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El artículo presenta un balance de la participación del movimiento evangélico-pentecostal en la política electoral colombiana, en el periodo 1991-2014. Describe la génesis de la participación electoral de este movimiento religioso y da cuenta de la trayectoria de sus principales líderes y organizaciones políticas (partidos o movimientos). Presenta las estrategias que estos han implementado para aprovechar su autoridad religiosa en el campo electoral. Finalmente, hace un balance de los logros del movimiento pentecostal en la política electoral y de las razones que han impedido la consolidación de un único movimiento político que represente los intereses de este movimiento religioso. This article presents a balance upon the participation of the evangelic-Pentecostal movement in the Colombian electoral politics between 1991-2014. It describes the genesis of the electoral participation of this religious movement telling about the track record of its main leaders and political organizations (parties or movements). It presents the strategies implemented to benefit from its religious authority in the electoral field. It finally brings about a balance of achievements of the Pentecostal movement within the electoral politics and any reasons preventing the consolidation of a sole political movement representing the interests of this religious movement. Este artigo apresenta um balanço da participação do movimento evangélico-pentecostal na política eleitoral desse movimento religioso e mostra a trajetória de seus principais líderes e organizações políticas (partidos ou movimentos). Apresenta as estratégias que estes vêm implantando para aproveitar sua autoridade religiosa no campo eleitoral. Finalmente, faz um balanço das conquistas do movimento pentecostal na política eleitoral e das razões que têm impedido a consolidação de um único movimento político que represente os interesses desse movimento religioso.

Cet article analyse les activites de Michel Maxime Egger au sein du Laboratoire de la transition interieure qu’il a cree en 2016. Michel Maxime Egger est un acteur qui se definit comme « meditant-militant » et tente de « lier » differents mondes et publics potentiels – religieux, spirituels, academiques, ecologiques, altermondialistes, etc. Sous la forme d’une etude de cas, nous montrons comment il impulse un reseau de « transition interieure » se situant a la frontiere de trois milieux : spiritualite holistique, milieu des Eglises et militance ecologique. Nous constatons que la posture du « meditant-militant » permet effectivement a Egger de se positionner dans plusieurs milieux, insufflant a la fois un engagement eco-civique positif et un mouvement de « spiritualite positive », principalement pour des publics d’acteurs dans le milieu de la transition interieure ou de chretiens sociaux distancies. Son succes est certain, mais relatif. Il souligne les limites d’un redeploiement du religieux par l’engagement ecologique en Suisse.

One of the prolific writers in the discipline of African Biblical Hermeneutics is the Nigerian Old Testament (OT) scholar, Professor Tuesday David Adamo. In his tireless efforts to unlock the OT reality for African contexts, persuaded by his commitment to decolonise the subject of Biblical Studies, Adamo has made successful efforts to reflect on the African presence in the Old Testament. The present study seeks to engage Adamo's concept of African Biblical hermeneutics in order to investigate whether the author sufficiently discussed the theme of gender in his discourses. This research attempts to respond to the following two main questions in view of Adamo's discourses: (1) In Adamo's concerted effort of confirming the presence of Africa and Africans in the Hebrew Bible, does the woman question feature? (2) If so, how does Adamo navigate the question? Keywords: Adamo; African Biblical Hermeneutics; African Woman; Bosadi; Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; Wife.

This paper deals with the African reading of Psalm 24:3-6: The implications for the enforcement of morality among Christians in Africa. The book of Psalms is subdivided into five books comparable to the Pentateuch. Psalm 24 falls into the first book which is used as a liturgy of entrance into the Israelite temple. In Psalm 24:3-6 a worshipper asks for entry requirements to be met which are clean hands and pure hearts, not lifting up the soul to what is false, and not swearing deceitfully. The methodology used is the African perspective of readers’ response. Pastors and Christian leaders must lead the people with integrity befitting the sacredness of the hill of the Lord. Christians are the temple of God and are expected to observe ritual purity everywhere every time in order to receive blessings from God, (Onyame). Keywords: Morality, Shrine, clean hands, pure hearts, ritual purity.

Critical thinking is a highly valued skill in the twenty-first century, and its incorporation into formal school curricula as a core skill is nearly ubiquitous globally. It is considered imperative for educational quality, employability, competitiveness, and for promoting democratisation and social integration. While schools are tasked to promote critical thinking, non-formal Islamic education (NFIE) provided by mosques or by private organisations or tutors is often criticized for its emphasis on rote learning and memorisation, and for fostering an uncritical acceptance of authority. Based on interviews with 27 young adult alumni from four different Muslim communities in the Netherlands, this study seeks to explore the pedagogy of NFIE, with a focus on critical thinking. The accounts of young adults revealed that an emphasis on stimulating critical thinking was largely absent, and there were limited opportunities for interactions, questions, debating or challenging the authority of religious educators or Islamic texts. The traditional pedagogical approach, discouraging attitudes of educators and peers, lack of language proficiency, the young age of learners, and a perceived lack of need for critical deliberations were identified as key challenges. Young adults called for reforming the pedagogy of NFIE to allow for more reflexive, inquisitive and dialogical learning. Some argued that lack of critical deliberation would lead to weakness in the belief structures and faith of new generation Muslims in Europe, resulting in a sense of confusion and disorientation, and limited embodiment of Islamic principles.

On 27 September 2020, Azerbaijan went to war with Armenia on a scale not seen since the ceasefire of 1994. The conflict ended in another ceasefire on 10 November 2020, however, in addition to the t...

In this paper we analyse Max Weber's view on Islam as a religion of warriors who lived at the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century, and also, we analyse this interpretation in the context of Edward Said’s (orientalistic) theoretical approach. The first part of the paper presents various aspects of the analysis of Islam by Max Weber, which must be taken into the context of comparative theology, that is, in the light of considering the characteristics of Islam against the background of other world religions. In the second part of the work, we will analyse the concept of Said’s orientalism. We will construct the framework of moderate orientalism, which, according to the author of this paper, is an important conceptual adjustment that can contribute to a better understanding and analysis of various oriental discourses, including Weber discourse. Taking into account that we are talking about the most influential classics sociologists, especially in the case of the sociology of religion, it is very important to critically analyse his understanding of Islam so that we can determine which of his conclusions are significant for the sociology of religion and the sociology of Islam today, and which of his hypotheses can we attribute to some kind of reductionism or orientalism.

