Punishment For Sin Research Articles

Identifying Variation in Physical Health Behaviors and Depressive Symptoms among Religiosity Clusters of African American Adults in the United States.

Religiosity is an important factor in the lives of many African Americans, who suffer a greater health burden than their White counterparts. In this study, we examined associations between dimensions of religiosity with health behaviors and depressive symptoms in a sample of African American adults in the United States. Participants (N = 2086) completed five measures of religiosity (religious involvement, positive and negative religious coping, scriptural influence, belief in illness as punishment for sin) and measures of several health behaviors, cancer screening behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Using cluster analysis to examine the deep structure of religiosity, three clusters emerged: Positive Religious, Negative Religious, and Low Religious. In general, the Positive Religious group engaged in more healthy behaviors (e.g., fruit and vegetable consumption, fecal occult blood test) and fewer risky health behaviors (e.g., smoke and consume alcohol), and reported fewer depressive symptoms than did the Negative Religious and/or Low Religious groups. Theoretical implications and implications for interventions by clergy and mental health professionals are discussed.

Pergumulan Iman Lanjut Usia Jemaat HKI Partangga Pasca Gempa di Tapanuli Utara, 01 Oktober 2022 Berdasarkan Perspektif Teologi Bencana

This study aims to determine how the elderly congregation responded to the earthquake disaster, and the faith struggles of the elderly of the HKI Partangga church congregation after the earthquake based on the perspective of disaster theology. The theory used in this study is to use expert theories related to disaster theology, the theory of Zakaria J. Ngelow which emphasizes that natural disasters occur not as punishment from God, but as normal events in nature and there is no biblical record that says that God punishes sinful humans, but loves and forgives, redeems and saves humans from the wrapping of sin. The study in this research uses a qualitative method, with a descriptive analysis approach, which aims to describe the actual situation. Data collection techniques are carried out by observation, in-depth interviews. The findings of this study are that the elderly of the HKI Partangga congregation responded to the earthquake with: the emergence of fear, feeling the presence of God. In addition to responding, the elderly also provide perspectives that are different from the perspective of disaster theology on natural disasters. The elderly provide a perspective that is different from the Christian faith, which understands that earthquakes are God's punishment for sin, questions arise to God about what sins are committed, earthquakes are God's plan.

‘A Little Yeast Leavens the Whole Batch of Dough’: Incest and Pollution in 1 Corinthians 5

Paul commands the Corinthians to give an incestuous man to Satan in 1 Cor. 5.5. Scholars often see this as a punishment for sin, but why does incest require this particular response? This article offers an answer by reading 1 Cor. 5 in light of other discussions of incest and pollution in Greco-Roman literature. It highlights connections between incest, pollution, and communal danger and explores means of resolving pollution. It then examines Paul’s discussion of incest in 1 Cor. 5.5 and concludes that his instructions concerning the incestuous man follow a logic common in ancient discussions of incest and pollution.

СИМВОЛИЗАЦИЯ ПУСТЫНИ В ЯЗЫКОВОМ СОЗНАНИИ

The paper deals with symbolization of nature focusing the evaluative characteristics of natural phenomena in utilitarian, ethical and aesthetic dimensions. From a utilitarian point of view the following ideas come to the fore: physical properties (size, temperature, ingredients, etc.), possible danger and useability of the corresponding object. The utilitarian properties of desert are reflected in dictionary definitions, reactions of informants, and descriptions of its climatic, geographical and biological characteristics. Ethical conceptualization of a natural phenomenon is a transfer of its characteristics to human behavior and allegoric evaluative comparison of such behavior and a certain natural object. It is expressed in proverbs and aphorisms with images of lifeless space, oases and mirages as a contrast between reality and dream, distortion of reality and deceptiveness of illusions. Ethically, the idea of a desert as a punishment for sins is often promoted in religious texts. Aesthetic symbolization of nature is manifested in linguistic consciousness as admiration of the beauty of the world or as awe and rejection of reality. Aesthetic symbolization of desert consists in contrast of light and darkness, spiritual emptiness and search of one’s destination, vanity and solitude. A special emphasis is given to an image of a spring in the desert.

Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period.

