Academic literature on the topic 'Paid theological'

When discussing the thirteenth-century concept of Christian unity, Jack Watt asserted, ‘Too little is as yet known of the interaction of theological and canonical thought to be able to say with precision just what the canonists contributed to this development among more abstract thinkers and what they received from it.’ Thirty-five years on this comment largely remains true for our knowledge of the inter-relation of theology and canon law in the thirteenth century. Little attention has been paid to the impact of theology on canon law, and even less to canon law on theological thinking. G.R. Evans claimed, ‘Canon law glosses tend to be conservative and less theologically sophisticated than contemporary theological work.’ That comment could be seen as an explanation for how little attention has been paid to the theological content of canonical writing. However, canon law glosses were written principally to investigate law. The area of ‘sophistication’ was different. Yet, this is not to say that there was no interest in theological questions and their possible solutions on the part of the canonists. All canon lawyers had a theological education, and they cited biblical references to support their arguments extensively. This paper aims to show that the use and understanding of contemporary medieval theology had an important impact on the writing of thirteenth-century canon lawyers, which should not be readily overlooked by modern scholars.

Theological (seminary) and congregational libraries in the Christian and Jewish religious traditions have coexisted in some fashion since their beginnings; however, little research exists regarding the relationship between these related-but-distinct library types. This essay explores the relationship between these types of libraries through a survey of their literatures and available statistics, considering their histories and contexts within the broader religious and library worlds, as well as their current relationship in light of their diverse religious institutions. The roles of these libraries will be examined regarding religious, theological, and information literacies as well as exploring their staffs, their staff's education, funding, library hours, their goals, objectives, and outcomes, particularly regarding the changing landscape of religious and theological education for both clergy and laypeople. It concludes with future possibilities in the religious library world in a congregational landscape that often cannot afford full-time, traditionally-theologically-educated clergy, much less paid congregational librarians.

The German theologian Alfred Dedo Müller (1890‐1972) has become known for his crucial contribution to the establishment of practical theology as an independent discipline. He is also known for his commitment to religious socialism and for his involvement in new liturgical movements. However, none of the historical accounts about this important theologian has paid attention to his Ethik, published in 1937. In that study Müller explicitly expresses sympathies for Nazi-conceptions about Volkstum, the Jews, the Führer-state, the need for racial hygiene, and the Nurnberg laws. Although he advocates the killing of innocent humans in no way, he may be criticised for failing to identify the dangers of Nazism, for not speaking up more loudly, and for de facto providing the Nazis with theological justification of their politics. After World War II, Müller expresses regret about the deceptions and the crimes of Nazism. However, he neither makes any reference to his own role nor does he see reasons to alter his theological method of ‘radical realism’.

The traditional prohibition on translating the Quran into other languages is considered to be one of the discussable issues within Islamic theology and jurisprudence. From the eleventh century, when the Islamic state extended politically and geographically, a need arose to understand the Quran, which isthe essence of the Islamic religion. Most non-Arab converts were unable to understand the original Quran text. As a result, they could not understand the true message of their new faith and perform the prescribed worship and practices. This article deals with the topic translating the Quran from a historical and theological point of view. Firstly, some historical factors that lead to the realization of the Quran translation are examined, including the need to understand the Quran both by the new Muslim generations and the People of the Book to defend their own faith against the Islam. Secondly, attention is paid to the theological consensus on prohibiting translation of the Quran into other languages because of its inimitable nature and style. Finally, the problem of the Quran translation is discussed with a focus on the current need for understanding the universal message of the Quran that can only be achieved through translation.

