Theological Ideas Research Articles

THE QUESTION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND SCIENCE IN THE BOOK OF NEMESIUS OF EMESA «ON THE NATURE OF MAN»

The fourth-century Greek philosopher Nemesios Emesatsi's work "On the Nature of Man" was translated into Armenian by Stepanos Syunetsi with the support of Davit Hyupatos in the last period of the Greek school, in the eighth century. It was an important repository of knowledge for Armenian natural science and natural philosophy bibliography. The Armenian text of this book was copied throughout the Middle Ages. The Armenian translated text of the book has been preserved in numerous copies (about 65 manuscripts). As proof of the continuously growing interest in Nemesius's book, many solutions, reasons, interpretations have been preserved, which added to the Armenian natural philosophy literature during the flowering of Greek influence, preparing the basis for the formation of these directions in the Armenian national science. It is not surprising that quotations from the book of Nemesius are quite a frequent phenomenon in the works of various Armenian authors of the Middle Ages. The large number of copied manuscripts and the citation of individual sections and even complete chapters from this book in the works of many Armenian authors indicate that the book was a kind of anthropology textbook in medieval Armenia. This encyclopedic work is important for Christian philosophy in general. Ancient and Christian natural philosophical and anthropological ideas about the creation of man, his nature, his place and role in nature, his mental and physical properties are presented here. Seeking to reconcile ancient rationalist approaches with biblical ideas, Nemesius's goal is not only to set forth his own views, but to collect and transfer existing theories to medieval Christian culture. In this way, he presents ancient natural philosophy in the light of Christian ideology. The article presents the question of the relationship between natural philosophical and theological ideas in the book «On the Nature of man».

INTERPRETASI AYAT-AYAT TEOLOGI FEMINIS PERSPEKTIF MUHAMMAD SYAHRUR (FIQH AL-MAR’AH SEBAGAI TEOLOGI FEMINIS MELAWAN ORTODOKSI ISLAM DALAM ISU PEREMPUAN)

There are several questions raised in this article, what is Syahrur's basic view of Islamic theology on women? How did the emergence and discussion of women's issues in the book Nahwa Ushul al-Jadidah What is fiqh al-Mar'ah? and how is the connection between the birth of the book in contemporary Islamic discourse and the Islamic State? The main data sources for the inner articles are two books by Syahrur, al-Islam wa al-Īmān: Manzhūmah al-Qiyam and Nahwa Ushul al-Jadidah Li Fiqh al-Mar'ah. The position of the research article in taking the space of discursive study, the discourse of the emergence of works with the domination of power in the Islamic State after the fall of Turkey. By analyzing the contents of the book (content analysis) and reading the discourse or historical data and the context of the birth of the book and the author's agent in the book, this article finds several main conclusions in the state's political discourse, Syahrur's feminist theological ideas and ideas in his work were born as an effort to fight against the hegemony of Islamic rule in Syria. Syahrur's thoughts can be placed as a tool or as a method in formulating Islam as a social theology, Islam that is not far from the reality of the existence of its people

Adam Smith on uncertainty and security. Part 1.

The subject of the article is the study of Adam Smith's conceptual ideas about uncertainty and security and their relationship. Methods of conceptual analysis are used in two versions. The presentist approach aims to interpret Smith's ideas about uncertainty in terms of modern concepts (fundamental and epistemological uncertainty and their forms). The antiquarian approach aims to explain the features of Smith's concepts in the context of the theological, philosophical ideas and methodological ideas he shared. The analysis is used in presentist and antiquarian variants. The first part of the article shows that Smith uses several concepts of uncertainty. One of them corresponds to the modern idea of epistemic uncertainty. Smith also develops an original concept of ambiguity, which, in the author's opinion, can be most constructively understood from the standpoint of a generalized version of Niels Bohr's principle of complementarity. However, in Smith's system this type of uncertainty is of fundamental importance and is associated with the feeling of sympathy. The third part of the article examines the influence of theological ideas on Smith's ideas about uncertainty. The peculiarities of scientists' interpretation of the uncertainty of the future are explored. The second part also examines selected conceptual relationships between uncertainty and security. In Smith's theoretical system, the reduction of uncertainty plays a special role in ensuring the long-term survival of society (ensuring security - in the presentist interpretation). Smith associates it with following the rules of the virtue of justice, which have the greatest certainty and, functioning like the rules of grammar, perform the function of creating order.

