Biblical Events Research Articles

The Desert as an Inventarium

Abstract This article is about the symbolic representation of the wilderness motif in a selection of rabbinic travel tales, taking into consideration its representation in earlier Jewish writings. The article includes a selection of rabbinic travel narratives found in b. Baba Batra that concern the desert journeys of the remarkable rabbinic protagonist Rabba bar Bar Ḥanna. The hero of the stories is presented as viewing the giant dead bodies of the biblical tribes in the wilderness, Mount Sinai, and Korah and his people, all according to the sequence of biblical events in the books of Moses. Wilderness plays an integral role in these stories. While there is little interest in this motif in Palestinian rabbinic literature, wilderness plays a distinct role in the eschatological process according to the rabbinic theological speculations known from the Babylonian Talmud. According to the selected travel narratives, which all focus on the wilderness, several objects from the biblical past, as well as some items from the dawn of creation, which are designated to play an important role in the eschatological process, are stored there.

Musical Contacts Between the Polish and Jewish Communities and the Image of Jewish Culture in Nineteenth-Century Polish Popular Music

Enduring contacts between Polish and Jewish communities on Polish soil began to take shape around the turn of the thirteenth century, initiating a period of many centuries of mutual cultural and musical influence. Extant sources, although few and far between (normative documents, chronicles, journalistic accounts, commentaries from observers and scholars, iconography, sheet music, recorded music and films), enable us to follow the development of the mutual musical relations between the two national groups over time. Yet this article concentrates primarily on the state of those relations during the nineteenth century, limited to popular culture. Taking the works of Oskar Kolberg as an example, we will discuss the repertoire of the Jewish community at that time, as perceived and received by the Polish community. This will be followed by a presentation of Jewish music groups that played for Poles as well, and also of particularly popular Jewish musicians who were singled out by journalists at that time. The article also presents the way in which Jews and their musical culture were depicted by Polish journalists and portrayed in the musical expression of representatives of rural and urban communities.The article shows that the image of Jews and their musical culture among different strata of Polish society during the nineteenth century varied a great deal. The virtuosity of Jewish musicians aroused interest and admiration among the Polish intelligentsia and acquired a mythologised personification in the literary figure of Jankiel. Lower social strata, when taking up Jewish strands in their musical expression, were often reacting to conflicts of interest experienced in their contacts with Jews representing a pre-capitalist economy. Jews in ritual and everyday situations constituted important ritual symbols bringing in wealth, and their very presence in theatrical forms was perceived partly as evidence of the veracity of biblical events. References to Jewish culture in the musical expression of the Polish community were confined to the most common stereotypes, which attests to the superficiality of the contacts between the two communities. Against that background, the actual idiom of Jewish music was far better understood, imitated and copied.

Divine Insights: Religious Influences in Albanian Literature

This paper aims to investigate the profound influences of Biblical and Koranic discourse on Albanian literature during a specific period, with a focus on the principal authors. The study adopts on applied research approach, employing textual analysis and comparative literary studies to examine the integration of oriental and occidental themes, motifs and conceptions in Albanian literature. By delving into the structural elements and elements of discourse influenced by codified beliefs, the research explores religious interplay within the literature.Through a thorough analysis of literary works, this study reveals that the Bible and Koran hold significant literary importance, with numerous authors drawing inspiration from these sacred texts. The research findings demonstrate the extensive utilization of motifs, literary figures, stylistic elements, events and characters from the Bible and the Koran in Albanian literature. Holy Scripture, embodying a noble and holy spirit, serves as inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration, vitality and creativity for prominent authors. Notably, the research highlights the prominence of Biblical events that portray the struggle for freedom, which have found expression in Albanian literature. This exploration sheds light on enduring influence of the Bible and the Koran on the cultural fabric of Albanian society.Based on the research findings, this study concludes that the integration of Biblical and Koranic discourse in Albanian literature reflects the deep-rooted Islamic and Christian culture within the Albanian psyche. The research underscores the significance of these sacred texts as sources of artistic inspiration and creativity, shaping the cultural tradition and civilization of Albanians. By uncovering the profound interplay between religion and literature, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the cultural and religious dynamics within Albanian literary works.

