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When Hermione's sculpture awakes and speaks at the climax of The Winter's Tale , her speech unfolds as part of an unmistakably religious ritual. This essay argues that the religious conversations Shakespeare draws on and secularizes in this scene are primarily arguments about the capacities of language. In staging multiple forms of address to an inanimate or absent figure, the scene interrogates the figure of apostrophe. As this essay demonstrates, contention about apostrophe shapes the period's debates over the nature of the eucharist and the efficacy of prayers to saints. These debates posed a binary opposition between believing speech that affirms the animacy of its audience, and mere rhetoric; in other words, between prayer and trope. Read through the contested rhetorics of apostrophe outlined in early modern religious debates, the intense ambivalence between trope and believing speech in the play's final scene poses a question of belief in speech for its audiences even while it imagines a secularized version of transcendent language. By borrowing ambivalence about apostrophe from religion, Shakespeare's scene anticipates later debates about the performative nature of apostrophe in lyric. [A.R.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the connection between religious and musical experiences and the shared elements that have contributed to their potent emotional impact. Both music and religion have improved the lives of various cultures around the world for decades because of their capacity to foster emotions of joy, clarity and escape from daily life. Several viewpoints are discussed in relation to this link, through the topic of music composed for religious ceremonies and prayers. These pieces, which are intended to bring listeners closer to their higher selves, may be beneficial for both individuals and groups in a range of favourable and unfavourable circumstances and serve as a suitable counterbalance to the solace that comes from religion. This study aims to shed more light on the similarities between music and religion and what it is about them that appeals to people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comparison between Hesychasm and Sufism focuses on their respective mystical practices: the Jesus Prayer in Hesychasm and Dhikr in Sufism. Both traditions emphasize withdrawing from worldly distractions to achieve spiritual purity and communion with the divine. In Hesychasm, practitioners use the Jesus Prayer to attain inner stillness and experience divine light, aiming for a state of contemplation where the mind is enveloped in spiritual radiance. Similarly, Sufism's Dhikr involves a repetitive invocation of Allah's name to achieve spiritual awareness and unity with God, promoting inner tranquility and protection from negative influences. Both practices stress the continuity of prayer and the progression from vocal to mental recitation, fostering deep spiritual states. Despite theological and doctrinal differences, both traditions share a universal quest for mystical union and emphasize the transformative power of spiritual practice in achieving a direct connection with the divine. These practices continue to shape spiritual life in their respective religious contexts, illustrating common themes of seeking spiritual enlightenment through disciplined meditation and prayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prayer, a repeated practice of paying attention to one's inner mental world, is a core behavior across many faiths and traditions, understudied by cognitive scientists. Previous research suggests that humans pray because prayer changes the way they feel or how they think. This paper makes a novel argument: that prayer changes what they feel that they perceive. Those who pray, we find, are more likely to report sensory and perceptual experiences which they take to be evidence of a god or spirit. Across three studies encompassing data from thousands of participants across five different cultures, we find that the amount of time spent daily in prayer is associated with the frequency of such events—and that prayer is associated with some of these experiences more strongly than others. Time in prayer has the strongest relationship with the frequency of everyday events (like dreams or strong emotion) that are experienced as not generated by the self but by a god or spirit. Prayer is also associated with more anomalous experiences like voices and a sense of presence, but prayer has no association with more dramatic events such as possession, out‐of‐body experiences, and sleep paralysis. Our results not only suggest interesting relationships between practice and experience in a religious domain, but hint at the power of practice to shape experience more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the sixth century, Celtic peregrini (wandering scholars) emerged from Britain and Ireland to establish monastic centres for mission and evangelism. British New Monastic expression would no doubt benefit from increased adoption of their distinctive monastic practices. These practices include the Celtic understanding of the sacramental universe - all creation steeped in the presence of God - all pointing towards the ultimate glory of his kingdom. In risky living they undertook both physical and inner spiritual journeys. They emerged from monastic schools and long periods of seasonal formation. They embraced rhythms of ebb and flow, searching for silence and solitude, to first breathe in the Holy Spirit, before enthusiastically embarking on evangelism. They drew boundaries - encircling the sacred core, whilst keeping out distractions. They developed frameworks of daily prayer and Scripture reading, based on the Psalmody, intentionally building scaffolding - Rules of Life and vows, constantly refocussing themselves on their ultimate goal of prayer without ceasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I deal with the content of the vision of Hezekiah in Ascen. Isa. 1:2-5 and argue that it is based on Hezekiah's prayer or thanksgiving in Isa 38:9-20. The writer of the Ascension of Isaiah argues that in his vision Hezekiah foresees the coming of Christ who fulfills the salvation plan of God and condemns the evil powers—two topics which are related in Ascen. Isa. 4:19-21 to two important key texts in the book of Isaiah, that is, Isa 13-14 (the destruction of the evil power Babylon) and Isa 52:13- 53:12 (the descending of the Beloved One). I argued that the writer of the Ascension of Isaiah presumably accepted the established Jewish interpretation that Immanuel was Hezekiah but argue, additionally, that its deeper secret meaning (according to the interpretive model of Sir 39:1-3) concerned the Beloved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The believer's oneness with Christ creates profound roots within the believer's soul. This union undergirds the believer's spiritual life as he or she prays the Psalms. This essay explores the theological realities that explain the spiritual resonance Christians experience when praying the Psalms. I propose that as believers pray the Psalms in union with Christ, their souls resonate with the Spirit of Christ, the sonship of Christ, the sufferings of Christ, the body of Christ, and the intercession of Christ. Believers share this salvific oneness with Christ by faith, so that they share in his life, death, resurrection, ascension, inheritance, and beloved status as God's righteous son. In praying the Psalms, believers echo the Spirit of Christ, sense the sonship of Christ, taste the sufferings of Christ, harmonize with the body of Christ, and join in the intercessions of Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MAH 15995 is an Old Babylonian lamentation, perhaps for a dead person, with excerpts of prayers to Dumuzi and/or Damu. The content of this lamentation contains unusual aspects that are discussed in the commentary. The format and ductus of the tablet is found in other tablets of the British Museum (BM 15793, BM 15821, BM 22741, BM 23104, BM 23584, BM 23696, and BM 29628). Les abréviations des compositions correspondent à celles d'Attinger (2021). Je remercie Walther Sallaberger et mon correcteur anonyme pour leurs remarques, ainsi qu'Emmert Clevestine pour ses scans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes discourse in the Old Testament in terms of the frequency of direct speech between the main characters. We visualize the speakers, the hearers, and the amount of conversation between them in graphs known as conversational networks. We investigate whether these networks can help identify speech genres and significant relationships between biblical kings, prophets, and God. In an analysis on three books in the Minor Prophets, the networks are shown to reveal differences in book structure and speech genres including prophetic call, prayer, vision report, judgment speech, and historical narrative. In an analysis on the books of Samuel and King, the networks are shown to capture the web of relationships between kings and prophets, as well as divine communication with kings and prophets. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a comparison between these networks and their counterparts in Chronicles can visualize some major content differences identified in biblical research. These findings are expected to promote conversational networks as a visualization tool to support quantitative discourse analysis in the Bible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Animation Theory: Prayer as Popular African Performance" explores the multifaceted nature of prayer in African culture, highlighting its role as a creative, social, and political activity that enlivens society. The authors propose animation theory as a framework for studying prayer performances, emphasizing its transformative and enlivening qualities. Through a series of interdisciplinary studies across various African countries and religious traditions, the article showcases how prayers animate collective identities, cultural practices, and social interactions, contributing to the vitality and resilience of African communities. The research aims to deepen our understanding of African culture by illuminating the dynamic and multifunctional aspects of prayer as a popular cultural performance that transcends traditional religious boundaries. [Extracted from the article]

In Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, women are generally positioned or perceived as prayer warriors. This image is in sharp contrast to their perceived agency as "weaker vessels", which relegates them to the margins in terms of leadership and preaching. A prayer warrior is a metaphor for strength, evoking a spiritual battle with the enemy, the devil, whose essence is to wage war against Christians. Using a grounded methodology approach, I will dissect the social-cultural elements that view women as weak vessels, yet present them as prayer warriors who engage with spiritual forces. Daughters of Zion, an urban Pentecostal women's movement, features as a case study due to its reputation for summoning women to pray. The group uses the term "wailing women" to describe the participants in their prayer assemblies. The women engage in intense prayers while sitting, running, and even lying prostrate, addressing domestic and personal issues. The research delves into the concept of women as "prayer warriors", employing "wailing" as their battle weapon, a form of emotional expression that serves as a unique source of spiritual strength. The study contributes to the growing field of gender studies and how religious contexts understand and value women's emotional sensitivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising wave of protests throughout the world demands a deeper understanding of, as well as new perspectives on, the phenomenon and its impact on society. Hence, I spotlight the #EndSARS protest to understand new forms of social protest in contemporary Nigeria. In so doing, I examine how protesters mobilise religious infrastructures of prayer, music and procession to shape and sustain the protest. By focusing on prayer walk activities during the protest, I analyse how Christian music shapes the sound space and the atmosphere of local struggles. The study draws evidence from ethnography conducted during the prayer walk activities in Ibadan, Nigeria, and other archival resources including social media. By illuminating religious nuances of the #EndSARS protest that remain underexplored in scholarly and popular writings about the protest, this study provides the analytical lens to understand how people's lived religion is implicated in their everyday socio-political struggle. I argue that the prayer walk constitutes a symbolic and sonic site for Christian protesters to perform spiritual solidarity with other #EndSARS protesters through the agency of Christian music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In African traditional systems, while culture provides a bond of social vitality and cohesion, prayer connects the living with the sacred. This study closely examines prayer performances during the Adaε festival of the Asante people of Ghana as a mode of keeping time through their renewals of inherent knowledge about the divine to vitalise history, regulate lives today and hold memories for the future. This research is approached qualitatively using ethnographic methods of participant observation and interactions to conceptualise the significance of prayer to temporality during the activities of the Adaε festival. It was established that, whereas the regular lives of the religious Asante people are regulated by the modern calendar, their religio-cultural lives are moderated by the Adaε calendar, with people living in two complex time zones. As a means of keeping the past and revitalising the present, prayer is ingrained into every activity associated with the Adaε festival to venerate the brevity of their forbears, Nana nom, to invoke their communal presence and to seek their favour to sustain the future while evoking notions of timelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article posits that prayer is one of the popular activities that produce pleasure and animate social life in African societies. Focusing on a genre of prayer called "spiritual warfare" (also called "violent" or "deliverance") prayers, this article explores how the creativity infused into performing prayer enlivens both the art and the society that witnesses it. While prayer remains a spiritual activity, its social performance requires some aesthetic competence and innovations to be vivacious and pleasurable, retaining its animating quality despite its ubiquity. In a culture where leisure activities can be either lacking or entirely unaffordable, activities like prayer are ways in which society derives its pleasures. The moral authorities that package prayer, whether as commodities, spectacles, or sacred exercise, are all too aware of this aspect of its functions. As prayer is expressed in every aspect of life and does not always require a closed-off space, this article argues that, though a sacred activity, its banalization calls for it to be viewed as more than the "other" of secular performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we make sense of our place in the field as researchers and as sexual, spiritual beings? Ethnographic fieldwork is central to several disciplines, including geography. It involves the researcher encountering and gathering stories and meanings through interaction with people's lived experiences in settings that are often not the researcher's own. Although rarely strain‐free, fieldwork is seen as a transformative experience, both from the personal and the academic point of view. This paper, situated at the intersection of geography, queer/ing practices, and ethnographic methodology, explores poetry as a form of self‐care in the field. In recent years, poetry has emerged as a creative and productive mode of representation and (co‐)interpretation of qualitative data. Based on my own spiritual experience(s) while conducting fieldwork in Spain, I consider prayer cards as a poetic form and a means through which issues of self‐care and spiritual self‐preservation are made visible, particularly when experienced within a social environment that is hostile to LGBTQ+ lived experiences of faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial focuses on the integration of prayer as a central component of Christian pedagogy and educational philosophy, emphasizing its essential role in the teaching and learning process. It explores how prayer, particularly in its didactic, pedagogical, and corporate forms, facilitates both spiritual and intellectual growth, guiding believers to engage with wisdom, knowledge, and discipleship in a holistic manner.

