An Aristotelian Account of Evolution and the Contemporary Philosophy of Biology

Author(s): Mariusz Tabaczek / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

The anti-reductionist character of the recent philosophy of biology and the dynamic development of the science of emergent properties prove that the time is ripe to reintroduce the thought of Aristotle, the first advocate of a “top-down” approach in life-sciences, back into the science/philosophy debate. His philosophy of nature provides profound insights particularly in the context of the contemporary science of evolution, which is still struggling with the questions of form (species), teleology, and the role of chance in evolutionary processes. However, although Aristotle is referenced in the evolutionary debate, a thorough analysis of his theory of hylomorphism and the classical principle of causality which he proposes is still needed in this exchange. Such is the main concern of the first part of the present article which shows Aristotle’s metaphysics of substance as an open system, ready to incorporate new hypothesis of modern and contemporary science. The second part begins with the historical exploration of the trajectory from Darwin to Darwinism regarded as a metaphysical position. This exploration leads to an inquiry into the central topics of the present debate in the philosophy of evolutionary biology. It shows that Aristotle’s understanding of species, teleology, and chance – in the context of his fourfold notion of causality – has a considerable explanatory power which may enhance our understanding of the nature of evolutionary processes. This fact may inspire, in turn, a retrieval of the classical theology of divine action, based on Aristotelian metaphysics, in the science/theology dialogue. The aim of the present article is to prepare a philosophical ground for such project.

Nieinterwencjonistyczny model działania Boga w świecie przyrody

Author(s): Tadeusz Pabjan / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2016

Artykuł poświęcony jest problematyce działania Boga w świecie przyrody. Zaprezentowano w nim argumenty przemawiające za modelem nieinterwencjonistycznym, w którym zakłada się, że Bóg konsekwentnie respektuje porządek przyczyn i skutków wynikający z praw przyrody, i zamierzone przez siebie efekty uzyskuje bez naruszania tego porządku. Historia ewoluującego wszechświata, którą badają nauki empiryczne, jest w perspektywie teologicznej historią działania Boga, który stwarza świat i podtrzymuje go w istnieniu za pośrednictwem praw przyrody powodujących stopniowy rozwój wszechświata i ewolucję życia. W kolejnych częściach artykułu podjęta została problematyka praw przyrody, stwórczej obecności Boga w przyrodzie oraz działania Stwórcy dokonującego się za pośrednictwem przyczyn wtórnych (argument św. Tomasza). W zakończeniu wskazano na zalety modelu nieinterwencjonistycznego. This paper deals with the problem of God’s action in nature. It is argued that the divine action is always non-interventional, which means that God never violates the laws of nature. He creates the evolving universe, keeps it in existence and continously influences its history using these laws, and not breaking them. At first, the character of the laws of nature will be discussed – both in scientific and theological perspective. Later, the creative presence of God in the universe will be described. Special attention will be paid to St. Thomas Aquinas argument concerning the distinction between the first cause (which should be identified with God) and the secondary cause (which should be identified with all the physical causes explored by science). Finally, some advantages of the non-intervetnional model of the divine action in nature will be indicated.

Wiara źródłem radosnego świadectwa o Chrystusie

Author(s): Henryk Szmulewicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2016

Wiara i radość są ze sobą ściśle powiązane. Pełnia radości zależy od stopnia wiary. Obserwacja współczesnego świata przynosi jednak niepokojące dane, według których wielu wierzących w Chrystusa zatrzymuje się na radości „chwilowej”, „płytkiej”, „niegodnej”, „grzesznej”. W konsekwencji traci związek z prowadzonym przez Kościół dziełem ewangelizacji. Będąc Bożym darem, wiara domaga się konkretnej odpowiedzi ze strony człowieka. Niniejsze studium jest przypomnieniem argumentacji teologicznej (szczególnie biblijnej i eklezjologicznej), według której głęboka wiara jest nieodzowna do dawania radosnego świadectwa o Chrystusie. Faith and joy are closely linked. The fullness of joy depends on the level of faith. However, today’s world observation brings alarming data, which show that many believers in Christ remain on a joy that is “temporary”, “shallow”, “unworthy” and “sinful”. As a consequence they lose connection with the evangelization promoted by the Church. Faith as God’s gift requires a specific answer from a man. This study is a recollection of a theological argumentation (especially biblical and ecclesiological), according to which deep faith is indispensable to give joyful testimony to Christ.

