Liturgical Power

Author(s):  
Nicholas Heron

The second chapter seeks to deepen and extend Agamben’s analysis by describing the terms of a specifically Christian technology of power. Its point of departure is Erik Peterson’s suggestion that the form of political action specific to Christianity coincides with the Church’s appropriation of the practice that in the ancient Greek polis was termed leitourgia; a suggestion which in turn stimulates a reappraisal of Foucault’s influential notion of pastoral power. “Pastoral power,” the chapter argues, on the basis of a detailed reconstruction of the semantic history of the term (laos) that in the Greek biblical tradition designates the “people” as the referent of pastoral intervention, is more precisely conceived as “liturgical power.” Only by emphasising its liturgical dimension, it contends, can we fully grasp the stakes of the process that Foucault himself suggestively described as the “institutionalisation of the pastorate” and which coincides with the establishment of a fundamental division in the single people of God.

Kavkaz-forum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Р.Н. АБИСАЛОВА

В статье рассмотрен один из мотивов осетинского Даредзановского эпоса – мотив прикованного героя, еще в древности вошедший в мифологию, фольклор, литературу многих народов и получивший название «мотив Прометея». Образ Прометея относится к «вечным образам» мировой художественной культуры. История прикования и освобождения Прометея и в древнегреческой мифологии, и в трагедии Эсхила позиционируется как топонимически привязанная к Кавказу. Именно здесь сюжет о наказанном Богом и прикованном богатыре получил распространение в национальных мифах и эпических преданиях – грузинских, осетинских, кабардинских, абхазских, вайнахских, армянских и др. Эти лаконичные предания об Амиране-Амране, по мнению Вс.Ф. Миллера, – кульминационные во всех источниках, рассказывающих об этом герое. Рассмотрены как древнегреческий Прометей, так и кавказские, в первую очередь осетинские, прикованные герои, представленные в работах Вс.Ф. Миллера, Г.Н. Потанина, Дз. Гатуева, Д.А. Калоевой, З.Г. Тменовой, Ю.А. Дзиццоты, Х.Ф. Цгоева и др. Образ Амирана сравнивается с соответствующими ему героями кавказских эпосов. При всей схожести мотивов богоборчества и наказания героя прикованием к скале или столбу нельзя не отметить отличия осетинского Амирана от остальных. В Даредзановских сказаниях он героическая личность, истинный богатырь, совершающий множество подвигов, побеждающий великанов, помогающий всем нуждающимся. Сын племянницы Бога, герой близок к народу, он побеждает врагов не только ради демонстрации силы, ловкости, хитрости, но и для спасения родных и друзей. В отличие от большинства кавказских прикованных героев, освобождение Амирана не предвещает гибель мира, напротив, осетинский Амиран, в случае освобождения, даст людям свободу и счастье. Многие мотивы в преданиях об Амране соотносятся с мотивами Нартовского эпоса. Амиран-Амран приравнивается к любимым героям осетинской Нартиады – Сослану, Батразу, Урузмагу, Шатане. В работе его образ рассмотрен для подтверждения объективной закономерности подобной репрезентации осетинского героя. The article deals with one of the motives of the Ossetian Daredzanian epic − the motive of the chained hero, which in ancient times entered the mythology, folklore, literature of many peoples and was called the "Prometheus motive". The image of Prometheus belongs to the "eternal images" of world art culture. The history of the chaining and liberation of Prometheus, both in ancient Greek mythology and in the tragedy of Aeschylus, is positioned as toponymically tied to the Caucasus. It was here that the plot about the God-punished and chained hero became widespread in national myths and epic legends − Georgian, Ossetian, Kabardian, Abkhaz, Vainakh, Armenian, etc. These laconic legends about Amiran-Amran, according to Vs.F. Miller, are culminating in all the sources telling about this hero. Both the ancient Greek Prometheus and the Caucasian, primarily Ossetian, chained heroes presented in the works of Vs.F. Miller, G.N. Potanin, Dz. Gatuev, D.A. Kaloeva, Z.G. Tmenova, Yu.A. Dzizzoity, Kh.F. Tsgoev and others. The image of Amiran is compared with the corresponding heroes of the Caucasian epics. With all the similarity of the motives of fighting against God and the punishment of the hero by being chained to a rock or a pillar, one cannot fail to note the difference between the Ossetian Amiran and the others. In Daredzan's legends, he is a heroic person, a true hero who performs many feats, conquers giants, and helps all those in need. The son of the niece of God, the hero is close to the people, he defeats enemies not only for the sake of demonstrating strength, dexterity, cunning, but also to save family and friends. Unlike most of the Caucasian chained heroes, the release of Amiran does not portend the death of the world, on the contrary, the Ossetian Amiran, if liberated, will give people freedom and happiness. Many motives in the legends about Amran correlate with the motives of the Nartov epic. Amiran-Amran is equated with the favorite heroes of the Ossetian Nartiada - Soslan, Batraz, Uruzmag, Shatana. In the work, his image is considered to confirm the objective regularity of such a representation of the Ossetian hero.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (02) ◽  
pp. 1230007
Author(s):  
OTTO E. RÖSSLER

