bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
“A Marvelous Work and a Wonder”: The Book of Mormon as Sacred Sign
Authors: Givens Terryl L. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
In the context of 19th‐century American millennialism, many early converts to Mormonism heralded the Book of Mormon as a sign of the end times. In an era of many prophets and visionaries, the Book of Mormon was offered as tangible proof that Joseph was an authentic prophet. Joseph Smith's emphatic literalism and appeal to physical and historical evidence made him both more threatening and more attractive than a Jacob Boehme or an Emanuel Swedenborg. The story of angels, seer stones, and gold plates, thus displaced a focus on the Book of Mormon's content, for both critics and believers.
“I, Nephi, Wrote This Record”: The Book of Mormon as Ancient History, Part 1—The Search for a Mesoamerican Troy
Authors: Givens Terryl L. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
The Book of Mormon arrived on an American landscape where speculation about Native American origins was rife, and included theories of an Israelite connection. With the discovery of the Mayan ruins of Mesoamerica, Mormons labored to amass archeological support for the scripture's historical authenticity. Under the influence of B. H. Roberts, Mormons were alerted to serious inadequacies in the Mormon case. In spite of concerted archaeological efforts after World War II, defenders of the Book of Mormon found little useful evidence.
“I, Nephi, Wrote This Record”: The Book of Mormon as Ancient History, Part 2—The Search for a Rational Belief
Authors: Givens Terryl L. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Mormon Scholar Hugh Nibley ushered in a new era of Book of Mormon studies that emphasized congruencies between the record and the world of the Middle East. Focus shifted to textual, linguistic, and cultural evidences for its authenticity. John Sorenson argued for geography and anthropology‐based approaches. In escalating debates, topics of dispute would include biblical plagiarism, the Isaiah problem, population numbers, Book of Mormon language and names, and anachronisms. In spite of a growing and impressive body of Book of Mormon apologetics, evangelicals and scholars remain largely dismissive, though with significant exceptions.
Who Rides the Beast?
Authors: Duff Paul B. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractOwing to its powerful anti‐Roman polemic, the book of Revelation was traditionally thought to have been written to encourage believers to stand fast in the face of the Roman persecution. Recent scholarship, however, has undermined the scenario of Roman persecution. This book examines the social situation that gave rise to the production of the book of Revelation. Duff suggests that the book did not arise from persecution or harassment but rather it was written in response to an internal crisis of leadership. The book's anti‐Roman polemic was intended to manufacture a crisis in the minds of its readers. The creation of this crisis – a technique observed in other charismatic groups – served the function of uniting the churches behind the author and against his prophetic rival. In addition, the book's polemic, although aimed directly at Rome, was, at the same time, focused indirectly at the author's rival “Jezebel” who, John argues, was in league with Rome.
The Issues
Authors: Duff Paul B. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
An examination of the seven letters to the churches shows that most of the subjects raised (and certainly the most pressing ones) are internal, intra‐Christian issues. There is little evidence of Roman hostility. The internal issues seem to be focused in three of the churches that have split into factions, the churches at Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyatira. The issues that contributed to the creation of factions include wealth, poverty, ɛιδωλόθυτα (food sacrificed to idols)σ and πορνɛία (fornication).
The Rhetoric of Innuendo
Authors: Duff Paul B. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Focuses on John's rhetoric. It begins with a discussion of indirect accusation and gives examples of its use in the ancient world. The chapter next demonstrates how John constructs a dualistic narrative world and then peoples it with characters that can be compared or contrasted with one another. The chapter includes a discussion about John's use of homology and irony to reinforce the dualism of his narrative world. A discussion about the persuasive power of indirect language concludes the chapter.
Genesis as Dialogue
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Genesis is a literary unity, and is the foundation for the Pentateuch and for the entire Primary History (Genesis‐2 Kings). This unity is complex, like the human body with its many diverse parts. As with the body, no major part preexisted other parts; all came to birth simultaneously. Three features of Genesis are pivotal. (1) Genesis is encyclopedic, synthesizing literature, religion, the science of the time, and experience (2) Genesis is artistic literature. The many variations and apparent contradictions of the text reflect a unified artistic strategy. Above all, Genesis is like a series of two‐part paintings or diptychs – two accounts of creation, two of sin, two genealogies, and so on. Every piece fits, and the diverse parts set up a dialog. (3) Genesis illustrates intertextuality; its sources include extant documents, especially from Mesopotamia, from Judea (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel), and from western Asia (Homer's Odyssey). The documentary theory (JEDP) is unnecessary and misleading.
