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A literary criticism of the poem "The Wreck of the Deutschland" by Gerard Manley Hopkins is presented on the poem's spiritual and theological themes. Topics include the intersection of poetry and faith, the use of imagery and language to convey spiritual truths, and the role of the poem in expressing the mysteries of God's providence.

Recent scholarship in cognitive theory emphasizes the situatedness of cognitive processes, which occur not only in minds but in bodies engaging with their environments. This article relies on these insights to rethink the concept of religious beliefs. It argues that to believe in something is more fundamental than to believe that something is the case. Religious beliefs are primarily expressions of trust rather than propositional statements. To believe in God is to trust in God, reflecting cognitive processes rooted in embodied and enacted experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is about those Ukrainians who chose faith as their dominant survival strategy at the beginning of the war. The multifunctionality of the religious strategy (according to K. Pargament) can manifest itself in religious behavior, which is also observed among the respondents: passive, active, in the development of personal relationships with God and interpersonal - in the middle of church communities, focused on solving problems and the emotional calm that religious practices bring - prayer and participation in divine services. A religious coping strategy helps to find hope through faith and trust in God and build a more positive vision of your future and your country. How did Ukrainians use religion to deal with the fear and trauma of war? This study shows how some Ukrainians, feeling the fear and trauma of war, turned to religion and faith not only in the traditional spiritual sense, but also in a broader interpretation as a hope and trust for a better future, victory and the forces of good. In order to identify strategies that help Ukrainians survive difficult trials, we conducted the interviews in April and May 2022 with 31 Ukrainians from different regions of Ukraine and abroad. Our research particularly highlights the spiritual experience of the Roman Catholic community of Ukraine. Religious coping mechanisms included physical activities such as evening prayer with the family and attending church services. Metaphysical actions included communicating with God in everyday life or "giving everything to God." Religion was singled out as one of the strategies for overcoming difficulties by Ukrainians in extreme situations. Using thematic analysis, several strategic areas for dealing with stress were identified from the interview. In a brief linguistic analysis, It was noted that the word 'faith' appears in various meanings, not only faith in God, but also faith in victory, faith in the forces of good, faith in a better future for their children. Verbal concepts that reveal respondent's religious worldview - faith in God (4 mentions), prayer (4), God (3), religious community (2), hope in God (4), faith (2), Lord God (2), church (1), trust in God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an interview with Hadassah Schnepp, who shares her experiences growing up in a Christian family and her struggles with faith and church involvement. She discusses the positive and negative aspects of her upbringing, including changes in her church's culture during her teenage years. Hadassah also talks about how a life-altering car accident and subsequent challenges affected her view of Christianity and her relationship with God. She shares her journey of finding hope and healing through therapy and a new understanding of faith. The article also explores the difficulties that young adults face in staying engaged with the church as they transition into adulthood. It discusses the experiences of Adventist kids who have been hurt by the church and Adventist education, often leading them to reject or ignore the teachings. The article emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health, identity struggles, and sexuality within the church, rather than avoiding or dismissing these issues. The author envisions a future church that focuses on meeting young people where they are and providing support for their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. They suggest implementing support groups and programs that address depression, anxiety, addiction, and other challenges faced by young people. The author believes that by being authentic and understanding, the church can attract others and create a safe and supportive environment. [Extracted from the article]

The main objective of this study is to analyze and provide an interpretation of Psalm 23 within the framework of Christian Education in the post-human era. Employing a qualitative methodology, the research utilizes a combination of literature study and biblical exegesis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the text. By employing an interpretative approach that involves exposition and critical analysis, the study engages with relevant literature to discuss the significance of Psalm 23 in education. The psalm portrays a profound trust in God's guidance, care, and provision, emphasizing the importance of these theological themes in the field of education. In the context of the rapidly evolving challenges presented by advanced technology and the blurring of human-machine boundaries, the timeless wisdom of Psalm 23 serves as a moral compass and provides valuable insights for educators to navigate these complex issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides reflections on the readings for Sundays and feasts from September to November 2024. It explores various themes such as religious obligations, pure religion, Jesus' teachings and healing activities, suffering and vindication, discipleship, good works, and the consequences of sinful behavior. The readings highlight the importance of love, self-sacrifice, and the fulfillment of the law. The document also discusses the significance of widows' actions and encounters with prophets, as well as the themes of the end times and the kingdom of God. It concludes with a reflection on Jesus' encounter with Pilate and the true meaning of his kingship. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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.)

