Christian Humanism Research Articles

« Ein joli jésuite mit einer petite tache humide ». Naphta, la soie, le sang, la mort

This essay focuses on the portrayal of Leo Naphta in Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. Right from the beginning, the emphasis is put on the antagonism which determines the relationship between Naphta and Settembrini and manifests itself in the syncrisis.It is a well known fact that Mann depicted the character of Naphta in order to give shape to the “synthesis of Communism and Jesuitry associated whith a Jewish ancestry”. Is Naphta, as Hans Castorp assumes, a “true Jesuit”? Castorp’s statement turns out to be largely erroneous. Thomas Mann’s literary subterfuge consists in replacing the neo-scholasticism inspired by Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas and Christian humanism, which is at the core of the Society of Jesus, by its original medieval form. This is eloquently illustrated by the Gothic appearance of the pietà in Naphta’s private lodgings and by the “black swashbuckler’s” socio-political stance (theocratic state, private property, interest-bearing loan). Every time, blood plays a decisive part, whether it is the blood of the “Mann of Sorrows”, or the bloodshed resulting from social violence legitimated in the wake of Innocent III and Gregory VII. Therefore, it should be considered together with Naphta’s carefully designed biography (genealogy). With regard to this, the traumatic performance of che’hita, similar to the “primal scene”, is of central importance. It causes Naphta’s internal fracture which generates his pretentious and aggressive behaviour towards his opponents. Thus, he cannot be part of constituted bodies. This results in “self-hatred” and eventually leads to his self-destruction.

THE GREAT FIGURE OF EUROPEAN PEDAGOGY: SPANISH MENTOR AND HUMANIST H. L. VIVES (1492-1540 YEARS)

The article presents the historical and pedagogical portrait of the prominent figure of the European Renaissance, the Spanish humanist and the teacher H. L. Owesa The author discloses the contents of the main provisions of the pedagogical concept of the Renaissance mentor, presents the vision of Kh. L. Vivese structure, content, principles and methods of school education, his understanding of the nature of the relationship between educator and pupil, ways of implementing an individual approach. It was emphasized that Kh. L. Vivese gave exceptional importance to the development of such personality traits as virtue, patriotism, civility, and called for the idea of unity of moral, mental, civic and physical education to be realized. Modified teaching Spanish humanist views, described his vision of the content of the principles of accessibility, continuity and succession of education, the importance of taking into account the psychological, age and individual learning. Particular attention is paid to the Veevian vision of the place of religion and Christian humanism in the improvement of European educational practice in the early New time. A conclusion on the humanistic- pedagogical potential, directions and perspectives of interpretation of the pedagogical heritage of Kh. L. Weaves in modeling modern principles of innovative development of world and national educational and humanistic strategy.

Wychowawcze i moralne przesłanie Małego księcia Antoine de Saint Exupéry’ego

Stories help us to understand our own mental world and the soul of the child and its education. In stories we often find a moral message and the basis for the practical solutions to various educational problems. To understand the nature of the parable means also to find the key to open the spiritual dimension of our being. We deal just with a very small book, and allegorical story about the little prince from the planet B 612 in it, as Antoine de Saint-Exupery described him, which carries an important message to a man at any age. The paper analyses the moral and educational message of the work The Little Prince as a description of the dramatic era in which the book was written. The universality of the message of this book (which can be possibly described also as a fairy tale for adults) bases in the fact that the message goes across every period, and every age of recipients in a various environments and conditions of life. It clearly speaks not only to kids who are being educated, but also to adults and teachers, regardless of whether they are simple or highly educated people. The Little Prince is a guide to the inner world of each human person. From a pedagogical point of view this work deals with the application of narrative as well as educative method, which are based on dialogic paradigm of philosophy and Christian humanism, especially personalism. The outline of the article develops the following analytical sequence: the background of the creation of the book, The Little Prince in us—a psychological reflection, the ideas in The Little Prince in relation to education, focusing on the moral formation of the child and the every human person.

Alexandra Radcliff , The Claim of Humanity in Christ: Salvation and Sanctification in the Theology of T. F. and J. B. Torrance (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016), pp. xiii + 208. $25.00.

