| Title | : | Asceticism in Islam |
|---|---|---|
| Author | : | Cross Currents |
| Release | : | 2008-01-01 |
| Kind | : | ebook |
| Genre | : | Education, Books, Professional & Technical |
| Size | : | 42809 |
| The juxtaposition of "asceticism" and "today" signals a need to inquire into the meaning of asceticism not only in history but in and for these times. The past twenty-five years have seen the growth of considerable new interest in asceticism by scholars of religion. A diverse body of interpretation has emerged, much of it focused on the first several centuries of Christianity and the ancient West more generally, with significant contributions in other areas as well. So far, however, there has been little attention given to ascetic practices as they are undertaken now. But asceticism is not an artifact of the past. Ascetic traditions are alive and evolving. They are still here, and though often dismissed they may to speak to us, if we will listen, in ways we need to rediscover. In this issue we therefore raise these kinds of questions: Who is doing ascetic practices today? What exactly are they doing and why are they doing it? If it is true that asceticism is a "universal" phenomenon in the world's religions and cultures, what are the reasons for its ubiquity and persistence? What is the value of ascetic practices, if many people are still devoted to them in spite of ample criticism and the challenge of the practices themselves? And why should we care? Some may say that a better understanding of asceticism should show us its pathology once and for all, making more clear than ever why we should not only reject it ourselves but wish that all may abandon it. A countering perspective is represented by the essays offered here. They acknowledge "the broad understanding of asceticism and its function within human culture as the necessary condition for all human endeavor," as Gavin Flood phrases it in his discussion of interpretations of asceticism--or even assume, as Larry Rasmussen does, that "asceticism speaks to something deep in the human spirit and is, in fact, a requirement of authentic humanity." |
