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Modern times are characterized by the rediscovery of religion as a factor in human life. Many different forms of religiosity are updated, revive and thrive. This return to religion, however, not only has a positive effect. Modern religious reality is multifaceted and reveals both the best and the worst of human nature. New religious movements and their invasion and expansion are probably one of the most surprising events of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century and the third millennium. For the last three or four generations the new religious movements are deployed in multinational and global scale and have become significant cultural, social, religious and political factors. The paper makes analyses of contemporary challenges before the humanity from the point of view of the influence of regions and poses some significant questions to future sustainable development. The paper includes as a supplement “Common ground and differences of view between the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and IMF) and the World Council of Churches (WCC)” - translated in Bulgarian summary of the current situation of the discussions between the management of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BW Institutions) and the WCC facing what has been identified as a common basis and (in brackets) differences in viewpoints. The study reflects the "work in progress" in the ongoing dialogue between the three organizations. Central to the common ground is the clarification of common concern on the fight against poverty - an important task of the dialogue between institutions and BW-WCC is the need to increase the effectiveness of the efforts to reduce poverty.
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Odnos religije i etike predstavlja pitanje o kojem bismo mogli razgovarati na različitim problemsko-značenjskim ravnima i u različitim perspektivama. U svakom slučaju, pitanje odnosa religijskog i etičkog podrazumijeva zauzimanje nekog stava i prema religiji i prema etici, odnosno moralu. To zauzimanje stava i prema religiji i prema moralu dolazi, na primjer, na eklatantan način do riječi u dva poznata, recimo tako, negacijska mišljenja prema kojima je religija moral slabih i potlačenih koji im pomaže da podnesu povijesnu bijedu života, odnosno moral jakih pomoću kojeg ovi nad slabima provode svoju volju za moć.
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The Constitutional Tribunal, with its ruling dating December 10, 2014, ruled that the prohibition of ritual slaughter (which constitutes in killing a conscious animal through exsanguination) infringes on the constitutional freedom of religion. A few of the justices presented differing opinions, arguing that the prohibition is unconstitutional only with regard to the followers of Judaism and Islam. The author presents an economic analysis of the law, which is an academic discipline that studies the law with the help of the instruments of economy. On the basis of this investigation, the author analyzes the ruling by indicating the interested parties and their preferences, delineating alternative variants for the ruling and the consequences of each of the decisions for the addressees (Jews, Muslims, connoisseurs, importers and exporters, as well as animal rights activists). The analysis leads to the conclusion that that Constitutional Tribunal wrongly weighed freedom of religion against morality, since it should have only rule on the constitutionality of ritual slaughter only for the purposes of Polish Jews and Muslims.
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In the long history of the patriarchal culture of China, women were consistently stigmatized as naïve. What made this situation worse was the mentality that—“a woman who lacks talent is a virtuous woman”—a famous quote, which had became the standard to measure the qualities of a woman. This portrayal was quite permanent throughout the cultural history of China, as even today, this stereotype is still prominent in the poor, rural, and illiterate areas of China. This paper highlights in a chronological fashion the portrayal of the woman in the Chinese culture through sound, music, religion, and mythology.
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Romanian education system is in constant change, trying to distance itself from the communist approach to education, but also in fast integration with our contemporary new pedagogical methods. In the opinion of some observers especially careful on education, the changes that have occurred in the nearly 27 years since the fall communism in Romania has been too slow. Others believe that in these 27 years has made radical changes Romanian education. A kind of jumps from modern approaches to postmodern approaches, from traditional education methods in education, using innovative pedagogical methods almost most. Distance education has found its place in education specific legislation in 1995, but the first program of distance learning in higher education was launched in the academic year 1998–1999. In theology, the situation was even more different in that it was only in 2005 launched the first distance learning program in the field of theology. This article aims to evaluate and demonstrate that the distance education in theology is the only possible path of development, thus ensuring the future for training religious ministers in Romania.
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The role of religion and culture in socio-economic development can not be underestimated. Coupled with socio-economic advancement, the postcolonial and contemporary African society is characterised by unprecedented rise in the level of religious movements with diverse contradicting beliefs championed by so called spiritual and religious leaders. The overwhelming socio-economic downturn in the society has meant that people have turned to religion for solutions to their problem but the church has not really lived up to expectation which writer likeSoyinka portrayed in his text. Considering the above mentioned, this study textually analysed Wole Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero from a postcolonial theoretical perspective with the aims of exploring religious dynamics vis-à-vis cultural /moral degradation as portrayed in the text. It further resonates the place of culture in the contemporary religious environment. Moral degradation is captured from the characters of brother Jero, the old prophet, Jeroboam and the drummer boy where lack of respect for elders, covetous exploitation by spiritual leaders, materialism, falsehood and deceit are exemplified in religious setting as depicted in the text.
