„Táto ekonomika zabíja“ alebo „Pápež, ktorý nerozumie ekonomike?“

Author(s): Radovan Šoltés / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 2/2016

The exhortation of Pope Francis Evangelii Gaudium brought many ideas and reflections of the contemporary Church, but also the Western world, which has become characterised by a way of economic thinking and acting, that increasingly clashes with borders of social ethics. Francis´ controversial dictum “this economy kills” (EG 53) questions the discourse of contemporary standards in the economic space. But the criticism of the current capitalist economy by Francis is not solitary in the tradition of the social doctrine of the Church, but builds on the previous encyclicals, which also critically assess style of market economy, that does not respect the dignity of the human person. They do not condemn the market economy in itself, but draw attention to the necessary ethical dimension of economics, namely, to serve man and not vice versa.

„Umysł widzący swoje światło” w nauce duchowej Ewagriusza z Pontu

Author(s): Leszek Misiarczyk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 29/2016

The monk Evagrius of Pontus (345-399 AD) presents in his spiritual doctrine the concept of "pure prayer", that is, prayer not only devoid of any contact with material things but also divorced from any concrete image in the nous (i.e., the mind or intellect). This type of deep prayer becomes a source for the knowledge of God. Upon reaching this state of deep purification, the nous experiences during prayer the light of God and also perceives himself as radiant. Evagrius specifies that the nous sees itself in the color of the sapphire or in sky-blue, or even as a star. Scientists for a long time asked themselves whether, for Evagrius, this light originated within the mind itself, or came from God. It seems that monk of Pontus joins these two lights together, although considering them always as separate. The light of nous itself is but a reflection of the divine light, in the same way that the moon reflects the light of the sun. Even if the nous is not the source of its own light, nevertheless its light is real. In a time of deep spiritual union with God, His light illuminates the human nous and turns it into radiance.

„UND SALOMO HAT IHM EIN HAUS GEBAUT“ (APG 7,47): KONZEPTE VOM WOHNEN GOTTES IM LUKANISCHEN DOPPELWERK

Author(s): Heike Hötzinger / Language(s): German / Issue: 1/2015

This article examines concepts of places of God’s presence in Luke-Acts. As Luke-Acts aims the narration of the proclamation of the gospel with its roots in God’s history with Israel “to the end of the earth” (Luke 2:30-32; Acts 1,8) geographical and religious boundaries are crossed. Therefore questions about religious identity arise constantly as e.g. the reflection about the significance of the temple as God’s place. So the Gospel of Luke presents the temple on the one hand side as a place of God’s presence and thus as a centre of religious identity, on the other hand side as a place of struggling for religious identity. Acts also draws this two-sided picture and shows alternative concepts of God’s dwelling that base in God’s being. For example Acts 6:1-8:3, that marks the threshold to the proclamation outside of Jerusalem, pleads a relativisation of the significance of the temple and at the same time God’s universal presence, particularly mediated by the Son of Men Jesus exalted at God’s right hand side in heaven.

„USŁYSZAŁEM JEDEN GŁOS OD CZTERECH ROGÓW ZŁOTEGO OŁTARZA, KTÓRY JEST PRZED BOGIEM” – W KRĘGU FENOMENÓW DŹWIĘKOWYCH APOKALIPSY ŚW. JANA

Author(s): Joanna Nowińska SM / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 23/2016

The sentence fwnh.n mi,an evk tw/n Îtessa,rwnÐ kera,twn tou/ qusiasthri,ou tou/ crusou/ tou/ evnw,pion tou/ qeou/ is only in the Book of Revelation. There is no precisely information about the source of that voice nor in what way it’s unite with the altar. More: Rev 16,7 describe the altar as speaking one. The biblical meaning of qusiasth,rion connected it with God, His carries of men, cult, His – and human desire of meeting. Also the altar’s horns were signs of God’s power, directed to securing the world. The anointing them by the blood of sacrifices symbolized entrusting, offering the whole life to God. All of these thoughts and the context of Rev 9,13 proclaim that God take the human sacrifice, describe before and overwhelmed problems of the world and more: every human in every condition. He is an active and even the evil is under His control, so He – like an altar in the Old Testament – is a city for escape. The motive of voice suggest that it’s connected with the process of communication between God and men.

„Uwierzyliśmy miłości” (1 J 4, 16). Biblijny obraz formacji sercańskiej w świetle nauczania bł. Jana Pawła II

Author(s): Stanisław Hałas / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 1/2014

The paper sets together the traditional biblical text about the SCJ formation: We have believed love (1 John 4, 16) with the biblical inspirations of the apostolic exhortation Pastores dabo vobis. Pope John Paul the II likes particularly the John narrative about vocation of the first disciples (John 1 35 – 42), and the Markus text: He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him (Mk 3, 14). In these biblical texts he sees the contemplative aspect of the priest for-mation for the pastoral love.

