A thorough text for students of ancient Mesopotamian religion and the Hebrew Bible

Alan Lenzi places Akkadian prayers and hymns within both a religious studies perspective and a Mesopotamian studies perspective. Complete with vocabulary glosses, grammatical notes, literary commentary, and comparative suggestions to biblical material, this book provides a crucial tool for accessing ancient texts related to our understanding of the Hebrew Bible.

Features:

• Background essays
• Discussion of classes of Mesopotamian prayers and their comparative use in biblical studies
• Akkadian text, transliteration, translation, and commentary
• Notes on vocabulary and grammar

Alan Lenziis Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East at University of the Pacific. He is the author of Secrecy and the Gods: Secret Knowledge in Ancient Mesopotamia and Biblical Israel (Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project).

The first theologian who spoke of eucharistic ecclesiology was the Russian Orthodox church historian and canonist Nicholas Afanasiev (1893-1966). He claimed to have re-discovered and systematized the original ecclesiology of the early church, which he called “eucharistic.” Since then, the eucharistic ecclesiology crossed confessional borders and shaped the theological discussion on the nature of the church. Many authors of different Christian confessions developed Afanasiev’s basic intuition while proposing a variety of their own understandings of the “eucharistic nature” of the church: from Orthodox theologians like John Zizioulas and John Romanides to Catholic theologians like J.-M. Tillard and Joseph Ratzinger. Ironically, the details of Afanasiev’s own ecclesiological system remain largely unknown. The aim of this book is to formulate a comprehensive view of Afanasiev’s ecclesiological vision and of its significance for contemporary ecclesial life in two parts. It is Anastacia Wooden’s conviction that the prevailing “stereotypical” view of Afanasiev’s ecclesiology is suffering from misapprehension of his thought. Therefore, Part one addresses the issues that historically complicated understanding of Afanasiev’s ecclesiology. It will provide historical, theological, and biographical context of Afanasiev’s scholarship by presenting keys to understanding of his eucharistic ecclesiology. In the second part the book provides a synthesis of Afanasiev’s total ecclesiological vision as well as systematic presentation of six specific ecclesiological issues. It demonstrates how Afanasiev’s methodological assumption that ecclesiology can serve as a tool to make sense of the historical data on the life of the church led to his realization that the early church had an operative ecclesiology which placed the exercise of royal priesthood in the Eucharist as the starting point of the ecclesial structure. In each chapter of the second part, this book provides reflections on the contemporary relevance of Afanasiev’s work. In the current crises of leadership in the Catholic Church (as well as other Christian churches) it may prevent the adoption of arbitrary forms of lay participation in the church governance by reminding church leaders that a theologically meaningful increase of lay participation should always be framed in terms of the increased participation of local churches.

From the ongoing flood of misinformation to the swift changes occasioned by the pandemic, a myriad of factors is spurring our profession to rethink reference services. Luckily, this classic text is back in a newly overhauled edition that thoughtfully addresses the evolving reference landscape. Designed to complement every introductory library reference course, Cassell and Hiremath's book also serves as the perfect resource to guide current practitioners in their day-to-day work. It teaches failsafe methods for identifying important materials by matching specific types of questions to the best available sources, regardless of format. Guided by a national advisory board of educators and experts, this thoroughly updated text presents chapters covering fundamental concepts, major reference sources, and special topics while also offering fresh insights on timely issues, including

• a basic template for the skills required and expectations demanded of the reference librarian;
• the pandemic’s effect on reference services and how the ingenuity employed by libraries in providing remote and virtual reference is here to stay;
• a new chapter dedicated to health information, with a special focus on health equity and information sources;
• selecting and evaluating reference materials, with strategies for keeping up to date;
• a heightened emphasis on techniques for evaluating sources for misinformation and ways to give library users the tools to discern facts vs. “fake facts”;
• reference as programming, readers’ advisory services, developmentally appropriate material for children and young adults, and information literacy;
• evidence-based guidance on handling microaggressions in reference interactions, featuring discussions of cultural humility and competence alongside recommended resources on implicit bias;
• managing, assessing, and improving reference services; and
• the future of information and reference services, encapsulating existing models, materials, and services to project possible evolutions in the dynamic world of reference