A highly readable and illuminating approach to biblical scholarship from the author of Christ the Form of Beauty.At a time when new approaches to biblical analysis are proliferating, Francesca Murphy opens up the literary dimension of the Bible using a lively form of narrative criticism, developing a doctrine of revelation which is both original and radically traditional. Murphy argues that the Bible is written imaginatively, and that the best way to understand its meaning is to imagine how to perform or dramatize it. She follows the sequence of heroes and heroines who carry the plot from Genesis to Revelation and presents a fresh and remarkable picture of biblical revelation as the performance of God's image in history, captured by its writers' moral imagination.
The biblical motif of a land divinely-promised and given to Abraham and his descendants is argued to be an ideological reflex of post-monarchic, territorial disputes between competing socio-religious groups. The important biblical motif of a Promised Land is founded upon the ancient Near Eastern concept of ancestral land: hereditary space upon which families lived, worked, died and were buried. An essential element of concept of ancestral land was the belief in the post-mortem existence of the ancestors, who were venerated with grave offerings, mortuary feasts, bone rituals and standing stones. The Hebrew Bible is littered with stories concerning these practices and beliefs, yet the specific correlation of ancestor veneration and certain biblical land claims has gone unrecognized. The book remedies this in presenting evidence for the vital and persistent impact of ancestor veneration upon land claims. It proposes that ancestor veneration, which formed a common ground in the experiences of various socio-religious groups in ancient Israel, became in the Hebrew Bible an ideological battlefield upon which claims to the land were won and lost.
This textbook will give students a clear understanding of the connection between faith and reason. Illuminating Faith gives students a clear and accessible introduction to some of the major ways faith and the relationship between faith and reason have been understood within Western Christianity. In twenty-six short and easy to digest units it covers different accounts of faith beginning with Scripture, moving through the history of Christian thought, and ending with contemporary views. Along the way it explores some of the decisive theological and philosophy accounts of faith, such as faith seeking understanding, faith and supernatural virtue, faith and skepticism, and faith and science. Yet it also includes significant issues and movements not typically covered in introductory texts, such as documents from church councils, faith as knowledge, assent, and trust in the Protestant scholastics, faith and the heart in pietism, secularized accounts of faith, faith after Auschwitz, and faith and liberation. The goal of each unit is to introduce students to topical issues surrounding the nature of faith, to provide historical background for each topic, and to generate further discussion and reflection on the nature of faith. The result is a well balanced and unique introduction to various understandings of faith. Designed specifically with classroom use in mind, Illuminating Faith includes a glossary of words, an update-to-date bibliography, and each chapter ends with questions for discussion as well as suggestions for relevant reading material.
This textbook will give students a clear understanding of the connection between faith and reason. Illuminating Faith gives students a clear and accessible introduction to some of the major ways faith and the relationship between faith and reason have been understood within Western Christianity. In twenty-six short and easy to digest units it covers different accounts of faith beginning with Scripture, moving through the history of Christian thought, and ending with contemporary views. Along the way it explores some of the decisive theological and philosophy accounts of faith, such as faith seeking understanding, faith and supernatural virtue, faith and skepticism, and faith and science. Yet it also includes significant issues and movements not typically covered in introductory texts, such as documents from church councils, faith as knowledge, assent, and trust in the Protestant scholastics, faith and the heart in pietism, secularized accounts of faith, faith after Auschwitz, and faith and liberation. The goal of each unit is to introduce students to topical issues surrounding the nature of faith, to provide historical background for each topic, and to generate further discussion and reflection on the nature of faith. The result is a well balanced and unique introduction to various understandings of faith. Designed specifically with classroom use in mind, Illuminating Faith includes a glossary of words, an update-to-date bibliography, and each chapter ends with questions for discussion as well as suggestions for relevant reading material.
This book provides a creative and highly imaginative critical theological genealogy of modern secular reason and the nature of modernity more generally. Francesca Murphy offers a critical perspective that shapes the exploration of modernity, driven by Catholic traditions and sources.Murphy’s method is unique: she uses artificial intelligence as her framing parable, analyzing the nature and limits of the robotic ‘reasoning’ of several AI characters (Pistis, Gnosis and Cultus). This enables her to develop several interrelated themes, with further didactic chapters offering a mytho-poetic retelling of human history. Her reflections on the absence of creativity and any meaningful relation to ‘time’ further renders an acute critique of the limits of technological rationality. The end result is an unusual and compelling exploration of rationality and fundamental theological anthropology.
