Christian Tradition Research Articles

Michael W. Dunne and Simon Nolan, eds. A Companion to Richard FitzRalph: Fourteenth-Century Scholar, Bishop, and Polemicist Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition. Leiden: Brill, 2023. Pp. 496. $188.56 (cloth).

Michael W. Dunne and Simon Nolan, eds. A Companion to Richard FitzRalph: Fourteenth-Century Scholar, Bishop, and Polemicist Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition. Leiden: Brill, 2023. Pp. 496. $188.56 (cloth).

Is ‘orthodox panentheism’ unorthodox? A response to James Dominic Rooney

Abstract James Dominic argues in response to a previous article by me that the view according to which God is the formal cause of creatures is unorthodox and ultimately incoherent. This is because it involves either making God a part of creatures, or dividing God into finite parts, both of which, he claims, lead to contradictions with traditional Christian claims. However, Rooney both misunderstands central parts of my presentation, and fails to make his case.

In the Image of Her. Recovering Motherhood in the Christian Tradition, by Amy E. Marga

In the Image of Her. Recovering Motherhood in the Christian Tradition, by Amy E. Marga

Dying for What? Secular Transformations of Martyrdom

This article studies different forms of martyrdom in secular contexts, tracing their roots back to Western European Christian traditions. The article argues that distinct trajectories of martyrdom have emerged: (a) the more passive martyr, who refuses to acknowledge sovereign power and dies for a transcendent truth, and (b) the more assertive martyr, who sacrifices their life fighting for God and the sovereign. In secular contexts, this assertive martyr fights for secular ideals such as ‘freedom’ or ‘nation’ and represents the symbolic body of the sovereign. The historical distinction between divine truth and state falsehood has been turned into differentiations between democratic rule and threats like terrorism. To further study this transition, this article studies discourses following the deaths of Pim Fortuyn and Jaques Hamel, as both were strongly labeled as martyrs. This results in the final part of the article that examines the cult of commemoration surrounding soldiers in the US and the Netherlands. It argues that the assertive martyr has reached its fully secularized form in these contexts. The transcendent imagery of state sovereignty is evident in the sacrificial discourses around fallen soldiers. At this point of death, the state’s power is reinforced as a transcendent norm and reveals itself in those who ‘sacrifice’ their lives for the freedom of many.

Seeing Otherwise: ‘The Least of These’ and Revelation in Jean‐Luc Marion

AbstractIn his familiar essay in Phenomenology and the ‘Theological Turn’, Jean‐François Courtine writes that the ‘cardinal experience’ of revelatory phenomena would undoubtedly be the incarnation. But in its singularity, this experience, he admits, seems to elude phenomenological thought. Against such a judgement, many Christian traditions affirm Christ's ongoing presence in diverse privileged sites, in the eucharist, saints, the Church itself, and, via Christ's own identification with ‘the least of these’ in Matthew's parable, in those who suffer. This essay considers this last possibility of divine manifestation, taking up ‘the least of these’ to reconsider the relationship between finitude and the infinite in Jean‐Luc Marion's phenomenogical account of revelation and saturation. While the heart of Marion's account, both in his words and according to his critics, has primarily concerned revelation's contradiction of finite experience, this essay argues that the development of Marion's own hermeneutics and his attentiveness to paradox and kenosis also reveal the confirmation of finitude at the heart of revelation. Revelation, that is, though it comes from elsewhere, is not other than finitude, but finitude otherwise, finitude's transfiguration.

Aportación del ecumenismo a la unidad de la Iglesia y de la sociedad

The article explores how ecumenism has been a key tool in promoting unity both within the Christian Church and in wider society. Through interdenominational dialogue and cooperation between diverse Christian traditions, ecumenism seeks to overcome historical and doctrinal divisions, fostering reconciliation and mutual respect. This process not only strengthens ties between churches, but also promotes a culture of peace and understanding in society, highlighting the importance of working together on social, ethical and humanitarian issues.

