We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
Zapinje li kome ili ne, svejedno, neće ništa škoditi, da dočara starozavjetni pripovjedni horror dovoljno će biti u sjećanje prizvati Kratki film o ubijanju Krzysztofa Kieslowskog. Kao i onomad u drevno doba Ne ubij se izvrnulo u svoju suprotnost.
More...
Abban a megtiszteltetésben részesültem, hogy én a 60 év feletti a Tanári Kar nevében köszöntselek Téged a 60 évest. Ritkán éri az embert ilyen megtiszteltetés, mert ritka az az alkalom, vagy inkább egyszeri és egyedi, hogy Dr. Bodó Sára kolleganőnk 60 éves legyen. De mit is jelent ez? Én mint biblikus 1Mózes 6,4. alapján már többször megfo¬galmaztam, elmondtam és le is írtam, hogy a 60 év az ember életében az első félidő végét jelenti és ugyanakkor a második félidő kezdetét. Kedves Sára ezek szerint Te most az első félidő végén és a második félidő kezdetén vagy.
More...
The paper aims to touch upon practical theological issues which refer to a particular country, era, and theological area, namely, to the practical theology pursued at the theological institutions and universities of the Dutch Protestant Church in the second part of the 20th century. The study aims to shed light on practical theologians such as K. A. Schippers (ThUK) and J. Hendriks (VU Amsterdam) who have been and remain integral in their own time and in their respective field of expertise. Moreover, the study also focusses on the most famous Dutch sociologist, G. Dekker (VU-Amsterdam).We also seek to highlight those aspects from the work of these authors which should necessarily be implemented into the practical theological curriculum of the Hungarian-language reformed universities and thereby we would like to link this contribution to the significant practical theological oeuvre of Dr. Sára Bodó.
More...
The purpose of this study is to present the contextual approach within spiritual care, as well as to show how important it is concerning a person’s life and relationships, with a special outlook towards those with permanent disabilities. To this end, it sketches the history of the formation of contextual therapy and spiritual care and describes its interpretation of human reality (I). Further, it presents the most elementary features of created human existence (theological anthropology). Based on the Creation Story and Karl Barth’s doctrine concerning creation, it draws attention upon the fact that the human being is basically an entity defined by relationships (node–existence), whose humanity is manifested through his/her responsibility towards people belonging to him/her and towards the human world (II.). This evinced image of the human being shows that he/she considers the existential needs and opportunities as representing the most basic elements of human life (basic structure of human life), whereas taking and giving are considered to be the elementary human manifestations. It states that the dynamic balance of giving and taking permits the unfolding of life and relationships, whilst the imbalance (a significant and lasting dominance of either giving, or of acceptance) causes stagnation and spiritual (as well as physical) illness. Contextual spiritual care can help regaining the long-lost balance, as it aims to dissolve the degrading and sickening relationship of subject–object (‘I–that’) by replacing it with the original relationship of subject–subject (‘I–you’), deriving from our created condition (III). The latter does allow particularly vulnerable (permanently disabled) people, who, due to their condition can give less, and are more dependent on others, to experience their own reliability and unique significance (IV.)
More...
As humans, we can narrate ourselves in many ways. Our narratives and narrative identities are complex, they are developed, formed, and influenced by many factors. Shame is one of the determinants of the development of our narratives, which indicates the limitations and boundaries of the individual, keeping the individual within these and ultimately, as a positive effect, awakening a desire for God. However, shame can become a determinant of the narrative: changing the questions of “what is happening” to those of “whose fault is it” traps us and keeps us captive. Based on Gen 1–3, we can understand what our creational basic narrative could be, which is briefly that we are good creatures of God in a world created good, we have limited freedom, but great dignity, and a task as well. For the created man and woman, there was no shame; it appeared with sin; and from the details of the story of the temptation and the Fall, we can understand much of the mechanisms of changing the original narrative into the shame-narrative, and the functioning of the reactions given to it. One’s self-reflection gets alienated from revelation, then splits, falls into pieces, and the prevailing shame forces us to hide and to create obscure narratives. The use of the concept of shame in the Old Testament is sometimes linked to the moment of mourning, from which it can be understood how the public act, the manifest and lived, limited, fragmented, and weak state can resolve the self-destructive state maintained by hiding. True resolution can be brought about by the birth of a new narrative arising from the Trinity: in the cross, through Christ taking common cause with us in the deepest loneliness of shame and pain, God can become our Father. The Father sees us as children, in whom God is delighted through Christ. And the Holy Spirit can give light and strength in this, praying in a way we are unable to do, so that the statement “I am a Christian” may become a narrative mode, taking on the duality of the “already” and “not yet” state.
