Academic literature on the topic 'Mizo theology'

Síntese: A substituição da ideologia do desenvolvimentismo dominante na origem da Teologia da Libertação pela ideologia neoliberal não significou somente uma mudança no modo de direcionar a economia capitalista no processo de globalização, mas também a substituição do “mito do desenvolvimento”, que prometia a universalização do padrão de consumo dos países ricos a todo mundo, pelo mito neoliberal do “mercado livre”. Este novo mito nega que o ser humano tenha direitos fundamentais anteriores ao mercado, “direitos naturais”. Os pobres são considerados culpados pela sua pobreza, e todo programa social, um roubo contra os que ganharam justamente a sua riqueza. Este mito produz uma cultura de indiferença social em relação aos problemas sociais e ambientais e uma agressividade contra os inimigos do mercado livre. Partindo do pressuposto de que um mito não se combate só com argumentos racionais, mas principalmente com um mito alternativo capaz de mostrar a desumanidade do mito vigente, este artigo analisa os desafios que esse novo mito idolátrico e sacrificial traz para a Teologia da Libertação.Palavras-chave: Teologia da Libertação. Mito do mercado livre. Neoliberalismo. Idolatria do mercado. Teologia e economia.Abstract: Replacement of the developmentalism ideology, dominant in the origin of Liberation Theology, by neoliberal ideology has changed the way of driving the capitalist economy in the globalization process, and also replaced “development myth”, that promised to universalize the rich countries’ consumption standard to the rest of world, by the neoliberal myth of “free market.” This new myth denies that human beings have fundamental rights prior to the market, “natural rights”. The poor are blamed for their poverty and every social program, a theft from those who just earned their wealth. This myth produces a culture of social indifference to social and environmental problems and aggressiveness against the enemies of the free market. Assuming that a myth cannot be fought only with rational arguments, but with an alternative myth able to uncover the inhumanity of the prevailing myth, this article analyzes the challenges that this new idolatrous and sacrificial myth brings to Liberation Theology.Keywords: Liberation Theology. Myth of free market. Neoliberalism. Idolatry of market. Theology and economy.

The main argument of this essay highlights the political importance of the myths regarding the formation of the modern debate around secularization, especially the role that political myths and theologies play in the configuration of the modernity. The essay is divided in three parts. The first one supports that the political myth constitutes the blind point of modernity; the second one emphasizes why it is impossible to explain secularization without the help of politic theology, and the third one describes the return of theological thought in the current debates on secularization.

Literatūros (mokslo) ir krikščioniškos teologijos dialogas – šiuolaikinės humanistikos srityse įvairialypiai tiriama ir vertinama interdisciplininė literatūros mokslo problematika, kuri ypač ryški vokiečių kalba rašytuose filologijos, teologijos ir kitų sričių specialistų tyrimuose. Iš hermeneutinės teorijos perspektyvos straipsnyje nagrinėjamos tokios abipusio santykio kategorijos, kaip antai teopoetika (teopoezija), teologinė recepcija, literatūros teologija ir kita. Analizės pagrindas – K. J. Kuschelio,D. Sölle`s, D. Mietho, W. Braungarto ir kitų autorių koncepcijos. Šiuolaikiniam literatūros (mokslo) ir teologijos dialogo tyrimui pasitelkiama ne tik XX a. pradžios (H. U. Balthasaras), bet ir gilesnė – ankstyvosios krikščionybės ir viduramžių minties tradicija (Aurelijus Augustinas, Klemensas Aleksandrietis, Bonaventūra). Mistikos teologija, būdama aktuali skirtingų literatūros kūrinių recepcijoje, leidžia geriau suvokti bendrąjį teorinį nagrinėjamo dialogo funkcionavimą. Gilinantis į literatūros (mokslo) ir teologijos