Böcker av Margaret R (Graduate Theological Union Berkeley) Miles

Augustine's Confessions is one of the most powerfully evocative autobiographies of the Christian West. It recounts the complex experiences through which this formative theologian came to renounce the compulsive sexual practice of his youth, reinvesting his attention and affection in a disciplined spirituality. The Confessions is explicitly about desire, longing, passion--physical and spiritual. It narrates Augustine's desperate attempt to get, and to keep, the greatest degree of pleasure. Even his conversion to Catholic Christianity is narrated as a seduction to continence, and the model of spirituality he articulated relied intimately and profoundly on his sexual experience. Desire and Delight explores the erotics of asceticism as described by Augustine, noticing the gendered foundation of his model of spiritual aspiration. Going beyond the tormented, self-conscious Augustine of conventual interpretations, one discovers in this book a man impelled by the eros that defines human beings as such: the pursuit up the scale of pleasures to the ultimate Pleasure. The pursuit is analyzed here in the text, context, and subtext, with such intellectual and emotional engagement that the Confessions becomes a text of pleasure.To say that Margaret Miles's 'New Reading of Augustine's Confessions' is 'better than the original' might seem an overstatement, but only just. It is a 'new' reading, not just a feminist reading, though that angle of course does not come through. It took me back to the Confessions (which I have not read for years) and will no doubt be used extensively by people alongside the bishop of Hippo himself as a kind of Virgil-and-Beatrice guide to that forerunner of the Divine Comedy.--Harvey CoxHarvard Divinity SchoolA gem of a book. This passionate rereading of the Confessions produces the very kind of pleasure it sets out to describe. Readers will want to return to Augustine, and to more of Margaret Miles, at the first opportunity.--Elizabeth V. SpelmanSmith CollegeMargart R. Miles was formerly Bussey Professor of Historical Theology at the Harvard University Divinity School. She is the author of Augustine on the Body, Image as Insight, and Carnal Knowing.

Men and women throughout history have learned to shape their lives around Christian ideas, attitudes, and values in many different ways. They have been helped by liturgies, sermons, visual imagery, religious drama, and hymns. But perhaps the most important sources were the classic devotional manuals, like The Imitation of Christ and The Pilgrim's Progress, many of which are still in use today.In this book, Margaret Miles subjects these devotional manuals to a detailed critique. Miles speaks as a scholar, as a Christian living in the modern world, and as a woman, and she ends by discussing the relevance of her findings to Christian life today.Dr. Miles rightly highlights the importance of manuals in the spiritual formation of lay people down the ages. Her 'active and disobedient' reading of historical texts which were written for the 'care and cultivation of an interior life' engages the reader in a serious and fascinating study. In fact she has succeeded in fulfilling every literary critic's dream. She has written a book which sends us straight back to her primary sources by providing richly documented insights into the relevance of the imagery to our contemporary search for God.--Lavinia Byrne, IBVMMargart R. Miles was formerly Bussey Professor of Historical Theology at the Harvard University Divinity School. She is the author of 'Augustine on the Body', 'Image as Insight', and 'Carnal Knowing'.

When we look at Michelangelo's David, we see a nakedness that expresses physical prowess, self-knowledge, and spiritual discipline. What do we see when we look at Hans Baldung's Eve, the Serpent, and Death or Master Francke's Martyrdom of Saint Barbara? Why should those naked female images symbolize wantonness and shame? How do ideas about nakedness formed at the dawn of Christianity continue to shape today's sexual values? What must women do to take their bodies back?This revolutionary study by Margaret R. Miles, formerly Bussey Professor of Historical Theology at the Harvard Divinity School and author of the acclaimed Images as Insight, sifts through centuries of Christian writing and religious ritual and, above all, Western art to reveal the origins of our attitudes toward women's bodies and their encoded meanings. Broad enough to encompass fourth-century descriptions of Christian baptism and contemporary theories of representation, Carnal Knowing is a brilliant, startling work of scholarship whose implications extend far beyond the academy to the way we live and see.This fascinating book is a searching analysis of the complex cultural meanings of naked male and female bodies in Christian art and literature and in contemporary society.- Emily Martin, author of The Woman in the BodyMargaret R. Miles was Bussey Professor of Historical Theology at the Harvard University Divinity School. She is the author of Augustine on the Body, Desire and Delight, Image as Insight, and Practicing Christianity.

Margaret Miles here explores Christianity's understandings of the human body in the past and presents new concepts for the future. An enlightening investigation into how the body has been perceived through the ages, Fullness of Life offers surprising conclusions that historic Christian authors from Ignatius of Antioch to Thomas Aquinas, far from viewing the body in a negative way, have been overwhelmingly affirmative. Providing the basis for a greater appreciation of the human body as the focus of life and salvation, this unique work sheds a new light on what it means to be fully alive and fully human in the Christian tradition.Margart R. Miles was formerly Bussey Professor of Historical Theology at the Harvard University Divinity School. She is the author of Augustine on the Body, Image as Insight, and Carnal Knowing.

