In a prison cell, over 330 years ago, John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, an allegory that became the most widely distributed book in the world, second only to the Bible. It is the story of a pilgrim named "Christian," who depicts the lifelong struggle of every believer in the journey we call "the Christian life." Unfortunately, life then was a whole different story than life in the 21st century-especially life in the streets! Kai'Ro: the Journey of an Urban Pilgrim recasts Bunyan's timeless and powerful tale in modern language on an urban stage. You will find yourself both spectator and fellow traveler with Kai'Ro as he faces the blistering sarcasm of The House of Mockers, the haunting pain of his past in the Alley of the Shadow of Death, and the amazing gift of insight at the Interpreter's House. With unflinching honesty and courage, Kai'Ro faces the unrelenting obstacles that entangle modern urban youth, including racism, sex, fatherlessness, violence, and hopelessness. You'll be introduced to characters like Pain, Broken, ChurchBoy, Quitter and Phanatik, whose lives are too real to be ignored. Young or old, urban or suburban, you will find parts of yourself and those you know in Kai'Ro: The Journey of an Urban Pilgrim. (207 words) Judah Ben, 31, has been involved with urban youth for over 15 years. His vision for urban ministry was birthed at Wheaton College while he and friends met weekly with youth incarcerated in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago. Upon graduation he returned home to teach at Restoration Academy, an urban Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama that is nurturing faith and restoring hope in an impoverished community. He is currently anadministrator at the school, and he and his wife and three children make their home in the neighborhood.

Dark Obsessions By: Delphine McClelland Skylar was a Montgomery and with that came power and prestige among the wealthy in Charlotte, North Carolina. From the outside looking in, she had it all, the perfect life. For Skylar, being a Montgomery, a socialite, was not who she wanted to be. Skylar was different, she was weird and a bit of a dreamer. For as long as she could remember, she had an obsession with the supernatural world. Vampires were her favorite of all the supernatural creatures and she could not get enough of them. She read almost every book, watched every movie, and even wished they were real because she had dreams of becoming one. On the annual Montgomery Family Vacation, Skylar's world was turned upside down. Her life was further changed the moment she laid eyes on him. He was the most intriguing and striking man that she had ever seen. In one night, he would change Skylar’s world forever. Kairo was in need of a change. After living for over 300 years and always staying one step ahead of the Council of Truth Seekers, a vigilante group whose sole mission in life was to kill all supernaturals. Kairo needed a new scene away from it all. Along his travels, he heard that Charlotte was becoming an epicenter of fun. It was a city full of life and the perfect place for a vampire to hunt without the watchful eye of the Council. From the moment that Kairo stepped foot in Charlotte things were very different for him. The city made every fiber of his being come alive with an energy unlike anything that he had ever known. Kairo would find the source of that energy no matter what it cost him and when he did, his world would change forever.

In the cold streets of Detroit, Kairo and Delano learns what it means to keep your Friends Close and your Enemies Closer. Kairo is financially irresponsible, dripped in the finest designer’s money could buy. Until one morning, trouble comes knocking on her door. Her life changes drastically in one blink of the eye, leaving her in a whirl of chaos. She doesn’t know, the enemy is closer than she thinks. This could cost her everything she has, even her own life. Delano on the other hand is someone from Kairo’s past. He is madly in love with her, but the streets keep calling his name. He is faced with a very difficult decision between the Northern and Southern drug cartels. One false move, or wrong choice, could jeopardize everyone else in his life, especially Kairo’s. Just how far is Delano willing to go to protect the people he love? Will Delano be able to leave the street life alone? Once betrayed, things take an unexpected turn and secrets are exposed. Now guns are drawn and pointed in every direction. Will Kairo find out who is against her? Or will it be too late? Someone will not make it out alive. Who will the trigger land on?

All things must come to an end, in the finale of Addicted to a Detroit Savage. When Delano finds out the truth about his past and discovers the terrible secret Kairo has been keeping from him, he breaks and changes his ways, but that’s not all. He soon realizes that the woman he married is not who he thought she was. Lies and secrets begin surfacing to the top and their relationship turns for a dead end. Kairo goes on the run and soon turns to the Voodoo queen for answers. She finds herself on an endless cycle of exacting revenge and comes face to face with her long-time enemy, Johnny. She soon learns that blood isn’t thicker than water when someone she trusts betrays her, Delano, and Malachi.

The articles discuss various aspects of Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman period. Was there a common ‘Jewish’ identity, and how could it be defined? How could different groups develop and maintain their identity within the challenge of Hellenistic and early Roman culture? What about the images of ‘others’? How could some of those ‘others’ adopt a Jewish lifestyle or identity, whereas others, abandoned their inherited identity? Among the questions discussed are the translation of Ioudaios, Jewish and universal identity in Philo, the status of women and their conversion to Judaism, the participation of non-Jews in the temple cult, the practice of Emperor worship in Judaea, and the image of Egypt and the Nile as ‘others’ in Philo. Two articles enter the debate whether Jewish identity had an ongoing influence within early Christianity, in Paul and in the rules known as the Apostolic Decree.

Following the tradition and style of the acclaimed Index Islamicus, the editors have created this new Bibliography of Art and Architecture in the Islamic World. The editors have surveyed and annotated a wide range of books and articles from collected volumes and journals published in all European languages (except Turkish) between 1906 and 2011. This comprehensive bibliography is an indispensable tool for everyone involved in the study of material culture in Muslim societies.