dialogą, reikšmingos pasirodo esančios tokios krikščioniškos mistikos realijos, kaip antai meilės pokalbis, meno dieviškumas ir žmogiškumas, mistikos ir mito bendrumas, kita.Literaturwissenschaft und Theologie: Realien des dialogischen Verhältnisses und das Feld der mystischen ErfahrungDalia Jakaitė ZusammenfassungDas wichtigste Ziel des vorliegenden Artikels ist eine Bedeutung der Mystik für die Autoren des Dialogs zwischen der Literatur(wissenschaft) und Theologie zu zeigen. Dabei wird die Tradition der frühchristlichen Kirche aktualisiert. Die christliche Tradition der Mystik kommt schon in der Bibel zum Vorschein, so z. B. in der Paulusrede auf dem Areopag, die mit der Literaturtheologie in Beziehung gesetzt wird. Als Untersuchungsgegenstand dienen theoretische Studien und einige Arbeiten der Literaturkritik. Die Erfahrung erscheint als ein wesentliches Problem im Bereich der Literatur und Theologie.Kuschel, als Verbindungskette zweier bedeutungsvoller Forschungsetappen des Dialogs zwischen Literatur und Theologie in Deutschland, formuliert einen sich dynamisch verändernden Netz der strukturellen Analogien, der Theopoetik und anderer Begriffe. Als eine der wichtigsten Säulen dient in seinen Arbeiten die Steiners Konzeption der Kunstmetaphysik, die auch für andere nach einem interdisziplinären Dialog suchenden Autoren aktuell ist. Braungart betont die ästhetische Richtung der Theologie, die Literaturwissenschaft wird laut Braungart in Zusammenhang mit ästhetisch und exegetisch-hermeneutisch orientierter Theologie gesetzt. Das ästhetische Kriterium für die Bewertung der Literatur wird in Arbeiten von Sölle durch ein starkes theologisches Interesse ergänzt. Diese Autorin sucht nach Unterstützung des dialogischen Denkens und bedient sich der figurischen Methode in Auffassung von Auerbach. Im Rahmen dieser Problematik wird kontraverse Betrachtung des Begriffs der Literaturtheologie deutlich, zum Verständnis dessen Mieths Ansicht von großer Bedeutung ist. Seiner Meinung nach sei die Literaturtheologie ohne Autonomie der Poesie nicht zu gerechtfertigen, Theologie sei genausoviel ideologisch gefährlich wie gefährlich eine für die Literaturwissenschaft typische leere Ideologie sei.Die Mystik der Kircheenväter und des Mittelaters weist Gemeinsamkeiten im Bereich der Weltauffassung und des Stils auf und kann mit der Kunst- und Poesieauffassung moderner Autoren verglichen werden. Das Verständnis der Mysterie der „poetischen Versuchung“ und des mystischen Wissens in Arbeiten von Clemens von Alexandria erscheint erneut in der Kunstmetaphysik von Steiner und Kuschel, in der Reflexion der Beziehung zwischen der Literatur und Theologie. Für die moderne Problematik der Beziehung zwischen Literatur und Theologie sind wichtig die metaphysische Raum- und Lichtsymbolik in Schriften von Augustinus, der Vergleich Gottes und der menschlichen Kunst, die Anpreisung Gottes und seiner Schöpfung in der Theologie von Bonaventura. Das Offensein für die mystische Tradition ist im Begriff der Theoart bei Tschuggnall sehr deutlich, die Kunstkonzeption von Pannenberg weist bestimmte Ähnlichkeiten mit Auerbach auf: die Zusammenwirkung der Inspiration und der Prophezeiung, der Kreativität und der visionären Ansicht. Durch Aktualisierung der mittelarterlichen und modernen Mystikquellen zeigt Krenski die Rolle der mystischen Tradition in der Balthasars Poesiereflexion. Die Wichtigkeit der mystischen Einheitlichkeit wird in Sölles Versuchen Beziehung zwischen Gebet und Poesie zu finden erkennbar. In die Suche nach Dialog zwischen der Literatur und Theologie zieht Sölle auch die Problematik des mytischen Narrativs heran. Die Zusammenwirkung der Mystik und des Mythos wird in vielen theoretischen und praktischen Reflexionen der analysierten Autoren erkennbar. Die Mysteriösität der Kunst rekonstruiert Steiner durch die Wende zur Verschmelzung von Mythos und Religion in der Kunst. Die für die Kunstmetaphysik aktuellen Grenzzonen von Mythos und Mystik werden in der Kontemplation des Karsamstags deutlich.

