What is it about the Book? Semantic and Material Dimensions in the Mediation of the Word of God

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Horsfield ◽  
Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
Textual Content ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Common Understanding

When the Christian Bible is referred to as the ‘Word of God’, the common understanding is that this refers to its textual content. There are, however, a variety of other uses made of the bible that point to an understanding of the Word of God as not just the textual content but also the material book itself. This article explores a number of uses of the physical bible as an instrument of spiritual mediation or power that have been practised since the early days of Christianity to the present time. Some of the understandings underlying these material practices are explored, along with differences in the religious-cultural context that sustain these different views, including the differences in religious hermeneutics between the oral and written word, the importance of the concept of the book in Christian identity, the relationship of fetishism and theological understanding, and cultural differences in understanding the relationship between textual and material signification.

The Covenant of Grace Fulfilled in Christ as the Foundation of the Indissoluble Solidarity of the Church with Israel: Barth's Position on the Jews During the Hitler Era

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 476-503
Author(s):  
Eberhard Busch
Keyword(s):  
Word Of God ◽  
Anti Semitism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Nazi Era ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

How might Karl Barth's engagement with the question of the relationship of the church to Judaism during the Nazi era help us today as we seek to revise that relationship? It is obvious that we cannot simply repeat his statements today. But the reference to Barth would be unproductive if it consisted solely in the assertion that the opponent of anti-Semitism at that time was in fact in league with his adversaries. Protestants all too willingly take on an air of self-importance, imagining the distant past to be the proverbial night in which all cats are gray. It would also be insufficient to find in this theologian some good initial ideas, to the extent that they agree with one's own views, in order then, when one differs from his thinking, to identify all the logical flaws that one believes to have been successfully overcome. In neither case would we learn anything, but only confirm our own position. If our encounter with a teacher of the church is to be fruitful, we must enter into a conversation in which we are not only the questioners, but also those who are questioned. True, such a teacher, whom we may critically question, is only an authority subject to the Word of God. But a proper teacher of the church is an authority under the Word of God, and his or her question to us, therefore, is whether we, as we move ahead, are following the Word of God as attested in the Bible or only our own authority.

Interpersonal exchange and freedom for resource acquisition

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 480-481
Author(s):  
John Adamopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Resource Acquisition ◽  
Resource Theory ◽  
Social Meaning ◽  
Social Resource ◽  
Psychological Resources ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe relationship of climate and monetary resources to various freedoms can be enriched if the conceptual links – “psychobehavioral adaptations” – are conceptualized more broadly as reflections of a richer cultural context that involves multiple physical and psychological resources, as proposed by social resource theory and a number of models of the emergence of social meaning.

To Network or Not to Network

2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 376-398
Author(s):  
Nigel Smith
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Literal Truth ◽  
Literary Art ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This article contrasts hostility toward visual and literary art in English radical Puritanism before the late seventeenth century with the central role of art for Dutch Mennonites, many involved in the commercial prosperity of Amsterdam. Both 1620s Mennonites and 1650s–1660s Quakers debated the relationship between literal truth of the Bible and claims for the power of a personally felt Holy Spirit. This was the intra-Mennonite “Two-Word Dispute,” and for Quakers an opportunity to attack Puritans who argued that the Bible was literally the Word of God, not the “light within.” Mennonites like Jan Theunisz and Quakers like Samuel Fisher made extensive use of learning, festive subversion and poetry. Texts from the earlier dispute were republished in order to traduce the Quakers when they came to Amsterdam in the 1650s and discovered openness to conversation but not conversion.

National identity in the Ottoman Empire as a historical and social fact

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isra Shengul Chebi ◽  
Dilshat Karimova
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Social Fact ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Turkish State ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Defined both in an individual and in a social or cultural context, identity is a historical phenomenon; a consistent, complete sense of identity develops in the historical process. Social relations created by historical conditions shape Turkish identity, just like other collective identities. Revealed as one of the oldest nations in history, Turkish identity has also been shaped by the amalgamation of the effects created by the rule of law in the collective consciousness. Despite the fact that the length of the historical process makes it difficult to clearly identify the stages of the adventure, when studying Turkish identity it is necessary to look at the Ottoman Empire, which is a prerequisite for the modern Turkish state, and the self-identification of the society that feels belonging to the above state. Indeed, it is not very wrong to associate the phenomenon of identity as a topic of discussion with the relationship of the Ottoman state with the modern nation states of the West. In this context, it would be appropriate to touch upon the perception of identity in the Ottoman Empire.

scholarly journals Alkitab dalam Formasi Rohani pada Era Reformasi Gereja dan Implikasi bagi Gereja Pada Masa Kini

