Spiritual Reality Research Articles

Global revivals: a comparison of Jonathan Edwards theology of revivals and that of Ogbu Kalu and their contribution to revivals in the contemporary African Church

The study of World Christianity has taken varying approaches within diverse periods. The undeniable fact is that there is probably not a single approach to the study of World Christianity that can be singled out as the sole universal one for all times. We live in a dynamic society, and many factors influence Christianity as a discipline. While it is necessary to appreciate the various models of studying world Christianity that has been in place in the past, it is equally important to note the irresistible need to employ new and relevant approaches to this study. One of these approaches is that of looking at global revivals (Burns, 1960).
 In seeking to emphasize the significance of global revivals in the study of World Christianity, Burns observes that:
 In the history of religion, no phenomenon is more apparent than the recurrence of revivals. At certain intervals there sweeps over certain districts a strong urge of repentance. Most dead people in different spiritual realities become intensely awakened to them. They are arrested in the middle of their worldly passions. Large numbers of persons who have been dead or indifferent to spiritual realities then become intensely awakened to them. They are arrested in the midst of their worldly occupations; they are suddenly seized by a terror of wrongdoing, and fear of an impending doom haunts their minds. Flinging all else, they earnestly seek a way of escape and cry out for salvation (Burns, 1960).

Architectural Instructions in Italy between the 16th and 18th Centuries

Carlo Borromeo’s Instructions represent the only practical application of the Tridentine decrees in architecture. However, historians over time have given little weight to the work, which is mostly considered a simple parish handbook due to its practical-functional nature used to treat the sacred space. New research conducted on the literary work has focused on the massive diffusion of this treatise in the undergrowth of the ecclesiastical literature of the time, testifying to how much the Instructions are linked to the historical context and the spiritual needs of the post-Tridentine Church. The great novelty of the work lies in the fact that it completely overturned the way of writing about architecture. In the writings of Carlo Borromeo, a continuous interweaving between the doctrine of the soul and the sacred building is outlined to give the Church the image of an institution organically constituted in its material and spiritual reality. The influence of this work outside the Milanese context in which Carlo Borromeo worked is still to be clarified, especially in the South of Italy, which experienced the peak of its Counter-Reformation season between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Here, Instructions will be analyzed along with the Antica Basilicografia of Pompeo Sarnelli (1686) and Il Rettore ecclesiastico of Marcello Cavalieri (1688), two writings born in the diocese of Benevento under the wing of the bishop Vincenzo Maria Orsini, a native of Gravina di Puglia.

Spiritual Foundations for an Ecologically Sustainable Society

This article takes a broad macroevolutionary approach to our changing relationship to Nature in the light of the teachings or the Bahá’í Faith. It suggests that humanity is in a process of evolving consciousness leading to the development of a new planetary culture based on spiritual principles. In an ecological sense, humanity has in many respects appeared to be a delinquent species running out of control. Within a larger vision of humanity’s spiritual and social evolution, however, the present environmental crisis and the race’s reaction to it can be seen as portending a momentous transformation. The process of evolving consciousness that can be discerned in emerging knowledge in physics, ecology, psychology, and other fields of science is leading to the possibility of a mature cooperative relationship between humanity and the ecosphere which gave it birth. After a brief overview of the current range of responses to environmental issues and the view of Nature on which they are based, this article will explore the basic attitudes to Nature contained within the Bahá’í writings. The second part of the article examines how the emergence of an ecologically sustainable social order is linked to basic principles of the Bahá’í Faith. Implicit throughout is the Bahá’í view of the balance and cohesion of material and spiritual realities.
 * An earlier version of this article appeared in the Journal of Bahá’í Studies 2.1 (1989): 33–57. A special pamphlet version was co-published with the Bahá’í International Community–Office of the Environment and was distributed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil. The updated version in this issue was prepared for Bahá’í World Yearbook 1992-93.