Versuche, Heideggers Denken angemessen zu verstehen, verweisen im Falle von Sein und Zeit auf Aristoteles, Luther oder die Marburger Theologie. Beim späten Heidegger beginnt indes die Sache nach Quellen, die außerhalb dessen stehen was Heidegger als die «abendländliche Metaphysik» adressierte: die von him selbst interpretierten Vorsokratiker oder gar die hebräische Tradition. Auch die Konvergenz zwischen der Spätphilosophie Heideggers und zentralen Motiven des ostasiatischen Denkens ist seit langem Gegenstand der Forschung. Reinhard May hat zu belegen versucht, dass vor allem Heideggers ausführliche Auseinandersetzung miz taoistischen Denken, das ihm durch Bubers Tschuang-Tse-AUsgabe von 1910 und Richard Wilhelms Übersetzung des Tao Te King bekannt war und mit dem er sich unter Anleitung von Paul Hsiao intesiv beschäftigte, einen wichtigen Einfluss auf sein Denken ausübte. May kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass Heideggers Begriff des Nichts, ja die idiosynkratisch anmutende und stets mit Verweis auf Hölderlin hergleitete Fusion von Dichten und Denken wesentlich durch den Einfluss des Taoismus zu erklären sei.

In diesem Aufsatz werden Beiträge zur Philosophie in den Schriften einiger katholischer Priester, Philosophielehrer in Kroatien von 1945 bis 1991, erörtert. Neben Einleitung und Schluss umfasst der Hauptteil der Abhandlung folgende Kapitel: 1. Kurze Übersicht zum Ver-hältnis der kommunistischen Regierung zur Katholischen Kirche in Kroatien von 1945 bis 1991; 2. Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschulen in Kroatien und deren Zeitschriften von 1945 bis 1991 und 3. Philosophische Themen in den Publikationen von einigen katholischen Geistlichen im Zeitraum 1945 bis 1991. Da die Kommunistische Partei in der Zeit von 1945 bis 1991 in Kroatien an der Macht war, hat sie mit ihren repressiven Maßnahmen, Verfolgungen und Morden das gesamte Leben der kroatischen Gesellschaft und die Aktivitäten der Katholi-schen Kirche stark beeinflusst. Im Hinblick auf diese Tatsache werden philosophische Abhand-lungen, die einige Priester als Philosophielehrer verfasst haben, erforscht. Die philosophischen Themen, mit denen sie sich befasst haben, waren vielfältig: die Philosophie von Nikolai Berdjajew; Dialog mit Marx; Beiträge zur Kosmologie, Ontologie, Theodizee; die Philosophie von Baruch Spinoza; Grenzfragen zur Philosophie, Theologie und Naturwissenschaften. Fol-gende kirchliche Philosophielehrer werden in diesem Beitrag erfasst: Josip Kribl, Ivan Devčić, Mijo Škvorc, Tomo Vereš, Božo Milanović, Ante Kusić, Krsto Kržanić, Vjekoslav Bajsić und Rudolf Brajčić.