„V normálním životě bychom se nikdy dohromady nedali."

Vyprávěná aranžovaná manželství tří generací  v Církvi sjednocení

Author(s): Andrea Beláňová / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 3/2016

Arranged marriages, together with mass weddings, are not the only remarkable practices of the Unification Church. Arranged marriages can also be viewed as the central point of the Unification Church members’ life histories. These biographies are continuously being created, shared, and retold within the group. Currently, three main generations meet in the Unification Church: the first generation, the second generation, and the neophytes. Members of each generation form their life-stories in a slightly different way. However, as I argue in this article, all of these biographies follow a four-stage structure when speaking about the “matching process”, which leads to the creation of a couple. All three of the generations also incorporate several “more powerful actors” in their narratives, who assist with accepting the chosen life partner and help keep the life trajectory going in the expected and accepted direction. Moreover, humor is always present to relieve any drama in the story. For the analysis, interviews from the Czech, the Slovak, and the American communities of the Unification Church were used, together with the author’s field notes and with Unification Church publications.

„Verbum spirans amorem“. Úvaha o vztahu mezi teologií a duchovním životem

Author(s): Štěpán Martin Filip / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 1/2018

The article, whose title is based on the designation of the Second Divine Person by St. Thomas Aquinas, begins with the application of the principle distinguer pour unir for the synchronic distinction and unity of theology and spiritual life. After an elucidation of the concept of theology and spiritual life, it tracts the harmony between both of them, based on the straight unity between the reason and the will generally and particularly in the act of faith. Since the relationship between theology and spiritual life is mutual, the article conconcept of theology and spiritual life, it tracts the harmony between both of them, based tinues with a treatise on the relationship between theology and spiritual life, summarized in the expression pietas theologica (theological piety), and than by a tract on the relationship between the spiritual life and theology, summarized in the expression theologia pia (pious theology). The example and doctrine of Pope Benedict XVI in this matter is made mention of in the conclusion.

„Viskótlan-e” a jó keresztyén?

William Paul Young sikerkönyvének margójára

Author(s): Istvan Pasztori-Kupan / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 2/2011

Since its publication, William Paul Young’s bestseller entitled The Shack caused a lot of turmoil amongst theologians and Christians in general. The appearance of its Hungarian trans-lation in 2009 added more fuel to the already heated debate within the Hungarian Reformed Church. This study will appear in three parts in the present and the next two forthcoming is-sues of Református Szemle, including both the analysis of some key theological questions contained in The Shack and reflections concerning the most important criticisms brought against it by various participants in the dispute. The present article is concerned with matters of principle such as the definition of The Shack’s genre and the legitimacy of its in-depth theological analysis.

„W imię naglących potrzeb literatury narodowej”. Tłumaczenie i żydowski nacjonalizm kulturowy w Europie Wschodniej

Author(s): Kenneth Moss / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 29/2014

This essay examines the rhetoric and practice of translation in the Russian Empire’s Hebrew and Yiddish cultural communities and focuses on the intriguing fact that by 1917, many of the writers, critics, intellectuals, and publishers committed to a Jewish nationalist vision of Hebrew or Yiddish cultural renaissance were convinced that a massive program of literary translation was their most essential task. The study reconstructs the guiding translation program of this divided intelligentsia, which posited a universal canon of European and even world literature that had to be incorporated whole into Hebrew and Yiddish literature systematically and rapidly, without any sort of Judaization or popularization, and with an emphasis on the expansion of the expressive capacities of the target language and its writers. The essay traces how this commitment was expressed and embodied in translation theory, practices of selection and publishing, and in several acts of translation themselves. It further demonstrates how this translation program and its practices were linked to a larger vision of programmatic ‘de-Judaization’ or ‘de-parochialization’ of Hebrew and Yiddish culture propounded by some of the most committed Hebraists and Yiddishists in Russia. Finally, it argues that this translation program expresses a more general and seemingly paradoxical variant of East European Jewish cultural nationalism which held that a modern Jewish national culture could only be truly worthwhile and compelling to modern creators and consumers if it was universal in its expressive potentials and demarcated from other national cultures by language rather than content.

