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Descoperiri Cernavodă III în situl de la Măgura Buduiasca (judeţul Teleorman)

Author(s): Ion Torcică / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 10/2013

This article presents a lot of ceramic materials belonging to the Cernavodă III Culture which is a transition period from Eneolithic to the Bronze Age. The materials were found during the excavations of the Măgura ‘Buduiasca’ site in the 2003 campaign. These researches were made by the project team of Southern Romania Archaeological Project (SRAP) which aimed at studying the Neo-Eneolithic settlements from the southwest of Wallachia. The materials consist of pottery fragments and four spindle whorls found in Complex no. 11 of the sounding 10. This complex consisted in an agglomeration of pottery and even features of a fireplace. Cernavoda III culture was documented in southwest of Wallachia through former researches from Dobroteşti and Drăgăneşti Olt. In the last years, Cernavodă III materials were discovered in another three points. One of these is more problematic because it is possible that the materials belong to the Cernavodă I culture. The pottery fragments of the Complex 11 were fired in reduction conditions. Their composition has sand, calcium carbonate and crushed pottery. Their fabric can be intermediate fine, coarse and with shells in composition. The predominant colours are brown, gray or black with different shades, differing mostly on the outside and the inside. As a surface treatment after moulding, it can observe that the preferences were awarded to the types of fabric. There are many fragments of pots very well polished. The fragments with shells in the paste are present in small numbers as well as those decorated with string. It can be identified several types of forms: conical bowl, semi globular pots, cups with handle raised, conical vessels of different sizes, biconical vessels with horizontal cylindrical handles on the maximum diameter, even globular vases with cylindrical handles placed under the rim. The materials found in the site of the Măgura ‘Buduiasca’, though small in number, succeed to shade the quality and diversity characteristics of human evolution during the transition from the Eneolithic to the Bronze Age in the Teleorman valley

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PROTESTANTISM AMONG ROMA IN SOUTH-EASTERN SERBIA: STATE AND CONSEQUENCES

Author(s): Dragan M. Todorović / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2012

Mimicking the distribution patterns in European, as well as Balkan countries, Protestant communities in Serbia pay special attention to ethnic and religious minorities, the favourite source of their survival, spreading, and growth. Particularly in its south-eastern regions, Roma represent a religious confessional reservoir of Protestantization, primarily due to the lack of any kind of pastoral activity among them by the traditional churches and religious communities. The conversion of Roma into the Protestant religious corpus transforms every aspect of their everyday life, bringing them dignity and appreciation, care and support, hope and perspective, respect within the majority. Positive effects are felt in the improvement of the quality of life in Roma families: the decrease in petty crime, alcoholism, drug addiction and prostitution, better hygienic, working and education habits. The paper is based on the data collected through observation and participation in religious rituals, as well as through in-deep interviews, based on the structural questionnaire, with members of the Roma Christian Baptist Church, Christian Adventist Church, Evangelical Pentecostal Church and Jehovah’s Witnesses in South-eastern Serbia.

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KRONIKA

Author(s): Tadas Kondrusevičius / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

Antgamtiniai reiškiniai, turintys išskirtinę reikšmę žmonijai, įeina į pasaulio istoriją ir stebina tiek tikinčiuosius, tiek netikinčiuosius. Labai gerai atsimenu, kaip 1991 m. spalio mėnesį maža grupelė Rusijos katalikų pirmą kartą nuvažiavo į Fatimą. Tai buvo įdomus metas. Nors Tarybų Sąjunga de facto dar egzistavo, tačiau buvo aišku, kad ji skaičiuoja paskutines dienas. Prie mūsų tada priėjo Tarybų Sąjungos ambasados Portugalijoje atstovas ir pasakė: „Aš apskritai esu netikintis, bet Marijos apsireiškimų Fatimoje negalima taip paprastai paaiškinti. Kaip nemokyti ir geografijos neišmanantys kaimo vaikai galėjo nusakyti ateitį?“ Tikrai, būtent Fatimoje Marija išpranašavo Rusijos ir Rytų Europos istorijos raidą XX šimtmetyje. Skaityti ir aiškinti „laiko ženklus“ per krikščioniškojo tikėjimo prizmę reiškia ne ką kita, kaip pažinti Kristų, esantį tam tikroje vietoje ir tam tikru laiku. Tokia yra Bažnyčios pripažintų privačių apreiškimų prasmė. Jie turi padėti suprasti „laiko ženklus“, taip pat per tikėjimą rasti atitinkamus atsakymus į „laiko ženklų“ keliamus klausimus9. Taigi kalbant apie apreiškimus, įvykusius po Naujojo Testamento, reikia turėti omenyje, kad visi jie yra privatūs, todėl negali būti privalomu tikėjimo objektu. Vis dėlto šie apreiškimai labai naudingi ir padeda stiprinti bei ugdyti tikėjimą. Tai labai svarbu nūdienos sekuliarizmo laikais, kai prieš akis turime tiek daug šiuolaikinei civilizacijai grėsmę keliančių iššūkių. Todėl jokiu būdu negalima ignoruoti privačių apreiškimų. Šiuolaikinis pasaulis siūlo daugybę įvairiausių metodų ir būdų, kaip išgelbėti žmoniją nuo nūdienos problemų, bet užmiršta esminę priemonę, būtent „tikėjimo terapiją“, kuri kaip tik ir yra sielos vaistas.

