"From the author of City Poet, the biography of Frank O'Hara, now comes an account of thriving forms of spirituality in what is being called a "post-denominational" age." "As the nineties were drawing to a close, Brad Gooch set out on a journey to explore traditional and nontraditional forms of spirituality that took him across America and to India. Gooch's quest - partly personal and partly investigative - took him to Chicago to read the mysterious Urantia Book; to Goa and La Jolla to experience the talks and treatments of Deepak Chopra; to Ganeshpuri and South Fallsburg, New York, to listen to the charismatic leader Gurumayi Chidvilasananda; to Bardstown, Kentucky, to observe the quiet solitude of the Trappists and to Dubuque, Iowa, to see the Trappistines; to Dallas to worship with the members of the gay congregation of the Cathedral of Hope; and to New York to talk with Muslims and Sufis. As Gooch proceeded on this unique spiritual odyssey - from fringe to mainstream - he witnessed diverse movements and religions and their strong appeal to a broad spectrum of followers." "Brad Gooch has written a revealing, richly detailed document of our time. In Godtalk, character, dialogue, and setting come together in an irresistible, fast-paced narrative that is both engaging and informative about the unexpected nature of spirituality in America today."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

From the halls of Harvard to the aisles of bookstores to the kitchen tables of Main Street, Americans are developing a new grammar of God that is fresh and rooted in history. Phyllis Tickle shows us snapshots of religion in America from the 1930s to the present. God-Talk in America argues that there is an emerging new understanding of who and what God is, and of what religion must do. As always, religion is being created in the streets and cafes and bedrooms and kitchens of real America rather than in the seminaries or cathedrals. Phyllis Tickle listens in those ordinary places and shows why a sea-change in religion, theology and spirituality is underway. Her book is both map of the present and compass to the future.

William C. Pohl IV investigates ethical God-talk in the book of Job, by exploring the prominence of such theology, showing how each major section of the book highlights the theme of proper speech, and demonstrating that Job's internal rhetoric is the foundation for the book's external rhetoric. Pohl analyses each of Job's speeches for literary rhetorical situation, forms (i.e., genres), its rhetorical strategies; the rhetorical goals of each speech are identified in light of Job's exigency (or exigencies) and his use of strategies is explored in light of these goals. Pohl argues that Job faces two main exigencies: his suffering and the necessity of defending his protest prayer vis-à-vis his “friends.” Job seeks to alleviate his suffering with protest prayer, and to defend his prayers to the friends through argumentation. Following the internal rhetorical analysis, this study proceeds to examine the external rhetorical effect of the Elihu and Yahweh speeches vis-à-vis ethical God-talk. Pohl concludes that the book of Job shapes its readers to see protest prayer as an ethical, even encouraged, form of discourse in the midst of innocent suffering. Brief implications of this conclusion are outlined, identifying the book's rhetorical situation through the “entextualized” problem in the book. Pohl proposes a new exigency for the book of Job in which protest prayer was eschewed, and a tentative proposal for the book of Job's historical provenance is outlined.

Religion’s influence on public opinion, politics, and candidates has been widely discussed in political science for a generation. God Talk isthe first volume that uses experimental methodology to establish whether and how that influence works. Paul Djupe and Brian Calfano provide an unprecedented look at how religious cues, values, and identity-driven appeals impact candidate selection, trust, interest group support, and U.S. public opinion about tolerance, the environment, foreign policy, and related issues. By situating their disparate, randomly assigned interventions within the broader framework of elite-based influence, the authors apply their new methodology to three questions: How do clergy affect congregation members? How are religious elites and groups and their public arguments evaluated? With what effect do political elites use religion? The results of their research provide a compelling framework for understanding the links between religion and politics. In the series The Social Logic of Politics, edited by Scott McClurg

