Ted A. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195370638
- eISBN:
- 9780199870738
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370638.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book shows how a simple message embedded in the New Testament and also handed on in a Christian oral tradition has been expressed consistently through ancient Christian communities (Catholic and ...
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This book shows how a simple message embedded in the New Testament and also handed on in a Christian oral tradition has been expressed consistently through ancient Christian communities (Catholic and Orthodox churches), churches of the Protestant family, and Evangelical Christian communities. The book begins by examining the New Testament and the primitive expressions of the early Christian message that are embedded in New Testament documents. Using formal doctrinal statements of churches and more informal ways in which church teachings have been “received” in churches, the book highlights the single unifying core of faith that almost all Christian churches and communities have shared. The book examines not only Christian scriptures, traditional creeds, and doctrinal statements, but also forms of worship (liturgy), hymns, Gospel music, and contemporary Christian music to understand how they have conveyed this same message. It shows, moreover, how this message has been expressed in the ecumenical movement, the movement that has sought the unity of Christian churches since the early twentieth century.Less
This book shows how a simple message embedded in the New Testament and also handed on in a Christian oral tradition has been expressed consistently through ancient Christian communities (Catholic and Orthodox churches), churches of the Protestant family, and Evangelical Christian communities. The book begins by examining the New Testament and the primitive expressions of the early Christian message that are embedded in New Testament documents. Using formal doctrinal statements of churches and more informal ways in which church teachings have been “received” in churches, the book highlights the single unifying core of faith that almost all Christian churches and communities have shared. The book examines not only Christian scriptures, traditional creeds, and doctrinal statements, but also forms of worship (liturgy), hymns, Gospel music, and contemporary Christian music to understand how they have conveyed this same message. It shows, moreover, how this message has been expressed in the ecumenical movement, the movement that has sought the unity of Christian churches since the early twentieth century.
Vera Shevzov
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195154658
- eISBN:
- 9780199835249
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195154657.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book explores the religious lives of Orthodox Christians in Russia before the revolution. It examines how Orthodox communal identity was fostered and sustained through the spaces, places, times, ...
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This book explores the religious lives of Orthodox Christians in Russia before the revolution. It examines how Orthodox communal identity was fostered and sustained through the spaces, places, times, and images around which believers ordered their religious lives. It looks at debates between ecclesiastical officials. It argues that the challenge to Orthodoxy not only came from outsiders such as Marxists revolutionaries, but also from the faith community itself.Less
This book explores the religious lives of Orthodox Christians in Russia before the revolution. It examines how Orthodox communal identity was fostered and sustained through the spaces, places, times, and images around which believers ordered their religious lives. It looks at debates between ecclesiastical officials. It argues that the challenge to Orthodoxy not only came from outsiders such as Marxists revolutionaries, but also from the faith community itself.
Ted A. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195370638
- eISBN:
- 9780199870738
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370638.003.003
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter discusses the ways in which the gospel message was transmitted in ancient Christian churches that survive today, specifically, the Catholic (or “Roman Catholic”) Church, Eastern Orthodox ...
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This chapter discusses the ways in which the gospel message was transmitted in ancient Christian churches that survive today, specifically, the Catholic (or “Roman Catholic”) Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East. The chapter shows three ways in which the gospel message is transmitted in these churches: through their creeds, and especially the Nicene Creed; through the liturgy (also called the eucharist, the Mass, or the Divine Liturgy); and through the cycle of the liturgical year in which the events of Christ’s life are celebrated.Less
This chapter discusses the ways in which the gospel message was transmitted in ancient Christian churches that survive today, specifically, the Catholic (or “Roman Catholic”) Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East. The chapter shows three ways in which the gospel message is transmitted in these churches: through their creeds, and especially the Nicene Creed; through the liturgy (also called the eucharist, the Mass, or the Divine Liturgy); and through the cycle of the liturgical year in which the events of Christ’s life are celebrated.
Roman Cholij
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199566976
- eISBN:
- 9780191701993
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566976.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete ...
