Theological Problems Research Articles

Brahmanical Theology and a Buddhist Text

Abstract The Tevijja Sutta is an early Buddhist text notable for the way it addresses a problem in Brahmanical theology. Many have studied or cited the Tevijja Sutta, but for various reasons scholars have had trouble describing the problem that the sutta addresses. This article reviews some key developments in the modern academic study of the Tevijja Sutta and proposes a solution to interpretive difficulties associated with the text. The proposed solution leads to a more contextualized reading of the Tevijja Sutta and sheds light on Brahmins and Brahmanical theology in the early Buddhist period.

Women, Wells, and Springs: Water Rights and Hagar’s Tribulations

The theological problem underlying environmental and gender injustice is the pathological assumption that “the rest of” creation is available for use and commodification by a select group of privileged image bearers. An adequate response to this assumption requires re-examining appropriate relationships between creatures. The story of Hagar’s relationship to water provides the foundation for such a response. An ecomimetic interpretation of Genesis 16:1–16 and 21:8–21, focused on the character of water in these passages, uncovers the basis for an appropriate human relationship to water that challenges the ways in which both water and women have been commodified.

Unravelling some of the theological problems underlying discourse on nature

This article offers an overview of various theological discourses on the concept of nature. These are illustrated with examples of contributions to reformed theology from within the South African context. It is argued that there is ample room for confusion to reign in the connotations attached to ‘nature’ and the underlying theological problems that emerge. Often such connotations are merely adopted from other disciplines. To juxtapose such discourses would not by itself help to overcome such confusion but is a necessary step in that direction. Contribution: This article analyses the conflicting uses of the term ‘nature’ especially in reformed theological discourse in the South African context. It circumscribes the distinctive theological problems that emerge in each case without seeking to resolve them.

Racism as a challenge for church and society in democratic South Africa: Human dignity perspective

The image of God has been vandalised by racism in South Africa, which it is argued is a sin. It is an ecclesiological responsibility to address the vandalised image of God in South Africa. The author will argue from the human relationship as a build-up to the Theanthropocosmic principle. This principle denotes the relationship between God (theos) the human being (anthropos) and the physical-organic environment (cosmos). For addressing this responsibility, the grounds of internal racism are exposed using a philosophical interpretation. According to the author, there is a correlation between sin and racism. The latter is viewed as multidimensional from a Theanthropocosmic perspective.The theoretical framework will be within hamartiology and soteriology. The philosophical interpretation will be utilised to broaden the understanding of the theological problem of the vandalised image of God.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s ‘Eternal Punishment’

The debate concerning ‘Eternal Punishment’ developed in the 1830s, with most of the debates occurring between 1840 and 1914. Among the various theological problems with which churchmen struggled, ‘Eternal Punishment’ was a primary issue.

Gelenbevi’nin İsaguci Şerhi İsimli Eseri Üzerine ‘Delâlet ve Tanım Konuları Bağlamında’ Bir İnceleme

