Divine Love Research Articles

A Revelation of Weakness: Julian of Norwich, John Caputo, and the Event of Hospitality

ABSTRACT This study is foremost a close reading of chapter 22 of revelation nine from Julian of Norwich’s (c. 1343–1416) Revelations of Divine Love. I reflect on the implications of a section from the chapter’s introduction in which Christ asks Julian if she were satisfied (‘payde’) for the suffering he underwent for her. Upon hearing her affirmative response Christ tells her that ‘If thou art payde, I am payde.’. In my analysis, I turn to the interpretive strategies offered by the philosopher and theologian, John Caputo (b. 1940), to reflect on the theological images being presented in this chapter. Specifically, I consider the subordinate depiction of Christ in relation to Julian that this section suggests. To do this, I draw on Caputo’s notion of ‘weak theology’ combined with his idea of ‘the event’ and his ethics of ‘hospitality’ as fruitful hermeneutical strategies for thinking through the Christological implications of this chapter.

Luke 1–9 by Barbara E. Reid OP and Shelly Matthews

Reviewed by: Luke 1–9 by Barbara E. Reid OP and Shelly Matthews Claudia Janssen barbara e. reid, op, and shelly matthews, Luke 1–9 (Wisdom Commentary 43A; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021). Pp. lxvii + 339. $49.95. For quite some time there have been very few feminist publications on the Gospel of Luke, so this commentary was long overdue. In the introduction, the authors Shelly Matthews and Barbara E. Reid describe their approach as feminist with an intersectional perspective: "As a feminist commentary this volume takes special interest in narratives on women in Luke, but our analysis is not restricted to the question of women alone" (p. xliii). Gender is linked to other issues of power and domination, such as status, (dis)ability, and prejudice owing to racial, ethnic, and religious difference. Two themes receive special attention: Luke's attitude toward Jews who do not follow Jesus, and the evangelist's portrayal of women. Interspersed with the authors' own exegetical remarks are several short articles by other authors that focus mostly on the reception of the Gospel in various cultural contexts, including issues of critical masculinity studies, postcolonial exegesis, or disabilitycritical interpretation of the salvation narratives. In their interpretation of the religious location of Luke's Gospel, the authors criticize interpretations which assume that Luke is "within Judaism" and which interpret the polemics against the Pharisees and other Jews as "intramural": "Luke's privileging of Jewish institutions such as the temple and Jewish texts is better understood as appropriation rather than appreciation" (p. lx). Luke proclaims that all of the Jewish Scriptures are fulfilled by Jesus and highlights the temple as the locus of revelation and worship. But the entire representation is linked to Christocentric concerns. R. and M. argue that the Jesus-centered attitude of the Gospel is a "form of proto-supersessionism." This laid the foundation for the later established Christian supersessionism as the boundaries between Jews and Christians became more firmly fixed. Both authors are concerned with overcoming anti-Jewish interpretations in the current reception of the texts. [End Page 508] At various points in the commentary, the authors make their different assessments of exegetical problems visible. This makes the reading particularly exciting, since the authors take very different positions on many issues. One example is the interpretation of the imperial language in the Magnificat (pp. 44–47). R. argues that Luke is countering Roman imperial values by offering Jesus's service in humility as a contrast to imperial power and arrogance. Thus, the Magnificat has subversive potential. M., on the other hand, is of the opinion that Luke is reinscribing imperial power rather than overturning it. God is portrayed as a warrior god who takes revenge on his enemies. Another central theme of the commentary is the question of whether Luke is a friend of women or the most dangerous book in the Bible. Their answer (p. lxii): It is likely that Luke was aware of women's presence, struggles, and agency in the early apostolic ministries, including instances of their leadership, but he restricted them to silent, passive supporting roles. For him, women and men have different ways of being disciples. The authors use feminist-critical methods to expose and challenge Luke's patriarchal biases and to recontextualize and reinterpret the text. Especially helpful are the "translation matters" sections, which provide brief explanations of individual words relevant to the interpretation. Following the introduction, the commentary offers an extensive exegesis of Luke 1–2, which includes a comprehensive reception of the feminist discussion of the last thirty years: An Orderly Account for Lovers of God (1:1–80); Divine Love Becomes Incarnate (2:1–52). The headings of the subsequent chapters are as follows: Beloved Son of God and All God's Children (3:1–38); Prophetic Mission Declared; Divided Responses (4:1–44); Male Disciples Called; Female Disciples in the Shadows (5:1–39); Multitudes of Women and Men Are Healed and Hear (6:1–49); Wisdom's Children Justified (7:1–50); Galilean Women Followers and Financiers (8:1–56); and The Cross That Should Not Be Taken Up (9:1–62). Other topics briefly covered in the context of interpreting each chapter...

