Religions最新文献

{"title":"The Power of Participating Partnership with Profound Perception: A Practical Approach to Decision Making and Problem Solving","authors":"James L. Morrison","doi":"10.3390/rel15010080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010080","url":null,"abstract":"In a fractured, complex, and chaotic world, excellence in critical, caring, and creative thinking skills are crucial to effective Christian living. The author’s research, a qualitative inquiry and interdisciplinary literature review and analysis, suggests that one’s theological perspective and belief system concerning the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit may profoundly affect the ability of the individual and the body of Christ to rationally pursue Kingdom work, whether through evangelism, discipleship, or merely survival. Christians, regardless of theology, philosophy, worship styles, polity, geographical location, culture, or tradition, intending to positively affect their world, should consider adopting an active engagement, a participating partnership, with “Profound Perception”, the logical rational component of the mind of Christ which is normally identified with a compassionate state of mind for service. Proper preparation and exercise of human thinking skills combined with the engagement in a participating partnership with profound perception enables one to effectively deal with the realities of life in a time of extreme complexity, cognitive dissonance, excessive deceit, and distortions of reality. The research indicates it is possible for followers of Christ, engaged in an active partnership with the mind of Christ in the pursuit of solutions and resolutions for complex and wicked problems along with the creation of master pieces of art, literature, and music glorifying Christ Jesus, to be successful in their endeavors. The intent is not to defend or to attack any of the many theological perspectives concerning the charismata, but rather to explore the possibilities of integrating our mind and the charismata with the mind of Christ. An examination of one’s theology in light of how best to effectively and efficiently engage at the highest level possible with the mind of Christ in all that they do seems in the best interest of the church engaged in a global mission.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"22 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139443215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beauty and Dao: The Transcendental Expressions of Nature from Emerson’s Prose and the Zhuangzi","authors":"Xuehong Jia, Dongyue Wu","doi":"10.3390/rel15010081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010081","url":null,"abstract":"As an aesthetic resource in ancient China, the Zhuangzi’s description of Dao is similar to the American philosopher Emerson’s experience of beauty, and both reveal that the essence of beauty lies in its inherent vitality, spiritual transcendence, and the unity of multidimensional connotations. Emerson defines beauty as the constitution of all things in the world and believes it to be an expression of the universe. The Zhuangzi proposes the thought of tiandi damei 天地大美 (lit. Great Beauty of heaven and earth) as a manifestation of the function of the wordless Dao. Nature, intact from any human interference, becomes the common intermediary for Emerson and the Zhuangzi to elaborate on the connotations of beauty. The Emersonian definition of beauty originates from the philosophical implication of the world in ancient Greek, whereas the meaning of Great Beauty in the Zhuangzi, which embodies the worship of heaven in primitive religion, is very close to Emerson’s definition of beauty. The pattern of mei 美 consisting of da 大 (lit. great, equivalent to Dao) and yang 羊 (lit. auspice) signifies the natural celestial phenomena predicting good or bad luck and can be seen as synonymous with Dao illuminated by Daoism. By describing such natural imagery as forest, time sequence, dawn, and wilderness, Emerson reveals the vastness, harmony, brightness, and tranquility of beauty, which not only delights the spirit but also brings the human soul back to its natural state and improves personality. Emerson’s illumination of beauty conforms to those of Dao unraveled by the Zhuangzi. Despite the difference between the former’s poetic linguistic feature and the latter’s application of allegorical fables, both resort to visualized language to express internal aesthetic perceptions of the physical nature. Using the approaches of word tracing, textual comparison, and logical analysis, this article identifies the consistency in the original meanings of beauty in both Emerson’s essays and the Zhuangzi first and then goes on to analyze the similarities between their descriptions of natural imagery, so as to hint at the commonality in their understanding of natural beauty and verify the significance of literary language in cross-cultural comparative research.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"50 44","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139441928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Church Communication through Websites of Bishops’ Conferences","authors":"Pavel Izrael, Petra Polievková","doi":"10.3390/rel15010082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010082","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the role of conferences of bishops’ websites in facilitating communication within the Catholic Church, focusing on selected countries. The aim is to assess how these websites align with the Church’s mission and engage diverse audiences in the digital age. Analysis of websites from Slovakia, Poland, and the Czech Republic reveals variations in content emphasis, multilingual accessibility, multimedia utilization, and social media integration. These differences reflect cultural and ecclesiastical distinctions, shedding light on how these websites serve as digital gateways to the Catholic Church and public-facing portals for their respective conferences. This research employs the website communication model (WCM) to assess the selected websites. It examines content elements, multilingual support, multimedia incorporation, and social media presence. This study underscores the potential for enhanced utilization of digital platforms in advancing the Church’s mission and expanding its outreach. It highlights the importance of aligning website goals with organizational objectives and engaging diverse audiences effectively. Ultimately, these websites serve as crucial tools for communication, evangelization, and pastoral care within the Catholic Church.