Латинские раннесредневековые путеводители и описания Святой Земли

The article presents an overview of Latin early medieval characteristics and descriptions of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, written from the very first decades of the Christian era, – starting from the first third of the 4th century. This is a Latin version of the Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea (ca 320 AD), created by Jerome the Blessed ca 388 AD. The so-called Bordeaux Itinerary dated to 333 is an independent author's description of a pilgrimage from Bordigala (Bordeaux) through Constantinople to Jerusalem and other places of Palestine and back – through Rome to Bordeaux. At the end of the 4th century a unique monument of Latin pilgrimage literature was created, the Peregrinatio to the Holy Places by Egeria, or Etheria, or Sylvia the Virgin, which not only lists but describes in detail the holy places of Palestine and the Middle East by a pious pilgrim lady. An example of early Byzantine Latin-language monuments of this kind may be On the Location of the Holy Land by Theodosius and Itinerarium by Antoninus of Placentia in the late 6th – early 7th century. Around 670 there appears the Narration of the Holy Places by the Gallic bishop Arculphus in the Records of Abbot Adamnan, who lived and died in Ireland at the beginning of the 9th century. The Tale of the Disasters in Jerusalem of the time of the Jerusalem patriarch George (796–806?) describes the beginning of the Arab conquest of Near East. These monuments developed the canon of pilgrimage descriptions, terminology, localization and identification of Biblical events with modern geo- and topography, and created the foundations of the genre in its various modifications.

Speech Genre “Interpretation on Gospel”: Ideological Content and Linguo-Stylistic Features (Work of B. I. Gladkov)

On the material of the texts of the spiritual writer B. I. Gladkov, the features of the implementation of the speech genre “interpretation of the Gospel” are considered. The specificity of the embodiment of the ideas of Orthodoxy is indicated. Significant features of the functioning of religions and tropes in the presented speech genre are revealed. Conclusions are drawn about its distinctive features. Particular attention is paid to the typology and functioning of Christian religions, the use of which is considered as one of the features of the church-religious functional style. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time it examines in detail the types of religions that exist in the genre of “interpretation of the Gospel”, provides illustrations of their use, indicates the functions they perform (characterological, emotive, evaluative, prescriptive, etc.). It has been established that in the analyzed texts the most common types of religion names are theonyms; biblonyms; hagioanthroponyms; names of biblical events; names of gospel heroes, etc. It is shown that the author’s use of a combination of such intra-genres as “opinion”, “comment-explanation”, “advice” belongs to the main features of the “interpretation of the Gospel” genre. The results of the study are of interest for theolinguistics, stylistics, and rhetoric.

GOSPEL REMINISCENCES IN S. SNEGOV’S SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL “PEOPLE AS GODS”

The article analyses the novel by S. Snegov, a famous Soviet science fiction writer of the second half of the 20th century, whose work has hardly been studied, and the problem of the evangelical intertext has not been regarded at all. The current study of a fragment of the narrative about the relationship between the protagonist and the “snake girl” allows showing that it is reminiscent of the biblical story about the Fall of the first people. At the same time, Snegov completely modifies the well-known narrative: the plot about the insidious serpent (in the form of which the devil penetrated Eden), which tempted a woman pure as the driven snow, is radically transformed, acquiring a paradoxically inverted form — here a man tempts a naïve and uncorrupt snake girl with his mad infatuation and, parting with her, realizes that he is leaving her soul in a turbulent state. It is determined that in the ideological structure of the novel, the minor “Eli — snake girl” storyline plays an extremely important role: the love of the main character actually equates the star-dwellers with earthlings, completely refuting the idea that man is the highest form of intelligent life in the Universe and can perceive aliens only as inferior beings. The analysis of the epigraph shows that the biblical event described in it becomes a key to understanding the dispute that occurred between the central characters and formed the core of the artistic conflict of the first part of the novel. A clear associative connection is established between Snegov’s hero and the Apostle Paul, and by extrapolating the gospel plot reflected in the epigraph to the situation in question, one can clearly see a parallel with the spread of Christianity among pagans. The incorporation of the gospel text into the artistic structure of a science fiction novel allowed the writer to recall the enduring moral values that do not lose their significance for people of the distant future.