Further Evidence of Genesis's Unity
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractGenesis’ literary unity has several features. It contains consistent overlapping structures including bodylike complexity and chiasms, spiraling structures with consistent patterns of expanding episodes, two great double dramas (1:1–25:18 and 25:19–ch. 50), and above all, 26 diptychs (13 in each double drama). Each diptych contains some form of complementarity, for instance, two views of creation. The diptych arrangement has sometimes been interpreted as reflecting confusion, yet it is precise. Overall, Genesis spirals from episodes to prolonged narrative, and from myth to history.
Greco‐Persian Features
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractGreco‐Persian culture encouraged theological inquiry, codification of law, and a transition from epic poetry to prose historiography. Wide‐ranging pioneering histories were written by Hecataeus, Herodotus, and Hellanicus. The Primary History as a whole – the entire wide‐ranging prose history – fits well into the Persian Empire.
Date, Place, and People: A Summary of Key Arguments
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractDespite its distinct and archaic language, the Primary History (Genesis‐2 Kings) is best given a date in the Persian period, because: (1) Its literary genre as a whole belongs to the Persian period. (2) Its integral content reflects events that extend into the Persian period. (3) Its sources include exilic prophets. The authorship – whether by one person or by a coordinated group – was probably linked to an institution, perhaps the Jerusalem temple. Affiliation to an institution – political, religious, industrial, academic – need not mean lack of integrity.
Genesis as a Reflection of the Complexity of Life
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractGenesis is like an encyclopedia of life. Among other features, it highlights: the founding of civilization; harmony and disharmony; blessing; marriage and family; relative roles of women and men; larger communities (ethnic groups; the world); the ambivalence of cities; the centrality of journeying; the journey's context, between creation and providence.
Genealogies: From More Disharmony to Restoration (4:17–Chap. 5)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
The two sets of genealogical material (of 4:17–26 and ch. 5) bring about a dramatic expansion in Genesis’ story line. The two are complementary in their use of names and in other ways. The first portrays civilization's development and degeneration; the second, God's restorative influence. Genesis 5 takes up threads from all the preceding chapters.
Noah's Sons: The World's Mixture of Curse and Blessing (9:18–Chap. 10)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe story of Noah's three sons (9:18–29) is followed by a table of nations, which reflects features of the three sons (ch. 10). The two‐fold text (9:18–ch. 10) is framed by references to Noah and the flood, and at one level is concerned not with specific nations but with the balance between blessing and curse among humanity as a whole.
Failed Tower and Fading Family: Life's Fragmentation (Chap. 11)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
The two texts in Genesis 11 – the tower of Babel (11:1–9), and the family line from Shem to Terah's death (11:10–32) – are diverse in many ways, but they also share a radical unity: they portray complementary pictures of the faltering of human institutions – the faltering of the towering city, and of the family line. There are connecting features. The fragility and death of human institutions sets the scene for the call of Abraham (Abram).
War—And Vision of a Covenant (Chaps. 14–15)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn Genesis 14, Abram engages in a war involving many nations, and with the help of a covenant‐based alliance of brothers, he brings back his captured nephew and his possessions. In Genesis 15, God becomes a shield to Abram and makes a covenant, which involves bringing back Abram's enslaved people and their possessions, a covenant with implications for many nations. The two chapters have several points of complementarity, and together they portray a major transition in Abram. In Genesis 14, Abram is supremely courageous and unselfish, but in Genesis 15 he is afraid of the future, and he needs divine help to come outside of himself and believe.
Personal Conflict, and Vision of a Deeper Covenant (Chaps. 16–17)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn Genesis 16, the beautiful barren Sarai finally releases what is inside her – a confused bitterness that strikes at God, Abram, and her slavegirl, Hagar. Her proposal that Abram impregnate Hagar causes tension between the two women and she drives the foreign slavegirl away. However, the Lord intervenes and brings back the foreign slavegirl, and she bears Abram a son, Ishmael. In Genesis 17, Ishmael is old enough to be circumcised; a circumcision linked to a covenant that includes foreigners (foreign slaves) and that promises new life for Sarai. Together, Genesis 16 and 17 give the concept of covenant a new depth and new inclusiveness. They also give Abram and Sarai new names – Abraham and Sarah.
Jacob's Children and Flocks (29:31–Chap. 30)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe account of the generating of Jacob's children (Genesis 29:31–30:24) is balanced by an account of the generating of Jacob's flocks (30:25–43). The children are generated in the context of the rivalry between Leah and Rachel; the flocks in the context of the rivalry between Laban and Jacob. The children carry the names of the future tribes, and the flocks have echoes of the people. Children and flocks promise well for the future.
Genealogies: Jacob Declines and Esau Prospers (35:21–37:1)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe following two texts consist essentially of genealogies – the shrunken genealogy of Jacob (Genesis 35:21–29) and the expansive genealogy of his old nemesis, Esau (36:1–37:1). The brevity of Jacob's genealogy seems to be explained by its opening: the incest of Jacob's eldest son, Reuben, with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah – an event which would have undermined the father. Jacob hears, but does nothing and says nothing. (He acts on it when he is dying, 49:3–4). For the moment, he is diminished, and his genealogy reflects it. (In better circumstances, his genealogy is longer, 46:8–27).
