System finansowania parafii i plebanów na terenach żuławskich ukształtował się w średniowieczu i z pewnymi modyfikacjami przetrwał aż do 1945 r. Podstawę tego finansowania stanowiła ziemia uprawna przekazana przez zakon krzyżacki każdej nowo erygowanej parafii. Wraz z pojawieniem się w XVI w. na Żuławach Malborskich luteran i mennonitów w lokalnych parafiach katolickich wzniesiono świątynie, które funkcjonowały poza obowiązującym w Rzeczypospolitej systemem prawnym i ustrojowym. Luterański i mennonicki system kościelny przez okres nowożytny nie dysponował na terenach żuławskich ziemią uprawną i borykał się z tego powodu z problemami finansowymi. Niewiele jednak zmieniło się pod tym względem w XIX w., już pod panowaniem pruskim, nadal bowiem parafie luterańskie nie miały stabilnego statusu ekonomicznego, a parafie katolickie w pełni korzystały z respektowanych przez państwo pruskie praw nabytych. Z tego powodu między oboma wyznaniami od końca XVIII w. do początku XX w. dochodziło do licznych konfliktów z sądowym epilogiem. W najtrudniejszym położeniu prawnym byli jednak żuławscy mennonici, którzy
w sytuacji prawnej dyskryminacji ich wyznania przez pruskie prawodawstwo, coraz częściej podejmowali decyzje o emigracji z Prus.
O objetivo deste artigo é argumentar a favor da proposta de Jesus apresentada em Mateus 20.20-28 como alternativa aplicável a todas as relações sociais e não apenas ao contexto eclesial-religioso. A perícope narra o pedido da mãe de Tiago e João pelo direito aos primeiros lugares no reino messiânico, que julgam iminente. O incidente, ocorrido no caminho para Jerusalém, oportuniza a Jesus apresentar a síntese de seu ensino sobre o exercício do poder como diaconia, segundo a ética do reino de Deus. De um lado, Jesus reprova o modelo de exercício de poder praticado pelos “governadores” e “grandes” da sociedade — neste artigo, referido como ‘poder-dominação’ ou ‘poder-sobre’ — e propõe um novo modelo de exercício de poder, baseado na sua própria pessoa e exemplo — referido aqui como ‘poder-servitude’ ou ‘poder-para’. Trata-se de um dilema diante do qual os discípulos são desafiados a romper com o primeiro modelo e aderir ao segundo modelo.
O prazer como questão não ocupa a atenção da Bíblia Hebraica, mas, a partir do encontro judaico com o pensamento grego, torna-se um tema relevante e, por vezes, tratado com bastante atenção. Os escritores cristãos antigos não deixaram de acolher essa discussão. Ainda que não se torne um tema central, quando o assunto é a vida que a pessoa cristã vive na presente era, não é estranho que a mesma questão que acompanhou Platão, Epicuro e os estoicos se faça presente. No presente artigo, abordo textos do Novo Testamento, textos do período dos pais apostólicos e, por fim, obras de dois escritores mais sofisticados: Clemente de Alexandria e Gregório de Nissa. Por meio de uma leitura atenta das fontes primárias, procuro discernir como o prazer chega a ser uma questão para esses escritos cristãos, considerando possíveis conexões entre suas abordagens e anteriores. Proponho que o motivo de cuidarem do tema do prazer residia em uma rivalidade entre a atenção aos prazeres e a atenção a Deus.
Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multicultural society, and therefore, Nigeria’s religious inclinations differ broadly. There are currently three religions dominant in Nigeria, namely Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion (ATR). These three religions, especially the first two, have demonstrated varying levels of fanaticism in the past leading to many recounted crises and jungle justice incidents in Nigeria. Because of Nigerian politics, we have witnessed the use of armed thugs by politicians to harass and even kill party opponents and displace their families. These two factors have caused many young, highly skilled persons to flee Nigeria for a safer haven. This study therefore tries to review current religious fanaticism and electioneering thuggery leading to loss of lives and property, which consequently sees to the fall of the Nigerian economy and the subsequent enthronement of insecurity in the country. It suggests that these factors are foundational problems consequent to the amalgamation of 1914 and are leading causes for the rapid rate of migration of Nigerian experts out of the country.