Edwin C. van Driel. Rethinking Paul: Protestant Theology and Pauline Exegesis

Edwin C. van Driel. <i>Rethinking Paul: Protestant Theology and Pauline Exegesis</i>

Erōs, Ekstasis, and Silence in Dionysius’ Mystical Theology

Though medieval, modern, and contemporary interpreters often understand the “mystical union” described in Dionysius’ Mystical Theology in terms of love or eros, reference to love, affection, or desire is conspicuously absent from the text. Though this absence has been noted in recent scholarship, little attention has been paid to its significance, particularly in light of the significance of eros across the Corpus dionysiacum. After assessing the “affective” reading of Mystical Theology which directly imports the functions of divine and human love from the positive descriptions of Divine Names, I propose a reading which rather aims to recover the central place of eros in Mystical Theology precisely through reflection upon its absence. This interpretation will consider the significance of the hymnic, prayerful setting of Mystical Theology, and the precise grammar of Dionysius’ negative theology to give a textual argument for understanding “mystical union” as a unity of God and creature in love.

Layla s Fire

The poem is a kind of religious courtship, woven according to Sufi patterns of poetry and divine love. The poem deals with the journey of the poet to search for spiritual tranquillity and the absolute reality for which he puzzledly travelled out at night so that he might be guided to its holy fire with his companions.&#x0D; He starts his poem by describing the hardships of travelling at night to search for his aimed and beloved Laila and the plight of access to the homes of her people on a high plateau. Their fire was glowing from the distance, which indicates their prestige and the elevation of their place. He then describes the difficulties he suffered on his way until he discarded his travelling stick and met the beloved. In his first verses, the poet pictured his situation among a group of people who did not fall under the influence of the factors that made him a unique man in their convoy. They blamed him and mocked him and thought that he was deceived by false lightning. Love or ambition is the motive for embarking on this journey despite the difficulties that weigh the fates of those who walk in various scales because they have different conditions and natures in their positions on the path to the Divine Being. Each has a beginning and a door through which he enters. There are fluctuations, trainings, adversity, horrors, and valleys of fall.

“Thy Words Do Finde Me Out”: Aaron Kunin’s Love Three

“Thy Words Do Finde Me Out”: Aaron Kunin’s <i>Love Three</i>

Pain as a Spiritual Barometer of Health: A Sign of Divine Love, 1780–1850

A popular nineteenth-century spiritual barometer displays the steps one might take in the Christian life to bring oneself closer to either ‘glory’ or ‘perdition’. Near the top of the barometer, nearing ‘glory’ is the bearing of painful tribulations, connected to the cross of Christ. Whilst pain was undeniably an undesired presence in life, it was also a hallmark of spiritual progress. The denouement of Christian health, therefore, was often to be in pain. Looking at pain narratives of six evangelical Dissenters, this article explores how pain was perceived by these individuals through the lens of the atonement. As the atonement was a loving aspect of God's providence, so too was pain in the Christian life a quotidian display of divine love. The meaning and purpose of pain was sanctification, understood as a retributive, though mainly redemptive, implement of God's fatherly love. Whilst sharing a common framework of atonement, case studies from different denominations display nuanced differences in their pain narratives: the Baptists and Congregationalists examined here emphasized the sin that required the atonement, whereas the Quakers emphasized suffering with or alongside Christ.

