Formacije sekularnog. Hrišćanstvo, Islam, Modernost

Author(s): Talal Asad / Language(s): Serbian

Opening with the provocative query “what might an anthropology of the secular look like?” this book explores the concepts, practices, and political formations of secularism, with emphasis on the major historical shifts that have shaped secular sensibilities and attitudes in the modern West and the Middle East. Talal Asad proceeds to dismantle commonly held assumptions about the secular and the terrain it allegedly covers. He argues that while anthropologists have oriented themselves to the study of the “strangeness of the non-European world” and to what are seen as non-rational dimensions of social life (things like myth, taboo, and religion),the modern and the secular have not been adequately examined.

Iisus Hristos – Plinirea Revelaţiei Dumnezeieşti. Aspecte Moderne Dogmatice Şi Misionare

Author(s): Tudor Cosmin Ciocan / Language(s): Romanian

Autorul a reuşit să surprindă în mod panoramic, cu o profunzime deosebită a cercetării raportul dintre Revelaţie şi inspiraţie, arătând în primul rând că acestea sunt lucrări iconomice cu finalitate soteriologică atât a Persoanei dumnezeieşti a Fiului, cât şi a Persoanei dumnezeieşti a Duhului Sfânt; în al doilea rând, autorul prezintă relaţia dintre Revelaţie şi inspiraţie ca o relaţie dintre întreg şi parte, cele două manifestări fiind în mod cert indisolubile şi unitare. De asemenea, autorul demonstrează că Revelaţia nu poate fi confundată cu vreun act derulat în planul secundar al viitorologiei; prin Revelaţie se descoperă voia şi planul iconomic al Sfintei Treimi şi nu neapărat viitorul interpretabil de omul desacralizat. În acelaşi timp inspiraţia nu trebuie să fie circumscrisă „cultului alesului”, nici redusă la subiectivitatea autonomă şi superficială post-modernă, ci ea este – în evaluarea misionară ortodoxă – o sacramentală iluminare a aghiografului de către Duhul Sfânt, fără ca raţiunea, voinţa sau libertatea acestuia să fie în vreun fel afectată.Autorul are meritul de a fi accentuat – într-o viziune profund ortodoxă – centralitatea Mântuitorului, atât în actul Revelaţiei, cât şi al inspiraţiei şi deopotrivă de a opune – în mod salutar – misiunea profetică a Bisericii ocultismului contemporan cu nocivele sale consecinţe. Mai mult, autorul prezintă cu deosebită competenţă cadrul eterodox ce raţionalizează actul inspiraţiei dumnezeieşti prin intermediul ipotezelor: ipoteza instrumentului, a dictării, a mesagerului şi nu în ultimul rând, cea a extazului.Autorul denunţă falsa religiozitate – cu privire la Revelaţie şi la inspiraţie – atât în interiorul creştinătăţii, cât şi în exteriorul acesteia. Astfel, pseudo-religiozitatea creştină occidentală – complet diferită de cea ortodoxă răsăriteană – este redată prin aşa-numita „revelaţie deschisă” şi este fundamentală pentru tot ceea ce numim neo-protestantism; în egală măsură, pseudo-religiozitatea seculară se manifestă printr-o neo-gnoză sau un neo-gnosticism, ce ocultează în tipurile noastre vechiul gnosticism păgân din perioada primară a Bisericii, în fapt fiind o pseudo-cunoaştere ce are un fundament ne-revelat şi se plasează în exteriorul spaţiului ecclesial

Dobro małżonków. Identyfikacja elementu ad validitatem w orzecznictwie Roty Rzymskiej