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This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete analysis of all the primary source material attributed to Theodore. If the monastic leader is considered in the context of the tradition to which he belonged, it is clear that his religious formation occurred within a widely established school of Basilian and Palestinian Christian thought. This encourages a fresh engagement with the subtleties in Theodore's behaviour towards the Byzantine religious and secular leaders of his time and provokes new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which involved Theodore in controversy. The book refutes the established view of Theodore as a breaker of the traditional Byzantine church and state relationship, and provides new insights into Theodore's true understanding of the involvement of the Emperor in church affairs. In this analysis of the rites of holiness that belonged to Theodore's church, the book identifies a false tradition of sacramental mysteries in a misreading of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and so offers a new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.Less
This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete analysis of all the primary source material attributed to Theodore. If the monastic leader is considered in the context of the tradition to which he belonged, it is clear that his religious formation occurred within a widely established school of Basilian and Palestinian Christian thought. This encourages a fresh engagement with the subtleties in Theodore's behaviour towards the Byzantine religious and secular leaders of his time and provokes new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which involved Theodore in controversy. The book refutes the established view of Theodore as a breaker of the traditional Byzantine church and state relationship, and provides new insights into Theodore's true understanding of the involvement of the Emperor in church affairs. In this analysis of the rites of holiness that belonged to Theodore's church, the book identifies a false tradition of sacramental mysteries in a misreading of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and so offers a new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.
Volker L. Menze
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534876
- eISBN:
- 9780191716041
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534876.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This study historicizes the formation of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the first half of the 6th century. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 divided eastern Christianity, with those who were later ...
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This study historicizes the formation of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the first half of the 6th century. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 divided eastern Christianity, with those who were later called Syrian Orthodox among the Christians in the near eastern provinces who refused to accept the decisions of the council. These non-Chalcedonians (still better known under the misleading term monophysites) separated from the church of the empire after Justin I attempted to enforce Chalcedon in the East in 518. The book covers the period from the accession of Justin to the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. It focuses in the first two chapters on imperial and papal policy from a non-Chalcedonian, eastern perspective. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss monks, monasteries, and the complex issues of sacraments and non-Chalcedonian church life. Chapter 5 and the general conclusion complete the book with a study of the working of ‘collective memory’ among the non-Chalcedonians and the construction of a Syrian Orthodox identity. The study is a histoire évènementielle of actual religious practice, especially concerning the Eucharist and the diptychs, and of ecclesiastical and imperial policy which modifies the traditional view of how emperors (and in the case of Theodora: empresses) ruled the late Roman/early Byzantine empire. By combining this detailed analysis of secular and ecclesiastical politics with a study of long-term strategies of memorialization, the book also focuses on deep structures of collective memory on which the tradition of the present Syrian Orthodox Church is founded.Less
This study historicizes the formation of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the first half of the 6th century. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 divided eastern Christianity, with those who were later called Syrian Orthodox among the Christians in the near eastern provinces who refused to accept the decisions of the council. These non-Chalcedonians (still better known under the misleading term monophysites) separated from the church of the empire after Justin I attempted to enforce Chalcedon in the East in 518. The book covers the period from the accession of Justin to the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. It focuses in the first two chapters on imperial and papal policy from a non-Chalcedonian, eastern perspective. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss monks, monasteries, and the complex issues of sacraments and non-Chalcedonian church life. Chapter 5 and the general conclusion complete the book with a study of the working of ‘collective memory’ among the non-Chalcedonians and the construction of a Syrian Orthodox identity. The study is a histoire évènementielle of actual religious practice, especially concerning the Eucharist and the diptychs, and of ecclesiastical and imperial policy which modifies the traditional view of how emperors (and in the case of Theodora: empresses) ruled the late Roman/early Byzantine empire. By combining this detailed analysis of secular and ecclesiastical politics with a study of long-term strategies of memorialization, the book also focuses on deep structures of collective memory on which the tradition of the present Syrian Orthodox Church is founded.