The Influence of the Bible on Albanian Literature

Just as the Bible has had a great influence on world literature, so too has it influenced Albanian literature. The impact of this book is evident in all literary periods throughout the history of Albanian literature. Albanian authors have taken stories, characters, motifs, and themes from the Bible and have conveyed these in a variety of artistic forms. Through biblical symbols Albanian authors have expressed ideas about themselves, society, culture, and politics and have demonstrated that these symbols have different meanings in Albanian literature. They have achieved this by giving biblical stories a unique structure, modifying them partially by adding new characters and events, etc. Therefore, as a result, biblical stories and characters in Albanian literature have a new distinctive quality as compared to those in the Bible. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the influence that the Bible has had on principal Albanian authors, as well as the peculiarities that biblical events and characters acquire in Albanian literature. The authors have used quantitative and hermeneutic analysis to help identify biblical elements in Albanian literature.

CHURCH BANNERS: PRESERVING NATIONAL ART AND RELIGIOUS HERITAGE

This article delves into the historical evolution and symbolic importance of church banners within Ukrainian religious and artistic contexts. It explores how these banners, integral to the modern temple interior, have evolved while remaining rooted in ancient patterns and canons. The article elucidates the iconographic significance of church banners, emphasizing their portrayal of saints, feasts, and biblical events that connect them to the identity and affiliations of communities. It examines the historical customs surrounding the use of church banners during various festive occasions, demonstrating their historical continuity with military rituals. Through an in-depth analysis of Ukrainian church banners from the 18th to the 19th centuries, the article explores their materials, techniques, and iconographic themes. Furthermore, the article explores the diverse functions and influences of different types of banners, including those used in military and urban contexts. It discusses the emergence of heraldic traditions and their impact on the character of Ukrainian banners, highlighting the fusion of local and borrowed elements. In the contemporary context, the article examines efforts to preserve and innovate in the field of sacred art, particularly through educational initiatives aimed at restoring and creating church banners. It showcases collaborations between academic institutions and religious organizations, illustrating the ongoing relevance and sacred value of church banners in the modern world. In conclusion, the article reflects on the enduring significance of church banners in Ukrainian religious and cultural contexts. It anticipates continued exploration and implementation of new projects that will enrich this venerable tradition, driven by the dedication of students, educators, and religious practitioners alike.

Образ Святого Иосифа в романе Р. Брандштеттера «Иисус из Назарета» и лексические средства его создания

The novel “Jezus z Nazarethu” by the Polish writer R. Brandstaetter is the result of an “artistic experiment”: recreating biblical events, the writer revises the Gospel texts, adds scenes and reinterprets the psychological motivation of the characters. Trying to express a deeply personal religious experience, the author at the same time cares about the objectivity of the image, freeing images from the influence of readers' culture and putting events and characters into a universal historical context. The paper undertakes analysis of the influence of these specific features of the work on the choice of lexical means of creating the image of St. Joseph. The author also examines lexemes selected by the writer for the nomination and characteristics of the character, along with their role in disclosing the image and the artistic idea of the work. The paper traces how the changes in the nominations reflect the development of the character's image and the development of new social roles. Based on the study of lexical means of creating an image, the main character traits of Joseph are determined: patience, caring for family and love for poverty. It also allowed concluding about the idealization of the protagonist in order to represent a specimen model for readers.