Author(s): Andrzej Pastwa / Language(s): Polish

“The clarification of […] the bonum coniugum exclusion hypotheses must be carefully studied by the jurisprudence of the Roman Rota” said Benedict XVI in 2011, referring indirectly to the diagnosis of the dean of the Roman Rota, Mario Francesco Pompedda, who stated in 1998 that the legal content of the clause of “the good of the spouses” constitutes one of the most crucial hermeneutic issues, which calls for more in-depth research. Now more than ever, the Pope’s memento appears akin to a compass designed to guide the service of the Apostolic Tribunal, one which makes it possible to determine clear judicial standards in the identification of the said element ad validitatem. Service, it is worth to add, which requires integrity and professionalism since, when it comes to the fundamental issues included in the sphere designated by the 2013 Rota allocution “Marriage and the relationship between faith and the natural order” (which, predictably, is where Benedict XVI situates the issue of “clarifying the essential element of bonum coniugum”), the words of John Paul II, who said that “legal hermeneutics requires […] a vision which encompasses the whole body of the Church’s teachings,” appear to become even more significant. // In such an obvious way John Paul II and Benedict XVI — titans of spirit and intellect, caryphaeuses of humanism, measured with a simultaneous engagement in fides et ratio—refer to the potential of science. It is, thus, difficult to ignore the invitation expressed in those words—which also highlights the role of the creators of the Rota jurisprudence, “the exemplary juridical wisdom”—for the canon law experts searching for the truth de matrimonio in theoretical research. Indeed, the papal thought—bolstered by the severity of the problem, i.e. the risk of proliferation of erroneous interpretations of ordinato ad bonum coniugum (“the danger that threatens the correct application of the norms on incapacity [and exclusions], […] and to transform the simple shortcomings of the spouses in their conjugal existence into impediment”), particularly in the lower tribunals—calls for serious consideration. This, in turn, constitutes an important challenge for the scholars, as well as the judges of the Roman Rota, to transform (in the spirit of paradigmatic harmonization vetera et nova) personalistic ideas, grounded in tradition and conciliar magisterium, into legal praxis. Therefore, the following attempt of a scholarly approach to the title identification of the ad validitatem element in the Roman Rota jurisprudence is predominantly inscribed into the doctrinal and judicial context delineated above. // The methodical ordering of the variety of judicial stances, valorizing the bonum coniugum formula, has been facilitated by the process of distinguishing, within the broad research area, particular premises: genetic and historical as well as epistemological and methodological, which resulted in the formulation of research hypotheses, formulated in the conclusions of the first part of the monograph and then verified (it could be said: successfully) in the following parts. // Regarding the hypotheses, it should be noted that there exists a documented fact (included in hypothesis II-2), which proves that a special Papal magisterium, included in his speeches addressed to the Roman Rota, authorizes an optimal methodology of the judicial approach towards essentialia in matrimonio, which consists in leading the discourse along the axis: anthropological realism—judicial realism. Search query of all published (as well as unpublished) sentences pronounced by the Rota, which highlight the bonum coniugum formula to a greater or lesser extent, consciously directed toward the analysis of the two aforementioned surfaces: anthropological and stricte legal, confirmed the validity of that perspective. Thus, it demonstrated that a sine qua non condition for an appropriate selection (according to hypothesis II-3) of consistent jurisprudence with regard to bonum coniugum—both in “non-autonomous” as well as “autonomous” configurations—is the affirmation of the paradigm of the “realism” of the new matrimonial doctrine. // The conclusions, presented as a summarizing comparison between the paradigmatic depictions of bonum coniugum: (I) depictions which appear to have been an instrument of the past (the good of the spouses understood exclusively in nonautonomous configurations); (II) depictions which are open to further developments (the good of the spouses understood in autonomous configurations)—must remain open to discussion, for a lack of a better option. This particular scholarly approach: that of a constant search for the “signs of times,” is grounded in the teachings of Benedict XVI (see: hypothesis II-1) when he says, “Cases in which there is failure to recognize the other as spouse or in which the essential ordering of the community of conjugal life to the good of the other is excluded are [today – A.P.] quite exceptional. The clarification of these hypotheses of exclusion of the bonum coniugum must be attentively assessed by the jurisprudence of the Roman Rota.”

