Search

This paper explores the Apostle Paul's teachings on righteousness and justification, emphasizing forensic, covenantal, apocalyptic, and sacramental aspects of his theology. Analysing key passages in Romans and Galatians, it integrates insights from contemporary theologians Douglas Campbell, N.T. Wright, and Pope Benedict XVI. Central to Paul's theology is the concept of justification by faith and the transformative power of divine grace. This study highlights the theological richness of Paul's teachings, while also acknowledging their ecumenical potential. By synthesizing these perspectives, the paper offers a comprehensive understanding of Pauline righteousness and its enduring relevance in contemporary Christian life.

The topic of peace is used by the apostle Paul in continuity with the Biblical idea of shalom. While the Greek eirene simply points to an interruption in a constant state of war, shalom means completeness, welfare, health and, eventually, also peace. In an apocalyptic theology such as Paul’s, in a corrupted world there can be peace only thanks to a special and merciful intervention by God, stressing the connection between the ideas of peace and salvation as well. According to Paul, Christ’s cross is the only possibility for the humankind to regain God’s peace, and the Church becomes the place where it is possible to experience it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the importance of the Office of the Passion of the Lord, composed by Francis of Assisi, as an expression of contemplation and celebration of the mystery of salvation. After a brief introduction on the historicalcritical aspects, the fifteen psalms chosen by Francis are analysed, highlighting their liturgical and spiritual meaning. The article also examines the antiphon and the final acclamation, emphasising the Marian and Trinitarian dimension of the Office. It concludes with a reflection on the theological-spiritual perspectives, highlighting the centrality of the Paschal Mystery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Jc Beall has advanced a model of the incarnation according to which one can reconcile the apparently incompatible attributes attributed to Christ by taking them as true contradictions. In this paper, I argue that Contradictory Christology proves incompatible with a central class of atonement theories. I begin by expositing Beall’s model in contrast to two models operating upon the assumption of classical logic. Next, I demonstrate the incompatibility between Beall’s theory and theories of the atonement on which Christ’s suffering was a necessary condition of salvation. Finally, provide a brief survey of three prominent atonement theories, highlighting their endorsement of this principle.

The paper deals with the role of image and beauty in the kerygmatic renewal of catechesis. In today’s technological age, the digital is no longer just part of existing cultures, but is emerging as a new culture that is changing the language and the way we think. The Catechesis is challenged to reflect on the form of the faith quest of digital youth and to adapt its vocabulary to the language of the new generations. The kerygmatic renewal of catechesis underlines the beauty of Christian life and salvation and of relationships in Christian communion and connects with the theology of beauty. Christianity needs to rediscover its beauty, the beauty of life with Christ, if it is to be attractive. The kerygma, the proclamation of God’s love and mercy, helps the individual to overcome fear and absurdity as he enters a new dimension of relationship that does not end in death

The article aims to underline how forms of narration in general, and television series in particular, play a fundamental role in the construction of contemporary imagination. Narratives, in fact, perform a peculiar function in that search for meaning which still today raises questions about the insurmountability of death and the problem of evil, the destiny and purpose of human existence. Secondly, the reflection intends to deepen the revival and re-reading of the Christian imagination made by the products of the contemporary cultural industry, regarding the prospect of life after death, the destiny of the soul and the future of corporality between transcendence and immanence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Catholic Church nowadays still officially values the ideas of self-sacrifice and the redemptive nature of suffering, academically, there exists a tendency to adapt these ideas to modern values. With the advancement of medical technology, the pursuit of health predominates the mindset of modern people and the practice of redemptive suffering turns out to be an outdated or even ridiculous idea. At the societal level, it is a problem concerning the incompatibility between Catholic dogmas and secular values. At the individual level, it is a question of believing these “empirically unbelievable” religious doctrines without being in a curious form of schizophrenia and insincerity. This paper attempts to examine the difficulties in understanding the Catholic notion of redemptive suffering in the twenty-first century. We attempt to demonstrate that the unintelligibility of this notion lies not in the idea of the willing sacrifice of a person for another human being; rather, it is more concerned with the content and way of suffering, as well as the explanation offered for it. We then suggest that taking the “supernatural Catholic worldview” seriously is an important condition to attain a deeper understanding of the notion of redemptive suffering. Lastly, we will examine whether the notion lacks contemporary significance by looking into some cases in the Catholic communities nowadays.

