Reason, Religion, and Decision-Making in Mission

1986 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-311
Author(s):  
Robert L. Ramseyer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
Human Culture ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Continuum

A continuum in criteria for decision-making is proposed. Human culture pulls toward the “closed” end where decisions are dependent on precedent and tradition, on logic and consistency. The God of the Bible, a law unto himself is at the other “open” end. Jesus and the early Christians were near the open end where considerations about people are always more important than precedent, logic, and consistency when decisions are made. However, we, as human beings, are always being pulled by our culture toward the opposite end of the continuum. A model of incarnational decision-making is outlined, modeled on the example of Jesus in the Gospels, in which decisions are made by those who are fully involved in the situation rather than by those who are “disinterested” and “objective.” The implications of this for Christian mission today are probed.

scholarly journals Types of Love Between People: A Modern Perspective Using A Descriptive Assessment of Survey Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip D. Clingan
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Human Race ◽  
Good Relationship ◽  
Descriptive Assessment ◽  
The Bible ◽  
True Love ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Modern Perspective

Love is the strong affection a person has towards the other person. Love can be between people of different gender, age, colour, social status, religion, or nationality. True love knows no boundaries, and that is why there exist different types of love. Most of the different types of love are derived from ancient Greek. The purpose of the study is to show why different people will have a different kind of love and why each of the love is important to the parties involved. The love between two people can take different forms, and two parties cannot have all the ten types of love discussed. The ten types of love discussed include love for parents, love for friends, agape love, love for animals, intimate love, selfish love, and unenduring love for friends, love for close friends, obsessive love towards people, and child love. Each of the love is unique in its way and is beneficial to both parties involved. The greatest of these types of love is agape love. A good example of agape love was portrayed in the life of Jesus in the Bible. He loved the human race unconditionally and gave all to save them from humanity. Also, child love and parent love are important types of love because they enhance strong bonds between parents and their children. Animal love can be obsessive because it will make a person become too close to animals in caring for them. However, it’s an important type of love because it creates a good relationship between human beings and animals. Animals tend to feel protected in the presence of human beings.

scholarly journals La fondazione filosofico-teologica dell’etica dell’ambiente

2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Golser
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ethical Responsibility ◽  
Theological Ethics ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
Holy See ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Catholic Theological

Storicamente si può affermare che la Santa Sede è stata all’avanguardia nell’attenzione posta ai problemi ecologici, perché le sue prime prese di posizione risalgono all’inizio degli anni ‘70. Un’etica teologica cattolica si è sviluppata dalla metà degli anni ’80, dopo che le scienze bibliche hanno dovuto confutare l’accusa che l’antropocentrismo della Bibbia sia stata una delle cause dello sfruttamento della terra. Le ragioni storiche di un atteggiamento sbagliato verso la natura sono da vedere piuttosto nel pensiero filosofico moderno che si è sviluppato spesso in contrapposizione al cristianesimo, mentre la Bibbia e la teologia hanno in verità una visione teocentrica della creazione. I tentativi filosofici, che al posto dell’uomo vogliono mettere al centro della riflessione etica la natura stessa o la vita o anche la possibilità di soffrire, non hanno consistenza perché soltanto la persona umana come essere consapevole e libero può assumersi una responsabilità etica. Bisogna però tener conto di tutte le altre creature che in quanto create hanno una loro dignità propria. Essere creati significa essere relazionati a Dio; la fede in Dio Creatore comporta così un l’antropocentrismo relazionale. Da questi presupposti può essere sviluppata un’etica ecologica teologica che ha due percorsi, uno che insiste sul cambiamento necessario degli atteggiamenti di fondo verso la natura (le virtù ecologiche), ed uno che da determinati principi e da esperienze consolidate formula delle norme concrete per l’agire ecologico responsabile. ---------- Historically, one can say that the Holy See has been a pioneer for the attention paid to ecological issues, as it started taking a stance on the topic already in the early ‘70s of XX century. A catholic theological ethics was developed in the mid-‘80s, after the biblical sciences had to refuse the accusation that made biblical anthropocentrism one of the main causes of the exploitation of the earth. The historical reasons for a wrong attitude toward nature are to be found instead in the contemporary philosophical thinking that often developed against Christianity, while theology and the Bible promote a theocentric vision of creation. The philosophical attempts that place nature or life, or even the chance to suffer in lieu of man at the center of the ethical way of thinking, have no grounds because only human beings, self-aware and free, can take ethical responsibility. One needs to consider all creatures that, being created, have a dignity of their own. Being created means having a relation with God. Hence, the faith in the Creator involves a relational anthropocentrism. Departing from such assumptions, a theological environmental ethics can be developed along two paths, one insisting on the necessary change of the basic stance toward nature (i.e. ecological virtues), the other starting from recognized principles and experiences and postulating actual rules for responsible ecological behavior.