Urban God Talk: Constructing a Hip Hop Spirituality, edited by Andre Johnson, is a collection of essays that examine the religious and spiritual in hip hop. The contributors argue that the prevailing narrative that hip hop offers nothing in the way of religion and spirituality is false. From its beginning, hip hop has had a profound spirituality and advocates religious views—and while not orthodox or systemic, nevertheless, many in traditional orthodox religions would find the theological and spiritual underpinnings in hip hop comforting, empowering, and liberating. In addition, this volume demonstrates how scholars in different disciplines approach the study of hip hop, religion, and spirituality. Whether it is a close reading of a hip hop text, ethnography, a critical studies approach or even a mixed method approach, this study is a pedagogical tool for students and scholars in various disciplines to use and appropriate for their own research and understanding. Urban God Talk will inspire not only scholars to further their research, but will also encourage publishers to print more in this field. The contributors to this in-depth study show how this subject is an underrepresented area within hip hop studies, and that the field is broad enough for numerous monographs, edited works, and journal publications in the future.

One of this century's most eminent theologians addresses the eternal questions of the relationship of good and evil, linking the story of Job to the lives of the poor and oppressed of our world.

This thoughtful book offers a fresh theological interpretation for the ways people talk about God in times of crisis. A Theology of God-Talk: The Language of the Heart probes the meaning behind phrases like "It must have been God's will" and "The Lord took Uncle Harry." Bringing together psychology, theology, and narrative theory, this insightful and sensitive book offers new ways of looking at this common reaction to crisis. Book jacket.

Does God speak?The answer seems clear. Books abound on the topic of hearing God's voice. And many believers testify to God's conversational guidance in their life: "God told me to help you." "I knew it was God speaking to me."Our culture reinforces the idea that speaking--constant speaking--is good and natural and essential. In those rare moments during a day when talking ceases or when we're alone, we quickly find some way to fill the void, whether turning on the television or radio, or calling someone on the phone. With others, and especially with God, we get the message: speaking is good, silence is bad.But still, Ruth Tucker is not afraid to ask the question, "Does God speak?" And her answer might surprise you. She urges caution in speaking about hearing God, pointing out that our privatized spirituality often sets those who hear God on a pedestal and leaves those who don't feeling spiritually inferior. Further, she shows how the expectation of conversation may too easily humanize God in our minds, causing us to approach God with the same attitude we have when we call a friend on the phone. And if God does speak, how can we be sure our own desires are not affecting our interpretation of God's voice?InGod TalkTucker offers us a new paradigm for viewing silence and prayer. Rather than feeling inferior when we don't hear God speak, she helps us lean more deeply on his silent, Spirit-inspired Word. By examining the Trinity, Tucker gives us a new glimpse of how God the Father spoke his words in the past, how Christ the Incarnate Word lived among us, and how the Holy Spirit speaks to us now through Scripture. Here is a probing, thought-provoking read on how our present, active, powerful God relates to us and how we, in turn, should relate to God.

Why do gods persist in contemporary society? This book provides an insight on a new approach to religious studies, drawn from systems theory to consider religion as a means of communication, and offers a critical alternative to the secularization theory to explain why religion persists in modernity.

Suppose you could ask God any question and get an answer. What would it be? Young people all over the world have been asking those questions. So Neale Donald Walsch, author of the internationally bestselling Conversations with God series had another conversation. Conversations with God for Teens is a simple, clear, straight-to-the-point dialogue that answers teens questions about God, money, sex, love, and more. Conversations with God for Teens reads like a rap session at a church youth group, where teenagers discuss everything they ever wanted to know about life but were too afraid to ask God. Walsch acts as the verbal conduit, showing teenagers how easy it is to converse with the divine. When Claudia, age 16, from Perth, Australia, asks, "Why can't I just have sex with everybody? What's the big deal?", the answer God offers her is: "Nothing you do will ever be okay with everybody. 'Everybody' is a large word. The real question is can you have sex and have it be okay with you?" There's no doubt that the casual question-and-answer format will help make God feel welcoming and accessible to teens. Conversations with God for Teens is the perfect gift purchase for parents, grandparents, and anyone else who wants to provide accessible spiritual content for the teen(s) in their lives.