Resumen: El artículo examina la interconexión entre los principios fundamentales de la sociabilidad humana y el elemento de lo divino. Específicamente, se enfoca en la estrecha conexión entre las nociones de dios y justicia, establecidas en los trabajos de tradiciones pre-filosóficas y filosóficas, es decir Hesíodo y Platón. Se presta especial atención a los motivos, que pueden ser compartidos por Hesíodo y Platón en relación con los principios que subyacen en la vida social y política humana. La investigación comienza con una referencia a la imagen de Zeus como garantía de justicia, permitiendo una vida comunitaria plenamente humana y ordenada (Hes. Op. 213-285). Sobre esta base, se plantea la cuestión de hasta qué punto Platón se basa en esta imagen y en qué medida promueve la visión de Hesíodo en sus propios escritos. La respuesta se busca a través de un análisis detallado del mito de los orígenes de la cultura en el Protágoras (320d-322d). Entre otros ecos de Hesíodo, el pasaje contiene la imagen clave de Zeus que proporciona a la humanidad justicia y vergüenza, es decir, principios indispensables de la vida social en las ciudades. En cuanto al problema de autoría de toda la narración, presentada por Protágoras en un escenario dialógico, el artículo defiende la posición es platónica en sus puntos esenciales. Los argumentos a favor de esta orientación incluyen: 1) la detección de diferencias significativas en comparación con otras partes del tratamiento sofístico de la cuestión de los orígenes de la cultura (a este respecto, se examinará el fragmento del Sisyphus, B25 en particular); 2) resaltar elementos de la antropología y teología platónica presentes en el mito. Aquí, un punto de referencia importante son las Leyes de Platón, especialmente una larga exposición sobre las amenazas del ateísmo en el libro X (889a-906c), que rechaza el convencionalismo como un modelo explicativo de coexistencia política. Con un análisis textual detallado, el artículo pretende mostrar cómo Platón desarrolla y transforma la concepción de los principios de la sociabilidad humana, tanto en respuesta a sus predecesores como en contraste con la discusión contemporánea. La interpretación propuesta enfatiza el papel fundamental de Dios en la organización de los asuntos humanos, como una característica constante del tratamiento de este tema por parte de Platón, también reconocible en la estructura del mito de Protágoras.Palabras clave: Hesíodo, Platón, Protágoras, mito, origen, cultura, dios, justicia.Abstract: The paper examines the interconnection between fundamental principles of human socia-bility and the element of the divine. Specifically, it focusses on the close connection between the notions of god and justice, established in the works of pre-philosophical and philosophical tra-ditions, namely Hesiod and Plato. Special attention is paid to motives, which may be shared by Hesiod and Plato regarding principles underlying human social and political life. The examina-tion opens with a reference to Hesiod’s image of Zeus as a guarantee of justice, enabling a fully human and well-ordered communal life (Hes. Op. 213-285). On this basis, the question is raised to what degree Plato draws from this basic image and to what extent he prolongs Hesi-od’s vision in his own writings. The answer is sought in a detailed analysis of the myth of the origins of culture in Plato’s Protagoras (Prot. 320d-322d). Among other Hesiodic echoes, the passage contains Zeus’ key image providing humankind with justice and shame, i.e. indispen-sable principles of social life in the cities. Concerning the authorship problem of the whole nar-ration, presented by Protagoras in the dialogue’s dramatic setting, the paper defends the posi-tion that the story is Platonic in its essential points. Arguments in favour of this conviction in-clude: 1) detection of significant differences in comparison with other pieces of sophistic treat-ment of the issue of the origins of culture (in this respect, the Sisyphus fragment B25 will be ex-amined in particular), 2) highlighting elements of Platonic anthropology and theology present in the myth. Here, a significant reference point is Plato’s Laws, especially a long exposition on threats of atheism in Book 10 (889a-906c), refusing conventionalism as an explanatory model of political co-existence. With a thorough textual analysis, the paper aims to show how Plato develops and transforms the conception of underlying principles of human sociability, both in response to his predecessors and in confrontation with ongoing contemporary discussion. The proposed interpretation emphasises god’s fundamental role in the arrangement of human af-fairs, as a constant feature of Plato’s treatment of the issue, also recognisable in the structure of Protagoras’ myth.Keywords: Hesiod, Plato, Protagoras, myth, origin, culture, god, justice.