TechGnoza, uchronia, science fiction. Proza Jacka Dukaja

Author(s): Piotr Gorliński-Kucik / Language(s): Polish

The subject matter of the present monograph, entitled “TechGnosis, Uchronia, Science Fiction. The Prose of Jacek Dukaj” is the analysis and interpretation of the prose works of the author of "Ice", conducted with the adoption of selected categories, such as techgnosis, conservatism, futurology, and uchronia. The first part of the book primarily concerns the relation between the writings of Jacek Dukaj and the writings of Stanisław Lem. Piotr Gorliński-Kucik describes the creative path of the author of “Lód” [“Ice”], and next considers the possibility of applying the Harold Bloom’s “anxiety of influence” theory to the relation between these two prose-writers. In the next chapter, “Project ‘Autoevolution’,” the author attempts to situate the prose by Dukaj against posthumanism (the reflection upon the possibility of non-human subjectivity), and the evolution of man and technology, as well as to juxtapose the content of the novel by this author with the repertoire of H+ concepts specified in essays by Lem. The following chapter, “Dialogues” is devoted to polemical references to the writings of the author of “Solaris”, made by Dukaj in his short stories “Irrehaare”, “In Partibus Infidelium”, and “The Eye of the Monster”. In “The Economy of a Small Form”, the author discusses quasi-reviews (here referred to as “virtual literature”), and then continues with the description of the essays on books not yet written, which have been done by the author of Ice; one of these texts, “Who Wrote Stanisław Lem?”, has become a parody-tribute and a kind of mini-monograph on the works of the author of “Solaris”. The second part of the present work primarily concerns the key categories: techgnosis and uchronia. In the chapter “The Scorched Earth Policy”, the author suggests a typology of fictional universes constructed by Dukaj and describes the narrative model of his novels. The most extensive chapter of the work, “The Economy of Salvation. Ethics and Aesthetics of Gnosis,” has been devoted to the conservative society as portrayed in the novel by the author of “Lód” [“Ice”], and to gnostic soteriology – here, salvation is bestowed only upon narrow elite (this being the “economy of salvation”). Dukaj describes highly advanced technology by means of language that usually serves to designate the characteristics of human spirituality, which has been examined here in the context of postsecularism. Two other strategies of describing technoscience in the context of secularization have also been given some thought (in the short story by Lem and the novel by Jules Verne). In the chapter “Transhumanist Uchronia”, the category of uchronia has been further specified as “time that is not (yet).” The next subject matter that has been taken into consideration is the unstable subjectivity of the posthuman, that is, the man of virtual (post-postmodern) era, specifically with the reference to the categories of sexuality (in the discourse of post-genderism and cyber-feminism). Dukaj has then been situated in the generation of “the followers of Gombrowicz” (as opposed to the generation of “the followers of Schulz”), and therefore looked upon as operationalising the artistic language of the author of “Ferdydurke”. Also, a complex game based on a parody-tribute and pastiche (a quotation of style) played by Dukaj with the texts of Gombrowicz and Aristotle has been characterised. The chapter concludes with an attempt at interpreting “Inne pieśni” [“Other Songs”]. Two chapters have been devoted to one of the most important novels by Jacek Dukaj: “Lód” [“Ice”]. In the first one, the author has taken into account the construction of alternative history, also in the context of a historical novel. The other chapter deals with postmodern intertextuality and the problem of memory and narration, and, in addition, offers an attempt at interpreting the novel. The final chapter of the present monograph concerns the latest novel written by Dukaj, entitled “The Old Axolotl”. Its reading confirms the path of interpretation outlined in the readings of earlier works, at the same time allowing to take a look at the poetics of an e-book novel. The present monograph, “TechGnosis, Uchronia, Science Fiction. The Prose of Jacek Dukaj”, is aimed at acknowledging the intellectual and artistic value of the prose by Jacek Dukaj, and at integrating the reflection upon its nature into the domain of academic discourse.

