JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES最新文献

{"title":"The JPS Tanakh: Gender Sensitive Edition ed. by David E. S. Stein, Beth Lieberman, and Hilary Lipka (review)","authors":"Zev Garber","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a931525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a931525","url":null,"abstract":"<span><span>In lieu of</span> an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:</span>\u0000<p> <span>Reviewed by:</span> <ul> <li><!-- html_title --> <em>The JPS Tanakh: Gender Sensitive Edition</em> ed. by David E. S. Stein, Beth Lieberman, and Hilary Lipka <!-- /html_title --></li> <li> Zev Garber </li> </ul> <em>The JPS Tanakh: Gender Sensitive Edition</em>. Edited by David E. S. Stein, Beth Lieberman, and Hilary Lipka. Translated by Job Y. Yindo. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book, 2023. Pp. 1752. $39.95. <p>A consistent and persistent belief article among Jewish and Christian traditionalists is that Sacred Scripture is the revealed, inerrant word of the Lord, which biblical criticism can assault but never wreck asunder. Nonetheless, in recent decades a growing number of traditionalists see benefit in the inroads made by rationalist thinking and modernist categories of thought. For example, <strong>[End Page 290]</strong> conjoining advocacy of <em>Creatio ex Nihilo</em> and creation of all life, and scientific Big Bang theory, and evolution. Faith and criticism combine in the <em>JPS Tanakh: Gender Sensitive Edition (</em>RJPS, Revised Jewish Publication Society) to assess the life and thought of ancient Israelite people and religion as narrated in the Hebrew Bible, which is distinguished by a trifold agenda.</p> <p>First, a careful reading of the classical teachings of Ancient Near East culture, people, and religion suggests a context of understanding and evaluating the metaphysical, epistemological, and moral assumptions of the Tanakh. Second is the application of selected teachings from contemporary enlightened methodology and thought to the context of biblical myth and saga, song and proverbs, history and legislation can uncover hidden layers of biblical religion, ethics, and morality. Jewish and Christian Bible translations and sources are consulted and cited. Third, RJPS incorporates advances in scholarship and changes in English while maintaining utmost fidelity to the original Hebrew in thought but not in translation. Gender-inclusive renderings where appropriate and called for historically and linguistically highlight this gender-sensitive, faith-reflected edition. The objective is to show that the authoritative, inerrant way of Jews and Christians for Torah biblical tradition need not fear additional linguistics and philology in upgrading the translation of the Tanakh into acceptable contemporary gender-sensitive English idiom and mode. Translation and countless notes and references are Jewish-oriented and Judeo-Christian friendly. This precise and concise updated English translation and notes of the Hebrew Bible satisfactorily fulfills its goal. Nonetheless, I will mention three important issues that need to be developed further for clarification and understanding.</p> <h2><em>Dual Torah</em></h2> <p>Various biblical verses point to the Pentateuch as \"Torah\" distinct from the rest of the ","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141586152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Everyday Wisdom: Interreligious Studies in a Pluralistic World by Hans Gustafson (review)","authors":"Rachel S. Mikva","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a931520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a931520","url":null,"abstract":"<span><span>In lieu of</span> an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:</span>\u0000<p> <span>Reviewed by:</span> <ul> <li><!-- html_title --> <em>Everyday Wisdom: Interreligious Studies in a Pluralistic World</em> by Hans Gustafson <!-- /html_title --></li> <li> Rachel S. Mikva </li> </ul> Hans Gustafson, <em>Everyday Wisdom: Interreligious Studies in a Pluralistic World</em>. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2023. Pp. 393. $45.00, paper; $41.99, ebook. <p>This meticulously researched volume examines the worlds of Interreligious Studies (IRS) and Interfaith Engagement (IFE). Proposing interreligious <em>phronesis</em>—practical wisdom for everyday encounter—as the foundational purpose of such study, \"it draws on lived experience, basic religious literacy (<em>know what</em>), and awareness of self and others to efficiently assess (inter)religiously complex situations, empathetically account for the various and often competing needs of the stakeholders involved (<em>know who</em>), and proficiently discern and act with skill, craft, art, and technique (<em>know how</em>) in the moment toward the right outcomes for the right reasons (<em>know why</em>) for the common good of all parties involved\" (p. 4). <strong>[End Page 281]</strong></p> <p>Gustafson first explores the landscape of religious identities, grappling with their dynamism, cultural intersections, mutual influence, and general complexity. This analysis—accompanied by helpful summaries of terms, concepts, and ongoing debates in the academy about how we should even study this thing called religion—leads him to focus on lived religion. It serves as a strategy to avoid the essentialization that so often plagues our efforts to understand or describe life stances, especially those different than our own. In promoting religious and interreligious literacy, the author acknowledges both that we cannot know everything about the vast spiritual diversity of our world and that knowledge <em>about</em> religion by itself cannot address the profound societal challenges in which religion is implicated. Actual encounters with difference and cultivation of wisdom to shape them are required.