Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-06-12DOI: 10.31743/vv.14609
Tadeusz Zadykowicz, Marek Kumór
{"title":"Between Realism and Idealization. Contemporary Controversies Surrounding the Ways of Fulfilling the Didactic Functions of Images of Saints from a Theological and Moral Perspective","authors":"Tadeusz Zadykowicz, Marek Kumór","doi":"10.31743/vv.14609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.14609","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is to provoke discussion on the worship of images depicting saints. However, it is not about defending this worship, since this issue has already been definitively settled by the Church. Instead, the article concerns a new problem – the controversies that arose in connection with some modern depictions of saints, mainly in painting. The mildest of these controversies involve paintings, often made on the basis of surviving photographs, showing saints during their ordinary everyday activities, e.g. while working or resting. A much sharper polarization of opinions occurs when the painting reveals the ethos of the saint with all realism, that is including also their imperfections, and even sin. Can such a saint be an object of veneration which, after all, inherently entails following them as role models? Is such veneration not an acceptance and promotion of flaws that contradict biblical morality? Can such images serve a didactic function? Instead, wouldn’t a certain idealization be advisable – the portrayal of a saint as someone perfect, excluding their flaws and weaknesses? The author takes a position on these controversies by formulating criteria for “good” images based on the theological and moral principles of their worship and an analysis of their functions.","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47343595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-06-12DOI: 10.31743/vv.15935
Jacenty Mastej
{"title":"The Credibility of the Church Based on Benevolence in the Light of the Works of Marian Rusecki","authors":"Jacenty Mastej","doi":"10.31743/vv.15935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.15935","url":null,"abstract":"The problem addressed in the article is the question of the credibility of the Church based on benevolence in the light of the work of Marian Rusecki. The present issue was addressed and resolved in three stages. In the first stage – invoking the Ecclesia-forming activity of Jesus – the benevolence-based aspects related to the genesis of the Church were pointed out. In the second stage, the benevolent identity of the Ecclesia was presented, for which well-being is an essential part of its life and mission. At the final stage, the matter of recognizing the benevolence-based credibility of the Church was addressed, taking into account Rusecki’s personalistic and sign-based concept of the Church and the signs of its credibility. Elements that are helpful in recognizing the benevolence-based credibility of the Church were also identified. The Church’s benevolence – which is rooted in the life and work of Jesus – is clear in its connection to the entirety of human life. Goodness is the overriding value that man needs in life, especially in illness, suffering or misfortune. The Ecclesia is a clear and credible sign of God’s goodness when, aware of the salvific goods which it has received from Christ, it bestows them on human beings, remaining particularly sensitive to human injustice and evil, and takes the side of the disadvantaged and the suffering, providing them with concrete help, both spiritual and material.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49399108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-06-12DOI: 10.31743/vv.15639
Marc Wysocki
{"title":"Letters as a School of the Christian Exegesis. A Study of the Selected Early Christian Latin Letters of the 4th and 5th Century (Augustine, Jerome, and Paulinus of Nola)","authors":"Marc Wysocki","doi":"10.31743/vv.15639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.15639","url":null,"abstract":"Letters are often treated as a secondary literary genre, serving only to convey information and maintain relationships between people. But Christianity, which has been called the religion of the book, can also be described as the religion of the letter. In fact, from the very beginning, it was mainly through the letters (e.g., of Paul the Apostle) that the faith and the doctrinal, moral, and disciplinary instructions were transmitted. Of course, the authors of the early Christian letters also referenced biblical themes and the Bible itself. Following the ancient rules of rhetoric, they also implemented the postulate of didacticism (docere) by making the Scriptures and their exegesis more widely known. This article aims to show how this postulate is put into practice in Latin letters written by three great patristic figures: Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, and Saint Paulinus of Nola, the most important representatives of the golden patristic age. These outstanding early Christian pastors and writers are considered to have created a kind of “virtual school” of biblical exegesis in their letters. This article presents how this “school” functioned, from the invitation to participate, through the methods and the study program, to the praise that good students earned. It can be an excellent model for our current age, marked by online education. This can also be applied to biblical studies and the study of biblical and patristic exegesis.","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46849994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.31743/vv.14692