The interpretative function of singing in the “score” of a modern ballet performance

Statement of the problem. Under consideration is a specific form of art synthesis – singing in modern ballet. The synthesis of arts is attributive to the poetics of European opera, where a choreographic plan is used, however, singing in ballet is a rather rare phenomenon against the background of the dominance of singing in the operas of the 18th and 19th centuries. Nonetheless, there are eloquent examples of the return of singing in a ballet as a characteristic feature of the innovative choreographic theatre (“Pulcinella” by I. Stravinsky). The relevance of the topic is explained by the lack of musicological research devoted to the functions of singing as a component of ballet, while in modern practice there are clear precedents for the revival of this phenomenon. Some topical sources indicate the synthetic type of theatrical spectacle in the context of French Baroque culture (Danshina, 2010; Anfilova, 2004; Chepalov, 2008 and others), but the vocal component is not considered as a special problem. The purpose of the article is to investigate the interaction of vocal and ballet arts in the modern practice of ballet productions of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater (Ukraine) in the retrospective context of European musical-theatrical traditions. Modern ballet “The Little Prince” based on A. Saint-Exupery’s novel of the same name (2016) staged by Kharkiv ‘M. Lysenko’ National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (KhNATOB) was chosen to be the material of the article. The following research methods are used: historical and typological approach that distinguishes the styles of European opera culture; semantic analysis of ballet performance as an artistic text; interpretative-cognitive comprehension of singing and its functions in ballet dramaturgy. Presentation of the research results. The creative experience of the French choreographer Johann Nuss on the stage of Kharkiv Opera Theatre – the premiere of the modern ballet “The Little Prince”, testified to the actualization of intertextuality in solving the problem of the relationship between singing and dancing. Traditional artistic plans are an important factor in the dramaturgy of a ballet performance. Together with two purely choreographic levels where the virtuoso skill of dancers and plastique of “talking” movements prevails, the singing voice is the third plan, which indicates the continuity of the French tradition (one can remember the model of J. B. Rameau’s “Gallant India”). The choice of musical material for the performance belongs to J. Nuss. He “saw” the image of Rose, who the Prince is in love with, twofold: as a choreographic-plastic and a “singing” one. Respectively, the role of Rose is embodied by a ballerina (Honoured Artist of Ukraine Iryna Khandazhevska) and a singer (Honoured Artist of Ukraine Olena Starykova, soprano). Dressed in a costume of a flower, the singer represents an ideal creature: themes from R. Glier’s and S. Rachmaninoff’s vocal compositions sound. The appearance of other bright characters is accompanied by instrumental music fragments, these are the King (J. S. Bach’s Second Orchestral Suite), the Ambitious Man (L. Delibes “Coppélia”), the Drunkard (“Winter” from A. Vivaldi’s “The Seasons”), and the Banker (J. S. Bach’s Suite for Cello Solo). So, the introduction of coloratura singing into the spectator’s plan of perception of the expressive-linguistic means of ballet opens a new symbolic world. Conclusions. Singing in a ballet is a specific manifestation of the art synthesis characteristic of modern choreographic performance. The vocal art emphasizes the highest, spiritual degree of communication, adding to the spectators’ experience a cathartic component. The interpretative function of singing in the concept of the performance is obvious: singing is a symbol (expression) of the divine essence of a human. Energy of vocals, multiplied by the traditional means of classical choreography and modern ballet, is a component of “multimedia modality” (Petrovic, 2017) as a sign of the interpretive thinking of the directors. Understanding the action of multimodality in the space-time of ballet is an interpretative dimension of spiritual reality. The prospect of researching. The study of modern forms of stage life of “singing in a ballet” indicates the need to develop this concept in the theoretical and methodological key, as well as to consider other examples of ballet performances (“One Thousand and One Nights” by F. Amirov, “Spartacus” by A. Khachaturian in Kharkiv Opera and others).