Author’s Elements in Stable Compositions of Book Miniatures of the Passion Cycle in the Manuscripts of the Ural Old Believers

This article studies the peculiarities of the iconography of The Passion of Christ cycle in Old Believers’ books of the late eighteenth – nineteenth centuries. The research methodology developed by F. Buslaev and N. Kondakov is based on the study of different approaches to creating book miniatures. They involve revealing the main iconographic features of images, identifying elements of early Christian art, Old Russian heritage, as well as elements of the later influence of Western European art. The analysis of the compositional structure of the miniatures, as well as individual elements of the images makes it possible to carry out a classifying selection of miniatures according to iconographic versions. Each image of the Passion cycle was based either on the pictorial canon that had developed over the centuries or on elements of Western European art, which actively spread to Russia in the seventeenth century in connection with the popularisation of engravings of the Piscator Bible. In addition, through a thorough examination of the miniatures of Old Believers’ manuscripts, it is easy to see quite interesting authorial interpretations of well-known plots. Miniaturists often included original images of the modern era, as if taken out of current life in traditional depictions of scenes from the Passion cycle. Reflecting biblical events, the miniatures bore the mark of the time when the manuscript was created, which is especially well traced in the sketches of everyday life and elements of clothing. It is often possible to see how a miniaturist seeks to convey their own attitude to the events, “explaining” the meaning of the event by selecting a colour scheme, depicting specific facial expressions, emotions, characters’ gestures, interior details, etc. Referring to particular manuscripts which existed in the Urals, the author identifies such elements of novelty and originality of images. They show not only the abundance of creative potential of Old Believer artists, but also a remarkable mind and ability to think and analyse ancient events from the point of view of modern humans, deepening the semantic component of the text and introducing a moral aspect.

Anti-voluntarism, natural providence and miracles in Thomas Burnet's Theory of the Earth.

In his Telluris Theoria Sacra and its English translation The Theory of the Earth (1681-90), the English clergyman and schoolmaster Thomas Burnet (c.1635-1715) constructed a geological history from the Creation to the Final Consummation, positing predominantly natural causes to explain biblical events and their effects on the Earth and life on it. Burnet's insistence on appealing primarily to natural rather than miraculous causes has been interpreted both by his contemporaries and by some historians as an essentially Cartesian principle. On this reading, Burnet adhered to a Cartesian style of explanation in which there was no place for miracles. In this paper, I propose a different interpretation. Burnet's commitment to natural over miraculous causes, I argue, was grounded in an anti-voluntarist theology which he inherited from the Cambridge Platonists and Latitudinarians. This anti-voluntarism, moreover, also dictated the kind of miracles to which he did appeal. This reading of Burnet contrasts with the view that he was simply following Cartesian principles. First, Descartes had espoused a radical form of theological voluntarism. Second, Burnet's and Descartes's views of providence were based on distinct attributes of God, and these attributes had quite different implications regarding the place of miracles in the providential order.

Was it a Syro-Ephraimite War?

Abstract 2Kings 16:5 describes a siege, laid by Rezin king of Aram-Damascus and Peqah son of Remalia king of Israel, on the Judean capital Jerusalem in the days of Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah. This siege is known in the research literature as the ›Syro-Ephraimite war‹, named so after the two allies who joined forces against Judah: Aram-Damascus, located in Syria, and Israel, whose power base is traditionally identified with the central hill country of Mount Ephraim. The aim of this short paper is to question the appropriateness of the name given to this war and specifically the power structure it represents. It does so by examining regional power relations and the local Israelite power structure at the time, as well as relevant terminological conventions. This examination sheds new light on Israel’s power base at the time, and produces two more suitable options for naming this biblical event, by identifying the real political power structure and by bringing Judah into the picture.