Historical records provide knowledge about the way people lived in the past. Our perspective is that historical analyses of the Medieval Period provide insights to inform a fuller understanding of pain in the present era. In this article, we appraise critiques of the writings of people living with pain during the mid (high) to late Medieval Period (c. 1,000-1,500 AD) to gain insights into the nature, attitudes, lived experience, and sense-making of pain. In the Medieval Period, pain was understood in terms of Galen's four humours and the Church's doctrine of pain as a "divine gift", "punishment for sin" and/or "sacrificial offering". Many treatments for pain were precursors of those used in modern time and society considered pain to be a "shared experience". We argue that sharing personal stories of life is a fundamental human attribute to foster social cohesion, and that nowadays sharing personal stories about pain is difficult during biomedically-focussed time-constrained clinical consultations. Exploring pain through a medieval lens demonstrates the importance of sharing stories of living with pain that are flexible in meaning, so that people can connect with a sense of self and their social world. We advocate a role for community-centred approaches to support people in the creation and sharing of their personal pain stories. Contributions from non-biomedical disciplines, such as history and the arts, can inform a fuller understanding of pain and its prevention and management.

«Noah's Ark» by Halyna Hordasevych: How Metaphor Reveals Trauma

The subject of the research in this article is a metaphor that reveals unresolved trauma. The process of metaphorization is part of shaping a trauma narrative, in which metaphor works as a protective mechanism that allows one not to talk about the traumatic experience directly, but still talk about it. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how, in fiction about traumatic experiences, metaphor can seem like a way to give meaning to events, but instead highlights the inability to express personal experience. The methodological basis of the research is trauma studies, in particular the works of K. Carut, M. Wilkinson, B. Van der Kolk, K. Brewin, V. Williams. Literary studies by J. Anker and T. Grebeniuk were also productive for the analysis of the problem. The relevance of the study is determinate by the need to study the peculiarities of the trauma narrative, in particular, based on the material of the literature about the Second World War. As a result of the analysis of H. Hordasevych’s story “Noah’s Ark”, it was concluded that metaphor in a traumatic text can be the category that determines narrative features and generates meaning even when the story itself has already ended. The metaphor of “Noah’s Ark” compares the life of Father Hilary’s family during the occupation to the Old Testament story. War is depicted as a natural disaster (flood) and punishment for sins. The priest’s house, where representatives of various national and social groups gather, is likened to an ark, and Ukraine’s independence should become a rainbow after the flood. At the same time, the metaphor of Noah’s ark reveals an incompleteness in the text — the narrator stops the story before the end of the flood, refusing to talk about the fact that salvation did not happen. This incompleteness of the metaphor marks the trauma — the inability to talk about the loss of family, social group, and national environment. That is, the story about the war and the occupation managed to be embodied in a coherent narrative, but the story about the arrival of Soviet power and its consequences was left out of the text. A frozen metaphor allows the narrative to begin, but the discrepancy between the known pretext and reality prevents it from continuing and verbalizing the trauma. At the same time, it is the metaphor that marks the existence of trauma, a silenced experience that the author is unable to translate into a story. The motive of silence as a consequence of trauma is accentuated by its thematization in the text.

Meghan R. Henning. Hell Hath No Fury: Gender, Disability, and the Invention of Damned Bodies in Early Christian Literature

Meghan R. Henning. <i>Hell Hath No Fury: Gender, Disability, and the Invention of Damned Bodies in Early Christian Literature</i>

Sin, Guilt and Forgiveness

Abstract. Gottfried Erhard Feßken was a seventeenth century ecclesiastic who used as the subject of his sermons various unusual natural phenomena of his times: the appearance of comets, earthquake, the locust, and severe storms. He was primarily interested in the spiritual aspect of these phenomena seeing them as sent by God primarily as a punishment for sins and as warning signs to bring people to repentance.

