Biblical Account Research Articles

The theological dimension of selected Polish Easter songs

The theology of Polish Easter hymns focuses on the mystery of Christ’s resurrection and is directed towards the eschatological dimension of human existence. Through the victory of the Son of God over sin, death and Satan, man has an open gate to eternal life. Easter songs are rooted in the biblical account of the Lord’s resurrection and are a form of prayer expressed both during and outside the liturgy, and should therefore bring the faithful closer to God. The oldest hymns, dating back to the 14th century, were composed throughout the centuries of the existence of the Polish nation and state, and often referred to the historical and social situation of Poles, especially during the partitions. However, their content and melody have always expressed the essence of man’s faith in the resurrection of Christ and the hope of eternal life.

Motifs of Healing

This article delves into the unique role of music as a therapeutic tool in ancient Israel, with a focus on the biblical account of music therapy healing Saul (1 Samuel 16:14-23). This study attempts to explore and question the relationship between music, healing, and religion. This study aims to: first, to interpret the text of 1 Samuel 16:14-23 which introduces the significance of music in the ancient Israelite tradition. Second, to emphasizes the function of music as healing therapy, where David uses the lyre to heal Saul. This text subtly demonstrates the prevalence of the healing practice of music in the biblical world. Third, it investigates narrative interpretive methods that discuss the extent to which Israel, through David, defines himself and how the superiority of music helps shape Israel’s self-perception as a musical community. Data was collected through literature studies/scientific literature related to the title of this study. The results of the data collection will then be processed and presented in the form of a description.

Rising from the Abyss: Exploring the Lazarus Effect in Post-cardiac Arrest Spontaneous Resuscitation

Autoresuscitation refers to the heart's ability to spontaneously regain activity and restore circulation, a concept first elucidated by K. Linko in 1982 following discontinued cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). J.G. Bray coined the term "Lazarus phenomenon" in 1993, drawing from the biblical account of Lazarus being resurrected by Jesus four days after his death. By the end of 2022, 76 cases of spontaneous recovery after death had been documented worldwide, with 10 cases involving children. The range of patients spanned from a 9-month-old infant to a 97-year-old individual. Resuscitation efforts varied in duration from 6 minutes to a maximum of 90 minutes, occurring both within and outside medical facilities. Many patients had underlying health conditions, and the majority experienced non-shockable rhythms (such as Asystole or Pulseless Electrical Activity) during cardiac arrest. Survival periods post-resuscitation ranged from minutes to months, with six patients achieving full recovery without neurological deficits. Various factors contributing to autoresuscitation include hyperventilation-induced alkalosis, auto-PEEP, delayed drug effects, hypothermia, intoxication, metabolic disorders like hyperkalemia, and undetected minimal signs of life. To prevent Lazarus Syndrome, it is advised to monitor patients for at least 10 minutes after halting CPR. Raising awareness of this phenomenon within the medical community is crucial for enhancing case reporting. The likelihood of autoresuscitation appears feasible, especially among older individuals.

The apple of God's eye: a biblical account of holiness

Abstract In this article, an exercise in Jewish philosophy, I propose a taxonomy that can account for and organize all of the many species of holiness that we find in the Hebrew Bible. Each species admits of precise definition. Moreover, the genus as a whole can be unified by a guiding metaphor, suggested by the Bible itself. Holiness, according to this metaphor, is bestowed by a certain type of gaze, and ultimately by occupying the centre of the field of God's attention.

Noli Me Tangere

Abstract Sixteenth-century theologians in their efforts to reform English religion sought to divest religion not only of its extrabiblical female saints but also its biblical female saints of their legends and their passionate expressions of sorrow. Reformers focused on deconstructing the popular weeping composite Mary Magdalene, yet their efforts were only partially successful. Thomas Walkington’s 1620 sermon, Rabboni, reveals that Protestant preachers were willing to diverge from the biblical account and use their imagination in sermons to appeal to their audience’s emotions. Rabboni demonstrates continued knowledge and leakage of Pre-Reformation extrabiblical legends into Protestant thought. The location of the sermon and the reception history of Pseudo-Origen’s De Maria Magdalena suggest why the medieval image of Mary Magdalene proved so indestructible.