John Saward
- Published in print:
- 1980
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780192132307
- eISBN:
- 9780191670046
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192132307.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book tells the story of those who have taken Jesus and his apostles at their word and have received from God the rare and terrible charism of holy folly. The book encounters a wide variety of ...
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This book tells the story of those who have taken Jesus and his apostles at their word and have received from God the rare and terrible charism of holy folly. The book encounters a wide variety of fools for Christ's sake: the wild men of Byzantium, Russia, and Ireland, whose apparently outrageous and provocative behaviour masks a deeper sanctity; the ‘merry men’ of the Middle Ages, God's jongleurs, who proclaim the ‘Gospel of Good Humour’; and finally, those who have gone the darker and more perilous way of being written off by the world as mad and contemptible but who ‘rejoice and are glad’. It is not argued that all the saints of God conform to one or other of these categories, nor is it claimed that folly for Christ's sake is itself a homogeneous phenomenon. The book is concerned with the fools for Christ's sake in the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions only.Less
This book tells the story of those who have taken Jesus and his apostles at their word and have received from God the rare and terrible charism of holy folly. The book encounters a wide variety of fools for Christ's sake: the wild men of Byzantium, Russia, and Ireland, whose apparently outrageous and provocative behaviour masks a deeper sanctity; the ‘merry men’ of the Middle Ages, God's jongleurs, who proclaim the ‘Gospel of Good Humour’; and finally, those who have gone the darker and more perilous way of being written off by the world as mad and contemptible but who ‘rejoice and are glad’. It is not argued that all the saints of God conform to one or other of these categories, nor is it claimed that folly for Christ's sake is itself a homogeneous phenomenon. The book is concerned with the fools for Christ's sake in the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions only.
Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195308532
- eISBN:
- 9780199785728
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195308532.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Religious groups have emerged as powerful political actors in post‐communist Eastern Europe, especially in predominantly Christian Orthodox countries like Romania. The book discusses the interplay ...
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Religious groups have emerged as powerful political actors in post‐communist Eastern Europe, especially in predominantly Christian Orthodox countries like Romania. The book discusses the interplay between religion and politics in six major areas of public affairs—nationalism and ethnic identity; confronting the communist past; restitution of Greek Catholic property abusively confiscated by communist authorities; elections and membership in political parties; religious instruction in public schools at pre‐university level; and sexuality, including abortion and prostitution. In each area, it discusses the negotiations between religious, political actors and civil society representatives; the dominance of the Orthodox Church relative to other religious groups; and the influence of denominations on legislation and governmental policy. While the Orthodox Church has asked for recognition as state, national church, religious minorities demanded equality, and the civil society asked for separation of church and state, Romanian post‐communist authorities have maintained a tight grip on religious affairs.Less
Religious groups have emerged as powerful political actors in post‐communist Eastern Europe, especially in predominantly Christian Orthodox countries like Romania. The book discusses the interplay between religion and politics in six major areas of public affairs—nationalism and ethnic identity; confronting the communist past; restitution of Greek Catholic property abusively confiscated by communist authorities; elections and membership in political parties; religious instruction in public schools at pre‐university level; and sexuality, including abortion and prostitution. In each area, it discusses the negotiations between religious, political actors and civil society representatives; the dominance of the Orthodox Church relative to other religious groups; and the influence of denominations on legislation and governmental policy. While the Orthodox Church has asked for recognition as state, national church, religious minorities demanded equality, and the civil society asked for separation of church and state, Romanian post‐communist authorities have maintained a tight grip on religious affairs.
Solomon Schimmel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195188264
- eISBN:
- 9780199870509
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188264.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter asks why modern and haredi (ultra) Orthodox Jews affirm the outmoded traditional belief that the Torah (Pentateuch) was revealed by God to Moses at Sinai (TMS) and refuse to accept the ...
