Search

An essay is presented which explores the influence of cultural Christianity on American life, literature, and history in the early 20th century. Topics discussed include the propaganda during the First World War to promote involvement of American citizens in the war, the depiction of disillusionment towards God in the 1925 novel "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the portrayal of women that challenge traditional morality in various literary works during the said period.

The article informs about Exhibitions, and Conferences. Topics include "The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming" from September 18, 2021 to March 20, 2022, Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts, which unites 17th-century artifacts; and "Literary Geographies—Space, Place, and Environments: Western Conference on Christianity and Literature" on April 7–9 , 2022, at Biola University, California, which focuses on how literary texts illuminate response toward the environmental crisis.

This article discusses annotations to some eighty surviving copies of William Caxton's "Golden Legend." It assesses reactions from male and female readers across the religious spectrum, exploring the varied ways in which early modern readers engaged with a book that quickly became—and has remained—a shorthand for medieval religion. It seeks to contribute to the history of the "Legend" itself, to historical understanding of annotation, and to the history of reading during the Reformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the formative strategies of François Mauriac's 1932 novel, Le Noeud de vipères (Vipers' Tangle), in light of contemporary Mauriac criticism. According to his most adamant critics, Mauriac was, at best, a secular writer, and, at worst, an insidious sensualist posing as a Catholic. This article offers an account of how Le Noeud de vipères succeeds in satisfying his conservative readership and gesturing toward a different conception of edifying literature with the tools of what Joshua Landy has called "formative fiction," shifting critical attention from the novel's content to its interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the song "Silent Night" with the analytic phenomenological method, such as the stanza structure, the relationship between text and melody, melody and selected linguistic textual aspects. Topics include methodology of hymnology, explores stanzas of verses 2, 3, 4 and 6, and aspects of Christianity and teachings of Christ.

Discusses Jonathan Swift's essays `An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity' and `Project for the Advancement of Religion and Reformation of Manners' with their focus on Christianity and the values of the society. Christian hypocrisy; Power and influence of the Church; Reader's perception of Swift's work.

This article analyzes Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953) through a Nietzschean critique. In fact, Miller's play presents a leading character whose individuality and interaction with his community, in terms of theology and politics, demands a re-evaluation of all values, much akin to the way Friedrich Nietzsche famously did in nineteenth-century Europe. To explore the possible connections between the two, first, Nietzsche's idea about Christianity is discussed in comparison to Proctor's treatment of religion in the play. Both Nietzsche and Miller deconstruct the self-celebrating fanaticism of their respective communities by their vitriolic attacks on individual moral standards and the introduction of an Übermensch ["Overman"] as a glorious model of human virtues. Therefore, second, this work will demonstrate how Nietzsche's Übermensch can offer a fitting paradigm to consider Proctor's rebellion against the established Church. And third, Nietzsche's concept of eternal recurrence is used to further illuminate Proctor's view of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harriet Beecher Stowe and the novel form have both long been associated with the secular. But scholars often conflate two definitions of “secular,” one being the sense of “earthly,” the other the sense of “antireligious.” This causes them to misread Stowe as moving away from religion. In The Minister’s Wooing, Stowe criticizes a type of Calvinism by emphasizing earthly experience as a source of religious knowledge. Both the theologians she examines and many modern critics assume a binary between the secular and the religious that Stowe dismantles. The novel form, far from inherently irreligious, was ideal for her theological purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his copy of Søren Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death, John Berryman inserted a handwritten note entitled “Sense of Guilt,” which ends in an existential prayer: “I tremble — I am afraid — Jesus, Son of God, help me.” Twenty years later, Berryman published one of his most substantial collections of poetry: 77 Dream Songs. And though the Dream Songs were published long after Berryman left his anxious comments in The Sickness Unto Death, I argue that they enact a struggle with the Christian concepts of despair and the self as Berryman learned them from Kierkegaard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the religious aspects of several passages taken from the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. Emphasis is given to topics such as the appearance of the ghost in Act I, Scene I, the sacramental and theological aspects of fasting, and allusions to eschatology, demonology, and Christian afterlife.

