While 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 with The Book of Common Prayer; 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. Jacobs shows how The Book of Common Prayer--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 many. The book's chief maker; Thomas Cranmer; Archbishop of Canterbury; created it as the authoritative manual of Christian worship throughout England. But as Jacobs recounts; the book has had a variable and dramatic career in the complicated history of English church politics; and has been the focus of celebrations; protests; and even jail terms. As time passed; new forms of the book were made to suit the many English-speaking nations: first in Scotland; then in the new United States; and eventually wherever the British Empire extended its arm. Over time; Cranmer's book was adapted for different preferences and purposes. Jacobs vividly demonstrates how one book became many--and how it has shaped the devotional lives of men and women across the globe.
#743997 in Books Bowden Hugh 2010-04-04Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 10.50 x 7.50 x 1.25l; 2.48 #File Name: 0691146381256 pagesMystery Cults of the Ancient World
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Comprehensive and well researchedBy Don GakuseiBowden's "Mystery Cults of the Ancient World" is comprehensive and well researched. He investigates what we know of the different mystery cults in Greek and Roman times and how they developed over time; from the hints left in literature as well as remains of temples and meeting places. The work is well laid out and contains many illustrations and photos.Interestingly; at the end of the book he tries to provide a sense of the "feel" of the cults by comparing some modern "cults" like Pentecostals and snake handlers; where estatic states are invoked through rituals and euphoric meetings. Perhaps a little speculative; but this is a minor criticism to an otherwise excellent study about what we know of the pre-Christian and Christian-era mystery cults.4 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Mystery cults of the ancient worldBy Maria Luisa de la Rosa PreveI'M A TEACHER IN GREAT AND ANCIENT RELIGIONS; THIS BOOK WAS VERY USEFULL FOR MY CLASSES AND MY WORK; EASY TO UNDERSTAND.I AM GLAD I BOUGHT IT.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. It's dry because it's cautiousBy DAJIn the past decade; several books have come out that look at a variety of mystery cults. This one is aimed at a popular audience more than the others. However; I sometimes found it surprisingly difficult to grasp the overall picture from Bowden's detailed discussions—for example; when trying to picture the sequence of events in the Eleusinian mysteries. A slightly more academic book on the subject; Jan Bremmer's Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World; was actually more readable for me in that respect.The major advantage of this book is that its coverage is broader than the others. Bremmer covers much but not all of the same ground as Bowden and discusses less of the cultural context; and Romanising Oriental Gods is limited to the three "oriental" mystery cults. Bowden dedicates a chapter each to the Eleusinian Mysteries; the Kabeiroi and the mysteries of Samothrace; other Greek mysteries; the cult of Cybele (Magna Mater); the Dionysian or Bacchic mysteries; private initiation rites; the Orphic tablets connected with the Bacchic mysteries; the cult of Isis; and the cult of Mithras. That may not include all of the mystery cults in the Mediterranean (for example; there's some evidence for mysteries in the worship of the Roman emperor); but it certainly covers most of them. The next-to-last chapter describes the extinction of all the mystery cults and the possible interaction between them and Christianity.The conclusion discusses the religious ecstasy that mystery rites seem meant to induce; which the initiates interpreted as contact with the gods. He lists a lot of modern parallels to this phenomenon before settling; rather strangely; on Pentecostal snake handling as his prime example. Bowden considers this ecstatic state the most important element of the rites; and he downplays the importance of secrets and symbolism in the mysteries. He implies that the symbols had no single authoritative interpretation; imparted no secret knowledge; and were deliberately vague in their meaning. Though Bowden doesn't quite say so; he seems to think that each initiate interpreted the rites differently based on this vague symbolism. One can disagree with that viewpoint; but it does counterbalance the more imaginative attempts to interpret the symbolism in the cults—Mithraic studies are particularly plagued by this kind of elaborate speculation.Bowden's aversion to speculation is partly why the book is drier than you'd expect. He's reluctant to give a straightforward description of the mysteries because it's hard to piece one together using the evidence we have. Despite that flaw; I recommend either this book or Bremmer's as a starting point for understanding the mystery cults.