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This chapter asks why modern and haredi (ultra) Orthodox Jews affirm the outmoded traditional belief that the Torah (Pentateuch) was revealed by God to Moses at Sinai (TMS) and refuse to accept the findings of modern biblical scholarship that the Pentateuch is a humanly authored multiple source post‐Mosaic (MSPM) work. It suggests emotional, psychological, and social forces that account for why smart people cling to foolish beliefs, and describes the defenses they use to ward off scholarly and scientific arguments and evidence that threaten cherished beliefs and evoke fear of loss of faith. The chapter analyzes the ArtScroll commentary on the Torah, and responses to his questions addressed to Orthodox Jews: Why do you believe in TMS? Can you imagine any kind evidence that would induce you to give up your belief in TMS? He also points to immoral and unethical teachings of the Pentateuch as evidence for its human authorship.Less
This chapter asks why modern and haredi (ultra) Orthodox Jews affirm the outmoded traditional belief that the Torah (Pentateuch) was revealed by God to Moses at Sinai (TMS) and refuse to accept the findings of modern biblical scholarship that the Pentateuch is a humanly authored multiple source post‐Mosaic (MSPM) work. It suggests emotional, psychological, and social forces that account for why smart people cling to foolish beliefs, and describes the defenses they use to ward off scholarly and scientific arguments and evidence that threaten cherished beliefs and evoke fear of loss of faith. The chapter analyzes the ArtScroll commentary on the Torah, and responses to his questions addressed to Orthodox Jews: Why do you believe in TMS? Can you imagine any kind evidence that would induce you to give up your belief in TMS? He also points to immoral and unethical teachings of the Pentateuch as evidence for its human authorship.
Henny Fiskå Hägg
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288083
- eISBN:
- 9780191604164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288089.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Clement’s model for a distinction between God’s essence and his powers or energies is presented. Clement’s emphasis is on unknowability versus knowability — God as essence is unknowable, God as the ...
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Clement’s model for a distinction between God’s essence and his powers or energies is presented. Clement’s emphasis is on unknowability versus knowability — God as essence is unknowable, God as the Son, or as his power, is knowable. It is argued that the distinction is structurally equivalent with, and anticipates, the dogma of the distinction between God’s essence and energies that became so important in later Orthodox theology.Less
Clement’s model for a distinction between God’s essence and his powers or energies is presented. Clement’s emphasis is on unknowability versus knowability — God as essence is unknowable, God as the Son, or as his power, is knowable. It is argued that the distinction is structurally equivalent with, and anticipates, the dogma of the distinction between God’s essence and energies that became so important in later Orthodox theology.
Henny Fiskå Hägg
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288083
- eISBN:
- 9780191604164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288089.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Clement’s solution to the problem of the relationship between the knowable and the unknowable aspects of God is seen in a wider perspective. How and why, for centuries, Clement was seen as ...
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Clement’s solution to the problem of the relationship between the knowable and the unknowable aspects of God is seen in a wider perspective. How and why, for centuries, Clement was seen as doctrinally suspect is discussed. It is also claimed that his importance in the development of theology lies in his coupling of apophaticism with a distinction between essence and energies, anticipating the later dogma of the Orthodox Church.Less
Clement’s solution to the problem of the relationship between the knowable and the unknowable aspects of God is seen in a wider perspective. How and why, for centuries, Clement was seen as doctrinally suspect is discussed. It is also claimed that his importance in the development of theology lies in his coupling of apophaticism with a distinction between essence and energies, anticipating the later dogma of the Orthodox Church.
Henry Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199264575
- eISBN:
- 9780191698958
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199264575.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, Early Christian Studies
Christian history is scarred by splits — between Chalcedonian and Monophysote, or between Roman Catholic and Evangelical Protestant, or between Lutheran and Calvinist or between High Calvinist and ...
