Words Of Scripture Research Articles

Scripture in Stormont: Incidental reference to the Bible in Northern Irish politics

The Bible has long permeated Northern Irish culture and politics and continues to play a role even today, as politicians appeal to the words of Scripture in reference to their position on social policy issues such as equal marriage and abortion. In this article, however, I will show that the Bible also appears incidentally in Northern Irish politics, employed in discourse to demean, console, or entertain, and not to direct policy decisions. I discuss examples of reference to the Bible in the Northern Ireland Assembly and show that by comparing others (or oneself) to characters from the Bible, members are mostly engaging in criticism or mild attack of political opponents, but not without a certain role for humor in what might be designated “biblical banter.” I thus illuminate one aspect of the cultural role played by the Bible in the everyday language of politics in Northern Ireland.

Rendition of Noncanonical Opposition: A Case Study of Qur’anic Composition in Bilingual Transposition

Grammar and meaning, form and function, are two linguistic levels intrinsic and indispensable to reading and rendering the Qur’an, the Divine Word of Islamic Scripture, in a foreign tongue. Nida and de Waard’s (1986) ‘functional equivalence’, an amalgamation of formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence, posits that emphasis in translation activity and practice must also be laid on SL form which must be retained and maintained in TL where possible as long as it performs discourse functions and conciliates SL fidelity and TL legibility. The present study argues that the syntactic frames that host noncanonical oppositions in the Qur’an trigger distinct discourse functions that must be transposed as lexicosyntactic and lexicosemantic translation units into Qur’an translation. Building on a typological analysis of a representative dataset retrieved from Qur’anic Arabic Corpus (QAC), the study reveals remarkable variations among the translators in their renditions of noncanonical opposition frames and functions owing to explicitation and domestication. This study recommends revival and reuse of the grammar-translation method in Qur’an translation when SL meaning and function are based on SL grammar and form.

Rozeznawanie dziewicy konsekrowanej w kierownictwie duchowym

This paper deals with the issue of responsibility of a consecrated virgin for her formation, part of which is discernment in spiritual direction. It brings up the question of persons who can serve a consecrated virgin with spiritual guidance, namely the spiritual director, the permanent confessor, and the diocesan bishop. It discusses the sources of spiritual life, which are the Word of God, i.e., Scripture and Tradition, the spirituality of the consecrated virgin and liturgy, and the voice of the heart, in the aspect of spiritual direction. The issue of obedience and internal resistance in spiritual direction is addressed. The process of individual discernment as it relates to spiritual direction is also discussed.

The modern Buddhist studies of Zen priests at Tokyo Imperial University: considering perspectives on original Buddhism

ABSTRACT While the study of Buddhism at universities in Japan since the Meiji period (1868–1912)—transplanted as a modern institution—produced many results using a critical and rational approach to Buddhist texts, many scholars of Buddhism, who were also Buddhists, were challenged to reconcile their own belief systems with those of Japanese Buddhism, which existed outside of the texts. In this context, Taiken Kimura 木村泰賢 and Hakuju Ui 宇井伯寿, both professors at Tokyo Imperial University, attempted to bridge the gap between primitive Buddhist studies and beliefs, or between objectivity and subjectivity, using the concepts of bodhisattva way 菩薩道 and a Zen tradition beyond the written words of scripture 教外別伝 as a framework for Buddhist studies, respectively. Therefore, although their research was always in consideration of its academic significance and did not directly link their belief and scholarship, they can be placed in the history of Buddhist thought.

Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314 by Origen

Reviewed by: Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314 by Origen Mark Randall James Origen. Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314. Translated by Joseph W. Trigg. [The Fathers of the Church, Volume 141.] (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press: 2021. Pp. xii, 486. $45.00. ISBN 978-0-8132-3319-2.) One of the most exciting events in recent patristic scholarship was Marina Pradel’s 2012 discovery of twenty-nine of Origen’s homilies on the Psalms, hiding in plain sight in the manuscript collection of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich. The eminent scholar Lorenzo Perrone quickly and conclusively identified these anonymous homilies as belonging to Origen, delivered in Caesarea near the end of his life. In collaboration with Pradel, Emanuela Prinzivalli, and Antonio Cacciari, Perrone rapidly produced an excellent critical edition.1 Thanks to Joseph Trigg, these homilies are now available to an English-language readership. Together with Trigg’s learned introduction and illuminating notes, they provide a new window onto the work and the world of one of the Church’s most influential teachers. [End Page 790] For Origen, the Psalms were not primarily liturgical texts. As Trigg observes, there is very little evidence of Christian liturgical use of the Psalms in the third century (p. 20). Instead, Origen regards the Psalms as “patterns” for imitation (Hom Ps 15.2.4), pedagogical texts that guide the soul’s deification by forming how one speaks. (Karen Jo Torjesen’s classic study of Origen’s hermeneutic procedures, which begins with an analysis of the Psalm homilies then extant in Latin translation, remains an excellent guide to these new Greek texts.2) These new homilies show how much Origen envisioned deification as a process of linguistic formation. Even when the proper speaker (prosopon) of a psalm is the divine Logos, Origen teaches human beings how to use and imitate his divine words as they come to share his divine nature.3 As Trigg rightly emphasizes, the Psalms (like the rest of the Septuagint) were often a culturally and linguistically alien literature to Origen’s third-century Hellenized community (pp. 10–12). Trigg aims to preserve the Septuagint’s linguistic difficulty, sometimes leading to translations that will sound clunky to the ears of modern readers, accustomed to smoothed-out contemporary translations, as in his rendering of Psalm 15:57b (LXX): “yet also until night my kidneys disciplined me” (p. 61). Origen brings the full weight of his grammatical training to bear resolving linguistic difficulties, from infelicitous Hebrew syntax to unfamiliar words, some of which Origen correctly recognized as novel coinages (Hom Ps 36.1.1). The homilies also contain familiar defenses of Origen’s strategy of reading allegorically, sometimes tinged with humor. As Trigg observes, “[Origen] asks those who resist figurative interpretation if they actually think that the angels have kitchen utensils for cooking manna or a brass section that will play the trumpet of doom” (p. 8). Trigg’s translation happily eschews the unhelpful term “literal.” I cannot agree, however, with Trigg’s distinction between lexis (wording) and rheton (statement): [Origen] uses the grammatical term lexis to refer to the actual words of Scripture and rheton to refer to the immediate, intuitive sense of those words. The first two columns in the Hexapla are the lexis in Hebrew letters and transliterated in Greek characters. The remaining columns translate the rheton of that lexis. The rheton is simply what the words say, even if it ascribes a “hand” to God or “doors” to heaven. (pp. 31–32) Trigg is right that Origen always distinguishes the words of scripture from their immediate sense when taken at face value. But for Origen, rheton too refers to the actual words themselves. Thus when exhorting his hearers to memorize scripture, [End Page 791] Origen says, “Often someone comes seeking to understand concepts laid up in the Holy Scripture . . . but not knowing an evangelical statement [rheton], nor remembering an apostolic logos. . .” (Hom Ps 80.2.5). To memorize the evangelical rheton is simply to learn the words of the gospels. By contrast, to signify the immediate understanding of the words, Origen can use either lexis or rheton, usually in a prepositional phrase. For...

Mystical Emulations, Inverted Echoes

Mystical Emulations, Inverted Echoes

The Senses of Sight in Lancelot Andrewes’s Sermons

Lancelot Andrewes constructed visually intense scenes and symbolic images to capture his auditors’ interest, but he never let them forget that his visual enargia was rooted in the words of scripture and had no reality outside that given by God’s Word. His strategy was, therefore, not only to make Christ’s presence concrete and accessible to his listeners, but also to hint at how God will always be out of reach, a truth that cannot be seen. In exploring this rhetorical strategy, I focus especially on Andrewes’s 1604 Good Friday sermon, 1620 Easter sermon, and 1620 consecration rite. The two sermons were delivered at opposite ends of Andrewes’s career in James’s court, but both are notable for their intense scrutiny of what it means to see Christ in the eyes of the mind, body, and soul.

