Christian Concept Research Articles

Negotiating Modernity by Concepts of Relatedness: Towards the Construction of Malagasy Solidarity (Fihavanana Gasy)

Among the most explicit ideas and norms of desired, pro-social behaviours in modern Malagasy society is the rhetoric around, and longing for, ‘fihavanana’, a term that can be roughly translated as ‘solidarity’. It features therefore as a very prominent aspect of relationality in Madagascar, serving as a means of control and of conflict resolution and also as a guarantee of peace. Yet there is another, very different, dimension to fihavanana that is waiting to be uncovered, which this article aims to highlight. It is in fact a battle term, coined to negotiate issues of modernity and identity. My analysis will show that the concept of ‘Malagasy solidarity’ (‘fihavanana gasy’) has its roots not in problems of violence or war but in the experience of deep social rupture produced by confrontation with European concepts of enlightenment, rationality, Christianity and secularity during the 19th century. Fears of a consequent threat to authentic Malagasy culture led, from the first half of the 20th century onwards, to the development of a new, powerful discourse on the need to recover true Malagasy values, and ‘solidarity’ was among the most prominent of those selected. This ongoing discourse and the trend towards the institutionalisation of a concept of relatedness like Malagasy solidarity should thus be understood and reframed within an identitarian logic.

Prinsip Pelaksanaan Puasa Menurut Yoel 2: 12-17 Bagi Kekristenan Masa Kini

This research is motivated by the existence of problems in Christianity that reject the implementation of fasting, differences in the concept of implementing fasting, a less firm basis in understanding fasting in the Christian concept, and wrong motives in carrying out fasting. Through qualitative research methods and descriptive analysis through literature studies, specifically the text of the Book of Joel 2:12-17. The results of the analysis show that Joel 2:12-17 calls for fasting with the first principle: following the word of God because God is merciful and merciful, God is long-suffering and abundant in faithfulness. Second, turn to God with all your heart, cry and moan. Third, tear the heart and Fourth humble yourself. Thus there is a restoration of the relationship between man and God and a focus on God's will, all of which straighten out the wrong practice of fasting.

Faster, Higher, More Moral: Human Enhancement and Christianity

The three authors of this article explore the intersection of moral enhancement, ethics, and Christianity. Trothen reviews the meaning and potential of moral enhancements, considering some of the risks and limitations. Trothen identifies three broad ethical questions, which all three authors agree upon, that arise from a Christian theological perspective: what it means to be human, choice, and social justice. Trothen concludes that respect for human dignity and social justice requires rejecting a reductive view of moral improvement as purely biochemical. Buttrey then argues that biomedical moral enhancement (BME) is simply one in a series of attempts to morally improve human beings and can be compared to other efforts such as neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics. He argues that BME cannot be simultaneously more reliable than moral education in virtue and no more restrictive of human freedom. He concludes by suggesting that tensions between BME and Thomistic virtue are even stronger due to Christian conceptions of martyrdom and radical self-denial. Finally, McQueen argues that Christianity emphasizes the common good and social justice as essential for human flourishing. Building on the foundation established by Trothen and Buttrey, McQueen insists that accurate cognitive knowledge is needed to make good conscience decisions, but emphasizes that right human action also requires the exercise of the will, which can be undermined by AI, automation, and perhaps also BME. She concludes by encouraging further attention to the true nature of human agency, human freedom, and wisdom in debates over AI and biomedical enhancement. The authors conclude that BMEs, if they become medically safe, may be theologically justifiable and helpful as a supplement to moral improvement.

A Neuroscientific and Cognitive Literary Approach to the Treatment of Time in Calderón's Autos sacramentales.

Time processing is a fundamental subject in cognitive sciences and neuroscience. Current research is deepening how our brains process time, revealing its essential role in human functionality and survival. In his autos sacramentales, Early Modern Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca portrays the relationships between human inner workings and the Christian concept of time. These plays portray the experience of the present, the perception of the flow of time, the measure of time raging from seconds to eternity, and the mental travel necessary to inhabit the past and future with the help of memory and imagination. Calderón explores how the dramatic form can portray all these temporal phenomena and how that portrait of time can constrain the dramatic structure. The different parts of the brain in charge of executive decisions, projections, memories, computation, and calibration are the basis that leads these characters to make the choices that will take them to the future they have cast for themselves. This paper analyzes how the processes that Calderón ascribed to the soul of his characters in the 17th century relate to ongoing cognitive and neuroscientific findings.