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Christian history is scarred by splits — between Chalcedonian and Monophysote, or between Roman Catholic and Evangelical Protestant, or between Lutheran and Calvinist or between High Calvinist and Arminian. But the greatest Christian split has between East and West, between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Divergences have occurred and are still alive between those for whom a sustained worldwide unity in a single communion is possible and those for whom the necessarily limited apprehension of one man offers too narrow a basis for whom the common mind of a universal Church has to have a more conciliar and collegial expression.Less
Christian history is scarred by splits — between Chalcedonian and Monophysote, or between Roman Catholic and Evangelical Protestant, or between Lutheran and Calvinist or between High Calvinist and Arminian. But the greatest Christian split has between East and West, between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Divergences have occurred and are still alive between those for whom a sustained worldwide unity in a single communion is possible and those for whom the necessarily limited apprehension of one man offers too narrow a basis for whom the common mind of a universal Church has to have a more conciliar and collegial expression.
Andrew Louth
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291403
- eISBN:
- 9780191710674
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291403.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The Council of Nicaea, held in 325, marks a watershed in the history of Christian theology. The precise nature of the difference between the Orthodox and the Arians, between Alexander and Athanasius, ...
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The Council of Nicaea, held in 325, marks a watershed in the history of Christian theology. The precise nature of the difference between the Orthodox and the Arians, between Alexander and Athanasius, on the one hand, and Arius, on the other, has been the subject of much scholarly debate. The point of difference is clear: for the Orthodox the Word or the Son was of one substance (homoousios) with the Father, for the Arians he was a creature, albeit a very exalted one.Less
The Council of Nicaea, held in 325, marks a watershed in the history of Christian theology. The precise nature of the difference between the Orthodox and the Arians, between Alexander and Athanasius, on the one hand, and Arius, on the other, has been the subject of much scholarly debate. The point of difference is clear: for the Orthodox the Word or the Son was of one substance (homoousios) with the Father, for the Arians he was a creature, albeit a very exalted one.
Charles S. Liebman
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195134681
- eISBN:
- 9780199848652
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195134681.003.0024
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
A review of the book, American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective by Jeffrey S. Gurock is presented. This is a collection of fifteen previously published essays by the author. They focus on ...
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A review of the book, American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective by Jeffrey S. Gurock is presented. This is a collection of fifteen previously published essays by the author. They focus on the period between 1880 and 1920. The author's central points are that Orthodox Judaism, or at least a proto-Orthodox Judaism, existed in the United States as early as the second half of the 19th century. Orthodoxy is not only to be found among East European immigrants or among the more established and culturally sophisticated Jews of Sephardic descent, but also among older arrivals from Central Europe. Second, the battle lines over attitudes toward modernity, Americanization, secular education and ritual changes were not only drawn between Orthodox and Conservative but within Orthodoxy itself, and even within East European immigrant Orthodoxy.Less
A review of the book, American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective by Jeffrey S. Gurock is presented. This is a collection of fifteen previously published essays by the author. They focus on the period between 1880 and 1920. The author's central points are that Orthodox Judaism, or at least a proto-Orthodox Judaism, existed in the United States as early as the second half of the 19th century. Orthodoxy is not only to be found among East European immigrants or among the more established and culturally sophisticated Jews of Sephardic descent, but also among older arrivals from Central Europe. Second, the battle lines over attitudes toward modernity, Americanization, secular education and ritual changes were not only drawn between Orthodox and Conservative but within Orthodoxy itself, and even within East European immigrant Orthodoxy.
Georgios Trantas, Paraskevi Zagoriti, Torbjörn Bergman, Wolfgang C. Müller, and Kaare Strøm
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198297840
- eISBN:
- 9780191602016
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829784X.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The Greek process of delegation is highly institutionalized and exhaustively regulated by the Constitution. The Constitution gives the cabinet strong stability and leverage over the parliament, ...
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The Greek process of delegation is highly institutionalized and exhaustively regulated by the Constitution. The Constitution gives the cabinet strong stability and leverage over the parliament, creating one of the most powerful governments in Western Europe. Clientelistic networks are important in Greece and complicate the delegation chain.Less
The Greek process of delegation is highly institutionalized and exhaustively regulated by the Constitution. The Constitution gives the cabinet strong stability and leverage over the parliament, creating one of the most powerful governments in Western Europe. Clientelistic networks are important in Greece and complicate the delegation chain.