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
K Katarina ◽  
I Putu Ayub Darmawan
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Formation ◽  
Moral Life ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Church Member ◽  
The Bible ◽  
God's Word ◽  
Present Context ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This article discusses spiritual formation and God's Word in reformation. The formulation of the problem is the relationship between spiritual formation and God's Word in reformation. The author uses literature studies to collect information about spiritual formation and God's Word in reformation. Spirit for sola scriptura has produced a change in the life of the church at that moment. All teachings, church traditions, and practical actions which is conducted by church member must be tested under the Word of God. In the present context, church who facing various challenges related to moral life, teaching, and practical actions must return to the principles of word of God. To build a spiritual life, we must start from the Bible that is interpreted correctly, which then becomes a theological development, which then influences the concept of believer's thinking and practical actions. Artikel ini membahas tentang formasi rohani dan Firman Tuhan dalam reformasi. Rumusan masalah penelitian ini adalah bagaimana kaitan antara formasi rohani dan firman Tuhan dalam reformasi? Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka untuk menggali informasi tentang formasi rohani dan Firman Tuhan dalam reformasi. Semangat untuk sola scriptura menghasilkan perubahan dalam kehidupan gereja pada masa itu. Segala pengajaran, tradisi gereja, dan tindakan praktis yang dilakukan oleh setiap anggota gereja harus diuji di bawah Firman Tuhan. Dalam konteks masa kini, menghadapi berbagai tantangan gereja baik yang terkait dengan kehidupan moral maupun pengajaran dan tindakan praktis, gereja harus kembali pada prinsip Firman Tuhan. Untuk membangun kehidupan rohani maka harus dimulai dari Alkitab yang ditafsirkan secara benar yang kemudian menjadi sebuah bangunan teologi yang kemudian mempengaruhi konsep berpikir orang percaya dan tindakan praktis.

scholarly journals The portrayal of Africa and Africans in the book of Jeremiah

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Adamo
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Book Of Jeremiah ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Unanimous Agreement

Since the 1980s, many Jeremianic scholars have spent much time on the study of the various contentious issues in order to resolve them. However, there has been no unanimous agreement yet. One of these contentious issues is the relationship of the prophet Jeremiah to ancient Africa and Africans which is the main focus of this article. The author of the book Jeremiah made references to Ancient Africa and Africans about 53 times in the Septuagint, and 67 times in the Masoretic Text. This indicates that the prophet Jeremiah is very familiar with ancient Africa and Africans. Using a historical–biographical and theological method of reading Jeremiah, this article examines the portrayal of ancient Africa and Africans in the book of Jeremiah. It is also part of an investigation of the African presence in the Old Testament which, to Africans, is an important moral and self–lifting scholarly exercise. It is also gratifying information in itself to know that Africa and Africans have participated in the drama of redemption which has not been recognised as such by either Eurocentric scholars or by the majority of Africentric scholars themselves. While in the Pentateuch references to Africa and Africans appear more than 577 times, in the Major Prophets there are about 180 references. What this means is that not only the author of the book of Jeremiah, but biblical authors in general are very familiar with ancient Africa and Africans, and deliberately took time to identify them. The continued recognition by scholars and non–scholars of Africa and African presence in the Bible has great implications for Christianity in Africa.

Divine Discourse

2019 ◽  
pp. 70-89
Author(s):  
Frances Young
Keyword(s):  
Second Century ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Rule Of Faith ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter focuses on the relationship of the Word of God inscribed in Scripture and Word of God incarnate in Christ, both being expressions of God’s revelation and constitutive of the divine oikonomia, and both involving God’s self-accommodation to creaturely limitations. The development of the Christological meaning of Scripture as a whole is traced from second-century debates about the continuing validity of the Jewish Scriptures to the holistic reading of Scripture in the light of the Rule of Faith, and from allegorical reading to the search for Scripture’s dianoia. Thus it becomes clear that God’s entire purpose and strategy is revealed in Scripture’s testimony to Christ.

scholarly journals Editor's Introduction: I. Writing Modern Art and Science – An Overview; II. Cubism, Futurism, and Ether Physics in the Early Twentieth Century

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Dalrymple Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Modern Art ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Art And Science ◽  
Radical Innovations ◽  
Science And Art ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Modern Artists ◽  
The Relationship

This issue of Science in Context presents a sampling of current work by art historians examining modern artists' engagement with science as well as the relationship of photography to both science and art. The essays' topics span the mid-to-later nineteenth century to the 1960s and, thus, in a series of case studies provide an introduction to aspects of artistic modernism. Indeed, it is impossible to understand fully many of the radical innovations of modern art without some knowledge of an artist's cultural context, and developments in science have often played a critical role in defining that milieu. Collected together, these essays also represent methodological models of historical work on art and science that serve as useful examples in this developing field.