Visual Exegesis of Herodias and Salome from Feminist Rhetorical Criticism: The Construction of a Myth

The biblical account of Salome has been marked throughout history by two main themes: on the one hand, the princess’s dance in front of the main rulers of Galilee, and on the other hand, the request for the head of John the Baptist to King Herod, instigated by his mother Herodias. The reading of this passage has been strongly marked by the different patriarchal exegetical approaches, which have modulated the reception of both female characters being traceable through the visual and literary arts, to the point of taking on the concept of femme fatale. Really, in both moments Salome is the executor of the actions, not as a result of her capacity for agency, but due to her influenceable character. Through a critical–historical analysis of the biblical passage, Herodias and Salome emerge with characteristics quite different from what 19th-century Art History inherited. The methodology of feminist rhetorical criticism allows for an approach to the visual re-imaginings of this biblical passage that have shaped the iconography of these two figures. The field of visual arts, particularly the production of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, will be the great receptacle for the genesis of the fatality and assimilation of these female biblical figures.

The Significance of Food in the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14 and the Kanyaw

This study delves into the significance of food in Matthew 22:1-14, specifically exploring parallels between the Parable of the Wedding Feast and the Kanyaw festival of the Igorot people. Employing a qualitative-descriptive approach, the researcher adopts a hermeneutical spiral methodology involving the sequential steps of “See, Discern, and Act.” The research emphasizes five key themes that draw parallels between the biblical parable and the indigenous festivity. Firstly, the study highlights the importance of the invitation in both contexts. Whether it is the divine call in the parable or the cultural invitation of the Kanyaw, there is a common thread in the significance of extending and receiving invitations. Second, the celebration emerges as a significant theme, suggesting shared elements between the joyous gatherings depicted in the biblical narrative and the cultural festivities of the Igorot people. The third theme revolves around the crucial role and preparation of food. This underscores the centrality of food in both the biblical narrative and the Kanyaw festival, shedding light on the cultural and spiritual dimensions associated with preparing and sharing meals. The fourth theme explores the responses of those invited, drawing parallels between the biblical account and participants' reactions in the Igorot celebration. Lastly, the study delves into the social implications of the feast in both contexts. By examining how the feast influences social dynamics and relationships, the research aims to offer an inculturated understanding of the feast in the parable's context. In essence, the study provides a nuanced exploration of the parallels between the biblical narrative and the indigenous festivity, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural and spiritual dimensions of food and celebration in these contexts. Keywords: Parable, Kanyaw, festivity, Igorot, food, kosher, non-kosher, wedding feast, Jesus, Jewish, thanksgiving, ritual, garment, exegesis, mambunong, mankotom, fiesta.

Un autre récit des origines est possible: la Genèse dans l’“Icosameron” de Casanova

As an introduction to his novel Icosameron, published in 1787, Casanova offers a lengthy biblical commentary on the first three chapters of Genesis. This article seeks to better define the relationship between this curious “Literal Commentary” and the rest of the novel, which recounts the adventures of a brother and sister at the center of the Earth after their ship sinks. It also questions Casanova’s reading of Genesis, as he uses this biblical account as the central theme of his novel. Finally, at the end of a century that has forcefully denounced the literal reading of Genesis, is the choice to publish a long novel introduced by an equally imposing biblical commentary the reason for the novel’s lack of success upon publication, and the oblivion into which it has fallen outside Casanova studies?

Obedience as Biblical Efficacy for Healing Plagues in Ancient Egypt

All forms of pestilences and plagues are revealed in the biblical account to be the resultant effects and pictures of disobedience. As it was in biblical era so it is in contemporary times. Meanwhile, where obedience is highly placed, cherished, and championed, there seems to be sustainable, nurturing, and nourishing environment that could serve as efficacies for healing of all forms of pestilences and plagues in any locality. In this pattern, a critical study of plagues and their healing in ancient Egypt has revealed obedience as biblical efficacy for healing, health, and longevity. This paper adopts the socio-ethical principle of reading with the author and theological hermeneutical method to examine the biblical concept of healing, health, and longevity. Therefore, in order to have a sustainable, nurturing, and nourishing environment that promotes and supports healing, health, and longevity, total of obedience is required of all. The study argued that where dissidence is seen as norm in a society such a society is prone to causative factors of all forms of pestilences and plagues that are enemies of healing, health, and longevity.