Solomon Schimmel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195188264
- eISBN:
- 9780199870509
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188264.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This book is a passionate yet analytical critique of and polemic against Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural fundamentalists. It examines the ways in which otherwise intelligent and bright Jews, ...
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This book is a passionate yet analytical critique of and polemic against Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural fundamentalists. It examines the ways in which otherwise intelligent and bright Jews, Christians, and Muslims defend their belief in the divine authorship of the Bible or of the Koran, as well as other religious beliefs derived from those claims, against overwhelming evidence and argument to the contrary from science, scholarship, common sense, and rational analysis. The book also examines the motives, fears, and anxieties of scriptural fundamentalists that induce them to cling tenaciously to their unreasonable beliefs. The author begins with reflections on his own journey from commitment to Orthodox Judaism, through doubts about its theological claims, and eventually to denial of their truth. This is followed by an examination of theological and philosophical debate about the proper relationships between faith, reason, and revelation. The book then devotes one chapter of detailed analysis to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural fundamentalism, noting their differences and similarities. It then analyzes the psychological and social reasons why people acquire, maintain, and protect unreasonable religious beliefs. The book also discusses some unethical and immoral consequences of scriptural fundamentalism, such as gender inequality, homophobia, lack of intellectual honesty, self‐righteousness, intolerance, propagation of falsehood, and in some instances (especially among some Muslim fundamentalists) the advocacy of violence and terrorism. It concludes with a discussion of why, when, and where it is appropriate to critique and assertively challenge and combat scriptural fundamentalists.Less
This book is a passionate yet analytical critique of and polemic against Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural fundamentalists. It examines the ways in which otherwise intelligent and bright Jews, Christians, and Muslims defend their belief in the divine authorship of the Bible or of the Koran, as well as other religious beliefs derived from those claims, against overwhelming evidence and argument to the contrary from science, scholarship, common sense, and rational analysis. The book also examines the motives, fears, and anxieties of scriptural fundamentalists that induce them to cling tenaciously to their unreasonable beliefs. The author begins with reflections on his own journey from commitment to Orthodox Judaism, through doubts about its theological claims, and eventually to denial of their truth. This is followed by an examination of theological and philosophical debate about the proper relationships between faith, reason, and revelation. The book then devotes one chapter of detailed analysis to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural fundamentalism, noting their differences and similarities. It then analyzes the psychological and social reasons why people acquire, maintain, and protect unreasonable religious beliefs. The book also discusses some unethical and immoral consequences of scriptural fundamentalism, such as gender inequality, homophobia, lack of intellectual honesty, self‐righteousness, intolerance, propagation of falsehood, and in some instances (especially among some Muslim fundamentalists) the advocacy of violence and terrorism. It concludes with a discussion of why, when, and where it is appropriate to critique and assertively challenge and combat scriptural fundamentalists.
Edward Siecienski
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372045
- eISBN:
- 9780199777297
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372045.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Among the issues that have divided Eastern and Western Christians throughout the centuries, few have had as long and interesting a history as the question of the filioque—i.e., whether the Holy ...