The Challenge of Christian Deliberation in a Libertarian Context

Abstract In 2005, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly authorized the formation of a task force to prepare a social statement on genetics and faith. Although the Churchwide Assembly voted to adopt the social statement in August of 2011 by a wide margin, there had been an earlier controversy. In June 2010, an article in the Dakota Farmer questioned whether the ELCA was accusing farmers of “sin” for planting genetically engineered crop seeds. At least two churches in rural North Dakota cited this factor as a reason for leaving the ELCA. Seven synods with strong farmer constituencies proposed resolutions challenging the social statement. This paper explores how the opposition used agrarianism and libertarianism to attack the ELCA’s use of the Christian concept of the common good in the social statement. This case reveals the challenges that the Church faces when contributing to ethical deliberations on controversial issues.

The Challenge of Christian Deliberation in a Libertarian Context

Abstract In 2005, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly authorized the formation of a task force to prepare a social statement on genetics and faith. Although the Churchwide Assembly voted to adopt the social statement in August of 2011 by a wide margin, there had been an earlier controversy. In June 2010, an article in the Dakota Farmer questioned whether the ELCA was accusing farmers of “sin” for planting genetically engineered crop seeds. At least two churches in rural North Dakota cited this factor as a reason for leaving the ELCA. Seven synods with strong farmer constituencies proposed resolutions challenging the social statement. This paper explores how the opposition used agrarianism and libertarianism to attack the ELCA’s use of the Christian concept of the common good in the social statement. This case reveals the challenges that the Church faces when contributing to ethical deliberations on controversial issues.

Cure, healing, magic, superstition: the symbolism of the mandrake in Antiquity and the Middle Ages from the point of view of Hugo Rahner

The article reviews the idea of cure or healing in Late antiquity, which was accepted by Christian tradition. According to this tradition, the healing effect is emerging simultaneously both in body and soul, and the very idea of cure or healing falls into spiritual dimension. In mediaeval Christianity this concept of healing takes its form as folklore-medicine way of theurgy, or it appears as a pure allegory or symbolic interpretation in a miracle-play, or, in alchemy. This essay is trying to discuss the early Christian concept of healing or cure from the later Christian humanistic point of view, which was presented in Hugo Rahner’s book Greek Myths and Christian Mystery, first published in 1945.

The Shape of Sex: Nonbinary Gender from Genesis to the Renaissance

The Shape of Sex: Nonbinary Gender from Genesis to the Renaissance

METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS IN THE POLEMICAL VERSE COMPLEX OF THE 1580—90S

The aim of the paper is to justify the correlation between polemical motifs in verses and the metaphysical principle of causation. It is possible due to revealing that the mainstay of polemical discourse lies in the images by which God, as the Cause of all things, manifests His presence in the world, according to the teachings of medieval metaphysics. This gives grounds for interpreting the emotional tension of polemical discourse and its inherent figures of reduction or simplification not as an alternative to the inner metaphysical sense but only as a kind of decentralizing and translating it into the language of other circumstances or the language of personal spiritual experience. The metaphysical dimension of polemical poems correlates with the prospect of restoring their broader literary context and broader reception.
 The paper is to investigate the extent to which the structure as a choice, focused on the publication and perception of texts in certain historical circumstances, makes it possible to manifest certain metaphysical factors by causing a special nonlinear nature of interrelationship, the reverberation of individual motifs and voices between the texts, which are quite different from each other. This historical-literary and hermeneutic approaches let us observe the manifestation forms of metaphysical sense not only in relation to the literary subtext but also in terms of the development and functioning of sovereign metaphysical motifs. Interpretation of the praxis of religious life and the nature of church confrontations and heresies discloses the ‘inner’ image of the individual in the light of Christology and the Christian concept of the Word. The study of the metaphysical foundation of polemical verse complex determines general tendencies in Ukrainian poetry and their transformation in certain milieus. At the same time, it testifies to the changes and development of poetic discourse, the awareness of God’s Word, and human responsibility for the said and written.