İsmail Gelenbevî (1730-1790) mantık, münazara, matematik, astronomi, tasavvuf ve kelâm alanlarındaki eserleriyle tanınır. Aristoteles (MÖ. öl. 322) mantığının devamı olarak Fârâbî-İbn Sina geleneğine bağlı kalan Gelenbevî, Osmanlıların son döneminde mantık ilminde telif eseri bulunan bir mantıkçıdır. Onun Burhan isimli eseri, Osmanlı ilim dünyasında mantık ilminde yazılan son telif eserler arasında sayılır. Ayrıca onun başka mantık eserleri bulunmakla birlikte Esirüddîn el-Ebherî’nin (öl. 1265) İsagûci isimli eserine yazdığı bir şerhi mevcuttur. İslâm mantık tarihinde dikkate değer bir konuma sahip olan İsagûcî isimli bu risale üzerine çok sayıda şerh ve haşiye bulunmaktadır. Mantık metni olarak İsagûcî’nin diğer ilimlerdeki eserlere göre avantajı, biçimsel bir konuyu açık bir dille anlatmasıdır. Ancak yine de bu biçimsel metnin, her dönemdeki muhataplarının anlama düzeyine uygun hale getirilmesine ihtiyaç hissedilmektedir. İslâm mantıkçıları bu şerhleri, kendi dönemindeki öğrencilerin anlayış düzeyine uygun olarak yazmışlardır. İşte Gelenbevî de İsagûci şerhiyle, döneminin öğrencileri için bu risaledeki anlaşılmayan hususları açıklamayı amaçlamıştır. Her ne kadar 13. yüzyıl sonrasındaki mantık eserlerinde benzer türde içeriklere rast-lansa da Gelenbevî’nin şerhi, kendi dönemine kadar gelen görüş farklılıklarını ele alıp incelemesi açısından dikkat çekmektedir. Eserin girişinde Gelenbevî, hem mantık ilmiyle dilbilgisi ve dînî ilimler arasındaki bağı sıkı bir şekilde kurmakta hem de dînî ilimler öğrencisine mantık öğrenmeden tefsir, kelâm gibi ilimleri tam olarak öğrenmesinin mümkün olmadığını ispatlamaya çalışmaktadır. Ayrıca o, ihtilaflı kelâmî me-seleleri kelâmcıları referans vererek cedelî bir tarzda konuları tartışmaktadır. Böylece o, dînî ilimlerin öğretiminden önce bu ilimler için yöntem olarak mantığın bilinmesi gerektiğini ortaya koymaktadır. İsagûcî şerhinin mukaddimesinde mantık-dînî ilimler ilişkisi tesis edildikten sonra mantık kelimesinin anlamının tahliline ve tanımına geçi-lir. Burada Gelenbevî mantığın tanımlanması konusunda Molla Fenarî’yi takip ederek cihet-i vahde ifadesini kullanarak onun yöntemiyle tanım yapmaktadır. Böylece onun, varlık nazariyesindeki birliği bilgi teorisine de yansıttığı ve yine bu konudaki tasavvufî eğilimini ima ettiği anlaşılmaktadır. Mantık ilmini ilm-i mizan yani ölçü ilmi olarak adlandıran mantıkçı şerhinde, mantığın tatbikî yönünü öne çıkartmaya çalışır. Çünkü mantık, dînî ilimlerin aracıdır ve bu nedenle her türlü delillendirmenin sağlamlığı ve kesinliğinin sağlanması için mantığa büyük bir görev düşmektedir. Bunun için o mantık ilminin kurallarını izah ederken mantıksal açıklamalarla birlikte dilbilimsel olarak da çoğu kelimenin ne anlama geldi-ğini ve bunun gramatik konumunu araştırır. Bu makalede Gelenbevî’nin İsagûci şerhinin mukaddime ve tasavvurât bölümünde yer alan delâlet ve tanım konuları mantıksal ve dilbilimsel bakımdan incelenecektir. Gelenbevî, İslâm mantıkçılarına göre delâletin sözlü yani lafzî olan ve olmayan şeklinde ikiye ayrılmasını ayrıntılı bir şekilde inceler. Bunlardan her birinin tabiî, aklî ve vaz’î olarak üç türü vardır. Mantıkçılar bunlardan lafzî vaz’î olan delâlet biçimiyle ilgilenirler. Lafzî vaz’î delâlet ise İbn Sina’yla birlikte mutabakat, tazammun ve iltizam olarak ele alınır. Gelenbevî her üç delâlet biçimini ayrıntılı olarak anlatır. Bu delâlet biçimleriyle ilgili farklı görüşleri anlatarak ihtilafları çözer. Yine o, tanım konusunda dönemine kadar gelen tüm çatışmaları birer birer tahlil etmekte ve onlara cevap vermektedir. Böylece bir klasik eser olan İsagûcî’yi dînî ilimlerden istifade ederek yeniden kurgulamakta ve ona dînî ilimlerin yönte¬mi denilecek bir yapı kazandırmaya çalışmaktadır. Bu makalede onun bu eseri Molla Fenarî (öl. 1431) ve Davûd el-Karsî (öl. 1756) gibi Osmanlı mantığında etkisi olan mantıkçıların İsagûcî şerhleriyle birlikte değerlendirilecektir. Ayrıca onun bu eseriyle İslâm mantık geleneğindeki yeri, önemi ve katkıları belirlenmeye çalışılacaktır.

Katolicka doktryna o sposobie obecności Chrystusa w postaciach eucharystycznych wyrażona w mszale dla byłych anglikanów

The ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion is one of the most important and difficult part of activity of both communities. Eucharist is the main goal of ecumenism because in the common celebrating of the sacred liturgy the Christ’s Church is a visible sign of the unity for the world. One of the most important theological problems in the dialogue is the problem of transsubstantiation. For the Anglican Church this Catholic doctrine is against the biblical and rudimental teaching of primitive Christendom. The article shows the problem of trans- substantiation in the ecumenical perspective and in the context of Divine Worship: The Missal. The Catholic Eucharistic teaching is present in this new Western liturgical book, but the term of trans- substantiation does not exist there.

