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The nature and practice of Christianity is a major, if not the primary, topic in Kierkegaard's authorship. What it means to live a Christian life is a persistent topic in many of his major works, and yet, he spends most of his authorship criticizing traditional ways of practicing Christianity. While his critique of institutionalized Christianity and merciless unmasking of the hypocrisy of self-proclaimed Christians is rather clear, namely that they are not actually Christian, it is more difficult to get a clear idea of Kierkegaard's alternative. What is a true and sincere Christian life for Kierkegaard? The argument of this article is that Kierkegaard's famous existential approach to Christianity amounts to a secularization of Christianity and as such can be seen as a critical development of and not a rejection of the Enlightenment critique of religion. The article uses Kant as an advocate of the Enlightenment critique of religion that Kierkegaard inherits and develops critically, and after having examined Kierkegaard's existential dialectics, an outline of Kant's transcendental approach is, presented against which Kierkegaard's existential alternative is examined in more detail. Kierkegaard's existential approach is radical with its insistence on "that single individual" and on the existential challenges of human freedom that Kant banned from his analysis of both morality and faith. While Kant presents us with the transcendental possibility of faith, Kierkegaard is concerned with the existential reality of faith. It is argued that Kierkegaard's existential analysis of faith helps us to find the connection between radical individual choice and the rational morality that is not always evident in Enlightenment—and especially Kantian—accounts of morality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1983 the US bishops issued a deeply influential pastoral letter, The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response, which addressed moral questions of warfare, particularly in the context of the Cold War. Four decades later, it is clear that the challenge to build just and peaceful societies is still with us in the US and throughout the world. This article supports the development of new documents—whether episcopal or papal—to center nonviolence in Catholic teaching, to demonstrate the value and efficacy of active nonviolence in working toward a just peace, and to clarify the relationship between nonviolence and the just war tradition. It makes suggestions as to how such a document might be rooted in the Christian tradition and discipleship, and what issues must urgently be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ethics of "speaking" the artistic languages or idioms of diverse cultures in the earliest Christian communities. This article presents a key New Testament text, the Song of Zechariah (the Benedictus in Luke 1:68–79), as a poetic text meant for communal performance and examines that cultural phenomenon through the lens of "musical caring" to examine the meaning such a poetic phenomenon has for modern Christian life and worship. First, I will briefly summarize the evidence for the Song of Zechariah as a lyrical poem containing the artistic "multilingualism" of both Hebrew and Greek poetic idioms. Then, I will assess such an artistic communal expression in its first-century context with Myrick's concept of musical caring, broadened to allow for uncertainty of the Song of Zechariah's first-century performance methods. Finally, I will consider the twenty-first-century implications or lessons from such care and inclusivity in the first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines students' experiences at Southern Baptist colleges that educated women during the Progressive era (1880–1920). Denominational leaders and school faculty attempted to recreate Christian home life on college campuses by tightly restricting students' freedoms and behavior. This article examines female college students' publications to better understand their views on family and home life on the college campus. Their writings indicate that students did believe that the college was like a family. However, students reinterpreted the meaning of home life and family on the college campus by reimagining the use of residential space, developing alternative hierarchical and intimate relationships on campus, and exercising more autonomy over their religious rituals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do individuals find assurance of their personal standing before God? This article discusses the way different traditions of the Christian faith tried to answer the question—some leaving room for doubt in the process and others demanding absolute certainty from the believer. All fellowships experienced some problems with the issue due to the very nature of the question. Assurance required a reflexive act that turned the eyes of the believer away from the good things of God and the promises of the gospel toward an inspection of one's inner man and motives that were difficult to discern. Those fellowships that emphasized a human condition in the process of salvation or assurance often struggled with their depravity before God and unworthiness to claim the promises of divine grace. This paper particularly focuses upon the struggles of the so-called Calvinists, who were more enamored with the question than the other fellowships and had difficulty developing a coherent or definitive answer, caught as they were between tensions in their theology, between the Christocentric vision of John Calvin that led toward assurance and the synergistic tendences of Theodore Beza and Heinrich Bullinger that led toward doubt. The paper provides some criticism of their theology but sympathizes with their struggle and finds faith and doubt inevitable parts of the Christian life here on earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major challenges facing contemporary Ghanaian Christianity is ineffective