Moines. Explore the south-side office park transformed into a Buddhist monastery as well as the Basilica in the city's center named to the National Registry of Historic Places; discover the Hindu temple rising above the cornfields of nearby rural Madrid along with the mosque, synagogue or gurudwara tucked away in a neighborhood near you. Whether they arrived before last century or just last decade, these Iowans who practice the world's major faith traditions--Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam--extend the state's proud history of welcome to readers of all faith backgrounds. Get to know the fascinating array of individuals, faith traditions and worship practices belonging to the many religious communities who call Iowa home.

A leading scholar, cultural historian, and Catholic priest who spent more than fifty years writing about our engagement with the Earth, Thomas Berry possessed prophetic insight into the rampant destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of species. In this book he makes a persuasive case for an interreligious dialogue that can better confront the environmental problems of the twenty-first century. These erudite and keenly sympathetic essays represent Berry's best work, covering such issues as human beings' modern alienation from nature and the possibilities of future, regenerative forms of religious experience. Asking that we create a new story of the universe and the emergence of the Earth within it, Berry resituates the human spirit within a sacred totality.

An exploration of what worship looks like from a biblical standpoint and why the topic of worship can be so contentious among Christians. Because worship is inherently theological--because it's a manifestation of humanity's response to God's holiness--it's important to take seriously how we worship and the roles it serves in personal displays of adoration and in community with other believers. Exploring the Worship Spectrum provides an overview, critique, and celebration of six prominent worship styles: Formal-Liturgical – represented by Paul Zahl Traditional Hymn-Based – represented by Harold Best Contemporary Music-Driven – represented by Joe Horness Charismatic – represented by Don Williams Blended – represented by Robert Webber Emerging – represented by Sally Morgenthaler This unique format allows those with a heart for worship to compare different perspectives and draw their own conclusions on what the Bible teaches. It allows readers to understand the various approaches to worship, carefully evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and make personal choices without adopting a judgmental spirit. The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.

Over the past thirty years, visionary anthropologist Michael Taussig has crafted a highly distinctive body of work. Playful, enthralling, and whip-smart, his writing makes ingenious connections between ideas, thinkers, and things. An extended meditation on the mysteries of color and the fascination they provoke, What Color Is the Sacred? is the next step on Taussig’s remarkable intellectual path. Following his interest in magic and surrealism, his earlier work on mimesis, and his recent discussion of heat, gold, and cocaine in My Cocaine Museum,this book uses color to explore further dimensions of what Taussig calls “the bodily unconscious” in an age of global warming. Drawing on classic ethnography as well as the work of Benjamin, Burroughs, and Proust, he takes up the notion that color invites the viewer into images and into the world. Yet, as Taussig makes clear, color has a history—a manifestly colonial history rooted in the West’s discomfort with color, especially bright color, and its associations with the so-called primitive. He begins by noting Goethe’s belief that Europeans are physically averse to vivid color while the uncivilized revel in it, which prompts Taussig to reconsider colonialism as a tension between chromophobes and chromophiliacs. And he ends with the strange story of coal, which, he argues, displaced colonial color by giving birth to synthetic colors, organic chemistry, and IG Farben, the giant chemical corporation behind the Third Reich. Nietzsche once wrote, “So far, all that has given colour to existence still lacks a history.” With What Color Is the Sacred? Taussig has taken up that challenge with all the radiant intelligence and inspiration we’ve come to expect from him.

This revised edition updates information and includes an explanation of the author's step-by-step presentation of the stages in the phenomenology of religion; an introduction to the current debate; over-reductionism; key philosophical terms used by Husserl; and reference sources for further reading.