At the 2003 Annual Convention of the College Theology Society in Milwaukee, Sandra Yocum Mize presented some of her research for a history of the Society. I greatly appreciated her investigation of our Society's origins and its progress. She reminded me of things I had forgotten and told me much that I have never known. Let me add a few reminiscences that may be helpful to those who are new in the profession or relatively so.The Korean War consumed the last two years of Harry Truman's second term as president, when Dwight Eisenhower was elected to succeed him. After the unsuccessful effort to contain Communism on the entire Korean peninsula at the cost of many lives on both sides, the eight Eisenhower years, 1952–1960 were largely a matter of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Eisenhower was basically a retired general, on the basis of which he had been named president of Columbia University in a kind of travesty of academic life. His brother Milton who might have made a better chief executive rose in academia to become president of the Pennsylvania State University, well before Joe Paterno brought the Nittany Lions to another kind of eminence. The Eisenhower years were a lull of sorts in U.S. life bringing prosperity to the few, Republican style, and a scandal over his chief of staff who had accepted a gift of an alpaca coat. Days of innocence! Catholic college enrollments were still very much on the increase in the mid-1950s as a result of the G.I. Bill granting full tuition and books, not only for undergraduate and graduate study but even for any theological seminary of a veteran's choice. Many a convent motherhouse's instructional situation was being transformed into a bachelor's degree-granting institution in those years, at first for the religious students only but then shortly for adult lay women in the surrounding areas. The teachers of religion in Catholic colleges and in the few universities of the mid-1950s were priests with a seminary education—no religious brothers, sisters or lay persons as yet.

Every war has grave repercussions for both the human and non-human elements in the geographical location where it erupts. Dramatic productions like Rajiv Joseph’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (2009) highlight the consequences of war on the ecosystem of the conflict-stricken vicinity of Baghdad city. In the play, the chaotic world portrayed is an ecocentric site where the ghost of a tiger talks and the destruction of the garden, of Baghdad city and of human values are lamented. To illustrate the hazards of human conflict, Joseph incorporates ancient myths with the tragedy of the Iraq war to raise issues related to Eco-theology, Zoo-criticism, Speciesism, Green Criticism, Eco-Feminism and Environmental Racism against the backdrop of the Iraq War. The author integrates Grail legends, Greek mythology and monotheistic religious texts in the play’s structure to draw attention to the impending environmental doom. For example, the garden in the play reminds us of Biblical gardens, the assault of a virgin brings to mind Ovid’s story of Philomela’s rape, and the quest for a golden toilet seat in the desert is a clear indication of the Grail motif in the play’s narrative. All these instances insinuate the embedded mythical patterns and the current era’s indifference to the safety of our fellow species. Moreover, the play does not only hint at war crimes, but also refers to the overall structure of the world as an outcome of human negligence and insensitivity towards the environment. In short, the play is a myth-ecological narrative of the dilapidated ecology of the contemporary world. Resumen Toda guerra tiene graves repercusiones para los elementos humanos y no humanos de la ubicación geográfica en la que estalla. Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (2009), de Rajiv Joseph, es una obra de teatro en la que se destacan las consecuencias de la guerra en el ecosistema de las zonas afectadas por conflictos en la ciudad de Bagdad. El mundo caótico retratado es un sitio ecocéntrico en el que habla el fantasma de un tigre, y en el que se lamenta la destrucción del jardín, la ciudad de Bagdad y los valores humanos. Joseph incorpora los mitos antiguos a la tragedia de la guerra de Irak para plantear temas relacionados con la ecoteología, la zoología, la crítica verde, el ecofeminismo y el racismo ambiental en el contexto de la guerra de Iraq. El autor integra las leyendas del Grial, la mitología griega y textos religiosos monoteístas en la estructura de la obra con el fin de llamar la atención sobre el inminente apocalipsis ambiental. Por ejemplo, el jardín de la obra nos recuerda a los jardines bíblicos; el asalto de una virgen en la obra nos hace recordar la historia de la violación de Filomela, narrada por Ovidio; y la búsqueda de un inodoro dorado en el desierto es una clara alusión al motivo del Grial en la narrativa de la obra. Todos estos ejemplos insinúan los modelos míticos incrustados en la obra, y la indiferencia de la era actual hacia la seguridad de los demás seres humanos. La obra no solo insinúa crímenes de guerra, sino que también se refiere a la estructura general del mundo como resultado de la negligencia humana y la insensibilidad hacia el medio ambiente. En resumen, la obra es una narración mito-ecológica sobre la ecología dilapidada del mundo contemporáneo.

