Book Notices

BOOK NOTICES

The intention of these book notices is very simple: to draw attention to new spirituality books that could be of interest to readers of Studies in Spirituality. Henk Rutten, the librarian and information manager of the Titus Brandsma Institute, lists about sixty titles with short descriptions. They are not meant to be comprehensive and in-depth book reviews.

Arblaster, John, & Rob Faesen (Eds.), Mystical Anthropology: Authors from the Low Countries, Basingstoke: Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2016 (Contemporary Theological Explorations in Christian Mysticism), 240 pages, ISBN: 9781472438034. The question of the ‘structure’ of the human person is central to many mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This book focuses on the specific anthropology in a series of key authors in the mystical tradition in the medieval and early modern Low Countries. Their view is fundamentally different from the anthropology that has commonly been accepted since the rise of Modernity. This book explores the most important mystical authors and texts from the Low Countries including: William of Saint-Thierry, Hadewijch, Pseudo-Hadewijch, John of Ruusbroec, Jan van Leeuwen, Willem Jordaens, Hendrik Herp, Arnhem Mystical Sermons, and the Evangelical Pearl. The most important aspects of mystical anthropology are discussed: the spiritual nature of the soul, the inner-most being of the soul, the faculties, the senses, and crucial metaphors which were used to explain the relationship of God and the human person. Two contributions explicitly connect the anthropology of the mystics to contemporary thought. This book offers a solid and yet accessible overview for those interested in theology, philosophy, history, and medieval literature. John Arblaster is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven and the Ruusbroec Institute, University of Antwerp. Rob Faesen is Profes- sor of Church History at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven and at Tilburg University, and is a member of the Ruusbroec Institute, University of Antwerp.

Billingham, Peter (Ed.), Spirituality and Desire in Leonard Cohen’s Songs and Poems: Visions from the Tower of Song, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017, VIII, 168 pages, ISBN: 9781443816861. Emerging from a one day symposium organised by Professor Peter Billingham at the University of Winchester, UK, to celebrate Cohen’s 80th birthday, this Festschrift collection represents a uniquely stimulating, insightful and provocative discussion of the songs and poems of Leonard Cohen, combining academic rigour with serious engagement with this remarkable poet and singer-songwriter. 324 book notices

Bingemer, Maria Clara, The Mystery and the World: Passion for God in Times of Unbelief, Cambridge, UK: The Lutterworth Press, 2017, 402 pages, ISBN: 9780718894276. In this book, the author explores how the place of religion in society has dramatically shifted since the Enlightenment. The modern era is characterised by a major change in humanity’s fundamental desires that means that reason has taken the place of faith. Human beings, in their ongoing search for a scientific understanding of the world, have drifted away from seeking any essence of transcendence in their lives. The author examines this transition and how, especially in the postmodern era, it has led to technology and superficial happiness becoming all-important as opposed to the more sacred sense of contentment that governed us for centuries prior to the Enlightenment. In her discussion, however, the author demonstrates that we as humans have not lost our innate desire to believe in a higher power and that, even in our world of instant satisfaction, we still need to fill the void left by religion. Through well-researched analysis of the modern era and discussion of some of the mystics of more recent times, she reveals to the reader how religious belief, whilst changed, is not dead and is still an important aspect of our existence. Maria Clara Bingemer is Professor of Systematic Theology at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Bocken, Inigo, & Eveline van Buijtenen, Weerbarstige Spiritualiteit: Het Denken Van Michel De Certeau [Rebellious Spirituality: The Thinking of Michel de Certeau], Heeswijk- Dinther: Berne Media, 2016, 192 pages, ISBN: 9789089721525; 9789089721532. Michel de Certeau (1925–1986) is one of the most important sources of inspiration of Pope Franciscus. Among other things, in his historical speech on freedom of religion in Philadelphia, the Pope quotes literally from the writings of this fellow members of the Jesuit order. This is not a coincidence. For, like Pope Franciscus, Michel de Certeau is looking for unexpected places where Christianity is present challenging and liberating in a world governed by the power of money and by social oppression. Who was Michel de Certeau and why and how is his thinking still relevant? In this book, the authors are looking for the deeper intellectual and spiritual motives of this intriguing thinker. Inigo Bocken is Scientific Director of the Titus Brandsma Institute, Nijmegen, Nether- lands, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies at Radboud University, Nijmegen, and Full Professor of Philosophy at the Cusanus Hochschule, Bernkastel-Kues, Germany. Eveline van Buijtenen is currently researching social-critical movements, proceeding from the thinking of Michel de Certeau.

Borriello, Luigi, Edmondo Caruana, Maria Rosaria Del Genio, & Raffaele Di Muro (Eds.), Nuovo Dizionario Di Mistica, Roma: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2016, 2246 pages, ISBN: 9788820998653. Christian mysticism in the strict sense is by its very nature an awareness of the mystery of God revealed in Christ. Mystics are the channels through which fragments of this mystery pass into the existence of men of all ages. This book, which collects about 800 entries, using the specific expertise of numerous Italian and foreign scholars, addresses everyone, especially those who feel committed to discovering the ultimate meaning of their existence and the response to God’s design for men. The present dictionary claims book notices 325 to widen the field of investigation on mysticism in general, as interpreted in the various Eastern and Western religions and in some religious-cultural expressions that are now emerging in a globalized world where one can not ignore interdisciplinarity and comparative studies on this subject.

Borup, Jorn, & Marianne Qvortrup Fibiger (Eds.), Eastspirit Transnational Spirituality and Religious Circulation in East and West, Leiden: Brill Academic Pub, 2017 (Interna- tional Studies in Religion and Society; 29), 336 pages, ISBN: 9789004350649. Eastern ideas and practices associated with Asian religions and spirituality have been accommodated to a global setting as both a spiritual/religious and a broader cultural phenomenon. ‘Eastern spirituality’ is present in organized religions, the spiritual New Age market, arts, literature, media, therapy, and health care but also in public institutions such as schools and prisons. This book describes and analyses such concepts, practices and traditions in their new ‘Western’ and global contexts as well as in their transformed expressions and reappropriations in religious traditions and individualized spiritualities ‘back in the East’ within the framework of mutual interaction and circulation, regionally and globally. Jorn Borup and Marianne Qvortrup Fibiger are both Associate Professor at Aarhus University.

Boyer, Mark G., Fruit of the Vine: A Biblical Spirituality of Wine, Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017, 116 pages, ISBN: 9781498242257. This work is designed to help the reader grow in spirituality through reflecting on biblical vineyard stores, wine making, and wine as a metaphor for life. A spirituality of wine – categorized as a spirit – connects the spirit in wine to the universal spirit all share. Wine appeals to all five senses. Its bouquet can be smelled; its complexity, often compared to fruit, can be tasted; its shades of red, designating its body, can be seen as it clings to or quickly runs down the inside of a glass. One can hear the pop as the cork leaves the bottle’s neck and the gurgle of the wine leaving the bottle as it is poured into a glass. Wine is a major sign of transformation in the process of growth from blossom, sunlight, and water to grapes, which are in turn broken apart, integrated into a whole, and fermented into alcohol. While the wine is aged, it undergoes even more transformation. People are transformed when they share this already multiple-times-transformed beverage. The vineyard and all it produces can reveal the divine if a person but opens his or her eyes to see. Mark G. Boyer has taught courses in Bible and film at Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, for almost thirty years.