</p> <p>This leads to the second part of the book, focused on Interfaith Engagement and leadership, with a delightful transitional chapter exploring the relationship between this civic enterprise and the academic field of Interreligious Studies. Gustafson investigates various responses to diversity; the impacts of the secular, theological approaches to religious difference and encounter; and the importance of relationship in this work. In the final chapters, he fully explicates his conception of interreligious <em>phronesis</em> and its potential value in cultivating personal growth and professional leadership.</p> <p>Gustafson's broad familiarity with existing scholarship and his insatiable intellectual curiosity provide a marvelous introduction to both Religious and Interreligious Studies. There are not many b","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141586002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"At Grips with Romans 5:1","authors":"Kalle O. Lundahl","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a931512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a931512","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>precis:</p><p>The modern edition of the Greek New Testament, the Nestle-Aland, prints Romans 5:1 as follows: Δικαιωθέντες οὖν ἐκ πίστεως εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (\"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ\"). The main verb is ἔχομεν (\"we have [peace]\"). However, is this the right verb form? The person who copied the text (from an earlier, now lost manuscript) in the two fourth-century manuscripts, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, wrote the hortative subjunctive ἔχωμεν (\"let us have\"). A later, correcting, hand changed it to the indicative ἔχομεν (\"we have\")—present in the Nestle-Aland. The subjunctive introduces an element of uncertainty about whether Christians (already) enjoy peace with God. This question relates to the doctrine of justification—one of the most divisive topics of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. The indicative variant supports the Lutheran side, while the subjunctive conforms to the Catholic viewpoint. Instead of the exclusive choice of one variant or the other, this essay proposes that future editions of the Greek New Testament print a neologism that combines both variants into one, ἔχôμεν (\"let us have\" and \"we have\"). M. C. Escher's lithograph <i>Drawing Hands</i> is used to show that the correcting and the original hands (in Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) are on the same level (in a tangled hierarchy). Finally, J. Derrida's neologism \"otobiography\" is used to demonstrate that the omicron and the omega are interwoven in Rom. 5:1.</p></p>","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141586150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dialogue as a Counterextremism Policy: Lessons from the History of Early Islam—The Kharijites vs. the Authority","authors":"Bachar Bakour","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a931511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a931511","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>precis:</p><p>Governments worldwide have made it a priority to combat religious extremism, resulting in various disciplinary and soft-power policies. This study focuses on dialogue as an effective way to counter and prevent religious extremism, using the Kharijites (the first extremist faction that mutinied against the caliphal authority) as a case study. Historical methodology is used to collect data, and a critical analysis is conducted using inductive and deductive methods to draw conclusions and insights for a proposed dialogue model. The essay argues that military power is ephemeral and sometimes counterproductive, so the emphasis should be on a long-lived \"mind power.\" Further, given the embedded nature of religious underpinnings of extremists' ideologies, the study highlights seven key terms that form the foundation of the three-level dialogue model.</p></p>","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141588266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou: Rasin Figuier, Rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites by Benjamin Hebblethwaite (review)","authors":"Minjung Noh","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a924734","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a924734","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In lieu of&lt;/span&gt; an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:&lt;/span&gt;\u0000&lt;p&gt; &lt;span&gt;Reviewed by:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;!-- html_title --&gt; &lt;em&gt;A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou: Rasin Figuier, Rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites&lt;/em&gt; by Benjamin Hebblethwaite &lt;!