Journal articles on the topic 'Christian Front'

Police involvement in the Christian Front Movement in Brooklyn, NY grew unnoticed from 1938-1940, resulting in anti-semitic violence even after the police comissioner and mayor were forced to address the issue after the arrest in 1940 of 17 Christian Front Members accused of planning terrorist activities. The Christian Front was able to grow in an area like Brooklyn due to its high population of Irish-Catholics, and since the Christian Front was a religiously-based anti-semitic group led by an Irish Catholic priest, these people aligned well with the movement's beliefs. With a large Irish-Catholic police force, it is evident that the police not only had membership in the Christian Front but also those sympathetic to the movement. The stronghold of the Christian Front and the anti-semitic beliefs prevalent throughout the NYPD resulted in the creation of an environment where anti0semitic attacks could proliferate unaddressed, and where Irish Catholic nationalists could spread and impose their beliefs of anti-semitism and through their position of power in a law enforcement role.

In Turkey, considered a secular and democratic role model for other countries with a Muslim majority, both state and society perceive Christians very critically. There are historical experiences and ideas that contribute to this surprising finding. In the Qur’an, the Holy Book of Muslims, Christians who do not accept the claim of Muhammad to be God’s prophet, are perceived as rebellious liars. Christians in early Islamic society were widely tolerated, but had a status as second-class-citizens. The Ottoman Empire as the front state against the Christian world and the savior of Sunni Islam widely tolerated Christians; thedhimmistatus of Christians as second-class-citizens however was continued in themillet-system. As the power of the Ottomans decreased and Western ideas of nationalism began to influence the Empire during the nineteenth century, the Muslim majority began a search for identity. Secessions of Christian peoples and interference by “Christian” foreign nations triggered more severe clashes between the remaining Christian population and the state. The wide-ranging activities of Western missionaries in the Ottoman Empire were perceived as a part of Western colonialism. During the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic, the leaders of the Young Turk movement were motivated by their desperate battle to save a rest of the Empire as a homeland for the Muslim population. The perception of Christians as the enemy of the new Republic was more firmly established. Though Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gave a revolutionary modern and secular character to Turkey, there was an intentional Turkification of society. A study of Turkish newspapers confirms that these perceptions are widely valid until today. Missiology has to help develop an appropriate response of Christians to the situation inside and outside of Turkey.

This paper examines how Israeli Christians perceive their cultural position between Jewish and Muslim identities in Israel. The study primarily relates to the cultural differences between Christians and Muslims, and to the relations between them in mixed villages and towns. It focuses on how the sense of identity and the cultural aspects, combined with the rise of the Islamic identity and the change of Arab society’s structure has affected the peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims. Lastly, the research addresses the 1999 Christian-­Muslim riots (Shihab al-­Din Events) in Nazareth over plans to construct a Mosque in front of the Church of Annunciation.

On 4 October 1948, József Cardinal Mindszenty preached a sermon for the rosary feast in front of 35,000 Catholic faithful. He began by reminding his congregation of the origins of the feast day that they were celebrating: the victory of Europe's Christian states over the Ottoman Turkish fleet at the naval battle of Lepanto in 1571. This great victory in the struggle of universal Christendom against the infidel enemy recalled to Mindszenty a second, more particularly Hungarian parallel: the victory of Habsburg forces over the Ottoman Turkish enemy at the battle of Temesvár in 1716. “Hungarian history recalls too such a rosary victory—the Hungarian Christians won it over the Turks in 1716 at Temesvár.” Both military victories represented moments when Europeans had repelled a force seen at the time, and ever after, as hostile to Christian civilization.

This essay analyzes how female participation may affect the perpetration of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) by rebel groups. I look at leftist, Islamist, Christian, and Buddhist rebel groups, examining how these ideologies interact with the factor of female participation. I hypothesize that while female participation in leftist and Buddhist rebel groups may reduce CRSV, it may have relatively little impact in Islamist and Christian rebel groups. I test these theories individually through the case studies of the Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (FMLN), the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF). Due to the lack of data on Christian and Buddhist rebel groups, I only statistically corroborate my hypotheses on leftist and Islamist rebel groups.

A dozen years ago, I was sitting in a suburban Vancouver church on a Saturday afternoon, waiting for my young sons’ piano recital to start. I looked around the rented facility, new to me, and noticed an impressionistic painting of the crucifixion toward the front of the sanctuary.

AbstractThis article explores the role that Christianity played in the decolonization of Algeria and in particular how the complex relationship between Christianity and colonialism under French rule shaped the rhetoric and actions of Christians during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62). Using the case of a 1957 trial in the military tribunal of Algiers in which twelve Europeans were charged with crimes ranging from distributing propaganda for the National Liberation Front to sheltering suspected communist and nationalist militants, I demonstrate how “Christian” rhetoric became one of the major means through which the conduct of the war and the defense of French Algeria were debated. While conservative defenders of French Algeria claimed that actions such as those of the Christians on trial led to the erasure of Christianity in North Africa, I argue that such actions and moral positions allowed for the continued presence of Christianity in Algeria after independence.

Within Biblical scholarship, there have been a limited number of studies which examine ancient literacy and education in relation to the production of the Deutero-Pauline letters. When such topics are addressed together, the discussions rarely go beyond some generalities, and this article seeks to partly address that gap. Literacy rates in the Greco-Roman world, of which the earliest Christians were a part, are universally agreed to be significantly lower than modern literacy rates, with most estimates being between 5 and 15%. This fact, coupled with the limited number of Christians by the end of the first and the beginning of the second century CE, should be taken more seriously when considering how the Deutero-Pauline literature came to be produced and, eventually, circulate with other authentic Pauline letters. In short, this article will argue that when the realities of the educational landscape of the New Testament world are taken in conjunction with what we know about textual production, early Christian communities and leadership structures, there is a plausible argument to be made that those who were responsible for at least some of the Deutero-Pauline letters may be hiding in plain sight.