The sovereignty of revelation: On Paul Ricœur’s hermeneutics of revelation

2021 ◽  
pp. 000842982110448
Author(s):  
Balázs M Mezei
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Human Understanding ◽  
The One ◽  
Central Term

In this article I overview Paul Ricœur’s understanding of divine revelation on the basis of some of his relevant writings. I argue that Ricœur’s hermeneutics of revelation has two aspects: on the one hand Ricœur’s explains the complex ways of acquiring and interpreting divine revelation especially with respect to the Bible; on the other hand, he acknowledges that revelation, originating in God’s freedom, is immediately given. In Ricœur’s view, the understanding of this immediacy is tainted by the presence of evil in human understanding which hinders the realization of revelation itself. As a critique of this standpoint I argue that the immediate givenness of revelation is logically and phenomenologically presupposed in our interpretations. Any hermeneutics of revelation entails a phenomenology of revelation. This phenomenology contains both the self-founding of human beings and, at the same time, the recognition of the absoluteness of the divine. Husserl’s phenomenology offers a way to the understanding of the immediacy of revelation through his central term of Eigenheitlichkeit. Ricœur understands this term not as genuine reality but rather as appartenance, ‘belonging to’, and reshapes its meaning in line with a hermeneutical naturalism. This explains his difficulty to conceive properly the sovereignty of revelation and the importance of phenomenology in the understanding of its immediate character.

From Areopagus to Corinth (Acts 17:22–31; I Cor 2:1–5) A Study on the Transition from the Power of Knowledge to the Power of the Spirit

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Pathrapankal
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The People ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
History Of ◽  
Change Of Perspective ◽  
The Church

AbstractHow are we to understand Christian mission in our time? Is it the obedient response to the commission of his disciples by Jesus after his resurrection (Mt 28:18–20)? What should be the motivating power behind the mission of the church? Is it patterned on the conquest expeditions of the people of Israel narrated in the Old Testament? The long history of the mission of the church, especially as organized by the West, would give us such an impression. This approach has more the nature of exercising power over the other, the power of knowledge and the power of self to win over the other. From the time of the Roman Emperor, Constantine, this had been the pattern in the history of the western church. But times have changed and there is a real shift in the understanding of Christian mission in the context of religious pluralism. The Bible itself seems to support and substantiate this change of perspective of understanding mission as the operation of the power of the Spirit of God. Taking two New Testament writings, the Acts of the Apostles and the first Letter to the Corinthians as paradigms, the author tries to see how Paul first of all attempted to preach the gospel in Athens with the eloquence and wisdom of the Greeks and then changed his approach in Corinth to give centrality to the power of the Spirit of God. Although we may not argue for a historical sequence for this change of attitude in the case of Paul, applying new developments in biblical interpretation, we can still propose it as a trans-textual approach with a message for our time. The Word of God has within itself a dynamism to take on new meanings and new horizons of ideas through its encounter with new contexts in a pluralistic world.