Ecotheological Community and the Question of Non-Human Animals Understood as Persons

Ecotheological Community and the Question of Non-Human Animals Understood as Persons

From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith by Louis Markos

Reviewed by: From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith by Louis Markos Mark Mattes From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith. By Louis Markos. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2021. xvi + 234 pp. This book seeks to show the impact that Plato has had on the Christian faith. It is written by an English professor at Houston Baptist University. The first six chapters interpret Plato's essential writings and the next six show his influence on Christian thinkers: Origen of Alexandria, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Palamas, Augustine, Boethius, Dante, Erasmus, Descartes, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and C. S. Lewis. This book offers no direct ties between Plato and Luther. That said, the book is valuable because it makes a strong case for how Christianity has been deeply influenced by Plato and that this has led both to Christian humanism and a Christian approach to the liberal arts. Markos knows how to hook his readers: he sees modern and contemporary philosophy prefigured in the Sophists, antagonists of Plato's mentor, Socrates. For example, the sophist Thrasymachus, an interlocuter with Socrates in the Republic, is akin to Nietzsche (29). Interestingly, against the ancient view that "humans are the measure of all things," Plato proposes instead that God is (91). Also, in the Timaeus, similar to the Bible, but unlike all other ancient views, God predates matter (102). In the same writing, Plato portrays a cosmology not like the Gnostics, often thought to be Plato's heirs. Instead, for Plato, God created the world good and the material world is no product of a Fall of spiritual reality into material things (107). Strangely, Christians may even see the suffering Christ as prefigured in Plato's exaltation of the righteous person who would rather suffer wrong, even being impaled, than prosper at others' expense as the evil would do (127). While Markos looks to Erasmus as Plato's voice in the Reformation, it would be interesting to examine just how Platonic Luther's and Calvin's views of participation in Christ are or are not. Given the case Markos has built for similarities between Plato and Christianity, the biggest difference between the two for the Reformers would be that human sinfulness is a result not of a lack of knowledge, which Plato teaches, but instead a misuse of the will, that is, [End Page 337] its revolt against God's will. In spite of Markos' failure to bring the Reformers and Plato into conversation, this book is valuable for understanding Christianity's role in the liberal arts. Mark Mattes Grand View University Des Moines, Iowa Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.

Pendidikan Informal Melaui Spiritualitas Alam dalam Novel Mata dan Rahasia Pulau Gapi Karya Okky Madasari

Natural spirituality is the harmony of the human soul with nature in order to maintain and preserve the universe. It needs to be nurtured and strengthened in humans so as not to exalt destructive nature so that there is a need for nature-based education through literary forms in every child's growth process. The focus of this study is to describe the picture of natural spirituality and informal education through natural spirituality, which is constructed in the novel "Mata dan Rahasia Pulau Gapi" by Okky Madasari. The study uses a qualitative approach, text study methods, and literary ecology studies. Data collection uses reading and note-taking techniques. The data are in the form of narration, dialogue, or monologue. The results of this study: (a) the description of natural spirituality in the form of the nature of the centre of life, the realm of the reminder of death, the realm of spiritual reality, the nature of the source of life depicted in the characters of the novel; (b) the novel contains informal education through natural spirituality that fosters love, trust, and respect for the universe. It is a form of strengthening to eliminate the destructive nature that has damaged many universes.

Religion in the Twenty-First Century

Religion in the Twenty-First Century

A New Proposal about ‘the Fruits of the Mass’

AbstractAn unresolved question in sacramental theology is whether the Mass is to be considered as limited or unlimited in its efficacy, and in what sense. In modern times, this question has been less discussed, in part from a concern that it is incorrect to attempt to speak of spiritual realities in quantitative terms. I defend the use of such quantitative language, and its application to the so-called special fruit of the Mass, understood both ‘intensively’ and ‘extensively’. I then summarise the two principal positions taken on the question of the efficacy of the Mass, referring to an important representative of each, Cajetan and Bellarmine. I argue that neither position is fully satisfying. I note that authors have generally failed to find a coherent position in Aquinas's two treatments of the question. I argue that these two positions are in fact coherent, and when combined allow for a new proposal about the fruits of the Mass, integrating the insights of all parties. This proposal may be summed up as intensive infinitude and extensive finitude. I finish by an analogy between the Mass thus understood and one aspect of Aquinas's Christology.