This article outlines the interdiscursive connections between Decameron,ii. 7, and one of the most debated quaestiones de potentia Dei, highlighting the parodic dimension of Boccaccio’s discourse. In Boccaccio’s story, which according to the intentions of the narrator Panfilo should demonstrate the infallibility of divine action, Alatiel ‘re-establishes’ her lost virginity with a false account of her past adventures. In the first half of the fourteenth century, the topic of infallibility was closely associated with the consideration of God’s omnipotence and related to the quaestio as to whether God can undo the past and restore virginity. Boccaccio borrowed from the quaestio de corrupta the motifs of chastity lost and restored, and of the possibility of erasing a past event. In this tale, parody does not issue from a reversal of the source but from abasement of the original theme: the power to annul a past event does not pertain to God, but is instead a human prerogative, which is exerted amongst humankind. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A literary criticism of the book "Loeb Classical Library," published by the Harvard University is presented. It outlines terminology used by the author to engage Christian thought in writing as well as cultural translation, use of symbol to define pagan resistance, and description of emperor's reaction to Christianity. It examines the use of wrong translations without textual warrant.

An afterword to "Christianity and Literature" is presented.

An essay is presented on the incorporation of prayer in the plays of playwrights Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Topics discussed include the appearance of stage prayer in various forms in early modern plays, the consideration of prayer as a familiar habit in church and at home, and prayers imagined by Jonson and Marlowe.

Broad references to ‘suffering’ in early Christian literature can give the false impression that all early Christians conceived of suffering in the same way, and that depictions of suffering in early Christian texts all function similarly. And yet, close attention to specific texts reveals the opposite: early Christian authors depict suffering differently, and the rhetoric of suffering functions in diverse ways in individual texts. My thesis is as follows: The two motifs that have long taken pride of place in Markan scholarship – Jesus’ suffering and the disciples’ repeated incomprehension (the so-called ‘misunderstanding motif’) – are in fact two sides of the same coin. In Mark, being misunderstood is a form of social ostracism, and thus contributes to the suffering that Jesus must endure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the genre apocalypse published in Semeia 14 (1979) relied on a classificatory approach, which identified core features of the genre, listed features that were typical but not necessary, and distinguished different types of apocalypses. The main difficulty encountered by such an approach is that genres have fuzzy edges. Some works that fit the definition are atypical of the genre, while some that do not have much in common with it. The emergence of prototype theory as a method of analysis is helpful in this regard, and allows for a less rigid kind of classification, without lapsing into the indeterminacy of family resemblances. Genres are recognized on the basis of a few clear exemplars. Other works may resemble them to a greater or lesser extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established definitions of apocalypticism and apocalyptic literature in Late Antiquity often disregard a variety of apocalyptic visions and ideas that are included in a variety of genres of the Christian literature of Late Antiquity. The present paper discusses personal afterlife accounts and more specifically, personal hell visions, as found in various Christian texts and sources, such as monastic and hagiographical or martyrological literature. These visions and their special features are analysed in the context of related apocalyptic literature and traditions, as well as in their relationship with pagan local traditions and necromantic rituals. As will be argued, personal accounts of afterlife present a specific literary phenomenon in the history of ancient Christian apocalyptic literature and tradition, but they also demonstrate a significant diachronic popularity in other religious communities and their literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on Cormac McCarthy's book "Suttree" which is said to be an existential work, with deep mysticism and spirituality in its pages. It mentions that the book complicates some broader arguments about religious elements in contemporary literature. It explores the book's extensive use of sacramental imagery drawn, most likely, from the author's Roman Catholic upbringing. The author cites the Christian depiction of God in the book.

Copyright of Acta Litteraria Comparativa is the property of Acta Litteraria Comparativa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A literary criticism is presented for the books "The History of Sir Richard Calmady" and "The Far Horizon" by Lucas Malet. Topics discussed include the use of bee and hive motifs in literature, the religious, and specifically Christian, aspects of the works, and the relationship between the works and the economic theories of socialism and capitalism.

