scholarly journals A Re-Examination of Pentateuchal Hamartiology and Atonement as a Hermeneutical Framework for Interpreting the Laying on of Hands

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Slavisa Jankovic
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ritual Theory ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
Significant Interest ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Laying On Of Hands ◽  
Biblical Texts

The ritual gesture of laying on of hands in Scripture has generated significant interest among theologians from rabbinic times until now. Still today, scholars assign various meanings to the ritual. In the second half of the 20th century, the fresh interest that put forward new meanings for this gesture came primarily through the introduction of the new sub-discipline of Ritualistics within Old Testament studies. This relatively new discipline is not founded upon premises found in biblical texts, but rather, upon those found in various secular social, philosophical sciences, and other disciplines such as sociology, philosophy, anthropology, literary criticism, and the study of religion. These disciplines often reject major presuppositions found in biblical texts, and scholarly studies based on these approaches have produced multiple proposals regarding the meaning of this gesture. Such proposals generally offer incomplete, limited insights into the biblical meaning conveyed by laying on of hands. I have sought to avoid this interpretative misstep in the context of identifying the meaning of laying on of hands by (1) adopting premises found in the biblical text, especially concerning the nature of human beings and the concepts of sin and atonement, and (2) conducting a reading of the biblical text that applies a terminological/contextual/intertextual approach. This study is divided into three sections. In the first section, I explore the concept of sin in the Pentateuch (ch. two) and establish terminology to express the nature of sin (ch. three). I utilize simple legal terminology based upon my reading of Lev 4-6. In the second section, I conduct an in-depth study of the Hebrew כִּפֶּר to establish the concept of atonement (ch. four) and critically evaluate the commonly-accepted automatic defilement hypothesis (ch. five). In the third section, I present the ritual theory created by biblical scholars that coincides with the theoretical framework that I identified in the course of this study, which assisted in achieving the main and initial goal of this study, namely, to identify the meaning of laying on of hands in cultic contexts in the Pentateuch. The resulting data of this study enables me to expose limitations and errors included in various scholarly proposals concerning the meaning of the laying on of hands.' The traditional meaning of laying on of hands in cultic contexts has been that of transfer, with various qualities transferred such as sin, guilt, authority, general human sinfulness, and others. Very often the idea of substitution is included in the meaning of the ritual. Through a fresh study of the concepts of sin and atonement, and building upon biblical premises concerning the nature of human beings, I conclude that the meaning of transfer emerges from the biblical texts more than any other, and constitutes the foundational meaning of this ritual.

scholarly journals Egzegeza literalna Starego Testamentu jako źródło herezji. Stanowisko Filastriusza z Brescii

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 619-629
Author(s):  
Mariusz Szram
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Orthodox Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Texts

In the last part of the treatise Diversarum hereseon liber (from chapter 128 to 156), Filastrius of Brescia presents heresies based on the erroneous exegesis of the various biblical texts of the Old Testament. The author of the article dis­cusses several examples of the exegesis considered by Filastrius to be heretical, and wonders whether they indeed had signs of heresy and whether they could pose a significant threat to ecclesiastical orthodoxy. In the light of the examined texts, the Bishop of Brescia appears as a follower of the allegorical exegesis. As for the whole of the Alexandrian tradition from Origen, the overriding criterion of orthodox interpretation of the Scriptures was a spiritual advantage (utilitas spiritalis, scientia caelestis, scientia salutaris). If the proposed interpretation of the biblical text not carried out for such spiritual benefit, it was designated by the Bishop of Brescia as heretical, even if it did not materially harm the doctrinal truths contained in the Rule of the Church’s faith.

ECOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE JONAH NARRATIVE – HAVE THEY SUCCEEDED IN OVERCOMING ANTHROPOCENTRISM?

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Willie Van Heerden
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Text ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
Central Concern ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Relationship

A central concern of ecological biblical hermeneutics is to overcome the anthropocentric bias we are likely to find both in interpretations of the biblical texts and in the biblical text itself. One of the consequences of anthropocentrism has been described as a sense of distance, separation, and otherness in the relationship between humans and other members of the Earth community. This article is an attempt to determine whether extant ecological interpretations of the Jonah narrative have successfully addressed this sense of estrangement. The article focuses on the work of Ernst M. Conradie (2005), Raymond F. Person (2008), Yael Shemesh (2010), Brent A. Strawn (2012), and Phyllis Trible (1994, 1996).