The pre-history of chaos in a rationalist context is taken as a point of departure, starting out with ancient China. The related ancient-Greek "unmixing theory" then leads over to two simple formally 2-body Hamiltonian systems exhibiting chaotic behavior. When the two masses involved are unequal, "pseudoattractors" are formed. Deterministic statistical "thermodynamics" with its dissipative behavior arises when the potential is repulsive. Deterministic statistical "cryodynamics" arises when the potential is attractive. The latter class of Newtonian systems is characterized by "antidissipative" behavior. A geometric proof is sketched in the footsteps of Sinai and Bunimovich. Antidissipative behavior is known empirically from Hubble's law which was so far explained in less fundamental terms. Three experimental examples are proposed.


1966 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-425
Author(s):  
James Brown

‘In general, theological ethics has handled this command of God [the fourth Mosaic commandment] … with a casualness and feebleness which certainly do not match its importance in Holy Scripture or its decisive material significance’ (Church Dogmatics, 111.4, P. 50). Thus Karl Barth in the English translation of his Kirchliche Dogmatik (hereafter referred to as CD.). His own treatment is neither fragmentary nor perfunctory. There are references to ‘Sabbath’ in the indexes of six of twelve volumes of the Dogmatics so far published. The particular discussion of the Fourth Commandment occurs in his treatment of Special Ethics in CD. 111.4, where ‘the one command of God’ the Creator is set forth ‘in this particular application’ of ‘The Holy Day’ (p. 50). But for Barth the scriptural references to Sabbath rest have relevance to the doctrines of God, and Revelation; to the relation of God's Eternity to man's temporal being; to the biblical conception of Creation as the setting for the Covenant history of the Old Testament and the New Testament fulfilment of the divine purpose in redemption in Christ, to be completed and perfected in the ‘rest that remaineth to the people of God’ (Heb. 4.9). The treatment of the topic throughout the Dogmatics constitutes a corpus of exegesis and doctrine of which even a summary statement such as is here attempted might well be a useful contribution towards modern efforts at rethinking the Christian use of the Lord's Day.


1994 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. F. Craffert

Redefining Paul’s conflict in Galatia: The letter to the Galatians through the lense of the social sciences Traditional attempts at identifying Paul’s oppponents in the letter to the Galatians are methodologically stamped by a history-of-ideas approach; this is accompanied by at least two interpretive traditions (one focusing on the Reformation question of righteousness by works or by faith, and the second by the inclusion of Gentiles in the people of God). After a social- scientific methodology is introduced, three facets of Paul’s social realities are discussed: communication in a predominantly oral culture, Judaism as a first-century religious phenomenon, and the household institution. It is suggested that these provide us with an opportunity for redefining the conflict as a conflict on Paul’s honour and authority.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 1014-1015
Author(s):  
Andrew Appleton

“The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson,” wrote Aldous Huxley, “consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.” (The Devils of Loudon, 1952) Surely, Huxley would have had much to say about the role played by the Front National (FN) in the recent history of France. The FN is but the modern incarnation of a traditional strand of the French Right. Indeed, Remond is one of the most powerful voices behind the cultural approach to analyzing the contemporary extreme Right, arguing that any organizational manifestation of it can only be understood with reference to the historical and philosophical antecedents. Much of the scholarship on the FN either implicitly or explicitly uses this approach as a point of departure.


2021 ◽  
pp. 18-35
Author(s):  
Андрей Выдрин

В статье исследуется достаточно сложный вопрос об аутентичности, предназначении и богословии обширного генеалогического введения Книг Паралипоменон (Хроник). Обсуждается социально-историческое значение генеалогий израильских колен, а также рассматриваются сходства и различия между ними и другими библейскими генеалогиями, с одной стороны, и ближневосточными и древнегреческими - с другой. Кроме того, в статье выявляется композиция генеалогического раздела Хроник, построенная по принципу хиазма, посредством которого священный автор стремился донести ключевую богословскую идею как введения, так и произведения в целом: Божественный Замысел о человечестве и творении должен осуществиться через святость народа Божия. В итоге делается вывод о том, что Летописец стремился донести до своей аудитории (иудеев позднего персидского [Ахеменидского] периода) важное сообщение: несмотря на катастрофу разрушения и Вавилонский плен, взаимоотношения Яхве со Своим народом продолжаются, и Израиль по-прежнему призван реализовать в своей жизни некогда задуманный Богом в отношении всего человечества идеал святости. The article examines a rather complex issue of the authenticity, purpose and theology of the extensive genealogical introduction of the Chronicles. The socio-historical significance of the genealogies of the Israelite tribes is discussed, as well as the similarities and differences between them and other biblical genealogies, on the one hand, and the Middle Eastern and Ancient Greek ones, on the other. In addition, the article reveals the composition of the genealogical section of the Chronicles, built on the principle of chiasm, through which the sacred author sought to convey the key theological idea of both the introduction and the work as a whole: The Divine Plan for humanity and creation must be realized through the holiness of the people of God. As a result, it is concluded that the Chronicler sought to convey to his audience (the Jews of the late Persian [Achaemenid] period) an important message: despite the catastrophe of destruction and the Babylonian captivity, the relationship of Yahweh with His people continues, and Israel is still called to realize in its life, once conceived by God for all mankind, the ideal of holiness.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 167-176
Author(s):  
Magdalena Jóźwiak