Prophecy and Conversion (37:2–Chap. 38)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe Joseph story, with its almost‐continuous narrative, is not substantially different from the rest of Genesis. Rather, it is like Genesis coming into bloom, and it responds to the earlier issues in Genesis. The account of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38) fits well into the narrative, reflecting the preceding chapter in many ways (see Robert Alter). The initial account of Joseph and his dreams (most of Genesis 37) is like the account of the call of a prophet – but adapted to a wisdom mode. The story of Judah is a form of conversion story. The prophetic dreams and Judah's conversion intimate the future.
Joseph: The Initiatory Trials (Chaps. 39–40)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe account of Joseph's early experience in Egypt falls easily into two complementary chapters: his resistance to seduction, leading to his imprisonment (Genesis 39); and his interpretation of dreams, leaving him still in prison, forgotten (Genesis 40). Joseph emerges as close to God, with integrity and prophetic wisdom.
Back to Egypt: The Generosity That Brings Conversion (Chaps. 43–44)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe brothers’ conversion advances in two stages. First, following a courageous decision to return to Egypt, they are reassured by a generous meal (Genesis 43). Then, when Joseph's cup is found in Benjamin's sack, Judah lays his life on the line to save the youngest brother – thus completely reversing the sinfulness that was once directed against Joseph (Genesis 44). The conversion is complete. Judah's speech (44:18–34) is long, second only to that of Abraham's servant in Genesis 24. The splendid meal implies that, as in the prophets, Joseph's form of justice is based on generosity (not on the weighing‐scale precision of the Greeks).
Jacob's Death and Burial (Chaps. 49–50)
Authors: Brodie Thomas L. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe accounts of death and burial (Genesis 49 and 50 respectively) are essentially positive. The death is dominated by a blessing; the burial by haunting beauty. Jacob's blessing (Genesis 49) distills much of Genesis and so, despite its archaic language, is best seen as composed at the same time as the book. The contrast between the burials of Jacob and Joseph (in Genesis 50) has echoes in the contrast between the fates of Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2 and 13).
Morals from Motives
Authors: Slote Michael 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Since the revival of virtue ethics, most work in virtue ethics has been Aristotelian in inspiration. This book draws, however, from the virtue‐ethical tradition of British moral sentimentalism a la Hume and Hutcheson, and is also influenced by the recently articulated ”ethics of caring”. It defends an agent‐based virtue ethics that treats the moral quality of motivation as the basis for all other ethical evaluations, and the emphasis is on caring, love, and benevolence rather than the sorts of considerations that Aristotle mainly focuses on.
Morality and the Practical
Authors: Slote Michael 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Is an agent‐based sentimentalist virtue ethics of caring or benevolence sufficiently action‐guiding, given the focus on the inner life rather than external factors? The answer is that such forms of ethics are not meant to be practical in this sense, because a focus on what is right or obligatory takes the agent away from a praiseworthy focus on the good of other individuals. The ideal agent is deeply connected with and directly concerned about the welfare of others, and such a person does not conscientiously worry about whether he or she is acting rightly or virtuously. This conclusion allows us to understand moral growth and moral conflict – though in a way different from the way in which the Kantian tradition, with its emphasis on conscientiousness, does.
The Structure of Caring
Authors: Slote Michael 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
If we think caring can be a valid basis for ethics, we need to describe further what kind of overall pattern of caring motivation is morally best. An ”inverse care law” that treats ideal caring as simply varying according to how distant in familial or personal terms someone is from the agent is considered and rejected in favor of an ideal of ”balanced caring,” according to which concern for the class of those near and dear to one is to be balanced against (not be lopsided in relation to) concern for all others taken as a class. It is argued that humans can develop such motivation naturally without having to be told that it is their obligation (or that it is virtuous) to do so.
The Virtue in Self‐Interest
Authors: Slote Michael 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
An agent‐based approach can also help us understand what is good for people, human well‐being. Utilitarianism reduces virtue and morality to certain relationships with human or sentient well‐being; but Stoicism and even Aristotle can be understood as having reversed this order of explanation. For the latter, virtue is the basis for understanding human well‐being. An agent‐based ethics of caring can draw on certain ideas of Plato in order to argue that the moral virtue of caring and certain nonmoral virtues such as strength of purpose help make certain experiences and ways of living count as good for us. This reversed reductionism can be called “elevationism”, and it represents a significant alternative to both dualistic (Kantian) and reductionistic accounts of the relation between moral virtue and human well‐being or welfare.