Jan Lemanski
{"title":"Israel as the Living Temple of God (Exod 19:5–6)","authors":"Jan Lemanski","doi":"10.31743/vv.14692","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.14692","url":null,"abstract":"Exod 19:3–8 and the description of Israel’s identity as a chosen nation bound by a covenant with YHWH (Exod 19:5–6: special possession, kingdom of priests, holy nation) have much in common both with statements known from deuteronomistic and priestly texts as well as from the so-called School of Holiness. This multiplicity of thematic, conceptual and linguistic connections makes the source classification and dating of this text quite difficult. The only consensus today is that it was written at the earliest just after the Babylonian exile. In this paper, the description of Israel’s identity in Exod 19:5–6 is linked to the priestly concept of the portable sanctuary, in which the specific location of the sanctuary (the sanctuary in the desert) is no longer important and not only the king or the priests are responsible for it, but the entire nation. This vocation is to be realized by the nation’s attitude of faithfulness to God (Exod 19:5a) in everyday life. In this way, sacred space in Israel goes beyond the walls of the temple and even Jerusalem (as according to Ezechiel), nor is it any longer limited to selected moments (visit to the sanctuary), but encompasses the entire life of the nation in all its aspects\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42208473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.31743/vv.14756
Michał Wyrostkiewicz, J. Sosnowska, Aneta Wójciszyn-Wasil
{"title":"Influencer katolicki: tożsamość i posłannictwo w kontekście misji Kościoła","authors":"Michał Wyrostkiewicz, J. Sosnowska, Aneta Wójciszyn-Wasil","doi":"10.31743/vv.14756","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.14756","url":null,"abstract":"Influencerstwo jest obecnie popularną formą medialnego oddziaływania, a influencerzy, jako twórcy treści medialnych, ciesząc się autorytetem i zaufaniem odbiorców, przyjmują rolę liderów cyfrowych społeczności. Coraz częściej poruszają tematy związane z religią, Bogiem, Kościołem oraz kwestiami dotyczącymi wiary i moralności katolickiej. Ta nowa forma przekazu nauki Kościoła stanowi przedmiot niniejszych analiz. Po nakreśleniu kontekstu i ukazaniu punktu wyjścia oraz przedstawieniu założeń metodologicznych opisywanych badań zaprezentowano status influencera we współczesnej nauce. Scharakteryzowano tożsamość influencera i stosowany przez niego model komunikacji. Ukazano efekty zestawienia wiedzy o influencerze z misją Kościoła, co prowadzi do odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy aktywność influencerska może być realizacją działalności ewangelizacyjnej oraz wspólnototwórczej. Wśród rezultatów i konkluzji podano definicję influencera katolickiego jako człowieka utożsamiającego się z Kościołem i gromadzącego grupę followersów nie wokół siebie, ale Chrystusa żyjącego we wspólnocie eklezjalnej. Wskazano też konkretne zadania i miejsce influencera katolickiego w strukturze kościelnej, a także nawiązano do typowej dla influencera promocji marki, która tu oznacza „markę eklezjalną”. Kościół, który chce spełnić swoją misję we współczesnym zmediatyzowanym świecie i społeczeństwie informacyjnym, to Kościół otwarty na nowe rozwiązania z obszaru nowoczesnych mediów i komunikacji, a jednocześnie nieprzyjmujący nowych trendów bezkrytycznie, lecz rozpatrujący je w ramach interdyscypinarnej eklezjologiczno-medioznawczej refleksji naukowej.","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48851050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.31743/vv.14829
Aneta Krupka
{"title":"Reinterpretacja prymatu biskupa Rzymu w kontekście współczesnej debaty o synodalności","authors":"Aneta Krupka","doi":"10.31743/vv.14829","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.14829","url":null,"abstract":"Artykuł podejmuje temat reinterpretacji rozumienia prymatu biskupa Rzymu w kontekście współczesnej debaty o synodalności. Po pierwsze, wskazano na wybrane historyczne argumenty przemawiające za ściśle eklezjalną interpretacją prymatu. Po drugie, omówiono prymacjalną teologię Vaticanum I. Po trzecie, opisano recepcję definicji prymatu i nieomylności papieża, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem pojęcia kolegialności. Na końcu wykazano, w jaki sposób współczesna debata o synodalności jest konkretnym wyzwaniem dla rozumienia prymatu. Analiza źródeł historycznych oraz Magisterium Kościoła skłania do wniosku, że synodalność Kościoła domaga się także bardziej eklezjalnego widzenia prymatu. Rola biskupa Rzymu może być właściwie zrozumiała jedynie z uwzględnieniem jego głębokiego kościelnego zakorzenienia jako sługi jedności Kościoła. Współczesne dokumenty Kościoła wyrażają to przede wszystkim poprzez powiązane widzenie trzech rzeczywistości: prymatu (biskupa Rzymu), kolegialności (biskupów) oraz synodalności (Ludu Bożego).","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43950226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.31743/vv.14906