The Universal Tradition and the Clear Meaning of Scripture: Benjamin Keach’s Understanding of the Trinity

Abstract Leading Particular Baptist theologian Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) came to prominence just as an antitrinitarian theology native to England gained a stronghold. What had previously been deemed off-limits by the Establishment became a commonplace by the end of the seventeenth century based on a strict biblicism that eschewed the extra-biblical language of trinitarian orthodoxy. As one who considered himself a strong biblicist, Keach deftly maneuvered his theological writings between what he saw as two extremes: the one that refused to consider any language that moved beyond the mere words of scripture, represented by many of his General Baptist contemporaries and the other that over-emphasized the role of tradition with no eye toward biblical truth, represented by the Roman Catholics. Keach’s explication of trinitarianism demonstrated that these two extremes did not have to be seen as competing with each other. Instead, the correct understanding of the Bible included ‘the just and necessary consequences’ that could be deduced from Scripture, and the ‘universal tradition’ aided the pastor theologian in ascertaining the truth. The result, for Keach and his audience, was an ancient view of trinitarianism that offered a way of peace between the the two extremes vying for the public ear in the late seventeenth century.

Mordechai Z. Cohen. The Rule of Peshat: Jewish Constructions of the Plain Sense of Scripture and Their Christian and Muslim Contexts, 900–1270.

Mordechai Z. Cohen. <i>The Rule of Peshat: Jewish Constructions of the Plain Sense of Scripture and Their Christian and Muslim Contexts, 900–1270</i>.

The Sensus Literalis and the Trinity in the English Enlightenment

The doctrine of the Trinity was fiercely contested in the English Enlightenment. This debate is of interest not simply because of the doctrinal articulations of the belligerents or their various approaches to the Scriptural text, but because it led to the consolidation of a precise understanding of the relationship between the sensus literalis and doctrine for Trinitarians and Antitrinitarians both. Antitrinitarians of the English Enlightenment came to agree that the sensus literalis could be isolated by identifying the singular referent of each Scriptural word, but Trinitarians came to insist, to the contrary, that Scriptural words always refer within a larger canonical framework.

Performing Scriptures: Ritualizing Written Texts in &lt;i&gt;Seolwi-seolgyeong&lt;/i&gt;, the Korean Shamanistic Recitation of Scriptures

Seolwi-seolgyeong is a Korean shamanistic ritual in which shamans recite scriptures while being seated. This ritual suggests a comprehensive way of performing scriptures; scriptures are recited, written and materialized so that their sacred status is secured and their power is maximized. The recitation is the nucleus of this ritual. Though lay participants do not understand the meaning of recited scriptures, they regard the recitation as effective because the gods and evil spirits are thought to understand it. For seolwi-seolgyeong to be most efficacious, the recitation of scriptures should be supported by the materialization of scriptures. Evil spirits become frightened by reading the paper banners on which the names of gods and other words of scriptures are written. Geometric paper figures that depict gods visually scare evil spirits and those that reflect the scriptures’ cosmology can hedge them in and trap them. In this ritual process, scriptures are privileged and distinguished as sacred beings in several ways. First, scriptures are ritualized when shamans and other participants in seolwi-seolgyeong treat the scriptures as no less than the words of the gods. Second, reciting the scripture is equated with the proclamation of divine words. This ritualization is considered more effective when scriptures are recited more skillfully. Third, the contents of scriptures are also ritualized when they are considered so sacred as to subdue evil spirits and heal patients and when shamans materialize the contents into paper figures on the basis of their interpretation of the cosmology and theology in scriptures.