Using a social representations lens, we examined subjective meanings of land entitlements in Central Mindanao among Muslims and Christians. In Study 1, we collected survey data from 231 students from the University of Southern Mindanao in Central Mindanao, asking them: ‘If you were to tell the story of land ownership in Cotabato, what three topics would you want to include in your story?’ Results of our hierarchical evocation analysis show that Christians are concerned with direct conflicts or actual intergroup confrontations while Muslims emphasise land issues. Study 2 implemented Focauldian Discursive Analysis to evaluate two separate focused group discussions by Muslim and Christian village leaders on the question: ‘Who really owns the land in Cotabato, specifically here in Midsayap?’ Findings indicate that Christians hold on to a legal story while Muslims use the ancestral domain narrative to cohere subjective claims to the contested territory. We discuss our results in the light of the role of legalese in an asymmetric territorial conflict and more specifically, the Framework Agreement signed last October 2012 by both the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

"The Hopeful Past and the Chosen Inheritance. Living in a given historical place and time, we inherit stories, and by filtering them through our lives and experiences, we transform them into parts of our own story. In this article, we examine the relatedness between our stories and the story of the Kingdom of God. The metanarrative of the God–human relationship is a continuously changing system with permanent perspectives, a tradition that offers a system of rules to Christian communities and, on the other hand, interprets the individual’s life and integrates it into the history of salvation. Christian life appears in front of us as a study process, a search, but it is hope as well. We should not forget about the eschatological dimension of Christian faith: the hope in God, who saved us in the past and will hold us in the future. Keywords: Christian spirituality, tradition "

The present article discusses the Muslim legal scholar and theologian al-Bājī (b. 631/1233) and his polemic against the Pentateuch, which he read in at least two Christian Arabic translations, which were in use among the Melkites. It aims to identify the recensions of the Pentateuch that al-Bājī had access to, and to understand how the differences between these recensions contributed to his view that the shared Jewish and Christian scripture had undergone changes. The article suggests that al-Bājī used a combination of arguments to undermine especially the Christian conception of divine revelation, pointing out apparent inconsistencies and illogicalities in the biblical stories themselves as well as text-critical cruxes caused by discrepancies between different versions that circulated side by side within the Eastern Christian communities. Finally, some of the “irrationalities” he describes seem to be particular of the copies of the texts he had in front of him.

Abstract Figures like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former French National Front leader Marion Maréchal are seeking to establish what we call a new globalist illiberal order. The globalist illiberal agenda extends elements of the globalist project while reclaiming a radicalized view of Christian democracy. Europe's far-right views the global order as composed of strong nations who need to defend their sovereignty on ‘cultural’ issues while protecting their common Christian roots. We trace their project by focusing on two new institutions of higher education, Hungary's National University of Public Service Ludovika (Ludovika-UPS) and the Institut de sciences sociales, économiques et politiques (Institute of Social Sciences, Economics and Politics—ISSEP), based in France and Spain. Through these institutions, globalist illiberals aim to cultivate new leaders outside the liberal ‘mainstream’ and redefine the meaning of Christian democracy. We conclude that surging nationalism among mid- to small powers is not resulting in deglobalization but is fostering illiberal globalization, which has no place for those who do not fit in their exclusionary vision of Christian Europe.

A new inspection of the ancient liturgical pattern of praying with the angels unveils that Jewish materials limited it to the priestly class and such legendary figures as Enoch, Abraham, Moses, or Elijah. The classical Christian anaphoras of the third and fourth centuries will extend this pattern to the entire congregation based on the early Christian generalization of the priestly status to all the members of the ecclesia. While shifting the focus of discussion to the concepts of “temple” and “priest,” the study finds that these Christian anaphoras include both the Jerusalem Temple feature of serving in front of God’s descended glory and the Second Temple apocalyptic idea of celebrating in the heavenly sanctuary. The earthly and heavenly temples, therefore, become one liturgical space which also intersects a third temple, that of the human being, within which God also descends, sanctifies it, and receives due worship.

General Feng Yuxiang (1882–1948), China's ‘Christian General’, had already been a Christian for about six years before he decided systematically to evangelise his troops while they were stationed in northern Henan. He was convinced that Christianity would save his men and, in the process, would save China. To this end, Feng invited the Canadian missionary Jonathan Goforth (1859–1936) to hold a remarkable series of revivals in the late summer of 1919. During these revivals, which were modelled on the work of the evangelist Charles Finney, Feng himself broke into prayer in front of his men, and eventually 507 of Feng's troops were baptised. By the time of Goforth's second visit to Feng – a little over a year later – over 5,000 of the 9,000-man brigade had been baptised. This study will rely on Goforth's journal from 1919, Feng's own diaries, and other material to see how Goforth and Feng worked together to Christianise a significant segment of Feng's army. So did the ‘Christian General’ ultimately form a ‘Christian Army’ or even an indigenous church? Did Goforth's revivals in Feng's army have any long-term effect? Was Feng a convinced Christian, a Chinese patriot or simply an opportunist? This study seeks to answer these questions. 1

