Devī Māhātmya

The Sanskrit narrative text Devī Māhātmya—“The greatness of the Goddess” (also known as Durgā Saptaśatī and Caṇḍī Pāṭha, henceforth DM)—extols the tripartite triumphs of the all-powerful Goddess (Devī, Ambikā, Caṇḍikā, Durgā) over the universe-imperiling demons. Devī manifests for the protection of the gods, and cosmic order as a whole, in times of dire need. These exploits of this formidable feminine power constitute the first articulation of a Great Goddess within the Indian subcontinent. While the DM equates supreme reality with the feminine Hindu concepts of maya (illusion, magic), śakti (power, force, energy), and prakṛti (material nature), it posits no systematic theory. As only narrative can, the DM instead masterfully interweaves these philosophical strands, along with preexisting feminine faces within the Vedic fold, into the figure of a feminine divine whose greatness surpasses that of the Vedic pantheon, and even that of the cosmic Trimurti comprised of the “Great Gods” Brahma, Vishnu [Skt. Viṣṇu], and Shiva [Skt. Śiva]. The DM serves not only to exalt the Goddess as supreme, but also celebrates her paradoxical nature: she is both one and many, immanent and transcendent, liminal and central, gentle and fierce, motherly and martial. Yet there is no ambiguity in her status as all-powerful. She is utterly invincible. While power is something the gods possess, power is something the Goddess is. It is she, then, who ultimately creates, preserves, and destroys the universe and all beings within it. Variously dated between the 4th and 8th century ce, the DM finds a home as part of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, comprising chapters 81–93 thereof. Far from a textual relic, the DM is recited as liturgy in goddess temples, during individual daily spiritual practice, and at temples and homes especially during the autumnal navaratra (“nine nights”) Hindu Goddess festival, commonly known as Durgā Pūjā. The DM independently circulates not only within this rich liturgic life, but as a standalone mythological, philosophical, and theological authority on the Hindu Goddess. In this respect, it is not dissimilar from the Bhagavad Gita’s circulation independent of the Mahābhārata in which it is couched. The DM’s recitation is considered beneficial for listeners and reciters alike. As exemplified and overtly stated in the DM, engaging the glories of the Goddess invariably secure her protection and benediction.

Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples

Few major figures of the Renaissance are as difficult to capture in the round as Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples (Jacobus Faber Stapulensis, b. c. 1455–d. 1536): he does not easily fit into the dichotomies historians have used to understand the period, of humanist or scholastic, medieval or Renaissance, philosopher or theologian, Catholic or Protestant. He began his career teaching at the University of Paris in the 1490s; he traveled to Italy at least three times, and in 1492 met the generation of Italian humanists including Marsilio Ficino, Ermolao Barbaro, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. Back in Paris, he set about digesting the medieval philosophy curriculum in new handbooks and commentaries, including all of Aristotle alongside the main branches of mathematics—while also writing privately on natural magic, motivated by an attraction to the more Hermetic teachings of Ficino. From 1499, with a growing circle of students around him, Lefèvre turned his attention increasingly to Church Fathers and medieval mystics, searching out manuscripts by traveling to monasteries and drawing on his expanding network of former students and scholarly friends; this bore fruit in new editions of thinkers such as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Richard of St Victor, Hildegard of Bingen, Jan van Ruysbroeck, and Nicholas of Cusa. In 1507 he retired from university teaching to the Paris cloister of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where he increasingly concentrated his energies on the Bible, commenting on the text with new attention to Greek and Hebrew, where his skills allowed. In the 1510s his commentaries led to clashes with somewhat younger humanists like Desiderius Erasmus, who faulted his Greek, as well as members of the Paris Faculty of Theology, who faulted his theological authority. A theorist of harmony attracted to the grand metaphysical visions of Pseudo-Dionysius and Nicholas of Cusa, Lefèvre avoided conflict where he could, more interested in teaching and commentary than in developing his own systematic statements. He was nevertheless committed to devotional reform, and his patron asked him to lead a reform of preaching in the diocese of Meaux, near Paris; this led to growing worries that his theological affiliation was in fact Lutheran. An elder statesman of the republic of letters amid a generation of younger firebrands—including Guillaume Farel, the Genevan reformer who would spot John Calvin’s potential—Lefèvre’s approach to these tensions has proved an irresistible puzzle for historians. Forced to flee Meaux for safety in Strassburg, he was recalled to the court of the king’s sister, Marguerite de Navarre, where he tutored young royals and lived in relative peace until his death in 1536.

