National Collective Identity

With the dissolution of Cold War tensions, as new states take shape around the world and as nationalist and ethnic conflicts come to characterize the international order, questions of national identity have become pivotal for peacekeepers, policymakers, and scholars. In National Collective Identity, Rodney Hall illustrates how centuries-old dynastic traditions have been replaced in the modern era by nationalist and ethnic identity movements.This book delineates three epochal changes in the international system: from the medieval, feudal-theocratic order to the dynastic-sovereign system in the sixteenth century, the territorial sovereign system in the seventeenth century, and finally, after the American and French Revolutions, the national sovereign system. In rich historical detail, this book reexamines a broad spectrum of international conflicts--including the Seven Years War, the Napoleonic wars, the Franco-Prussian War, the First World War, and the Cold War and its aftermath--in terms of the shifting sands of state identities through time.Arguing for the need to make a clear distinction between nation and state--one that has largely been overlooked in recent international relations studies on nationalism--Hall shows how an understanding of this dichotomy can help forecast the development of new states over time. National Collective Identity ascribes transformative power to social actors rather than viewing them as merely conditioned by the self-perpetuating logic of the state. In so doing, Hall presents a new theoretical model that accounts for human agency as an integral component of national systems.

Baptists in America (Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series)

Leonard, Bill

Religion & Spirituality

Columbia University Press

Baptists are a study in contrasts. From Little Dove Old Regular Baptist Church, up a hollow in the Appalachian Mountains, with its 25-member congregation, to the 18,000-strong Saddleback Valley Church in Orange County, California, where hymns appear on wide-screen projectors; from Jerry Falwell, Jesse Helms, and Tim LaHaye to Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton, and Maya Angelou, Baptist churches and their members have encompassed a range of theological interpretations and held a variety of social and political viewpoints. At first glance, Baptist theology seems classically Protestant in its emphasis on the Trinity, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the authority of Scripture, salvation by faith alone, and baptism by immersion. Yet the interpretation and implementation of these beliefs have made Baptists one of the most fragmented denominations in the United States. Not surprisingly, they are often characterized as a people who "multiply by dividing." Baptists in America introduces readers to this fascinating and diverse denomination, offering a historical and sociological portrait of a group numbering some thirty million members. Bill J. Leonard traces the history of Baptists, beginning with their origins in seventeenth-century Holland and England. He examines the development of Baptist beliefs and practices, offering an overview of the various denominations and fellowships within Baptism. Leonard also considers the disputes surrounding the question of biblical authority, the ordinances (baptism and the Lord's Supper), congregational forms of church governance, and religious liberty. The social and political divisions among Baptists are often as dramatic, if not more so, than the theological divides. Leonard examines the role of Baptists in the Fundamentalist and Social Gospel movements of the early twentieth century. The Civil Rights movement began in African American Baptist churches. More recently, Baptists have been key figures in the growth of the Religious Right, criticizing the depravity of American popular culture, supporting school prayer, and championing other conservative social causes. Leonard also explores the social and religious issues currently dividing Baptists, including race, the ordination of women, the separation of church and state, and sexuality. In the final chapter Leonard discusses the future of Baptist identity in America.

Baptists in America

A guide to Oxford, as shown through the cameras of the makers of the Inspector Morse series. This much-loved series used as its backdrop the "sweet city of dreaming spires," but revealed this ancient city in more than its traditional light. The celebrated university buildings are there, but as a setting for crimes committed by corrupt academics, the "Gown." The other side of Oxford was portrayed, the "Town" and the countryside around, with its equally devious criminals. Grappling with them, and with growing technology, was an old-fashioned improbable sleuth, modern only in his lack of deference for his superiors. This new edition, updated with new material to include locations for the recent production of "Lewis," is a must-read for all Morse lovers, as well as providing much to interest and inspire locals and tourists alike.

The Oxford of Inspector Morse and Lewis

Humor & Entertainment

Television

Tempus

Word of God across the ages: Using Christian history in preaching

Broadman Press

Amid the ferment of dissent and the protests of heretics, the church developed most significantly. This guide introduces that history by looking at those periods.
 A variety of questions have preoccupied Christian communities throughout history. Christians have attempted to determine who Jesus is and whether his life and teaching have global significance. They've battled over the nature of salvation and the sources of authority for Christian belief and practice. They've argued about the nature and purpose of the Christian church and how is it to be organized. They've drawn swords over the relationship between church and state. And they've taken votes on who should be sainted and who should be expelled. Focusing on sources of unity and division within the church throughout its history, and some of the most and least savory characters in the history, this guide provides an overview of Christian responses to those and other formative questions, all with the trademark Homebrewed Christianity wit and wisdom.

The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to Church History: Flaming Heretics and Heavy Drinkers (Homebrewed Christianity, 4)

Fortress Press

Bill Leonard was born under the hit and run sign, a zodiac marker first identified by W.P. Kinsella, author of "Shoeless Joe". He played sandlot, recreation department, high school, American Legion, college, and town team baseball. He coached the game and he umpired. His dad was a wonderful father, but they never played catch and he knows of only a single relative, Uncle Wayne, who ever played baseball, and that was before his time. Nonetheless, baseball is in the makeup of his genes. No one had to introduce him to the game or encourage him to play. It was as predetermined as the salmon swimming from the ocean up the smallest stream. He knew instinctively the feel of the game: the solid, hollow-sounding explosion of the barrel of the bat on the baseball, the thwack of the short hop into the glove; the sounds of the game: the chatter of the sandlot players, the pop of the catcher's mitt enveloping a fast ball, the strike call of the umpire; the smells of the game: the lanolin rubbed into the pocket of the glove and the red-hot on the arm, the cloud arising from the rosin bag, the damp sweat in the leather margin of the mask; the sights of the game: the white ball landing on the green grass between two outfielders, the ballet around second base on the double play, the third base coach going through a set of signs. He played rounders and stickball and he threw a hard rubber ball against the wall of Fredrickson's Food Store until it hurt to lift his arm. He chose to catch because of some latent strain of masochism. "Love Story" is an attempt to record those sensations before they are gone.

Baseball A Love Story

Sports & Outdoors

Baseball

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Risk the journey: Answering God's call to proclaim His word

Woman's Missionary Union, SBC

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