As part of the review symposium of From Seminary to University: An Institutional History of the Study of Religion in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2020) by Aaron W. Hughes, this review essay compares and contrasts the narrative it tells us to other national contexts and explores what might be the Canadian peculiarities not necessarily obvious to those who have been educated in that system.

The Nikāya Suttas frequently mention the concept of fear (bhaya) and related synonyms. This concept does not receive much scholarly attention by subsequent Buddhist philosophers. Recent scholars identify a ‘paradox of fear’ in several traditions of classical Indian Buddhism (Brekke 1999; Finnigan 2019; Giustarini 2012). Each scholar points out, in their respective textual contexts, that fear is evaluated in two ways; one positive and the other negative. Brekke calls this the “double role” of fear (1999, p. 443). Each also identify fear as purposely elicited to motivate acts aimed at achieving fearlessness, where freedom from fear is characteristic of nibbāna. They all find this puzzling. Finnigan asks: “Why would one purposefully incite fear if one’s goal is its elimination?” (2019, p. 221). Giustarini says that fear has a “contradictory nature” (2012, p. 513); Brekke calls it “the paradox of fear” (1999, p. 442). This article introduces the ‘paradox of fear’ as it appears in the Bodhicaryāvatāra of Śāntideva and the Nikāya suttas. It then critically examines Brekke and Giustarini’s proposed solutions. It argues that they get some things right in ways that are both supported by the Nikāyas and relevant to Śāntideva but that they leave some important questions unanswered. The article concludes by arguing that these questions are best answered if fear is analysed as appropriate when its objects are related to karma and rebirth.

This research investigates Finnish teachers' personal worldviews, by focusing on understanding what kinds of approaches teachers use concerning the visibility of their personal worldviews in an educational context. This issue is discussed in the light of teachers' professional autonomy and ethics, since these are two fundamental dimensions of teacher professionalism that are discussed a lot. The research was conducted using a qualitative attitude approach, and included interviews (N = 20) from Finnish in-service basic education class teachers. The results show that teachers use three different approaches where their personal worldview and its visibility in their work are concerned. When reflecting on worldview questions, there was uncertainty about balancing between practicing teacher autonomy and following teachers' official responsibilities. Teachers' personal worldview expressions were limited to the institutional worldview, which means in practice adopting norms and language of the worldview majority, and professional ethics was highlighted even more than autonomy when reflecting on the visibility of worldviews.

“Come as you are to Islam as it is”. Religious individualism and the work of conversion within an American Muslim organization -- Relying on in-depth interviews with Muslim converts and ethnographic observations in an American Muslim organization, this article critically examines the discursive centrality of religious individualism in conversion stories. It seeks to complicate these discourses by identifying the modalities through which religious organizations continue to shape beliefs and practices. In the organization under study, which caters primarily to the well-to-do and educated sections of the American Muslim population, the work of conversion draws its effectiveness from the fact that it is euphemized. Such work of conversion is also a work of distinction that reflects class preferences and enables boundary making with other interpretations of Islam.; À partir d’entretiens avec des personnes converties à l’islam et d’observations ethnographiques dans une organisation musulmane américaine, cet article interroge la prévalence du registre discursif de l’individualisme religieux dans les récits de conversion. Il cherche à mettre en perspective ces récits en repérant la manière dont des organisations religieuses continuent de façonner durablement les croyances et les pratiques. Dans l’association étudiée, qui touche principalement les fractions aisées et éduquées de la population musulmane, le travail de conversion ainsi mené tire son efficacité de son euphémisation. Ce travail de conversion est aussi un travail de distinction qui traduit des préférences de classe et vise à se démarquer d’autres interprétations de l’islam.

In religiously pluralized societies, caregivers frequently care for patients or clients with a religious, spiritual, or secular orientation that differs from their own. Empirical studies exploring the implications of this faith diversity for spiritual care interactions between caregivers and clients are scarce. Some literature suggests that similarities in faith orientation between caregivers and clients relate to better professional caring relationships than encounters with dissimilar faith orientations, while other studies suggest that faith similarities do not relate, or relate only under certain conditions, to the way in which professional caring relationships are perceived. This study supports the second line of thought. Based on a survey among 209 clients and 45 chaplains in hospitals in the Netherlands, it shows that clients in faith-concordant encounters evaluate the spiritual care encounter just as positively as do clients in faith-discordant encounters. This is in line with broader trends of secularization and blurring of boundaries between the religious, spiritual, and secular domains.

This article introduces the concept of ‘threshold of adversity’ as an, at present, tentative means of understanding the turning points to radicalization and extremism within educational systems. The conceptual frame is, we argue, of pedagogical and policy relevance across and beyond Nordic countries. Across Nordic countries, then, the main objective for the prevention of radicalization and extremism through education (PVE-E) is to strengthen the students’ resilience against ideological influences. Given the specialist complexities of the interdisciplinary research literature on terrorism, from which much PVE-E derives, for teachers and policy-makers, understanding the theoretical contexts, which underlie such policy innovations and their pedagogical implementation, are, understandably, problematic. To discuss extremism and the possibilities of its prevention especially in the education sector, an understanding of what exactly is being prevented or fought against is needed. Our conceptual ‘threshold of adversity’ model offers at least a starting point for a more practicable pedagogical implementation.

In October 2015 the Zambian president broke ground on a new National House of Prayer, a building project meant to reaffirm the country's status as Africa's only self-proclaimed “Christian nation.” Over the next four years architects produced three separate sets of plans for the House of Prayer, images of which were circulated among Zambian Christians, primarily church leaders. Each set of plans has provoked conversations about what the House of Prayer should look like. This article shows how discussions of the building's aesthetic features were connected to the theological-political possibilities of Christian nationalism, crystalizing around two competing models of how to go about making Zambia a (more) Christian nation. By tracing the tension between these models through architectural and aesthetic debates, this article shows the link between images and the theological-political imagination. It therefore builds on anthropological analyses of other parts of the world that have emphasized the political power of aesthetics as more than representations of already existing ideas—that is, as an ideologically and politically productive force in its own right.