Contribution: At a time when Nigeria is in dire need of great brains to help in its developmental struggle, politicians and religious bigots have constituted a serious blockade to this ambition. This article is a review of recent political and religious turmoil in Nigeria with a view to call the attention of all warring religious and political stakeholders to the damage their extremism has already caused and to also bring the attention of Nigerians to the foundation of these problems, namely the amalgamation and the need to address it.
A decisão do Papa Francisco de estabelecer uma Comissão para o Estudo do Diaconato Feminino em agosto de 2016 reenfatiza a questão: o que sabemos sobre as mulheres diáconos? Nós sabemos que elas existiram. Há ampla evidência literária, epigráfica e histórica do ministério diaconal feminino no Ocidente pelo menos até o século XII, e por mais tempo no Oriente. O fato de terem existido apresenta três questões: O que sabemos sobre as cerimônias litúrgicas em que os bispos criaram o diaconato feminino? O que sabemos sobre suas tarefas e deveres? O que sabemos sobre a teologia do diaconato que admitiria ou restringiria as mulheres da ordenação diaconal?
O presente artigo parte da perspectiva de que a arte é um dos fenômenos especificamente humanos, a qual confere um sentido para a existência. Teve por objetivo apreender a visão de Viktor Frankl sobre a espiritualidade e a arte. Para atingir esse escopo, inicialmente discorreu-se sobre a relação entre a busca de sentido e a arte na perspectiva da Logoterapia e Análise Existencial e, em seguida, debruçou-se sobre onze obras artísticas que retratavam o livro Em busca de sentido. Pôde-se constatar, por meio de pinturas sobre o campo de concentração nazista, a presença do posicionamento espiritual dos prisioneiros. Concluiu-se que a arte seria uma via para reumanizar e transformar o mundo.
While the Hebrew word ָא ֵמן and its transliterated borrowing into Greek ἀμήν in the New Testament epistles generally signal agreement at the end of a prayer, doxology, or blessing, the “Amen (Amen), I say to you” formula in the gospels (with the repeated “amen” only in John) occurs clause-initially and serves to introduce certain direct quotes of our Savior. In the first part of this paper, we seek to confirm Clark’s 2004 and 2007 observations on the discourse and pragmatic functions of the “amen” formula signaling the beginning, end, and high points of a literary unit. We go on to complement these findings by noting that in the Gospel of John, the formula can also announce a coming theme, mark a climax, conclude a larger discourse unit, and occur in clusters, moving from neutral to more conflictual contexts. In the second part of the paper, we consider translations in a number of versions in English and a set of African languages, examining translation strategies which include more literal and more dynamic renderings. We ask if it is better to translate or transliterate the “amen” formula, render it consistently or not, and preserve the repetition of the formula in John’s Gospel. In at least some languages, insistence on the truth of a statement may indeed raise doubts as to its credibility. This study underlines the unending tension in translation between form and meaning, but also brings to light how John’s quotation of this Hebrew and/or Aramaic expression within a Greek text lends authenticity to this gospel. Finally, our observations lead us to ask: Is it time for translators to imitate the gospel writers’ attempts at preserving the flavor of Jesus’s speech in the gospels by opting for transliteration rather than translation?
The debatable church orderly relevance between 1618, 1816 and 1951 in relation to the church order of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa: The above-mentioned dates from the past, although distant from each other, are linked to each other and influential in the church law debate, even in recent times. The intention of this paper is to link the dates as well as the events associated with the mentioned dates from the past with the church order of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa which was determined during the church’s 71st synod meeting during 2016. Churches in South Africa originated from the 16th century Reformation should accommodate each other even with some different viewpoints especially in connection with church law as formulated and practised in different churches.
Contribution: The contribution of this paper is to point out that the relation between the mentioned dates indicate important milestones in the church orderly past, in the Netherlands and in South Africa and should be treated with caution, especially in reference to the church order of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa.