Theological educational institutions appeared in Russia in the reign of Peter I. In the second half of the 19th century, these were already established schools of theological education and upbringing. In 20 years of reforming theological schools in Tambov department, authoritative bishops arrived, having a great influence on church life not only in Tambov Governorate, but also in Russian state. The first in this series is Saint Theophan the Recluse. During this period the archpastors of Tambov Land created the conditions for the seminary development. This concerned the educational process and spiritual and moral education. Their care was manifested in the construction of theological school and new knowledge. Sufficient attention was also paid to economic issues. Concern for seminarians was not fake, expressed in the daily relentless care for their organization. For its turn, the Tambov eparchy showed concern for the organization of male and female monasteries, the parochial gymnasium, and other issues of the eparchy’s life.

The article depicts the peculiarities of Kyiv Theological Academy students’ nutrition in the years of 1834–1863. The investigation uses documents from the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv. These are mainly monthly and annual economic reports which inform about the filling of the student’s menu during the year and logs of behavior, where the inspector recorded deviations from the rules by students. Archival documents help to illuminate aspects connected to the nutrition of students of Kyiv Theological Academy. The ego-documents of graduates, notes, instructions of rectors, economists, and inspectors of the educational institution are extremely important.Attention is paid to regulatory requirements on food that are in the “Statut” of the theological academies. The Nutrition of students in Kyiv Theological Academy depended on many aspects and did not remain stable during 1819–1869. The students could diversify their diet at their own expense. The student menu was considered, and an attempt was made to analyze the changes that occurred with the filling of the student menu during these years. Also the paper describes how the diet changed depending on the period of the liturgical year. The traditions of informal students’ meetings and the use of prohibited (alcohol) and permitted (tea) drinks by the students are considered.Special attention is paid to the question of the diet and nutrition value of products for students. Сalculations are approximate, but there are reasons to conclude that the food energy value was enough for the students’ nutrition in the Academy at least on ferias.

Christian theism has traditionally claimed that God knows the future. But why is divine foreknowledge important? In this essay, I argue that divine foreknowledge is valuable to Christian theism and that a hefty theological price must be paid if it is rejected. I also attempt to show that the range of knowledge available to God in theological models that deny divine foreknowledge is significantly less than claimed by proponents of these views. In particular, I argue that the God of such models could not know future physical necessities, physical probabilities, divinely intended future free acts, or future events required by the divine nature.

The article presents an overview of implementation of self-referential notions in the logical and theological texts of Byzantine scholars up to the 12th century. The commentaries on Porphyry’s and Aristotle’s theory of definition by John of Damascus, John Italus, and Theodore Prodromos are discussed. It is argued that the Byzantine scholars performed different original implementations of basic logical notions and discovered their self-referential property. The attention is paid to the five predicabilia notions of Porphyry and Aristotelian categories applications in logical, philosophical, and theological Byzantine texts. The authors conclude that the Byzantine solutions resemble some of the modern logical ideas of 20th century.

The article represents philosophical and theological substantiation of the idea of post-secularity. The author proposes the definition of post-secularity as the suppressed (hidden) religiosity, and suggests to interpret the current scientific situation around religious and secular issues as the continuation of religious wars by discursive means, including the use of cultural policy and the ideologization of social sciences. The article analyzes various strategies and ideological positions that exist within the framework of post-secular culture. The main attention is paid to the confrontation between secular (immanentist) and theological tendencies. The rationale of the hidden religious sources of secularity is provided and an attempt is made to identify sacred elements in the secular.

ABSTRACTMedieval Byzantine debates regarding icons included fine distinctions between image, prototype, and symbol as these terms related to personhood. Iconodules and iconoclasts differed regarding the ability of art to represent the person. Must artistic representations of a person, to be justified, be consubstantial with the person represented and thus circumscribed, as iconoclasts believed? Or is it sufficient to refer to artistic representations as being symbolic of their human subjects? Embracing the victorious iconodule distinction between a person and artistic representations of the person raises questions regarding the manner in which an image can reveal a human being. Post-structuralist philosophers Maurice Blanchot and Kevin Hart have inverted this problematic. They begin the interpretation of icons and personhood not from the traditional understanding of the honor or worship paid to Christian icons. Instead, they examine the icon's deconstruction of the viewer. What results is an iconodule defense of a post-Cartesian “anthropological iconoclasm.”