The subject of the article is the original sin, the sin of the first people – Adam and Eve – in the Orthodox tradition called the fall, corruption or most often the sin of the first parents. This fateful event, which took place at the dawn of human history, brought about repercussions that humanity still feels today. Over the centuries, the concept of the fall of Adam and Eve has given rise to many different concepts. The article deals with the concept of original sin according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church and presents the views of the Fathers of the Church and church writers on the act of creation of man, the state of man before the fall and the characteristics of the created human nature. Man created in the image and likeness of God failed to achieve the intended goal, which was divinization, which ultimately led to the fall. The fall brought about the mortality of man, which in turn gave all mankind the certain consequences of original sin itself. This has given rise to polemics over the centuries. Unlike the views of Western theologians such as St. Augustine, the creator of the doctrine of the heredity of original sin, Christian east according to Church Fathers as well as contemporary theologians has always held the position that the sin of the first parents is a personal sin of Adam and Eve, and their descendants only inherit its effects. The purpose of this paper is to show a different concept on the fall of the first people and to present an alternative point of view on the state of man after the fall, as well as to explain the discrepancies, among others, regarding the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is not recognized by the Orthodox Church

The Book of Isaiah has been truly complex for bible researchers for years. The primary difficulty arises from the poetic way of expressing the author, and this is of course associated with the difficulty of connecting different historical epochs described by the Book of Isaiah in its completeness. Lately, this book has been approached in a unitary way. This will say that it is sought to be read in its wholeness of parts, rather than dividing it as it has long been a trend, into three parts: Is 1-39; 40-55; 56-66. This so-called “unity movement” in research on the Book of Isaiah shows us how the Book can nevertheless be approached whole. Therefore, in this paper, we will seek to analyze the text of Is 30:1-17 (TM) in light of the so-called “unity movement” approach to the Book of Isaiah. It should be said however that the methodological path of this work will be primarily the so-called “close reading” of the text and then also will be given some possible intertextual echoes which link Is 30, 1-17 with other parts of the Book of Isaiah. At the end author will also try to depict a possible historical and theological message of the same biblical text.

The hypothesis of this paper is based on an examination of the relationship between Christology and eschatology with soteriology, and through the analysis of their selected core concepts, it seeks to contextualize the discourse on salvation within a contemporary framework. Specifically, the study explores the terms of hope, faith, freedom, and bodily resurrection, which provide a framework for a modern approach to soteriological reality. The selected terms, when considered together, demonstrate their suitability in connecting the experiences of the contemporary individual, their existential position, and perspectives on salvation, while also drawing on rich theological traditions and Catholic doctrine. The initial research question that stemmed from the interconnection of the two treatises (Christology and eschatology) with soteriology has provided us with significant insights into various possibilities for the contemporary understanding of salvation.

The article attempts to draw attention to a theologically unjustified reduction of the concept of (human) well-being to the concept of salvation. Starting from the three premises – (1) the existence of a relation between the concept of salvation and the concept of human well-being; (2) the situatedness of the concept of human well-being within the moral-ethical discourse and the situatedness of the concept of salvation within the religious-dogmatic discourse; (3) the claim that grace does not destroy (or that it presupposes) nature – the article first tries to elaborate on the difference between the concept of salvation and the concept of human well-being. After that, the author utilizes three examples to demonstrate the real danger of reducing the concept of human well-being to the concept of salvation. Finally, the extended conclusion sketches a theologically more adequate relation between the two concepts.