Understanding the idea of the reign of God in the affairs of humans must not only be envisaged or experienced by the ecclesiastical setting or arena. The hope in the existence of God’s kingdom transcends the spiritual emphasis to the socio-cultural and politico-economic realms. This article looks at the penetrating effects of the Christian principles and ideals of God’s kingdom envisaged in the Church and the human historical experiences which as the mouthpiece of the coming kingdom of God represents its message to the wider human sociality. Are there any socio-cultural, economic and political implications of reechoing God’s active role in making the life of the people become meaningful and peaceful? The study concentrates on the Kingdom of God in its relationship with human history. It focuses on some theological thoughts from both catholic and protestant perspectives. It elucidates the significance of the Kingdom of God in the transformation of human history by first considering the Universal Kingdom of God, as a symbol of hope for humanity and examining critically the socio-political implication of the Kingdom in the proclamation of Jesus the Christ. Keywords: Kingdom of God, Political theology, Historical Experience, Socio-political, Social transformation.

The epistemic relevance of forgiveness has been neglected by both the discussion of forgiveness in moral psychology and by social epistemology generally. Moral psychology fails to account for the forgiveness of epistemic wrongs and for the way that wrongs in general have epistemic implications. Social epistemology, for its part, neglects the way that epistemic trust is not only conferred but repaired. In this essay, I show that the repair of epistemic trust through forgiveness is necessary to the economy of knowledge for fallible persons like us. Despite the fact that forgiveness is never included on lists of important intellectual virtues or epistemic activities, it is vital to our lives as social knowers. Likewise, an account of forgiveness that neglects its epistemic dimension is importantly incomplete.

According to the doctrine of so-called docetic Christology, earthly Jesus and heavenly Christ were two different persons. It was Jesus who suffered on the cross, Christ just entered Jesus’ body for a while and abandoned it before his death on the cross; consequently, suffering of Christ was mere appearance. On the base of some passages from Gnostic texts containing examples of docetic Chrstology, the author attempts here to trace the origin of that concept, starting with the New Testament (Pt. 1: Synoptic Gospels). In the previous part of the article (Pt. 2. 1) he analyzed such Paul’s passages as Rom. 1.3–4 and Gal. 4.4–7; in this part he deals with 1Cor 8.4–6 in order to find out whether the concept of pre-existent Jesus is present or not. The author argues in favour of the second answer. To be continued .

This article unpacks the connections between empire, piety, and pilgrimage in the early modern western Indian Ocean world by examining the history of a reliquary shrine dedicated to a qadam, or footprint relic of the Prophet Muḥammad located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Classified by the Archeological Survey of India as the ‘Tomb of Mir Abu Turab’ (ASI Monument no. N-GJ-44), the site was a qadamgāh in the Mughal period and from the late-sixteenth to the early-eighteenth centuries functioned as a place of visitation (mazār) for pilgrims eager to see the naqsh-i qadam-i sharīf (the impression of the noble foot), whose white appearance stood in stark contrast against the black stone. By examining Persian historical narratives, including one authored by the man responsible for the relic’s arrival to South Asia, this article demonstrates how relics mediated Mughal imperium, devotion to the Prophet Muḥammad, and sayyid identity in early modern Gujarat.

The similarities between Noah’s ark and the saving boat in Mesopotamian flood accounts are widely known. Likewise known are the links between Noah’s ark and the chest of Moses (Exod 2:3). However, the connections between the “chest” of Noah and the “chest” of the testimony have not hitherto drawn adequate scholarly attention. The article explores these connections on both the linguistic and the conceptual level. Moreover, it investigates their function in hypertextual links of the Genesis flood account to earlier Israelite literary works, especially the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua.

The allusion to Aristophanes’ Birds plays an important role in the intertextual-illustrative rhetoric of the Lucan parable of the unjust steward (Lk 16:1–8). People generally assume that good legal systems promote moral honesty and legal justice. Against this background, the Pauline idea of the presence of the law, but also its ineffectiveness in giving righteousness (Gal 3:19b; cf. 3:21), is quite difficult to explain. In order to illustrate this Pauline idea in his sequential hypertextual reworking of the Letter to the Galatians, Luke used the allusion to Aristophanes’ comedy, which presented the classical Athenian legal system as likewise ineffective against the activity of the morally corrupt legal agent, the sycophant. The Lucan unjust steward not only uses the language of the Athenian sycophant, but also engages in similar, apparently legal but morally unjust activity, thus questioning the effectiveness of the whole legal system in promoting righteousness. The reworking of the sequence of Pauline ideas explains the meaning of the enigmatic parable of the unjust steward (Lk 16:1–8).

Is Thomas Kuhn’s model of scientific revolutions in terms of paradigm shifts appropriately applied to cases of radical changes in religious outlook, and in particular conversion to faith, or loss of faith? Since this question cannot be addressed in purely a priori terms, three case studies of philosophers who have described significant changes in their own perspectives are examined. Part of the justification for such an approach is to see how changes in view seem from the first-person perspective. Although what is offered here is a very limited group of studies, each of them perforce brief, a key theme emerges: that the incommensurability between paradigms which is part of the Kuhnian model is mirrored by the shift away from atheist or humanistic perspectives, though not necessarily by loss of faith.

This paper concerns a problem, the global pandemic COVID-19, which has influenced religious practices with respect to health protection across the Muslim world. Rapid transmission of the virus between people has become a serious challenge and a threat to the health protection of many countries. The increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in the Muslim community took place during and after the pilgrimages to Iran's Qom and as a result of the Jamaat Tabligh movement meetings. However, restrictions on religious practices have become a platform for political discussions, especially among Muslim clergy. This paper is an analysis of the religious and political situation in Muslim countries, showing the use of Islam to achieve specific goals by the authorities, even at the price of the health and life of citizens.

In 2019 alone, the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James), one of Europe’s three most significant medieval pilgrimage routes, was followed by 347,511 pilgrims from around the world. This pilgrimage route has been the subject of numerous research projects conducted by international groups of specialists in various scientific disciplines. This study presents correlations between St. Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine on the virtue of fortitude and the experience of Polish pilgrims on the Camino based on 50 in-depth interviews conducted in the summer of 2019 on Monte do Gozo in Santiago de Compostela. This objective was achieved using the methodology of qualitative research following Steinar Kvale’s recommendations. The transcriptions of the interviews were coded based on the classifications in the Summa Theologica by Aquinas, classified into categories, and subsequently analyzed using MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020. The virtue of fortitude is indispensable in the decision-making process and the ability to put one’s decisions into practice (Morales-Sánchez & Cabello-Medina, 2013. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(4), 717–734). One manifestation of the Camino pilgrims’ virtue of fortitude allowed them to believe that they would be more employable after they returned to their communities.

