Journal articles on the topic 'Doctrinal Liberation theology'

The few extant studies of Jesuit martyr and theologian Yves de Montcheuil focus on his life and theology. This article combines these considerations with philosophical and political ones by examining how Montcheuil's spiritual resistance to Nazism emerges from his study of action and justice in the thought of Nicolas Malebranche and Maurice Blondel. Montcheuil's oeuvre culminates in a lived theology of sacrifice, and shows how the French war experience contributed to doctrinal development in areas such as faith and action, liberation theology, church—state relations, and lay ecclesiology.

This article is a general exploration of US Latinx Pentecostalism’s explicit and implicit theology of the Kingdom of God and how it can contribute to US Latinx Pentecostalism’s socio-political engagement. An overview will be provided of traditional, US Pentecostal Kingdom theology and Kingdom theology in Latin American Liberation Theology. These will be contrasted with US Latinx Pentecostal perspectives. To locate US Latinx Pentecostal theology of the Kingdom of God, this paper will first provide a wide-ranging description of a traditional evangelical hermeneutical process. Afterward, an understanding of the Kingdom that is generally taught and accepted in most evangelical contexts will be discussed. This will be followed by a survey of dominant US Pentecostal theology of the Kingdom of God through the lens of the Assemblies of God doctrinal statements and Pentecostal scholars. The life and work of various Pentecostal ministers and author Piri Thomas will provide a Kingdom perspective of US Latinx Pentecostal practitioners. I will provide an analysis based on their life experiences and some of their writings. The writings of Orlando Costas will set the stage in order to examine the works of other US Latinx Pentecostal scholars. Thereafter, the theologies of Latin American Liberation Theologians Clodivis and Leonardo Boff and others will be surveyed. Before concluding, the article will provide a historical overview of Latinx Pentecostal social engagement in the northeast US with the goal of identifying Kingdom values and priorities.

The subject of this article is the political-legal ideas of the Byzantine philosopher, public figure and theologian Theodore the Studite. His life and activity were closely related with the policy of Byzantine Iconoclasm conducted in the VIII – IX centuries. The emperors of the Romans, in their struggle against the political and economic power of the Orthodox Church, used discrepancies in interpretation of one of the doctrinal questions of Christianity, which historically manifested as a “stumbling block” among the adherents of this religion. Western province of the Byzantine Empire were against the policy of “iconoclasm” and its monasticism, the prominent representative of this intellectual tradition of which (in the medieval understanding of the latter) was Theodore the Studite. The political-legal ideas of Theodore the Studite, unlike his theological views, are poorly studied in the Russian science. However, they have certain scientific value due to the uniqueness of views of the philosopher comparing to the works of contemporaries and the Byzantine political;-legal literature overall. In his polemical works of theological orientation, Theodore the Studite discusses the problems of the liberty of conscience, individual autonomy, human rights (in their medieval interpretation), boundaries of intrusion of public authorities in social life, etc. The ideas of the Byzantine philosopher represent one of the first attempts of apologetics of “democratic Christianity”.

Historically, the Roman Catholic Church is seen as an obstacle to progressive social and political change in Latin America. Beginning in the 1960s, however, the Second Vatican Council and the growth of liberation theology prompted doctrinal and institutional changes in the church in Brazil and several other countries. From an ally of the conservative oligarchy and establishment, the church turned into an engine of mobilization for grassroots movements and a focal point for popular opposition to authoritarian governments. One of the more significant and widely researched changes in the “popular church” was the establishment of thousands of ecclesiastical base communities (CEBs) among the poor. The fact that the majority of CEB participants are women has received far less attention.

AbstractIn the second half of the twentieth century there was a renaissance of liberalism and a new interest in freedom in modern Western industrialised nations. Theologians responded to the intellectual discourse in various ways while treating the concept of freedom in theology. Here three different engagements with the understanding of freedom and liberalism at the end of the century are introduced. The first is a critique of liberalism and rejection of modern accounts of freedom as autonomy. This account draws upon historical and theological resources in the presentation of modern liberalism as a negative development in theology and in understandings of society. In the article here, this first approach is presented in the context of its social and political orientation and contemporary context in the later twentieth century. While some of the contours of this first approach are viewed critically, one aspect of its intentions is praised. The second example is an adoption of the discourse of modern liberalism and a justification of it with an account of the Reformation as its progenitor. This account draws upon a narrative of progressive liberation in modern human history. The second approach is addressed here in its particular context after the Second World War and in the specific cultural and theological framework of the latter part of the twentieth century. While the revival of modern liberal theology in the latter part of the twentieth century is presented here as a necessary development in the wake of radical early twentieth century anti-liberalism, some of the sweeping claims of this approach are viewed critically. Finally, a third mediatory approach is presented. This general group sought to advance a form of the liberal theological tradition while also theologically challenging Enlightenment conceptions of autonomy. Three brief examples are drawn upon to illustrate this approach. One is concerned with providing orientation for the basic doctrinal question of human freedom and sin. The second example deals with the systematic theological specification of human freedom in the postmodern context and its relation to an understanding of divine freedom. The third example deals with the ethical implications of a theologically grounded understanding of freedom.

Abstract This article pays particular attention to the three themes in Barth’s macro-political theology and their contextual significance for a micro-political theology for Myanmar. First, I explore Barth’s renewed doctrine of political Lordship in response to the traditional doctrine of two kingdoms. Second, I examine his hermeneutics of the dialectical relation between church and state and the ethical role of the church in the sociopolitical situation in the light of his theological document of the Barmen Declaration against the evil of Nazism and the errors of the church. Finally, I seek to show how Barth’s political theology and liberation theology are convergent and divergent in their synthetic goals of transforming unjust rulers and liberating the oppressed, reforming and renewing the ethnic church, and establishing an embracive and reconciled community in Myanmar.

Reverend Dr. James Hal Cone has unquestionably been a key architect in defining Black liberation theology. Trained in the Western theological tradition at Garrett Theological Seminary, Cone became an expert on the theology of Twentieth-century Swiss-German theologian Karl Barth. Cone’s study of Barth led to his 1965 doctoral dissertation, “The Doctrine of Man in the Theology of Karl Barth,” where he critically examined Barth’s Epistle to the Romans and Church Dogmatics. His contemporaries and more recent African American theologians and religious scholars have questioned the extent to which Karl Barth’s ideas shaped Cone’s Black theology. The purpose of this brief commentary is to review the major ideas in “The Doctrine of Man” and Black Theology and Black Power, his first book, to explore which theological concepts Cone borrows from Barth, if any, and how Cone utilizes them within his articulation of a Black theological anthropology and Black liberation theology.

