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The article presents the penitential prayers that emerged as a literary genre after the Qumran discoveries and the intensive study of many prayers from these finds. The characteristic feature of the penitential prayers is that they do not ask God why He sent misfortune to the people, but rather acknowledge their own culpability for it. They were written during and after the exile. The prayer of Esther in the Greek version of the Book of Esther is one of them. It is prayed by Queen Esther before she goes to ask the Persian king to avert the death sentence already pronounced against her people after the atoning deeds have been done. Esther's coming before the king without being summoned puts her in mortal danger. So her prayer is a mixture of worship to God, acknowledgement of Israel's guilt, danger they are in, and a plea for her and her people's salvation. God answered her prayer.

This article responds to Craig Keener's opening article in a special issue, originating with a Holy Spirit Symposium, Center for the Study of the Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit Today, Biola University, October 27, 2023. Keener presents historical, theological, and philosophical reasons to accept intellectually that miracles are credible. My response shifts focus to three psychological and pastoral questions. First, given that many Christians do affirm belief in miracles, why do relatively few Christians—at least in the Global North—pray regularly, expectantly, and persistently for miraculous healing? Second, what are the costs of this gap between beliefs and practices? Third, how might more Christians move from believing in miracles to contending for miracles? I argue that it is insufficient for Christians to believe in the credibility of miracles; the church needs to make it a priority to contend for miracles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many scholars recognize the echo of Isaiah 52:5 in 1 Timothy 6:1, they limit the meaning of the echo to a warning against unfaithfulness. However, the intertextual significance is deeper than this warning alone. I argue that Paul employs metalepsis to recontextualize the theme of deliverance from Isaiah 52 to give Christian slaves the hope of a future deliverance. Hays and Wagner argue convincingly that Paul recontextualizes Isaiah 52:5 in Romans 2:24 to depict non-Christian Jews as spiritual exiles under the dominion of sin. Through metalepsis, Paul imports the theme of deliverance from Isaiah 52 so that his reproach implied God's promise of Israel's ultimate salvation. I argue that Paul uses metalepsis in a similar way when employing the same verse in 1 Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6:1, Paul uses Isaiah 52:5 to depict enslaved Christians as exiles under the dominion of earthly oppressors. By recontextualizing Isaiah's hope of deliverance from Babylonian exile, Paul's metalepsis serves as a divine promise of Christians' eschatological deliverance at Christ's return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines the notion of constitutional deliverance within the Victorian settlement. The expression points to the way constitutional arrangements react to threats that may disrupt the politico-legal order. Rooted in constitutional morality, it entails executing justice, restoring order, and protecting individuals' rights and freedoms. To this end, it analyses Phineas Finn, Phineas Redux, and The Prime Minister, i.e. three of the six Anthony Trollope's Palliser Novels, and explores whether the freedom of the press executed constitutional deliverance in the Victorian era. The essay will focus on Mr Quintus Slide, the editor of the People's Banner, whose acts of moralisation seem to fit into the (political and biblical) notion of deliverance. The article argues that Slide used the press not to deliver the Nation, but to avenge his own interests. In so doing, he contradicted the idea of constitutional deliverance as embedded in Parliament, where the anointed Monarch summons His body politic to execute justice and protect it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Pentecostalism is a major stream within Christianity in Sierra Leone, the first field where Protestant missionaries were active in tropical Africa, this ecclesial development remains marginally represented in research. The Pentecostalisation of Sierra Leone points to the nation's continuous recontextualization of Christianity from its inherited missionary vestiges to meet local cultural needs. In this paper, I discuss the retreat by Pentecostal clerics to nature (forests, rivers, and mountains) from where they expect to connect with the transcendent God and receive spiritual power. To do so, I first discuss Sierra Leone's traditional conceptualization of forests, rivers, and mountains as sites for the acquisition of spiritual power. Second, I briefly survey the emergence of Pentecostalism in Sierra Leone, probing the specific uses by Pentecostals of natural spaces. Finally, I conclude with an intercultural theological assessment of Sierra Leone's emerging Pentecostal uses and interpretations of natural spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pentecostalism has always struggled to define itself theologically from the beginning. Starting out as a marginal stream within Christianity, early Pentecostals were reluctant to compose statements of faith and were susceptible to a range of new doctrines, a problem that continues to this day. In this article, the author surveys the theological development of Pentecostalism in Australia, giving special attention to a specific Australian-born movement, Christian Revival Crusade, because of its distinctive doctrines of British-Israelism and deliverance of believers from evil spirits. The author concludes with some observations of recent doctrinal developments in Australian Pentecostalism before positing some causes for such changes and drawing some lessons for Pentecostalism as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr Perold de Beer was a missionary pioneer who contributed as both a church leader and a theologian to the Reformed Church in Africa (RCA). This research recorded his contribution to the RCA as this church navigated political issues during apartheid, multireligious positions and the challenges accompanying church unity; all of these ended up in the Laudium Declaration (LD) which De Beer drafted and was then accepted as the church's official position. In addition to De Beer's views, other, differing positions from his colleagues and contemporaries were used to reflect on the eventual decisions and theologies developed in the RCA. The article's social and scientific value lies in both recording and reflecting on the work of a missionary pioneer not yet investigated; it addressed and informed issues that are still relevant today (racism, pluralism and unity) and which are still heading the church's agenda. Both literature study and interviews were employed. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: While this article investigated missiology (mission theology, social justice and church unity), it also contributed to religion studies (interfaith dialogue), church history, and polity (the history and documents of the RCA) and systematic theology. It offered insight into the history of a specific segment of South African society during apartheid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of salvation—that is, the deliverance from sins—is an issue Muslim intellectuals are expected to solve. Ibn Taymiyya’s response to the problem accounts for some of the conducts of contemporary Muslims and events of the Islamic world today. Drawing on the documentary-library method and adopting a descriptive-analytic approach, we argue thatfor Ibn Taymiyya, salvation can be imagined in one of the two forms: (i) only the followers of Islam achieve salvation, and followers of other religions will achieve salvation only if they join Islam; from this we might conclude that Ibn Taymiyya believed in “religious exclusivism,” which given the principles of Islam and those of Ibn Taymiyya’s thought, can be portrayed as against religious prejudice and violence and as compatible with tolerance as well as learning from other religions—a recommendation made by Strenmark (2006, 73) for prejudiced exclusivist leaders.(ii) given the factors leading to wretchedness, such as disbelief, heresy, and polytheism, Ibn Taymiyya’s circle of salvation does not even encompass all Muslims—his salvation is limited to only one Islamic sect. This is a construal of Ibn Taymiyya’s view adopted by excommunicative (takfīrī) Salafists, to which we shall refer in this paper as “sectarian exclusivism.”