Copyright of Journal of Al-Anbar University for Islamic Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Al-Anbar University for Islamic Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arts for Linguistic & Literary Studies is the property of Thamar University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The literature on well-being and religiosity is extensive, but the research on well-being and religiosity among clergy in particular is less developed. Additionally, little research has investigated the role of theological orientation in well-being. This brief research note investigates the interrelationships among well-being (as measured by the Harvard Flourishing Index), theological orientation (as measured by self-identified level of theological liberalism/conservatism), and prayer in a sample of ∼2,980 Roman Catholic priests. Prayer has a robust, independent, and significant relationship with flourishing across all subscales. Overall theologically conservative priests report higher flourishing, but some of this relationship is due to higher prayer. While copious prior literature has examined associations between well-being and religiosity, this study shows that some of these same patterns and themes extend even to professional clergy. Clinically speaking, it also brings attention to the particular stressors faced by liberal or less practicing clergy in a predominantly conservative religious tradition and the potential role that prayer can play in clergy well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the importance of the sacrament of confession in the Orthodox Church, where Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou explains how confession is practiced and its significance in the life of the believer. He points out that confession should be done as needed, preferably at least four times a year, emphasizing the necessity of confessing sins and shortcomings in love for God and others. He also clarifies that confession is not the only way to attain forgiveness, as it also requires forgiving others. The importance of a personal relationship with God and how to strengthen it through prayer and repentance is emphasized, helping believers face spiritual challenges. [Extracted from the article]

In a series of two decisions known as the School Prayer Cases, the Supreme Court famously held that the Establishment Clause forbids state-sponsored prayer in public schools--even where the government provides opt-outs for dissenters. Yet subsequent legal developments have rendered those decisions unstable. And with the Court's recent turn to "historical practices and understandings," many question whether the School Prayer Cases can possibly survive. It is too soon to tell where the Court's renewed focus on Founding-era history might lead. But this Article contends, contrary to both some originalist Justices and their critics, that a focus on history does not spell the end of the School Prayer Cases. On the contrary, it may well place those decisions on firmer ground. In a recent opinion, the Supreme Court observed that state-sponsored school prayer bears some relation to at least one "hallmark" of Founding-era establishments--namely, laws requiring citizens to attend worship in the established church. Contrary to what some Justices have suggested, however, the problem with these Foundingera laws was not that they lacked exemptions for dissenters. Rather, for the Founding generation, laws mandating attendance at statesponsored worship were objectionable, opt-outs or no, because such laws exceeded the government's rightful authority. On this view, the key feature of the School Prayer Cases is not the presence or absence of exemptions or proof of individual coercion. Instead, it is the government's claimed right to mandate attendance at worship in the first place, no matter how tolerant the scheme. And understanding that point may offer important insight into larger questions about the propriety and limits of government-sponsored prayer, inside as well as outside of public schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on reexamining the religious aspects of Enlightenment deists by analyzing the prayers written by self-identified deists. Topics include the evolving scholarly perspectives on the Enlightenment's relationship with religion, the diverse and devout practices of deist prayer-writers, and the role of these practices in challenging stereotypes about deism and secularization.

Copyright of Nisar: Journal of Religious Studies / Dini Tetkikler Dergisi is the property of NISAR and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to analyze the development of disciplinary attitudes in elementary school children through Duha prayer activities. This research uses a case study type of research with a qualitative approach. This research uses a qualitative research method with a case study approach and uses in-depth interviews with grade III elementary school children and accompanying teachers to obtain a complete and complete picture of changes in the disciplinary attitudes of grade 3 students at SD Muhammadiyah PK Wonosegoro. Data is processed and analyzed by reducing data, presenting data, and drawing conclusions. The results of this research show that there is an increase in students' awareness in understanding the time for performing Duha prayers, what things should be avoided when performing Duha prayers, and students also understand their duties such as taking turns to be the imam and surahs that must be read without direction. from the teacher again. Apart from that, students no longer leave late, everyone can arrive before 07.00 in the morning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the areas in folk culture is to analyze the common rituals among the ethnic groups, and their ways of doing so. Rituals are some of the cultural and social issues of a particular culture, the employment of which requires certain manners and styles, which are of significance in folk culture studies. Some rituals are vast among some ethnicities, in that they are performed in different occasions, the analysis of which show the culture and beliefs in that ethnicity. As some of the rituals related to rain pray