This study introduces Kitamori's concept of "the Pain of God" and provides an occasion to dialogue between a pioneering Japanese theologian and theologians interested in the theologia crucis. By "the Pain of God," Kitamori attempted to reorient the Christian account of God to the cross of Jesus Christ. As this expression had in the beginning a personal character but later became theological and critical, this study also follows the same line of development.
Part I explains how the notion of "the Pain of God" was formulated in Kitamori's personal life. His search for the certainty of faith culminated in a mystical encounter with the crucified Christ. Kitamori was convinced that through the crucified Christ God embraced him who, being "outside" of God, was therefore an enemy of God. This contradictory embrace was experienced by Kitamori as "the Pain of God." Part I explores the ways in which Kitamori tried to incorporate this insight into his own itinerary of faith and into his early theological education.
Part II shows how Kitamori elaborated a soteriological model based on the "pain of God" through critical engagement with Reformed thinkers, such as Calvin, Schleiermacher, and Barth. It traces his attempt to give the concept of the pain of God an axiomatical place in the doctrines of creation, justification and sanctification, and to explain the inner relation between the immediate love of the creator, the mediate love of Christ and the victorious love of the Spirit.
Part III turns to Kitamori's engagement with church and culture in Japan. Kitamori was convinced that all nations are invited to take part in the history of deepening and actualizing the message of the Gospel in and through their own culture. Regional contributions and limits must be taken in account according to an adequate criterion. This criterion is, according to Kitamori, the pain of God. His critique of the Non-church movement, and his analysis of leading Japanese novelists, provide two windows into his approach.
Part IV offers some critical evaluation. After examination of both the favorable and unfavorable receptions of Kitamori's theology, it asks to what extent Kitamori was influenced by Buddhism, by Nishida's philosophy and by Hegel. It also places Kitamori's ideas over against some contemporary thinkers on divine impassibility. Then it concludes with a brief recapitulation of his theological contribution.

Thesis (M.A.)--East Tennessee State University, 2004.
Title from electronic submission form. ETSU ETD database URN: etd-0727104-124449 Includes bibliographical references. Also available via Internet at the UMI web site.

Hinton's theology of pain posits that an individual's suffering contributes to God's redemptive work in the world. This dissertation explores Hinton's theological appropriation of pain in four ways. First, we examine Hinton's life and writings to establish his personal interest about pain. Factors that contribute to Hinton's theological interest were the death of his brother, his sojourn in Whitechapel, his mental health, and his practice and skepticism of medicine. Second, we examine Hinton's redemptive nexus of suffering, beneficence, and deification in light of the Jewish and Christian traditions. While our exploration shows that the biblical tradition interweaves suffering, beneficence and deification, we also see that the biblical tradition adds elements that Hinton's treatment misses. The tradition shows that society also has an obligation to those who suffer. Suffering and wellbeing are ultimately social issues that require social, not simply personal, solutions. The serendipitous nature of suffering in the Hebrew bible fleshes out what in Hinton is simply an argument. In light of the serendipitous suffering in the Hebrew tradition, we examined participants in medical trials and the advancement of medicine as possible instances to bolster Hinton's theological nexus. The New Testament suggests that Hinton is too unidirectional in his understanding of the nexus of suffering, beneficence and deification. The New Testament places identification with Christ preeminently ahead of the suffering of the individual. Third, we explore the relevance of Hinton's thinking about pain in his contemporary setting in light of the philosophical, theological, and scientific developments in the nineteenth century. Hinton's metaphysical speculations bridge theology to Darwin's theory of evolution. Darwin was unable to connect Christianity to his thinking about natural selection because of his acceptance of ideas within natural theology. Hinton's metaphysical conceptualization allows him to reject natural theology while embracing the Darwinian revolution from a Christian perspective. Finally, we explore modern pain theories and the literature on the role of religious coping on pain and illness to see if Hinton's theology of pain remains intelligible. The modern medical and social science literature sustains Hinton's basic premise that theological outlook can influence one's tolerance of pain.
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Theology
PhD
Dissertation

Abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Zulu
In this study, social exclusion in an independent, faith-based girl’s school in South Africa was investigated. Bullying is widely recognised as being unacceptable and is addressed by many schools in the form of anti-bullying policies. However, on ongoing basis, girls are being socially excluded from relationships and because this behaviour is often so subtle, it is neither recognised as a form of bullying nor is it being addressed within schools. Theologians argue that educational institutions ought to evaluate the ethical dimension of knowledge construction and that a focus on moral norms, values and virtues need to be a fundamental part of such communities, so that the well-being of its members is fostered. Unless problems such as social exclusion are understood from a theological-ethical perspective, it is unlikely that there will be a permanent change in girls’ behaviour. Changing societies that accommodate bullying requires changes in perspectives, attitudes and behaviour, and schools can make a significant contribution in providing a community in which every child feels accepted and is afforded dignity. This study offers a theoretical-ethical perspective of social exclusion and draws on insights from the fields of theological ethics, sociology, psychology and anthropology. The reasons why girls are socially excluded, the girls’ and the school’s systemic patterns of behaviour and what educators can do to develop an inclusive community are identified. To determine to what extent the theory was supported, alumnae were asked to complete the questionnaires and be interviewed. Some staff members also completed questionnaires and agreed to be interviewed. The findings of the empirical research indicated that the theoretical research was largely supported. Some interesting observations emerged from the questionnaires and interviews that expanded the understanding of social exclusion. One important finding was that the girls who are being excluded from social relationships feel that they are to blame and that they somehow deserve to be excluded. They experience strong feelings of shame as well as loss of self-esteem. This prevents them from discussing or reporting the problem and therefore the structures that are in place for such reporting are not effective. Another important finding was that there is a disconnection between the girls and the staff regarding the effectiveness of current interventions. Therefore, based on the theoretical research and the findings of the empirical data, this dissertation makes recommendations for establishing a community that promotes the well-being and dignity of all.
In hierdie studie is ondersoek ingestel na sosiale uitsluiting in ’n onafhanklike, geloofsgebaseerde meisieskool in Suid-Afrika. Treitering word wyd as onaanvaarbaar erken en word deur baie skole in die vorm van anti-treiterbeleide aangeroer. Dit is egter so dat baie meisies voortdurend op sosiale vlak uit verhoudings gesluit word en omdat hierdie gedrag so subtiel is, word dit nie as ’n vorm van treitering erken nie en dit word ook nie in skole aangespreek nie. Teoloё voer aan dat opvoedkundige instellings die etiese dimensie van kenniskonstruksie behoort te evalueer en dat ’n fokus op morele norme, waardes en deugde noodwendig ’n fundamentele deel van sodanige gemeenskappe behoort te wees sodat die welsyn van gemeenskapslede bevorder kan word. Tensy probleme soos sosiale uitsluiting vanuit ’n teologies-etiese perspektief hanteer gaan word, is dit onwaarskynlik dat daar enige permanente verandering in die meisies se gedrag sal wees. Om samelewings wat treitering akkommodeer te verander, vereis verandering in perspektiewe, houdings en gedrag en skole kan ’n aansienlike bydrae lewer om ’n gemeenskap te vestig waarin elke kind aanvaarding en waardigheid ervaar. Hierdie studie bied ’n teoreties-etiese perspektief ten opsigte van sosiale uitsluiting en steun op insigte uit velde soos sosiologie, sielkunde en antropologie. Die studie identifiseer redes waarom meisies sosiaal uitgesluit word, die meisies sowel as die