The Analogy between Divine Forgiveness and Legal Pardon

In “Divine Forgiveness and Legal Pardon,” William Lane Craig compares divine forgiveness to legal pardon, claiming that this is a “more accurate” way of thinking about God’s forgiveness because of God’s status as Ruler and Judge. Craig’s analogy is an admirable attempt to provide a biblical account of divine forgiveness, but the analogy is at best incomplete because God is not simply Ruler and Judge but also loving Creator and Father. A father does not pardon his children; he loves and forgives them. In this paper, I evaluate Craig’s analogy and relate it to the atonement.

“They Feasted Their Eyes”: Nadab, Abihu, and the Original Sin

Abstract In this article, I argue that the classic rabbinic interpretation of the sin of Nadab and Abihu—that they “feasted their eyes upon the Shekinah”—has strong textual support in the biblical account itself (Lev 10:1–2), which contemporary biblical scholarship helps us to see. While some recent interpreters have argued that it is impossible to know what the brothers did wrong and that the story is intentionally ambiguous, I will argue that a solid theological interpretation is possible and that the rabbis were right when they claimed that the brothers were guilty of arrogance and greed. Furthermore, recent scholarship has made it clear that the closest theological parallel to the Nadab and Abihu event is the story of Adam and Eve. Putting these stories side-by-side, one discovers fascinating echoes between them, which helps us to better understand the sin of the priestly brothers, as well as the sin of Adam and Eve, all of whom are fallen priests in garden sanctuaries. Given that both events occur at the beginning of creation (the first, the macrocosm, and the second, the microcosm), these sins have cosmic significance. By contemplating this reoccurring “original sin,” we also confront the mystery of humanity’s fallen condition and the need for redemption.

Transmedial Analysis of the Passion Narrative in the Scripture and the Movie the Passion of the Christ

Transmedia storytelling is the art of narrating stories using various media, with each medium adding something distinct to the narrative universe. This narrative universe may be accomplished with any media, including radio, TV, movies, video games, internet video, and web applications. The paper aims to demonstrate how different media platforms may convey one or more events over various channels to create a coherent whole. The article aims to comprehend the intricacies of translating written information into a visual medium using a cinematic approach. This study examines a trans-medial examination of two distinct transmedia storytelling approaches: the conventional methods of conveying the gospels in the Bible and the translation of the Gospels in the Scripture into a film. The two sources that were taken into consideration are the Four Gospels in the Holy Bible, which describes the final hours of Jesus’ life on Earth, and Mel Gibson’s film adaptation of those Gospels in the Scripture, The Passion of the Christ, which shows the events surrounding Christ’s conception, life, teachings, healings, temptation, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Gibson opted for the transmedia medium of a movie to raise global awareness of Jesus’ sufferings in his last hours on Earth. This essay traces Gibson’s creative liberty by comparing his portrayal of The Passion of the Christ to the Biblical account of Jesus’ suffering in his final hours.

Who Qualifies to Manage the Church? Exploring Historical and Biblical Accounts of Management and Agency Theories in Not-For-Profit Organisation (NPO) Sector in Gauteng, South Africa

Who Qualifies to Manage the Church? Exploring Historical and Biblical Accounts of Management and Agency Theories in Not-For-Profit Organisation (NPO) Sector in Gauteng, South Africa

The Biblical Account of the Creation of Earth as It Appears in Genesis in Reliance on Geological Knowledge.

The Biblical Account of the Creation of Earth as It Appears in Genesis in Reliance on Geological Knowledge.