The Sanskrit Mahābhārata is considered to be a śāstra in Mādhva Vaiṣṇavism, and Madhva composed one of the earliest treatises dedicated to explaining the Mahābhārata’s deeper meaning. In doing so, he pays careful attention to the distinction between the righteous Pāṇḍavas and corrupt Kauravas—a distinction that exists in theory if not always in practice. How does Madhva demarcate the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas, and why does this matter for his own theology? Looking at two episodes that either blur or upend the demarcation of the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, the mace-battle between Bhīma and Duryodhana (9.60) and the Pāṇḍavas’ journey to heaven (17-18.3), this article shows how Madhva’s Mahābhāratatātparyanirṇaya explains key tenets of Madhva’s ontology and theology. When read carefully, each episode brings out important features of Madhva’s doctrine of devatātāratamya—the gradation of gods. Rather than simply understanding Madhva’s commentary as a theologisation or vedānticisation of the narrative, I argue that his exegesis itself develops and explains central doctrines of Dvaitavedānta, particularly tāratamya and aparokṣajñāna. Vedānticization, in this understanding then, is not simply bringing forth an interpretation of the narrative that fits one's prior philosophical commitments, but it is a process of constituting theology through the narrative.

This article addresses paucity in literature on the conceptualising of the true nature of a Protestant revival. Through a literary review and document study, the article aims to compile a Protestant revival evaluation criterion (PREC) to assess protestant revivals. This was done by integrating the distinctives (characteristics) of Evangelical revivals throughout history as described by prominent scholars such as Armstrong, Cairns, Edwards, Lloyd-Jones and Sprague in general. In addition, various past and present examples and exponents of true and juxtaposing anti-revivals were investigated and beacons set for sustainable revival. From the PREC, three levels were established by which to assess revivals: individuals (micro), the church (meso) and surrounding communities (macro). For the case study, information was gleaned from multiple sources, including interviews, documents, sermons, newsletters, observations and research reports. Applying the PREC in a case study, demonstrates how it operates as a valuable tool; in this case, the revival among the Zulus in KwaSizabantu, South Africa.

The transfer of pastors is an age-old phenomenon dating from the early church as recorded in the Bible. This process was conducted in consultation with the Holy Spirit and the leaders of the Church. In the contemporary Church, the same format is used. However, what is lacking is unequal treatment given to pastors who are posted to rural areas that were not evident in the early church. This paper employed the qualitative research approach in studying rural pastoral care in three Classical Pentecostal churches in Ghana. The study findings indicate that children of rural pastors face challenges which affect their holistic development. It recommends pastors and their families should be given fair treatment in the transfer process to ensure the holistic development of their children. Keywords: Rural Pastoral Transfer, Equity, Holistic Development

In his quest for awakening, according to the traditional account the Buddha tried and discarded various ancient Indian practices as being not in themselves conducive to awakening. Nevertheless, closer inspection shows that key elements of these practices became part of the Buddhist path, a transformation that involves mindfulness in one way or another. In this way, fasting transforms into mindful eating, breath control into mindfulness of breathing, and a reformulation of an aspiration for annihilation of the self, apparently held by ancient Indian cultivators of the meditative sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, comes to be conjoined to the cultivation of mindfulness of the body. These transformations shed light on the importance and adaptability of mindfulness in early Buddhist soteriology.

It was almost inevitable that something as dominant as the COVID crisis of 2020–2021 would change how the Bible has been understood in mainstream political discourses. It is also unsurprising that the language associated with apocalypticism would come to the fore. Building on recent scholarship, this article looks at some of the language about ‘the apocalypse’ and apocalypticism, including that associated with Revelation and the New Testament, and how understandings of the Bible in contemporary political discourses have now been updated. The focus is primarily on England/Britain, America and New Zealand because these countries have been the object of much of the work on the reception history of the Bible in politics. This article also analyses the dominant cliches about the Bible as a source of liberalism, neoliberalism, left-leaning radicalism, and the far right. Examples include the use of apocalyptic themes in relation to QAnon and conspiracy theories, ready-made ironic language to describe lockdown, radical social transformation, and constructing political positions outside the traditional liberal consensus.

В статье исследуются государственно-конфессиональные отношения в постсоветских странах. Авторы исходят из того, что термин “постсоветское” не просто фиксирует хронологическую последовательность, а является концептуально нагруженным. Возникшие в результате коллапса СССР государства – носители общего институционального наследия, которое манифестируется в том числе поведением этих государств в конфессиональной сфере. Религиозная политика постсоветских стран обнаруживает существенное сходство, несмотря на глубокие различия между ними в культурно-историческом плане. Государства постсоветского пространства, принадлежащие исламскому культурному ареалу, в своей религиозной политике ориентируются на советские образцы. Вместе с тем аналитическое выделение “постсоветской модели” секуляризма не должно влечь за собой слепоты к различиям в стратегиях конкретных государств по управлению конфессиональной сферой. Обращаясь к анализу этих различий, авторы вычленяют три базовых типа постсоветского секуляризма: “авторитарный”, “нейтральный” и “амбивалентный”.