Dados recentes alertam-nos para uma situação paradoxal de verdadeiro “apartheid” socioambiental. Daí a necessidade de se analisar a complexidade das mútuas relações entre gemidos da criação e grito do pobre. Intenção nossa, aqui, é fazê-lo a partir da eleição de uma grelha de leitura: do mito à metáfora. Trata-se, na verdade, de articular a advertência de M. Augé de que «devemos escapar do pesadelo mítico» e a afirmação de Paul Ricoeur de que a metáfora encarna uma quebra de paradigma. Num primeiro momento, submeteremos os relatos bíblicos da criação a esta grelha de leitura. Consideradas sob essa ótica, as narrações bíblicas constituem fruto de um processo de “desmitologização” e, portanto, também de “desmistificação” dos mitos das origens das civilizações do Antigo Oriente. Num segundo momento, essa mesma grelha de leitura será aplicada ao “nosso tempo”. Também hoje individuamos verdadeiras mistificações da realidade em detrimento dos interesses e da vida de nossas maiorias pobres. Buscaremos também aqui instaurar o árduo processo de “desmistificação” destes mitos contemporâneos. Finalmente, num terceiro momento, esboçaremos, a partir de nossa genuína tradição de fé, uma teologia da criação que corresponda responsavelmente à gravidade da presente situação de “apartheid” socioambiental.Palavras-chave: Apartheid socioambiental. Gemidos da criação. Grito dos pobres. Mito. Metáfora. Teologia da criação.Abstract: Recent data have alerted us to a paradoxical situation of real socio- -environmental “apartheid”, making it necessary to analyse the complexity of the relationships between the groaning of creation and the cry of the poor. Our intention, here, is to do so using the following reading grid: from myth to metaphor. We will discuss M. Augé’s warning “we must escape the mythical nightmare”, with Paul Ricoeur’s statement that the metaphor embodies a paradigm break. We will first submit the biblical accounts of creation to this grid. Considered from this perspective, biblical narratives derive from a “demythologization” process, a “demystification” of the origin-myths of Ancient Middle Eastern civilizations. This reading grid will then be applied to “our times”. Today, we also share true mystifications of reality at the expense of the interests and life of the poor who make up the majority of the population. We will seek to set up the difficult “demystification” process of contemporary myths. Finally, in the third stage and from the genuine tradition of our faith, we will outline a responsible theology of creation that matches the gravity of the present situation of socio-environmental “apartheid”.Keywords: socio-environmental apartheid; the groaning of creation; the cry of the poor; myth; metaphor; theology of creation.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Uma leitura teológica do gênero da superaventura sob a perspectiva do papel da narrativa na invenção e na manutenção do mundo humano, mediante a abordagem de seus aspectos midiáticos, suas convenções primárias e sua estrutura mítica, con-siderada sua trajetória histórica e crítica. A primeira parte resgata a trajetória históri-ca do gênero da superaventura sob o enfoque da crítica especializada, apresentan-do as argumentações do psiquiatra Fredric Wertham, a criação do código de ética e autocensura dos quadrinhos e um panorama da pesquisa científica na atualidade. A segunda parte aborda a importância da narrativa na criação e na manutenção de universos de sentido e na invenção do ser humano. As narrativas são leituras de mundo que simultaneamente expressam os medos, os anseios, as esperanças e os sentidos do ser humano e sugerem como interpretar esse mundo. Em seguida, a pesquisa apresenta aspectos elementares das histórias em quadrinhos enquanto locus vivendi da superaventura, as convenções primárias que atribuem à superaven-tura sua razão de ser e os significados e as implicações de sua forma mítica. A ter-ceira parte introduz a discussão acerca da teologia do cotidiano e realiza uma leitura teológica de duas histórias do gênero: Superman: Paz na Terra e Shazam: O Poder da Esperança. A superaventura torna-se palco da teologia do cotidiano, quando, por meio da forma do mito, é expressão de um senso teológico comum. A pesquisa en-cerra indicando aproximações temáticas, metodológicas e ideológicas entre teologia e superaventura. Teologia e superaventura lidam com os valores caros ao ser hu-mano, com a estrutura mítica e com a faculdade humana de conceber o ideal e de acrescentá-lo ao real.