As a Catholic theologian at the vanguard of liberation theology, Leonardo Boff wrote much about the poor and of the destruction of nature. Boff constructed his theology on the basis of Vatican II’s (1962-1965) spirit of aggiornamento. Eventually, and with much controversy, Boff opted to leave the Franciscan order, having oft-criticized the doctrines and social teachings of the Catholic Church deemed “lukewarm” toward structural poverty and Latin American socio-economic life that had been impacted by the actions of junta militarism; as well, he criticized both the hierarchical spirit of the Roman Catholic Church and the doctrine of papal infallibility. Since the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis), who has dedicated his life and theology to address the destruction of nature and the cries of the poor, the spirit of Boff's theology seems again to be on the rise. My conviction is that the theological content of Laudato si’ displays something of a Boffian character, the import of which propels the present study. By way of comparative method, I show that there are similarities in the theologies of both theologians. This essay begins with an exploration of Boff's theology, continuing with an exploration of the text of the encyclical Laudato si’, followed by the bringing together of these texts comparatively. By the end of this paper, a critique concerning the concept of sustainable development will be put forth.

Abstract The article explains the fundamental features of the Lutheran two kingdoms doctrine and the Reformed doctrine of the Lordship of Christ and finds strong convergences of both in addressing political realities without leaving the Gospel perspective aside. Since Catholic concepts show a similar profile, an ecumenical public theology emerges. Six guidelines for a public church are presented to describe the consequences of a public theological approach to politics for the churches. Authentic faith witness is as much part of these guidelines as ‘bilinguality’, that is, the capability to talk the language of secular discourse and prophetic speech, which is put in relationship to the necessity of concrete daily political processes. Thus, in the end the article explains the profile of public theology in relation to liberation theology and political theology.

AbstractThe system of beliefs and practices related to Bektashism seems to have corresponded to a kind of liberation theology, whereas the structure of Bektashi groups corresponded more or less to the type of religious organization conventionally known as charismatic groups. It becomes understandable therefore that their spiritual tendency could at times connect with and meet social, cultural and national perspectives. In turn, when members of the previously persecuted religious minority will acquire a degree of religious and political respectability within society at large, the doctrines of heterodoxy and liberation theology fade into the background. In the end, the heirs of the heterodox promoters of spiritual reform and social movement turn into followers and faithful defenders of a legitimate authority. They become the spokespeople for an institutionalized orthodoxy whose support is sought by the political regime.

Liberal theology since Harnack has failed to make much sense of the patristic axiom, ‘Not assumed is not healed’. Harnack is severe: ‘The mystical doctrine of salvation and its new formulas had not only no Scriptural authority in their favour, but conflicted also with the evangelical idea of Jesus Christ.’ More recently Maurice Wiles questioned the cogency of the axiom, negatively on the grounds of difficulties in the idea of ‘divinisation’ and of the corporate nature of salvation, but positively on the grounds of a quite different understanding of what salvation means. ‘If salvation be thought of in personal terms’, he argues, ‘then its effective outworking is through the experience of divine grace in the human soul. Whatever media may be involved, the locus of salvation is the sphere of ordinary personal existence in which God establishes fellowship with man.’

<p>This paper tells the thoughts of two religious figures who are concerned with talking about religion and humanity. These two figures are Abdurrahman Wahid and Gustavo Gutiérrez. The question that will be answered here is how the concept of the liberation of the two figures and where the difference lies and their implications for real life. The issues discussed here are related to theology, more popularly called liberation theology. The method used in this research is to read and examine the work of each of the two figures, both works that are called primary or secondary. After that, the concepts are compared according to their respective contexts. From the results of research on their works, an understanding is obtained that the theology of liberation is inspired by the real conditions of society that are of concern, both in terms of poverty and opportunity. Therefore, according to the two figures, religion must be able to solve the problem, it means that religion practised not only as a doctrine but also humanity. Action work of people who profess religion is needed to solve community problems. There are differences in the approaches of the two figures, namely Gutiérrez is more focused directly involved, while Wahid besides being directly involved, but also with a cultural approach and changing the way people think. The difference between the two approaches has implications for the process of change, namely Gutiérrez is more revolutionary mechanistic, while Wahid is more cultural and evolutionary</p>

AbstractThe article presents Jürgen Moltmann as one of the most important contemporary theologians worldwide. It describes the development of his theology as a journey of theological discoveries and explorations which have influenced many central themes of theology in the 20th century and beyond. Moltmann’s Theology of Hope in 1964, which established his worldwide fame, was an important reference point for various liberation theologies in different parts of the world. His book on The Crucified God made clear that hope in a Christian sense always includes a deep theological account of suffering. God in Creation presented his ecological doctrine of creation, which attempted to overcome an anthropocentric theological thinking that ignored the presence of God’s Spirit in non-human nature. In his messianic Christology he describes redemption as something including the whole cosmos and all victims of evolution. Moltmann’s eschatology relates God’s justice and love by developing a notion of judgment as healing and saving judgment

The modern scene in Christian theology is characterized by a number of very diverse movements from feminism and liberation theology to radical views on christology and the charismatic movement. For many to speak or write about the Trinity is neither realistic nor helpful. In more recent writings, however, there has been renewed interest in the doctrine of the Trinity and in its application to the spheres of the church and also of social and political concerns. Further, a variety of groups as well as individuals have been turning their attention to this central Christian doctrine which is basically attempting to say what we believe about God: Barth, Moltmann, Jungel, the Torrances, on the Protestant side and the Roman Catholics, Von Balthasar, Rahner, and Congar, as well as the Orthodox Lossky, Zraoulas and Meyendorff. Groups likeC.E.C.the Conference of European Churches (The Reconciling Trinity), and the British Council of ChurchesB.C.C.(The Forgotten Trinity) and the Irish Theological Association (The Trinity and the Enlightenment)have all dealt in varied ways with this subject.