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Ecumenical Aspects of Marian Devotion in the 18th Century Catholic Hymnals of Curlandia

Author(s): Andris Priede / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2009

Šiuolaikiniai istorikai prieštaringai vertina konfesinės priklausomybės sąvoką Žečpospolitos ir Vokietijos paribyje, laikotarpiu nuo Reformacijos iki Švietimo epochos. XVII–XVIII amžiuje aprašomos konfliktinės situacijos tarp katalikų ir protestantų, taip pat tarp panašių denominacijų protestantų. Konfliktai dėl konfesinės priklausomybės stiprėjo nuo literatūrinės polemikos iki smurto ir netgi kraujo praliejimo. Konfesinė ir sekuliarioji istoriografija pabrėžia šį ekumenizmo veiklos aspektą. Istoriografų teigimu, istorijos faktai mums pateikia daug pavyzdžių apie krikščionių bendruomenes ir jų paliktą dvasinį palikimą. Ar konfliktuojantys žmonės nežinojo, kokiai konfesijai jie priklauso? Argi krikščioniui yra galimybė gyventi savo tikybos gyvenimą peržengiant savosios konfesijos ribas, reglamentuotas religines normas. Katalikų konvertitas Livberžės baronas Wilhelmas Heinrichas von Lievenas (1691–1756), nepaisydamas nepalankaus ekumenizmui fono, sugebėjo sukurti dviejų konfesijų junginį. Po Tridento Susirinkimo (1545– 1563) katalikų sušauktuose vyskupų susirinkimuose buvo nustatytos parapijų tarybose vykdomos bažnyčioje ir namuose giedamų giesmių atrankos sąlygos. Buvo raginama išlaikyti tikybos vienybę su vieninteliu oficialiu Biblijos leidimu Vulgata (1592), su vienu kanoniniu kodeksu ir Bažnyčios mokymu. Tačiau net vyskupai negalėjo priversti atsiskirti pagrindinių konfesijų tikinčiuosius ir jų giedamas giesmes. Pavyzdžiui, Varmijos (Ermlandės) ordinaras kardinolas S. Hosijs siuntė vizitatorius į parapijas pasiklausyti, ar jose neskamba Liuterio giesmės. Šis faktas įrodo, kad katalikų parapijose būta tokių atvejų. 1733 m. buvo išleistas Kuršių katalikų bendruomenei skirtas giesmynas ir maldynas „Katholischka Mahzibu, Luhgschanu un Dseesmu Grahmata“, redaguotas barono Wilhelmo Heinricho Liuveno. Šis giesmynas pakartotinai buvo išleistas 1755, 1766 ir 1837 metais. Prieš pasirodant minėtam giesmynui, Kuršių katalikai naudojo latvių katalikų bendruomenėse paplitusį giesmyną „Geistliche Catholische Gesange“ (1621) ir „Cantiones Spirituales“ (išleistą Vilniuje, 1673). Abu šiuos giesmynus parašė Georgas SJ, Daugpilio Jėzuitų kolegijos rezidentas. Du trečdaliai iš maždaug 100 jo pateiktų giesmių yra išverstos iš lotynų kalbos, didžiąją jų dalį sudarė populiariausios giesmės Marijai. Naujajame giesmyne lotyniškos kilmės giesmių skaičius sumažėjo dešimteriopai, jų vietą užėmė vokiškų choralų vertimai, paimti iš liuteroniškų giesmynų, naudotų Kuršiuose ir Livonijoje. Straipsnyje bandoma atsakyti į klausimą, kodėl tiek mažai giesmių Marijai iš ankstesnių giesmynų pateko į giesmyną, kurį kasdien naudojo Kuršių katalikai valstiečiai. Europoje pasitaikydavo ne tik spontaniškų giesmių ar jų tekstų pasiskolinimų, bet dažnai net buvo pastebima tendencija katalikų liturgijoje naudoti liuteroniškas giesmes ir atvirkščiai – buvo gerai žinomi Martyno Liuterio iš lotynų kalbos į vokiečių kalbą išversti tradiciniai katalikų himnai ar kitų praėjusių amžių vokiečių.

