Christian Tradition Research Articles

Vita passibilis, imperturbatio (apatheia), vita passiva: Die pathische Bedingtheit des Menschen im theologischen Denken von Maximus dem Bekenner

Maximus the Confessor distinguishes three stages in the spiritual becoming of man: vita passibilis i.e. the way of life in that man is living under the reign of the bodily passions, apatheia as state of liberation from the reign of the lower passions, and vita passiva as modus vivendi in which the human makes the personal experience of the revelation and the presence of God. Thereby being man means according to Maximus suffering under the rule of someone - divine or demonic - or something. The human condition is especially passive. Even contemplation (theōria) becomes in this approach a kind of passion: the passive experience of the presence of God. Although there is an old tradition in the classical Greek culture concerning the equivalency mathein-pathein (from Aeschylus to Aristotle and until Neo-Platonist thinkers like Proclus) which is received in the Christian tradition first of all by Denys the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor is one of the first Christian theologians who tries to reconstruct the classical conception concerning the typology of the human ways of life (vita activa-vita contemplativa) as being based on passion: passion of lower impulses, passion of the demonic temptations and sins, but also passion of the overwhelming divine presence. Man can only lead a passionate life as slave of the lower passions (pathēmata) and as such of the devil or as slave of God in the Holy Spirit.

Economics as Religion and Christianity as oikonomia: Giorgio Agamben and the Homo Sacer

Among the contemporary thinkers who try to think of economics not just as having a non-empty intersection with religion but as being intrinsically religious, Giorgio Agamben occupies a singular place. Indeed, one of the main theses of his major work, Homo Sacer, is that the modern rupture between “sovereignty” and “government”—which lies at the heart of his political diagnosis of our contemporary situation—can be traced back to classical Trinitarian theology. Since this rupture is allegedly responsible for today’s Western understanding of economics, this implies that, according to the Italian philosopher, our current crisis has Christian theological roots. In this paper, I first discuss the argument put forward by Agamben to assert that, at least since the Trinitarian controversies of the second century, Christianity has become intrinsically oikonomia, that is, it understands history as the unfolding of a providential dynamic which, he claims, anticipates today’s celebrated “invisible hand” of decentralized markets. Next, I offer critical reflections upon this argument by questioning whether contemporary mainstream economics can be reduced to the “market fundamentalism” with which it is often confused. The article concludes by questioning, in turn, whether all Christian traditions boil down to the historical trend that Agamben characterizes as leading to today’s problematic mainstream economics.

Critique of Supernatural Revelation

This article argues that the claim of traditional Christian theology and religion to be in possession of supernatural revelation cannot be substantiated in a valid and non-circular manner in principle. It then notes the consequences for theology if the notion of supernatural revelation is abandoned. It proposes agnosticism about unknowable matters as a way of exercising faith or trust in the limits God’s providence has established for human knowledge.

Faith as skill: an essay on faith in the Abrahamic tradition

Abstract What is the nature of religious faith as understood in the Abrahamic tradition? This article suggests a novel answer to this question. To this end, I first outline five desiderata, characterized by appealing to conceptions of faith in both the Islamic and Christian traditions, which I think every adequate account of faith should satisfy. These five desiderata are: (1) explaining the principle of the relationship between faith and religious actions; (2) accounting for the maxim of the relationship between faith and moral virtues; (3) showing how the thesis of the priority of faith over knowledge can be the case; (4) providing a basis for the axiom of the gradability of faith; and (5) solving the dilemma of faith as a gift or an achievement. Then I make my case and develop a model of faith that satisfies all five desiderata. Following the accounts in the literature that describes faith as a kind of know-how, the central idea of my suggestion is that religious faith is partly constituted by intellectual, practical, and moral skills.

