Theological Roots Research Articles

Traditional Islamic Exclusivism - A Critique

In this paper, I give an account and critique of what I call ‘Traditional Islamic Exclusivism’ – a specific Islamic interpretation of religious exclusivism. This Islamic version of religious exclusivism rests on exclusivist attitudes towards truth, epistemic justification and salvation. After giving an account of Traditional Islamic Exclusivism by explaining its theological roots in the Qur’an and ahadith (reports of sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad), I proceed to critique it. I do so by arguing that Islamic epistemic exclusivism, which forms the main core of Traditional Islamic Exclusivism, is implausible. This criticism subsequently opens up further lines of criticism and discussion of both salvific and alethic exclusivism in an Islamic context. I conclude with some remarks about the implications and significance of my criticisms of Traditional Islamic Exclusivism.

Символ как объект апофатической философии

Symbol is produced by creative activity and is a thing. That is why reism is the ontology of symbol. This paper does not consider the limits of the forms of a thing (the approach of E.Cassirer and S.Langer), since the concept of form could witness only actual (not possible) existence, which does not belong to symbol ex definitione. It is known that an expression of a thing’s essential being (esse essentiale) leads to apophatism. This apo-phatism roots in theology. In the period of symbolism (second third of 19th – beginning of 20th century) apophatic essence of symbol is analyzed by A. Losev from the positions of phenomenology. The last Losev’s paper on symbol does not contain the concept of apo-phatism, but it stresses the “engendering capacity” of symbol, whereas in fact one should speak about individual creativity. An expression of existential being (esse existentiale) of symbol appears implicitly in the works of Brentano. His thetic judgment, interpreted as a description, is not only referential, but also ontological failure. Existential judgment of Brentano is an example of apophatism in philosophy, so that one could speak about apo-phatic philosophy. Creative activity in symbolism is directed towards the construction of tools that generate symbol (rather than symbol itself), primarily the symbolic languages. If such a language loses its links to being, symbol becomes sign. This gives Łukasiewicz an option to approach the creation of value as a symbolic evaluation. An introduction of a third truthevaluation leads to apophatism of the current moment of time and its replacement by the duration or change of the value of the mentioned evaluation. An interdiction for expression of a thing’s being, caused by creation of thing, and a current moment of time make symbol a subject of apophatic philosophy.

Schumpeter’s theological roots? Harnack and the origins of creative destruction.

This short research note highlights the similarity between Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction and the work of his contemporary, the German theologian Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930). The note provides a brief over-view of Harnack's concepts and terminology and highlights their similarity to Schumpeterian ideas about routinisation, charismatic entrepreneurial leadership, and creative destruction. While the evidence is far from conclusive it does suggest that the similarity merits closer attention that could potentially lead to changes to the received understanding of the theory of creative destruction. In particular, it suggests a need to potentially reassess the position of Schumpeter within a wider Weberian tradition.

<i>Gustus Spiritualis</i>: Remarks on the Emergence of Modern Aesthetics

The article considers the concept of gustus spiritualis, in particular its possible historical connection with (aesthetic) taste in the seventeenth century. By ‘aesthetic’, I mean a radically modern phenomenon, attitude, sensibility, and so forth, that is, a new type of experience. Its discourse has many keywords; one of them is taste, an inner faculty by which its possessor is able to make sharp and proper distinctions, and simultaneously to enjoy fine delights. Here, I am obliged to confine myself to the interpretation of some Jesuit authors within the wide tradition of gustus spiritualis: St Ignatius of Loyola, St Francis de Sales, Baltasar Gracian, and Dominique Bouhours in sequence. The latter two are usually treated in the historical narratives of aesthetics, which, however, usually take gustus/gusto/gout as if it were a purely secular (moral, political) notion in the seventeenth century, while its theological roots are ignored. Exploring the role of gustus spiritualis in the evolution of (aesthetic) taste can cast light, on the one hand, on the important fact that this entails volition, that is, the determination and enchantment of human desire and hope without constraint; and, on the other, on the historical process of the emergence of a new type of ‘beholder’ with a sensitive attitude to transcendence, and, in the same manner, to his or her worldly life as well; moreover, it is a process in which, simultaneously, the nature of transcendence is transformed into a tastable one.

After Jonathan Edwards: The Courses of the New England Theology. Edited by Oliver D. Crisp and Douglas A. Sweeney. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. xviii + 348 pp. $99.00 cloth; $35.00 paper.

