scholarly journals Defiling the Church: The Impact of Mmusuo in Akan Conception

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Agana-Nsiire Agana ◽  
Charles Prempeh
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Church

Many Christian churches in parts of Ghana dominated by Akans do not allow corpses to be brought inside the church during funerals services. Others face constant and vehement objection when it is done. Cultural differences on the subject have fuelled heated disputes that have led in some cases to severe congregational division. Opposition is often sustained by a culturally biased approach to biblical texts concerning sacredness and defilement as related to Old Testament sanctuary and temple ritual. Particularly, the religious philosophy of mmusuo provides the psycho-emotive motivation from which many Akan Christians vehemently oppose the practice as sacrilegious. It also provides an analytical and rhetorical framework for appropriating various biblical passages relating to religious sacrilege. This paper unpacks this framework and proposes effectively contextualized theology as a means of avoiding such erroneous conflations and resolving the disputes that arise at the interface of African culture and Christian religion, especially in multicultural congregations.

Seven Sacraments Compositions in English Medieval Art

1929 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. McN. Rushforth
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Art ◽  
Medieval Art ◽  
Christian Art ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Great Tradition ◽  
Speculum Humanae Salvationis ◽  
Church Art ◽  
The Church

Émile Mâle says that medieval Christian art in its last period had lost touch with the great tradition of symbolism which had been so important in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and still largely dominated the art of the fourteenth. But there was one great symbolical idea which survived, and that was the harmony of the Old and New Testaments; and so we find among the most popular subjects of fifteenth-century Church art the concordance of the Apostles and Prophets in the Creed, and the series of parallels between the life of Jesus and episodes of Old Testament history, which were summed up and digested in the Biblia Pauperum and the Speculum Humanae Salvationis. The reason for the popularity of these subjects was, no doubt, their didactic value, and though Mâle does not develop this side of the subject, we may say that one, though not the only, characteristic of the religious art of the fifteenth century was that, instead of being symbolical, it became didactic. We find in this period a whole series of subjects which reduced the articles of Christian faith and practice to pictorial form, and seem to have been intended to illustrate the medieval catechism by which the teaching of the Church was imparted.

scholarly journals Quest for Miracle Healing and Prosperity in the New Religious Movements in Nigeria: Its Causal Phenomena

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-186
Author(s):  
Benjamin Chukwunoso Nwokocha
Keyword(s):  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
The People ◽  
Prosperity Preaching ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Church ◽  
Limited Scope

This paper x-rayed in a very precise form the theology of miracle healing and prosperity message expounded by the preachers of the new generation churches in Nigeria. Since however, this title is a bit too vast and ambitious for the limited scope and time of the discourse, the paper, therefore, investigated the salient issues involved in the theology of miracle healing and prosperity message as expounded by the preachers of the new generation churches in the south-east of Nigeria; though south-east/Igboland and Nigeria are used interchangeably. It also investigated how the theology amongst other factors has occasioned the proliferations of new religious movements in Nigeria. Other issues that are connected to the growth of the new religious movements in Nigeria and Igboland in particular examined in this study included the African’s quest for power, cultural identity, ethnic identity, health, and economic emancipation. The purpose of this study is to x-ray the impact of prosperity preaching and quest for miracle in the new religious movements in Nigeria. The findings showed that the import of the new religious movements in Nigeria is occasioned by the excesses of the colonial and missionary overlords in the pre-colonial Nigeria. Findings also indicated that the new religious movements came to fore in Nigeria as a religion of the oppressed in the cultural, social, religious and political spheres. It was developed as a rescue mission to the already degraded religion and tradition of the people. The methods of approach include historical and phenomenological methods. The study however recommends the theology of prosperity and miracle healing as a correct and sound teaching for not just the new religious movements but for all Christian churches in Nigeria. The study equally advocates that it would not be expounded beyond proportion so that the church would not be reduced to a mere miracle centers.

scholarly journals Celebrating the feasts of the Old Testament in Christian contexts

2006 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdel Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Church

Many early Christian churches incorporated a number of non-biblical, even “pagan” symbols and rituals into their liturgy (e. g. the origin of Christmas). They were contextualized into the church by a brand new Christian content to them. From its first inception Christianity attempted to slander and suppress the pagan myths and rituals in the name of its own message. This, however, does not alter the fact that the church also sought some connections in the sphere of myth. Since the Reformation many Protestant churches have tended to “cleanse” the church from all forms of symbols and rituals that could be reminiscent of its earlier connection with the Roman Catholic Church. The article argues that this left an emptiness, a longing for symbols and rituals which usually form an essential part of a normal religious experience. The Old Testament has both a “deficit” and a “surplus” which might have an abiding significance for Christians. It has become clear from archaeological discoveries that Jewish societies formed an integral part of early Christian societies.