"Long times being left in a penumbra, the violinist Joseph Achron needs a revaluation from the part of phenomenological aesthetic and musicology fields. Following the basic theory of Maurice Merleau– Ponty’s flesh, and few perspectives from Edmund Husserl’s, we demonstrate that insisting on the idea of the inverted plenitude as dehiscence will take us to another level of the perception of the Beauty in ‘Hebrew Melody’, composed by Joseph Achron. The final part of the paper offers to the listener the real possibility to see Beauty’s ingrown/incarnation in the mournfulness “as-it-is” – in its dehiscential plenitude. The purpose of music must also be to bring us closer to the sufferer’s interior structures, but so that we can see the Beauty that lies in it. To achieve this, more ontic openings are needed, and this phenomenon well-characterized by the term dehiscential. ‘Hebrew Melody, Op. 33’– encompasses a whole world. In sound, pain can be exposed much more easily and much more cleansed of its negative aspects. Sonorous mournfulness is different from mournfulness-in-itself, but similar. At the level of human suffering, the two have the same ontic place. When they are filtered through artistic catharsis or artistic judgments, they receive a sublimated note that cuts the thresholds of the common world. The sounds that break the silence of the Being (in its successive openings), are the sounds that crumble the most, are those that scream so soft, so fragile, but scream. This is what we experience with ‘Hebrew Melody, Op.33’. The touching of the impossible things, the nostalgia for the lost memories, the desire to feel a piece of quietness, the sadness of not being happy, like a ship gone towards the blue horizon, the nothingness lived in a mourn – all these penumbrae of a sad soul which may have lost everything shape in us a beautiful Hebrew canvas, the necessity of a never-ending return to the Hebrew village, its synagogue, and life. Keywords: Joseph Achron; ‘Hebrew Melody’; dehiscence; mournfulness’-temporality [‘piangere’-state-of-mind]; mournfulness; inverted plenitude; incarnation; flesh; holding[s]-still; {in}-flesh-ing[s]. "

In this research, we will present the way how the poor and their image is reflected in the spiritual autobiographies from the Christian space from the 19th and 20th centuries. Saint Silouane the Athonite, Saint John of Kronstadt together with Faustina Kowalska, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, or other authors will be our sources from the Orthodox and Catholic space, while from the protestant area we will not neglect works like Dag Hammarskj old's one. We will try therefore to bring into attention a topic that has not been enough valorised by the contemporary research, has relevance for spiritual health, and constitutes an actual subject of discussion.

"Changes in the Face Colour in the Old Testament: Philological and Anthropological Observations. One of the most obvious somatic signs of emotional reactions is a change in complexion (mainly paleness or redness), which can also be found in the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament. Their exact translation and interpretation, however, are debated. We start with the analysis of Nah. 2:11, in which the meaning and etymology of the term פָּארוּר (11bβ) are unclear, and the interpretations are controversial. In my view, the question of meaning can be answered not by an etymological approach but rather by the closer examination of the structure of the text and the identification of the conceptual metonyms and metaphors in it. The philological question relates to the possible translation of these physiological phenomena, and the anthropological question concerns the possible cultural differences in the conceptualization of certain emotions (particularly fear and shame). The topic of the change in facial colour concerns other biblical and extra-biblical texts. Some passages from the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel are important, while from the ANE context the Ugaritic Baal myth and the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon seem to be relevant. Keywords: Old Testament anthropology, emotions, face colour/complexion, conceptual metonyms/metaphors "

This article focuses on the reception history of the Sauptikaparvan in Old Kannada, examining two particular tellings of the Mahābhārata: the Vikramārjunavijaya of Pampa (VAV; ca. 941 C.E.) and the Sāhasabhīmavijaya of Ranna (SBhV; ca. 997–1008 C.E.). I argue that these two Old Kannada Mahābhāratas transform the Sauptikaparvan’s iconic massacre into an episode about challenging the actions of Kṛṣṇa, the avatāra of Viṣṇu, and temporarily restoring Duryodhana to power. In doing so, the Kaurava king is allowed to end the war on his own terms. He ultimately dies upholding the principles of Kṣatriyadharma that he previously advocated and fought for. Through a close and comparative reading, I show how for these two texts the Sauptikaparvan becomes a space in which they can question and respond to larger issues of theology, dharma, and human effort in the Mahābhārata’s reception history.

"The Disciples’ Ministry of Exorcism, Resurrection of the Dead, and Suffering. Service meant exorcism besides preaching and healing. According to Mk 3:15, Jesus calls his disciples so that they would be with him, preach the gospel, and exorcise demons. The authority of the disciples over unclean spirits (Mk 6:7) refers to their sharing in Jesus’s mission (Mk 1:22.23.27). Exorcism promoted the expending of God’s kingdom and the weakening of Satan’s power. In Mk 6:7, Jesus mentions exorcism as a concrete task for his disciples, what was fulfilled by them (6:7). We can learn from Mt 9:8 and 10:1 that the disciples were entrusted with power to cast out demons. Lk 9:1 mentions the same command. According to the report of Luke, the seventy(-two) disciples cast out demons too, although they did not receive explicit command for this in 10:9. Matthew is the only one who mentions that Jesus ordered his disciples to raise the dead (Mt 10:8). Thus, this belonged to the ministry too. The synoptic gospels do not mention anywhere that the disciples would carry out this command. But several reports mention that Jesus raised people from the dead. He answered the question that John the Baptist transmitted by his disciples by saying that the dead are raised up (Mt 11:5), so he truly carried this out as well. Some congregations of the early church had some difficulties with this command. The book of Acts reports in two cases that the disciples used this exceptional gift (Acts 9:36ff and 20:7ff). In order that the possession of this important power would not cause them any harm, when using this gift, the disciples were to ask nothing in return. Service is connected with suffering because mission supposes both. Jesus came to serve and suffer among the people, which is why he prepares his disciples for the future suffering. The disciples do share in Jesus’s mission, in his power and his authority, but in his destiny too. Following includes breaking with the family and profession, giving up the possessions, homelessness, self-denial, bearing the cross, persecution, and suffering. Mark’s congregation was persecuted. Therefore, it was a consolation for them that Jesus had suffered earlier and finished victoriously the battle against death. Jesus did not conceal the reality from his disciples and warned them that they had to flee too, they might be whipped and some of them might be executed because all of these form part of the mission. To follow him did not mean to study the Torah under his direction but to identify with his suffering. Keywords: disciple, exorcism, resurrection, suffering "

Purpose: Main objectives of this review paper were to examine the existing position regarding the religious perspectives in connection with female participation in sports, opportunities, and barriers affecting their entry into sporting activities. The focus of this article was to investigate the viewpoint of the female regarding the religious and socio-cultural factors influencing women’s participation in sports. Methodology: A self-made questionnaire consisting of twenty-four different items encircling religious and socio-cultural factors affecting women's participation in sports was used for the collection of data. Population for this study comprised of conveniently available 236 border girls students of Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan. Main Findings: Findings of the study has revealed that, in addition to dominant religious trend and sociocultural environment, lack of facilities, law and order situation, and transportation issues in reaching the facility, dress code, misconception of the masses in perspectives of the female participation in sports and financial problems were the main barriers in the way of female participation in sports. Implications: It is recommended that parents, teachers, religious leaders, experts in the field of health and sociology, and different sources of social media should play their role in clarifying the situation in paving the way for the female folk to bring positive change in the situation.