This book provides a creative and highly imaginative critical theological genealogy of modern secular reason and the nature of modernity more generally. Francesca Murphy offers a critical perspective that shapes the exploration of modernity, driven by Catholic traditions and sources.Murphy’s method is unique: she uses artificial intelligence as her framing parable, analyzing the nature and limits of the robotic ‘reasoning’ of several AI characters (Pistis, Gnosis and Cultus). This enables her to develop several interrelated themes, with further didactic chapters offering a mytho-poetic retelling of human history. Her reflections on the absence of creativity and any meaningful relation to ‘time’ further renders an acute critique of the limits of technological rationality. The end result is an unusual and compelling exploration of rationality and fundamental theological anthropology.
Goats eat EVERYTHING! Especially when a garden gate is left open and a feast awaits. Not content with strawberries, lemons and beans they continue to munch until all the plants, the shed and then next door's fence has been devoured!
Hack and Whack - two angelic looking Viking toddler twins - are on the attack! As they go marauding around their village, upsetting the apple carts, little do they know there is a force far more powerful than they: their mum! The story ends on the terrible two being plunged into a cold bath!Gloriously funny, slapstick, fast paced action from the queen of funny.
'Before you reject me, before you hate me, remember: I never asked to be Hel's queen.'But being a normal teenager wasn't an option either. Now she's stuck ruling the underworld. For eternity. She doesn't want your pity. But she does demand that you listen. It's only fair you hear her side of the story . . . It didn't have to be like this.
A SUNDAY TIMES LITERARY NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARA GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (AS CHOSEN BY AUTHORS)**LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE****SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE**'Outstanding. I'll be recommending this all year.' SARAH BAKEWELL'A beautiful and deeply moving book.' SALLY ROONEY'I like this London life . . . the street-sauntering and square-haunting.' Virginia Woolf, diary, 1925Mecklenburgh Square, on the radical fringes of interwar Bloomsbury, was home to activists, experimenters and revolutionaries; among them were the modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and writer and publisher Virginia Woolf. They each alighted there seeking a space where they could live, love and, above all, work independently.Francesca Wade's spellbinding group biography explores how these trailblazing women pushed the boundaries of literature, scholarship, and social norms, forging careers that would have been impossible without these rooms of their own.'Elegant, erudite and absorbing, Square Haunting is a startlingly original debut, and Francesca Wade is a writer to watch.' FRANCES WILSON'A fascinating voyage through the lives of five remarkable women - moving and immersive.' EDMUND GORDON
This viking duo will give Horrid Henry a run for his money!What if your parents WANTED you to behave badly?Set in the snowy fjords of a Viking kingdom, the terrible twins, Hack and Whack, are proud to be the best worst vikings. Nothing stops the marauding pair as they steal boats, loot a birthday party, track a troll and sail off to raid Bad Island with their friends Twisty Pants and Dirty Ulf.Well, almost nothing . . .With whip-smart dialogue, and accompanied by Dennis the Menace style anarchic cartoon imagery, this series is as sharp, funny and compelling as you would expect from the reigning Queen of Comedy.'As joyously anarchic as Horrid Henry . . . will have your children laughing out loud.' Cressida Cowell'A treat for kids. A wonderfully absurd, anarchic romp.' Sarah McIntyre
It's not easy being the WORST at everything!Hack and Whack are the very worst Vikings in the village - until a fierce and stinky berserker moves in - NEXT DOOR!WILL the brand new school help the twins outwit this villain and his vicious dog, Muddy Butt?And will Twisty Pants, Dirty Ulf and Elsa Gold-Hair help vanquish this foul fiend?'As joyously anarchic as Horrid Henry.' Cressida Cowell'A great new series for early readers.' BookTrust'A wonderfully absurd, anarchic romp.' Sarah McIntyre'Immensely appealing to children of five and up.' Literary Review
Three fantastic new stories!Hack and Whack babysit a toddler - Fire Hazard - and discover to their horror that they might not be the worst vikings in the village after all . . .Then they manage to secure an exciting invite to feast with the visiting king, but discover that it's three days of having to be on their best behaviour . . . Until the new teenaged king turns out to be a lout - food fights ensue, and he loves them.Unfortunately, that's when the snotty, privileged, wealthy winter guests turn up - distant cousins who can't be turned away. They make everyone's life a misery - can Hack and Whack find a way to get rid of them?Packed full of humour that children will love and illustrated with anarchy by the fabulous Steve May.