The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality by Edward Y.J. Ching (review)

Reviewed by: The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality by Edward Y.J. Ching Maria Hasfeldt Long (bio) The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality. By Edward Y.J. Ching. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. Pp. vii + 204. Hardcover $99.00, isbn 978-3-030-77923-8. In recent years, the study of Korean Neo-Confucianism as an international field has been growing exponentially. Compared to former decades, the number of international publications has grown significantly over the last ten years, with Edward Y.J. Chung as one of the most active scholars. The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality is the culmination of an almost decade-long study of the Korean Neo-Confucian scholar, Yi Hwang Toegye (1501–1570). With a focus on the moral and spiritual aspects of the theories of Toegye, Chung maps out a brilliant overview of the philosopher's worldview and literary works. Chung's primary objective is to provide "thought-provoking" and fresh insights into one of the most important Korean Neo-Confucian thinkers in history, as well as shed light on Neo-Confucian thought in general and how Toegye's philosophy in particular can be relevant in modern interreligious dialogues (p. 149). Consisting of ten chapters, where each chapter could serve as an individual article, Chung takes the reader through the core concepts of Toegye and his development of a form of self-cultivation different from the Chinese Neo-Confucian idea of self-cultivation. This together created a holistic religious worldview with a strong spiritual dimension, which manifests through selfcultivation practices. The first two chapters introduce Toegye and the historical context of 16th-century Joseon-dynasty Korea (1392–1910); his understanding of the Neo-Confucian tradition as the true learning; and his rejection of Daoism and Buddhism. With the reader introduced to the immediate historical context and Neo-Confucian discourse of the time, the following three chapters cover Toegye's religious and moral understanding of the relationship between the Heavenly Principle (C. tianli, K. cheolli) and human nature (C. renxing, K. inseong). Furthermore, Chung covers the moral-spiritual implications that the Four-Seven Debate had on Toegye's later practical self-cultivation for becoming a sage. In short, the debate concerns the relation between the "four sprouts" of human characteristics as first described by Mengzi (ca. 371–289 BCE) and the seven human emotions mentioned in various classical texts. Toegye believed in the doctrine that the "experience of Heaven was within oneself" (p. 47). Therefore, [End Page 1] to become a sage, one would have to commit to the active practice of an inner feeling of reverence (C. jing, K. gyeong) daily. Chapter six dives into the spiritual practice of self-reflection and mind cultivation (C. xinxue, K. simhak), which was an ongoing process that would lead the practitioner closer to sagehood. The seventh chapter focuses on how this spiritual dimension of Toegye's doctrine is relevant to broader discussions of ecology today. With a strong love for nature, Toegye incorporated the idea of nature within his spiritual self-cultivation, which Chung elaborates on. It was important for the human being to be in harmony with Heaven, earth, and all myriad things. This meant respecting and spending time in nature also played a part in the daily practice of spiritual self-cultivation. Moving on, in chapters eight and nine, Chung presents a comparative study on the philosophical and theological question of how to transcend evil, as well as the matter of interreligious dialogue. By way of a textual-interpretive approach, Chung compares Toegye's thought with Christian contra Buddhist theological ideas and how these findings can help develop an interreligious approach. In chapter nine, Chung suggests that the idea of self-transcendence through self-cultivation can be the ultimate reality. In this chapter, Chung wants to break with the tendency in interreligious dialogue where many scholars rely heavily on Christian theological terms. Chung introduces Neo-Confucian concepts and terms, especially the terms used by Toegye. The last and concluding chapter...

Šeḫ Muḥammad Aršad al-Banjarī and the Application of Critical Theological Interpretations to Local Traditions in Banjar Region, Indonesia

Abstract It is undeniable that Religion and tradition have been a highly discussed discourse from the past up to the present day. Interpretation of the Qurʾan is one essential aspect of religion that serves not only as a way of understanding its doctrines, but also as a media controlling local beliefs and practices. This article is aimed at analyzing Šeḫ Muḥammad Aršad’s interpretation of theology-verses quoted to support his theological ideas in his Tuḥfat al-Rāġibīn. Employing trans-disciplinary approaches consisting of Quran interpretation as distinction between interpretation (tafsīr) and application (taṭbīq), and post-colonial criticism of the high-low tradition category, it concludes that first, Šeḫ Aršad’s treatment of the Qurʾanic verses does not prove that he freely interpreted the Qurʾan the way he wanted, but he applied the given verse-interpretation, and this method constitutes a partial interpretation of theology-verses; second, that such use interpretation method, in his perceived innovations, coupled by his position in the Sultanate of Banjar, was projected to purify, the perspective of Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jamāʾa, from some local traditions, such as manyanggar banua and mambuang pasilih.

