Theological Justification Research Articles

Co mówi o prawach przyrody geneza tego pojęcia? Polemika z Ronaldem N. Gierem

The aim of this paper is to analyze Ronald N. Giere’s claim that the four characteristics associated with laws of nature — truth, universality, necessity, and objectivity — have a theological origin. It is argued that in some important cases theological justification of these features was absent, that some theological ideas made it even more difficult to think about laws of nature in this way, and that there were good reasons internal to science to formulate the notion of laws of nature in this particular way.

‘Black Butterfly’ Asking the Question, Womanist Reframing, Conscientization, and Generativity A Reminder of the Contributions of Dr Katie Geneva Cannon’s Life and Work to Pastoral Theology’s Grand Metamorphosis

ABSTRACTA tribute to the life and work of Dr Katie Geneva Cannon, this article offers pastoral theologians an opportunity to reflect on the work of womanist ethicists Dr Cannon as a reminder of the connection between the two theological disciplines. The author focuses on four theoretical constructs gleaned from Cannon’s work – ‘Asking the Question – Who is God? and the Appreciation of the Question’, ‘Womanist Reframing – Challenging Patriarchal Analytical Frameworks’, ‘Conscientization – The Importance of Self and the Significance of Resistance’, and the importance of ‘Telling the Story’. Using the metaphor of a Black Butterfly, the article reminds us of the legacy left by Dr Katie Cannon and the important womanist ethical tenet of ‘responsibility’ in the generative justice theology’s responsible work noted as a Grand Metamorphosis.

The Theological Significance of the Secular

In this article, the notion of the secular is defended as a meaningful and relevant concept in order to determine the role of theological reasoning in the public sphere. For this purpose, in the first section, it is shown that John Duns Scotus already developed a provisional account of the secular and, moreover, provided it with a theological justification. The second section starts off with a brief sketch of the secular’s main characteristics as they can be deduced from Scotus’s account. Building on Thomas Pröpper, it is demonstrated how a transcendental analysis of freedom as the basic rationale of the secular brings to the fore a fundamental ethical principle as well as an idea of the secular’s ultimate destination. Theological reasoning in the public sphere or public theology, so it will be argued, aims primarily at making visible the ethical implications and the ultimate destination of the secular.

The Traditionalist Salafis’ Perspective and Discourse on Militant Jihād

This paper argues that the jihādi ideology draws upon the authentic and normative traditionalist salafi epistemology, which provides a moral and theological justification for militant jihād. In the current climate of political unrest and conflicts in the Middle East, maintaining a nexus between jihād and authentic Islam is crucial for traditionalist salafism in pursuit of authority, relevance and political interests. Through the misappropriation of the Meccan-Medinan trajectory and the concepts of nasẖ (abrogation) and ʾijmāʿ (consensus), the input of salafi scholars and preachers revitalizes the discourse around militant jihād as a legitimate vehicle for change and consequently propels jihādi ideology forward.

“Nichts als der Tod und die Satire”

Grimmelshausen’s Simplicius Simplicissimus, the classic novel of the Thirty Years War, is a unique critique in an exuberant narrative form. The double perspective (the hero narrates, as an old man, his own life), the doubt as a principle, irony as the fundamental tone – these are his main strategies to analyse the ambivalence of human behaviour as well as to check critically social models of a more peaceful society. Grimmelshausen refuses any philosophical, political or theological justification of violence. However, his irony, his humour and his narrative power make the lecture of his work a pleasure until today. The comparison with a modern African novel, Ahmadou Kouroumas Allah Is Not Obliged, reveals similarities as well as differences and proves one more time the topicality and constant relevance of this Baroque novel.