are particular to the northern Khorasan ethnic groups (Turks, Tarts, Turkeman, and Kermanj), the current study aimed to identify the rain pray rituals and their performative manners related to each ethnic group as well as their aims through library study and interviews. The findings figured out the types of rain pray rituals among the focused ethnic groups, and their performances in the ritual which are almost similar among them, such as puppetry, singing rain pray songs in group, distributing strew or votive bread, sacrifice, and saying prayers. Some of these symbols in rain pray are rooted in religious beliefs and some others in mythological notions. The role of women and children is significant in the performances. Although the ritual of rain pray is different on the surface among the ethnic groups, in total, all follow the same aim. Moreover, the people who were performing such rituals believed in them by heart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the hypothesis that there are certain conceptual gaps between the source and target concepts and proposes a translation strategy to avoid that distortion of the intended meanings. It starts from the premise that producing a high-quality translation of Quranic concepts could be attained if the distinctive features of source and target concepts are delimited based on an onomasiological terminological approach and a tri-dimensional textual approach. The objective is to assess an equivalent of a Qur'anic term based on its conceptual match or mismatch with the source concept and to propose improved versions that meet the needs of readers of Quranic translations irrespective of their cultural backgrounds. Thus, after attaining the conceptual delimitation of the Quranic concept of salah, an analysis is conducted to check whether its features are well conveyed in the equivalent "prayer". Salah is delimited in the Quran (intratextuality), Sunnah (intertextuality), and the historical sociocultural contexts (contextuality). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the prayer texts of Saint Maximus the Greek, including those written in Greek on the Holy Mount Athos in the Monastery of Vatopedi. This is followed by prayers written during his tenure in Moscow, Russia, where he produced a substantial corpus of texts in Old Church Slavonic while imprisoned (although in three different monasteries dungeons/monastic cells; further details may be found in the biographical introduction), among which the prayers are discussed in this instance. This study offers a concise overview of Greek prayers and additionally presents a detailed analysis of the Old Church Slavonic prayer known as the Prayer to the Holy Trinity. By this manner it is established an important biographical and cultural link between Maxim's past philological and monastic activities (in Italy and on Athos) and the apologetically accented manuscript oeuvre he produced in Russia. The textual and linguistic techniques employed by Maxim are highlighted, revealing his conscious construction of a particular theologically sharpened, deeply personal, Orthodox autopoetics.

This research provides insight into current te reo Māori (the Indigenous language of Aotearoa, New Zealand) use in English-medium ECE settings. We videoed naturalistic conversations between kaiako (educators) and tamariki (aged 15–28 months) at 24 English-medium BestStart ECE centres. Te reo Māori was quantitatively assessed across five routines: kai (food) time, book time, group time, free play, and nappy change. The highest rates of te reo Māori use per minute were observed during the kai time, book time, and group time routines, respectively, and lowest during free play and nappy change. Although scripted/prepared te reo Māori use (e.g. karakia and waiata; prayer and song) were well used, opportunities for more complex and elaborate te reo Māori use remain. This research provides insight into the current use of te reo Māori in English-medium ECE settings, an enhanced understanding of kaiako contributions to te reo Māori revitalisation goals, and applications for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThere is a growing interest in scholarship on the creative forms of Pentecostalism in Africa and globally. This study extends the conversation by exploring music-making in prayer mountain spirituality in Nigeria. Specifically, it examines the roles of music makers and their creative processes in prayer mountain liturgy. In addition, it discusses factors that aid creativity among music makers in the prayer mountains. Two popular prayer mountains, namely Orí-òkè Ikoyi in Ikoyi and Orí-òkè Bàbà Àbíyè in Ede, Osun State Nigeria, were selected for the study. Data for the study were generated through participant observations and interviews with music makers including prayer and song leaders as well as instrumentalists on both prayer mountains. Using the dynamic inspiration theory, the study reveals that music-making in Orí-òkè is a triadic process that is spiritually, musically, and situationally integrated. I argue that with Orí-òkè music and musicians, we can further grasp the interplay of human (social) and non-human (spiritual) agency in Pentecostal creative and musical practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Embedding the Unconscious in the Conscious: John Ashbery’s Sestina 'The Painter' Revisited" by Huixin Zhang explores John Ashbery's sestina "The Painter" from his debut collection "Some Trees." The article delves into how Ashbery's conscious artistry can absorb the philosophy of unconscious artistic creation through the structure of the sestina form. By analyzing the interrelatedness of the end words in the poem, the article argues that the seemingly rigid sestina form actually offers flexibility for the speaker to express inner thoughts. Ashbery's deliberate use of the sestina form reflects his engagement with Surrealism and the interplay between conscious and unconscious elements in artistic creation. [Extracted from the article]

