Rebooting The Family

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-178
Author(s):  
Sanja Nilsson

The Family International (TFI) is a religious movement that emerged in the late 1960s. It was founded by David Berg (1919?1994), who later came to be perceived by adherents as the End-Time Prophet. The movement is based on Christian theology but has never had more than 10 000 followers. It has, however, made itself internationally famous through a radical interpretation of the Bible and critique of mainstream society. The Family has received media attention partly due to its liberal views on sexuality. The group is well-known within the research field of sociology of religion and new religious movements, and has been extensively studied as a “high-tension” group that has limited and regulated contact with mainstream society. Although there are some excellent in-depth case studies on the Family, the group is constantly changing due to its theology being based on continuous prophecy. This means that the group’s doctrines and praxis have changed considerably over the course of its 40-year history. This article examines the latest change in The Family International, called the Reboot, which was implemented in September 2010, in order to get a clearer picture of what constitutes this shift. This article also aims to show how changes in social boundaries due to the implementation of the Reboot are perceived by some members of The Family International.

Numen ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 483-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyal Regev

Comparing early Christian groups with modern new religious movements (nrms) and cults enables us to identify and analyze indicative social and religious attributes that defined the self-identity of the early Christians (as reflected in the letters of Paul, Acts, and the Gospel of John), made them stand out as different, and, ultimately, led to their rejection by outside society.The devotion to Jesus as Christ and the inclusion of Gentiles among these early Christian groups were novel features that, by definition, created a new religious movement rejected by both Jews and Romans. The intense recruitment of converts by early Christians, also a characteristic ofnrms, was seen as a direct threat by their contemporaries. Early Christian groups lacked social separation from mainstream society, strong demands on their members along with sanctions against deviant ones, and systematic organization — all characteristics which are particular to certain cults, such as Scientology in its early years and the Sōka Gakkai. Taken together, these three social features demonstrate that early Christianity was not a segregated sect but, rather, a cult that aimed to penetrate mainstream society, gain legitimacy, and recruit converts.


1970 ◽  
pp. 38-45
Author(s):  
May Abu Jaber

Violence against women (VAW) continues to exist as a pervasive, structural,systematic, and institutionalized violation of women’s basic human rights (UNDivision of Advancement for Women, 2006). It cuts across the boundaries of age, race, class, education, and religion which affect women of all ages and all backgrounds in every corner of the world. Such violence is used to control and subjugate women by instilling a sense of insecurity that keeps them “bound to the home, economically exploited and socially suppressed” (Mathu, 2008, p. 65). It is estimated that one out of every five women worldwide will be abused during her lifetime with rates reaching up to 70 percent in some countries (WHO, 2005). Whether this abuse is perpetrated by the state and its agents, by family members, or even by strangers, VAW is closely related to the regulation of sexuality in a gender specific (patriarchal) manner. This regulation is, on the one hand, maintained through the implementation of strict cultural, communal, and religious norms, and on the other hand, through particular legal measures that sustain these norms. Therefore, religious institutions, the media, the family/tribe, cultural networks, and the legal system continually disciplinewomen’s sexuality and punish those women (and in some instances men) who have transgressed or allegedly contravened the social boundaries of ‘appropriateness’ as delineated by each society. Such women/men may include lesbians/gays, women who appear ‘too masculine’ or men who appear ‘too feminine,’ women who try to exercise their rights freely or men who do not assert their rights as ‘real men’ should, women/men who have been sexually assaulted or raped, and women/men who challenge male/older male authority.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 1663-1681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Ting Lee ◽  
Heng-Chun Kuo ◽  
Yung-Hsiang Chen ◽  
Ming-Yen Tsai

The polysaccharides in many plants are attracting worldwide attention because of their biological activities and medical properties, such as anti-viral, anti-oxidative, antichronic inflammation, anti-hypertensive, immunomodulation, and neuron-protective effects, as well as anti-tumor activity. Denodrobium species, a genus of the family orchidaceae, have been used as herbal medicines for hundreds of years in China due to their pharmacological effects. These effects include nourishing the Yin, supplementing the stomach, increasing body fluids, and clearing heat. Recently, numerous researchers have investigated possible active compounds in Denodrobium species, such as lectins, phenanthrenes, alkaloids, trigonopol A, and polysaccharides. Unlike those of other plants, the biological effects of polysaccharides in Dendrobium are a novel research field. In this review, we focus on these novel findings to give readers an overall picture of the intriguing therapeutic potential of polysaccharides in Dendrobium, especially those of the four commonly-used Denodrobium species: D. huoshanense, D. offininale, D. nobile, and D. chrysotoxum.


Numen ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 243-264
Author(s):  
Jonas Otterbeck

This article addresses the understanding of Islam of nine young adult Muslims living in the Malmö and Copenhagen region.1 Throughout the interviews with the young adults, they mark their distance from what they perceive as unacceptable forms of Islamic ideas and practices, labeling these ideas as extremist and inconsistent. They develop discursive techniques of distancing themselves from the mediated Islam of radicals and the often negative rendering of Islam that they encounter in daily life and in the media. By negotiating with the dominant discourse on what a “respectable religion” should look like, the young adults construct a religiosity that shares much of theformprescribed by mainstream society, but is different incontent. The theoretical framework is drawn from the study of sociology of religion and, in particular, from Beverley Skeggs’ theories on respectability (1997).