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Kanauninkas V. Vizgirda Dievo ir žmonių tarnyboje: sunkūs ir viltingi laikai

Author(s): Kęstutis Žemaitis / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

The first post-war decade of occupied Lithuania appeared to be the most cruel period to Lithuanian nation. Starting from the year 1944 with the return of Soviet occupation until the death of the Soviet dictator Stalin in 1953, intensive deportations to Siberia, arrests and assassinations of Lithuanian people followed. The Soviet regime did not tolerate any opposition. Very often people who had never resisted the Soviet regime became its victims. In a similar way, the coadjutor of Vilkaviškis diocese, canon Vincas Vizgirda was arrested and imprisoned, who governed the diocese after the death of bishop Antanas Karosas. V.Vizgirda got his high education in Western Europe; he gained PhD in law and philosophy, had a big experience of leadership, but sometimes he lacked responsibility and made others make decisions. But at the crucial moment, at the end of the war, he stayed in the diocese and continued his work in the diocese curia. With the responsibilities of a coadjutor of the diocese, canon Vizgirda took on a heavy load, bearing in mind that his responsibilities during the rule of Stalin might end in repressions. According to the archives, we see that Rev.Vizgirda tried to defend the Church rights as much as he could and to save the independence of the diocese, but his arrest shows that Soviet powers had different goals - to join all Lithuanian dioceses under the administration of the only coadjutor of Kaunas diocese. But it was not Rev. V.Vizgirda who could take this office, as he was not loyal to Soviet powers. The coadjutor of Vilkaviškis diocese became an obstacle in joining the dioceses, so he was put to prison without any guilt. The period, when Rev. Vizgirda administrated the diocese, was very hard. Especially it was hard for all the Catholic Church in Lithuania in 1948. First of all, The Soviet powers tried to estrange priest from parish administration, enabling special committees to do that. Bishops and priests were forced to recognize these committees. The coadjutor of Vilkaviškis diocese canon Vincentas Vizgirda also confronted with this reality. After lots of arrests of priests and lay people, closing of the churches in Soviet Lithuania, after two years of administrating the diocese, canon Vizgirda was also arrested on May 3, 1949 and sentenced for 10 years of exile. Returned from exile to Lithuania on November 13, 1956, he settled in Marijampolė and died on January 15, 1966. Vilkaviškis diocese, after the arrest of the coadjutor, was forcibly attached to Kaunas archdiocese by the Soviet powers. So, canon V. Vizgirda finishes not long, but dramatic period of Vilkaviškis diocese, and the coadjutor appeared to be a very strong personality, a man of the Church, not giving in to the invaders. Rev. Vizgirda remains as a very interesting personality in the history of Lithuanian Catholic Church, rather controversial, but outstanding, who played an important role in preserving the independence of the Church from atheist powers.

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Sistema ir dvasia: žmogiškos tvarkos kalėjimas ir išlaisvinanti Dievo malonė

Author(s): Rolandas Bartkus / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

The tradition of western mind is restricted by artificiality, insularity, dogmatism, inertia and other features of the system while systematically developing ontological, gnoseological, ethical and aesthetical reflections. Such thinking constructions claim to regularly complete reality view (vision of reality) and ensure the feeling of comfortable and framed being. The system is a rational mode of cognition and action regularly structuring recurrent elements in the phenomenon’s flow. On the other hand, it is an order of finite and weak human being submitting to its own inertia and increasingly constructing perverted picture of the world and virtual reality. We constantly fall into a trap of rational actions program: after having a short joy of seeming control we feel the system emaciating us by its sophisticated structures. Only an intellectually free human being is able to find his/her carnality and mentality and realize that despite of his/her being in a coherent unity with psychosomatic system, he/she is able to reflect that system in distraction. Being in transcendental attitude, we see and discern sensual attitude, however the latter does not see the transcendental one. On the lower level we find some hints of the higher one. It happens when the rules of the lower level do not explain certain manifestations of the higher one which does not comply with the logics of the first level. If a human being lived only according to his instincts, his behavior could be forecasted as the actions of a computer or a particular animal. Inscription of a moral law within our hearts explains why a man chooses not the comfort or safety, but rather responsibility, sacrifice, difficult but meaningful way. Sometimes human actions do not comply with the computer logics or the laws of nature, and that is where sublimity of man manifests itself; this is the essential difference between man and nature. Of course, although the system organization operates differently in instincts, thinking, mechanics and morality, still there is a system. A habit may be both instinctive and moral; the value of the first one can be verified by the second, but by what means can the second be verified? After all, the moral law indicates only the general attitudes that demand subtle constant vigilance in changing situations both in my inside and my surroundings. Can I somehow prepare for them in advance? Different trainings (including spiritual ones) develop attitudes and capabilities, but I cannot know which one I will need next year or next minute. Within the frame of a system we can hardly be surprised. Neither I myself, nor my well-structured environment cannot surprise me by anything essentially new; the man of a system actually does not want his world to be invaded by something unexpected, unsafe. The other man, all the otherness, even divine reality is artificially transformed into my ownness, even into miness. So the idols - demonic images of God - are created. Then the authent

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Mergelės Marijos apsireiškimų traktuotė lietuvių folklore

