Who Compiled the Sixteenth-Century Patristic Handbook Unio Dissidentium?

1965 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 237-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Peters

The purpose of this paper is to raise a problem of more than antiquarian interest in Reformation literary history. The Unio Dissidentium is a collection of passages from the Bible together with nearly 550 quotations, many of them quite lengthy, from the Fathers. This latter feature gives to the book much of its interest, as well as a place in the patristic revival begun by the classical humanists and brought to a high level of development by the work of such men as Erasmus and Beatus Rhenanus.So far as can with certainty be stated, the first part of Unio Dissidentium was published by the Antwerp printer, Martin de Keyser, in March 1527. The ten sections into which it is divided contain passages supporting the compiler’s theology on such current theological issues as original sin, infant baptism, predestination, the nature and function of law, grace and merit, faith and works, and human ordinances. Later that same year the same printer published the second part, dealing with the value of the Word of God, penitence, brotherly correction, fasting, prayer, indulgences, the Eucharist, ecclesiastical constitutions, the vocation of all Christians to be priests, kings, and prophets, and antichrist. To the editions printed in and after 1531 a further three sections were added, the first two of which are on expensive funerals and the flight and persecution of Christians, respectively, while the third is the tract of Pseudo-Augustine, De Essentia Divinitatis.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-221
Author(s):  
Jarrik Van Der Biest

Abstract This article introduces a new corpus of sources relevant to the sixteenth-century Baianist controversy at the University of Louvain: student notes made during Michael Baius’ lectures on the Bible during the 1560s. The commentary on Romans 7 taught by the Royal Professor of Sacred Scripture contains a discussion on the sinfulness of concupiscence, the effect of the Fall driving humankind to sin. A contested concept between Catholics and Protestants, the nature of concupiscentia also lies at the core of debates on the orthodoxy of Baius’ justification theology, both early modern and more recent. The professor’s lecture on Romans 7 is analysed against his published treatises, the censures (1565–1567) and papal bull (1567) condemning certain propositions as heretical, and the Tridentine Decree on Original Sin (1546). While Baius’ Augustinian revaluation of humanity’s wounded nature (natura viciata) moved away from the Thomistic conception of concupiscence as innate, but disordered, he did respect the boundaries set by the Council of Trent. Indeed, Baius taught his positive theology in the interstices between the educational application of the Tridentine Decrees and the gradual assertion of dominance by a renewed Thomism in Catholic orthodoxy. I argue that such a historical reading of Baius’ ideas is the key to avoid the earlier dogmatic assessments of his theology.


Author(s):  
Daniel B. Schwartz

As one of the pioneers of modern Western philosophy and Bible criticism, Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza (b. 1632–d. 1677) is generally considered the greatest philosopher of Jewish origin since Maimonides, though whether he should also be considered a Jewish philosopher is an age-old debate. Born into the Sephardic community of Amsterdam, Spinoza was excommunicated in 1656 for his “horrible heresies” and “monstrous deeds.” For the rest of his life, he made no effort to reconcile with his native community, and although he never converted to Christianity, it is hardly a given that he continued to consider himself a Jew either. From this foundational rupture in Spinoza’s life—one that would lead many in retrospect to label him the first modern Jew—myriads would follow in his thought. In the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, published anonymously in 1670, Spinoza broke with the premise that the Bible, in its entirety, is the word of God, a move that led him famously to spurn the Maimonidean practice of reading scripture allegorically, all so as to assure its agreement with philosophical and scientific truth. In its place, he called for a hermeneutic that would distinguish between the meaning of scripture and the matter of its truth, thus anticipating the historical-critical method of modern biblical criticism. In his magnum opus, the Ethics, which first appeared as part of his Opera Posthuma (Posthumous Works), in 1677, Spinoza broke with the very idea of an irreducible break between God and the world, arguing instead for a metaphysics of immanence in which only one substance, God-or-Nature (Deus sive Natura), could and did exist. Much has been written about Jewish aspects of Spinoza’s life and thought, especially by Jewish scholars seeking to determine to what extent, if at all, Spinoza belongs to the history of Jewish philosophy. The literature on this subject can be divided into three main categories that are distinguished by how they come at this problem. The first and most well-trodden approach investigates putative Jewish sources and contexts of Spinoza’s philosophy, from medieval Jewish rationalism to Kabbalistic literature to the Marrano background of his native Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam. The second focuses on Spinoza’s concept of and attitude toward Judaism, especially in comparison to his evaluation of Christianity. The third examines the ramifications of both Spinoza’s philosophy and personal example for modern Jewish thought and identity. This article is limited only to those aspects of Spinoza that touch on his Jewish identity, sources, and influence and thus does not include general philosophical studies per se.


1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-47
Author(s):  
G. S. Hendry

There is an old custom which is to be observed in all proper churches: at the beginning of public worship the Bible is solemnly carried in and laid upon the pulpit—and then the minister follows. This is the right order of precedence; for the minister, as his name indicates, is but the servant, minister verbi divini; and it is fitting that the servant should follow the master. Further, to make his servitude more evident, the minister wears a livery. It is true, he may be a master of his servile craft, he may be called a doctor, and he may take it upon himself to wear the appropriate badges of proficiency. But his position remains essentially that of a servant whose office it is to attend upon his master, to make way for him, to do his behests.This little bit of familiar ceremony enshrines essential truth, and it may well form the starting-point of our consideration of the scope and function of the ministry of the Word of God.