Religiusitas Tokoh-Tokoh Dalam Novel Bumi Cinta Karya Habiburrahman El-Shirazy

AKADEMIKA ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-221
Author(s):  
Minahul Mubin
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
Religious Values ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Relationship With God ◽  
Belief In God ◽  
The World ◽  
Religious Aspects ◽  
Religious Elements

A novel titled BumiCinta written by Habiburrahman El-Shirazy takes place in the Russian setting, in which Russia is a country that adopts freedom. Russia with various religions embraced by its people has called for the importance of human freedom. Free sex in Russia is commonplace among its young people. Russia is a country that is free with no rules, no wonder if there have been many not embracing certain religion. In fact, according to data Russia is a country accessing the largest porn sites in the world. Habiburrahman in his Bumi Cinta reveals some religious aspects. He incorporates the concept of religion with social conflicts in Russia. Therefore, the writer reveals two fundamental issues, namely: 1. What is the characters' religiosity in the Habiburrahman El-Shirazy'sBumiCinta? 2. What is the characters' religiosity in the BumiCinta in their relationship with God, fellow human beings, and nature ?. To achieve the objectives, the writer uses the religious literary criticism based on the Qur'an and Hadith. It emphasizes religious values in literature. The writer also uses the arguments of scholars and schools of thought to strengthen this paper. This theory is then used to seek the elements of religiousity in the Habiburrahman El-Shirazy'sBumiCinta. In this novel, the writer explains there are strong religious elements and religious effects of its characters, especially the belief in God, faith and piety

Reception History and the Interpretation of Revelation

2020 ◽  
pp. 375-393
Author(s):  
Ian Boxall
Keyword(s):  
Visual Art ◽  
Textual Criticism ◽  
Reception History ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Music Drama ◽  
History Of Interpretation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biblical Texts

The chapter describes the discipline of reception history as the study of the ongoing use, interpretation, and impact of a biblical text. If the history of interpretation has often focused on the ways biblical texts are understood in commentaries and theological writings, reception history also considers how a book was received in spirituality and worship, in music, drama, literature, visual art, and textual criticism. Criteria for selecting and organizing materials useful for reception history are discussed, and there is a review of recent attempts to provide broad overviews of Revelation’s reception history, along with specific examples of the value of the discipline for interpreting Revelation.

scholarly journals Humans created God in their image? An anthropomorphic projectionism in the Old Testament

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndikho Mtshiselwa ◽  
Lerato Mokoena
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
The World ◽  
Genesis 1 ◽  
History Of ◽  
Old Testament Studies

The Old Testament projects not only a Deity that created the world and human beings but also one that is violent and male. The debate on the depiction of the God of Israel that is violent and male is far from being exhausted in Old Testament studies. Thus, the main question posed in this article is: If re-read as ‘Humans created God in their image’, would Genesis 1:27 account for the portrayal of a Deity that is male and violent? Feuerbach’s idea of anthropomorphic projectionism and Guthrie’s view of religion as anthropomorphism come to mind here. This article therefore examines, firstly, human conceptualisation of a divine being within the framework of the theory of anthropomorphic projectionism. Because many a theologian and philosopher would deny that God is a being at all, we further investigate whether the God of Israel was a theological and social construction during the history of ancient Israel. In the end, we conclude, based on the theory of anthropomorphic projectionism, that the idea that the God of Israel was a theological and social construct accounts for the depiction of a Deity that is male and violent in the Old Testament.

