Some Considerations

This chapter offers thoughts about origin and function of the Jovian Narrative. The Jovian Narrative is a composite text in which various narratives about Julian and Jovian circulating in northern Mesopotamia and the Syriac-speaking world were combined. The Jovian Narrative is part of the Syriac tradition of Christian discourse of imagination, and the author is likely to have made use of various Syriac narrative traditions. Edessa is in all probability the Christian intellectual center where most of these texts were produced, and the Jovian Narrative most likely had its origin in Edessa. For the composition of his text, the composer is likely to have made use of various Syriac narrative traditions as well as historical information. The compilation of the Jovian Narrative as a cohesive text should probably be seen against the background of the religious and geopolitical policy of the emperor Justinian (527–565). Under his reign the Roman–Persian military conflict flared up again in all vehemence after many years of peaceful coexistence between the two empires. Furthermore, the Jovian Narrative intervenes on an eschatological level in the conflict between Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians in the reign of Justinian. Jovian is presented as the eschatological realization of the ideal Christian emperor, who represents a return to the orthodox ideal as it existed under Constantine.

The New Religious Political Right in Neo-Apartheid South Africa

This article argues that, in similar ways that scholars such as Kaye (1987) and Apple (1990) have respectively demonstrated how post 1970s America and Britain fused the neo-liberal discourse of free markets with the neo-conservative Christian discourse of moral rightness to found a New Right, we can apply this analytical model in post-apartheid/neo-apartheid South Africa. The aim of this analytical comparison is to support the broad claim that the article makes about the rise of the New Right in contemporary South Africa as directly related to the fusion of neo-Pentecostal Christianity with neoliberal economics in very salient ways. Using discourse analysis, the article demonstrates how the New Right in South Africa also draws from the language of crisis to justify a response that brings together the interlocking of race, religion, and neoliberalism. The paper’s main argument is that, a different type of New Right is emerging in current day South Africa, one that is not simply the purview of whitenationalism, but has main appeal also within the black middle-class.

An Orthodox perspective on hamartology and ecology: Assessing John Chryssavgis’ contribution to current discourse

This article is a sequel to my earlier paper entitled ‘Hamartology and Ecology: An assessment of Aruna Gnanadason’s contribution to the contemporary debate’. Christian ecotheology presents a Christian critique of ecological destruction while also offering an ecological critique of Christianity. It entails a reinterpretation of all the classic Christian symbols, in this case the doctrine of sin, specifically the nature of sin, explored in the light of ecological discourse. Considering the contemporary ecological crisis, this article highlights Orthodox theologian John Chryssavgis’ contribution to the current debate. Following a concise overview on Christian discourse on ecology, as well as the Christian understanding of the nature of sin and the ways in which it is re-described in contemporary ecotheological terms, this article explores John Chryssavgis’ position on ecotheological discourse through a discussion of anthropocentrism, domination in the name of differences of species, consumerist greed, alienation of humans from the earth community as well as denial and disdain. The Orthodox tradition is an important factor in the formulation of his ecotheology. The method employed here encompasses ecclesial scrutiny, namely Chryssavgis’ assessment of the Christian tradition’s role in contributing to the contemporary crisis, followed by theological reflection on his interpretations of ecological sin and finally, alternative courses of action to appropriately address the issues in question. In closing, the article offers an assessment of Chryssavgis’ overall contribution to current ecotheological discourse.

On Mending the Peace of the World: Sir Francis Bacon’s Apocalyptic Irenicism

This essay is about irenicism and science, i.e. about the interrelationship between the quest for peace on earth and the quest for knowledge about the world. Both are global aspirations, the former focused on achieving concord among rival peoples and ideologies, nations, and religions; the latter on comprehending the earth and the heavens and the way the things in them are made. Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626), Viscount St. Alban and sometime Lord Chancellor of England, who, citing in Latin the Biblical prophecy in Daniel 12:4 – “Many shall go to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” – linked together the increase of geographical knowledge in his own day with the prospect for new discoveries in all fields of learning. For Bacon, the advancement of all branches knowledge, fated to come together in the same age, would in time bring religious unity and with it this-worldly peace, thereby paving the way for the fulfillment of the apocalyptical prophecy in the Book of Daniel, which in Christian discourse was interpreted to mean the Second Coming of Christ. This essay explores Bacon’s discussions of his aims and the methods he advocated as addressed the consequences of “discovery” for mending world back to its wholeness.