Antoni Nadbrzeżny
{"title":"Kościół i egzystencja. Ku eklezjologii pretekstowej","authors":"Antoni Nadbrzeżny","doi":"10.31743/vv.14906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.14906","url":null,"abstract":"Celem artykułu jest ukazanie znaczenia, sensu i potrzeby nowego typu myślenia o Kościele, określonego przez autora mianem „eklezjologii pretekstowej”. Należy ona do nurtu teologii „oddolnej” i stanowi próbę odpowiedzi na egzystencjalne i religijne aspiracje współczesnego człowieka, żyjącego w kulturze, którą charakteryzują dwa zasadnicze zjawiska: globalna „logorea” i powszechny „nomadyzm”. Fenomeny te współokreślają swoisty styl życia dzisiejszych ludzi, którzy w swojej egzystencji doświadczają bolesnego połączenia nadmiaru słów z presją hipermobilności. Dotychczasowa posoborowa eklezjologia (ad extra) wychodziła naprzeciw tym zjawiskom, tworząc opracowania eklezjologiczne o charakterze kontekstualnym przy zastosowaniu zaczerpniętej od Paula Tillicha metody korelacji. Jednak z powodu akceleracji społecznych, kulturowych i religijnych kontekstów ludzkiej egzystencji tradycyjne propozycje ze strony eklezjologii kontekstualnej okazują się niewystarczające. Szybkie tempo „ucieczki kontekstów” praktycznie uniemożliwia ich gruntowną analizę. Powstaje więc pilna potrzeba metodycznego wypracowania mniejszych i bardziej operatywnych form eklezjologicznych. W związku z tym powstające mikroeklezjologie – oparte na abdukcyjnym sposobie rozumowania – doceniają znaczenie kategorii egzystencjalnego pretekstu. Stanowi on spontaniczną i niepowtarzalną okazję do sformułowania krótkiej, treściwej i profetycznie prowokującej wypowiedzi teologicznej, skierowanej do współczesnych odbiorców zmagających się zarówno z kulturową obsesją mobilności, jak i z inflacją słowa pisanego i mówionego.","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47632678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.31743/vv.14705
K. Kaucha
{"title":"Joseph Ratzinger’s Very Critical Diagnosis and Apology of the Catholic Church","authors":"K. Kaucha","doi":"10.31743/vv.14705","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.14705","url":null,"abstract":"Many devoted and well-educated Catholics begin to doubt the need for the Church. Flooded by the plethora of publications about the Church’s dark pages and scandals in the past and today they feel pain and are ashamed. On the other hand, they realize that the Church can be neither a mistake nor a lie. Undoubtedly, Catholics and Catholic theology need today an honest and serious apology of the Catholic Church that will not conceal any of her true weaknesses. This paper seeks to prove that such an apology is offered by Joseph Ratzinger (1927–2022). It is an attempt to recreate it on the basis of his entire intellectual output. His diagnosis of the Catholic Church is bitterly critical, he indicates many ecclesial problems that seem to be carried over from one generation to the next. At the same time, he provides an original apology of the Catholic Church that can surely be helpful in accepting the bipolar truth about her: God’s real presence has been so many times mediated by the disappointing Church. This article’s final part attempts to critically evaluate the effectiveness of Ratzinger’s apology from the contemporary perspective of ardent Catholics.","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48720635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.31743/vv.15518
J. Lemański
{"title":"Pomiędzy faktem a fikcją, historią a bajką, czyli o sporze pomiędzy biblijnymi „minimalistami” i „maksymalistami”. W odpowiedzi na recenzję Łukasza Niesiołowskiego-Spanò","authors":"J. Lemański","doi":"10.31743/vv.15518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.15518","url":null,"abstract":"Ks. prof. dr hab. Janusz Lemański odpowiada na recenzję książki Narodziny Izraela. Szkice historyczno-biblijne (Uniwersytet Szczeciński. Rozprawy i Studia, 1203; Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego 2021), przygotowaną przez prof. Łukasza Niesiołowskiego-Spanò.","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42419241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verbum VitaePub Date : 2023-03-20DOI: 10.31743/vv.14968
Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spano
{"title":"Janusz Lemański, Narodziny Izraela. Szkice historyczno-biblijne (Uniwersytet Szczeciński. Rozprawy i Studia 1203; Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe US 2021)","authors":"Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spano","doi":"10.31743/vv.14968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/vv.14968","url":null,"abstract":"Recenzja książki: Janusz Lemański, Narodziny Izraela. Szkice historyczno-biblijne (Uniwersytet Szczeciński. Rozprawy i Studia, t. 1203; Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe US 2021). Ss. 348; ISBN: 978-83-7972-460-4.","PeriodicalId":37783,"journal":{"name":"Verbum Vitae","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42769661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}