Thomas von Bogyay: BOBA IMRE Moravia's History Reconsidered. A Reinterpretation of Medieval Sources. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff 1971. Thomas von Bogyay: SZABÓ, ISTVÁN A középkori magyar falu [Das mittelalterliche ungarische Dorf]. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó 1969.
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Keywords: New Testament Studies; Jesus
Jungfrauengeburt Jesu Christi. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung ist es, zum ersten Mal die Argumente für und gegen die Jungfrauengeburt Jesu Christi in der estnischsprachigen akademischen Literatur darzustellen. Obwohl die Argumente gegen die Jungfrauengeburt in der neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft für wesentlich überzeugender gehalten werden, sollte im Interesse des objektiven Überblicks den Lesern die Möglichkeit gegeben werden, beide Argumentationslinien kennenzulernen und zwischen ihnen ein gewisses Gleichgewicht zu halten. Folgenden Themen wird besondere Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt: das Fehlen der Berichte über die Jungfrauengeburt ausserhalb der Prologe bei Mt und Lk; die gemeinsame und die Sondertradition in den Prologen bei Mt und Lk; die Jungfrauengeburt in der religionsgeschichtlichen Umgebung des Neuen Testamentes und deren theologische Bedeutung. Zusammenfassend wird festgestellt, dass angesichts der Nähe der Tradition über die Jungfrauengeburt zu den Legenden in anderen Religionen, genauso wie im Hinblick auf die Spannungen, die zwischen den einzelnen Elementen dieser Tradition herrschen, und auf das knappe Zeugnis des Neuen Testamentes in dieser Hinsicht, die Mehrheit der neutestamentlichen Forscher heutzutage der Ansicht ist, dass es sich bei der Geschichte um die jungfrauliche Geburt Jesu Christi um eine Legende handelt. Andererseits ist es bekannt, dass die Orthodoxe und die Römisch-Katholische Kirche, genauso wie die konservativeren Kreise unter den Protestanten bis heute die Geschichtlichkeit der jungfräulichen Geburt Jesu Christi bejahen (vrgl. Die Mariologie in der Orthodoxen und Römisch-Katholischen Kirche). Wer aber heute weiterhin an die Geschichtlichkeit von der jungfräulichen Geburt Jesu Christi glauben will, soll daran glauben trotz der Tatsache, dass wissenschaftlich begründbare Beweise dafür fehlen und trotz der Gegenargumente, über die eine starke wissenschaftliche Übereinstimmung herrscht. Obwohl vermutlich der kleinere Teil der westlichen Christen an die jungfräuliche Geburt glaubt, ist es weiterhin ein Teil des Glaubensbekenntnisses. Jedenfalls gilt auch heutzutage: an die Authentizität oder Nichtauthentizität der Tradition über die jungfräuliche Geburt Jesu Christi kann man glauben oder nicht glauben aufgrund der persönlichen Entscheidung.
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Keywords: Liturgical Theology
The aim of this article is to explore the relationship between the worship renewal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland and the study of liturgical theology. The article first describes the various attempts at liturgical renewal in Finland. The new liturgical books – Service Book, Lectionary 2000 and The Book of Occasional Services 2004 for the Evangelical Luther Church in Finland – are the final result of this work. The process of renewal can be understood in the context of the ecumenical liturgical movement. For instance, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland has used texts from the service books of other churches, like service books prepared for the use of the Church of Sweden and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The nature and development of liturgical theology are then discussed. The author states that practical liturgical changes are the impetus for the study of liturgical theology. The purpose of liturgical theology is not to study the worship practices as a closed system, but rather to explore the relationship between the worshipping community and the society around the church.