Bradford, David T., The Spiritual Tradition in Eastern Christianity: Ascetic Psychology, Mystical Experience, and Physical Practices, Leuven: Peeters, 2016 (Studies in Spirituality Supplements; 26), X, 446 pages, ISBN: 9789042932845. This volume is a comprehensive survey of the means, goals, and motivations of the ascetic life as represented in texts spanning the fourth and the nineteenth century. Contemporary examples are also included. The main themes are the dynamics of the soul, the disabling effects of the passions, mental and physical ascetism, the desirable 326 book notices condition of dispassion, and the experience of deification. A variety of topics are addressed, including hesychast prayer, religious weeping, the spiritual senses, dream interpretation, luminous visions, the holy ‘fool’, ascetic demonology, and pain in ascetic practice. Typical ascetic and mystical experiences are interpreted from the psy- chological and the neuroscientific perspective. Comparative analyses based on Sufism, Vedantic mysticism, and especially early Buddhist psychology highlight distinctive fea- tures of the Christian ascetic life. Major figures such as Evagrius Ponticus, Maximos the Confessor, Isaac the Syrian, and Symeon the New Theologian receive extensive individual consideration.

Byrd, Marilyn, Spirituality in the Workplace: A Philosophical and Social Justice Perspective, Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, 2017 (J-B Ace Single Issue Adult and Continuing Education Ser. 152), 104 pages, ISBN: 9781119357575. Missing from the discourse on spirituality are the injustices experienced in the workplace, particularly by individuals marginalized by social group identity or affiliation. This is a critical omission in that spirituality can stimulate reflection, response, healing, and transformation of the soul. Filling the gap by addressing the role of spirituality in relation to meaningful work, this volume extends ideas about teaching and learning about spirituality to workplace settings, including the transformative learning theory. In seeking ways to promote moral and socially responsible workplaces and to establish a new way of thinking, the volume lays down a philosophical framework for spirituality in the workplace as a means of emancipation and social justice, and shows how the workplace can be a fruitful context for social justice education.

Callahan, Ann, Spirituality and Hospice Social Work, New York: Columbia University Press, 2017 (End-of-Life Care: A Series), 221 pages, ISBN: 9780231543187. Many hospice social workers must address spiritual issues with their clients, but do not feel competent to do so effectively. This targeted volume draws upon multidisciplinary theory and research to advance a relational model of spiritually sensitive hospice care. The book will help readers elevate their spiritual competence and foster a relationship with their clients that will enrich the experience for all involved. This work helps practitioners understand various forms of spiritual assessment for use with their clients. The book teaches practitioners to recognize a client’s spiritual needs and resources, as well as signs of spiritual suffering. It also discusses religious and spiritual practices that clients may use to enhance their spiritual coping. The volume stresses the need for interdisciplinary collaboration with other members of the hospice team, along with the value of maintaining professional ethical standards when addressing spiritual issues. Throughout, the importance of spiritual sensitivity and its effect upon client well-being is emphasized. Ann M. Callahan is Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Social Work.

Caspers, Charles, & Peter Jan Margry, Het Mirakel van Amsterdam: Biografie van een Betwiste Devotie, [The Amsterdam Miracle: Biography of a Contested Devotion], Amster- dam: Prometheus, 2017, 342 pages, ISBN: 9789035139596. This monograph is a cultural biography of the Dutch ‘national’ pilgrimage cult, embed- ded in Amsterdam. It is written within the religious, economic and political fields of book notices 327 influence of successively late-medieval urban culture, Reformation, Golden Age and 19th and 20th century ‘pillarisation’. The cult left deep traces in Dutch society and reflects the complex religious history of The Netherlands. An Eucharistic miracle (1345) resulted into an international pilgrimage site which contributed to the prosperity of Amsterdam. After the arrival of the Reformation the Amsterdam Miracle became a point of contention between Catholics and Protestants. Protestants viewed it as a form of idolatry, Catholics cherished it as crown piece of their identity. The fortunes of this cult offer us, in a way, a front-row seat at the challenges facing religion in the modern world. We meet colorful personalities, grand visions of renewal, and thwarted dreams. In a final ironic twist, the same cult that once divided Catholics and Protestants brings them together in the midst of a strongly secularized modern society. Charles Caspers is researcher at the Titus Brandsma Institute, Nijmegen (The Netherlands). Peter Jan Margry is Professor of European Etnology at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam, and researcher at the Meertens Instituut in the same town.

Cettolin, Angelo Ulisse, Spirit Freedom and Power: Changes in Pentecostal Spirituality, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016, XXIII, 126 pages, ISBN: 9781498293730; 9781498293754. The Pentecostal movement emerged at the turn of the twentieth century emphasizing the need for Christians to have a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit. It advocated the return to a pristine early spirituality in which empowerment by the Spirit was essential. Recently Pentecostal and Charismatic movements are playing down the classic expressions and moving towards more mainline approaches. As church movements develop they become more structured, less spontaneous and more routine. But is this always inevitable? The author explores a contemporary Pentecostal movement to discover whether a radical spirituality still can effectively interface with a complex twenty-first century world. This research finds a Pentecostal spirituality that is flexible, adaptive and innovative and despite humble origins now is making inroads into the middle class. While tensions over charismatic freedom remain, the developing organizational structure is facilitating significant growth. Angelo Ulisse Cettolin is a church planter, mission leader, consultant, senior lecturer in theology/ministry and dean of faculty at Eastern College Australia.

Chackalackal, Saju (Ed.), Consecrated Life for a Transformed World: Catholic, Ecumenical and Interreligious Perspectives in a Globalizing Era, Bengaluru, India: Dharmaram Publi- cations, 2016 (Dharmaram Psycho-Spiritual Studies; 1), XII, 634 pages, ISBN: 9789384964429. As we experience profound and lasting changes in the arena of ecclesial and social life, affecting both the form and the content of consecrated life, it is perceived that consecrated life lived in the Church is in need of a new language, a new way of seeing things, and a new style of functioning so that it would become more intelligible, practical, integral, and wholesome. Hence, this volume offers a collection of more than forty articles on consecrated life with a special focus on the contemporary times. These studies, offered by experts who live and cherish consecrated life in the Church in its multi- faceted format, are concerned about existential areas such as (1) the inspirational foundations of consecrated life, (2) holiness and wholeness, (3) commitment to the society, 328 book notices

(4) ecumenical and interreligious perspectives, and (5) formation for consecration in contemporary times. Essays in this collection aim at realizing wholeness through the attainment of communion with the person of Jesus Christ and availability to the people; identifying the essentials and the peripheries of consecrated life, especially in the context of India; promoting psycho-spiritual integration in consecrated life; examining the com- monalities that we share with others who embrace consecrated life in other Churches and other religions; exploring new paradigms in formation and mission publications. Saju Chackalackal teaches Philosophy at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram and Christ University, Bangalore.

