Metamorphosis, Transfiguration, and the Body

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Walsh ◽  
George Aichele

Abstract This essay examines the recent movies Avatar and District 9 in conjunction with the so-called "transfiguration stories" of Matt. 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9. It explores the difference between "transfiguration" and "metamorphosis" in these stories, and questions the avoidance of the latter term in English translations of the New Testament, as well as theological implications of the preference for "transfiguration." This tendency is already observable in the ideological dimensions of the New Testament. That the net effect of this translation preference is to obscure monstrous changes to the body of Jesus is made clear through contrast with the movies, and with Franz Kafka's story, "The Metamorphosis."

Moreana ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (Number 175) (3) ◽  
pp. 120-146
Author(s):  
Anne M. O’Donnell

This article examines translations for the Greek word “agapē” and its synonyms in versions of the New Testament: Thomas More used Latin versions of NT (Vulgate, Erasmus) and made his own English translations. In Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529) and Confutation of Tyndale (1532-1533), More criticizes Tyndale’s New Testament (1526) for translating “agapē” as “love” not “charity.” Opposing Luther’s “sola fide,” More argues for faith infused with charity. More quotes Paul’s Hymn of Charity (1 Cor 13) in his polemical works or meditates on the Passion of Christ in his prison writings. This study also notes some translations of “agapē” by the Vulgate, Erasmus, and Tyndale.


2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Willitts

This article defines, explains and argues for the necessity of a post-supersessionistic hermeneutical posture towards the New Testament. The post-supersessionistic reading of the New Testament takes the Jewish nature of the apostolic documents seriously, and has as its goal the correction of the sin of supersessionism. While supersessionism theologically is repudiated in most corners of the contemporary church through official church documents, the practise of reading the New Testament continues to exhibit supersessionistic tendencies and outcomes. The consequence of this predominant reading of the New Testament is the continued exclusion of Jewish ethnic identity in the church. In light of the growing recognition of multiculturalism and contextualisation on the one hand, and the recent presence of a movement within the body of Messiah of Jewish believers in Jesus on the other, the church’s established approach to reading Scripture that leads to the elimination of ethnic identity must be repudiated alongside its post-supersessionist doctrinal statements. This article defines terms, explains consequences and argues for a renewed perspective on the New Testament as an ethnic document; such a perspective will promote the church’s cultivation of real embodied ethnic particularity rather than either a pseudo-interculturalism or the eraser full ethnicity.


Scrinium ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-159
Author(s):  
David C. Sim

The early Church Fathers accepted the notion of an intermediate state, the existence of the soul following death until its reunification with the body at the time of the final resurrection. This view is common in the modern Christian world, but it has been challenged as being unbiblical. This study reflects upon this question. Does the New Testament speak exclusively of death after life, complete lifelessness until the day of resurrection, or does it also contain the notion of life after life or immediate post-mortem existence? It will be argued that, while the doctrine of future resurrection is the most common Christian view, it was not the only one present in the Christian canon. There are hints, especially in the Gospel of Luke and the Revelation of John, that people do indeed live again immediately after death, although the doctrine of resurrection is also present. These two ideas are never coherently related to one another in the New Testament and it was the Church Fathers who first sought to  systematise them.



2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-206
Author(s):  
Israel Netanel Rubin

Abstract Defining appropriate attitudes towards sexuality has always been an issue in Jewish-Christian polemic. Contemporary Jewish writers tend to boast of Judaism’s liberal attitude toward sexuality, while medieval Jewish polemicists were defensive when confronting Christian attacks on this matter. In ancient times, when sexual puritanism was less popular, Jewish theologians did not refrain from showing their contempt for the Christian value ​​of celibacy. This article proposes a new reading of the Talmudic legend about an argument between Joshua b. Karhah and a Christian eunuch. In this reading, the Christian figure stands for Origen, a Church father described in Christian sources as having castrated himself owing to a literal interpretation of the New Testament. In this reading, the debate summarizes the Talmudic rabbis’ perspective on the difference between Jewish and Christian views of sexuality.


1988 ◽  
Vol 22 (86) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. J. Van Rensburg

The significance of the metaphor in 1 Cor 12 : 27 for the assessment of the New Testament teaching on the unity of the church.


