Academic literature on the topic 'Healing – Religious aspects – Christianity'

The article focuses on the healing service offered by Barquinha churches. The Barquinha religion is an Amazonian form of Christianity, with syncretic elements. The article surveys three recurrent methodological and theoretical approaches found in anthropological works on healing in the Barquinha religion, to which the author contributes with his own ethnographic research and analysis. On the one hand, analytical emphases are often located on the participants’ subjective and symbolic processes, in association with the ayahuasca experience. Ayahuasca—called Santo Daime by adherents—is the central sacrament of the religion, frequently implied in accounts of healing. Another common focus is on ritual settings and changing bodily dispositions. Thirdly, anthropologists have considered aspects of the social relations involved in the therapeutic process. This paper furthers reflections on social interactions during healing encounters. Such encounters typically involve healer-spirits incorporated in Barquinha spirit-mediums. The author suggests that the healing service may echo symbolic motifs associated with the historical experience of migration and rapidly changing living circumstances shared by many participants.

The main aim of the article is to analyze the Prosperity Gospel as an important element of the contemporary pentecostalization of Christianity. The essence of this global process is the emergence of thousands of new Pentecostal denominations and the transformation of other traditional churches into a single, syncretic variety of charismatic Christianity on a global scale. Pentecostal religiosity is characterized, among other things, by prayer in tongues, miracles, exorcisms, healing services, etc. Another key element of this new syncretic religiosity is the Prosperity Gospel which represents the belief that faith may lead to wealth, health and prosperity, and the lack of it ends in poverty, disease, and misfortune. Critics of this new religiosity point out that God must not be seen merely as a realizer of human dreams of happiness, health and wealth. The first part of the article discusses the specific nature of the global process of the pentecostalization of Christianity. It then goes on to present an interpretation of the most important elements of the Prosperity Gospel. In the next part of the article, various charges against the Prosperity Gospel are analyzed, including arguments presented in the widely commented articles that Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa published on this topic in 2017–2018.

Mindfulness is increasingly implemented as a tool in mental health practice for coping and self-care. Some Christians worry that these practices might be in conflict with their own tradition, while other Christian contexts are reclaiming the contemplative aspects of the faith. Though clinicians are not trained to teach on religious topics and ethically must avoid pushing religion onto clients, conceptualization and research extend the benefits of mindfulness practices for religious clients. This paper will discuss the evidence for using mindfulness in mental health treatment and connect mindfulness to the Christian tradition. The authors explore how intentional awareness and embodiment of the present moment are supported in Christian theology through the incarnation of Jesus and God’s attention of the physical body in the Christian scriptures. The authors also discuss how sacraments and prayer naturally overlap with mindfulness practices for the dual purposes of emotional healing and spiritual growth. To bolster the benefits of mindfulness in the psychological and religious realms, the purpose of this paper is to empower therapists to address client concerns of whether mindfulness is in conflict with Christianity, support clients in expanding current Christian religious coping, and provide Christian leaders with more information about how mindfulness elements are already present in Christian rituals and beliefs.

Early Christianity relied heavily on walking, yet New Testament Studies has largely neglected the cultural significance of walking in the ancient world and its connection to Early Christian communication. Walking, often seen as a conscious cultural act, is often overlooked in scholarly discourse, with the focus primarily on its symbolic aspects. Drawing from interdisciplinary research in classics, cultural studies, and social science, this study aims to explore how early Christian bodily movement and communication have been perceived and culturally appropriated in European and North American scholarship. It presents three case studies: the portrayal of disabled bodies’ movements in healings, the interpretation of Jesus and his disciples as itinerant wanderers, and the examination of walking in Pauline literature as a means of profiling missionary success.

