The geography of religion is one of the younger areas of religious studies. The subject of her interests is the reciprocal ties that stand between religion and the geographical environment. On the one hand, the influence of the geographical environment on the formation of religious imaginations is investigated, and on the other hand, feedback, that is, what kind of religion does the change in the geographical environment. In addition, this area of ​​religious studies is engaged in the distribution of individual (...) religions, demographic and statistical issues, as well as analysis of the topography of holy places, problems of religious migration, pilgrimage, missions, religious tourism, etc. (shrink)

The article demonstrates the possibility of applying an ANT to the analysis of religious monuments. The study of religion within the framework of memory studies demonstrates the realization of a trend laid down in the works of Durkheim regarding the distinction between religion and sacralization as a social phenomenon. From this point of view, religion cannot be regarded as an isolated social institution, but is a way of expressing the functional need to form a sacralized set of social practices and (...) rituals that contribute to the consolidation of society and the strengthening of collective identity. At the same time, in a pluralistic society, the preservation of this function by religion appears to be methodologically archaic, which suggests the involvement of new theoretical approaches that can problematize the place of religion in social space, whilst demonstrating the heterogeneity and fragmentation of religious practices. As a new theoretical model, the article proposes to use the variant of ANT presented in the works of J. Law. Its main principles are the use of spatial metaphors in describing social objects, as well as emphasizing the material status of objects that conflict with spatial configurations. The application of this approach to the analysis of religious monuments allows us to talk about the distinction between the material and network projection of monuments. A religious monument is not just a product of the representation of a certain symbolic system, but also has its own status as an actor. On the one hand, it becomes part of existing network of interactions, and, on the other, it creates new connections and new antitheses that transform the existing memorial landscape, giving rise to new forms of spatial configurations. (shrink)

Places that are regarded as holy are highly esteemed in most religious institutions. Such places are revered because they denote the converging points of human beings and the divine. The fundamental questions addressed in this study are: what makes a place holy? Do Christians share sacred places with other religious groups? The study theorises that the Johane Masowe Chishanu yeNyenyedzi Church has forcefully appropriated most of the African indigenous scared places such as hills, shades and dams for (...) all-night prayers and water baptisms. The researcher has selected two indigenous religious shrines; Chivavarira hill and Gonawapotera pool of Chirumhanzu located in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. The two shrines are regarded by the indigenes as renowned and sacred. This study analyses and thereto seeks to decode deeper on what makes the Johane Masowe Chishanu yeNyenyedzi Church to enthusiastically appropriate most of the African indigenous shrines and, to some extent, turn them to be their shrines. It is this insight which makes the two shrines to be contested places, especially as perceived from both the indigenes and Christian perspectives. Therefore, this study is a contemporary issue that constitutes the focus of the present concerns. Accordingly, in order to archive the intended goal, this research study relies heavily on participant observation and interviews for data collection, since there is hardly documentation readily available about the Masowe yeNyenyedzi Church in Zimbabwe. (shrink)

Journal Name: The Law & Ethics of Human Rights Issue: Ahead of print.

Name der Zeitschrift: Der Islam Jahrgang: 93 Heft: 1 Seiten: 182-215.

This chapter attempts to differentiate between types of monumental representations of Jerusalem, to locate them historically and to explore the reasons for their extraordinary density by deciphering the essentials of their function as mnemonic devices in the framework of medieval devotionalism. Conditioned by historical events such as the Crusades, Franciscan canonization of the Stations of the Cross and the Counter-Reformation, representation of Jerusalem gradually expanded from copies of Christ's tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to commemorate the (...) Stations of the Cross and other holy places in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The holy landscapes are multimedia representations: they combine topography and architecture with life-size figural groups and wall painting to identify the holy places. Groups of such representations could form separate sites at a certain distance from settlements, or encompass a city with a network of reproduced loca sancta. (shrink)

This article explores the theological/philosophical resonances of the theater. “Holy” and “catholic” are the key terms that shape the reflection. The holy is masked in the ordinary details of plays and musicals. Thus, it is fitting to say that the theater is “God-haunted,” a place of transcendence and transformation. The catholicity of the theater is found in acknowledging its inherent commitment to telling the whole truth, or at least endeavoring to tell what is true, about human existence. (...) We are by nature story-telling creatures, and the narratives embodied in the theater aid in interpreting and reflecting on mystery and truth, in the exegesis of our lives and of our way of being in the world. Two plays and a musical are representative anecdotes that flesh out the ideas advanced in the essay— Equus , Auntie Mame , and A Chorus Line. (shrink)