Chiabotti, Francesco, Ève Pierunek, Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, & Luca Patrizi (Eds.), Ethics and Spirituality in Islam: Sufi Adab, Leiden: Brill, 2016 (Islamic Literatures: Texts and Studies), XV, 685 pages, ISBN: 9789004335134. This collection of articles tries to explore how the formulations and reformulations of adab during the first centuries of Islam engages with the crucial period of the first great spiritual masters, exploring the importance of normativity, but also of transgression, in order to define the rules themselves. Assuming that adab is ethics, the articles analyse the genres of Sufi adab, including manuals and hagiographical accounts, from the form- ative period of Sufism until the modernity. Francesco Chiabotti is research assistant at the Center for Islamic Theology of the Eber- hard Karls University, Tübingen. Eve Feuillebois-Pierunek is Senior Lecturer of Persian Studies at Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3, Paris. Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen is Professor of History of Modern Islam at the Institut national des Langues et Civilisations orientales, Paris. Luca Patrizi is lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Turin.

Coulter, Dale M., & Amos Yong (Eds.), The Spirit, the Affections, and the Christian Tradition, Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2016, 326 pages, ISBN: 9780268100049. This book explores the role of emotions and affections in the Christian tradition from historical and theological perspectives, especially related to the work of the Holy Spirit. Although historians and scholars from a range of traditions – including Wesleyan, Pen- tecostal, and Pietist – have engaged these issues, there has yet to be a sustained examina- tion of the role of emotions and affectivity across the Christian tradition. By retrieving the complex discussion about affectivity in Christian tradition and bringing its many voices into dialogue within a contemporary ecumenical context, the contributors also point toward a number of new research trajectories. The essays underscore the need to understand the shift in Western views of emotion that began in the late eighteenth century. They also explore in detail the vocabulary of affectivity as it has developed in the Christian tradition. As part of this development, the contributors reveal the importance of pneumatology in Western as well as Eastern Christianity, calling into question the idea of a pneumatological deficit advanced by some constructive theologians and addressing the relationship between affectivity and the pedagogical strategies that enable per- sons to cooperate with the work of grace in the soul. Finally, several essays explore the relationship between the erotic, the ecstatic, and affectivity in religious belief. Dale M. Coulter is Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Regent University. Amos Yong is Professor of Theology and Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary. book notices 329

Crisp, Beth R. (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2017, XIII, 384 pages, ISBN: 9781138931220. This international volume provides a comprehensive account of contemporary research, new perspectives and cutting-edge issues surrounding religion and spirituality in social work. The introduction introduces key themes and conceptual issues such as under- standings of religion and spirituality as well as definitions of social work, which can vary between countries. The main body of the book is divided up into sections on regional perspectives; religious and spiritual traditions; faith-based service provision; religion and spirituality across the lifespan; and social work practice. The final chapter identifies key challenges and opportunities for developing both social work scholarship and practice in this area. Beth R. Crisp is a professor in the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University, Australia.

Critchlow, Anne-Louise, Against the Trend: The Spirituality of William Kelly (1821– 1906), Eugene: Wipf & Stock, XIII, 217 pages, ISBN: 9781498297523. William Kelly (1821–1906) was much more than a Brethren theologian who was a leader of the Moderate Exclusive Brethren movement, and also much more than an indiscriminate follower of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882). He was highly regarded not only within the Brethren but also by Christian leaders of other denominations. In this book the author examines Kelly’s lively and scholarly appraisal of the German ‘School of Higher Criticism’ and his commentary on a range of works of contemporary Anglican and non-conformist theologians. She argues that Kelly’s exegesis was meticulous and scholarly and demonstrated his understanding of the whole canon of Scripture. Despite his ecclesiology, his theology was nuanced and cannot easily be stereotyped. As an expositor of the controversial topics, ‘the Atonement’ and ‘the After-Life’, he can be described as a Biblical literalist, but in his understanding of Biblical language and literary genre and philosophy, he can be seen as a conservative intellectual. While belonging to the evangelical school of thought, his theology shows itself to be much more complex than many of his evangelical contemporaries and gives him links with later Christian traditions. Anne-Louise Critchlow has been a teacher of English Literature and a full time Chris- tian community worker in France, North Africa, and Manchester, England.

DeConick, April D., The Gnostic New Age: How a Countercultural Spirituality Revolu- tionized Religion from Antiquity to Today, New York: Columbia University Press, 2016, X, 380 pages, ISBN: 9780231170765. Gnosticism is a countercultural spirituality that forever changed the practice of Christian- ity. Before it emerged in the second century, passage to the afterlife required obedience to God and king. Gnosticism proposed that human beings were manifestations of the divine, unsettling the hierarchical foundations of the ancient world. Subversive and revolutionary, Gnostics taught that prayer and meditation could bring human beings into an ecstatic spiritual union with a transcendent deity. This mystical strain affected not just Christianity but many other religions, and it characterizes our understanding of the purpose and meaning of religion today. In this book, the author recovers this vibrant underground history to 330 book notices prove that Gnosticism was not suppressed or defeated by the Catholic Church long ago, nor was the movement a fabrication to justify the violent repression of alternative forms of Christianity. Gnosticism alleviated human suffering, soothing feelings of existential bro- kenness and alientation through the promise of renewal as God. The author begins in ancient Egypt and follows with the rise of Gnosticism in the Middle Ages, the advent of theosophy and other occult movements in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and contemporary New Age spiritual philosophies. As these theories find expression in science-fiction and fantasy films, the author sees evidence of Gnosticism’s next incarnation. Her work emphasizes the universal, countercultural appeal of a movement that embodies much more than a simple challenge to religious authority. April D. DeConick is Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies and chair of the Department of Religion at Rice University.

Deschamp, B. D. (Ed.), Iohannes Soreth. Expositio Paraenetica in Regulam Carmelitarum, Turnhout: Brepols, 2016 (Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis; 259), CX, 228 pages, ISBN: 9782503547657. Of the various commentaries on the Rule of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (the Carmelite Rule), that by John Soreth, Prior General of the Carmel- ites from 1451 to 1471, and commonly known as the Expositio paraenetica, has a special place in the history of Carmelite spirituality and, more broadly, is of particular interest as an expression of some of the trends in Western Christian spirituality in the last half of the fifteenth century. This new volume in the Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaeva- lis makes available not only the text of the commentary of Soreth based on near-contemporary manuscripts of the last quarter of the 15th century, but also the text of the Carmel- ite Rule that purports to be a copy of the now lost, original regula bullata, found in the bull of Pope Innocent IV, Quae honorem Conditoris of 1 October 1247, and preserved at the time Soreth wrote his commentary in the Carmelite monastery in Cologne. Bryan Deschamp is a graduate of the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven).

