Bruce Lincoln is one of the most prominent advocates within religious studies for an uncompromisingly critical approach to the phenomenon of religion—historians of religions; he believes; should resist the preferred narratives and self-understanding of religions themselves; especially when their stories are endowed with sacred origins and authority. In Gods and Demons; Priests and Scholars; Lincoln assembles a collection of essays that both illustrates and reveals the benefits of his methodology; making a case for a critical religious studies that starts with skepticism but is neither cynical nor crude.The book begins with Lincoln’s “Theses on Method†and ends with “The (Un)discipline of Religious Studies;†in which he unsparingly considers the failings of uncritical and nonhistorical approaches to the study of religions. In between; Lincoln presents new examinations of problems in ancient religions and relates these cases to larger comparative themes. While bringing to light important features of the formation of pantheons and the constructions of demons; chaos; and the dead; Lincoln demonstrates that historians of religions should take religious things—inspired scriptures; sacred centers; salvific rites; communities graced by divine favor—as the theories of interested humans that shape perception; community; and experiences. As he shows; it is for their terrestrial influence; and not their sacred origins; that religious phenomena merit consideration by the historian.
#388076 in Books Leslie M Harris 2004-10-01 2003-02-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.00 x 6.00l; 1.15 #File Name: 0226317730387 pagesIn the Shadow of Slavery African Americans in New York City 1626 1863
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. ExcellentBy Ann HolderUsing for my Pratt students in course on Invisible Histories of New York. Written in the wake of discovery and community protest around the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan; Harris makes visible a new world of questions and complexity regarding enslavement; emancipation and citizenship in the US urban 'north.'3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Definitive and readableBy FiloThis book was an eye-opening experience for me; covering an aspect of slavery that is usually overlooked in our culture. It seems to me not only a definitive book that is a reliable source; but it is also one that is highly readable; and it should appeal not only to scholars of the subject but to popular readers as well.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy gretchenI was greatly informed of a past not known to many.
