Individual Believers Research Articles

Per una antropologia della lettura: Islam, riflessione e modernità nella comunità Suffa di Istanbul

L’articolo indaga le pratiche di lettura di un testo islamico, il Risale-i Nur, presso la comunità Suffa, una delle molte che fanno parte del movimento riformista Nur, il più influente della Turchia moderna. L’articolo si colloca in modo trasversale rispetto ai dibattiti antropologici sull’impatto che l’educazione secolare moderna e i nuovi media hanno avuto sulle pratiche educative in ambito musulmano. Laddove questi lavori si sono focalizzati sulle implicazioni che queste trasformazioni hanno avuto per la ridefinizione della autorità religiosa, il contributo si concentra sulle forme di pensiero (tefekkür) e relative visioni del mondo, o cosmologie, che sono generate in relazione alle pratiche di lettura del testo religioso in oggetto. Sebbene l’accessibilità diretta al testo da parte dei singoli individui possa ricordare, come alcuni hanno sostenuto, dinamiche simili a quelle verificatesi in Europa durante la riforma protestante, l’articolo suggerisce che una tale prospettiva rischia di occultare le linee di continuità nelle pratiche di coltivazione religiosa, così come i complessi meccanismi di trasformazione e rinnovamento interni alla tradizione islamica. Inoltre, il contributo avanza l’idea che una nuova antropologia della lettura, nell’islam come in altre tradizioni, dovrebbe essere più attenta alla natura specifica degli esercizi intellettuali che sono generati dalle pratiche di lettura.

Consecrating Capitalism: The United States Prosperity Gospel and Neoliberalism

:Neoliberalism relies on optimism. Without faith in meritocracy—unwavering belief that rewards will eventually and justly come to those who work hard enough—support for the capitalist system and belief in neoliberalism would unravel. How that optimism is perpetuated in the face of persistent income inequality and exploitation within the workplace requires an examination of those cultural institutions which reinforce and reproduce optimism over practical experience. This research focuses on one particular religious institution of the United States—the Prosperity Gospel.The Prosperity Gospel is a modern, neoliberal variation of Pentecostalism that is premised on the belief that a Biblical covenant between the individual believer and God guarantees that believer blessings of health and wealth, provided she demonstrates adequate faith. Accordingly, for those who are less adept at navigating the business world, financial success is still available for those believers who can dedicate themselves with the same frenzied ambition to the spiritual world. The Prosperity Gospel thus supports and sustains neoliberalism; the Prosperity Gospel is an institution which provides ref-uge to individuals from the exigencies of the market as well as a social practice which reinforces individual responsibility and fault. The Prosperity Gospel is the spiritual articulation of neoliberalism as well as a reinforcing institution.

Shifting the sacred: Rob Bell and the postconservative evangelical turn

For sociologist Emile Durkheim, the “sacred” constitutes all those things “set apart and forbidden.” Within Evangelical Christianity, and to a lesser degree Protestantism in general, the sacred has arguably centered on the individual believer and her/his personal relationship with God and scripture. Recently, however, a growing movement within Evangelical Christianity has emphasized the sacred nature of relationships and community, culminating in the mantra “God is love.” This shift has set community above the personal in the hierarchy of sacred Evangelical things, and is reminiscent of earlier progressive forms of Evangelicalism, such as Social Gospel Christianity. Rob Bell, an Evangelical author, pastor, and Oprah Network star, possibly best exemplifies this change and its ramifications, which extend from a postcolonial critique of mission work and evangelism to a move to more inclusive and even Universalist soteriology. Such efforts that have left Bell labeled as a heretic in some Evangelical circles.

