Life Cycles Jewish Christian: Vol 4 Two Lit Trad Series - Hardcover

by Paul F. Bradshaw (Editor), Lawrence a. Hoffman (Editor)

More than a series of rites of passage through the landmarks of growing up and growing old, Jewish and Christian life-cycle rituals give the members of each religious tradition theological and ritualized definitions of what a life should be. In this volume, the fourth in the acclaimed series Two Liturgical Traditions, eight scholars explore the models of human life implicit in Judaism and Christianity by unraveling and exploring the evolution and current condition of their life-cycle liturgies. By combining the historical-critical method of traditional scholarship with that of more recent theory drawn from the human sciences, Life Cycles in Jewish and Christian Worship provides a novel treatment of Jewish and Christian life cycles, past and present, and is a unique and invaluable guide to the history, practice, and theology of life-cycle liturgy.

Contributors: Paul F. Bradshaw, Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ruth A. Meyers, Debra R. Blank, Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, Marjorie Procter-Smith, and Yoel Kahn.

Back Jacket

More than a series of rites of passage through the landmarks of growing up and growing old, Jewish and Christian life-cycle rituals give the members of each religious tradition theological and ritualized definitions of what a life should be. In this volume, the fourth in the acclaimed series "Two Liturgical Traditions", eight scholars explore the models of human life implicit in Judaism and Christianity by unraveling and exploring the evolution and current condition of their life-cycle liturgies. The essays presented here emphasize the wholeness of a life as illustrated by the religious metaphors inherent in life-cycle rites. The contributors examine the history and shape of each life-cycle rite - including the rituals and practices associated with birth, adolescence, marriage, sickness, and death - and analyze the theological message that each rite represents.