December 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of Zambia a Christian nation. The leader of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) party who came to power in 1991, a convinced Christian F. Chiluba, declared Zambia a Christian nation, arguing that Christianity was then professed by more than 70% of the population and that this was supposed to help the country to get rid of corruption and contribute to its prosperity. The article analyzes the reasons of decision to declare Zambia a Christian nation. It is emphasized that political goals prevailed then over religious ones, since the issue of preserving and strengthening power was high on the political agenda of the ruling MMD party. The economic background is also touched upon: as a pragmatic president Chiluba pursued a policy of economic liberalization and counted on financial assistance from Western countries and international donors. The following Christian presidents L. Mwanawasa, R. Banda and M. Sata used limited Christian rhetoric, but they collaborated with the Church with varying degrees of intensity. At the same time, the provision on the Christian nation in the Constitution was preserved. It is noted that the role of the religious factor in politics increased in the early 2010s. The politicization of religion, primarily Christianity, became apparent during the struggle for power led by the leader of the opposition Patriotic Front party Michael Sata, who was supported by some religious leaders. After Edgar Lungu (party Patriotic Front) came to power in 2015, Zambia was re-proclaimed a Christian nation, which was enshrined in the new edition of the 2016 constitution. At the same time, the country began the political rehabilitation of F. Chiluba, who, after leaving the presidency in 2001, was persecuted for corruption. The campaigns for the 2015 presidential elections and for the 2016 general elections have shown the relevance of the discourse on religion and politics in the political process, primarily in its aspect of the multiple relationships between religion, ethnicity and politics. The article shows that the issue of the proclamation of Zambia a Christian nation remains relevant in Zambian society and among African and Western theologians and researchers whose judgments and conclusions are often polar opposite. The author notes that the realities of the socio-political, socio-economic and cultural life in Zambia do not yet indicate the existence of the declared Christian nation. The high level of corruption, poverty, limited rights of some groups of the population do not correspond to Christian ideals and values and have become serious challenges for the modern Zambian society. The article emphasizes that, unlike a number of other countries south of the Sahara, where competition between Christianity and Islam has intensified in recent years, leading, among other things, to bloody conflicts, Zambia survives this conflict along the axis of competition between different directions of Christianity. The ruling PF’s manifesto for the August 2021 general election contains Christian rhetoric. The document states the PF’s commitment to partnership with the Church, which it recognizes as a key partner in the conversion of Zambians into a Christian nation. Further peaceful development of Zambia depends on a balanced internal policy of the authorities aimed at solving complex socio-economic problems in cooperation with representatives of all religions and their confessions.

Abstract This article explores how the American white far right—including the Christian Front, Christian Mobilizers, and Gerald L. K. Smith—helped shape the Nation of Islam’s (NOI) antisemitism during the 1930s and 1940s. It also examines the strong influence of Harlem’s pro-Axis Black Fuehrers on the NOI during World War II. Nation of Islam and white far-right propaganda were remarkably similar. Both embraced the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, denied or minimized the Holocaust, and were virulently anti-Zionist. After elaborating on the context within which the Nation of Islam created its ideology, the article explores how the NOI, which originally identified whites, Christians and Jews as devils, adopted an almost singular emphasis on Jews as agents of Satan, the Star of David replacing the cross as the symbol of iniquity. Jews were not victims, but Blacks’ major victimizers; never slaves, but dominant enslavers; not progressives, but those who impeded Blacks’ advance. Instead of giving the world Hebrew Scripture, they converted it into the “Poison Book,” from the beginning crafting a “dirty religion,” which blessed the subjugation of black people, and denied God’s promise to the “Real Children of Israel.” These “imposter Jews” concealed that the Hebrew Bible was a prophecy about “the so-called Negroes of America”—the true “Chosen of God”—who would be in bondage for 400 years, strangers in a strange land.

AbstractThis article presents a full publication of three Christian funerary stelae from Egypt, which were bought in 1912 by Friedrich von Bissing and are now in the Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst at Munich. The first one represents an orans figure, the second depicts a crux ansata and the third has the names Pasep inscribed (in Greek) on the front and Phanes on the back. Although the precise provenance of these pieces is unknown, stylistic features suggest they are from Deir el-Bala’iza, Armant and Edfu respectively.

ABSTRACTThis article highlights the U.S. Armed Forces’ appointment of the YMCA to train American soldiers in boxing during World War I and so contributes to scholarly research on religion and war as well as religion and sports. As the YMCA taught the fistic art to white regiments in stateside military camps and to the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front, I argue that World War I was a watershed moment for both Muscular Christianity and boxing. Religious, political, and military leaders announced boxing to be ideal for the close-proximity encounters in the trenches, and they championed the YMCA as being best equipped to turn newly enlisted recruits into hardened trench-pugs. To the YMCA-military, the practical benefits of boxing were that soldiers would not just be “good with their hands” but also have a good manly character, a “fighting spirit.” In the establishment of a new world order, boxing thereby became a bellicose technique for unmaking evil others and a Christian method for remaking “overcivilized” white men. Immediately after the war—because of the Y—the sport of boxing, previously believed unscrupulous, was redeemed. Protestant Christians and a larger public recast boxing as less an activity for the morally corrupt and the criminal underworld and more an enlightened pursuit in the realization of an authentic, God-given human nature. Legalized, mainstreamed, and backed by antimodern logic, Christian theology, and white fears of racial devolution, boxing was for “character” more than crime.

Is it possible to believe that the implications of the Christian Gospel are of such a kind that it cannot be communicated directly, and that the implications of the Christian Gospel are of such a kind that it ought to be preached on the street? Whether such a view is indeed “possible” did not bother the great paradoxical thinker, Søren Kierkegaard, who appeared to hold it. Indeed, one of the most enduring elements of Kierkegaard's theological legacy is his rigorously dialectical approach to Christian communication. For the reader of Kierkegaard, comprehending his (in)direct communication is typically both a frustrating and inspirational affair. On the one hand, Kierkegaard believed that the Gospel—precisely because of its unique existential consequences—cannot be preached directly; and on the other hand, he believed in the impassioned proclamation of this very same Gospel for the very same reasons. Traveling through his enigmatic authorship, one finds both of these aspects side by side, back to front, or sometimes one on top of the other. It is well noted that although Kierkegaard displays different stages of emphasis, he never totally relinquishes the importance of either method. It is the question of this article to re-engage this dialectical quandary, and to see how the paradoxical juxtaposition might prove both directly and indirectly instructive to a theology of Christian proclamation.