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139443543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Zen in Early Persian Painting—A Study of the 1314–1315 Jāmiʿ al-Tavārīkh Illustrations","authors":"Fei Jia","doi":"10.3390/rel15010075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010075","url":null,"abstract":"Since the establishment of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, Chinese painting has exerted a profound influence on various facets of Persian painting. This influence facilitated the divergence of Persian painting from Arab painting, fostering the gradual formation of an independent style. To explore whether Zen painting, which has been highly influential in contemporary China, also played a role in shaping Persian painting, this article first discusses the possibility that Zen books and Zen paintings were introduced to the Ilkhanid Dynasty. Subsequently, it delves into the illustrations of the Jāmiʿ al-Tavārīkh dating back to 1314–1315, analyzing Zen elements through three lenses: theme, brushwork, and compositional elements. Through this analysis, the article aims to provide insights into the impact of Chinese Zen art on Persian painting, offering a fresh perspective for scrutinizing the broader Chinese influence on Persian art.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"28 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139447596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the Brinks of Language: Benjamin’s Approach to a Tragic Dialogue","authors":"Bjarke Mørkøre Stigel Hansen","doi":"10.3390/rel15010076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010076","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this article is to explore the potential tension that according to Walter Benjamin is at stake in the opposition between the bourgeois conception of language and an inquiry into the essence of language, taking into account important texts written in 1916, in order to shed light on language that moves in the direction of a dialogical situation premised on a tragic approach. More specifically, beginning with an outline of Benjamin’s notion of the relationship between language and action, with particular attention to his 1916 letter to Martin Buber and the role of language, it then goes on to discuss the structure of language in the 1916 essay on language, at the end of which Benjamin asserts that there is a “tragic relationship between the languages of human speakers”. Drawing on a posthumously published essay from 1916, entitled The Role of Language in Tragedy and Trauerspiel, it finally seeks to show how this tragic relationship is essential to a dialogical situation.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"56 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139447360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Humanism and History as Ethics of Institutions: A Reflection on Linda Woodhead, Truth, and Institutions","authors":"Nathaniel A. Warne","doi":"10.3390/rel15010073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010073","url":null,"abstract":"This paper builds on Linda Woodhead’s discussion of institutions and truth-telling and suggests how we might make progress towards more ethical institutions. Much of the literature on the ethics of institutions focuses on institutions like banks, churches, hospitals, universities, or even political entities. This is also Woodhead’s focus. But another understanding of institutions is something akin to “an established law, practice, or custom”; namely, a tradition. How these two senses of institutions might relate and inform each other regarding justice and facilitating truth-telling is largely ignored. Drawing out this distinction helps reposition ourselves with regard to the starting point of the ethics of institutions and provides a backdoor into our understanding of formal institutions. Taking this as my starting point along with Woodhead’s discussion of truth and institutions, in this paper, I explore this backdoor further. I do this by drawing on the work of Edward Said and showing that the ethics of institutions is the realm of the humanist, but more specifically, the historian.