The Words of Scripture and Spiritual Training in the Śaṅkaran Religious Tradition

In a Śaṅkaran religious tradition, the method of ascetic training called “hearing, reflection, and meditation” (śravaṇa-manana-nididhyāsana) has been traditionally transmitted for the purpose of attaining emancipation (mokṣa). This method of training is believed to be necessary for the intuitive experience of the truth that brahman is identical with ātman. At first, “hearing” (śravaṇa) is to listen to the Upaniṣadic scriptures from a teacher who is believed to have obtained the truth. Through the words of scriptures, a disciple may obtain a conviction that the scriptural words could lead one to the knowledge of brahman. After learning the Upaniṣadic teachings, one may move to “reflection” (manana), which means reflecting upon the meaning of these scriptures logically. Moreover, at the third step of “meditation” (nididhyāsana), one may deepen the understanding of the “identity of brahman with ātman.” Through the deep contemplation of the Upaniṣadic teachings, one could attain the intuitive experience of the truth. In regard to the traditional method of ascetic training in the Śaṅkaran religious tradition, this paper attempts to clarify how this spiritual training is related to the understanding of the meanings of the Upaniṣadic scriptures.

Aquinas on Satan as a Theologian-Exegete

Aquinas on Satan as a Theologian-Exegete Mateusz Przanowski O.P. Recognizing in Satan some traits of a twisted theologian is quite a common theme. Pope Benedict XVI recalled this motif recently, while referring to A Short Tale of the Anti-Christ by Vladimir Soloviev: To lure Jesus into the trap, the devil quotes from the Holy Scripture. … The devil reveals himself to be an expert on the Scripture, who is able to cite the Psalm accurately. Indeed, this whole conversation during the second temptation of Christ seems like a dispute between two scribes: the devil appears to be a theologian.1 In the second temptation of Christ (Matt 4:6), Satan uses the words of Sacred Scripture against the One who—as the Eternal Word—has spoken those words first. Therefore, the crucial idea behind the theme of "Satan as a theologian" is to recognize his perverse will to turn theology—and especially exegesis—into the weapon against God himself. This theme may also be found in the works by St. Thomas Aquinas. It is discussed in more systematic way only in the passage from Lectura super Matthaeum, while in other works it appears only in the form of dispersed remarks. Still, these intuitions are so interesting that it is worthwhile to collect and discuss them. [End Page 625] Inanis Gloria Matthew describes the second temptation of Christ in the following way: Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt Lord your God.'" (Matt 4:5–7) While tempting Jesus, the devil quotes from Psalm 91[90]:11–12, misinterpreting it in a deceptive way. Hence, Satan acts here as a twisted theologian-exegete, who tempts the Saviour with false interpretation of Scripture. The devil's tactic in this second temptation is a very interesting and unique one when compared to other Biblical passages: it is one thing for the devil to deceive prophets by, for example, putting false prophecies into their mouths, but quite another to misinterpret the text which really comes from God. For, in the latter case, Satan is not creator of words but their deceptive commentator. It is worth noting that Holy Scripture not only mentions these two ways of destroying God's words by Satan (namely, by creating false words only attributed to God and by falsely interpreting authentic words of God), but teaches also about at least two others: the devil may "snatch" (rapit) the word (Matt 13:192) and distort the true word of God (Gen 3:1, against Gen 2:16–17). In the context of this paper, the most important way of manipulating God's words is, of course, the one where the devil presents himself as a theologian-exegete who explains these words. And precisely this perverse behavior drew the attention of Aquinas, who devotes a relatively large portion of Lectura super Matthaeum3 to this issue. Since this work is the main source to become acquainted with Aquinas's approach to this subject, I will refer mostly to this commentary4. [End Page 626] However, before discussing the main rules of such devil's exegesis, I would like to characterize briefly its wider context, constituted by the aim and place of the second temptation.5 Firstly I will analyze its goal, because it was the thing that determined the devil's choice of precisely such a place of temptation. a. The aim of the second temptation is to persuade Jesus to fall into the sin of desire of vainglory (inanis gloria).6 This temptation is similar to the one that took place in Paradise, where the serpent told Eve, "your eyes will be opened" (Gen 3:5). Aquinas believes that these words were used precisely to tempt to the desire of vainglory.7 Satan tempts Jesus to the same end with...

Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost by Craig S. Keener

Reviewed by: Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost by Craig S. Keener Russell Morton craig s. keener, Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016). Pp. xxvii + 533. $48. Pentecostal/Charismatic expressions of Christian faith are among the fastest growing in the world, particularly in the Global South. Those claiming Pentecostal experiences not only populate the traditional Pentecostal or Charismatic denominations but are also found among "mainline" Protestant and Catholic churches. Yet, for many unfamiliar with Pentecostalism, the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement remains bizarre. How do Pentecostals/Charismatics read Scripture? Do their methods correspond to more traditional exegetical models? Does their expressed dependence on "Spirit" negate sound exegetical practice? Such concerns are addressed in Keener's Spirit Hermeneutics. Originally intended as a contribution to the Pentecostal Manifesto series, K. broadened his scope to compose a stand-alone discussion of Pentecostal hermeneutics. His book is intended for a wide-ranging constituency that includes lay, clerical, and academic readers. It is divided into six parts, with each part further subdivided into individual chapters. Part 1, "A Theological Reading Toward Praxis and Mission," covers the presuppositions and practical application of a Pentecostal reading of Scripture. Pentecostals self-consciously read the Bible through their spiritual experiences. So far, this perspective corresponds to the postmodern recognition that all reading is contextual. Where Pentecostals differ from post-moderns is in Pentecostals' willingness to assert that their readings are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Their approach need not, however, be individualistic. They are also open to "missional readings" that welcome insights from the global Pentecostal community. Thus, in part 2, we encounter "Global Readings." Pentecostalism's greatest strength is outside of North America and Western Europe. Therefore, Pentecostals may be more open [End Page 337] to insights from the Majority World than are scholars trained in primarily Eurocentric contexts. Pentecostals also do not necessarily share a naturalistic worldview and are open to the possibility of miracles (pp. 93-96). This openness, while foreign to Eurocentric thinking, is still acceptable in many parts of the Majority World. Yet, if Pentecostal readings are "spirit inspired," that does not mean they are strictly subjective. In part 3, "Connection with Designated Sense," K. notes that meaning is still important. K. argues for a balanced hermeneutical approach that provides room for both the Spirit and scholarly insights from a variety of perspectives. K. appreciates that "Spirit hermeneutics" can be informed by the debates on the nature of authorial intent, as well as affirming literary and historical perspectives. Nevertheless, Pentecostals assert that their underlying hermeneutical epistemology is informed by the Spirt of God (part 4). This epistemology is both theocentric and Christocentric. It is affirmed by the biblical witness itself and competes with the broader secular worldview, especially in Pentecostals' willingness to accept the reality of the supernatural and/or miraculous. Pentecostals are also sympathetic to the biblical witness, reading the Bible as truth, thereby rejecting the "hermeneutics of suspicion." If the Bible is to be read as truth, what models should be employed for a coherent understanding of the text? In part 5, K. affirms that the Bible itself provides models for its interpretation. For example, it is inappropriate to seek to impose biblical law upon contemporary society. Instead, the Bible is read through the "Law of Faith," exemplified by the biblical authors themselves who looked beyond the words of Scripture to find universal meanings (see Matt 9:13; 12:7 on compassion; and 19:4-6 on marriage). Yet an emphasis on spiritual reading and application can be abused. In part 6, "Whose Charismatic Interpretation?," K. addresses some of the excesses of popular Pentecostal interpretation, such as the "prosperity gospel," which disregards the biblical witness of God's concern for the poor and oppressed. While K. makes a valuable contribution in advancing the dialogue between Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal readers, the book suffers deficiencies. K.'s writing style is at places tedious. Likewise, non-Pentecostals, unaware of the importance of personal story in Pentecostal circles, may be taken aback by K.'s excessive appeals to personal testimony. K. also occasionally strays from a discussion of sound hermeneutics into the polemical, such as in his discussion of...