discipleship. Consequently, Christianity has little influence on the moral life of its adherents. No wonder Ghana has a high Christian population, yet corruption and wickedness abound in its societies. The priorities of many contemporary Christians have shifted from the pursuit of the kingdom of God and its righteousness to the accumulation of material wealth, the pursuit of upward social mobility and the fixation on earthly gratification, among others. To avert the situation, there is the need for the church to teach biblical principles that will raise disciples of resilient faith for this and generations to come. By drawing out some principles from the Matthean Beatitudes (Matt 5:3-12) as a paradigm for contemporary Christian discipleship, the article sought to contribute to the church's efforts in dealing with discipleship challenges of current times and beyond. The main argument of this study was that the Christian disciple is called to be different from worldly people in both ethical behaviour and piety. This call to be set apart involves a call to recognise the reality of God's kingdom; a call to be alongside the poor and sinners; and a call to participate in God's kingdom community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers some issues around exclusionary discipline measures: reasons for their use, students affected by their use, and how they are affected. It recommends that Christian educators consider carefully how they respond to problematic behaviour so that strategies chosen are consistent with the aims of Christian community life: shalom, wellbeing, and harmony through right relationships with God, others, the world, and the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Jesuit missionaries began arriving in Japan in the sixteenth century, they brought not only a new religion, Christianity, but also several domestic and exotic animals. Not only did these animals provoke feelings of curiosity and wonder, but they became a site of epistemic contestation between Christian and Buddhist views on human‐animal relations. In Buddhist thought, humans and animals were conceived of as interrelated, as both were thought to be trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. On the other hand, in Christian thought, humans and animals were stratified according to Aristotelian hierarchies, according to which the former were viewed as superior to the latter. After the Jesuits arrived in Japan, it soon became clear that their proselytes' pre‐existing modes of relating to and classifying the natural world would need to be converted to Aristotelian ones in order to propagate a Christian way of life. Thus, animals became a central part of Jesuit evangelism. Many of these creatures were deployed as tribute gifts, which altered the emotional landscape between the European and Japanese humans who used them as a buffer. This paper explores how animals, wonder, and religious epistemologies intersected to transform Japanese Christian attitudes towards animals during the Jesuit Mission to Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the foundational importance of the Trinity for the Christian life. Considering the teaching of John Owen, and his context in the seventeenth century, helps us see that the great blessing of the Christian life is that we have fellowship with the one true and living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, in particular, that we have distinct communion with him as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study expands the authors' previous findings to examine counseling and religious discourses more closely. Three themes were identified: value of Catholic Christian faith for life and counseling; autonomy and obedience; and healing, renewal, and the call to serve. Interview transcripts were reviewed through the lens of constructs from discourse analysis, including hegemony, analogization, and dialogism. Dialectics between the domains of counseling and religion were identified in the samples of discourses and their analyses. The results indicate the potential for integration of domains and strengthening of religious and counselor identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the preaching of St. John Chrysostom, a prominent figure in the Byzantine mystagogical tradition. Chrysostom's preaching on the Eucharistic mysteries emphasized the need for reverence and proper disposition in approaching the altar. He also emphasized the inseparable connection between liturgical celebration and social justice, urging his wealthy congregation to care for the poor in order to receive the Eucharist worthily. Chrysostom's preaching was rooted in Scripture and focused on the historical events of Christ's life, connecting them to moral exhortation and the eschatological implications of the mystery. He sought to open the eyes of his listeners to the spiritual reality present in the sacramental actions, urging them to develop the eyes of faith to perceive the invisible reality through visible signs. The text discusses the writings of John Chrysostom, an Antiochene Father, on the Eucharist. Chrysostom emphasizes the importance of having a theoretical vision of faith to understand the deeper meaning of the liturgical signs. He believes that the Eucharist represents the historical narrative of Christ's Passion, death, and resurrection, and urges his listeners to contemplate the significance of this narrative. Chrysostom also emphasizes the need for reverence and proper disposition when participating in the Eucharist, warning against receiving unworthily. Overall, his teachings highlight the awe-inspiring nature of the Eucharistic mysteries and the ethical implications they hold. This text discusses the importance [Extracted from the article]

