scholarly journals The Threat of Gullibility: Faith and Christian Behaviour in Southern Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarisayi Andrea Chimuka
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Church

Gullibility is understood variously as ranging from outright stupidity to indecision raised by the epistemic indeterminacy of the testimony of others. The activities of tricksters fall within this range. These activities happen in almost every sphere of our lives—in business, religion, the law, politics and so forth. Tricksters dangle “beautiful illusions” and sway people into believing that they have something to offer them. As a result, people throw caution out of the window. In the Christian religion for example, the air is drenched with claims about what God is saying to the Church during these last days! Those who claim to have direct contact with God tend to have an edge over those who do not have direct access to God. It is in such contexts that religious imposters arise. Prophets and firebrand preachers have sprung up and are promising the masses either prosperity, or healing, even in cases where ailments have confounded scientists. Many people are swayed into believing them sheepishly. It is against this backdrop that some end up being cheated. Often this tendency is labelled gullibility. If gullibility is understood as a belief in something with no substantiating facts, does this make the affected persons foolish? If someone believes that another person is endowed with special gifts from God, which can help them, is this belief unwarranted? In this article I seek to unpack the concept ‘‘religious gullibility’’, with the hope of plugging the holes.

TEOLOGIA E PÓS-MODERNIDADE: APONTAMENTOS PARA UM DISCURSO TEOLÓGICO RELEVANTE

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 051
Author(s):  
Adriano Sousa Lima ◽  
Jaziel Guerreiro Martins
Keyword(s):  
Religious Experience ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Religion And Theology ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Theological Discourse ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Church

O artigo reflete sobre o tema “Teologia e pós-modernidade: apontamentos para o discurso teológico relevante”. Tendo como objetivo discutir se a teologia pode sobreviver como discurso, como logos e quais seriam as suas chances, bem como alguns dos caminhos que ela poderia trilhar, o artigo enfrenta questões fundamentais para o debate religioso, no sentido amplo, e teológico, no sentido específico. Trata-se da busca de respostas para indagações antigas, mas sempre relevantes: a religião cristã e a teologia são pertinentes na pós-modernidade? Quais seriam os novos desafios para a teologia nesse contexto? Quais seriam os rumos da teologia na época pós-moderna? Para responder tais questionamentos, os autores analisam a literatura mais relevante e atual sobre o tema, visando contribuir no âmbito acadêmico, eclesial e social. Ao final, os autores destacam que para sobreviver num tempo pós-moderno, é fundamental que a teologia se lance à tarefa de decifrar as implicações da pós-modernidade para ela e para a igreja. A teologia precisará ainda desconstruir os paradigmas modernos da interpretação do texto bíblico, a fim de responder com mais consistência os questionamentos teológicos da pós-modernidade. Assim, os autores concluem que a pós-modernidade não é um mal a ser combatido, mas um período a ser discernido e ao mesmo tempo, enriquecedor e propositivo para a experiência religiosa e para o discurso teológico relevante.Palavras-chave: Teologia; Pós-Modernidade; Religião; Experiência. THEOLOGY AND POSTMODERNITY: NOTES FOR A RELEVANT THEOLOGICAL DISCOURSEAbstractThe article adresses the topic “Theology and post-modernity: notes for a relevant theological discourse”. It discusses if Theology may thrive as a discourse, as a logos and what are its chances, such as some ways that Theology may walk. This present research deals religious debate fundamental issues in broader and strict senses. So, it is about the search for answers to ancient, but always relevant questions: are Christian religion and Theology pertinent in post-modernity? Which are the new challenges for Theology in this context? Which are the possible paths for Theology in contemporary times? In order to answer these interrogations, the text analyses the most relevant and current literature on the topic, aiming to contribute in academic, ecclesial, and social environments. Finally, so that it may survive in post-modernity, it is paramount for Theology to engage the task of deciphering the implications of postmodernity for Theology itself and for the Church. Theology will need to deconstruct modern paradigms of biblical interpretation, so that it may consistently respond to postmodern theological issues. This way, postmodernity is not and evil to fight against, but a period that has to be discerned with wisdom and responsibility. It is an enriching propositional time concerning to religious experience and relevant theological speech.Keywords: Theology; Postmodernity; Religion; Experience.