La Ashura constituye una de las conmemoraciones más importantes del calendario musulmán chií. Siendo un día en el que se recuerda el sufrimiento del imán Hussein asesinado en 680 DC, la conmemoración incluye una procesión en la vía pública. Desde hace algunos años, no sólo tiene lugar en países como Irán o Pakistán, sino también en grandes ciudades europeas. Este artículo compara la conmemoración de la Ashura en Barcelona y París con el objetivo de analizar las diferentes lógicas que determinan su dimensión transnacional, así como el uso que las comunidades de la diáspora chií pueden hacer del espacio público.

Os nórdicos, seu passado e sua mitologia têm recebido constante atenção no meio midiático contemporâneo. Com esse resgate, tanto a figura do viking quanto seu panteão de deuses voltaram a se manifestar em nosso imaginário atual, às vezes fazendo justiça a aspectos históricos, outras vezes perpetuando estereótipos nascidos sobretudo no século XIX. O intuito do presente artigo é o de analisar os poderes, simbolismos e regências de Thor especificamente no primeiro filme da Marvel protagonizando o deus (2011), comparando os aspectos do imaginário contemporâneo a seu respeito, perpetuados nesse meio midiático, com os dados de que dispomos sobre o Þórr da mitologia nórdica de acordo com as fontes medievais. Buscaremos por elementos do deus-herói da Marvel que podem ter sido de fato inspirados na divindade escandinava e, paralelamente, por aspectos que parecem ser oriundos do imaginário social em torno do deus.

Prominent scholars in the field of historical Jesus research have argued that historians should be willing to accept all sorts of miracles that are convincingly attested to in the sources. The present article agrees with this view in principle but argues that, if analysed with the ordinary source-critical methods of conventional historical scholarship, there are significant and systematic differences in the source-critical strength of the stories. Miracles that fit inside a modern scientific worldview seem to have a stronger foundation in the sources than miracles that do not. The difference is quite clear when one compares the stories about how Jesus raised the dead, but it is also visible when one compares stories of other miracles. There are at least two ways of explaining these differences. One is that they are created by the scepticism of the modern scientific worldview of this writer. The other is that the differences exist in the sources because some of the miracle stories go back to memories of real events, while others do not.

In the modern world, as noted by researchers (P. Berger, D. Hervieu-Léger, etc.), there is an increasing individualization of religion. Believers are increasingly constructing their own religion, using symbolic resources of different religious systems. The article describes three stories of young believers studying in Muslim educational institutions of Tatarstan. The paper also reveals the main stages of their spiritual quest. Young people are critically rethinking their own religious traditions. Their further religious choices turn out to be closely related to the changes in their personal lives and refer to the realization of their key life interests. A new understanding of religion gives young people a desire to benefit the entire Muslim community and provides them with an openness to social creativity. These stories show three options for rethinking a man’s religious tradition: the transition to Islam from Orthodoxy; creative combination of the postulates of Islam and Buddhism; and also a new understanding of Islam, different from that of the older generation.

During the process of conquest and subjugation, Portuguese colonial enclaves in India saw assertions of religious dominance that conform to a model developed by researchers of the Antagonistic Tolerance Project, which studies, comparatively across cultures and historic eras, sacred sites that are shared and contested by different religious communities. At Goa, the Portuguese conquered a Muslim-ruled city of mainly Hindu inhabitants and rebuilt it, creating an imperial European Christian capital for their Asian colonies. There, Roman Catholic missionary orders established churches and shrines on sites previously occupied by Muslim mosques and Hindu temples (which had themselves often been constructed over pre-existing sacred spaces). Portuguese authorities in Goa, after a period of tolerance while the colonizers consolidated their gains, attempted to eliminate all non-Christian religious sites within the colonized territory. In India the Portuguese employed specific methods to establish cultural dominance. This article interprets these methods within a comparative cross-cultural model. Durante o processo de conquista e subjugação, os enclaves coloniais portugueses na Índia conheceram afirmações de domínio religioso que correspondem ao modelo desenvolvido pelo Antagonistic Tolerance Project, o qual estuda comparativamente, entre culturas e épocas históricas, locais sagrados que foram disputados por comunidades religiosas diferentes. Em Goa, os portugueses conquistaram uma cidade habitada por hindus e governada por muçulmanos, e reconstruíram-na criando uma capital imperial, de feição cristã e europeia, para os seus domínios asiáticos. As ordens religiosas católicas ergueram ali igrejas e santuários em locais anteriormente ocupados por mesquitas muçulmanas e templos hindus (muitas vezes já construídos sobre espaços sagrados pré-existentes). As autoridades coloniais portuguesas em Goa, após um período de tolerância, tentaram eliminar todos os locais religiosos não-cristãos dentro do território colonizado. Na Índia, os portugueses empregaram métodos específicos para estabelecer o domínio cultural. Este artigo interpreta esses métodos dentro de um modelo intercultural comparativo. Au cours du processus de conquête et de soumission, les enclaves coloniales portugaises en Inde ont connu des affirmations de domination religieuse qui correspondent au modèle développé par le project Antagonistic Tolerance, qui étudie comparativement, à travers les cultures et les époques historiques, les sites sacrés partagés et contestés par différentes communautés religieuses. À Goa, les Portugais ont conquis une ville dominée par les musulmans et peuplée principalement d’hindous. Les ordres missionnaires catholiques y ont établi des églises et des sanctuaires sur des sites précédemment occupés par des mosquées musulmanes et des temples hindous (qui avaient eux-mêmes souvent été construits sur des espaces sacrés préexistants). Après une période de tolérance, les autorités portugaises ont tenté d’éliminer tous les sites religieux non chrétiens. En Inde, les Portugais ont employé des méthodes spécifiques pour établir leur domination culturelle. Cet article interprète ces méthodes dans le cadre d’un modèle comparatiste interculturel.