This article sketches an intellectual history of the distinction between Christian theology and Christian ethics. The twists and turns of that history have been obscured by a recent tendency to deny the distinction's usefulness, as part of a wider strategy for reasserting theology's relevance to modern social problems. By contrast, earlier theologians assumed the value of the theology/ethics divide, interpreting it through Aristotelian, neo‐Kantian, and finally Marxist categories. The distinction fell into disrepute because theologians struggled to maintain the distinction consistently and disagreed on the concerns implicated by it, variously using it to affirm the moral subject's agency, the divine/human difference, or the complexity of real people's circumstances. Nonetheless, the distinction has persisted as a useful shorthand for recognizing the limitations of Christian theology, qua a conceptual discourse, in fully apprehending its subject matter of the Christian life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rm 12,1 exhorts to perform spiritual worship, which is born of the Eucharist. This theme was central both in the writings of Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI and in those of St. Josemaría Escrivá. The former concentrates his thought on the Eucharist itself, which is opus Dei and the sacrifice of the Logos that must influence Christian life. St Josemaría, for his part, stressing the Eucharistic foundation of life, points to the existential praxis of spiritual worship performed through work offered to God as a Mass on the altar of the human heart. Although the texts differ in style, they have a wonderful complementarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his latest volume of the Philosophy of the Christian Life, Pattison addresses the titular question of a metaphysics of love. The discussion focuses on the presentation of three central ideas and elements: firstly, on the role of language with its forms as call and promise; secondly, on the relationship between love and time as Chronos and Kairos, in whose connection Pattison expands his thoughts from an individual to an ecclesial level. Finally, it is traced how, for Pattison, an inevitably human solidarity follows from his outlined thoughts. Critically questioned is why a universal love, as envisioned by Pattison, generally excludes self-love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The review deals with George Pattison's phenomenology of a Christian, a-spirited life that he establishes in the first volume of his three-volume Philosophy of Christian Life. It focuses in particular on the following: The way in which Pattison uses the person of Philothea, borrowed from Francis de Sales, as a figuration of devout life; the question of the possibility of a-spirited lives in institutional power structures; and the medio-passive constitution of devout life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article responds to three reviews of Philosophy of Christian Life, focussing on issues of heteronomy, abuse of power, the authority of the call, language, technology, and deliverance from self-hatred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a reply to George Pattison's magistral triology on a "Philosophy of Christian Life" – focusing on its second part: "A Rhetorics of the Words" (2019). The paper offers an analysis of the main concept, namely the 'call' or the 'vocation'. This leads to three basic questions concerning the lack of vocation's communal character in Pattison's account; his one-sided inclination to pessimism in his cultural critique; and, the only marginal role that other articulations than the call might play within a "devout life" and its ambivalent authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights the importance of shifting Catholic healthcare leadership towards a model of social justice, based on the testimonies of Pope Francis and Paul Farmer. Three crucial concepts/practices are emphasized: criticism of neoliberalism and the notion of "disposable" people, the commitment to listening to the poor, and "integral ecology" as a remedy for structural violence. It argues that the model of charity in American Catholic healthcare has fallen behind and has adopted the neoliberal model, undermining health and healthcare delivery. It is mentioned that Catholic healthcare systems are diverting benefits from poor neighborhoods to the affluent and cutting staff while managing risk funds. The article highlights the possibility of radical restructuring in healthcare delivery, with a focus on Catholic healthcare. Two Catholic leaders of the 21st century are mentioned, Pope Francis and the late physician Paul Farmer, who have worked to transform transnational institutions such as the Church and global health. Farmer has transformed the landscape of global health through his organization Partners In Health, challenging and improving WHO protocols. Meanwhile, Pope Francis has been rehabilitating the Vatican curia and leading 1.3 billion people towards conciliar synodality. Both leaders criticize neoliberal ideology and advocate for a culture of encounter and listening to the poor. The text discusses the importance of interpersonal commitment and encounter with others in Christian life, from the document Evangelii Gaudium to Fratelli Tutti. It highlights Pope Francis' practice of immersing himself in poor communities and listening to the most vulnerable. It also mentions Paul Farmer's work in global health, emphasizing his focus on encountering the least and the importance of listening to local healthcare workers. Additionally, the article addresses the issue of structural violence and how it affects health and human suffering. The article talks about the importance of solidarity and resocialization in Catholic healthcare leadership. It is mentioned that it is necessary to fight against the structural causes of poverty and inequality, as well as to confront the negative effects of money. The importance of integral ecology and accompaniment as policies to address social, political, economic, and ecological problems is highlighted. Examples of programs that have implemented these practices, such as the work of Partners in Health and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, are mentioned. A call is made to Catholic healthcare to return to its mission of choosing the poor and promoting social justice. [Extracted from the article]