Evangelization among the Chagga of Rombo: A dialectical Process

The historical encounter between Christian faith and African Traditional Religion has given birth to different attitudes, beginning with that of rejection on the part of the first bearers of Christianity and their allies to the attitude of tolerance and acceptance that led to the need for a thorough and deeper understanding of both African Traditional Religions and Christian faith. When one talks of African culture and religion there is consensus that the two are inseparable. With a broad understanding of culture as a complex whole including the whole way of life including religion, it is possible to see that even the Good News is carried within a cultural matrix, that must uncloak itself in order to enable those who accept it, live it in their culture. In this encounter, through a continuous dialogue, the Gospel message received through a particular Christian tradition is assessed in order to be assimilated to the African religion-culture, and in turn this African religion-culture is exposed to biblical criticism, being challenged in order to render it conform to the Gospel. Conversion was a dialectical process involving the dynamic interaction between potential converts and missionaries with discontinuity and continuity of some elements of their beliefs and practices. If conversion is taken to involve a dialectical process, it is possible that many Chagga would have accepted Christianity after a period of experiencing its requirements and conditions and especially after tasting the spiritual aspects which touched their inner self and their reason of being, no matter their initial motives. This can be the reason for the strength acquired by Christianity in the Chaggaland.

The Shifting Faces of Epic Heroes: Unity and Diversity in Seventeenth-Century English Literary Criticism

Seventeenth-century England, renowned for its epic poems, stands as one of the most fruitful periods in the history of English literary criticism in terms of epic theory. One of the most significant topics of literary criticism during this era is the evolution of epic heroes. The critics at the time had comprehensive knowledge of the existing pagan and Christian traditions of epic heroes which were varied and interwoven. Moreover, the critics of the period were well acquainted with the literary criticisms of late Renaissance Italy and seventeenth-century France. However, they did not simply absorb influences from Greek, Roman, French, and Italian sources. Instead, English critics engaged in an active dialogue with these traditions, interpreting and adapting their ideas in light of their own cultural, historical, and theological context. This enabled critics to create individual approaches towards epic heroes, thereby making English literary criticism diverse but also too fragmented to form a cohesive group. This aspect of the period makes drawing the contours of the epic heroes immensely challenging. However, despite the overriding eclecticism inherent in the literary criticism of the period, this article indicates that there is a surprising degree of consensus on certain characteristics of epic heroes. Accordingly, this article examines the concept of epic heroes in seventeenth-century English literary criticism, focusing on four key aspects: the didactic role of epic heroes, their depiction as paragons of virtue, the significance of their lineage, and the intricate process of Christianising them.

Human capital affects religious identity: Causal evidence from Kenya

We study how human capital and economic conditions causally affect the choice of religious denomination. We utilize a longitudinal dataset monitoring the religious history of more than 5000 Kenyans over twenty years, in tandem with a randomized experiment (deworming) that has exogenously boosted education and living standards. The main finding is that the program reduces the likelihood of membership in a Pentecostal denomination up to 20 years later, when respondents are in their mid-thirties, while there is a comparable increase in membership in traditional Christian denominations. The effect is concentrated and statistically significant among a sub-group of participants who benefited most from the program in terms of increased education and income. The effects are unlikely due to increased secularization because the program does not reduce measures of religiosity. The results help explain why the global growth of the Pentecostal movement, sometimes described as a “New Reformation”, is centered in low-income communities.

Kierkegaard on Hope and Faith

Faith, hope and love have often been classed together in the Christian tradition as the three “theological virtues”. Kierkegaard does not use that label for them, but he does have a good deal to say about all three. This paper starts by examining hope, arguing that there is an Aristotelian-style virtue relating to hope (a mean between wishful and depressive thinking) and that Kierkegaard could consistently recognize it as a secular virtue. However, his main discussions of hope as a positive state are in a religious context and relate it closely to faith and love; proper hope is a work of love and grounded in faith in God. I then argue that Kierkegaard’s understanding of faith, hope and love is, in many respects, close to Aquinas’ understanding of them as theological virtues (which differs in important ways from Aristotle’s account of a virtue) and that, therefore, it is appropriate to see Kierkegaard’s religious thought as lying within the tradition of virtue theory. The main difference between Aquinas and Kierkegaard here is that the former has an intellectualist and propositional account of faith which contrasts with the latter’s affective and existential view of it. This means that hope and love are both closer to faith for Kierkegaard than they are for Aquinas, meaning that he has a tight account of the unity of the theological virtues. I conclude by discussing how both faith and hope operate as antidotes to despair in The Sickness Unto Death.