Beyond Literal Idolatry: Translating Theo-Logos from Judgment to Love

This article explores the capacity for narrating the name of God as a way to liberate the suffering of the world. The first section of this article offers a brief overview of Walter Benjamin’s linguistic theory as it relates to the issue of literal idolatry. In the second section, the content of exploring Ricoeur’s movement toward a poetic faith creates a formal anomaly in which his “byway” is something that may be crucial for readers or may be unnecessary: it speaks to the discontinuity and rupture enabled by incorporating silence into speech. The third section flows from the first and third, discussing the difficulty and importance of naming God as an embodied speech act. This looks at the particular situation of parables, including perspectives from Thomas Altizer and J. Hillis Miller. The fourth section focuses on the psychodynamic work of Jessica Benjamin as it models a way of bringing an embodied witness to the world in a performance of divine love.

The Mystery of Evil and the Hiddenness of God: Understanding Mystery in Christian Theodicy

Mysterium iniquitatis, the “mystery of evil,” constitutes the unresolved theological, philosophical, and pastoral debates over the pervasion of evil and suffering that contradicts a world under the providence of the omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent God of Christianity. At the same time, the idea of mystery not only characterizes the conundrum of evil but also the hiddenness of God that formulates the relationship between creature, creator, and the pervasion of suffering that spans Christian scriptural and theological thought. The paper aims to construct a comparative exegesis of three works concerned with the meaning and significance of mystery in Christian theodical thought. Explicating the Grand Inquisitor from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, the paper begins with highlighting a cynical view of mystery as a tool for the authority of liturgical institutions that ultimately offers no pastoral consolation within the framework of Christian theology. Then, drawing on Karen Kilby’s critique of Post-Enlightenment theodicy and its shortcoming in understanding the creator and the divine and Gustav Gutiérrez’s idea of divine love and gratuitousness, I propose understanding mystery as a destabilizing opening in the practice of theodicy that constellates ways to engage theologically with the mystery of the divine and translating it into an ethical understanding of, instead of a justification for, the pervasion of evil and injustice.

Exploring the Notion of Self in Sufism and Advaita Vedanta: Unity, Divine Love, and Spiritual Realization

The spiritual landscapes of the Islamic and Hindu traditions, respectively, have been significantly affected by sufism and advaita vedanta, two mystic traditions. The nature of the individual and its connection to the divine are profoundly illuminated by both faiths. The similar themes of unity, divine love, and spiritual realization between Sufism and Advaita Vedanta are highlighted as this issue examines the idea of self in both religions. In this essay, I try to look into the unmistakable similarities between the ontologies of many different global religions, which form their fundamental tenets. In fact, it seems absurd to ignore pointing out the parallels between these religions and a sizable number of psychological theories. Since there are so many different world religions, I have chosen to focus on two in particular: Islam and Hinduism. Because of the complexity and diversity of each of these religions, I have chosen to only look at one school of thought from each, Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism and Sufism in Islam. Their ontologies have such striking commonalities that I believe more research is essential.

In Defense of Heavenly Mother: Her Critical Importance for Mormon Culture and Theology

In Defense of Heavenly Mother: Her Critical Importance for Mormon Culture and Theology

A comparative study of the romantic poetry of Dr. Ebrahim Nagi and Taher Beg Jaff

Human life has always been connected to the concept of love; it has recurred in the works of poets and writers creating a tremendous attraction. The manifestation of love has been influenced by cultural, literary, and social events of humankind through different times and places. Nagi and Jaff are among the most important Arab and Kurdish sonnet writing poets of the contemporary period. Unfortunately, Jaff is less known to the world due to the lack of research by authors and scholars in this regard; however, Jaff is one of the most prominent Kurdish poets. Nagi and Jaff were highly determined in writing sonnets; therefore, it is appropriate to consider them as pioneers of sonnet form particularly romantic sonnets. Nagi views his beloved differently and has a pure innocent love; he expresses a life full of love and adoration along with sorrow and grief. "All expressions of nature and objects are reflected in the poet's sorrow and grief, no wine will ever soothe this sorrow even the attainment of the beloved" Ehsan Abbas explains. However, Jaff reflects on the physical and material aspects of love and his beloved. Jaff's material and formal stance is rooted in his great love for the beloved. Mostly, Kurdish poets are influenced by poets and writers of other nations. The relationship between material love and pure love is different in the viewpoint of these two poets. Nagi believes that material or formal love is the beginning of pure divine love, provided that this love is not associated with lust; yet such viewpoint is not strong in Taher Beg Jaff's work probably due to his living condition which was aristocratic and carefree to some extent. Perhaps the impact of this factor can be observed in Jaff's formal and material love