Author(s):  
J. P. Oberholzer

The church. This survey of biblical material on the church proceeds from the view-point that the identity of the church of God can be treated only as an existential question, asking 'who is the church?' and 'who am I?' at the same time. The article shows that, of the various images used in the New Testament to describe the church, virtually every one forms the basis of a call to a holy and dedicated life. At the same time these images, with the exception of the body image, unite the churches of the Old and New Testament in such a way that the church of Christ is shown to be heir and new creation at the same time. Two prominent features appear: the call to a holy life and acceptance of the universality of the church, emanating from the will and being of the Lord himself, and guided by his Holy Spirit.


Author(s):  
Candida R. Moss

This book is an exploration of what the New Testament has to say about the nature of resurrected bodies. It argues that previous scholarship and tradition has been shaped by Pauline discussions of glorious bodies and has failed to appreciate the diverse and disorienting range of opinions about the nature of the resurrected body. Drawing upon previously unexplored evidence in ancient medicine, philosophy, and culture, this book both revisits central texts – such as the resurrection of Jesus – and mines virtually ignored passages in the Gospels to show how the resurrection of the body addresses larger questions about identity and the self.


JURNAL LUXNOS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-236
Author(s):  
Marthen Mau

Abstract: This research examines the New Testament Bible's view of the practice of anointing oil in the church today. In essence, consuming excess oil or oily foods will cause a high cholesterol risk. However, the exposure of the New Testament Bible's view of the practice of anointing oil in the church today under study, especially that oil does not contain cholesterol, but brings about medicine that heals the body, soul, and spirit. Abstrak: Riset ini mengupas tentang pandangan Alkitab Perjanjian Baru terhadap praktik minyak urapan pada gereja masa kini. Pada hakikatnya kelebihan mengonsumsi minyak atau makanan yang berminyak akan menimbulkan berisiko kolesterol tinggi. Namun, pemamaran pandangan Alkitab Perjanjian Baru terhadap praktik minyak urapan pada gereja masa kini yang diteliti, khususnya minyak tidak mengandung kolesterol, melainkan mendatangkan obat yang menyembuhkan tubuh, jiwa, dan roh.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus Kok ◽  
Walter P. Maqoma

This article reflects on the doctrine of humanity to explore that God created humankind in his image and likeness, and this means that all human beings have an inherent capacity to know the difference between good and bad, and between right and wrong. Thus, all human beings have an innate ability to be ethical, as the God who created them is good, and so becomes the source of their ethics. This article title highlights the interrelationships between identity, ethics, and ethos. These three related analytical categories, within the New Testament, show the necessity for an interdisciplinary approach in treating questions of the origin of humanity. This article incorporates reflections in the studies of anthropology, philosophy, and theology and draws from the writings of Apostle Paul, in his Corinthian Correspondence, as he instructed them on how they ought to relate, and what would be their roles within the broader scope of God�s original intention for humanity. In this attempt, he made reference to the anthropological identity of the imago Dei, and he shows that the perfect expression of the imago Dei is Christ Jesus; thus, this is the image they ought to emulate. Therefore, this article investigates �The imago Dei weltanschauung as narrative motif within the Corinthian correspondence�.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research gives the perspective of the presupposition of the imago Dei as presented in the New Testament as the framework of understanding ethics, as it appears within the formation of an anthropological horizon. In relation to accepting the message of the New Testament, this article shows how the imago Dei worldview underpins Pauline ethics and can serve as a framework of understanding an anthropological ethical paradigm.Keywords: Imago Dei; Corinthian; Paul


Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Jeong

Although the Eucharist is attested four times (Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:15–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26) in the New Testament, only two (Luke and 1 Corinthians) out of the four instances bespeak of commemorating this event (“Do this in remembrance of me”). Limiting the discussion to Mark’s iteration of this event, Mark’s version does not command to remember; rather he focuses on the ontological (“This is my body/blood”). This paper follows Stephen D. Moore’s vegetal reading of the Johannine Jesus (Gospel Jesuses and Other Nonhumans) that invites and acknowledges the animacy of the vegetal in affectively re-engaging the identity of the messiah. That is, (processed) plants/food are not there just to be symbolically equated with the body and blood of the messiah. They re-animate and re-define the nature of messiahship. This paper utilizes Jane Bennett’s vital materialism, Bruno Latour’s actants, and Michael Marder’s vegetality in arguing that Mark vegetally reconfigures the ontology of the messiah in the Eucharist/Last Supper scene (14:22–25). Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of assemblage will assist in elaborating how the vegetal could dismantle anthropocentric understanding of ontology. By doing so, this paper opens up the possibility to reimagine a messiah who finds his identity with the vegetal or those that are considered dispensable.


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