The article found out that holiness in the Eastern Christian traditionis spiritualperfection. Moreover, in the understanding of human holiness there is a constantandsincere spiritual improvement, which takes the individual to a higher level of spirituality.In addition, it was analyzed that spirituality is interpreted in terms of activity, inparticular,the path to spiritual height is achieved by a lot of work on oneself, namely: therejectionof everything created, material - everything that can distract fromthe achievementofthe desired. The etymology of the concept of holiness (...) and the search for analoguesinpre-Christian ones are also consideredlinguistic and religioustraditions The priorityinthe study is the image of holiness, as a peculiar summary of the formation of themoralideal of Ancient Russia. This statement is demonstrated on the personages intheKyiv-Pechersk Pateryk, in particular, on Saints Anthony the Great and Theodosius of Pechersk.Their thorny elevation is emphasized, which is full of humility, reverence, patienceandwork in the name of Jesus Christ. Attention is drawn to the visual connectionbetweenthe holy and the earthly, the provision of certain aesthetic images (glow, brilliance, sunrays, golden color), which speaks of the vision and influence of the emotional onthesacred. It is emphasized that holiness is a powerful factor influencing humanfeelings.Itis updated that the phenomenon of holiness gives rise to a blessed feeling of its equal,but still dependent on it, which does not oppress, and elevates to the heights of theWorldObjective Spirit. Due to the feeling of its involvement in the Universe, the spiritual andmoral state of a person acquires a spiritual motive. In this environment, a personlosesa sense of completeness and receives a guarantee of a bright continuation of lifeafterdeath. A person is not afraid, he believes in his arrival in God, if he cleanses himselfofeverything “sly” and reaches the highest point of bliss. (shrink)

The angels in Isaiah's vision of God's heavenly temple (Isa. 6) used threefold repetition to praise His holiness, the superlative form of emphasis in the Hebrew language. Their cry tells us that nothing is as significant as the holiness of God. Tragically, the holiness of God has been obscured in our time, and as a result, the church's doctrine and ethics have been tarnished, entertainment has replaced worship in many places, the gospel is misunderstood and neglected, and the church assimilates (...) itself to the culture instead of seeking to transform it through the preaching of God's Word. Holy, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God offers a corrective. Here, the holiness of God is defined, explored, and praised by a lineup of leading evangelical pastors and scholars, who show how it affects our worship, doctrine, and personal walks with Christ. Adapted from the addresses at the 2009 Ligonier Ministries National Conference, Holy, Holy, Holy unfolds the character of God and the holiness that sets Him apart. Here is high theology in understandable language, bringing deeper knowledge of God and promoting love for Him. Book jacket. (shrink)

Paul's commanding place in the development of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is due to the fact and the way that he took the notions of Holy Spirit in his religious heritage and rendered them distinctively Christian.

American Christians have developed a long list of expectations about what the life with God will feel like. Many Christians rightly deny the Prosperity Gospel-the idea that God wants you to be healthy and wealthy- but instead embrace its more subtle spin-off, the Emotional Prosperity Gospel, or the belief that God wants you to always experience happiness and fulfillment. Our society has become increasingly averse to sadness and emotional discomfort. Too often, people of faith assume that difficult feelings are a (...) result of either God's judgment or our own lack of spiritual maturity. Some even equate happiness with holiness. In Holy Unhappiness, Amanda Held Opelt, author of A Hole in the World, grapples with her own experience of disillusionment when life didn't go the way she expected. She examines some of the historic, religious, and cultural influences that led to the idolization of positive feelings and the marginalization of negative feelings. Unpacking nine elements of life that have been tainted by the message of the Emotional Prosperity Gospel - including work, marriage, parenting, calling, community, and church - she points to a new path forward, one that reimagines what the "blessed" life can be like if we release some of our expectations and seek God in places we never thought to look. While Opelt acknowledges the dignity of desiring happiness, she ultimately pleads for the normalization of sadness, anger, grief, disappointment, and other uncomfortable feelings as a part of the Christian experience, making a case that there is holiness to be found even in our unhappiness. (shrink)