Dawne epidemie w świetle nazw mór, morowe powietrze i pochodnych – doba staro- i średniopolska

The article is devoted to the understanding of epidemics in the Old Polish and Middle Polish periods in the light of the terms mór and morowe powietrze ‘plague’. It is divided into three parts: naming, understanding, and evaluation. The first part analyzes the occurrence of the lexemes mór and morowy, as well as their derivatives in Old Polish and Middle Polish texts, with particular emphasis on their connectivity. The second part attempts to reconstruct the understanding of epidemics by the speakers of the language at the time. The analysis has shown that an epidemic called with the lexemes mór, morowe powietrze is primarily seen in two ways: as God’s punishment for sins and as a catastrophe, especially a natural disaster. Its perception is strongly influenced by the Christian worldview and anchored in the biblical tradition. The third part, devoted to the evaluation of epidemics, indicates the linguistic means by which negative evaluation was expressed in texts, including its use in comparisons and metaphors characterized axiologically.

Belief in conspiracy theories and esoteric thinking during COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionPsychological distress during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic can manifest itself in interpretations of what is happening.ObjectivesTo analyze response to COVID-19 pandemic in people with high level of esoteric thinking.Methods Internet survey 23.03.20-29.01.21 (N=621); Constructive Thinking Inventory(CTI); SCL-90R. It was proposed to assess statements: “The authorities are hiding the true scale of the coronavirus pandemic”, “Coronavirus is the result of biological weapons development”, “Coronavirus is a punishment or a sign sent to people from above”, “The emergence of the coronavirus is the Earth’s response to its pollution”. It was offered to express an opinion about pandemic. The answers were coded on the basis of qualitative semantic analysis.ResultsThe growth of “esoteric thinking” was revealed (Std.J-T, p=.025). With a high level of esoteric thinking, emotional statements (“fear, anxiety, panic”) are more common (27.8% versus 16.9% for group with high and low level of «esoteric thinking»). Correlations of the level of «esoteric thinking» with level of depression (Spearman’s correlation ,085*), anxiety (,097*), GSI (,130**), «fears for the life» (23.4% versus 14.5%) show high emotional distress. With an increase in the level of «esoteric thinking», belief in various conspiracy theories increases; Spearman’s correlation ,370** with the belief is biological weapons, punishment for sins (,355**), belief in concealing information about the pandemic (,167**).ConclusionsA high level of esoteric thinking is associated with an increased emotional response to the pandemic and with belief in conspiracy theories, and can increase emotional instability by itself also making constructive decisions difficult in situations related to protecting personal health and safety.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

ANALISIS MAKNA KEMULIAAN SALIB YESUS KRISTUS

ABSTRACT&#x0D; The glory of the cross of Jesus is the meaning of God's love for humans who have experienced God's choice of salvation. The cross of Christ produces love and punishment for sin. Obviously to us, the cross is not the glory of sin. The cross of love is present in glory. The cross of Christ is a spotlight, in this case about love. Love in glory speaks first of choice, of God's children, redemption and forgiveness, unity, and inheritance. Confidence produces love. With that love, ultimately creating a life that only glorifies and worships God. So, glorifying the cross of Jesus is because we have the love of Jesus Christ. This research on love seeks to approach qualitative methods. With this method, we obtain a frame of mind about what will be discussed. Based on this research, the conclusion of the research was obtained.&#x0D; Key words: Analysis Meaning,Glory, Jesus’s cross

God’s Wrath in the Era of the Digidemic: Religious Interpretations of Covid-19 in Ethiopia

During the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, many Ethiopians viewed the pandemic as an expression of God’s punishment for sin. Although such interpretations reflect historical continuity, an analysis of these sentiments and of how the pandemic unfolded in Ethiopia reveal an interesting conundrum. Whereas the Covid-19 pandemic clearly has had devastating impacts all over the world, the very experiences that historically generated interpretations of divine punishment and judgement—violent human suffering and mass deaths—have been close to absent in Ethiopia. To understand why many Ethiopians interpreted Covid-19 as an expression of God’s wrath, we develop the concept of the digidemic, allowing us to recognize how the circulation of images, norms, ideas, and goods, via global and digital networks—in addition to fueling fear—created connectedness and a felt proximity, wherein far-away hot-spots and phenomena were made real and near as threats to people’s livelihood and religious worldviews.