Author(s):  
Sara J. Milstein

Outside of the Bible, all of the known Near Eastern law collections were produced in the third to second millennia BCE, in cuneiform on clay tablets, and in major cities in Mesopotamia and in the Hittite Empire. None of the five major sites in Syria to have yielded cuneiform tablets has borne even a fragment of a law collection, despite the fact that several have yielded ample legal documentation. Excavations at Nuzi have turned up numerous legal documents, but again, no law collection. Even Egypt has not yielded a collection of laws. As such, the biblical blocks that scholars regularly identify as law collections would represent the only “western,” non-cuneiform expressions of the genre in the ancient Near East, produced by societies not known for their political clout, and separated in time from the “other” collections by centuries. Making a Case challenges the long-held notion that Israelite and Judahite scribes either made use of older law collections or set out to produce law collections in the Near Eastern sense of the genre. Rather, Milstein suggests that what we call “biblical law” is closer in form and function to a different and oft-neglected Mesopotamian genre: legal-pedagogical texts. In the course of their education, Mesopotamian scribes copied a variety of legal-oriented school texts: sample contracts, fictional cases, sequences of non-canonical law, and legal phrasebooks. When “biblical law” is viewed in the context of these legal-pedagogical texts, its practical roots in legal exercises begin to emerge.


2020 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-800
Author(s):  
Wim François

Jacob van Liesvelt, an Antwerpian printer, was executed in 1545 for publishing without the consent of the authorities. His sad story has been retold throughout the centuries. In an early Protestant tradition, it was argued that Van Liesvelt died because of certain Reformation-minded marginal notes contained in the Bible of 1542, an argument that has been continuously elaborated upon over the years, giving rise to the myth of Van Liesvelt as the martyr of the Word of God. This article critically questions the story of Van Liesvelt's execution, showing ways to “debunk” the myth. However, in her book Pragmatic Toleration (2015), the American scholar Victoria Christman reworks a theory earlier put forward in an article in The Sixteenth Century Journal (2011), building on the Van Liesvelt myth from husband to widow. She argues that the latter, Maria Ancxt, simply continued her husband's Protestant Bible production, uninhibited by his terrifying fate and without experiencing any form of judicial censure. This essay, in contrast, presents a painstaking study of Ancxt's entire Bible production, which firmly arrives at the conclusion that it was largely Catholic in character—although Ancxt explored the boundaries of what was possible—and that this is the reason why she was never disturbed by the authorities. This essay, therefore, also includes more general remarks on confessionally or ideologically colored history writing—in the past and present—while exploring its boundaries.


1989 ◽  
Vol 28 (04) ◽  
pp. 124-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Spitz ◽  
N. Clemenz ◽  
K. Tittel ◽  
H. Weigand

In addition to its established oncological indications the sensitivity of bone scintigraphy is of steadily increasing significance in traumatology. Inactivity- induced osteoporosis plays a major role during the immobilization period in the plaster cast. In the region of the joints remodelling intensity may reach such a high level that the non-injured bone shows a higher rate of accumulation than the fracture. This process already begins between the third and fourth week of immobilization. The highest uptake is found after fracture of the scaphoid bone at the end of twelve weeks of immobilization. Control scintigraphies at intervals of several days are indicated to differentiate between various clinical conditions (pseudoarthrosis, activated osteoarthrosis, algodystrophy in case of doubtful x-ray results).


2020 ◽  
pp. 49-81
Author(s):  
Bruno Van der Maat

The current pandemic has seen some adverse reactions from the most diverse religious groups all over the world to government regulations. After having described some of their manifestations, this contribution analyzes what the Bible and some post biblical (patristic and Talmudic) traditions say about illness and pandemics. As it is ascertained that these sources contain very limited material on these subjects, the third part of this article proposes some ethical reflections regarding the official response to the pandemic as well as some pastoral implications. Key Words: Pandemic, Religion, Bible, Talmud, Pastoral Care.


2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-71
Author(s):  
Geo Siegwart

The main objective is an interpretation of the island parody, in particular a logical reconstruction of the parodying argument that stays close to the text. The parodied reasoning is identified as the proof in the second chapter of the Proslogion, more specifically, this proof as it is represented by Gaunilo in the first chapter of his Liber pro insipiente. The second task is a detailed comparison between parodied and parodying argument as well as an account of their common structure. The third objective is a tentative characterization of the nature and function of parodies of arguments. It seems that parodying does not add new pertinent points of view to the usual criticism of an argument.


Author(s):  
Martin Krzywdzinski

This chapter deals with the dependent variable of the study: consent. It analyses workplace consent in Russia and China using three indicators that refer to the core requirements of the production systems in automotive companies regarding employee behavior: first, standardized work; and second, compliance with expectations in terms of flexibility, cooperation, and a commitment to improving processes. The third indicator of consent (or the lack of it) is the absence or presence of open criticism, resistance, and labor disputes. The chapter reveals significant and unexpected differences between the Chinese and Russian sites on all three indicators. While the Chinese factories exhibit (with some variance between the companies), a relatively high level of consent, the Russian plants have problems with standardized work, the acceptance of performance expectations, and to some extent with labor disputes.


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