The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 1187 was profoundly emotional for Catholics, who collectively responded with grief and despair. The loss interrupted easy assumptions of divine goodness and support for Christian occupation of Jerusalem, and therefore required explanation. This article traces several claims of atheism, faithlessness, and polytheism among Christians and Muslims, which was part of the causative dialogue that followed the conquest. We will focus on four claims: that the Christian armies at Hattin did not trust in God; that Saladin was an atheist who paradoxically believed in a God named Muhammad; that Christians had become polytheists; and that the Christian God was dead. Although these claims do not necessarily reflect an underlying reality, they are useful evidence of emotion and mentality. They permitted authors to contemplate the loss of Jerusalem without explicit discussion of the vexed theodical questions that 1187 engendered. They can also be read as allowing authors the opportunity to voice their own cosmological anxieties following the conquest, which may have crossed strong lines of taboo around divine goodness, unicity, or existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Obnovljeni zivot is the property of University of Zagreb, Society of Jesus and Faculty of Philosophy & Religious Studies 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.)

This article argues that the different aspects at play in Rom 4 come together to depict Abraham as a paradigm, mirrored in both the Isaac story and in Ps 31 LXX. Abraham is not only an example of faith but also of how God justifies sinners. Abraham was ungodly, a trait that Paul develops in line with Rom 1,18–3,20 on universal sinfulness. The birth story of Isaac, his physical σπέρμα, illustrates how God makes the impossible possible and how the ungodly are reckoned righteous. Abraham trusts God, who calls into being what does not exist; in so doing, he mirrors the sinner in Ps 31, cited in Rom 4,7–8, who trusts and puts his hope in God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this consensual qualitative research study, we investigated the role of refugees' Christian faith in meaning‐making coping. High percentages of religiosity in refugee populations support the need to understand the role of religion in their coping processes. Interviews with 20 Christian refugees from 10 African and Asian countries revealed that participants drew heavily from their faith resources to cope with their experiences. Specifically, refugees reported coping practices that included trust in God, prayer, intimacy with God, spiritual surrender, lament, worship, and social support. Although many participants described spiritual struggles, including doubting God, feeling distant from God, and questioning God, most found meaning amid refugee‐related suffering and reported perspective shifts, a deepening of faith, seeing suffering as part of God's plan, experiencing a deepened sense of purpose, and growing in the likeness of Christ. Refugees also reported growth through suffering in the form of gratitude, altruism, testimony, and humility. Clinical implications include encouraging the use of religious resources for meaning‐making and supporting the resolution of spiritual struggles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choral music and the sacred have been intertwined since the Middle Ages. With the increasing secularisation of society, it is notable that the sacred choral canon continues to expand and attract audiences in religious and secular spaces, underlining the enduring importance of tradition and the human desire to search for something beyond our existence. The practice of setting sacred texts to music abounds in the work of contemporary composers, continuing the historic tradition into the present day via a wide range of compositional and stylistic approaches. In his sacred works, Irish composer Eoghan Desmond achieves a sound that fuses the past and present, exhibiting both the visceral and meditative aspects associated with the texts that he sets. This article focuses on the composer's choral work Nothing in Vain (2021), a setting of John Henry Newman's 'A Meditation on Trust in God'. Through critical score analysis, I highlight Desmond's ability to reflect Newman's devotion to God and to evoke a sense of the spiritual through his formal organisation and application of harmonic, rhythmic, and textural techniques, drawing on influences from the Renaissance tradition, the contemporary style of ambient music, and the work of well-known composer James MacMillan. Desmond's synthesis of ancient and contemporary compositional practices invites all listeners to engage in this musical meditation and contemplate the message of the spiritual text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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.)

Trust is a primary component of faith and may be helpful for initiating, maintaining, and even repairing a relationship with God. In this study, we take up the task of expanding the empirical basis of trust in God and its relationship to well-being. Using a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults from the United States, we examined whether trust in God is associated with well-being, and if this association may be conditioned by a key marker of socioeconomic status-education. Trust in God was associated with lower depressive symptoms and better self-rated health. Trust in God was more strongly associated with well-being for the less educated (high school education or less). We discuss the implications of our results for pastors and religious ministers noting the importance of trust in God as a religious construct, especially for less educated respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding spirituality as "the sense or experience of God and the way one lives in response to that experience", Jesus' spirituality according to Mark may be described as relational and communal, with less attention given to the interior spiritual lives of individuals in favor of a way of relating to "all nations and all people" as beloved children of God which can renew all creation. Mark shows Jesus shaped by the experience of the God of the Exodus, Isaiah, and Daniel so that when he announced that "The Kingdom of God has drawn near", he was proclaiming the fulfillment of the promises of this God. Furthermore, Mark shows Jesus living into this fulfillment, not merely saying it. The result is his teaching and modeling a renewing way of living among his followers, which dismantles hierarchies in favor of welcome, service, justice, etc., and enables resistance to Roman oppression without violence and death. He called followers to see how powerful this renewal of God is. When Rome recognized its power and turned their violence against him, he continued on "the Way of the Lord", trusting in resurrection and God's life-giving power. Thus, Mark presents Jesus as demonstrating a life-filled, communal spirituality of renewal for his followers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Alustath is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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.)