-- /html_title --&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; Minjung Noh &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; Benjamin Hebblethwaite, &lt;em&gt;A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou: Rasin Figuier, Rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites&lt;/em&gt;. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2021. Pp. 288. $30.00, paper. &lt;p&gt;Hebblethwaite is already a renowned figure in the field of Haitian language, religion, and culture. Since the publication of his groundbreaking first book, &lt;em&gt;Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English&lt;/em&gt; (Temple University Press, 2011), he has edited and translated several indispensable works in Haitian Studies and Caribbean religions. Notably, he recently co-translated the celebrated 1977 Haitian Creole classic, &lt;em&gt;Stirring the Pot of Haitian History&lt;/em&gt; (Liverpool University Press, 2021) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot. The book under review, Hebblethwaite’s second solo-authored book, achieves two significant milestones. First, the author clearly traces the historical roots and divergences of Haitian Vodou from the history of West Africa. Second, he meticulously translates and comments on two complete sets of contemporary Haitian Creole Vodou song recordings. The importance of these outcomes cannot be overstated, considering the limited accessibility of historiography on West African politics and religion that directly influenced the Haitian Vodou tradition. Additionally, there is a scarcity of in-depth scholarly analysis and translation of contemporary Haitian Creole language Vodou rituals.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Chapters 1 and 2 of the book focus on the African side of the Atlantic during the nascent years of Haitian Vodou, when the transatlantic slave trade took place. While Hebblethwaite acknowledges his indebtedness to existing Haitianist scholars, whose focus has been on Haiti and Saint-Domingue, he suggests that the book is distinctive from previous scholarship “by building a case that a &lt;strong&gt;[End Page 143]&lt;/strong&gt; deeper understanding of West African political, economic, and religious systems” that will “help account for the foundation of Vodou and Haiti itself” (p. 36). This promising and welcome methodological orientation indeed offers a significant contribution to filling the gap. For example, Chapter 1 depicts the complicated political dynamics and power struggles among multiple active stakeholders during the time of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, including the Dahomey, Hueda, and Allada kingdoms, as well as European traders. Chapter 2 also stays in Africa, but its focal point is on the spiritual foundations of the Aja-Fon and Gedevi-Yoruba religions. The author accounts for the sociopolitical background, rituals, deities, and practices of the two religions, which respectively influenced the Rada","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140597244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vodou and Christianity in Interreligious Dialogue ed. by Celucien L. Joseph, Charlene Désir, and Lewis Clorméus (review)","authors":"Minjung Noh","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a924735","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a924735","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In lieu of&lt;/span&gt; an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:&lt;/span&gt;\u0000&lt;p&gt; &lt;span&gt;Reviewed by:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;!-- html_title --&gt; &lt;em&gt;Vodou and Christianity in Interreligious Dialogue&lt;/em&gt; ed. by Celucien L. Joseph, Charlene Désir, and Lewis Clorméus &lt;!-- /html_title --&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; Minjung Noh &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;em&gt;Vodou and Christianity in Interreligious Dialogue&lt;/em&gt;. Edited by Celucien L. Joseph, Charlene Désir, and Lewis Clorméus. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2023. Pp. 267. $38.00, paper. &lt;p&gt;In November, 2023, during the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Antonio, TX, I attended a panel presentation delivered by Dr. Joseph, one of the editors of this book. The presentation was titled “Vodou and Christianity in Interreligious Dialogue and the Roots of Religious Disagreement.” His discourse proved enlightening because of his emphasis on the intricacies of Haitian history and culture deeply ingrained in the religiosity of its populace. Furthermore, he underscored the imperative of interreligious dialogue and coalition-building for human flourishing and peace in Haiti. Subsequently, my interest led me to acquire a copy of the book after hearing the panel, and it exceeded my expectations.