Miles's pathbreaking work shows how art and architecture have shaped religious understanding throughout the history of Christianity.

Description:The Wendell Cocktail describes a major social problem, exemplified by the journals of a person with coexisting conditions--mental illness and addiction. Although there are resources for people with each of these conditions--psychiatry for mental illness and twelve-step programs for addiction--there are few effective resources for people with both. Since about half of the mentally ill medicate with an addiction, an increasingly large percentage of the American population is left without adequate care. Wendell's journals illuminate the complexity of a tormented mind that is nevertheless capable of exquisite enjoyment of music, natural beauty, and delight in the observation of birds and animals. The book's conclusion suggests approaches to understanding and better providing for persons with addiction and mental illness.Endorsements:"Margaret R. Miles is one of the most insightful religious thinkers of our time. The breadth of her historical understanding of Western thought and art, and her sensitive observations about the changing roles of women over time, have been clearly established in her other books. In this book she advances our understanding of mental illness and drug addiction."--Malcolm Young, Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos, California"Margaret R. Miles has crafted a narrative marked by honesty and wisdom. A sister's promise and devotion, added to a brother's pain and courage, are key ingredients for The Wendell Cocktail. The suffering and anger voiced in her brother's journal entries are palpable. They bear convincing witness to the struggles of those living with mental illness and addiction in a culture that does not deal well with either."--Flora Keshgegian, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Graduate Theological Union"This unusually personal volume is by turns painful, insightful, and disturbing, even occasionally beautiful and humorous, illuminating the dark corners of addiction and mental illness by skillfully interweaving the journals of an acute sufferer with the commentary of a compassionate observer--an observer who is also a distinguished historian and thinker. Deliberately avoiding neat lessons and pat answers, Margaret R. Miles nevertheless ensures that, through sharing her brother's story, his intense pain is not wasted."--Robert MacSwain, Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics, The University of the South"The Wendell Cocktail considers the fierce landscape of mental illness and addiction. By opening her own journal alongside those of her brother, Miles speaks not about but from the experience. . . . If you've ever wanted to get inside the head of someone with this condition, this book points the path. And if you've ever needed language to express your own experience, Wendell's journals, graciously edited and shared, give an account from a fellow-traveler."--Martha E. Stortz, Professor for Religion and Vocation, Augsburg CollegeAbout the Contributor(s):Margaret R. Miles is Emerita Professor of Historical Theology, The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. Her most recent books are Augustine and the Fundamentalist's Daughter (2011) and Getting Here from There: Conversations on Life and Work (with Hiroko Sakomura, 2011).

Description:This book of conversations between Margaret R. Miles and Hiroko Sakomura compares the experiences of two women who grew up in different societies, with different educations, different professions, and different religious orientations. Reflecting on the different ways in which Japanese and American societies inhibited and enabled them, these two women share their struggles, difficulties, and achievements. All of this is set in the context of one of the most radical social movements in the history of the world, as women are gaining increments of equality with men in designing and administering the institutions of public life with opportunities, dangers, and rewards. This is a moment in which a critical mass of women "want it all now," in the best sense of the phrase, seeking to preserve and reinterpret traditional values while exercising their capabilities and skills both in the home and in public life. This book is the memoir of two women's painful and joyful experiences in "getting here from there."Endorsements:"Getting Here from There affords the reader a rare opportunity to listen in on a dialogue between two women who took risks in daily life and with ideas, and who invented themselves as highly accomplished professionals. Across differences of culture, age, and vocation, Miles and Sakomura create a common ground for exploring shared values and life concerns. Their wisdom, erudition, and straight-up common sense are a profound inspiration to all of us to seek the lives we envision."-Deborah J. HaynesUniversity of Colorado-Boulder "Margaret R. Miles and Hiroko Sakomura draw out the best in one another despite their significant differences. Their lives as professor and producer, American and Japanese, Christian and Buddhist are rich sources of well-distilled wisdom. Their shared commitments to families and selves, to work and pleasure, to substance and style, make them ideal discussion partners. How fortuitous that they found one another and how lucky for readers that they chose to share their conversations widely."-Mary E. HuntWomen's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER)About the Contributor(s):Margaret R. Miles is Emerita Professor at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She taught at Harvard Divinity School for eighteen years and is the author of numerous books, including a memoir: Augustine and the Fundamentalist's Daughter (2011). Hiroko Sakomura has produced many exhibitions worldwide, including The Vision and Craft of Sinjo Ito (2008); Wisdom and Compassion (1997); Audrey Hepburn (1998); Noh at the Met (1993); and Salvatore Ferragamo (1998).