More...
The Fall is manifestly the distortion of the imitatio Dei. It demands the safeguard of “the move from above towards below”, the paradoxical kenosis orientation of the divine incarnation and impulse, which proves to be the total, diametrical opposite of the absurd striving of the obscene human hubris in its aggressive and ego-centric “move from below towards above”. This requires a radicalism that is not just an attempt to formulate ethics but, specifically, to create a specific area of counselling, namely, contextual counselling. Similarly, in a truly theological ethic, God must not be merely considered, but manifest as the Foundation and Alpha of any contextual counselling. This statement immediately imposes upon us and forces us into a new perspective: that we can no longer talk about God but, from now on, only talk to God. This must be the non-possessive default mode of true theological discourse in opposition to classical objectifying expressions.What are the staggering implications of this? If the counsellor does not begin a client’s session by talking to God in a direct way, or ceases to talk to God, then it becomes impossible to talk to the client as well. Moreover, in ceasing to talk to God and the client, one ends up merely addressing a vague monologue to oneself in a devouring way with the Self alone, and as such, is essentially not talking at all anymore, not even to oneself. Emptying the theological logos of the personal aspect of the relational koinonia with God severs the core concepts and teachings of Christianity from their context and from their participatory character. Fellowship in the Body of Christ demands participation in the fellowship and participation (perichoresis) of the Persons of the Trinity as much or more than in each other’s mission, commission, and existence.Professor Dr. Sára Bodó has inspired me (especially concerning grief and exploring different approaches to counselling in the very specific context of comforting people who have lost a loved one) to try to examine a wider context and perspective in seeking a model from the counsellor’s point of view. This leads to a conviction that contextual therapy and theological commitment discover that nothing can be closer to a genuine approach than the a priori approach of the contextual per se in tackling the human condition. The “Trinitarian Family” model has to be at the forefront of our investigation, while the incarnational model makes relevant the filial aspect of the Sonship of the Son, pointing toward and including our filial relation toward the same Father, as a result of the adoption of mankind into a sonship state and into the family of God. This is qualitatively far greater than simply regarding people as sinners. This adoption as described by systematic theology was achieved through and by the ascension of the Son into heaven and his sitting at the right hand of the Father. In the works of Iván Böszörményi-Nagy, the founder of so-called contextual family therapy, the emphasis falls on what he developed and called multi-directed partiality. This concept can be understood as the main methodological principle of contextual therapy as such. In this study, I have tried to point to the Trinitarian model through which we can understand family relationships on the basis of the Trinitarian and incarnational model. The self-differentiations from each other of the three Persons in the Godhead are also a calling for a multi-directed partiality in an approach to human personhood within the family context. The dialogical means of affirming and differentiating the relationships within the Trinity can be applied to evoke a dialogue of responsible mutual position-taking among family members. In our case of counselling responsibility, this consists of a sequential turning towards member after member (even absent members), in which both acknowledgement and expectation are directed at them. This is definitely an alternative to the more common “neutrality” or unilateral partiality of other approaches. In the traditional theological handling of the Trinity, and of the incarnational and salvific work of the Son, I have traced this same unilateral partiality with a concern to avoid the pitfalls of those conceptually valid, yet relationally void notions, and even dogmatic frameworks, which are construing the human condition in less relational terms, i.e., in the understanding of the divine imago Dei. The Trinity and the descending move from above of the Son’s incarnation need to treat each Person from the point of view of each: the relational standing of each is giving their real meaning and significance as divine Persons in their unique and common contexts. Thus, each Person is serving also as a genuine context for the others, and even for us, as we find ourselves grafted into the relational life of the Trinity by staggering grace. This is no more and no less than recognizing perichoresis as the foundation of genuine human community (the countercultural position and mission of the Church), against Western worldviews and the narrative of an individualistic society as a whole.