Being a Christian involves metaphysical, epistemological, and social commitments that set Christians at variance with the dominant secular culture. Because Christianity is not syncretical, but proclaims the unique truth of its revelation, Christians will inevitably be placed in some degree of conflict with secular health care institutions. Because being Christian involves a life of holiness, not merely living justly or morally, Christians will also be in conflict with the ethos of many contemporary Christian health care institutions which have abandoned a (...) commitment to Christian spirituality. In this regard, managed care raises the special question of how Christian institutions can act morally under financial constraints and maintain their character while under the control of secular managers. This question itself raises the further question as to why health care institutions need even pose this query when there are Christian physicians and nurses who could work for less, or Christian men and women who could become sisters and brothers and work for nothing. Contemporary challenges to Christians to maintain their integrity in a post-Christian world have much of their force because Christians have failed to maintain traditional Christian spirituality. In the face of that failure, Christian physicians and nurses will find themselves in greater conflict with health care institutions, because few will any longer understand the requirements of traditional Christianity. In its place, they will have put a generic spirituality, a value-neutral understanding of the role of the health professional, and an anonymous commitment to social justice. (shrink)

Travellers on the N4 highway just east of Pretoria can see evidence of a sacred spring next to the road with pilgrims moving around the landscape and collecting water. This research explored this place – called ‘En Four’ by some – and described visits and conversations had at the site in 2024. The first part of the research narrated the encounters and recorded the local and anecdotal knowledge shared by pilgrims and visitors. The research then analysed the religious significance (...) of the water-based rituals using Rodney Stark’s religion-sociological theory of religion: it identified evidence of magic, prayer, ritual and mysticism. Finally, a number of findings considered the use, value and care of water at this religious site: En Four offers various religious experiences, contributes to mental and physical health and may enhance social cohesion and understanding.Contribution: This research recorded an important, but still undocumented, religious site, as well as the activities and rituals enacted at this place. It interpreted the African water-rituals uniquely from a religion-sociological perspective, also indicating its significance for both individuals and society. This contributed to an interreligious dialogue on, and reappreciation of water as being holy and transformative. (shrink)

In the vast literature centering on the Itinerarium Egeriae there is a serious lacuna. No attempt has been made to analyse the circle of readers to whom this remarkable document was addressed and for whose sake Egeria recorded so faithfully every detail of her journey. Yet if a full understanding of the IE is to be achieved, some definition of the circle of Egeria and of its relations with the pilgrim is essential. In other words, who in the West at (...) that point in the late fourth century, would have been so interested in Holy Land pilgrimage as to read attentively such a personal account as the IE? The following is a tentative essay to gauge the concerns, expectations and cultural background of Egeria's immediate circle of readers through her own emphasis on various aspects of her pilgrimage. In addition, the investigation will try to assess the place of pilgrimage in the life of western communities and the value of communications between the pilgrim on the road and the society back at home. (shrink)

Children themselves place a high value on their own spiritual care when in hospital. However, the spiritual care of children in hospital is often overlooked. Hospitalisation and medical procedures can be traumatic and overwhelming for children, they often see hospitalisation as punishment for something they did wrong and they can even experience spiritual distress during illness and suffering. The spiritual care of hospitalised children should thus be a priority to help these children making sense of pain and suffering, and (...) assisting them to connect with a loving and forgiving God. Spirituality namely influences a diverse range of human concerns such as beliefs about illness and health, fears, relationships with family and friends and the experience of pain and suffering. Unfortunately, children often harbour misconceptions precisely in these areas. This article will draw directly on the given that children are concrete thinkers, yet able to have an understanding of holiness and God as the Holy One, if they receive the right guidance. The study will explore children’s spirituality and the way in which they experience holiness in the healthcare environment from a nursing science perspective. (shrink)

Holiness is an important but problematic concept for religious discourse. It is unclear what it means, both in classical texts and in contemporary usage. Holiness seems to signify a property in some cases and a relation in others. The Bible itself preserves a range of usages. Some of these are ontological: holiness as a would-be property inheres in objects, places, persons, or times. Other uses are imputed: holiness connotes a status that human beings ascribe to things. The range of use (...) can be explicated by the concept of a social or institutional reality developed by Searle. Social facts entail valuations, intentions, and practices; they presuppose a basis of brute fact. A plausible contemporary view of holiness will link ontological and axiological commitments in such a way as to express the underlying goodness of being. (shrink)

In the article of Natalia Kovalchuk «Sanctity phenomenon of St. Feodosiy Pecherskyi in context of holy persons life» the spiritual way of St. Feodosiy Pecherksyi as a search of time, which bring him closer to the sanctity and search of his personal dimension as a holy place are regarded. Through the analysis of food and cloth, which connect St. Feodosiy with world, his life is researched. Spiritual way of St. Feodosiy Pecherskyi brings him closer to the sanctity.