This paper investigates the effects of religiosity distance on trade in environmental goods (EGs) using 5,297 pairs of 88 countries during the 1996–2019 period. Religiosity reflects the level of personal trust in God and the values and ideals of his religion. Environmental goods consist of environmental products and services with production, usage, or disposal features that escape from devastating the environment. We use the APEC List of Environmental Goods to define the EGs. We measure religiosity by using a combined index covering three components, including members of a religion, the importance of religion, and religious service attendance. Our empirical results show that countries with religious proximity are more likely to trade EGs. Among three dimensions, only the member of religion and importance of religion play a role while attendance to religion service has no effect on the export of green goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people see weakness as synonymous with failure and humiliation, linking it to a deep sense of worthlessness. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini contradicts this thinking, stating that God’s love makes itself felt above all in weakness. It is precisely in our weaknesses that God manifests his help and love for humanity in an eminent way. The experiences that Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini experiences in his life (on a personal level, in his ministry, in his relationship with the Church, in his illness and old age) lead him to a greater trust in God to the point of abandoning himself into the Lord’s hands, as he is increasingly aware that power comes from God’s hands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last several decades have witnessed the topic of wisdom gaining momentum in the field of positive psychology. In this study, we focus on the potentially important role of religion/spirituality, specifically beliefs about God, as a mediating mechanism underlying the relationship between practical wisdom and depression among older adults. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of older adults from the 2013 wave of the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey (n = 1,497), our results show that practical wisdom is associated with lower depressive symptoms. We also document that three God-related constructs, God-mediated control, trust in God, and gratitude towards God each partially explained the relationship between wisdom and well-being. Taken together, Christian conceptions of God as a personal, divine being, the ultimate attachment figure who is an unconditional source of love and support for believers, may be a target of older adults who have cultivated practical wisdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since World War II, the countries of Western Europe have gradually gone towards economic, social, and political integration. This was influenced by states, institutions, social partners, and churches. The Christian trade unions also contributed to that end. This contribution was the result of the interaction between the laborers' religion and their desire to act collectively. Those unions followed the social doctrines of the Catholic Church and/or Protestant Churches while strongly disagreeing with socialist or communist unions. During the Interwar period, their members were subjected to the violent actions of the totalitarian governments in many European countries. Those governments eliminated Christian unions and, in some cases, persecuted their leaders. After the war, Christian unions embraced the "Peace Project", advocating for European and global peace. They also cooperated with many political and social leaders during the formation of the EEC. Christian unions aimed at improving political systems in Western Europe, promoting freedom of religion, and defending the Communist threat. In this article, we describe the ways in which the Catholic and Protestant labor unions tried to promote political, economic, and social cooperation in Europe. To this end, we will examine their pertinent material and actions on the Old Continent. Finally, we will discuss the current challenges faced by the Christian unions and their stance towards neoliberal capitalism and globalization—these new developments in the long history of Christian Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuestiones Teológicas is the property of Cuestiones Teologicas 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.)

The article reviews Paul K. Moser's book "Paul’s Gospel of Divine Self-Sacrifice: Righteous Reconciliation in Reciprocity," which explores Paul's understanding of divine self-sacrificial righteousness and its implications for human salvation and reconciliation. Moser delves into Paul's epistemology, emphasizing the role of divine self-sacrifice in human redemption and the reciprocal nature of faith and cooperation with God. The study highlights the importance of divine self-sacrifice in fostering hope, fear, responsible agency, and knowledge of God, presenting a nuanced perspective on Paul's teachings. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Arts Magazine is the property of Thamar University 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.)

Pope Francis presents his vision of holiness in the Apostolic Exhortation "Gaudete et exsultate". Throughout the document, six explicit and implicit definitions of what he considers holiness in today's world are presented. It is emphasized that holiness involves recognizing one's own fragility and allowing grace to act. The Pope warns against pelagianism and emphasizes the importance of trusting in God's grace and cooperating with it to grow in holiness. The importance of cooperating with God's work through small gestures in everyday life and living love through ordinary actions is also discussed. Furthermore, the importance of walking together as a community on the path to holiness and participating in the mission of Christ is highlighted. The Pope also emphasizes the importance of spiritual combat and discernment in the Christian life, as well as the importance of prayer on the path to holiness. Finally, the idea that human weakness calls for the strength of God and that human smallness is the path to the greatness of eternal life is emphasized. [Extracted from the article]