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Among the issues that have divided Eastern and Western Christians throughout the centuries, few have had as long and interesting a history as the question of the filioque—i.e., whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son” as the West came to profess, or from the Father alone, as the East has traditionally maintained. For over a millennium Christendom’s greatest minds have addressed and debated the question (sometimes in rather polemical terms), all in the belief that the theological issues at stake were central to an orthodox understanding of the trinitarian God. The history of the filioque is also one of the most interesting stories in all of Christendom, filled with characters and events that would make even the best dramatists envious, and thus a story worth telling. The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy is the first complete English language history of the filioque written in over a century. Beginning with the biblical material and ending with recent agreements on the place and meaning of the filioque, this book traces the history of the doctrine and the controversy that has surrounded it. There are chapters on the Greek and Latin fathers, the ninth century debates, the late medieval era, the Councils of Lyons and Ferrara-Florence, and the post Florentine period, with a separate chapter dedicated to the twentieth and twenty-first century theologians and dialogues that have come closer than ever to solving this thorny, and of yet, unresolved, ecumenical problem.Less
Among the issues that have divided Eastern and Western Christians throughout the centuries, few have had as long and interesting a history as the question of the filioque—i.e., whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son” as the West came to profess, or from the Father alone, as the East has traditionally maintained. For over a millennium Christendom’s greatest minds have addressed and debated the question (sometimes in rather polemical terms), all in the belief that the theological issues at stake were central to an orthodox understanding of the trinitarian God. The history of the filioque is also one of the most interesting stories in all of Christendom, filled with characters and events that would make even the best dramatists envious, and thus a story worth telling. The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy is the first complete English language history of the filioque written in over a century. Beginning with the biblical material and ending with recent agreements on the place and meaning of the filioque, this book traces the history of the doctrine and the controversy that has surrounded it. There are chapters on the Greek and Latin fathers, the ninth century debates, the late medieval era, the Councils of Lyons and Ferrara-Florence, and the post Florentine period, with a separate chapter dedicated to the twentieth and twenty-first century theologians and dialogues that have come closer than ever to solving this thorny, and of yet, unresolved, ecumenical problem.
Paul D. Numrich
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195386219
- eISBN:
- 9780199866731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386219.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Orthodox Christians have lived in Muslim lands for centuries and now bring their unique perspectives to multireligious America. Encounters that began in conflict in the Old World carry the potential ...
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Orthodox Christians have lived in Muslim lands for centuries and now bring their unique perspectives to multireligious America. Encounters that began in conflict in the Old World carry the potential for redemptive mutual understanding in the United States if the groups will look into each other's eyes, in the words of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras. This chapter examines efforts of Greek Orthodox Christians and Turkish Muslims in Chicago to heal the wounds of the past and find a better future together. “What we did not understand,” explains the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, “was that we were suffering together. In retrospect (and likely into the future), our shared history contains hope for our shared destiny.” The Orthodox community in Chicago has been active for many years in broadly based interreligious activities.Less
Orthodox Christians have lived in Muslim lands for centuries and now bring their unique perspectives to multireligious America. Encounters that began in conflict in the Old World carry the potential for redemptive mutual understanding in the United States if the groups will look into each other's eyes, in the words of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras. This chapter examines efforts of Greek Orthodox Christians and Turkish Muslims in Chicago to heal the wounds of the past and find a better future together. “What we did not understand,” explains the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, “was that we were suffering together. In retrospect (and likely into the future), our shared history contains hope for our shared destiny.” The Orthodox community in Chicago has been active for many years in broadly based interreligious activities.
Solomon Schimmel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195188264
- eISBN:
- 9780199870509
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188264.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter explains the author's motives for writing this book, which originated in his being raised as an Orthodox Jew, to which he was deeply committed from early childhood until adulthood. He ...
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This chapter explains the author's motives for writing this book, which originated in his being raised as an Orthodox Jew, to which he was deeply committed from early childhood until adulthood. He received an intensive education in traditional Jewish religious life, literature, and belief, at home and in yeshivot (Jewish parochial schools), but from a young age harbored doubts about the core theological belief of Orthodoxy that the Pentateuch was revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. Upon exposure to modern biblical scholarship, philosophical and literary critiques of religion, and modern biology and science he eventually concluded, in his early twenties, that he could no longer believe that which he had been taught from childhood. The chapter describes the emotional effects and social consequences of losing a faith which one loves (and in some respects continues to love), and the intellectual freedom earned by rejecting Orthodox beliefs and becoming a heretic.Less
This chapter explains the author's motives for writing this book, which originated in his being raised as an Orthodox Jew, to which he was deeply committed from early childhood until adulthood. He received an intensive education in traditional Jewish religious life, literature, and belief, at home and in yeshivot (Jewish parochial schools), but from a young age harbored doubts about the core theological belief of Orthodoxy that the Pentateuch was revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. Upon exposure to modern biblical scholarship, philosophical and literary critiques of religion, and modern biology and science he eventually concluded, in his early twenties, that he could no longer believe that which he had been taught from childhood. The chapter describes the emotional effects and social consequences of losing a faith which one loves (and in some respects continues to love), and the intellectual freedom earned by rejecting Orthodox beliefs and becoming a heretic.
