{"title":"Series: Lives of Great Religious Books","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eLives of Great Religious Books\u003c\/em\u003e series offers a profound exploration of texts that have shaped spiritual thought and cultural history. Readers can expect insightful reflections on the enduring impact of sacred writings, delving into their philosophical, ethical, and historical significance across diverse traditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBridging the realms of faith and scholarship, this collection invites contemplation on the power of scripture to inspire, challenge, and transform. It is a valuable resource for those intrigued by the intersections of religion, philosophy, and human experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"josephuss-the-jewish-war-by-martin-goodman-9780691137391","title":"Josephus's The Jewish War","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn essential introduction to Josephus's momentous war narrative, \u003cem\u003eThe Jewish War\u003c\/em\u003e is Josephus's superbly evocative account of the Jewish revolt against Rome, which was crushed in 70 CE with the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMartin Goodman describes the life of this book, from its composition in Greek for a Roman readership to the myriad ways it touched the lives of Jews and Christians over the span of two millennia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe scion of a priestly Jewish family, Josephus became a rebel general at the start of the war. Captured by the enemy general Vespasian, Josephus predicted correctly that Vespasian would be the future emperor of Rome and thus witnessed the final stages of the siege of Jerusalem from the safety of the Roman camp. He wrote his history of these cataclysmic events from a comfortable exile in Rome.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis history enjoyed enormous popularity among Christians, who saw it as a testimony to the world that gave rise to their faith and a record of the suffering of the Jews due to their rejection of Christ. Jews were hardly aware of the book until the Renaissance. In the nineteenth century, Josephus's history became an important source for recovering Jewish history. However, Jewish enthusiasm for his stories of heroism—such as the doomed defence of Masada—has been tempered by suspicion of a writer who betrayed his own people.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGoodman provides a concise biography of one of the greatest war narratives ever written, explaining why Josephus's book continues to hold such fascination today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46844312453356,"sku":"9780691137391","price":69.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1361053482434.jpg?v=1758833963"},{"product_id":"the-life-of-saint-teresa-of-avila-by-carlos-eire-9780691164939","title":"The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe life and many afterlives of one of the most enduring mystical testaments ever written, \u003ci\u003eThe Life of Saint Teresa of Avila\u003c\/i\u003e is among the most remarkable accounts ever written of the human encounter with the divine. The Life is not really an autobiography at all, but rather a confession written for inquisitors by a nun whose raptures and mystical claims had aroused suspicion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite its troubled origins, the book has had a profound impact on Christian spirituality for five centuries, attracting admiration from readers as diverse as mystics, philosophers, artists, psychoanalysts, and neurologists. How did a manuscript once kept under lock and key by the Spanish Inquisition become one of the most inspiring religious books of all time?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNational Book Award winner Carlos Eire tells the story of this incomparable spiritual masterpiece, examining its composition and reception in the sixteenth century, the various ways its mystical teachings have been interpreted and reinterpreted across time, and its enduring influence in our own secular age. The Life became an iconic text of the Counter-Reformation, was revered in Franco's Spain, and has gone on to be read as a feminist manifesto, a literary work, and even as a secular text.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut as Eire demonstrates in this vibrant and evocative book, Teresa's confession is a cry from the heart to God and an audacious portrayal of mystical theology as a search for love. Here is the essential companion to \u003ci\u003eThe Life\u003c\/i\u003e, one woman's testimony to the reality of mystical experience and a timeless affirmation of the ultimate triumph of good over evil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46846444110060,"sku":"9780691164939","price":79.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1636533482434.jpg?v=1758910086"},{"product_id":"the-koran-in-english-by-bruce-b-lawrence-9780691209210","title":"The Koran in English","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe untold story of how the Arabic Qur'an became the English Koran\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor millions of Muslims, the Qur'an is sacred only in Arabic, the original Arabic in which it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. To many Arab and non-Arab believers alike, the book literally defies translation, yet English translations are growing in both number and importance. Bruce Lawrence tells the remarkable story of the centuries-long quest to translate the Qur'an's lyrical verses—and to make English itself an Islamic language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA translation saga like no other, this panoramic book looks at cyber Korans, versions by feminist translators, and even a graphic Qur'an by the acclaimed visual artist Sandow Birk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46850318598380,"sku":"9780691209210","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2079243482434.jpg?v=1759081093"},{"product_id":"paradise-lost-by-alan-jacobs-9780691238579","title":"Paradise Lost","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe life and times of Milton's