Alexandra Radcliff , The Claim of Humanity in Christ: Salvation and Sanctification in the Theology of T. F. and J. B. Torrance (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016), pp. xiii + 208. $25.00.

The Chalcedonian Logic of John Wesley's Christology

AbstractThis article addresses John Wesley's theology of the person of Jesus Christ. Against those who have discerned either a Monophysite or a Nestorian trajectory, it argues that Wesley's Christology as a whole conforms to a Chalcedonian grammar, displaying certain Alexandrian–Lutheran tendencies in particular. It does so in three stages. First, it examines Wesley's emphasis on Christ's divinity, his ostensible reservations about Christ's humanity, and his view of the hypostatic union in the context of dogmatic christological traditions. Second, it situates his christological emphases within his deistic ideological context. Finally, it briefly illuminates the connection between Wesley's thought on Christ's person and his theology of Christ's work.

Ponadczasowość myśli dydaktycznej świętego Augustyna

The catechetical work De catechizandis rudibus , that is, The initial teaching of religion , due to the way Saint Augustine treats its addressee and the addressees of his preaching, can be considered valid for successive generations of educators – not just catechists or teachers. The whole process of catechetical instruction which is the subject of Augustine’s insightful study is essential for understanding education in a broader sense – as humanistic education, which should not be reduced to the technological aspect, but should be considered in terms of the overall impact of the mutual relationship between the teacher and the student. Augustine’s reflections pertain to the foundations of educational processes that are implied by the concept of man as a bodily and spiritual being, to his world of values, and to the connection between catechetical teaching and everyday human life. By appreciating the existential dimension of catechesis Augustine contributes to the reflection on the possibility of natural and religious cognition in search of the meaning and purpose of life. In this way he shows the specificity of Christian humanism and the opportunities it offers in solving educational problems. The methodology proposed by St. Augustine sensitizes us to the educational aspect of didactics. It shows that the separation of didactic and educational influences is contrary to the idea of integral human development, which is inherent to the personalist pedagogy. It entails the conviction that every teacher, regardless of his field of specialization, is an educator.

“[T]o think my book of travels a mere fiction out of mine own brain”: Swift’s Skeptical Utopianism in Gulliver’s Travels

This article explores the skeptical approach to utopian ideals taken by Jonathan Swift. Swift`s Gulliver`s Travels seems closely comparable to Thomas More`s Utopia based on the two authors` shared vision, or what I phrase as “skeptical utopianism.” Gulliver`s existence in Houyhnhnmland emblematizes man`s middle station, for Gulliver is positioned between the Yahoos, an irredeemable species wholly governed by primitive pas sions and the Houyhnhnms, who without fail obey the dictates of right reason. This perspective, indeed, mirrors More`s Christian humanism, a doctrine that promotes man`s potential for self-edification and social progress, but sees man`s original fall as forestalling the perfection of such Enlightenment projects. Thus, both More and Swift express a serious doubt over excessive infatuation with unattainable ideals. Their skeptical utopianism seeks to strike a balance between deep yearnings for an ideal state and serious reservations about its practicability. It is this critical skep ticism implicit in Utopia and Gulliver`s Travels that makes them distin guishable from other early modern utopian narratives, which are character ized by their unmitigated optimism for the perfection of human society. In articulating such skeptical utopianism, Swift`s satirical energy is pri marily channeled to parodying Gulliver`s blind enthusiasm. What under mines Gulliver`s credibility as a narrator is therefore his unrestrained fanaticism. While the madness shown by the imperialist Lilliputian king and the tyrannical Laputian crown mirrors that of protagonist-narrator as self-aggrandizing jingoist, Gulliver, owing to his absolute devotion to the Houyhnhnms` ideals, becomes a bitter cynic―a radical self-reinvention that nevertheless renders the narrator equally untrustworthy.