Theology of Greek-Byzantine Church Fathers as a Specific Way of Philosophical Thinking in an Epistemological Context

The article presents the theological ideas and mystical–religious teachings of the Greek-Byzantine Church Fathers, which, at the same time, are philosophical because Byzantine theologians also reflected on human and their life, on the relationship between man and God, on the possibilities of God-cognition and obtaining higher sacred knowledge. Based on the analysis of the anthropological and epistemological ideas of the Greek Church Fathers, we highlight that philosophizing was always at the heart of Byzantine theology. Therefore, the Byzantine tradition of the Church Fathers is considered a unique type of philosophy of religion, which originated in the historical formation of the Christian faith in the era of the Triadic and Christological theological debates of the 4th to 7th centuries. This article reflects the teachings of three of the brightest thinkers-theologians of Byzantium—John Climacus, Maximus the Confessor, and Symeon the New Theologian. Their teachings are the foundation and main source of the mystical–religious tradition of Byzantine theology and philosophy. John Climacus’s conception of human self-improvement and self-cognition on the path of theosis is revealed as one of the first philosophical and moral systems of early Byzantium and the source of subsequent Christian concepts of Eastern Christianity. Maximus the Confessor’s conception of the logoi—or energies—of God is presented as a system of symbols with profound philosophical and anthropological meaning. The human being in St. Maximus’s doctrine is the main and self-sufficient symbol of the universe, connecting the two worlds—the Divine and the earthly ones. The doctrine of Symeon the New Theologian on uncreated light is revealed as a personal comprehension of God in the perception of Divine Light. The transforming power of the Light is demonstrated, which changes the nature of a human being and raises an individual to the height of spiritual unity with God. Finally, conclusions are made about the beginning and formation of the philosophy of religion as a special type of philosophical–religious thinking found already in the period of early Christianity.

Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction in the Pacific Northwest by Crawford Gribben

Reviewed by: Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction in the Pacific Northwest by Crawford Gribben Eileen Luhr SURVIVAL AND RESISTANCE IN EVANGELICAL AMERICA: CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTION IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST by Crawford Gribben Oxford University Press, New York, 2021. Maps, notes, bibliography, index. 210 pages. $32.95 cloth. In 1961, R.J. Rushdoony observed the onset of American modernity and determined that the conditions suggested imminent decline. Echoing earlier traditions of American jeremiads, Rushdoony — a dominant figure in Calvinist-influenced efforts to order American society along biblical lines — lamented, “there is . . . in each degenerating culture, and in the totality of history as it matures, a progressive degeneration of the natural man” (p. 138). Rushdoony concluded that, as state power expanded, American culture would experience turmoil, catastrophe, and — ultimately — collapse. While interventionist-minded evangelicals sought to reform American culture during the late twentieth century, Rush-doony, a postmillennialist, urged followers to survive, resist, and reconstruct American culture according to Old Testament law. By the late 1980s, Rushdoony’s repeated calls to reconstruct American culture fell to the wayside as evangelicals immersed themselves in politics. Perhaps as a result, scholars writing the history of evangelical activism have often minimized Rushdoony’s influence, choosing to focus on top-down political engagement. In Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America, Crawford Gribben, a historian at Queen’s University in Belfast, disputes these claims by tracing the “origins, evolution, and cultural reach” of Rushdoony and other Christian Reconstruction-ists (p. 13). Gribben characterizes his work as a “social history of theological ideas” that contextualizes an understudied tradition of modern conservatism within American religious, political, and cultural history (p. ix). He argues that as evangelical political efforts fragmented in the 1990s, “a much more vigorous, variegated, and entrepreneurial evangelical landscape” took its place (p. 63). Reconstructionists, also known [End Page 102] as theonomists, claimed a new relevance in this moment. Gribben counters reports of theonomy’s decline by tracing the alterations in cultural strategies and lived practices of Christian Reconstruction, which “has been revived, modified, and tempered, and, as its advocates develop savvy and strategic use of American mass culture, its ideas have a greater cultural purchase than ever before” (p. x). Second-generation Reconstruction activists sought to create “intentional communities” that lived by the demands of the Old Testament, in what one movement novelist characterized as the American Redoubt, an area including Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington (p. 5). By retreating into these White-dominated areas of the Pacific Northwest, cultural separatists could better survive and resist the doomed systems of liberal democracy at the “end of white Christian America” and prepare to reconstruct a biblically aligned society on its ashes (p. ix). Using a mix of ethnographic and literary critical approaches, Gribben follows the trajectory of Christian Reconstructionism from its roots in modern libertarianism and the “third disestablishment” to its newer incarnation among cultural separatists such as Douglas Wilson, an influential pastor in the movement, who have built an array of educational, institutional, and media forms in towns including Moscow, Idaho, now considered “America’s most post-millennial town” (p. 53). Gribben describes the recalibration of theonomist ideals through chapters that describe the movement’s altered understandings of migration, eschatology, government, education, and media. The most powerful sections of each chapter come when, having explained the intellectual origins of a particular topic, Gribben draws on his fieldwork, conducted in 2015 and 2016, to describe the lived practices of migrants to Moscow. Noting that Reconstructionist strategies rely on individual regeneration rather than force, Gribben critiques political pundits who paint Reconstructionism with too broad a brush. In his pursuit to be as “objective as possible” and to allow “participants to speak in their own words,” Gribben maintains that leaders deny that their views are racist but leaves readers to draw their own conclusions regarding the racial overtones of their fascination with, for example, Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis or Confederate-friendly accounts of slavery and the Civil War (p. 146). Nevertheless, at a moment when the United States Supreme Court has handed conservatives victories on issues including school prayer, abortion, and government support for religious schools, it is useful to remember that...