ILLNESS, PAIN, AND HEALTH CARE IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY by Helen Rhee. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2022. 367 pages. Hardcover; $49.99. ISBN: 9780802876843. *"The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head." --William Osler (1849-1919) *Helen Rhee, professor of the History of Christianity at Westmont College, has encapsulated this famous saying in her recent book, Illness, Pain, and Health Care in Early Christianity by demonstrating how partially objective medicine as an early science co-evolved with subjective religious thought throughout early Greek, Roman, and Christian history. Indeed, even today, a patient's pursuit of relief from suffering often involves the clinical science of medicine occurring arm-in-arm with spiritual care. Such examples include use of hospital chaplains, visitation and assistance from members of a congregation, and personal prayer. This book is comprehensive in nature and academic in tone, and Rhee has found some fascinating continuing threads of healthcare occurring in these aspects of Western civilization. *The book begins with general ideas of illness in all three cultures. Greek culture considered the importance of the Hippocratic ideas such as humoralism (defined as various body fluids and their effect on human illness) as well as prioritizing an individual's health to be a societal priority. The emphasis placed on one's individual health inherently makes sense when one considers Greek culture's lack of modern medicine, the absence of understanding public health, the high mortality rate of pregnant women and young infants, and the constant presence of death in their society (pp. 1, 2). A Greek athlete was considered the exemplar of health with the expectation that their health attributes, like all humans, would decline over time. *Roman ideas followed, led by Galen, in which each part of the body was defined simply by its usefulness and its ability to work together in concordance with every body part to make up a healthy human. Thus, Galen believed that all human function descended from a divine design; this was in sharp contrast to the ideas of Epicurus who believed nature's design had random underpinnings. This early philosophical debate involving Roman medicine still continues almost 2,000 years later with regard to a potential purpose versus a lack of purpose in biological evolution. Typically, suggestions for changes in diet and exercise were the main Roman recommendations in the setting of illness, in that medicine and public health would not be viable study areas for many centuries. The author brings up the stark reality of terrible sanitation in ancient Rome which exacerbated many of the infectious pandemics. In fact, pandemics often were considered a part of divine punishment possibly for unknown sins. We can consider the parallels of pandemics of our time, such as those associated with HIV/AIDS or COVID-19, which unfortunately have been incorrectly associated with societal sin. *Subsequent early Christian ideas regarding health and illness received significant influences from both Greco-Roman and Hebrew society. Illness was considered more holistic--encompassing both the physical and the spiritual. Specific cultural influences affecting early Christian society's views on health included the importance of caring for others (for example, Deut. 15:10) and the Levitical dietary restrictions which probably had some health benefits (p. 3). A healthy person would benefit from overall shalom; a decline in one's health could be considered demonic. Jesus was seen as the perfect healer through his miracles, and stories of healing in the Gospels were added to the already-present Greco-Roman influences such as the balancing of humors. Mental illness, which is still under-appreciated and considered an individual "weakness" in much of today's society, was evaluated and treated using the entire gamut of early Christian thought: from being a disease of the soul, to being a result of divine judgment, to being a physical problem (perhaps not yet understood during that time period). *The next section of the book contains ideas of physical pain utilized in all these early societies. Greeks used pain as an essential part of determining a physical diagnosis: pain is still an important concept utilized in modern healthcare. Romans expanded such thinking to consider pain as a disruption of the body's natural state; thus, they emphasized the importance of bringing the body back to its natural order. As an example, Galen felt that patients were not able to explain pain well. and this meant that the final opinion of pain resided solely with the medical provider. Such thoughts have had disastrous effects right up to today, when one considers healthcare's role in causing the recent opioid crisis in the United States (p. 4). Written pain narratives in Roman history were extensive and often seem to model the current history and physical examination process taught to modern medical students. Early Christian ideas of pain were somewhat parallel to Stoic belief structures in which human pain could be used as a learning tool. Early Christian writers often considered the imitation of Christ's suffering through the suffering of an individual as a learning, holy experience. Such ideas eventually led to the concept of the "martyr," which the author describes using examples in wonderful detail. *The last section of the book deals with healthcare in the ancient world, and I found this part of the book most fascinating when considering how healthcare is practiced in modern society. Both Greeks and Romans utilized their temples as places of healing, utilizing prayer and purification rituals. Treatments were extremely limited, mainly due to a lack of understanding the scientific method. Dangerous bleeding, purging, and cauterization were common ancient practices. The author points out that the Romans did build hospitals for a time, but the hospitals were used simply for preserving the health of property (slaves) and soldiers. *Early Christians considered medicine as a gift from God, and their building of early hospitals (in reality, often homes to provide rest and nutrition for the sick) during times of recurrent plagues likely marked a significant advancement in early healthcare as such simple but essential therapies do have healing benefits. It is fascinating to see early writers, such as Origen, believe that more spiritual people would be healed by God while not necessarily requiring medical care from a physician. These propositions parallel pseudo-scientific ideas that still percolate in modern society; the rise of the anti-vaccination movement in some religious movements is a good example. Regardless of the writing of early Christian writers, it is understandable that many patients would continue to follow some of the pagan medical therapies of Greco-Roman society, since good treatment options were limited, while the writing of the ancient Greeks and Romans in essence provided a "second opinion" in care. *I have many good things to say about this book. Rhee goes into great detail regarding the writings of healers in ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian societies. Examples of patients and therapies used to heal in these early historical periods are provided in extensive detail. Many of the medical aspects of prevention continue to echo in today's society, including the emphasis on exercise and diet to improve health, using pain to determine a cause of illness, and the building of hospitals to improve care. Unfortunately, there is also the continuation, in some religious systems, of the idea that illness is due to sin in which prayer alone can cure. Such beliefs are unfortunate; a better belief is that God has provided modern medicine as a gift to improve humanity's well-being. I highly recommend this book, not only for people interested in early healthcare in Greco-Roman and early Christian society, but also for people looking at the evolution of healthcare over time as it began to slowly progress into today's scientific, evidence-based, modern medicine. *Reviewed by John F. Pohl, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Primary Children's Hospital, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84113.

The context of illness, plagues, and healing in early Christianity and late antiquity was a factor in the growth and expansion of early Christianity. The most prominent early images from early Christian art depict Christ healing. This essay will examine the historical context of plagues and the Christian response to show how the healing Christ affected the security of Christian ascendency. From this study, the essay offers insight into our present pandemic context of COVID-19 and evaluates the religious response.