Law and Protestantism in Denmark

2016 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 406-418
Author(s):  
Ditlev Tamm
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Marriage Law ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Concept Of Law ◽  
The Church ◽  
Concept Of Law ◽  
Catholic Bishops

Abstract This contribution deals with the influence of the Reformation on the law in Denmark. The Reformation was basically a reform of the church, but it also affected the concept of law and state in general. In 1536, King Christian III dismissed the catholic bishops and withheld the property of the church. The king, as custos duarum tabularum, guardian of both the tablets of law, also took over the legislation for the church. Especially in subjects of morals and criminal law new principles and statutes were enacted. Copenhagen University was reformed into a protestant seminary even though the former faculties were maintained. For that task Johannes Bugenhagen was summoned who also drafted the new church ordinance of 1537. In marriage law protestant principles were introduced. A marriage order was established in 1582.

University Education and English Ecclesiastical Lawyers 1400–1650

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Helmholz
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
University Education ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
Negative Opinion ◽  
Ius Commune ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church ◽  
Academic Study

Most recent historians have expressed a negative opinion of the quality of legal education at the English universities between 1400 and 1650. The academic study of law at Oxford and Cambridge, they have stated, was easy, antiquated and impractical. The curriculum had not changed from the form it assumed in the thirteenth century, and it did little to prepare students for their careers. This article challenges that opinion by examining the inner nature of the ius commune, the law that was applied in the courts of the church, and also by examining some of the works of practice compiled by English civilians during the period. Those works show that the negative opinion rests in part upon a misunderstanding of the nature of legal practice during earlier centuries. In fact, concentration on the texts of the Roman and canon laws, as old-fashioned as it seems to us, was well suited for the tasks advocates and judges would face once they left the academy. It also provided the stimulus needed for advance in the law of the church itself; their legal education made available to potential advocates and judges skills that would permit a sophisticated application of the ius commune, one better suited to their times. The article provides evidence of how this happened.1

scholarly journals Die stryd om die aard en omvang van die tugreg by die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk (1881−1994)

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary-Anne Plaatjies Van Huffel
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Disciplinary Power ◽  
Inaugural Meeting ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Church Polity ◽  
Mission Church ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Church ◽  
Mission Churches

The struggle of the Dutch Reformed Mission Churches (1881–1994) with reference to the character and extend of discipline. In this article the struggle concerning the nature and extent of the disciplinary power in the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) (1881–1994) is discussed. Since the establishment of the DRMC in 1881 until 1982 the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) retained the right to censure and discipline the missionaries in the DRMC. The article argues that the struggle for disciplinary power under the Constitution of the DRMC, the Statute of the DRMC as well as under the memorandum of agreement between the DRMC and the DRC, was nothing less than an attempt by the DRMC to entrench the principles of Voetius in the disciplinary power of the church polity and church government of the DRMC. In 1982 the DRMC accepted a new church order in which these principles were entrenched. The acceptance of this church order provision concluded the DRMC’s struggle for disciplinary power of all its officers, missionaries included, which already began in 1908. At the inaugural meeting of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa a Church Order was adopted in which provisions with regards to the disciplinary power based on above principles was hedged.

Reconciliation in the Cathedral: Isaac's Religion in “Owen-Mass”

10.34690/125 ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 6-36
Author(s):  
Роман Александрович Насонов
Keyword(s):  
Song Cycle ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Religious Symbolism ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
War Requiem ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Tradition

Статья представляет собой исследование религиозной символики и интерпретацию духовного смысла «Военного реквиема» Бриттена. Воспользовавшись Реквиемом Верди как моделью жанра, композитор отдал ключевую роль в драматургии сочинения эпизодам, созданным на основе военных стихов Оуэна; в результате произведение воспринимается подобно циклу песен в обрамлении частей заупокойной мессы. Военная реальность предстает у Бриттена амбивалентно. Совершая надругательство над древней верой и разбивая чаяния современных людей, война дает шанс возрождению религиозных чувств и символов. Опыт веры, порожденный войной, переживается остро, но при всей своей подлинности зыбок и эфемерен. Церковная традиция хранит веру прочно, однако эта вера в значительной мере утрачивает чистоту и непосредственность, которыми она обладает в момент своего возникновения. Бриттен целенаправленно выстраивает диалог между двумя пластами человеческого опыта (церковным и военным), находит те точки, в которых между ними можно установить контакт. Но это не отменяет их глубокого противоречия. Вера, рождаемая войной, представляет собой в произведении Бриттена «отредактированный» вариант традиционной христианской религии: в ее центре находится не триумфальная победа Христа над злом, а пассивная, добровольно отказавшаяся защищать себя перед лицом зла жертва - не Бог Сын, а «Исаак». Смысл этой жертвы - не в преображении мира, а в защите гуманности человека от присущего ему же стремления к агрессивному самоутверждению. The study of religious symbolism and the interpretation of the spiritual meaning of “War Requiem” by Britten have presentation in this article. Using Verdi's Requiem as a model of the genre, the composer gave a key role in the drama to the episodes based on the war poems by Wilfred Owen; as a result, the work is perceived as a song cycle framed by parts of the funeral mass. The military reality appears ambivalent. While committing a blasphemy against the ancient belief and shattering the aspirations of modern people, the war offers a chance to revive religious feelings and symbols. This experience of war-born faith is felt keenly, but for all its authenticity, it is shaky and ephemeral. The church tradition keeps faith firmly, but this faith largely loses the original purity and immediacy. Britten purposefully builds a dialogue between the two layers of human experience (church and military), finds those points where contact can be established between them. But this does not change their profound antagonism. In Britten's work, faith born of war is an “edited” version of the traditional Christian religion: in its center is not the triumphant victory of Christ over evil, but a passive sacrifice that voluntarily refused to defend itself in the face of evil-not God the Son, but “Isaac.” The meaning of this sacrifice is not in transforming the world, but in protecting the humanity of a person from his inherent desire for aggressive self-assertion.

