NEUE ANSÄTZE IN DER CHRISTENTUMSGESCHICHTE (I)

Author(s): Ionuţ Daniel Băncilă / Language(s): German Issue: 03+04/2011

Review article of Christoph MARKSCHIES, Die Gnosis, München: C.H. Beck, 2010. Christoph MARKSCHIES, Kaiserzeitliche christliche Theologie und ihre Institutionen. Prolegomena zu einer Geschichte der antiken christlichen Theologie, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 20092. Christoph MARKSCHIES, Hubert WOLF (eds.), Erinnerungsorte des Christentums, München: C.H. Beck, 2010. This article reviews three books authored or edited by Christoph Markschies (Humboldt University of Berlin), one of the most noted Church historians worldwide. An attempt is made to underline the author’s core ideas that structure the handling of topics such as Gnosticism and the formation of the Christian Theology. The bigger picture in which these topics are integrated – a history of the formation of Christian Institutions – permits to envision the first centuries of Christian theology as a great thinking-laboratory, where different models of making the Christian idea accessible to cultivated late Antiquity people were experimented. On the other hand, the book on the Christian places of memory traces the most important landmarks of Christian memory for a present day German.

Language, Definition and Transcendence in the Philosophy of Vedantic Non-Dualism. Landmarks for an Aphophatic Knowledge of the Ultimate Reality

Author(s): Ioan Dura / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2016

The Transcendence represents the essential issue of each religion or philosophical paradigms. In this study I intent to highlight another paradigm of the language, definition and Transcendence relationship other than the Christian-theological and philosophical- Greek one, namely the philosophy of vedantic non-dualism (Advaita-Vedanta that is maybe too little explored in the Romanian philosophy. The essence of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy – formulated by Sankara (788-820) – is the understanding of the Ultimate Reality declared in Chandogya-Upanisad VI.2.1 as One-without-the-second (Ekamevadvitiyam). The whole philosophical-religious perspective of Sankara depends of this non-dual Ultimate Reality understanding. In this order, I intend to approximate the technical exercise of the definition’s status in Indian logic, in general, and in the Advaita`s optics, in particular. In Advaita Vedanta, were elaborated two definitions about Brahman, namely: (1) accidental definition (tatastha-laksana) and (2) essential definition (svarupa-laksana). To give a definition to a thing is to mark the differentiation or the vyavrtti of every other thing and this result is obtained, generally, by the referral to a property, which is distinctive of it. The definition (laksana) is different from the characterization, qualification (visesana, which is the positive identification of the attributes, and which characterizes a particular object.

Creation, its Processes, and Significance

Author(s): Pratibha Gramann / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

Science, religions, and cultural traditions develop theories and creative descriptions about the origin of the universe and meaning of life. These theories have both similarities and differences regarding the cause and effect of creation, and life as human beings know it. Religions and cultural traditions primarily adhere to a personal God as creator and ruler. Science has gone in the opposite direction of denying the existence of a God. A definitive cause of creation has not been scientifically found. Science may find a comparable, suitable match in the ancient thought of Samkhya, written in the 500-800 BC time. Samkhya is probably the first complete philosophical description of the origin and evolution of creation. The three basic energetics of Samkhya are comparable to the basic energies of physics. This paper addresses the hypothesis that the evolution and origin of creation stem from the 3 energies gunas of materiality prakriti described in ancient Samkhya.

Cielesne – duchowe

Author(s): Jan Lodziński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 01/2016

Interview with Polish poet Edward Pasewicz

Da li je moguće razumsko opravdanje vere u Boga?

Author(s): Marko P. Đurić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 45/2016

U ovom članku polazimo od toga da se vera u Boga Stvoritelja (Post 1,1; Kuran, 7,29) može da opravda pred našim razumom. Premda hrišćani veru u jevanđeljske istine nisu prihvatili oslanjajući se na razum, već na čuda i ostvarena proroštva, međutim patristika i sholastika te najveći apologeti Crkve, uvek su bili za Avgustinovu opciju: “Kad vera nije mišljena, ona je ništa” (De vera religione, VII 12, Uvod). Istina, teško razumom opravdavamo verovanje u Trojstvenog Boga, ipak možemo uvek da opravdamo svoju veru u jednoga Boga Stvoritelja. Sv. Grgur iz Nise se pita: “Kako je jedno te isto jednodobno i brojivo i umiče broju?... Kako se u osobama razlikuje dok se u biti ne rastavlja”. Protestantski teolog Karl Bart (Barth) polazeći od hristološkog paradoksa da je Isus bio pravi Bog i pravi čovek u jednoj osobi, smatra da verovanje u Boga na hriš ćanski način nema čvrstog oslonca pa je ono nalik čovekovom “visećem stanju”. Hristološki paradoks je, smatra on, stvar milosti. Arapski filozof Averoes (Ibn Rushd) razum je učinio “sucem vere i njezine istine sveo na razinu početnih filozofskih istina”.