We do not need ‘the earth’ as the space for encounter and cooperation between world religions in the way Moltmann suggests. Firstly, this fails to do justice to the contemporary situation concerning religious diversity: people from different religions have no problem in working together either for promoting ecological goals or for fighting them together. Within religions, there are often greater divergences between eco-friendly and anti-ecological adherents of that same religion. Secondly, Moltmann’s proposal misguidedly confuses boundaries of beliefs and boundaries of grammar concerning religious diversity. Paying attention to religions as grammar provides a more accurate picture of the reality concerning world religions from an ecological perspective. In the final section of this article, I present some suggestions on moving forward in the debate about ecology from within this new perspective. We need to keep in mind that it is not religions but people who have opinions about ecology. The dialogue that needs to take place is not a high-level bureaucratic one between officials of different religions but one between people. In this grassroots-level discussion, it is important to listen to the other person rather than to consider him or her as a representative of his or her religion. We should not allow people to claim an entire religion for their position, dismissing others as revisionists. Religions are grammars that can express both eco-friendly and anti-ecological messages.
Contribution: This article contributes to an in-depth understanding of religious diversity; it proves the usefulness of the distinction between grammar and beliefs in the study of religion and demonstrates this using the case of ecotheology as an example.
Aksjologia buduje świat postępu ludzkiego ducha, w którym wyraża się prawda, dobro, piękno, miłość, szacunek dla człowieka. Na te wartości wskazywał ks. biskup Tadeusz Płoski, widząc w nich możliwości przezwyciężenia i urzeczywistnienia dobra w świecie współczesnym. Treści, które wynikały z wartości, stanowią wykładnię realizacji ducha ludzkiego i żywego uczestnictwa człowieka w życiu Boga. Efektem przepojenia człowieka prawdą i dobrem oraz miłością jest zawsze wyjście człowieka z samego siebie, poza własne ciasne granice. Człowiek w uniesieniu duchowym poprzez świat aksjologiczny wychodzi z siebie, by żyć „powyżej” własnego poziomu, w przestrzeni samego Boga. Wewnętrzny dialog człowieka z Bogiem znajduje odzwierciedlenie w zewnętrznej rzeczywistości człowieka. Zewnętrzne oznaki są dramatyczne, bo to walka dobra i złem. Jednakże ks. biskup Płoski nie nakazuje człowiekowi walczyć ze złem, ale budować w sobie przestrzeń dobra tak, aby dobro mogło „rodzić” dobro, a tym samym zmniejszać i przezwyciężać oddziaływanie obszaru zła. W ten sposób kształtuje się szacunek dla godności człowieka. Życie z Bogiem to życie w Bogu, które wynika z życia duchowego człowieka; nie prowadzi do walki z człowiekiem, ale ze złem, które dzieje się za jego przyczyną.
This article explored the relation between creation and salvation as acts of God in the theology of Robert Jenson, an American Lutheran theologian. This is important due to Jenson’s growing importance as theologian and because of the current importance of ecotheology (and related themes that were implicated by the relation between creation and salvation). Jenson’s theology is an effort to tell God’s particular story and it can be described as a Trinitarian, narrative and eschatological theology. His starting point is that God’s eternity must not be understood as timeless (this is unbiblical and incompatible with the story of creation and redemption) and that creation (space and time) takes place somehow within the being of God. Jenson qualified this ‘withinness’, but also emphasised that creation is an intelligible whole, a history with an intended end. It is important for him that God’s story – a story of dramatic coherence – is not separated from our own and creation’s story. Within this understanding of God’s story (as dramatic coherence), creation found its own dramatic teleology because salvation also includes creation. Creation is therefore not subjected to pointlessness any longer, but will find its final place within God. The implication of this is that we must value creation much more and act with more responsibility towards it. According to Jenson we must enjoy creation in an aesthetic fashion and delight in creation as a whole because of its dramatic teleology.
The article focuses on the beatitude of the poor in the social and religious context of historical Jesus. The original version of this makarism has to be seen as a religious statement which is not meant as a program of social reform. Yet it has political and socio-ethical implications as it connects the poor with God and his kingdom. Those who are searching God have to go to the poor. A possible function of the beatitude of the poor in the struggle against poverty can be seen in the spiritual empowerment it gives to the poor themselves: Poverty is against God’s will; it is no divine punishment and does not separate from God. The poor will be liberated from suffering. Poverty has no place in the kingdom but will be eradicated.
Christianity, Practical religion. The Christian life
Values and character education possess the inherent building blocks for the preservation of a healthy society. Values and character education have the potential to address moral issues in society and especially in educational institutions, such as schools, colleges and universities. One of the primary aims of values and character education is to allow students to experience life to the fullest. Values and character education could probably ensure a better life and future for South Africa‟s youth.From the available literature, it is evident that society is experiencing a crisis regarding values, character and morality. The decline of human and societal values portrayed in the media has compelled the current government to initiate values education programmes in colleges and other institutions such as universities.In order to determine the values orientation among students of Further Education and Training Colleges (FET) in the North-West Province, an empirical study was done to ascertain students‟ opinions and the contributions of values education and character education. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the student council, the head of support services, as well as an official of student support services.
