The fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries were truly an Age of Secrecy in Europe; when arcane knowledge was widely believed to be positive knowledge that extended into all areas of daily life; from the economic; scientific; and political spheres to the general activities of ordinary people. So asserts Daniel Jütte in this engrossing; vivid; and award-winning work. He maintains that the widespread acceptance and even reverence for this “economy of secrets†in premodern Europe created a highly complex and sometimes perilous space for mutual contact between Jews and Christians. Surveying the interactions between the two religious groups in a wide array of secret sciences and practices—including alchemy; cryptography; medical arcana; technological and military secrets; and intelligence—the author relates true stories of colorful “professors of secrets†and clandestine encounters. In the process Jütte examines how our current notion of secrecy is radically different in this era of WikiLeaks; Snowden; et al.; as opposed to centuries earlier when the truest; most important knowledge was generally considered to be secret by definition.
#605761 in Books Kelly James Clark 2012-06-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x .78 x 6.12l; 1.00 #File Name: 0300179375312 pagesAbraham s Children
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Do Abrahamic faiths promote violence?By Responding customerMost of us have only superficial; casual understanding of the world views of people outside our own faith tradition; yet we know that religious justification is used for the commission of all kinds of atrocities against others of different faiths. So we wonder "What is the underlying theology about tolerance vs violence in our own and other faith traditions?"The author has assembled a collection of essays which provide an in depth look at the world view of scholars of Judaism; Islam and Christianity. They illustrate that spiritual leaders of all three have long histories of advocating tolerance and respect for the views and religious practices of other faiths. Their essays provide a personal perspective; typically lacking in encyclopedia type articles. The reader is given the opportunity to share in the author's view of their own vs other traditions in a unique way. The collection is an insightful contribution to the need for greater cross-faith and cross-cultural understanding in our increasingly interconnected world. They make clear that those who abuse their faith by using it to justify hate and violence are deceivers of the most evil form.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Allah is not Almighty GodBy JenniferAllah the god of Islam is not Almighty God of the Jews and Christians.Islam is not a religion of Abraham. It is the religion of Allah; not Ilah .This is absolutely clear in Arabic; the Quran and Islamic law.In Arabic; the Qur'an and Sharia; Almighty God is Ilah and Allah is ‘the god’ in English.Therefore the Qur’an was named The Criterion; the criterion between good and evil.Qur’an 41:84 It is He Who is the only God in the heaven and the only God on the earth.Ibn Kathir: This means He is the God of those who are in the heaven and the God of those on earth.Qur’an 43:84 It is He Who is Ilah; God in the heaven and on the earth.Qur’an 19:65 Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them; so worship Him and abide patiently in His worship. Do you know of any other with His Name?Ibn Kathir: Ibn Abbas says; ‘There is no one named Ar-Rahman (the Most Beneficent) other than Him; Blessed and Exalted is He. Most Holy is His Name.’See Quran chapters 19; 21; 25; 26; 36; 37; 41; 43; 67; etc.Allah is always and only called Allah in Arabic; the Qur'an and Islamic law.Qur’an 6:3 And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth.Ibn Abbas: He is the One who is called Allah in the heavens and on the earth.The Qur'an states that the religion of Allah abrogates the religion of Abraham.The Shahada; the Muslim pledge of faith; denies God:La ilaha ill-Allah; there is no God/god but Allah.The sentence comprises a denial and an affirmation.Negation: 'La ilah' negates all forms of God or god.Affirmation: 'illAllah' affirms that there is only Allah.Before you can say ‘I believe in Allah’(illa Allah) you have to reject or disbelieve in any other god or God (La illaha).Question 179 Islam QA [...]Questions 114; 6703; 11819; 20239; 208152 of 3 people found the following review helpful. There is a way beyond intoleranceBy Henk-Jan van der KlisKelly James Clark edited an interesting collection of essays and articles on liberty and tolerance in an age of religious conflicts: Abraham's Children. Why can't Jews; Muslims and Christians live in peace together since they believe in the same God? At least; that's the question former US president Jimmy Carter asks. Other contributors go deeper; from a Jewish point of view; based on Torah; Talmud and Midrash or Christian background. Philosophers; politicians; relief workers share their perspectives in Abraham's Children.15 views from a variety of influential folks like Rabbis for Human Rights frontman Rabbi Arik Ascherman; Indonesia's first democratically elected president; Abdurrahman Wahid; Israeli language and education professor Nurit Peled-Elhanan; American philospher Nicholas Wolterstorff; Palestinian Christian publisher; activist and politician Hanna Siniora and Jordanian journalist Rana Husseini: Jews; Christians and Muslims.The contributors celebrate religious traditions and find within them a way toward mutual peace (a middle way); uncompromised liberty; and principled tolerance. Offering a counterbalance to incendiary religious leaders who cite Holy Writ to justify intolerance and violence; the contributors reveal how tolerance and respect for believers in other faiths stand at the core of the Abrahamic traditions. Think of replacement of the intolerance in the Israeli education on recent history and non-Jews; humanity in the image of God and islamic treatises on tolerance and divine mercy. There's room for pain; anger; frustration; forgiveness and wisdom. Tolerance isn't indifference or respect; as practiced in many European countries. Love the other just as yourself as Jesus Christ put as second commandment; next to Love God; the two comprising all Laws Prophets of the Old Testament. Some refer to their Bible or Qur'an; Wolterstorff seeks wisdom with Augustine and John Calvin; others like Hanna Siniora just recite their historical encounters.Kelly James Clark is Senior Research Fellow at the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids; Michigan. He is author or editor of more than twenty books; including The Story of Ethics: Fulfilling Our Human Nature (2002) and Return to Reason: A Critique of Enlightenment Evidentialism and a Defense of Reason and Belief in God (1990).