The article starts with some necessary theological clarifications: the priority of care must be affirmed against all dolorism; the importance of emotions and feelings against all rationalism; the objective of the person's integral salvation against all soteriology of the soul. It goes on showing the fecundity of revisiting the praxis of Jesus, specifically of his taking care of those who are affected by illness and disability, in the light of some contemporary studies of cultural anthropology (Csordas, Quaranta, Pulcini, Pilch). On the basis of these theological and anthropological premises, the article examines the text of Lk 18.31-19.10, aiming to highlight the symmetry between the healing of the blind man of Jericho and that of Zacchaeus, together with the whole therapeutic practice of Jesus. With gestures and words expressing a gratuitous and subversive action, Jesus places the human being at the centre and not their physical or moral illness, thus activating a process that begins with restoring dignity to the people themselves, giving them the opportunity to speak and rebuilding their vital ties, and reaches the point of evangelizing the very need for healing, projecting the light and healing/saving power of the Easter events on the human being's condition of limit, fragility and vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay presents the abundant and perennial contribution of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas in the realm of all the main issues in Theology, with special reference to his interpretation of creation and salvation, cosmology and anthropology, as well as of history and social living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The few surviving fragments of Porphyry's Contra Christianos seem to suggest a relatively superficial criticism of Christianity and the Bible, despite his thorough knowledge of them. However, this does not provide a conclusive insight into his work as a whole. Therefore, another methodological approach is attempted here. It is assumed that Porphyry was aware of the context of the biblical passages to which he refers (e.g., Mt 9:9 and 19:26). When taking the context into account, it becomes evident that the emphasis of his criticism of Christianity, especially of the Gospels, is on the promise of Christ Jesus to help man, with his God-given exousia as hyos theou, to become Christ's follower and gain eternal life. For the Neo-Platonist philosopher, who believed in the absolute transcendence of the One, this was an unacceptable idea, as the comparison between Christian soteriology, based on revelation, and the striving towards a homoiosis theo, based on philosophy, clearly shows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sacred Scripture is the main advocate and defender of human dignity. Man’s dignity derives precisely from the fact that a ‘piece’ of God has been placed in him, the ‘image and likeness’ of God has been impregnated in him (Gen 1,26-27). Sin comes between man and God, depriving man of the glory he should have had in God’s company. Through kenosis, the Logos takes on human nature with which he performs the work of salvation so that man sees in the glorified Son the archetype according to which he was created. Christ incarnate and glorified has recreated man, has deified him. The kenosis of the eternal Logos materialised in the incarnation was not only a way through which man was able to see the perfect prototype after which he was created, but also became a model to be followed in living life on this earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Letter Placuit Deo of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith noted the spread in the present time of a neo-Gnostic tendency, which devaluates the body and offers only interior salvation. In this contribution, we will first present the Gnostic phenomenon and identify the roots of the neo-Gnostic attitude, to which Joseph Ratzinger and Hans Jonas have given voice. Next, we will focus on the contemporary tendency to manipulate corporeality, which is promoted by posthumanism, transhumanism and gender theory. To this end, we will recall the debate between Peter Sloterdijk and Jürgen Habermas as well as the reflection of Karl Rahner. Finally, we will offer some indications from classical metaphysics and the doctrine of Christian creation, which disclose the guiding criteria for assessing the legality or illegality of the interventions conducted by the human being on vital processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this essay is to identify criteria for affirming God's provident action. It follows two steps: in the first, with examples taken from history, is shown the most common way of recognizing God's Providence; this coincides with the advantages that a subject, single or collective, derives from an event; in the second, I try to show the limit of this way of proceeding and I indicate the fundamental criterion that we find in the New Testament: it is providential what leads to salvation, that is, to the configuration of people to Jesus Christ. The article has a theological character, although - one could imagine - it could also be of some use for philosophers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Critical Hermeneutics: Biannual Journal of Philosophy is the property of Universita degli Studi di Cagliari and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Inspired both by the phenomenological thought of Karol Tarnowski and Józef Tischner and the personalist theology of Czeslaw Bartnik, the article fits into contextual soteriology which deliberately uses the method of correlation. The aim of this article is to present the Christian meaning of salvation in the context of one of the most moving existential experiences, that is the experience of anxiety (Angst). The indelible phenomenon of anxiety raises important soteriological questions: Who or what can bring the fullness of salvation to men and women? In what circumstances is the experience of salva­tion possible to the human being who is called an “anxious existence”? The first part of the article shows the essential difference between anxiety and fear (in contrast to fear, the matter of anxiety is real but indeterminate). The second part presents an ambivalent character of anxiety (anxiety can lead to despair or to salvation) and human attempts to overcome anxiety through falling into an inauthentic existence (a utopia of “salvation by fashion”). The third part characterizes an “eschatological conscience” (a con­science filled with anxiety of tragic finality) and its antithesis in the form of a “soteriological conscience” (a conscience which is open to the possibility of salvation coming from God). The last part of the article argues that the phenomenon of authentic interpersonal encounter is a necessary condition to experi­ence the salvation coming from God in Christ.