Studies in John's Gospel and Epistles: Collected Essays by Maarten J. J. Menken

Reviewed by: Studies in John's Gospel and Epistles: Collected Essaysby Maarten J. J. Menken Paul B. Decock Menken, Maarten J. J. 2015. Studies in John's Gospel and Epistles: Collected Essays. Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology77. Leuven: Peeters. Paperback. ISBN 978-9042932012. Pp. xiv + 455. $75.59. This collection of 22 articles, five of which had not previously been published in English, includes publications from 1980 to 2014. In his introduction, Professor Menken states: "I have been attracted especially by Johannine Christology and by the Johannine use of the OT and Jewish tradition: in an intriguing way, both are so to speak anti-Jewish in a Jewish way, that is, in both fields we can perceive how Christian Jews articulated their position over against other Jews" (1). The first part of this collection comprises studies of themes, while the second part focuses on particular passages. The first chapter studies the theme of "divine begetting," arguing that the widely accepted translation "being born of God" is incorrect and that it should rather be "begotten by God." The second chapter is a survey of literature on John's Christology from 1985 to 1990. Käsemann's view of John's naïve Docetism is not accepted. Against Bultmann's emphasis on the "ordinary" aspect of Jesus's ministry, the "extraordinary" aspect is recognised. In the third chapter, on the Johannine Christology, Menken acknowledges that we "meet here a group of communities and an ecclesiology with their own biases and their own possibilities" (71). These communities had relatively little structure. The images of the shepherd and the vine rather "draw attention to the relation between Jesus and the individual believer" (71). The fourth chapter considers the authority of John's Gospel and concludes that "the Gospel replaces its protagonist, Jesus, so that it has the same impact on people as Jesus had; the Gospel is a new [End Page 202]holy Scripture, fulfilling and exceeding the old Scriptures" (89). We may ask, however, whether the expression "replacing Jesus" is not an unfortunate choice. Perhaps the formulation of Sandra Schneiders, that the readers meet the presentJesus in the Gospel, would be more accurate. It would correspond to a widespread view in the early church. In the fifth chapter, which is about the significance of the OT in the Fourth Gospel, Menken concludes that "to John, the Scriptures, both their text and the history recorded in them, legitimate Jesus, not vice versa… [R]eal revelation of God is to be found not in the Scriptures, but exclusively in Jesus" (110). The sixth chapter examines the observation that, unlike the Synoptics, John does not articulate the resurrection of Jesus as fulfilment of the Scriptures, except for the general statement in John 20:9. The explanation for this lies in John's view that full belief in the resurrection involves understanding it as the fulfilment of Scripture. The texts to which 20:9 refers are about the vindication of the suffering righteous one. Menken proposes that John's Christology focuses on the incarnation and the crucifixion; these events have a "material outside" and a "spiritual inside." It is by means of the Scriptures that the spiritual inside (the resurrection) is manifested in the material outside (the death on the cross). The seventh chapter argues that John shows a particular interest in creation and the fall, on the one hand, and the Abraham stories, on the other. Abraham, like the Scriptures in toto, witnesses to Jesus, "the creative word of old that has now realized a new creation" (p. 145). Respectively, chapters eight to ten focus on the Minor Prophets (with special attention to Zech 9:9 in John 19:37), on allusions to the Minor Prophets, and on the Jewish feasts. Chapter eleven turns to the structure of 1 John and argues for a concentric construction, with 2:28–3:24 as its centre. Chapter twelve proposes that the opponents in the Letters are best understood as real opponents and not as a pragmatic device. They are those who have wrongly interpreted the Fourth Gospel. The second part of the work focuses on individual passages. Chapter thirteen links the Lamb of John...

Buildings and Bibles Between Profanization and Sacralization: Semiotic Ambivalence in the Protestant Dutch Bible Belt

Based on an ethnographic case study of three recently erected church buildings in the Dutch Bible Belt, this article demonstrates how orthodox Reformed congregations in the Netherlands define church buildings—especially the auditoria—and bibles as simultaneously profane and mediating the sacred. These at first glance ambivalent discourses are informed by a particular semiotic ideology, which maintains that material spaces and objects like these are sacralized if, and only if, individual believers can meaningfully relate them to their personal spiritual experiences. This ideology makes a primary attitude of profanization of material forms indispensable, because any preexistent sacredness of matter would precisely rule out these personal spiritual experiences.

