Realities Of Modern Society Research Articles

The kingdom of God and modern society

The kingdom of God implies God’s rule in the regenerated heart. Consideration of the kingdom and modern society should be understood ecclesiologically. Herman Ridderbos’ notion of the relation of church and kingdom (sign, first-fruits, and instrument) is helpful, but must be applied in the context of nine realities of modern society. Corporate, modern discipleship is created when the church institute attends to all the features of its calling. This includes imparting biblical principles and giving general direction for modern social programmes and practices, but refraining from expressing itself on the specifics of complex programmes.

The Hebrew folktale: history, genre, meaning

The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning. By Eli Yassif. Translated by Jaqueline S. Teitelbaum. Foreword by Dan Ben-Amos. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999. Pp. xx + 561, acknowledgements, notes, index, $59.95 cloth.) The Hebrew Folktale is the magnum opus of Eli Yassif, Professor of Hebrew Literature and Jewish Folklore at Tel Aviv University. In it, Yassif attempts to outline the course of the folktale in Hebrew culture through the ages. he traces the folktale as a part of Hebrew literature, but he is especially concerned with its reflections and refractions of Jewish life in particular historical epochs: biblical, second Temple, rabbinic, medieval, and contemporary. The use of the term folktale in the title is somewhat misleading. What Yassif intends is a survey of Hebrew folk narrative-myth, legend, fable, fairytale, novella, comic anecdote, exemplum-only some of which are to be found in Aarne and Thompson's Types of the Folktale. Indeed, the great emphasis on legends of various kinds and the de-emphasis of wonder tales, jokes, and anecdotes suggest that the English title of this work was chosen with perhaps more aesthetic than descriptive considerations in mind. In the biblical Yassif discusses the remnants of myth in Genesis, the legendary aspects of the story of Job, the fable of Jotham ( judg. 9:6-20), the novella-like aspects of the stories of Joseph and the scroll of Esther, and the story cycles of the Patriarchs. Folk narratives reside beneath the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical writings of the second Temple period-e.g., Maccabees, jubilees, Tobit, juidth, Ahikar. This period-marked by the to Zion, Hellenization, and the Hasmonean revolt-gave rise to the retelling of biblical tales, tales of the wise courtier, martyrological tales, and fairytales. Thematically there is a focus on the confrontation of the Jewish community with foreign domination, community survival, and miraculous rescue. The chapters on the rabbinic and medieval periods are the biggest in the book. The former is the of the talmudic and midrashic compendia that emerged following the destruction of the second temple. Expanded biblical tales (usually tied to a biblical verse), tales of magic and demonology, exempla and parables, and legends about individual rabbis abound. Only comic tales would seem to be a truly novel form in this literature. The Jewish Middle Ages begin with the Islamic expansion at the end of the seventh century. No new genres emerge, and there is considerable repetition, extension, and elaboration of stories, styles, and structures from the previous period, although there are a large number of narratives translated into Hebrew from other languages. Legends predominate, with an emphasis on saints, the exorcism of demons, and the intervention of God in the protection and salvation of Jewish communities assailed and assaulted by antisemitic rulers, clergy, and neighbors. The narratives of the contemporary period (post-medieval) are represented only by Hasidic tales of the zaddik (righteous man, Hasidic leader, collections of which begin to be published in the early nineteenth century), and legends of saints and return to the faith stories told in Israel today. Although these stories are rooted in the realities of modern society, their thematic structures are old. They are employed aggressively today in mass rallies to promote the of the secular community to orthodox belief and practice. The Hebrew Folktale is a work of staggering scope and scholarship, and there is much to be learned from it. But it is also daunting, especially for those with modest knowledge of Hebrew sources. While Yassif tries to explain much, much is left to the reader to unravel. As the work is translated from Hebrew, it might be assumed that readers of the original work would have a greater familiarity with terminology, textual chronology, and the nature of talmudic, midrashic, and other texts. …

Christliche Rechtsüberzeugungen im Kontext einer pluralistischen Gesellschaft

Abstract Although modern society emancipated itself from its Christian roots, Christian motivs continue to be effective even in the realm oflaw. Thus, in the 16. cent., the idea oftoleration had Christian, though not ecclesiastic origins. In a Christian perspective, however, toleration does not entail complete neutrality in all religious matters and on the part of society and legal order such complete neutrality is to be considered delusive. The positive attitude of Christians toward the German constitution is largely bound up with its emphasis on human dignity, which is rooted in the biblical idea of the human person being created in the image of God. In the reality of modern society, on the other hand, personal selfrealization tends to become the fundamental human right, and on certain points (abortion) issues in conflicts with the priority of human dignity. Here, the idea of freedom degenerates into licence, which in a Christian perspective is sin. Another area of particular concern for Christians in the legal system is marriage and family. Here, the author pleads for the Christian emphasis on marriage as basis of the family and indicates its legal consequences.

‘De Regenkoning’ van Hugo Claus

The investigation in this article comprises the analysis of a poem by the Flemish author Hugo Claus, namely "De regenkoning". It is one of the poems in a sequence entitled "De ingewijde" (The initiated) which forms part of his volume of poetry "De Oostakkerse Gedichten” (1955). These poems are extremely esoteric and an attempt is made here to “decode” the "hidden mysteries” in this particular poem. Claus’ method of using a kind of secret language corresponds to a basic feature of (universal) initiation ceremonies, namely that everything that takes place is shrouded in secrecy. It was found that the nucleus of traditional initiations, namely sexual and mental maturation, likewise form a fundamental characteristic in Claus’ poem. Yet his "neophyte” is not (re)born into a "new” (sacred) world, but initiated into the broken (profane) realities of modern society.

The Urban Law Program of the University of Detroit School of Law

T HERE HAS RECENTLY BEEN a muttering of dissatisfaction on the part of many lawyers and legal educators which has steadily grown into a decidedly discomfiting rumble. In some cases it is the result of an awareness of the rigidity and pedantic, if not atrophic, qualities which exemplify the majority of curricula in the nation's law schools, both large and small; in other cases it has arisen because law schools seem to be preparing their students only for roles as desk lawyers, and closing their eyes to the urgency of new social and economic patterns which have begun to exert such insistent pressures that they can no longer be ignored.' More often than not, the two expressions are actually two different ways of looking at the same problem, namely, when will law schools recognize and reflect in changed curricula the changing needs of changing times? In September 1965 the University of Detroit School of Law received a grant of 242,000 dollars from the Office of Economic Opportunity. The grant provides funds for a demonstration, research, and training program under Title II-A of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.2 Prior to receipt of this grant the law school reexamined its course of study, similar to that of practically all other U.S. law schools, and found it inconsistent with the realities of modern society, but, more particularly, based on a limited perspective of the role of the attorney in society. It was safely traditional, saleable, and consistent with the image that far too many lawyers have of the profession. It was also uncomfortably unsuited to our times and to the demands to be made on future lawyers.