Late in 1997 the Anglican Church in Torres Strait, for more than eighty years the bastion of Torres Strait Christianity, split, and in the following year the new Church of Torres Strait came into being, its congregations aligned with the traditional Anglican communion. What follows is an attempt to unravel the complex political, communal and doctrinal issues that caused the split, considering them in the light of an ongoing assertion of indigenous self-determination which can be traced back to the colonial era. The article also briefly traces the emergence since the early 1980s of a potentially liberating syncretic theology in the Torres Strait Anglican tradition which may hold within it the possibility of a reconciliation between bipotaim and pastaim, darkness and light, and tries to assess the implications of the split for this nascent theology.

Abstract Simon Maimela was one of the first contextual theologians appearing on the scene in the 1970s in South Africa. He obtained a ThD at Harvard University in 1978 and was appointed inter alia as lecturer in the Department of Systematic Theology at Unisa. Like other contextual theologians his writings give evidence of a search for an ongoing dialogue between ‘text’ and ‘context.’ They have a strong Christological character, which corresponds with his conviction that liberation theology should be a keen exponent of a doctrine of atonement. This article is an attempt to investigate and describe the way in which his Christology stands in relation to a number of systematic theological loci. This is done within a broader context of the nature of African and South African Christology. The impact of his theological reflection in South Africa is finally assessed in the light of his view on the Bible.

Abstrak: Teologi feminis pascakolonial merupakan sebuah gerakan teologis dari Dunia Ketiga yang berusaha menggabungkan perjuangan feminis melawan androsentrisme dan patriarki dari generasi pertama teolog feminis—yang dominan berkulit putih—dengan sebuah kesadaran terhadap pengalaman kolonial dan perjuangan bagi kemerdekaan. Di dalam area penafsiran Alkitab, pendekatan feminis pascakolonial mencoba untuk mendekolonisasi dan mendepartriarkalisasi teks-teks Alkitab dan penafsirannya bagi tujuan-tujuan liberatif. Artikel ini mengobservasi dan menganalisis salah satu teolog feminis pascakolonial yang terkemuka, yaitu Kwok Pui-Lan, secara khusus menelaah metode berteologinya yang unik. Tiga isu spesifik akan dibahas: pandangannya tentang pengalaman, Alkitab, tradisi, dan akal budi sebagai sumber-sumber berteologi, pandangannya tentang doktrin Alkitab dan penafsirannya, dan metodenya dalam melakukan teologi feminis pascakolonial. Artikel ini akan ditutup dengan sebuah evaluasi awal. Sementara beberapa poin positif dapat ditarik dari metodenya, kaum Injili akan melihat beberapa potensi masalah, khususnya terkait isu otoritas, kebenaran, dan identitas. Abstract: Postcolonial feminist theology is an originally Third-World theological movement which attempts to combine feminist struggles against androcentrism and patriarchy of the first generation of feminist—predominantly White—theologians with an awareness of colonial experience and struggle for independence. In the area of biblical interpretation, postcolonial feminist approach tries to decolonize and depatriarchalize both biblical texts and their interpretations for liberative purposes. In this article, authors will observe and analyze one of the most prominent postcolonial feminist theologians, Kwok Pui-Lan, specifically looking at her unique theological method. Three specific issues will be addressed: her view on experience, Scripture, tradition, and reason as sources of theology, her doctrine of Scripture and its interpretation, and her method of doing postcolonial feminist theology. The article will then be concluded with a preliminary evaluation. While some positive points can be drawn from her method, evangelicals will observe some potential problems, especially those concerning the issues of authority, truth, and identity.

Theology, the study of God, consists of a network of subdisciplines: biblical theology, moral theology, ecumenical theology, and so on. Each branch of theology has its own distinctive object of study, methods, and purposes. For example, pneumatology studies the Holy Spirit, practical theology uses the pastoral cycle, and liberation theology seeks to transform unjust societal structures that oppress the marginalized. Each branch of theology has its own distinctive community of scholars. It is a common view (though perhaps a contested one, as between the different church traditions) that the main purpose of Christian theology is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. The branches of theology, in turn, are vehicles for each of this core purpose. Legal theology could become a branch of theology with its own distinctive objects of study, methods, and purposes. What follows explores these themes, how the subdiscipline of legal theology might be defined and developed in the context of the study of the systems of law, order, and polity, of churches across the Christian traditions that deal with, for example, forms of regulation, ministry (lay or ordained), governance (institutions and functions), discipline, doctrine, worship, rites, property, and external relations. It does so as to the following. (1) The object of study: legal theology should at its core be about the relationship between theology and church law—more particularly, the relationship between church law and each of the other branches of theology. (2) The method of study: legal theology may involve the theological study of church law and/or the legal study of theology using standard juristic methods (such as text and context, critical, historical, analytical) as well as methods used in the other branches of theology (3) The purpose of study: the development of a community of scholars collaborating with a view to its impact on ecclesial practice. Theology is indispensable to a full understanding of the place of law in the life of the church; and law provides evidence to test the propositions of theology in the practical life of the church as this is translated through norms to action.

Abstract In the context of ecological destruction and the emergence of numerous eco-spiritualities the challenge for Christian theology is to address the question: Where does the Spirit, who liberates nature, take place today? This is addressed in three sections: In a first section pneumatology is revisioned as ecological soteriology while the Spirit is portrayed as a giver and liberator of life. In a second section it is suggested that the doctrine of the Spirit may be reinterpreted in the context of the spatial turn of theology in terms of faith in the Spirit’s inhabitation. The third and concluding section offers an argument for an ecological pneumatology in synergy with animism, an approach which investigates the critical potentials of resisting and overcoming the fetishism of late modern capitalism.

Christian activism in the Arab–Israeli conflict and theological reflections on the Middle East have evolved around Palestinian liberation theology as a theological–political doctrine that scrutinizes Zionism, the existence of Israel and its policies, developing a biblical hermeneutics that reverses the biblical narrative, in order to portray Israel as a wicked regime that operates in the name of a fallacious primitive god and that uses false interpretations of the scriptures. This article analyzes the theological political–theological views applied to the Arab–Israeli conflict developed by Geries Khoury, Naim Ateek, and Mitri Raheb—three influential authors and activists in different Christians denominations. Besides opposing Zionism and providing arguments for the boycott of Israel, such conceptualizations go far beyond the conflict, providing theological grounds for the denial of Jewish statehood echoing old anti-Jewish accusations.