Three-level Hermeneutics by Theodor Stylianopoulos

The report is devoted to a thorough analysis of the teachings of the Orthodox theologian Theodor Stylianopoulos about the knowledge of God through the Holy Scripture. This methodology of knowledge of God is called transformational hermeneutics. Father Theodore distinguishes three levels of analysis of Scripture: exegesis, interpretation, transformation. Exquisite level - allows to understand what is written in the text, interpretative - to form theoretical knowledge about God. To gain knowledge of God through Scripture, a transformational level of hermeneutics is necessary. It does not mean understanding the words of Scripture, but the implementation of all his teachings.

Rola słowa Bożego w modlitwie osobistej i liturgicznej wspólnot cenobickich według „Reguły” Pachomiusza i „Asketikonu” Bazylego Wielkiego

Teksty źródłowe dla wczesnego cenobityzmu wskazują, iż codzienny kontakt z Pismem stanowił fundament monastycznej koinônii. Artykuł stanowi próbę ukazania najistotniejszych form obecności słowa Bożego w modlitwie wspólnot pachomiańskich i bazyliańskich oraz ich rolę w formacji mnichów i w rozwoju koinônii. Dla analizy teologicznej wybrane zostały teksty normatywne pierwszych wspólnot cenobickich. W Regule Pachomiusza oraz w Asketikonie Bazylego Wielkiego czytamy o wskazaniach dotyczących nauki modlitwy. Ważnym elementem formacji było pamięciowe opanowanie niektórych ksiąg Pisma Świętego. Praktyka ta umożliwiała braciom czynne zaangażowanie się w modlitwie wspólnotowej i przysposabiała do modlitwy nieustannej (medytacji), polegającej na mówieniu (głośno lub półgłosem) z pamięci słów Pisma lub na czytaniu fragmentów biblijnych z kodeksów i na zgłębianiu ich wewnętrznej treści. W ten sposób słowa Pisma zapamiętane, recytowane i rozważane miały być dla cenobitów pierwszą (niektórzy mówią nawet: jedyną) regułą oraz pokarmem duchowym, koniecznym do życia zgodnym z wolą Boga oraz umacniającym jedność wśród braci.

Reforming Rome: Karl Barth and Vatican II by Donald W. Norwood

Reviewed by: Reforming Rome: Karl Barth and Vatican II by Donald W. Norwood Matthias Gockel Reforming Rome: Karl Barth and Vatican II. By Donald W. Norwood. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2015. Pp. xxi, 263. $35.00 paperback. ISBN 978-0-8028-7210-4.) The author (b. 1940) is a minister of the United Reformed Church in Britain and “a longtime participant in ecumenical affairs,” as the bookjacket tells us. His expertise shows itself in the ease with which he presents ecumenical discussions of various doctrinal topics, some of them more and some less disputed. Donald W. Norwood claims that Karl Barth “should be understood as an heir of the Reformation” in the sixteenth century, thus also inheriting “a vocation to contribute to the reform of Rome” (p. 7). Barth was invited to participate in the Second Vatican Council as observer, but due to ill health he preferred not to attend. In 1966, however, he traveled to Rome for a series of conversations with high-ranking Vatican representatives, including a brief meeting with Pope Paul VI. The events are documented in Barth’s collection Ad Limina Apostolorum (Zurich, 1967). On the whole, Norwood’s presentation of theological topics and discussions occurs in the form of an ecumenically minded essay. Only few sections develop an argument systematically or in detail. The book consists of seven chapters. The first chapter introduces the following questions: Why Rome? Why Reform? Why Barth? The second chapter clarifies [End Page 422] why the Council was a reform council. Chapter 3 discusses two constitutions, Dei Verbum (1965) and Lumen Gentium (1964), and Barth’s comments on them. Norwood could have added depth to his presentation by including material from the protocols of Barth’s seminars on Dei Verbum and Lumen Gentium at the University of Basel, which are now published in the diary of Barth’s confidante Eberhard Busch, Meine Zeit mit Karl Barth (Göttingen, 2011). Chapter 4 discusses the papacy and the question of order in the church, again with Barth’s comments. Chapter 5 changes the focus and addresses several areas of concern for Roman Catholic critics of Barth, including ecclesial mediation, human cooperation in salvation, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. It also devotes a section to the role of women in the Church, which is “a question addressed to Barth and Rome” (p. 146, emphasis in original). Chapter 6 considers remaining differences between Rome and the Protestant churches in the post–Second Vatican Council era, including the question of justification by faith, the analogia entis (natural knowledge of God), and Mariology. In regard to the last topic, which is difficult for many Protestants (and for some Roman Catholics as well), Norwood claims that the Council was determined to listen to non-Roman Catholic theologians [and] heard and accepted the criticism that whatever was said about Mary must not detract from the shared belief that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, Savior of the World and Son of God. (p. 192) Still, what exactly it means to “detract” from the uniqueness of Christ’s person and work needs clarification. Finally, the seventh chapter refers to the question of church unity as perhaps the central issue. It is cautious in regard to the widely heralded Decree on Ecumenism (Unitas Redintegratio, 1964) and proposes that the Council itself “became a much better example of the church seeking to answer Jesus’ prayer that all may be one” (p. 198). For Norwood, the Council was an event that proved that church unity can become real as a gift, in practice rather than on paper, such as in praying together and responding to the Word of scripture. Moreover, the Council “can revive our confidence in the discovery of Truth through debate” (p. 220). On the whole, the book displays a refreshing ecumenical optimism and corresponds to Barth’s own confidence that in Christ we already are one: it belongs to the being of the congregation [Barth’s preferred term instead of church] to be a unity in the plurality of its members, i.e., of the individual believers assembled in it, and to be a single unity, not...

