Possibility Of Salvation Research Articles

«Тихая жизнь»: вещи и вести в поэтических натюрмортах Светланы Кековой

The article deals with the poetry oeuvre of the modern Russian poet Svetlana Kekova. The goal of this research is to examine texts created in the genre of poetic still life (Tikhaya zhizn (Quiet life), Po reke pechalnoy luna proplyvaet ryboy… (The moon is floating down the sad river like a fish...), Pomme de terre, V starom barake, gde tvoy poyavlyaetsa vrag… (In the old barrack hut where your enemy appears...), Ogon’ veshchey (Fire of things), Sredi nadezhd, raskayanja i strakhov (Among hopes, repentance and fears)). Still lifes in S. Kekova’s poetry is a particular case of the manifestation of a “religious ekphrasis”, due to which the described series of objects acquire a second symbolic meaning. The main place in the article is given to a detailed analysis of the poetic diptych Tikhaya zhizn (Quiet life). Two parts of the cycle address Dutch and Flemish still lifes, though the author’s intentions are connected with the comprehension of a sacred plot that goes back to the New Testament history. The mirror structure of this text has been revealed, the semantic principles underlying the compositional structure of the cycle have been shown. If the “Dutch still lifes” consecutively reflect the key events of the New Testament (The Last Supper, Crucifixion and Resurrection), and all the three poems are united by the idea of the victory of light over darkness and the possibility of salvation, then in the “Flemish still lifes” the author speaks about the sinfulness of the earthly life. The Dutch and Flemish still lifes in Tikhaya zhizn (Quiet life) are contrasted as worlds of salvation and death, which are being infinitely attracted and repelled. Together they represent a complex dialectic of the Christian history. This study pays special attention to the problem of ekphrasis, as it has been found that one of the possible pretexts of the “Flemish still lifes” is the painting “The Meat Stall” by Pieter Aertsen. The article concludes that the main sense-generating mechanism of S. Kekova’s writing is the ability of the author’s view to transfigure earthly things so that you can see echoes of the higher News in them.

Схождение Инанны и похищение Персефоны: очерк о двух литературных источниках о мифах смерти и возрождения

The article deals with two literary works originating from two highly distinct traditions: ancient Sumerian and Greek. Despite their different origins, the two works in question, “The Descent of Inana to the Underworld” and Homeric Hymn “To Demeter”, share several key features, which thematically connect them to Greek Mystery cults: topics of death and possibility of salvation, mysteries of the underworld, which can be transcended by means of initiation rites, aetiological connection between the death and rebirth of a fertility deity and agricultural fertility of the land. Based on the assumption that these two sources can be identified as apocalypses and given the widespread correlation between formal literary complexity and philosophical (or theological) depth found in apocalyptic literature (especially in Judeo-Christian tradition), this paper seeks to establish the same correlation in Greco-Sumerian and, more precisely, Eleusinian milieu. However, the final analyses proves the opposite of the initial hypothesized conclusion.

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THE CONCEPT OF SIN IN “SINS”, A SHORT NOVEL (‘POVEST’) BY I. N. POTAPENKO

The article discusses the concept of sin in Sins, a short novel (povest') by I. N. Potapenko in the context of the patristic teaching on sinful passions and virtues. According to the Church Fathers, sin is the cause of all human misfortunes and evil, and the origin of sorrow and death. Exploring the phenomenon of sin, the writer examines various types of human vices, trying to understand the sources of the origin of sin, ways to overcome it and the possibility of salvation in the world. The work is written in the form of an adult’s memories of childhood. Through the prism of children’s perception, the attitudes of different types of people to faith, awareness of their own sinfulness, the desire for repentance and salvation of the soul are revealed. The short story presents the main sinful passions (gluttony, fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, despondency, vanity, pride) and the main sources of sin (human self, egoism, pride). The work has an edifying character. The tragic fate of some characters is a clear example of the destructive effect of sins. There is a clear link between a vicious life and incurable diseases, death without repentance, suicide. Through preaching the gospel truths, I. N. Potapenko tried to convey the idea that despite the ubiquity of sin, it is possible to be saved in the world. This requires faith in God, repentance, humility, following the commandments, and leading a virtuous Christian life.

Species and Salvation: Theology of History in the Anthropocene?