A fourteenth-century Welsh Sarum antiphonal: National Library of Wales ms. 20541

1987 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Owain Tudor Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
National Library ◽  
John Bale ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church

Surprisingly few antiphonals were to survive “the King's order for bringing in popish rituals”, the Statute of 3 and 4 Edward VI, c. 10., following an Order in Council, 25 December 1549.[1] This was put into effect with great assiduity by the Church, under the auspices of its bishops, each bishop having been made personally responsible for seeing that the law was obeyed in his diocese. The destruction of books was deplored by some of the Protestants themselves, for instance by Bishop John Bale, who was a fierce enemy of the papacy,[2] but they were not permitted to do anything about it. The text of the statute acquires an ominous inevitability as every kind of liturgical book in turn is condemned to annihilation. Since divers unquiet and evilly-disposed people wanted to have their Latin services back (begins the statute), their “conjured bread” and water and suchlike vain and superstitious ceremonies, the king had decided to put an end to such expectations by instructing each bishop immediately to command every clergyman in his diocese to deliver to him or to a deputy “all antiphoners, missales, grayles, processionalles, manuelles, legendes, pies, portasies, jornalles, and ordinalles after the use of Sarum, Lincoln, Yorke, or any other private use, and all other bokes of service …” Bishops were explicitly instructed to “take the same bokes … and then so deface and abolyshe that they never after may serve eyther to anie soche use, as they were provided for …”

scholarly journals The Politics of Credentials: A Commentary and Critique of the Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-327
Author(s):  
Graham A Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Presbyterian Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Church Tradition

The use of credentials in an ecclesiastical context is a means of assuring that a minister is who he or she claims to be and is therefore trained and qualified to exercise ministry within a particular church tradition as determined by individual denominations. The concept and use of credentials has developed over time. Using primary sources in the main, this article examines the use of credentials as a tool for ‘inclusion’ or a means of ‘exclusion’, or both, in the history of the largest Presbyterian church in Southern Africa and its predecessors. The research question under study is to what degree, if any, were credentials used to control ministers and to cleanse and purify the church of radical – such as anti-apartheid – elements?

The Theory of Papal Monarchy in the Thirteenth Century: The Contribution of the Canonists

Traditio ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 179-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Watt
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church ◽  
Christian Society

The work of the medieval canonists has always formed a significant chapter in the histories of medieval political thought. The law of the Church and its attendant juristic science forms the proper source material for the examination of the system of ideas which lay behind the functioning of papal government. Ecclesiastical jurisprudence was the practical branch of sapientia Christiana. It was concerned with a constitution and the exercise of power within its terms; with an organization and the methods by which it was to be run. It had of necessity to be articulate about the nature of the papacy, the constitutional and organizational linchpin. In consequence the canonists were the acknowledged theorists of papal primacy. To them rather than to the theologians belonged that segment of ecclesiology which treated of the nature of the Church as a visible corporate society under a single ruler. In that period of nearly a century which lay between the accession of Alexander III and the death of Innocent IV, canonists were required to register the increasingly numerous and more diverse applications of papal rulership to the problems of Christian society. The concept of papal monarchy came to be reexamined in academic literature because of the accelerating tempo of papal action. Under the stimulus of an active papacy, the canonists were led to examine many of the assumptions on which the popes based their actions and claims. The world of affairs conditioned the evolution of a political-theory, which in turn helped to shape the course of events.

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