Extending the Approach
Authors: Slote Michael 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Views that understand both morality and human well‐being in agent‐based terms can be called ”hyper‐agent‐based.” The present such approach treats each of the agent‐based elements of practical rationality and morality as grounding its own separate and distinctive human good (element in human well‐being). Thus, for example, the rational virtue of noninsatiability (moderation) is arguably necessary to and helps constitute appetitive goods; the rational value of strength of purpose is groundingly essential to the distinctive good of achievement/accomplishment; the courage not to deceive oneself about unpleasant facts helps constitute the human good of wisdom; and the moral virtues of (various forms of) caring underlie and help bring about what is good (for us) about love, friendship, political involvement (or civic friendship), and the like. It is argued that all human goods can be plausibly fitted into this hyper‐agent‐based view of what is good for us and that such a unified explanatory scheme is superior to a mere ”objective list,” however intuitive, of human goods.
Internalism Exposed
Authors: Goldman Alvin I. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
The internalist conception of justification usually rests on an accessibility requirement: the justifiers of a belief are states of affairs to which the agent must have access, which allegedly implies that justifiers are internal to the agent. What mode of access does internalism mean to require, and what is its conception of “internal?” Various answers to these questions are examined, but all are found wanting. Restrictive conceptions of access – restricting access to introspection, for example – have the skeptical implication that beliefs in certain domains do not qualify as justified. More permissive conceptions of access fail to guarantee that justifiers are internal.
The Unity of the Epistemic Virtues
Authors: Goldman Alvin I. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractA weak unity thesis about epistemic virtues holds that there is a core epistemic value – true belief – and that processes, traits, or actions are epistemic virtues by virtue of their relations with this core value. According to veritistic unitarianism, justification is a distinct epistemic value from truth but derives its value from that of true belief. This is explicit in reliabilism and implicit in many varieties of foundationalism and coherentism. Deontological evidentialism rejects veritistic consequentialism but has trouble accounting for evidence‐gathering virtues. The claim that “pragmatic” epistemic virtues are unrelated to truth is examined but found unpersuasive or readily accommodated with minor tweakings of the veritistic perspective.
Social Routes to Belief and Knowledge
Authors: Goldman Alvin I. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractSocial scientists often investigate the social propagation of belief, but social epistemology is interested in the social routes to true (or false) beliefs. One approach to the social propagation of belief is “memetics,” a selectionist account of belief propagation modeled on biological evolution. This chapter examines the prospects for a contagion approach to primitive cases of belief transmission, modeled on emotion transmission. However, if any such approach is to be useful for social epistemology, one must consider the truth‐conduciveness of primitive speech and acceptance dispositions. Building partly on suggestions of Thomas Reid, some possible implications of a contagion, or epidemiological model, are explored.
What Is Social Epistemology? a Smorgasbord of Projects
Authors: Goldman Alvin I. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractPhilosophers, sociologists of knowledge, and other academics pursue the topic of social epistemology, but often in entirely disparate fashions. “Knowledge” is usually central to social epistemology, but some investigators take “knowledge” to be mere belief or institutionalized belief, whereas others take it to be at least true belief. Radical social epistemologists dismiss traditional epistemology and view their approach as a replacement or successor subject, whereas others see social epistemology as an extension of classical epistemology. Other contrasts include differences on the nature of the “social” and differences on the role, if any, for social constructivism. Social epistemologists often view their field as a normative one, but some concentrate on rationality, others on (e.g., testimonial) justification, and still others on social practices that conduce to knowledge.
Songs of Ecstasy
Authors: Urban Hugh B. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
This book is a companion volume to the author's The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy, and Power in Colonial Bengal, but while The Economics of Ecstasy engages the theoretical issues of secrecy and concealment associated with the Kartābhajās — a Bengali sect devoted to Tantra, an Indian religious movement notorious for its alleged use of shocking sexual language and rituals, this book presents the first English translation of the sect's body of highly esoteric, mystical poetry and songs. The period from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, during which these lyrics were written, was an era of change, experimentation, and transition from the older medieval styles to the new literary forms of “modern” Bengal. The original songs presented are an important part of this transitional period, reflecting the search for new literary forms and experimentation in new poetic styles. Long disparaged as an inferior, low‐class, or corrupt form of Bengali literature, these songs are concerned with contemporary social life in colonial Calcutta and with the real lives of common lower‐class men and women. With their vision of a universal “religion of humanity,” open to men and women of all classes, the Kartābhajā songs offer an alternative model of community, which made a special appeal to the working classes of colonial Calcutta. They delight in ridiculing and satirizing the foppish British rulers and pretentious upper classes, although at the same time, however, the satirical urban imagery is mingled with older Tantric connotations and employed in ingenious new ways to express profoundly esoteric and mystical religious ideas.