Artykuł podejmuje refleksję teologiczną, której punktem wyjściowym jest doświadczenie przez człowieka nagości po grzechu pierworodnym. Nagość, którą odkrywają pierwsi rodzice, jest oznaką biedy i słabości, natomiast odzienie – odwagi i mocy. Ubranie jest również odpowiedzią na poczucie wstydu, którego doznaje człowiek, a zarazem na potrzebę pięknego wyglądu i praktycznej ochrony przed zimnem. Jako nośnik informacji sygnalizuje ono również stan wewnętrzny człowieka (I). Początek szat liturgicznych odnajdujemy w kapłaństwie Aarona, od którego sam Bóg wymaga ich używania przy składaniu ofiary oraz określa ich wygląd. W Starym Testamencie szaty liturgiczne służyły jako środek kultowej komunikacji człowieka z Bogiem i były wyrazem naśladowania Jego wielkości. W Nowym Testamencie są one rozumiane jako znak wejścia w boską δόξα przez chrzest. Szaty liturgiczne kapłana przypominają o tym, że sprawuje on święte czynności in persona Christi. W dalszej części zostały opisane poszczególne szaty i insygnia, ich powstanie, rozwój, znaczenie oraz zastosowanie w Kościele rzymskokatolickim (II. 1; II. 2), w Kościele wschodnim (III) i w Kościołach ewangelickich (IV). Jako istotny został ukazany kanon kolorów liturgicznych, które spełniają funkcję sygnalizacyjną charakterystyczną dla przeżywanego misterium zarówno w Kościele katolickim (II. 3), jak i w Kościołach ewangelickich (IV. 1). Wyjątek stanowi Kościół wschodni, który nie posługuje się żadnym kanonem kolorów. W ostatniej części (V) został przedstawiony liturgiczny strój świeckich (pełniących funkcję z urzędu lub też bez specjalnej nominacji), którym jest alba lub odpowiednia tunika jako znak uczestnictwa człowieka w powszechnym kapłaństwie przez chrzest.
The novelty of the canonical approach is questioned and its fascination at least partly traced to the Reformation, as well as to the post-Reformation’s need for a clear and authoritative canon to perform the function previously performed by the church. This does not minimise the elusiveness and deeply contradictory positions both within the canon and triggered by it. On the one hand, the canon itself is a centripetal phenomenon and does play an important role in exegesis and theology. Even so, on the other hand, it not only contains many difficulties, but also causes various additional problems of a formal as well as a theological nature. The question is mooted whether the canonical approach alleviates or aggravates the dilemma. Since this approach has become a major factor in Christian theology, aspects of the Christian canon are used to gauge whether “canon” is an appropriate category for eliminating difficulties that arise by virtue of its own existence. Problematic uses and appropriations of several Old Testament canons are advanced, as well as evidence in the New Testament of a consciousness that the “old” has been surpassed(“Überbietungsbewußtsein”). It is maintained that at least the Childs version of the canonical approach fails to smooth out these and similar difficulties. As a method it can cater for the New Testament’s (superior) role as the hermeneutical standard for evaluating the Old, but flounders on its inability to create the theological unity it claims can solve religious problems exposed by Old Testament historical criticism. It is concluded that canon as a category cannot be dispensed with, but is useful for the opposite of the purpose to which it is conventionally put: far from bringing about theological “unity” or producing a standard for “correct” exegesis, it requires different readings of different canons.
Other illumination: With Adorno at the heartbeat of the post-modern intellect. In this article Adorno's critique of identity thinking and modem systems of thought are exploited within the context of the current debate of modernity. It is argued that the usurpation of the so-called Other (which the author Calls "Anderverdringing") is at the core of modem thought, and that the illumination of the Other (which the author calls "Ander-bereddering") is at the core of postmodern thought. Habermas' theory of communicative action is used to bring Adorno's critique of identity thinking to the Jore as a form ofpostmodern critique, exactly in the sense that Adorno's philosophy is essentially Otherilluminating.