Doing a survey of the ministry of inner healing, one is arrested by three salient features: its pragmatic and correlative development, its lay orientation, and the inconsistent and naïve theoretical explanation of the phenomenon. Inner healing, or as it was first known, the healing of the memories, appears to have its roots with Agnes Sanford during the 1940's (Sandford 1982: 3-4). Over a period of time and through a series of events, Sanford experienced what she termed a healing of memories. After some reflection on her experiences she began to teach her views at the School of Pastoral Care started by her husband in 1958, at Camps Farthest Out (CFO), and at numerous churches and conferences.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2001
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Humankind has made great progress over the centuries in gaining an understanding of how the human body works. This has all been in an attempt to bring about health and healing where there appeared to be an unbalance in the body's normal functions. The mind also later became an object of study to address its relation to humankinds physical health. Later, social dimensions of health were also identified and were attended to. Yet, much disease and ailments seem to still plague our societies and communities. Theology in the name of pastoral care had been faithfully adding the spiritual dimension to healing. But it was only in the recent wake within practical theology that the theological sciences had entered into meaning conversations with other disciplines. These developments within practical theology raised a lot of question both inside and outside of the theological discipline. At the same time, this new fibrant branch of theology built bridges with the medical sciences, social and behavioural SCiences, management sciences, just to name a few. This study highlights the developments specifically around the scientific nature of theology and the conversation it had over the decades with medical science. It becomes clear that this dialogue is necessary as both theology and medicine have a common interest. They both complement each others dimensions and they address humankind in their state of pain and suffering. By covering the historical development of theology and medicine, proving their credibility as scientific disciplines, and pointing to their struggle with the dualistic concept, this study proposes to the Church and its healing ministry to restore wholistic healing in collaboration with the goverment services and local community structures.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Mensdom het groot vordering gemaak oor die eeue deur kennis te versamel aangaande hoe die menslike liggaam werk. Dit was alles 'n poging om gesondheid en geneesing te voorsien waar dit gelyk het na 'n wanbalans in die liggaam se normale funksies. Die verstand het ook later 'n objek geword van studie om die verhouding van die mensdom se fiesiese gesondheid te ondersoek. Later was die sosiale dimensies van gesondheid ook geidentifiseer en aandag gekry. Tog, het vele siektes en Iyding nog steeds die gemeenskap geyl. Teologie het in die naam van pastorale sorg toewyding gewys deur spiriteule dimensies van gesondheid bygedra. Maar dit was in die onlangse ontwaking binne praktiese teologie dat die teologiese wetenskap die ander dissipline as waardevol gesprek ingegaan. Hierdie ontwikkelinge in praktiese teologie het baie vrae laat onstaan binne as ook buite die teologiese dissipline. Terselfdetyd, het hierdie nuwe stralende tak van teologie brue gebou met mediese wetenskap, sosiale en gedrags wetenskap, en bestuurswetenskap, net om a paar te noem. Hierdie studie fokus op die spesifieke ontwikkelings roundom die wetenskaplike natuur van teologie en die gesprek wat die oor die dekades voer met die mediese wetenskap. Dit word duidelik dat hierdie dialoog is nodig want beide teologie and medies het 'n gemeenskaplike belang. Beide komplementeer mekaar se dimensies en adreseer mensdom in hulle staat van pyn en leiding. Deur die historiese ontwikkelinge van teologie en medies te dek, om hulle te krediet te gee as wetenskaplike dissipline, en hulle stryd met die dualisties konsept uit te wys, maak die study 'n voorstel aan die Kerk en sy geneesing dienste om 'n holistiese geneesing te herstel in samewerking met goverment dienste end die plaaslike gemeenskap's strukture.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study, in addition to problematizing a one-dimensional approach to health and well-being within the HIV and AIDS discourse, also aims to highlight the need and promote the idea for integrative community pastoral care as fundamental in responding to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. In developing such a framework for an integrative approach to healing and care, it becomes clear that a number of paradigmatic shifts in pastoral care are called for. In the past most of the prevention and intervention strategies within the discourse on healing within the HIV and AIDS epidemic, focused on the people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) and the medical science in its search for cure and effective antiretroviral medication. Little attention use to be given to issues of care as the primary focus appeared to have been on behaviour change strategies. However, as the complex nature of the epidemic and its impacts became more apparent, it gradually dawned on all disciplines that the virus entails more than an individual ailment as a medical concern. With the realization that the epidemic penetrates the quality of life and the basic structures for livelihood and meaningful living on all levels, came the acknowledgement that it has become a systemic and community issue. Any endeavour to be engaged with the epidemic should therefore shift from a merely personal (individual focus) and a medical (pharmaceutical focus) approach, to a community approach. Healing and prevention must also become a systemic and communal endeavour, and thus the reason to connect, in this research project, healing with a community approach to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. In the process of developing a framework for integrative care and counselling, the study explores the notions of health and well-being and provides a theological framework for understanding these concepts from a community perspective. This framework necessitates a number of paradigmatic shifts, particularly with regards to understanding the ecclesial identity of the church as a community of care. Both the understanding of health and well-being and that of an identity of care culminates from the understanding of God‘s passionate involvement in the human predicament of suffering, as implied by a theopaschitic approach. In order to develop an inclusive framework of care to be taken up in the ecclesial identity of the church, a number of metaphors for a community of care are explored as alternatives to the traditional kerygmatik model of the church.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie lug nie net die problematiek rondom 'n eendimensionele benadering tot gesondheid en welstand binne die MIV en VIGS diskoers uit nie, maar poog ook om die behoefte aan 'n integrerende gemeenskaps-benadering tot die MIV en VIGS epidemie te beklemtoon en sodanige benadering te bevorder. Dit word duidelik dat sodanige raamwerk vir 'n integrerende benadering tot heling en sorg sekere paradigmatiese skuiwe binne pastorale sorg vereis. In die verlede het voorkoming en intervensie strategieë met betrekking tot die MIV en VIGS diskoers meestal gefokus op die mense wat met MIV en VIGS leef, asook op die mediese wetenskap se pogings om 'n geneesmiddel en effektiewe antiretrovirale medisyne te vind. Min aandag was gegee aan die kwessies wat verband hou met versorging, en dit wil voorkom asof die klem eerder primêr geplaas was op strategieë om gedrag te verander. Groter bewuswording van die komplekse aard van die epidemie en sy gevolge het egter geleidelik gelei tot die besef onder alle dissiplines dat die virus meer as net 'n individuele siekte van mediese belang is. Die besef dat die epidemie lewenskwaliteit, en die basiese strukture van menslike bestaan en 'n betekenisvolle lewe, op alle vlakke binnedring, het uiteindelik gelei tot die begrip dat dit 'n sistemiese en gemeenskap probleem geword het. Enige poging dus om die epidemie aan te spreek moet daarom beweeg van 'n persoonlike/individuele en mediese/farmaseutiese benadering na 'n gemeenskaps-benadering. Genesing en voorkoming moet daarom 'n sistemiese en gemeenskaplike poging wees, en daarom ook die rede om, in hierdie projek, genesing in verband te bring met 'n gemeenskaps-benadering tot die MIV en VIGS epidemie. Ten einde 'n raamwerk vir 'n integrerende benadering tot versorging en berading te ontwikkel, ondersoek die studie die konsepte van gesondheid en welstand, en poog om 'n teologiese raamwerk te ontwikkel wat hierdie konsepte verstaanbaar maak vanuit 'n gemeenskaps-perspektief. Hierdie raamwerk noodsaak sekere paradigmatiese skuiwe, veral met betrekking tot die verstaan van die ekklesiale identiteit van die kerk. Die verstaan van beide gesondheid en welstand asook die van 'n identiteit van versorging spruit voort uit die verstaan van God se passievolle betrokkenheid by die menslike dilemma van lyding, soos geïmpliseer deur 'n theopaschitiese benadering. Ten einde 'n inklusiewe raamwerk van versorging te ontwikkel wat uiteindelik deurslaggewend in die ontwikkeling van die ekklesiale identiteit van die kerk kan wees, ondersoek hierdie studie 'n aantal metafore vir 'n versorgende gemeenskap as alternatiewe tot die tradisionele kerygmatiese model van die kerk.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2001