The Batak-Christian Theology of Land: Towards a Postcolonial Comparative Theology

Comparative theology has focused much on exploring and comparing the theological contents of world religions. In contrast, some of the works have yet to address the social matrix and lived experience of practitioners. This paper aims to offer a postcolonial comparative theology that considers the notion of subjectivity rather than neutrality, the appreciation of theology as a "living tradition" rather than mere "text," and the emphasis on the historical matrix of power rather than a framework of conceptual construction. The purpose is to provide a comparative theology of land in the indigenous religion and Christianity of the Batak people of Indonesia. In discussion with Bungaran Simanjuntak, Kim Knott, and Najeeba Syeed, among others, this paper will elaborate on the theological idea of land, particularly the Batak notion of huta (village) by tracing its historical transformation from the precolonial to the postcolonial. I argue that in the postcolonial context of the Global South, a comparative theology of land cannot be pursued without considering the colonial matrix of power formative to people's lived experience of the land and the theology that is presently practiced.

Economics of Faith: Reforming Poor Relief in Early Modern Europe by Esther Chung-Kim

<i>Economics of Faith: Reforming Poor Relief in Early Modern Europe</i> by Esther Chung-Kim

A theology of chaplaincy from below: changing the locus of theological agency

ABSTRACT The article argues that a theology of chaplaincy needs to identify, analyse, and evaluate the theological reflection undertaken by their chaplaincy clients. Chaplains, when questioned about their theological ideas, usually speak briefly about notions such as a ‘ministry of presence’ or ‘incarnational ministry or theology’ to explain and justify their commitment to the welfare and pastoral care of their clients. In our research project, we interviewed chaplaincy clients discussing with them their theological ideas. And what became apparent was that in the seafaring context, it is not only chaplains who are theological agents; theology is also being produced by the seafarers. Previously seafarers have been a neglected presence in any discussion of a theology of chaplaincy, as, in fact, have other clients be they patients in hospitals, prisoners, school pupils, or university students. We identified and vocalised this client theology and in the second half of the article, we explore the implications for a ‘theology of chaplaincy’ of listening to and dialoguing with the theology produced by chaplaincy clients. This includes a discussion of how we conceive of the chaplaincy space and what ethical questions are raised when the clients’ theology is taken seriously.

Theology and international order: Questions, challenges and explorations

Theology is a neglected resource in international relations scholarship; it is, more often than not, characterised as a threat to political order because it is seen as a cradle of fanaticism and irrationality. Postsecular scholarship challenges this view by exploring the persistence of theological ideas and religious belief in political discourse and practice. Political Theology of International Order is my own contribution to this type of scholarship. This article engages responses from five distinguished scholars. It considers the implications of taking theology seriously when theorising international order; the veracity of narratives that frame the study of international relations; and new directions and possibilities that arise out of the book.