Author(s): Aušra Kairaitytė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

In Lithuania, we can find stories telling us about the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Most of these stories are treated as folklore narratives. Such narratives can be found in various genres of Lithuanian folklore. In the article, the major attention is paid to the genre of legends. Lithuanian folklorist Leonardas Sauka the term “legend” defines as a narrative, containing magic, miraculous elements, but they are treated as true historical events, sacred stories related to religion and have an exclusive meaning in religious communities. In Lithuania and most European countries the main topic of such legends is Christianity. They tell us about Jesus Christ, Our Lady, apostles, saints, churches, miraculous places, religious beliefs and rituals. Traditionally the events are treated as true stories and people believe them. The author of the article does not intend to analyze these stories as true ones. The question of confirmation of sacred images in folk tradition and the problems of Mariology are also not considered. Legends are treated as a spoken creation of folk art, which describe the surrounding world and exceptional events. The object of the article is folklore narratives describing the apparitions of Mary. Some of these narratives in “Catalogue of Lithuanian narrative folklore” by Bronislava Kerbelytė are treated as legends. The basic narratives can be found in the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore Department of Folklore Archives. Published narratives are also analyzed. The aim is to describe the narratives about the apparition of Mary in Lithuanian folklore. The analysis of folk texts refers two conditional groups. In the first group of narratives, a personal apparition to a human person is represented by the direct appeal of Mary. The request to build a wooden cross or a chapel can indicate a sacred place and has the intention to cultivate religious feelings. This intention can be shown in the legends where Mary asks to pray and spread her words. It is common that people who saw an apparition of Mary just know that they saw Mary; sometimes they become scared, run away and start praying. Meanwhile, Mary explains who she is and gives a message. After the blessing, she goes away. In rare cases, a doubt that Mary really appeared can be expressed. However, it is more common to search the proofs of apparition. She can leave a foot on a stone, which is treated as a sign of her visitation. A boy who saw an apparition can become a saint. People visit a place of apparition and bring donations such as money to the place where Mary appeared. Usually Mary appears to children, women, or young men. Obviously, these people differ from other people by their social status. They can by treated as witnesses of an apparition and as those who can realize the will of Mary. The second group of narratives consists of legends about images that people treat as sacred. Mary’s miraculous power can be revealed through them. In general, people

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Lietuvos piligrimų vertybinės nuostatos

Author(s): Darius Liutikas / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

Every pilgrimage embodies three main elements: a person with his values and identity, the journey itself and its destination. A religious pilgrimage is an expression of religious identity and its ritual dimension. People identify themselves with particular religious places, which become culturally constructed shrines. According to the calculations and the data of research, we suppose that in average about 300 thousand Lithuanian pilgrims annually go on pilgrimages (including journeys on feast days and journeys to foreign shrines). This is about 8,9 percent of Lithuanian population. The article presents the data from the survey of Lithuanian pilgrims. Inquiry with questionnaire took place from July 2007 to April 2008. 400 hundred pilgrims from 14 to 74 years old were questioned during the survey. The inquiry took place in organized groups, which had gone to sacred places and events in Lithuania or abroad. The destinations of pilgrimages were Šiluva, Pivašiūnai, the Gate of Dawn, the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania and also Lourdes, Medjugorje, Taize, Geneve (Te New Year celebration of Catholic youth), monasteries in the Middle and Eastern Europe. Pilgrims questioned in Lithuania travelled to pilgrimage centers with charter buses, all centers were distributed more than 50 kilometers from pilgrims’ departure places. Pilgrims were from various geographical places of Lithuania (Vilnius - 31 percent, Kaunas - 24 percent, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys - 12 percent, other cities and towns with the population from 2 thousand to 100 thousand inhabitants - 24 percent, and areas with smaller than 2000 population - 9 percent.). The surveys indicate that about half of pilgrims go individually by car to pilgrimage places, one third of them - sometimes individually, sometimes in organized groups and others only in organized groups by bus. Strong religious identity is typical to Lithuanian religious pilgrims, however this identity represents Catholic doctrine optionally. We can define three factors in the analysis of pilgrims’ ideological attitudes. Acknowledgement of supernatural world, which is unknown, frightening and not appealing to mundane laws, is the first factor. The main features are belief in the existing supernatural world, belief in evil spirits, belief in the life after death and belief in miracles. The belief in God, in Redemption, in forgiveness of sins and in apparitions of Virgin Mary is the main features of the second factor, which we can call traditional religion. The significance of religion in life is common to this factor. The belief in reincarnation, natural powers, deities and fate belong to the third oriental-pantheistic factor. Religious pilgrims greatly differ according to the degree of religiosity from average Lithuanian position defined in various surveys according to different dimensions of religious identity. The five different models of journey conception we could distinguish following the analysis of pilgrims’ motives and values.