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)After Jonathan Edwards: The Courses of England . Edited by Oliver D. Crisp and Douglas A. Sweeney . York : Oxford University Press , 2012. xviii + 348 pp. $99.00 cloth; $35.00 paper.Book Reviews and NotesThis collection of seventeen essays is presented as a corrective to a position first articulated almost a ago by Joseph Haroutunian in Piety Versus Moralism: The Passing of England (New York: Henry Holt, 1932), a classic text that contributed in large part to twentieth-century resurgence of interest in academic study of Jonathan Edwards. Taking my copy of this text from shelf, where it had most likely rested unopened since graduate school, I was surprised to discover on flyleaf strong signature of influential Presbyterian theologian himself. I also easily located in its introduction a strong statement of view essays in After Jonathan Edwards aim to counter: seen from perspective of theology of Edwards, writes Haroutunian, the history of England is history of a degradation (xxii).Coined in nineteenth century, term New England Theology refers to a theological tradition whose diverse members promoted a style of evangelical Calvinism that, although doctrinally distinctive, claimed allegiance to thought of Jonathan Edwards. Following Haroutunian, growth of this theological tradition has commonly been framed not as development, but as decline. As collection's editors, Oliver D. Crisp and Douglas A. Sweeney, observe, the England theology is a tale of ever more arid and abstruse metaphysical theorizing on basis of an original, and intellectually dynamic, Edwardsian deposit (5). Contrary to this declension narrative, they assert this tradition is the most significant and enduring Christian theological school of thought to have originated in United States (4). The essays in this volume support this contention by considering not only development and importance of England in nineteenth-century America but also international reach of its theological vision.The collection is divided into three sections. The first places intellectual and theological concerns of Edwards's immediate successors, called Divinity, in a larger context. The essays written by Mark Valeri and James P. Byrd draw interesting connections between this theological school and issues of broader historical concern. Valeri shifts attention from doctrine to method by arguing that a distinguishing feature of Edwardsian thought was its promotion of the culture of gentility that defined rules of Anglo-American social discourse during second half of eighteenth century (18). Byrd explores theological roots of Edwardsian anti-slavery activism, which at times placed Divinity in conflict with genteel England society. Crisp's essay, by contrast, stands out for directly challenging a central element of declension thesis, development of a governmental doctrine of atonement, which Haroutunian considered symptomatic of degraded moralism of England theology. To undermine this claim Crisp argues that the seeds of England governmental view of atonement were sown by Edwards himself, and that precedents exist for this view in earlier Reform thought (78).The essays in volume's second section are each devoted to prominent representatives of England Theology, from Samuel Hopkins to Edwards Amasa Park. …

“Daringly, yet with Reverence”: Pearse, Mickiewicz and the Theology of National Messianism

The article attempts to apply the elaborate theory of Polish romantic messianism to the rhetoric of Patrick Pearse, frequently – yet without further specifications – characterized as “messianistic”. Pearse’s writings are analyzed alongside those of the central figure of Polish nationalist messianism – poet Adam Mickiewicz – whose texts were discovered by the Irish nationalist press in the years preceding the Easter Rising. The argument focuses mainly on the theme of the redemptive sacrifice and the attempts of both authors to balance its theological roots and revolutionary, “heretical”, potential.

LITERATURA, TEOLOGÍA Y MUNDOS POSIBLES: UNA MANERA DE LEER A JORGE LUIS BORGES

La noción de mundos posibles puede ayudarnos a comprender mejor la literatura, especialmente la narrativa. Los mundos posibles tienen antecedentes en la teología, especialmente en San Agustín y la noción de individuos meramente posibles, como lo son los seres ficticios, también tienen raíces teológicas, como en Santo Tomás de Aquino. Estas nociones están presentes en la narrativa de Jorge Luis Borges, como tratamos de mostrar.

Organizational sacralization and discursive use of corporate mission statements

The religious origin of organizational behavior is not easy to recognize, nor are the implications of the Christian heritage of concepts and ideas as applied to organizations. This paper seeks to remedy this by investigating the theological roots of the mission concept. Our central argument is that corporate mission statements are sometimes used as manipulative communicative tools which seek organizational legitimacy through the rhetorical inclusion of secularized Christian values. We find in Koselleck's (1985) Conceptual History theoretical arguments by which to evaluate the bridge between theological and corporate concepts of mission. Then, we discuss mission as a theological concept, showing how it developed in modern societies and how its discursive use in business can be evaluated. With an analysis based on Habermas' (1985) work, we conclude that, as a communicative tool, a corporate mission statement helps organizations manipulate meanings about their purposes and legitimacy in Christianity-based societies. This process reveals how the mission concept contributes to increase organizational sacralization and represents a powerful tool for improving a corporation's social image and as a consequence may induce social consent.