Consciousness cannot exist without matter, but for consciousness to flow there needs to be a system in place; organized matter, an assembly of structures which supports the flow of consciousness; governed by a feedback mechanism; but the experience still remains as the hard problem of consciousness. My hypothesis: Access consciousness is present in every cell and grows laterally supporting multicellularity, i.e. access consciousness or sentience is the guiding factor for cell division and growth. Phenomenal consciousness on the other hand (...) triggers cell differentiation, and supports development of organs and its systems e.g. brain; the seat of phenomenal consciousness. Phenomenal consciousness of a being connects with the supernatural; God and Spirit; achieved through higher levels of mediation and spirituality supporting the concept of the Holy Trinity. Death results in collapse of the structures which ceases all forms of consciousness in beings. (shrink)

Ten years ago National Geographic magazine reported that the Loma Linda Seventh-day Adventist population is one of the communities in the world that lives longer and with a higher quality of life thanks in part to the biological benefits of a vegetarian diet. Along with National Geographic, other media outlets have reported since then that the Adventist religious community considers a plant-based diet a very important factor for a healthy lifestyle. Adventists have been promoting this type of diet worldwide for (...) more than 150 years. This article is an attempt to understand from a social-scientific perspective the origin of the importance they lend to diet and see whether this helps explain why approximately 150 years after the founding of the church, diet remains crucial for Adventists around the world. The conclusion proposed is that Adventists understood the adoption of a plant-based diet as a special divine instruction in order to nourish their new identity as a special people differentiated from the rest of society. This was possible through a desecularisation of diet that placed food in the moral category of the Adventist belief system.Keywords: Seventh-day Adventist Church; vegetarian diet; religion; health; desecularisation; identity. (shrink)

The article is devoted to almost unknown monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church, a Holy Trinity Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Novo-Solovetskaya Krasnokholmskaya poustinia that was one of the important pilgrimage places of the royal family in the 17th century. Despite the fact that the monastery was founded in the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, it is an important link in the historical and cultural development of our Fatherland, primarily because the extant architectural monuments of outstanding artistic qualities. That is why the architectural (...) ensemble of the monastery occupies a prominent place in the history of Russian culture. In addition, Novo-Solovetskaya poustinia is an important historical object providing data on the development of Russian spiritual and artistic culture of the late seventeenth century. The question of cultural-historical and social roles that Orthodox monasteries played in the history of Russia is still not sufficiently studied is. The modern development of the Russian state cannot be complete without the restoration of the positive legacy that has been lost in our culture and morality. In this regard, the study of development and formation of the Orthodox monastic culture may fill this gap. Historical development of the Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Novo-Solovetskaya Krasnokholmskaya poustinia, its architecture can contribute to the restoration of our historical memory, which is an important factor in the revival of our national identity. The author of the article also tells about the history of monastery in tough years of godless power and about the people, who died for their faith and who are called now the new martyrs. (shrink)

Muslims and Christians have used the Bible and the Qur’an in their preaching and writing in order to convince each other of the unique truth of their own faith. Much of the writing has been produced in inexpensive booklets, whilst preaching takes place in public meetings using each others’ scripture. This paper examines the different Swahili versions of the Bible and the Qur’an and their reception. It then examines the use of the sacred texts of two world faiths, Christianity (...) and Islam, using the local vernacular, Swahili, in East Africa. (shrink)

…Not without a providential design, the historical events of the thirteenth century led to the Holy Land, the Order of Friars Minor. The Sons of St. Francis have since then remained in the land of Jesus … to continuously serve the local Church and to preserve, restore, protect the holy places, and their loyalty to the wishes of the Founder and the mandate of the Holy See was often sealed by acts of extraordinary virtue and generosity…Holy (...) Land guides mediate between pilgrims and multiple Jerusalems. This article focuses on the roles played in this process of mediation by Franciscan human guides in two contexts: actual Jerusalem and the virtual Jerusalem of San Vivaldo.1 The longstanding, special relationship... (shrink)

Žižek seems to find great inspiration in Christianity. It is central to The Fragile Absolute: Or, Why Is the Christian Legacy Worth Fighting For?, The Puppet and the Dwarf, and The Monstrosity of Christ. Indeed, even in his more singularly philosophical and political texts we find that Christianity is often vital to his overall argumentative strategy. This is somewhat surprising given his declared position as an atheist. Yet what seems to appeal to him in Christianity is that, as a religion, (...) it exists not only as theory, but also that it is productive of theory. What I want to explore here is one aspect of this interest. Specifically, I wish to look at how Žižek’s theoretical take on Christianity can be incorporated into a more general framework of understanding that takes its original departure from the work of Simone Weil. To do this, I intend first to explore a religious ontology that derives from a numbering system that is based, respectively, on both Weil and Žižek. This is an ontology that makes God as 1, the Devil as ∞, human beings as 0, and Christ as - 1. Being - 1 will be shown to make Christ a challenge to the symbolic order. Second, I want to demonstrate how, by occupying the place of being less-than-nothing in this framework, Christ is able to offer something to us that is spiritually revelatory. (shrink)