Islam i muslimani u dokumentu ‘Nostra aetate’

Author(s): Adnan Silajdžić / Language(s): Bosnian Publication Year: 0

Moja je zadaća da, iz rakursa muslimanskih doktrina, kratko i kritički prokomentiram sadržaj Dokumenta i da ga usporedim sa ostvarenim rezultatima dotadašnje kršćanske i uopće zapadnjačke percepcije islama i muslimanskog svijeta. Tema je kontroverzna u onolikoj mjeri koliko je kontroverzan zvanični stav Katoličke crkve prema islamu i muslimanima. Zbog toga sam i prihvatio poziv kolege dr. Ivana Šarćevića da ovom prilikom iznesem svoja zapažanja. Iznijet ću četiri teze i kratko ih obrazložiti!

Religia i naród: powikłane związki religii i nacjonalizmu

Author(s): Sławomir Mandes / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Език, религия и образование - в пресечната точка на публичните политики (по материали от Северна Гърция)

Author(s): Gergana Tzoneva / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

Language, religion and education have been put in the core of public policy in Northern Greece during the last few years. The education has a leading role and it is the most important factor to make the self-defiance in the community. The training is being led in Turkish mainly, and sometimes in Greek since the Primary Classes at schools. The problem with the changing of identity through religious education and the forcing of the influence of the basic current religion and its use became a political process as well. We can foresee the total disappearance of the Slavic/ Bulgarian/ language , and its use, or its official legitimation as "pomak" language, based on the researches in this area.

Göç ve Din Üzerine

Author(s): / Language(s): Turkish

Göçün birçok yönden insan hayatı üzerinde etkisi bulunmaktadır. Göç eden insan, tüm hayatını değiştirmeye niyet etmekte, yeni bir hayata başlamayı göze almaktadır. Yeni çevrenin değişik şartları, orada edinilen kazanımlar ve tecrübeler, önceki yerleşik geleneksel dinî inanış, değer, norm, pratik ve adetlerin zamanla kaçınılmaz bir biçimde etkilenmesine hatta değişim ve dönüşümüne yol açabilmektedir. Öyle ki, göç süreciyle farklı kültürler, sosyal katmanlar ve insanlar karşı karşıya gelebilmekte, bu karşılaşma da beraberinde pek çok çatışma ve sorunlara zemin hazırlayabilmektedir. Bu kitap, göçün ve göçmen olma durumunun özellikle dinsel inanç ve yaşam tecrübesi üzerindeki yansımalarını konu edinmektedir. Bu kapsamda, on bölümden oluşan bu çalışmada, her bir bölüm kendi araştırma ekseninde göç ve din hususunu farklı boyutlarıyla ele almakta ve tartışmaktadır.

Koliko se poznajemo?

Author(s): / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian

Ako perspektive sociologije u Bosni i Hercegovini ovise o njenom mjestu u obrazovnom sustavu, na sveučilištu, i od empirijskih istraživanja, onda su perspektive sociologije vrlo slabašne. Zato ne iznenađuje da imamo tako malo istraživačkih studija o tome što se desilo i dešava s promjenama društvene svijesti među stanovništvom Bosne i Hercegovine u posljednjih dvadeset godina. A tu su, bar tako izgleda, promjene bile velike. Narodski rečeno: nevolja i pamet mijenja.

Nezvítězí, kdo nebojuje. Alexandrijský patriarcha Šenut III. a spor o zbožštění člověka