The theological interpretation of liturgical texts and gestures presented by representatives of the German monastic school played an important role in the liturgy of the medieval era. Among its most important representatives was Rupert of Deutz OSB, who presented his views in Liber de divinis officiis. This article aims to show what the uniqueness of the Incarnation of the Son of God consists in according to Rupert of Deutz’s views, based on the example of the celebration of the Nativity. Particularly sig­nificant is his interpretation of Old Testament texts and images, and his reference of the Incarnation to the first day of creation. He presented his views not only based on liturgical customs but also according to the principles of medieval computistics.

The contribution presents partial results of the research work on the biblical wisdom literature and highlights certain dimensions of justice, connected with Wisdom personified. Particular attention has been given to the development of the literary motif of the personification of wisdom in the texts considered and to the relationship between the wise and Wisdom. In biblical poetic literature, the literary motif of personified justice and the personification of other divine attributes in some cases overlap (Ps 85: 11-14). Based on the sources studied (especially the book of Proverbs, Sirach and the book of Wisdom), it is possible to notice that in the course of the development of the wisdom literature, the personified wisdom is gradually enriched by further theological and anthropological dimensions, assuming an increasingly inclusive character. Moreover, the centre of its representation and description tends to move progressively from the prevalent semantic field of justice to that of love, which corresponds to justice in its highest form.