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the academic study of Haitian religions, the exploration of interreligious dialogue between Christianity and Vodou has been a seldom-addressed theme. Acknowledging this scholarly gap (p. 2), the editors of this volume have successfully curated a collection of essential voices from scholars and activists, encapsulated within the ten distinctive chapters contributed by authors hailing from diverse continents, including Nigeria, Haiti, France, and the United States. The varied geographical locations and positionalities of the contributors effectively mirror the global dimensions of the Haitian diaspora and its corresponding scholarly dialogue. Moreover, the volume offers accessible suggestions and examples that can be readily utilized by readers beyond academic spheres. Lastly, the volume is intentional in amplifying voices of women (pp. 3–4), including chapters by Désir, Sandra Duval, and others. These contributions exemplify how feminist and decolonizing methodologies can be applied within the context of interreligious discussions. &lt;strong&gt;[End Page 145]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The book has two sections, each comprising five chapters. The first section delves into theoretical and conceptual reflections presented by scholars utilizing traditional humanities and social sciences methodologies. In Chapter 2, Clorméus provides an erudite historical analysis of the relationship between Catholic Christianity and Vodou in Haiti from the 1940s to the 1980s. As anticipated from a distinguished Haitianist, he masterfully accounts pivotal moments in the history of Haitian religions and the role that social scientific scholarship has played in shaping the field. In Chapter 3, Vijonet Déméro elucidates the contemporary religious landsc","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"63 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140597193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Everyone, Wherever You Are, Come One Step Closer: Questions about God by Navid Kermani (review)","authors":"Joe Charnes","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a924736","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a924736","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In lieu of&lt;/span&gt; an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:&lt;/span&gt;\u0000&lt;p&gt; &lt;span&gt;Reviewed by:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;!-- html_title --&gt; &lt;em&gt;Everyone, Wherever You Are, Come One Step Closer: Questions about God&lt;/em&gt; by Navid Kermani &lt;!-- /html_title --&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; Joe Charnes &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; Navid Kermani, &lt;em&gt;Everyone, Wherever You Are, Come One Step Closer: Questions about God&lt;/em&gt;. Cambridge, UK; and Hoboken, NJ: Polity Press, 2023. Pp. 224. $25.00, cloth; $20.00, e-book. &lt;p&gt;From grieving father to young daughter: “Grandpa is gone, he’ll never tell you a story again” (p. 3). It is &lt;em&gt;here&lt;/em&gt; that our story of theology begins—not with treatises on theological abstractions, but as intimate dialogues on life and its loss. Death and life in “&lt;em&gt;conscious&lt;/em&gt; confrontation” (p. 3) is a story that we all, in the end, must face and that our stories of theology help us face with more grace. Kermani’s book is a truly gracious offering of storied theology that draws us into &lt;em&gt;our&lt;/em&gt; stories through the wisdom prisms of Shia Islam and Sufi, mythic vision. It is a work of heart and a work of art; it is Kermani’s prayerful response to his father’s dying plea that he teach his own young daughter the Islam of beauty. True Islam, “our Islam” (p. 1), &lt;em&gt;that&lt;/em&gt; light, she must see—the Islam of “compassion” &lt;strong&gt;[End Page 147]&lt;/strong&gt; (p. 34), “kindness” (p. 89), “brother[hood]” (p. 94), and “peace” (p. 37). It is an Islam embracing and honoring other faiths: “The paths to God are as numerous as the breaths a person takes” (p. 184); an Islam honoring and embracing doubt: “I doubted whether God even existed” (p. 117). The work is, broadly speaking, dialogic in form, with Kermani teaching his daughter Islamic wisdom to soar—to soar in life, to soar in soul, to soar in beauty—with God as the goal. Their dialogues and studies are models for us all, meditations on awakening and surrendering to our call. It is a gentle and thoughtful guide &lt;em&gt;Into the Mystic&lt;/em&gt; (Van Morrison).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Kermani is a poet, an Islamic scholar, and a wise guide, who begins in reflection, with “endlessness” Divine. “The Endlessness that Surrounds Us” (p. 1) is the first chapter we read, to draw our awareness into the “endlessness” of being. We are “surrounded by endlessness” (p. 5) and existential being, though we are finite creatures, needing infinity that breathes. In mystical Islam, the world is called “the breath of the All-merciful” (p. 12). Through this beautiful, mythic imagery of God as heavenly breath, God now becomes deeply available and accessible &lt;em&gt;by&lt;/em&gt; breath. We inhale, God exhales. It is our metaphoric exchange with graceful, heavenly breath. Divine infinity and “endlessness” have now been overcome and are now relational and intimate, as we engage &lt;em&gt;in breath,&lt;/em&gt; with the All-merciful One.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The only substantive critique I feel uncomfortably bound to offer concerns Kermani’s &lt;em&gt;occasional&lt;/em&gt; lapses in graceful theological nuance. It ","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"107 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140564691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Human Dialogue by Michael H. Mitias (review)","authors":"Mark Ellingsen","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a924737","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a924737","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In lieu of&lt;/span&gt; an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:&lt;/span&gt;\u0000&lt;p&gt; &lt;span&gt;Reviewed by:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;!