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Keywords: Estonian Church Histroy
The Estonian Missionary Society was established in 1919 by the clergy of the Estonian Evangelical Luther Church. For 20 years the leader of the society was priest Harald Põld. With the help of neighbouring Finnish Missionary Society the primary goal was to send young missionaries to the Missionary School in Helsinki. Although the objective was achieved, none of the three selected students managed to graduate. After the failure H. Põld decided to support Leonhard Blumer, a missionary who worked in Africa and was subordinated to Leipzig Missionary Society. Some years later, this decision was deplored by the Consistory of the Lutheran Church because it was thought that Blumer was too German-minded. From 1923 the missionary work was overshadowed by the conflict which emerged between three theological schools of thought inside the Lutheran Church. Harald Põld was the intellectual leader of the conservative current and stood up strongly to any alterations and liberal conceptions of theology. The conservative current also opposed to any relations with ecumenical organisations including the International Missionary Council. The outcome of this policy for Missionary Society was a boycott from all the other church parties. By the year 1927 the relations between the Lutheran Church and the Missionary Society were nearly non-existent. The Consistory refused to transmit the money that had been collected from the parishes for missionary work and demanded answers to what the money was going to be spent on. During the next four years the topic was fervently disputed in the conference of theologians and clerics and it was decided that the cooperation with the Finnish Missionary Society must be re-established. Põld resisted but accepted this decision the next year. He was appointed a Director of Missionary work with the task to increase the budget of Missionary Society. During the 1930s the situation remained unchanged and stable, the funds of missionary society were divided between missionary Blumer, who worked in Africa and missionary Martin Meedar, who was subordinated to the Finnish Missionary Society and worked in China. Leonhard Blumer resigned already in 1930, but the Missionary Society continued to support his successor. Martin Meedar was forced to resign in 1938 because of a communist takeover in his missionary region in China. That year also marks the actual ending of the society, in 1939 Põld died. The Estonian Missionary Society was officially shut down by the Soviet authorities soon after the occupation of the Republic of Estonia.
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Keywords: Science and Religion; Neurotheology
The aim of the paper is to provide the reader with an introductory device to enter the emerging field of cognitive neuroscience of religion – a field that has sometimes been referred to as neurotheology. The first section of the paper is addressed primarily to theologians in asking why should we try thinking about God in terms of neural activity at all. After all, theology is supposed to be a teaching about God but the neurosciences, by definition, can only ground their claims in the data collected about the human brain. In the second section of the paper, an introduction is made to one of the most widely known hypotheses within the field of neurotheology, namely, the Newberg-d’Aquili hypothesis. The hypothesis is explained both on the philosophical and neuroscientific levels. The third section of the paper describes Newberg and d’Aquili’s neurophysiological model of mystical experiences and includes a subsection on the empirical testing of the whole hypothesis. The last sections of the paper deal with the theological implications that follow from Newberg and d’Aquili’s neuroscientific modelling of religious and mystical experiences. It is concluded that the new cognitive neurosciences may well turn out to be very effective tools when it comes to understanding and explaining the role and nature of religion (in general) and theological statements (in particular).
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Keywords: New Testament Studies; Gnosis
Die Gnosis im Neuen Testament als ein Problem in der Geschichte der neutestamentlichen Wissensachaft. Das Thema die Gnosis im Neuen Testament ist für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft seit langem von grosser Bedeutung. Schon H. Hammond (1653) hat Paulus´ Gegner in allen seinen Briefen (einschließlich Gal und Röm) mit Gnostikern identifiziert. Obwohl bereits J. Clericus, der Herausgeber Hammonds Werk im Jahre 1698, meinte, dass die Ansicht von Hammond zu extrem war, vertraten noch im 18. und im 19. Jahrhundert (mit kleineren oder großeren Zugeständnissen) J. L. Mosheim, C. W. F. Walch, E. Burton u.a einen ähnlichen Standpunkt. Die überwiegende Mehrheit der heutigen Wissenschaftler ist mit dem Standpunkt von Hammond nicht einverstanden. Jedoch gibt es auch heute etliche moderne Forscher, die manche „Irrlehrer” im Neuen Testament (z.B. in den Pastoralbriefen) mit der gnostischen Bewegung verbinden. Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts lenkte die sog. „Religionsgeschichtliche Schule” (H. Gunkel, R. Reitzenstein, W. Bousset u.a.) die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Tatsache, daß es bei den Autoren des Neuen Testaments selber (vor allem bei Paulus und Johannes) solche Vorstellungen, Gedanken und Begriffe vorkommen, die an die Gnosis erinnern. Am gründlichsten hat solche „Gnostische Motive” Rudolf Bultmann behandelt. Heute sind vielen Bultmanns Thesen nicht mehr zuzustimmen (wie z.B. die Existenz einer vorchristlichen Gnosis, der Mythos vom Urmenschen als ein gnostisches Hauptmythologem), und viele Forscher legen diese Motive losgelöst von der Gnosis aus. Doch gibt es auch jetzt Wissenschaftler, die die genannten Vorstellungen und Begriffe (zumindest in einigen Briefen und jeweils fragmentarisch) mit der Gnosis in Zusammenhang bringen. In dem vorliegenden Aufsatz geht man nicht der alten Frage nach, ob es im Neuen Testament tatsächlich die Gnosis vorzufinden sei. Statt dessen versucht man darzustellen, wie sich die Ansichten in diesem Themenbereich im Laufe der Geschichte der neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft verändert haben.
