A Prophet In Debate

An investigation of the literary structure and rhetorical challenge that prompted the book's production. Moller argues that the book of Amos captures and presents the debate between Amos and his eighth-century audience. When read in the light of Israel's fall, the presentation of Amos struggling (and failing) to convince his contemporaries of the imminent divine punishment functions as a powerful warning to subsequent Judaean readers.

"The images released by The Islamic State of militants smashing statues at ancient sites were a horrifying aspect of their advance across Northern Iraq and Syria during 2015-16. Their leaders justified this act of iconoclasm by arguing that such actions were divinely decreed in Islam, a notion that has remained fixed in the public consciousness. The Image Debate is a collection of thirteen essays that examine the controversy surrounding the use of images in Islamic and other religious cultures and seek to redress some of the misunderstandings that have arisen. Written by leading academics from the United States, Australia, Turkey, Israel and the United Kingdom, the book opens with an introduction by the editor Christiane Gruber, who sets the subject in context with a detailed examination of the debates over idols and the production of figural images in Islamic traditions. The book is divided into three sections: the first deals with pre-modern Islamic practices and anxieties concerned with image-making; the second addresses similar issues in Judaism, in Christianity during the Byzantine period, in pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia, and in Hindu and Buddhist contexts in South Asia; and the third brings the reader back to Islamic lands by examining traditions of figural representation in the modern and contemporary periods." -- Publisher's website

From the best-selling, award-winning author of 1491 and 1493--an incisive portrait of the two little-known twentieth-century scientists, Norman Borlaug and William Vogt, whose diametrically opposed views shaped our ideas about the environment, laying the groundwork for how people in the twenty-first century will choose to live in tomorrow's world. In forty years, Earth's population will reach ten billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be? Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups--Wizards and Prophets, as Charles Mann calls them in this balanced, authoritative, nonpolemical new book. The Prophets, he explains, follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in using more than our planet has to give, our prosperity will lead us to ruin. Cut back! was his mantra. Otherwise everyone will lose! The Wizards are the heirs of Norman Borlaug, whose research, in effect, wrangled the world in service to our species to produce modern high-yield crops that then saved millions from starvation. Innovate! was Borlaug's cry. Only in that way can everyone win! Mann delves into these diverging viewpoints to assess the four great challenges humanity faces--food, water, energy, climate change--grounding each in historical context and weighing the options for the future. With our civilization on the line, the author's insightful analysis is an essential addition to the urgent conversation about how our children will fare on an increasingly crowded Earth.

A creative, out of the box approach to examining the validity of Christ's resurrection from the virtual perspectives of two religious heavyweights.

Muhammad: a frank look at his influential (and violent) life and teachings In The Truth about Muhammad, New York Times bestselling author and Islam expert Robert Spencer offers an honest and telling portrait of the founder of Islam-perhaps the first such portrait in half a century-unbounded by fear and political correctness, unflinching, and willing to face the hard facts about Muhammad's life that continue to affect our world today. From Muhammad's first "revelation" from Allah (which filled him with terror that he was demonpossessed) to his deathbed (from which he called down curses upon Jews and Christians), it's all here-told with extensive documentation from the sources that Muslims themselves consider most reliable about Muhammad. Spencer details Muhammad's development from a preacher of hellfire and damnation into a political and military leader who expanded his rule by force of arms, promising his warriors luridly physical delights in Paradise if they were killed in his cause. He explains how the Qur'an's teaching on warfare against unbelievers developed-with constant war to establish the hegemony of Islamic law as the last stage. Spencer also gives the truth about Muhammad's convenient "revelations" justifying his own licentiousness; his joy in the brutal murders of his enemies; and above all, his clear marching orders to his followers to convert non-Muslims to Islam-or force them to live as inferiors under Islamic rule. In The Truth about Muhammad, you'll learn - The truth about Muhammad's multiple marriages (including one to a nine-year-old) - How Muhammad set legal standards that make it virtually impossible to prove rape in Islamic countries - How Muhammad's example justifies jihad and terrorism - The real "Satanic verses" incident (not the Salman Rushdie version) that remains a scandal to Muslims - How Muhammad's faulty knowledge of Judaism and Christianity has influenced Islamic theology--and colored Muslim relations with Jews and Christians to this day. Recognizing the true nature of Islam, Spencer argues, is essential for judging the prospects for largescale Islamic reform, the effective prosecution of the War on Terror, the democracy project in Afghanistan and Iraq, and immigration and border control to protect the United States from terrorism. All of which makes it crucial for every citizen (and policymaker) who loves freedom to read and ponder The Truth about Muhammad

About the Author Prof. Radhavallabh Tripathi is known for his original contributions to literature as well as for his studies on Nāṭyaśāstra and Sāhityaśāstra. He has published 162 books, 227 research papers and critical essays. He has received 35 national and international awards and honours for his literary contributions. About the Book Vāda, meaning debates, dialogues, discussions, was the quintessential of Indian spirit, enabling and promoting the growth of different philosophical and knowledge systems of India. It percolated deep into our mindset and enriched the moral, ethical, religious and sociocultural edifice of anything that was essentially Indian in nature. As continuation of Ānvikṣīkī from the bc era, vāda helped thrive Indian traditional knowledge systems. It subsists on diversity and its tradition envisages pluralism. Most of our Sanskrit works, covering a wide gamut of knowledge systems, are structured in the techniques of debate. This reality applies not only to the philosophical writings, but to Indian medical systems (Ayurveda), Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya and Kāmasūtra of Vātsyāyana as well. Even great epics like Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata are no exceptions. Vāda culture involved verbal duals, attacks and even violence of speech, and all major religious systems — old or modern — were parties to it. This book also elucidates how vāta was vital and critical for the growth of our socio-political fabrics. It shows how some of the major conflicts in philosophical systems were centred around karma, jñāna, choice between violence and non-violence, pravr̥tti and nivr̥tti. It also presents the manifestations of vāda on a vast canvas during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Modern spiritual and religious gurus like Ramana Maharshi, J. Krishnamurti and Vinoba Bhave were men of dialogues. Our scholars have applied the varied techniques of vāda against the philosophical and scientific systems of the West to prove them correct. This collector’s issue should enthrall a wide audience of philosophers, scholars and believers in Indian knowledge systems.

McNaught details the life, work, and principles of J.S Woodsworth and shows the powerful moral and political force that the pacifist, Methodist thinker exerted on Canadian politics.

This book is a rare collection of seven extempore debates of Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] with the scholars and representatives of Polytheism, Atheism, Dualism, Christianity and Judaism.