More...
Based on the experience of the marriage preparation programme of the Unitarian Church in Sfântu Gheorghe, we have created the Hármaskötél Családközpont (Three Ropes Family Centre), which is trying to answer the challenges of the transformation of marriage and religion through its programmes and groups. We are convinced that family is the most appropriate institution for transmitting the values and building up society. On this basis, our aim was to create a new service model, which is capable of strengthening families and transmitting the family spirituality. However, we assume that being connected to the families is also an active missionary activity, the active manifestation of religiosity, in which the missionary strength consists of paying attention, empathy, help, namely the service.The essay deals with the social phenomenon defining the need for founding the Hármaskötél Családközpont (Three Ropes Family Centre) and the practical questions concerning the organisation of its groups.
More...
Toleration has many concepts. One of these concepts can be one of pastoral care. Why do we need this? You find an answer in “Some pastoral aspects about approach of toleration’s concept”. In pastoral care, we have to be open for different concepts even about toleration, because there are several different life stories and cases. This essay also includes my personal view for toleration that could be used in dialogs and meetings. For being able to dedicate this personal view, I am using the four-dimensional model about relations of humankind, of people, and of concepts. This approach is a challenge and at the same time – according to my experience – it is a helpful possibility. Challenge: how to be authentic and how to use the concept of toleration authentically and recognizing its colourful and multi-directional meaning? Possibility: because it gives chances for responsible and at the same time for a free “common ground” (what can be named after Buber “the place between” people who have met). The purpose of dialog looks forward to help finding own spiritual sources. The purpose of pastoral care is to lead the seeker to his or her sources. This common ground is where the dialog and meetings can happen between the helper and the helped. From this point of view, pastoral care is about being authentic with ourselves (who would live in pastoral care) with who is asking our help and of course with God. The model of contextual pastoral care has four dimensions. These dimensions are: facts, psychology, transactions, and relational ethics. The frames or aspects and of approach for toleration’s concept can be read from its four dimensions. I learned about these four dimensions in a contextual treatment studying and experiencing the challenges and the possibilities, too. In this approach the helper has to learn about facts of whom he or she is helping in order to know something about the concept of his or her toleration. These facts are biological and all that is related to his or her life. According to facts’ dimension, the question is what and how much help one received and gave in his relations in her or his own family. The question topic is: what does toleration mean in her or his life and how he or she deals in his or her gain – lose games? The second dimension searches the trust experiences in his or her life. This is related with the “temporary object”. Experiences of rewards, pains, disappointments in expectations of her or his life are some aspects that can help in approaching the concept of toleration with who we talk. These aspects are about the life’s experience sources. The third dimension searches for the concept of toleration in family and his or her relations of everyday life. The concept of toleration can be touched on the fields of relation of “I” and between family members and the world near him or her. Finally the fourth dimension of aspect in contextual approaching is the relational ethics. It is important to look after possibilities and after needs in the order to do in a correct way the giving and receiving. This balance of relationships is used by Böszörményi-Nagy Iván, whose name is related to contextual approach and therapy.
More...
This study analyses the effect of music on aesthetic and emotional intelligence. Since creativity also means healing creation at the same time that implies digging deeper and transcendence as well, we would like to talk about the therapeutic effects of music with an intercommunication outlook. Some state that musicality is inborn and coded into our genes, which we call talent that can be further developed and transferred to the following generation. According to others, musicality and the ability to play and sing is not merely a matter of genetics but also the social and cultural background the individual grew up in is very important. We shall see that there are cultures in which music is the sole instrument with which the individual can adapt into the respective culture. Many deem that music is the “peak of human intellect and emotionality”, and that is why many studies were published in the second half of the 20th century about its effects on intellectual and emotional development. In what follows, we shall also talk about the debated Mozart effect, the biological basis of music and the stimulation of logical thinking. By music, the help, the counselor, the attender, the priest have a tool with which they can positively influence cognition, the expression of feelings, the development of creativity, whilst „the effects of the expansive transfer prevails through the intellectual, emotional and motivational changes”. But for all that, we must be familiar with the effects of music on intellectual and emotional intelligence.