skool se sistemiese gedragspatrone, en wat opvoeders kan doen om ’n inklusiewe gemeenskap te ontwikkel. Om te bepaal tot watter mate die teorie ondersteun word, is oudleerders gevra om vraelyste te voltooi en om aan onderhoude deel te neem. Sommige personeellede het ook vraelyste voltooi en tot onderhoude ingestem. Die bevindinge van die empiriese navorsing het getoon dat die teoretiese navorsing grotendeels ondersteun word. ’n Paar interessante waarnemings het uit die vraelyste en onderhoude geblyk. Hierdie waarnemings het die verstaan van sosiale uitsluiting heelwat verbreed. Een belangrike bevinding is dat meisies wat van sosiale verhoudings uitgesluit word, voel dat hulle die blaam daarvoor moet dra en dat hulle om een of ander rede verdien om uitgesluit te word. Hulle ervaar sterk gevoelens van skaamte sowel as verlies aan selfwaarde. Dit weerhou hulle daarvan om die probleem te bespreek of te rapporteer en daarom is sodanige rapporteringstrukture nie doeltreffend nie. ’n Ander belangrike bevinding is dat daar nie ’n uniforme begrip is tussen die meisies en die personeel ten opsigte van die doeltreffendheid van huidige intervensies nie. Daarom, gebaseer op die teoretiese navorsing en die bevindinge van die empiriese data, maak hierdie dissertasie aanbevelings ten opsigte van die skep van ’n gemeenskap wat die welstand en waardigheid van almal bevorder.
Kwesi sifundo kuphandwe ngokubukulwa kwisikolo samantombazana esizimeleyo nesisekelwe elukholweni eMzantsi Afrika. Ububhovubhovu buthathwa jikelele njengento engamkelekanga kwaye kuyaliwa nabo kwizikolo ezininzi ngokusebenzisa imigaqo nkqubo yokulwa ububhovubhovu. Noxa kunjalo, kuyaqhubeka ukubukulwa kwamantombazana kubudlelwane obuthile. Ngenxa yokuba lo mkhwa usenzeka mayana kakhulu, awuqondwa njengobubhovubhovu kwaye akukho nto yenziwayo ezikolweni. Iingcali zakwaLizwi zithi amaziko emfundo kufuneka ayivavanye inkalo yolwazi lwesimilo esinyulu, agxininise kwiinqobo zokuziphatha, nezexabiso lobuntu ekufuneka zibe yinxalenye esisiseko kwabahlala kula maziko, ukwenzela ukuba baphatheke kakuhle bonke abahlala apho. Ukuba iingxaki ezifana nokubukulwa aziqondwa ngokwenkalo yezokholo nobunyulu, mhlawumbi akungekhe kubekho umahluko ekuziphatheni kwamantombazana. Ukuguqula uluntu olwamkela ububhovubhovu kufuna ukutshintshwa kweembono, izimvo nokuziphatha kwaye ke izikolo zingafaka igxalaba kakhulu ekumiseleni imiphakathi apho wonke umntwana eziva amkelekile, aphatheke ngesidima. Esi sifundo siveza inkalo yokucinga esekelwe kwingcingane yobunyulu yokubukulwa, kwaye ithabathela kwizimvo zezifundo zobunyulu bezokholo, ezentlalo, ezobume bomphefumlo nengqondo, nezeengcambu zoluntu nezizwe. Izizathu zokubukulwa kwamantombazana ekuhlaleni, imigaqo nkqubo yezikolo nokunokwenziwa ziititshala ekuphuhliseni imiphakathi edibanisayo yimiba echongiweyo. Ukuze kubonwe ukuba ingaba le ngcingane inenkxaso engakanani na, kwacelwa abafundi bakudala beli ziko ukuba baphendule uluhlu lwemibuzo, bavume nokudlana indlebe nabaphandi. Bakhona nabanye abasebenzi beziko abaluphendulayo uluhlu lwemibuzo, bavuma nokudlana indlebe nabaphandi. Okwafunyaniswayo kuphando olusekelwe kubungqina babonisa ukuba ngokwenene, ingcingane yophando yayinenkxaso kakhulu. Kwavela amanqaku anomdla kwiimpendulo zemibuzo nodliwano ndlebe, kwaye oko kwalwandisa ulwazi malunga nokubukulwa eluntwini lwendawo. Okunye okubalulekileyo phakathi kwezinto ezafunyaniswayo yaba kukuba amantombazana abukulwayo kubudlelwane nabanye babeziva ngathi banetyala, kwaye bafanele ukubukulwa. La mantombazana ayeziva engathi asehlazweni kwaye ayengazixabisanga. Le nto yenza ukuba angayixeli le mpatho, angafuni nokuba kuxoxwe ngayo. Ngoko ke imiqathango ebekelwe ukuxela lo mkhwa ayisebenzi. Kwaphinda kwafunyaniswa ukuba kukho ukungadibani phakathi kwamantombazana nabasebenzi malunga nempumelelo yemiqathango yokuwakhusela. Ngoko ke, ngokukhokelwa luphando lwengcingane nobungqina obufunyaniswe kuphando, le ngxelo yophando inika iingcebiso zokuseka umphakathi okhuthaza ukuphatheka kakuhle nangesidima komntu wonke.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Theological Ethics)