Copyright of Scientia Paedagogica Experimentalis is the property of ICIWO 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.)

Examining the filmmaker Satyajit Ray's engagements with religious questions with reference to his films Devi (The Goddess), Mahapurush (The Holy Man), Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), Sadgati (Deliverance) and Ganashatru (A Public Enemy), this essay assesses the influence of Ray's Brahmo inheritance, his personal atheism/agnosticism and his cultural fascination with Hinduism in his representations of women's status and caste discrimination. It concludes that although Ray's approach to Hinduism was far from one-dimensional or sectarian, its negative social consequences were emphasized more in his work than any positive role it might play in society and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This address explores the relationship between pentecostal experience and pentecostal rituals and practices. Specifically, it will investigate this relationship through an analysis of healing and deliverance. This exploration takes place in three parts. First, it offers a description of the role, practices, and experience(s) of healing in Christian Healing Ministries. Second, it provides a theoretical orientation for analyzing and understanding the social and religious processes that are occurring in the ministry. Finally, it offers some theological and personal reflections on conducting this kind of research and their implications for the study of Pentecostalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The socio-religious panorama of the African religion deserves a close observation of its foundation and function. The perception of the spirit world is dominant in Africa. Similarly, spiritual warfare in the African context is prevalent in the mind and worldview of an African. Spiritual warfare derives its framework from African Traditional Religion (ATR). Hence, understanding ATR’s complexity helps us with the understanding of spiritual warfare. Some essential questions to understand would be what is spiritual warfare from an ATR perspective? How do Africans perceive spiritual warfare? And how do Africans engage in spiritual warfare? What is the place of ATR in spiritual warfare? African Traditional Religion acknowledges the reality and functionality of witchcraft. The perception of the reality of evil forces in Africa attracts all forms of spiritual rites, seeking more extraordinary spiritual powers for defensive and offensive spiritual warfare. This article argues that the effectual Christian response to spiritual warfare with witchcraft practices in Africa is ‘the classical model’ of spiritual warfare. The article provides a synopsis of the models of spiritual warfare, that is, the classical model (CW), world systems model (WSM), ground-level deliverance model (GLDM), and strategic-level deliverance model (SLSW). Subsequently, the article provides the framework for African spiritual warfare and witchcraft practices from traditional and contemporary perspectives. Lastly, the article argues that the Evangelical Christian Response to witchcraft practices is rooted in ‘the classical model’ of spiritual warfare. Contribution: The article contributes to African religiosity within the African context. It reveals the ongoing argument about the continuity and discontinuity of the ATR beliefs and practices in Christianity. The article adds to the evangelical or classical arguments in support of the discontinuity of ATR beliefs and practices in Christianity.