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RECENZIJA

Author(s): Romualdas Dulskis / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

V. E. Franklio veikalas „Sielogyda“ pateikia pagrindinius logoterapijos ir egzistencinės analizės principus. Anot paties autoriaus, logoterapija ir egzistencinė analizė yra mokslo sritys, kuriose susiliečia medicina ir filosofija, o sielogyda balansuoja tarp medicinos ir religijos. Todėl veikalas turėtų būti įdomus ne tik psichiatrijos ir psichologijos, bet ir filosofijos, teologijos, antropologijos bei edukologijos sričių dėstytojams ir studentams. V. E. Franklio apmąstymų apie žmogaus būtį, drauge ir jo mokslinių įžvalgų išeities taškas yra įsitikinimas, kad kiekvienas žmogus siekia atrasti ir įgyvendinti savo gyvenimo prasmę. Tačiau nūdien ši valia siekti prasmės (vok. Wille zum Sinn, angl. Will to Meaning) pernelyg dažnai yra neatpažinta arba pažeista. Todėl logoterapija kalba apie daugelio žmonių patiriamą egzistencinę frustraciją. Tokie asmenys skundžiasi beprasmybės jausmu arba vidine tuštuma, kurią logoterapeutai įvardija kaip egzistencinį vakuumą. Šį egzistencinį vakuumą šiandienos vertybių sumaišties pasaulyje pagrįstai galima laikyti kolektyvine neuroze. Kai egzistencinė neurozė pasireiškia neuroziniais simptomais, tuomet esama pagrindo kalbėti apie naujo tipo neurozę – noogeninę neurozę.

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The Kashubian Pilgrimage to Jasna Góra, as a manifestation of Christocentric Marian piety

Author(s): Jan Perszon / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2009

Straipsnyje parodoma piligrimystės svarba šiuolaikinėje Katalikų Bažnyčioje. Piligrimai vyksta į vietas, vadinamas šventovėmis. Kurį laiką slopinta racionalizmo ir neteisingo Biblijos aiškinimo, ši katalikiškojo pamaldumo forma išgyvena atgimimą. Reikia pabrėžti, kad šventovės ir piligrimystės teologija Katalikų Bažnyčioje buvo plėtojama nuo XX a. antrosios pusės. Šiuos svarstymus pagreitino Jono Pauliaus II pontifikatas, ypač 2000 metų jubiliejus. Pirmąkart istorijoje katalikiškoji doktrina atkreipė dėmesį į vadinamąjį liaudies pamaldumą, kuris iki tol laikytas Bažnyčios ortodoksiškumo ženklu. Šį atradimą lydi teologiškai apmąstyta šventovė ir piligrimystė bei teisingas jų formavimas (biblinis, liturginis-sakramentinis, asketinis, teologinis, pastoracinis, moralinis). Labai svarbu suprasti ir patirti Kristaus Motinos, kaip padėjėjos savo Sūnaus darbe, vaidmenį. Lenkų pamaldume šešis šimtmečius ypatingą vietą užėmė Jasna Góra šventovė. Šimtmečiais Częstochowos vietovėje garbinama Marija stiprino ir ugdė kultūrinį bei religinį kartų identitetą. XIX ir XX a. paplito masinė piligrimystė pėsčiomis. Taip atsirado kašubų piligrimystė. Ji taip pat sietina su keliavimu pėsčiomis į Swarzewo, Sianowo or Wejherowo šventoves. Atrodo, kad ši piligrimystė pateisina moderniosios teologijos suformuotus pastoracinius lūkesčius, keliamus piligriminiam judėjimui. Ši piligrimystė garsina pamaldumą Marijai, gerbiantį kristocentrinį ir bažnytinį principą. Kartu tai tampa ir patriotizmo mokykla.

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Paauglių rizikingos lytinės elgsenos pedagoginės prevencijos vertinimo parametrai

Author(s): Birutė Obelenienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

rizikinga lytinė elgsena, ankstyvieji lytiniai santykiai, pedagoginė prevencija, žmogaus prigimties vienovė, žmogaus neįkainojama vertė, lyčių lygiavertiškumas, ugdytinio orumas, risky sexual behaviour, early sexual intercourses, pedagogical prevention, unity of human nature, incomparable human value, equivalence of persons of different sexes, dignity of the educated.

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Veiksmas ir judėjimas šv. Tomo Akviniečio filosofijoje

Author(s): Gediminas Karoblis / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