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study the process of healing and reconciliation between the victim and the offender in a post-TRC period in South Africa is being investigated with a view to the challenge it poses to pastoral care. The focus is specifically on the post-TRC period rather than the period during which the TRC operated. The post-TRC period is a period where the truth about the apartheid past is partially known, where guilt and mourning are part of the offender's struggle, where suffering, in all areas of life, is part of the victims survival, where there is an understanding of the emotions victims and offenders experience, where restitution and reconstruction create a new vision and orientation for victims and offenders and where the church is able to interpret the past, present and future in order make healing and reconciliation a reality. To accomplish healing and reconciliation between victims and offenders in the post-TRC period is regarded as crucially important in order to ensure that the atrocities of the past, in some form or another, will not be repeated. To ensure that healing and reconciliation between the victim and the offender is accomplished on a personal and a public level, it is necessary to gain a clear understanding of the practical situation of the victim and the offender. It was found that the terms "victim" and "offender" have to be conceived in a comprehensive way in view of the socio-political context of South Africa, and that guilt forms a core element, which calls for great sensitivity and empathy on the part of pastoral care. Within this comprehensive understanding it was also found that guilt is not to be conceived and explained merely psychologically and socially, but also theologically. For this reason it is crucial to conceive of victims and offenders within their context and to comprehend the real impact of guilt, suffering and mourning. Although these experiences take place on different levels, they form an indispensable indicator for achieving healing and reconciliation in South Africa (chapter 2). For reconciliation and healing to be realized between victim and offender it is essential, furthermore, that both should face the truth of what occurred in the past. In this regard it is necessary that truth should not be considered as mere verifiable facts. Rather, truth should be conceived as a process of interpretation aimed at the revealing of meaning within certain relations, contexts and experiences. Apart from having a liberating effect, truth is also a prerequisite for reconciliation (chapter 3). Subsequently, the influence of pastoral theologies on healing and reconciliation between victim and offender is discussed. It was found that pastoral care, to render a significant contribution to healing and reconciliation in South Africa, should make the paradigmatic shift from an individual client-centred pastoral approach to a hermeneutic cultural approach. It is essential for healing and reconciliation to be broadened from a mere subjective/individual understanding thereof, to healing and reconciliation as a systemic process of understanding and interpretation (hermeneutical) that is connected to social relations and inculturation. To ensure that this hermeneutic of reconciliation will have an impact on the practical post-TRC situation, it should be supplemented by a doing theology, functioning within a wisdom perspective; id est, a creative programme to bring together victims and offenders, as well as those who have been existentially effected by (the wounds caused by) apartheid (chapter 4). Finally, for remembering and storytelling to take place, and be significant for the process of healing and reconciliation between victim and offender, it is essential that it must be embedded in a practical-theological ecclesiology within which the church can serve as a forum for healing and reconciliation. To achieve healing and reconciliation, a liturgy of healing is proposed. It is important that the content and form of a liturgy of healing be determined by the following core elements: remembering, forgiveness, and the use of metaphors, symbols and rituals.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die proses van heling en versoening tussen slagoffer en oortreder in 'n post-WVK periode in Suid-Afrika met die oog op die uitdaging wat dit vir die pastoraat inhou. Die studie fokus doelbewus op die post-WVK periode en nie op die termyn waartydens die WVK geopereer het nie. Die post-WVK periode is 'n periode waar die waarheid aangaande die apartheidverlede deels bekend is, waar skuld en rou deel van die oortreder se worsteling is, waar lyding, op alle gebiede van die lewe, steeds deel van die slagoffer se oorlewing is, waar daar meer begrip moet wees vir die emosies wat slagoffers en oortreders beleef, waar restitusie en rekonstruksie 'n nuwe visie en orientasie skep vir slagoffers en oortreders en waar die kerk die verlede, hede en toekoms moet interpreteer sodat heling en versoening 'n realiteit kan word. Om heling en versoening tussen slagoffers en oortreders in die post-WVK periode te bewerkstellig is naamlik van kardinale belang ten einde te verseker dat die wandade van die verlede nie in een of ander vorm herhaal sal word nie. Om te verseker dat heling en versoening tussen slagoffer en oortreder op persoonlike en publieke vlak bewerkstellig kan word, is dit noodsaaklik om duidelikheid te verkry oor die praktiese situasie van slagoffer en oortreder. Daar is bevind dat die terme 'slagoffer' en 'oortreder' omvattend verstaan moet word in die lig van die sosio-politieke konteks van Suid-Afrika en dat skuld 'n kernelement vorm wat die pastoraat met sensitiwiteit en begrip sal moet hanteer. Binne hierdie omvattende verstaan is bevind dat skuld nie net psigologies en sosiaal verklaar en verstaan moet word nie maar ook teologies. Om hierdie rede is dit deurslaggewend om slagoffers en oortreders binne konteks te verstaan en die impak wat skuld, lyding en rou gelaat het te begryp. Hoewel hierdie belewenisse -'" op verskillende vlakke gelee is, is die verstaan van beide slagoffers en oortreders 'n onontbeerlike indikator vir die bereiking van heling en versoening in Suid-Afrika (hoofstuk 2). Vir versoening en heling om tussen slagoffer en oortreder plaas te vind is dit verder wesenlik dat albei die waarheid aangaande dit wat in die verlede gebeur het in die oe moet kyk. In die verband is dit bepalend om waarheid nie te beskou as 'n verifieerbare feit me, maar as In proses van interpretasie wat geng IS op SIll ontsluiting binne bepaalde relasies, kontekste en belewenisse. Behalwe dat waarheid bevryding bring, is waarbeid ook In primere vereiste vir versoening (hoofstuk 3). Die invloed van pastorale teologiee op heling en versoening tussen oortreder en slagoffer is vervolgens bespreek. Daar is bevind dat die pastoraat, indien dit In wesenlike bydrae wil maak tot heling en versoening in Suid-Afrika, In paradigmatiese verskuiwing sal moet maak vanaf In individuele klient-gesentreerde pastorale benadering na In hermeneutieskulturele benadering. Dit is essensieel dat he ling en versoening verb reed behoort te word vanaf In bloot subjektiewe/individuele verstaan daarvan, na heling en versoening as In sistemiese proses van verstaan en interpretasie (hermeneuties) wat aan sosiale verhoudinge en inkulturasie gekoppel is. Om te verseker dat bierdie hermeneutiek van versoening In impak sal he op die post-WVK praktyk, sal dit aangevul moet word met In daadteologie wat binne In wysheidsperspektief funksioneer, dit wil se In kreatiewe program om oortreders en slagoffers asook mense wat eksistensieel geraak is deur die wonde van apartheid bymekaar te bring (boofstuk 4). Vir herinnering en storievertelling om plaas te vind en betekenis te he vir die helingsen versoeningsproses tussen oortreder en slagoffer, is dit ten slotte wesenlik dat dit ingebed moet wees in In prakties-teologiese ekklesiologie waarbinne die kerk kan dien as In forum vir be ling en versoening. Om heling en versoening te kan vermag, stel die navorsing In liturgie van heling voor. Dit is van belang dat die inhoud en vorm van In liturgie van beling deur die volgende kemelemente bepaal behoort te word: herinnering, vergifnis, en die gebruik van metafore, simbole en rituele (hoofstuk 5).

