Sin, often defined as a violation of divine will, remains a crucial idea in contemporary moral and religious discourse. However, the apparent familiarity of the concept obscures its origins within the history of Western religious thought. Joseph Lam examines a watershed moment in the development of sin as an idea-namely, within the language and culture of ancient Israel-by examining the primary metaphors used for sin in the Hebrew Bible. Drawing from contemporary theoretical insights coming out of linguistics and philosophy of language, this book identifies four patterns of metaphor that pervade the biblical texts: sin as burden, sin as an account, sin as path or direction, and sin as stain or impurity. In exploring the permutations of these metaphors and their development within the biblical corpus, Patterns of Sin in the Hebrew Bible offers a compelling account of how a religious and theological concept emerges out of the everyday thought-world of ancient Israel, while breaking new ground in its approach to metaphor in ancient texts. Far from being a timeless, stable concept, sin becomes intelligible only when situated in the matrix of ancient Israelite culture. In other words, sin is not as simple as it might seem.
Through his Confessions Augustine presented himself as a seeker of God. His search for God was unrivalled in the history of Christian spirituality. The essays of this book examine Augustine¿s peculiar journey back to his God. Since Augustine¿s search for God has left its mark on the intellectual and spiritual Christian tradition, Joseph Lam also discusses the various perspectives of the ongoing reinterpretation of Augustine¿s theology and spirituality.
LikeThe Mafia Cookbook,this is a cookbook with a story. It's about how Joe Dogs, whose testimony sent more high-ranking mafiosi to the slammer than that of any other federal witness, set out on a trip through small-town America, a million miles from Vegas, Miami Beach, Rao's Restaurant, Little Italy, and Tony Soprano country, trying to keep one step ahead of the Gambino crime family members who were determined to whack him and causing confusion, heartache (but never heartburn), and dismay to the federal marshals who were in charge of relocating him in the heartland and who didn't think Joe should be cooking up Italian food for all sorts of strangers or identifying himself with his beloved Yorkie or visiting New York City or enjoying himself with attractive women.Joe Dogs, being who he is, did all these things and more and writes about them with wit, savage humor, and an unerring eye for detail and the good story, even when the joke is on him. Along the way, he teaches the reader how to cook such mob favorites as Veal Francese, Tuscan Bean Crostini, Broccoli Rabe, Chicken a la Andrea, Fettuccine Alfredo, Filet Mignon Oscar, Insalata con Genoa, Clams Oregano, Filet of Red Snapper Italian Style, Linguine with White Clam Sauce, Mushrooms Stuffed with Crabmeat, Pasta Primavera with Shrimp, plus a meat loaf to die for, and many non-Italian dishes and desserts, all of them based on food you can buy at any supermarket anywhere in the United States.You don't know how to cook? Fuhgedaboutit! These recipes are foolproof.What's more, they're quick -- you can cook up these meals in a hurry with one eye on the driveway just in case a black late-model SUV with tinted windows happens to turn up and you have to eat and run. If you want to eat like Tony Soprano at home, without fuss or shopping in specialty stores or taking a course in Italian cooking, Joe Dogs is your man. This is the book to have on hand, in which Joe Dogs Iannuzzi, former Gambino crime family mobster and author ofThe Mafia Cookbook,tells the vivid story of his life on the run and of the "can't fail" recipes for great Italian dishes whose ingredients can be bought in a small-town supermarket when you're a thousand miles from an Italian grocery store in Little Italy and couldn't go there anyway since there's a contract out for you. These are meals you can't refuse.
Presents historical, ritual, and musical data preserved in authentic Ming documents illustrating the significance of state sacrifices in imperial China.
Teaching about Asian Pacific Americans was created for educators and other practitioners who want to use interactive activities, assignments, and strategies in their classrooms or workshops. Experts in the field of Asian American Studies will find powerful, innovative teaching activities that clearly convey established and new ideas. The activities in this book have been used effectively in workshops for staff and practitioners in student services programs, community-based organizations, teacher training programs, social service agencies, and diversity training.
In Kunqu: A Classical Opera of Twenty-First-Century China, Joseph S. C. Lam offers a holistic and interdisciplinary view on kunqu, a 600-year-old genre of Chinese opera that is being fashionably performed inside and outside of China. He explains how and why the genre charms and signifies Chinese culture, history, and personhood. As the first comprehensive and scholarly book on kunqu written in English, the book not only discusses the genre in cultural and historical terms but also analyzes its shows as performative, cultural, social, and political communications. It approaches the genre from several perspectives, ranging from those of performers and producers to those of casual audience, dedicated connoisseurs, and scholarly critics. Lam also employs a judicious blend of Chinese and international theories and methods. Through this comprehensive study of kunqu, Lam has established the significance of the genre not only in the sphere of Chinese music, but also among the cultural heritage and performing arts at a global level. “This work would be of terrific interest to amateur kunqu performers and to kunqu supporters. It will also be an essential reference work for scholars conducting research not only on kunqu, but on all forms of Chinese opera, particularly as they are being performed contemporarily.” —Nancy Guy, UC San Diego; author of Peking Opera and Politics in Taiwan “It is the first book-length work devoted to studying kunqu opera from historical and ethnomusicological perspectives. At the same time, the study engages various sociocultural theories and methods of humanities studies. It will be a significant addition to the scholarships of ethnomusicology, Chinese cultural history, Chinese drama, and theater/performance studies.” —Yung Sai-shing, National University of Singapore
Why and how has civic engagement emerged in the policy process of Hong Kong as an Asian semi-democratic state? This book attempts to answer this question through examining six cases that straddle diverse policy domains. It identifies three explanatory factors, namely, the profile of a policy domain, the structure of societal interest, and the strength of the civil society sector as important in shaping the state’s strategy in managing society, hence its propensity to engage. These factors affect the outcome through dynamic interaction between the state and societal actors. The findings outlined in the book show that the development of civic engagement in Hong Kong consists of both society-led and state-led cases. Society-led development brought about a high degree of openness and inclusiveness, whereas state-led civic engagement practices tended to be tactics utilized by the state for appeasing or depoliticizing civil society. Compared with other Asian regimes, the use of ‘transgressive contention’ as a way to compel the state to engage society is a feature that stands out in the liberal autocratic regime in Hong Kong.
This powerful collection, all too relevant today, tells a story that needs to be told. The author writes, "This is the truth of what has happened to my people. The Kwantlen people used to number in the thousands but like all river tribes, eighty percent of our people were wiped out by smallpox and now there are only 200 of us. As a Kwantlen man, father, fisherman, poet and playwright I believe the gift of words was given to me so I can retell our stories..." These poems tell the story of a Kwantlen man who has been given the gift of healing but is also is a heroin addict."--
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