The Suspense of Envy

Abstract My basic question in this paper is pretty straightforward: which resources does the Christian tradition have to overcome envy? If one reads the story of Christ’s passion as an “envy drama” and Christ’s cross as the unjust result of his enemies’ sinful envy (see Mk 15:10), one might offer a more elaborate version of the initial question: what do the crucifixion and resurrection mean when reconsidered as overcoming – or, as I shall say: suspending – envy as cardinal sin? Section one lays out conceptual issues, while section two repudiates two attempts of defending a particular form of envy. Section three is dedicated to different soteriological and Christological models in asking how they can deal with sin (and envy). It reacts to the problems implied by these accounts, particularly the subjectivist one, by suggesting a praxeological answer to the question of this paper.

Kajian Teologis tentang Mazmur 23:1-6 dan Penerapannya dalam Pelayanan Gereja Masa Kini

Psalm 23:1-6 is one of the most well-known passages in the Christian tradition, portraying the intimate relationship between God as the Shepherd and His people as the sheep. In the context of contemporary church ministry, a deep understanding of these verses is crucial, as they offer theological and practical guidance for the faith community in overcoming various spiritual and emotional challenges. This study aims to explore the theological relevance of Psalm 23 in the context of modern church ministry. The primary objective of this research is to conduct a theological analysis of Psalm 23:1-6 and to explore its application in today's church ministry context. This study also seeks to identify how the principles contained in this Psalm can serve as a foundation for pastoral care, spiritual strengthening, and congregation development in the modern church. The research employs a qualitative approach, using literature review and textual analysis methods. The primary sources used include the Hebrew text of Psalm 23:1-6 and modern translations, while secondary sources comprise various theological literature, Bible commentaries, and writings from related theological experts. This research also utilizes hermeneutical methods to delve deeper into the meaning of the text and its interpretation in various historical and theological contexts. The results indicate that Psalm 23 portrays God as a Shepherd who nourishes, protects, and guides His people, creating a sense of security and trust for those who follow Him. These attributes are relevant to contemporary church ministry, particularly in the context of pastoral care and spiritual support for congregants facing life crises. The findings also suggest that the application of the values contained in Psalm 23 can strengthen church ministry strategies in providing comfort, trust, and hope to its members. This study concludes that Psalm 23 holds strong and practical relevance for modern church ministry, as it offers an ideal depiction of divine care that can be applied in pastoral ministry. The church can use the principles from this Psalm to build trust and hope among congregants, as well as to provide more effective spiritual support in addressing the challenges of modern times.

Book Review: Wisdom in Christian Tradition: The Patristic Roots of Modern Russian Sophiology

Book Review: Wisdom in Christian Tradition: The Patristic Roots of Modern Russian Sophiology

The theodicies of Hans Jonas and Jürgen Moltmann: Proposing an alternative reformed angle

Auschwitz had a profound impact on the theological landscape. It led to God’s lordship, goodness and power being put on trial. If God exists and if he is a good and powerful God, why did he not intervene to stop the atrocities committed during the Holocaust? The theologies of the Jewish philosopher Hans Jonas and the Christian theologian Jürgen Moltmann were decisively structured by these questions.Contribution: This article compares the theodicies of these two influential thinkers within the Jewish and Christian traditions by analysing their concepts of God, the nature of the cosmos and human history as well as their respective views on God’s response to suffering. Despite showing appreciation for profound insights, this article points out impasses in their arguments. Drawing on a reformed approach to the question, the article concludes that the anthropodicy question is the real elephant in the room, not the theodicy question. Instead of asking questions about God’s goodness, Reformed theology posits the incomprehensibility of human beings turning against God. We must ask: How does it happen that a self-conscious being possessing innate moral capacities, such as moral emotions and vicarious intersubjective capabilities, rebels against God and engage in atrocious acts? Seen from this perspective, the theodicy question seems to be undergirded by the human propensity to moral disengagement and blame-shifting. Perhaps, instead of putting God on trial, humans must resort to introspection.