Clear as Mud: Metaphor, Emotion and Meaning in Early Modern England

ABSTRACTThis paper argues that the recent trend in early modern studies occasionally referred to as the “new humoralism”, which lays heavy emphasis on the physiological and humoral significance of the emotions in seventeenth-century Renaissance literature, pays insufficient attention to the theological traditions of Christian humanism in the sixteenth century. In particular, the article traces a trajectory of the use of metaphors of clean versus muddy and calm versus turbulent water in Erasmus, John Calvin, John Donne and Edward Reynolds to illustrate the complexity of literary-theological discourse revolving around affectivity in sermons, treatises and biblical commentaries in the period, while simultaneously establishing the continuity of an exegetical tradition concerning Christ’s emotions.

Erasmus and Christian Humanist Latin

This essay looks at the quarrel of Ciceronianism among European Renaissance humanists from the perspective of Erasmus’s biblical scholarship and his evangelical understanding of the proper relationship between the mind and the speech of a Christian. These issues emerge from a contextual reading of his Dialogus Ciceronianus of 1528 that relies not only on the history of Renaissance debates over imitation but also and primarily on Erasmus’s understanding of human and divine logos as developed in his Lingua and particularly in the Paraphrases on the New Testament. Our reading will focus on some key metaphors that circulate among these Erasmian texts including the metaphor of the mirror and its implications for Christian identity.

The Capax in a New Key: Kierkegaard's Development of Classical Lutheran Christology

This article examines Kierkegaard's relationship with classical Lutheran Christology. It does so in terms of the claim that the finite has the capacity for the infinite ( finitum capax infiniti—henceforth capax), a classical Lutheran claim according to which Christ's finite humanity completely grasps his infinite divinity. Though Kierkegaard's treatment of transcendence has tended to receive more attention, a doctrine of radical immanence also appears to permeate his thought—a doctrine reminiscent of the capax. Yet he writes at some distance from the claim's original framers. The question thus arises: is Kierkegaard's treatment of Christ in keeping with their expression of the capax? With special reference to Luther and the Lutheran scholastic Johann Gerhard, I argue the affirmative: that is—in their treatment of subjectivity—Kierkegaard's idea of Christ's incognito and his understanding of Christ as God's infinite redoubling represent developments concerning the essential logic of the capax. In Christ, God makes himself entirely present, yet hidden in order to preserve the subjectivity of his followers, and God preserves his own subjectivity as well, perfectly reproducing it in his human life. Understanding this creative development of the capax helps situate Kierkegaard with respect to the Lutheran tradition and sheds light on his ideas of redoubling, incognito, and the God–human being.

A Companion to Medieval Christian Humanism: Essays on Principal Thinkers. Edited by John P Bequette . Brill's Companion to the Christian Tradition 69. Leiden: Brill, 2016. viii + 354 pp. $258.00 hardcover.

A Companion to Medieval Christian Humanism: Essays on Principal Thinkers. Edited by John P Bequette . Brill's Companion to the Christian Tradition 69. Leiden: Brill, 2016. viii + 354 pp. $258.00 hardcover.

The Logikē Latreia of Romans 12: 1 and Its Interpretation Among Christian Humanists

AbstractScholars have debated whether the sentiment of sixteenth century reformers against material forms of worship derived from certain Neo-Platonic ideas proliferating in parts of Europe and disseminated by Erasmus or from strictly Scriptural principles that were initially formulated by the Old Testament prophets and given fuller expression in the New. This essay studies the reformers′ interpretation of the phrase logikē latreia at Romans 12:1, as well as other key passages. It concludes that, whether consciously or subconsciously, the reformers borrowed language concerning the material-spiritual dichotomy of worship, not directly from Neo-Platonists, but from a commonplace used by numerous Roman writers. Early Church Fathers had long ago turned the same commonplace against pagan rivals, but now the reformers were employing it against the Catholic Church itself.