The conclusions of the Fifth Conference of Bishops of Latin America meeting in Aparecida in 2007 are entitled ‘Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ.’ When analyzed in the light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the traditional doctrines of soteriology, the sacraments, ecclesiology, and authority in the Church are missing; they are also missing in the conclusions of the previous conferences of Latin American bishops and in the Second African Synod. The conference of Medellin of 1968 had inaugurated the see-judge-act methodology, but it is missing in Aparecida. Also missing is a strong emphasis on social justice and structural sin, which are central to liberation theology. However, missionary discipleship is not just an ideal in Latin America; it is practiced through the Holy Popular Mission of Brazil and small communities in Guatemala. Hence the Catholic Church of Latin America is heading in a new direction. In this way, it is an example of a Church-type structure with some features of the sect type.

Abstract What is the source of the antipathy of Catholic intellectuals toward free markets? That is the issue addressed in the present paper. We see the antecedents of this viewpoint of theirs in terms of secular humanism, Marxism and mistaken views of morality and economics. One of the explanations for this phenomenon are the teachings of St Augustine. He greatly distrusted the City of Man, seeing it as anarchic and chaotic. In contrast, his City of God is more orderly, but far removed from the hurly burly of free enterprise. Another source of the rejection of capitalism on the part of Catholic intellectuals is liberation theology, which is Marxism minus the atheism of that doctrine. Both economic and cultural Marxism have played a role in the alienation of such intellectuals from the tenets of laissez faire capitalism. Are there any counter currents? Yes, the School of Salamanca, which has been all but forgotten in this community.

<p><em>This research of the text of Kakawin Smaradahana. This Kakawin is one of the old Javanese literary works in the form of a poem that tells the story of the burning of Sang Hyang Smara and the romance of Sang Hyang Smara with Déwī Ratih. Kakawin is written by Mpu Dharmaja during the reign of King Prabhu Kāmeśwara. Kakawin Smaradahana provides an understanding of the aspects of theology gives an emphasis on the nature of the omnipotence of God and than this research a qualitative research. The results of this study are related to the general description of the origin of Kakawin Smaradahana script, language, and writing. Narrative structure in Kakawin consists of manggala, presentation form, corpus and narrative units and epilogue. The formal structure in kakawin is the metrum and the style of language. The doctrine contained in Kakawin Smaradahana Teachings that the Divine God as Bhaṭara Śiwa is part of the sahasranama of God, the Correlation of the Doctrine of Love on Hindu marriage and the Teaching of Yoga. The teaching function of Kakawin Smaradahana namely Religious Function, Liberation Function, Social Function, Moral Function and Educational Function. Theological Value on the role of women in Kakawin Smaradahana namely Value Sacrifice, Value of Loyalty, Value of Love, Sexuality Value and Value of purity.</em><strong><em></em></strong></p>

Di tengah sengkarut ekonomi global yang menyebabkan kesenjangan yang tajam, masyarakat dan elit-elit politik di dunia seolah telah kehilangan daya kritis untuk melawan penindasan dan penghisapan berkedok pembangunan. Di situlah Islam, sebagai agama yang transformatif, seharusnya mampu hadir sebagai penawar. Secara normatif, Islam bukanlah agama yang menafikan tanggung jawab sosial. Malahan dalam firman-Nya, Allah Swt menyatakan seorang muslim sebagai pendusta agama apabila sementara ia beribadah, ia mengacuhkan kondisi prihatin fakir dan yatim di sekitarnya (107: 3). Doktrin utama Islam, doktrin tauhid juga mengisyaratkan kesatuan manusia (The unity of man) sebagai hamba yang tunduk patuh kepada kesatuan Tuhan (The unity of God) dan karenanya menolak upaya penuhanan lainnya. Tulisan ini mengajukan sebuah konsepsi mengenai Islam selaku teologi kritis yang memiliki pesan utama agar penganutnya melakukan perubahan sosial. Konsepsi itu memperlihatkan Islam yang membebaskan melalui lima elemen teologis, yaitu: doktrin, kisah, subjek, kesadaran, dan pendidikan yang membebaskan. Amid the turmoil of the global economy which led to sharp disparities, the people and political elites in the world seemed to have lost the critical power to oppose the oppression and exploitation under the guise of development. That is where Islam, as a transformative religion, should be able to come as an antidote. Normatively, Islam is not a religion that denies social responsibility. In fact, in his word, God declared a Muslim a religious liar if while he worshiped he ignored the conditions of concern for the needy and orphans around him (107: 3). The main doctrine of Islam, the doctrine of monotheism also implies human unity (The unity of man) as a servant who obeys to the unity of God (The Unity of God) and therefore rejects other full efforts. This paper proposes a conception of Islam as a critical theology which has the main message that followers adhere to social change. This conception shows a liberating Islam through five theological elements namely doctrine, story, subject, consciousness, and liberating education.Kata Kunci: Teologi Pembebasan, Pendidikan Kritis, Transformasi Sosial, Islam

AbstractFrom 1922 through 1936 Max Yergan, an African-American graduate of historically Black Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina represented the North American YMCA in South Africa through the auspices of the Student Christian Association. A student secretary since his sophomore year in 1911, with Indian and East African experience in World War One, Yergan's star rose sufficiently to permit him entry into the racially challenging South Africa field after a protracted campaign waged on his behalf by such interfaith luminaries as Gold Coast proto nationalist J.E.K. Aggrey and the formidable Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois. Arriving on the eve of the Great Rand Mine Strike of 1922, Yergan's South African years were punctuated by political concerns. Entering the country as an Evangelical Pan-Africanist influenced by the social gospel thrust of late nineteenth and early twentieth century American Protestantism that reached the YMCA and other faith-friendly but nondenominational organizations, Yergan became favorably disposed to Marxist and Marxist-Leninist doctrine in the course of his South African posting. Against the backdrop of the labor agitation of the post World War One era and the expansion and transformation of the South African Communist Party that occurred during the mid to late nineteen twenties, Yergan's response to what he termed "the appeal of Communism" made him an avatar of a liberation theology fusing Marxist revolution and Christianity. This paper details some of the trajectory of that momentous and profound personal evolution.

