Search Results (40)

The polemics of idol worship in John Capgrave’s Life of Saint Katherine of Alexandria have been interpreted by previous scholars as either the author’s engagement with the Lollard image controversy or a political critique of Henry VI. This essay, however, shifts the focus from Katherine and her iconoclasm to the concept of divine iconoclasm, defined here not only as the divinely sanctioned or divinely motivated destruction of religious images but also as God’s direct intervention to dismantle false representations and correct human perceptions of the divine. It further argues that Capgrave’s Life redefines sacred space as primarily constructed through light, emphasizing its immateriality and exposing the saint’s physical limitations. In these scenarios, divine iconoclasm emerges as a constructive force that resolves the tension between the secular and the sacred. Moreover, Christ’s celestial manipulation of the vision of sacred space and the relationship between body and space—encouraging confidence while discouraging self-inflation—serves as a model for how a monarch should inspire both love and fear. In this way, Capgrave’s Mirrors for Princes is embedded within his hagiography, where the image debate features prominently, addressing the heated political and theological controversies of his time. By combining these elements, the essay bridges two strands of criticism that have previously treated the political and theological dimensions of the text separately. Full article

By exploring how Cone employs and emulates Black literary sources, this article argues that his theological writing can be understood as often translating and thereby making explicit the significance of the inner, emotional lives of Black folks, particularly Black rage, into Black theological thought. The argument, in other words, is that Cone’s writing is an ethical performance of rage and a literary process of reforming his rage. His performance of rage is ethical in that it is morally motivated by injustice and indifference. It is not a performance for its own sake or to simply blow off steam. The performance takes a literary form and becomes the means through which his rage is reformed. The aim of this article demonstrates how his theological writing copes with and transforms rage into ethical discourse. Full article

This study explores the impact of digital innovation on religious leadership in the Swiss context, based on qualitative interviews with church leaders and personnel. The findings reveal diverse attitudes towards digital media use, shaped by personal, theological, and contextual factors. The study identifies key motivators for embracing digital innovations, including theological imperatives to contextualize the gospel, the need to meet people where they are in digital and analog spaces, and ethical responsibilities to engage in the digital sphere. Interviews highlight a range of digital competencies and show that successful digital transformation depends on collaborative team dynamics and resource availability. Although digital practices are viewed as supplements rather than replacements for analog church life, they are seen as crucial for engaging modern society. The study concludes that digital innovation offers opportunities for multi-professional collaboration, strategic resource allocation and the development of empowering educational formats, ultimately aiming to foster a balanced, reciprocal relationship between digital and analog church practices and personal encounters, both within the individual local congregation and far beyond. Full article

This article examines the intertextuality and shared origins of two prominent narratives in classical Arabic literature: the story of Solomon’s Copper Carafes and the tale of The City of Brass. Both narratives, which later appeared in combined form in Alf Laylah wa-Laylah (One Thousand and One Nights), are laden with religious and mythological motifs that reflect broader cultural and theological concerns in the medieval Islamic world. This study attempts to answer the following question: “What are the common motives and ideas between the stories of Solomon’s Copper Carafes and The City of Brass in ancient Arabic literature?” By analyzing these stories as they appear in key sources of classical Arabic prose, this study investigates their shared themes and explores their potential common origins predating their Arabic textual forms. This study analyzes selected classical Arabic sources to demonstrate the narrative relationship between The City of Brass and Solomon’s Copper Carafes. It argues that both stories share a common origin predating their Arabic textual transmission. From a literary perspective, the tales of The City of Brass and Solomon’s Copper Carafes are prime examples of Islamic religious fiction, skillfully employing narrative devices to spread Islamic principles and beliefs. The stories are consistent with the core beliefs of Islam since they emphasize austerity, the certainty of death, and the primacy of monotheism. From a religious perspective, the intertwined stories of The City of Copper and Solomon’s Copper Carafes in Alf Laylah wa-Laylah provide a powerful example of how Islamic stories are inherently consistent with Islamic morality and beliefs. Full article

It has happened so many times in history: the youth being ignored or sidelined. Such behaviour was and is often motivated by culture. In most cultures, the youth, children, and adolescents are important and loved; however, in society and churches, they are on the sideline, until culture determines their real belonging. The theological departure point of inclusivity has just not been taken yet. In this article will be argued that however natural cultural behaviour might be, to ignore or sideline children and adolescents is to deny our Christian identity as the church of God. In God’s mind, children are included even before they are born. They may be man-and-woman-made, but in fact, they are God-made (Psalm 127 verse 3). They may not even have been part of a man-and-woman-made plan. Coming into being, whether planned or unplanned, does not catch God off-guard. Being is a gift of God, not only to a parent or parents but to the faith community. A theological understanding of our identity as the people of God compels us not and never to ignore or sideline the youth at any stage of life. Full article