Having the Father and the Son – the Structure, Main Theological Idea and Hermeneutical Principle of the Second Epistle of John

The Second Epistle of John is one of the least commented on New Testament writings, with the vast majority of existing commentaries being linear. The authors of this article attempted to take a structural view of this short book. After discussing the structures of the letter proposed by scholars (part one), they proposed their own structure of the book, thanks to which the main theological idea of the letter (2 John 9) (part two) could be determined, along with a hermeneutical principle allowing for new interpretative insights into the book as a whole (part three). This principle can be put into the words: “having the Father and the Son.”

Moses Mendelssohn as an Influence on Hermann Cohen’s “Idiosyncratic” Reading of Maimonides’ Ethics

Surprisingly, there are at least three major theological subjects where Hermann Cohen seems to agree with Mendelssohn—against standard Jewish Reform theology. Even more interesting: All three points stand in connection with the religious thought of Moses Maimonides (1137–1204), the medieval halakhist and philosopher, whose radical theological ideas Mendelssohn mostly rejected and Cohen generally adopted. Should this observation be true, however, we might assume that Cohen took at least a few hints for his own reading of Maimonides from Mendelssohn. This conclusion would then in itself be surprising, because Cohen, contrary to the Jewish Reform theologians of the 19th century, and in fact contrary to everyone else, read Maimonides in what was generally called an “idiosyncratic” way: For Cohen, Maimonides was a proto-idealist, who often followed Plato much more than Aristotle, and who sometimes even anticipated Immanuel Kant. Even more exceptionally, for Cohen Maimonides’ philosophy in the Guide of the Perplexed was focused on a theology of ethics rather than on a metaphysics of knowledge of the divine. I will attempt to provide proof-texts showing that on these three points Mendelssohn and Cohen are essentially in harmony. Still, my proofs for a probable Mendelssohnian influence on Cohen depend on a very close reading of both Mendelssohn’s relevant passages, as well as of the corresponding texts in Maimonides.

THE EXEGETICAL WORLD THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR THE GLOSSA ORDINARIA: A STUDY OF MANUSCRIPTS, GLOSSES, AND COMMENTARIES ON MATTHEW IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY

Recent scholarship has shown a revived interest in twelfth-century biblical commentaries and exegesis, particularly in and around Laon. In this essay, we argue that a certain kind of exegetical world was being forged in twelfth-century Laon which prepared the way for the widespread success of the Glossa ordinaria, both as a book form and as a bearer of certain theological ideas and exegetical techniques. Based on our examination of the manuscript evidence, two main versions of the Matthew Gloss are discernible in that century. This discovery makes it possible for scholars to reconstruct a primitive version of the Gloss which existed prior to the one used by Comestor and others, should such an edition be deemed useful. By examining the relationship between pre-Glossa ordinaria glossed manuscripts of Matthew and various stand-alone commentaries like Cum post ascensionem, our work clarifies existing understandings of how the Matthew Gloss originated and developed. Although the Gloss initially drew from patristic and Carolingian sources and contemporary masters, the mise-en-page of the gloss-form invited continued modification, with later scribes adding or subtracting material and interweaving their own insights with received tradition. As masters, students, and scribes glossed manuscripts of Matthew from Laon near and far, they left a lasting impact on how Latin Christendom read, studied, discussed, preached from, copied, and wrote in their Bibles.

Philosophy as an imaginary mountain ascent

In connection with the discussion initiated in Russia by Professor N. S. Kirabaev about the role of philosophy as a worldview and its significance for education, the author of the article proposes to consider philosophy as a worldview in the light of modernity. It comes from philological roots, which interpret “worldview” as an expression of a view of the world from outside and from above. Analyzing today’s worldview processes in Western society, the author points to a turn in which broadcasting on behalf of the Present is replaced by something else, fundamentally different. In the 17th –19th centuries, Western philosophy firmly put forward a reliable idea of the Present and, on this basis, expressed reliable judgments about the Future of mankind. At the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, contempt for the Present and confusion before the Future are imposed on Western society. This can be overcome only by returning to the Past, however, in such a way that this return turns into, as it were, a second beginning. The first beginning led to a dead end, because it was based solely on technical ideas. But it is precisely the Middle Ages, with its reliable moral guidelines, that is called upon to take over — as the theology of modernity — in the place of a rational interpretation of the world. The article deals with the ideas of Bede the Venerable, the theological ideas of Francesco Petrarca, Dante Alighieri — in the interpretation of G. Lebon, M. Heidegger, R. Guardini, P. Sloterdijk.