The God who hates: The significance of Esau/Edom in the postexilic prophetic eschatology according to Malachi 1:2–5 with a systematic theological postscript

This research wants to clarify the significance of Esau/Edom in Malachi’s postexilic prophetic eschatology. Hence, its focus is on the declaration of divine hate for Esau/Edom in Malachi 1:3, applying the Deuteronomic covenant concept, predominant in Malachi, for a deeper understanding of its significance in the acrimonious dialogues between God and his people. As much as this declaration of divine hate is coordinated in Malachi 1:2–5 with the declaration of divine love for Jacob/Israel, nevertheless, it has a distinct communicative intent of its own in Malachi’s prophetic address. Postexilic Jacob/Israel is confronted with the possibility of a judgement such as Esau/Edom’s if return to God does not occur – ultimate judgement imagined as a burning furnace leaving nothing but ashes on the Day of the Lord. This article wants to contribute to a deeper understanding of the function of divine hate in the judgement prophecy of Malachi.Contribution: This article intends to contribute from a biblical-theological perspective to the systematic theological discussion about the doctrine of God within the Christian community of faith, focusing on the divine names and attributes in Malachi 1:2–5.

Sketch 'God the Father beholding dead Christ' of Vladimir L. Borovikovsky as a synthesis of the western European and the Orthodox tradition

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, little Russian icon painter and St. Petersburg portrait painter, combined western European painting language and the Orthodox religion in his creativity. The sources of the painter's susceptibility to western European influence lie in his Ukrainian origin — the atmosphere of active interaction of Orthodox and Catholic cultures developed in Little Russia of XVIII. At XVIII—early XIX century icon and temple painting was approaching secular art and came under influence of European baroque and academism. Religious painting, that is the subject of the study, occupied an important place in the creativity of the painter. Master's icons and pictures demonstrate nontrivial iconographic, conceptual and dogmatic solutions. The sketch 'God the Father beholding dead Christ' from collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery is example of an original thought of the artist, who based it on the western European composition scheme, but gave it new meaning. The study theme is exploring features of interpretation by V. Borovikovsky of Catholic the Holy Trinity iconography. In order to identify specific motifs and ideas borrowed from Western European art and the Orthodox iconography of the Otechestvo (the Fatherland), which influenced the composition of the sketch, a comparative iconographic and stylistic analysis of works with similar iconography was carried out: with a fresco from the church in Marino (Rome) attributed to Guidoreni, and a painting by P.P. Rubens 'The Holy Trinity'. The iconographic analysis showed connection between of the sketch and wester European scheme 'God the Father contemplating the dead Christ', which goes back to iconographies 'God the Father holding a Crucifix' and Pieta, and to orthodox iconography Otechestvo. V. Borovikovsky rethinks traditional motifs, typical for the European painting (motifs of parental grief and reminder of sinfulness) and for the Orthodox icon painting (motifs of triumph over death). Stylistic analysis showed that the master formulates his own interpretation of the images of God the Father and God the Son, unifying both the Orthodox and the western European approaches. V. Borovikovsky borrows reception of relationship the Sabaoth and Christ as loving the Father and the Son, but doesn't borrow tragic reception of the plot, replacing it with the idea of the comprehensive divine love and the triumph over death. Thus, V. Borovikovsky combines icon symbolism and immediacy of realistic painting.