Establishing Martin Luther King's Beloved Community for the Education of Black Youth

The purpose of this essay is to offer a vision of what educational communities could look like based on the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a vision that is both substantive in content yet flexible in its application to the diverse contexts of American schooling; a vision that finds its roots in King's personalistic theology (Burrow, 2006) and becomes fully captured in his idea of the Beloved Community. As Smith and Zepp (1998) argued a number of years ago, “The vision of the Beloved Community was the organizing principle of all of King's thought and activity” (p. 129). This paper focuses on the three principles that form the core of King's position (King, 1963). The first principle that King argued had to be present in a Beloved Community was “a recognition of the sacredness of human personality” (p. 118). This position essentially maintains that there is a theological basis for “the dignity and worth of all human personality” (Smith, 1981) and, consequently, that all people have something to contribute. The second principle of the Beloved Community is to establish an environment of freedom (King, 1963). As King wrote, “A denial of freedom to an individual is a denial of life itself” (p. 118). The final principle that the essay will explore is “the recognition of the solidarity of the human family” (p. 121). This position essentially contends that everyone is interrelated and that unless we all recognize our mutual interdependence, we will continue to fracture and divide along lines of race, gender, religion, and social class.

The least of all possible evils: humanitarian violence from Arendt to Gaza

A groundbreaking exploration of the philosophy underpinning Western humanitarian and military intervention. The principle of the “lesser evil”—the acceptability of pursuing one exceptional course of action in order to prevent a greater injustice—has long been a cornerstone of Western ethical philosophy. From its roots in classical ethics and Christian theology, to Hannah Arendt’s exploration of the work of the Jewish Councils during the Nazi regime, Weizman explores its development in three key transformations of the problem: the defining intervention of Medecins Sans Frontieres in mid-1980s Ethiopia; the separation wall in Israel-Palestine; and international and human rights law in Bosnia, Gaza and Iraq. Drawing on a wealth of new research, Weizman charts the latest manifestation of this age-old idea. In doing so he shows how military and political intervention acquired a new “humanitarian” acceptability and legality in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Sovereignty Forever: The Boundaries of Western Medieval and Modern Thought in a Quasi-Symptomatic Reading of Schmitt's Definition of Sovereignty

Schmitt's definition of sovereignty is also an attempt to read against the grain Western legal and political history. And yet, this highly unorthodox reconstruction not only reveals the boundaries of Western medieval and modern thought, but also hides them again behind new transhistorical principles. I construct Schmitt's ambivalent gesture by turning his short text into a series of quasisymptoms, which hint to his own historical context, as well as to more general features of Western thought. In particular, I propose reading the association of sovereignty with the state of exception as a rationalization of the catastrophe of the First World War, and I suggest an analogy with Freud's post-war invention of the death drive. Though Schmitt rightly emphasizes the contextual determination of past politico-legal conceptualizations, he puts forth a narrative that transcends these very historical determinations. Hence, whilst Schmitt underlines the theological roots of Western juridico-political discourse, he still operates within the decontextualized conceptual space produced by medieval theological speculation, and re-enacted by modern naturalism. From within this claustrophobic theoretical space, even the exception is recaptured as a principle. On the contrary, a genealogical understanding of sovereignty both discloses the latter's metaphysical underpinnings and undermines its foreverness.

Foundations for Liberation: Social Justice, Liberation Psychology, and Counseling

This manuscript will describe Liberation Psychology’s impact on the professional counseling field’s movement toward a focus on social justice. The authors will describe Liberation Psychology’s roots in theology, the foundational principles of this theory, and specific examples of where Liberation Psychology has made an impact on the field of counseling. Finally, the authors will discuss several key implications for Liberation Psychology’s implementation as a foundation for counseling for social justice.

Schumpeter's Theological Roots? Harnack and the Origins of Creative Destruction

This short research note highlights the similarity between Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction and the work of his contemporary, the German theologian Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930). The note provides a brief over-view of Harnack’s concepts and terminology and highlights their similarity to Schumpeterian ideas about routinisation, charismatic entrepreneurial leadership, and creative destruction. While the evidence is far from conclusive it does suggests that the similarity merits closer attention that could potentially lead to changes to the received understanding of the theory of creative destruction. In particular, it suggests a need to potential reassess the position of Schumpeter within a wider Weberian tradition.