People expenencmg chronic pain encounter increases m needs and endure the consequences of failure to satisfy needs. In much of the management of people with chronic pain, chronic pain is considered an abstract phenomenon with little attention given to the human experience. Numerous literature focus on a mechanistic reductionistic approach in management of chronic pain. Most literature is written by medical practitioners, nurses and psychologists from a health-care oriented methodology, whereas minimal research literature was contributed from a pastoral care and counselling perspective. This dissertation explores the needs and feelings of people with chronic pain to identify their needs at the various developmental stages of their pain experience, and within their relevant ecosystems, in order to develop a pastoral response.
Practical Theology
M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The purpose of this study was to unveil what the Lutheran Church has done and could do to heal the wounded society of Mberengwa during the political violence of 2000-2009. The researcher interviewed six (6) selected informants who were all members of the Lutheran church. They shared their political violence experiences. The methods used to collect data were the questionnaire and unstructured interviews. The study began with the general introduction, followed by various themes as indicated by various literatures on healing of memories, Pastoral Care and Counseling and the church’s mandate in crisis situations. After the data analysis the findings confirmed that the church failed the community during its time of need. The study recommended that the church should come-up with a pastoral care model to the wounded community of Mberengwa. This model encompasses the Healing of memories and reconciliation as its basis.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The monograph deals with the issues of spiritual, moral and intellectual development of the individual in terms of training and education from a position of humanitarian Christian psychological paradigm. Defined methodological basis of Christian psychology education, and its subject, tasks and basic categories; from the position of metaphysical and empirical levels of explanation of the theory of identity as a core category of psychology of education, proposed the concept of intelligence as a core category of psychology training. From the standpoint of Christian psychology education reveals the General psychological and social-psychological basis for learning the major strategies of developmental education, the concept of personality-developing education. Special attention is paid to family education in the context of Christian anthropology and psychology. Of interest to seminarians, students of Orthodox schools, the students of the Higher theological courses, faculty training and retraining.