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Recent developments in international human rights law have revealed that humanity is at great risk of instability and a likely effect of World War III, which may result from Terrorism; the world’s most challenging problem and the biggest threat to international peace and security. The world at large and Cameroon in particular, has suffered from great atrocities caused by terrorist groups. One of such groups is Boko Haram in the Northern part of Nigeria. In a similar vein as Nigeria, Kenya, Chad, United States of America, Belgium, France, Turkey, Britain, Germany and just to name a few, have also been affected by militant groups such as Alshabab, al-Qaeda and ISIS. The devastating effects now echo negatively on fundamental human rights and freedoms, most especially on religious freedom and migration-related issues. Cognizant of its impact and with the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in the United States, several States, if not all, in an attempt to protect national security, have developed measures to fight against this outrageous act-terrorism. In an attempt to protect national security and curtail terrorism, states have gone beyond their obligations to take steps in line with their constitutional processes by intruding in some basic freedoms. What remains questionable is whether counter-terrorism laws adopted by states are applied for the purpose for which they are intended. The significance of this paper is to critically analyze and assess the impact of anti-terrorism measures on religious freedom (human rights) with Cameroon’s approach in a comparative perspective and the role of the church in peace building and policy making for a better world and development.
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he subject of leadership has seen a rising growth in the last twenty years. A proliferation of material is available on and off-line on leadership along with thousands of seminars, webinars, and monthly conferences. All of these training efforts attempt to define and redefine leadership, and offer tips on how to be a successful leader. Prototypes for leadership are taken from religion, sport, and the corporate world. The question needs to be asked, “What is unique to Christian Leadership”? What are the marks that set aside Christian leadership from secular leadership? The answer is found in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the One who started Christianity. This article presents the identity of a Christian leader as a starting point in this uniqueness. A Christian leader’s identity is based on his relationship with Jesus Christ and it gives him worth, value, resources and a right mentality for transitions.
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The book studies the Ancient Egyptian religion. The author describes the creation and its driving forces through the view of Egyptian concepts. The idea of God and the divine manifestations, the place of man in the world and the ways to achieve immortality are explored. The exposition is based on the study of ancient hieroglyphic texts and is illustrated with numerous examples. The book is intended for a wide range of readers who are interested in the religion and culture of Ancient Egypt. It contains three chapters: the world of gods, the creation of the world and the world of men. Special attention is paid on the concept of the kingship in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptian terminology and the names of gods and goddesses are formed as a dictionary at the еnd of the book.
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According to the New Testament, the Church of Jesus Christ is a glorious church. Yet the glory of the Church has not always been fully reflected by the local Churches throughout history. Because of this, many churches are harshly criticized, they are considered irrelevant, obsolete, and are coldly rejected by many. Unfortunately, although there is no doubt that Holy Scripture is essential to spiritual growth, there are many believers who do not know even the most elementary biblical doctrines, although they have been members of the Church for years. There are many believers who are satisfied with a comfortable membership without being authentic disciples. The solution for the outcome of this state consists in a transformation of the Churches without changing the biblical message and without lowering the standards, the ideals, and without losing the purpose which is presented in the Sacred Scripture. To become mature Christians, authentic disciples, believers need biblical teaching to give them theological stability, need profound relationships to satisfy, and need to see people coming to Christ as a result of a personal testimony.
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Luther’s rejection of papal authority was never really about papal authority. Luther’s revolutionary theological route was led by another, more important motivation: his fundamental, all-important “quest for the absolute.” Luther was animated by an obsessive desire to find a sure, certain, and unfailing basis for the Christian life- “the absolute.” This was his primary spiritual impulse, which he had acquired during his days as an anxious, guilt-ridden monk. Knowing his own sin, Luther despaired of finding an absolute basis for salvation in himself. Likewise, discovering the Church to be “merely human,” he found it necessary to untether the Christian life from any reliance upon the institutional Church. It was then only natural for Luther to reject the claims of absolute authority made by that Church’s head, the pope. This essay examines Luther’s radically changing views on the papacy during the critical period between October 31, 1517 (Luther’s publication of the Ninety-Five Theses) and December 10, 1520 (Luther’s burning of Exsurge Domine- the papal bull of excommunication). This transformation was not so much an evolution into something new, but the unfolding realization of something already present. Luther’s ultimate rejection of papal authority was implicated in his restless commitment to finding an absolute basis for the spiritual life and salvation. Historical circumstances merely provided the external occasion for him to flesh out the logic of this internal quest. This paper employs philosophical, theological, psychological, and historical insight to get at this deep, largely ignored component of Luther’s attitude towards the papacy.