A vallásszabadság dimenziói a nyugat-európai világban és az iszlámban

Author(s): Ilona Szent-Iványi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2018

The first part this article explores the vision and reality of secularization and pluralism. It cites Peter Ludwig Berger, who explains that it was a mistake in the 1960s to believe that modernity leads to the decline of religions. Rather it turned out the other way around and he sees that the significance of religions is increasing. He states that pluralism is a social interaction and cooperation of individuals from different faith traditions. Pluralism asks how to accept the faith of others. In the 2nd part the article explores the special religious settings in Europe from a religious sociological approach. We are experiencing the growing presence and spread of Islam in Europe. Starting from the 1970s, the number of thirdworld emigrants has increased rapidly, most of whom are Muslims. Grace Davie writes that in the new millennium, the role of Europe’s historic churches has diminished. They are no longer able to take part in the decision-making process. The 3rd part explores the famous oriental debate between Bernard Lewis and Edward Said. Lewis asks of Islam: what lies in it that can fantasize and encourage hate, violence, hostility against the Western World? On the other hand, Said points out that Western civilization is prejudiced against the Islamic World. Lastly, fundamentalism is not the only tradition in Islam. There are more tolerant and more open forms that have contributed to the bloom of Islamic civilization in the past and we hope that they will continue to grow in the future.

Jumping into faith - the Phenomenon of Brazilian Pentecostal Conversions

Author(s): Renata Siuda-Ambroziak / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

In the article, the author focuses on the phenomenon of Pentecostal expansion among contemporary Brazilians, first discussing some sociocultural contexts of massive conversions by means of applying chosen theories to the Brazilian religious context, and then looking at the decisions behind religious transitions through their socially and culturally situated perspective, which prepares a relevant background for understanding the reasons and meanings of individual decisions dealt with in the second part of the article. Based on conversion “flashes” from individual testimonies given by converts, the author makes an attempt to show the common and most enticing features of Pentecostal conversion in a search for an explanation for its “snowball effect” in Brazil.

Candomblé Ketu in Italy: dialogues and adaptations

Author(s): Tatiana Golfetto / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

Migratory phenomena and global flows have changed the religious diversity in Europe. The resulting processes of accommodation of religions and practices within new social contexts are characterized by complex dynamics of preservation/adaptation of religious elements. This paper aims to discuss the ways Afro-Brazilian religions, specifically Candomblé Ketu, have been introduced into and adapted within an Italian context. Based on fieldwork that took place in 2013-2016, it analyzes the religious/spiritual paths of Italian practitioners in order to understand how they approach Candomblé and how their observance of both Afro-Brazilian religions and so-called therapeutic practices promote dialogues and re-significations of some religious/spiritual elements.

The sacrifice, the feast and the power of the priesthood in the Xangô cult of Recife

Author(s): Robert Motta,Renata Siuda-Ambroziak / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

The Xangô religion of Recife is a the cult of the orixás, gods of West African (mainly Yoruba) derivation syncretized with the saints of Lusitanian popular Catholicism. The essential act of the cult consists of sacrifice and feasting: animal slaughter, during which the faithful sing, dance and experience trances. The cult characteristics imply a whole set of responses to environmental pressures of various kinds, with oppositions of a dialectical character between the community and domination; the initiate as a ritual son and the initiate as a client; the meat and the feast; and the sacrifice and the party. In other words, between the practical requirements of culture and its surplus that transpires as the feast and as the holy and the beautiful.

İKİLİ/ÇOKLU AİDİYET (DUAL/MULTİPLE RELİGİOUS BELONGİNG) VE BEDİÜZZAMAN SAİD NURSİ’NİN KONUYA YAKLAŞIMI

Author(s): İsmail Albayrak / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 27/2013

The concept of „religious dual belonging‟ is taking on an importance not before seen in the Western world, especially English speaking countries. For many people in the West, the idea of a „dual belonging‟ is forbidden; while for others experiencing another faith(s) in all its richness can help them discover the depths and riches of both faith traditions. Gradually, one recognizes and experiences the parallels and the differences between faiths without losing one's primary identity. This article will deal with this important notion. First detailed analysis will be provided about the advocators of the subject matter in the West, and then the article will deal with the critics‟ approaches. The question how Islam deals with this delicate issue is the second major theme of this article. At this juncture, we will concentrate on the works of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. The contribution of Bediuzzaman to inter-religious dialogue has been established for some time, but little has been presented on the religious experience of non-Muslims who struggle to walk a dual path with Islam. Thus article will end with his analysis of possibility and impossibility of this notion.