An important event of the Orthodox world of the last year was the Cathedral, which took place on June 19-28 on. Mole. The extraordinary nature of this council is that it was convened 1229 years after the last Ecumenical Council in 787, which was not yet split into Orthodoxy and Catholicism of a single Christian Church. The Catholic Church then independently held its 22 councils, the last of which - the Second Vatican Council was held in 1962-1965. In Orthodoxy, (...) extraterrestrial silence prevailed, since its hierarchs believed that for the "fullness and maturity" of the Christian Church there was enough canonical work of the seven Ecumenical Councils that took place during 325-787 years. (shrink)

Zen teachings--infused with elements of memoir--by a popular modern teacher who "grew up" at the feet of two of the great figures who brought Zen to America, Shunryu Suzuki and Dainin Katagiri. He employs his reminiscences of those two great masters as teaching anecdotes. Tim Burkett was twenty when he met Suzuki Roshi, and it was love at first sight. He immediately quit pursuing the career in law to which his illustrious family of jurists inclined him, and became a serious (...) Zen student. He went on to become a licensed psychotherapist and then followed Katagiri Roshi to Minneapolis to become a founder of the Zen scene there. He never left. Now that he's himself a revered Zen teacher, he's decided to articulate his own view of Zen. He structures the teaching according to five not-necessarily sequential levels on the road to enlightenment: (1) commitment to the path, (2) studying the self, (3) cultivating compassion and equanimity, (4) perseverance, and (5) emptiness. This is an introduction to Zen teaching that reads like an intriguing memoir, as the author discovers the teaching in the people, places, and experiences he encounters in the course of his practice. (shrink)

About the Book: This Book besides giving Poetic Stance of The Holy Qur'an also discusses: Why couldn't the Creation take place without a Creator: There's a mathematical affirmation besides scientific and philosophical assertions.

Sezai Karakoç, who is a one of the most important poets and thinkers of the last period, developed an ideal by adapting the concept of resurrection in the creed to the resurrection in the world. His ideal of Seeing it as reviving the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, Karakoç defined his cause as his cause. Prophet Muhammad, who has no direct relation to the knowledge of Hadith, but to the center of the world of thought. Karakoç, who put the Prophet (...) as a “measure” and “principle” or “blessed word” in some of his works, has made quotations that we can collect under headings such as the search for truth, the importance of knowledge, good morals, the battle with the soul, preparation for death and zuhd, without referring to anyone. The extent to which such transfers of uncertain affiliation take place in the hadith sources or to what extent they are related to hadiths has aroused our curiosity. We aimed to determine the place in hadith sources and their value in terms of hadith science, which Karakoç accepted as a "holy word" or as a rule and mentioned them in quotation marks without attributing them to anyone. Within the scope of this study; We aimed to deal with the sources, authenticity, context and interpretations of the rumors. (shrink)

In the ancient Russian art of the XV–XVI centuries, there are often works with the image of St. St. Nicholas of Myra, represented in various iconographic types and accompanied by images of holy wives. These monuments have a similar compositional structure. Among them, the most significant are those icons where the image of the Myrlician saint is placed in the centerpiece, and the figures of selected saints are represented in the margins. The subject of the study in this work (...) is the corpus of monuments with the central image of St. Nicholas as well as the figures of the chosen saints in the fields and the images of female holiness in the margins. The purpose of this article is to determine the role of the figures of the holy women in these icon compositions by the example of monuments of a certain iconographic origin and to offer an interpretation of this previously insufficiently studied plot. To do this, we will resort to the iconographic method of research, which allows us to identify certain nuances of compositional construction, to reveal the spiritual content of the image. The method of comparative analysis is no less important in this work. The works of interest to us are united by the composition of the figures of the few holy women in the lower field, which are associated with evangelical events and the theme of steadfastness in faith (st. Paraskeva, st. Varvara or st. Ulyana), or have pronounced motives for appearing at the Last Judgment (St. Catherine). The stable tradition of depicting these holy women in the iconographic composition of these monuments suggests their correlation with the central image. We believe that they were designed to emphasize the idea of the intercession of the female saints and were organically into iconographic system. (shrink)