Reading the book under review has truly taken me down memory lane. Some 20 years ago I encountered the academic study of Islam primarily through reading the books of Professor Fazlur Rahman (including the ‘Serbo-Croatian’ translation of his book Islam) all of which left a deep and indelible impression on me both as a Muslim and as an aspiring academic. In that sense I wish I had myself authored this or a similar book. Generally speaking, Ahmed appraises and frames the theological thinking of Rahman from the perspective of considering him a significant contributor to the “Islamic theology of modernity” (jadid ‘ilm al-kalam) in the tradition of Muhammad Iqbal, the famous twentieth-century phi- losopher of the Subcontinent (xiv-xv). Rightfully so, this reviewer would add! The main aim the author sets himself in the book is to “scrutinise” Rahman’s contribution to traditional kalam, theology proper (ilāhiyāt), and prophecy (nubuwwat) but with an eye on assessing the implications Rahman’s theological thought has on “modernization and reformation of ‘ilm ul kalam” (xv). Methodologically, Ahmed considers his approach as falling in line with “the constructivist method” associated with Albert Hou- rani’s Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (1967), “wherein the emphasis is placed on the importance of locating ideas within their unique intellectual context” and maximum attention is awarded to the influences, personality traits and circumstances that have had a bearing on the intellectual under analysis (xvi). The book under review consists of an introduction and four chapters. The first chapter is a biographical overview of Rahman’s life and his major works. It also helpfully positions Rahman’s ideas in the context of his two major interlocutory traditions, namely, what the author of the book terms (perhaps problematically) as Orientalism and Islamic orthodoxy. Finally, the chapter provides an outline of the intellectual “sources” of Rahman’s Islamic thought (Qur’an, Sunna, ijmā‘, and ijtihād) with special attention given to how his approach to these sources plays out in relation to major issues in Islamic intellectual history including the conceptual, epistemolog- ical, and hermeneutical relationship between the concepts of hadith and Sunna and his position on the issue of the closing of the gates of ijtihād. Drawing upon Rahman’s work Revival and Reform and Islam and Modernity in particular, Ahmed in the second chapter examines Rahman’s thinking on the issues pertaining to the emergence and the development of Islamic theology (kalām) and the major debates that have animated them (e.g., islām and īmān; qadar and jabr, irjā’, al-ḥusn wa-l-qubh) and the role of the major theological groups and scholars in the development of Sunni theology during the formative and post-formative stages of kalām and up to the modern period. Here Ahmed argues that Rahman’s analytical method is to seek “a synthesis between Modern Orientalist methodology and the history of kalam literature” (71), which is also evident in other aspects of Rahman’s Islamic thought—especially in his views on the nature and scope of the concept of Sunna and its relationship with the hadith literature. Chapter three, titled “Concept of God,” is dedicated to Rahman’s con- ceptualization of what constitutes an Islamic worldview and the necessary approach for arriving at it. Ahmed argues that Rahman’s thematic and con- textualist approach to the Qur’an and his dynamic concept of Sunna are the only sources he considers as normative in formulating such a worldview. In this respect Ahmed paints a picture of Rahman’s theology as having af- finities with ideas underpinning liberation theology, with its emphasis on orthopraxy, God’s concern for the poor and the marginalized, and the cre- ation of a just (socio-economic) order. As such, Rahman’s Qur’anic worl- dview, for Ahmed, points to the essentially ethical nature of the Islamic message. I fully concur with this assessment. The chapter also positions Rahman’s thought on the concept of God in relation to major ideas de- veloped by Islamic philosopher-jurists and mystics (Sufis). Ahmed, in this respect, argues that some of Rahman’s ideas were influenced by those of Ibn Sina (on whom he wrote his doctoral dissertation) but that in essence Rahman’s concept of God was different from that of both the Islamic phi- losopher-jurists and Sufis. For Rahman, in Ahmed’s view, the concept of God was that of “a God of creativity” (158). In the final chapter, Rahman’s theory of prophethood takes front stage. Ahmed argues that the roots of Rahman’s theory of prophethood are to be found in the thinking of Ibn Sina, with important modifications and addi- tions rendering theology on equal footing with philosophy (218). Ahmed also describes Rahman’s thinking on related issues such as historical de- bates on the doctrine of miracles and prophetic infallibility. The book importantly brings into discussion in one volume all of the main topics that Rahman wrote on during the course of his life, and provides an informed discussion of Rahman’s thinking as well as the major influences on his thought. Moreover, the author has also more or less successfully con- textualized Rahman’s thinking both in relation to Islamic intellectual histo- ry and the context in which Rahman himself wrote and worked (though as with all other books of this nature and scope, I am sure that specialists may take issue with how Ahmed interprets Rahman’s views). However, in this respect, the reviewer considers that no justice was done to the reception of Rahman’s ideas in the writings of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars who engaged with his ideas from the 1990s through the present. For example, one could mention the ideas of Abdullah Saeed (e.g., Reading the Qur’an in the Twenty-First Century, 2014) on contextualizing the Qur’an, inspired by Rahman’s work on the interpretation of Qur’anic ethico-legal injunctions; that of Amina Wadud (The Qur’an and Woman, 1999) and Asma Barlas (Believing Women in Islam, 2002) on producing gender-egalitarian inter- pretations that are rooted in Rahman’s double movement theory; some of my ideas on the nature and the scope of the concept of Sunna (“The Relative Status of Hadith and Sunna,” 2014) that build further on those of Rahman; and the work of other twenty-first century progressive Muslim scholars like Ebrahim Moosa and Muqtedar Khan. This of course could fill another full book but at least warranted mention here. I hope the author will consider writing a separate volume on this topic. The writing style is, at times, awkward, in part due to the book’s pri- marily descriptive orientation, for the author is often referring to the ideas of others discussed by Rahman in his own work (so that the voices of dif- ferent authors are sometimes confused). Occasional typos are present too. I would recommend this book to all those interested in Islamic intellectual history at less advanced levels and of course those who are keen to get a broad overview of the theological thinking of one of the most important Muslim academics and intellectuals of the twentieth century. However, I would still recommend a direct engagement with Rahman’s works. Adis Duderija, PhDLecturer, Study of Islam and SocietyGriffith University