Az arcszín elváltozásának filológiai és antropológiai kérdései az Ószövetségben

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-30
Author(s):  
Áron Németh
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Somatic Signs ◽  
The Face ◽  
Biblical Texts

"Changes in the Face Colour in the Old Testament: Philological and Anthropological Observations. One of the most obvious somatic signs of emotional reactions is a change in complexion (mainly paleness or redness), which can also be found in the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament. Their exact translation and interpretation, however, are debated. We start with the analysis of Nah. 2:11, in which the meaning and etymology of the term פָּארוּר (11bβ) are unclear, and the interpretations are controversial. In my view, the question of meaning can be answered not by an etymological approach but rather by the closer examination of the structure of the text and the identification of the conceptual metonyms and metaphors in it. The philological question relates to the possible translation of these physiological phenomena, and the anthropological question concerns the possible cultural differences in the conceptualization of certain emotions (particularly fear and shame). The topic of the change in facial colour concerns other biblical and extra-biblical texts. Some passages from the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel are important, while from the ANE context the Ugaritic Baal myth and the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon seem to be relevant. Keywords: Old Testament anthropology, emotions, face colour/complexion, conceptual metonyms/metaphors "

Benthamism in England and America

1941 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 855-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Reform ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
American Political Thought ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Church ◽  
Direct Attack ◽  
Cross Current

The main purpose of this paper is not so much to measure the impact of utilitarianism on American political thought as to explain why utilitarian influence was so slight. The question I am seeking to answer may be phrased as follows: How did it come about that utilitarianism, the main current in English thought for two or three generations, was little more than a series of ripples, or at most a weak cross-current, on this side of the Atlantic? The problem becomes more puzzling when one reflects that the period of the rise and growth of utilitarianism in England (the first three or four decades of the nineteenth century) was an era in which intellectual relations between the two countries were especially close and one in which movements of political and social reform ran parallel courses. Quite reasonably, too, one might suppose that the qualities of Bentham's thought which contributed to its spread in England would have insured its enthusiastic reception here. A doctrine which contemptuously rejected tradition, preached hard-headed, calculating practicality, conceived of the individual as an isolated atomistic unit, and which in all its aspects and phases appealed to the virtues and limitations of the middle-class man of affairs—such a doctrine, one might think, would have flourished on nineteenth-century American soil.As preliminary to a direct attack on the problem, some definitions or distinctions are in order. “When I mention religion,” said Parson Thwackum, “I mean the Christian religion; and not only the Christian religion, but the Protestant religion; and not only the Protestant religion, but the Church of England.”

Ignatius and the Archives

1978 ◽  
Vol 71 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 97-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Schoedel
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Current View ◽  
Direct Information ◽  
Formal Authority ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Church

The well known passage about the “archives” and the “gospel” in Ignatius’ Letter to the Philadelphians (8.2) is one of the most intriguing glimpses given us of debate in the church early in the second century. Wide agreement about the meaning of the passage seems to have been reached, and the current view may be summarized more or less as follows: Ignatius recalls a conversation that picks up just after he had made a theological point during his visit to Philadelphia (he gives us no direct information on the subject of the discussion). His opponents had replied (according to most commentators) that if they did not find it in the “archives” (that is, the Old Testament), they did not believe it to be in the “gospel.” Ignatius had retorted that Scripture in fact supported him: “It is written” (γέγραπται). But his opponents had answered that his certainty was not well grounded: “That is just the question.” The passage concludes with a statement that may represent not so much what Ignatius said then as what he now regards as an appropriate way of ending such debates. The “archives” (he says) are Jesus Christ; or (as he rephrases it) the “inviolable archives” are Christ's cross, death, resurrection, and the faith that comes through him. If this is what the passage means, it represents a remarkable reliance on the “gospel” and the events of salvation as opposed to the formal authority of the (Old Testament) Scriptures.

scholarly journals Nomination of God in Biblical-theological tradition of Eastern (Oriental) Christians

Litera ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 129-141
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Leonidovich Shukurov
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Semitic Languages ◽  
The World ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Methodological Principles

