This volume incorporates all the articles and reviews published in volume 13 (2013) of the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.

The first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of a fascinating text which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher. After converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’), he is martyred by his father. In a detailed introduction, Butts and Gross challenge the use of this text by previous scholars as evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians, reevaluating its purpose and situating the story in its Late Antique Babylonian context.

What happens when we lose control of our destiny and fate, in the guise of ill health, intervenes? It is As it Is tells the touching true story of two women whose friendship is tested to its limit by serious illness. Malina Stahre-Godycka’s account of her relationship with the remarkable Prudentia, who finds herself confronting cancer, is comprised of a series of frank and heartfelt diary entries that are brave, insightful and thought-provoking. It is As it Is provides a candid, unexpectedly wry exploration of faith, friendship and mortality, which will inspire all who read it, particularly those who care for loved ones living with serious illness or medical professionals who specialise in palliative care.

Cyrillona (fl. 396) was a younger contemporary of Ephrem the Syrian whose work has been celebrated as comparable in both beauty and its significance for our understanding of early Syriac Christianity. This study reassesses conventional claims about the author’s identity, date, and the constitution of his corpus. It introduces each of Cyrillona’s five surviving poems and examines their poetic form and genre, structure and rhetorical features, and critical questions of text, interpretation, and theology.

A good homily not only engages listeners but demonstrates the speaker’s keen understanding of scripture and its enduring relevance for Christians today. An effective preacher is someone who understands the complex and ultimately rewarding nature of this challenge and strives to communicate core scriptural values in a way that is clear and concise but never simplistic. In Speaking from Within, Kieran J. O’ Mahony explores ways in which homilists can improve and develop their skills by engaging, first and foremost, in prayerful self-reflection, because ‘only from within that personal encounter can we hope that a word of life will be spoken’. The book also focuses on the integral place of the lectionary to preachers, before underscoring how a sincere and attentive reading of the scriptures is key to writing an effective, meaningful homily. Speaking from Within will inspire not only all who preach, but also those who pass on their faith in any way.

Once upon a time there was a fox cub, who awoke one morning with ‘something puzzling on his mind’..

In this series of scriptural reflections about life in the Bethany of Jesus' time, Penny Roker offers insights for today's Christians to help them understand and react to their own personal challenges. Each chapter takes an episode from the Gospels as its starting point, before concluding with a prayer for either personal use or group exercises.

Volume 12 of Melilah, an interdisciplinary electronic journal concerned with Jewish law, history, literature, religion, culture and thought in the ancient, medieval and modern eras.

Cyrillona (fl. 396) has been ranked among the foremost early Syriac poets since his work was rediscovered by scholars in the mid-19th century. His Holy Week discourses on the Last Supper, the Washing of the Feet, and the Institution of the Eucharist have become particularly well-known to western readers through quotations by such diverse authors as Hugo Rahner and Photina Rech. This volume presents the first modern critical edition of Cyrillona’s Syriac works together with the first complete English translation.

David W. Montgomery presents a rich ethnographic study on the practice and meaning of Islamic life in Kyrgyzstan. As he shows, becoming and being a Muslim are based on knowledge acquired from the surrounding environment, enabled through the practice of doing. Through these acts, Islam is imbued in both the individual and the community. To Montgomery, religious practice and lived experience combine to create an ideological space that is shaped by events, opportunities, and potentialities that form the context from which knowing emerges. This acquired knowledge further frames social navigation and political negotiation. Through his years of on-the-ground research, Montgomery assembles both an anthropology of knowledge and an anthropology of Islam, demonstrating how individuals make sense of and draw meanings from their environments. He reveals subtle individual interpretations of the religion and how people seek to define themselves and their lives as "good" within their communities and under Islam. Based on numerous in-depth interviews, bolstered by extensive survey and data collection, Montgomery offers the most thorough English-language study to date of Islam in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. His work provides a broad view into the cognitive processes of Central Asian populations that will serve students, researchers, and policymakers alike.

In Fasting And Feasting, Aidan Mathews, the Irish poet and playwright, deploys his inimitable prose style in a deeply personal and heartfelt consideration of the two most inspiring events in the Christian calendar: Christmas and Easter. Comprising a series of radio scripts, broadcast at the two liturgical seasons over the last ten years, Fasting And Feasting is an urgent and earthy examination of key events in the Catholic tradition, as well as a profoundly moving account of the author’s own faith journey. A seamlessly executed hybrid of confessional writing and shrewd scriptural analysis, Fasting and Feasting is a thought-provoking and necessary volume that takes a refreshing flesh-and-blood approach to its understanding of the Gospels and the core values of Christianity

This book proposes a model for explaining unity and diversity in early Christianity that centers about a clear confessional identity, allowing both extreme expressions of diversity of texts and traditions while explaining the exclusion of teachers, texts, and traditions that deviated from the confessional norm.

“The illness of a loved one often brings with it fear and anxiety for the rest of the family, especially those who have to care for the sick person. They hardly know what to do when it comes to the spiritual needs of the person. If the family has lost touch with the Church, they may find it hard to know what to do or how to pray. People who are seriously ill may want to be put in touch with the Lord, and they need to be helped to do this. This book is intended to assist those in ministering to the spiritual needs of their loved ones.” - Fr Kevin J. Scallon CM “Often in my priestly ministry I have looked for just such a resource. This book is a great gift to those who care for the sick and the dying. Its tender prayers will turn a time of trauma into an experience of hope and grace. I pray that this book will do untold good both for those who are dying as well as for their loved ones who often feel so helpless in the face of sickness and the approach of death.” - Fr Peter John Cameron OP, Editor-in-Chief, Magnificat

A refereed journal published annually by the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies. This volume includes articles by Sidney Griffith, Alexander Treiger, Aaron M. Butts, Jeanie Miller, Gagik G. Sargsyan and Vincent van Vossel.

Distinct practices of eating are at the heart of many of the world's faith traditions -- from the Christian Eucharist to Muslim customs of fasting during Ramadan to the vegetarianism and asceticism practiced by some followers of Hinduism and Buddhism. What we eat, how we eat, and whom we eat with can express our core values and religious devotion more clearly than verbal piety.In this wide-ranging collection, eminent scholars, theologians, activists, and lay farmers illuminate how religious beliefs influence and are influenced by the values and practices of sustainable agriculture. Together, they analyze a multitude of agricultural practices for their contributions to healthy, ethical living and environmental justice. Throughout, the contributors address current critical issues, including global trade agreements, indigenous rights to land and seed, and the effects of postcolonialism on farming and industry. Covering indigenous, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish perspectives, this groundbreaking volume makes a significant contribution to the study of ethics and agriculture.

To celebrate 2016 being declared the Extraordinary Year of Mercy by the Vatican, Peter McVerry - a tireless campaigner for the rights of homeless people - has written an incisive and impassioned exploration of mercy as presented in the four Gospels. By examining the qualities of forgiveness, empathy and forbearance, as embodied by Jesus Christ, The God of Mercy highlights how the God of the New Testament calls on Christians everywhere to act with an unerring sense of compassion to those around them. Far from being a God who punishes or excludes those who fail to uphold Church ‘law’, the God of Mercy rewards those who oppose hypocrisy, and reach out wholeheratedly to the marginalised and dispossessed.