Odnos između filozofije i teologije u postmodernom dobu

Author(s): Muhammad Legenhausen / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 1/2015

Zamisao prema kojoj bi filozofija trebala biti u službi teologiji odbačena je na Zapadu od većine filozofa, ali i mnogih teologa, barem od perioda prosvjetiteljstva evropske misli. Ali umjesto da donese emancipaciju filozofije, rezultat je bio taj da je filozofija dobila položaj sluge svojoj vlastitoj djeci, naime, prirodnim i društvenim znanostima.Znanstveni realisti će određivati i samo biće na osnovu krajnjih naloga znanosti. Stoga, gdje ovo ostavlja vezu između filozofije i teologije? Mnogi tu vezu vide kao zauvijek prekinutu, a mnogi kršćanski teolozi smatraju to čak i prednošću za teologiju. Kako to oni vide, filozofija nikada i nije bila neka dobra sluškinja, jer je uvijek postavljala više pitanja nego što je rješavala.Naravno, ovakav stav nije nepoznat muslimanskim učenjacima. Vrlo lahko se mogu naći muslimani koji su sumnjičavi spram filozofije, posebice spram islamske filozofije. Postoje čak i oni, kao što je Gazali, koji su filozofiju optužili za blasfemiju i bogohuljenje. Drugi će se pak zadovoljiti s time da se filozofija bavi svojim vlastitim poslom i da se ne miješa u teološku doktrinu.Filozofija, međutim, odbija da bude ignorirana. Ona ima način da se nametne čak i onim teolozima koji bi željeli da filozofije jednostavno nestane. Filozofija pak optužuje one koji je negiraju za manjak razuma, a budućida proklamira da je razum ono što pravi razliku između čovjeka i drugih životinja, ova optužba svodi se na optužbu da su oni koji je zanemaruju niži od ljudi.Dakle, nakon uspona i pada pozitivizma, nakon što je filozofija proglašena sluškinjom prirodnih znanosti, nakon što joj je dodijeljen zadatak da počisti ostatke pitanja, filozofija se pojavljuje u novoj odori kao filozofija religije, skromno nudeći vlastita pitanja teologu. Površno gledano, većina ili veliki broj tih pitanja su ona koja su teolozima poznata već stoljećima: Kako se može dokazati egzistencija Boga? Kako Bog može znati šta ćeslobodni ljudi uraditi? Može li Bog načiniti toliko velik kamen da ga i On sam ne može dići? Kako vječni Bog može znati privremeni materijalni svijet? I pitanja slična ovima.

AUTONOMIA ȘI LIBERTATEA ECLEZIALĂ. MODELE DOMINANTE ÎN AMERICA ȘI EUROPA

Author(s): Daniel Fodorean / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2017

The relationship between the state and the church has been an important topic in the discussions on religious freedom over the years, especially in historical moments when legal norms with direct implications for the state and church have been developed or updated. Considering the history of the relationship between the state and the church, both in the communist period and in the post-communist period, although in Romania there is a specific legislation for religious cults, these relations are practically still during the settlement period. This article attempts to examine two models of the relationship between the state and the church, the two continents, the American and the European ones, with a specific reference to the French model.

USURPING FREEDOM OF RELIGION? A MODERN AMERICAN PERCEPTION OF TERRORISM AND ISLAM

Author(s): Shannon Noe'lani SCHMIDT / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2017

Terrorism as a conceptual category has become inextricably linked with Islam in the collective American imagination. This article traces the historical precedent for the United States’ political, social, and media-fostered definitions of modern terrorism. It problematizes the fluidity of terms like ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorist’ in light of their inconsistency across government agencies in the United States, and touches upon the implications of these definitions for American Muslims.

Dimensiunea catehumenal-mărturisitoare a operei Părintelui Dumitru Stăniloae. Programul mărturisitor surprins în „Telegraful Român” (1930-1932)

Author(s): Constantin Valer Necula / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 22/2015

Father Dumitru Stăniloae image does not lose in amplitude when it is researched his work as a journalistic. In the context of this research assuming theology of history with orthodox specificity, namely confessing, is the most important feature of journalist Dumitru Stăniloae. Starting from a series of texts published in Romanian Telegraph that is a voice of the Church, uninterrupted since its emergence in 1852, our research concerns only a short period of time from 1930 to 1932, in terms of confessing catechesis. Rich in theological contents, Father's discourse, a genius of universal Orthodox Dogmatic theology, succeeded in extending to Romanian society of those years and in proposing for generations of priests, intellectuals and believers, a plan of assuming the Evangel as a lifestyle. This research will continue from the need to restore in the pages of Pedagogy of Romanian journalism, at his legitimate place, not only a skill, but an outstanding personality.