The goal of this research is the philological examination of principles of nomination of God in the Oriental theological tradition of Christianity. The concurrent conceptual objective lies in comparison of Eastern Christian (Oriental) doctrine of nominations of God and the Cappadocian divine onomatology. The subject of this article is the so-called revealed nomination Other nominations of God are interpreted as replacements for the proper name of the Biblical God Yahweh, the profane usage of which was a taboo back in the Old Testament era. The research employs the methodological principles of Biblical exegetics and linguistic hermeneutics. The author differentiates the exegetic and hermeneutic approaches accepted in the theological science. It implies that that the firs is associated with the particular philological methods of interpretation of Biblical texts, while the second – with the theological generalizations and interpretations that are based on the results of exegetic explication. The conclusion is made that the key features of Syriac (and Eastern overall) divine onomatology consist in a distinct categorization of divine nominations, among which special status belongs to the proper name (nomen proprium) of God, which is inherited by Eastern Christians from the Old Testament Jewish traditions; as well as in preservation of the common to Old Testament religiosity sacralization of the name of God as a source of sanctifying power and symbol of God’s presence. Therefore, within the Syriac Christian tradition, which prompted the development of traditions of all Eastern (Oriental) non-Chalcedonian churches, was formed a special type of divine onomatology based on the Old Testament cult of the nomination of God, which is an attribute of semitic sense of the world, manifested in linguistic peculiarities of Biblical translations into Semitic languages (Targum and Peshitta).

scholarly journals Grundtvig som fortolker af Det Gamle Testamente

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-80
Author(s):  
Jesper Høgenhaven
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Precise Description ◽  
Critical Position ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Church ◽  
Canonical Status

Grundtvig som fortolker af Det Gamle Testamente[Grundtvig 's reception of the Old Testament]By Jesper HøgenhavenThis article analyses aspects of Grundtvig’s reception of the Old Testament. In his historical works from 1812, 1814, and 1833, Grundtvig makes a number of important remarks on the role and significance of the Old Testament. His position has sometimes been characterised as “fundamentalist”, but as is shown in a discussion with recent contributions (Ole Vind, Kim Ame Pedersen), this is hardly a precise description. While Grundtvig repeatedly defends the Old Testament texts as historically reliable - and as authentic prophecies related to the coming of Christ - and makes polemic remarks against historical criticism, he nevertheless demonstrates a critical position regarding the canonical status of Old Testament books, and in his later works, he explicitly renounces the doctrine of verbal inspiration and directs polemical remarks at both rationalists and orthodox adherents of verbal inspiration. The Jewish scriptures are not the foundation upon which the church is built, as the orthodox theologians would have it. This does not mean that the Old Testament loses its importance for Grundtvig. His work amply demonstrates the centrality of biblical texts and motifs. In his sermons he makes extensive use of Old Testament quotations, interpreting them according to the classic patterns as prophecies directly relevant for the church, or as typological models for Christians. What is interesting, however, is that whereas explicit quotations are found less frequently in Grundtvig’s later sermons, his sermons are permeated with biblical motifs and imagery from the Old Testament. In his hymns, he achieves the creation of a universe which is biblical in a comprehensive sense.

Coupling versus Decoupling Religion and Ethnicity in the First and Second Generations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prema A. Kurien
Keyword(s):  
Second Generation ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Christian Worship ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Religion And Ethnicity ◽  
First And Second Generation ◽  
The Church ◽  
At Home

First- and second-generation Mar Thoma Americans had very different understandings about the meaning of being Christian. Religion and ethnicity also played different roles in their lives. Chapter 3 focuses particularly on the intergenerational cleavages that developed due to the divergent models of religion that the two generations espouse. The different models of religion meant that immigrants and their children had very different ideas about the role of the church, Christian worship, and evangelism, with the result that the two groups were often at odds both in the church and at home on the subject of religion. This chapter examines some of these differences and their implications for the Mar Thoma church.

Women and the Teaching Office According to Calvin

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-510
Author(s):  
Robert White
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Subject ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Male Leadership ◽  
The Church ◽  
Literary Circles

Few aspects of Paul's teaching have proved more controversial in recent times than his injunction that women should neither speak (lalein) nor teach (didaskein) in church assemblies (1 Cor. 14.34–35; 1 Tim. 2.11–12). To those seeking to promote the ministry of women in the church, the apostle's words appear as a personal expression of opinion founded on patriarchal prejudice, on rabbinic conservatism or on purely local considerations of strategy, motives which are of little more than documentary interest in the current debate. To proponents of the principle of male leadership, on the other hand, Paul's instruction forms part of a normative, enduring evangelical tradition which is often assumed to bear not only on the order of the church but on the order of creation itself. In these circumstances it is instructive to examine Calvin's treatment of the subject as found not only in his major dogmatic work, The Institute of the Christian Religion, but at various places in his sermons and commentaries. Our purpose here is not to make Calvin the arbiter of what, in his own day, was a highly marginal question – outside of court and literary circles, equality of the sexes was not a serious Renaissance concern – but rather to understand how he interpreted Paul's teaching in the context of a creation which God was already renewing and of a church where all were already made one in Christ.

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