St. Maximus the Greek (Mihail Trivolis, Arta, ca. 1470–Maksim Grek, Moscow, 1556): The Insight into His Personal Euchology

This text establishes a datum for claims that Maximus the Greek’s life-work was to protect and preserve ancient precepts for a personal devotional “space” against statist and imperial imprimatur. This task was accomplished through both his work as translator and as author of sacred devotional texts and hymns associated with Byzantine hymnography and the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. Notably, it is his inner veneration of the Holy Theotokos that marks the primary sensibility of the defence of this intense, inwardly-focused faith in direct communion with the Divine. Maxim’s defence of the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition was accomplished by the special guidance of the Holy Spirit as his personal internal principle that he used not only in the prayer (hesychastic, ascetical) and in the theological works (hagiographical, liturgical), but also in the philological works (of editing, translating, redacting), and especially in the exegetical texts.
 Therefore, the strong Byzantine patristic and monastic thought as the basis of his contemplative practice, formed in the years spent at the Holy Mount Athos, were only one of the one of the important sources of his original Orthodox theology.
 Into detailed consideration are taken especially his prayers. Among them, the most important place is reserved for “The Kanon to the Holy and Divine Spirit Parakletos,” which reflects several possible influences, such as the Akathystos hymn, the Great Kanon, and the individual canon as was St. Constantin’s Kanon to St. Demetrius, all of which confirm the very archaic Byzantine and Slavonic sources that properly could serve Maxim for his Old Church Slavonic linguistic basis. Thus, his prayer is a highly original, monastic and deeply personal work that bears witness to his ascetic (hesychastic) practice. All of this tends to confirm that his grammatical and linguistic view of the Old Church Slavonic language was shaped well before his entrance to Muscovite Russia, and that not only was he unjustly accused of heretical mistakes, and thereby imprisoned, but he was, more importantly, completely misunderstood. Nevertheless, and despite his suffering, Maxim was, until the end of his life, arguing that his use of Slavonic language was guarded and, therefore, sacred.

Rethinking the Prophethood of Muhammad in Christian Theology

In the modern world, there is an incessant amount of research on religions and interfaith interaction. Yet, too much of our theological activities remain shockingly intramural. Instead of allowing an inherent energy to launch us into the larger reality of global religiosity, we insist on protecting our theology from the threat of contamination. Among many points of agreement, the centrality of Muhammad’s prophethood remains key among the contentious issues between Islam and Christianity. Anna Bonta Moreland’s Reconsidering Muhammad takes us on a journey into the reception of Muhammad in Christian Theology. Engaging Islam from deep within the Christian tradition by addressing the question of the prophethood of Muhammad, Anna Bonta Moreland calls for a retrieval of Thomistic thought on prophecy. Moreland sets the stage for this inquiry through an intertextual reading of the key Vatican II documents on Islam and on Christian revelation. This review will retrace the historical reception of Muhammad in early European tradition and also how Moreland’s work is a pathbreaking introduction to one of the least talked about theological puzzles between Islam and the Christian tradition.

Painted eggs in the Muslim and Christian traditions

Eggs are a symbol of life, reproduction and restoration of nature for many nationalities. The oldest egg decoration ceremonies are known to have taken place among Zoroastrians, whose historical heartland lies in Azerbaijan, India and Iran. The ancient tradition of decorating eggs connects the culture of historical Persia to contemporary Europe. In many Eastern European countries, including Poland, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, these practices persist up to the present where painted eggs serve as national symbols. While the patterns on the eggs and the style of painting may differ (Iran’s Nowruz holiday eggs are different from European Easter Eggs), there are similarities in the decorative techniques used by the Slavic peoples of Ukraine, Poland and Romania who have preserved the tradition of treating the egg as a sacred source and repository of nascent life which has a protective power.

