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Book Notices Studies in Spirituality 25, 339-360. doi: 10.2143/SIS.25.0.3112900 © 2015 by Studies in Spirituality. All rights reserved. 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 65 titles with short descriptions. They are not meant to be comprehensive and in-depth book reviews. Adogame, Afeosemime U. (Ed.), The Public Face of African New Religious Movements in Diaspora Imagining the Religious ‘Other’, Farnham: Ashgate, 2014 (Ashgate Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements), 300 pages, ISBN: 9781472420107 (Hb.); 9781472420114 (Eb. PDF); 9781472420121 (Eb. Epub). This book provides new theoretical and methodological insights for understanding and interpreting African new religious movements (ANRMs) and African-derived religions in diaspora. Contributors focus on groups and movements drawn from Christian, Islamic, Jewish and African-derived religious movements and explore their provenance and patterns of emergence, their belief systems and ritual practices. The book offers new insights into how ANRMs can be better defined, approached, and interpreted by scholars, policy makers and media practitioners alike. Afe Adogame is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies and World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh. Alfsvåg, Knut, & Thor Strandenaes (Eds.), Urban Christian Spirituality: East Asian and Nordic Perspectives, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2014, 198 pages, ISBN: 9783631657867. This book explores some of the challenges presented to church and mission from the contemporary culture of globalization and how this affects Christian spirituality in various ways. The attention is primarily focused on contemporary East Asian urban life, but from the assumption that this may not be all that different from what is experi- enced in urban contexts in other parts of the world. The authors all share an affiliation with institutions related to the Norwegian Mission Society and its work in East Asia. Knut Alfsvåg is a Professor of Systematic Theology at the School of Mission and Theol- ogy at Stavanger (Norway). Thor Strandenæs is a Professor Emeritus of Missiology at the School of Mission and Theology at Stavanger (Norway). Allen, Michael J. B. (Ed.), Marsilio Ficino on Dionysius the Areopagite, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015 (The I Tatti Renaissance Library), 2 volumes (LXXI, 516; XXXVII, 483 pages) pages, ISBN: 9780674058354 (vol. 1); 9780674743793 (vol. 2). In 1490/92 Marsilio Ficino, the Florentine scholar-philosopher-magus who was largely responsible for the Renaissance revival of Plato, made new translations of, with running 98401.indb 339 1/12/15 15:02 340 BOOK NOTICES commentaries on, two treatises he believed were the work of Dionysius the Areopagite, the disciple of St. Paul mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. His aim was to show how these two treatises (in fact the achievement of a sixth-century Christian follower of the Neoplatonist Proclus) had inspired pagan thinkers in the later Platonic tradition like Plotinus and Iamblichus. These major products of fifteenth-century Christian Plato- nism are here presented in new critical editions accompanied by English translations, the first into any modern language. Alva, Reginald, The Spirituality of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2014 (Christian Heritage Rediscovered; 4), XIX, 188 pages, ISBN: 9789351480068. Soon after the end of the Second Vatican Council, the Charismatic Renewal spread in the Catholic Church in 1967. The Charismatic Renewal Movement, which had a mod- est beginning, had a phenomenal growth. This grace of the Holy Spirit has touched the lives of millions in all the continents. People of all nations, languages and cultures have had a tremendous experience of God, which has changed their lives. What is the spir- ituality of this movement that makes it so attractive among people? Has this spirituality truly enriched the spiritual lives of the people associated with it? This book seeks to answer these questions objectively and welcomes readers for further reflection. Reginald Alva is presently teaching at Nanzan University, Seto, Japan. Arblaster, John, & Rob Faesen (Eds.), A Companion to John of Ruusbroec, Leiden: Brill, 2014 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition; 51), XII, 448 pages, ISBN: 9789004265400. John of Ruusbroec (1293-1381) is one of the most important mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of Ruusbroec stud- ies, including a survey of the mystical tradition in the Low Countries before Ruusbroec, a discussion of his life and works, the manuscript tradition, the most significant mystical- theological and literary