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2004
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study can as well be termed as "an attempt to interpref' pastoral care and counseling methods and modules in an African understanding. For this reason, the study engages concepts, metaphors and images that reflect an African understanding of pastoral ministry. It is argued that pastoral ministry will be enriched more by accommodating an African spirituality and cosmology that usually influences the world view of African people on God, life and the cosmic life-force. The study attempts to work with God-images that will help people to gain meaning in moments of pain and suffering, and much more also that will help them appropriate faith to life situations in a more meaningful way. Thus the study gives attention to defming God-images in light of pain and suffering within a given pastoral care situation. Two God-images are therefore proposed for use in a pastoral care setting in Africa, namely, God as a friend (Mubwezi) and God as companion (woyenda naye). The study proposes a working model that can be used by pastoral ministry in the process of assessment of God-images. It is argued that unless pastoral ministry undertakes to work with models that are going to help African people come to terms with situations of pain and suffering, the work of pastoral ministry will be limited to a large extent. For this reason, the study proposes that pastoral ministry should reckon with African cultural values that are always expressed through metaphors and symbols. It is argued further that pastoral ministry should work with Christian rituals, such as Holy Communion, Baptism and the Cross which are going to help African people understand the involvement of God in their lives and also in times of pain and suffering.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing is 'n poging om 'n pastorale hermeneutiek te ontwikkel wat in die prosesse van heling rekening hou met die eiesoortigheid van 'n Afrika-konteks. Vandaar die fokus op 'n Afrika-spiritualiteit en 'n Afrika-kosmologie. Die navorsing is 'n poging om die verstaan van die lewe as 'n werklikheid, beinvloed deur spirituele werkinge en kosrniese lewenskragte, te kombineer met 'n pastorale antropologie. Die navorsingsvoorveronderstelling is dat 'n bepaalde kulturele verstaan en ervaring van God (Godsbeelde en Godsvoorstellinge) menslike identiteit en derhalwe ook prosesse van heling en terapie wesenlik beinvloed. Die navorsing konsentreer daarom op die interaktiewe en wisselwerkende verband tussen Godsbeelde en die vraagstuk van lyding en heling. Die uitkoms van die navorsing is die ontwerp van 'n beradingsmodel vir die pastoraat waarin rekening gehou word met die eiesoortige spiritualiteit van 'n bepaalde kultuurkonteks. Vandaar die ontwerp van 'n ses-fase model vir die maak van 'n pastorale diagnose (pastorale assessering). Verskillende simbole en metafore vanuit 'n Afrika lewenservaring kan help om her na te dink oor die verstaan van God binne lyding in 'n pastorale gesprek oor die vraagstuk van teodisee. Die beradingsmodel wat voorgestel word, verskuif die fokus weg van 'n analitiese, individualisties-georienteerdheid na 'n meer holistiese en sisterniese kommunale georienteerdheid. In die verb and moet die dinarnika van verhoudinge saam met 'n narratiewe benadering opnuut herontgin word vir pastorale berading.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This qualitatively oriented Practical Theological research journey, informed by the philosophical ideas of postmodern, contextual, participatory and feminist theologies, postmodern and social construction epistemologies was based on a participatory action research through the therapeutic lens of narrative inquiry. The thesis is about the spiritual problems and spiritual needs of people living with HIV and AIDS and how they can be addressed as part of a holistic approach to their care within the primary healthcare delivery system in Zimbabwe. The research curiosity was prompted by the HIV and AIDS policy in Zimbabwe that advocates for a holistic approach to the care of HIV and AIDS patients within the primary health care delivery system. The recognition that healthcare has to be holistic for the best outcome for patients creates an expectation that spiritual care will also be incorporated into clinical practice. However there is a puzzling blind spot and a strange silence about the spiritual problems and spiritual needs of people living with HIV and AIDS within the HIV and AIDS policy. This has had the effects of reducing intervention programmes to purely medical, psychological and sociological. This research sought to correct such an approach by highlighting the role of spiritual care in the healing process of people living with HIV and AIDS as part of the holistic approach to their care. The core information, on which this research is based, comes from the experiences of people living with HIV and AIDS who are receiving care within the primary health care delivery system in Zimbabwe. It sweeps away statistics and places those questing for spiritual healing at the core of the study. All the participants in the study affirmed that the why me questions as a summation of their indescribable and unimaginable spiritual pain felt in the spirit were directed to God. They confirmed that their spiritual problem was spiritual pain and their spiritual need therefore was spiritual healing from the spiritual pain of which God is believed to be the healer. The belief that God is the ultimate healer of the spiritual pain stood out from the midst of problem saturated narratives of spiritual pain and suffering as the unique outcome to reconstruct the alternative problem free stories of healing. The research opted for an approach that is informed by the experiences of people living with HIV and AIDS. In the light of the stories shared by the participants in this study, it became evident that there is an existing need within the Primary Health Care delivery system in Zimbabwe to provide spiritual care to people living with HIV and AIDS. The research aimed at co-creating a spiritual care approach in which those living with HIV and AIDS as well as those working with them can be empowered to re-author the stories of patients‟ lives around their self preferred images. The narrative approach was explored in this research as a possible therapeutic approach that could be used to journey pastorally with people living with HIV and AIDS in a non-controlling, non-blaming, non-directive and not knowing guiding manner that would permit the people living with HIV and AIDS to use their own spiritual resources in a way that can bring spiritual healing to their troubled spirits. The research also emphasizes the position of the people living with HIV and AIDS which they can inhabit and lay claim to the many possibilities of their own lives that lie beyond the expertise of the pastoral caregiver. The strong suggestion emerging from this study is that a spiritual care approach to healing must of necessity be integrated into the holistic approach to the care of people living with HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe. The wish of participants that their spiritual well-being be considered in their health care adds momentum to this suggestion. Hence the research argues for the inclusion of a spiritual and pastoral approach to spiritual healing which links the patient‟s spirituality and pastoral care. The research does not claim to have the solutions or quick fix miracle to the complicated spiritual pain of people living with HIV and AIDS and neither claims to have the power to bring any neat conclusions to the spiritual healing of people living with HIV and AIDS. However, the research has the potential to stimulate a new story of spirituality as a vital resource in the healing process of people living with HIV and AIDS and ignoring it may defeat the purpose of a holistic approach to the care of people living with HIV. The re-authoring of alternative stories is an ongoing process but like in all journeys, there are landmarks that indicate achievements, places of transfer or starting new directions or turning around. Hence this research process may be regarded as a landmark that indicated a new direction in the participants‟ journey towards spiritual healing.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie kwalitatief-georiënteerde Praktiese Teologie navorsingsreis, geïnformeer deur die filosofiese idees van postmoderne, kontekstuele, deelnemende en feministiese teologie, postmoderne en sosiale konstruksie epistemologie, is gebaseer op deelnemende aksie-navorsing deur die terapeutiese lens van narratiewe ondersoek. Die tesis handel oor die spirituele probleme en navorsingsbehoeftes van mense wat met MIV en vigs leef en hoe dit aangespreek kan word as deel van ʼn holistiese benadering tot hul sorg binne die primêre gesondheidsorg-diensleweringstelsel in Zimbabwe. Die navorsing-belangstelling het ontwikkel na aanleiding van die MIV en vigs beleid in Zimbabwe wat ʼn holistiese benadering tot die sorg van MIV en vigs pasiënte in die primêre gesondheidsorg-diensleweringstelsel bepleit. Die erkenning dat gesondheidsorg holisties moet wees om die beste uitkoms vir pasiënte te bied, skep ʼn verwagting dat spirituele sorg ook by kliniese praktyk ingesluit sal word. Daar is egter in die HIV en vigs beleid ʼn raaiselagtige blinde kol, ʼn vreemde stilte oor die spirituele probleme en spirituele behoeftes van mense wat met MIV en vigs leef. Die gevolg is dat intervensie-programme gereduseer word tot slegs mediese, sielkundige en sosiologiese programme. Hierdie navorsing streef om dié benadering reg te stel deur die beklemtoning van die rol van spirituele sorg in die heling-proses van mense wat met MIV en vigs leef as deel van die holistiese benadering tot hul sorg. Die kerninligting waarop hierdie navorsing gegrond is, vloei voort uit die ervarings van mense wat leef met MIV en vigs en sorg ontvang binne die primêre gesondheidsorg-diensleweringstelsel in Zimbabwe. Dit vee statistiek van die tafel af en plaas diegene wat soek na spirituele heling, in die hart van die ondersoek. Al die deelnemers aan die ondersoek het bevestig dat hul “Waarom ek?” vrae, as opsomming van hul onbeskryflike, ondenkbare geestelike pyn, aan God gerig is. Hulle het bevestig dat hul spirituele probleem spirituele pyn is, en dat hul spirituele behoefte dus spirituele genesing is van die spirituele pyn, die pyn waarvan geglo word dat God die geneser is. Die geloof dat God die opperste geneser is, het uitgestaan te midde van die probleem-deurdrenkte narratiewe van spirituele pyn en lyding as die unieke uitkoms om alternatiewe probleem-vrye verhale van heling te herkonstrueer. Die navorsing het ʼn benadering gekies wat geïnformeer is deur die ervarings van mense wat leef met MIV en vigs. In die lig van die verhale wat die deelnemers aan die studie gedeel het, het dit duidelik geword dat daar ʼn behoefte is dat spirituele sorg ook aan mense wat leef met MIV en vigs verskaf word in die primêre gesondheidsorg-diensleweringstelsel in Zimbabwe. Die doel van die navorsing was om saam ʼn spirituele sorg benadering te skep waarin diegene wat met MIV en vigs leef, sowel as diegene wat met hulle werk, bemagtig kan word om die stories van pasiënte se lewens te herskryf in terme van pasiënte se verkose beelde. Die narratiewe benadering is in hierdie studie ondersoek as ʼn moontlike terapeutiese benadering wat gebruik kan word om pastoraal te reis met mense wat leef met MIV en vigs op ʼn manier wat nie kontroleer, beskuldig, voorskryf of weet nie, maar wat mense wat met MIV en vigs leef eerder begelei en toelaat om hul eie spirituele bronne te gebruik op ʼn manier wat spirituele genesing vir hul gekwelde siele kan bring. Die navorsing beklemtoon ook die posisie van mense wat leef met MIV en vigs waarin hulle spirituele moontlikhede, areas van hul lewens kan eien en bewoon, moontlikhede wat buite die bereik van pastorale versorgers lê. Uit hierdie studie vloei ʼn sterk suggestie dat ʼn spirituele benadering tot genesing noodwendig geïntegreer moet wees in die holistiese benadering tot die sorg van mense wat leef met MIV en vigs in Zimbabwe. Deelnemers se wens dat hul spirituele behoeftes ook in hul gesondheidsorg oorweeg word, gee aan dié suggestie verdere momentum. Derhalwe argumenteer hierdie navorsing ten gunste van die insluiting van ʼn spirituele en pastorale benadering tot spirituele genesing wat die pasiënt se spiritualiteit en pastorale sorg verbind. Die studie maak nie daarop aanspraak dat dit antwoorde of ʼn wonderbare kits-oplossing bied vir die gekompliseerde spirituele pyn van mens wat leef met MIV en vigs nie, of spirituele genesing netjies afsluit nie. Die navorsing het egter wel die potensiaal om ʼn nuwe verhaal te stimuleer van spiritualiteit as ʼn deurslaggewende bron in die genesingsproses van mense wat leef met MIV en vigs. Om spiritualiteit te ignoreer, mag dalk die doel verydel van ʼn holistiese benadering tot die sorg van mense wat met MIV en vigs leef. Die herskryf van alternatiewe verhale is ʼn voortdurende proses, maar soos alle reise, is daar landmerke wat prestasies aandui, en ook punte van verplasing, rigtingverandering of selfs ommekeer. Hierdie navorsing kan beskou word as ʼn landmerk van ʼn verandering van rigting in deelnemers se reis na spirituele genesing.