Computer-Assisted Analysis of Parallel Texts in the Bible. The Case of 2 Kings xviii-xix and Its Parallels in Isaiah and Chronicles

2007 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Wido van Peursen ◽  
Eep Talstra
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Assisted Analysis ◽  
Parallel Texts ◽  
The Continuum ◽  
The Way

AbstractIn literary-critical and text historical studies of the Bible the comparison of parallel texts plays an important role. Starting from the description of the proximity of parallel texts as a continuum from very close to very loose, this article discusses the way in which the computer can facilitate a comparison of various types of parallel texts. 2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 37-38 are taken as an example of two closely related texts. The Kings chapters and their parallels in 2 Chronicles 32 occupy a position at the other side of the continuum. These chapters differ so much, that it is sometimes impossible to establish which verses should be considered parallel. The computer-assisted analysis brings to light some striking correspondences, that disappear in traditional synopses, such as Ben David's Parallels in the Bible. These observations have an impact on our evaluation of the Chronicler's user of his sources and his literary taste.

The Influence of Zāhirī Theory On Ibn Hazm's Theology: the Case of His Interpretation of the Anthropomorphic Text "the Hand of God"

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
AL Makin
Keyword(s):  
Literal Meaning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Theological Debate ◽  
The One ◽  
Unity Of God ◽  
Ibn Hazm

AbstractBoth the Bible and the Qur¸ān contain anthropomorphic passages, and so a theological debate over their interpretation is very common in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the Qur¸ān, there are several anthropomorphic texts which describe God as having bodily features like those of human beings. For instance, God is said to have a face, eyes, feet, and hands. Various attempts were made to interpret such texts, either literally by accepting the corporcality of God or metaphorically by avoiding the implication of anthropomorphic texts. It is interesting how Ibn Hazm, who upheld Zāhirī theory (maintaining the literal meaning), tried to interpret Qur. 38:76, 5:67, 48:10 and 36:70 where reference is made to "the Hand of God." On the one hand, he felt he should maintain the literal meaning, according to which god is supposed to have hands. On the other hand, he declared himself to be a defender of tawhīd (the unity of God), which demanded that he reject all possibility of similarities between God and any of his creatures. This paper will focus on Ibn Hazm's argument by looking at his al-Fisal wa al-Milal wa al-Nihal.

Gli hussiti come (mancata) minoranza conciliare al Concilio di Basilea (1431–1433)

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 322-351
Author(s):  
Alberto Cadili
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
The Other ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Majority Principle ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Abstract In 1433 the hussite delegation in Basle wanted to discuss the Four Articles according to the pacts of Eger (the “judge of Eger”), i.e. primarily according to the Bible. The delegates insisted on persuading the other party or on being persuaded by it; they weren’t willing to become a conciliar minority because the decision-making processes were based on the majority-principle. Furthermore, the Council offered a different “judge”: It was the Council itself, because the infallible Church beheld the “monopoly” of the Bible exegesis and transmitted this monopoly to the Synod. In this way it became less relevant to discuss the specific topics of the Four Articles. The Hussites, however, remained outside this doctrine, which was fundamental for the legitimacy of the conciliar decision-making process: they didn’t recognize this new judge and didn’t subdue to him.

Development of an Ideal Project Law

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Hall ◽  
Ron Kohl ◽  
Roger Graves
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Research Collaboration ◽  
Ideal Gas ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Operational Risks ◽  
Ideal Gas Law ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Systematic Thinking ◽  
The Ideal