Illuminating History: A Retrospective of Seven Decades

Illuminating History: A Retrospective of Seven Decades

Images in transformation: The color and its change in a group of Portuguese paintings from the second half of the 16th century

AbstractFour panel paintings depicting episodes related to the birth of Christ and attributed to the Portuguese mannerist painter Francisco João (doc. 1558–1585) were found to exhibit a muted palette that had no correspondence with the traditionally vivid colors used in the sixteenth century to represent joyful biblical events. Complementing previous research on the disruption and loss of the red glazes in these paintings, the investigation focused on the analysis of materials, painting technique and degradation issues that further affected the original paintings, changing the viewer's perception and understanding of these artworks. The investigation combined the visual examination of the painting surface with microscopic and spectroscopic analysis of the binder and pigments. A conventional palette made of lead white, lead‐tin yellow, ochres, vermilion, verdigris, smalt, azurite, carbon black and a red lake made of brazilwood and cochineal was identified. The pigments were bound in an oil‐based medium. Chemical and physical alterations detected in paints rich in smalt and verdigris were found to be responsible for color changes affecting significant areas of the compositions. The presence of moisture and the reaction between pigment and binder leading, among other products, to soap and oxalate formation, played a central role in the long‐term behavior of the paint film. Understanding the main degradation processes involved and their consequences is crucial when interpreting an artists' color palette and designing the best approach to preserve these paintings.

Convergences: Canon and Catholicity

Convergences: Canon and Catholicity

The Landscape of the Gospels: A Deeper Meaning by Donald Senior

Reviewed by: The Landscape of the Gospels: A Deeper Meaning by Donald Senior Michael Trainor donald senior, The Landscape of the Gospels: A Deeper Meaning (Biblical Studies from the Catholic Biblical Association of America 3; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 2021). Pp. vii + 135. Paper $19.95. Donald Senior writes in his usual clear style a book that those who have studied (or would like to study) the Gospels and have traveled to the Holy Land will find enjoyable, summary, and insightful. While the focus, as suggested in the book's subtitle, is the landscape, what S. captures is the way the landscape of Palestine/Israel is integral to history and to an appreciation of the Gospels, which presume the landscape. For those who have traveled to the Holy Land, walking the landscape of the Gospel narratives deepens their understanding and, as S. indicates, in time this grows into a spiritual connection. This is the "spiritual landscape" (p. 3) that emerges as part of the biblical interpretation. Highlighting this is the book's goal (p. 21) as the landscape becomes more than the physical and geographical [End Page 336] backdrop for the Gospel narratives. It becomes a metaphor in which the Gospel reader both "lands" and "scopes" what is essential. This land has been constant in Israel's history, is the context for Jesus's ministry, and provides the context for each of the Gospel writers. "And it is evident," writes S., "that the Gospels do not simply record Jesus's sayings and describe his actions, but have set their narrative in a varied landscape, a landscape that in many instances is drenched in a long history of biblical events preceding the time of Jesus and carrying meaning from those past events" (p. 4). In the book's Introduction, S. introduces the guiding aim of his writing, his exploration of the "spiritual landscape." He then provides an overview of the physical geography that finds its echo in the Gospels: the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Valley, Samaria, the desert, Judea, and Jerusalem. A brief note on the climate and rainfall concludes this overview. S. then turns his attention to the landscape of each of the Gospels (including Acts) in a predictable order: Mark, Matthew, Luke-Acts, and John. These chapters do two things. They scope the spiritual terrain defined by each Gospel and summarize the narrative terrain and key themes of each. Chapter 1 deals with Mark's landscape. The unfolding of Mark's narrative also reveals a landscape in successive fashion: the Judean wilderness, Galilee, the movement from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jerusalem and its temple, and, finally, the return to Galilee as indicated in the Gospel's final chapters. In each geographical arena and through the Gospel's narrative movement important theological resonances emerge that underscore the action of God revealed through the empowered Jesus in his wilderness encounter and his mission in Galilee, to Jerusalem, and an empty tomb "that paradoxically becomes the place where the power of unending life is affirmed" (p. 48). In chap. 2, S. explores the landscape of Matthew's Gospel. He acknowledges Matthew's dependence on Mark and the hypothetical Q source as he identifies the Gospel's unique literary, historical, and geographical features. Matthew moves its focus from east to west and adopts a universalizing movement as the shift in its audience turns toward the gentiles. The landscape of Luke-Acts is the heart of chap. 3. It centers on Jerusalem and its temple initially, then follows the Marcan landscape. But it is in the Acts of the Apostles that Luke's landscape embraces the Greco-Roman world, beginning again in Jerusalem and then moving beyond, eventually to Rome. In chap. 4, S. highlights the cosmic landscape of John, the role that Galilee plays in the Gospel and the unique addition of Samaria, moving to Jerusalem with John concluding at the Sea of Tiberias. Senior believes that the Gospel landscapes are a reminder that the central truth of Christian faith is incarnational. He concludes his book with a reflection on the gift of land as a revelation of the transcendent God and the invitation to live in justice and peace. For those wanting...