„W MOCY DUCHA ŚWIĘTEGO. KSIĘGA PAMIĄTKOWA DLA JEGO EKSCELENCJI KSIĘDZA BISKUPA EDWARDA BIAŁOGŁOWSKIEGO Z OKAZJI XXV ROCZNICY ŚWIĘCEŃ BISKUPICH”, RED. P. MIERZWA, M. NABOŻNY, RZESZÓW 2013, S. 496, ISBN 978-83-936516-0-3

Author(s): Waldemar Pałęcki / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 18-20/2013

„W tobie jest źródło życia i w twej światłości [...] światłość” Wiara i religia
 w perspektywie resocjalizacji skazanych

Author(s): Anna Panek,Elżbieta Panek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 31-32/2016

The paper intends to take a broader perspective on the issue of religion in the life and rehabilitation of individuals sentenced to the penalty of imprisonment. It discusses the importance of faith and (mainly Christian) religion and religious practices in the specific context of incarceration, as well as the role of prison pastoral care and correctional volunteering, with some major references to the findings of the thematic empirical work. Moreover, the paper calls for a more in-depth (both empirical and theoretical) analysis of the effectiveness of religiously motivated rehabilitation, without any attempts at its idealization or depreciation. Excerpts from a prison diary - selected as meaningful parts of the paper (in order to outline, among all, the importance of the convicts’ conversions) - are not intended to stun the reader with their emotional message. They are rather testimonials of the life of individuals, in their own flesh and blood, and as such send a powerful message for others. The rest is just about the faith and the will of individual readers and their interpretations. As for things of importance, sometimes suffice is to tell about them (with no references to doctrinal interpretations and paradigms or without establishing any ad hoc scientific constructs). That approach proves that the author’s intent goes far beyond the accurate reporting, disentangled from personal and self-construed messages. Universal clues for choosing between the good and the evil just do not exist. But steps are being taken to save others from the effect of the evil. Prison constitutes a peculiar space of existence where human life can both come to its end or have a new beginning.

„Wszystkie Boże przykazania są prawdą”

Author(s): Alojzy Drożdż / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 14/2018

We are living in a multi-standard culture. These are usually legal provisions. The number of bureaucratic regulations is also great. Each institution is created by numerous legislation processes. There are also, known for centuries, moral norms. Each type of morality has its own structure of norms and behaviour principles. Since the end of the 19th century situational ethics and moral relativism have been spreading in the western culture. It questions the existence of universal and commonly applicable moral norms. The God’s commandments (Decalogue) are particularly negated. It is often said about selective obeying the Ten Commandments. That is why it is urgently needed to remind the binding power of The Commandments. Of course, the Ten Commandments should be interpreted in the context of the New Testament. Today, at the core of this interpretation, there lies a christological criterion. It means that all of the Ten Commandments (lex naturalis, Decalogue, lex evangelica) are being fulfilled in the two Great Commandments of the love of God and neighbour. A visible example of not complying with the Commandments is the culture of death that exists nowadays. It is a sign of not only atheism but also the destruction of humanity.

„Wy jesteście świadkami tego!” (Łk 24,48) Koncepcja świadectwa w Ewangelii Łukasza

Author(s): Piotr Nyk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 27/2015

The present article deals with the studies of testimony in the Gospel of Luke, focusing on the testimony of the disciples of Jesus. In the introduction the author outlines the theme of testimony in the double work of Luke-Acts as compared to other New Testament writings, and explains the meaning of giving testimony and being a witness according to the Third Evangelist. The exegetical study of texts, describing the missionary activity of the disciples in Luke shows that they were acting as witnesses in several stages. In the first stage the Twelve are witnesses sent by Jesus to proclaim the kingdom of God in Galilee. The second stage is the testimony of the seventy-two disciples sent on a mission to proclaim the kingdom of God in Samaria and Galilee. The radicalism of the requirements resembles the radicalism of Jesus’ life, and yields the special character of the disciples’ testimony. The object and the quality of the disciples’ testimony are changed after the Easter events. The disciples have to reckon with persecution, which turned into an opportunity to give testimony inspired by the Holy Spirit. The missionary commandment given by the Risen Lord, being simultaneously a testimony commandment, is preceded by the empowerment of the disciples with supernatural gifts from the Risen Lord, and conditioned by acceptance of the Holy Spirit. The object of disciples’ testimony after Easter will be the passion, the death, and above all the resurrection of Christ based on the prophecies of the Old Testament, and conversion with forgiveness of sins in His name. The testimony of the apostolic community of disciples would be taken from Palestine to all nations on Earth.