Bryan Rennie
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195394337
- eISBN:
- 9780199777358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195394337.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter discusses the influence of Eliade’s Romanian Orthodox theological background on his understanding of religion. It particularly considers Eliade’s early (pre-India) writings, the possible ...
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This chapter discusses the influence of Eliade’s Romanian Orthodox theological background on his understanding of religion. It particularly considers Eliade’s early (pre-India) writings, the possible influence of Nae Ionescu and Eliade’s Bucharest friends, and some previously published work on the subject. After establishing a series of consonances or homologies between background and understanding—such as icons as hierophanies—it considers to what extent the former might have determined the latter. Recognizing certain divergences, the conclusion is that Orthodox theology has not exerted a dominating influence upon Eliade in the sense of imposing dogmatic assumptions about the real/sacred upon him. Its ritualistic influence, nonetheless, enabled an understanding of religion that would not have been forthcoming given a different cultural background.Less
This chapter discusses the influence of Eliade’s Romanian Orthodox theological background on his understanding of religion. It particularly considers Eliade’s early (pre-India) writings, the possible influence of Nae Ionescu and Eliade’s Bucharest friends, and some previously published work on the subject. After establishing a series of consonances or homologies between background and understanding—such as icons as hierophanies—it considers to what extent the former might have determined the latter. Recognizing certain divergences, the conclusion is that Orthodox theology has not exerted a dominating influence upon Eliade in the sense of imposing dogmatic assumptions about the real/sacred upon him. Its ritualistic influence, nonetheless, enabled an understanding of religion that would not have been forthcoming given a different cultural background.
Vjekoslav Perica
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195148565
- eISBN:
- 9780199834556
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195148568.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The first part of the chapter gives a brief account of the bloody fratricidal war fought in Croatia and Bosnia‐Herzegovina in 1991–5, which resulted from ethnic nationalistic revolutions aimed at ...
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The first part of the chapter gives a brief account of the bloody fratricidal war fought in Croatia and Bosnia‐Herzegovina in 1991–5, which resulted from ethnic nationalistic revolutions aimed at destroying the multiethnic federation of Yugoslavia founded by the communists, and establishing independent homogeneous states. Further wars would continue in 1998 (between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo) and in 2001 (between Albanians and Macedonians in Macedonia). The main part of the chapter discusses religion and nationalism in these successor states – Islam and Muslim nationalism in Bosnia‐Herzegovina, Catholicism (the Madonna of Medjugorje) and Croatian nationalism in Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Croatia, and the Orthodox Church in Serbia (and Kosovo), Macedonia, and Montenegro. The remaining two sections of the chapter discuss saint making in Croatia in the late 1990s, and the role of religious organizations in the international peace process.Less
The first part of the chapter gives a brief account of the bloody fratricidal war fought in Croatia and Bosnia‐Herzegovina in 1991–5, which resulted from ethnic nationalistic revolutions aimed at destroying the multiethnic federation of Yugoslavia founded by the communists, and establishing independent homogeneous states. Further wars would continue in 1998 (between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo) and in 2001 (between Albanians and Macedonians in Macedonia). The main part of the chapter discusses religion and nationalism in these successor states – Islam and Muslim nationalism in Bosnia‐Herzegovina, Catholicism (the Madonna of Medjugorje) and Croatian nationalism in Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Croatia, and the Orthodox Church in Serbia (and Kosovo), Macedonia, and Montenegro. The remaining two sections of the chapter discuss saint making in Croatia in the late 1990s, and the role of religious organizations in the international peace process.