The Tibetan Buddhist approach to healing, health and death is rooted in the sacred. Its teachings and techniques create a road map guiding the practitioner through the process of purification called sacred healing. It encompasses foundational Buddhist teachings, sacred Buddhist medicine, and the esoteric healing pathways found in tantra and yoga, which together constitute a detailed and technical guide to healing. The mind is central to all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. The ability to focus the mind through meditation during life enables the practitioner to prepare for death by experiencing the subtle aspects of the body and mind through the chakras. Both Tibetan spiritual teachers and doctors practise healing and help practitioners learn to focus their minds in preparation for death. The moment of death presents the greatest opportunity for attaining sacred health, but healing can also occur after death. The objective of this thesis is to present the Tibetan Buddhist understanding of sacred healing in relation to life, death, the bardos and suicide through its texts, teachings and techniques.

Whereas the ecological crisis has elicited a response from many quarters of American Christianity, classical (or denominational) Pentecostals have expressed almost no concern about environmental problems. The reasons for their disregard of the environment lie in the Pentecostal worldview which finds expression in their: (1) tradition; (2) view of human and natural history; (3) common theological beliefs; and (4) scriptural interpretation. All these aspects of Pentecostalism emphasize and value the supernatural--conversely viewing nature as subordinate, dependent and temporary. Therefore, the ecocrisis is not problematic because, for Pentecostals, the natural environment is: of only relative value; must serve the divine plan; and will soon be destroyed and replaced. Furthermore, Pentecostals are likely to continue their environmental disregard, since the supernaturalism which spawns it is key to Pentecostal identity.