espanolEl desarrollo de las grandes ciudades se ha constituido como un fenomeno global, reduciendo las posibilidades de generar convivencia en el espacio social. La busqueda actual por conectar la escala micropolitica de estos espacios con sus habitantes reconfigura el sentido de pertenencia a la ciudad. Esta aspiracion, muchas veces, desemboca en formas activas de desobediencia social en el espacio publico o, por contraposicion, de acciones que perpetuan la reproduccion de practicas culturales conservadoras. Desde esta mirada el presente trabajo se propone analizar algunas practicas culturales que ubican la participacion en el espacio publico como protagonista. Por un lado, acciones artivistas en Barcelona, donde por medio de ellas se busca reconocer la problematica social consolidando el espacio publico como lugar de resistencia. Por otro, se analizara la politizacion de la cultura festiva en Valencia, que, si bien ha tendido a fomentar visiones festivo-sociales conservadoras en el espacio publico, tambien existen miradas alternativas y criticas, como las Fallas experimentales o las Fallas alternativas. Para el analisis se hara uso de fuentes secundarias, principalmente documentos visuales. Para ello, se cuenta con un archivo de imagenes realizadas in situ, tanto de las Fallas de Valencia como de artivismo en Barcelona. EnglishThe development of big cities has become a global phenomenon, reducing the possibilities of generating coexistence in the social space. The current search to connect the micro-political scale of these spaces with their inhabitants reconfigures the sense of belonging to the city. This aspiration often leads to active forms of social disobedience in the public space or, in contrast, to actions that perpetuate the reproduction of conservative cultural practices. From this perspective, the present work sets out to analyze some cultural practices that place participation in the public space as the protagonist. On the one hand, artivist actions in Barcelona, whereby they seek to recognize the social problem by consolidating the public space as a place of resistance. On the other hand, the politicization of festive culture in Valencia will be analysed. Although it has tended to promote conservative festive-social visions in the public space, there are also alternative and critical views, such as experimental Fallas or alternatives Fallas. For the analysis, secondary sources will be used, mainly visual documents. For this, there is an archive of images made in situ, both from the Valencia Fallas and from artivism in Barcelona.

espanolEl articulo trata de la realizacion de un trabajo colaborativo dentro del contexto de la investigacion universitaria y docente, donde se plantea la creacion de proyectos artisticos utopicos que sean beneficiosos para el individuo y la sociedad en el futuro. Proponemos resolver problemas, descubrir e inventar, a partir del detonante de un trabajo que comienza con un ejercicio de visualizacion creativa, proyectando ideas aparentemente imposibles que puedan hipoteticamente ser resueltas en el futuro. Desarrollamos propuestas a traves del lenguaje del arte contemporaneo de manera transdisciplinar que puedan mejorar el bienestar del individuo y colaborar positivamente en la evolucion de la humanidad hacia un futuro mejor. Partimos de precedentes existentes en el arte actual junto con los ultimos descubrimientos cientificos y tecnologicos, ponemos atencion en algunas de las visiones mas optimistas de la filosofia transhumanista, la ciencia-ficcion, el subgenero postciberpunk utopico y referentes cientificos de la fisica moderna, como Michio Kaku (1947); en especial de la cuantica, Max Planck (1858-1947); la psiquiatria contemporanea, Brian Weiss (1944); o la artistica, Mariko Mori (1967) Saraceno (1973), Ilya y Emilia Kabakov (1933 y 1945), Harbisson (1984) y Moon (1985). EnglishThe article deals with the realization of collaborative work within the context of university and teaching research, where the creation of utopian artistic projects that are beneficial for the individual and society in the future is proposed. We propose to solve problems, discover and invent, starting from the trigger of a work that begins with an exercise in creative visualization, projecting seemingly impossible ideas that can hypothetically be solved in the future. We develop proposals through the language of contemporary art in a transdisciplinary way that can improve the well-being of the individual and positively collaborate in the evolution of humanity towards a better future. We start from existing precedents in current art together with the latest scientific and technological discoveries, we pay attention to some of the most optimistic views of transhumanist philosophy, science fiction, the utopian post-cyberpunk subgenre and scientific references of modern physics, such as Michio Kaku (1947); especially quantum, Max Planck (1858-1947); contemporary psychiatry, Brian Weiss (1944); or the artistic one, Mariko Mori (1967) Saraceno (1973), Ilya and Emilia Kabakov (1933 and 1945), Harbisson (1984) and Moon (1985)

Europe and the United States are very different as far as the significance of religion is concerned, both in the private and the public sphere. Whereas autochthon Europe is secularising to a great extent and any growth of religiousness is mainly a matter of immigrants, the United States is the scene of a vivid market of numerous churches, congregations and sects culminating in a high rate of people that belong to a church or religious community and that believe in God. The aim of this paper is to explain this gap between Europe and the United States on the basis of social science theory and theoretical insights derived from (historical) political and cultural geography. It is argued that a different kind of historical political territorialisation (from below in the US versus from above in Europe) in combination with culturally selective settlement (US) is at the centre of the explanation. Sekularizace a nárůst významu náboženství přistěhovalců: případ Nizozemska Pro celosvětový vývoj je charakteristický nárůst významu religií (Berger et al. 1999; Norris & Inglehart 2004), ale v rámci Evropy se jedná spíše o výjimku. Žádný jiný světadíl není v současné době v takovém pokročilém stavu sekularizace a přitom právě Evropa vybudovala v minulosti mnoho nádherných náboženských staveb (katedrály, kostely atd.) a je odpovědná také za rozšíření křesťanství do celého světa. V rámci Evropy patří Nizozemsko k nejvíce sekularizovaným státům. Podle současných výzkumů 61–66 % obyvatel Nizozemska se nehlásí k žádné církvi nebo náboženské komunitě a pouze 16 procent obyvatel navštěvuje církve k pravidelným modlitbám (např. Bernts et al. 2007). Křesťané se stali menšinou s podílem méně než jedné třetiny obyvatel a k tomu ještě okolo 6–7 procent populace se hlásí k nekřesťanským náboženstvím (islám, hinduismus, buddhismus a judaismus). Cílem studie bylo analyzovat dvě kontrastní tendence. Za prvé stanovit přehled současného vývoje procesu sekularizace včetně vybraných metodologických reflexí a za druhé popsat nárůst významu nových náboženských komunit v Nizozemsku se zvláštním zřetelem na islám. Jako modelové území přitom posloužilo město Amsterdam.