In Search of a Sinful Pun: A Granular Analysis of Q 2:58–59

Abstract This paper offers a new reading of Q 2:58–59 by way of Muqātil ibn Sulaymān’s Tafsīr and its use of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish or possibly Christian traditions. While the scholarly study of the Qurʾān in its late antique context has often been ambivalent toward medieval Arabic tafsīr, this paper uses the testimony of the tafsīr corpus on a single mysterious passage to reconstruct a plausible meaning in its original Qurʾānic milieu and shed light on the exegetical intimacies of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the first Hijri centuries. Q 2:58–59 contain a puzzling pericope about God punishing the Israelites because they substituted one word, which God had commanded them to say, with another. The word God commanded them to say, ḥiṭṭa, does not represent any Arabic word that makes good sense in context. The word they substituted is never specified. Later Arabic exegetes were thus puzzled by the passage and proposed many different solutions. The paper closely analyzes Muqātil ibn Sulaymān’s reading of the relevant passage in light of biblical intertexts and Jewish or Christian traditions, yielding an interpretation of this passage with reference to a perfidious pun on the words for “sin” and “grain” that works in Aramaic or possibly Hebrew, but not in Arabic.

Ignatius of Loyola and Virtues

The article explores virtues in the fundamental writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The method used is a close historical–critical reading of the following Ignatius texts: the Autobiography, Spiritual Exercises, and the Constitutions in their socio–historical context and intertextuality. St. Ignatius uses a mixture of traditional Christian virtues as a means to articulate his own experience, and he links the Catholic identity to daily life in order to develop a particular spiritual exercise.

Semantics of Transition: Death and Resurrection of the Hero in Film Fantasy at the Turn of the 20th—21st Centuries

The article is devoted to the study of human metaphysical experience through cinema art. The material of the study is widely known fantasy films (“The Lord of the Rings”, “The Matrix”, “Harry Potter”, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Avatar”), in which the sacral space is realized as a magical fairy tale or a dream, and the hero acting in it is identified with the concept of “soul” or “consciousness”. The aim of the study is to semantically and cognitively analyze the visual image of transition through death, which is offered to the viewer by cinematography, and to model the director’s concepts included in it. The author’s concept of transition is based on the works of M. Eliade, A. van Gennep, C.G. Jung, M.P. Hall and is revealed as a multi-phase process of soul transformation in the conditions of spiritual or perceptual crisis. It is established that the transition scenario in the films considered includes an “entry point” into another world, a series of initiations and an “exit point”. In this context, death and resurrection are the climactic phase and have different symbolic connotations, their essence depending on the prototype that the hero imitates. As it has been revealed, the imitation of cyclical forces of nature (solar, agrarian deities) by contemporary directors is interpreted by them as a long stage of soul maturation, which is no longer opposed to, but naturally precedes the imitation of the “divine archetype” (in the Christian tradition, Christ the Saviour). The axis of transition from forced submission to the endless cycle of renewal to the evolutionary stage of spiritual maturity is the act of “awakening” expressed in the willingness to voluntarily sacrifice oneself out of love and compassion for others. Death and resurrection in this case manifest the metaphysical transformation of the soul aspect into the spiritual one. At the same time, in the process of studying the film material, a tendency of a transgressive nature was detected, namely the replacement of the concept “soul” by the concept “brain”. As a result of identifying the functions of the human brain with the functions of a computer in the mental space, there is a danger of substitution of the divine image by artificial intelligence, which can provoke the blocking of the channel “soul – spirit” and the involutionary turn from spirit to matter.