The study of Latin grammar in eighth-century Southumbria

1983 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 43-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivien Law
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Eighth Century ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Grammatical Tradition ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Insular Latinity – its origins, characteristics, affiliations and dissemination – has attracted much attention in the last decade. One area which has benefited from this increased interest is the investigation of the Latin grammars written by Insular scholars: consider, for example, the editions of Insular grammatical writings recently published in the Corpus Christianorum Series Latina. But it is noteworthy that the Anglo-Latin grammarians have profited far less from this upsurge in interest than their Irish counterparts. Although Anglo-Latin as well as Hiberno-Latin texts have been among those recently edited, and have been the subject of several specialized studies, they have failed to excite scholarly attention to the same extent as the Irish works. Their origin, history, relationship and cultural context have not yet been satisfactorily established. Studies such as the series of articles by Louis Holtz, tracing the evolution of the study of grammar in Ireland and the relationship of the surviving texts to one another, are lacking for the Anglo-Latin grammarians. Yet the unknown factors in early England are scarcely fewer. To take one example, the fundamental problem of the rôle of the Irish in the creation of an Anglo-Latin grammatical tradition has hardly been touched upon. Indeed, that the Anglo-Saxons can even be credited with a grammatical tradition of their own has been questioned. Too often, the few surviving Anglo-Latin grammars are held up as an isolated phenomenon and contrasted with the prolific outpourings of a diligent host of Irishanonymi. It is the purpose of this article to investigate the evidence for the study of Latin grammar in England south of the Humber up to the time of its best-known manifestations, the grammars of Tatwine and Boniface, in the early eighth century.

scholarly journals A diglossia literária em Patrick Chamoiseau: o caso de seus romances autobiográficos Antan d’enfance e Chemin d’école / The Literary Diglossy in Patrick Chamoiseau: the Case of His Autobiographic Romances Antan D’Enfance and Chemin D’École

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 237
Author(s):  
Annick Marie Belrose
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Aime Cesaire ◽  
Patrick Chamoiseau ◽  
Edouard Glissant ◽  
West Indians ◽  
The People ◽  
De Se ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Resumo: Patrick Chamoiseau (1953) é um escritor martinicano contemporâneo que produziu romances, ensaios, peças de teatro e contos filosóficos. Considerado sucessor de grandes autores martinicanos como Aimé Césaire e Édouard Glissant, Chamoiseau é um autor comprometido que questiona em seus textos a noção de literatura, a tradição literária francesa, a história das Antilhas francesas e a relação dos escritores antilhanos com o mundo e seus papéis no contexto cultural globalizado. Este trabalho de reflexão é realizado pelos personagens de seus romances, bem como pelos diferentes narradores. Chamoiseau construiu seu discurso teórico principalmente em filiação com o pensamento de Edouard Glissant. A poética da Relação de Glissant (1990) constitui a linha diretriz a partir da qual ele desenvolve sua reflexão. Ele dedica grande parte de seu trabalho a tentar entender, explicar e resolver o dilaceramento diglóssico experimentado por ele e pelo povo da Martinica, presos entre a língua crioula (língua dominada) e a língua francesa (língua dominante). Assim, mostrar-se-á como em seus romances autobiográficos Antan d’Enfance-Une enfance créole I (1996), Chemin-d’école – Une enfance créole II (1996), mas também o seu ensaio teórico Écrire en pays dominé (1997), o autor reflete essa busca. Neles, Chamoiseau revela as questões identitárias geradas no seu encontro com as duas línguas, relata a complexidade dos mecanismos psicológicos e relacionais, as dificuldades de se construir como indivíduo e como membro de uma comunidade. A escrita de Chamoiseau procura traduzir esse conflito e busca resolvê-lo, criando uma linguagem híbrida, poética e polissêmica, onde a língua crioula habita em uma narração em francês, e onde os gêneros se misturam.Palavras chave: literatura; autobiografia; diglossia; oralidade; identidade.Abstract: Patrick Chamoiseau (1953) is a contemporary Martinican writer who wrote novels, essays, plays and philosophical tales. He is considered the successor of great Martinican authors like Aimé Césaire and Édouard Glissant. Chamoiseau is a committed author who questions in his texts the notion of literature, the French literary tradition, the history of the French West-Indies, as well as the relationship of the west-Indians writers with the world and their roles in the globalized cultural context. This reflection work is carried out by the characters of his novels, as well as by the different narrators. Chamoiseau constructed his theoretical discourse mainly in affiliation with the thinking of Edouard Glissant. The poetic of Relationship of Glissant (1990) constitutes the guideline from which he develops his reflection. He dedicates a large part of his work trying to understand, explain and resolve the diglossic tearing experienced by him and the people of Martinique, caught between the Creole language (dominated language) and the French language (dominant language). Thus, we will show how in his autobiographical novels Antan d’Enfance – Une enfance créole I (1996), Chemin-d’école – Une enfance créole II (1996), but also his theoretical essay Écrire en pays dominé (1997) the author reflects this search. In them, Chamoiseau reveals the identity issues generated in his encounter with the two languages, reports the complexity of the psychological and relational mechanisms, the difficulties of building himself as an individual and as a member of a community. Chamoiseau’s writing seeks to translate this conflict, and seeks to resolve it, creating a hybrid poetic and polysemic language, where the Creole language lives in a narration in French and where the genres are mixed.Keywords: literature; autobiography; diglossy; orality; identity.

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