Contrary to periodic challenges from a viewpoint of historical scepticism or relativism, Jerome's late fourth-century description of Simon Peter may be said to represent a critical and consensual account of the Apostle's demise in Rome as this was reflected in early Christian memory of the first two centuries, both in the East and in the West. Three centuries earlier, the much-debated passage in 1 Clement 5 represents (for all its ambiguities) an integral strand of such living memory – citing the founding apostles' death for their faith according to local Roman tradition while discreetly airbrushing the specific circumstances of their demise. It is significant, finally, that local memory of Peter's martyrdom remained confined to Rome and was never subject to competing claims elsewhere.

Abstract The World Heritage Square at Pécs is to be constructed in the framework of a program dedicated to developing the locations of the World Heritage. The aim is to rehabilitate the squares belonging to the World Heritage in the hope of increasing the attendance on a conceptual thinking. The study focuses on the marked areas with the purpose of connecting the Castle Wall and its walkway. The rehabilitation even extends to redesign the area in front of the Old Christian Mausoleum.

In Romania, a Christian, ultranationalistic movement known as The Legionary Movement has before and after the Communist period called for a national, spritual revolution. Perceiving themselves as front fighters protected by the Archangel, Legionaries endeavour to purify the nation so that it can live in its God-given fatherland. In order to assure national resurrection, Legionaries want to create a “New Man”, understood as a new male. This ideal combines the qualities of a Christian martyr, a working hero, a monk and a militant and as such both complex and ambiguous. In practice, Legionaries have a lot in common with other European “boot boys”. Based on field studies, this article discusses the role of men in this movement: their role models, male bonding, rituals and myths, as well as their concepts of family, brotherhood and blood relations, all with reference to a particular ethnonationalistic, christocentric worldview.

In the twenty-five years since The End of Ideology was published, the concept of ideology has unravelled completely. What is not considered an ideology today? Ideas, ideals, beliefs, creeds, passions, values, Weltanschauungen, religions, political philosophies, moral systems, linguistic discourses — all have been pressed into service. One hears about ‘communism and capitalism as competing ideologies’, and ‘the failure of the United States [before Reagan] to develop an ideology’. In an essay in the Partisan Review, ideology is defined as ‘fantasy cast in the form of assertion’, a loose and associative form of thought, ‘sharing qualities with pornography …’. A front-page essay in the Times Literary Supplement on pre-Christian religious thought talks of the effects of ‘hostile ideologies (i.e. early Epicureanism) on Christian apologists’. And a book on military strategy is entitled The Ideology of the Offensive: Military Decision Making and the Disaster of 1914.

Many would acknowledge today that the question of understanding and relating to ‘the other’ has become a vital and urgent question in our globalised world, which brings ‘the other’ right in front of us. The tragic realities of migration around the world and the recent refugee crisis point forcefully to the scale and urgency of the matter. This article offers a biblical perspective on the unambiguous love and concern of God for strangers, immigrants and refugees, with the resulting imperative for Christians to practice hospitality and welcome ‘the other’. It is argued that hospitality and welcome represent the very heart of the mission of God and the essence of the gospel illustrated in the self-giving of God in Christ and in the Spirit, and so they should become a central concern for all those who follow Christ in our suffering and troubled world.

This Work aims at reflecting on mystics, within the Western tradition, departing Lima Vaz’ thought, in order to try identifying the function that rested reserved to Mystic Experience, in the Modern Society, Society that, as It purposes Itself destroying the Sacred one up the World, has put aside Religion as a factor of legitimation regarding to public sphere. Its purpose is recovering some historical-philosophical aspects regarding to Christian Tradition in order to understanding better the level regarding to crisis of meaning of this Society can be linked to the progressive lack concerning the originary relation of the Human Being with the Transcendence Itself since that this lacking subverted the constitutive nucleus of its own identity as an open. We may assume that this Reflection of ours will be turned on contributing for reflecting of the Christian Mystics et its contribution for the dialogue with the plurality of the actual ways of spiritualities, in front of crisis concerning the contemporaneity.

The aged Bishop Polycarp was burnt to death in the arena at Smyrna in the afternoon of 23 February 155 (or 156), in front of a hostile crowd. The terrible story was lovingly recorded, copied and passed round the churches; it is probably the first non-biblical record of a martyrdom, and survives by itself and in Eusebius’ History. As Polycarp entered the arena Christian eyewitnesses heard a voice from heaven, saying in Greek, for all to understand, . The first word means ‘be strong’; the last shares a root with two other Greek words, which means courage, and which means a male person, a man. We shall consider later how Polycarp’s contemporaries understood this; centuries later, about the 1880s, an Anglican academic clergyman, Joseph Lightfoot, who was soon to be a bishop himself, translated Polycarp’s story into English. He found an apt English idiom: ‘Be strong, Polycarp,’ he wrote, ‘and play the man.’

The veteran movement in the Habsburg monarchy, which was, in the last third of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the most important pillar of the political system, faced serious difficulties after the 1918 Revolution in Austria. Until the collapse of the ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Christian Socials in 1920, there were insurmountable obstacles to the revival of the “old Austrian” military traditions. Officers’ and veterans’ organizations were firmly associated in the eyes of leftist political forces with the legacy of the “old regime”. The gradual “rehabilitation” of the “old Austrian” military traditions was closely connected with the tenure of the Minister of War of Austria Carl Vaugoin, who sought to get rid of the influence of the Social Democrats on the armed forces. As a result, in 1921and 1922 the formation of new veteran organisations began, developing their activities against the background of competition between Social-Democratic, Christian-Social and pan-German narratives about the First World War in the public consciousness of the First Republic. Considering the typology of veteran associations, one should single out organisations that united veterans at the national (local) level, regardless of their place of service during the war, and veterans’ unions based on specific military units of Austria-Hungary. The latter, as contemporary research proves, played a leading role in the formation of the historical memory of the war. The main means of group self-identification was the feeling of “front-line comradeship”cultivated in the veteran unions, which was the highest value orientation of the former front-line soldiers who shared right-wing political views. The veteran supporters of Social Democrats resisted the constant appeal of the right to the “front-line comradeship”, allegedly smoothing out social contradictions within the army collective during the war. In veteran organisations, both “pure” and “mixed” forms of memory of the First World War were “confessed”. The latter were typical of the veterans of those regions of Austria that were affected by the territorial reorganisation in accordance with the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty of 1919.