Wisdom in Christian Tradition: The Patristic Roots of Modern Russian Sophiology by Marcus Plested (review)

Wisdom in Christian Tradition: The Patristic Roots of Modern Russian Sophiology by Marcus Plested (review)

Mariology in the Documents of Ecumenical Dialogue and Christian Unity

Ecumenical dialogues that seek to bring all followers of Christ closer to unity face many difficulties. One of them is the wrong understanding of ecumenism (doctrinal, spiritual and practical). Also an obstacle is the lack of distinction between the unity of Christians and the unity of the Churches. This article undertakes the presentation of another such difficulty in the path of Christian unity, which is the Mariological (doctrinal) and Marian (worship/devotion) issues. Ecumenical meetings, therefore, do not avoid such difficult topics concerning the Mother of the Lord, such as her virginity, Immaculate Conception, Assumption or her role as Mother of the Church. Many Christian traditions have different interpretations of these truths. Catholic and Orthodox communities even consider them an inalienable part of their spiritual heritage, while most Protestant communities have a more nuanced approach and do not accept these truths as binding, but reject them. A compilation of the documents to date relating to the Mother of God proves to be a big, positive surprise. Of course, these are writings of varying degrees of validity, as they come as much from international mixed official commissions as from national bilateral bodies or local debates. Nevertheless, both their prominence and impact, as well as their quantity, make it clear that the person and action of the Mother of Jesus nevertheless animates and strengthens the difficult rapprochement of the followers of her Divine Son.

Нужен ли философской антропологии «социогенетический поворот»?

Philosophical anthropology, which arose each time in a specific historical reality, sought to create a universal image of man, calling this process the revelation of his essence. This problem was solved by Russian philosophy, which developed the Orthodox Christian tradition within certain historical boundaries. Modern philosophy, solving this problem, cannot ignore the basic philosophical and anthropological ideas of different civilizations, primarily Eastern, Western and Russian philosophy. The space for their comparison and synthesis can be the semantic conceptual field of sociogenesis, which opens up a universal approach to the formation of a human being as a global cultural and biological species. The sociogenetic approach reveals the opportunity to compare two main essential models of man, which are represented by the version of the self-sufficient individual, which developed in the European Enlightenment, and the version of the conciliar (communal) man, the discussion of which began in Russian philosophy of the 19th century. In the context of sociogenesis, the basis for distinguishing anthropological versions is the opposition of individualistic and communal (conciliar) principles of behavior. A specifi c synthesis of these principles in one or another cultural-historical model appears as a solution to the contradiction between the individual and species model of behavior within the cultural-biological species “human being”. In the natural world, the coordination of individual and species behavior is resolved through the genetic inheritance of species behavior, eliminating the conflict between species and individual. The sociogenetic evolution of a human being has posed the task of searching for species-specifi c universal principles of behavior, which has complicated the solution of the problem of harmonizing species and individual behavior. The complexity of the situation is that human behavior is directed by cultural programs in the context of a sociogenetic search for a species program capable of ensuring the global consolidation of the human species. In this context, philosophical anthropology requires a sociogenetic support, and the appeal to it can be called the “sociogenetic turn” in philosophical anthropology.

Some style tendencies of Hellenism which formed the basis for the pictorial canon of Eastern church rite