Dudley, James R., Spirituality Matters in Social Work: Connecting Spirituality, Religion, and Practice, New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2016, XXI, 358 pages, ISBN: 9780415747035. The author addresses specific ways of incorporating spirituality into practice and integrates many of the contributions of other writers into an overall eclectic practice approach. His approach revolves around all of the core competencies of accreditation. Special emphasis is given to ethical and professional behavior; diversity; social justice; critical thinking; and research informed practice. In addition, a major framework of the book emphasizes the practice components of engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. James (Jim) Dudley is Professor Emeritus Spirituality and Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Dutton, Marsha L., A Companion to Aelred of Rievaulx (1110–1167), Leiden: Brill, 2016 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition; 76), XIII, 364 pages, ISBN: 9789004337978. This volume explores the life, works, and thought of Aelred, Cistercian abbot of Rie vaulx Abbey from 1147 to 1167. As well as introducing the three genres of his works book notices 331

– sermons, spiritual teaching, and history – scholars survey such central topics as Mar- ian devotion, love and friendship, the sacramental nature of community, lay spirituality, and saints’ lives. The work also includes the first supplement to the Bibliotheca aelredi- ana secunda, listing publications by and about Aelred from between 1996 and 2015. Aelred is rapidly becoming one of the best-known and most loved of the 12th-century Cistercians; this book provides new insights into his contributions to the spiritual and political concerns of his place and time. Marsha L. Dutton is Professor Emerita of Medieval Literature at Ohio University and Executive Editor of Cistercian Publications.

Fox, Matthew, A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey, Novato, CA: New World Library, 2016, XVII, 308 pages, ISBN: 9781608684212; 9781608684205. This book was prompted by an invitation Matthew Fox received to speak on the centen- nial of Thomas Merton’s birth. Fox says that much of the trouble he’s gotten into – such as being excommunicated in 1993 from the Dominican Order by Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict) – was because of Thomas Merton, who sent Fox to Paris to complete a doctoral program in philosophy. Fox found that Merton’s journals, poetry, and religious writings revealed a deeply ecumenical philosophy and a contemplative life experience similar to that of Meister Eckhart, the fourteenth-century mystic/ theologian who inspired Fox’s own ‘creation spirituality’. Matthew Fox is an internationally acclaimed theologian and spiritual maverick who has spent the past forty years revolutionizing Christian theology, taking on patriarchal religion, and advocating for a creation-centered spirituality of compassion, justice, and resacralizing of the earth.

Fürst, Alfons, & Holger Strutwolf (Eds.), Origenes. Die Homilien Und Fragmente Zum Hohelied [the Homilies and Fragments on the Song of Songs], Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2016 (Origenes. Werke Mit Deutscher Übersetzung; 9/2), VI, 288 pages, ISBN: 9783110461619; 9783110464405. Hieronymus claimed that Origen had even surpassed himself in his Commentary on the Song of Songs. With these words of praise, Hieronymus spread the good word about the Christian genius from Alexandria and, for this purpose, translated two of Origen’s homilies on the Biblical song of love into Latin. Besides Rufinus’s Latin translation, only a number of small fragments of this presentation of the Song of Songs have survived.

Goicoechea, David L., Agape and Bhakti with Bataille and Mark at Loyola and St. Francis: The Mysticism of Reconciliation, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2016 (Postmodern Ethics; 9), 392 pages, ISBN: 9781532600623. The author presents his fourth volume in a series on agape. The book focuses on the complementarity of agape (Christian love) and bhakti (Hindu love). First, he shows how the Jesuit spirituality at Loyola in Chicago and the Franciscan spirituality at St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, helped him to appreciate mystical love. Secondly, he shows how agape with all nine of its characteristics is central to the Gospel of Mark. Then, especially with the help of the work of Dr. Raj Singh, he shows how bhakti developed throughout the history of India. Finally, the author shows how Georges 332 book notices

Bataille, especially with the help of St. John of the Cross, looks deeply into the inner experience of the mystical ways. David L. Goicoechea is professor emeritus at Brock University.

Hackeborn, Mechthild of, & Barbara Newman, The Book of Special Grace, Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2017 (The Classics of Western Spirituality, 312 pages, ISBN: 9781587686313; 9780809106370. Mechthild’s The Book of Special Grace consists of visions and revelations about liturgical feasts, saints, and the Blessed Virgin, along with many other revelations experienced by the mystical nun as recounted to her sisters especially her close friend, St. Gertrude the Great. These visions reveal the deeply communal, optimistic spirituality of the Helfta nuns, which revolved around their sacramental and liturgical life and asserted strong, durable bonds between the living and the dead. Barbara Newman is Professor of English, Religious Studies, and Classics and John Evans Professor of Latin at Northwestern University.

Hernandez, Wil, Mere Spirituality: The Spiritual Life According to Henri Nouwen, London: SPCK, 2016, 156 pages, ISBN: 9780281076871. Henri Nouwen’s compelling spirituality of the heart is at once simple and complex, accessible but deeply profound. For this beloved Catholic theologian, whose ecumenical writings continue to inspire Christians of all denominations and levels of involvement, spirituality is, at its most basic, simply ‘attention to the life of the spirit in us’. This insightful distillation of Nouwen’s vast literary legacy invites our hearts to take courage and be still, creating space for God and our true selves. It is in this place of trust and solitude that we discover our belovedness and our capacity to love God and others. Wil Hernandez teaches courses on the spirituality of Henri Nouwen at seminaries and universities throughout the U.S. and abroad as a spiritual director and international workshop and retreat leader.

Hofman, Rijcklof H. F., & Marinus van den Berg (Eds.), Gerardus Magnus. Opera Omnia II, 2: Scripta Contra Simoniam Et Proprietarios, Turnhout: Brepols, 2016 (Cor- pus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis; 235), 517 pages, ISBN: 9782503566405. Gerardus Magnus or Geert Grote (1340–1384), the founder of the Dutch religious reform movement Deuotio moderna, is the author of a rich and varied written legacy. Shortly after his death already, his biographers singled out his attempts to improve the moral standards of contemporary clergymen among his most noteworthy pursuits. His efforts in this field basically came down to opposition against two forms of abuse in the world of the clergy, incompetence and corruption. In the present volume his essays against corruption in the medieval Church are edited. These essays address corrupt practices in connection with the acquisition of, and functioning in, ecclesiastical offices, as well as the widespread custom to require an admission fee from prospective residents in religious institutions. Grote defined his views on such entrance fees shortly after his conversion to a devout lifestyle in 1374, in the Statutes composed for religious women living together in part of his own house. Because of its relevance for the essays against entrance fees, a new edition of these Statutes is included in the present edition. Related book notices 333 to these abuses is a tolerant attitude towards personal possessions belonging to individual residents in religious communities, a custom known as proprietarism. Grote’s essays against this evil are also included in the edition. Rijcklof Hofman is editor of the Gerardi Magni Opera Omnia at the Titus Brandsma Institute, Nijmegen (The Netherlands). Marinus van den Berg has published several medieval Dutch texts.