“In That Water You Could Rinse Things Clean”

The aim of this article is to explore the depiction of baptism in Marilynne Robinson's Lila. In a way that is unique for contemporary fiction, the protagonist, Lila, seeks in baptism a relief of her chronic feelings of shame and a confirmation that she is loved. However, after her baptism the Calvinist doctrine of election drives Lila to emotional and theological despair. I suggest that the Calvinist notion of adoption in baptism is a unifying thread in Lila's theological and psychological dilemma, emphasized by her reading of the Book of Ezekiel. From a theological point of view, in baptism one changes ontologically for once and for all. But Lila's story shows that grappling with this transformation can be an emotionally painful process. Robinson depicts her protagonist as a theologian in her own right. This is significant in a novel in which the theological authority lies with male pastors and theologians, regardless of whether they are present in theological books or in religious communities in the 1950s Midwest. Lila understands in a mystical experience of heaven that she will be able to bring her non-Christian loved ones with her into heaven. This unusual rewriting of sacramental theology signifies how Lila constructs her own theology; a rewriting that connects baptism with Barth's universalism and his idea of restoring all humanity. Thus, I argue in this article that in Lila Robinson incorporates a recurring idea of sacramental theology into her fiction, a final restoration in which grace mends the relationships severed in and by life.

The Faith Once for All Delivered: Liturgical Theology, Scripture, and the Evangelical Free Church Tradition

This article proposes to explain how the evangelical Free Church commitment to scripture as its primary authority affects their interaction with liturgical theology. Free Church theology is underpinned by various hermeneutical, theological, and cultural commitments—none more central than its commitment to scripture as revelation of and from God—which complicates Free Church engagement with much recent liturgical scholarship that emphasizes the ecclesiological basis for Christian worship and the corollary authority of Christian tradition. In the first part of the article, I provide an exploration of theological authority within Free Church evangelicalism, arguing that their commitment to scripture’s authority is a commitment to the ecclesial tradition of the apostolic church. In the second part of the article, I explore two additional hermeneutical considerations for evangelical liturgical theology that follow from their commitment to scripture: the priority of biblical exegesis in the theological process and the application of a trusting hermeneutic in their reading of scripture.

Emerging African American Pentecostal Sources in Public Theology

Theological authority is of paramount importance for the future of African American Pentecostal public theology. Largely ignored as authoritative sources by white Pentecostals in the years following the Azusa Street Revival, black Pentecostals were often snubbed by black denominations as well. Consequently, at the traditional table of theological discourse, black Pentecostal pastors have been notably absent. The question of theological authority in black Pentecostalism can be answered, in part, by examining its historically relevant contributions to theology in general, and to black liberation theology in particular. Early social prophetic theologians left a treasure trove of leadership hermeneutics and models for public engagement. This article highlights four pastors who left legacies built on their roles as pioneers in the black Pentecostal movement. The biographic profiles reveal sources of i) historical authority within the broad contours of the black Pentecostal tradition, and, ii). innovative hermeneutics as valid models for engaging public theology.

Reading tradition as pedagogy in Calvin and Augustine: the case of election

In colloquial English the word ‘tradition’ tends to be understood as a noun referring to a more-or-less static set of propositions, often used to define the identity of the particular group that accepts them. This article seeks to challenge this convention by defending an older, more fluid sense oftraditiothat is not only found in but formative of a variety of major Christian theological sources. The argument draws especially on Jean Calvin, his preferred theological authority Augustine and briefly the New Testament itself, showing that each demonstrates a fundamental interest in Christian teaching as participation in divine pedagogy. Using the doctrine of election as a case study, I argue that this pedagogical framework evidences a dynamic conception oftraditioastradere, or a discourse on how human beings faithfully participate in what is properly a divine giving-and-receiving. This conception of tradition as pedagogy is commended for both its theological and its critical merit.