'Strikingly accomplished . . . utterly compelling.' SUNDAY TIMES'A masterpiece of biography.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'A total joy to read.' SARAH BAKEWELL'I feel like I've been waiting for this book my whole life.' SHEILA HETIFrom the celebrated author of Square Haunting comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells.'Think of the Bible and Homer, think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century.In this literary detective story, Francesca Wade delves into the creation of the Stein myth. We see her posing for Picasso's portrait; at the centre of Bohemian Parisian life hosting the likes of Matisse and Hemingway; racing through the French countryside with her enigmatic companion Alice B. Toklas; dazzling American crowds on her sell-out tour for her sensational Autobiography - a veritable celebrity. Yet Stein hoped to be remembered not for her personality but for her work. From her deathbed, she charged her partner with securing her place in literary history. How would her legend shift once it was Toklas's turn to tell the stories - especially when uncomfortable aspects of their past emerged from the archive? Using astonishing never-before-seen material, Wade uncovers the origins of Stein's radical writing, and reveals new depths to the storied relationship which made it possible.This is Gertrude Stein as she was when nobody was watching: captivating, complex and human.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AMERICAN LIBRARY IN PARIS BOOK AWARD 2025 'Strikingly accomplished . . . utterly compelling.' SUNDAY TIMES 'A masterpiece of biography.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A total joy to read.' SARAH BAKEWELL 'I feel like I've been waiting for this book my whole life.' SHEILA HETI From the celebrated author of Square Haunting comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells. 'Think of the Bible and Homer think of Shakespeare and think of me,' Stein wrote. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan. Gertrude Stein remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century. The host of glamorous salons at 27 rue de Fleurus, brushing shoulders with Picasso and Hemingway in her long brown robe, Stein never ceased plotting her own legacy. She would be known as the literary innovator of her time. And her enigmatic partner, Alice B. Toklas, would make sure of it.
A passionate retelling of a haunting myth, a tragic romance that echoes through the ages.The moment I saw her face.The moment I heard her siren song . . .Salka, the faerie Lady of the Lake, can't help but appear to Owain, a shepherd who has already captured her heart. He needs only to see her to fall deeply in love. But her father has one condition on their marriage: if Owain strikes her three times she must return to the Lake forever. Despite their married bliss, Salka is not like the other inhabitants in this small village. Gossip turns against her and as prejudice and suspicion breed, Owain finds himself wishing his wife was more ordinary, that she tried harder to fit in, that she was less . . . herself.What is more of a strike than to question her very nature? The first heart-blow is struck. And now, desperately, their future lies in his hands . . .Francesca Simon's first novel for an adult readership is an exquisite and tautly moving tragedy told by multiple voices, both a richly woven retelling of an ancient Welsh myth and a thought-provoking drama for our times.
Daddy emu has five eggs to hatch, and then five chicks to raise all by himself He teaches them how to eat and talk, swim and run. He protects them from the giant perentie lizard and watches them grow. Soon they are all grown up and there are new emu eggs and new emu chicks. And Daddy emu becomes a Grandpa emu
the mishaps of a hopeless romantic is dedicated to those who find themselves dwelling on the pleasurable and tempting idea of a reciprocated and idealistic love, despite having dealt with negative experiences in the past.striving to find this love with another can unfortunately come with heartbreaks, pain, misery, patience, and longing, which eventually results in becoming unfair to your own self and worth.hopeless romantics tend to give too much of themselves to someone else as a means to build a home with them, keep the other person happy, and avoid losing them at all costs.however, with these poems, francesca hopes that hopeless romantics will come to the realization that sparing some love for their own selves and avoiding giving their all to another is the wisest decision they could ever make when it comes to the notion of love, as it saves them from all the heartbreak, pain, and unhealthy tendencies they may encounter when being hopelessly romantic.
