Rabelais and Stoic Portrayal

1974 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 63-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry C. Nash
Keyword(s):  
Physical Theory ◽  
The Will ◽  
Will Of God

The influence of Stoicism in the works of Rabelais has increasingly attracted the attention of scholars. The importance of Stoicism in Rabelaisian thought has been interpreted by some to have permitted Rabelais to draft a physical theory of the cosmos based on Stoic monism and its doctrine of universal permeation. For others, Stoicism provided the French humanist with the concept of Pantagruelism, Rabelais’ ‘mépris des choses fortuites’, which they see as forming a restatement of the Stoic principle of apathy or indifference toward things external. Finally, one critic holds that Rabelais’ leaning toward Stoicism represents only partial commitment during a period of intense syncretism wherein the writer assimilates and subordinates Stoic ideas to yet another body of thought which is Evangelical by definition: Stoic indifference - Pauline Folly, the Pan- Christ symbol, the duty of man to conform his will to the Will of God, and so forth.

“I Saw a Kingfisher”: Grace and Ruin in Golding's The Spire

Horizons ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-66
Author(s):  
D. M. Yeager
Keyword(s):  
Apple Tree ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Moral Ambiguity ◽  
William Golding ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Will ◽  
Will Of God

AbstractWilliam Golding, in The Spire, invites us to ask how we may know the will of God, and suggests that what we take to be the will of God is often simply the projection onto history of the disguised image of our private and self-absorbed desires. Though contemporary critics tend to interpret the novel as a sympathetic exploration of moral ambiguity rather than as a compelling condemnation of Jocelin's mortifying and death-dealing sin, the novel turns on the contrast between the drive toward dominion and the capacity for assent. The final salvific discovery, given form in Jocelin's mind by the experience of the apple tree and the kingfisher, is the overthrow of the will, its panicked drowning, in terrified apprehension of implacable glory and squandered gifts.

The Mystery of Jesus' Teaching about “The Son of Man”

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-80
Author(s):  
Edward A. Beckstrom
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
High Priest ◽  
The Third ◽  
Son Of Man ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Third Person ◽  
Will Of God

For centuries a mystery has surrounded the meaning of Jesus' term “The Son of Man” in his ministry, and today it is often called “The Son of Man Problem.” Studying “Son of Man” in all of its biblical references, and apocryphal usages, together with insights from the Dead Sea Scrolls, I propose a solution that the idiom means “Priest” or “High Priest,” but most especially “Heavenly High Priest” and is framed in the third person by Jesus because it is expressed as his destiny given by God—it is the Will of God. “The Son of Man” is distinct from Jesus own will, but is the destiny he follows. It is also the use of this term that caused Caiaphas to cry “blasphemy” at Jesus' Sanhedrin trial, who then sent him to Pilate for crucifixion, yet asserting that Jesus proclaimed himself “King of the Jews.” Caiaphas, knew, I believe, that “Son of Man” was synonymous with “High Priest.”

Aesthetics

2021 ◽  
pp. 295-308
Author(s):  
William Dyrness ◽  
Christi Wells
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Physical Beauty ◽  
Will Of God

Edwards’s aesthetics grounded in the ongoing work of God communicated in creation, not only lies at the centre of his thought but is increasingly recognized as one of his most original contributions to theology. Edwards’s reflection on God’s beauty emerged in the context of his work as a pastor, which allowed him to frame God’s dynamic presence in dramatic and multi-sensory categories. For Edwards Beauty glimpsed in the form of images formed in the mind reflects a consent of being; the visual beauty of symmetry and proportion is meant to move the heart to consent to the will of God reflected in creation—what Edwards calls respectively secondary and primary beauty. All creatures are types and shadows of spiritual realities; beauty and morality are linked, though only the Holy Spirit allows believers to consent to God’s self-disclosure in creation. Edwards’s neo-platonic framework allowed his reflections on the revivals to affirm physical beauty while subordinating its meaning to the spiritual, enhancing its role as revelation but diminishing its value as an end in itself.