Analisis Kritis terhadap Spirit Dekonstruksi dalam Kajian Hermeneutika Kristen Kontemporer

<p><em>This paper aims to analyze the impact of Derrida's theory of deconstruction in relation to the application of contemporary Christian hermeneutics as well as an attempt at hermeneutical repositioning. The methodological approach used in this paper is descriptive qualitative with instruments of literature study, comparison and textual analysis. Concretely, critical analysis is carried out in stages of deconstruction theory, various phenomena of contemporary Christian hermeneutics, then presents the idea of Christian hermeneutics as a comparative model and discourse criticism. Meanwhile, the body of the writing is divided into three parts according to the analysis pattern. First, it specifically examines Derrida's theory of deconstruction. Second, it is an analysis of several forms of hermeneutic phenomena and discourse of Christian theology which are currently developing. Third, reviewing the Christian hermeneutic discourse from the evangelical perspective in an effort to reposition, criticize, and test discourse on the contemporary worldview. Through this research, distortions were found in hermeneutic studies and contemporary Christian discourse with several forms of deconstruction approaches. The three explicit patterns used are the hermeneutic application of binary negation to conservative theological discourse, the explicit emphasis on the textual eisegesis model and the post-structuralism approach to interpretation..</em><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Key words: </strong>Dekonstruksi, hermeneutika, oposisi biner, semantic, interpretasi biblis</p>

Rabbinic Reflections on Divine–Human Interactions

This article approaches the question of tolerance by focusing on the topic of miraculous births, shared by both Jews and Christians. An analysis of chapter 14 of Leviticus Rabbah, dated to the first half of the fifth century, reveals contacts between the rabbinic text and Origen’s homilies on Leviticus, which elaborate on the same biblical texts. Jews and Christians shared the idea of God’s unquestionable power to perform miracles, but whereas the Christian discourse on miraculous birth in general addressed the birth of Jesus, the rabbis diverted the discourse to all human births.

Disease and the Christian Discourse of Jewish Death in "De Excidio Hierosolymitano" 5, 2

The late-fourth century work called On the Destruction of Jerusalem (De Excidio Hierosolymitano), or “Pseudo-Hegesippus”, records the history of the Roman-Jewish War (66-73 CE) and particularly the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. As a Christian version of this history based largely upon Flavius Josephus’ earlier Jewish War, De Excidio understands himself to be telling the story of the effective death of the Jews in history. One major aspect of this narrative, I argue, is a discourse of Jewish disease, wherein Ps-Hegesippus portrays the Jews as “sick” with the plague of civil insurrection and sedition. But this discourse goes much further as well, cutting to the very core of De Excidio’s narrative logic. Here I argue that this discourse of Jewish disease finds its most powerful expression in one particular chapter of the work, Book 5, Chapter 2. I show that De Excidio 5.2 epitomizes the work’s rhetoric of Jewish contagion, which can nevertheless be traced throughout the entirety of the work.

Christian Discourse in the Tragedy Comedy by Feofan Prokopovich “Vladimir”

The central work of art by the outstanding Russian thinker of the early 18th century, philosopher, theologian and writer, associate of Peter I is examined in the article. The novelty of the study is that until now, religious discourse has not been subjected to systemic analysis. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to comprehend Christian motives and reminiscences, as well as the Gospel text as part of the play. Various plot situations are brought into consideration, giving the author the opportunity to show that in the comparison of two worldviews the opposite of their axiological systems is revealed. It is established that the opposition “Christianity / paganism”, which forms the basis of the artistic conflict, correlates in the play with the oppositions “life / death”, “truth / falsehood”, “spiritual / material”, “heavenly / earthly”, “salvation / death”. It has been proven that an important place is given to the play of Christian anthropology, as evidenced by the presentation of the biblical story of the expulsion of the first people from paradise, as well as the depiction of a difficult spiritual struggle that the protagonist experiences when deciding on a change of faith. A systematic analysis leads the author to the conclusion that the play uses the compositional principle that was used in the ancient fine arts and received in the works of Fr. Pavel Florensky called “reverse perspective”.