As part of the manuscript collection of sermons written by Isaac Abrahamides Hrochotius, an evangelical preacher in Zvolen, two separate sermons dedicated to the problem of the Ottoman threat have been preserved. Both sermons date from 1600 and were written in Slovakized Czech. The first sermon was preached by Abrahamides in front of the army. The calls for boldness, morality and piety of soldiers, as well as expressive commenting especially when describing enemies, correspond to this. He preached the second sermon in front of the burghers, which is probably why the language is more gentle. The sermon contains admonition for penance and riticism of Christian society. Both sermons have a common feature that is plundering of the Zvolen region by the Crimean Tatars (Ottoman allies) in 1599. Expecting a new Ottoman attack, the preacher encouraged the believers and urged them to abandon sinful lives. Obviously, Martin Luther's ideas are inspiration for both sermons.

This article examines whether a ‘civilizational turn’ has occurred among populist movements in Indonesia. It focuses on the civilizational elements in the populist discourse of the Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defender Front/FPI) in Indonesia. The article traces the FPI’s history and growing influence on politics and society in Indonesia in the 2010s. This article argues that the FPI has instrumentalized religious discourse, and through it divided Indonesian society into three groups: the virtuous ummah, corrupt elites, and immoral internal and external non-Muslim enemies, especially the civilizational bloc ‘the West’. This instrumentalization gained the group a degree of popularity in the second decade of the post-Suharto period and strengthened its political power and ability to bargain with mainstream political parties. The article uses the FPI’s actions and discourse during the Ahok affair to demonstrate the civilizational turn in Indonesian populism. The article shows how the FPI grew in power during the Ahok affair, in which a Christian Chinese politician, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was accused of blasphemy by Indonesian Islamists and later convicted on the same charge by an Indonesian court. The FPI was a leading part of a broad coalition of Islamist groups and individuals which called for Ahok to be charged with blasphemy; charges which were eventually laid and which led to Ahok being sentenced to two years imprisonment. The FPI, the article shows, framed Ahok as a non-Muslim Christian and therefore a ‘foreign’ enemy who was spreading moral corruption in Indonesia, governing ‘elites’ as complacent in combating immorality and positioned themselves as defenders of ‘the people’ or ummah. From the security perspective of the state, the FPI presented a critical threat that required containing. As a result of the growing power of the group, the FPI was banned in 2020 and Rizieq was imprisoned, while Ahok was politically rehabilitated by the Widodo government. Although the FPI’s banning is considered the most effective nonpermanent solution for the state, there is evidence that the FPI’s discourse has been adopted by mainstream political actors. This article, then, finds that the growth of the FPI during the second decade of the post-Suharto period, and their actions in leading the persecution of Ahok, demonstrates a civilizational turn in Indonesian Islamist populism.

Recent scholarship has exploded the myth that German soldiers had nothing to do with genocidal crimes in World War II. We now know that what Omer Bartov has called the “barbarization of warfare” on the eastern front involved regular military as well as SS units and the Einsatzgruppen. But what about the chaplains, Protestant and Catholic, who accompanied Hitler's forces? Those men, linked into both ecclesiastical and military hierarchies, preached and administered the sacraments. Following established traditions, they also boosted morale, accompanied condemned men to their executions, and supported Germany's war aims.

On the afternoon of 6 September 1952, the readers of the Boston Pilot—the voice of the Roman Catholic archdiocese—found on the front page of their usually staid weekly the text of a trenchant letter from the Holy Office in Rome. The text, dated August 8, addressed a group of Boston Catholics who had kicked up a fuss over the ancient theological dictum, extra ecclesiam nulla salus (“outside the church there is no salvation”)—a phrase going back to St. Cyprian in the third century and one of the pillars of orthodoxy for Christian believers.

With an emphasis on the novel's description of magical realism and social reformation, this research paper seeks to study Joanne Harris's Chocolat and its depiction of a society in which the residents strongly regard the so-called Christian orthodoxy. The researcher used a qualitative research method, such as literary analysis, to analyze the novel and explore its themes and motifs. For this, the novel is examined in detail, themes and motifs are identified, and the characters and their interactions are analyzed in detail. The researcher used quotes from the novel to support his claim. The female protagonist, Vianne, challenges this orthodoxy through her chocolate boutique in front of the church and initiates social reformation. The novel explores the negative portrayal of Vianne by the townspeople as a witch, outsider, and atheist, but she overcomes these issues by exposing the hypocrisy of the Christian orthodoxy and advocating for humanity, freedom, and social change through her chocolate shop. The author strikes a balance between magical and realist explanations in her writing. At the same time, the main character possesses a magical ability to intuit her customers' preferences and artfully win their affections. The novel encourages readers to accept the mystical elements of everyday life and scientific rationality. The findings and conclusion of this research is that Harris's Chocolat is a unique blend of magical realism and social reformation, challenging traditional Christian orthodoxy and advocating for a more humane, free, and accepting society.