In this article I will discuss various thoughts of a few recent representatives of the tradition of the philosophy of history—Heinz Dieter Kittsteiner, Ulrich Beck, and finally Karl Rahner—and bring them into a conversation with Dipesh Chakrabarty's work on the problems of human species history and the Anthropocene. The aim of this undertaking is to gain greater clarity on the question of the work that theology continues to do for historical thought. I argue that Rahner's notions about “inclusivism”—according to which the possibility of salvation is vested in the species history of humanity rather than in the history of Christian revelation—and his related notion of an irresolvable tension between “anonymous” and what one might then call “onomastic” histories signal the continuing significance of a theology of the baptismal sacrament for historical thought. Rereading Rahner's thought sheds light on certain quandaries of the Anthropocene discussion, regarding the way in which species history can be related to other kinds of history writing, and the novel opening for theodicy generated by the breakdown of the culture–nature divide.

Can America be Saved? A Pastoral Response to Racism and Covid-19 and an Appeal for Dreams, Visions, and Imagination

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the possibility of salvation for the United States of America in light of COVID-19 and systemic racism through the practice of dreams, vision and imagination. I begin with an exploration of visions, dreams, and imagination as a gateway to holistic ways of knowing, being, and doing. Then, through a biblical analysis of apocalyptic texts from the books of Daniel and Revelation, I ground concepts of dreams, visions and imagination as ways through which salvation is realized. Finally, drawing on Wesleyan theology, womanist theological analyses, Jungian thought and practical theological resources, I discuss theological and practical means of salvation which underscore the need for continuous social and theological engagement and creative expression.

Allured by Satan, the World and the Flesh: Representations of Temptation in Medieval English Drama

According to medieval Christian understanding, human beings have three obstacles or adversaries that mankind must overcome to achieve salvation: Satan, the world and the flesh. The Holy Trinity embodied in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost is in contrast to Satan, the world and the flesh. The ideas of heaven and hell are developed with regard to the avoidance of temptation, putting emphasis on the possibility of being abstained from temptation. Medieval dramatists represent the temptations in several mystery and morality plays so as to warn their audience against temptation, present temptation as something to be abstained from through biblical accounts, beginning with Satan’s temptation, followed with an individual’s falling into temptation oneself. Accordingly, this article aims to analyse the dramatic representations of the temptations by medieval playwrights with references to specific mystery and morality plays in order to reveal how spiritual and earthly temptation is handled in the plays. Thereby, an individual’s own temptation with/without the possibility of salvation is questioned.

로버트 사우디 시에 나타난 반노예주의

The purpose of this paper is to study Robert Southey’s several poems concerning slavery and slave trade in English Romantic era. This investigation aims at examining how the problem of slavery contributed to the making of Southey’s poetic works. Southey was an abolitionist in a way or another, and basically against the slavery system because it destroys the humanity of African black people. He showed directly abhorrence of the slave trade in his poems such as “Poems Concerning the Slave Trade”, “To the Genius, Africa” and “The Sailor Who had Served in the Slave Trade.” The first two poems deal with the subject of ‘vengeance’ and ‘violence’ for the enslaved black people’s liberation whereas the last one treats mainly the theme of ‘repentance’, ‘forgiveness of sin’ and ‘the possibility of salvation’. Even though his poetic language is awkward and declamatory, the poet strongly vigorously opposes slavery and slave-trade on a strong conviction.

The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions by Gerald O'Collins

Reviewed by: The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions by Gerald O'Collins Glenn B. Siniscalchi Gerald O'Collins, The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. 214. $45.00. O'Collins's concern is to explain and defend Vatican II's teaching on the uniqueness of Christ and the possibility of salvation outside the Church, in order to convince those who endorse religious exclusivism. In this view, none of the formal outsiders can be saved: "Clearly many Roman Catholics and other Christians find it unsettling or even disturbing to acknowledge that God's revelation and salvation are available for 'the others'" (p. 159; cf. p. 202). One of O'Collins's presuppositions is that the meaning of biblical and conciliar texts can take on a meaning of their own after they have been originally written down. Although Vatican II did not explicitly state that the other religions are "ways of salvation" (p. viii), the texts allow for such an interpretation. He says that Vatican II "developed some teaching on other religions" (p. 1, cf. p. 149) and "offered something startlingly new" (p. 143). Instead of labeling the outsiders as "pagans," "heathens," and "infidels," the Council Fathers would rather use positive language about those outside the Catholic communion. Beginning with an exposition of the scriptures, O'Collins contends that the scripture writers give positive evaluations regarding the possible fate of the formal outsiders. By analyzing the documents of Vatican II, he also believes that the reality of divine revelation can be found outside the boundaries of Judaism and Christianity. A favorable response to revelation allows outsiders to be saved. Unless God reveals Godself outside the church, formal outsiders could never be saved. O'Collins's endorsement of Karl Rahner's theology enables him to speak freely of people's being saved through the other world religions. O'Collins's careful treatment of the biblical and conciliar texts is continuously accurate and informative. He rightly says, "Neither the thesis of total [End Page 617] discontinuity (or substitution of something completely new) nor the thesis of total continuity (or no change whatsoever) can possibly be sustained. The crucial question concerns the degree of change or discontinuity" (p. 202). By the end of the book he speaks about "considerable discontinuity" in the "official doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church" (p. 204). Such a claim cannot be denied. In terms of the way that the Church expressed doctrine, there was indeed remarkable change, but in terms of the content of teaching, the doctrine of salvation outside the Church remains unchanged. Like so many other reputable publications in the theology of religions, the reader must pay careful attention to the way in which O'Collins defines and utilizes his terms in order to exegete his text appropriately. His book will be an excellent text for graduate-level courses on interfaith relations. No matter where the reader falls on the spectrum of Catholic belief on this particular issue, this book is a serious work of theology that deserves a wide readership. [End Page 618] Glenn B. Siniscalchi Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology Saint Meinrad, IN Copyright © 2018 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Apollo’s Deception: The Will to Beauty and The Broken Heart

