History-culture-peace-freedom: Volume 2: religion and peace. (27 June 2025)

A journal in support of inspired and informed peacebuilding.

History-culture-peace-freedom: Volume 2: religion and peace. (27 June 2025)

A journal in support of inspired and informed peacebuilding.

Welcome to the second volume of history-culture-peace-freedom. I hope you find something helpful in here. The journal seems to be off to a promising start, and many thanks to my gracious readers. I am determined to remain flexible with the format and the topics, and welcome any feedback. This week I’ve written an essay on militant Christianity and the Second Crusade, one on St. Columba’s mission to Scotland, one on a female Sufi saint from Basra, one on religious pluralism in the Sasanid and Gupta empires, and one on a medieval Chinese perspective on Buddhist kingdoms. And a poem on freedom. I hope you get a blessing out of it.

Contents:

I. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Second Crusade, and Militant Theology

II. Astrology of St. Columba’s Mission to Iona

III. Rabia Basri: Female Sufi Saint from Basra

IV. Gupta and Sasanid Empires: the Blessings of Religious Pluralism

V. Faxian’s Pilgrimage: Early Medieval Chinese Perspective on Buddhist politics

Poetry: freedom

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