The purpose of this study was to bring to consciousness the varied experiences that men have had of feeling wounded and to explore how a relationship to Jesus the Christ has influenced their understanding of those experiences. A modified naturalistic inquiry model was used as the qualitative research method, and the research was developed using grounded theory. This method of inquiry encouraged participants, and the researcher, to voice their experiences and to utilize them in a way that made the research significant. This methodological approach allowed themes to emerge, while honouring the stories and experiences that the participants shared. The theoretical framework for the study emerged from two major fields of research: Christian theology and gender-male studies. This research is located where these two fields intersect and overlap. It builds on the research from gender-male studies, specifically the psychological study of men and masculinity, organized men's movements, mythopoetic movements, profeminist movements, as well as the Christian theological understanding of a Messiah who has been portrayed and understood as the "wounded healer." The research focuses on the point at which men's experiences connect with their own sense of woundedness, their Christian faith, and their process of healing. The researcher engaged a discriminate group of men in exploring and trying to understand their experiences of feeling wounded in relation to the Christian story. Four men were identified who have had formal education in both pastoral psychology and theology. The participants were interviewed, and a constant comparative method was employed. Throughout the process of interviewing these men and being privy to their stories, my own story of feeling wounded often surfaced. This research is significant because allowing these men to articulate their experiences of woundedness facilitates healing, for themselves but also for other men who may access their own stories of feeling wounded through hearing those of the participants. Identifying and articulating woundedness helps to manifest the path of healing and self-understanding, ultimately leading to happier lives.
x, 130 leaves ; 29 cm.

AbstractExamining the “digital” as a challenge to one of the most traditional spheres of private and public life of Russians, the chapter is focused on institutional aspects of the religion digitalization in the theoretical frame of mediatization. Normatively, digitalization as such does not contradict the dogmatic teaching of any traditional for Russia religion, in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism theologically it is being considered as a neutral process with good or bad consequences depending on human will. Therefore, functionally digital technologies are seen by religious institutions as a shaping force, one more facility (channel, tool, space, network) for effective preaching while the core of religious practices still remains based on non-mediated interpersonal communication.

Abstract The field of enquiry of this essay is what may be termed the popular religion of Sasanian Babylonia. The material from which we can try to reconstruct it is rather limited. In the present context, I shall concentrate on the numerous magical texts in a variety of Aramaic dialects that have come to light from Mesopotamia. They display to us at least one aspect of the faith and practice of people in Babylonia during the Sasanian period, mostly between the fifth and the seventh centuries C.E.1 In historical terms, this faith can be described as an amalgam of pieces of mythology and religious perceptions that derive from the different cultures of the region before this period and contemporary with it. The best-known religions of this period are Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Mandaeism, and they are probably complemented by remnants of Babylonian paganism, by notions derived from Greek culture, and by other faiths that are less conspicuous in our corpus of texts, such as Manichaeism and Christianity.

Abstract To better understand the religious transformation which resulted from the encounter of the Germanic peoples with Christianity, it is useful to be come familiar with other instances of pre-Christian and non-Christian religious transformation, particularly those in which a folk-religious society encountered a universal religious movement. Of special interest is the religious transformation which occurred when the folk-religious Indo European societies of ancient Greece and Rome encountered “proto Christian” mystery cults during the Hellenistic age. An examination of Hellenistic and Jewish religious and philosophical currents should con tribute toward the development of a general model of the interaction between folk-religious societies and universal religions, and of the religious transformation which stems from it. This model will then be applied to the encounter of the Germanic peoples with Christianity.

Abstract A comparison of the sociopsychological forces operating within the anomic urban centers of the Roman Empire, and those operating among the predominantly rural societies of the Germanic peoples, will aid in under standing the different responses to Christianity in each of these disparate social environments.

Abstract My two courses on religious healing begin with discussions of shamanism, presented as a type of ritual practice. In the subsequent sections of both courses, we explore historical changes in beliefs and practices associated with Christian healing. We focus on Christianity because my particular research interests prepare me to direct discussion of the role of healing in the historical development of that tradition more effectively than in the history of other religions. But other religious traditions would work just as well in this section of the course devoted to historical study, and instructors with other areas of expertise might revise this section of the course accordingly.

This chapter assesses The Chronicle of Morea, which contains some of the most intriguing aspects of the colonial encounter of the Fourth Crusade. The Chronicles of Morea provides a series of discursive juxtapositions between the Franks and the Greeks. Although it has a very complicated textual history, The Chronicles of Morea tells the multigenerational story of the Frankish Villehardouin dynasty, which ruled the Peloponnese in the centuries after the conquest of 1204. This text reveals not only the way that colonizer and colonized eventually came to work alongside one another but also the way that the prolonged encounter between Greeks and Franks transformed the means by which both understood their sense of identity and religious commitments. It is precisely because of these aspects of this text that the insights of postcolonial analysis help one to understand the many complexities that they convey.