Problem setting. Islam is the youngest Abrahamic religion in the world. Its beginning was laid in the first half of the VII century AD on the territory of the Arabian Peninsula. The Islamic world is a unique regional phenomenon that causes many people to have different and in some cases even opposing views. The issue of human rights in the Islamic world is also much debated. Every day we receive information about the systematic violation of the honor and dignity of a certain category of the population (women, children) in the region. Analysis of recent researches and publications. The article uses the works of well-known experts in the field of Sharia and legal systems of Muslim countries such as: Syukiyaynen L. R., Abdullah ibn Abd al-Mukhsin at-Turki, Zhdanov N. V., Abashidze A. Kh., Abdul Aziiz Olaemi and others. Special attention is paid to the concepts of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Target of research. The objective of this work is a general overview of the concept of human rights in the Islamic world. Article`s main body. Analyzed the issues of human rights in different countries where Sharia has a significant impact on their systems of law, namely: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The article notes that despite the significant impact of Sharia law on the legal systems of the above countries, certain human rights standards differ between them. Also, the article reveals the first practice of codifying human rights in muslim insight - the General Islamic Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the non-governmental organization Islamic Council in Europe. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (until 2012 - the Organization of the Islamic Conference) (hereinafter - OIC) - is an international intergovernmental organization whose members are representatives of the Muslim world. Thus, the explored activity of the international intergovernmental organization in the field of human rights, namely the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which unites all Muslim countries of the world and in its activities is guided by the principles of Sharia. The study of the activities of this organization in the field of human rights contains an analysis of sectoral acts (for example, the Dhaka and Cairo Declarations), a study of the activities of bodies of special (Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights) and general (Islamic Summit) competencies and other issues that relate to the mechanism of promoting and protecting human rights. Conclusions and prospects for the development. The authors came to the conclusion that the concept of human rights in the Islamic world is quite heterogeneous, even in comparison between countries where Sharia is dominant. The authors note the special role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as a leading basis in the Islamic doctrine of human rights, as this organization unites all Muslim countries into one monolithic bloc, which leads to the formation of a single Muslim autonomous will, which includes all national doctrines and approaches.

The purpose of this paper is two-fold: (1) to provide a philosophical justification for the counterintuitive attitude that Judaism seems to have towards proselytism; and (2) to extend the case so as to create a general argument, applicable to all religions, against many forms of proselytism.

This paper has two main aims. I first argue that ontological nihilism, that is, the view that there are no things is a consistent position. Second, I discuss an argument for the view that nihilism is not just possible but actually true, that is that there actually are no things (This paper is not meant as an addition to the considerable literature on the question of why there is something rather than nothing. Of course, any attempt to answer this question would have to presuppose the conclusion of the first section, that is, that nihilism is a consistent position. But if the argument in the second section goes through the question we would then have to answer is not why there is something rather than nothing, but why there is nothing rather than something). My argument is based on two main premisses, eliminativism (‘only the fundamental exists’) and non-foundationalism (‘it’s dependence all the way down’) which jointly entail ontological nihilism. I conclude with some reflections on the consequences of the nihilist position for the project of constructing a fundamental metaphysical theory.

This article examines the role of legal frameworks and everyday interaction in the negotiation of religious diversity in Victoria, Australia. We argue that both formal legal frameworks and everyday interactions are significant in encouraging the respectful negotiation of religious difference. Experiences of historical privilege and visibility impact how religious people and groups experience and understand these processes. Or, put another way, the social position of various faith groups in Australian society shapes how people engage with both legal frameworks such as anti-discrimination legislation, and with other people in everyday interaction. Further, people’s everyday interactions shape their responses towards legal frameworks. Anti-discrimination and anti-vilification laws also shape everyday interactions through an effect that can be described as the ‘shadow of the law’, in which legal decisions communicate information about normative expectations that particular forms of behaviour are acceptable or unacceptable.

«Who is a person?» is a question with moral, theological and even legal consequences, but it seems now apparently entangled in intractable puzzles; therefore, it has become frequent to suggest that we should entirely dispense with the idea of «personhood». This essay argues that the notions of «person», and rational «nature» which are essential in theological exploration, cannot be easily discarded from the philosophical vocabulary either. The paper argues that the preferred route of access should preserve the noetic heterogeneity of beings, because it is the current «scientistic» straitjacket that has made very articulation of the question fruitless and impoverished.

Recent initiatives by Stein, Flynn, Conrad, and others have promoted ‘unbelief’ as a replacement, an ‘umbrella term,’ for concepts like atheism, secularism, and irreligion. In this essay I show that unbelief as it is currently construed cannot serve this function: it is simultaneously too broad (embracing not only irreligion but heterodox religious belief) and too narrow (focusing on religious belief to the exclusion of other types of belief), and it commits a taxonomic error of equating unbelief with categories above and below its level. However, I also argue that, once reformed and disciplined, unbelief is a valuable and essential tool, and I provide some resources and models for a future Unbelief Studies in the Credition Research Project and the literature on agnotology, as well as ethnographical material questioning the cross-cultural applicability of belief and unbelief. Finally, I charge Unbelief Studies with the mission not only to analyze belief but to criticize and ultimately banish it as a bad mental and linguistic habit that perpetuates mistakes and leaves individuals vulnerable to further faults while eroding social trust and facticity itself.

How do American Muslims practice inclusivity and bridge religious differences in U.S. civic life? Sociological research on bridging focuses mostly on bridging efforts on the part of majority groups, leaving unanswered the timely question of if and how inclusivity is practiced by minority groups, particularly religious minorities, in U.S. civic spaces. Drawing on participant observation among two Muslim groups in Los Angeles, this paper identifies two practices of inclusivity that participants adopt to bridge religious difference: the interreligious heritage practice and the shared ethics practice. Both practices simultaneously draw and diffuse group boundaries, emphasize sameness, albeit using different sets of religious meanings, and are grounded in an understanding of civic spaces as implicitly exclusionary of minorities. I find that these practices can create tension points in the pursuit of mutual understanding and create textures of meanings that operate differently depending on the situation and the participants in the interaction.