This study discusses the importance of digital discipleship as a Christian response to the development of internet-based technology. By conducting an exegetical analysis of discipleship in Acts 2:42 regarding the way of life of the early church, its construction is obtained as a way of forming a spiritual experience, which matures and strengthens the faith and fellowship of Christians. This study rearranges this construction from a digital perspective and concludes that digital discipleship needs to be added as a new vocabulary in the construction of Christian theology. The merging of old tradition-based concepts and new technology-based strategies is an Inevitable trend in Christian discipleship. However, even though they differ in methods and practices, the purpose of discipleship and fellowship, as in the early church, is still the same because the church is challenged to adapt rather than distance itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For scholars and students of Late Antiquity, the stylite's column exerts a special appeal. Scholars have examined literary representations of stylites and sought out visual parallels for the phenomenon of column-standing. This article shows that topographical contexts were central to establishing the potency of the column as a holy object and the trajectory of stylitism in history. I employ the term topography broadly to encompass the physical characteristics of an area, the ways in which humans augmented physical characteristics through the built environment, and specific architectural organizations. I examine three topographical contexts and make three interconnected arguments. By selecting the hill adjacent to Telanissos as the location for his columns, the premier stylite Symeon (d. 459) participated in a long-standing regional tradition of activating the numinous power of high places and stone through cultic activity. The monumental pilgrimage complex built after Symeon's death made the column a relic and integrated veneration of Symeon into liturgical ritual. The incorporation of stylites into northern Syria's cenobitic communities circumscribed stylitism as a distinctly monastic vocation. These three contexts illustrate that the significance of the column was located in processes of production and reception. At the same time, stylite columns were not passive objects. They faced the gods of old; they enriched ecclesiastical rituals; they molded the bodies of those who activated them; they proclaimed the ascendancy of monastic institutions. As both products of their topography and agents within it, stylite columns constructed a distinctive Christian landscape in Syria's limestone massif. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heritage builds a sense of belonging and identity. Heritage as a means of establishing identity is acknowledged and emphasized at a global, national, and regional level. Heritage sites are vital assets for deciphering and experiencing the cultural significance of any place. Identity construct, as well as the significance of Heritage places, arise not merely from the physical remnants representing a historical past but out of the range of values attached to it, be it tangible or intangible. So, any efforts towards safeguarding and sustaining heritage to ensure its continuity need to start with a comprehensive value assessment process. This approach is particularly relevant in the Indian context, more so in the case of Living heritage, where heritage does not exist as mere monuments but as living traditions and a way of life. This paper explores the value-based approach and its suitability to establish the significance of cultural heritage. Two techniques are adopted: Review of selected published papers and case studies through secondary data. It begins with a review of selected papers and national and International Conservation charters for a general comprehension of values in the context of Cultural heritage and methods to assess them. The case study method is then employed to specifically comprehend values associated with Living Religious Cultural Heritage in India. Through case examples, this paper establishes that the most dominant heritage values arise out of Religion and the multiple ways in which it manifests to enable a two-way connection between the divine and the devout. Religious, Historical, and Sociocultural values are critical to the heritage identity of historical religious sites in India. Both tangible and intangible heritage figure strongly in heritage assessment. Heritage values are not intrinsic but dynamic, resulting from the constant transfer of sacrality in religious heritage precincts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores John Milton's views on Catholicism, specifically Roman Catholicism, and his criticism of its authoritarianism and suppression of individual thought. Milton argues for religious tolerance and the freedom of individuals to form their own beliefs based on personal interpretation of scripture. He promotes congregational independence and diversity within the church, emphasizing the importance of open debate and intellectual engagement. However, Milton acknowledges that his vision may require a level of education and intellectual capacity that may not be accessible to everyone. [Extracted from the article]