The Problem of Human Spiritual Experience in I. A. Ilyin’s Works

Introduction. The problem of spirituality is one of the topical in science and very important in practice. The article is devoted to the analysis of the concept in spiritual experience, developed by the famous Russian philosopher I. A. Ilyin. Materials and Methods. I. A. Ilyin considers spiritual reality as an integral part of the world, which every person inevitably has to face as an ontological basis for the need in spiritual experience. It has special properties that are inaccessible to sensory-empirical knowledge. Therefore, it cannot be detected using traditional methods of cognition and described using the usual categories of analysis of the material world. In order, to discover and comprehend it, special “spiritual organs – evidence, conscience, sense of justice, artistic vision, love” are required [6, p. 102]. Spiritual reality appears to a person in the form of subjective phenomena: moral, aesthetic, intellectual experiences. But this does not deny the fact of its existence. Conclusion. I. A. Ilyin has convincingly proved this in his works. A necessary condition for comprehending spiritual reality is the spiritual being of a person. As one gains spiritual experience, a cardinal change of a person takes place, his transformation into a “spiritual personality”. Spiritual experience is not innate, but every normal person is predisposed to assimilate it. It depends on himself, since the spiritual experience is perceived personally. Other people can create the necessary conditions for this, but they cannot replace the subject. The modern education system is incapable of forming genuine spiritual experience in the younger generation. I. A. Ilyin warned about the negative consequences of people’s lack of spirituality.

THE CONCEPT OF “SPIRITUAL REALITY” IN THE SEMYON L. FRANK’S PHILOSOPHY

In the digital age, the issues of human spirituality are becoming more and more relevant. The universal principles of morality, the ideas of humanism should increasingly become guidelines for actions both for an individual and for the domestic and foreign policy of states. The religious and philosophical concept of S.L. Frank is of particular value and relevance, since it has developed deep systematic ideas about both the spiritual structure of the world and the inner structure of the human personality. The concept of “spiritual reality” has become one of the main ones in his system. The concepts of personal God, reality, and Self are connected with it. The purpose of this article is to reconstruct S.L. Frank’s religious and philosophical concept in its relation to the concept of “spiritual reality”. The article emphasizes the peculiarity of the philosopher’s doctrine of realism, its proximity to the platonic tradition of idealism. The article shows how such attitudes make it possible to formulate moral ideals, to defend high values. The article examines the structure of personality from the point of view of its relation to spiritual reality, when human subjectivity or the inner world goes beyond its limits into the spiritual world. The concept of “spiritual reality” is used by S.L. Frank to show the sublimity of the human being, his connection with the divine reality. The article concludes that this concept marks the boundary between the world of the Self and the real, objective world. The concept of “spiritual reality” denotes the meaning of life in its social and personal aspects, it correlates with personality and the world of spiritual values.

Жизненные перспективы, ценности и цели молодежи Сибири (по данным исследования в Сибирском федеральном округе)

The article presents the results of a sociological study of the problems of professional and life self-determination of young people in the context of digitalization, one of the goals of which was to identify the ideas of modern youth about life prospects, goals and values. In the course of the study, a survey of young people aged 14–35 years was conducted in ten subjects of the Siberian Federal District. The survey was conducted in October-November 2021.The sample totaled 5,092 males and females representing various social groups: schoolchildren, students of primary vocational education institutions, secondary vocational education institutions, higher educational institutions and working youth. The article provides a comparative analysis of the views of various groups of young people regarding future prospects, goals and values. In the course of studying the issue of future planning horizons, the authors came to the conclusion that modern youth, regardless of which group they belong to, for the most part plan their future from several days to 5 years away. As a result of the study, it was found that the achievement of material well-being and the creation of a family are the most important life goals of students and working youth, while schoolchildren chose education and future professional success as priority goals. Respondents of almost all groups of young people named a high level of intelligence and moral support of relatives as the main factors contributing to the achievement of their goals. The availability of start-up capital is noted as an important success factor by representatives of working youth. The results of the study allow us to conclude that for different social groups of young people, meaningful life values are formed on the basis of different semantic structures, which are based on different combinations of patriotism, nepotism, economic well-being and creative, spiritual realization. The article analyzes the degree of satisfaction with various aspects of the life of modern youth. A high degree of dissatisfaction with certain aspects of life among the category of working youth was noted. A positive trend marked the growing importance of patriotic values and a growing understanding of the importance of developing intellectual abilities, education, and continuous self-development. The study of life prospects in the context of values, goals and meanings is important, as it allows one to assess the direction, motivation and trends of the choices of modern youth.