Why We Need a Just Rebellion Theory

The Arab Spring has generated a variety of responses from the West. While broad political support was voiced for uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, the responses to protests in Bahrain and Morocco were muted. The swift decision to intervene in Libya stands in marked contrast to the ongoing hand-wringing on Syria. While political realists might see these contradictions as evidence that geopolitical concerns determine foreign policy, from an ethical point of view these responses also reveal a fundamental tension in Western thinking about rebellion. On one hand, rebellion is viewed with a distrustful eye—as a disruptive, chaotic force that threatens to destroy the day-to-day order on which civilization is built. On the other, rebellion is perceived more optimistically—as a regenerative, creative force that can leave a better civilization in its wake. These two radically disparate ways of thinking about rebellion have deep philosophical and theological roots. The pessimistic view has historically dominated just war thought, as James Turner Johnson's contribution to this roundtable illustrates; whereas the perspective of Enlightenment liberalism offers a more optimistic judgment, as found, for example, in the works of Locke and Rousseau.

Schumpeter's Theological Roots? Harnack and the Origins of Creative Destruction

This short research note highlights the similarity between Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction and the work of his contemporary, the German theologian Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930). The note provides a brief over-view of Harnack’s concepts and terminology and highlights their similarity to Schumpeterian ideas about routinisation, charismatic entrepreneurial leadership, and creative destruction. While the evidence is far from conclusive it does suggests that the similarity merits closer attention that could potentially lead to changes to the received understanding of the theory of creative destruction. In particular, it suggests a need to potential reassess the position of Schumpeter within a wider Weberian tradition.

“Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism”

AbstractUnitarian Universalism is a liberal religious tradition with denominational roots in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and theological roots stretching back to the Radical Reformation and the patristic period. Originally two traditions of liberal Christianity, its current non‐creedal form includes Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, pagan, mystical, process, and humanist spiritualities.

Missio Dei

International Review of MissionVolume 101, Issue 2 p. 385-387 Water of Life: Speaking the Truth in Love Missio Dei The Theological Roots of Evangelism C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell, C. Rosalee Velloso EwellSearch for more papers by this author C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell, C. Rosalee Velloso EwellSearch for more papers by this author First published: 20 November 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6631.2012.00115.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume101, Issue2November 2012Pages 385-387 RelatedInformation

Divine healing. The formative years, 1830–1890. Theological roots in the transatlantic world. By James Robinson (foreword William K. Kay). Pp. xiv + 311 incl. 11 ills. Eugene, Or: Pickwick Publications, 2011. £22 (paper). 978 1 61097 105 8

Divine healing. The formative years, 1830–1890. Theological roots in the transatlantic world. By James Robinson (foreword William K. Kay). Pp. xiv + 311 incl. 11 ills. Eugene, Or: Pickwick Publications, 2011. £22 (paper). 978 1 61097 105 8

Being Human: The Shaykhiyya

Abstract The word ‘humanism’ can and does mean different things in different contexts. Secular humanism or materialistic humanism is often the demon of religious fundamentalists who see it as the opposite of godliness. Such a simple-minded view is challenged by the teachings of the Baha’i Faith, especially those teachings having their roots in the philosophical theology of the Shaykhi school. Here the human being is a locus of unbounded potential and knowledge precisely because of the unutterably lofty station of firstly, the divine manifestations (who for Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa’i included the Imams) through whom, secondly, God himself is ‘known’ or, more precisely, ‘indicated’.

From Where Does the Red Tory Speak? Phillip Blond, Theology and Public Discourse

This article examines the role of theology in the public discourse of Phillip Blond. For one whose professional and academic training has been in Christian theology, Blond appears surprisingly reluctant to declare the theological roots of his political convictions. It is possible that this is an entirely pragmatic strategy, concerned not to alienate a largely secular audience, although this may be self-defeating if critics suspect some kind of sleight of hand. Yet it also fails to identify the sources of the traditions and practices which will actually inform a renewed political and cultural economy of virtue. Blond's diffidence towards declaring his theological stance contrasts with other traditions such as public theology, which argues that coherent and convincing Christian speech in public must always be prepared to put itself to the test of public scrutiny. Such transparency and accountability implies a respect for, but not necessarily a capitulation to, the insights of secular reason.