Will to the Original: Platonism in Henry James’ Roderick Hudson

Will to the Original: Platonism in Henry James’ <i>Roderick Hudson</i>

Why Rara Burns Judas during Lent: Rethinking the Origins of Catholic Elements in Haitian Culture from an Afro-Iberian Perspective

AbstractUntil the 1980s, Catholic elements in Haitian culture tended to be interpreted exclusively in connection to the forced conversion of the enslaved population under French rule. This changed following John Thornton's groundbreaking research into the development of Christianity in early modern Africa—Kongo in particular—and the awareness that a significant number of enslaved Africans already identified as Christian before their arrival in Saint-Domingue. This article's goal is to go beyond Thornton's research by showing that we can acquire a better understanding of Catholic elements in Haitian culture if we start our analysis in late medieval Iberia. To illustrate this, the article focuses on one of Haiti's most enigmatic cultural traditions, known as Chariopié, Lwalwadi, or, most commonly, Rara. Although this performance has received abundant scholarly interest, questions relating to the origin of its Catholic elements have remained largely unanswered. This is regrettable considering that Rara parades follow the liturgical calendar of Lent and intensify in frequency during Holy Week. Moreover, a key element of Rara consists of the destruction of an effigy of Judas Iscariot, in accordance with the Biblical account of the Easter story. Using a comparative analysis, this article presents a number of remarkable parallels between Rara and late medieval Iberian Lent traditions. To explain these parallels, it claims that enslaved Africans who were familiar with Iberian practices prior to their arrival in the Caribbean established, by their own initiative, a network of mutual aid and burial societies modeled on Afro-Iberian Catholic brotherhoods.

Priestly Garments as Atoning Agents in Amoraic Literature

The garments worn by the priests in the Temple not only present a stark image of “glory and splendor” (Exod 28:2) but present an accompanying theology, as well. This paper will focus on one theological strand—the idea that the priestly garments atone—in classical Judaism. It will demonstrate that, while the biblical account of priestly garments sees them largely as functional or as serving primarily in non-expiatory roles, late classical rabbinic (i.e., Amoraic) literature features an extensive tradition that these garments serve to atone for a variety of sins. This paper traces several versions of that tradition in exploring the expansive account of atonement found in these rabbinic texts and contextualizing that within other developments in classical Judaism and rabbinic literature.

AN ESSAY ON GUIRGIS’S PLAY THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a tremendous modernist play of new ideas that the writer has communicatively addressed to his contemporaries with the aim of turning a biblical account of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth into a trial where he has brought in judges, lawyers, and witnesses.&#x0D; However, Guirgis has attempted to question and break the traditions, to question the established truths, certainties, ideas while seeking after new ones. Such new truth as heaving Judas Iscariot on the stand before judges, lawyers, and witnesses with the purpose to examine his case.

Seriously Comic Vision: “Hop-Frog” and the Book of Esther

Abstract It is a “terrible” subject Poe admits in a letter to Annie Richmond about his latest story, “Hop-Frog.” It may seem surprising, therefore, to find that the book of Esther is an influential source for this tale and its subject. Yet, as this article argues, this biblical story’s footprints are discernable. Esther’s comedic characterizations, motifs, diction, and stylistic approaches reappear in Poe’s story, often with striking similitude. However, in accordance with his stated criteria for originality and his bent toward ironic opposition, Poe upends the biblical account. Esther’s story of heroic reversals aided by divine providence in a joyful triumph over monarchical oppression and death becomes a dark counternarrative of human madness and vengeance on a godless stage. The seriocomic vision in “Hop-Frog” retains the outlines and substance of its original source but in the form of a negative image with a distinctly original effect.

Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel: Biblical and Archaeological Perspectives edited by Joachim J. Krause, Omer Sergi, and Kristin Weingart, [Ancient Israel and Its Literature], SBL Press, Atlanta, 2020, pp. xii + 233, £28.00, pbk

Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel: Biblical and Archaeological Perspectives edited by Joachim J. Krause, Omer Sergi, and Kristin Weingart, [Ancient Israel and Its Literature], SBL Press, Atlanta, 2020, pp. xii + 233, £28.00, pbk