Education has been acknowledged as the key factor contributing to personality development and identity formation. To ensure appropriate education, it is thus of utmost importance to reflect on the power of the educational content. As a result, respecting Islamic values from a major authentic source, like the Holy Qur’an, paves the ground to fulfil this goal. On the contrary, the first and foremost educators to convey these values are the family, because each person mainly spends the time of one’s (...) education in this small, primary social institution. Above and beyond, the building block of a society and the starting point of a culture, a civilisation and human history is the family. As a noble book of guidance for the human beings, the Holy Qur’an has accordingly shed light on the role of the family. Against this background, this study, adopting a descriptive analytical approach, aimed to investigate the Islamic family from the perspective of the Holy Qur’an with an emphasis on the education of children. Accordingly, the Holy Qur’an reveals that the main purposes of creating a family are inner peace, generational survival and expansion of the faith and monotheism. A healthy family environment can thus have a profound impact on cultivating moral character and virtues. In view of the Holy Qur’an, the family is the first place to seek relief and perform the acts of worship. No divine religions have also given as much value to the family as Islam, which implies its comprehensiveness. Despite much attention to the family in most societies, it receives special importance in the Qur’anic teachings. This article is a review study that dealt with Qur’anic concepts related to education in the family. Therefore, after categorising different Qur’anic verses, analyses have been presented in each category.Contribution: Islam has set many specific programmes and educational instructions from childbirth and then delegated their implementation to the family. Accordingly, this noble religion offers many guidelines for picking a perfect name, breastfeeding and weaning, loving, observing justice and fulfilling promises in relation to children. (shrink)

Upon Scheler’s death in 1928, Martin Heidegger remarked that he was the most important force in philosophy at the time. Jose Ortega y Gasset called Scheler "the first man of the philosophical paradise." The Human Place in the Cosmos, the last of his works Scheler completed, is a pivotal piece in the development of his writing as a whole, marking a peculiar shift in his approach and thought. He had been asked to provide an initial sketch of his much (...) larger works on philosophical anthropology and metaphysics--works he was not able to complete because of his early demise. Frings' new translation of this key work allows us to read and understand Scheler's thought within current philosophical debates and interests. The book addresses two main questions: What is the human being? And what is the place of the human being in the universe? Scheler responds to these questions within contexts of said two projected much larger works but not without reference to scientific research. He covers various levels of being: inorganic reality, organic reality, all the way up to practical intelligence and the spiritual dimension of human beings, and touching upon the holy. Negotiating two intertwined levels of being, life-energy and "spirit," this work marks not only a critical moment in the development of his own philosophy but also a significant contribution to the current discussions of continental and analytic philosophers on the nature of the person. (shrink)

Few medieval pilgrims' guides were written in English; even fewer were illuminated. This chapter examines Oxford, Queen's College, MS 357, a manuscript made in England in the late fifteenth century, which possesses both qualities. The manuscript contains a variety of texts written in Latin and English including pilgrims' guides, prayers to be said at holy sites in Palestine, travellers' tales, and descriptions of miracles that have taken place at shrines. It is also exuberantly illuminated. The miniatures begin with (...) an Annunciation and end with Christ in Judgment. These two images form the parentheses around the others in the manuscript, which depict sites in the Holy Land. The miniatures and decoration unite the disparate texts, turning them into a scale model of salvation history and providing a prompt to virtual pilgrimage. (shrink)

Upon Scheler’ s death in 1928, Martin Heidegger remarked that he was the most important force in philosophy at the time. Jose Ortega y Gasset called Scheler "the first man of the philosophical paradise." The Human Place in the Cosmos, the last of his works Scheler completed, is a pivotal piece in the development of his writing as a whole, marking a peculiar shift in his approach and thought. He had been asked to provide an initial sketch of his (...) much larger works on philosophical anthropology and metaphysics--works he was not able to complete because of his early demise. Frings' new translation of this key work allows us to read and understand Scheler's thought within current philosophical debates and interests. The book addresses two main questions: What is the human being? And what is the place of the human being in the universe? Scheler responds to these questions within contexts of said two projected much larger works but not without reference to scientific research. He covers various levels of being: inorganic reality, organic reality (including plant life and psychological life), all the way up to practical intelligence and the spiritual dimension of human beings, and touching upon the holy. Negotiating two intertwined levels of being, life-energy ("impulsion") and "spirit," this work marks not only a critical moment in the development of his own philosophy but also a significant contribution to the current discussions of continental and analytic philosophers on the nature of the person. (shrink)

