{"title":"Where is God? Christian Faith in the Time of Great Uncertainty, Julián Carrón in conversation with Andrea Tornielli","authors":"Daniel M. Scott","doi":"10.1558/rst.25628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.25628","url":null,"abstract":"Where is God? Christian Faith in the Time of Great Uncertainty, Julián Carrón in conversation with Andrea Tornielli. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020. 162pp. Hb. CDN$19.95. ISBN-13: 9780228000969.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48998168","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}
{"title":"Fundamentalism or Tradition: Christianity after Secularism, edited by Aristotle Papanikolaou and George E. Demcaopouos. Volume 17 of Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought. Series Editors Aristotle Papanikolaou and Ashley M. Purport","authors":"D. Scott","doi":"10.1558/rst.25627","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.25627","url":null,"abstract":"Fundamentalism or Tradition: Christianity after Secularism, edited by Aristotle Papanikolaou and George E. Demcaopouos. Volume 17 of Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought. Series Editors Aristotle Papanikolaou and Ashley M. Purport. Fordham University Press, 2020. 275pp. Pb, $32.99. ISBN-13: 9780823285785.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49271726","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}
{"title":"Redeeming Memory","authors":"Jean-Pierre Fortin","doi":"10.1558/rst.23538","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.23538","url":null,"abstract":"This article channels the voices of leading Indigenous scholars Thomas King, Lee Maracle and Terry LeBlanc to retrieve the untold past and demystify the present so as to pave the way for a reconciled future. The colonial narrative of civilization undergirding settler Christian identity and way of life must be challenged by Indigenous stories of trauma, survival and struggle for liberation. King, Maracle and LeBlanc enjoin settler Canadians and Christians to produce an honest account of history and Christianity, decolonize and de-Europeanize culture and Christianity, engage and listen to Indigenous peoples and cultures as equals, dialogue partners and teachers in order to contribute to the creation of truly multicultural Canada and Christianity.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42710865","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}
{"title":"Overlooked: The Forgotten Stories of Canadian Christianity by James Robertson","authors":"Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme","doi":"10.1558/rst.25667","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.25667","url":null,"abstract":"Overlooked: The Forgotten Stories of Canadian Christianity by James Robertson. New Leaf Press. 2022. 354pp. Pb. $35. ISBN-13: 9780995305441.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45118925","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}
{"title":"Denying a God of Mercy","authors":"Robert Wiznura","doi":"10.1558/rst.24834","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.24834","url":null,"abstract":"This essay concerns itself with notions of masculinity in John Milton’s Samson Agonistes. Essentially, the essay argues that the violence in the play is a direct result of concepts of masculinity and the projection of those concepts onto God. The characters in the play repeatedly fail to recognize a God of compassion or mercy, preferring to remain within their notions of a voluntarist, vindictive, vengeful, and violent God. The argument considers the relationship of the play with the Book of Judges before shifting its focus to the Chorus, particularly their activity in framing and controlling the narrative. The play gives us various hints as to why we should pause before following their interpretations. The essay then examines a motif of hands/touch, which intersects with the motif in Paradise Lost, but to very different outcomes. The ending of the play is catastrophic and a direct result of an adherence to a particular view of God and an inability to entertain other views.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46930452","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}
{"title":"“Myths to Die By?”","authors":"J. Dadosky","doi":"10.1558/rst.21267","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.21267","url":null,"abstract":"This article critically engages René Girard’s approach to myth by reference to the Diné (Navajo) creation story (Diné bahane’). According to Girard all myths conceal real events of violence that have been concealed during the centuries of their recounting. Closer analysis reveals that Girard’s approach is one-sidedly pejorative in his hermeneutics of myth. By contrast, the Diné hold their creation story to be a sacred account of their origins and as such it is foundational to their traditional way of life. Prima facie, while certain themes in their sacred story may seem to corroborate Girard’s hermeneutics of myth, a closer examination of the anomalies raises critical questions about Girard’s assumptions, especially with respect to aboriginal creation stories and reveals a further need to clarify the legitimate place for positive and pejorative approaches to myth.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67692473","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}
{"title":"“Community as church, church as community”","authors":"Michael P. Plekon","doi":"10.1558/rst.24060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.24060","url":null,"abstract":"Based on my book of the same title, the article argues that community is one of the most ancient and accurate ways of defining church. The study is of the decline and shrinkage of the “local church” of the parish, with reflections on the drift from organized religion and with a range of examples of congregations which have resurrected themselves. This renewal has involved reinvention of mission, replanting the the community, repurposing buildings and property, among other activities. Given the Paschal mystery of death and resurrection, these congregations along with several important writers’ voices, point paths forward for communities of faith.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43279926","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}
{"title":"Killing of Sambuka","authors":"Thomas Seibel","doi":"10.1558/rst.23223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.23223","url":null,"abstract":"The episode in the final book of Valmiki’s Ramayana, in which Rama executes a Sudra ascetic named Sambuka, has garnered critical discussion and creative reimagining over the centuries since it was composed. This paper situates the episode as a late addition of the Uttarakanda and its place therein, considering relevant semantic developments of the terms dharma and tapas, and changes in the rigidity of caste boundaries that allegedly took place during this time. Analysis of both pre-modern and modern creative engagements with the Sambukavadha reveal adjustments to the ways in which Rama, Sambuka, and the Brahmana advisors are portrayed and the values and concerns that these changes reflect in the corresponding social and cultural milieux. Finally, the episode as it appears in Anand Neelakanthan’s mythical novel, Asura: Tale of the Vanquished: The Story of Ravana and His People, is considered as recent addition to the living storytelling tradition.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44875462","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}
{"title":"“A time will come…”","authors":"Mark Roblee","doi":"10.1558/rst.24352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/rst.24352","url":null,"abstract":"In a section of the late antique philosophical text known as the Latin Asclepius, Hermes Trismegistus foretells catastrophe for Egypt due to impiety. Hermes describes how an extreme breakdown in institutional, social, and environmental order will eventually lead to renewal. Many scholars argue that literary representations of catastrophe reflected social conditions and/or legitimized power. Like other philosophical writings, the Hermetic tractates suggested a “way of life.” This paper will demonstrate how epistrophe, the “inward turn,” exhibited in much late antique philosophy, could be one outcome of reading literary representations of social, political, and environmental catastrophe. By putting philosophical tractates such as the Asclepius in the context of rhetorical education and reading theory, I argue that reading this catastrophe was a “spiritual exercise” intended to further initiatory progress toward personal divinity. Appreciating how the Latin Asclepius simultaneously functioned in both social and personal contexts increases our understanding of late antique wisdom communities, and the individuals that composed them.","PeriodicalId":40579,"journal":{"name":"Religious Studies and Theology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41404887","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}