The Vicegerent of God? Adam Smith on the Authority of the Impartial Spectator

It has been claimed that Adam Smith, like David Hume, has a ‘reflective endorsement’ account of the authority of morality. On such a view, our moral faculties and notions are justified insofar as they pass reflective scrutiny. But Smith's moral philosophy, unlike Hume's, is also peppered with references to God, to divine law, and to our being ‘set up’ in a specific way so as to best attain what is good and useful for us. This language suggests that there is another strategy available for accounting for the authority of morality, one that would align Smith with teleological accounts of human nature and theological accounts of morality. The authority of Smith's impartial spectator would, on such an account, be derivative – it would be derived from the supreme authority of God. Such a view poses a serious challenge for contemporary interpreters of Smith who seek to read him as an empiricist, naturalist, and sentimentalist moral philosopher. This paper examines the textual evidence for this view, focusing on the role of the explicitly religious language found in a key section of Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments. I argue that this language should neither be interpreted as merely ornamental, nor as providing a theological justification of morality. Rather, it is part of Smith's illustration of the psychological influence of religious beliefs, especially the beliefs in an all-seeing judge and in a just afterlife where all human actions will be accounted for and appropriately rewarded or punished.

Der Weg der Völker: Die eschatologische Begründung der Völkermission im Matthäusevangelium

This article focuses on the theological justification of the mission to the nations in the Gospel of Matthew. As a starting point, debates pro and contra are supposed in the community. The argument then takes two directions. The prophetic announcement concerning the eschatological salvation of the nations with special regard to the pilgrimage to Zion is assumed as a background for Matt 28.16–20 against the majority reference to Dan 7.13–14. Against the view that the Son of God is the christological category on which Matthew justifies the mission to the nations, the ecclesiological significance of this title is emphasised here. The title Son of God does indeed play a role in the mission, not, however, as an argumentative tool, but as the core content of the own group culture that is transmitted through mission. The eschatological horizon forms the justification of both the Israel and the nations’ mission. Finally, the question is asked whether the ideological support of the mission to the nations can be understood in the context of a generation change in the community.

“Hume’s Guillotine” in the Interdisciplinary Context

The authors deal with the classic paradox of ethical theories, “Hume’s guillotine,” based on the contradiction in morality between what is and what should be. At the same time, the theological justification of moral principles is beyond this criticism, because the sacred commandments “by definition” combine what is and what should be, overcoming the “secular” gap between being and duty, and thus “the problem of transition from description to evaluation is removed.” Modern ways of removing this contradiction, revealed by Hume, are considered from several points of view. Special attention is paid to the analogy between the development of ethical and mathematical theories, a synergistic approach to the formation of ethics, as well as to the ethical choice associated with the development of digital reality, which humanity will face soon. A synergistic approach can be viewed as a bridge “over the abyss of two cultures - natural science and humanities.” Now it has become clear that there can be many logics, geometries, versions of analysis of infinitely small, etc. Ethics can also be constructed and then put into practice. A classic example is the ethical code of King Lycurgus. Separate ethical systems are not able to ensure the survival of humanity under extreme conditions. Existence of general ethical rules in global crises allows many to survive. Without them, everyone would die. True amazement is the fact that the eight Dyakonov phase transitions in human history completely coincide with the crises periodicity presented in the text of the Apocalypse, where crises are figuratively called “beasts.” Then a vivid picture is given, a picture of the civilization transformation into a post-singular state, which goes beyond the horizon of scientific forecast.

