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The book "The Secret Police and the Religious Underground in Communist and Post-Communist Eastern Europe" edited by James A. Kapaló and Kinga Povedák provides insights into the methods used by secret police forces in Central and Eastern European countries to control and repress underground churches during the Cold War and beyond. The book focuses on the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, Protestant Churches, as well as minority communities such as Jehovah's Witnesses, the Hare Krishna movement, and the Inochentists. It highlights the value of secret police files as a substitute for ethnographic data and discusses the challenges faced by historians in accessing and interpreting these archives. The publication offers a professional and international research effort that allows for comparisons of the situation for underground churches during different time periods. [Extracted from the article]

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We should consider the growing weight of probable opinions in the early modern world against the backdrop of the evolution of belief as described by Shagan: it does not seem risky to see in the probable opinions discussed by early modern moral theologians the same blurring of boundaries between opinion, belief, and knowledge seen in Shagan's reconstruction. Shagan's archeology of the notion of "belief"; Ryrie's use of the history of emotions in the study of doubt; Tutino's exploration of the often-surprising world of probabilism: each of these approaches offers a valuable contribution to the understanding of early modern culture and of the place of uncertainty therein. Modern Western society may have lost the perception of the risks inherent to belief or doubt: wrong, lukewarm, or idiosyncratic belief and doubt no longer trigger the "spiritual turmoil" described by Shagan and Ryrie. Here Shagan highlights the inherent paradox (or, as he puts it, the "tension") of Protestant belief: on the one hand it was "an understanding of "belief" as utterly incompatible with doubt"; yet, on the other hand, it was "a theology of human depravity demanding that even the elect remain mired in uncertainty" (134). [Extracted from the article]

"The Land of the Hunger Artists: Science, spectacle and authority, c.1880-1922" by Agusti Nieto-Galan explores the cultural appeal of hunger artistry during the late nineteenth century. The book analyzes archival materials, contemporaneous discourse, and public responses to provide insights into the epistemologies and hype surrounding hunger artists. It examines various aspects of hunger artistry, including its internationality, performance, experiments on fasting, spiritual beliefs, commercial aspects, and political implications. The book concludes by suggesting that further historical analysis is needed to fully understand the complexities of hunger artistry during this time period. [Extracted from the article]

J. Andrew Bush's I Between Muslims: Religious Difference in Iraqi Kurdistan i is a nuanced reflection on how Muslims inhabit lukewarm attitudes toward piety in contexts suffused with piety. Chapter 4 parses the sermons of prominent Kurdish Islamist Mula Kreker, arguing that his teachings emphasise the location of genuine piety in the relationships between family members. This insight is used to its best effect in Chapter 5, where Bush explores the pleasure his unpious interlocutor Shadman takes in enabling the piety of his wife and daughter. [Extracted from the article]

Hanska has also emphasized that apart from the formation of a new type of sermon collection, the birth of the I sermones quadragesimales i implied an increased freedom from the interpretation of mass pericopes and a growing topical coherence of Lenten sermons right from the beginning. The sermons by al-Hurayfish do not constitute a separate Ramadan collection, and it seems that the practice of daily preaching was foreign to his world. Such an effort at a comprehensive discussion of the meaning of Lent on its first day makes these sermons akin to the first Ramadan sermon of al-Hurayfish. [Extracted from the article]

A knowledgeable study of fasting, which has a long history and a layered present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the book "The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting," by Steve Hendricks, is presented.

A review of the book "The Wonder," by Emma Donoghue, is presented.

The article reviews the book "Hungering As Symbolic Language: What Are We Saying When We Starve Ourselves," by Nieves Pascual Soler.

The article reviews the book "Ritual Fasting on West Java," by Jörgen Hellman.

A review of the book "Defy Aging: A Beginner's Guide to the New Science of Longer Life and Better Health," by Beth Bennett, is presented.

Reviews the book "The Sacred Art of Fasting: Preparing to Practice," by Thomas Ryan.

Reviews the book 'Som-Fasten: Kollektive Trauer um den verborgene Gott im Alten Testament,' by Thomas Podella.

Reviews the book 'Journal of a Fast,' by Fredrick W. Smith.

A review of the book "So Much Wasted: Hunger, Performance, and the Morbidity of Resistance," by Patrick Anderson is presented.

The article reviews the book "Hunger: an unnatural history," by Sharman Apt Russell.

Reviews the book "Holy Men and Hunger Artists: Fasting and Asceticism in Rabbinic Culture," by Eliezer Diamond.

Reviews the book "Fasting: Exploring a Great Spiritual Practice," by Carole Garibaldi Rogers.

Chakku the monkey chieftain tries to control his chubby tribe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the book 'Fasting: the Phenomonon of Self-Denial,' by E.N. Rogers.

The article reviews the book "Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond Our Appetites," by Lynne M. Baab.

The article reviews the book "Fish on Friday: Feasting, Fasting and the Discovery of the New World," by Brian Fagan.

Reviews the book "The Sacred Art of Fasting: Preparing to Practice," by Thomas Ryan.

Reviews the book "The Sacred Art of Fasting: Preparing to Practice," by Thomas Ryan.

Reviews the book 'The Fasting Girl: A True Victorian Medical Mystery,' by Michelle Stacey.

Reviews the book 'The Fasting Girl,' by Michelle Stacey.

Reviews the book 'The Fasting Girl: A True Victorian Medical Mystery,' by Michelle Stacey.