“Come and See”: Uncovering Julian of Norwich’s Teaching of Wonder in Revelations of Divine Love

AbstractJulian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love contain within them two curious suggestions pertaining to sight. First, Julian’s own ‘goostely’ sight is presented in strikingly physical terms, such that her spiritual encounter with God is placed in parallel with what it is physically to see in the material world. Second, Julian insists throughout her text that her reader will be able to ‘see’ God without anywhere expositing what exactly this might mean. It is the argument of this essay that these two suggestions might be understood with reference to each other. Namely, Julian might have steeped her own invisible seeing in strikingly physical terms to indicate the particular capacity of our physical sight to perceive a correlate of the ‘goostely’ sight of God she encounters. I discuss how the experience of perceiving wonder, through the physical senses, might be the reader’s way to partake in her same sight of God. On the one hand, recognising the possible significance of such wonder for Julian enables us to understand more fully dimensions of her theology of embodiment. On the other, understanding ‘wonder’ against the theology she gives it offers us new resources with which to consider the significance of this experience.

Chaucer's Prayers: Writing Christian and Pagan Devotion

Chaucer's Prayers: Writing Christian and Pagan Devotion

The master’s debate of the sacred Ioann Mansvetov in the Moscow Theological Academy in the context of ecclesiological disputes of the 1870s–1880s

The dispute about the defense of the master’s thesis is sacred John Mansvetov’s “New Testament Teaching about the Church”, held in 1879, is of interest in the context of ecclesiological discussions in the Russian church periodicals of 1869–1870 and 1882–1884, activated by the posthumous publications of the works of A. S. Khomyakov. His work was prepared under the leadership of an outstanding representative of the domestic academic science of the Moscow Theological Academy Rector Alexandr Vasilyevich Gorsky. His disciples were the opponents of Mansvetov: teachers of the dogmatic department A. D. Belyaev and N. M. Ivantsov. They all listened to the course of dogmatic theology of Archpriest A. V. Gorsky, who analyzed problematic places in the writings of an outstanding lay theologian. The materials of the dispute were not covered in the church periodicals, but the circumstances of the defense partially clarify Belyaev’s diary entries. The ecclesiological ideas of the opponents were set forth in their own works: two articles by N. M. Ivantsov, published in 1877–1878 in the journal Orthodox Review, headed by his brother A. M. Ivantsov-Platonov; and in Belyaev’s master’s thesis “Divine Love”, defended in 1880. The aim of the study is to identify the influences on the views of three young scientists of their famous predecessors-the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, prot. A. V. Gorsky and A. S. Khomyakov.

The Mind of Charles Hartshorne: A Critical Examination

The Mind of Charles Hartshorne: A Critical Examination

Effectiveness of strength-based counseling on self-worth of divorced women

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of strength-based counseling in increasing the sense of self-worth of divorced women. Method: This research was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. This research's statistical population was divorced women referred to Mehravar Counseling Center in Tehran in 2021. Among those who had obtained a lower score on the self-esteem scale of Crocker et al. (2003), a sample of 20 people was randomly selected and assigned to two experimental groups (10 people) and control groups (10 couples). The experimental group members received ten 90-minute sessions of Smith's (2006) strength-based intervention as a group, and the members of the control group were placed on the waiting list. Both groups responded to the self-esteem scale before and after the experiment. Analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that strength-based counseling significantly increased self-esteem scores (F=63.23, P=0.001) and its subscales: family support (F=46.31, P=0.001); Divine Love (F=32.10, P=0.001); Scientific competence (F=29.58, P=0.001); piety and piety (F=6.16, P=0.019). This increase was stable in the follow-up phase. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that counseling based on strength increases the self-worth of divorced women.

Perfection of aesthetic ideals (illustrated through the example of Shireen's image)

This article briefly examines the genesis of Shireen's image, which has become the image of an aesthetic ideal heroine not only in Uzbek classical literature, but also in Persian, Azerbaijani and Turkic literature. The poets of all time did not share the image of Shireen. The article collected the opinions of many literary scholars about the image of Shireen created by such poets as Firdowsi, Nizami, Dehlavi, Navoi, and its development in the transition from epics to epics. It is a question of the etymology of the word Shireen, its historical origin, and lastly, that this image became more refined from year to year, from century to century, from people to people, which has attained the poetic perfection from the usual historical and passive image of the woman, acquiring the embodiment of divine beauty, as well as the socio-political activity of women in it. Thisimplies that the image of Shireen created by AlisherNavoi is a symbol of such perfection and divine love.