Recent 'apocalyptic' interpretations of Paul often highlight a distinction between 'forensic' and 'cosmological' varieties of apocalyptic eschatology. This essay surveys this phenomenon against the backdrop of the Bultmann/Käsemann debate. Various scholars have attempted to resolve the tension between these two poles, whether through circumscribing the forensic by the cosmological, or vice-versa, generating a spectrum of approaches within which this question is generally framed as a zero-sum game. This essay outlines a 'non-competitive' construal of this duality and examines a selection of integrative approaches in recent theological interpretation that allows for both forensic and cosmological aspects of Paul's apocalyptic thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deliverance and divine healing, as well as the crucial historical aspect of the mission’s early proselytising and development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), constitute the major characteristics of Pentecostalism. As they form a historical aspect of the mission’s development, it is not surprising that its preservation has not only remained at the core of the church’s ethos, but also continues to increase exponentially. This article investigated some praxis, specifically in the churches founded by the Congo Evangelistic Mission (CEM): the ransom and the fire, the laying of hands and anointing oil, successively as deliverance and divine healing practices. The purpose was to establish the extent to which these churches founded by CEM can move away from these practices and find in Christ the better life they seek. It is to critically reflect on the deliverance and divine healing practices in the church and how the applicability of these practices affects people’s lives, including members and non-members. The qualitative method was utilised for the study. Data was collected through in-depth (semi-structured) interviews and direct observation in the churches founded by the CEM. The findings of this study show that the emergence of these traditionalist practices in the churches founded by the CEM would inadvertently lead to a disregard for in-depth biblical and theological knowledge and eventually result in the further diminishment of the essence of the Christian faith. This study has two implications: (1) the spread of doctrinal abuses is largely due to ignorance and neglect of the church’s doctrines, particularly pneumatology (Pentecostal doctrine), even though the teaching of this doctrine has provided the Pentecostal theological context for the mission’s foundation since its inception. (2) The divisions within the CEM churches have become more frequent and thereby making it difficult for many pastors to lead their members, especially those with charismatic gifts (prophets, Balombi). Contribution: Focusing specifically on charismatic gifts, this article establishes theological guidelines that would revive the Church’s missiological impulse. The guidelines for dealing with these practices will better equip Pentecostal church members to practice the charismatic gifts in light of the New Testament perspectives.

Since 1826, the Akuapem people of Ghana have annually celebrated the festival known as the Okuapehene Dwira (the Odwira of the paramount chief of Akuapem), Odwira for short. The paper examines the spiritual significance of the festival for the people. It considers what an Okuapeni (a person who comes from Akuapem) who converts to Christ may need to do to enable him/her to enjoy life in Christ, and why. The paper gives a brief description of the festival after establishing its history. It follows this by arguing that Odwira is a covenant renewing festival that places all Akuapemfo (Akuapem people) under a covenant with the Odosu (a regalia). The paper then discusses two theological views on the effect of such covenants on people who convert to Christianity. The paper concludes with what Christian ministers must ensure that Akuapem converts do to give them the assurance that in Christ, they are liberated from the covenant. The paper is based on observations, recorded interviews with natives of Akuapem – chiefs, students, opinion leaders and “ordinary” members of the society, as well as responses to questionnaires administered to natives of Akropong living in Akropong itself, Sakumono and Lashibi in the Greater Accra Region. Works of theologians like Ogbu Kalu, Opoku Onyinah, and some others have also been used. The finding of this paper is that effective Christian ministry in Akuapem must include “deliverance”. This will ensure that converts who believe that the covenant with Odosu must be verbally renounced at conversion to Christ, have the assurance of being freed from the covenant. This paper contributes to Missiology and Ministry by adding to the on-going debate on spiritual covenants and their effect on Christian conversion.