Calvin and the Resignification of the World: Creation, Incarnation, and the Problem of Political Theology in the, by Michelle Chaplin Sanchez

Calvin and the Resignification of the World: Creation, Incarnation, and the Problem of Political Theology in the, by Michelle Chaplin Sanchez

The Role of the Altar in the Book of Chronicles

In the book of Chronicles, in several passages that relate the establishment of the temple, we find an emphasis on—and an elevation of the status of—the altar and the sacrifices offered on it. To compare, we do not find this elevation of the altar’s status in the accounts of Samuel and Kings. This article examines this phenomenon and suggests that this shift is part of the Chronicler’s coping with a fundamental theological problem regarding the Second Temple.

The Problem of Indifference to Suffering in the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata Tradition

In the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa is regularly accused of ignoring harm that befalls its various characters. In fact, the Sanskrit verb upekṣ (“to overlook, disregard, or ignore”) is applied more consistently to Kṛṣṇa than any other figure in the epic. Through its use, both the Mahābhārata and the tradition raise a question: how can Kṛṣṇa be indifferent to two genocides (the massacre of the Kurus and the Yādavas) and the mistreatment of Draupadī? Although previous studies on theodicies in the epic have focused on the issue of Kṛṣṇa’s omnipotence (or lack thereof) in the Mahābhārata, this article argues that the question of omnipotence is irrelevant because Kṛṣṇa does not want to prevent the suffering of a large-scale war—his neglect is intentional. From this question of (intentional) neglect, the theological problem of indifference to suffering arises for these early readers of the Mahābhārata: under what circumstances is it justified for Kṛṣṇa to neglect the suffering of others, despite being able to prevent it? In presenting this problem, this article also draws attention to the importance of commentaries on the epics and Purāṇas as a source of study for vexed ethical and theological questions such as this one.

Preaching as Cultural History

Race and the culture of the United States are theological problems. The theologian I turn to in defense of this claim, Rudolf Bultmann, may strike some as a curious choice. Am I really going to con...

Composição e moralidade do melhor dos mundos em Leibniz

O objetivo deste artigo é abordar a filosofia de Leibniz a respeito do processo que culminou na sua tese sobre o melhor dos mundos elaborado por Deus. Na sua fase de juventude, o filósofo considerou que a construção da obra divina se deu a partir da combinação de partes elementares, denominadas requisitos. Todavia, esse simples modelo de arquitetura aproximava Leibniz perigosamente do espinosismo, de modo que o fato de Deus ser a sede e onde se daria a combinação dos requisitos de maneira exclusiva o colocavam como única fonte da realidade e de todos os fatos no mundo, inclusive daquilo que existe de mal. Evitar esse problema teológico motivou Leibniz na elaboração de uma ontologia mais sofisticada, fazendo com que surgisse a noção das substâncias individuais, dotadas de certa independência ontológica, ainda que precisassem de Deus para se tornarem reais. Essa nova concepção de seres criados permitiu não apenas a distinção entre as ações de Deus e de suas criaturas, mas também realizou a mudança na concepção de Leibniz sobre quais seriam as unidades últimas da obra divina e na forma de ele pensar a combinação entre as partes desse plano. 
 Palavras-chave: Mundo; Razão; Causa; Vontade.

PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY OF D. B. HART

Philosophy for Hart, is a continuation of theology in another way, it is a self-denial of theology, which is carried out by the European tradition to find itself. All philosophy and all its problems are a search for solutions to theological problems. For Hart, as for Balthazar, theology is thinking about being and its properties. The task of the thinker is to create a theological language, an alternative to the rhetoric of postmodernism. Theology is a language that is both a theory and a discourse. Hart’s theological reflections combine the hermeneutics of texts with metaphysical reflections on meanings that make sense of a religious narrative. Hart tries to overcome metaphysics in theology, wants to think after metaphysics, to create theology after "after the death of God".

Metaphysics of international law (From a review to an alternative)

Introduction: The problems of theology or metaphysics of international law are widely represented in the literature. The study of basic concepts in this regard can serve as a basis for the development of an alternative theory of international law.
 Methods: historicism, system, analysis and comparative law.
 Results: the main directions of Western international legal thought are a form of political religion.
 Conclusions: criticism of the metaphysical doctrine (theological component) involves the construction of an alternative doctrine in the metaphysical field; the international legal content of the doctrine (legal component) is protected by reference to historical realism. The contours of the national doctrine of the international law as a synthesis of metaphysical and international legal foundations are proposed.