Reading the book under review has truly taken me down memory lane. Some 20 years ago I encountered the academic study of Islam primarily through reading the books of Professor Fazlur Rahman (including the ‘Serbo-Croatian’ translation of his book Islam) all of which left a deep and indelible impression on me both as a Muslim and as an aspiring academic. In that sense I wish I had myself authored this or a similar book. Generally speaking, Ahmed appraises and frames the theological thinking of Rahman from the perspective of considering him a significant contributor to the “Islamic theology of modernity” (jadid ‘ilm al-kalam) in the tradition of Muhammad Iqbal, the famous twentieth-century phi- losopher of the Subcontinent (xiv-xv). Rightfully so, this reviewer would add! The main aim the author sets himself in the book is to “scrutinise” Rahman’s contribution to traditional kalam, theology proper (ilāhiyāt), and prophecy (nubuwwat) but with an eye on assessing the implications Rahman’s theological thought has on “modernization and reformation of ‘ilm ul kalam” (xv). Methodologically, Ahmed considers his approach as falling in line with “the constructivist method” associated with Albert Hou- rani’s Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (1967), “wherein the emphasis is placed on the importance of locating ideas within their unique intellectual context” and maximum attention is awarded to the influences, personality traits and circumstances that have had a bearing on the intellectual under analysis (xvi). The book under review consists of an introduction and four chapters. The first chapter is a biographical overview of Rahman’s life and his major works. It also helpfully positions Rahman’s ideas in the context of his two major interlocutory traditions, namely, what the author of the book terms (perhaps problematically) as Orientalism and Islamic orthodoxy. Finally, the chapter provides an outline of the intellectual “sources” of Rahman’s Islamic thought (Qur’an, Sunna, ijmā‘, and ijtihād) with special attention given to how his approach to these sources plays out in relation to major issues in Islamic intellectual history including the conceptual, epistemolog- ical, and hermeneutical relationship between the concepts of hadith and Sunna and his position on the issue of the closing of the gates of ijtihād. Drawing upon Rahman’s work Revival and Reform and Islam and Modernity in particular, Ahmed in the second chapter examines Rahman’s thinking on the issues pertaining to the emergence and the development of Islamic theology (kalām) and the major debates that have animated them (e.g., islām and īmān; qadar and jabr, irjā’, al-ḥusn wa-l-qubh) and the role of the major theological groups and scholars in the development of Sunni theology during the formative and post-formative stages of kalām and up to the modern period. Here Ahmed argues that Rahman’s analytical method is to seek “a synthesis between Modern Orientalist methodology and the history of kalam literature” (71), which is also evident in other aspects of Rahman’s Islamic thought—especially in his views on the nature and scope of the concept of Sunna and its relationship with the hadith literature. Chapter three, titled “Concept of God,” is dedicated to Rahman’s con- ceptualization of what constitutes an Islamic worldview and the necessary approach for arriving at it. Ahmed argues that Rahman’s thematic and con- textualist approach to the Qur’an and his dynamic concept of Sunna are the only sources he considers as normative in formulating such a worldview. In this respect Ahmed paints a picture of Rahman’s theology as having af- finities with ideas underpinning liberation theology, with its emphasis on orthopraxy, God’s concern for the poor and the marginalized, and the cre- ation of a just (socio-economic) order. As such, Rahman’s Qur’anic worl- dview, for Ahmed, points to the essentially ethical nature of the Islamic message. I fully concur with this assessment. The chapter also positions Rahman’s thought on the concept of God in relation to major ideas de- veloped by Islamic philosopher-jurists and mystics (Sufis). Ahmed, in this respect, argues that some of Rahman’s ideas were influenced by those of Ibn Sina (on whom he wrote his doctoral dissertation) but that in essence Rahman’s concept of God was different from that of both the Islamic phi- losopher-jurists and Sufis. For Rahman, in Ahmed’s view, the concept of God was that of “a God of creativity” (158). In the final chapter, Rahman’s theory of prophethood takes front stage. Ahmed argues that the roots of Rahman’s theory of prophethood are to be found in the thinking of Ibn Sina, with important modifications and addi- tions rendering theology on equal footing with philosophy (218). Ahmed also describes Rahman’s thinking on related issues such as historical de- bates on the doctrine of miracles and prophetic infallibility. The book importantly brings into discussion in one volume all of the main topics that Rahman wrote on during the course of his life, and provides an informed discussion of Rahman’s thinking as well as the major influences on his thought. Moreover, the author has also more or less successfully con- textualized Rahman’s thinking both in relation to Islamic intellectual histo- ry and the context in which Rahman himself wrote and worked (though as with all other books of this nature and scope, I am sure that specialists may take issue with how Ahmed interprets Rahman’s views). However, in this respect, the reviewer considers that no justice was done to the reception of Rahman’s ideas in the writings of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars who engaged with his ideas from the 1990s through the present. For example, one could mention the ideas of Abdullah Saeed (e.g., Reading the Qur’an in the Twenty-First Century, 2014) on contextualizing the Qur’an, inspired by Rahman’s work on the interpretation of Qur’anic ethico-legal injunctions; that of Amina Wadud (The Qur’an and Woman, 1999) and Asma Barlas (Believing Women in Islam, 2002) on producing gender-egalitarian inter- pretations that are rooted in Rahman’s double movement theory; some of my ideas on the nature and the scope of the concept of Sunna (“The Relative Status of Hadith and Sunna,” 2014) that build further on those of Rahman; and the work of other twenty-first century progressive Muslim scholars like Ebrahim Moosa and Muqtedar Khan. This of course could fill another full book but at least warranted mention here. I hope the author will consider writing a separate volume on this topic. The writing style is, at times, awkward, in part due to the book’s pri- marily descriptive orientation, for the author is often referring to the ideas of others discussed by Rahman in his own work (so that the voices of dif- ferent authors are sometimes confused). Occasional typos are present too. I would recommend this book to all those interested in Islamic intellectual history at less advanced levels and of course those who are keen to get a broad overview of the theological thinking of one of the most important Muslim academics and intellectuals of the twentieth century. However, I would still recommend a direct engagement with Rahman’s works. Adis Duderija, PhDLecturer, Study of Islam and SocietyGriffith University