Traditionally, the ministry of deliverance in African Pentecostalism involves the deliverance from generational curses, deliverance as spiritual warfare against witchcraft and other demonic forces and deliverance for healing. Most scholars have already covered the traditional practices of the ministry of deliverance. In this article what is new is the study of deliverance ministry within New Prophetic Churches (NPCs) in South Africa, which the article argues that it is different from the traditional practices. The deliverance ministry among the NPCs is a prophetic dimension that involves the consultation with the prophet to receive freedom from one’s predicaments. This dimension of deliverance raises a challenge of commercialisation within the practice of deliverance in Africa. To deal with the commercialisation of the ministry of deliverance, NPC pastors should heed the call of Jesus in Matthew 10:8 to give freely as they have received freely. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Jesus’ call for his disciples to minister freely to the needs of the people in the New Testament is juxtaposed with the missiological approaches on the commercialisation of religion in the context of the ministry of deliverance within NPCs such as Enlightened Christian Gathering in South Africa.

Copyright of e-Scripta Romanica is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego 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 Hebrew Bible is a compilation of literary 'fictions' and poetry that evoke 'the truth of the human condition' (Elena Ferrante). This article retells the story of the Book of Jonah from the first-person perspective of 'Jonah'. The fictional narrative is rooted in the language and themes of the original biblical text. Jonah is still angry with God's forgiveness of the Ninevites, and readers' complicity in the always-recurring flight from taking responsibility to act against evil in the world. As Jonah tells his story, he regresses into a manic state that parallels chapter 2 of the biblical book. The narrative moves into reflections about humanity's lack of compassion for the natural world, and Jonah's fears about the forthcoming 'ecocide' of the planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uno degli aspetti più significativi dell’espansione del Pentecostalismo in Africa è la creazione di centri di deliverance, che si presentano come spazi di liberazione dagli spiriti del male e di soluzione ai problemi della vita quotidiana e familiare.Attraverso lo studio del caso della Mutundwe Christian Fellowship di Kampala, l’articolo analizza il ruolo centrale assunto da questi centri e dalle pratiche di deliverance nelle concezioni relative all’“insicurezza spirituale” e alla stregoneria. L’articolo sostiene che la religiosità pentecostale è particolarmente efficace nel presentarsi come orientata all’azione e al contrasto delle forze spirituali e che una parte della sua capacità attrattiva deriva dalla promessa di possedere strumenti e pratiche rituali utili a risolvere i problemi che affliggono i credenti.

Resumo: Este artigo discute o caráter decisivo da presença divina para a criação de novas germanidades, maternidades e paternidades em um coletivo de cristãos na cidade de São Paulo/SP. A descrição da aliança que se constitui com Deus é o fio condutor da análise, que problematiza suas reverberações no parentesco humano. Isso me levará a expor como a religião e o parentesco costumam ser justapostos analiticamente, ou seja, por meio da escolha individual, autônoma, tida como aspecto geral tanto da “vida espiritual” quanto das relações de parentesco em nosso mundo. Argumentarei em contrapartida que a aliança, além de impulsionar outros vínculos, é o motor principal do que se alcunha geralmente de “libertação”.

The African neo-Pentecostal (ANP) teaching that Christians continue to suffer from generational curses or bloodline curses is analysed from the perspective of Christian salvation as spiritual recreation. The main question considered in this article is: Soteriologically, how may we evaluate the ANP view that ‘born again’ Christians remain vulnerable to generational curses? The article describes the ANP assertion that Christians live under the threat of generational curses. Furthermore, the ANP’s understanding of the nature of generational curses is examined. Attention is further given to the ANP’s view of the role played by a person’s blood in the transmission of generational curses and how this makes Christians vulnerable to generational curses after their conversion. The article also analyses how the doctrine of generational curses expresses a notion of Christian salvation with limited creative powers in Africa. Lastly, some elements that should inform an understanding of Christian salvation when addressing the fear of generational curses among the ANPs are proposed. The significance of this article lies in contributing a theological analysis that will help African Christians find confidence in their Christian salvation. Contribution: The article attempts to contribute towards the formulation of a biblically informed systematic theological framework of analysing and critiquing the logic of salvation in the ANP teaching that generational curses remain on regenerated Christians.