Moral Injury and Biblical Studies: An Early Sampling of Research and Emerging Trends

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-144
Author(s):  
Brad E. Kelle
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Moral Injury ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Moral Beliefs ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
The World ◽  
Biblical Texts

Moral injury emerged within clinical psychology and related fields to refer to a non-physical wound (psychological and emotional pain and its effects) that results from the violation (by oneself or others) of a person’s deepest moral beliefs (about oneself, others, or the world). Originally conceived in the context of warfare, the notion has now expanded to include the morally damaging impact of various non-war-related experiences and circumstances. Since its inception, moral injury has been an intersectional and cross-disciplinary term and significant work has appeared in psychology, philosophy, medicine, spiritual/pastoral care, chaplaincy, and theology. Since 2015, biblical scholarship has engaged moral injury along two primary trajectories: 1) creative re-readings of biblical stories and characters informed by insights from moral injury; and 2) explorations of the postwar rituals and symbolic practices found in biblical texts and how they might connect to the felt needs of morally injured persons. These trajectories suggest that the engagement between the Bible and moral injury generates a two-way conversation in which moral injury can serve as a heuristic that brings new meanings out of biblical texts, and the critical study of biblical texts can contribute to the attempts to understand, identify, and heal moral injury.

Psalm Culture in the English Renaissance: Readings of Psalm 137 by Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, and Others

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 224-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannibal Hamlin
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
English Civil War ◽  
English Renaissance ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Renaissance England ◽  
Biblical Texts

Psalm 137, “By the Waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, “ one of the most widely known biblical texts in Renaissance England, provided consolation for spiritual and political exiles, as well as giving Shakespeare, Spenser, and Milton language in which to express such alienation — language especially powerful for poets, since the psalm troped alienation as the inability to sing. The Psalm's closing cry for vengeance, seen as un-Christian by some, was used as a call to arms by polemicists on both sides of the English Civil War. This study examines a range of translations, paraphrases, commentaries, sermons, and literary allusions that together reconstruct a biblical text as it was interpreted by its Renaissance readers.

scholarly journals Dilema Kekerasan dalam Ayat-ayat Kitab Suci

MELINTAS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
Staniselaus Eko Riyadi
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
The Other ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Violent Acts ◽  
Biblical Texts

Violence is a crime condemned by religions, but religions in the world are apparently involved in some kind of violence. It has been considered problematic that some scriptural texts are showing violent acts that seem to be ‘authorised’ by God, even ‘allowed’ by God, or celebrated by the people. How should we understand such problematic texts? Is there any violence authorised by God? Christianity has been dealing with the interpretation of violent acts in biblical texts from the Old Testament as well as from the New Testament. This article suggests that violence in the biblical texts must be understood within the context of defining religious identity of Israel among the other nations that have their own gods. Scriptures do not promote violence, but has recorded the historical experiences of Israel in their confrontation with other nations. Therefore, violence in the biblical texts cannot be referred to as a sort of justification for any violent acts by religions in our multireligious and multiethnic society.

scholarly journals The Impossible Spaces: A Commentary on Gen. 2:8–15

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 656
Author(s):  
Santiago García-Jalón
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Text ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Garden Of Eden ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Narrative Device ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Structural Differences

A close analysis of the text of Gen. 2:8–15, pertaining to the Garden of Eden, shows the structural differences between said text and others from ancient mythologies that mention or describe a paradise. Likewise, that analysis suggests that the data provided by the Bible to locate paradise are merely a narrative device meant to dissipate all doubts as to the existence of a garden where God put human beings. Similar to other spaces that appear in the Bible, the Garden of Eden is, in fact, an impossible place. Throughout the centuries, however, recurring proposals have been made to locate paradise. As time went by, those proposals were progressively modified by the intellectual ideas dominant in any given era, thus leading the representations of the location of Paradise to be further and further away from the information provided by the biblical text.

scholarly journals Von Harnack, Marcion en die Ou Testament

2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
J H Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The New Testament

This article focusses on Adolf Von Harnack’s profound study of Marcion, a theologian of the second century. He was amongst other things fascinated by Marcion’s view of the Old Testament.  Marcion rejected  the  Old Testament because it depicted the creator-god as a mean figure who humiliated human beings. Jesus was in no way related to  this  god. He  came from the good God who is described in the New Testament. Marcion compiled his own Bible which had no Old Testa-ment and only a few books from the New Testament which he  purged from all Jewish or Old Testament influence. According to Marcion the newness of the Christ event made the Old Testament superflous. 

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