Initiating with commentaries on the preliminary canons of the Latin Code, this article focuses on a study of the first part of can. 4, according to the systematic-exegetic method, regarding acquired rights, demonstrating that in these first canons it is already possible to identify many of the characteristics that identify and qualify the originality of the legal system of the Catholic Church. Specifically, the relationship between CIC/83 and acquired rights, before its entry into force, is analyzed. The article highlights the close link with can. 9 and the need to combine the rule of non-retroactivity of the law, and at the same time, the exception of retroactivity if it is expressly (nominatim) established by law. In particular, the rule and exception are considered in their application to the subject who holds the acquired right that may be "affected" by the new law. Can. 4 affirms the respect and continuity of the legal effects of legal facts carried out under the previous legislation and, therefore, in principle the inapplicability of the new law to them. Finally, the article highlights what privilege stands for within law, especially within a canonical perspective, having as its goal the salvation of souls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes an alternative interpretation of Theogn. 341-350. The image of the dog crossing the river and shaking off 'everything' assumes that the animal has reached the shore and implies salvation. Two reconstructive hypotheses are therefore given depending on whether one assumes that the 'dog-poet' remained in his homeland or was forced into exile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work I deal with the theophanic side of the Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels by Walter Benjamin. It means that the essence of being reveals itself in the allegorical figure of Saturn and in its rule: the methaphysics of exception. In this context, it becomes perspicuous the nature of the Darstellung der Ideen as the representation of the absolute conjunction between Destiny - the eternal constellation of truth in which the "platonic salvation of phenomena", and the historical reality dominated by the juridical dialectics of violence happens. This conjunction expresses a mutual implication between the two dimensions and it could be written in this form: representation of [(De^de)]stiny. This ontological perspective is intelligible in the light of the theory of Baroque allegory linked with the doctrine of state of exception as "nearly impossible to decide". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny is the property of Polish Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Inspired by a romantic initiative sponsored by UNESCO in 2006, Ana Blandiana tries to answer the question: can poetry save the world? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of the hope of salvation of children who died prematurely without baptism has been present since the beginning of Christianity. Some of the Fathers of the Eastern and Western Church dealt with it, but, over the centuries, the question has never been definitively resolved because theologians have not been able to resolve all doubts when confronted with a mystery that transcends the human mind. In recent years, after the Second Vatican Council, the view on the destiny of such children has been revised, and theologians have presented arguments that allow for the hope of full happiness in the kingdom of heaven for these children. The first document that can be identified and clearly marks a change in such a theological view is the Code of Canon Law. While it mentions the necessity of baptism for salvation, the legislator does not speak of “absolute necessity.” It allows “baptism of desire,” and our article shows that this includes situations in which parents express that desire before giving birth to their children. Subsequent documents of the Church confirm this development of theological thought and thus justify the existence of the Christian hope of salvation for children who have not received the sacrament of baptism for various reasons. This article presents the arguments of the International Theological Commission and attempts to deepen and justify this theological thought. This problem is not only a theological reflection on the issue but also constitutes the daily life of the faithful who have been affected by such a tragedy and to whom the Church should give hope in their situation.

The present contribution points the Sacrament Church and its indispensable relationship with the Holy Spirit, throught the H. de Lubac's ecclesiology study. In the french theologians works the topic of the sacramentality Church holds a great inportance. Doing a pneumatolog-ical reading about of hits ecclesiology, we have that the Author gives to the Holy Spirit an absolute value for the mystery Church and paradox without which she can't be. The Spirit is the divine and enlivening Principle thanks to which the union between the Church ad Christ is inalterate and actual, fruitful and effective. It's to him that de Lubac ascribe the after paschal completion around the Church constitution for people's saving unification in the only one Christ's Body to which it is the Sacrament. It is for this that the french theologian considers the Church of Christ as «the Spirit's firt own work that conditions and absorbs all the others». If he is the Resurrected to make missionary the Church sending it in the world, it is his Spirit to make affective the word and gestures in the function of Christ and for the salvation made by him. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the age of terrorism and virulence, an absence of a true community remains an essential experience of an undeniable subject who, finally justified by its (self) isolation, tends to rediscover the concreteness of existence and vitality of the world of life. This experience will lead us to a possible reading of the narrative structure of identity as a horizon for an understanding of the history of metamorphoses of the subject. This interpretation of the function of narration illuminates a relation between the subject and its story which redefines our contemporary, pragmatically reduced, perception of practice.

Thinking about the inspiration and truth of Sacred Scripture is an indispensable topic in almost every period of church teaching and theology. The first part of the article discusses the nature of inspiration and how it is interpreted, pointing to its broader understanding in later church documents: the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation of the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum, and especially the 2014 document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission entitled The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture. The Word That Comes from God and Speaks of God for the Salvation of the World. The article points to the importance of inspiration as a carrying term for understanding the sacred text as truly the word of God in words of people. The truth of Sacred Scripture is inextricably linked to this reality. In the second part, the article clarifies that the truth we should seek in Scripture and for which it exists is the truth written in it for our salvation, thereby expressing a positive view about the topic of the truth of Scripture. The entirety of this truth is summarized and fully uttered in the person of Jesus Christ, the Father’s revelator and Savior of mankind. Inspiration proves to be a convenient avenue for communicating this truth.