Jean Rotrou’s Le Véritable Saint Genest, one of the rare successful martyrdom tragedies produced for the 17th-century French commercial stage, is often interpreted as a proto-postmodern play about the confusing nature of reality and the indeterminacy of faith. Structural details of both plot and characterization, however, validate a Christian reading of this play. By carefully constructing a contrast between the world of Christian faith and the world without faith, Rotrou attempts to create for his audience the sense of an encounter with the divine and a realization of the urgency of a commitment to God. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article provides something of a corrective to the ongoing trend in Tolkien studies to read his fiction theologically and attach aspects of it to specific Christian doctrine and practice. Tolkien made his resistance to such "symbolic or allegorical" interpretation very clear in his letters. I argue that recognizing and reading Tolkien as a literary artist provides a more appropriate method by which we may appreciate The Lord of the Rings as the author intended, as literary art. Through such an approach, we may also come to a more accurate understanding of how Tolkien's faith, as a Catholic Christian writer, enriches his masterpiece. Evidence for my argument comes from Tolkien's writings and The Lord of the Rings, in which Tolkien's aesthetic criteria for the art of story-telling is most fully embodied and demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many critics have remarked on the deeply religious character of J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye; the novel has been discussed, for example, in terms of Zen Buddhism and Gnosticism. Catcher's treatment of Christianity, however, has received little attention. This omission is regrettable given the characteristic acuity with which its narrator, Holden Caulfield, addresses Christian sources and themes. The aim of this article, therefore, is to consider in detail Holden's conflicted attitude toward Christianity. It contends that despite Holden's biting complaints against Christians (e.g., that many are hypocritical, cliquish, or ostentatious), he manifests an affinity for Christ and an attraction to Christian forms of religious life. This approach to the novel makes much of Holden's allusion to the story, found in the Synoptic Gospels, of Legion, the Gerasene demoniac. Holden, like Legion, seems ostracized, masochistic, and obsessed by death, but in the novel's climactic scene at the carousel, he finds healing. Furthermore, in the carousel scene especially, one can detect parallels between Catcher and the Divine Comedy. Just as Dante is guided from hell, through purgatory, to the beatific vision, so Holden is led (principally by his deceased brother Allie and his sister Phoebe) from misery, through purgation, to a moment of ineffable joy. The novel therefore may be read, this article contends, as a religious quest in which Holden comes to perceive the fundamental goodness of the world and its Creator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to examine Stavrogin's confession in the context of biblical and literary traditions. Both the structure based on plots and the character of the narrative are a testament to the literary nature of the text. A profound meaning of the religious confession determined not only by repentance, but also by intention is implicit in the text so that homo confitens would "alter his mind". The analysis shows that, when Stavrogin "crossed the border" of his self--acceptance saturated with hubris, he was no longer afraid of crime or punishment. Hence, he was incapable of expressing Christian remorse. As a result, the so-called Stavrogin's confession was merely a lofty declaration in which he confessed to being involved in the "case of Matriosha", so, in other words, it was a sort of hypocritical repentance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an organization of foreign origin, the existence and contribution of the Ahmadiyya in Indonesia has been a subject of debate. Some scholars ignore it completely as unimportant, while others consider that it has had significant influence. The contribution of the Ahmadiyya to Indonesian Islam most asserted by the movement itself is its efforts to check and respond to Christian missionary activity. In what way has the movement actually made a contribution to that effort? How widespread is the influence of the Ahmadiyya in the discourse on Christianity, in particular, and the study of comparative religion, in general, in Indonesia? Why has the Ahmadiyya paid more attention to the issue of Christianity than other Muslim groups? This article aims to answer these questions by analysing literature on Christianity written and distributed by the Ahmadiyya in Indonesia and the effect this has had on relations between Islam and Christianity in two fields – religious mission and academia. The article presents three propositions. First, Ahmadiyya literature, with its apologetic, polemical and controversial character, had a significant influence on the academic study of comparative religion during two periods of instability: the late colonial era and the first two decades after the declaration of independence in 1945. Second, Ahmadiyya literature on Christianity has been most influential through the way it sets out to create a sense of the superiority of Islam and its compatibility with modernity. Third, for the Ahmadiyya, the issue of Christianity, particularly the death of Jesus, has been used as evidence that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the second Messiah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]