|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Religion,
Belief, |
     |
| Click
here for current Religion, Belief, Myth
& Legend titles on ABE Will open in a new window - prices in UK Pounds. |
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. Steven Weinberg |
| Selected Titles: |
 |
Celtic Gods Celtic Goddesses R J Stewart Blandford 1st 1990 Many of the beliefs and customs of the ancient Celts persist even today in Western culture. They survive in curious and often surprising ways within folk tradition. In Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses Bob Stewart takes a penetrating and detailed look at the mythology, magic and religion of the Celts and examines their enduring strengths and their continued relevance. The foundation of Celtic religion is the sacred quality of the land, symbolized by the potent goddess of sovereignty from whom all the other mythical figures derive. These figures also have origins and meanings, beyond the environmental, that lie in the stars and their constellations. This book shows how the myths and legends of the Celts work on three different levels of significance. Firstly, as simple adventure, where characters such as Cuchulainn and The Green Knight act out events of heroic scale, yet retain many human characteristics. On a second and deeper level, these figures are revealed as pagan gods or goddesses who represent the sacred attributes of nature and the living landscape. On the final and deepest level, the gods and goddesses are shown to be manifestations of an older, higher magic that relates to the planets and stars, and is echoed worldwide in myth, religion, magic and ancient traditions. Bob Stewart's examination of this complex and fluid relationship between the gods as people, as symbols of nature and as sacred powers makes Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses a fascinating and invaluable source of reference. The text is illustrated with numerous line drawings of artefacts and with outstanding colour plates specially commissioned from Miranda Gray and Courtney Davis. 4to. Fine in a VG++ wrapper. 660 gms £20.00 |
The Biology of Religion Vernon Reynolds & Ralph Tanner Longman 1st 1983 The Biology of Religion is concerned with the interaction between human biological and cultural processes. Religion is very much a part of culture since it is concerned with how we should conduct our lives. This book probes the question, "How does religion affect the biological side of our existence?" Drawing material from every major world religion, and many minor ones, the authors investigate how religion pervades all human biological actions, birth and death, conception and burial, growing up and growing old, marriage and celibacy, health and disease, sexual relations and diet. Using the perspectives of sociobiology, anthropology, human biology and sociology, Reynolds and Tanner explore the fundamental role religion plays in human survival and reproduction. They conclude that religion is a unique modifying influence on human biology in relation to differing environments. That is to say, religious rules are formulated and interpreted in ways that meet the requirements of the prevailing environmental circumstances. This compelling study, illustrated by Penelope Dell with striking and original drawings of religious practice and observance specially prepared for this book, will be keenly read and argued over by everyone professionally concerned with religion and human biology, anthropologists, sociologists, students of comparative religion, theology, sociobiology and history. The book will also appeal to the general reader who seeks to understand the still-dominant effects of religion on world events. 4to. VG++ in a VG++ wrapper. Dustwrapper in clear protective cover. 805 gms £12.50 |
 |
 |
Desire,
Discord and Death - approaches to ancient Near Eastern myth
Neal Walls American Schools of Oriental Research 1st 2001 The three essays presented in this volume reveal the symbolic complexity and poetic vision of ancient Near Eastern mythology. Through the application of contemporary methods of literary analysis, the author explores the interrelated themes of erotic desire, divine conflict, and death's realm in selected ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythological narratives. Topics include the construction of desire in the Gilgamesh epic, a psychoanalytic approach to "The Contendings of Horus and Seth," and gender and the exercise of power in the stormy romance of Nergal and Ereshkigal. Walls' fresh treatment of these three important myths brings them to life for the specialist and mythology buff alike. 8vo. Very minor creasing to dustwrapper edges, otherwise Fine+ in a VG++ wrapper. 530 gms £65.00 |
| An
ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present Doreen Valiente Robert Hale reprinted with corrections 1984 This is the only book of its kind on witchcraft that has been written by a practising witch. It is intended to be not merely a history, but a guide to the many strange byways of a vast and fascinating subject. Witchcraft is as old as the human race, and it is actively practised today, by people of all classes. To its devotees, witchcraft is more than spells and charms, or even secret meetings and rituals; it is a philosophy and a way of life. It claims to be the oldest form of religion, that of nature-worship and magic. The author has studied the occu It for more than twenty years. She has been initiated into four different branches of the witch cult that flourishes in Britain today. Since the last Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951, the revival of public interest in witchcraft has been the subject of continuous controversy. This book seeks to be a serious contribution to the study of a subject too long obscured by prejudice and sensationalism. 8vo. Mint in a Fine wrapper. 740 gms £20.00 |
 |
 |
The Vanishing People - a study of traditional fairy beliefs Katharine M Briggs B T Batsford 1st 1978 Brownies, hobgoblins, pixies, bwcas, shellycoats, corrigans, spriggans, phynnodderees - these are only a few of the fairies, whose lore is to be found in different parts of the British Isles, especially in the Celtic areas. Traditionally visible - to those who were able to see them - between one eye-blink and the next, fairies were supposed to have the power of appearing and vanishing at will. As early as the fourteenth century it was through that they had left England - in King Arthur's time; but beliefs lingered on, and even the twentieth century has produced embarrassed encounters in the Midlands. In Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland, on the other hand, the fairies have apparently remained - even iff ewer people now believe in them. Dr Briggs, who knows more about traditional fairy beliefs than any English writer, has produced a fascinating guide to Fairyland. Her description of the different types of fairy - from house spirits to fairy wives - is interwoven with incomparable stories from throughout the British Isles. Whether she is investigating the origins of fairies (they were seen variously as fallen angels, a small conquered people, or the dead) or retelling the story of Jack Madden and the two humps, she will surely enchant all but the most incurious and unimaginative reader. The haunting quality of the author's text is echoed by Mary French's evocative illustrations, which were specially commissioned for the book. 8vo. Purple cloth covered boards with gold titling to spine; very, very minor dulling + very, very slight creasing to the dustwrapper, otherwise Fine in a VG++ wrapper. 515 gms £25.00 |
| Legends
of the Christ Child Frances Margaret Fox Illustrated by Mildred Elgin Sheed & Ward 1st UK 1945 This is an absolutely enchanting book, Frances Margaret Fox tells her stories of how the nightingale learned to sing, where the firefly got its fire and the beetle the sheen on its back and the robin the red on its breast, of the fun-loving olive tree and the teamwork of a fly and a spider, of why small children are called little kids (as they sometimes are, but of course not always) - in a way to make any child clap his hands. She does not forget to remind the children that they are legends; but she manages, effortlessly, to convey the truth, that all creation rejoiced when the Child was born in Bethlehem . 8vo. Turquoise cloth covered boards with blue lettering to spine, sunning to board edges (especially to spine). Very, very minor chips + slight splitting to dustwrapper, dulling to dustwrapper spine, otherwise VG+ in a VG+ wrapper. 200 gms £65.00 |
 |
| TOP |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|