Nowotestamentalny paradoks mocnej słabości w egzegezie biblijnej Orygenesa

The subject of the article is the extraction and systematization of the basic aspects of Origen’s exegesis of biblical texts on the paradox of strong weakness (Mt 5, 10-11; 2Cor 12, 8-9) and embedding them in the realities of the epoch. According to Origen all human weakness – resulting both from man’s own sins and from the oppression experienced from outside – is a situation that should be used as an opportunity to take up spiritual fight and to accept God’s power, wit­hout which man is unable to overcome any difficulties. This interpretation reflects several circumstances of that era: martyr’s piety, consisting in a desire to become like Christ suffering; the necessity of finding a theological justification for various experiences that make a person in a situation of extreme weakness, such as: per­secution for faith or the practice of slavery; and finally, the conviction that the final victory is close, resulting from literally understood words of Christ about His return and the end of the world, before this generation passes away (cf. Mt 23, 34). The model of spirituality, developed on the basis of the biblical paradox of strong weakness and consisting in enduring suffering in connection with Christ and with the help of His divine power, has become an indispensable component of Christian piety also in later epochs. It could be a kind of medicine for being too attached to the own human capabilities in spiritual struggle with passions, which was the legacy of extremely conceived stoic ethics and could influence the deve­lopment of later movements limiting the power of God’s grace in the fight against own weaknesses, such as Pelagianism.

Theology, heroism, justice, and fear: an analysis of ISIS propaganda magazines Dabiq and Rumiyah

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses a large content sample of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) English-language magazines. Dabiq (15 issues, 2014–2016) and Rumiyah (13 issues, 2016–2017) represent the largest cohesive text sample of ISIS propaganda targeted at English speakers. This qualitative analysis, creates a typology to explain and categorize articles within the sample. Magazine articles are divided into five categories: (1) Islamic theological justification and inspiration for violence, (2) descriptions of community, belonging, and meaning, (3) stories of progress or heroism, (4) establishment of a common enemy, i.e., the West and Muslim “apostate s,” and (5) instructional and inspirational articles empowering individual violent action. A focus on unity and community was more common in Dabiq, while instructional articles encouraging lone wolf attacks appeared more often in Rumiyah. Moreover, tales of heroism and progress are far more common in Dabiq, while Rumiyah issues focus on Islamic justification and call for loyalty and sacrifice. This follows the shift in ISIS’s operational focus from administering a physical caliphate to inspiring attacks locally and abroad. Knowing exactly what types of messages and narratives are being circulated in ISIS propaganda has important implications for understanding the psychology of terrorism, radicalization, securitization, and counterterrorism.

Maquiavelo y Suárez o un encuentro inesperado-esperado

El siguiente trabajo enfrenta las posiciones de Francisco Suárez y Nicolás Maquiavelo acerca del poder político y legislativo. Si bien entre estos autores existen algunas coincidencias, como el hecho de que ambos entienden que el poder legislador tiene su origen en el conjunto de los hombres y de que la política tiene que ser renovada de acuerdo con las nuevas condiciones sociales y culturales del mundo moderno, Maquiavelo piensa que el arte político debe dejar de lado su justificación teológica, cuadro en el que, por el contrario, se inserta el modelo suareciano, que sigue la tradición aristotélica y escolástica del poder. Por otro lado, Suárez concibe el poder como una fuerza subordinada al recto gobierno de los hombres en la virtud. Maquiavelo, por su parte, sostiene que el poder se encamina a la mayor fortuna del gobernante. A esto responde Suárez que la inmoralidad -en que pudiera caer la autoridad para conseguir mayor fortuna- no puede ser un objeto legítimo de la ley.

Revisiting the Message to the People of South Africa: 1968–2018

AbstractThe year 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Message to the People of South Africa in 1968, the same year in which the 4th Assembly of the World Council of Churches was held in Uppsala. The Message was the first major South African ecumenical statement that rejected apartheid as unbiblical and unchristian, a “false gospel.” At the time it was likened to the Barmen Declaration of the Confessing Church in Germany (1934). It also set in motion a process of ecumenical opposition to apartheid that prepared the way for declaring its theological justification a heresy and its practice a sin that had to be rejected and resisted. This article sets out the background to the Message, describes the process which led to its publication, outlines its content, and considers its significance looking back after 50 years.

