The Concept of Subordination in Barth's Special Ethics

1979 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. McKelway

Of the many difficult formulations in Karl Barth's ‘Special Ethics’, none seems less amenable to acceptable interpretation than his conception of the relation of male and female. I do not refer to Barth's insistence that Man, created as male and female, maintain both the unity and distinction required for true co-humanity. I refer, rather, to his puzzling (even if textually supported) assertion that this co-humanity is ordered by God in such a way that the woman is ‘sub-ordinate’ to the man without inferiority or disadvantage. Putting aside the exegetical issues involved, I will try to show that Barth's redefinition of the concept of sub-ordination gains coherence when understood as an ‘ordering’ of human life by a revealed order of creation, which in turn is an expression of the divine life itself. I will argue that the analogy Barth draws between the order of the Trinity and sexual relationship is authorized by his doctrine of creation, by his view of Christ as the analogia relationis, and by what I believe to be his application of the doctrine of perichoresis to anthropology. And finally, I want to suggest that, while some of Barth's language may have to be set aside, the arguments described here inform the presuppositions and method of an ethic more relevant for moral discrimination than has commonly been supposed.

Author(s):  
Dinesh Bhugra ◽  
Antonio Ventriglio

Sexual acts form the basis of human life. In urban areas, both male and female sex workers and their mental health have been studied. The risks of resulting sexually transmitted diseases are higher and, consequently, physical and psychiatric comorbidity may be higher. The theory of sex markets focuses on sexual partnering and emphasizes that it is fundamentally a local process, meaning that the two people must live within reasonable geographical proximity to initiate and develop a sexual relationship that is physical. Of course, often people do indulge in cybersex, for which adequate electronic and WiFi facilities have to be available. Economic needs and perspectives may play a major role in transient sexual partnering.


1952 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-354
Author(s):  
W. A. Whitehouse

This twelfth chapter of the Dogmatik is an exposition of the ethical teaching which follows upon an understanding of the doctrine of creation. Further chapters on ethics will come at the end of the volumes on reconciliation and redemption and Barth notes that the whole complex of state, community and law must wait for more thorough treatment until the next volume is completed. Here we have a generous and moving exposition of man's freedom in relation to God; his freedom in the community of male and female, parent and child, near and distant neighbours; his freedom for life with due evaluation of reverence for life, its protection and its industriousness; and his freedom within appointed limits where opportunities do not recur, where each person has his ‘station’ and must live with the honour appropriate to his limitations. The exposition follows the formal lines worked out in the volume on man. It is studded with careful reviews of the more important recent books dealing with the themes under discussion. In this field Barth shows the greatest respect for Schleiermacher who of course worked out his theology with a profound sense of the richness and complexity of human life, though here, as well as in his grasp on the Gospel, Barth's understanding seems to be both richer and more sensitive. The distinctive feature of the work is its firm adherence to the conviction that ethics, as the doctrine of God's command, exhibits the law as a form of the Gospel, grounded everywhere in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and of God's gracious election of man to covenant fellowship with Himself in Christ.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
Frederich Oscar Lontoh

Many people have difficulty understanding the Trinity. Likewise, many Christians themselves do not understand this basic doctrine. Even more so for people outside of Christianity, they assume that Christians believe in three Gods or even think that God has a sexual relationship with Mary. There is also the opinion that the triune God is one person with three functions. The three views above are not true.  Thophilus of Anthiokia was the first to use the term Trinity or trias in Greek. Whereas Tertullian was the first to use this term in Latin form. It was from Tertullian that the terms substance (substance) and person(personal, person) were used in formulating the concept of the Trinity.  Every Christian must understand what is fundamental to his faith. The Trinity is a basic doctrine that must be correctly understood and accepted by every Christian. Without a proper understanding of this doctrine, it will undermine other related doctrines, namely the doctrine of creation, the doctrine of Christology, the doctrine of redemption, and the doctrine of eternal life.  The trinity doctrine is a doctrine which is accepted by all Christian churches for almost 2000 years. Only heretical schools and deviant movements do not accept this doctrine. 