This essay is the description of the investigation which is a part of my studies of the philosophy of movement. The method of description was partly motivated by the wish to stay as close as possible to the actual process of investigation. Therefore, it should be noticed that actual readings of St. Thomas Aquinas works looking for answers to questions concerning philosophy of movement took place. I understand this process as the research in the most proper sense of the word. Because the search of the concept of motus in St. Thomas works was essential for this re-search. Another aspect of the investigation was the presupposition which was the effect and conclusion of my unpublished Master Thesis. The idea of the Thesis was to compare the concept of movement in Aristotelian and Cartesian philosophies and to ask whether differences of the concept of movement affect ethical concepts explicated or implied in Aristotelian and Cartesian philosophies. I found that the differences in philosophy of movement in Aristotle and Descartes strongly affected their ethical thinking. According to philosophers of science the shift in philosophy of movement took place in the Middle Ages. Ten I found that some authors who interpret St. Tomas Aquinas philosophy, for example, Anzenbacher are closer to dualism of Descartes that universalism of Aristotle. Anzenbacher explaining philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas affirms that the sphere of the concept of motus is confined by natural philosophy and the sphere of the concept of actus - by practical philosophy (e.g. history and human actions). In this essay I make effort to prove that it is misinterpretation of the philosophy of St. Tomas Aquinas. Therefore I started to question whether this shift in philosophy of movement was inspired by St. Thomas Aquinas. In the works of St. Thomas Aquinas I found that in most aspects he keeps to Aristotelian definition of movement as actus imperfectus. Motus remains strongly connected to the concepts of actus and potentia as in Aristotle. St. Tomas preserves the universality of both concepts – motus and actus. Nevertheless, he claims that action (operatio) of the human soul is proper to a human being. In such way St. Thomas claims that more narrow concept of the human activity (operatio humana) should be distinguished for the sake of preserving more general concept of actus. Another interpretation of philosophy of actus referring to St. Tomas Aquinas was developed by Karol Wojtyla. Remaining in the tradition of division between motus and actus as paralleled to division between the human body and human action, Wojtyla acknowledges the impossibility to reduce the concept actus humanus to the concept of actus. This irreducibility shows that the old Aristotelian tradition of philosophy of movement in spite of many deliberate and non-deliberate attempts cannot be reduced to the Platonic or Cartesian dualism. As a consequence, on the one hand, it is suggested that the tradition of interpretation

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Kontracepcija: latentinė mirties kultūros filosofijos raiška

Author(s): Eugenijus Danilevičius / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

The object of the research is the use of the contraception. The aim of the article is to reveal the correlation between contraception and philosophy of death culture. The article presents the moral evaluation of contraception, introduces the main postulates of death culture, discloses the latent character of the impact of using contraception and draws the problem tree of using contraception. The main conclusion of the research is given at the end of the article. The genesis of contraception comes from death culture in post-modern society. The contraception is related with crisis of personal faith, the disorientation of values and misshapen atheistic world outlook. From the moral point of view, contraception is forbidden. It is directed against life and love, denying openness to life and neglects marital love. Contraception reduces conjugal chastity and outrages the fifth and sixth commandments of God. Death culture has two anthropological roots: exceeded subjectivity and autonomy of a person with his strong individualism and full freedom on the one hand, and total dependence on the other hand. The first root is most relevant to the relationship of contraception with death culture. The natural family planning, even with its serious reasons to avoid pregnancy, is the key point of life culture and civilization of love precisely because the concept of a human person and human sexuality rests upon solid anthropological and moral bases. I would like to look briefly at these bases and at the concept of human person and of human sexuality from the point of view of periodic continence. The anthropology is holistic, i.e., it regards a human person as a unity of body and soul. As a unity of body and soul, a person is a subject to moral actions. According to anthropology, body with its carnal life is an integral part of a person. Offering their bodies to each other, a man and a woman express a sign, a sacrament, and communion of persons. Body becomes a means and sign of the gift given by a man and a woman. Pope John Paul II calls this capacity of the body to express the communion of persons – the nuptial meaning of the body. Contraception leads to abortion, because of these reasons: 1) the promotion to promiscuity; 2) the formation of anti-life-mentality that denies the natural connection between sexual intercourse and babies: a child is seen as a threat; fertility is treated like sickness; 3) abortifacients (the morning-after pill is an abortifacient). Contraception leads to divorces, because of these reasons: 1) having many partners before marriage; 2) adultery in marriage; 3) decreasing the number of the children in family; 4) living together before marriage. Two aspects of contraception as distortion of love: 1) contraception contradicts to the full self-giving and violates the unity between the language of body and thought. In body language, the marital act means absolute self-donation and acceptance of the other, but the act of using contrac

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Neotomistinė, egzistencialistinė ir personalistinė filosofija

Author(s): Juozas Vytautas Uzdila,Inesė Ratnikaitė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2009