There is a long and complex history of Christian–Muslim engagement, one which is fraught by socio-political tensions and complicated by fear. Theological tensions likewise contribute to the sibling rivalry between these Abrahamic faiths. Accounting for fundamental theological differences between Islam and Christianity, and noting a potential dichotomy between apologetic-style and interfaith engagement, this article contends that effective Christian–Muslim relations must navigate both opposing truth claims and efforts to seek peace. Consequently, comparative theology is critically evaluated, from an evangelical Christian perspective, as a potential mediating approach. In considering the complex relationship between comparative theology and theology of religion, and indeed, between theology and ‘people of faith’, recommendations are formulated with a view to contributing to effective Christian–Muslim relations. The overall aim of this research therefore is to explore approaches to developing more effective Christian–Muslim relations, with a specific focus on comparative theology. While motivated by and accounting for a personal Christian–Muslim sibling relationship, the research method predominantly references academic literature, with sections structured by an amended version of Osmer’s four-task model of practical theology. Findings from this research discern that comparative theology is not quite the mediating approach sought; however, its potential contribution towards a ‘hybrid approach’ is explored. The implications of this article seek to encourage orthodox Muslims and evangelical Christians to engage in comparative exchanges that employ a balanced and in-depth approach to understanding our respective faiths. Finally, this article emerges from within the UK; therefore, discussions presented may be differently received by evangelical Christians operating out of divergent biographical contexts. Full article

This article builds on a previous essay and arises from research carried out between the summer of 2018 and the spring of 2020 among pilgrims who had participated in the Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain and St Patrick’s Purgatory on Lough Derg in the northwest of Ireland. Research focused on embodied experience in relation to pilgrim motivation, groundedness and the enduring power of sacred travel as ritual. Convergent considerations about psychology, theology and pilgrimage studies were deployed as lenses of analysis of the pilgrims’ experience. The findings brought clarity in relation to pilgrims’ motivations and the subsequent satiation experienced as they became more grounded in relation to the physical rituals of the pilgrimage. The experience of full-blooded, fleshy embodiment, the analysis suggests, has considerable psychological dividend and is, the discussion argues, of theological significance, particularly from the perspective of Incarnation. As pilgrimage scholars have noted, a refreshing outcome of 21st Century research is the way in which it has been lifted out of the ‘narrow fields of religious or medieval studies’ and yet the analysis of this study suggests that we not dismiss the enduring possibility of religious quest as a still traceable element in the experience of contemporary pilgrimage. Full article

Recent scholarship on religion and energy highlights the religious attachments some groups of people form with fossil fuels that have served to facilitate their extraction and use in building socially and economically stratified worlds. This scholarship foregrounds the business owners, managers, scientists, inventors, industrial spokespersons, and other panegyrists of the beneficent, civilizing power of coal and oil. However, little research to date has examined the religious attachments formed with fossil fuels by those who mined them, labored with machines powered by them, and lived in places that were diminished to extract, burn, and waste them. This article builds on the work of Andreas Malm and Terra Schwerin Rowe to examine these “critical carbon theologies”. It focuses in particular on the theological themes in popular literature produced by the nineteenth-century British Chartist movement—the first great social movement led by those who experienced in their bodies, communities, and environments the traumas that accompanied the introduction of fossil fuels as a motive power. These Chartist activist-theologians condemned coal power as a demonic force in history and envisioned a way to exorcize an industrializing society of its demons. This article uncovers and evaluates the largely overlooked theological dimensions of this movement and applies them toward a consideration of the ethics of energy transition today. Full article

This study explores the representation of radical and anti-radical ideologies among German Islamic TikTok creators, analyzing 2983 videos from 43 accounts through qualitative content analysis. The results reveal two main content clusters: religious practice involving social/lifestyle issues and political activism around Muslim grievances. Victimization, found in 150 videos, was the most common indicator associated with radicalization and emerged as a source of political activism and subversive discourse. Overall, indicators of radicalism were scarce, suggesting that visible mainstream Islamic creators do not exhibit high levels of radical ideology. However, this also reflects a selection bias in the design of this study, which systematically overlooks fringe actors. In addition, religious advocacy was the most common topic (1144 videos), serving as a source of guidance and motivation, but was occasionally linked to sectarianism and rigid religious interpretations. Male creators posted more religious/theological videos; female creators posted more lifestyle videos. However, gender distinctions are limited due to the low representation of female creators (6). Some topics, such as the hijab, served as an intersection between religious practice and politicized narratives. This study highlights TikTok’s role in promoting diverse ideological views and shaping community engagement, knowledge sharing, and political mobilization within Germany’s Muslim digital landscape. Full article

Dementia is a growing global health issue, particularly in developed countries with high and increasing life expectancies. Often, health care and social approaches problematise and see as defective people with dementia; they are viewed in terms of their deficiencies. The concept of personhood helps provide a theological framework of inherent worth, regardless of physical or cognitive capacity. This paper takes a case study approach and considers how the notion of personhood impacted the motivations and practice of two chaplains working in Aotearoa New Zealand residential dementia care settings. These chaplains offered a ministry of personal and sacramental presence. They provided simple ecumenical services, comprising elements that were familiar to the residents. They were motivated by and acted with love and compassion. The article concludes by noting implications for chaplaincy practice, including the importance of being personhood-affirming, acting out of love, and being expectant of and attentive to the discipleship and spiritual formation of residents. Full article

