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Religion, Science and Magic

Religion, Science and Magic

Book (31 Dec 1989)

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Publisher's Synopsis

This is a collection of contributed papers arising from a conference held at Brown University in 1987. Every culture makes the distinction between "true religion" and magic. One action and its result are termed "miraculous", while another is rejected as the work of the devil.;The 10 essays in this book examine the history of this distinction in Christianity and Judaism. Their underlying premise is that by understanding how a social group sorts out approved from disapproved practices and beliefs we gain insight into that group's mode of self-definition. One significant recurring theme is that "magic" is the insider's term for the outsider's religion. Social, cultural and anthropological explanations are advanced for the prominence of the magical in certain periods. There are some broad theoretical essays as well as in-depth studies of magic in particular literatures and periods. Among the contributors are Jacob Neusner, Hans Penner, Howard Kee, Tzvi Abusch, Susan R. Garrett and Moshe Idel. Topics considered include Babylonian witchcraft, Jesus the Magician, magic in Hasidism and the Kabbalah, and magic in Anglo-Saxon England.

About the Publisher

Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Our products cover an extremely broad academic and educational spectrum, and we aim to make our content available to our users in whichever format suits them best.We publish for all audiences-from pre-school to secondary level schoolchildren; students to academics; general readers to researchers; individuals to institutions. Our range includes dictionaries, English language teaching materials, children's books, journals, scholarly monographs, printed music, higher education textbooks, and schoolbooks.

Book information

ISBN: 9780195056037
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Pub date:
DEWEY: 291.33
DEWEY edition: 20
Number of pages: 294
Weight: 540g
Height: 215mm
Width: 140mm
Spine width: 27mm