Theology, Perhaps

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 428-445
Author(s):  
Rein Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Attention ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
The Subject

A public (practical) theology is about recognizing religious phenomena in (popular) culture and society, and reflecting on these phenomena from a theological perspective. There is a lot of G/god in the public domain, so one could assume that ‘the fields are white for harvest already’ (John 4:35), theologically speaking. References to biblical stories and figures abound in art and culture and religious themes and questions are the subject of movie pictures and media attention. Theologians are well suited to interpret these public phenomena because they have access to a huge database of concepts, narratives and practices to make meaning from this fragmented G/god in public domain. But what sort of G/god are we talking about? This paper explores John Caputo’s theopoetics as a model for a public theology. Caputo’s theology is presented as a way of tracing God, perhaps, in a product of popular culture.

scholarly journals An enquiry on poverty discourses in public theology for the calling of the church to respond to poverty: A case for the Africa Inland Church in Kenya

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah K. Tenai
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Africa Inland Church ◽  
Poverty Levels ◽  
The Church

As an emergent and rapidly growing international field of study, public theology has its focus on how Christian faith and practice impact on ordinary life. Its principle concern is thewell-being of society. In Africa, and in Kenya in particular, where poverty levels are still high, there is a need to enquire into the value and efficacy of the poverty discourses in publictheology, for the calling of the church to respond to poverty. One of the main and fast growingchurches in Kenya, the Africa Inland Church (AIC), has vast resources used for, amongst otherthings, various on-going work amidst the poor and the vulnerable in remote and poor areas. Due to the unrelenting nature of poverty in Kenya, the AIC needs a theological perspective, which is sufficiently sensitive to poverty and can enable it to respond to poverty moreeffectively. Public theology’s emphasis on gaining an entrée into the public square andadopting the agenda of communities, including public theology’s calling on churches toactively participate in rational and plausible public discourses, can assist the AIC to respondeffectively to the challenge of poverty in Kenya.

scholarly journals Where is God when dementia sneaks into our house? Practical theology and the partners of dementia patients

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Bons-Storm
Keyword(s):  
Practical Theology ◽  
Dementia Patient ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Heavy Burden ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Night And Day ◽  
Practical Theological ◽  
Person With Dementia ◽  
Creation Stories

How can hope, love and faith stay alive when dementia enters a home? In this article I shall look especially at the spouse or partner who shares an abode with a person with dementia. Most of the authors in this field, also John Swinton who is perhaps the best known author whose books are written from a (practical) theological perspective, focus on care in institutions, that means care by professionals. A partner living with a dementia patient has two main roles: as partner and caregiver. Night and day a partner is witness to the ongoing deterioration of her or his beloved partner, without being a professional. This article is founded not only on literature about dementia patients, but also on the experiences of several partners, as well as my own experiences as a partner. The question we all ask is: ‘From where does our strength come?’ I argue that what is said in the literature on the subject of (the pastoral care for) dementia patients does not help the partners, because it lays a heavy burden on them, who are already suffering from feelings of grief and guilt. I do not agree with John Swinton’s idea that God created dementia. Looking for different ways of thinking about God and faith to survive with hope and love, I turn to the exegesis of the creation stories by Ellen van Wolde. These give the opportunity to take the evil of the situation of the deterioration of the personality of a patient with dementia seriously, and at the same time grant the possibility to turn the grief and guilt feelings into strength to fight evil, together with a God whose empathy and love stays with a partner in her or his loneliness and grief.Keywords: dementia; partner care; guilt feelings; evil; God as ally

The Purpose and Practice of a Public Theology in a Time of Climate Change

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Public Agenda ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
Level Of Concern ◽  
Opinion Polls

AbstractThe nature of a public theology is to concern itself with the common good and the flourishing of all. The subject of climate change is to the forefront of the public agenda. Now and then the level of concern can slip down the opinion polls and it does attract a concerted degree of scepticism. It is nevertheless an issue that can allow us to consider the purpose and practice of a public theology. This article sets out to draw upon the insights of others who have contributed to this issue of the International Journal of Public Theology. It also sets out to place this work inside other discussions on what is a public theology and its intersection with an ecotheology.