Narrar artisticamente o Mistério Santo que habita entre nós: Leitura místico-teológica da obra “Guerra e Paz” de Cândido Portinari. (Narrating artistically the Holy Mystery that lives among us: Mystical-theological reading of the panel "War and Peace"). - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2013v11n31p867 A revelação é um conceito fundamental para a teologia cristã: ele se refere à experiência que fundamenta o discurso sobre Deus. No século XX, operou-se uma transformação importante nessa concepção fundamental, uma renovação que implicou na desconstrução do conceito tradicional de (...) revelação focado em doutrinas e dogmas e na emergência de uma nova concepção que coloca como fundamento da revelação a experiência do incondicional, experiência mística. A partir dessa renovação, passou-se a considerar a problemática da dificuldade de uma linguagem que expresse a complexidade dessa experiência paradoxal. Toda criação artística, na medida em que provoca uma forte experiência estética, é uma maneira de falar de revelação. A linguagem da arte com seu poder evocativo e não definível é certamente capaz de expressar essa experiência do divino sem constrangimento do sagrado e sem desvalorização do humano. Esse trabalho consiste em fazer a leitura dos painéis Guerra e Paz de Cândido Portinari, evidenciando que através da arte é possível narrar artisticamente o Mistério Santo que habita entre nós. Palavras-chaves: Mística. Arte. Espiritualidade. Cândido PortinariRevelation is a key concept to Christian theology: it refers to the experience that underlines the discourses about God. In the twentieth century, an important transformation on this concept led to a deconstruction of its traditional meaning, originally focused on doctrines and dogmas, and further to the emergency of a new conception, which places the mystical experience in the very foundation of the Revelation’s concept. Since this renovation, the difficulties of a language to express the complexity of this paradoxical experience were highly problematized. All artistic creation, as long as it provokes a strong aesthetic experience, is matter of Revelation. The Art’s language, with its non-definable and evocative power, is certainly capable of expressing this divine experience without devaluate the holy or the human depreciation. This work consists on the reading of Cândido Portinari’s “War and Peace” panels, pointing out that, through art, it is possible to narrate artistically the Holy Mystery that dwells among us. Keywords: Mystics. Art. Spirituality. Cândido Portinari. (shrink)

This research aims to determine what is meant by the terms Praise and thanksgiving the difference between them, and the relationship that brings them together in the light of Arabic dictionaries and the Holy Qur’an. This research also aims to show the extent to which the relationship between praise and thanksgiving has been affected by the transition from the limited linguistic framework to the horizons of the Holy Qur’an. This research is based on a combination of induction, analysis (...) and conclusion. Among the most important findings of the research are the following: First- Praise and thanksgiving are not synonymous linguistically or idiomatically. Second- The relationship between Praise and thanksgiving in linguistic dictionaries is about generality and particularity relationship; and it is the same in the Holy Qur’an, but that relationship has revolved in linguistic dictionaries in a limited horizon. However, when I studied the difference from Quranic perspective, I found a wider range of differences, not limited by time or place and the aspects of that relationship multiplied. Third- Praise (to Allah Almighty) is for the blessings He has bestowed upon us, and for the attributes of perfection with which He has been characterized. As for thanksgiving, it is only for the blessing. (shrink)