Our research collaboration has begun a project to develop an Ideal Project Law (IPL). What we are trying to accomplish is the development of some equation with a mathematical underpinning that can usefully relate Functionality, Cost, Schedule and Risk which can then be graphed, and this graph then becomes a decision making and communications aid. For some of us, the current contention is that a possible IPL is analogous to the Ideal Gas Law (IGL), which relates Pressure (P), Volume (V) and Temperature (T) for reasonably well-behaved gases. (P*V)/T = Constant (where the constant has very much to do with the nature of the gas under discussion). This is due to our belief that the IPL will represent some form of a relationship (inverse or direct) between Cost (C), Schedule (S), Functionality (F) and Risk (R) much like the IGL represents relationships between P, V and T for a given gas. We also expect that at least some of the factors will change based on the type of project, so we might have to develop a range of factors and constants. The Ideal Gas Law informs us, for example, that if you keep V fixed and increase P, then you can expect T to also increase. So “keep this one factor fixed, and change that other factor and then watch the third factor move one way or the other” relationships can be described via the Ideal Gas Law. We believe that this “push on one factor and see what happens to the other factors” feature of the Ideal Gas Law seems to be very analogous to project and operation Cost, Schedule, Functionality and Risk relationships. This law, or some such function, is absolutely essential. Having such a Law that is proven valid will introduce (or rather tactfully enforce) some systematic thinking in the project and operational management set-up. Otherwise, no matter how elaborate a case is made for project or operational risks, the risk decisions will be left to the whims, fancies and moods of the key decision-making person(s) in the organization or project — we are working towards reducing this subjectivity in decision-making. We may determine that it is impossible to have a 100% scientific outlook on project or operational factors simply because human beings are involved, but if that is the case, we may be able to be at least 80% scientific about it.

First impressions within the Gaze Encounter

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1061-1061
Author(s):  
D.R. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Impressions ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Unconditional Positive Regard ◽  
Primary Focus

Eye contact, as an encounter between two conscious and self-conscious human beings, and in advance of any word being spoken, appears to have the remarkable capacity to accurately (Gladwell, 2005) form the feelings and the meaning-content that structures our interpretation of Others as more or less perfect or different versions of ourselves (e.g. “People find out I’m an actress and I see that ‘whore’ look flicker across their eyes” [Rachel Weisz]).With a primary focus on ‘the novel’ “as an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness” (Lodge, 2002), this paper will seek to analyse and discuss the underpinning concepts and philosophical ideas, together with any prevailing psychological assumptions that relate to the content of The Gaze Encounter. More precisely, what occurs in that moment between the “before we are and what we were” (Lowell, 1992); in that moment when all kinds of assumptions and inferences, as well as judgements and decisions are made, usually by both characters, about the Other's ‘inner truth’, sanity, or essential being?This paper seeks to excavate those base and mainly unconscious physical sensations that form the basis of more or less conscious feelings that, then, generate decisions about The Other; frequently, before a word is spoken.The Heuristic research methodology (Moustakas, 1990) will be employed throughout. The results will establish a more robust relationship between sensations/feelings/decision-making.The Conclusions will either support of undermine Rogers’ (1957) concept of ‘unconditional positive regard’. DRW

C. The Continuous Spectrum of Pulsating Variable Stars

1967 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 177-206
Author(s):  
J. B. Oke ◽  
C. A. Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Spectrum ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Velocity Fields ◽  
The Other ◽  
Line Spectrum ◽  
Direct Information ◽  
Thermodynamic Structure ◽  
Diagnostic Interpretation ◽  
Pulsating Variable Stars ◽  
The Continuum

Pecker:The topic to be considered today is the continuous spectrum of certain stars, whose variability we attribute to a pulsation of some part of their structure. Obviously, this continuous spectrum provides a test of the pulsation theory to the extent that the continuum is completely and accurately observed and that we can analyse it to infer the structure of the star producing it. The continuum is one of the two possible spectral observations; the other is the line spectrum. It is obvious that from studies of the continuum alone, we obtain no direct information on the velocity fields in the star. We obtain information only on the thermodynamic structure of the photospheric layers of these stars–the photospheric layers being defined as those from which the observed continuum directly arises. So the problems arising in a study of the continuum are of two general kinds: completeness of observation, and adequacy of diagnostic interpretation. I will make a few comments on these, then turn the meeting over to Oke and Whitney.

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