epic poem about Satan's revolt against God and humanity's expulsion from paradise\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Milton's \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e has secured its place in the pantheon of epic poems, but unlike almost all other works in the pantheon, it is intimately associated with religious doctrine and its implications for how we live our lives. For more than three centuries, it has been a flashpoint for arguments not just about Christianity but also about governance, rebellion and obedience, sexual politics, and what makes poetry great. Alan Jacobs tells the story of Milton's enduring poem, shedding light on its composition and reception and explaining why it resonates so powerfully with us today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eComposed through dictation after Milton went blind in 1652, \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e centres on an ancient biblical answer to the eternal question of how evil came into the world. It has proved impossible to disentangle the defence or critique of the poem from attitudes toward Christianity itself. Does Christian theology entail monarchy or democracy? Are relations between the sexes thwarted by pompous and tyrannical men or by vain and disobedient women? Jacobs traces how generations of readers have grappled with these and other questions, along the way revealing how Milton's poem influenced novelists like Mary Shelley and Philip Pullman and has served as the inspiration for paintings, operas, comic books, and video games.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn essential companion to Milton's poetic masterpiece, this book shows why \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e continues to serve as a mirror reflecting our own complex attitudes about power and authority, justice and revolt, and sin and salvation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47461235720428,"sku":"9780691238579","price":89.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691238579-paradise-lost.jpg?v=1774962964"},{"product_id":"augustines-confessions-by-garry-wills-9780691217642","title":"Augustine's Confessions","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Pulitzer Prize-winner Garry Wills, the story of \u003cem\u003eAugustine's Confessions\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this brief and incisive book, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills tells the story of the \u003cem\u003eConfessions\u003c\/em\u003e—what motivated Augustine to dictate it, how it asks to be read, and the many ways it has been misread in the one-and-a-half millennia since it was composed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWills also addresses the reception of the book, from controversy in its own time and relative neglect during the Middle Ages to a renewed prominence beginning in the fourteenth century and persisting to today, when the \u003cem\u003eConfessions\u003c\/em\u003e has become an object of interest not just for Christians but also historians, philosophers, psychiatrists, and literary critics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith clarity and skill, Wills provides an unparalleled introduction to a spiritual classic that is one of the most important books in the Christian and Western traditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47470065025260,"sku":"9780691217642","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691217642-augustine-s-confessions.jpg?v=1775210861"},{"product_id":"c-s-lewiss-mere-christianity-by-george-m-marsden-9780691202471","title":"C. 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Tolkien and Hugh Dyson—and how his plainspoken case for Christianity went on to become one of the most beloved spiritual books of all time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47470364721388,"sku":"9780691202471","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691202471-c-s-lewis-s-mere-christianity.jpg?v=1775217390"},{"product_id":"the-book-of-common-prayer-by-alan-jacobs-9780691191782","title":"The Book of Common Prayer","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Common Prayer\u003c\/em\u003e became one of the most influential works in the English language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile many of us are familiar with such famous words as \"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here...\" or \"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,\" we may not know that they originated in \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Common Prayer\u003c\/em\u003e, which first appeared in 1549. Like the words of the King James Bible and Shakespeare, the language of this prayer book has saturated English culture and letters. Here Alan Jacobs tells its story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe shows how \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Common Prayer\u003c\/em\u003e—from its beginnings as a means of social and political control in the England of Henry VIII to its worldwide presence today—became a venerable work whose cadences express the heart of religious life for millions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47559023460588,"sku":"9780691191782","price":49.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691191782-the-book-of-common-prayer.jpg?v=1776927021"},{"product_id":"the-book-of-revelation-by-timothy-beal-9780691145839","title":"The Book of Revelation","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe life and times of the New Testament's most mystifying and incendiary book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFew biblical books have been as revered and reviled as \u003cem\u003eRevelation\u003c\/em\u003e. Many hail it as the pinnacle of prophetic vision, the cornerstone of the biblical canon, and, for those with eyes to see, the key to understanding the past, present, and future. Others denounce it as the work of a disturbed individual whose horrific dreams of inhumane violence should never have been allowed into the Bible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTimothy Beal provides a concise cultural history of \u003cem\u003eRevelation\u003c\/em\u003e and the apocalyptic imaginations it has fuelled. Taking readers from the book's composition amid the Christian persecutions of first-century Rome to its enduring influence today in popular culture, media, and visual art, Beal explores the often wildly contradictory lives of this sometimes horrifying, sometimes inspiring biblical vision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe shows how such figures as Augustine and Hildegard of Bingen made \u003cem\u003eRevelation\u003c\/em\u003e central to their own mystical worldviews, and how, thanks to the vivid works of art it inspired, the book remained popular even as it was denounced by later church leaders such as Martin Luther. 