A note on homer the raven

In the works of Clement of Alexandria pieces of Homeric verses surface from time to time as a testimony to a Christian truth or an interpretation of Scripture. Such instances in Gnostic writings presented evidence that these Gnostic writers treated Homer as their own prophet. It seems that in light of these accusations, Clement takes care to note that Homer did not understand the words he gave a voice to, any more than a raven does when he echoes what he hears. Furthermore, in all cases where Clement comes conspicuously close to implying a prophetic-like status for Homer, he does not fail to employ a phrase which explicitly divorces the poet from any theological authority.

The Wrongfulness of Any Intent to Kill

Germain Grisez’s philosophical argument for respecting human life has been developed by fellow new natural law (NNL) theorists and applied to a range of lethal actions, for its conclusion is vast: intending the death of any human being as a means or an end is wrong in itself. For some Thomists, the NNL view on killing is both lax and rigorist: They consider it lax because its narrow criterion for what is “intended” leaves out some acts, especially ones related to abortion, that the critics consider murder. And they consider the NNL view rigorist insofar as it apparently rules out the death penalty, contrary to the Thomistic tradition and perhaps even heretically. However, the most salient philosophical arguments for exceptions to the principle against intending anyone’s death are weaker than the case for any given premise of the contrary NNL argument. Nevertheless, some NNL theorists’ arguments on life are unsound, some can be defended better than they have been, and some nonphilosophical objections based on theological authority require more exploration.

Public Revelation and Private Revelation

Beginning with a study of the Catholic Church’s theology of public revelation and private revelations, the chapter considers what is the theological authority that private revelations (like Marian apparitions) have and what is the relationship that such revelations have to Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition, and the development of doctrine in Roman Catholicism. The official norms that the Catholic Church uses to evaluate the authenticity of visionaries, their apparitions and revelations, are studied, as promulgated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1978. The work of the Catholic scholars Augustin Poulain and Benedict Groeschel is considered to better understand the complexities of discerning true from false revelations. The final section considers which Church authorities can intervene in investigating an apparition site, and what has been the Church response and official status regarding the Medjugorje apparitions.

Practicing What It Preaches? Understanding the Contradictions between Pluralist Theology and Religious Intolerance within Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama

The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has long been known for its moderate, pluralist theology. However, many grassroot NU clerics and activists do not pay attention to these pluralist teachings. Instead, they carried out attacks and religious persecutions against religious minorities such as the Ahmadi and Shi’ite communities in Indonesia. It is puzzling to see a big contradiction between the pluralist theological beliefs articulated by some of NU’s senior clerics and the religiously intolerant actions conducted by many of its clerics and activists against religious minorities at a grassroot level. Using insights from social movement theory, this article argues that the roots of such contradictions can be traced back to NU’s organizational structure, which is decentralized and leave ultimate theological authority with local clerics who run their own Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) and issue their own theological interpretations and rulings (fatwa) that are being obeyed by their students and followers.[NU telah lama dikenal berteologi moderat dan pluralis. Meskipun demikian, ulama dan aktifis akar rumput kurang memperhatikan ajaran pluralis tersebut. Bahkan sebagian dari mereka justru terlibat dalam penyerangan dan persekusi kelompok minoritas seperti Ahmadiyah dan Shiah di Indonesia. Hal ini cukup membingungkan dan kontradiktif antara artikulasi pemikiran pluralis tokoh senior NU dengan tindakan intoleran yang dilakukan pengikut NU di level akar rumput. Dengan pendekatan teori gerakan sosial, artikel ini menjelaskan kontradiksi tersebut dengan melacak akarnya pada struktur organisasi NU yang terdesentralisasi dan otoritas teologi berbasis ulama lokal yang mempunyai pesantren dan interpretasi keagamaannya sendiri yang dipatuhi oleh santri dan pengikutnya.]