The Barthian Predominance in Korean Theology: Its Origins and Problems

This study examines the origins, early history, and theological problems of the Barthian and Germanic predominance in Korean Protestant theology. The originators and most influential promoters of the predominance were Rev. Chai-choon Kim (1901–1987) and Dr Jong-sung Rhee (1922–2011), the theological and denominational leaders of the more or less liberalist Korean Presbyterian churches. Both of them went almost the same theological way: After getting to know Karl Barth and his dominance in Japan and deepening their knowledge of Barthian theology in the USA, they fought against the Korean Presbyterian churches’ conservative, Old Princeton theology on the basis of Barthian theology. Having witnessed the notorious conflicts and schisms of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK), both Kim and Rhee presupposed that the principal culprit of the conflicts and schisms was the conservative, Old Princeton (Reformed Orthodox) theology that the American Presbyterian Korea missionaries had successfully planted in Korean Presbyterian churches. So in order to attack the missionaries’ theology as well as to justify their liberalist theology, both Kim and Rhee profoundly accepted the Barthian triumph frame: the Reformed Orthodoxy of the 17th and 18th centuries was defeated by the liberalism of the 19th century, which was, in turn, overcome by the Barthian Neo-Orthodoxy of the 20th century. Although the frame itself has recently been proved to be unfounded, both Kim and Rhee blindly accepted it and led their numerous followers to throw out both the missionaries and their Old Princeton theology. Nevertheless, Kim and Rhee ‘threw the baby out with the bathwater’; they led the next generation to be deprived of its own Reformed history, whose living legacy has been the missionaries’ Reformed Orthodoxy and Old Princeton theology. On the other hand, having accepted Barthian theology enthusiastically, both Kim and Rhee exploited it mainly to condemn the missionaries’ theology, ending up failing to integrate it into their own theologies.

The World as a Theological Problem

Abstract We have no other experience of God but the human experience, claims Emmanuel Falque. We – human beings – are in the world. Whatever we do, whatever we think and whatever we experience happens in the world and is mediated by the manner of the world. This also includes religious experience. Reflection on the possibility of religious experience – the experience of God – suggests that the world is interrupted by someone or something that is not of the world. The Christian worldview makes the tension explicit, which is perhaps why theology neglects the concept and fails in any proper sense to address the world. Through following the phenomenologist Jan Patočka, critiquing the theologian Johann B. Metz and exploring the theological turn in phenomenology, I will face the challenge and argue for a genuine engagement with the world as a theological problem.

A New Way to Promote Islamization of Science: I-SETS Design for Pre-Service Science Teachers

The development of science, especially natural science apart from religion ultimately raises a theological problem. The intersection between science and religion is contained in the National Curriculum respecting religious attitudes. Educators are expected to present meaningful integrated science to equip learners with skills to participate fully in society. This study aims to design an I-SETS (Islamic-Science, Environment, Technology, and Society) integrated learning for pre-service science teachers. The literature study was used in studying western and Islamic science, Golshani’s Islamization of science paradigm and I-SETS vision. The design is based on learning levels: I-SETS foundation, I-SETS issues awareness, I-SETS issues investigation, and action skills development. This design is expected to be an alternative raw model that will be applied by pre-service science teachers at various levels.

Satisfactory accounts of divine creation

Multiverse theorists provide controversial, unique but unified accounts of divine creation that result in the Anselmian God creating a best world. On what conditions should theists endorse this or any account of divine creation? One available way is to evaluate how well they resolve some intractable problems in philosophical theology. I argue that multiverse accounts do not resolve these problems to a greater degree than some alternative account of divine creation. I conclude that we should endorse the alternative account over multiverse accounts.

Origen of Alexandria and the History of Racism as a Theological Problem

Abstract Despite important work on the Greco-Roman antecedents of modern racism, very limited attention has been paid to early Christian literature in this connection. This is remarkable not least because modern Western racism took shape initially in a European context heavily influenced by Christianity. The present essay contributes to addressing this lacuna by analysing statements about ‘other’ ethnicities in the work of Origen of Alexandria, one of the most important thinkers of the first three centuries ce. It argues that Origen defends a number of positions that exhibit substantial similarities with later racist modes of thinking. Earlier scholarly accounts that portray Origen as a champion of human equality and as engaged in anti-racist efforts therefore cannot stand up to scrutiny. Origen disparages certain ethnic groups and develops arguments that connect ethnic identity and geographical location with various degrees of sinfulness. His work offers clear evidence that theories of ethnic inferiority have a long history within the Christian matrix that stretches considerably beyond the modern and medieval periods.

Book Review: Chaplin Sanchez, Michelle: Calvin and the Resignification of the World: Creation, Incarnation, and the Problem of Political Theology in the 1559 Institutes

Book Review: Chaplin Sanchez, Michelle: Calvin and the Resignification of the World: Creation, Incarnation, and the Problem of Political Theology in the 1559 Institutes