Gods and games : toward a theology of play

Orig. pub. in 1970 by The World Publishing Company.

Introduction - The care and feeding of hobby horses. Part 1 - Play's the thing. 1 The contemporary fascination with ideas about games and play. 2 The contemporary academic game of games. Part 2 - The playground of being. 3 The origin and history of ideas about games and play. 4 The origin and history of the spirit of play in man. Part 3 - Play's mythology. 5 Play is religion. 6 Religion is play. Epilogue - Beyond the rules of the religious game toward a theology of play, by play, and for play

'...well-reasoned and scholarly book. It is Miller's contention that play is "not only a dimension of knowing but a dimension of living and feeling, in short, a way of being"--and profoundly a part of religion...loaded with quotations both pertinent and entertaining that may be eye-openers to traditional religionists and readers who may never have thought about play in a philosophical or religious sense.'

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