The Patterns of Democracy in Context of Historical Political Science

The patterns of democracy are related to the success or failure of national governance; hence, they are a key topic in the theoretical research of political science. It is difficult to comprehend the worldwide political conflicts caused by the promotion of liberal democracy in the study of democratic models that have liberal democracy as their core. The emphasis of historical political science on the genes of civilization provides an opportunity to reinterpret the patterns of democracy. Relying on specific civilization genes, the patterns of democracy can be divided into the “value pattern”, which is shaped by historical civilization genes, and the “practice pattern”, which is based on the “value pattern”. Based on Christian concepts, Western civilization produced liberal democracy as the value pattern, and the value is inherited through the practice pattern of party democracy. Chinese civilization has continued the tradition of people-orientation and consultative practice, establishing socialist democracy in value and consultative democracy in practice. Theoretically, the analytical framework of the value pattern and the practice pattern of democracy illustrates the source of the diverse patterns of democracy, which helps demonstrate the limitations of liberal democracy and points out the possibility of developing a non-liberal democracy pattern.

Faith, Death, and the Internet in Norway and Sweden

The all-inclusive issue in studies of memorial websites on the internet concerns how mourners express their emotions and concepts of belief regarding a deceased person’s afterlife. The living believe that their ultimate contact with the deceased will occur after their own death. In Sweden, this also applies to deceased pets. Memorial websites to the deceased generally contain far more traditional Christian concepts in Norway than in Sweden. In Sweden one observes more of a diffuse, general religiosity that can remind one of New Age modes of thought in which individualism.

Talmudic Torment: Late Antique Jewish Texts on Pain and Suffering Between Medicine, Martyrdom, and Askesis

According to recent studies, pain can be conceptualised both as a bodily sensation and as a complex sociocultural phenomenon shaped by experience, expectations, and presumptions. This article analyses descriptions of agonising intestinal and inflammatory ailments with their various sensual and socio-religious implications as specific rabbinic expressions of and reactions to broader ancient understandings of pain. The study of two talmudic narratives explores a complex network of late antique Jewish ideas about pain, especially connected to bodily swellings and bowel disease, in which religious, legal, ethical, cognitive, and medical aspects intertwine. I submit that the depiction of eminent rabbinic scholars as “suffering selves” fits well into the broader cultures of pain in the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean and the ancient Near East. In these traditions, the always mediated (re)presentations of pain and experiences of suffering were often torn between fascination and aversion. Up to a certain point, the rabbis shared a cultural matrix and ideas on illness and agony with their contemporaries, especially religious experts like Christian authors, monastics, and ascetics. Therefore, these stories about self-afflicted pain and suffering were possibly formed as alternative Jewish answers reacting to and interacting with Graeco-Roman “cultures of pain” as well as emerging Jewish and Christian conceptions of martyrdom, asceticism, and the suffering self in late antiquity. Through a comparison with earlier texts, this article examines how this rabbinic counter-discourse feeds on and appropriates but also rejects Graeco-Roman and early Christian traditions about the punitive, refining, ascetic, and sanctifying purposes of bodily suffering and abdominal agony.

Noun в(иј)енац in phrases with Christian meaning component in the Serbian language (from the viewpoint of lexicographic description)

This paper deals with the noun ?(??)???? in phrases with Christian (biblical) component of meaning in contemporary Serbian language from the lexicographic aspect. The research is founded on the assumption that in the Serbian language there is not only a greater number of phrases containing the noun ?(??)???? with Christian (biblical) component of meaning than those registered in the existing descriptive dictionaries, but also on the fact that the noun ?(??)???? in these realizations represents universal Christian concepts that are, to a greater or lesser extent, described in dictionaries of Slavic languages. Semantic components ?immortality?, ?feat? and ?glory?, which are inherent in the lexical content of expressions motivated by the noun ?(??)????, belong to primarily Christian concepts of martyrdom, being tortured, feats and victory, which at the same time represent their primary meanings. This concretely means that, for example, the expression ????? ????? is firstly labelled as a biblical expression, and then the derived, i.e. phraseological meaning was formed and separately defined. In the former case it is a biblical expression, while in the latter it is a biblicism as a special type of phraseologism. Moreover, by examining equivalent expressions in dictionaries of Slavic languages, where special attention is paid to dictionaries from the Slavic area of Slavia Orthodoxa, it was noticed that the noun ?(??)???? as part of expressions in concrete semantic realizations represents universal Christian concepts which are, to a lesser or greater extent, described in dictionaries of Slavic languages.