The aim of this paper is to interpret a quote from the Abu Dhabi Document signed by Pope Francis, according to which God wanted positively all religions, in the light of Jacques Dupuis’s theology of interreligious dialogue. After having stressed the critical issues of this author’s approach and of the interpretation of the quote that it suggests, an alternative vision of both will be offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is fully part of the mission of the Catholic Church. The Word became flesh to reveal the Father's face to the world. The author of this contribution tries to reconstruct the theme of social communications from Vatican II to the present day, focusing on the Encyclical All Brothers. There is a style of communication of truth and salvation that takes a form of fraternal participation, that is, of communion, especially in the ecumenical and interreligious sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the relationship between time and salvation that exists in the Christian liturgy, in which time possesses two characteristics. One is its sacredness, and the other is a special property that does not exist outside the liturgy but derives directly from its anamnetic dimension: it is a “medium” and an “existential context” of the real salvation delivered and still being delivered by Christ. The author begins with a reflection on time in cultural anthropology and the history of religion, demonstrating unambiguously that, since the earliest of days, disparate cultures and religions have shared the conviction that time is sacred. He then goes on to address the biblical concept of time which has fundamentally contributed to a fuller understanding of the essence and nature of liturgical time as the καιρός of salvation. It is in the liturgy of the Church—the final earthly stage in the history of salvation—that the salvific, effective and real encounter between God’s eternity and human life takes place. The Christian liturgy is an otherworldly act of salvation in worldly space and time, a manifestation of the “fullness of time.” The paper also attempts to offer a preliminary juxtaposition of the theological understanding of liturgical time with the findings of modern physics concerning the understanding and description of time. This may serve to stimulate further, more in-depth biblical and theological (and in particular theologico-liturgical) reflection on the phenomenon of time, and perhaps even a new look at the phenomenon of time on the part of modern physicists.

Soter and soteria, deriving from soter, do not always correspond to ‘’saviour’’ and ‘’salvation’’. This particular rendering nevertheless enables a deeper, more telling semantic component to be grasped which, over the course of time, became inherent to the two lexical items. Establishing a time frame is therefore necessary: when did soter and soteria become lexical items of acute relevance in Greek culture, no longer pertaining only to the realm of the divine when seeking help from the (saving) gods in adverse circumstances, but also to humanity in the form of the unconditional trust placed in an exceptional individual to deal with a seemingly intractable crisis? Unconsciously one may be led to believe that soter, and soteria with soter, represent the salient characteristics of the modern era of Greek history — Hellenism — and are harbingers of its transformation in a charismatic sense. But further reflection shows that this factual and ideological scaffolding, which peaked immediately in the wake of Alexander, was already present in the Hellenic world at least as far back as the second half of the 5th century B.C., if not even in the decades (or the re-examination of those decades) during which Persia loomed menacingly and the Greeks were almost miraculously saved from an enemy capable of annihilating them. A real turning point, in both qualitative and quantitative terms, was encapsulated in the progress achieved through the crucial struggle for hegemony over Hellas. It was then that long-standing equilibriums were overturned and the critical nature of the various situations that had to be dealt with became evident; only by drawing back from the customary institutional and mental frameworks, where possible with the aid of extraordinary human agents (recourse to a soter), could a solution be found capable of healing the malaise gripping the polis — a remedy that in the final analysis coincides with soteria.