La formazione liturgica nel movimento ecclesiale Luce-Vita in Polonia

Author(s): Przemysław Szot / Language(s): Italian Issue: 1/2016

Il Movimento Luce-Vita in Polonia e uno tra molti movimenti del rinnovamento della Chiesa di quali ha parlato il Concilio Vaticano II. Il suo obiettivo e pero la liturgia sulla quale si concentra per badare la sua rinascita. Lo scopo di questo movimento e condurre la gente alla maturità cristiana, attraverso la liturgia che e fonte e culmine della vita cristiana. Il movimento propone, dunque, un vasto programma formativo per i fedeli adatto, sia per i laici, sia per i preti che per le persone consacrate, rispettando anche le differenze dell’età. The Light-Life Movement is one of the movements of renewal of the Catholic Church according to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. It is directed especially towards the renewal of the liturgy. The goal of the Light-Life Movement is to lead people to the maturity of Christian faith through liturgy, because the liturgy is the font and the summit of the Christian life. The Movement offers the formation programmes for the believers of different age and state – lay people, priests or religious.

Dzieje parafii unickiej pw. Kuźmy i Damiana w Klątwach do 1875 roku

Author(s): Janusz Adam Frykowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2016

The history of the village of Klatwy, the seat of the Saints Cosmas and Damian Uniate parish, dates back to at least fifteenth century. In 1462, due to the incorporation of the Duchy of Belz into the Kingdom of Poland, the village of Klatwy became part of the Starosty of Tyszowce and as a royal village functioned until 1768 the first partition of Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth, Klatwy was annexed by the Habsburg Empire, then it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw and following the joint resolutions of the Congress of Vienna it was given to Russia. Originally, the village of Klatwy belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church and after the incorporation of Red Ruthenia into the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland come under the influence of the Latin Church, therefore, the inhabitants of that region were of dual rites, both Eastern Orthodox (then Uniate) as well as Latin Church.

Misija i reformacija: Lekcije iz iskustva reformatora i anabaptista

Author(s): Melody J. Wachsmuth / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 2/2017

Scholarly interaction has ranged from arguing that the Reformers were indifferent toward mission to asserting that both Luther and Calvin had theologies of mission embedded in their understanding of the gospels and emphasis on preaching the word of God. On the other hand, during the same time period, the Anabaptists emerged as a movement with a radical and deliberate mission praxis. How can strains of a new and emerging Protestantism, in similar socio-political contexts, develop such different mission praxis? This paper explores this discrepancy between these two movements and then offers implications and questions for the 21st century church-in-mission.

Nedovršena reformacija: Što ujedinjuje i razdvaja katolike i protestante nakon 500 godina

Author(s): Miroslav Balint-Feudvarski / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 1/2018

Review of: Gregg Allison i Chris Castaldo "Nedovršena reformacija: Što ujedinjuje i razdvaja katolike i protestante nakon 500 godina"; Dallas, Texas USA, Eastern European Mission, 2017, 148. by: Miroslav Balint-Feudvarski

Apologetic approach on the dialogue between faith and rationality by the Oriental Fathers

Author(s): Ioniţă Apostolache / Language(s): English,Polish Issue: 1/2018

Only our Lord, Jesus Christ, the incarnated Word of the Father, made us, due to his quality as Pantocrator, to “overcome the autonomy of the natural world” and liberated us from the power of irrational forces. Therefore, the dialogue between theology and science is very important for our natural existence. Without science, modern man cannot exist within his earthly environment and without theology he is not given the possibility to enjoy eternal communion with God in the Kingdom of Heaven. This being the case, the Holy Scripture and the Holy Father also, unite the two elements; this unity being sheltered by faith, which is beyond reason and any type of autonomy.

Ekumeniczny liturgista z pogranicza polsko-czesko-słowackiego

Author(s): Stanisław Jan Rabiej / Language(s): Polish Issue: 51/2018

Gdzie jest nowoczesny projekt polskości? - Andrzej Leder w rozmowie z Sebastianem Dudą

Author(s): Andrzej Leder,Sebastian Duda / Language(s): Polish Issue: 673/2018

Dawniej siłą takich ruchów jak socjalizm czy liberalizm była stawka na przyszłość, to ona wyznaczała tożsamość. Tym różniły się od konserwatyzmu czy nacjonalizmu, które stawiały na przeszłość. Dziś przyszłość jest bardzo podejrzana. Wszyscy się jej boją.