Discipleship is a key topic for the worldwide Anglican Church. Approaches to Christian learning have varied over the centuries. The time has come to liberate Christian formation, education, and training from the constraints of the clergy and laity dualistic narrative, where lay people are defined negatively as Christians who are not clergy, not ordained, and not qualified. Inequality of discipleship exists in this clergy/laity disposition. The laity need to be educated. The paper explores the biblical, theological, and educational background for the need to emancipate Christian learning in parishes from the 'lay' era, with its limitations on Christian growth, to another 'discipleship' era where equality of discipleship exists, like the early church prior to around 96 ce. Disciples know that they are learners and ministers and engage in Christian learning as people who are ordained through baptism-confirmation, commissioned through Holy Communion, and qualified through their Christian faith, abilities, and skills, uniquely participating in the missio dei. The implications are discussed and illustrated in three practical examples of 'emancipatory space': A Learning Community Approach; Theology and the People of God; and Democratizing Christian Learning. The Church is called to help people become and be disciples, not laity! [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the corporate and social dimensions of discipleship by examining the theological vision of the Parish Communion movement of the last century. It outlines what the Parish Communion movement sought to achieve liturgically and how that was undergirded by its underlying ecclesiology. Elements of the theology underpinning the movement are examined, including its corporate Body theology and its social theology. How these themes contribute to contemporary elaborations of discipleship are then explored, including a reflection on the legacy of the movement in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethics provides a new perspective for the comparative study of Christianity and Chinese Buddhism. This paper provides a comprehensive comparison of the sources, states of existence, and fundamental principles and purposes of the Christian and Chinese Buddhist perspectives on human life, focusing specifically on the realm of bioethics. It places special emphasis on teachings about God's creation and dependent origination, original sin and Buddhist causality, as well as love and compassion. Despite the significant geographic distance between Christianity and Chinese Buddhism, the dialogue highlights potential cultural differences and interpretations. It also demonstrates mutual acceptance and the process of redefining one's own identity. Religious bioethics greatly benefits from a comprehensive study of various religions from around the world. It aims to encourage cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research on different religions globally. It promotes religious bioethics as a relevant field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christian education stands poised to counter the pervasive consumerism of contemporary society, offering a vision of education rooted in love, community, and Kingdom values. This article discusses how Christian schools can reclaim their purpose as agents of cultural renewal and discipleship, inviting students into a deeper understanding of God's story and their role within it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the portrayal of the role of iconography and religious art in the life of Franz Jägerstätter in the film "A Hidden Life," directed by Terrence Malick. It highlights the form of life that Christian images and art present in light of the crucifixion of Christ on the holy cross according to Thomas Aquinas. It shows how the life of Franz as depicted in the movie illuminates the ways in which Christian images can influence the journey of a person toward holiness.

Leadership is always a topic of conversation for everyone, including in Christian circles. A good leader is a leader who has the ability to influence others to follow him. A good leader is also a leader who comes from God or a leader chosen by God. One of the leaders who is famous and widely recognized by the world is Moses, whose great leadership was recognized by four religions at once (Judaism, Christianity, Catholicism and Islam). Musa's leadership is one of the most influential leaderships in the world. Moses had implemented a good discipleship system. The discipleship system is a spiritual formation process that aims to improve a person's Christian faith and character. In the modern era, this discipleship system is increasingly important to face life's increasingly complex and diverse challenges. Without coaching and guidance from a church leader or fellow believer who is more spiritually mature, believers will experience stagnation in the growth of their faith. Without discipleship, believers may feel dissatisfied with the church and feel like they don't have a comfortable place to grow in their faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article imagines how the discipline of comparative theology might sound in a decolonial key. Focusing on implications for Hindu‐Christian comparative theology, this article puts the sacramental theological approach of Indian Christian artist and theologian Jyoti Sahi into conversation with Michi Saagiig (Mississauga) Nishnaabeg theorist Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's notion of land as pedagogy. In contrast to the narrow epistemology that dominates the academy, this study highlights features of a land‐based alternative in which place, positionality, and relation are central to knowing; in which a subject is not first a thinker but a person in relation to a particular locale; and in which ecological and theological thinking encompass not only the sustainability of natural "resources," but also the histories and exercises of power within a place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an in‐depth exploration of the divine purpose for Jesus' refugeehood (recorded in Matthew 2) and its theological implications. Part One finds three reasons for Jesus' displacement: (1) to recapitulate the displacement in Israel's story, (2) to recapitulate the exile of Adam and Eve, (3) to point forward to the Church's calling to be 'aliens and strangers' in the world. From this basis, Part Two draws two contemporary implications: (1) to transform refugees from 'other' to 'same' in the eyes of Christian citizens, (2) to reassess