John Ford’s The Broken Heart (c. 1629) has been interpreted as a play in which Ford’s art imposes beauty onto the ugliness of human affairs. In this essay, I argue, instead, that the play depicts beauty as a metaphysical ideal that poisons the characters’ ability to embrace life in this world. Friedrich Nietzsche’s analysis of the “will to beauty” enables us to see beauty as “Apollo’s deception”: far from offering redemption, this principle, which works to deny the material and temporal orders, is precisely that which closes off the possibility of salvation for the characters of the play.

Arka Noego obrazem Kościoła w "Enarrationes in psalmos" św. Augustyna

St. Augustine is regarded as master of the an allegorical interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. It consists in drawing out from the biblical text the deepest meaning. Using such kind of interpretation, he tried in one of his greatest exegeti­cal works – Enarrationes in Psalmos, to explain for his faithful the mystery of the Church by means of a number of motives from the parables, biblical topographic and cosmic subjects, as well as from many biblical events and personages, in­terpreted in an allegorical spirit. So, in this article an effort has been made to show only some ideas of Augustine’s ecclesiological reflections that look as fruit of his allegorical interpretation of Noah’s Arc and the happenings related to it. The carried out analyses show that the figure of Noah’s Arc and the happenings related to it, served the bishop of Hippona to present the Church as a community composed of all nations of the world which are being incorporated in its organism after a previous conversion and receiving baptism as a result of proclamation the Gospel which should perform a priority role in the saving service of the Church. In Augustine’s opinion, the Church should be the place of proclamation the Truth, the teaching of which in the Church should be characterized by absolute fidelity to the Christian doctrine. What’s more, the Church is a community of saint and sin­ful people. It unceasingly undertakes strenuous efforts of moral cleaning, striving thereby for a growing moral perfection. That community is also characterized by awareness of a shared responsibility for the salvation of others, as well as by a conviction of the value of testifying to the holiness of life and the need of pro­claiming the Word of God. These constitute an essential factor which mobilizes to a growing fidelity in fulfilling the will of God expressed in the commandments, and to undertaking a strenuous effort to proclaim the Gospel. The carried out anal­yses also allow to ascertain that the moral renewal undertaken by the members of the Church, should take place in accordance with the recommendations of Christ, and their progress in acquiring moral perfection does not remain without influence on perceiving the institution of the Church. Also obdurate sinners are members of the Church, those who, in spite of the words of encouragement addressed to them that they might start a way of fidelity to God, they put off the final decision of con­version, resigning in this way from the possibility of salvation, offered to them by God. The Church shown by means of an arc, is a Church unceasingly persecuted because it does not give consent to moral violations by the sinners, having a tole­rating attitude toward them, in hope of their conversion. To Augustine’s vision of the Church belongs also his faithful safeguard of the Christian morality, as well as his fidelity in the service of proclaiming the Gospel. Both flow from the convic­tion of impossibility of one’s salvation outside the Church.