Judaism, Christianity & Islam In Dialogue

While most studies on the Abrahamic religions focus on the community of believers, this paper explores aspects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that foster “peace within” for the individual believer. It brings all three traditions into conversation with one another and is grounded in the understanding that the believer must find inner peace before s/he can make peace with the larger world. Given that Jews, Christians, and Muslims share a common spiritual ancestor Abraham, this study draws upon their theological narratives of the Creation Story, which highlights understandings of God and His relationship with humankind. For the believer, this relationship aids in the validation of others and fosters self-discovery in ways that lead to empowerment, helping the believer to find that small space in her wide-awake world where she can act.

Unity and Identity in Evangelicalism and Prospects for Bridge Building with the Orthodox Church

This paper reflects on unity and identity within evangelicalism, briefly tracing the development of the movement within Protestantism before sketching its current situation. From the very beginning of Protestantism, concepts such as authority, scripture, and church, and their relations to individual believers have been complex. Five hundred years after the Reformation, the unity of the movement has come under increasing strain. Evangelicals have been buffeted by the modernist influence of the Fundamentalist-Liberal controversy in the United States, the advent of postmodernity, and a developing sense of unease within, although their numerical strength and global representation have continued to increase. Current issues facing evangelicalism include authority in the church, relations with political causes, and relevance to our pluralistic modern world; responses to such challenges reflect the internal diversity of the movement. Earlier identity markers of adherence to scripture and doctrinally-based exclusivism have begun to fade as evangelicalism has become more fragmented and with the rise of newer, more Spirit-oriented subgroups. The paper introduces positive trends emerging in some parts of the evangelical movement due to internal angst, secularisation, and the holistic understanding of faith associated with the Lausanne Movement. Evangelicals now show increased openness to social involvement, learning from other Christian traditions, and cooperation in mission endeavours. The final section explores the potential for bridge building between evangelicalism and the Orthodox Church, framed by ideas from Gerard Hughes and Friedrich Schleiermacher. Although the paper can only credibly examine the evangelical end of the bridge, it is hoped that the general insights may benefit bridge builders at the Orthodox end also. Keywords: unity, identity, Christian Church, Evangelicalism, Orthodox Church

An Overview of the Theology of Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts’ life and healing ministry were shaped by his theology of God. Roberts viewed God as good, who personally worked in the lives of people in the present, and who had good plans for each believer. The manifestation of these plans depended, however, on the faith of the individual believer. God was affected by events in time, was limited in his ability to act by the cooperation of the believer, and suffered emotional distress even as people do. The overriding element in all of Roberts’ message is that “Something good is going to happen to you.” Christians should expect miracles, good things, prosperity, healing, and overall blessings because God intends for his children to live that way in their journeys through life. This study will look at the theology of Oral Roberts, primarily featured in several of his most notable theological concepts.

Glaube: Das Verständnis des Glaubens im frühen Christentum und in seiner jüdischen und hellenistisch-römischen Umwelt

Glaube: Das Verständnis des Glaubens im frühen Christentum und in seiner jüdischen und hellenistisch-römischen Umwelt

Perceptions of danger and co-occurring metaphors in Buddhist dhamma talks and Christian sermons

AbstractThis article focuses on an analysis of the perception of danger in a sample of conservative Evangelical Christian sermons and Thai Forest Tradition dhamma talks. Through the analysis of keywords, frames, conceptual metaphors, and patterns of agency in the use of metaphor, it seeks to explore how one Christian believer and one Buddhist practitioner conceptualize their ways of being religious. We argue that this specific set of dhamma talks has a primary focus on an individual actively progressing within the practice of meditation while interacting with elements that may be beneficial or harmful to that progress. In contrast, this particular sample of sermons has a primary focus on two groups or categories of people, fallen sinners and true Christians, and their strictly defined hierarchical relationship to God. Aspects of this relationship are often defined in terms of power, fear, and danger, with shifting intersections between active behavior and being acted upon by greater forces or powers. We conclude that a cognitive linguistic approach to analyzing perceptions of danger within a specified genre of religious discourse can be useful in producing a picture of how an individual religious believer within a particular context and moment in time views reality, their position within it, and their progression through it.

