Focus. De Geest van Christus en de Christus van de Geest

N.a.v.: Cornelis van der Kooi, This Incredibly Benevolent Force: The Holy Spirit in Reformed Theology and Spirituality (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018)176 p., $ 38.00 (ISBN 9780802876133) en Gijsbert van den Brink, Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman en Maarten Wisse (red.), The Spirit Is Moving: New Pathways in Pneumatology: Studies Presented to Professor Cornelis van der Kooi on the Occasion of His Retirement [Studies in Reformed Theology, 38] (Leiden: Brill, 2019) 410 p., € 143,00 (ISBN 9789004391734).

Leven voor de dood. Aanzetten tot een christelijke thanatologie

Popular literature shows the need for a contemporary art of dying. This article argues for a Christian thanatology that engages modern phenomena such as near-death-experiences, end-of-life legislation and an imagination that cannot envisions life beyond death. Reformed sources provide three elements for a Christian thanatology: (a) death as the boundary of human existence; (b) a spiritual attitude toward death; and (c) death and as an eccentric existence. A Christian thanatology moves beyond a systematic-theological exploration of the ‘last things’ to offer a ‘practical eschatology’ able to relate Christian imagination with cultural expressions.

Recente visies op het leven na de dood in het Oude Testament

Usually it is assumed that the Israelites had a negative view of the afterlife in the Old Testament, with some exceptions in the later texts. In several recent publications, in the last twenty years, changes are made. In this article these new visions are described and to some extent evaluated. Important questions are: What does the word sheol mean and is it the destination of believers? How can we interpret the many gifts for the deceased found in burial places in Israel? Related to the view on life after death, is the view of the nature of man. What is the meaning of nefesh (soul) and ruaḥ (spirit)? And how do we have to view God’s judgment: only in this life or also after death? This article gives an overview of recent approaches, without going into detailed exegesis. The goal is to stimulate further research on this subject, that is also related to the study of the New Testament, Anthropology and Judaism.

Augustinus’ omgang met verlieservaringen

This paper discusses Augustine’s dealings with the death of a friend and that of his mother Monica, as told in his Confessions. Neoplatonists are uncertain about the afterlife; death ends it all for secularists; Augustine has hope, for death is not the end. One grieves over the death of a loved one, but not without given the promise of everlasting life. Augustine places this life in the next in God’s grace. The sorrow over the passing of a loved one evidences the transience of this existence; Christian hope looks beyond time to eternity.

Leven na de dood: het Nieuwe Testament als toetssteen voor enkele contemporaine opvattingen

This article considers the question of the difference between NT documents and their contemporary religious and philosophical thought world on ‘life after death’. Consideration of only a few themes discloses that the NT differs widely from Hellenistic views, and that it is closely connected to some views in early Judaism as far as these stand in continuity with the OT. The NT view on ‘life after death’ stands far more on its own than the History of Religions School suggests. Modern thought on the ‘afterlife’ reveals that the NT is still relevant; theological methods should not blur its original message, nor biblical authority (OT and NT) be minimized.

Nieuw rumoer rond Moses Shapira's 'Deuteronomium'

This article offers a short overview and assessment of the debate regarding the so-called Shapira manuscripts which came to light in the 1880s, following the publication of an article and monograph by Idan Dershowitz, professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Potsdam. Claiming the manuscripts Moses Shapira tried to sell to the British Museum in 1883 were not forgeries, Dershowitz argues that they were a pre-exilic earlier version of the canonical Deuteronomy. The article reviews the history of reception of the manuscripts in view of methodological and societal issues

Haftarot bij Paulus. De liturgische context van citaten als onderdeel van intertekstualiteit

This article argues that the liturgical use of biblical texts should be included in an intertextual analysis. Rabbinic sources demonstrate a certain consensus on the liturgical reading cycles from the Torah and the Prophets in the early synagogue. Although the content of these cycles is not certain, external evidence disclose established connections between readings from the Torah and the Prophets (the haftarah-readings) in the first century CE. Paul’s letters display similar connections and a comparable hermeneutical strategy, as illustrated by a careful exegesis of Romans 15,9-12, Galatians 4,21-31, and 2 Corinthians 3.

Over de verborgenheid van God. De preken van rabbi Shapira in het getto van Warschau

This article examines sermons on the hiddenness of God rabbi Shapira delivered during the years 1939-1942 under unbearable circumstances in the ghetto of Warsaw. Based on studies of the Hebrew Bible and the Jewish tradition, the Hasidic rabbi explores the problem of God’s hiddenness in order to support perseverance in this dreadful environment. The article begins with a summary of non-European rabbinical reactions to the rumours of eradication of the Jews and then proceeds to discuss rabbi Shapira’s five ‘concepts’ of God's hiddenness. These concepts find their theological focus in the unity of God and his people.