The doctrine of kenosis as the basis of Buddhist-Christian dialogue in the works of the philosophers of the Kyoto school

The article is devoted to the consideration of one of the episodes of the Buddhist-Christian dialogue, which was actively held in the last decades of the 20th century. The immediate cause of the discussion was the work of the Japanese thinker Abe Masao (1915–2006) “Kenotic God and Dynamic Sunyata”, where Abe compared the Buddhist concept of emptiness and the Christian idea of kenosis, “the self-emptying of God”. Abe Masao was one of the representatives of the Kyoto School of Philosophy, which existed in Japan since the beginning of the 20th century, and the idea of comparing the concepts of emptiness and kenosis was also considered by other members of this philosophical community. The philosophers of the Kyoto School developed methods of interpreting kenosis using the paradoxical Mahayana logic of “simultaneous identification and differentiation” (soku-hi). This logic can be described by the formulas: “A is not A, and therefore A” or “A is if and only if A is not A”. The first paradoxical logic of soku-hi was formulated by D. T. Suzuki (1870–1966). Nishida Kitaro (1870–1945), the founder of the Kyoto School of Philosophy, and his followers used this idea in comparative studies of the basic concepts of Buddhism and Christianity. In conclusion, one of the ways of perception of Christianity by Japanese thinkers through the prism of Buddhist philosophical approaches is shown.

От риторики tapeinosis и humilitas через традицию древнерусского юродства к христопоэтике Достоевского («Идиот»)

The Christological hymn included in Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians (2,5-11) applies two different Greek verbs in connection to the concept of Christ’s self-humiliation: kenosis and tapeinosis. This article traces the interconnections between the ethical norm of positive self-humiliation (kenosis) and the rhetorical practice of abasement (tapeinosis). The latter used to be considered as something undesirable throughout most of the history of rhetoric, while it was rendered functional by the imitators of Christ. This fact gave rise to a thread ranging from Greek fathers (John Chrysostom, Theodoret of Cyrrhus) to Johann Georg Hamann and Karlfried Gründer, who argue for a positive understanding of rhetorical humility as well. Drawing on this conceptual tradition, the author zooms in on the poor appearance and humble speech of Russian holy fools which inspired the communicative behavior of the Christlike character of Count Myshkin as imagined in Fedor M. Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot (1867-1869). In contrast to merely negative interpretations of Myshkin’s defeat in the plot of the novel, for example by Walter Benjamin, the author demonstrates that it is exactly his communicative deficits and clumsiness which render Myshkin a convincing imitator of Christ—through his ethical humility and oral defensiveness, which make Myshkin’s failure comparable to Christ’s passion and crucifixion.

A marble statue from Nis of an early Byzantine imperial woman

The paper presents and analyses the only known Early Byzantine marble life-size statue of a secular woman in the Byzantine empire, which was discovered in the Nis Fortress in 1931. She is dressed in an unpretentious but dignified stola with a wide belt under her breasts, necklace around her neck and cloak on her back, status symbols by which prominent persons were recognisable throughout the Middle Ages. Being aware of the fact that it is not possible to be certain of her identity, we have enough reasons to suggest that this is a statue of an unknown imperial woman (the empress or a woman from the imperial environment) who, like emperors, was presented with the cloak. As such, it was a common part of the city forum of Naisos, as well as a worthy successor to the composition of Tetrarchs and the statue of Constantine the Great. Stylistic analysis indicates the still living ancient heritage united with Christian concepts of the dress design and its resemblance to the dresses of women from the Empress Theodora?s entourage date it back to the 6th century and Justinian?s epoch.

Некоторые размышления о «Моральной благости Бога» Ричарда Суинберна

In this paper, I consider Richard Swinburne’s treatment of the idea of divine goodness in his new article “God’s Moral Goodness” with reference to his understanding of these three themes: the prior probability of theism; the predictive power of theism relative to naturalism with respect to various generic features of the world; and the question of why God should have made this world in particular. In each case, my intention is not fundamentally to challenge Swinburne’s account, but to seek to draw out its implications, and to consider at what points it might invite elaboration, if is to be located within, for example, a Christian conception of the divine reasons for creating.

ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЯ БЭЙ ЦУНЯ КАК ПРОЯВЛЕНИЕ ФЕНОМЕНА КУЛЬТУРНОГО ХРИСТИАНСТВА В СОВРЕМЕННОМ КИТАЕ