Платоновская «сотериология» в контексте классической йоги

Introduction. In the article, the connection between the «soteriological» aspects of philosophy of Plato and the principles of classical yoga presented in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is considered in the framework of the comparative methodology. The aim of the study is to establish conceptual parallels in the approaches of Plato and classical yoga to solving the issue of the form of the highest spiritual realization of a person. Theoretical analysis. The most common points of the contact of Plato with classical yoga in the form of a system of eight practical principles of working with the human body and psyche are presented by analogy with the eight-step yoga of Patanjali. The practice of maintaining the physical and mental health of a person, continuous nature of this practice, internal and external purity, self-control, subordination of the senses, maintaining mental peace and balance, eliminating ignorance and the practice of meditation constitute the semantic core of Plato’s «yoga system». The main position of this system is the meditative practice of achieving a higher state of consciousness. Conclusions. The practice of meditation in Plato is realized gradually and ends with the same soteriological result as the mastery of the «internal» means of yoga in the Patanjali system. The deep and complex connection between psychotechnics, philosophy and religious wisdom in the studied systems is emphasized. The study of this relationship is an important direction in modern philosophical and religious comparative studies.

“Christ Who is Our Peace”: Ephesians 2 and a Theological Ontology of Place

Chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Ephesians is teeming with allusions to place. In this paper, we offer a reading of the chapter that gestures toward a theological ontology of place. We argue that the Christian imagination of place and its boundaries is characterized by incorporation into the wounded, self-giving body of Christ. By analyzing the ways place shows up throughout the chapter, we develop elements of an ontology of place that takes account of the complex interweaving of the gentiles’ change of place from outside to inside Israel, the church’s place of participation in Christ’s body, the church’s new standing in relation to other sociopolitical and spiritual realities, and the radical claim that Christ himself is the place of the church.

Transformative Belief: Flight and Transcendence in Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu’s The Theory of Flight

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu’s novel, The Theory of Flight, uses the theme of flight to depict issues of self-belief, freedom, and identity in postcolonial Africa. Ndlovu portrays the importance of belief as a means of transcending and dealing with one’s difficulties. Her dislike of dualities and categorisations is evident in her unification of the natural and the supernatural in the novel, as well as the characterisation of the protagonist as a “hybrid” being. The novel’s anti-binarist stance exemplifies the divisions that have echoed and developed from colonialism, such as sexism and racism. Such issues are prevalent in modern-day South Africa owing to the dehumanising system of apartheid, and can be seen through the country’s high rate of gender-based violence and racial inequality. The Theory of Flight suggests that self-belief is humanising and allows individuals to take back their power and free themselves from racist classifications, allowing for a postcolonial society to heal and move forward. This article begins with a brief summary of events in the novel relevant to this analysis. Thereafter, the usefulness of the theoretical frameworks of spiritual realism and postcolonialism are discussed. The theme of flight in the novel is then explored, as well as its significance in the context of the text. Together with this, further links between tropes and images of flight are drawn, allowing for an in-depth analysis of the significance of flight in Ndlovu’s novel.

Faith, creative practice and facing injustice in counter-cultural music

Eilidh Harris’ contribution to our Arts and Culture section continues the theme of exploring deeper spiritual realities by rooting them in the struggle for justice through art. As a metal musician and a poet, Harris shares some insights into her own, as well as other artists’, creative practice as resistance and empowerment, particularly in relation to violence against women and girls. As someone who no longer subscribes to the Christian faith in God but remains in dialogue with theology and contemporary religious culture, Harris offers a thought-provoking reflection on the life-giving power of creative practice in the context of trauma.