Tinjauan Filosofis Guru Pendidikan Agama Islam Humanis-Multikulturalis

As a millennial generation, learners tend not to have maturity in thinking. The seeds of exclusive, intolerant, even radical thought become an alarming threat. Moreover, teachers as educators play a substantial role in introducing the values ​​of humanism and multiculturalism. With the study of library research and analysis with content analysis method, this research tries to formulate the concept of Islamic religious education teacher of multiculturalism to the generation of humanist-democratic Islam. The results concluded that multicultural education becomes an alternative solution to overcome the disintegration of the nation that began to occur. Teachers as learning facilitators should design learning that supports the implementation of multicultural education. Terefore, it needs a multicultural typology teacher who can appreciate the deversity, upholds human rights and justice, avoiding theological justification and truth claims, and non-constructive anti-criticism. It can be concluded that it has implications on the achievement of true Islamic education objectives, namely to educate students academically, spiritually, and socially.

Lethal Violence, the Lack of Resonance and the Challenge of Forgiveness in Brazil

Abstract According to recent data there has been a considerable increase in lethal violence in Brazil as well as evidence of a growing brutality. Such data bears witness to the wide perception of impunity and the apparent commonality, even an acceptance of killing. The general political and economic insecurity reinforces a sense of abandonment among the population. The affluent hire private security services. The poor, with no alternative option, become victims of crime and drug trafficking wars. The police are often a part of organized crime rather than combatting such. They are understaffed and underequipped. The prison system is unfit to promote resocialization. What can the churches, theology and the state do to establish and foster justice worthy of the name? The purpose of this article is to analyse the situation in Brazil, referring to acclaimed interpreters as historian Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, to ponder possible reasons for violence using the sociological theory of resonance by Hartmut Rosa, and to reflect on a theology of justice that, rather than revenge, emphasises transformation, forgiveness and reconciliation. Through reference to Jürgen Moltmann, it seeks to show how a public theology can contribute to such transformation.

From the Prodigal Son to the Last Judgement: Arian Parables of Conversion to Catholicism

Sixteenth-century Polish-Lithuania was a multicultural country that took pride in its policy of religious tolerance. Among its many denominations was an Anabaptist sect known as the Polish Brethren or Arians. The relative openness of the society to conversion allowed individuals to explore a spectrum of religious options in search of a denomination that would fulfil their personal spiritual needs. Yet, such choices could sever friendships and family ties. The story of an Arian, Balcer Wilkowski, whose son Gaspar converted to Roman Catholicism, serves as a poignant example. Through literary analysis of his writing, this paper demonstrates how Wilkowski senior deployed scriptural references, and in particular the Parable of the Prodigal Son, to express his reaction to his son’s apostasy. While obligated by his own spiritual commitments to condemn Gaspar’s conversion, as a father he continued to search for a theological justification for the hope that his son might return to the Arian fold.

바울의 칭의론과 하나님의 선교와의 상관관계 연구

바울의 칭의론과 하나님의 선교와의 상관관계 연구

«ИНДИЙСКАЯ» СИЛСИЛА ШЕЙХОВ ИЗ РОДА КИИКОВЫХ И МЕЖКУЛЬТУРНЫЕ СВЯЗИ БАШКИРСКИХ ИНТЕЛЛЕКТУАЛОВ В XIX ВЕКЕ

The article by the material of biographical, hagiographical and encyclopedic works of the XIX - the beginning of the XX century examines the chains of spiritual continuity of two generations of the Sufi sheikhs from Kiikov dynasty, analyzes internal psychological and social motives to enter the brotherhoods, the mechanisms and theological justification of finding and changing the Sufi mentor. The author considers the Sufi initiations from sheikhs residing in Holy Land as one of the forms of intercultural communication in the traditional society.