Predictors of African American Belief in Illness as Punishment for Sin

While religious participation is positively associated with health, and faith traditions often promote wholesome behavior among followers, religious beliefs endorsing the notion of illness as punishment for sin can be negatively related to health. To date, little is known about the correlates of this belief. This study examined demographic characteristics and religiosity as predictors of the belief that illness occurs as punishment for sin in a national probability sample of African American adults. Of 3,173 participants completing a telephone survey, 2,172 (68.45%) moderately endorsed belief in illness as punishment for sin (mean of 16 [SD=4.59] out of possible 32). Spearman correlations and linear regression modeling were conducted. Findings suggested that participants who were men, less educated, with lower income levels, lower religious beliefs, greater religious participation, greater use of negative religious coping, and both active and passive spiritual health locus of control beliefs, reported significantly stronger belief in illness as punishment for sin. Age, employment, and positive religious coping were not significant predictors. Psychologists, counselors, and health professionals working with African Americans may consider these findings in helping clients find healthy ways to reflect on their illnesses in collaboration with clergy, that are client-centered and respectful of their faith traditions.

Religion and the ‘Secular shadow’: responses to covid-19 in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT In Ethiopia, both Christians and Muslims interpreted the Covid-19 pandemic as God’s punishment for sin. Prayer, fasting, and congregating in houses of worship therefore became important as means to plead God to act; practices that deviated from the biomedically informed efforts promoted by the Ethiopian government. This article explores these religious perceptions and practices and how they were negotiated in relation to official public health policies. At first glance, this case could serve as a typical example of how a government’s secular policies are pitted against a ‘religiously-inclined’ population. However, the religious interpretations did not prevent people from recognizing the value of public-health informed mitigating efforts, and neither these efforts immune from ideas about divine agency. Therefore, the Ethiopian case serves to illustrate how seemingly demarcated epistemes, or imagined separate domains, are more open to exchange and interaction than commonly assumed.

Did the Justinianic Plague Truly Reach Frankish Europe around 543 AD?

This article focuses on the episodes of bubonic plague recorded around 543 AD in Frankish Europe which on re-reading appear doubtful. Beginning in 541 and for two centuries, the Justinianic plague ravaged the Mediterranean area over several successive waves. The first mentions concern Egypt; the plague then spreads northward to Constantinople and almost concomitantly or shortly afterward moves westward until it reaches Western Europe. For this last region, the main source is Bishop Gregory of Tours, who in both his historical and his hagiographic writings, provides numerous data on the first outbreaks that raged in Frankish Europe, episodes to which he was a contemporary (even if for the first, he was still in early childhood). According to Gregory, around 543, bubonic plague ravaged several areas under Frankish rule. However, among others, intertextual, contextualized and chronological analyses strongly suggest that these events were in fact fictional. Gregory seems to have wanted to balance during epidemics of plague, the behavior of two bishops of Clermont that were totally opposed. In the episode of 571, when plague struck the episcopal city, the unworthy Bishop Cautinus, to escape disease, had fled the city in cowardice. In the other episode, through the intercession of Gregory's paternal uncle, the virtuous Gallus, the immediate predecessor of Cautinus and that of a saint specific of the paternal branch, the city, including the diocese, was spared from the plague. Other references to similar events in which, through saints, the plague is driven out, or territories are protected from it are also dated arbitrarily from this period. Furthermore, unlike the episode of 571, the plague of 543 is never considered a punishment for sin; moreover, no miraculous healing of plague patients is recorded. Contemporary texts from other authors of Frankish Europe, although they are rare, do not mention any epidemic around 543 - especially the Vita of Caesarius of Arles, written shortly after the death of this bishop (from 542 to 547-9) by several hagiographers - while two of Gregory’s texts, which are repeated almost verbatim, indicate that the province of Arles was the region most affected. This fact underscores the decisive contribution that hagiographic texts can make in the analysis of facts considered to be historical. Finally, the dramatic deteriorations in the health situation described in Gregory’s reports could have a background of truth and be the consequence of the climatic cooling observed from 536, likely due to volcanic eruptions, but did not involve the bubonic plague.

Quality of life and its associated factors among epileptic patients attending public hospitals in North Wollo Zone, Northeast Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.