Although the concept of "reason" acquired a precise meaning and clearly defined field of validity only in Kant's critical philosophy, the term has a long genesis in European intellectual history. The roots of the concept lie in the Greek concept of the logos and may be reduced to six basic meanings. The earliest Greek thinkers used the word logos to denote the logical structure of the human thought and the rational structure of the world. Anaxagoras considered the all-embracing spiritual principle of the nous the source of overall rationality. In the philosophy of the Stoa the term - logos spermaticos is the active principle acting on passive matter in order to create the world. For the Stoics, the concept of logos is the fundamental principle of entire morality. In Christian theology, the God is logos, Holy Spirit - pneuma the soul. In modern philosophy the basic meanings of the Greek logos were taken over by Latin terms "intellectus" and "ratio". These concepts chart quite clearly two basic lines of European thought, one characterized by immediate and the other by mediated discursive understanding of the truth. Kant was the first in the history of philosophy to introduce the essential distinction between understanding and reason (Verstand and Vernunft). According to this distinction, understanding is analytical and abstract, while reason is the source of apriori principles connecting and grounding the whole of our knowledge and volition. Therefore Kant distinguishes theoretical from practical reason. Though practical reason applies the concepts and principles of theoretical reason, it has priority over the latter because it bestows practical reality also on what is theoretically unknowable (freedom, God, immortality of the soul). The primacy of practical reason was especially emphasized by Fichte in his Doctrine of Science. Reason is for him a purely purposeful activity. The idea of reason attains full articulation in Hegel's philosophy of the absolute spirit. For Hegel, reason is first of all a world principle rather than a human capacity. Unlike Kant, whose reason is basically static, a substantial novelty of Hegel's conception of the objective reason is its dynamism, enabling it to reach an increasing awareness "of itself" in its dialectical development. By including the idea of progress in his conception of reason, Hegel introduced an evaluative element in the concept of rationality and thus enabled a connection between reason and ethos in the era of modernity. The deepest cleavage between reason and ethos was opened by the modern science. On one hand, it improved human life by its discoveries and new knowledge, liberating man from religious superstition and other forms of subordination, but on the other it displayed a restrictive attitude not only toward all sorts of value judgments but also toward many dimensions of reason. The positive knowledge of modern science with no ethos lacks any critical self-awareness of the purpose of knowledge, of how it can be used to the benefit of mankind or abused. Thus for establishing a humanistic scientific culture the connection between reason and ethos must be reaffirmed in modern science.

This article sets out to retrieve the oral histories of a pioneer African Christian at Kagumo Full Gospel Churches of Kenya (FGCK), namely Rev. Ismael Mwai-Mabiu. Mwai-Mabiu offered exceptional leadership as he sought to revive the Mount Kenya region and the entire Kenyan nation, particularly in the mid-1940s–1980s and 2000–2012, through his oral “liberation theological discourses.” These efforts were well captured in his preaching as a roving pastor in mass seminars and in evangelism. His Afro-Pentecostal theology, which he propounded in the FGCK (a church he co-founded), provided the forum that he used as a platform to launch and advance his liberationist Afro-Pentecostal approach. Was Mwai-Mabiu a liberationist or a conservative ecclesiastical leader in his theo-social doctrinal matters; or was he seeking to indigenise theological discourses in his Afro-Pentecostal outfit? The concern of this article is to unearth the nature of leadership that Mwai-Mabiu employed and to describe the relevance of his Afro-Pentecostal oral and liberationist theologies. What were his fundamental concerns? Was his “ministry” evangelised in a cultural vacuum, rather than an inclusive environment that relied upon already existing networks of the host area of ecclesiastical operation? The methodology of this article comprises interviews conducted in four phases: 1) with Mwai-Mabiu himself; 2) with his wife; 3) with three focus discussion groups (FDGs) in interviews between 2016 and 2018; and 4) by the researcher with people closely related to him, namely Bishop Joshua Kiongo Kimani, assistant Bishop Rev. Joseph Muriithi Karugendo, elder Joseph Munene, elder Benson Ngiri, and the pioneers of the FGCK. Later, in May to October 2019, the researcher conducted further research to seek clarification on some areas that did not come out clearly during the first interviews. A review of the relevant literature was also conducted.

The crisis in Adventism in South Africa is that eschatology has been an escape wagon from liberative mission, or at best, an optional, even disposable aspect of the gospel. This attitude or understanding of seeing everything in the future with no connection to the present has caused Adventists to shun social, political and cultural responsibilities. This article explicates and advocates the position that Adventists must explore the broader message and liberative meaning, purpose and function of the Sabbath. As a re-interpretation of the traditional, legalistic understanding of the doctrine of the Sabbath, the model proposed locates the Sabbath at the centre of a radically liberative mission to the poor. It argues that rest, as a mark of wholeness, must be realised in those aspects of human life that the Sabbath addresses; and that theology is not averse to liberative mission. Any theology which claims to be a biblical theology must link its understanding of the gospel to social concern. Therefore, this article aims to retrieve and biblically articulate aspects of the Sabbath doctrine. Adventists cannot be persuaded to operate meaningfully in responding to the millennial hopes of the poor outside of formal recognition of the potency of the Sabbath as a time of deliverance or liberation of people from social, emotional, political and material consequences of sin. Thus, in the following sub-themes the broader liberative message and meaningful aspects of the Sabbath will be explored. The universality of the Sabbath will touch on the following: the Sabbath as a time for release from labour, from oppressive life, indeed a time to embrace even justice and mercy. The Sabbath entails an inclusive mission, God’s dominion-free order in a world impacted by violent engagement with oppressive powers; Sabbath as missionary in its nature will also be explicated.

Human being as sinner: The view of Karl Barth Karl Barth’s view on the doctrine of evil, as reflected in KD IV/1(S 60), can be regarded as a critical correction of the theology of revolution and theology of liberation as a deviation from reformed theology - in so far as evil is no longer situated in the heart of human being, but in social, economical and political structures. In this view, people themselves are separated from sin as a quantity within themselves, instead of a quality of themseKfes. Consequently the sins of others are always the greatest. In contrast to this view, Barth argues that evil is not something in human being, but that human being himself/herself is a sinner, radically, totally and universally. In this article the focus is on Barth’s view concerning the knowledge and the real essence of sin. In an ensuing article the question whom the sinner is will be addressed.