-- html_title --&gt; &lt;em&gt;Human Dialogue&lt;/em&gt; by Michael H. Mitias &lt;!-- /html_title --&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; Mark Ellingsen &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; Michael H. Mitias, &lt;em&gt;Human Dialogue&lt;/em&gt;, Towards a Universal Civilization 5. Berlin, Bern, and New York: Peter Lang, 2023. Pp. 202. $56.95, cloth or e-book. &lt;p&gt;Philosopher Michael Mitias has written a book about the character of human dialogue, which of course is a topic of interest for all ecumenists. In Mitias’s thinking, dialogue is fundamental to human nature (p. 9). He contends that human beings are rational and that reason is conversational (pp. 12 and 17ff.). In the spirit of Hegel, he contends that comprehension is a dialogue since, because objects are a part of reality, even objects are rational (pp. 53–54 and 64). My (Augustinian) concern with Mitias at this point is that he seems to think that reason provides values not driven merely by social convention or the survival instinct but are rooted in preemptory urges of human nature (p. 116). This seems to rule out the possibility that (on this side of the Fall into sin) even these values might still be tinged with self-centeredness, that even reason is fallen (p. 129). &lt;strong&gt;[End Page 149]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The author’s stress on the communal character of human nature, of our being both an entity and a radiance (pp. 38 and 114) nicely accords with Quantum Physics’ findings about human beings as both matter and waves. However, his use of the insights of Quantum Physics and its Principle of Uncertainty to justify his relativist conclusion that the mind shapes/changes observed data (pp. 56 and 182) is a distortion of Werner Heisenberg, who, in fact, claimed that introducing an observer to data does not entail that subjectivity is introduced in the description of nature.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Mitias apparently qualifies his relativist tendencies in claiming that the truth that emerges in dialogue is objective, and that truth is arrived at in community (p. 183), but he does not reconcile these comments with his previous claim noted above concerning the mind’s role in shaping data. Nor, as we shall see, does he apply this openness to objective truth to his proposal for conducting ecumenical dialogues. The grounds for the possibility of interreligious dialogue that he posits are debatable.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;He contends that the differences among religions are the result of different revelations of the same supreme being (pp. 138, 141, 142, and 171). Though it is by no means clear that this definition fits the Eastern faiths, it is also worth asking whether all Jews, Muslims, and Christians can or even should accept the idea that they worship the same God as the other spiritual offspring of Abraham. It is also not clearly established, as Mitias contends, that, in order for such a dialogue to proceed, participants must grant the truth of other revelations besides one’s own","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140564693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reason and Revelation: A Response","authors":"Kenneth Hanson","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a922807","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a922807","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In lieu of&lt;/span&gt; an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:&lt;/span&gt;\u0000&lt;p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;!-- html_title --&gt; Reason and Revelation: &lt;span&gt;A Response&lt;/span&gt; &lt;!-- /html_title --&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; Kenneth Hanson &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Z&lt;/strong&gt;ev Garber’s reflections on “Teaching Torah in the Academy,” as what he defines as a “learning exchange,” have struck a proverbial chord in me. His approach to teaching is fundamentally Jewish, since, while affirming the principle of &lt;em&gt;Torah mi-Sinai&lt;/em&gt;, it builds on the same dialectic methodology employed by Jewish Sages over the course of millennia and exemplified in talmudic discourse. I am mindful of the classic Barbra Streisand film, &lt;em&gt;Yentl&lt;/em&gt;, in which her character, a girl masquerading as a boy in order to attend a rabbinical yeshiva, is engaging in conversation of a personal nature with a study hall partner (and secret romantic interest). The headmaster immediately notices this and approaches them both, asking pointedly, “Are you agreeing or disagreeing?” to which the two students respond in unison, “Disagreeing!”