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of cultural Christianity in modern China. This phenomenon suggests the desire to explain the norms and values of Christianity to the Chinese audience through the prism of the traditional foundations of Chinese culture. Examples of cultural Christianity include Chinese intelligentsia's fascination with the history and philosophy of Christianity; Chinese masters' creating Christian images and scenes of the Virgin Mary, the Nativity, etc. in the traditional Chinese guohua style; Chinese deltiology with pictures of famous temples in Harbin; the folklore heritage of Harbin residents, etc. Sharing the idea of the existence of cultural Christianity phenomenon, the authors analyze the works of the contemporary Chinese writer Bei Cun. After 1992, when he converted to Christianity, a key transformation took place in his work. Bei Cun strives to convey to the Chinese audience the Christian categories of sin, redemption, guilt, forgiveness, love, etc. The main theme of the novel I Have a Covenant with God comes down to the Christian concept that all people are born sinful and hope for redemption, and that confession of sin and repentance are the basis for forgiveness. According to the plot, the first chapters of the novel tell us that the main character, Chen Busen, has fallen into the abyss of sin. Being abandoned by his parents, he becomes a criminal and a murderer. In the final chapters, Chen Busen's soul finds redemption through comprehension, sincere repentance, and even love for the victim's relatives. Thus, by describing the contemporary realities of Chinese society in his works, Bei Cun introduces Christian ideas and values into the Chinese picture of the world and tries to bring Christianity and Chinese culture together.

ПРОВІДНІ ХРИСТИЯНСЬКІ КОНЦЕПТИ У ЦИКЛІ ВІРШІВ ТАРАСА ШЕВЧЕНКА "ДАВИДОВІ ПСАЛМИ"

The article attempts to analyze the main Christian concepts presented in the cycle of poems by Taras Shevchenko "Psalms of David", from the standpoint of cognitive literature. Concepts such as GOOD, SIN AND REDEMPTION, FEAR OF GOD, GOD'S WILL are singled out, which form the author's mental picture based on the study of the influence of the Holy Scriptures. The idea of the meta-genre nature of certain artistic texts, in particular prayers, is considered in detail. The accompanying features that form the literary canon are somewhat removed when it comes to chants, translations, literary meditations. Thus, attention is paid to the modeling of the cognitive map on the basis of the sacred chronotope in the cycle of poems, as well as to the definition of special features of artistic prayer. The nature of the "basic pattern" is clarified in order to scientifically observe the process of transformation of cultural memory in Taras Shevchenko's artistic poetic texts. Patterns clearly reflect the level of the author's subconscious and extrapolate the relevant images, which are realized in poetic texts already at the level of fictional consciousness, but with the presence of an in-depth personal beginning of the author, which in our research is presented through self-concept. It is also noted that Taras Shevchenko's artistic method tends to the contaminated projection of the clarism of form with Bergson's intuitionism of ideological searches. It is also noted that the theory of genre patterns is more related to fiction, the axiology of the author's life, his desire to maximize his own understanding of the typical situation than to rely on the canonical text, which is the source of intertextuality.

Ernst Bloch on Nazism or Joachim Florsky against the Third Reich (Comment on the translation of E. Bloch’s article “On the Original History of the Third Reich”)

The article considers the views of the German philosopher Ernst Bloch on the problem of the evolution of the idea of the “Third Reich” in the European Christian tradition of the Middle Ages and New Times, as well as its actualization by German Nazism. The author of the paper is the translator of many texts by E. Bloch. He attempts to understand the origins of the popularity of Nazism from a culturological and historical-philosophical point of view E. Bloch in a series of works turns, for the first time in 1924, to the European Christian tradition, to those images and figures that have defined the mental landscape for many centuries. The image of the Third Reich occupies an essential place in the intellectual history of Europe and the European Christian tradition. The influence of this image on the consciousness of the masses cannot be underestimated. Bloch reveals the inconsistency of the concept of the Third Reich and the figure of the savior (“Kaiser-liberator”, “leader”), which contains both the origins of the junction of Christianity and anti-fascism, and the grounds for inversion in favor of Nazism. The author also focuses on E. Bloch’s views on the legacy of the theologian Joachim Florsky (12th century), who created a historiosophical scheme that had an impact on many philosophical and religious concepts of history. Bloch enters Joachim Florsky into the historical and philosophical tradition, analyzing the mythologeme of the Savior in the cultural history of Europe. The paper presents an overview of modern research on the legacy of I. Florsky by Russian and foreign scientists, which prove the relevance of the ideas of E. Bloch, who revealed the connection between medieval religious movements and Nazism, opening a discussion with opposing points of view. The author examines the relationship between chiliasm and revolution, the influence of mysticism on the consciousness of German society at the beginning of the 20th century and on intellectuals. The article characterizes the position of E. Bloch, who believed that German Nazism committed an ideological theft of theological Christian concepts. The article highlights Bloch’s call to change the attitude to medieval chiliasm and mysticism in connection with the revolutionary potential existing in these currents.