People used Psalm 91 during times of pandemic with the notion that its use will ultimately save them and their love ones. However, many get disappointed particularly when they lose their love ones despite using the Psalm. This had caused many to lose their faith in the word of God. But then, it is worthwhile for Christians to know that beyond the promise of deliverance as stated in Psalm 91, there is an everlasting protection promised by God. This is the ultimate deliverance that will ensure we escape the eternal separation that will come upon the world on the last day. This will count us worthy to reign forever with Christ in heaven where there is no sickness or diseases.

In recent years the use of 'gay cure' therapies by religions has become a major public controversy in the West. Deliverance, or exorcism, is pointed to as an example of a Christian practice used to try and change a person's sexuality. Pentecostal churches specialising in deliverance have become particularly popular on the African continent in the last few decades, where beliefs that homosexuality is immoral and un-African are also widespread. At the same time, public discourse about African attitudes to sexuality in the West tends to misunderstand the way religion contributes to cultures of heteronormativity in Africa. This article analyses how African deliverance churches view same-sex relations by investigating a large Nigerian deliverance church publicly accused of practising conversion therapies. It argues that the church's views on homosexuality derive from its theological understanding of human creation, and that there is more scope for queer expression than first appears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is due to social phenomenon in Indoensia lately, where tendention of nationalism is decreasing. Church, which is being a part of this nation component, has responsibility to build its people’s sense of nationalism, not mere making them as heavenly citizen. The aim of this article is to point out a biblical study about Passover celebration at the first time in The Old Testament, which constituted a commemoration of Israel nationality deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, what was to become an implication of Jesus’ death and resurrection event. It uses a historical analysis on biblical text Exodus 12:1-51 with exposition approach for acquiring an event implication in Old Testament theology context. After reading the whole text in the passage, considering its context and genre, then reconstruct its narrative and analyze it, so the conclusion is, that Passover celebration in the first time is God’s action to deliver Israel as a nation from Egypt. The research finding is to recommend that Passover celebration in future will be able to increase church’s sense of nationality in Indonesia context. Artikel ini adalah sebuah penelitian yang berkaitan dengan fenomenologi sosial di Indonesia dewasa ini, di mana kecenderungan memupusnya sikap nasionalisme anak bangsa. Gereja Tuhan sebagai bagian dari komponen bangsa ini memiliki tanggung jawab untuk membangun rasa nasionalisme umat, tidak hanya sekadar menjadikannya warga surga seperti idealisme teologi. Tujuan artikel ini untuk menunjukkan kajian biblikal tentang perayaan Paskah yang secara asali merupakan peringatan tentang perjuangan pembebasan Israel sebagai sebuah bangsa, yang di kemudian hari memberikan implikasi teologis pada peristiwa kematian dan kebangkitan Kristus. Metode yang digunakan adalah analisis historis pada teks Keluaran 12:1-51 dengan pendekatan eksposisi, untuk mendapatkan implikasi peristiwa dalam konteks teologi Perjanjian Lama. Setelah membaca teks secara keseluruhan, lalu memperhatikan konteks dan genre sastera, merekonstruksi narasi teks dan menganalisisnya, maka disimpulkan bahwa pada awalnya peristiwa Paskah merupakan perbuatan ilahi untuk membebaskan Israel dari penjajahan Mesir. Temuan pembahasan dan simpulan merekomendasikan agar momentum perayaan Paskah dapat meningkatkan rasa nasionalisme gereja dalam konteks Indonesia.