This article discusses Sufism’s engagement with scholastic theology and the development of theological doctrines that are distinctive to particular traditions within Sufism. In respect to the former, attention is paid to how Sufi texts addressed, explicitly and implicitly, major questions such as the nature of God, the soul, cosmology, theodicy, prophecy, soteriology, and eschatology. Issues of special importance to Sufi worldviews, such as walāya/wilāya (‘friendship with God’) and miracles are also covered. In regards to distinctive Sufi doctrines, the article examines various understandings of the states and stations of the Sufi path (ṭarīqa) as well as notions of experiential knowledge (maʿrifa), divine union and encounters, oneness of being (waḥdat al-wujūd), and love (maḥabba, ʿishq). Also addressed are the mystical refigurations of notable religious personalities such as the Prophet Muhammad and Iblīs. The article closes with a brief look at socially deviant renunciant movements that develop in response to the institutionalization of Sufism.

Where Gothic criticism has attended to religious themes at all, it has been reductive, and not paid attention to creative theological work being performed through the texts. This book theologizes the Gothic by attending to its narration of the rupture of the Reformation both as Protestant escape but also as something to be mourned, especially the loss of mediating spiritual practices. The politics of the Glorious Revolution replays this double gesture in Whig and Tory modes. The Introduction lays out briefly the argument and structure of the book, from the Whig Providentialism of Part I, through the examination of Scottish Calvinist duality in Part II, the attention to ideas of blood and sacrifice in Irish Gothic in Part III, to the confrontation of the materialism that ensues from this hollowed out cultural imaginary in Part IV, where Gothic becomes increasingly theological throughout the nineteenth century, re-enchanting the material.

Justifications for the killing of civilians by soldiers rested on an array of theological and legal texts elaborated from classical and medieval sources. These texts focused on the notion of war as a punishment for human sin, but also suggested that war was a just chastisement. Therefore, in the just war tradition writers paid more attention to the causes of war than to its conduct. It was only in a gradual and piecemeal fashion that some protection for groups of civilians, including women, clergy, and children, was developed. However, it was not until c.1700 that a more secular basis for understanding war emerged and began to replace the just war framework with an international law of war. Even then, the civilian did not fully emerge as a notionally protected figure.

The narrative(s) in Genesis 1–3 is a foundational text for Western discourse on gender and sexuality. To date, studies of biblical masculinities have virtually ignored the biblical first male subject; feminist scholarship has long focused on Eve; and queer readings that render Genesis 1–3 alien to modern discourses are promising but small in number. This chapter takes some tentative first steps toward a more focused reception history of Adam as a gendered subject. In light of the current (and still relatively new) state of scholarship on biblical masculinities, the chapter then proposes that reception history and cultural-historical approaches to biblical “afterlives” offer a promising path for future work. Particular attention is paid to Adam’s gender in Genesis 1–3 itself and in the writings of Paul, as well as in later theological, literary, and artistic texts.

This chapter discusses how the remarkable achievement of Al Tabari — a young Arab scholar — says something about both his exceptional abilities and energies and the context in which he wrote. His primary education took place against the backdrop of the so-called mihna, a period of over twenty years when a succession of caliphs attempted to impose a measure of theological uniformity through persuasion and coercion. Meanwhile, political and social turbulence at the centre of the polity resulted in the splintering off of provinces that had earlier paid regular tribute to the capitals in Syria and Iraq. What this means is that when Al Tabari was completing a draft of his history, he was surveying two interrelated processes. The first was the emergence of a Sunni scholarly elite that anchored its religious authority in its command of Prophetic Traditions, and second was the dissolution of an imperial order.

AbstractIn times of great distress, like in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, people look for relief from the existential threat by searching for some kind of interpretation of the crisis. Some people will look for scapegoats to put the blame on, while others will search for ways by which the crisis can also be perceived as something beneficial.As far as the COVID-19 pandemic goes, earlier this year, media and politicians pointed towards China, where the pandemic started, or to Italy, from where the virus spread over the European continent.Since the beginning of the crisis, we have also been flooded with gurus, motivational speakers, and mindfulness coaches who stimulate us to view the new common as an unexpected but much needed “reboot” of our day-to-day life.Intriguingly enough, these two individual and collective coping strategies are very familiar to those who are acquainted with the Christian philosophical and theological traditions. When confronted with the apparent paradox between the idea of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent deity on the one hand and the experience of everyday pain and suffering on the other hand, Christians have sought for ways to find a satisfactory solution. This is known as theodicy. As the Roman and Christian philosopher Boethius summarized the problem: si Deus, unde malum? “If God exists, wherefrom evil?”