Teologia nauki – propozycja nowego otwarcia teologii na nauki

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; In this paper we discuss the idea of theology of science, which is understood as a new branch of the- ology concerned with the problems arising in the context of natural sciences. Theology of science has been developed since 1980s. The authors of this concept are Michał Heller and Józef Życiński – philosophers involved in discussions between science and religion, who tried to find a new common area to develop this dialogue. The aim of the paper is to present the concept of theology of science in the historical and problematic perspective, taking into account the various challenges and research perspectives faced by this concept.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Ecclesiology of Ioannis Zizioulas Through the Prism of “Liturgical” and “Therapeutic” Ecclesiology

Contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologian, Ioannis Zizioulas, is certainly one of the most prominent theologians of the modern times considering his great work as well as the depth of his thought. Although his work explores a spectrum of theological ideas, this paper brings his ecclesiology into light from a point of view of “liturgical” and “therapeutic” ecclesiology, which Zizioulas recognizes within the eastern tradition as two types of ecclesiology that are intertwined and therefore cannot be separated one from the other. Thus, this paper examines Zizioulas’ work in the context of the contemporary Greek Orthodox theology and puts forward his interest and view on ecclesiology with an aim to illustrate the “liturgical” and “therapeutic” dimension of ecclesiology that is present in his work and thought which are based fairly on patristic theology. Along these lines, this paper presents his ecclesiological concept right through the prism of “liturgical” and “therapeutic” ecclesiology.

Kantův pojem transcendentálního ideálu. Pokus o rekonstrukci

Kant treats the problem of a philosophical theory of God in two basic steps. First he develops his own understanding of the notion of God by providing the doctrine of the transcendental ideal. Then he proceeds to a critique of three types of the proof of God’s existence. Thus, Kant’s „deconstruction“ of philosophical theology has a positive and a negative part. The present contribution analyses the positive part only, with the aim to supply a detailed reconstruction of Kant’s procedure here. The reconstruction proceeds in the following steps. First we have to elucidate Kant’s notion of ideal. Following Wolff’s differentiation of the three kinds of special metaphysics, Kant distinguishes three basic types of those notions of pure reason which, in an explicit reference to Plato, he names „ideas“. It must then be explained why Kant calls the theological idea, unlike the psychological and the cosmological ones, an ideal. My claim is that the difficulty of the chapter on the transcendental ideal derives from the fact that Kant, without adverting to it explicitly yet in accordance with his own methodology, develops one by one three alternative suggestions of how the notion of the transcendental ideal can be approached. These three suggestions are then investigated in three sections where I also attempt to answer the question as to why Kant defines the theological idea to be not only an ideal but also a transcendental one. In conclusion, I provide a reconstruction of Kantʼs explanation of the origin of the notion of the transcendental ideal in pure reason.

Theology of Sagu: A Contextual Theology Construction in Maluku

After the implementation of rice as a staple food for Indonesian society, including in Maluku, the society of Maluku has become very dependent on rice. Sagu which is a staple and particular food is no longer cultivated and utilized optimally in Maluku. Therefore, through this paper we try to offer theology of sagu, specifically for the Christian society in Maluku. By understanding sagu theologically as a blessing from God that can provide food for society and their harmonious relationship with God, mankind, and nature, this will have implications for the empowerment carried out by The Protestant Church of Maluku on human and natural resources in Maluku. Here the theology of sagu, which is proposed, is constructed from the cosmological view of the Christian society, the biblical basis of John 6:25-59, and some contemporary ecological theological ideas. The purpose of this paper is to add The Protestant Church of Maluku's ecological theology which is being developed to respond to various ecological crises in its context, Maluku. The theology of sagu, which is offered, is to strengthen the church’s Church Teachings, which has been compiled, as the direction of the church’s ministry in the future for its community.

Discovering Slavic Mythology between East and West: Folklore Research and the Pagan Past in the Service of Nation-Building

This article analyses how pagan Slavic religion and mythology were assembled in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, using the example of folklore research in the Czech lands. It demonstrates how imaginings of the original nature of Slavic religion and mythology, and speculations about the Indo-European past, contributed to Czech nation-building. Reviewing the shift from amateur folklore research to the establishment of institutionalized disciplines, the article argues that Christian theological assumptions enabled the ‘discovery’ of Slavic religion and gave it a peculiar shape through secularization of the original theological ideas.