Kane, John, Building the Human City: William Lynch’s Ignatian Spirituality for Public Life, Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016, XXIII, 265 pages, ISBN: 9781498239127; 9781498239141. This work is a first overview of the award-winning yet quite diverse works of Jesuit philosopher William F. Lynch. Writing from the 1950s to the mid-1980s, Lynch was among the first to warn against the fierce polarizations prevalent in our culture wars and political life. He called for a transformation of artistic and intellectual sensibilities and imaginations through the healing discernments and critical ironies of an Ignatian (and Socratic) spirituality. Yet the breadth of his concerns (from cinema and literature to mental health and hope to secularization and faith) as well as the depth of his thought (philosophical as much as theological) led to little initial awareness of the overall vision uniting his writings. John F. Kane is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Regis University (Denver).

Knysh, Alexander D., Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism, Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2017, 368 pages, ISBN: 9780691139098. In this comprehensive new history of Sufism from the earliest centuries of Islam to today, the author reveals the tradition in all its richness. He explores how Sufism has been viewed by both insiders and outsiders since its inception. He examines the key aspects of Sufism, from definitions and discourses to leadership, institutions, and practices. He devotes special attention to Sufi approaches to the Qur’an, drawing parallels with similar uses of scripture in Judaism and Christianity. He traces how Sufism grew from a set of simple moral-ethical precepts into a sophisticated tradition with professional Sufi masters (shaykhs) who became powerful players in Muslim public life but whose authority was challenged by those advocating the equality of all Muslims before God. The author also examines the roots of the ongoing conflict between the Sufis and their fundamentalist critics, the Salafis, a major fact of Muslim life today. Based on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, Sufism is an indispensable account of a vital aspect of Islam. Alexander Knysh is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Michigan.

Kreglinger, Gisela H., The Spirituality of Wine, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016, 300 pages, ISBN: 9780802867896. In this book the author offers a holistic vision of the Christian life that sees God at work in all created things, including vineyards, the work of vintners, and the beauty of well-crafted wine shared with others around a table. The author begins by examining wine in the Bible, in the history of the church, and in the Lord’s Supper, and these reflections culminate in a theology of joy and feasting that celebrates the human senses 334 book notices as gifts for tasting the goodness of God. In the second part of the book the author brings Christian spirituality and the world of wine together in new ways, exploring such matters as technology and wine-crafting, the health benefits of wine, alcohol abuse, consumerism, and soul care. Her discussion is enriched by interviews with thirty vintners from around the world as well as her own experience growing up on a family winery in Bavaria. Gisela H. Kreglinger taught Christian spirituality for four years before turning to writing full-time.

Lallemant, Louis, The Spiritual Doctrine, Chestnut Hill, MA: Institute of Jesuit Sources, Boston College, 2016 (Sources for the History of Jesuit Spirituality; 1), 357 pages, ISBN: 9780997282337. Written in French during the 1620s, first published in that language in 1694, and translated into English in 1855, the Spiritual Doctrine preserves Louis Lallemant’s lessons for Jesuit novices, especially those making their crucial ‘Third Year’. The various editors of the Doctrine did not realize that parts of the original text were missing. Indeed, not until Father Dominique Salin’s edition of 2011 were three important treatises, which had been incorrectly attributed to Lallemant’s disciple Jean Rigoleuc, restored to their place in the Doctrine, filling troublesome gaps in our reading of Lallemant’s mystical thought. This English translation is entirely new. Relying on Father Salin’s transcription of the sources, it strives to capture Lallemant’s distinctive style and vocabulary. The introduction sketches Lallemant’s career, looks briefly at his rhetorical style, summarizes the evidence by which Salin determined that Lallemant was the author of the three retrieved treatises, and concludes with Salin’s discussion of how Lallemant’s spirituality brought Jesuit apostolic mysticism into a new century, seventy years after the death of Ignatius of Loyola. The book was translated by Patricia M. Ranum.

Lewin, David, Simon D. Podmore, & Duane Williams (Eds.), Mystical Theology and Continental Philosophy: Interchange in the Wake of God, Basingstoke: Taylor & Francis, 2017 (Contemporary Theological Explorations in Christian Mysticism), 288 pages, ISBN: 9781472478610. Exploration of the interface between mystical theology and continental philosophy is a defining feature of the current intellectual and even devotional climate. But to what extent and in what depth are these disciplines actually speaking to one another; or even speaking about the same phenomena? This book draws together original contributions by leading and emerging international scholars, delineating emerging debates in this growing and dynamic field of research, and spanning mystical and philosophical traditions from the ancient, to the medieval, modern, and contemporary. At the heart of which lies Meister Eckhart, perhaps the single most influential Christian mystic for modern times. The book is organised around significant historical and contemporary figures who speak across the intersections of philosophy and theology, offering new insights into key interlocutors such as Pseudo-Dionysius, Augustine, Isaac Luria, Eckhart, Hegel, Heidegger, Marion, Kierkegaard, Deleuze, Laruelle, and Zizek. Designed both to contribute to current trends in mystical theology and philosophy, and elicit dialogue and debate from further afield, this book book notices 335 speaks within an emerging space exploring the retrieval of the mystical within a post-secular context. David Lewin is lecturer in Education at Strathclyde University. Simon D. Podmore is senior lecturer in Systematic Theology at Liverpool Hope University. Duane Williams is a senior lecturer in the Theology, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Department at Liverpool Hope University.

LoRusso, James Dennis, Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business: The Neoliberal Ethic and the Spirit of Global Capital, London, UK; New York, NY: Blooms- bury Academic, 2017 (Critiquing Religion: Discourse, Culture, Power), VII, 203 pages, ISBN: 9781350006270. By the early twenty-first century, Americans had embraced a holistic vision of work, that one’s job should be imbued with meaning and purpose, that business should serve not only stockholders but also the common good, and that, for many, should attend to the ‘spiritual’ health of individuals and society alike. While many voices celebrate efforts to introduce ‘spirituality in the workplace’ as a recent innovation that holds the potential to positively transform business and the American workplace, the author argues that workplace spirituality is in fact more closely aligned with neoliberal ideologies that serve the interests of private wealth and undermine the power of working people. He traces how this new moral language of business emerged as part of the larger shift away from the post-New Deal welfare state towards today’s global market-oriented social order. Building on other studies that emphasize the link between American religious con- servatism and the rise of global capitalism, the author shows how progressive ‘spirituality’ remains a vital part of this story as well. Drawing on cultural history as well as case studies from New York City and San Francisco of businesses and leading advocates of workplace spirituality, this book argues that that religion reveals much about work, corporate culture, and business in contemporary America. James Dennis LoRusso is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University, USA.