Author(s): Jaroslav Franc / Language(s): Czech

The Church is essentially both human and divine. It is a sign of hope in which mysteries of God are revealed within the reality of human cultures. Among the main characteristics of Coptic Christianity is a tendency to the profound spirituality; the spirituality between the culture of city and the culture of desert. Throughout history the Egyptian Christian tradition has adopted Coptic, Greek and Arabic culture. From the nineteenth century onwards, also the cultural influences of modern Europe has been intensified. It brought to Egypt new theological impulses. The doctrine of the deification of man was in the second half of the twentieth century promoted in Egypt by Matthew the Poor and his disciples. And soon it became the subject of a theological dispute. It is significant for the time of cultural exchange that among the main impulses there was a compilation of texts on prayer written in English by Lazarus Moore. It actually determined the framework of his theological thinking. Among his opponents there was his former pupil and further Alexandrian patriarch Pope Shenouda III. The presented work might be described as a follow up of the already published monograph on Matthew the Poor. It presents a theological analysis of the work of the Alexandrian Patriarch Shenouda III with the focus on his critique of the doctrine of the deification of man. The analysis is a search for the causes of the dispute over the doctrine of the deification of man and it also presents the results within the context of newly emerging cultural paradigms of Coptic Christianity.

Narození, svatba a pohřeb v sunnitském islámu

Author(s): Jana Malecká / Language(s): Czech

The publication deals with Sunni Muslim traditions connected with birth, wedding, and funeral. It focuses on Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and the Czech Republic. It describes traditions of Sunni Muslims living in mentioned Arab countries along with traditions of the Syrians, Jordanians, Palestinians living in the Czech Republic, and Czech converts as well. Selected traditions of these two different cultures (Arab Muslims and Czech Muslims) are compared so we can note the differences and similarities between their bearers who are living in various cultural and religious areas.

Pnevmatic experience in prayer from the perspective of Orthodox theology and Pentecostal theology. Missiological evaluation

Author(s): Alexandru Baciu / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Man, created by God in His image, is by excellence a Eucharistic and liturgical being, and his purpose is to glorify God in prayer. Prayer, from the perspective of Orthodox theology, is not only a form of dialogue with God, it is also a spiritual union with Him. It is a work of the Holy Trinity in man (Revelation 3: 20). Philocalic parents say that it is a gift, a spiritual food for the mind, a way of existence of the new man reborn by grace, the sight of the unseen, trust in what is desired, the feast of angels, the fruit of joy and thanksgiving, the appearance of God and for His work is one, the work of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, who worketh all in Jesus Christ. It is, after all, an act of faith, but especially of love. From the perspective of Pentecostal theology, prayer is the most important spiritual activity of the congregation, but also of the believer alone. It encompasses and captures any other activity and expresses the emotional richness of the Christian. According to Steven Jack Land, “Pentecostal prayer” is exalted (performed) in three forms, modeling and expressing “Pentecostal affections” (gratitude, compassion, and courage) each in its own way. These forms are: with understood words, often articulated, expressing gratitude, without words concretized in sighs, sighs showing compassion, and with misunderstood words as an expression of the acquisition of the gift of speaking in tongues, often emphasizing courage, confidence and hope.

L'expérience de la rencontre de Dieu: convergences entre la théologie patristique et la spiritualité pentecôtiste

Author(s): Adrian Radu Leș / Language(s): French Publication Year: 0

La ressemblance entre les expériences spirituelles décrites par de nombreux Pères de l'Église et la manifestation du Saint-Esprit dans les nouveaux mouvements charismatiques a déjà été remarquée par certains théologiens. Cette étude vise à découvrir et analyser les congruences que l'on peut remarquer entreles écrits concernant la théologie de la déification de trois Pères qui sont représentatifs pour trois périodes marcantes de l'histoire de l'Église et les spécificités de la manifestation spirituelle pentecôtiste. L'importance de vivre en Dieu et avec Dieu, le salut compris comme relation decommunion entre l'homme et Dieu, l'oeuvre de l'Esprit Saint dans la personne humaine et les expériences qui peuvent découler de cette synergie (diverses formes d'extase mystique) nesont que quelques thèmes communs aux deux théologies que cette étude développera. Même s'il y a des caractéristiques très difficiles à conjuguer avec la théologie et la pensée patristique, dans son processus d'auto-définition théologique, en l'occurrencedans la compréhension de sa propre théologie expérientielle ou mystique, il semble que le pentecôtisme semble plus proche de la théologie patristique qu'il ne l'aurait imaginé luimême.