"Gott hat sein Evangelium auch durch die Musik gepredigt". Martin Luther, die Musik und das Kirchenlied

Author(s): Wilhelm Hüffmeier / Language(s): German Issue: 10/2016

The article presents origins of the Evangelical church music in the XVI century. Pastor Dr Martin Luther is regarded as the father this music. The poet H. Heine described the hymn “A mighty fortress is our God” as Mar-seillaise of the Reformation. Luther was brought up in his school musical circle and recommended teaching music at schools of all levels. The Reformer, apart from prefaces to all kinds of songbooks, wrote four texts dedicated to the essence of Evangelical song where we find a thesis that music is a good deed of the God -Creator Himself what makes that music in its very nature is a good instrument to proclaim the Gospel. In one of his letters Luther wrote indeed that apart from theology music is the best art bringing consolation for the heart. His first song, Luther wrote not earlier than in 1523 in parallel to the undertaken efforts to reform Evangelical liturgy. Apart from the so-called propaganda songs of Reformation Luther’s favourite songs were paraphrases of psalms. In addition, another form of religious song created in the times of Reformation are catechism songs. The article also depicts the person of Elisabeth Cruciger, the first Reformation singer. Reformation triggered a mighty movement that intro-duced national languages to the liturgy and church services. This movement also transformed music giving it specific feature of piety emerging from the spirit of Evangelical church reformation in the XVI century.

Document „From Conflict to Communion”. Some Historical Approaches

Author(s): Andrzej Piotr Perzyński / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2017

In the year 2013 the International Lutheran-Roman Catholic Com-mission on Unity has produced its report, titled “From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Refor-mation in 2017”. This is the first centenary commemoration of the Reformation marked by a real desire of the Catholics and Protestants as well to come together for its observance. The article describes the way to this very important common testimony. A very important sign of the Catholics’ recognition of Luther’s faith was the word of the second President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, in his keynote address at the 5th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation at Evian-les-Bains. The culmination of the relationship was that Catholics and Lutherans gathered in Lund on 31th October 2016 to mark commemoration of the Reformation. The milestone on the way to this celebration was the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification signed in Augsburg 1999. The document From Conflict to Communion concludes the common way of Lutherans and Catholics in the last 50 years.

Erazm i Luter o wolnej woli

Author(s): Jacek Hołówka / Language(s): Polish Issue: 11/2017

The author discusses the controversy between Erasmus and Luther over free will. He recapitulates the position of Erasmus who identified three conceptions of free will attributing them to Pelagius, Duns Scotus and Martin Luther, respectively. Erasmus firmly rejected only the last one. The author also presents the Luther’s view that the exercise of free will would collide with the working of divine grace that forcesto reject the existence of free will. This controversy revitalizes a mediaeval problem, still highly inspirational. Is God at least partly responsible for our sins? Was He accountable for hardening the pharaoh’s heart (Ex 4: 21)? Was it approved by God that Judas would betray Jesus? Erasmus proposes an interesting solution to this problem that the author of this article finds bright and proper. It is based on the distinction between ‘the necessity of the consequence’ and the ‘necessity of the consequent’. The ‘necessity of the consequence’ is the acceptance of a logical implication together with its antecedent. In this case the consequent is entailed by logical inference (by ponendo ponens). Acceptance of this formula is equivalent to acting as an accomplice. The ‘necessity of the consequent’, however, is limited to the endorsing of the implication together with its consequent, but without accepting the antecedent. On these conditions the endorsement is no more than a concession for the occurrence of the fact implied, but it does not involve a volitional partnership in the act. To be more specific: God hardened the pharaoh’s heart and thereby He acted in collusion with the pharaoh. In the case of Judas, however, God only condescended that Judas would betray Jesus without cooperating in the act. Thus the will of pharaoh’s was weakened, or presumably deactivated, while Judas was free to act as he pleased, availing himself of his free will.

Recenzii

Author(s): Constantin Jinga,Marius Florescu,Daniel Lemeni,Cosmin Panţuru / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 24/2018

(Не)видљиви мигранти: миграције назарена у Северну Америку током комунизма у Југославији

Author(s): Aleksandra Đurić-Milovanović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3/2017

The migration of religious minorities from the region of Southeast Europe to North America was not in the focus of ethno-anthropological, sociological and historiographical research until recently. In the last two decades, the main focus in migration studies was on labor and economic migration, and only indirectly to the religious identity of migrants. This paper discusses the migration of one neo-Protestant religious minority – the Nazarenes, who emigrated massively from Yugoslavia to North America after the Second World War. The Nazarenes were pacifists, refusing to bear arms, take an oath, or to be members of political organizations. By adhering to their strict religious beliefs, the Nazarenes came into conflict with the state authorities. After the Second World War, the communist state considered Nazarenes as disloyal citizens and a threat to the government. From 1949, the Nazarenes were condemned to severe prison sentences in the worst prisons such as Goli оtok. In this period, the illegal emigration of Nazarenes to North America started. The material collected for the purposes of this paper came to be the result of empirical research, conducted in the United States (March-June 2015) with members of the Nazarene community who emigrated from Yugoslavia between 1950 and 1975. Emphasizing the role of religion in the process of migration, as well as the transformation of the community after several decades in their new setting, this paper analyzes the oral history of emigration of the Nazarenes during communism, where emigration is seen as 'survival strategy' for this religious minority.