Eugene IV and the First Dissolution of the Council of Basle

1967 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loy Bilderback
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Other ◽  
Essential Singularity ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Prime Determinant ◽  
The Will ◽  
Great Schism ◽  
The Church ◽  
Will Of God ◽  
Divine Guidance

The Council of Basle was officially charged with three basic concerns: the reform of the Church in head and members; the extirpation of heresy, particularly Bohemian Hussitism; and the attainment of peace among Christian Princes. Yet, the Council was most absorbed by, and is most remembered for, a fourth, unscheduled concern. From its outset, the prime determinant of the actions and decisions of the Council proved to be the problem of living and working with the Papacy. In retrospect it is easy to see that this problem was insoluble. One could not expect the efficient functioning of the Church if there was doubt or confusion about the will of God, and the presence of such doubt and confusion was certain so long as even two agencies could gain support for their contentions that they were directly recipient to the Holy Spirit. Singularity of headship was absolutely necessary to the orderly processes of the Church. Yet the contradiction of this essential singularity was implicit at Constance in the accommodation, by one another of the curialists, the protagonists of an absolute, papal monarchy, and the conciliarists, who sought divine guidance through periodic General Councils. This accommodation, in turn, was necessary if the doubt and confusion engendered by the Great Schism was to be resolved. At Basle, this contradiction was wrought into a conflict which attracted a variety of opportunists who could further their ancillary or extraneous ends through a posture of service to one side or the other, and in so doing they obfuscated the issues and prolonged the struggle.

scholarly journals The Problem of Eternity of the World in the Philosophical-Theological Theory of Grigor Tatevatsi

wisdom ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Seyran ZAKARYAN
Keyword(s):  
Necessary Being ◽  
The World ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Providence Of God ◽  
Do So ◽  
Will Of God

The famous Armenian theologian and philosopher Grigor Tatevatsi (1346-1409) in his teaching tries to compare the biblical truth of creation with the philosophical postulate regarding the eternity of the world. Principally, being a creationist thinker, he criticized the theories that made the Materia co-eternal to God, meanwhile, he proposed the following arguments regarding the eternity of the world: a) before the creation the world existed actually by influence in the providence of God as an immaterial paradigm; b) the world is eternal because it is linked to eternity; c) the God is the eternal and always actual being, therefore the world was created eternal and the eternal is the necessary being which never can become none-being; d) the will of God is unchangeable, He cannot make the created world become non-being otherwise His will would change; e) the God does not make the world become non-being not because He is unable to do so but due to the boundless goodness; f. the world is eternal because the four elements and qualities that are the basis of it, are eternal. Therefore, even though the arguments proposed by Tatevatsi are based on and contain typical ideas of Neoplatonism, one has to take into account that he speaks of the eternity of the created world rather than co-existence of world with the God.

scholarly journals Evangelical Responses to the Question of Religious Pluralism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Cecily May Worsfold
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Core Beliefs ◽  
Major Work ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Will ◽  
Evangelical Movement ◽  
Will Of God

<p>The relatively recent rise of religious pluralism has significantly affected the evangelical movement, the roots of which are traceable to the sixteenth century Reformation. In particular, the theological implications of religious pluralism have led to debate concerning the nature of core beliefs of evangelicalism and how these should be interpreted in the contemporary world. While evangelicals continue to articulate a genuine undergirding desire to “honour the authority of Scripture”, differing frameworks and ideals have led to a certain level of fracturing between schools of evangelical thought. This research focuses on the work of three evangelical theologians – Harold Netland, John Sanders and Clark Pinnock – and their responses to the question of religious pluralism. In assessing the ideas put forward in their major work relevant to religious pluralism this thesis reveals something of the contestation and diversity within the evangelical tradition. The authors' respective theological opinions demonstrate that there is basic agreement on some doctrines. Others are being revisited, however, in the search for answers to the tension between two notions that evangelicals commonly affirm: the eternal destiny of the unevangelised; and the will of God that all humankind should obtain salvation. Evangelicals are deeply divided on this matter, and the problem of containing seemingly incompatible views within the confines of “evangelical belief” remains. This ongoing division highlights the difficulty of defining evangelicalism in purely theological terms.</p>

scholarly journals Ezekiel 18 and Human rights

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.F. Van Rooy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Holiness Code ◽  
Book Of The Covenant ◽  
The Will ◽  
Divine Punishment ◽  
Divine Law ◽  
Will Of God