RENAISSANCE-HUMANISTIC CONCEPTS OF CULTURE OF PEDAGOGICAL DIALOGUE OF THE TEACHERS OF THE ORDER FROM THE SOCIETY OF JESUS IN EARLY MODERN TIMES

A period of European Renaissance is the birth of the modern personality and virtues Renaissance Christian humanism is a model of ethical attitudes today. The first attempt of early modern European youth education in educational system of coordinates of Renaissance humanism, no doubt, was created within the youth Order of St. Ignatius.The proposed article is devoted to the analysis of verbal communicative competence of early modern Jesuit teachers. The author revealed the contents of value-semantic, spiritual and pedagogical concepts of educational communication in the Society of Jesuits, and proved that it was based on Renaissance and Christian- humanistic positions of “brilliance, beauty and sophistication” of the academic word, the skill of public speaking and high style and the art of eloquence of the early modern university speaker.The author concludes that the Jesuits interpreted pedagogically Renaissance and humanistic intellectual heritage to the implementation of the Order implementing schooling some semantic meaning loads of humanism in this article. Recognizing it as "imitation of ancient people", as an appeal to samples of ancient learning,fundamental virtues of the Society of Jesus proclaimed erudition, sophistication of Latin, intellectual culture, exquisite taste, eloquence, perfection scientist speech and public speaking, virtuous behavior. With the Renaissance and humanistic individualism priorities code integrity Jesuit added active devotion, diligence, active, creative enthusiasm and initiative, determination and zeal, compassion, rationality and prudence, the Jesuits appreciated the talent and abilities of youth, drawn attention to the need to care for the physical health etc. Etymological interpretation of humanity as humanity in correctional priorities Jesuits answered task of building virtues of modesty and politeness, prudent and tolerance, respect and attention for elders, love and kindness, ethics, partnership and unity.The article highlights and grounds the components of the Jesuit methodology of formation of conversational competencies in the youth of the Order (didactically and cognitive, rhetoric and stylistic, moral and aesthetic); the article also proves the sonority of the Jesuit practice of teaching literature with the didactic pedagogy of the European Renaissance. The conclusion was made about the significant role of socio- cultural, socio-integrating task and spiritual significance of educational communication of Jesuit teachers for implementation of the European Youth Policy of St. Ignatius rank in XVI – XVII centuries.

Re-orienting Ethiopia’s educational policy in the classical humanist perspectives of renaissance utopias

Ethiopia has launched a grand scheme of renaissance to realise fast-paced economic growth. The two Growth and Transformation Plans spanning five years each (2010/11– 2015/16 and 2016/17 – 2020/21) outlined major targets towards which the country intends to mobilise all its resources. In the education sector, this vision is understood as producing a workforce that can realise massive industrialisation. However, what is conceived as ‘renaissance’ in Ethiopia and what kind of education is viewed as capable of bringing it is very mechanical, reductive and utilitarian compared to the Renaissance movements of the late-medieval Europe, which were holistic endeavours to culturally uplift and humanise individuals and societies. The purpose of this paper is to compare the educational views of Christian humanists – the European renaissance thinkers who wrote the early-modern renaissance utopias – with what is conceived today as ‘renaissance’ education in Ethiopia as embedded in major educational policy documents.

Tradition and Beyond: Christian Human Rights in Debate

Tradition and Beyond: Christian Human Rights in Debate

Samuel Moyn—Christian Human Rights

According to Samuel Moyn’s Christian Human Rights, it is in the middle of the twentieth century that human rights become important in public politics and international law. But they enter the publi...

A Comment on Moyn’s Christian Human Rights, Chapter 4: ‘From Communist to Muslim: Religious Freedom and Christian Legacies’

A Comment on Moyn’s Christian Human Rights, Chapter 4: ‘From Communist to Muslim: Religious Freedom and Christian Legacies’

Things Old and New: Tradition and Innovation in Constructing Reformation Theology

ABSTRACTIn respect of the Reformation this study considers the interaction between the retrieval of ancient Christian texts, humanist methods and scholasticism in their various forms, citing illustrative examples. It argues that Reformation interpreters have traditionally tended to privilege the impact of the first two on the new religious developments. As a corrective to this common perception, the essay recalls and highlights the continuing and increasing positive influence of modified scholastic methodological norms and forms on evolving Reformation theology in order to meet both pedagogical and apologetical requirements. It is also pointed out that the specific humanist programme for the revamping of biblical study along linguistic and literary lines and facilitating access to the Church Fathers, accompanied with notions of tackling abuses in the Church, predated the Reformation.