the notion of a 'Christian nation'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of Jacques Derrida's writings on death and mourning, it may seem that the Christian teaching that the dead will be raised is a betrayal of others, a failure to take up one's responsibility to testify to those who have died. In conversation with Emmanuel Falque's work on finitude, Martin Heidegger's reading of 1 Thessalonians, and Søren Kierkegaard's reading of Abraham, I respond in two movements to this objection to faith that God will raise the dead. First, I propose that even for the Christian, the death of the other remains a loss, since the Christian must surrender the other to God. It is, however, this very surrender of the other to God that seems to be an abdication of responsibility. Second, therefore, I argue that faith in the resurrection decenters the self and challenges our understanding of responsibility even more than does Derrida's own analysis. Faith, I conclude, means giving up the desire to cling to one's own responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article elucidates the persistently nebulous methodological and disciplinary status of René Girard's mimetic theory, particularly vis‐à‐vis Christian theology. Whether "Girardian theology" strikes one as tautologous or oxymoronic, the proliferation of Girardian theological scholarship warrants a sustained analysis of Girard's methodological self‐understanding as it is both proclaimed and performed. Opening with a brief précis of mimetic theory's chief tenets and contributions to anthropology, I proceed to review Girard's corpus according to his preferred designation—social scientist—by adducing and coordinating his sporadic, evolving, and occasionally conflicting methodological manifestos and their textual enactment. After proffering several reasons for Girard's uneasy relationship with the broader social‐scientific community, I turn to theology to consider if there are any apt analogues to mimetic theory amongst Christian theology's many ancillae of ages past. While ultimately proposing four features demarcating mimetic theory as sui generis in this regard, I propose a heuristic characterization of its relationship to theology by utilizing the Aristotelian‐Thomistic category of "subalternate science." Following this effort to situate mimetic theory more precisely between disciplines and in relation to theology, I offer a broader heuristic classification of mimetic theory intended to resolve or at least mitigate various tensions raised in the preceding analysis. To do so, I propose a suitably paradoxical twofold typology of Girardian mimetic theory as both a revealed scientific anthropology and a postmodern deconstructive Christian apologetic (or apologia for Christianity). Although preoccupation with methodological reflection can be practically debilitating, I hope to demonstrate its fittingness, relevance, and productivity in the inimitable case of René Girard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his recent work Hors phénomène, Emmanuel Falque identifies the Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard as both a progenitor and exemplifier of his account of the way philosophy becomes more rigorously itself through an encounter with theology. However, this article challenges the affinity Falque claims to share with Kierkegaard. It argues instead that there is a fundamental philosophical discrepancy underlying their respective treatments of the encounter between philosophy and theology: the nature of the dialectic and their respective positions in it. By exploring Falque's and Kierkegaard's diverging uses of the metaphor of 'crossing the Rubicon', the article demonstrates that where Kierkegaard stresses the military sense of the metaphor, depicting the relationship between the two disciplines as that between two armies seeking the annihilation of the other, Falque precisely abstracts from this military sense, letting the expression instead become a metaphor for a mutually beneficial transformative encounter. However, when considered more profoundly, we argue that this annihilation is itself a Christian experience out of which Falque's transformation is born. Ultimately, we conclude that Falque and Kierkegaard are both trying to conceive of the relationship between philosophy and theology according to a somewhat similar structure, namely, the quantitative intensification of one discipline by way of its qualitative differentiation from the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

David Burrell's version of Aquinas was written with Kantian parallels in mind. This is the accusation of John Milbank that was questioned by Nicholas Lash and Paul DeHart in a series of articles. 'Burrell's Critical Thomism' shows beyond doubt that Milbank's claim is correct: Burrell cites Kant throughout his oeuvre and finds parallels between Aquinas and Kant's philosophies. However, this article also shows that the form of Kantianism promulgated by Burrell is not as dogmatic as Milbank argues, especially in Burrell's later writings. If Milbank's critique holds, it follows that a properly negative theology must be denied. Finally, the relationship between Milbank's participatory theology and Burrell's emphasis on divine simpleness is examined in order to critically evaluate the status of participation in God, arguing that, for Aquinas, it does not make sense to say we participate in the divine essence, only in its likeness. Direct participation in God's essence is rendered incoherent by divine simpleness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on tracing the development of Ignatian spirituality over the past 150 years, highlighting four key stages and the ongoing process of refinement and popularization. Topics include Philip Endean's significant contributions as a scholar, translator, and editor within this development, particularly in his exploration of Karl Rahner's relationship to Ignatian spirituality and the concept of mystical experience in Christian life.