Scholarship on the abolition of the slave trade and slavery has given little attention to specifically theological factors behind the movement. This article seeks to interrogate three themes that underpinned the activism of the British abolitionists, namely, deliverance/liberty, love of neighbor, and imago Dei. These are examined, first, within their own biblical-theological frame of reference and, second, in relation to other intellectual currents of the era as well as, anachronistically, in the light of some key features of liberation theology. The article considers whether the British abolitionists, whose rhetoric oscillated around apologetics and emancipation and was marked by imperial paternalism, developed a form of proto-liberation theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contends that in Africa, the belief in the reality of the spirit world is a persistent phenomenon, which occupies a significant place in their religiosity. By building their theologies around the existential needs of the African people, the prophetic and deliverance ministries represent a contextual approach to Christianity in Africa. Nevertheless, an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of these ministries reveal that their approach may fit well into the African cultural milieu, but their emphasis is a threat to the progress of Christian discipleship in Africa and among Africans in the diaspora. Despite their rapid numerical growth, the deliverance ministries cannot bring the African out of the fear of witchcraft and other supernatural powers. The paper concludes that to be able to mitigate the challenges of these ministries, pragmatic solutions being discussed at the academic levels must be made accessible to grassroots prophets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study describes the Czech computer game Kingdom Come: Deliverance and the scale of its historical depiction of medieval realia. The well-known title is set in the medieval Czech Kingdom in 1403 and the player is presented with a complex world where he has to survive, acquire the game mechanics and complete historically inspired quests within and besides the main storyline. In this study, we will present various historical aspects of the game, such as political background, geographical setting, social depiction of the part of medieval Bohemia, late medieval armour and weapons in comparison with reality. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is sometimes referred to as a medieval simulator or a learning tool, based on its effort to realistically demonstrate history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article begins with the reflection of Cz. Zgorzelski on the religious issues in the works of Mickiewicz, which have been dominated with question of conscience. The most important works of the poet and their principal threads are strictly connected to the inner transformation and maturation of the characters. „Pan Tadeusz”, „Dziady cz. III” as well as the lyrical works of Mickiewicz include these problems. The issue of the guilt, self-discovery and forgiveness is most broadly and elaborately depicted in „Pan Tadeusz” (Volume X „Emigracja. Jacek”). This nearly exemplary situation of inner state of the character that is striving for deliverance from nagging guilt has been analyzed in context of the thoughts of P. Riceur. The act of forgiveness shown by the most important of Polish romantic poets, preceded the big scenes concerning this problem in the following Polish literature.

Individuals, city-states, and small-scale communities of worshippers memorialized instances when they were rescued from danger. They did so in a variety of ways, from staging fictional accounts of danger and deliverance to the public praise of local patriots and annual festivals in honor of gods and goddesses for their roles in saving the community. This article examines the significance of epigraphic narratives of endangerment and rescue from the third century BC to the third century AD. It argues that these inscriptions joined individuals into an emotional community of those whose lives had been touched by the gods. These epigraphic narratives point to the social significance of having a status as one rescued by the gods. Talking about one's own weakness, vulnerability, and misfortune was a key way for individuals and poleis to claim rights and privileges within communities, between them, and across time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study examines Psalm 124, one of the greatest gems of the biblical psalm-poetry. After briefly expounding the metre, the genre and the poetic structure, the author dates the poem, analyzes the role of the Psalm in its immediate literary context, and provides linguistic, formal, tradition-historical and theological analysis passage by passage. The author regards the Psalm as one of the post-exilic impressions of the Zion theology along with the collection of Psalms 120-134 which was formed around 400 BCE. Regarding the form of the poem, it is masterfully structured. Traces of later adaptations and additions cannot be proven unequivocally. The theological specialties of the poem are the articulation of the preventive providence of God, the thanksgiving and the consistent trust toward the God of Israel. The Psalm fits in well with the collections of Psalms 123-125 and Psalms 123-130, where the preceding Psalm of lament continues with the themes of thanksgiving and teaching, and goes further toward the theme of salvation of the end times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cahiers d'Études Africaines is the property of Editions EHESS 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.)

Present in the colony of Ivory Coast since 1934, the introduction of the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade (WEC), in the Centralwest of the country gave rise to the ministry of a man, Pastor Samuel Gohi Bi Gohi, whose humble origins had not predestined him for such a ministry. It is precisely in 1968, while serving as an evangelist within the WEC that his healing and deliverance ministry gained momentum. He held this office until his death in 1989. His ministry introduced another form of therapy namely healing only by prayer to Christ Jesus, and other means of apostleship hitherto less used by missionaries: the preaching of the Gospel through signs. Those who felt relieved or cured through the ministry of Pastor Samuel Gohi Bi Gohi became the echo of his ministry everywhere, even in the most remote regions of Côte d'Ivoire. This helped in the evangelization of the Ivory Coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blamelessly, most commentators attempt to deduce the political theory of Levinas from his interhuman philosophy. In contrast to the perceived state of ethical life in contemporary politics, the attractiveness of the asymmetric obligations owed by the ego to the Other make the deductive project seem urgent. But an inductive analysis of Levinas' philosophy yields troubling prerequisites, including rigorous theocracy and a form of sociability in which no epistemological clarity is permitted that could determine in situ interpersonal duties. Such unfamiliar politics enable the celebrated ethical relation of self for the Other. Designed as a polemic with the presumption that politics not ethics is first philosophy, the insights of the inductive analysis of Levinas' thought will come as no surprise to observers who worry that power and sovereignty cannot be summarily excluded from social or even ethical relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]