Islam in the Syrian War: Spotting the Various Dimensions of Religion in Conflict

Religion has been a determining factor in the recent Syrian war since its beginnings, as a prominent identity marker as well as a motivational aspect on the path of jihad. This paper seeks to contribute to a more thorough understanding of the conflict dynamics in Syria by adequately describing the role of religion in the war. Its comprehensive approach takes into account various ontological manifestations of religion: as an identity, a discourse, in its doctrinal aspect as a set of teachings, and in its significance for the individual believer. In doing so, the paper will focus on Sunni Islam as the focal point of the most crucial intersections of religion and conflict in Syria. Finally, religion will be described as a resource for reconciliation in Syria.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TESTED FOR CONFESSIONALISM: THE VATICAN II DOCTRINAL PRINCIPLES

AbstractIn Catholic doctrine, church and state are two different and autonomous institutional subjects, but they are mutually linked. Therefore, a believer, as a citizen, is a subject simultaneously of two legal systems; the state is bound to recognize the confessional dimension of its own members, and the church is called to realize its proper ends within a precise political-social context. The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) constitutes for the Catholic Church a point of change and renewal. It did not limit itself to affirming the coexistence of the two systems in their independence, but it declared the necessity of a mutual alliance for the good of citizens and believers.Therefore, the church offers its own contribution to the state, favoring in this way the right to religious liberty; and the state allows the church to establish itself and carry out its proper mission in an institutional form, guaranteeing the protection of the rights of citizens as believers for the free expression of their faith, whether in a private dimension or in an organized form. Vatican II abandons, therefore, the concept of “state religion” in the classic sense of the term, and thus the privilege reserved to one among numerous religious expressions, and opens an authentic collaboration between parties as a prerequisite for the good not only for individual believers and religious organizations, but also for society itself. In particular, religious liberty finds its foundation no longer in the concept of truth (that legitimized the exclusion of other confessions in that they were “not true”), but in the concept of the dignity of the person, which must be protected as such.

“A kind of agonie in my thoughts”: writing puritan and non-conformist women’s pain in 17th-century England

The relationship between pain as a physical and emotional experience and the concept of suffering as an essential aspect of sanctification for faithful believers was a paradoxical and pressing theological...

Chinese Protestant Reactions to the Zhejiang “Three Rectifications, One Demolition” Campaign

This paper analyzes the wider effects of church demolitions and cross removals in Zhejiang on another location within the Huadong region. Based on fieldwork conducted in 2014 and 2015, this paper argues that the demolition of churches and church crosses is a potential catalyst for millenarian beliefs within popular Christianity. Much of the research on millenarianism has focused on specific movements. However, this paper utilizes the concept of millenarianism as a “body of underground ideas and thought which circulates in a community” and argues that the Zhejiang events have heightened millenarian beliefs within the Huanghaicheng Protestant community and resulted in an interpretation of these events as indicating that the “Last Days” are imminent. This perception has been facilitated by other “signs.” This paper furthers our understanding of the potential impact that political campaigns can have on popular Christianity and what resources individual believers draw on for making sense of them.

Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity: Constituents and Critique ed. by Henrietta L. Wiley and Christian A. Eberhart

Reviewed by: Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity: Constituents and Critique ed. by Henrietta L. Wiley and Christian A. Eberhart Nathan MacDonald henrietta l. wiley and christian a. eberhart (eds.), Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity: Constituents and Critique (RBS 85; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017). Pp. xvii + 431. Paper $76.95. This volume collects a number of papers delivered between 2011 and 2014 in the Society of Biblical Literature Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement section. An introduction [End Page 556] provides a brief history of the scholarly discussion around ritual sacrifice and atonement as well as a summary of the essays: Christian A. Eberhart, “Introduction: Constituents and Critique of Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity.” The rest of the volume is split into four sections. The first section, entitled “Purification: Perspectives from the Torah and Dead Sea Scrolls,” contains three essays: Joshua M. Vis, “The Purgation of Persons through the Purification Offering”; Dorothea Erbele-Küster, “‘She Shall Remain in (Accordance to) Her Blood-of-Purification’: Ritual Dynamics of Defilement and Purification in Leviticus 12”; and Hannah K. Harrington, “Accessing Holiness via Ritual Ablutions in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature.” The second section entitled “Sacrifice: Ritual Aspects and Prophetic Critique” has the following essays: David Calabro, “A Reexamination of the Ancient Israelite Gesture of Hand Placement”; Aaron Glaim, “‘I Will Not Accept Them’: Sacrifice and Reciprocity in the Prophetic Literature”; Göran Eidevall, “Prophetic Cult-Criticism in Support of Sacrificial Worship? The Case of Jeremiah”; and Ma. Maricel S. Ibita, “‘What to Me Is the Multitude of Your Sacrifices?’: Exploring the Critique of Sacrificial Cult and the Metaphors for YHWH in the Prophetic Lawsuit (Micah 6:1–8 and Isaiah 1:1–20).” The third section, “Atonement: Alternative Concepts,” comprises the following essays: Christian A. Eberhart, “To Atone or Not to Atone: Remarks on the Day of Atonement Rituals according to Leviticus 16 and the Meaning of Atonement”; Jarvis J. Williams, “Cultic Action and Cult Function in Second Temple Jewish Martyrologies: The Jewish Martyrs as Israel’s Yom Kippur”; and Ross E. Winkle, “Resistance Is Not Futile: Restraint as Cultic Action in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12.” In the fourth section, “Temple and Priesthood: Rethinking Sacred Authority,” there are three essays: Timothy Wardle, “Pillars, Foundations, and Stones: Individual Believers as Constituent Parts of the Early Christian Communal Temple”; Nicole Wilkinson Duran, “‘Not One Stone Will be Left on Another’: The Destruction of the Temple and the Crucifixion of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel”; and Ross E. Winkle, “‘You Are What You Wear’: The Dress and Identity of Jesus as High Priest in John’s Apocalypse.” The volume is complete with a full bibliography, a list of contributors, an index of ancient sources, and an index of subjects. Vis returns to the problem of kippēr and argues that Leviticus 4–5 draws on an earlier Leviticus 16. The offerer of the ḥaṭṭāᐣt is being purged of sin. Erbele-Küster examines the purification of the parturient and argues that she is purified by means of her flow of blood and reintegrated into the cultic community. Harrington demonstrates that washing rituals in the Second Temple period were not merely a means of removing impurity but also a means of accessing a higher level of holiness. Calabro revisits the famous crux of the hand-placing gesture. Against the current consensus that distinguishes a one-handed placement from a two-handed one, he argues that there was just a single gesture using both hands. The gesture assigns the recipient to a particular position in an organizational order. Glaim examines the prophetic critique of sacrifice. It is not a critique of sacrificial offerings and relates only to specific historical moments of judgment. Yhwh could not simultaneously accept sacrifices, suggesting a favorable view of his people, and bring defeat. The prophets’ words are an apology for the cult that defends the efficacy of sacrifice. Eidevall discusses a specific example of the prophetic critique: that found in the Book of Jeremiah. Eidevall argues that the book critiques the sacrifices offered before the fall of Jerusalem but encourages future offerings. Ibita employs blending theory from contemporary...