Maryks, Robert A. (Ed.), A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism, Leiden: Brill, 2017 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition; 78), VIII, 393 pages, ISBN: 9789004310131. In this volume, the editor provides thirteen unique essays discussing the Jesuit mystical tradition, a somewhat neglected aspect of Jesuit historiography that stretches as far back as the order’s co-founder, Ignatius of Loyola, his spiritual visions at Man- resa, and ultimately the mystical perspective contained in his Spiritual Exercises. The volume’s contributions on the most significant representatives of the Jesuit mystical tradition – from Baltasar Álvarez to Louis Lallemant to Hugo Makibi Enomiya- Lassalle – aim to fill this lacuna in Jesuit historiography. Although intended primar- ily as a handbook for scholars seeking to further their own research in this area, the volume will undoubtedly be of interest to scholars and students of Jesuit studies more broadly. Robert Aleksander Maryks is Associate Professor of History, Associate Director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, and Editor of Jesuit Sources at Boston College. 336 book notices

Maskulak, Marian (Ed.), Edith Stein: Selected Writings, New York ; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2016 (The Classics of Western Spirituality), XVIII, 294 pages, ISBN: 9780809106332. Not many people would think of philosopher Edith Stein (1891–1942) as an author on spirituality. And yet, even some of Stein’s highly philosophical writings hold spiritual treasures while others are more directly related to the spiritual life. This volume highlights themes related to spirituality in Edith Stein’s output. The first book to present Edith Stein specifically as a spiritual author, this volume contains selections of her works in a wide range of genres and revealing a wide range of spiritual concerns. For those interested in learning more about Stein’s writings, but who often find them too dense or challenging, this volume makes some of the spiritual gems of her thought more accessible. Marian Maskulak is Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University, New York.

Matz, Brian, Gregory of Nazianzus: Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016, XIII, 191 pages, ISBN: 9781493405725. The author provides an accessible and erudite introduction to the thought of fourth-century church father Gregory of Nazianzus. He explores Gregory’s homilies, especially those that reveal Gregory’s affirmation of the full deity of the Holy Spirit, and shows the importance of Gregory’s work for contemporary theology and spirituality. This work demonstrates a patristic approach to reading the Bible and promotes a vision for the Christian life that is theological, pastoral, and philosophical. Gregory of Nazianzus is the fourth book in a series on the church fathers edited by Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering. Brian Matz is Associate Professor of the History of Christianity and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Endowed Chair in Catholic Thought at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri.

McGinn, Bernard, Mysticism in the Reformation (1500–1650), New York: The Cross- road Publishing Company, 2017 (The Presence of God; 6, part 1), 350 pages, ISBN: 9780824522308. This volume of The Presence of God series, is the first full account of the role of the mystical element of Christianity in the Reformers who broke with Rome in the period 1500–1650. Although some modern Protestant theologians tried to distance the Refor- mation from any contact with mysticism, recent scholarship, by both Protestants and Catholics, has shown that Protestant mysticism is an important part of the heritage of the Reformation. Bernard McGinn is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor emeritus of Historical Theology and the History of Christianity at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, where he taught for thirty-four years.

McGinn, Bernard, Mysticism in the Golden Age of Spain 1500–1650, New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2017 (The Presence of God; 6, part 2), 500 pages, ISBN: 9780824500900. This 7th installment in the Presence of God series provides a thorough history of the influence of Spain on Christian mysticism during the Reformation. Rich in detail and book notices 337 completed with extensive notes and references, it gives a complete review of mysticism in early Spain.

Meir, Jonatan, Kabbalistic Circles in Jerusalem (1896–1948), Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2016 (Aries Book Series; 22), XII, 269 pages, ISBN: 9789004321632 (hardback); 9789004321649 (e-book). This book endeavors to fill a lacuna in the literature on early twentieth-century kabbalah, namely the lack of a comprehensive account of the traditional kabbalah seminaries (Yeshivot) in Jerusalem from 1896 to 1948 as well as the various manifestations of kabbalah within traditional Jewish society. The foundations that were laid in the early twentieth century also paved the way for the contemporary blossoming of kabbalah in many and manifold circles. In this sense, retracing the pertinent developments in Palestine at the outset of the twentieth century is imperative not only for repairing the distorted picture of the past, but for understanding the ongoing surge in kabbalah study. Jonatan Meir is Professor of Modern Jewish Thought at the Goldstein-Goren Depart- ment of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Nelstrop, Louise, & Helen Appleton (Eds.), Art, Aesthetics and Mysticism Interfaces between Art and Mysticism in the Medieval and Modern Periods, London; New York: Routledge, 2017 (Contemporary Theological Explorations in Christian Mysticism), 256 pages, ISBN: 9781138718388. From the visual and textual art of Anglo-Saxon England onwards, images held a surpris- ing power in the Western Christian tradition. Not only did these artistic representations provide images through which to find God, but mystical writing, from the early medieval period onwards, is also filled with images of God as artisan crafting a cosmos that likewise refracts and reflects His glory. This collection of essays introduces the currents of thought and practice that underpin this artistic engagement with Western Christian mysticism, and explores the continued link between art and theology. The book fea- tures contributions from an international panel of leading academics, and is divided into four sections. The first three sections investigate the interplay between the arts and mysticism from three key vantage points. The final section then offers theoretical and philosophical considerations of mystical aesthetics. The purpose of the volume is to explore this rarely considered yet crucial interface between art and mysticism. Louise Nelstrop is Director of Spirituality Programmes at Sarum College, UK, and a college lecturer at the University of Oxford, UK. Helen Appleton is tutor and lecturer at the University of Oxford, UK.

Niño, Andrés G., Ejercicios Espirituales Con San Agustín, Madrid: San Pablo, 2016 (Mambré), 376 pages, ISBN: 9788428550390. In his Confessions St. Augustine presents an intellectual and spiritual pilgrimage in search of God. It is an exercise of return to interiority and to the conversion that trans- forms the whole person. In it he emphasizes, through a narrative dialogue with God, the truths that he discovers until his encounter with Christ. Something he does subtly, not as a lesson, but rather by expressing his own reflections to arouse those of his readers. The book reconstructs that purpose from a coherent and didactic model based on his experience. This work is meticulously updated with the observations that many 338 book notices experts have made on the work of Augustine. It includes an introduction on St. Augus- tine and his work, the translation of the Rule of St. Augustine, a chronology of the events of his life with reference in the Confessions, and an extensive bibliography.

Rose, Kenneth, Yoga, Meditation, and Mysticism: Contemplative Universals and Medita- tive Landmarks, London; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016, XIV, 245 pages, ISBN: 9781472571687. Contemplative experience is central to Hindu yoga traditions, Buddhist meditation practices, and Catholic mystical theology, and, despite doctrinal differences, it expresses itself in suggestively similar meditative landmarks in each of these three meditative systems. In this book, the author shifts the dominant focus of contemporary religious studies away from tradition-specific studies of individual religious traditions, communities, and practices to examine the ‘contemplative universals’ that arise globally in meditative experience. Through a comparative exploration of the itineraries detailed in the contemplative manuals of Theravada Buddhism, Patanjalian Yoga, and Catholic mystical theology, the author identifies in each tradition a moment of sharply focused awareness that marks the threshold between immersion in mundane consciousness and contemplative insight. As concentration deepens, the meditator steps through this threshold onto a globally shared contemplative itinerary, which leads through a series of virtually identical stages to mental stillness and insight. Kenneth Rose is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Christopher Newport University, Virginia, USA.