What conclusions of the Pope’s doctrine are significant for our way of teachingthe treaty on Redemption?/) e lecture should include an analysis of the concrete existential situationof today’s individual, our nation and all modern humanity. Awarenessof the contemporary existential situation and contemporary conditions shouldbe both a starting point in the considerations on the Redemption, their relevanceand indispensability, as does political theology or liberation theology in theirown way, and the basis which makes it possible that lectures on Redemptionwould demonstrate its significance for today’s man and teach people effectiveconcern for specific matters of existence of Others. When talking about theeffects of Redemption, one should ask what is its significance today for human existence, for example in the burning matter of human dignity and rights, orin the field of the Church’s tasks in the world. us, both the starting point andeffects of the Redemption should be presented in a concrete way, in relationto the current socio-historical situation, based on current experience.() All teaching on the Redemption should be based on biblical sources,obviously interpreted in light of the last Council and entire Christian Tradition.Referring – to a greater extent – to the content and statements presentedin the Bible, may help to overcome the abstractness and the one-sidednessof traditional soteriological treaties, which consider Redemption only in termsof substitute compensation, the most perfect sacrifice and individualistic andethical participation in the atonement and merits of Christ.X) It is necessary to harmoniously combine – as the Pope does in his Encyclical– various aspects of the doctrine of the Redemption, o6en interpreted separatelyin earlier theological treaties. In the spirit of such a harmonious synthesis,it is necessary to demonstrate the relationship between the work of Redemptionand the work of creation, between the Incarnation and the Passover of Christ,between man’s Redemption and the Redemption of the whole world, betweenmoral liberation from sin and social liberation from all forms of oppression,the concern for eternal salvation and for authentic humanism in earthy life.Z) Among many biblical categories that provide a closer view on the mysteryof Redemption, it is especially important to present the category of love, notonly in order to overcome the narrow, legal and social approach to Redemptionin terms of satisfaction and merit, but above all because love is a preeminentcategory in the theory of Christian revelation, the attitude and action mostappropriate for God and for every human being, and the source or bond of trueand full communion between people and God.9) One should teach about the Redemption using a concrete language,and not the abstract one. When analyzing the biblical texts it is necessary to explainthat the revelation of the mystery of the Redemption took place gradually,within the framework of history, in the context of certain cultural categories,that people were redeemed from the situation of sin through concrete events,carried out by God throughout history, especially through life, death and resurrectionof Christ.e Christ who lived in a certain place and in a certain time carried outthe Redemption by restoring the broken covenant of mankind with God, andtoday He allows us to enjoy the effects of the Redemption. rough meetingand uniting with Him in faith and love, confirmed and strengthened in thesacraments, each person regains the highest dignity and the possibility of fulldevelopment. us, the teaching on Redemption using a concrete language will be thus also tantamount to emphasizing the historical, Christocentric andpersonalist character of Redemption.Y) Finally, following the biblical approach, one should refrain from confiningoneself to recognize the mystery of the Redemption in a purely objectiveand essentializing manner – which was common in earlier textbooks – fromcarrying out considerations about its essence in isolation from man and hissituation, but instead one should try to recognize this mystery in terms of itsrole in human life and humanity, its significance for specific human history, itsinfluence on human activity and human culture.

In the article the author tries to analyze the representation of philosophical and anthropological ideas in the works of fraternal schools in the XVI–XVII centuries. It is noted that man was considered in the unity of soul and body as a microcosm and one that was created in the image of God. Self-knowledge was interpreted as a way of liberation from the burdens of the surrounding world, dependence on earthly sensuality. In particular, Stefan Zizaniy had a rationalist vision of the dogmas of orthodox Christianity. The work of Kyrylo Tranquillion-Stavrovetsky shows a neo-Platonist tradition associated with humanism. In accordance with the traditions of the Renaissance, the philosopher turns to the idea of double truth, considering wisdom from the standpoint of theology and practical philosophy of life. K. Tranquillion-Stavrovetsky, according to the Stoic doctrine, regarded man as a dual nature. But the philosopher also emphasized the unity of soul and body, because they are strongly interconnected. It is noteworthy that the scientist reveals the problem of soul and body from the Renaissance-humanistic moral-ethical and epistemological positions. Isaiah Kopynsky emphasizes that self-knowledge and cognition of the surrounding world does not occur through the study of nature and observation of natural phenomena, but, on the contrary, through immersion in your inner spiritual world through “smart deeds”. It contributes to the knowledge of the outside world, self-knowledge and knowledge of God. I. Kopynsky’s views are close to early Hesychast Byzantine theology. The anthropological views of the theologian are focused on the individual who takes an active part in the historical process. In his works, M. Smotrytsky also pays special attention to the transcendent nature of the human spirit, in particular, analyzing the question of the interaction of action and will. The author concludes that the philosophical and anthropological ideas of the fraternal schools were formed in the context of European philosophical culture and were a reflection of the cultural and historical features of the historical period we are studying.

Hierdie artikel is ’n poging om aan te toon dat daar ’n groot leemte bestaan in die wyse waarop die klassieke leerstukke in dogmatiek in die verlede hanteer is, omdat dit ’n sentrale tema soos die koninkryk van God óf volkome geïgnoreer, óf totaal onderbelig het. Hierdie leemte word vervolgens nader ondersoek. Eers word aandag gegee aan die eskatologiese modelle wat in hierdie verband ontstaan het. Daarna word op die sentraliteit van die tema van die koninkryk in die Ou en Nuwe Testament gefokus en hierna word op die dinamiese uitwerking daarvan gelet wat dit op die samelewing behoort te hê. Die konklusie waartoe die outeur kom, is dat die tema van die koninkryk van God in die geheel gesien in die kerk en in die teologie totaal onderbeklemtoon was en steeds is. Vir ’n relevante kerkbeskouing (ekklesiologie) kan dit ’n groot bevryding bring indien die fokus van die kerk na die (gekome en komende) ryk van God verskuif. Die dogmatiek benodig ’n afsonderlike locus wat oor die Basileiologie handel.Theology of the kingdom (Basileiology)? Theological reflections on the place and role of the kingdom of God in church and theology. This article is an attempt to demonstrate that there is a great void in the way in which classical doctrine was treated in dogmatics in the past, since it either completely ignored a central theme like the kingdom of God, or shed altogether insufficient light on it. This void will subsequently be investigated more closely.Firstly, attention is given to the eschatological models which came into being for it. Next, the focus is on the centrality of the theme of the kingdom in the Old and New Testament after which its dynamic effect on society is pointed out.The conclusion reached by the author is that the theme of the kingdom of God was and is on the whole underemphasised in the church and in theology. For a relevant view of the church (ecclesiology) it could be liberating if the church shifted its focus to the kingdom of God (that has come and is coming). Dogmatics needs a separate locus dealing with Basileiology.