The article systematically presents and substantiates the stylistic concept of some unique artistic tendencies of Hellenism, which share a common sacred nature with the pictorial canon of eastern churches. It also proposes updated retrospective artistic principles to reassess the role of these tendencies. This finding allows us to reveal additional roots of the pictorial canon and review the cause-and-effect relationship between the narrative-symbolic-decorative attributes of ancient funeral rituals and the spiritual-philosophical foundations of early Christian art. It suggests filling the gaps in art history and cultural studies within the framework of relevant themes by introducing modeled and unified conceptual-categorical constructions into scientific circulation. The purpose of the research. The main purpose of the article is to rethink and systematize some artistic and stylistic tendencies of the Hellenistic’s era in late antiquity, from which all Eastern church pictorial traditions drew their conceptual and stylistic foundations during their formation period. The methodology. A combination of specialized methods was applied: historical-comparative method for identifying key artistic tendencies; cultural-deductive method for formulating artistic categories; abstraction method for delineating key stylistic features of sacred attributes, as well as for identifying differences and similarities; expert artistic assessment method for theoretical characterization, substantiation, and expansion of conceptual-categorical components; stylistic correlation method for unifying newly discovered stylistic connections of Hellenistic artistic products and the Christian tradition. The combination of the listed methods allows us to reveal the concept of the stylistic basis for the pictorial tradition in the church paraphernalia of the Eastern rite and to systematize the existing authoritative evidence base regarding to origins of the pictorial canon of the Egyptian and Greco-Roman periods. Conclusions. Our analysis shows that in the broad context of the formation of the pictorial canon, peculiar to the churches of the Eastern rite, some artistic trends of the first centuries of the new era turned out to be an unchanging and stable conceptual basis for the pictorial canon in a complex artistic and philosophical coordinate system. Thus, the artistic canon of the Eastern churches, formed between the VI and IX centuries, is nothing more than a borrowed status-functional category for the multi-level gradation of Christian value aspects with specific techniques and means of Hellenistic fine art of the times of ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman syncretism. Their intermedial nature and appellative character in relation to the Theogony of the ancient world limit the traditional interpretation of the Christian symbolism of the vast majority of canonical images in the artistic plane. The scientific novelty. For the first time our research analyzed the cause-and-effect relationship between canonical Christian stylistic attributes and Greco-Roman and Egyptian features as the ideological basis of the latter for the formative role of the former. It reassessed and re-evaluated some Hellenistic artistic tendencies in terms of their significance and complexity. A number of expanded cultural and art historical concepts and categories of the ancient world are proposed and substantiated.

T. Robert Malthus's Comparative Political Economy of Prudential Restraint

Abstract Examination of the second and subsequent editions of T. Robert Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population shows that the author created a more expansive examination of his political economy of population than that of the simple model in the Essay's first edition. In subsequent editions, the simple, ecological model gives way to a sophisticated general model of a commercial society with property rights, the rule of law, marriage laws similar to those of the British Christian tradition, and expanded markets. The result was not the “dismal” prognostication that Malthus is often identified with. Rather, he was reasonably optimistic that steady growth in per capita income could be accomplished along with a rising population. Biology could never be conquered, but within the right institutional context, reason might interrupt its career.

O desenvolvimento das notae unitatis

The letters to the Galatians and to the Ephesians, respectively, one proto-Pauline and one deutero-Pauline, have been the subject of several studies due to their contents and forms, especially in the field of freedom and the universality of salvation. These are two letters from the Pauline epistolary that are well accepted by the various Christian traditions: by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. This article aims to analyze the theme of ecumenism based on two passages taken from these letters, Gal 3:26-29 and Eph 4:1-6, which address the universality of divine filiation through baptism and of the Gospel of Christ, proclaimed to all without any distinction, which should be a cause of unity and not division, especially among those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To achieve this objective, this article presents data on the letters, considering text and context, and performs an exegesis of the two passages indicated here (Gal 3:26-29 and Eph 4:1-6). Both promote dialogue and openness to charting paths together, whether through baptism or the Gospel. They open doors and windows, build bridges and not walls, broaden horizons and indicate paths of dialogue and respect between the sons and daughters of God, and between them and other believers and non-believers, in a common cooperation in the promotion of human life, for the sake of our common home, the Kingdom. They are like scores indicating the musical notes to be played harmoniously by the symphony orchestra, with its many and varied instruments.

Heutagogy as a framework for Christian discipleship: the triadic role of biblical wisdom literature, the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit

AbstractHeutagogy—also known as self-determined learning—empowers individuals to take charge of their personal growth by fostering proactive approaches to self-development. In a Christian context, self-enacted spiritual growth can operate within a range of personal, denominational, and/or hermeneutical understandings of discipleship. Moreover, self-determined learning transcends diverse Christian traditions, mirroring different expressions of the role and work of the Holy Spirit in capacitating Christian discipleship. This conceptual paper contributes to the literature by expounding and advocating heutagogy as an under-appreciated framework for facilitating spiritual growth. To construct its argument, the paper draws on three sources: biblical wisdom literature, the teachings of Jesus Christ, and selected expressions of the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christian believers.