Philosophical ideas enable to adapt them to the philosophy of Christian education and investigate specific phenomenon that disappears in the process of education. In the article we are referring to the three philosophical schools: neothomism, Christian existentialism and personalism. Neothomistic point of view allows the philosophy of education to treat a man as a creation of God. Man’s only principle of existence is God. God not only called a man to the existence, He takes care of him. It helps to define a task of education - to trust the Creator, to believe in His decisions, to let be governed by God, who is Wisdom, Love, and Truth. God is presented as a loving Father in the philosophy of education. It is important for a child to know that God always loved him and will love with unconditional love. The most important thing is that God loves a child as he is - sometimes week, angry, harmed, having doubts, desiring revenge, “bad”. There is an elevated individuality of a man and personal bond with religion in the pedagogics of existential education. Every child is individual and valuable. It is important to create conditions for everyone to look for a personal bond with God. It is impossible to experience God through others. An educator cannot eliminate faith. He can give some religious knowledge. The most important thing is to seek individual, personal bond with God. On the other hand, natural relation with religion is frightening and threatening. The goal of religious education is to present child two sides of life. One is inescapable suffering, and pain. The other is the possibility to know faith and to experience happiness among the absurdities. A task of religious pedagogics is to teach children that life is not only seeking of pleasures or avoiding of suffering and pain. The end of life is to understand the meaning of life. Education should seek to distract from false temptations of life. Existential thinking of children with bad experience of life can help them to take it easy. The existential philosophical point of view helps not to stay in the past, live with bad memories but to concentrate on the present and to look to the future. Existential individualism partly is opposed to a person, and personality in personalism. A personality is not given; it is created through everyday efforts. Only in the relation with divinity, an individual can get rid of the existence of lower level and reach the highest form of being - to become a person who is able to use the presence of divinity that is freedom. A man is free to make decisions if he wants to become a person or if he doesn’t. Freedom is connected with man‘s responsibility to himself, his actions and other people. It is important in Christian education to help children understand that freedom always obliges and that a man cannot be free if he makes others to satisfy his caprices. Man becomes free when he realizes his responsibility. To realize responsibility is to go through it. The matur

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Sens „Epoki Maryjnej”

Author(s): Jacek Bolewski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 28/2009

Sąvoką „Marijos era“ pateikė popiežius Paulius VI savo apaštalinėje adhortacijoje Signum Magnum (1967 m. gegužės 13 d.). Kaip pavyzdžius popiežius pateikė tris ryškius XX amžiaus įvykius: 1) 50-ąsias Fatimos apsireiškimo metines; 2) 25-ąsias iškilmingo Bažnyčios ir žmonijos paaukojimo Dievo Motinai ir Jos Nekaltajai Širdžiai metines, tai atliko popiežius Pijus XII 1942 m. spalio 31 d., atnaujino Paulius VI 1964 m. lapkričio 21 d.; 3) tą pačią dieną Marija buvo paskelbta dvasine Bažnyčios Motina (po 3-iosios Vatikano II Susirinkimo sesijos). Laiškas pabrėžia Marijos kaip Bažnyčios Motinos svarbą. Straipsnyje laiškas nekomentuojamas, bet bandoma parodyti Marijos eros evoliuciją. 1. Marijos garbinimo evoliucija. Pirmiausia reiktų prisiminti, kaip kito požiūris į Mariją Evangelijose. Seniausioje Morkaus redakcijoje Marija pasirodo kaip Jėzaus šeimos narė, neatskirta nuo Jėzaus brolių, kurie juo netikėjo. Vėlesnėse Mato ir Luko redakcijose aprašoma Jėzaus kūdikystė, o Kristaus žodžiai apie naują tikėjimo bendruomenę ne tik mini Mariją, bet ir pabrėžia, kad ji palaiminta dėl savo tikėjimo. Paskutinėje Evangelijoje Marija suvokiama kaip Moteris, tikėjimo bendruomenės pirmavaizdis – jos tikėjimo dėka įvyko stebuklų pradžia Kanoje, vėliau po kryžiumi ji tapo tikėjimo bendruomenės Gimdytoja. Ši evoliucija tęsiasi Bažnyčios istorijoje, ypač su Marija susijusiose naujose dogmose, kurios Mariją parodo kaip kiekvieno Bažnyčios nario pirmavaizdį. Todėl šiandieniniai teologai turėtų domėtis ne Marijos dogmų svarba, bet jų poveikiu mūsų gyvenimui tiek Marijos gyvenimo pradžioje (Nekaltasis Prasidėjimas), tiek ir pabaigoje (Dangun Paėmimas). Kita istorinė aplinkybė – Marijos apsireiškimai kaip dabarties ir ateities ženklai. 2. „Dvasios amžiaus“ reikšmė. Vertėtų pasekti šios sąvokos raidą. Šv. Liudvikas Marija de Monfortas „Traktate apie tikrąjį pamaldumą Dievo Motinai“ svarsto ryšį tarp Šventosios Dvasios ir Jėzaus Motinos. Štai svarbiausios jo mintys: „Marija Šventosios Dvasios veikimu pagimdė pačią didingiausią kada nors buvusią ar būsiančią būtybę – Dievą-Žmogų; ji pagimdys ir didžiausius šventuosius iki amžių pabaigos“ (n. 35). „Per Mariją prasidėjo pasaulio išganymas, per ją jis ir bus įvykdytas“ (n. 49). Štai kuo skiriasi pirmasis ir antrasis atėjimas: „Marija beveik nepasirodė pirmojo Jėzaus Kristaus atėjimo metu. <...> Bet antrojo Kristaus atėjimo metu Mariją apreikš Šventoji Dvasia, kad per ją Jėzus Kristus būtų pažintas, pamiltas ir jam būtų tarnaujama“ (n. 49). Tai ypač tinka Nekaltojo Prasidėjimo slėpiniui, amžių paslėptam, o dabar atskleistam per dogmą, kad geriau suvoktume savo pradžios viziją. Šv. Liudvikas įveda terminą „Marijos amžius“, klausdamas: „...kada ateis tas laimingas laikas, Marijos amžius, kai daugybė sielų, Aukščiausiojo pašauktų per Mariją, ištirps jos vidinėje gelmėje, taps jos kopijomis, kad mylėtų ir garbintų Jėzų?“ (n. 217). Šie žodžiai nurodo, kad Marijos amžius taps Šventosios Dvasios amžiumi. 3. Naujųjų laikų ženklai. Moder