Beauvoir, Kinsey, and Midcentury Sex

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-73
Author(s):  
Judith G. Coffin
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Contemporary Culture ◽  
Fashion Magazines ◽  
The Public ◽  
American Popular Culture ◽  
Second Sex ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Francois Mauriac

This chapter mentions Alfred C. Kinsey's 1948 report, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, which was one of the most prominent research on sexuality that François Mauriac associated with Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex. It analyses Kinsey and his team of American scientists' investigation of sexual acts, practices, inclinations, and tastes they had discovered among their fellow citizens. It also talks about critics who were deeply invested in the role of literature, and the responsibility of the writer who warned that The Second Sex and the Kinsey report debased the public. The chapter likens The Second Sex and the Kinsey report to the “erotic jungle” of American popular culture and fashion magazines, and to a world of commerce, sensationalism, and prurience. It explores the scholarly study of sexuality and the public's fixation on the subject that situates The Second Sex in the larger history of contemporary culture.

Prosecutorial supervision of certain types of criminal procedural activities carried out by employees of the penal system in pre-trial proceedings

2019 ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Марина Сергеевна Красильникова
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Correctional Officers ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Penal System ◽  
Correctional Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject

Статья посвящена исследованию вопросов прокурорского надзора за деятельностью сотрудников подразделений исправительных учреждений уголовно-исполнительной системы, осуществляющих прием, регистрацию сообщений о преступлениях, их проверку и принятие решения по результатам такой проверки. Установлен круг нормативно-правовых актов, регламентирующих порядок приема, регистрации, проверки и принятия решения по сообщениям о совершенном преступлении. Проанализированы правила, относящиеся к рассматриваемой деятельности прокурора, предмет прокурорского надзора в данной области. Подчеркивается необходимость соблюдения порядка обращения с сообщениями о преступлении со стороны сотрудников исправительных учреждений, а также важность размещения соответствующей информации в общем доступе для осужденных. Подробно рассмотрены этапы деятельности сотрудников уголовно-исполнительной системы, осуществляемой в связи с поступлением сообщения о преступлении, выделены проблемные аспекты, вызывающие сложности на практике, а также являющиеся предметами прокурорских проверок, результатом которых становятся акты прокурорского реагирования. The article is devoted to the study of issues of prosecutorial supervision over the activities of employees of correctional institutions of the penal system, carrying out reception, registration of reports of crimes, their verification and decision-making on the results of such an inspection. The article establishes a range of normative-legal acts regulating the procedure of reception, registration, verification and decision-making on reports of the committed crime. The rules relating to the activities of the Prosecutor, the subject of prosecutorial supervision in this area are analyzed. It emphasizes the need to respect the treatment of reports of crime by correctional officers, as well as the importance of placing relevant information in the public domain for convicts. The stages of the activities of the employees of the penal system carried out in connection with the receipt of a report on a crime are considered in detail, the problematic aspects causing difficulties in practice are highlighted, as well as being the subjects of Prosecutor's inspections, which result in acts of Prosecutor's response.

Acts of Authority/Acts of Resistance: Theater and Politics in Colonial and Postcolonial India. By Nandi Bhatia. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2004; pp. vi + 206 pp. $49.50 cloth.

2005 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-313
Author(s):  
Ananda Lal
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Political Theatre ◽  
The Public ◽  
Secondary Material ◽  
Ann Arbor ◽  
The Subject

There are few dependable books in English on political theatre in India. Professor Bhatia's collection of essays, therefore, fills a long-felt need. She introduces the subject contextually, followed by four chapters chronologically examining key areas (British censorship of nationalistic drama, Indianizations of Shakespeare as an anticolonial statement, the Indian People's Theatre Association as a mass phenomenon in the mid-twentieth century, and Utpal Dutt's reinterpretation of Raj history in his play The Great Rebellion 1857), and concludes with a short epilogue on contemporary activist theatre by women. Most valuably for theatre historians, she places in the public domain many primary sources previously untapped in English, and unearths much secondary material that has escaped academic attention. Not least of all, she writes articulately and readably.

S. Aurenche (Éd.). La mort devant soi. Euthanasie, des clés pour un débat. Paris: Éditions Autrement, 2003.

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-88
Author(s):  
Jocelyne St-Arnaud
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Right ◽  
A Current

AbstractPublished by é ditions Autrement under the direction of Sophie Aurenche, this book examines euthanasia as a current subject of discussion in France. The January 2000 decision rendered by the Comité consultative national d'éthique (CCNE) accepting euthanasia in extenuating circumstances, and the passing of the March 2002 law on the rights of patients, including the right to a dignified death, have reopened the debate on the subject of euthanasia. No longer discussed only in the back rooms of the hospital or among those practising within the ethical and juridical spheres, euthanasia has emerged into the public domain. Journalist Sophie Aurenche has facilitated the debate by giving voice to speakers from a number of disciplines; each brings expertise and knowledge to the discussion and each examines the following question: is euthanasia a humanist duty or an inhumane practice? In the first section of the book, the texts address the question based on the meaning of the term euthanasia and its related concepts. The second half is dedicated to testimonies and reflections on the experience and practice of euthanasia. This book is a must for those interested in the study and repercussions of euthanasia and palliative care. The studies brought together in this volume as well as the realities they describe should be consulted in any future research on possible solutions envisioned on the issue of euthanasia.