THEOLOGY OF CONVERSION

Author(s): Cosmin Tudor Ciocan,Osman Murat Deniz / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

Conversion is a word with a variety of meanings. There is no religion, on the one hand, that do not promote conversion and thus use proselytism to do it. On the other hand, same religions that believe conversion (to their own faith) is an act of God, a sign that everyone should embrace and leave whatever religious belief they might have previously, consider a ‘sin’, an act that should be forbidden, the conversion/leaving for other, divers religion. How is it regarded by religions and scientific thought and at what point it became obsolete?

Reprezentările iconografice în dispozițiile canonice ale Sinodului Trullan (691-692)

Author(s): Traian Nojea / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 9-12/2017

The holy icons, although belonging to the Church, haven’t found their place in church’s theory and practice until during the 7th and 8th centuries. A crucial role was played by the first iconoclastic echoes, as well as by the Church's desire to regulate some important, but still unsolved issues, such as iconographic representations. Thus, by means of canons 73, 82 and 100, the Council of Trulan did nothing else but to clarify the problems related to the iconographic representations. It is certain that after 692 many issues are solved, but at the same time, many others will appear, especially related to relics and the iconoclastic movement. It will be up to future councils to define and elucidate what the Council of Trulan has just initiated: a small step of a major significance.

Daniel JUGRIN, Negation and Knowledge of God: Neoplatonism and Christianity

Author(s): Liviu Petcu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 9-12/2017

Expunere comparativă între Imnele Arătării Domnului ale Sfântului Efrem Sirul și creația baptismală Odele lui Solomon.

Author(s): Gabriel-Alin Piștea / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1-4/2018

What we want to highlight through this study is that the Syrian world was the main supplier of the enthusiasm for the spread of the mystery of Christianity on earth, imprinted in the hymns of those who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and became harps of Christian chant, and gave birth to the hymnography later. The similarities between the two creations we will analyze will highlight two aspects. First, the fact that the baptismal language of Saint Ephraimʹs hymns is close to that of the Odes of Solomon, this being a strong argument in favor of the view that the Odes has a baptismal character. Secondly, from the examples we give, it appears either that Ephraim and the author of the Odes speak a common baptismal language, or the fact that Ephrem in his approach inspired from the Odes of Solomon, the aspect of synodality being present from the first moments of Christianity, between the Christian regions and from here with all the Christian world.

Modelul finlandez, ca sistem educațional pentru predarea religiei.

Author(s): Roxana Maria Obreja / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1-4/2018

This article focuses on the subject of religious education in the Finnish state schools. In the first part of this research I will present the context, the debates, the challenges related to religious education, the role and mission of the Church in terms of religion in Finland and the status of religion in a european context. Regarding religious education, Finland is a northern example, it is a different model from the other EU member states, a decisive role belongs to the parents. The Finnish model differs from other models of the Nordic countries, for example the Swedish one, but has similarities to the Austrian model. The roots of this model date back to 1920 when it was required that at the primary level the religion class be made in accordance with the majority religion of the pupils. The predominant model of religious education is in accordance with its own beliefs and at the same time it is defined as non-confessional, and teachers are not allowed to introduce religious practices during classes. In the second part of this article, I present the important steps in the history of religious education in the Finnish state schools, I highlight the legislative approaches, the contemporary legal framework, the status and the curriculum of religious education in Finland. I will also highlight the characteristics of religious education in the Finnish system, aspects related to classroom textbooks and details of the professional training of religious teachers.

Considerații privind relația dintre Biserica Ortodoxă Română și statul român. De la sinergia bizantină la criza comunistă.

Author(s): Viorel Ioan Cozmei / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 5-8/2018

The relationship between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian State is a very challenging and interesting study topic from the perspective of a historian and a theologian. The special relationship of the two institutions can be observed from the beginning of their organization. The Romanian nation is deeply religious. And the dynamics of communication between the two entities are in the form of a Byzantine symphony. The church is the one fighting for the salvation of the Romanian people, for the preservation of the national identity and its elevation through culture. And the State protects the Church as a guardian and promoter of national, spiritual and cultural identity. The communist regime generates a state of alienation between the Church and the State. The result of this unnatural state is for the State to deny its own identity and values. And for the Church, the struggle to save the believers and its own institution.