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LABILITÄT UND FESTIGKEIT DES ÜBERLIEFERTEN TEXTES DES NEUEN TESTAMENTS UND DES PASTOR HERMAE, DEMONSTRIERT AN WICHTIGEN TEXTZEUGEN

Author(s): Martin HEIDE / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2009

How reliable is the transmission of the New Testament text? This will be investigated by comparing manuscripts (papyri) from before the time of Constantine to those after his reign (Byzantine minuscules). During this comparison the question will be: how much of the text of the New Testament and, by way of comparison, of the Pastor Hermae, respectively, has remained unaltered between the second century and the beginning of the second millennium? As will be demonstrated, the accuracy of the transmission of the New Testament text is greater than of those texts which by the early church were regarded as canonical only in part.

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GREEK PHILOSOPHICAL ELEMENTS IN SOME JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN PRAYERS

Author(s): Pieter W. van der Horst / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2009

In book 7 of the Apostolic Constitutions (from late-fourth century Antioch) one finds a remarkable set of six originally Jewish prayers that have undergone Christian editing. In spite of all their biblical terminology and flavour, the composer of these prayers has adopted quite a number of ideas and concepts that have their origin in the Greek philosophical tradition. In the present article several of these ideas are discussed in order to show how biblical faith is here synthesized with Greek philosophy.

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BOOKREVIEWS

Author(s): Hans KLEIN / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2009

Ulrich Wilckens, Theologie des Neuen Testaments II: Die Theologie des Neuen Testaments als Grundlage kirchlicher Lehre. Teilband 1: Das Fundament, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2007. Eve-Marie Becker, Das Markus-Evangelium im Rahmen antiker Historiographie (WUNT 194), Tübingen 2005, 424 S. Detlef Häusser, Christusbekenntnis und Jesusüberlieferung bei Paulus (WUNT 2/210), Tübingen 2006, 416 Seiten.

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DAS WORT GOTTES UND SEIN GEWAND. EINIGE ÜBERLEGUNGEN ZU OFFB 19,13

Author(s): Stephan WITETSCHEK / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2009

In Rev 19,13 Christ, returning for the eschatological battle and final judgment, is depicted with a robe “soaked in blood”. The interpretation of this image is often closely related to the OT reference text Isa 63,3, where YHWH appears as the Divine Warrior, so that in Rev 19,13 the blood is that of Christ’s enemies. However, this interpretation faces some exegetical difficulties that can be avoided if one understands that blood as Christ’s own. Moreover, this “nonviolent” interpretation coheres better with the particular significance John attributes to the clothing of the characters in Revelation, and with the Christology of this book, that consciously tackles the tension between Christ’s humiliation and suffering and his resurrection and divine dignity.

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JESUS “THE PROPHET” IN THE WITNESS AND BELIEF OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES ACCORDING TO THE FOURTH GOSPEL - A JOHANNINE THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Author(s): Stelian Tofană / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2009

This article aims to point out the specificity of the Fourth Gospel regarding Jesus’ activity as Prophet and how his contemporaries understood him as such. The Johannine Jesus, in addition to being the Christ, Son of God, Son of Man, and King of Israel, is also a prophet. But in the Fourth Gospel, unlike in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus reveals Himself as more than the awaited prophet; He is in the same time the Messiah and even the Son of God. In this respect, the former blind man worships him: “Then he said: ‘Lord, I believe’! And he worshiped him” (John 9,38). Thus, the Johannine perspective of understanding Jesus as being the Eschatological Prophet is exceeded. What is remarkable in John’s perspective concerning Jesus’ activity as Prophet, is his progress in estimating and understanding the Person of Jesus: from “the man called Jesus” (9,11) to “a prophet” (9,17), to one who might be followed by disciples (9,27), to “from God” (9,33) and finally to “Lord” to be worshiped (9,38). In this sense, the main purpose of John is not to designate Jesus’ place among the prophets, but to emphasize his unique identity as the Son of God, who has been given the power and the authority to speak God’s words and to do God’s works in the world. The “Prophet – Jesus” is identified in the Fourth Gospel with “God-Jesus”. Therefore, in the Johannine Christology the title of “prophet” plays a dominant role in pointing out the messianic character of Jesus Christ’s activity and the deity of His Person, as well.

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