The Catholic theology of religions: a survey of pre-Vatican II and Conciliar attitudes towards other religions

AbstractThis article analyses the Catholic view of religions by examining its beginnings as a theology of salvation for non-believers summarised by the aphorism extra ecclesiam nulla salus. It notes that Catholic attempts to examine the capacity of religions per se in attaining salvation for their followers took place in the period before and during Vatican II when the church began assessing the non-Christian person not just as an isolated individual but also by taking into account her wider affiliations to a religious community. This analysis has revealed there were hermeneutical tensions within the church about whether the Council signified greater continuity or discontinuity with tradition, and consequently, similarly contrasting views about the extent to which it was willing to see other religions as holding salvific function to any extent. The survey has concluded that ultimately the Council chose to leave this question of the salvific function of other faiths open for further investigation, even though it displayed an unprecedented positive appreciation of them, contra some observers who have argued the church recognised the possibility of salvation for non-Christians through their own faiths. Nevertheless, the Second Vatican Council did affirm the significance of other religions as a preparation for the Gospel, as well as showed a movement beyond the pre-Conciliar notion of extra ecclesiam by granting the possibility of salvation for non-Christians, particularly those who are invincibly ignorant and who had striven to live an upright life by observing natural law. This implies that the next theological question on the agenda could be on the role and functions of these religions; i.e. are those people who are reckoned to be saved, saved through or despite their religions, and how is this salvation related to the church or to the work of Christ or both? Thus, the analysis provided in this theological-historical survey will serve to provide the backdrop for further discussions on post Conciliar developments within the Catholic theology of religions. Finally, an understanding of Catholic views towards other religions will also be illuminative for Protestantism as it seeks to advance its own theological understanding of world religions.

Al compás del fin del mundo: La Virgen de los sicarios de Fernando Vallejo

The novel La Virgen de los sicarios (Our Lady of the Assassins) (1994) by Fernando Vallejo offers a terrifying vision of the apocalyptic and cultural transformations that took place in Colombia from receipt of the globalizing economic policies of the late nineteenth century. This is how a communication model circulated, based mainly on the acoustics which promoted interference and disruption in intersubjective relations, generating destruction and violence. The countless allusions to John’s Book of Revelation in the novel gives a prophetic and eschatological sense to the acoustic signs of an unfinished and devastating modernity which plagued Colombia at the end of last century, with no possibility of salvation. Vallejo's novel attributes this apocalyptic sense the revelation of an essential truth of the world and the people of Latin America, the crude unveiling of something hidden and secret, that is, the incorporeal effects of acoustic devices which, consciously or unconsciously, trigger and feed violence in Colombia.

Christians, Jews, Journeys, and Salvation. Intertextuality and Inversion in Laish by Aharon Appelfeld and Crusade by Amos Oz

This article offers a comparative study of two Modern Hebrew novellas: Crusade (1971) by Amos Oz and Laish (1994) by Aharon Appelfeld (both works were written in Hebrew by writers who are Israel Literature Prize laureates). The study is based on revealing both the similarities and the distinct points of difference between these two works, which share similar details in their plot outline. In doing so I am trying to decipher the aim and purpose of the obvious ties woven between the latter novella and the early one that serves as its model.Both works tell about a caravan making its way from Europe to Jerusalem, encountering hardships and obstacles on the way. In Oz’s novella it is a Christian caravan on a crusade aiming to arrive at Jerusalem but never leaving the European continent; in Appelfeld’s work the story is of a Jewish caravan wandering for years on the soil of Europe on its way to the port of Galacz, aiming to leave Europe on the way to the Land of Israel.Both authors make their point by using covertly the image of the “Wandering Jew,” but differ about the conclusions that can be drawn from the encounter between that symbol and Jewish fate. In Crusade, by using the image of the Wandering Jew, Oz signals both Jewish weakness in exile and Christian religious fanaticism, the encounter between which is disastrous for the Jews. Oz thus points to what he perceives as an insoluble problem on account of its mythical roots.Appelfeld uses the image of the Wandering Jew quite differently and for another purpose. In Laish Appelfeld is producing “a realization of a metaphor,” so to speak, when he turns the entire Jewish caravan into the actual exemplification of the Wandering Jew.Contrary to Oz’s novella, where unequivocally there is no hope for the wandering Jew, who continues to symbolize the Jewish people in exile among the nations, the use of the myth of the Wandering Jew as frame and form in Laish is quintessentially dialectic. Therefore it also enables its deconstruction. In the hidden dialogue that takes place between Appelfeld’s novella and that of Oz, the latter’s work is in fact disputing with the earlier one trying to refute its deep pessimism. Although the caravan’s way in Laish is not a simple and easy one, the implications of the emergence of a “Zionist” solution, which in turn shatters the Christian “Wandering Jew” myth, hints at a real possibility of salvation.