Spiritual Being in the Theology of Wincenty Granat

Treatises on dogmatic theology draw attention to a whole spectrum of theological topics, among which the issue of angels also finds its place. Scholastic theology dealt with this issue within the framework of the treatise on God the Creator; however, it is not exceptional that it is also treated in a separate part. In this paper, we pay attention to spiritual creatures in the context of the eminent Polish theologian Wincent Granat who emphasized respect for the Christian tradition and pointed to the vital values of Christian dogmas. In his pre-Conciliar work Catholic Dogmatics, he discussed most of the issues of dogmatic theology using the scholastic method. In his post-Conciliar work Ku człowiekowi i Bogu w Chrystusie [To Man and God in Christ], the doctrine of angels comes to the fore in close relation to Christian anthropology and its personalistic orientation.

Social entrepreneurship in the selected neo-Pentecostal churches: A holistic salvation

Pentecostalism is a Christian tradition known for personal salvation, baptism in the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, divine healing and personal encounter with God through the work of the Holy Spirit. However, Pentecostalism is not limited to these; the tradition also ministers the full gospel that affects a holistic person, meaning body, soul and spirit. This article demonstrated that the holistic salvation approach is a motivation for social entrepreneurial activities in the selected neo-Pentecostal churches in South Africa. The article worked within the social entrepreneurial framework to argue that the neo-Pentecostal churches minister to their followers holistically. Pentecostalism transforms people’s lives in daily living, particularly the poorest of the poor communities through entrepreneurial orientation. The researchers’ methodology was a case study approach of four neo-Pentecostal churches in South Africa that have shown social entrepreneurship factors. In addition, the participant observation method was used in highlighting entrepreneurial activities in these churches.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article examined the role of neo-Pentecostal churches in social entrepreneurship through a holistic salvation approach to Pentecostal theology by using a case study method. This role is a juxtaposition between the study of Pentecostalism from a missiological discipline and the study of social entrepreneurship from the discipline of economics, particularly social economics.

Konsep Akhir Zaman dalam Perspektif Agama, Dan Sains Serta Bagaimana Iman Kristen Menanggapinya Berdasarkan Kitab Wahyu

This study explains the concept of the end times from the perspective of religion, science, and how the Christian faith responds to it by focusing on the contents of the Book of Revelation in the Bible. The concept of the end times is a relevant topic in Christian theology and has been the focus of debate throughout church history. From a religious perspective, the concept of the end times reflects views regarding the end of the world, resurrection, final judgment, and eternal life. Meanwhile, in the context of science, rational and scientific approaches often try to explain natural phenomena related to the end times, such as climate change, natural disasters and technological developments.This article also explores how the Christian faith describes the concept of the end times based on the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is the passage in the New Testament known for the prophet John's vision of the end times, featuring rich symbolism. Priesthood, judgment, and restoration are all found in this text, and followers of Christ often look to it as a source of guidance regarding what will happen in the future. In discussing the Christian faith's response to the concept of the end times, this article details the various views and theologies that exist in the Christian tradition, such as premillennial, amillennial, and postmillennial eschatology. In addition, it also highlights some contemporary approaches that integrate theological understanding with scientific thinking about the future of the planet. This research provides a holistic view of how the concept of the end times is understood from the perspective of religion, science and Christian faith with a focus on the Book of Revelation in the Bible, as well as how these various understandings coexist in modern Christian theology. As a result, this article can help promote a deeper understanding of the meaning and implications of the concept of the end times in the context of religion, science, and the Christian faith.
 

The Lord’s Prayer, forgiveness, and criminal (in)justice

Criminal justice is usually retributive – that is, justice is only apparent when an offender receives their just deserts. While Western ideas of criminal justice have historically been influenced by Christian tradition, doctrine and theology, in this article the Lord’s Prayer is used as a starting point to challenge conventional thinking. The article considers the prayer’s emphasis on God’s kingdom, and on forgiveness. Through the lens of retributivism there is little room for forgiveness, and kingdom justice would be an injustice. It is argued that the Lord’s Prayer turns notions of justice upside down. Implications are discussed.