„Wycie” Boga jako reakcja na „zdradę” Kościoła – słownik emocjonalny przekazu Piotra Natanka o współczesnym Kościele i Bogu. Studium z socjologii emocji

Author(s): Dariusz Tułowiecki / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2018

Piotr Natanek is the leader of a religious group in southern Poland. He claims himself to be a prophet, basing his convictions on Agnieszka Jezierska’s private revelations. According to these revelations he has the ability to know both God and his emotions. He describes these emotions to his followers in his preachings. The study is an analysis of a series of Natanek’s sermons titled ’’God’s suffering” from 2012 about suffering caused by the Church to God as well as about the effects the suffering has on God. Some vocabulary of emotions was extracted from Natanek’s narration, which then was classified according to Jonathan H. Turner’s method.

„Zanurzeni w Mojżesza” – „zanurzeni w Chrystusa”. Chrzest Polski w świetle doświadczenia paschalnego narodu wybranego w reinterpretacji Apostoła Pawła (por. 1 Kor 10, 1-13)

Author(s): Aleksandra Nalewaj / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 54/2017

The purpose of this study is to attempt to reflect on the baptism of Poland in the context of the Passover events in Israel as reinterpreted by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10,1-13. The study is divided in two parts. The first part refers to the historical circumstances and consequences of the decision of Mieszko I of Poland to accept Christianity. The second part, based of the analysis of a fragment of the letter of the Apostle of the Nations (reference 1 Corinthians 10,1-13), presents the experience of the Christian community of Corinth, with refers to the experience of the chosen people of the Exodus period. The example from the history of Biblical Israel does not refer solely to the Christians of Corinth. The teaching of Paul has universal character.

„Zapomnieliście te słowa: «Bóg czuwa nad nami!»?”. Losy tyrolskich protestantów w powieści „Zillertalczycy” Fedora Sommera

Author(s): Rafał Biskup / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2018

The fate of the Tyroleans who settled down at the foot of the Karkonosze Mts. (mainly in Mysłakowice and Sosnówka), and who in 1837 were compelled to leave their homeland as a consequence of the Confession Decree issued by the Habsburgs, is an essential example of Silesian cultural and religious legacy. It is also an example of the continuation of the idea of Prussian religious tolerance initiated already during the seventeenth century in the aftermath of an extremely turbulent period of religious wars, the most prominent being the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). This article discusses the novel: Die Zillertaler by Fedor Sommer, dedicated to this theme, and is composed of three parts: a portrayal of the historical backdrop connected with the emigration of Tyrolean Protestants; a portrayal of Protestantism in the novel; and a presentation of, and commentary on a review written by Max Koch in 1925.

„ZBORUL DORINŢEI CÃTRE DUMNEZEU”.

DOCTRINA EPECTAZEI LA GRIGORIE DE NYSSA

Author(s): Grigore-Toma Someşan / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 7/2016

The text presents the concept of ,,epektasis” as it is shown in precepts of St. Gregory of Nyssa and it highlights, in the same time, the importance of this concept in themore intellibile presentation about the doctrine of deification, not by cancelling the ontologicaldistance between made and unmade, but by crossing it. The text emphasize the valences that St. Gregory of Nyssa gives to theology of Origen, but also the aspects through gregorian precepts overcome. With other words, this study declares that through underlining the body theology, St. Gregory of Nyssa elaborates the most complex precept about deification.

„Zelenanie sa“ katolíckej sociálnej náuky: Humánna ekológia

Author(s): Marián Sekerák / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 3/2019

In recent years, the term "human ecology" has become a shibboleth within the Catholic Social Doctrine (CSD). In magisterial jargon, it describes a broader understanding of ecological issues, as well as a specific approach to environmental protection. In the paper, the meanings of this term from the perspectives of the last three popes (St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis) are elucidated. The CSD is committed to such an approach to the environment which is based on the principles of ecological interdependence between terrestrial nature and human societies. Moreover, the CSD strongly emphasizes not only the vertical relationship between nature and humans, or human communities amongst themselves but also the horizontal relationship of the individual towards her/his Creator, i.e. God. Such an anthropocentrism is then rather weak when compared to one that completely subordinates nature to the total autonomy of man.

„Znak” pyta: Czy religia dodaje ci wiary w przyszłość?

Author(s): Rafał Zawisza,Jaś Kapela,Agnieszka Nosowska,Michał Eckstein,Piotr Ibrahim Kalwas,Anna Chipczyńska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 734-735/2016

„Znak” pyta: relacje państwo-Kościół A.D. 2015

Aleksander Hall, Halina Bortnowska, Jerzy Sosnowski, Adam Szostkiewicz, Cezary Michalski, Ewa Łętowska, Henryk Woźniakowski

Author(s): Henryk Woźniakowski,Aleksander Hall,Halina Bortnowska,Jerzy Sosnowski,Cezary Michalski,Ewa Łętowska,Adam Szostkiewicz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 727/2015