American Creationism, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design in the Evangelical Market by Benjamin L. Huskinson

Reviewed by: American Creationism, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design in the Evangelical Market by Benjamin L. Huskinson Caroline Matas Benjamin L. Huskinson, American Creationism, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design in the Evangelical Market (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) Benjamin L. Huskinson’s American Creationism, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design in the Evangelical Market is a book that challenges dominant narratives about American creationism and the American evangelicals who have popularized it. Part historical corrective, part contemporary analysis, the book argues that “American creationism” is actually a wide tent encompassing four distinct historical “waves,” plenty of internal contestation, and a vast array of aims and methods. Huskinson focuses on the latter two waves, from the 1960s to the present, tracking the consolidation of American creationism toward a few powerhouse organizations like the creation science group Answers in Genesis and the intelligent design-focused Discovery Institute. This ironic example of survival of the fittest, Huskinson contends, is best understood through the lens of evangelicalism not as a homogenous subculture but rather as a market demographic for whose market shares the differing strains of American creationist organizations compete. Huskinson explores what the current “winners” of a decades-long battle over creationist orthodoxy (and the authority to define that orthodoxy) can tell us about the social and political functions anti-evolution beliefs play in the United States. The contemporary dominance of Answers in Genesis-style fundamentalist [End Page 141] creationism serves a powerful oppositional social function, Huskinson writes, as the group identifies humans as the unique pinnacle of God’s creation and characterizes all who oppose this belief as hostile to God and Christians alike. One of Huskinson’s chief contributions in this book is the case he makes for the diversity of theologies, aims, and tactics among various types of “anti-evolutionists.” While young earth, day-age, gap theory, and intelligent design creationists certainly share some overlapping traits—namely their approach to scientific inquiry with an a priori assumption of God’s involvement in creation— Huskinson sees creation science and intelligent design organizations performing different roles in American public life. Creation science groups, based in a fundamentalist reading of Genesis and invested in “proving” the historicity of biblical events like Noah’s flood, have tended toward more populist, accessible, and entertainment-oriented content with the aim of not just “opposing evolution, but…policing community boundaries within accepted theological parameters” (154). Meanwhile, intelligent design organizations, Huskinson claims, have largely served a political function of opposing the primacy of evolutionary theory in the US education system on behalf of creationists and non-creationists alike. The benefit of separating out these strands of anti-evolutionist sentiment is not just greater accuracy in describing the landscape of American evangelicalism, but also identifying the different niches they fill in the evangelical marketplace of ideas. While Huskinson might occasionally overstate the differences between and within these groups—for example, distinguishing between “theological creationists” and “creation science proponents” strikes me as an exercise in futility— he reminds scholars of American religion to take great care in identifying the divergent theological and epistemological underpinnings that motivate seemingly similar groups. The model of American evangelicalism as a marketplace of ideas, while not distinctive to Huskinson, serves as a useful approach to making sense of the “products” various creationist groups offer consumers as they compete for dwindling market shares. Huskinson theorizes that an upward trend in donations to Answers in Genesis, the Institute for Creation Research, and the Discovery Institute over the past few decades represents not a widening consumer base but a consolidation toward fewer and larger creationist organizations—a consolidation Huskinson attributes to these groups’ savvy marketing and fundraising efforts. In something of a reversal of the Scopes trial, the creationist groups that have survived and thrived in the twenty-first century have been those fighting their battles in the court of public opinion rather than the American judiciary. For all their differences, these three organizations are alike in their use of “oppositional frameworks” that mobilize donors around a shared sense of grievance against the “Goliath” of evolutionary theory and its attendant social ills (189–190). Answers [End Page 142] in Genesis—by far the highest-earning creationist organization in the...