Book Review: Pierced by Love: Divine Reading with the Christian Tradition

Book Review: Pierced by Love: Divine Reading with the Christian Tradition

Theodicy, Regress, and the Problem of Eternal Separation

The problem of eternal separation is the problem of explaining how someone could be happy in heaven while knowing that his beloved is in hell. Some argue that this problem is insoluble, while others try to solve it through the lover, the beloved, or the love between them. I argue that the problem of eternal separation is really three problems, namely, of suffering, separation, and regret. I show that no existing reply solves these problems simultaneously. I then present a new approach through theodicy. I argue that, if we reflect on what it would take to defeat the suffering from losing one’s beloved to hell, a regress emerges, and an adequate solution to the problem of eternal separation is a solution to this regress. I articulate five replies to the regress and evaluate their prospects. The upshot is a roadmap to defending the traditional Christian view of heaven and hell.

Marriage and Family in Putin’s Russia: State Ideology and the Discourse of the Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) presents itself as a defender of traditional Christian values. Among these values, representatives of the ROC mention concern for marriage and family. To what extent is the position of the ROC an expression of commitment to the traditional Christian concept of marriage and family? In this article, we analyse the contemporary Orthodox discourse in Russia since Kirill Gundyayev became the Patriarch of Moscow in 2009. From a political science and security studies perspective, we highlight the main ideological elements of this discourse. We contrast these elements with similar content in Russian official documents and Vladimir Putin’s statements. An analysis of what the ROC says about the problems and protection of marriage and family in Russia, against the background of Putin’s statements and the actions of the state authorities, shows that the ROC’s discourse on marriage and family echoes the main themes of the political discourse controlled by the state authorities. In its understanding of marriage and in its efforts on behalf of the family, the ROC represents a conservative doctrinal position. Although, in doctrinal terms, it essentially expresses the traditional Christian teaching on marriage, the strong ideologisation and securitisation of demographic issues in Russia are also reflected in church discourse.

Where Scripture and Tradition First Meet: How the Field of the Early Reception of the New Testament May (Re)Shape the Academic Dialogue between Evangelicals and Orthodox—Romania as a Case Study

In recent years, Evangelical scholars in Romania have shown a growing interest in studying the early reception of the New Testament, particularly in the writings of the Pre-Nicene Fathers (c. 90–300 CE). In parallel, a new generation of Romanian Orthodox scholars has come to appreciate the importance of a critical approach to both Scripture and Christian Tradition. As a result, fresh common ground is currently taking shape in academia: a critical approach to the early reception of the New Testament. This presents an opportunity for both Evangelical and Orthodox scholars in Romania to come together and explore certain issues of faith that have not been previously explored in this way. Since there are already several hints that the early reception of the New Testament could lead to a more meaningful dialogue, an innovative project has been initiated to further the hypothesis. The ongoing project involves five Evangelical New Testament scholars and five Orthodox New Testament scholars independently researching the same five obscure passages in the New Testament (Matthew 27.51–53, Romans 9–11, 1 Corinthians 15.29, Hebrews 6.4–6 and 1 Peter 3.18–22). Each passage is analyzed independently by one scholar from each denomination using the same methodology, i.e., a critical dialogue between exegesis and reception history. The forthcoming volume aims to assess not only the value of this approach for academic dialogue between Evangelicals and Orthodox in Romania, but also to estimate other potential gains should this method be applied on a larger scale, such as in various international ecumenical projects. There is one overarching question behind this project that still awaits a response: if the early reception of the New Testament is where Christian Scripture and Christian Tradition first meet, could it also be where Evangelicals and Orthodox finally meet?

The Meaning of Waiting: Meaning-making Narratives and Counter-narratives in the Teachings of the Desert Fathers

Recent work in the psychology of emotions has highlighted the helpfulness of meaning-making narratives to contextualize and make sense of experiences of suffering. In this article we argue that the experience of waiting should be regarded as an experience of suffering with the potential to produce a disruption in a person’s sense of the meaningfulness of their experience. We look to the resources of the Christian tradition for a narrative of waiting that can reorient a person feeling the disruption of a long season of waiting. We argue that Evagrius’ description of the deadly thought of acedia is best understood as a meaning-making counter-narrative, employed by a demonic tempter to disrupt a believer’s perseverance. We show how the responses suggested by Evagrius, namely to reassert an orienting narrative through the use of scriptures, can be expanded to lean on the larger Christian tradition, which grounds the meaningfulness of waiting in the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love through meditations on the Exodus narrative and the life of Christ.