PREZENTĂRI BIBLIOGRAFICE

Author(s): Vasile Muntean,Sorin Cosma,Marius Florescu,Aquilina Birăescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 10-12/2018

Otuđenje i pobožanstvenjenje: o bivanju cjelovitim čovjekom

Author(s): Sister Teresa Forcades / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 04/152/2018

In this paper are briefly presented some key aspects of how human alienation and human freedom were conceived and experienced in the context of Reformation and October Revolution. An attempt is made to answer the following question: Is it true that the negative anthropology of the Reformers was paradoxically associated with an expansion of individual and social freedom, while the positive anthropology of the Soviet revolutionaries was associated with a reduction thereof? It is accepted today that the Reform helped to foster and to consolidate the notion of political and personal freedom in Europe, but not without contradictions and at the expense of forming a close alliance with the emerging political and economic powers that were beginning to establish the new world order known as “capitalism”. Moreover, the October Revolution, that understood itself as bringing into practice Marx’s ideas and opening the door of history to a new Era of freedom and prosperity, helped to form a regime ruled by a professional bureaucracy concentrating in its hands all economic and political power and setting into motion a blind mechanism of oppression of the individual and the community. Nevertheless, the October Revolution had one unexpected aftermath: The Western expansion of the Christian belief on theosis (divinization).

ORGELFORSCHUNG IN EUROPÄISCHEM GEIST. DIE ORGELLANDSCHAFTEN RUMÄNIENS IN GESCHICHTE UND GEGENWART AM BEISPIEL DER TEMESWARER ORGELBAUFIRMA WEGENSTEIN

Author(s): Franz Metz / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2019

In Romania there are two of Europe’s major organ landscapes: Transylvania and Banat, which have developed within several centuries. They show own characteristics but have also attributes in common with the Bohemian, Austrian and Southern German organbuilding. The organ builders of those two cultural areas came mainly from other parts of Europe and settled down here. Because of the several demarcation changes resulting from both World Wars of the 20th century the organs of Banat and Transylvania can be documented only by international research and investigation. For the time being the last major organbuilding company of Romania was the one of Wegenstein family in Timisoara. The instruments of this factory are located today in churches and synagogues in Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovakia, Ukraine and Bulgaria. Special historical value is apportioned to the Wegenstein organ of the Catherine church in Timisoara and the one of the basilica Maria Radna. In the publications of Dr. István David we can find also important information about many Wegenstein organs of Transylvania. The Wegenstein company had to stop business after the second World War due to the political circumstances in then Romania and has been disappropriated by the state in 1972. Thereby almost 300 years history of Banat organbuilding came to an end.

ÁROKHÁTY BÉLA – AZ ORGONATERVEZŐ

Author(s): Károly Fekete / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2019

This study present Béla Árokháty’s biography, who was not only a musician but also a minister leading and inspiriting his flock. It also highlights that the people rebelled against him because of the novelties he adopted. Béla Árokháty was convinced that the Protestant musical treasure must become accessible to all. In several of his writings, he accepted the rules regarding religious church music and instrumentation, but from the beginning of his religious musicological activity and, until the last, his aim was to favour the widespread adoption of church music in the Reformed Protestant service. Very few of his contemporaries recognized his personality and mission, however he was the one who launched the reform of the musical culture in the Protestant communities of the 20th century. Béla Árokháty’s exceptional initiatives and his achievements have largely contributed to raising Hungarian Reformed religious music to European standards.

HAJDÚBÖSZÖRMÉNY REFORMÁTUS ORGONÁI

Author(s): Balázs Szabó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2019

The main churches in Hajdúböszörmény, both of remarkable size inherit two Angster-organs with 3 manuals. The older and bigger organ in the church of Bocskai Square was built 1902 with three manuals and 46 stops. All divisions are constructed with different windchests by using tubular pneumatic action: the great and pedal with cone chest, the second manual with Witzig-type pneumatic windchest and the third manual using the Angster-type pneumatic windchest. This is indeed a unique solution by Angster, later one he never used the Witzig-systhem again, for pneumatic windchests he used the Angster-type pneumatic construction. The organ in the Kálvin Square church was originally built 1899, with slider chests, tracker action and barker lever, pneumatic action for the stops. Angster rebuilt it in 1914, the organ received new Angster-type pneumatic windchests and a new console with roll-player mechanism with three manuals and 38 stops. After several modifications, the organ was reconstructed to its original state in 2014–2016 as the first pneumatic-reconstruction project in Hungary. The Bocskai Square organ is after improper reparations still unplayable, the congregation launched benefit concerts by professionals in November 2018 to gain bigger public attention to this organ-treasure.