Death, Resurrection, and Human Destiny: Christian and Muslim Perspectivesis a record of the 2012 Building Bridges seminar for leading Christian and Muslim scholars, convened by Rowan Williams, then ...Archbishop of Canterbury. The essays in this volume explore what the Bible and Qur?an-and the Christian and Islamic theological traditions-have to say about death, resurrection, and human destiny. Special attention is given to the writings of al-Ghazali and Dante. Other essays explore the notion of the good death. Funeral practices of each tradition are explained. Relevant texts are included with commentary, as are personal reflections on death by several of the seminar participants. An account of the informal conversations at the seminar conveys a vivid sense of the lively, penetrating, but respectful dialogue which took place. Three short pieces by Rowan Williams provide his opening comments at the seminar and his reflections on its proceedings. The volume also contains an analysis of the Building Bridges Seminar after a decade of his leadership.
Focusing on 1 Cor. 11, this article argues that the early Christian meal can be understood as a cultural technique that enables new knowledge and insight, specifically about the world to come. The ...argument takes its vantage point from an understanding of the early Christian meal as a form of social experimentation that engages in prefigurative practices, thereby anticipating the world to come. To explore the latter phenomenon, this article makes use of a body of theory concerning prefigurative politics, a field not commonly associated with the study of religion. However, it is shown that this body of theory is a useful tool for considering that the kind of knowledge regarding the world to come is made possible through the performance of the early Christian meal, understood as a cultural technique. In this manner, the present article aims to make contributions at the levels of both the theory regarding the study of the early Christian meal and insights into it.
In its path to Enlightenment, Europe saw its historical self-consciousness in breaking with its Christian tradition and the concept of autonomy. In the twentieth century, however, and in the wake of ...unprecedented historical crises, the claim to autonomy and enlightenment was challenged; as a result, Europe’s relationship with Christianity once again became the subject of scrutiny and investigation. Broadly speaking, two currents of thought emerged in response to this question. The first, was to construe this new historical situation as an extension of the old era, and thus proceeded with a questioning of all its assumptions and foundations. The second response construed the contemporary crisis wholly anew and characterized their time with a form of understanding that is capable of providing answers to life-long questions. Noting the limitations of both responses, this paper asks whether theism and humanism can be reconciled. In light of this question, we examine the concept of Messianism in Jewish philosophical thought in order to step beyond the current dichotomy and argue for a third response according to which the relationship of modernity to tradition is not antagonistic. In fact, messianic ideas generate critical force and constructive hope for the modern transformative thought.
This article suggests that the Carolingian effort in resetting the calendar of history at the time of Charlemagne’s coronation to the year 6000 from the Creation and 801 from the Incarnation of ...Christ must be considered as only one of the period in the cycle of the processes of realigning, resetting and redeploying the calendar since the times of Augustine. During this period, the calculations necessary for the construction of the calendars and timelines lead to concerns regarding the end of history and the “end of times”. The first time scholars like Jerome and Augustine had to address the ending of the calendar of the universal sacred history that the Christians inherited from the Old Testament was during the 4th and 5th centuries. The Carolingian period witnessed the second “time of reckoning” when Eusebius’ date for the Incarnation of the Anno Mundi 5199 prompted scholars to reconsider the meaning of the Carolingian rule around the year 801, that is, the Anno Mundi 6000.
Mapping the End Times Dittmer, Jason; Sturm, Tristan
2010, 20160513, 2009, 2010-01-01, 2016-05-13, 2016-05-15
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Over the last quarter-century, evangelicalism has become an important social and political force in modern America. Here, new voices in the field are brought together with leading scholars such as ...William E. Connolly, Michael Barkun, Simon Dalby, and Paul Boyer to produce a timely examination of the spatial dimensions of the movement, offering useful and compelling insights on the intersection between politics and religion.
This comprehensive study discusses evangelicalism in its different forms, from the moderates to the would-be theocrats who, in anticipation of the Rapture, seek to impose their interpretations of the Bible upon American foreign policy. The result is a unique appraisal of the movement and its geopolitical visions, and the wider impact of these on America and the world at large.
Iustitia: Theological-ethical perspectives on the concept of ‘justice’ with particular reference to the position of Augustine and his far-reaching influence. Last year, at a conference of the ...‘Kerkhistoriese Genootskap’ of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA), the theme of ‘geregtigheid’ righteousness was investigated from various angles. The author of this article was invited to present on the views of the church father, Augustine, within a broad perspective. The objectives were to explain, illuminate and evaluate the views of Augustine and to focus on their relevance today. The customary methodology was followed: studying Augustine’s main texts about the subject and applying both classic and modern methodologies of Dogmatics. This implied an investigating, interpreting, comparing and evaluating Augustine’s ideas. Attention was also given to developments after Augustine as well as their implications for the South African situation. A short interlude on biblical perspectives was included. The result showed how much Augustine has influenced theology through the ages; how many positive perspectives he has brought forward, but also how many questions his theology has raised. The article concludes with views which clarify the fact that the theme of righteousness is of utmost importance in Christian theology and ethics, and cannot be understood without reference to God in Christ, reference to man and reference to the earth. The article ends with a final eschatological perspective: the concept of righteousness characterises the future hope of a new creation (2 Pt 3:13).Contribution The main contribution of this article is contained in the last two pages which summarises its essence: Righteousness is imperative and indispensable for meaningful life on earth.The article ends with a final eschatological perspective: The concept of righteousness characterises the future hope of a new creation (2 Pt 3:13).
God's call can be surprising and unexpected. This article evaluates theologies of vocation in light of this potential for surprise. Contemporary Protestant theological interpretations of vocation are ...critiqued as incomplete due to their tendency to present vocation as the expression and utilisation of innate abilities without giving sufficient account of how an individual might be called to something totally new and surprising. It will be suggested that this arises from a focus on creation as the dominant theological lens for interpreting vocation. An alternative focused on eschatology and pneumatology will be proposed in which both natural talents and new abilities are recognised as gifts of the Spirit given for the purpose of anticipatory proleptic participation in the coming Kingdom of God.
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