Against Conservative Internationalism

Europe’s integration and its broader postwar reconstruction, some scholars now claim, were conservative projects, geared toward bolstering traditional social, cultural, and economic hierarchies. Marco Duranti’s The Conservative Human Rights Revolution is a sweeping political and institutional history that reconstructs a transnational movement of conservative politicians and thinkers, who established the European Court of Human rights (ECHR) in the aftermath of the Second World War. In Samuel Moyn’s narrative, Christian Human Rights, the postwar popularity of human rights signals the triumph of conservatism. Udi Greenberg reviews Conservative Human Rights Revolution: European Identity, Transnational Politics, and the Origins of the European Convention by Marco Duranti and Christian Human Rights by Samuel Moyn.

The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages by Mary Dzon

Reviewed by: The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages by Mary Dzon Eva von Contzen Mary Dzon. The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. Pp. 424, $65.00. What happened between Christ's Nativity and his first documented public appearance in Jerusalem at age twelve, in which he went missing and was eventually found—to his parents' relief and astonishment—in the temple arguing with Jewish doctors? Of the gospel writers, only Luke recounts this episode; chronologically, the next canonical incident from Jesus's life appears to be his baptism by John, which occurred when both were already grown men. In this fascinating and thought-provoking study, Mary Dzon tackles the "hidden years," as she terms them, of Jesus' childhood—particularly the time between his birth and the episode with the temple doctors in Jerusalem. The book focuses on the later Middle Ages and places particular emphasis on textual and iconographic sources from England, though it by no means focuses narrowly on English materials. Dzon takes her [End Page 329] readers from the apocryphal Infancy Gospels to English vernacular lyrics to Thomas Aquinas; from Francis of Assisi to Brigitta of Sweden and back to England and Margery Kempe. To trace the complex routes and intersections of the material and its transmission across Europe is a challenging task, which Dzon has mastered with great skill, and with a verve that makes the book a joy to read. Dzon places medieval people's desire to know more about the young Jesus in the context of Christocentric affective piety and the emerging interest in the humanity of Christ, propagated by the Cistercians and Franciscans. Popular curiosity gave rise to the Infancy Gospels, widely influential apocryphal texts that closed the biographical void left open by the canonical Gospels. Drawing on topoi from romance and other popular genres, these apocryphal legends of Jesus' early life piqued the interest of medieval readers and aroused the suspicion of members of the clergy, as Thomas Aquinas's extensive engagement with the topic demonstrates. At the same time, the Franciscans played an important role in resuscitating the Christ Child, and their founder, in particular, seems to have actively promoted this devotional trend. A strong Franciscan influence, in turn, can be detected in Brigitta of Sweden's Revelations, a text that brings together the affective devotion to the Christ Child and to his humanity with a decidedly maternal perspective. Dzon's introduction not only provides a succinct overview of the chapters that follow, but also surveys previous scholarship on the topic. Though this overview comes rather abruptly (in the form of a standalone section), it ultimately proves highly useful because it contains a nuanced discussion of the different interests that have tended to underlie previous scholars' works (i.e., feminist approaches; Eucharistic devotion; the social history of childhood; the advent of affective piety, particularly as it relates to the Passion). Because many previous scholars studied legends of the Christ Child as a means to understanding some broader topic, their treatment of the material covered by Dzon has seemed sketch-like and at times one-sided. Given this context, it is obvious why a book devoted to the apocryphal Infancy Gospels and their medieval reception is an important contribution to existing knowledge. The first chapter ("The Christ Child in Two Treatises of Aelred of Rievaulx and in Early Franciscan Sources") analyzes the Cistercian and early Franciscan role in establishing the Christ Child as an object of affective devotion, focusing in particular on Aelred's treatises De Jesu puero duodenni (c. 1153–57) and De institutione inclusarum (1160s). In both [End Page 330] texts, Aelred champions an experiential approach and invites his readers—respectively, his friend Ivo, and his sister, a recluse—to achieve closer proximity to Jesus through meditation and by contemplating his humanity. The Christ Child proves central to both texts. Dzon argues that Francis of Assisi's treatment of the childhood of Christ is even more forceful, thanks to its emphasis on the poverty of the innocent baby. Francis aligned himself explicitly with the lowly conditions of the Christ Child, reflected alike in...