1987 ◽  
Vol 13 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 233-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Cranford ◽  
David Randolph Smith

For the past two decades, the medical profession and society have debated the definition of death. Some reasonable consensus has been reached on this issue, in theory and in practice. In the last few years, however, a far more important debate has been evolving — the definition of human personhood. Human personhood has been discussed extensively in the past with respect to the abortion question and other issues concerning the beginning of life. More recently, however, the definition of personhood has been raised with respect to termination of treatment decisions at the end of life and, in particular, on the appropriate care of patients in a persistent vegetative state.Our major premise is that consciousness is the most critical moral, legal, and constitutional standard, not for human life itself, but for human personhood. There is nothing highly original in our approach to this particular issue; others have advanced similar arguments in recent years.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-260
Author(s):  
ALFRED M. BONGIOVANNI

To the Editor.— The commentary by Singer1 must not go unchallenged. This member of the American Academy of Pediatrics takes exception to this statement, and he in no way espouses "religious mumbo-jumbo" which Singer applies to his possible opponents. Nor does this writer espouse the application of heroic measures to the preservation of human life under all circumstances. There is such latitude in Singer's discussion that "quality of life" can mean almost anything. I will not belabor the many aspects of Singer's rhetoric but must make two points.


Author(s):  
Robert Pippin

This is the first detailed interpretation of J. M. Coetzee’s “Jesus” trilogy as a whole. Robert Pippin treats the three “fictions” as a philosophical fable, in the tradition of Plato’s Republic, More’s Utopia, Rousseau’s Emile, or Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Everyone in the mythical land explored by Coetzee is an exile, removed from their homeland and transported to a strange new place, and they have all had most of the memories of their homeland “erased.” While also discussing the social and psychological dimensions of the fable, Pippin treats the literary aspects of the fictions as philosophical explorations of the implications of a deeper kind of spiritual homelessness, a version that characterizes late modern life itself, and he treats the theme of forgetting as a figure for modern historical amnesia and indifference to reflection and self-knowledge. So, the state of exile is interpreted as “metaphysical” as well as geographical. In the course of an interpretation of the central narrative about a young boy’s education, Pippin shows how a number of issues arise, are discussed and lived out by the characters, all in ways that also suggest the limitations of traditional philosophical treatments of themes like eros, beauty, social order, art, family, non-discursive forms of intelligibility, self-deception, and death. Pippin also offers an interpretation of the references to Jesus in the titles, and he traces and interprets the extensive inter-textuality of the fictions, the many references to the Christian Bible, Plato, Cervantes, Goethe, Kleist, Wittgenstein, and others. Throughout, the attempt is to show how the literary form of Coetzee’s fictions ought to be considered, just as literary—a form of philosophical reflection.


Author(s):  
Suja R. Nair

Since the past two decades the concept of women entrepreneurship has gained recognition as a significant contributor towards the economic growth of the country. This can be attributed to the many encouraging factors like family support, flexibility in work family schedule, encouraging policies etc. Nevertheless, there also exist certain barriers that hinder their path of progress. In the context of globalization today, women entrepreneurs across nations are also engaged in identifying opportunities for further growth. In this pursuit they face a number of challenges amidst the opportunities. The chapter intends to make a contribution to the topic of women entrepreneurship by examining what initiates entrepreneurship among individuals, comparison between male and female entrepreneurs, factors that encourage women entrepreneurs as well as those that inhibit their growth and on ways to overcome the challenges they face.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Fąfara

AbstractAviation has, over the years, become an inseparable element of human life. Airplanes are very commonly used for various tasks, such as transport of passengers and goods, military attack and defence, rescue, recreation and so on. In spite of the many advantages of aviation, one cannot ignore its disadvantages. The most important disadvantages of aviation are the emissions that cause atmospheric pollution and noise. Additionally, one should remember about the decreasing stocks of non-renewable fuels. These drawbacks affect human health and the natural environment. Therefore, a good alternative to conventional drive units in aircraft may turn out to be electric drive units in the near future. The aim of this article is to check the extent to which today’s knowledge and technology allow the use of electric drive units instead of conventional aircraft drive units. This article presents the concept of electric aircraft, from the electric drive unit to its power supply system. The feasibility of designing an electric jet drive unit for a passenger aircraft was analysed based on the performances of PZL 104 Wilga 35 and Boeing B787 Dreamliner.


Theology ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 78 (658) ◽  
pp. 169-172
Author(s):  
Jan Milič Lochman
Keyword(s):  

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