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In The Charismatic Gymnasium Maria José de Abreu examines how Charismatic Catholicism in contemporary Brazil produces a new form of total power through a concatenation of the breathing body, theology, and electronic mass media. De Abreu documents a vast religious respiratory program of revival popularly branded as “the aerobics of Jesus.” Pneuma—the Greek term for air, breath, and spirit—is central to this aerobic program, whose goal is to labor on the athletic elasticity of spirit. Tracing the rhetoric, gestures, and spaces that together constitute this new theological community, de Abreu exposes the articulating forces among evangelical Christianity, neoliberal logics, and the rise of right-wing politics. By calling attention to how an ethics of pauperism vitally intersects with the neoliberal ethos of flexibility, de Abreu shows how paradoxes do not hinder but expand the Charismatic gymnasium. The result, de Abreu demonstrates, is the production of a fluid form of totalitarianism and Christianity in Brazil and beyond.
Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, has long been a subject of curiosity as well as vigorous theological debate. A worldwide phenomenon that spans multiple Christian traditions, glossolalia is both celebrated as a supernatural gift and condemned as semiotic alchemy. For some it is mystical speech that exceeds what words can do, and for others it is mere gibberish, empty of meaning. At the heart of these differences is glossolalia’s puzzling relationship to language. ? Glossolalia and the Problem of Language investigates speaking in tongues in South Korea, where it is practiced widely across denominations and congregations. Nicholas Harkness shows how the popularity of glossolalia in Korea lies at the intersection of numerous, often competing social forces, interwoven religious legacies, and spiritual desires that have been amplified by Christianity’s massive institutionalization. As evangelicalism continues to spread worldwide, Glossolalia and the Problem of Language analyzes one of its most enigmatic practices while marking a major advancement in our understanding of the power of language and its limits.
The essays in this volume explore how two domains of human experience and action--religion and technology--are implicated in each other. Contrary to commonsense understandings of both religion (as an "otherworldly" orientation) and technology (as the name for tools, techniques, and expert knowledges oriented to "this" world), the contributors to this volume challenge the grounds on which this division has been erected in the first place. What sorts of things come to light when one allows religion and technology to mingle freely? In an effort to answer that question, Deus in Machina embarks upon an interdisciplinary voyage across diverse traditions and contexts where religion and technology m...
The recent proliferation of international courts and jurisdictions raises a number of important issues ranging from the redefinition of the role of the International Court of Justice to the recent emergence of domestic courts as international jurisdictions. Towards a Universal Justice? Putting International Courts and Jurisdictions into Perspective, containing edited articles presented at the International Law Association’s Regional Conference held in Lisbon, offers a comprehensive overview of those issues and outlines challenges ahead for every branch of international law.
"Tessellating the political economy of mass media with ancient conceptions of the gymnasium, The Charismatic Gymnasium traces the shift by the Catholic Church toward orthodox Greek repertoires in order to advance the concept of pneumatic liberalism to think Brazil's contemporary moment. In line with the recent interest in concepts like "life-force" or "vital substance" in Euro-American intellectual discourse, the book documents the central role of pneuma (the Greek term for air, breath, spirit) in a vast respiratory religious program that in Brazil goes under the popular name of "the aerobics of Jesus." Applying the uses of the Greek gymnasium in Christianity, this book explores the creation of aerobic exercises designed to make spiritually fit Catholic devotees in urban São Paulo." "--
This book discusses the connection between fast fashion brands and customer-centric sustainability. It highlights what consumers can do with fast fashion and the important aspects that need to be addressed to make fast fashion sustainable. Fast fashion is an inevitable element in today’s fashion business cycle and its adverse impacts on sustainable fashion are a major issue.
Currently, most organizations are dependent on IS/ICT in order to support their business strategies. IS/ICT can promote the implementation of strategies and enhancers of optimization of the various aspects of the business. In market enterprises and social organizations, digital economy and ICTs are important tools that can empower social entrepreneurship initiatives to develop, fund, and implement new and innovative solutions to social, cultural, and environmental problems. The Handbook of Research on Multidisciplinary Approaches to Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and ICTs is an essential reference source that discusses the digitalization techniques of the modern workforce as well as important tools empowering social entrepreneurship initiatives. Featuring research on topics such as agile business analysis, multicultural workforce, and human resource management, this book is ideally designed for business managers, entrepreneurs, IT consultants, researchers, industry professionals, human resource consultants, academicians, and students.
This book examines the incorporation of newly accessible mass media into practices of religious mediation in a variety of settings including the Pentecostal Church and Islamic movements, as well as the use of religious forms and image in the sphere of radio and cinema.
"This book is a major contribution to the global struggle for control of women's bodies and their giving birth and should be read by all obstetricians, midwives, obstetric nurses, pregnant women and anyone else with interest in maternity care. It documents the worldwide success of programs for pregnancy and birth which honor the women and put them in control of their own reproductive lives."—Marsden Wagner, MD, author of Born In The USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First
The relation between religion and things has long been conceived in antagonistic terms, privileging spirit above matter, belief above ritual and objects, meaning above form and 'inward' contemplation above 'outward' action. This book addresses these issues.