A leader is a person who gives orders to his followers. To lead means to walk in front, to show the way for followers to follow. This means that the leader is a figure who becomes an example or role model. The concept of Christian leadership is based on the leadership of Jesus. Jesus' leadership style was “servant leadership” and not being served. The purpose of this paper is to make the servant-hearted leadership style a role model for every Christian leader, the figure who becomes the servant-hearted leader is Jairus.This research uses a descriptive literature method, which is to learn about servant-hearted leaders according to Mark 5:21-43. The conclusions that can be conveyed are, first, servant-hearted leadership becomes the lifestyle of every Christian leader. Second, Christian leaders can impart their exemplary ministry style so that it has an impact on the character of the congregation or other God's ministries. Third, it can encourage the emergence of new leaders who have a servant's heart.Pemimpin, adalah orang yang memberi perintah kepada pengikutnya. Memimpin berarti berjalan di depan, menunjukkan jalan agar pengikutnya mengikutnya. Ini artinya pemimpin adalah figur yang menjadi contoh atau teladan. Konsep kepemimpinan kristen berdasar pada kepemimpinan Yesus. Gaya kepemimpinan Yesus adalah “kepemimpinan yang melayani” dan bukan dilayani. Tujuan karya tulis ini agar gaya kepemimpinan berhati hamba menjadi panutan bagi setiap pemimpin Kristen, tokoh yang menjadi figur pemimpin berhati hamba adalah Yairus.Penelitian ini menggunakan metode diskritif literatur, yaitu mempelajari tentang Pemimpin yang berhati hamba menurut Markus 5:21-43 Kesimpulan yang dapat disampaikan, pertama, kepemimpinan berhati hamba menjadi gaya hidup setiap pemimpin Kristen. Kedua, para pemimpin Kristen dapat mengimpartasikan teladan gaya pelayanannya sehinga berdampak pada karakter jemaat atau pelayanan Tuhan lainnya. Ketiga, dapat mendorong munculnya pemimpin-pemimpin baru yang memiliki hati hamba.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are in an art museum. You look over your right shoulder and see a painting of a lush garden landscape. Try to investi- gate it further. Observe the abundance of pastel-colored flowers, engaging van- tage points and mystical partially hidden pathways.a Then, consider how the landscape makes you feel. Now, keep your eyes closed and imagine another scenario. You are sitting in the front row of Christian Dior’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights” fashion show.b Try to concentrate on the clothing. Observe the plethora of delicate, soft-hued, floral-print gowns. Finally, consider how the fashions make you feel.

In this article our aim is to present some of the coordinates of the debate around common good. Starting by recognizing the importance of common good for the Christian worldview after the presence of it in St. Paul’s “the manifestation of Spirit is given for the common good”, we will present two ways of interpreting the development of our moral and emotional tendencies that have to do with two different evolutionary approaches. By the end of the article, we hope to have established the argumental advantage of the cooperativist in front of the social Darwinist, opening the possibility for a possible interpretation of evolution as guided towards common good.

AbstractBy using the idea of theology as symbolic engagement, I propose the ‘in-between’ as a liturgical category that engages with multiple tensions in Christian theology. The concept of the in-between becomes the primary lens through which to analyse not only the relationship between ecclesial and social liturgies, but also the interstices between the two. I then apply the concept to construct theological imagination in the ministries of ushering, intercessory prayer and the sending. The article concludes with a story of the worship of the GKI Yasmin church in front of the presidential palace in Indonesia, which demonstrates the prophetic dimension of the in-between.

The Cathedral of St. Étienne at Bourges, which Ribault justly styles “un chef d'oeuvre gothique” (a Gothic masterpiece), did not escape the Huguenot depredations of 1562. Especially vulnerable to the pikes and pry-bars of the Reformers were the choir screen in front of the main altar, the north and south doorways commemorating respectively Mary in Majesty and Christ in Majesty, and several areas of the West facade: the jamb statues (whose subjects are currently unknown), the spandrel sculptures under the dado that celebrated events of the Christian scriptures and of the book of Genesis, and the five extensively carved tympana dedicated from right to left as one faces them:

The phenomenon of early Christian triconchal churches on the Adriatic has already been noted in the scholarly literature. A separate study ‘Le basiliche cruciformi nell’area adriatica’ was published by S. Piussi in 1978, followed by N. Cambi with the 1984 publication ‘Triconchal churches on the Eastern Adriatic’. However, both scholars include triconchal churches in the typological group of ‘cruciform basilicas’ or treat them together with the churches which have three apses with spaces between them placed along the nave. However, because of their specific morphology consisting of the closely placed conchs and a large number of such examples in the Adriatic area, it seems justified to treat them as a separate typological group. These churches had originally been funerary chapels, but many of them subsequently grew into congregational spaces with complex liturgical functions. In addition, among the triconchal churches it is possible to discuss separately the type of a small triconchal cella without a nave, but sometimes provided with a narthex, as form which is different from similar chapels with a long entrance arm in front of the sanctuary. Based on this difference, it is possible to establish a different terminology which classifies cella trichora as the simple trefoil type, and triconchal churches as the more complex type. The latter is relatively numerous in the territory of late antique Dalmatia. The title of this paper stems from those buildings. However, they originate in cellae trichorae. Thus, in the introductory section I am discussing examples of these cellae in the Adriatic and the connection between their appearance and funerary traditions in the Mediterranean in general. The beginnings of Christian funerary architecture in Dalmatia are found in the grouping of round cellae in the cemeteries of ancient Salona, as known from N. Duval’s works, and in the presence of conchs next to the memorial chapel at Muline which was studied by M. Suić. I deem that the early Christian triconchal churches were created through the crystallisation of the forms present in the groups of funerary cellae in such complexes; cella trichora being the simplest form and triconchal church a more complex one. However, both are generically tied to the Roman tradition in pagan and early Christian funerary architecture. On the other hand, early Christian trefoil structures in the majority of examples stand next to the rustic villa which in itself speaks in favour of a private funerary function. Thus, it is important to assume that cellae trichorae and triconchal churches in the beginning represent early Christian memorial chapels, independent of the subsequent development of the complexes which enveloped them.Thus, the memorial chapel at Muline on the island of Ugljan is part of a larger funerary complex. It is still the most thoroughly researched group of early Christian buildings erected next to a Roman rustic villa in Dalmatia. Apart from a similar example at Brijuni, the Muline complex is crucial for the consideration and interpretation of the origins and development of Christianity in late antique rural areas on the Croatian coast of the Adriatic. It reflects the developed Christianity in the urban setting of Zadar. The owner of the villa was obviously a rich citizen who had a memorial chapel erected on his estate for a deceased person about whom we know nothing. The chapel nave is square. Two deep semicircular apses are found at the back; in the southern one was a sarcophagus. The second sarcophagus was buried under the pavement in the nave. Next to the façade was a protyron, a vestibule with a porch resting on two columns. A courtyard was subsequently added in front of the façade and provided with additional cellae around it. According to Suić’s analysis, it seems that the first layer of the memorial chapel was built in the fourth century. At that time it lacked a crystallized form of somewhat later triconchal churches on the Adriatic. Two original conchs at the back stand slightly apart. The third cella next to the back was subsequently added to the north wall. It has a rectangular ground plan similar to those around the courtyard. All this speaks in favour of a gradual multiplication of cellae around the original memorial, a process similar to that at the cemeteries in Salona. In this paper, I am discussing the phenomenon of early Christian and early medieval triconchal churches on the Adriatic. In doing so, I am only considering those which have three conchs along the sanctuary wall. Based on their form, function and date, I classify them into five groups.The first group one consists of relatively early, small cellae trichorae. They had originally been funerary chapels on private estates. The remains of these memorial chapels have been preserved in various locations along the Adriatic coast: from those at Concordia Sagittaria near Aquileia, Betika near Pula, to those at Gata near Salona and Doljani near Duklja. Older examples have been dated to the late fourth or to the first half of the fifth century, which seems to be the date of the formation of this type of Christian memorial.In the second group are somewhat more complex triconchal churches which, unlike the cellae, have a long nave in front of the sanctuary. They are found in the territory of the Roman Dalmatia and therefore referred to by the author as Dalmatian. Unlike the cellae trichorae, which in their original form do not have a long entrance arm preceding the sanctuary conchs like a nave, triconchal churches are characterised by this very element in the front part of the chapel. In this respect they are spatially more developed than the basic, cella trichora type, and thus probably represent a somewhat later variants of trefoil memorial chapels. It seems that the triconchal churches at Dalmatia were mostly built by the late fifth century or in the early sixth century.The third group consists of those churches from the second group which were transformed from the initial funerary chapels into complex triconchal basilicas. Similar to other types of original memorial chapels which were subsequently transformed into congregational churches in Dalmatia, these too were remodelled in mid-sixth century. Thus, by being enveloped by a ring of subsequently added rooms, some triconchal churches were transformed from the original memorial chapels into public congregational churches furnished with liturgical annexes, among which were baptisteries. Baptisteries in particular witness about the nature of the remodelled triconchal churches and newly created complexes, with a trefoil structure at the core. They indicate an increase in conversion of the population which probably caused the building of such structures. Of course, a similar development was shared by other types of originally private chapels in the time when churches were being built after the model of complex basilicas. However, in Dalmatia, there are no examples of such buildings before the age of Justinian i.e. before the second third of the sixth century. It is likely that the mentioned conversion occurred in this period. With it, many older churches, including triconchal churches, became cores of new complexes. Based on the examples of such a development, it is possible to speak convincingly of pre-Justinianic origins of the initial form of Dalmatian triconchal churches.The fourth group is formed by pre-Romanesque triconchal churches. Their morphology differs from early Christian triconchal churches, and they are represented by two subgroups of interesting early medieval churches in Dalmatia. In the first one are numerous centrally-planned buildings while in the second are two longitudinal structures. Both subgroups are characterised by a sanctuary with three semicircular apses. In the centrally-planned buildings they are placed radially and their axes originate at the centre of the rotunda. Thus, they were not arranged in a cruciform way towards the sanctuary as it had regularly been the case in early Christian cellae trichorae or triconchal churches, where the axes of the lateral apses are perpendicular to the axis of the central apse. However, the three conchs grouped at the sanctuary are a crucial spatial feature in the buildings of the first subgroup so, in principle, they can be referred to as triconchal structures. In this group are the church of Holy Trinity at Zadar and a number of Dalmatian hexaconchal churches, as well as the rotunda at Ošlje. In the second subgroup are the longitudinal churches of Holy Saviour at Vrh Rika near Cetina and the church at Lopuška glavica, both near Knin. These two churches have a long nave in front of the sanctuary, and three conchs along the sanctuary wall, as was the case with early Christian triconchal churches. However, the axes of the lateral conchs are not perpendicular to the axis of the main apse but are placed radially. The nave in the church is significantly wider than the diameter of the main apse. The original layout of the church of St Donatus at Zadar, as a free-standing rotunda, was probably created in the in the eighth century. All other pre-Romanesque triconchal churches in Dalmatia have been convincingly dated to the period between the mid-ninth century to the early decades of the tenth century.Finally, the fifth group consist of the Romanesque trefoil churches. These are small, cruciform cellae which have a short entrance arm at the front and three conchs grouped around the core at the back. The front usually rectangular and the conchs are semicircular. They are vaulted with semi-domed vaults. Above the core is a round drum with a dome. Two of those cellae are almost completely preserved and of particular interest due to the intersecting vault ribs below their domes. Stylistic characteristics of these buildings indicate the early Romanesque architectural features of the twelfth century. All other medieval triconchal churches in this group probably also belong to the wider Romanesque period.Finally, regardless of all similar spatial forms in antique and late antique secular buildings, it should be pointed out that the cellae trichorae and triconchal churches originated as Christian memorial chapels, inspired by the gglomerations of the earliest funerary a chapel installed in early Christian cemeteries. The triconchal shape of these chapels originated in these agglomerations and remained related to the funerary and memorial character. It can be concluded that the triconchal churches in Dalmatia were formed with relation to that character and that they persisted from the early Christian time to the mature middle ages. Perhaps it might be naive and mistaken to interpret the morphology of later buildings as being directly influenced by the earlier. Pre-Romanesque rotundas display a variety of triconchal forms which were not known in early Christian architecture of Dalmatia (except the hexaconchal interior of Zadar Baptistery). Nonetheless, polyconchal spaces of early medieval memorial buildings were furnished with a triconchal sanctuary of the same shape as those in early Christian triconchal buildings, and witness about the funerary function in the pre-Romanesque period. The Romanesque trefoil churches, however, recreated the original type, not as direct replicas of early Christian triconchal forms, but through their function, while their shape grew out of the reformation spirit of the great church reform in the Romanesque period. Thus, Dalmatian triconchal churches illustrate a continuous need for private memorial chapels which does not necessarily have to be triconchal but this particular shape has been discussed here because of its peculiarity. Already in the early Christian period, some trefoil structures outgrew their function of a family chapel to become churches for a larger community. That is why they were accompanied by additional liturgical functions and annexes necessary for monastic or parish churches. By this, they were transformed into complex basilicas with additional spaces while the original triconchal structure, situated at the centre, became the church, quadratum populi, sometimes surrounded by a series of interconnected rooms which served as an ambulatory. This might point to the possibility that in some cases the old funerary function of the original memorial chapel could have continued together with the new liturgical rites in the newly formed complex basilica as a congregational church. These changes did not take place in the medieval memorial structures although some hexaconchal churches and the octaconchal church at Ošlje were provided with new annexes soon after the initial building phase, and that added to the rotunda of St Donatus at Zadar included a gallery.