Lazarus and the Sickness Unto Death: An Allegory of Despair

AbstractThis article explores the religious symbolism of death and resurrection in works by Dostoevsky, Holbein, Kazantzakis, and Kierkegaard, examining the imaginative correlation between the death of God and the sickness of the soul. Exploring the symbolic analogy between the death of the self and the death of God evoked by these works, I offer an existential reading of the death and raising of Lazarus as an allegory of despair over the possibility of salvation. I illustrate this existential dis-ease via a symbolic reading of two artistic depictions of death and resurrection. Beginning with reference to Nikos Kazantzakis’s account of the death of Lazarus in The Last Temptation, and proceeding to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s famous description in The Idiot of Hans Holbein the Younger’s The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb (1521), I endeavor to articulate a constructive existential and psychological analogy between the death of the self and despair over the death of God (interpreted as an expression of the loss of hope in salvation). Finally, by reading such despair with imaginative-symbolic reference to Lazarus, I return to Kierkegaard’s The Sickness Unto Death in search of hope in the “impossible possibility of salvation.”

Will Satan Be Saved? Reconsidering Origen's Theory of Volition in Peri Archon

AbstractThough the list of Origen's mistakes varies among authors, perhaps one of the most notorious accusations is that he proposed salvation for the devil, despite his protestations to the contrary. Though in PArch his discussion of Satan is secondary to his larger aims, Origen does provide evidence that validates his claim that the devil could not be saved, especially in his exploration of volition. By considering the devil within Origen's stance on volition and the nature of the soul, it is clear that while the devil technically retained the possibility of salvation, he did not wish to attain it, due to the degree to which he pursued his own desires.

Inclusivism in the Fiction of C. S. Lewis: The Case of Emeth

Inclusivism in the Fiction of C. S. LewisThe Case of Emeth Elissa McCormack (bio) One of the scenes in C. S. Lewis's collection of fiction that most puzzles readers concerns the salvation of Emeth, a Calormene and worshipper of Tash, in The Last Battle.1 The god Tash is portrayed as evil, as a false god, and is given Satan's job in claiming the evil Calormenes and Narnians (LB, 738-40; 12). Since the Narnians' faith in Aslan can be compared to a Christian's faith in Jesus, Emeth's salvation in spite of his erroneous beliefs raises the question of Lewis's views concerning the possibility of salvation in non-Christian religions.2 Is Lewis an inclusivist?3 What, according to Lewis, is necessary for salvation? Although never treated as a major theme, the possibility of salvation outside of Christianity does show up continually in Lewis's works, especially in his fiction. Often characters who do not hold correct beliefs obtain salvation as long as those beliefs are contained within a sincere search for Truth throughout their life. It is this search for the Truth, or as Lewis experienced it, this desire for Joy, that is necessary for salvation. Joy "is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still 'about to be.'"4 It is associated with an "inconsolable longing" for heaven, even [End Page 57] if, like Lewis, one does not recognize this connection at one's first experience of Joy.5 Those who are sincerely searching for Truth are really exhibiting a longing for heaven. Therefore, it is possible, according to Lewis, to be saved from within a non-Christian religion as long as one does have this true longing for Truth. Alternatively, in his book Beyond the Shadowlands: C. S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell, Wayne Martindale argues against the idea that Lewis could be considered an inclusivist. He wrote, "The belief that Christ may save some who haven't heard is sprinkled here and there in Lewis's writing, but it does not bulk large. His emphasis was on the orthodox view that salvation comes by hearing the Word (the good news of salvation in Christ and placing our trust in his death for us), and that works of righteousness flow out of a changed heart."6 Martindale seems to go back and forth on this opinion, sometimes admitting the possibility of salvation for non-Christians but mostly emphasizing that Lewis does not hold that view. We can look into some of Lewis's fiction to see what views he generally takes regarding salvation of non-Christians, most clearly found in The Chronicles of Narnia (especially The Last Battle), The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, and Till We Have Faces. He does indeed take an orthodox view, in the sense that although there are occasions of salvation attained by those who are not Christian, these people are always saved through Christ (by Aslan in the case of Emeth). This orthodox view, however, is not the orthodoxy envisioned by Martindale because Christianity for Lewis is more than just hearing "the good news of salvation in Christ and placing our trust in his death for us" but also includes participating in the sacraments.7 Also contrary to what Martindale believes, Lewis's fiction clearly shows a possibility for salvation in non-Christian religions as long as those people who are saved are devoted to a search for the Truth, a search that is necessary for anyone's salvation. In The Last Battle, the character of Emeth, even though a Calormene, is portrayed as a good and truthful person. He was upset by the plan to sneak into Narnia disguised as merchants because [End Page 58] he did not find it to be honest. He was also greatly angered by the teaching of Shift the Ape, who said that Tash and Aslan were one because, as he explains to the kings and queens of Narnia, "For al-ways since I was a boy I have served Tash and my great desire was to know more of him and, if it might be, to look upon his face. But...