В статье раскрываются устоявшиеся понятия усыновления и их историческое видоизменение с учетом положений Древнего Рима. Приводятся статистические данные работы судов общей юрисдикции за 1 полугодие 2019 года по исследуемой категории дел как Российской Федерации в целом, так и одного из субъектов - Чеченской Республики. Анализируется отношение таких основных мировых религий как христианство, буддизм и ислам к вопросу усыновления, а также к способам, с помощью которых можно и нужно преодолевать данную социальную проблему. В работе делается акцент на усыновление детей, имеющих живых биологических родителей, а не только сирот, и дается анализ в изучении вопроса усыновления на примере чеченского традиционного общества до начала ХХ века и в настоящее время, а также исследуются виды усыновления. Вводится понятие «латентное усыновление» и раскрывается его сущность. Выявляются разногласия между нормами обычного права и шариата, которые существуют у чеченцев, а также раскрываются негативные стороны тайны усыновления. И в заключение статьи разрабатываются рекомендации по взаимообщению и взаимообогащению между приемными родителями и биологическими родителями усыновляемого. The article reveals the established concepts of adoption and their historical modification, taking into account the provisions of Ancient Rome. Statistical data on the work of courts of general jurisdiction for the 1st half of 2019 for the investigated category of cases of both the Russian Federation as a whole and one of the constituent entities - the Chechen Republic are presented. It analyzes the attitude of such major world religions as Christianity, Buddhism and Islam to the issue of adoption, as well as to the ways by which this social problem can and should be overcome. The work focuses on the adoption of children with living biological parents, and not just orphans, and analyzes the study of adoption on the example of a Chechen traditional society until the beginning of the twentieth century and at the present time, as well as explores the types of adoption. The concept of “latent adoption” is introduced and its essence is revealed. Disagreements are revealed between the norms of customary law and Sharia that exist among Chechens, as well as the negative aspects of the secret of adoption are revealed. And in the conclusion of the article, recommendations are developed on the intercommunication and mutual enrichment between the adoptive parents and the biological parents of the adopted.

Present paper aims to readdress the idealized Renaissance con- ception of painting starting with the writings of Giorgio Vasari, which paved the way to a widely stereotyped and prejudiced evaluation of the Byzantine art within the general art historical framework. Consequently, placing the latter one inferior to the Renaissance. Further the paper attempts to revise the conventional assumptions about Byzantine painting. Visual interpre- tation of a dodecaorton subject, Anastasis Christi, is taken to provide evi- dence in understanding the humanly aspects in terms of iconography and reception of the scene. Material evidence is obtained from the monumental panting of the Studenica monastery, (ca. 1313-ca. 1320). General outline of its iconography, communal versus individual resurrec- tion, and specific depiction of one of the basic elements of iconography, Hades, reveal the fact that there is difference in the mind sets of Eastern and Western Christianity. Libri Carolini in the eighth century signifies the different visual understanding and reception. Also, the text-image relation is greatly influenced by the involvement of either theologians of a col- lective monasticism or individual aristocratic prayer. Thanks to the recent scholarly studies on cultural history and art history, a wider perspective is possible in order to comprehend the content of their cultural memories that comes into play in interpreting and reflecting religious subjects/imageries. As a result, artists and patrons of medieval Serbia were able to not just to inherit but also improve the inherited Byzantine artistic language in a com- plex positive way. Altogether referring to a renaissance in their rethinking and execution of the Byzantine models and beyond.

In his book The Long Truce (Spence Publishing, 2001) the late A. J. Conyers argues that tolerance, as practiced in western democracies, is not a public virtue; it is a political strat- egy employed to establish power and guarantee profits. Tolerance, of course, seemed to be a reasonable response to the religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but tolerance based upon indifference to all values except political power and materialism relegated ultimate questions of meaning to private life. Conyers offers another model for tolerance based upon values and resources already resident in pre-Reformation Christianity. In this paper, we consider Conyer’s case against the modern, secular form of tolerance and its current practice. We examine his attempt to reclaim the practice of Christian tolerance based upon humility, hospitality and the “powerful fact” of the incarnation. Furthermore, we bring the late Conyers into dialog with Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim scholar, prolific writer and the source of inspiration for a transnational civil society movement. We explore how both Conyers and Gülen interpret their scriptures in order to fashion a theology and politi- cal ideology conducive to peaceful co-existence. Finally, because Gülen’s identity has been formed within the Sufi tradition, we reflect on the spiritual resources within Sufi spirituality that make dialog and toleration key values for him. Conyers locates various values, practices and convictions in the Christian message that pave the way for authentic toleration. These include humility, trust, reconciliation, the interrelat- edness of all things, the paradox of power--that is, that strength is found in weakness and greatness in service—hope, the inherent goodness of creation, and interfaith dialog. Conyers refers to this latter practice as developing “the listening heart” and “the open soul.” In his writings and oral addresses, Gülen prefers the term hoshgoru (literally, “good view”) to “tolerance.” Conceptually, the former term indicates actions of the heart and the mind that include empathy, inquisitiveness, reflection, consideration of the dialog partner’s context, and respect for their positions. The term “tolerance” does not capture the notion of hoshgoru. Elsewhere, Gülen finds even the concept of hoshgoru insufficient, and employs terms with more depth in interfaith relations, such as respect and an appreciation of the positions of your dialog partner. The resources Gülen references in the context of dialog and empathic acceptance include the Qur’an, the prophetic tradition, especially lives of the companions of the Prophet, the works of great Muslim scholars and Sufi masters, and finally, the history of Islamic civilization. Among his Qur’anic references, Gülen alludes to verses that tell the believers to represent hu- mility, peace and security, trustworthiness, compassion and forgiveness (The Qur’an, 25:63, 25:72, 28:55, 45:14, 17:84), to avoid armed conflicts and prefer peace (4:128), to maintain cordial relationships with the “people of the book,” and to avoid argumentation (29:46). But perhaps the most important references of Gülen with respect to interfaith relations are his readings of those verses that allow Muslims to fight others. Gülen positions these verses in historical context to point out one by one that their applicability is conditioned upon active hostility. In other words, in Gülen’s view, nowhere in the Qur’an does God allow fighting based on differences of faith. An important factor for Gülen’s embracing views of empathic acceptance and respect is his view of the inherent value of the human. Gülen’s message is essentially that every human person exists as a piece of art created by the Compassionate God, reflecting aspects of His compassion. He highlights love as the raison d’etre of the universe. “Love is the very reason of existence, and the most important bond among beings,” Gülen comments. A failure to approach fellow humans with love, therefore, implies a deficiency in our love of God and of those who are beloved to God. The lack of love for fellow human beings implies a lack of respect for this monumental work of art by God. Ultimately, to remain indifferent to the conditions and suffering of fellow human beings implies indifference to God himself. While advocating love of human beings as a pillar of human relations, Gülen maintains a balance. He distinguishes between the love of fellow human beings and our attitude toward some of their qualities or actions. Our love for a human being who inflicts suffering upon others does not mean that we remain silent toward his violent actions. On the contrary, our very love for that human being as a human being, as well as our love of those who suffer, necessitate that we participate actively in the elimination of suffering. In the end we argue that strong resonances are found in the notion of authentic toleration based on humility advocated by Conyers and the notion of hoshgoru in the writings of Gülen.