Hope found, hope lost – eschatological aspects in the interpretations of Israelites’ wilderness wanderings. Two sides of one story: Origen’s 27. Homily on the Book of Numbers and Jerome’s Letter 78

The writings of Origen and Jerome, which are the source of the article, al­though in a different literary form – a homily and a letter – and written for a diffe­rent purpose and at different times, both are exegesis of the chapter 33 of the Book of Numbers in which the stops of the Israelites in the desert on the road to the Promised Land are described. Both texts are the classic examples of allegorical interpretation of the Scripture. Both authors interpret the 42 “stages” of Israel’s wilderness wanderings above all as God’s roadmap for the spiritual growth of individual believers, but there are present as well eschatological elements in their interpretations. In the presented paper there are shown these eschatological ideas of both authors included in their interpretations of the wandering of the Chosen People on their way to the Promised Land, sources of their interpretations, simi­larities and differences, and the dependence of Jerome on Origen in the interpre­tation of the stages, with the focuse on the idea of realized eschatology, present in Alexandrinian’s work. Origen has presented in his interpretation a very rich picture of the future hope, but Jerome almost nothing mentioned in his letter about hopes of the way towards God after death.

The Living Word

The Bible, which is indisputable regarded as the inspired word of God, is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Man, as an earthen vessel, was used by the Holy Spirit to pen the revelation of God’s truth in Jesus Christ. The Holy Scriptures are “God breathed” words to the Church and are key in interpreting and fulfilling God’s telos for creation. This write-up wishes to emphasize and survey the critical role of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. Due to the inspiring role of the Spirit, the word of God is not a dead letter, rather a life-giving word that spills new life into the believer and the Church. Precisely this connection of Spirit and letter marks the Holy Scripture as living and active and conveys the desired transformative dimension for the individual believer and the faith community.

Pentecostal mission spirituality: a study of the classical Pentecostal Churches in Ghana

Mission is not just about proclaiming the gospel - it encompasses spiritual preparation of those involved in both mission activity and in converted souls. This approach is what is termed as mission spirituality in this article. Mission spirituality is the means by which churches and individual believers participate in the mission of God, through the way they live in and by the Holy Spirit, in order to know the will of God regarding what He is doing in their context and to follow His example. In view of the importance of mission spirituality in missionary activities of the church, this article explores the mission spirituality of the classical Pentecostal churches in Ghana (The church of Pentecost, Christ Apostolic Church International, The Apostolic Church Ghana and the Assemblies of God).

The Relative Good of Work: Reconsidering Vocation Eschatologically

ABSTRACTVocation, interpreted as the calling of every individual believer to serve God in ordinary life, has been an important feature of Protestantism. However, not only has the notion of vocation gradually disappeared from the late modern understanding of work and profession, the identification of vocation and work has also been criticized by theologians such as Karl Barth, Miroslav Volf, Jacques Ellul, and Gerrit de Kruijf. From their eschatological perspective, these theologians hold that because our true vocation is to be citizens of God's kingdom, work is a relative good or even a necessary evil. Although this criticism is in various respects justified and relevant, it tends to overlook the particularity of callings included in the Protestant conception of vocation. Therefore, an alternative approach is presented, in which vocation as a particular calling from God's side can be reconnected to everyday life, including the life sphere of work and profession. From this approach, this article explores the implications for discerning vocation in the practice of Christian higher education as a communal practice of discernment of one's callings, as related to the primary calling to be a citizen of the kingdom of God, and as aimed at the common good.

Dreaming faith into being: Indigenous Evangelicals and co-acted experiences of the divine

This article examines the role of socio-moral space in people’s experiences of divine presence. More specifically, it addresses the questions of how social others influence people’s experiences of God and Satan among the indigenous evangelical Yine people of Peruvian Amazonia, and the consequences these interactions have for the individual believer and the collectivity. For the Yine dreams are a privileged site of human encounter with other-than-human beings, and they also feature centrally in their Christian lives. It is in dreams that they interact with angels and sometimes with the devil. By examining Yine evangelical dreams as mimetic points of encounter involving not only the dreamer but also transcendent beings and fellow believers as active agents, the article shows that Yine experiences of God’s presence cannot be conceptualised as an individual matter, but are highly dependent on the social other: they come to be as co-acted experiences of the divine.