Biographical Information

The Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals offers access to the lives and achievements of the men and women who have shaped this evangelical heritage. The Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals takes readers up to the present by including figures who were born in 1935 or earlier, such as Billy Graham and Bill Bright.

This reference provides alphabetically arranged entries for more than 450 Christian theologians from antiquity to the close of the twentieth century. Entries are restricted to theologians who died before 1994, when this project was begun. Included are profiles for the most important and representative theologians from the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions, with special attention to theologians of the English-speaking world. The volume covers those individuals whose work was primarily in systematic and spiritual theology, or church historians whose work was chiefly theological. Whenever possible, each entry provides basic biographical information, a brief account of the person's education and career, and a summary of the individual's most important contributions to theology. The entries range in length from 250 to 2,000 words, depending on the significance of the theologian's work.

Who's Who in Christianityis an invaluable reference guide to the leading men and women who have influenced the course of Christian history, including the founding fathers, saints, popes, monarchs, philanthropists, theologians, missionaries and heretics. The book encompasses both Eastern and Western churches and the lives and opinions of personalities who have shaped the past twenty Christian centuries, from Jesus of Galilee to Pope John Paul II, and from Paul of Tarsus to Mother Teresa.

The Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy covers all the major and many minor philosophers, theologians, and mystics who contributed to its development. With entries on over 300 thinkers and key concepts in Islamic philosophy, this updated landmark work also includes a timeline, glossary and detailed bibliography. It goes beyond philosophy to reference all kinds of theoretical inquiry which were often linked with philosophy, such as the Islamic sciences, grammar, theology, law, and traditions. Every major school of thought, from classical Peripatetic philosophy to Sufi mysticism, is represented, and entries range across time from the early years of the faith to the modern period. Featuring an international group of authors from South East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and North America, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy provides access to the ideas and people comprising almost 1400 years of Islamic philosophical tradition.

Here is a virtually complete list of persons identifiable as Jews in America by 1800, the result of a thorough search of manuscript materials and published literature for the names of Jews who lived in America (including Canada up to 1783) during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Each entry in this dictionary is accompanied by birth and death dates and places and other biographical data so far as they are available. The biographies vary from two lines recording the birth of an unnamed stillborn child or the presence of a transient in New York City to half-column summaries of the careers of well-known persons. Included are converts to Christianity and, in some instances, their children. Persons whose names or associations have resulted in their being incorporated into earlier lists of "Jews" are noted also, with an attempt to ascertain their identity. Especially noteworthy is the small number of Jews in America during the two centuries before 1800. Only about 4,000 Jews, of whom 1,500 were native-born, have been identified in this dictionary--and not all of these positively. Perhaps another 800 have been omitted, Rosenbloom points out, because their names are not included in extant records.

The dictionary presents the personal background, education, and various appointments as well as the character, talents, and bibliography of each member, while defining the contribution of each in the educational or pastoral work of the Basilian Fathers.

From Abraham to Saul Bellow, from Moses Maimonides to Woody Allen, from the Baal Shem Tov to Albert Einstein, this comprehensive dictionary of Jewish biographies provides a first point of entry into the fascinating richness of the Jewish heritage. Compiled with the assistance of a distinguished group of scholars, theDictionary of Jewish Biographyprovides a rapid reference to the biographies of almost 4000 Jewish men and women who, over the past four millennia, have contributed to the life, history, and study of Judaism in all its facets. Those profiled represent every walk of life and every area of accomplishment. Included are rabbinic scholars, key religious figures, spiritual leaders, founders of modern movements, major writers, Enlightenment figures, novelists, journalists, scientists, mystics, Israeli politicians, musicians, actors and actresses, film stars, famous rabbis, distinguished cantors, biblical figures, economists, architects, athletes, and radicals and heretics. Each entry is followed by a short bibliography. The book includes an extended Introduction, which explains the criteria for inclusion, and outlines the history of Israel and the Jewish diaspora. This dictionary will prove essential for general readers interested in the evolution of Judaism from ancient times to the present day, a perfect study aid for students and teachers. This panoramic bibliographic survey provides a unique guide to the leading figures of the past and present.

The First Amendment is categorical and concise on religion and the state: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Nevertheless, these few words have caused much confusion and controversy for successive generations. The debate over religious freedom has often come to the forefront during American history. Since colonial times, Americans have debated how to interpret and apply the First Amendment. Through biographical histories of individuals involved in the freedom of religion debates, readers will discover how individuals' thoughts, beliefs, and actions affected how the religion clauses are viewed today and throughout American history. Topics such as prayer in schools, religious symbols, exemption from military duty, and the pledge of allegience are addressed. Individuals such as Anne Hutchinson, Jerry Falwell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and Roger Williams are included. An introductory essay, an appendix of shorter entries on additional figures, and a bibliography are also included. The Shapers of the Great American Debates series takes a biographical approach to history, following the premise that people make history in the circumstances in which they find themselves. Each volume in this series examines the lives and experiences of the individuals involved in a particular debate through major and minor biographies.

"Names of over 10,000 saints, including all modern ones, appear in this new edition. Entries are arranged in alphabetical order of name and give significant information about lives and achievements. Details are given of variations in names and also of associated emblems." "The illustrations have been chosen as depictions of Saints as recognizable individuals, either through portrait likenesses or photographs or as a result of being accompanied by traditional attributes of identity. The book includes a bibliography, glossary and lists of national martyrs."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Judaism covers the history of the Jewish religion, ranging from its biblical roots, through its formulation in the era of the Talmud, to the present day. This collection covers the development of Judaism in the medieval Christian and Islamic worlds, its varied responses to Enlightenment and modernity, the creation of new philosophies of Judaism in the wake of the Holocaust, and the establishment of the State of Israel, and contemporary issues such as feminism, secularism, and the ethics of war and medicine. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 800 cross-referenced entries on important personalities in Jewish religious history, including biblical personalities with an emphasis on how they are understood in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Judaism.

Muslims believe that the Koran is God's message in Arabic, revealed through the medium of the Prophet Muhammad for the guidance of the Arabs and subsequently for all humanity. There is both unity and variety in the Islamic world. Muslims are not a homogeneous people who can be explained solely by their normative texts: the Koran and the Sunnah. Muslims differ vastly in their interpretation of Islam: modernists want to reinterpret Islam to adapt to the requirements of modern times while traditionalists tend to look to the classical and medieval periods of Islam as their model of the Islamic state. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Islam contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on major sects, schools of theology, and jurisprudence, as well as aspects of Islamic culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Islam.

The first major reference work on Methodism since the publication of The Encyclopedia of World Methodism in 1974. Nearly sixty Methodist theologians and historians contributed dictionary entries that provide basic information about some of the important persons, doctrines, events, and activities.

Both traditions recognize and draw theological and historical lessons from some of the same narrative sources, but this is the first comparative resource to provide interdisciplinary coverage of the history and textual sources associated with prophets and prophecy. This thorough treatment of a difficult and increasingly controversial subject area will encourage and cultivate knowledge and understanding.

This first installment of the Encyclopedia of Theology and Church is the best one-volume reference work on the popes and the papacy. Part one covers every pope and antipope; part two discusses the institution of the Vatican and the papacy.