On the Universal Possibility of Salvation

On the Universal Possibility of Salvation

The Bartleby Industry and Bartleby’s Idleness

The Bartleby Industry and Bartleby’s Idleness Andrew Knighton (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Unidentified mid-nineteenth-century daguerreotype portraits produced by Matthew Brady’s studio. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, clockwise from top left: LC-USZ62-110123, LC-USZ62-110112, LC-USZ62-110191, LC-USZ62-110177. [End Page 184] Bah! Bartleby! No work in the whole of American literature is more profound in its attention to the meaning of idleness than “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” It is perhaps the story’s crowning paradox, then, that Melville’s is among the tales in that tradition that have been most badly overworked. Suspecting that “Bartleby” has been done to death, one initially recoils from the duty of critically rewriting this scrivener’s tale once more. Yet the tensions of this contradictory position—of being compelled to rework the text and simultaneously preferring not to—may only be discharged by a renewed engagement with “Bartleby”; one can inquire in-to the history of neither American literature nor American productivity without confronting the problems that the story persists in raising. To confront “Bartleby” is to hazard a small contribution to the proliferation of criticism that Dan McCall, seizing on this paradox, has termed the “Bartleby Industry.”1 The critical machinery of that uncommonly productive industry has long strained to dissect the tale’s various ambivalences; innumerable critical ventures enter into contradiction, overwhelm each other, and refuse to work together. Often, the highly productive application of all this “industry” appears to draw us further from the possibility of getting anything substantial done; when it comes to “Bartleby,” our considerable critical energies seem hopelessly diffused. Precisely because of the excess of energy it attempts to marshal, the Bartleby Industry risks exposing the unproductivity that lies at its very heart. And [End Page 185] yet to say something important about nineteenth-century literature’s encounter with idleness, it is through this industry that one must push. It is perhaps a matter of kicking poor old Bartleby’s corpse around one more time, firm in the conviction that some reflex from this apparently catatonic hulk will confirm the presence, there, of life. Considering Melville’s tale as a meditation on unproductivity, we find that though Bartleby is deservedly one of the most widely beloved of nineteenth-century idlers, he is certainly not alone among his contemporaries. The implications of the story’s obsession with unproductivity become clearer when “Bartleby” is juxtaposed with a previously undiscovered source text: Robert Grant White’s Law and Laziness; or, Students at Law of Leisure (1846).2 Borrowing both from White’s cast of characters and from episodes in his narrative, Melville’s 1853 story renews the earlier tale’s concerns and conducts an exceptionally sustained and subtle inquiry into just what nineteenth-century idleness is and what it means. Founded itself on these questions, “Bartleby” explores how the problem of unproductive activity constitutes a limit for the imperatives of the work ethic and the jurisdiction of Enlightenment certainty; here we discover how the economic intangibility of idleness undermines both the rationality of modern time and space and the autonomy of the modern subject. This reconsideration of “Bartleby” will thus be a means of producing a new understanding of the unusual significance—even productivity—of the unproductive. We can grasp what is at stake in the historical moment of Melville’s tale by revisiting Max Weber’s famous exploration, in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, of the delicate accord forged between Christian and capitalist ethics during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Especially in its later Calvinist variants, Protestantism wedded the moral and the economic, redefining the relationship between modern subjects and their activity and insisting that “labour must . . . be performed as if it were an absolute end in itself, a calling.” This peculiar ethic became the centerpiece of Calvinist and Puritan exhortations to increase, simultaneously, both one’s capital and one’s possibility of salvation. As the notion that “only activity serves to increase the glory of God” supplanted the comparatively situational [End Page 186] and isolated character of previous Christian ethics, the imperative of worldly exertion extended itself across the domain...

The Possibility of Salvation Among the Unevangelized: An Analysis of Inclusivism Within Recent Evangelical Theology – By Daniel Strange

The Possibility of Salvation Among the Unevangelized: An Analysis of Inclusivism Within Recent Evangelical Theology – By Daniel Strange