themes, Latin translations of his work, and the widespread reso- nance of his thought across Europe until 1800. Finally, it offers a summary of secondary research since the nineteenth century. To complement the range of scholarly articles, this work also includes the first English translation of a series of Middle Dutch texts that offer deeper insight into Ruusbroec, his thought, and his mystical and literary context. Arcement, Ephrem, In the School of Prophets: The Formation of Thomas Merton’s Prophetic Spirituality, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2015 (Cistercian Studies Series; 265), XXV, 218 pages, ISBN: 9780879072650 (Pb.). The distinctive prophetic quality of Thomas Merton’s spirituality, shaped by figures ranging from the Hebrew prophets to Thich Nhat Hanh, emerges from this fresh examination of the works Merton read, responded to, and celebrated in his own writ- ing. This book examines the final decade of Merton’s life, mainly through the lens of his journals and letters, and helps to fill a gap in contemporary Merton studies. William Blake and various Latin American poets; novelists Boris Pasternak, Albert Camus, and William Faulkner; existentialists Søren Kierkegaard and Gabriel Marcel; monks of the Egyptian desert; and Bernard of Clairvaux number among those who helped shape 98401.indb 340 1/12/15 15:02 BOOK NOTICES 341 Merton’s prophetic consciousness, leading him to reexamine what it means to be both a human being and a contemplative monk of the twentieth century. Ephrem Arcement, OSB, is a monk of St. Joseph Abbey in Louisiana and currently teaches courses in Scripture and spirituality at St. Joseph Seminary College. Bale, Anthony Paul (Ed.), The Book of Margery Kempe, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015 (Oxford World’s Classics), 275 pages, ISBN: 9780199686643 (Pb.). The Book of Margery Kempe (c. 1436-38) is the extraordinary account of a medieval wife, mother, and mystic. Known as the earliest autobiography written in the English language, Kempe’s Book describes the dramatic transformation of its heroine from failed businesswoman and lustful young wife to devout and chaste pilgrim. She vividly describes her prayers and visions, as well as the temptations in daily life to which she succumbed before dedicating herself to her spiritual calling. She travelled to the most holy sites of the medieval world, including Rome and Jerusalem. In her life and her boisterous devotion, Kempe antagonized many of those around her; yet she also gar- nered friends and supporters who helped to record her experiences. Her Book opens a window on to the medieval world, and provides a fascinating portrait of one woman’s life, aspirations, and prayers. This new translation preserves the forceful narrative voice of Kempe’s Book and includes a wide-ranging introduction and useful notes. Anthony Bale studied at the universities of Oxford and York and at the Hebrew Uni- versity of Jerusalem. Barrie, Thomas, Julio Cesar Bermúdez, & Phillip Tabb (Eds.), Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality, Farnham: Ashgate, 2015, 303 pages, ISBN: 9781472441713 (Hb.). Architecture has long been understood as a cultural discipline able to articulate the human condition and lift the human spirit, yet the spirituality of architecture is rarely directly addressed in academic scholarship. The seventeen chapters provide a diverse range of perspectives, grouped according to topical themes: Being in the World; Sacred, Secular, and the Contemporary Condition; Symbolic Engagements; Sacred Landscapes; and Spirituality and the Designed Environment. Even though the authors’ approach the subject from a range of disciplines and theoretical positions, all share interests in the need to rediscover, redefine, or reclaim the sacred in everyday experience, scholarly analysis, and design. Thomas Barrie AIA is a Professor of Architecture at North Carolina State University. Julio Bermudez is an Associate Professor at the Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning. Phillip Tabb is Professor of Architecture at Texas A&M University. Birat, Kathie, & Brigitte Zaugg (Eds.), Literature and Spirituality in the English-Speak- ing World, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2014 (Recherches en Littérature et Spiritualité; 22), VI, 233 pages, ISBN: 9783034314947. This collection of essays focuses on the role of spirituality in American literature through an examination of the multiple ways in which a deep engagement with the spiritual has shaped and affected literature in the Americas (three of the essays involve Canadian and Caribbean literature). The essays in the first section explore the intimate 98401.indb 341 1/12/15 15:02 342 BOOK
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