Author: Dennis Waskul File Type: pdf *In the top corner of the window a pale, milky-white wisp is rising almost to the top of our ten-foot ceiling. I am startled but not afraid. Mostly, I am engrossed I have never seen anything like this before (or since) and it fascinates me.* Dennis Waskul writes these linesabout his first-hand experience with the supernaturalin the introduction to his beguiling book Ghostly Encounters. Based on two years of fieldwork and interviews with 71 midwestern Americans, the Waskuls book is a reflexive ethnography that examines how people experience ghosts and hauntings in everyday life. The authors explore how uncanny happenings become ghosts, and the reasons people struggle with or against a will to believe. They present the variety and character of hauntings and ghostly encounters, outcomes of people telling haunted legends, and the nested consequences of ghostly experiences. Through these stories, Ghostly Encounters seeks to understand the persistence of uncanny experiences and beliefs in ghosts in an age of reason, science, education, and technologyas well as how those beliefs and experiences both reflect and serve important social and cultural functions. **About the Author Dennis Waskul is a Professor of Sociology and Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Minnesota State University Mankato, and has served as president of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction. He has authored or co-authored several books including BodyEmbodiment Symbolic Interaction and the Sociology of the Body (with Phillip Vannini), The Senses in Self, Culture, and Society (with Phillip Vannini and Simon Gottschalk), and Popular Culture as Everyday Life (with Phillip Vannini). Michele Waskul is an independent scholar with a focus on special education.

Author: Robin Meyers File Type: pdf A new way to follow Jesus that draws on old ways of following Him The Underground Church proposes that the faithful recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe . Prominent progressive writer, speaker, and minister Robin Meyers proposes that the best way to recapture the spirit of the early Christian church is to recognize that Jesus-following was and must be again subversive in the best sense of the word because the gospel taken seriously turns the world upside down. No matter how the church may organize itself or worship, the defining characteristic of church of the future will be its Jesus-inspired countercultural witness. Debunks commonly held beliefs about the early church and offers a vision for the future rooted in the past Proposes that the church of the future must leave doctrinal tribalism behind and seek a unity of mission instead Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said,Robin Meyers has spoken truth to power, and the church he loves will never be the same.** A new way to follow Jesus that draws on old ways of following Him The Underground Church proposes that the faithful recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe. Prominent progressive writer, speaker, and minister Robin Meyers proposes that the best way to recapture the spirit of the early Christian church is to recognize that Jesus-following was and must be again subversive in the best sense of the word because the gospel taken seriously turns the world upside down. No matter how the church may organize itself or worship, the defining characteristic of church of the future will be its Jesus-inspired countercultural witness. ul lDebunks commonly held beliefs about the early church and offers a vision for the future rooted in the pastl lProposes that the church of the future must leave doctrinal tribalism behind and seek a unity of mission insteadl lArchbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said,Robin Meyers has spoken truth to power, and the church he loves will never be the same.l ul **Review [STARRED REVIEW] Meyers (Why the Christian Right Is Wrong) offers a number of subversive ideas in his latest, reminding readers that Jesus came to feed the hungry, wage nonviolence, and generally afflict the comfortable in his day. Today, the comfortable are seated in the pews of Christian churches, worshiping idols at twilight. Like many who use a traditional, prophetic voice, Meyers has a talent for putting theology on the ground and in the midst of life. Jesus really does mean for us to feed people, as he did hospitality is a cardinal Christian virtue. So is nonviolence, but its so hard that most fail at a practice that demands discipline and sacrifice. Meyers calls for other practices running counter to the prevailing imperial culture, including low or no-interest moneylending and tithing, which may startle middle-class mainline Protestant churchgoers. Going back to basics is not a new idea, but Meyers writes with energy, intelligence, and conviction, adding to the choir calling for Christianity in a new key. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, December 21, 2011) Review Praise for *The Underground Church* DANGER The contents of this book are explosive and could turn the world upside down. About time! Bill Moyers When was the last time you thought of going to church as dangerous? Once we challenged the status quo now we mostly defend it. The Underground Church tells the story of how we forgot where we came from and why we must recover our subversive roots. Read this book if you dare. Become part of the movement if you are daring. Archbishop Desmond Tutu Read this book. Written by a wordsmith, it is a passionate and challenging call to churches to be liberated from the cultural captivity of convention and into the underground church. Marcus Borg, canon theologian, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, and author, Speaking Christian The Underground Church invites Christians to encounter a radical Jesus, to practice a subversive way of life, and to move beyond belief to love. This is no longer merely churchrather it is a movement that many are aching to join! Diana Butler Bass, author, Christianity After Religion The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening As I read Robin Meyerss new book, I felt afresh how subversive the Christian way of life should be in relation to todays partisan ideologies and consumerist assumptions. He depicts a subversive, transformative, and hopeful identity for followers of Christone that I hope will be increasingly contagious. Brian McLaren, author, speaker, activist (www.brianmclaren.net) This beautifully written manifesto, grounded in the authors deep faith and faithful ministry, is manna for those of us who love what the church is called to bebut who have a lovers quarrel with the way it too often distorts the good news about love, justice, mercy, and care for the least of these. May The Underground Church rise up and flower everywhere! Parker J. Palmer