Saritoprak, Zeki, Islamic Spirituality: Theology and Practice for the Modern World, Lon- don: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017, 256 pages, ISBN: 9781472572042. This volume examines and explores the inner dimensions of Islam, Islamic spirituality. Major sources of religious authority in Islam, the Qur’an and Hadith are examined, as well as the writings of important figures in the historical development of Islamic spirituality. Both classical Sufis and Sufism are explored as well as contemporary mystics. Key figures discussed include medieval Islamic theologian Al-Ghazali († 1111), and Said Nursi († 1960), arguably one of the most important contemporary theologians in relation to Islamic spirituality. Discussing Sufi traditions both historical and contemporary allows the author to ground esoteric classical Sufi texts in contemporary ideas and practices. Exploring spirituality in relation to key contemporary issues such as ecology, the author demonstrates how, when and where Muslims can practice Islamic spirituality in the Modern world. Zeki Saritoprak is Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Director of the Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies, at John Carroll University, USA.

Schwanda, Tom, The Emergence of Evangelical Spirituality: The Age of Edwards, Newton, and Whitefield, New York: Paulist Press, 2016 (The Classics of Western Spirituality), XXI, 306 pages, ISBN: 9780809106219. Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in evangelical spirituality. Although several books are available that focus on evangelical spirituality, none thus far has book notices 339 included the rich and varied resources of primary readings of this under-researched spiritual tradition. This volume offers readers a balanced collection of primary sources for eighteenth-century evangelical spirituality in America and Britain. Beginning with a chapter that introduces readers to the foundational nature and themes of evangelical spirituality, the book goes on to present the writings of men and women authors some very well known, others not well known grouped into six thematic categories. From giants of the movement such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield to social reformers William Wilberforce and Hannah More and such hymn writers as William Cowper, this work presents an invaluable and unequalled treasury of authors represent- ing a rich heritage of American and British spirituality. Tom Schwanda is Associate Professor of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.

Sheldrake, Philip, Befriending Our Desires, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016, XX, 124 pages, ISBN: 9780814647172. Desire is at the heart of what it is to be human. The power of desire, while embodied and sensuous, is God-given and the key to all human spirituality. Humanity is blessed with a deep longing that is infinite in extent and can only ultimately be satisfied in God. This book portrays the intimate connection between desire and the spiritual journey. Drawing on Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Christian spiritual classics (with some reference to Buddhist spirituality), poetry, and other literature, plus personal and pastoral experience, the author explores the role of desire in relation to God, prayer, sexuality, making choices, and responding to change. This is the third edition of this book! Philip Sheldrake is Senior Research Fellow at Westcott House Cambridge Theological Federation and Director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality at Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas.

Smelik, K. A. D., Meins G. S. Coetsier, & Jurjen Wiersma, The Ethics and Religious Philosophy of Etty Hillesum: Proceedings of the Etty Hillesum Conference at Ghent University, January 2014, Leiden; Boston: Brill (Supplements to the Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy; 28), XVII, 383 pages, ISBN: 9789004341333. This work contains the proceedings of the second international Etty Hillesum Congress at Ghent University in January 2014 and is a joint effort by fifteen Hillesum experts to shed new light on the life, works and vision of the Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum (1914–1943), one of the victims of the Nazi-regime. Hillesum’s diaries and letters illus- trate her heroic struggle to come to terms with her personal life in the context of the Holocaust. This volume revives Hillesum research with a comprehensive rereading of her texts. With the current rise of interest in peace studies, Judaism, the Holocaust, inter-religious dialogue, gender studies and mysticism, it is evident that this book will be invaluable to students and scholars in various disciplines. Klaas A.D. Smelik is Professor Emeritus Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Ghent University. Meins G.S. Coetsier is staff member and researcher at the Etty Hillesum Research Centre. Jurjen Wiersma is Professor Emeritus of Ethics and Philosophy at the University Faculty of Protestant Theology in Brussels. 340 book notices

Tugendhat, Ernst, Alexei Procyshyn, & Mario Wenning, Egocentricity and Mysticism: An Anthropological Study, New York: Columbia University Press, 2016, 194 pages, ISBN: 9780231542937. The author sees mysticism as a response to a deep need for peace of mind. We experience this need in connection to our discursive practices that relate us to and differenti- ate us from one another and the world we inhabit for a short period of time. This condition, the author shows, prompts us to ‘step back’ from our egocentric concerns. Mysticism satisfies our need for self-transcendence born from the tensions arising from language, social interaction, and mortality. Emphasizing the first person fuels a desire for mysticism, which builds knowledge of what binds us together and connects us to the world. Any intellectual pursuit that prompts us to ‘step back’ from our egocentric concerns harbors a mystic kernel that manifests as a sense of awe, wonder, and gratitude. Philosophy, the natural sciences, and mathematics all engender forms of mystical experience as profound as any produced by meditation and asceticism. One of the most widely discussed books by a German philosopher in decades, this work clarifies our relationship to language, social interaction, and mortality. Ernst Tugendhat is Professor Emeritus at Freie Universität Berlin and Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen.

Tyler, Peter, & Edward Howells (Eds.), Teresa of Avila: Mystical Theology and Spirituality in the Carmelite Tradition, London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017, VII, 153 pages, ISBN: 9781472478849. This book offers an original insight into the context and times of St Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) as well as exploring her contemporary relevance from the perspective of some of the foremost thinkers and scholars in the Teresian field today. As well as these academic approaches there will be chapters by friars and nuns of the Carmelite order living out the Carmelite charism in today’s world. The book addresses both theory and practice, and crosses traditional disciplinary and denominational boundaries – including medieval studies, philosophy, psychology, pastoral and systematic theology – thus demonstrating her continuing relevance in a variety of contemporary multi-disciplinary areas. Peter Tyler is Professor of Pastoral Theology and Spirituality at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Edward Howells is Senior Lecturer in Christian Spirituality at Heythrop College, University of London.

Versluis, Arthur, Platonic Mysticism: Contemplative Science, Philosophy, Literature, and Art, Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2017 (Suny Series in Western Esoteric Traditions), 190 pages, ISBN: 9781438466330. In this volume, the author argues that mysticism must be properly understood as belonging to the great tradition of Platonism. He demonstrates how mysticism was historically understood in Western philosophical and religious traditions and emphati- cally rejects externalist approaches to esoteric religion. Instead he develops a new theoretical-critical model for understanding mystical literature and the humanities as a whole, from philosophy and literature to art. A sequel to his Restoring Paradise, this book places Platonic mysticism in the context of contemporary cognitive and other book notices 341 approaches to the study of religion, and presents an emerging model for the new field of contemplative science. Arthur Versluis is Professor and Chair in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University.

Vroomen, Lisanne, Ik Heb Mijn Lief in Eeuwigheid: Functies En Thema’s Van Middelned- erlandse Devote Liederen, Collaties En Viten [‘I possess my Beloved One forever’. Functions and themes in Middle Dutch devout Songs, collations or constructive conversations, and biographies] Hilversum: Verloren, 2017 (Middeleeuwse Studies En Bronnen; 164), 285 pages, ISBN: 9789087046439. Songs, collations or constructive conversations, and Vitae or biographies used or prac- ticed during the late medieval religious reform movement Devotio moderna are compared with one another in this book. Innovative methods, based on John Austin’s language act theory and Digital Humanities, examine the precise function of the individual text genres. The songs focus on the emotional development of the devout. This is evident from expressive language acts such as complaints, but also from the frequent use of words such as ‘heart’ and ‘minne’ (love). The prose genres are aimed at moral guidance. The collations provide advice and incentives, as evidenced by directive language acts and the high frequency of the auxiliary verb ‘will’. The biographies contain moral examples and informative language acts about the lives of exemplary sisters. Lisanne Vroomen argues in her book that songs, a genre that seems to differ at first sight from prose texts, are an integral part of the textual culture of the modern devotion.