George Herbert and Post-Phenomenology: A Gift for Our Times by Malgorzata Grzegorzewska

Reviewed by: George Herbert and Post-Phenomenology: A Gift for Our Times by Malgorzata Grzegorzewska George B. Zornow Malgorzata Grzegorzewska, George Herbert and Post-Phenomenology: A Gift for Our Times. Transatlantic Studies in British and North American Culture, Volume 16. Peter Lang: Frankfurt am Main, 2016. 245 pp. $62.95 cloth. For us to consider a book that connects the poetry of George Herbert with the philosophical study of phenomenology and post-phenomenology requires some basic definition of terms. In the field of philosophy, phenomenology is an intellectual discipline that seeks to describe objects of experience, and how awareness of such objects of experience takes place, without making any claims concerning the existence of such objects. Post-phenomenology, particularly as related to religious experiences, is a revision of phenomenology that aims to get around the limitations of phenomenology's subjectivism, especially with experiences that are overwhelming and which lie beyond our ability to completely comprehend. This includes the consideration of the spiritual realm and the attributes of God, who is beyond all that our human senses can understand. Regarding the concept of "incarnation," this post-phenomenological movement also strives to reach beyond phenomenology's limited earthly objectivism. With this in mind, let us look at how Malgorzata Grzegorzewska considers George Herbert and Post-Phenomenology. In describing her approach, she notes that she has "sought to appropriate concepts in contemporary philosophy, in particular in the works of the French post-phenomenologists Michel Henry, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Luc Chretien and Jean-Luc Marion" (p. 9). The concepts she finds directly relevant include: the God-givenness of being, language, and grace; the inherent doubt or puzzlement surrounding the giving of such gifts, and specifically the gift of divine love; the reality that these gifts must efface their own givenness in order to be genuinely gratuitous; the provision of a depth of hospitality which forces us to open the door to an unknown stranger (the gracious God who we have yet to fully experience) who may change our life; the saturated experience of this God; and, how a "subject" can receive and comprehend such a godly saturation. For Grzegorzewska these theological-philosophical concepts "provide a remarkable fertile context for interpreting Herbert's poetry" (p. 9) and applying them yields insights into this poetry that are intriguing and evocative. [End Page 106] As Grzegorzewska focuses on these theological-philosophers, she affirms that Herbert himself has a poet's "listening I," in contrast to the "speaking I" of other poets," and that his listening I "is shaped by the Word made flesh" (p. 8). Furthermore, she clarifies that Herbert's "rich, multilayered literary allusion serves only one purpose: to provide in his poetry space for the voice of another, and then let this voice call, entice, and seduce the speaker and the reader alike" (p. 23). This voice, heard throughout Herbert's poetry, is the voice of God, one that is heard within the bounds of the Word of Scripture and the Word made flesh in Christ and that is audible within the sacraments and other ministries of the Church. As Grzegorzewska guides us through the thoughts of Jean-Luc Marion, Emmanuel Levinas, and Matthew Henry, she reveals that we may see in the poetry of Herbert a poetics of the "dative subject." What this suggests is that a poem's poetic character, Herbert himself as writer, and the reader of his poems are to receive something of significance from the poems – and even more so, from God. The writing or reading of a Herbertian poem is not about reaching for something and grasping something intentionally. It is more about being given something–being gifted something from and by God. For Grzegorzewska, what happens in the poetry of Herbert, and is clarified by French post-phenomenal writers, is summarized well in a quotation from Tamsin Jones's A Genealogy of Marion's Philosophy of Religion: "The self does not access or experience itself for an other (Levinas) or as an other (Ricoeur)–but becomes itself by an other. More explicitly as a gift . . . that comes ultimately from God" (p. 66, footnote 89). Grzegorzewska emphasizes that in Herbert's poetry the writer and reader alike receive...