This article deals with the biopic dedicated to Stefan Zweig produced and shot in 2016 by Maria Schrader and entitled Vor der Morgenröte, in English Farewell to Europe. The five chapters of the movie concentrate on the final part of Zweig's life, culminating in his suicide, and they are read as a Stationendrama, or in relation to the impossibility of salvation for exile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to rediscover Hervé Guibert and his book À l'ami qui ne ma pas sauvé la vie. The book reached a significantly wide audience in 1990, not only because publicly revealing that he was diagnosed with AIDS, but also for the fictionalization of some facts and people, such as Michel Foucault. Thanks to his use of the novel strategies, Guibert guides the readers towards the discovery, by means of the virus in his body, of two other metaphorical infections: T.B. and the time left to write. These two contagions act on his body and soul as antidotes. Hervé Guibert discovers a way of salvation, the guarantee of eternity, the possibility of a total reversal: "du contage au partage", from contagion to sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author identifies the last instance of this markan pericope in an eschatological perspective, highlighting that the fulfillment of the Kingdom cannot be separated from the certainty that between futurum and adventus there is an irrepressible difference, but also a mutual ordering. A key point for its understanding can be grasped in the contrast between the beginning of the "sowing" and the final moment of the "harvest", since the reference to the stages of growth would be placed in the speech as a logical-narrative expedient, a device that simply processes the "wonder" of the mysterious result that God has given to the sower's work. In this horizon engages the real significance of the concept of transcendent hope, understood as a radical opening of the human being to being in the absolute future, and declinable in the soteriological dynamic of vigilant and industrious waiting in which the agapic relationship with God develops "for us", towards "his" future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to analyse the Pauline passage of Galatians 4:4-5 in the perspective of Mariology that highlights the historical concreteness of the Incarnation of the Word. The passage, in its moderation, has been defined as a seed of Mariology in which the mystery of Mary is presented, for the first time in the New Testament, in the Trinitarian, Christological, soteriological, ecclesiological and anthropological sense. Mary's virginal motherhood indicates that the salvation wrought by Christ touches human nature from within and, for this reason, is unique in the history of religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Critical Hermeneutics: Biannual Journal of Philosophy is the property of Universita degli Studi di Cagliari and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the presentation of freedom and of its opposite, slavery, we tried to understand the reason that caused Paul to write to the Galatians. The research was based on occurrences of eleuth root, which are present in 2: 4; 3: 28; 4: 22, 23, 26, 30, 31; 5: 1, 13, that is, in all its thematic parts: autobiographical, doctrinal and hortatory. In addition to eleuth root, we met two other terms within the same semantic field of freedom or liberation: exelētai, from exaireō, with the meaning of "tear away", "save", "free from danger" (1: 4); and exagorasē, from exagorazō, which means "free", "make good use of" (3: 13; 4: 5). These terms show a multidimensional freedom, condensed in freedom from sin and from this evil eon, as well as from the Jewish Law. The gift of freedom is highlighted by the indicative of salvation obtained in Christ, a gift watched and envied by some false brothers, who had infiltrated in the Galatian communities, in order to lure them into slavery (2: 4). In 3: 10, 13 Paul highlights also the liberation of the obligation of the Law. For Paul, to impose the Jewish Law, with its requirements, it would be synonymous with the return to the elements of the world (4: 3, 9), a return to being children (4: 1), that is, incapable of taking responsibility, worthy of freedom obtained in Christ. The intention of Paul is directed toward the invitation to become mature Christians, passing from the state of nēpios (4: 1) to huiothesia (4: 5b), remaining in the freedom offered from Christ, as a gift. In other words, for Paul, if there is the indicative, it follows also the imperative, as evidenced already in 5: 1, 13, 25, that is, the gift becomes responsibility. From the double aspect of slavery, under the pagan mentality and under the Law, it is evidenced that the freedom in Galatians can be analysed from an anthropological-ethical point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 313 and 321 Eusebius of Caesarea wrote a panegyric about the reconstruction of the cathedral of Tire. Some descriptive elements of the text allow us to imagine what the shape of the church was. Eusebius, however, is more interested in using the building as a starting point to praise the Christian community and its bishop, to narrate some stages of the history of salvation, to establish a parallel with the Temple of Jerusalem and the celestial temple, to declare the fulfillment of divine prophecies and to develop his own allegorical exegesis. As for the actual building, Eusebius describes it using the rhetorical