A theological reading of the superadventure genre from the perspective of the role of narrative in the creation and maintenance of the human world through the approach of its media aspects, its primary conventions and its mythic structure, considered its historical and critical background. The first part recalls the historical trajectory of the superadventure genre from the focus of critics, presenting the arguments of psychia-trist Fredric Wertham, the creation of the comics code and an overview of the current scientific research. The second part discusses the importance of narrative in the cre-ation and maintenance of universes of meaning and the invention of the human be-ing. The narratives are readings of the world that simultaneously express fears, anxi-eties, hopes and senses and suggest how to interpret this world. Then the study pre-sents key issues of comic books as the locus vivendi of the superadventure, the pri-mary conventions that gives to superadventure its raison dêtre and the meanings and implications of its mythical form. The third part introduces the discussion on the theology of daily life and makes a theological reading of two superhero stories: Su-perman: Peace on Earth and Shazam: The Power of Hope. Superadventure be-comes a stage of the theology of daily life, when, by the mythical form, it is an ex-pression of a theological common sense. The research ends by indicating thematic, methodological and ideological approaches between superadventure and theology. Both theology and superadventure deal with the high values for the human being, the mythic structure and the human faculty of conceiving the ideal and adding it to the real.

This chapter recounts the history of the founding of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1866 by the American Missionary Association and a trio of its agents: Erastus Milo (E. M.) Cravath, Edward Parmelee Smith, and John Ogden. The school’s educational philosophy emphasized teacher training, theology, training for craft work, and liberal arts. George L. White, hired as treasurer, initiated an informal music program that grew into an avenue for generating profit and promoting Fisk’s educational agenda, thanks to a choir he put together with the assistance of Ella Sheppard, who as music teacher was the first and only black staff member at Fisk from 1870 to 1875. In public, the Fisk choristers sang music from the white popular tradition, known as “people’s song” in the words of composer George Frederick Root. In private they introduced their spirituals to the white teachers, doing so under some duress, as they associated the songs with an enslaved past to be forgotten. Around early 1871 George White began urging the American Missionary Association to let him take his choristers on the road to raise money for the school; the group would be modeled on “singing families” such as the Hutchinson Family Singers. After much debate his plan was approved, and after a few weeks on the road White named his choir the Jubilee Singers. Although initially a dismal failure, the troupe’s rebranding, decision to sing more spirituals and less people’s song, and the patronage of Henry Ward Beecher in Brooklyn led to a reversal of fortune. By early 1872 the Jubilee Singers were on their way to fame and fortune. They presented their concerts as a “service of song,” to remind the public that their singing was not entertainment but rather had a religious and moral mission.