«As an Angel of Light», Imagination and Discernment at Prayer. An Essay in Comparison between Diadochus of Photike and Symeon the New Theologian

Author(s): Marcelo Singh / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In 2 Corinthians 11: 14 Saint Paul warns us about the tricks of Satan that can disguise himself as an angel of light. The exegesis of this text raises in some authors a reflection about the necessity of discernment during prayer. Imagination could bring confusion and misunderstanding, and could particularly become an open door for the bad spirit into the human soul. This is the problem that Diadochus of Photike points out. In his One Hundred practical texts, he explicitly refers to the Angel of Light (chapter 40). First, I intend to read this expression in the context of the same work, including a fundamental study of “imagination” (φαντασία) and “discernment” (διάκρισις). For the second part, I will introduce the exegesis of 2 Corinthians in Symeon the New Theologian, taking his teaching of Ethics XV, 89 as a basis: «Taste and see that who is darkness, presents himself to the imagination in the form of an angel of light» (ἄγγελον φωτός).

„Fericirile” în varianta lucanică. O perspectivă exegetică și teologică (Lc. 6, 20-23)

Author(s): Nicolae-Ioan Boboia / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

The present article deals with the "beatitudes" being in the version of the Gospel according to Luke. They represent one of the thematic part of the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes which Christ refers to presents, in a paradoxical way, the fact in which they are acquired. This happens because, from a Christian perspective, true and lasting happiness, that is, eternal happiness in heaven, can only be acquired after experiencing some material deficiencies and trials for faith in the earthly life. This would be Luke's perspective in this regard. The beatitudes push the true disciple of Christ from the stage of temporal life to that of eternal life. I illustrated this in the analysis of the “Lukan Beatitudes” from a thematic perspective, which also means the particularity of the present study.

Patristic views on the relationship between man and animals

Author(s): Vanțos Miltiade / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Man's attitude towards animals was considered by the Church Fathers to be an important part of his spiritual life and his mission in the world, and for this reason the relevant patristic references are extensive and certainly cannot be presented in detail in the context of this study. It will therefore be limited to two key patristic positions which we believe are essential for a Christian understanding of the relationship between human beings and animals. According to the first, animals and the world in general are created for man, who is made their master by God. According to the second, man's dominion over animals is not unconditional and unlimited, since man is neither their creator nor their owner, but subject to God's commands and judgement. In this context, the following views are presented: a) Celsus's criticism of the Christian doctrine of man's dominion over animals, b) Origen's response to it, c) St John Chrysostom's view that man's physical weakness in the face of the many animals is an expression of God's philanthropy, and d) St Gregory of Nyssa's view that what appears to be man's natural weakness becomes the occasion for a dominion based not on force and imposition but on cooperation.

„Teologhisiri” la un mileniu distanţă. Sfântul Simeon şi „noii teologi”

Author(s): Dan Sandu / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Books like Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou’ s Thinking Orthodox, are not published often, summing up an experience of 40 years of teaching and lecturing in different universities around the globe is meant to clarify the present state of the Orthodox theology and mostly of theologizing. Though religion in general and Christian faith in special seems to loose its importance in the modern and post-modern society, there is a growing appetite for theology from people of no religious formation, such as the Gabriel Liiceanu. Though he claims to do „a bit of theology”, all he managed was to revigorate old gnostic and heretical ideas, as well as formulating a form of liberal atheism, which was so much part of the communist education in Romania. Lecturing St. Symeon the New Theologian’s writings,examining his life and try to adapt it to the XXIst century will point out that doing theology is a good exercise for everybody while theologizing is a top responsibility for who climbed up on the highest level of purification and put up an indestructible bond with Christ-God.