One of the theological concerns of believers in all religions is the attention of God to their prayers. In the scriptures, God is introduced as present and influential in the system of existence and loving towards his creatures, but not visually perceptible to humans. This has led some believers to perceive that God either does not exist at all or, for some reason, is hidden from humans, leading to doubts about the existence of God. The divine disappearance has had various cognitive and psychological consequences. In this study, we have attempted to focus on the psychological consequences of this issue and find ways to address the emotional and psychological doubts arising from the belief in the divine disappearance based on discussions in psychology and the psychology of religion. Feelings of God's distance from humans, not feeling loved by God, the possibility that God may have lied about the promises made to humans in the sacred books, and the feeling that God does not care about humans and does not want them to be benevolent, are among the emotional doubts arising from the belief in the existence of God. However, these doubts are often the result of incorrect beliefs that humans depict in their minds about God and his relationship with humans. By having a correct analysis of these misconceptions and replacing them with correct beliefs about God, it is possible to overcome emotional doubts arising from the divine disappearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Journal of Jesuit Studies" Volume 11, No. 1 focuses on Jesuit Emblems and Emblematics, featuring articles on various aspects of Jesuit emblematic art and iconography. The issue includes discussions on Jesuit emblem characteristics, biblical and classical influences, and the emblematic decoration of Jesuit colleges. Additionally, the volume contains book reviews on topics related to Jesuit history, art, and literature, providing a comprehensive overview of Jesuit scholarship and cultural contributions. [Extracted from the article]

According to Hans Urs von Balthasar and Adrienne von Speyr, the divine Persons eternally pray to each other. According to Thomas Aquinas, they do not. Thomas allows for ways in which the divine Persons worship, glorify, contemplate, and give thanks to each other. Yet he defines prayer as petition, and he teaches that the divine Persons cannot petition each other—which means that They cannot pray to each other. For Thomas, however, Christ's prayer reveals His eternal sonship, and certain terms in which Thomas casts divine sonship recall those in which he casts prayer. Thomas, therefore, can open up certain avenues towards the conclusion that the petitionary prayer, which is limited to creatures, resembles and is rooted in the Son's eternal sonship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Note discusses the circuit split between the Ninth Circuit and the Fifth Circuit on whether prayer should be permitted to open up a school board meeting. First introducing the topic and explaining the history of legislative prayer in America, the Note then discusses governing Supreme Court precedent concerning school prayer and legislative prayer. After analyzing the cases that are the subject of the circuit split, the Note concludes with a recommendation that the Supreme Court permit the recitation of prayer to begin a school board meeting, citing the commonalities between a school board and a legislature and making three suggestions for a constitutionallystructured legislative prayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lavishly illuminated Prayer Book of Mary of Guelders (Berlin, SBB-PK, Ms. germ. qu. 42) was written in 1415 by Helmig die Lewe in the monastery of Marienborn near Arnhem. During the second half of the 19th cent. this manuscript gradually became known to historians of art in Germany and to church historians in the Netherlands. Its appreciation until c. 1900 depended on the point of view of its observers as well as on the gradual development of an art-historical vocabulary and the introduction of high-quality reproductions in scholarly publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Within some religious collectivities, the use of digital media for rituals, gaining religious knowledge and community gatherings may be seen as a challenge to religious identity, thus provoking different attitudes. Drawing on practice theory of Schatzki, we analyse different attitudes to digital practices expressed by members of the Russian Orthodox Church as shaped by their perception of the affordances of digital media and practice normativity. Developing previous studies, we demonstrate that the normative assessment of digital practices becomes significant mainly for developing critical arguments. Approval of digital practices does not depend solely on religious norms, but also on users' experience of leveraging digital media affordances. We show that acceptance and critique are not mutually exclusive, as both types of argument are intertwined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how listening to monājāt (Islamic sung prayer) creates dynamic and unsettling imaginative spaces for Amir—a paraplegic veteran of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War—to be‐with Sohrab, his comrade killed in combat. Amir, who both witnessed Sohrab's tragic death and endured severe physical trauma himself, engages in a profound, nonreciprocal relationship with Sohrab through the act of listening to the sung prayer. Monājāt is a collective experience that derives its power from Amir's imagined world where he finds himself whispering the prayers alongside Sohrab. This participatory mode of listening allows the living to host and welcome the dead. Monājāt creates a nonreciprocal relationship with the dead, a place where Amir hears what is otherwise inaudible. In this imaginary world, Amir finds proximity to be‐with his dead friend. Listening is a mode of being‐in‐the‐world that challenges one to not neglect the other's needs. For Amir, monājāt provides both images of Sohrab in heaven (the radiant face with the angels) and a disturbance by alerting him to recall Sohrab's suffering and the injured face. Listening, then, becomes a response and obligation to care for the dead; a way to attend to and be responsible for Sohrab which for Amir is both healing and haunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]