Brian Friel and Field Day

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilynn Richtarik
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Brian Friel ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theatre Company ◽  
Symbolic Value ◽  
The Subject ◽  
A Company ◽  
Double Cross

When Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea formed the Field Day Theatre Company to stage Friel’sTranslationsin 1980, they created a company arguably more conscious of its own symbolic value, and its own place in history, than any since the Abbey. Field Day soon developed into a wider cultural enterprise, playing a significant role in setting the terms of cultural debate in the 1980s, for which it was both vigorously supported and sharply criticized. The terms of this debate shaped the response to Field Day’s theatrical productions: Friel’sTranslationsand its companion piece,The Communication Cord, as well as key works by other writers, notably Thomas Kilroy’sDouble Crossand Stewart Parker’sPentecost. Drawing extensively on manuscript materials that have only recently entered the public domain, the Field Day initiative and Friel’s role in it are the subject of this chapter.

Rock Art and the Côa Valley Archaeological Park: A Case Study in the Preservation of Portugal’s Prehistoric Rupestral Heritage

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
António Martinho Baptista ◽  
António Pedro Batarda Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Expert Opinion ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Construction Work ◽  
Rescue Work ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Attention ◽  
Power Company ◽  
The Media

Although Nelson Rebanda—the archaeologist working for the electricity company (EDP) that was building a dam in the Côa river—probably discovered the first Côa Valley engraved surface with Palaeolithic motifs (the now well-known Rock 1 of Canada do Inferno) in November 1991, the find was only revealed to the public in November 1994 (Jorge 1995; Rebanda 1995). Subsequently, the first reports on ‘important archaeological finds in the Côa Valley’ started to appear in the newspapers. The Canada do Inferno engravings were located upstream and very near to the construction site of the Côa dam. The construction work advanced at a good pace and the completion of the dam would irremediably destroy the engravings. The public revelation of the find instantly triggered a huge controversy since the first specialists to visit the site immediately classified the engravings as being of Palaeolithic style. As a result of the media attention on the Côa and right after the broadcast of the first TV reports, a pilgrimage to the Côa Valley rock-art surfaces began. Reacting to the first news on an affair that was starting to be known as ‘the Côa scandal’, IPPAR (the state body that, at the time, was in charge of managing archaeology in Portugal) created, at the end of November 1994, a committee to follow the archaeological rescue work being done in the Côa. Nevertheless, and considering the serious problem created by the construction of the dam (and the construction work continued), it rapidly became evident that IPPAR was gradually losing control over the situation as it shifted to the public domain. In December 1994, IPPAR asked UNESCO for an expert opinion to challenge the efforts of EDP (the Portuguese Power Company responsible for the construction of the dam and at the time totally state owned) to demonstrate that the Côa findings were not of Palaeolithic chronology. Throughout 1995, this would be a crucial issue since some defended the position that, if the engravings were not Palaeolithic, their patrimonial value would not be very important and, therefore, the dam could be built!

scholarly journals Postmoderne kerk-wees in die lig van publieke teologie – eenheid en verskeidenheid

2006 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Practical Theology ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theological Discourse ◽  
Truth Claims ◽  
Institutional Church ◽  
The Church ◽  
Postmodern Thinking

Being postmodern church in light of public theology – unity and diversityFoundationalism criticizes the “relativism” of postmodernity which deconstructs absolute and objective totalitarian truth claims. Although most postmodern scholars deny advocating relativism, they do acknowledge that plurality features significantly in postmodern thinking. Plurality and diversity are important to the theological discourse tool, because the church claims to be catholic and ecumenical. In a postmodern context people who do not necessarily affiliate with the institutional church may nevertheless regard themselves as Christians. The article supports a public theological discourse and aims to provide a framework for reflection on unity and diversity in postmodern faith communities. Public practical theology includes the public as one of its audiences. After a brief overview of the phenomenon of postmodernity, the article explores the role of plurality in ecclesiology. It reflects on the challenge of facilitating a dialogue between members of churches and those who regard themselves as spiritual in the secularized context of a “churchless Christianity”. The purpose of the article is to contribute to the ecumenism and the catholicity of the church.

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