Background/Objectives: The subject of this article is the reflection on hope—one of the most important predictors and motivators of human actions. Hope is our response to a threat, and it is also the emotion that allows us to overcome hopelessness and to reduce suffering. Hoping is a human capacity with varying cognitive, emotional, and functional dimensions. Psychological, pedagogical (particularly in the framework of special-needs pedagogy and thanatological pedagogy), and theological reflection on hope can be helpful for dying people. The objective of this study was to characterize hope in the semantic space of individuals in the terminal stage of cancer and to verify whether age is a variable that determines this hope. Methods: To complete the study, the Osgood semantic differential method was applied, as modified by Polish psychologist Dr. Boguslaw Block (the DSN-3 test). The research technique consisted of a therapeutic conversation. Results: Research results show that, in general, those in the terminal stage have positive associations with hope. In all three aspects of the used test, namely the cognitive, emotional, and functional aspects, the highest scores assigned to the perception of hope were obtained from men up to 35 years of age. Depending on the ages of patients, one could observe certain semantic shifts, but they did not prove to be statistically significant. Conclusions: Polish males surveyed at the end of life due to cancer generally perceived hope as a supportive force. Therefore, hope can provide emotional support to patients in the terminal stage of cancer and improve their quality of life. Full article

Since the second half of the 20th century, missiology has continued to elevate Missio Dei to a topic of the highest importance in theology. According to Missio Dei, the salvific mission is more theocentric than anthropocentric in that its actuality is wholly rooted in the nature of God. However, much work remains to be conducted to evaluate and reconcile the modern interpretation of the Missio Dei and its predecessor theological doctrines, to avoid illogicalities. Consequently, the responsibility to identify any discrepancies in the systematic knowledge of the Missio Dei falls on the broad shoulders of theology in general, but of missiology in particular. In keeping with this unavoidable intellectual duty, this article interrogates the literature on modern theodicies to improve the conceptualization of the Missio Dei and missionary God in the context of evil and human suffering. The inter-comparative analysis of the biblical Job serves to relate divine perfection and human suffering within process theodicy. Consequently, the intellectual enterprise of this work, with all its shortcomings, not only illuminates another facet of Missio Dei but also motivates further investigation to reconcile mission Dei with the reality of evil, free will, and human suffering. Full article

The imperial nature of Christianity structured around colonialism, white supremacy, and apartheid was governed by racially motivated logics that fundamentally define the idea of who could be human. Decades later, the uncomfortable emphasis on decoloniality in South African theological education arises in a contested space despite the need to decentre white, Western methods, interpretations, and experiences. Academic readiness and ownership regarding the implementation of decolonisation initiatives constitute a significant obstacle. They highlight how coloniality mediates and attempts to erase decolonising praxis. This article employs the theoretical framing of Grosfoguel’s analysis of the coloniality of power, of knowledge, and of being, surveys recent educational developments in theological education towards redress to reveal a hesitancy and considers the perspective change of educators towards decolonisation praxis. This article underscores a contextual challenge for the legitimacy of decolonialisation and the need to restore its significance amidst the slow pace of educational transformation in theological education. Full article

Since the early 20th century, two new disciplines emerged in the tradition of analytic philosophy: meta-ethics and political epistemology. Nevertheless, debates on such questions go back to the ancient Greeks and, in particular, to the debates between Plato and Protagoras. This article elucidates the controversy between Plato and the influential sophist Protagoras from the perspective of contemporary meta-ethics and political epistemology. It argues that the main motivation of Plato’s philosophical endeavors is to overcome Protagoras’s skeptical claims that no moral facts and no moral knowledge applicable to political issues exist. The paper defends the thesis that there exists a deep disagreement between Protagoras and Plato on the existence of moral facts and moral knowledge. A deep disagreement is a disagreement that cannot be resolved through the use of reasons and arguments. Applying the foundationalist approach Robert J. Fogelin proposes in his seminal paper “The Logic of Deep Disagreements”, this article argues that the deep disagreement between Protagoras and Plato exists because their political thought is based on “underlying principles” that clash. While Plato’s political philosophy rests on his religious and theological convictions, the political thought of Protagoras is based on his skepticism, relativism, and agnosticism. Full article

This article analyses the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ against the backdrop of the contemporary and theological “spatial turn”. It asks if and how Laudato Si’ incorporates the main elements of this movement that pushes for a reappraisal of space and/or place in theological reasoning. This inquiry is motivated by a public and constructive understanding of theology, with the conviction that it too should bring its specific contribution to the challenges of the “Common Home”. The article starts by characterizing this theological “spatial turn”, and by putting it into the context of similar trends in other human and social sciences. Secondly, it focuses on the analysis of Laudato Si’, namely by considering the role played in it by spatiality. Thirdly, and in a brief systematic way, it presents some concluding remarks that describe how Laudato Si’ may be interpreted in the “spatial turn” framework. Following these remarks, the article concludes that there is a moderate incorporation in Laudato Si’ of the concerns that promote and sustain a theological “spatial turn”. Full article