“O My Mother”: Mormon Fundamentalist Mothers in Heaven and Women's Authority

“O My Mother”: Mormon Fundamentalist Mothers in Heaven and Women's Authority

Neomythology in works of art

The article draws attention to the role of mythology in the literature of the twentieth century, particularly in postmodernism. It is asserted that the use of myth allows you to achieve various artistic goals: create images, convey relationships. It is noted that the mythological symbolism fits well into the process of formation of intertextuality as the main feature of postmodernism. The main statements are illustrated through the work of Ch. Aitmatov on the example of the novel “When the mountains are served” (“The Eternal Bride”). The writer uses mythological plot, which is transformed and acquires a new sound and meaning, corresponding to modern reality. In the modern world, the synthesis of mythology and realism has become an integral part of culture. These changes gave impetus to the search for new signs and symbols in the literary process. Myth, parable, legend have an active formative influence on modern prose, contribute to the appearance of images-symbols, images-metaphors, images-allegories. The myth, crystallized for centuries and even millennia of its existence in the minds of different peoples, people of different eras, gives the most vivid examples of life situations, eternal emotions – such as love, loyalty, hatred, betrayal, selflessness. Ch. Aitmatov’s mastery in this work consists primarily in the fact that the actual biblical events are pushed into the background here, as it were, and the author's main attention is focused on the study of the psychosocial state of the planet. The theme of Zoroastrianism is introduced through myths: the people believe that this is the only way to return the “Eternal Bride”. In the image of Ch. Aitmatov, myths change their structure. They become closer to modern life, synthesizing samples of the mythical creativity of the Kyrgyz people with the actual problems of our time, the writer creates a truly philosophical and psychological novel embodying the sacred covenant of the ancestors about love and protection of nature. Thus, the commonality between the symbolic image of Zhaabars and Arsen seems obvious, the writer turns to the origins of national cultures, to mythopoetic models of artistic thinking, deeply reveals the spiritual world of his heroes. In his works, Ch.Aitmatov through folk mythology was able to reveal the multifaceted symbolism of the meaning of human existence, preserved in the mythological consciousness of the people. It is no coincidence that the myth - making of Ch. Aitmatov became not only a school for Turkic writers, but also a moral reference point in the development of the mythological tradition. It is discussed the features of postmodernism at the final part of the article, its difference from other directions. The use of mythologems, their creative processing is evidence of the originality of the mythological thinking of modern writers.

DIVINE CHOICE IN AND THROUGH BROTHERLY/SISTERLY LOVE – MISSIO DEI MOTIF

Brotherly or sisterly love shall be seen all over the scriptures, majorly with disagreements. It is through such tensions many Biblical events were unveiled, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The study adopted descriptive analyses method. The main sources of research materials are in relevant written materials to the study of religion. This focused on the evaluation of mission of God which commenced with humanities and the same influenced brotherly and sisterly love, which Apostle Paul encouraged its continuity. Though look like the divine choice is to favour one sibling and forgetting the other, it aims at harmony between the brothers and sisters and the inclusion of all. Missio Dei understanding of the happenings leads the seeker to a whole new understanding of the brotherly/sisterly love concept in the New Testament, having initiated and practiced by Jesus Christ and His disciples. Disagreements diminishes as the divine will of Christ-like brotherly love gets established among the siblings. Like the brothers or the members of a same family was selected for the Missio Dei, God in the present times chooses His people to do His will and to achieve the Mission of God. Thus in the choice of God (divine choice) people are called both to obey the will of God and to show brotherly love, thereby partaking in the Missio Dei.