As central agents in the cultural dialogue between China and Europe in the 17th century, Christian Chinese communities represent a rich and fascinating source, offering a unique intercultural perspective on the intellectual, cultural, and religious world of late Ming and early Qing China. What did these communities look like? How did they come into being and maintain their significance as a community? By utilising stories depicting scenes of Christian ritual practices in local Chinese contexts between the 1620s and 1640s, collected by a late Ming Christian convert from Fujian, this article delves into the life of Chinese Christian communities, specifically focusing on the dimension of ritual practice. It shows how rituals played a key role in the formation of these communities, not only in keeping them alive, but also in continually redefining their significance for their members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution, we will proceed in three steps. First of all, we will investigate the rhetorical approach for studying the Pauline letters, considering different methodological options. In this context, we will propose the approach of the literary rhetoric as the most valid. Secondly, we will analyse the autobiographical text of Philippians 3:1–4:1, starting from its delimitation, textual criticism, and its arrangement, according to oral and discursive models. Then, we will proceed with genre and literary origins; here, we will discover the periautologia as the point of reference of the Pauline autobiography. This eulogy of self is a genre, well known in the rhetorical tradition, to which Plutarch dedicated the treatise On praising oneself. This discovery determines the following exegetical analysis of the text. Thirdly, we will conclude with a reflection about Paul's way of speaking about himself in this passage. In light of ancient rhetorical heritage, he does not use his autobiography to praise himself but to praise Christ, who completely changed his life. Ultimately, Paul's talk about himself is a way of talking about Christ for the benefit of the addressees who should creatively imitate the Apostle and his Christian life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article offers a reappraisal of Chen Huanzhang's The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School (1911): the published version of his doctoral thesis, completed at Columbia University. The book came with introductory testimonials from Columbia professors Friedrich Hirth and Henry R. Seager that have been read as "accolades," while reviews from J. M. Keynes and E. A. Ross have been singled out as significant badges of merit. It is demonstrated that Chen's version of "Confucianism" had been taken, without express acknowledgment, from Chen's teacher, Kang Youwei, and that the main purpose of Chen's work was to embellish Kang's "Confucianism" in the service of Kang's political cause. It is argued further that Chen's work suffered from manifest deficiencies, some of which were noticed by other contemporary reviewers. As for the "positive" reviews, it is contended that these were directed more at general and incidental features of Chen's work, in ignorance of Kang's influence, while the "accolades" from Hirth and Seager were, respectively, a terse, unelaborated acknowledgment of Chen's "discipleship" of Kang and an unconvincing effort to claim scholarly merit for Chen's work in deference to his participation in Kang's political cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Journal of Asian Christianity has released its second issue, which focuses on two main themes: the political engagement of Asian Christianity and the unique encounter between Asian cultural worlds and Christianity. The first set of articles explores the political history of Vietnam, the theological reflection on peacemaking in Southeast and East Asia, and the division among Christian leaders in the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte's time. The second set of articles examines the religious identity formation of the people of Northeast India and the materiality of Marian devotion in South India. The final article discusses the experiences of Hindu women participating in prayer groups in Kolkata and challenges the conventional definition of what it means to be a Christian. The authors provide valuable insights into the complexities and issues surrounding Asian Christianity. [Extracted from the article]

The article describes the life and career of Christian Schlögl, a professor of Business Informatics and Information Science at the University of Graz. Schlögl played a significant role in establishing the field of Information Science in Austria and was known for his practice-oriented teaching. His research focused on Information Management and Scientometrics. Schlögl published numerous articles in international journals and collaborated closely with other scientists. He passed away in May 2024 at the age of 63, leaving a significant void in the field of Information Science. [Extracted from the article]