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This modern translation of all the surviving literary compositions ascribed to Liudprand, the bishop of Cremona from 962 to 972, offers unrivaled insight into society and culture in western Europe during the "iron century". Since Liudprand enjoyed the favor of the Saxon Roman emperor Otto the Great, and traveled to Constantinople more than once on official business, his narratives also reveal European attitudes toward the Byzantine Empire and the culture of its refined capital city. No other tenth-century writer had such privileged access to the high spheres of power, or such acerbic wit and willingness to articulate critiques of the doings of powerful people. Liudprand's historical texts (the Antapodosis on European events in the first half of the 900s, and his Historia Ottonison the rise to power of Otto the Great) provide a unique view of the recent past against a genuinely European backdrop, unusual in a time of localized cultural horizons. Liudprand's famous satirical description of his misadventures as Ottonian legate at the Byzantine court in 968 is a vital source of information on Byzantine ritual and diplomatic process, as well as a classic of medieval intercultural encounter. Readers interested in medieval European culture, the history of diplomacy, Italian and German medieval history, and the history of Byzantium will find this collection of translated texts rewarding. A full introduction and extensive notes help readers to place Liudprand's writings in context.
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Evliya Celebi was an enlightened man in a variety of ways who believed in equality, freedom of thought and intellectual debate, and found all of these things present in Islamic societies. Over the course of his travels, he wrote ten volumes detailing his adventures. ‘Seyahatname’ – Book of Travels – is a unique and important text, representing one of the few accounts of the 17th century and the Ottoman world from the perspective of a Muslim. These are not just factual accounts, Evliya had a great imagination and just as important as his journal entries were the imaginative storytelling that ran alongside, elaborating, exaggerating, and fantasizing. Through his stories, we are prompted to think more imaginatively about our own travels and journeys to other cities. This 17th-century Muslim traveler can sometimes seem narrow-minded and yet this same man can stand in St Stephens Cathedral in Vienna and be moved by the music he hears. Sometimes these encounters lead to nothing but sometimes they lead to stories which are so deeply felt, and so universally melodic that they leave echoes which can still be heard and felt today. In 2011, the year which would have been his 400th birthday, Evliya is being paid homage as UNESCO’s Man of the Year.
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This book represents a study of the textology, typology, sources and literary peculiarities of the so-called ’miscellanies of mixed content' in the South Slavonic tradition (from the end of 13th – the beginning of 18th c.) – less known or unknown in the Humanities. The problem is closely related to the apocryphal collections in the Balkan Cyrillic manuscripts, as the Apocrypha are a significant part of this type of manuscripts. The scope of the study is to popularize the series and texts that fill the gap in the translation and perception of the Slavonic Apocrypha. New information is presented over the sources of translations, as well as the compilation approach of Slavonic writers, which reproduces a new version of the texts. The copies of the Slavonic texts are published in the supplement. The typology of manuscripts is supported by plectograms produced in the Repertory of Old Bulgarian Literature and Letters (http://repertorium.obdurodon.org/).
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𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎 is a multilingual collection of papers presented at the international scientific conference that has been organized by the Department of Classical and Eastern Languages and Cultures of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) since 2002. Until 2015, the conference was held annually. Since 2018, it is held once every two years. St Cyril and St Methodius University Press issues the collection within the Dr. Nicola Piccolo series. The wide range of topics and the opportunity for authors to submit their academic publications in the original language attracts researchers from all over the world.
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𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎 is a multilingual collection of papers presented at the international scientific conference that has been organized by the Department of Classical and Eastern Languages and Cultures of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) since 2002. Until 2015, the conference was held annually. Since 2018, it is held once every two years. St Cyril and St Methodius University Press issues the collection within the Dr. Nicola Piccolo series. The wide range of topics and the opportunity for authors to submit their academic publications in the original language attracts researchers from all over the world.
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The 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑜 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑆𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 collections contain reports from the recurrent international symposium “Tarnovo Literary School”, which is the oldest and most respected forum on Old Bulgarian studies in Bulgaria and worldwide. It was held for the first time in 1971 under the auspices of UNESCO, and the first collection of articles came out in 1976. The𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑜 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑆𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 collections are among the most cited editions in the fields of Old Bulgarian studies and research into medieval Bulgarian spiritual and material culture from its pre-Tarnovo and Tarnovo periods, as well as on the cultural and literary ties between Byzantium, Bulgaria, and the Eastern Orthodox Slavic world. The main purpose of 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑜 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑆𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 is to publish scholarly articles by Bulgarian and foreign researchers in the field of interdisciplinary medieval studies in order to explore the cultural and historical heritage of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
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𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎 is a multilingual collection of papers presented at the international scientific conference that has been organized by the Department of Classical and Eastern Languages and Cultures of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) since 2002. Until 2015, the conference was held annually. Since 2018, it is held once every two years. St Cyril and St Methodius University Press issues the collection within the Dr. Nicola Piccolo series. The wide range of topics and the opportunity for authors to submit their academic publications in the original language attracts researchers from all over the world.
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