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Keywords: Christine Anne Mugridge
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Keywords: Scheffler János
János Scheffler, former bishop of the Diocese of Satmar will be beatified in Satu Mare, Romania on July 3, 2011. He was born on October 29, 1887. He studied theology in Budapest, and he was ordained on July 6, 1910. He studied Church Law in Rome (got his doctoral degree in 1912), stayed at the Santa Maria dell’Anima College. He became professor of theology in Satmar, and was also prefect of the priestly seminary. He got another scientific degree (doctor in theology) at the Pázmány University of Budapest in 1915. He became bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Satmar in 1942. The communist regime imprisoned him in 1952, he died in the communist prison of Jilava on December 6 that year.
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Keywords: mysticism; devotional adoration
In the Middle Ages mysticism and devotional adoration of pictures were closely related. Devotional pictures had an important role in the spiritual routine. Hildegard von Bingen and the women mystics from Helfta mingled mystical experience with the theological truth of Catholic official teaching. This seems to be a paradox, yet many mystics were beatified: Theresa of Avila, John of the Cross, St. Francis of Assissi. It is not clear whether the visionary mystic was inspired by certain pictures or the artists took their themes from the description of the visions. Gertrud von Helfta (1256– 1301) described the Virgin Mary and this inspired some representations: Maria gravida (in the Dominican monastery on St. Katharina), Mulier amicta sole in one of the miniatures of the Rothschild Canticles. The women’s religious approach was mainly characterized and influenced by these visions that were rooted in biblical images but showed the somewhat independent spirituality of women.
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Keywords: Nazarbaev; Kazakhstan; Armenia; genocide; Putin; Russia; North Caucasus; U.S.; Azerbaijan; Kadyrov; Poland; Night Wolves; Zaldostanov; Macedonia; Skopje; GTC;
Plus, Putin says U.S. spies backed Islamic rebels in the North Caucasus, and Poland plans to block a Russian motorcycle gang. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Keywords: Bulgaria; Romania; Greece; Russia; Azerbaijan; Chechnya; Kadyrov; Nemtsov; Macedonia; Gruevski; Jankuloska; Poland; US; Komorowski; Schetyna; Niksic; Monstratsiya; gays;
Plus, the Macedonia tapes scandal reveals a twisted media scene, and Poland accelerates its military buildup. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Keywords: Macedonia; Kosovo; hostage; Albanians; Russia; extremist; jail; murder; Iran; Azerbaijan; defense; Belarus; voluntary work; forced labor; Subbotnik; Turkmenistan; satellite dishes; censorship;
Plus, Azerbaijan considers Iran’s weapons offer in sign of growing rapport; Turkmenistan bans privately owned satellite dishes. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Keywords: EU; migrants; Armenia; genocide; Obama; Turkey; Russia; Ukraine; war; Kyrgyzstan; marriage; women; Bosnia; Sarajevo; Siege; museum; immigration;
Plus, Obama angers Armenians on a historic anniversary, and Kyrgyzstan sees an uptick in underage marriages. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Keywords: EU; Gazprom; antitrust; vestager; Macedonia; Albanian; Gruevski; politics; Russia; Dagestan; terrorism; Kebekov; Ukraine; communism; Kazakhstan; Syria; oppostition; negotiations;
Plus, Russia claims another Caucasus militant’s scalp, and Ukraine mulls a ban on Communist, Nazi symbols. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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