Epilepsy is thought to be caused by witchcraft, evil spirit, and God's punishment for sins in many developing countries. As a result, people with epilepsy and their families usually suffer from stigma, discrimination, depression, and other psychiatric problems. Thus, this study aimed to assess the quality of life and its associated factors among epileptic patients attending public hospitals in North Wollo Zone, Northeast Ethiopia. An institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed in this study. A simple random sampling technique was utilized. Health-related quality of life was measured based on the total score of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31) instrument. Data were entered into Epi-data 3.1 statistical package and exported to SPSS Version 20 for further analysis. Linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between quality of life and the independent variables. Statistically significant values were declared at a P-value of < 0.05. A total of 395 patients participated in the study making the response rate 98.5%. The mean age of the participants was 32.39 ±10.71 years. More than half, 199 (50.4%) of epileptic patients had an overall weighted average health related quality of life score of mean and above. Male sex (B = 4.34, 95%CI, 0.41, 8.27, P = 0.03), higher educational status (B = 7.18, 95%CI, 1.39, 13.00, P = 0.015) and age at onset of epilepsy (B = 0.237, 95%CI, 0.02, 0.45, P = 0.035) were associated with increased health related quality of life score. On the other hand, family history of epilepsy (B = -4.78, 95%CI,-9.24,-0.33, P = 0.035), uncontrolled seizure (B = -11.08, 95%CI,-15.11,-7.05, P < 0.001), more than 5 pre-treatment number of seizures (B = -4.86, 95%CI,-8.91,-0.81, P = 0.019), poor drug adherence (B = -11.65, 95%CI,-16.06,-7.23, P < 0.001), having moderate (B = -4.526, 95%CI,-8.59,-0.46, P = 0.029) to sever (B = -12.84, 95%CI,-18.30,-7.37, P < 0.001) anxiety and depression, believing that epilepsy is caused by evil spirit (B = -7.04, 95%CI,-11.46,-2.61, P = 0.002), drinking alcohol (B = -5.42, 95%CI,-10.72,-0.13, P = 0.045), and having other co-morbidities (B = -9.35, 95%CI,-14.35,-4.36, P < 0.001) were significantly negatively associated with the health related quality of life score among epileptic patients. Only around half of the epileptic patients have a good health-related quality of life. In addition, multiple variables including family history, uncontrolled seizure, and poor drug adherence were associated with quality of life among epileptic patients. Hence, targeting these variables in epilepsy management is recommended.

Epidemie w dziejach Wadowic w okresie przedrozbiorowym – studium przypadku miasta małopolskiego

Epidemics in the history of Wadowice in the pre-partition period. A study of a town in Małopolska This article aims to analyze the traces of the pestilence in Wadowice in Małopolska up to 1772, when the town became part of the Austrian partition. Hitherto this topic has only been mentioned in the literature. Thanks to a use of sources from the period, and, above all, archives in, for example, the Archiwum Parafialnym Bazyliki Ofiarowania Najświętszej Marii Panny w Wadowicach and in the Archiwum Kurii Metropolitalnej w Krakowie, the author has discovered traces of the appearance of large-scale epidemics in Wadowice in 1585, 1601, 1652–1653, and probably in 1737, 1752, and 1758. In the Wadowice records of deaths (Liber Mortuorum), it has been possible to identify entries that would indicate the appearance of at least local epidemics in the period 1730–1772. In addition, a hitherto unknown note by the local pastor from 1756 has been found, which provides information about epidemics in the town in the XVIIth century and of their avoidance at the time of pestilence raging over large areas of the Polish Commonwealth and beyond its borders between 1708 and 1709. This source, published as an annex to the article, also shows the approaches of the inhabitants of Wadowice to the plague, which were typical of the period, and included: dedicating the town to the Mother of God, and the conviction that the misfortunes falling on the town, such as epidemics or fires, were a punishment for sins. The article ends with a recommendation in the future to carry out comparative research that makes it possible to compare the results from Wadowice with those from other towns in the western part of Małopolska.