Westerink, Herman (Ed.), Critical Spirituality: Spirituality as Critical Practice in the Global Modern Age, Leuven: Peeters, 2017 (Studies in Spirituality Supplements; 28), VI, 181 pages, ISBN: 9789042934535. A central issue in the study of the correlation between modernity, the turn to the religious subject and the history of mysticism, concerns the critical – some would argue ‘subversive’ – character and practice of mysticism and spirituality. Is this critical practice merely the resistance effect of the modern pastoral investment in the subject? Or is there something distinctive in mysticism and spirituality that draws its strength from various sources – knowledge, experience, desire or perhaps even one’s body – and oper- ates from a specific position or ‘locus’? This volume explores these questions with the aim of developing a theory of critical spirituality, that is to say, of its historical appear- ances and its contemporary forms and characteristics. Herman Westerink is senior researcher of the Titus Brandsma Institute, Nijmegen, Netherlands, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies at Rad- boud University, Nijmegen, and Visiting Professor of the Research Unit of Pastoral and Empirical Theology of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

Westerink, Herman (Ed.), Spiritualiteit Op Scherp! Plaatsen Van Kritische Spiritualiteit [Spirituality on Edge! Places of Critical Spirituality], Heeswijk: Berne Media, 2017, 128 pages, ISBN: 9789089721716. This book searches for the critical mental attitudes, inspirations, styles and expressions inherent in the Christian tradition in modern and secular times. This spirituality is 342 book notices sometimes distinctly prophetic, at other times hidden from view, sometimes sharp and explicit, then again reluctant and inquiring, searching for new words, attitudes and practices that express what drives and inspires her. This work is a book in which the critical dimension of Christian spirituality is explored and made fertile for today’s social fields – education, care, et al.

Wicks, Robert J. (Ed.), Prayer in the Catholic Tradition: A Handbook of Practical Approaches, Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2016, 640 pages, ISBN: 9781632530325. Within the Catholic tradition, there are many ways to pray. Yet, while there are smaller books, books on praying with saints and contemporary figures, volumes assembling groups of individual prayers, or prayer within one particular strand of Catholic spirituality, there is no truly comprehensive work available on how to learn, practice, and teach ways of prayer in the broad Roman Catholic tradition. This handbook breaks new ground, offering forty important voices on forty essential topics for a comprehensive look at the learning, practice, and teaching of all that it means to pray in the Catholic tradition. Topics include types of spirituality (including Carmelite, Franciscan, Ignatian, Dominican and other major schools) and how they frame prayer and prayerfulness; liturgical prayer; New Testament scriptural approaches to prayer; praying with the Psalms; contemplation; Liturgy of the Hours; conversational prayer; resistances to prayer; journaling as prayer; enhancing a spirit of prayerfulness; praying in Ordinary Time; praying through grief, suffering, loss and pain; dealing with distractions in prayer; the essentials of Catholic prayer; and much more. Robert J. Wicks is Professor Emeritus at Loyola University in Maryland.

Wilke, Annette, Constructions of Mysticism as a Universal Roots and Interactions across Borders, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 2017 (Studies in Oriental Religions; 71), 500 pages, ISBN: 9783447107853. This volume charts the history of the multiple roots and interactions which underlie the modern popular understanding of mysticism as a universal phenomenon across epochs and cultures. In a broad interdisciplinary exchange, international scholars from different disciplines critically examine the concept and mental maps of the term ‘mysticism’ which enjoyed a central role in classical theories of religion, as developed in fields like psychology, sociology, history or phenomenology. This volume ventures an approach to mysticism as a universal, transcultural category from the perspective of the cultural studies of religion. This includes the question of how a European concept fraught with Christian notions was transferred to non-European cultures and secular contexts, and thereby attained new meanings and functions in daily life. Insights are gained by examining three major areas: a) mysticism’s potential for boundary crossing in earlier centuries of European history; b) the history of mysticism research in context – from the mysticism boom at the fin de siècle and early twentieth century to its renewed attractiveness in American counterculture and the psychedelic movement to its transformation into postmodern spirituality; and c) universal mysticism’s absorption of Eastern religions (notably Buddhism, Hindu traditions, and Daoism) as well as Asian insiders’ self-conceptions. Annette Wilke is director of the Seminar für Allgemeine Religionswissenschaft of the Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (WWU) Münster, Germany. book notices 343

Yount, David J., Plato and Plotinus on Mysticism, Epistemology and Ethics, London; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017 (Bloomsbury Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 311 pages, ISBN: 9781474298421. This book argues against the common view that there are no essential differences between Plato and the Neoplatonist philosopher, Plotinus, on the issues of mysticism, epistemology, and ethics. Beginning by examining the ways in which Plato and Plotinus claim that it is possible to have an ultimate experience that answers the most significant philosophical questions, the author provides an extended analysis of why we should interpret both philosophers as mystics. The book then moves on to demonstrate that both philosophers share a belief in non-discursive knowledge and the methods to attain it, including dialectic and recollection, and shows that they do not essentially differ on any significant views on ethics. Making extensive use of primary and secondary sources, it shows the similarities between the thought of these two philosophers on a variety of philosophical questions, such as meditation, divination, wisdom, knowledge, truth, happiness and love. David J. Yount is Professor of Philosophy and former chair of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Mesa Community College, USA.

Yountae, An, The Decolonial Abyss: Mysticism and Cosmopolitics from the Ruins, New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2016 (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy), 176 pages, ISBN: 9780823273072. This book probes the ethico-political possibility harbored in the Western philosophical and theological thought for addressing the collective experience of suffering, socio- political trauma, and colonial violence. The central question that this book raises is, how do we mediate the mystical abyss of theology/philosophy and the abyss of socio- political trauma engulfing the colonial subject? What would theopoetics look like in the context where poetics is the means of resistance and survival? This book seeks to answer these questions by examining the abyss as the dialectical process in which the self’s dispossession before the encounter with its own finitude is followed by the rediscovery or reconstruction of the self. It traces the dialectical trajectory of such process in Neo- platonic mysticism, German idealism, and Afro-Caribbean philosophy with the end of politicizing the mystical figure and to further rethink the self, the other, and the cosmo- politan politics through Edouard Glissant’s poetics of creolization. The fact that this book is the first attempt to bring Western mysticism, continental philosophy, and Caribbean philosophy into a conversation indicates the double movement implied in the book: exploring the overlooked political possibility lurking in the mystical thought while probing the mystical depth implicated in the political thought. An Yountae is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Lebanon Valley College.