Lumea textului și a limbajului religios în viziunea filosofului Paul Ricoeur

Author(s): Bogdan MAXIM / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

In this study we want to observe the evolution of language by analyzing language as discourse, highlighting the relationship between language and writing, and understanding a text correctly. Paul Ricoeur tries to understand, to believe and to find a way in the world of the text that establishes a greater harmony between philosophy and religion, but never a simple solution. We will focus on texts because discourse in them acquires a triple semantic autonomy: vis-à-vis the speaker's intention, the audience's reception, and the cultural circumstances of its production. In other words, a “world of the text” is projected, a “world in which I could live”, as the philosopher says, and which is open to multiple readings. The study begins by answering the question: what is a text? Paul Ricoeur presents his answer in a study entitled From Text to Action, which helps us to see the meaning of this question. At first sight, the definition of a text as “any discourse set down in writing” is a platitude whose philosophical discourse acquires a triple semantic autonomy: the speaker's intention, the audience's reception and the ethical interest are difficult to discern. We will see that everything changes when we consider the complexity of the functions associated with the notion of discourse, which, understood linguistically, is immediately a dialectic of meaning and event. For Ricoeur, the concept of the text becomes intelligible only when it is identified around five themes, each of which plays a particular role in determining the philosophical status of interpretation, and step by step the hermeneutics of texts moves toward a higher path, namely that the text is not only a project, a statement about the world, but also “the mediation through which we understand ourselves”. Then the formula: “to understand is to understand oneself before the text” will unfold its full meaning. All these features taken together form the criteria of textuality and are presented in detail in this article.

A parallel reading of the Christian perception of love and the ethics of utility. Similarities and Differences

Author(s): Marlena Zerva / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The meaning of happiness that the utilitarian theory highlights concerns the happiness of all not only one’s in particular. If someone had to decide between his own happiness and that of others, the utilitarian theory requires that person to be an unbiased and warm-hearted spectator. This reminds us of the Christian Love “Love others as much as you love yourself”, Each Christian is called to love his fellowman as he loves himself, since the supreme good in Christian morality is the love of God and fellowman that fulfills the purpose of man’s existence, which is the communion with God. Also, self-sacrifice plays an important role in the utilitarian theory since it is admirable to be able to completely give up one's own share of happiness or chances of it, if that self-sacrifice is made for a purpose and not only for one’s own benefit. . In self-sacrifice man defeats death with love. During the suicide, man is defeated by death, because man is unable to love. Self-sacrifice occupies a prominent place in the Church. Christ himself presents it as the highest form of love. Hence, in the utilitarian theory, self-sacrifice is praiseworthy only when it aims to maximize happiness, therefore self- sacrifice cannot be considered as a moral act when it aims exclusively at the happiness of a person. On the contrary, Christian love presupposes love for one's neighbor. The commandment says to love your neighbor as you love yourself, each of us acts in a way that will benefit himself, acts with the aim of progress, prosperity, and desires good for himself. In the same way he must act for his neighbor. The utilitarian moral theory requires a person to be strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator, an idea that reminds us a lot of the Christian perspective of love. However, Christian ethics focuses on the concept of love while urging each of us to do good in contrast to utilitarian ethical theory that focuses on the outcome of an action and the maximizing happiness.

A comparison between the Bioethical Benefits of Religious Dietary Ethics to Released Nutritional Morals

Author(s): Filotheos-Fotios MAROUDAS / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This essay explores the intersection of religious dietary ethics and secular, liberal nutritional principles, hereafter referred to as 'released' nutritional morals. This study conducts a comparative analysis of major world religions and secular dietary freedoms to clarify the ethical, bioethical, and health implications of religious dietary practices. By examining specific religious dietary codes, such as Judaism's kashrut, and contrasting them with the principle of moral autonomy in personal dietary choices, the research underscores the intricate relationship between tradition, ethics, and modern eating behaviors. The findings suggest that religious dietary practices not only offer significant health benefits but also encourage a disciplined approach to consumption, potentially counterbalancing the excesses of a more liberated dietary ethos.