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This succinct book traces how \u003cem\u003eRevelation\u003c\/em\u003e continues to inspire new diagrams of history, new fantasies of rapture, and new nightmares of being left behind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47559024476396,"sku":"9780691145839","price":79.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691145839-the-book-of-revelation.jpg?v=1776927033"},{"product_id":"the-dead-sea-scrolls-by-john-j-collins-9780691191713","title":"The Dead Sea Scrolls","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnraveling the controversies surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSince they were first discovered in the caves at Qumran in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have aroused more fascination—and controversy—than perhaps any other archaeological find. They appear to have been hidden in the Judean desert by the Essenes, a Jewish sect that existed around the time of Jesus, and they continue to inspire veneration to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this concise and accessible book, John Collins tells the story of the scrolls and the bitter conflicts that have swirled around them since their startling discovery. He explores whether the scrolls were indeed the property of an isolated, quasi-monastic community or more broadly reflected the Judaism of their time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe unravels the impassioned disputes surrounding the scrolls and Christianity, and looks at attempts to \u003cem\u003ereclaim\u003c\/em\u003e the scrolls for Judaism after the full corpus became available in the 1990s. Collins also describes how the decades-long delay in publishing the scrolls gave rise to sensational claims and conspiracy theories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47559027917036,"sku":"9780691191713","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691191713-the-dead-sea-scrolls.jpg?v=1776927306"},{"product_id":"the-song-of-songs-by-ilana-pardes-9780691146065","title":"The Song of Songs","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn essential history of the greatest love poem ever written, \u003cem\u003eThe Song of Songs\u003c\/em\u003e has been embraced for centuries as the ultimate song of love. But the kind of love readers have found in this ancient poem is strikingly varied. Ilana Pardes invites us to explore the dramatic shift from readings of the Song as a poem on divine love to celebrations of its exuberant account of human love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a refreshingly nuanced approach, she reveals how allegorical and literal interpretations are inextricably intertwined in the Song's tumultuous life. The body in all its aspects—pleasure and pain, even erotic fervour—is key to many allegorical commentaries. And although the literal, sensual Song thrives in modernity, allegory has not disappeared. New modes of allegory have emerged in modern settings, from the literary and the scholarly to the communal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOffering rare insights into the story of this remarkable poem, Pardes traces a diverse line of passionate readers. 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Throughout these explorations of the Song's reception, Pardes highlights the unparalleled beauty of its audacious language of love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47559053541612,"sku":"9780691146065","price":74.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691146065-the-song-of-songs.jpg?v=1776928764"},{"product_id":"the-book-of-genesis-by-ronald-hendel-9780691196831","title":"The Book of Genesis","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring its 2,500-year life, \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Genesis\u003c\/em\u003e has been the keystone to important claims about God and humanity in Judaism and Christianity. It plays a central role in contemporary debates about science, politics, and human rights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors provide a panoramic history of this iconic book, exploring its impact on Western religion, philosophy, literature, art, and more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47599124906220,"sku":"9780691196831","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/93668658318c5f7a7856f2a1c44f4a30.jpg?v=1778024221"},{"product_id":"thomas-aquinass-summa-theologiae-by-bernard-mcginn-9780691191799","title":"Thomas Aquinas's Summa theologiae","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe life and times of the most important theological work of medieval Christendom, \u003ci\u003eThomas Aquinas's Summa theologiae\u003c\/i\u003e, holds a unique place in Western religion and philosophy. Written between 1266 and 1273, it was conceived by Aquinas as an instructional guide for teachers and novices and a compendium of all the approved teachings of the Catholic Church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt synthesises an astonishing range of scholarship, covering hundreds of topics and containing more than a million and a half words—and was still unfinished at the time of Aquinas's death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBernard McGinn, one of today's most acclaimed scholars of medieval Christianity, traces the remarkable life of this iconic work, examining Aquinas's reasons for writing it, its subject matter, and the novel way he organised it. 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