This article will show that lectio divina or the formative reading of Holy Scripture goes beyond exegetical-critical methods and fosters in the heart of every reader a more personal-reflective approach. This approach serves as a directive source guiding our faith and formation journey. Formative readers by definition desire to grow in spiritual self-knowledge and to allow the communications they receive to touch and transform their lives, if God so wills. Two requirements for formative reading will be explained herein: its (...) meditative or contemplative components and its applicative dimensions. Both facets of this discipline lead to a dynamic encounter with sacred words. We are to read the Bible and the literature of spirituality in such a way that the texts we imbibe will help us to tune into the inner life form or direction meant for us by God from eternity. Essential to this article is also a description of the difference between informational and formational reading. While there is a time and place for both, one way should not be substituted or forgotten in favor of the other. In short, the integration of head and heart, of inspiration and incarnation, is the hidden goal of formative reading. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Open Letter to the Enemy:Jean Genet's Holy WarSteven Miller (bio)J.G. seeks, or is searching for, or would like to discover, never to uncover him, the delicious enemy, quite disarmed, whose equilibrium is unstable, profile uncertain, face inadmissible, the enemy broken by a breath of air, the already humiliated slave, ready to throw himself out the window at the least sign, the defeated enemy: blind, deaf, mute. With no (...) arms, no legs, no stomach, no heart, no sex, no head, all told a complete enemy, already bearing all the marks of my bestiality that now need never be used (too lazy anyway). I want the total enemy, with immeasurable and spontaneous hatred for me, but also the subjugated enemy, defeated by me before he even knows me. Not to be reconciled with me, in any case. No friends. Above all, no friends: a declared enemy, but not a tortured one. Clean, faultless. What are his colors? From a green as tender as a cherry to an effervescent violet. His size? Between the two of us, he presents himself to me man to man. No friends. I seek an inadequate enemy, one who comes to capitulate. I will come at him with all that I can muster: whacks, slaps, kicks, I will feed him to starving foxes, make him eat English food, attend the House of Lords, be received at Buckingham Palace, fuck Prince Phillip, and be fucked by him, live for a month in London, dress like me, sleep in place of me, live in place of me: I seek the declared enemy.This brief text was not published until 1991. It was almost published in 1975 in a book of homages to William Burroughs and Brion Gysin, and was to have been preceded with the following explanation of its origins, written by Gysin:In Tangiers in 1970, Jean Genet asked me what ever happened to the English underground newspaper The International Times. When I responded that the editors were having trouble with the law in England because of the newspaper's ads for "special friendships" [amitiés particulières], he exclaimed: "Why friends? Personally, I am looking for a suitable enemy [un ennemi à ma taille]." He then wrote the following text...[qtd. in Genet, ED 9]Hence the anecdotal reason for the form of the personal advertisement. In 1991 the text was published—according to Genet's wishes—as the first page of the posthumous collection of his political writings and interviews, L'ennemi déclaré.1 Such a placement demands more than an anecdotal explanation. What is a personal ad doing as the preface to a collection of political writings? Albert Dichy, the editor of the collection, notes that this text has the status of an exception: "the text that opens the collection does not belong to the group of writings that make up the book as a whole" [ED 331]. Each of the other texts emerges from Genet's involvement in specific political events (the [End Page 85] 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention, the Chatila massacre) or with named political figures and groups (the Palestinians, the Black Panthers, the Baader-Meinhof group, George Jackson, Angela Davis), whereas the form of the ad that he wrote for Gysin seems to number it among his literary works. Nonetheless, this eccentric text remains the first in the collection—"en tête de l'ouvrage," is Dichy's phrase—and gives the book its title. Rather than serving as an introduction to the other texts, this text, by virtue of its exceptional form, is a challenge addressed directly to the public. Dichy himself is the first to accept this challenge. His editorial notice passes quickly from anecdote to interpretation:The fact that Genet wished to see the publication of his political articles preceded by this precise text has an unavoidable impact, not only on the identity of the author, now partially assimilable to a fictional character ("J.G. cherche, ou recherche..."), but also on the way in which we read the different texts in the collection, now that we have been given the general tone and the note of secrecy.[ED 331]These suggestions are apt enough... (shrink)

Abstract:Early modern Europeans organized important reflections on the nature of political society and the justice of warfare around their image of the American Indian. But Jewish parents and children, living in Europe at the mercy of Christian societies and states, also provided Europeans with the occasion to reflect on government and holy war. This article will describe the relevance of Christian theology to the experiences of one Roman Jewish family in the 1640s, before reviewing the place of forced (...) baptism in Scotist thinking on politics in Rome, and establishing the connection between these doctrines and holy war. (shrink)

Benjamin's famous description of the aura in the `Small History of Photography' starts: `What is aura? A strange texture of space and time...', and ends with: `That means breathing the aura of these mountains and this branch'. Until now, the meaning of `breathing' has hardly been subject to interpretation. In this article it will be shown that Benjamin refers to Goethe's `diastole/systole', and to Hölderlin's concept of the unity of antagonistic dispositions, for example the paradoxical constellation of the sacred/sobriety ( (...) das `heilig nüchterne'). To Benjamin `breathing' means the original, prehistorical, situation of harmony and peace. Together with the decline of bourgeois society, parallel to the development of a new technology in photography and film, the aura disappears. In its place we find the dialectical image ( `dialektisches Bild'). Benjamin tries to show that the decline of the aura is not just some aesthetic question, but that it is connected to the traditional philosophical problem of defining the truth and the relation between myth and rationality. Referring to Benjamin's cosmological speculations, as well as to his references to Baudelaire, it can be argued that, notwithstanding his lyrical description of the aura, Benjamin was in favour of the destruction of the aura. Under the conditions of a capitalist economy and a malfunctioning republic, a society which can be defined as `false', the traditional idea of aura, being the `shine' of a true society, cannot be taken for granted. The `dialectical image', showing that antagonistic forces hide behind a `shine' of unity and harmony, enables us to see that the traditional idea of truth is obsolete and to look for a new solution. (shrink)