Zwinglian–Calvinist Debate on Church Discipline in the Pays de Vaud

The article discusses a theological debate on church discipline between Calvinist pastors living in the French speaking territory of Pays de Vaud and the Zwinglian City-state of Berne from the mid-1530s to 1560. From 1536 Pays de Vaud belonged to the Bernese protestant administration but consisted primarily of French refugee pastors allegiant to Calvin and his ideas. They Calvinists of Pays de Vaud questioned the civil magistrate’s right to interfere into church affairs especially into the practice of church discipline, such as exclusion from the Lord’s Supper and ex-communication from the congregation. According to the Zwinglian establishment of Berne the right for exclusion and excommunication belonged to the civil magistrates. In the Calvinists’ view the appropriate administrator of the exclusion and ex-communication was the Genevian-type consistory, consisting of both clerical and civilian elected members. Noteworthy significance can be attributed to the events in the Pays de Vaud. On the one hand, banished from Bernese territory most of the Calvinist pastors of Vaud were sent to reinforce the French underground evangelical movement. The Calvinists’ failure in the Pays de Vaud turned Calvin’s attention to France by which the Calvinism became a world phenomenon. On the other hand, from this struggle emerged a theological justification for the state’s supremacy over church affairs, namely by Wolfgang Musculus’ De Magistratibus. Interestingly, this justification played a more important role in later times than in the actual controversy: Thomas Erastus, the builder of the territorial state–church of the Palatinate, John Withgift, the archbishop of Canterbury and the protector of Tudor-Absolutism against the Puritans, and the Dutch Remonstrants all were influenced by the teaching of Musculus. The goal of this paper is to present how the two controversial sides regulated its church affairs and, in addition, to show the highpoint of the debate between Calvin’s Vaudois adherers and the Bernese Magistrate for the government of the church, especially for the right of excommunication.

Praying against the Enemy

AbstractContrary to the rule of charity but having some biblical basis, imprecatory prayer and the practice of asking God to act against enemies have always been controversial. In sixteenth-century confessional conflicts, however, any reluctance to use such prayers faded. During the Wars of Religion the first theological justifications appeared and cursing prayers were provided to worshippers. Alongside other practices these prayers shaped the collective identity of the French-speaking Reformed people. They clearly discriminated the faithful from God's enemies, expressed the hope that divine providence would act against these enemies, and led people to identify their fate with that of Old Testament Hebrews. Yet from the end of the seventeenth century such prayer was gradually rejected, above all by learned Reformed people who saw tolerance as a new characteristic feature of Reformed identity.Contraires à la charité, mais trouvant des fondements bibliques, l'imprécation et la pratique consistant à demander l'intervention divine contre un ennemi ont toujours fait l'objet de controverses. Cependant, dans le contexte des conflits confessionnels du seizième siècle, les réticences s'estompent. Avec les guerres de Religion, apparaissent les premières justifications théologiques de cette forme de prière et des textes d'oraisons contre l'ennemi sont mis à disposition des fidèles. En parallèle avec d'autres pratiques, ces prières contribuent alors à structurer l'identité collective des réformés francophones : elles distinguent fortement les fidèles des ennemis de Dieu, expriment l'espoir d'une intervention de la providence divine contre ces derniers et conduisent les réformés à identifier leur destin avec celui des Hébreux de l'Ancien Testament. A partir de la fin du dix-septième siècle, cette forme de prière est progressivement rejetée, en particulier par les élites savantes réformées qui font de la tolérance un nouveau trait distinctif de l'identité réformée.

On Editing Luther's Writings on Scripture

AbstractMuch of Martin Luther's prodigious output consisted of exposition and editing Scripture. While a series in English cannot do justice to his greatest achievement, his Bible in German, much can be learned from his prefaces and commentaries, which are selected in volume 6 of The Annotated Luther. Luther's attitude to interpreting Scripture evolved in a constant dialogue with his theology of justification. While he held to the absolute authority of Scripture, his approach was pre‐critical but not uncritical. His exposition constantly balanced the consolation of grace and warnings against complacent trusting in our own works. His relentless emphasis on seeing Christ everywhere in the Bible, praised in past generations, poses problems today insofar as it determined his stance against Judaism.