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"29 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139448696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Web of Life: A Critique of Nature, Wilderness, Gaia and the «Common Household»","authors":"A. Reijnen","doi":"10.3390/rel15010063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010063","url":null,"abstract":"A two-word summary of the following article might be «Words matter». It matters whether we conceive of the non-built world as nature, as «wilderness», as Gaia/Mother Earth, or as «our common home». We analyze the emergence of each of these four notions. Nature, by far the most multi-layered of the words, has a complex history rooted in the Greek word phusis. Nature is problematic because of its opposites: supernatural; nurture, culture and civilization. Nature seems to require dualism. Wilderness started out as something terrifying (the realm of the wild beasts), later acquiring a specific American understanding of an area conserved for recreation, of nature partially preserved, all desirable goals inspired by John Muir. In the Scriptures, wilderness becomes filled by promise. Gaia is short for the Gaia hypothesis of Earth as a living, self-regulating organism. It was coined by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis and discussed critically by Bruno Latour. Compared with the view of the Earth as dead matter, «Gaia» is conducive to respect for all living beings. When it is coupled with Mother Earth, the concept becomes problematic from a feminist point of view. The common home or household stem from the teachings of Pope Francis. Although Laudato si’ is rightly viewed as a prophetic text regarding ecology and spirituality, «common home» implies a domestication of all that lives in a worldview that remains anthropocentric (homes are artefacts). A better concept is the «web of life» of which humankind is a part, but not the master. It is such a decentering that may herald hope for the Earth.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"17 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139450919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thomas of Cantimpré’s Hagiographies: Working with a Scientific-Historical Comparative Methodology in the Classroom","authors":"Scott Harrower","doi":"10.3390/rel15010061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010061","url":null,"abstract":"This paper firstly describes how my teaching context and student body shapes the methodological and motivational resources that I use in the first three weeks of a section in comparative hagiographical studies. This practical example demonstrates the importance of being conversant with both our local learning context and the international scholarly comparative community. The second part of this essay outlines my methodological thinking as I propose a historical-scientific example of hagiographical comparison to my students, by employing taxonomies from psychological science for the sake of making helpful comparative observations between thirteenth-century hagiographies. The third part of the essay describes how I ensure that employing a particular psychological paradigm—such as “religious and spiritual struggles”—is appropriate to a given historical context.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"138 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139453126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Study of the Aekmagi Ritual in Jeju Shamanic Religion: Focusing on the Sacred Status of Shamans and the Significance of Sacrifice","authors":"Yo-han Yoo","doi":"10.3390/rel15010060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010060","url":null,"abstract":"In the Jeju shamanic religion, chickens have been sacrificed for aekmagi, a ritual to prevent aek, a looming misfortune that may cause death. Whereas ordinary participants are thought to be at risk of harm when possessing or eating chickens or other offerings made to prevent aek, the simbang, Jeju shamans, are thought to be immune to it. Simbang are believed to be permanently on the threshold between the human and the divine realms. They help remove aek but are not harmed by it, because it only harms humans in the human realm, not the person on the boundary. While the other participants are temporarily placed in the liminal state during aekmagi and come back to the ordinary living human realm after the ritual, simbang remain in the perpetual liminal state. Chicken sacrifice has been omitted from aekmagi since around 2010 in most places in Jeju-do. Though ritual killing is no longer practiced, adherents still think that aek is prevented by aekmagi. The Jeju people believe that gods are the main agents of preventing aek and that they can persuade the gods to do the work without receiving chickens’ lives. In addition, due to the change in people’s view on killing animals, aekmagi without chicken sacrifice has become a more efficient ritual system for nourishing social sustenance by following the new social prescription.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"65 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139452844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Charismatic Embeddedness: A Cultural Starting Mechanism Generating Relational Goods in an Interreligious Field: Analysis from Algeria","authors":"M. L. Paglione, Marco Luppi","doi":"10.3390/rel15010058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010058","url":null,"abstract":"This article, entering into the debate on the influence of cultural factors on social action, highlights how a charismatic inspiration, as part of religious culture, could represent a relevant element in social phenomena. In particular, this article proposes an analysis of the role of a specific charismatic inspiration, in relation to the spirituality of the Focolare Movement (FM), in the interreligious field thanks to the “embeddedness” of the social action of its members of different religions in a specific charismatic culture. The analysis aims to understand whether and how this mechanism works by observing a specific Catholic–Muslim phenomenon developed in Algeria since 1966, using an interdisciplinary perspective between sociology and history and the case-study strategy, discovering that what we define as “charismatic embeddedness” could work as a “starting mechanism” generating “interreligious relational goods”.","PeriodicalId":38169,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"15 25","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139126375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}