In the history of exegesis three general models of the interpretation of the Servant of Yahweh Song can be outlined. The first one is a collective interpretation that considers the Servant to be Israel – the People of God – or its faithful part. The second interpretation was called by the scholars an individual interpretation ac­cording to which the Servant is an individual. The third one is a mixed interpreta­tion. The Servant of Yahweh is a king who represents the nation. In this article we searched for an answer to the question who is the said Servant of Yahweh accor­ding to St. Jerome. Having analysed selected passages of St. Jerome’s commentary on the Servant Song it is not difficult to notice that the author of the Vulgate prefers the model of individual interpretation. More precisely, in his opinion the Servant of Yahweh is Jesus Christ whose suffering has a redeeming virtue.


Author(s):  
Shadrack Chebet Rotich

This paper is a review of the history of the Kalenjin bible translation in Kenya. History has proved that the word of God both in verbal and in written form has made a visible practical impact in the Kalenjin community in her whole spheres of life: spiritually, socially, intellectually, morally, and economically. Christianity is not to be hidden or made complicated rather it should be accessible and available to all people as Sim in 1999 points out that “Christianity is open to the translation of its scriptures” (p.130) for everyone to be able to read and understand. In order for us to know more about God, he purposefully revealed himself to us through the Holy Scriptures. The Kalenjin people are among the people of God, and they too want to relate and fellowship with God. Hence, we should have the scriptures in their language and more so their dialect.  This research paper was based on an interview from Pastor Edwin Suter, who is currently involved in Kalenjin Bible translation based in Eldoret (BTL). Therefore, in this paper, I will briefly explain about the Kalenjin people, an overview of the history of the translation of Kalenjin Bible, some factors necessitating translation, the impacts and finally conclude by giving some recommendations.


1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-232
Author(s):  
A. G. Hebert

The subject is the Bible, and its relation to the Church. Hence I shall not attempt to deal with the so-called Bible Difficulties, or with the Higher Criticism, or to develop a theory of Inspiration. I must try to give a line about the general interpretation of the Bible, as being God's Book and truly inspired, written in the Church and for the Church's use; and as written by men, because it has been God's method to reveal Himself through men. It was written by men, and tells a story which is real history; therefore we must have thorough critical investigation of the Bible. It is God's Book because it tells the story of God's saving Purpose, worked out in the history of the believing and worshipping People of God, Israel, His chosen nation. Because this story is true, we have nothing to fear from the Higher Criticism. If that Criticism has been at fault, as it often has been, it is because it has often failed to see the record, as it needs to be seen, from the point of view of believing and worshipping Israel.For the Church is the People of God, God's Israel. As such, it has existed not for some 1900 years only, but for more than 3000 years, since the day when the Lord God redeemed it out of Egypt and made His Covenant with it.


2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Pickard

ABSTRACTThe Anglican Church is now a worldwide communion and international Anglicanism is marked by a high degree of variety and significant tensions both at local and international levels. Dealing with diversity and conflict across the communion may be the most pressing issue facing Anglicanism in the twenty-first century. Certainly the needs of mission require a strong focus on local and regional concerns and the history of Anglicanism bears testimony to a strong emphasis on a contextual and incarnational approach to discipleship, worship and social engagement. For this reason the Anglican Church has always wrestled with the tension between its inherited identity and the demand for relevance in an expanding communion. Many of the tensions and unresolved conflicts that beset modern Anglicanism arise because of the astonishing capacity of the Church to develop new responses in new situations that result in practices that do not fit easily with the received tradition. These point to a fundamental fact of Christianity; its inherent creativity and capacity for innovation. But not all innovations are wise for the Church; many innovations generate further conflict and the people of God are often confused or puzzled about what innovations to adopt or reject, and how to facilitate either of these scenarios. Some examples in the history of Christianity include controversies over the date of Easter, the development of church order (for example, episcopacy), doctrinal developments (for example,homoousionof the Nicene Creed), and issues to do with slavery, marriage, divorce and, more recently, ordination of women. None of these ‘innovations’ were greeted with immediate consensus at the point of local adoption nor as the innovation became more widely known and assimilated into the life of the Church.From an ecclesial point of view the fact of innovation represents both a challenge to, and opportunity for an enhancedkoinoniain the gospel. Minimally this involves commitment to ongoing patient dialogue and face-to-face encounter as innovations are wrestled with, differences explored and conflicts faced. This article considers further the concepts of innovation and undecidability as critical issues underlying much of our current difficulties. The article then inquires as to their relevance and importance for thekoinoniaof the Anglican Communion.


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