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;That scene has perpetually remained with me, as a teacher of undergraduate college students, given that young people in contemporary Western culture are reared from early childhood to approach school as a series of &lt;strong&gt;[End Page 127]&lt;/strong&gt; obstacles that may be overcome only by providing programmed responses to whatever material they are confronted with. The educational system itself is to blame, training them like sea lions to leap through a series of hoops, never questioning why the hoops are there or what they represent. When texts are assigned for reading, students are instructed merely to reflect on them without recognizing that every author, like every pedagogue, has an angle to elucidate, an argument to make, a point to drive home. In almost every case, in advancing one argument, the author and/or classroom lecturer is disagreeing with someone else. Perhaps the most significant challenge in today’s university classroom is to frame the material presented not as an encyclopedic compendium of “information” to which students give sheep-like assent but to facilitate, in Garber‘s words, “comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Unlike the physical sciences, wherein the goal is to arrive at the “correct” answer, the objective of a liberal arts/humanities education ought to involve the identification of multifarious issues (“revelation”) while learning to form and to address cogent opinions (“reason”) that hold academic water. In Garber’s words, the teacher should be not so much a “knowledge-dispenser” as a “knowledge-facilitator.” Unfortunately, being “passively taught” is the rule rather than the exception in a system whoser major, if not only, goal is to promote acceptable scores on standardized tests. The “seeds of &lt;em&gt;midrashic&lt;/em&gt; activity” of which Garber writes are not easily evaluated or measured as “learning outcomes,” an","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140202442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elie Wiesel: Humanist Messenger for Peace by Alan L. Berger (review)","authors":"Eugene J. Fisher","doi":"10.1353/ecu.2024.a922810","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2024.a922810","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In lieu of&lt;/span&gt; an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:&lt;/span&gt;\u0000&lt;p&gt; &lt;span&gt;Reviewed by:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;!-- html_title --&gt; &lt;em&gt;Elie Wiesel: Humanist Messenger for Peace&lt;/em&gt; by Alan L. Berger &lt;!-- /html_title --&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; Eugene J. Fisher &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; Alan L. Berger, &lt;em&gt;Elie Wiesel: Humanist Messenger for Peace&lt;/em&gt;. New York and London: Routledge, 2021. Pp. 178. $36.71, paper. &lt;p&gt;In this excellent book, Berger takes the reader through the life and times of Holocaust survivor, author, professor, lecturer, and 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel (1928–2016). It opens with a chronology of the events of Wiesel’s &lt;strong&gt;[End Page 141]&lt;/strong&gt; life and concludes with ten “documents,” five short statements by Wiesel, and five photos, from a picture of him in Buchenwald concentration camp to a smiling photo with President Barack Obama in the White House.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The introduction to the book summarizes the life and writings of Wiesel from his birth in Romania and the loss of his family in the Shoah and his liberation from the death camp by American troops, who “wept with rage and sadness,” which the freed prisoners received as heart-rending offerings “from a wounded and generous humanity.” It narrates his time in France, when he began writing memoirs and warnings to humanity about the evils of Nazism and other anti-human groups. French Catholic writer Francois Mauriac encouraged him to write a memoir that became his classic work, &lt;em&gt;Night&lt;/em&gt;, about his experiences and those of other Jews in the death camps. Its subtitle was an indictment, &lt;em&gt;And the World Remained Silent&lt;/em&gt;, which, tragically, was all too true.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In Chapter One, “Shattering the Sacred Canopy,” readers will see Wiesel questioning the ancient covenant between G-d and the Jewish People, since how could a loving G-d allow such evil to descend upon the People of God? It notes the Antisemitism that Wiesel experienced not only in Europe but also in the United States, where he lived out much of his life after the Shoah. It describes his involvement in the development of such organizations as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, dedicated to bringing the kindred peoples of G-d together in dialogue, both to learn about each other and to come together to help others in need, nationally and internationally. He became deeply involved in interfaith dialogue on all levels, personally and professionally.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Wiesel debunked the false notions of the ancient Christian teaching of contempt for Jews and Judaism, by which Christians blamed Jews as a whole for the death of Jesus, though the decision was that of Pilate alone—as our Christian creed declares, he “suffered and died under Pontius Pilate.” The teaching of contempt allowed Christian rulers over the centuries to blame Jews for anything that went wrong in their societies, including bad water in wells, even though Jews drank from the same wells.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Chapter Three delves into Wiesel’s involve","PeriodicalId":43047,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF ECUMENICAL STUDIES","volume":"2016 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140202331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}