KIRYOKU ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-300
Author(s):  
Sri Sudarsih

The purpose of this study is to explore traditional moral values in Japanese society that are able to survive and be implemented in everyday life in the modern era. In addition, it is able to shape the distinctive character of the Japanese, including the role of women who contribute to maintaining traditional moral values. This research is a qualitative research field of philosophy with the object of formal values and the material object is the development of women's position in Japanese society. The results achieved in the study: Japanese women played an important role in the history of the struggle until Japan achieved prosperity and glory until now. This is based on the reason that Japanese women are able to maintain and preserve traditional moral values that still exist through early education in the family environment. These values can shape the character of children from an early age in the family. A family with character brings logical consequences to the life of a community with character so that it affects the culture as a whole.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (84) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Julia Moses

Abstract The creation of Imperial Germany in 1871 sparked a nationwide debate about the nature of marriage and the family. Behind these discussions was a common assumption: families were anchored in monogamous marriage. The assumption was so widely held that it was, with few exceptions, unspoken. It was revealed only in exceptional instances, for example, in confrontation with colonial others, bigamists who were deemed criminals or life reformers living on the fringes of mainstream society. By tapping into a discourse about civilization and human progress, it also linked discussions about the homeland and its overseas Empire. Drawing on a matrix of jurisprudence, social-scientific writings, tracts by social reformers, missionaries and government discussions, this article suggests that Germans embraced monogamy as the tacit rule of marital life within the boundaries of the metropole. Nonetheless, monogamy as a marital standard did not apply consistently within Germany’s overseas colonies. Instead, understandings of racial and religious difference, couched in a specific logic of imperial liberalism, predominated and meant that indigenous people were of ten lef t to continue their own family practices.


Author(s):  
Kathleen C. Oberlin

The typical story about creationist social movements centers on battles in the classroom or in the courtroom—like the Scopes Trial in 1925. But there is a new setting: a museum. “Prepare to Believe” is the slogan that greets visitors throughout the Creation Museum located in Petersburg, Kentucky. It carries the message that the organization Answers in Genesis (AiG) uses to welcome fellow believers as well as skeptics since opening in 2007. The Creation Museum seeks to persuade visitors that if one views both the Bible (a close, literal reading) and nature (observational, real world data) as sources of authority, then the earth appears to be much younger than conventionally understood in mainstream society. This book argues that the impact of the Creation Museum does not depend on the accuracy or credibility of its scientific claims, as many scholars, media critics, and political pundits would suggest. Instead, what AiG goes after by creating a physical site like the Creation Museum is the ability to foster plausibility politics—broadening what the audience perceives as possible and amplifying the stakes as the ideas reach more people. Destabilizing the belief that only one type of secular institution may make claims about the age of the earth and human origins, the Creation Museum is a threat to this singular positioning. In doing so, AiG repositions itself to produce longstanding effects on the public’s perception of who may make scientific claims. Creating the Creation Museum is a story about how a group endures.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ursic

Christian theology is the study of God and religious belief based on the Christian Bible and tradition. For over 2,000 years, Christian theologians have been primarily men writing from men’s perspectives and experiences. In the 1960s, women began to study to become theologians when the women’s rights movement opened doors to higher education for women. Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, female theologians developed Christian feminist theology with a focus on women’s perspectives and experiences. Christian feminist theology seeks to empower women through their Christian faith and supports the equality of women and men based on Christian scripture. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The arts have an important role in Christian feminist theology because a significant way Christians learn about their faith is through the arts, and Christians engage the arts in the practice of their faith. Christian feminist theology in the visual arts can be found in paintings, sculptures, icons, and liturgical items such as processional crosses. Themes in visual expression include female and feminine imagery of God from the Bible as well as female leaders in the scriptures. Christian feminist theology in performing arts can be found in hymns, prayers, music, liturgies, and rituals. Performative expressions include inclusive language for humanity and God as well as expressions that celebrate Christian women and address women’s life experiences. The field of Christian feminist theology and the arts is vast in terms of types of arts represented and the variety of ways Christianity is practiced around the world. Representing Christian feminist theology with art serves to communicate both visually and performatively that all are one in Christ.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candra Gunawan Marisi

The concept of choosing a life partner for young people today needs more attention. Incorrect selection will lead them to circumstances and family situations that are certainly not based on the Word of God. The planting of children's faith must begin at an early age so that it can become a guide for them when they grow up and start thinking about family life. The basics and criteria in choosing a marriage partner according to Christian teachings must be planted in children so that wherever they are or whatever environment they are in, they are still able to hold and have a principle of choosing the right life partner according to the Bible. , The family is a fellowship consisting of people who are bound by each other by the most close ties of blood and social relations. How a child grows into adulthood is influenced by the family. Parents must be good models of Christian faith in order to be effective role models for the internalization of Christian belief systems, values and patterns of behavior. Parents must first live in truth in order to be a model of faith for children, in 2 Corinthians 6: 14-15. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians about a spouse because there were believers there who had a spouse who did not believe in Jesus. The Apostle Paul also said that no similarities could be found through marriage that did not worship the same God.


1962 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-550
Author(s):  
Nolan Howington
Keyword(s):  

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