In South Africa the debate on Human Rights gained new impetus after the implementation of the interim constitution in 1994, followed by the new constitution in 1996, containing a charter of fundamental Human Rights. The question to be answered by this paper is whether Ezekiel 18 can contribute to this debate. This paper firstly discusses the question whether the Old Testament can be used in the debate on Human Rights. This is followed by a discussion of Ezekiel 18, with emphasis on the transgressions listed in this chapter in their Israelite context. Many of these injunctions are related to the laws of Deuteronomy, the Book of the Covenant and the Holiness Code. These injunctions are studied against the background of Israelite law in general and the three codes mentioned above in particular. Finally, the implications of Ezekiel 18 for the issue of Human Rights are discussed. The violation of rights of people guaranteed by divine law is seen as one of the major causes of divine punishment. God's law was meant to create a society found on justice. An unjust society is in contradiction to the will of God, according to Ezekiel 18. The implications of this view for the debate on Human Rights in South Africa need to be taken into consideration.

scholarly journals The Utopian Impulse and Searching for the Kingdom of God: Ludwik Królikowski’s (1799–1879) Romantic Utopianism in Transnational Perspective

Slovene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-226
Author(s):  
Piotr Kuligowski
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Entire Life ◽  
Ideal State ◽  
The Will ◽  
Material Conditions ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Will Of God

This article addresses the question of the utopian impulse in Ludwik Królikowski’s work and thought, with particular reference to its transnational dimension. By providing a holistic view of his entire life and sketching his biographical background, this study reveals Królikowski’s principal inspirations and the reasons for his changes of mind, and in so doing, presents him against the background of various intersecting currents of thought. With regard to Królikowski’s utopianism, it is argued that he rejected the canons typical for Renaissance and Enlightenment reflections on the ideal state, in which visions of spotless, well-organized cities dominated. The Polish thinker was instead interested in Christianity and extolled spontaneous human activities, which would be in accordance with the will of God only if they were pursued freely, without any coercion. As analysis of his works reveals, he expounded a vision of utopia (primarily called “the Kingdom of God”) beyond time and space, without any consideration of the material conditions for its existence. In developing his views, Królikowski was inspired by Saint-Simonism, the Icarian movement, and ongoing discussions of the Polish and Slavic questions. These three main dimensions, interwoven with intermittent failures and reflections embarked upon anew, constituted the intellectual space in which his unique propositions were made.

Ethics and the will of God

Sophia ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Basil Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
The Will ◽  
Will Of God

On Discipline and Becoming a Disciple

2018 ◽  
pp. 46-72
Author(s):  
Helena Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Power ◽  
Physical Tests ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Many ◽  
Ministry Leaders ◽  
Will Of God

This chapter details the many physical tests used to entrain converts. These include practices welcoming pain and of suffering—practices that, according to ministry leaders, left practitioners less vulnerable to addiction. These practices were a way to sanctify the addicted body and embody spiritual power. They were techniques of bodily and emotional discipline used to retool narratives of addiction, from those of descent and isolation to those of ascent and connection. Bearing pain also meant restoring the capacity for delay, to dampen the impulsivity and sense of desperation that many described as core problems of addiction. Ironically, converts use their bodies as a vehicle to spiritually transcend the limits of their corporeal, everyday worlds. The addicted and withdrawing body was, in the ministries, a sensitive instrument for channeling the will of God.

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