Public mass modern education was a major pillar of state-led development in the post-Colonial period. I examine the impact of Egypt's transformation in 1951–1953 of traditional elementary schools (kuttabs) into modern primary schools on the Christian-Muslim educational and occupational differentials, which were in favor of Christians. The reform granted kuttabs' graduates (where Muslim students were over-represented) access to higher stages of education that were previously confined to primary schools' graduates. Exploiting the variation in exposure to the reform across cohorts and districts of birth among males in 1986, I find that the reform benefited Muslims but not Christians. What Europe is suffering from is the result of generalizing education among all levels of society… they have no chance of avoiding what happened [Europe's 1848 revolutions]. So if this is an example in front of us, our duty is simply to teach them how to read and write to a certain limit in order to encourage satisfactory work and not to spread education beyond that point.Muhammad Ali Pasha, Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt (1805–1848), in a private letter to his son, Ibrahim Pasha (in Judith Cochran 1986, p. 6)Education is like the water we drink and the air we breathe.Taha Hussein, Egyptian liberal intellectual and Egypt's Minister of Education (1950–1952)The poor go to heaven, but can't they have a share on Earth too? They are willing to give up a share in heaven in exchange for a share on Earth.Gamal Abdul-Nasser, President of Egypt (1956–1970) (Excerpt from a public speech)

Using documents, books and articles written by Nicola Velimirović during World War I, this article investigates his attitude towards this conflagration and shows how his Christian views influence his outlook on this topic. Shared during his visits to the USA and England and via lectures given in venues like Westminster Abbey or Oxford University, his ideas make him a militant for peace and, at the same time, a man who defends his country's cause in front of the Austro-Hungarian abuses. Investigating his writings from this point of view is important because he manages to show a different face of the future Serbian bishop and brings to the fore his concerns regarding his contemporary society.

The present article focuses on exterior mural decoration imitating icons, which are placed on the south facades of the Church of the Archangels in Iprari and St. George church in Ipkhi (Upper Svaneti), dating from the 13th century. The iconography of these fresco-icons constituting the Deesis is interpreted as a visual reference to the chancel barrier. The facade murals discussed in the article play a role in the complex relations between individual parts of the Christian church. The templon imagery, intended for those for whom the sanctuary is not accessible, is a liminal marker. I argue that the facade fresco-icons depicting the Deesis function as templon imagery addressing the space in front of them.

In the years that immediately preceded the outbreak of the First World War, a willingness to die, and die well, in pursuit of a noble objective was lauded as the ultimate act of courage by a diverse range of commentators across the United Kingdom. The story of the deaths of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions on their return from the South Pole in 1911 inspired effusive references to medieval chivalry and Christian sacrifice, and seemed to offer welcome proof that an ancient form of British courage was still very much alive in the twentieth century. This article explores British conceptions of combatant courage during the First World War as understood by the civilian population on the home front and the junior officers and men who bore the brunt of the fighting on the Western Front. Drawing on often overlooked sources that shed light on troop culture, it argues that while neither group rejected the pre-war paradigm, each embraced a conception of courage that was informed by its own distinctive needs and experiences. Chivalry and dignified self-sacrifice resonated strongly with civilians who suffered unprecedented levels of bereavement and understood their nation’s role in the war as righteous and just. For the soldiers who served in the front lines of an attritional trench war in which personal agency was greatly reduced, a robust rejection of victimhood and an emphasis on perseverance, articulately expressed through humour, became the new ideal of courage.

The state election in Bremen in 2019 was marked by a head-to-head race between SPD and CDU and ended up with a considerably increased turnout and a historical result . The Christian Democrats managed to beat the Social Democrats for the first time in Bremen’s postwar history . The Greens achieved their second-best outcome in a Bremen state election and had the choice between a so-called Jamaica coalition or a left coalition . Whereas the pragmatic oriented Left Party succeeded to accomplish a two-digit result of 11 .3 percent, the Liberals and the Alternative of Germany underperformed with an outcome of about six percent of the votes . After a round of exploratory negotiations between Christian Democrats, Greens, and Liberals on the one hand and between Social Democrats, Greens, and The Left on the other hand, the rank and file of the Green Party decided to hold coalition talks with Social Democrats and the Left Party . Once the red-green-red coalition was built, the Senate’s president and SPD front-runner, Carsten Sieling, resigned . Instead, Andreas Bovenschulte became the Senate’s new president . Bovenschulte is a former chairman of Bremen’s Social Democrats and had already been elected to lead the SPD parliamentary party .