Demon bluźnierstwa w ujęciu Jana Klimaka

Among temptations and impediments, which the monk must face on the path to perfection, John Climacus enumerates blasphemous thoughts. He also names them as assaults of the demon of blasphemy. Frequently man exposes himself to his action through the vice of pride, but it also happens, that this demon at­tacks ingenuous people that get worried too much. The purpose of the spirit of blasphemy is to insidiously cause feelings of guilt in the human heart; to take a man away from a prayer and the Eucharist; to drive him to despair and hope­ lessness. According to author’s witness, some people struggled with this problem for their whole life, and in extreme cases its effect was even a state of madness. John Climacus, a good “psychologist” and expert in the spiritual life, clearly em­phasizes the fact that the assaults of blasphemous thoughts are beyond a man’s control. In that case he is like a passive listener, whom reach some external voices. Besides, stopping the attacks of such thoughts is almost impossible because they are violent and rapid. Therefore, in the author’s opinion, the traditional methods of struggle against the demon of blasphemy, like severe mortifications and spelling repeatedly various scriptural words, do not get expected results. The only way to beat the enemy is to remain calm and indifferent towards such thoughts. Spiritual direction plays an important role in this matter. The monk still has to overcome shame and confess sincerely his own thoughts to an elder (abba). The duty of the spiritual father, in turn, is to calm down conscience of the disciple, so that he will not worry about the problem anymore. We have to admit that no previous writer speaks in such soothing tone about the blasphemous thoughts.

The “Very, Very Words”: (Mis)quoting Scripture in Lancelot Andrewes’s and John Donne’s Sermons on Job 19:23–27

In their sermons on Job 19:23–27, Lancelot Andrewes and John Donne alter, misquote, and misapply the words of their text. Critics tend to attribute such free use of the words of scripture to inexact practices of quotation in the early modern period; however, rather than demonstrate inattention to the specifics of scriptural language, preachers’ attempts to play with scriptural words often represent intense focus on the lexical features of their texts. Andrewes and Donne employ methods of misquotation in order to accommodate the textual difficulties presented by scripture, such as variant sources, conflicting translations, or linguistic lacunae in the originals. Both preachers react to the considerable divergence between available versions of this passage, and their misquotations represent deliberate attempts to provide meaningful form to difficult scriptural words. Misquotation allows preachers a means of navigating between responsibilities to scripture that could often be in conflict: that they accurately present the words of scripture to their audiences, and that they provide a clear account of their meaning.