‘The holy space ablaze’: New understandings of spiritual reality through poetry and music

In this exploration of the spiritual significance of poetry and music, Dr Alison Jack reflects on the power that such media hold for the opening up of new possibilities, and indeed new realities, for those prepared to respond to such an invitation. Jack looks at the particular ways in which imagination can become an encounter with the divine as she considers Christine De Luca’s poem “Like a Flaring Thing” and Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. Her consideration of the spiritual potential of art brings her into a dialogue with Paul Fiddes and Malcolm Guite, highlighting the role that creativity plays in the human response to God and God’s self-revelation, and the interpretive ministry of poets, composers, and other artists.

Thinking Proleptically: Paul Mendes-Flohr on Intellectual History as Second-Person Dialogue

The current article argues that Paul Mendes-Flohr’s turn to address contemporary challenges faced by Jews at large, and Israeli Jews in particular, is proleptic in the sense that it excavates the anticipation of the current intellectual, spiritual and moral reality from the intellectual history of modern German−Jewish thought. Based on a reading of his recent book, Cultural Disjunctions: Post-Traditional Jewish Identities, the discussion shows how Mendes-Flohr’s adaptation of Martin Buber’s call to aspire to I−Thou relations supports proleptic historiography both as a historiographical methodology and as a moral act.

Exploring the Notion of Self in Sufism and Advaita Vedanta: Unity, Divine Love, and Spiritual Realization

The spiritual landscapes of the Islamic and Hindu traditions, respectively, have been significantly affected by sufism and advaita vedanta, two mystic traditions. The nature of the individual and its connection to the divine are profoundly illuminated by both faiths. The similar themes of unity, divine love, and spiritual realization between Sufism and Advaita Vedanta are highlighted as this issue examines the idea of self in both religions. In this essay, I try to look into the unmistakable similarities between the ontologies of many different global religions, which form their fundamental tenets. In fact, it seems absurd to ignore pointing out the parallels between these religions and a sizable number of psychological theories. Since there are so many different world religions, I have chosen to focus on two in particular: Islam and Hinduism. Because of the complexity and diversity of each of these religions, I have chosen to only look at one school of thought from each, Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism and Sufism in Islam. Their ontologies have such striking commonalities that I believe more research is essential.

The Biblical Theme in the Historical Monographs of Georgy P. Fedotov

The article stresses that Georgy P. Fedotov's systematic reference to the Bible enabled him in his historical monographs (Abelard, St. Filipp Metropolitan of Moscow, Saints of Ancient Russia, Spiritual Poems ) to reconstruct the spiritual reality of past eras and symbolically perceive the present. Fedotov intended to know The Gospel in History, Russian religiosity, exploring it on the material of hagiographies of saints, spiritual poems, folk faith, apocrypha, and prologues. Fedotov considered the history of Russian culture in terms of a "living chain," an integral phenomenon existing due to the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition. However, "The sacred tradition of the Church is included in the general stream of historical tradition, all complex, always muddy, human weaving truth and falsehood." Fedotov raised the question of the relationship between scientific criticism and biblical exegetics: how can we reconcile exegetics of sacred texts, which assume that the Bible is an inspired book, and historical criticism, which by its very nature cannot share such a position, being aimed at comprehending objective historical reality? He solved it convincingly practically through hermeneutic religious analysis of hagiographic monuments and spiritual verses. In his Spiritual Poems Fedotov explores folklore material compared to biblical texts, hagiographies, and apocrypha, to comprehend the peculiarity of religious "Weltanschauung" and popular orthodoxy. In spiritual verses, there was a transformation of biblical images (Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Last Judgment) under the influence of folk faith with pagan features. In folklore texts, Fedotov reveals how Christ, from savior and redeemer, turns into a king and dreadful judge. The image of the Mother of God merges in the popular consciousness with the image of the mother earth, suffering from people. Eschatological prophecies are based on impressions from icons, frescoes, and lubok pictures. Fedotov's historical monographs illuminate various aspects of Russian religious consciousness regarding Holy Scripture, considering dogmatic biblical exegetics and historical criticism. All the mentioned facts allow us to assert that Fedotov was the leading secular biblical scholar of the Russian diaspora.