مقاصد الغرامات المالية في الحفاظ على الأخلاق والآداب العامة

This study deals with financial tribulations as a punishable or specially mixed punishment of discipline and compensation which relates to reinforcing the punishments. This research focused on many areas related to financial tribulations in terms of determining what they are, and explaining their purposes through the angle (cause and effect), as a punishment for sin, without regard to the relationship between the money in which the tribulations is committed by the felony in terms of its attachment to it and not related to it. Regardless of whether it was intended by destroying what happened to the felony or intended to discipline the offender. Thus, it highlights the relationship of financial fines in the maintenance of ethics and public morals, and thus aimed at preventing the spread of corruption in society which leads to the preservation of the purposes of Shariah from the necessities, needs or improvements. The study aims at the purpose of Shariah legislation to punish wrongdoers to determine the intended meaning of the particulars and texts received by the Sunnis in this area so as not to invalidate the apparent meanings of these texts that view contributes to address the issue of the fine legitimacy and non-conformity with the principles of Sharia. Therefore, it constitutes an entry into the harmony of the fine in its characteristics with other punitive penalties.

„wie man sich mit Gottes hülffe vor der vergifftung bewaren”. (Nie)użyteczne zalecenia w zakresie ochrony przed zarazą w drukach gdańskich fizyków miejskich z XVI w.

“Wie man sich mit Gottes hülffe vor der vergifftung bewaren”. (No)useful recommendations for protection against plague in the prints of Gdańsk (Danzig) city physicians in the XVIth century The plagues that appeared cyclically and with a relatively high frequency were for the urban communities of the Middle Ages and the early modern era an experience almost permanently inscribed in everyday life. As part of the struggle against epidemics, in addition to administrative measures taken by the authorities, there began to appear from the end of the XVth century anti-epidemic compendia edited by city physicians (thus medical persons with university education) and intended for a wider audience; they became especially popular in the German cultural area during the XVIth century. It was no different in Gdańsk (Danzig), wherea high level of medicine, and the practice of employing as city physicians well-educated medical persons (from German and Protestant universities) by the city authorities, resulted in the publication of numerous prints of this type. In total, in the years 1508−1588 in Gdańsk (Danzig) seven compendiums of this type were published. They contained general recommendations for protection against plague based on Galen’s medical system relating to the so-called six unnatural things (res non naturales); they were part of a trend of popular medical literature containing “rules of health” (regimen sanitatis). The recommendations contained in the prints by Gdańsk (Danzig) city physicians of the XVIth century concerned, therefore, the preservation of unpolluted air in the city, taking sanitary measures, proper diet and physical condition, as well as “surgical” treatments (taking baths in a bathhouse, using laxatives, phlebotomy), and pharmacological care (they were also supervisors of the city pharmacy at that time). These recommendations, however, were not practical advice (contrary to their titles) that could be fully applied in a time of plague; rather, they represented the state of academic medical knowledge of that time and were only a manifestation of its popularization resulting from the medical personnel’s duties. A separate place was found for considerations on a kind of “medical theology”, related to the commonly shared view that the cause of the epidemic was divine anger interpreted as a punishment for sins. This was of particular importance in the confessional order (with a Lutheran dominant) that was taking shape in Gdańsk (Danzig) during the XVIth century.

Образ Китая в современных дискурсах маргинальной эсхатологии

In contemporary eschatological discourses of marginal Orthodoxy, the image of China occupies one of the central places. Over the centuries, an ambivalent attitude towards China has been formed in Russian religious culture. On the one hand, China acted as a religious and geopolitical adversary, on the other, as “almost a brother in faith.” Such contradiction in assessments is typical for a mythological culture. This ambivalence remains in a modern eschatological discourse as well. In apocryphal and pseudonymous eschatological prophecies China appears as the religious and political antipode of Holy Russia. In pre-eschatological times China invasion is expected as an eschatological sign and a real threat. Numerous prophetic texts depict the horrors of China's impending military invasion of Russia, as a result of which a significant part of the territory will be under Chinese occupation. And the very beginning of the invasion is conceptualized as a sign of the beginning of the apocalyptic scenario. At the same time, the eschatological Chinese invasion is also seen as a “scourge of God”, as a punishment for sins and wickedness, as an instrument of cleansing the Russian land from abomination and vice. It is expected that as a result of the apocalyptic events, the Chinese will be converted to Orthodoxy. The eschatological hermeneutics of China's image has not been influenced by a current coronavirus infection. Perhaps this is due to both certain inertia and covid-dissident sentiments that are popular in marginal Orthodoxy.