Sacred Dan

An introduction reviews previous scholarship, and concludes that the cultic aspects of Judges 17-18 have not been examined in any depth. It then goes on to deal with the historical and redactional issues which previous scholars have found interesting. The issues of provenance and dating are then examined with the conclusion that the text was written down in the immediate aftermath of the Assyrian conquest of Dan in an attempt to preserve its sacred traditions. The text therefore reflects the self-understanding of the priests of Dan in the period immediately prior to its fall. The text of Judges 17-18 is then subjected to a rhetorical critical examination, followed by a more traditional form critical study. The next section is a comparison of similar cultic foundation stories from other cultures. Three major chapters examine the three major cultic issues raised by the text itself: images, priests and divination. Each chapter draws on evidence from the Hebrew Bible and its environment in an attempt to clarify the nature of the cult of Dan. Broadly, each chapter concludes that although there were some features peculiar to the cult reflected by Dan, in general, the Danite cult was not greatly different from that of its neighbours. A final chapter deals with what the text says about the tribe of Levi, with the conclusion that according to Judges 17-18, there was once a secular tribe of Levi. The conclusion draws a brief picture of cultic life in Dan in its final years.

Those familiar with the music of Dan Schutte are in for a great treat here. As in his music, he deals with themes of longing and desire for God, the hungers of the human heart, unfulfilled human hopes and dreams, and the profound happiness of finding ones home in God. The exercises here are loosely based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and the goal is the same for both: to draw readers into a personal, living, growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Diner sets out to describe why the Arab world changes so slowly, in this controversial but refreshingly un-Anglo-Saxon search for answers to some outsized questions."--(Michael Cook, Princeton University).

This is the second book in the Peaceful Warrior Saga. Neither a sequel nor prequel, this adventure takes place within the context of the original book, shedding new light on the path he was to travel, and would one day teach. After a period of training with the man he calls Socrates, Dan Millman is sent away by his old mentor to apply what he has learned to everyday life. Struggling with personal failure and growing disillusion, Dan sets out on a worldwide quest to rediscover the sense of clarity, meaning and purpose he found with Socrates. then a long-forgotten memory drives Dan to seek a mysterious woman shaman in Hawaii. She is the gateway to all his hopes and fears — and the only one who can prepare him for what may follow. Deep in a rain forest on the island of Molokai, Dan encounters mortal challenges, vivid characters, and startling revelations as he ascends the peaceful warrior's path toward the light that shines at the heart of creation. In this compelling tale, the author breathes new life into ancient wisdom and reminds us that all our journeys are sacred, and all our lives an adventure.

From the Egyptian feast of Thoth to the Celtic fire festivals, and from the Chinese lunisolar year to the lunar-based calendar of the Muslim world, "Dance of the Moon" offers a cross-cultural tour of traditions, pagan rituals, and practices throughout history that honor life's cycles.

This work presents in detail a description of archaeological data from the Iron II temple complex at Tel Dan in northern Israel. Davis analyzes the archaeological remains from the ninth and eighth centuries, paying close attention to how the temple functioned as sacred space. Correlating the archaeological data with biblical depictions of worship, especially the “textual strata” of 1 Kings 18 and the book of Amos, Davis argues that the temple was the site of “official” and family religion and that worship at the temple became increasingly centralized. Tel Dan's role in helping reconstruct ancient Israelite religion, especially distinctive religious traditions of the northern kingdom, is also considered.

Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions offers a compelling case for Christian men and women to move beyond the fears of sexuality and open themselves to deeper friendships.