model of the ekphrasis, in order to build a vivid image of the basilica in the reader's mind using only words. There is no random usage of the words that refer to space and time in Eusebius' description of the basilica; the author chooses them with care as they reflect his theological agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hippolytus (Asiatic tradition, 3rd century) likes to approach the reality by creating resemblances between all kind of objects, events and living beings. Despite metaphorical language is less accurate than scientific reasoning, it might, however, reflect better the dynamism of the reality. For instance, the history of salvation is compared to a loom (cf. De Antichristo 4), due to its strong biblical roots and omnipresent in Roman life; therefore, this would not only generate greater interest in the audience but also it could arouse among some of them connotations linked to the Myth of Penelope, the myth of social content in Plato's Politikos, etc. By this passage, Hippolytus provides the following correspondence between different aspects of a textile work-shop and some details of the history of salvation: the warp, strong and durable as the Spirit; the weft, thicker and weak, such as the flesh of Christ, the patient workers, the Patriarchs and the Prophets; the golden threads of the edge meaning the grace of God; the loom's shuttle weaving the artistic design, the same as the Logos and finally, the mast of the loom meaning the Cross of Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article illustrates the relationship between passion and suffering on the path of divinization, according to the eschatological perspective of the Oriental Slavic Christianity, as it is understood in the theological reflection of Tomáš Špidlík. One of the most incisive characteristics of Russian spirituality is the synthesis of the drama of pain with the interior need for salvation. Pénthos and apathy are purification tools that contribute to compose man in unity. The mystery of suffering and pain can be fully understood only in the light of the theological virtues. In fact, it is these virtues that give access to the knowledge of God within the kenotic limit of suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Teologia w Polsce is the property of Society of Dogmatic Theologians and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The sermon by St. Thomas Aquinas on the passage from the Gospel of Luke (14,16-24), by the title of «Homo quidam fecit cenam», manifests a hermeneutical structure capable of combining -- in a rigorous yet inspiring way -- the «division of the text» (divisio textus) and quotations from Scripture, an effective style of writing and relevant ecclesiological elements, moral instructions and everyday experiencies. The sermon is built in a way that frames the agency -- in history -- of all ecclesial subjects (faithful, religious, clergy) within an ecclesiological vision aimed at enlivening a reflection on the sacramental grace of the Eucharist, and emphasizing the role of preaching and ministry in the history of salvation. At the same time, the sermon provides an excellent example of St. Thomas's frequent and brilliant appeal to the cogitative faculty, which was considered in the Middle Ages as the primary faculty needed in the reception of a sermon. The analysis of the sermon reveals an ecclesiological vision that is 1) deeply pneumatological (inasmush as it focuses on the gifts of the Holy Spirit as the ways by which the Lord's call reaches everyone); 2) ministerial and sacramental (inasmuch as it considers the human structures of intellect, emotions, and the body as the channels through which God reveals Himself, tracing a parallel between the «words and deeds» of the Lord as contained in Scripture and the «res et signa» of the Sacraments of the history of salvation); 3) hamartiological (inasmuch as it is deeply aware of the hindrances of sin in the recognition of the Lordship of God) and 4) soteriological (inasmuch as it seeks to understand history as the mysterious unfolding of the divine plan culminating in the final end of the eternal banquet). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giovanni Battista Leonardi died in 1733 without children, leaving his legacy, composed for the most part of credits of the community of Trecate, to the foundation of an house of sisters called Ministre della Carità di San Vincenzo de Paoli (the house opened in 1734) and a pious place, named Opera pia Leonardi, for the advantage of the citizens of Trecate. First of all, the case focuses on the history of debt between the Leonardi's family and the community of Trecate, highlighting the attempts and mechanisms of collecting the debt by Giovanni Battista. Second, it shows the instrumental nature of charity, or rather its coincidence with reasons that are not attributable only to the salvation of the soul. Finally, the case analyses the history of debt of communities and the «local» link between charity and municipal institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I reply to the objections and solicitations of the critics who intervened in the symposium on my book L'oggetto buono dell'Io. In this way, I return to discuss some fundamental concepts of the Philosophy of Object Relations, and some theses of its Ethics of Reparation. In doing so, I try to defend and develop some of the most relevant arguments of that complex theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]