There has been much scholarly attention paid to faith-based community organizing. Such organizing efforts often understand themselves as “broad-based,” drawing support from a range of religious communities, racial groups, and neighborhoods. In doing so, these organizing efforts often elide the specificity of racial and religious difference. This chapter draws on feminist critiques of community organizing traditions to develop a black theological critique—and the beginnings of an alternative approach to community organizing that draws on the longstanding organizing traditions already present in black communities. By bringing together secular and religious traditions of black organizing, and by coupling black organizing with black theological reflection, this chapter shows how black community organizing can move beyond pragmatic appeals that sideline racial and religious identity.

This chapter examines the criteria which are used to decide which scientific or religious theory is to be preferred. After consideration of what is meant by a ‘theory’, particular attention is paid to the process of ‘inference to the best explanation’, in which a choice is made between several potential theories on the basis of certain criteria—such as their correspondence with reality, or their internal coherence. Is the best theory the most elegant? The simplest? Or the one most likely to predict outcomes? These points are considered in relation to both scientific and theological theories, with engagement with historical examples to illustrate the principles at issue.

This chapter considers what it means to ‘explain’ something in the natural sciences and Christian theology. A number of theories of explanation are considered, including ‘ontic’ and ‘epistemic’ approaches to explanation. Their respective merits and applications are examined. Particular attention is paid to ‘unitative explanation’, the idea that a good theory is able to enfold other theories, or enable things which were previously seen as unrelated to be considered as part of a greater coherent whole. The implications of these reflections for theological explanation are then considered, with the focus on one of Thomas Aquinas’s famous arguments for the existence of God—the ‘Second Way’.

The chapter is divided into three main sections covering Kilwardby’s work on natural philosophy. The chapter starts with the basic issues of composition of corporeal substances and proceeds to consider the question of the nature of composition (versus simplicity) of the human soul. It also attempts to understand Kilwardby’s philosophical commitments underlying his involvement in the Oxford Prohibitions of 1277. Particular attention is paid to the notion of matter and simplicity that offers cues to the identification of the view(s) Kilwardby may be targeting in this event. In this chapter, I also show the nature of the events surrounding the 1277 Oxford Prohibitions in such a way that it makes clear that Kilwardby was not and could not be acting alone or even at his own initiative. Rather, the claim is that he was probably spearheading a philosophical and theological movement of opposition to certain interpretations of Aristotelian ideas, especially in natural philosophy. The final section of the chapter offers Kilwardby’s account of the nature of celestial change and the relation between celestial motion and time.

This chapter draws on Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved to unsettle meanings of freedom, love, and subjectivity. It uses a decolonial political theological perspective that pivots on two paradoxical aspects of Christianity: its entanglement with the colonial anthropological deformation that Sylvia Wynter refers to as “Man” and its commitment to justice as social transformation inspired by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. In reading Morrison’s novel, Copeland leaves the reader without a tidy conclusion that returns to an affirmation of Christian tradition. Prioritizing black existential pain that pervades Morrison’s work, this chapter offers the most sacred identity of the human person, which it argues is realized in enfleshing love, as a site for unsettling modern/colonial anthropological distortions.

Old Testament studies have posed a lot of challenges to scholarship. They made people like Marcion read it with a pen-knife frame having in mind to cut off those texts of ‘horror' which present the Old Testament God as a wicked God who lacks compassion and the spirit of benevolence. This monstrous presentation of the Old Testament God has propelled some scholars like Pail Copan to ask, is the God (of the Old Testament) a moral or monster? This view of the Old Testament God is occasioned by the challenges involved in the studying of the Old Testament as an ordinary literary work, historical work, archaeological work, or a theological document. Viewing this canon from a theological perspective leads one to reading it from a religious perspective. This brings to the fore studying the religion of the Old Testament from a phenomenological perspective with an eye specifically on the concept of the Old Testament God. From a phenomenological perspective, it shows that the theistic concept was borne from varied experiences. It shows the nature and character of their God.