More...
In the field of practical theology from a Christian pedagogical perspective we have to make a clear distinction between world picture (describing empirical reality) and worldview (determining personal affection to the first one). While the science based world picture tends to be as objective representation of our actual world as is could be, the worldview is hermeneutical system based upon principles, ideas and values. In most cases, mixing up these two notions cause tensions between faith and natural science. In order to clarify some points of differentiation and also reference to each other, this study investigates the two notions in the context of religious education.
More...
The death of Jesus was the sacrifice of the obedient and loving Son until death. Good Friday and Easter are inseparable. The cross and the resurrection together make Jesus the Christ and the Saviour. The sacrifice of the cross is linked to the open tomb of our Lord. And this interconnection can invite us to rejoice. If I understand the significance of Easter, I can also believe in its reality. The resurrection must not only be taught, but also believed. Otherwise, my creed of the resurrection is sacrificium intellectus (the victim of reason), an empty, arbitrary, and contradictory statement.The triple benefit of the resurrection of Christ is referred to in the 45th question–answer of the Heidelberg Catechism as the three time planes: the past, the present, and the future showing the threefold consolation of the resurrection. The first time plane recalls the memorable past, the first Easter, when the Prince of Life came out of the tomb of Joseph Arimathia. The second time plane points to the present. Christ has overcome the power of death to learn to walk in new life right now. Everything that must happen to us must be under the power of the living Jesus Christ. The third time plane is the Future: Christ overcame the power of death, so there will be a resurrection for us. God brought life to triumph with the resurrection of Christ. His resurrection is the keystone of the glorious resurrection that will come upon Christ`s return.The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a guarantee of the renewal of the whole created world. The relationship between the present world and the “new heavens and new earth” (2 Peter 3,13) is characterized by continuity and discontinuity at the same time: we are waiting for the ultimate salvation that we have already “tasted” and which will be quite different from what we can think or imagine.
More...
The interviews conducted with the 33 Reformed Pastors in the Reformed Church in Hungary make it clear that that their relation to money bears an intrinsic ambivalence, which is part of pastoral identity. Living on the border between two worlds, the pastor carries the message of the Kingdom of God and represents a spiritual value system and lifestyle that is meant to be different from that of our world. Mostly, a shortage of money, social or clerical unfairness is mentioned in the interviews, however, amounts of money that are more than necessary can also create tension in a pastor’s life.
More...
The study examines Psalm 124, one of the greatest gems of the biblical psalm-poetry. After briefly expounding the metre, the genre and the poetic structure, the author dates the poem, analyzes the role of the Psalm in its immediate literary context, and provides linguistic, formal, tradition-historical and theological analysis passage by passage. The author regards the Psalm as one of the post-exilic impressions of the Zion theology along with the collection of Psalms 120–134 which was formed around 400 BCE. Regarding the form of the poem, it is masterfully structured. Traces of later adaptations and additions cannot be proven unequivocally. The theological specialties of the poem are the articulation of the preventive providence of God, the thanksgiving and the consistent trust toward the God of Israel. The Psalm fits in well with the collections of Psalms 123–125 and Psalms 123–130, where the preceding Psalm of lament continues with the themes of thanksgiving and teaching, and goes further toward the theme of salvation of the end times.
More...
Our research yields the conclusion that the diaconia is a general term, meaning the preaching of the gospel by words and deeds. The fact that in the NT, this activity is labelled as diakonia, marks that this is not a kind of function, competency, or privilege. It is a ministry for God and for humans and go-between God and men, mediator of divine message. This testifies to what God has done for us in Jesus. Both aspects of the practice of the diaconia are important (word and deed) for the ministry of salvation.
More...
The commission is due to the Father who tried to reconcile the world with himself by sending his Son to the mankind which became alienated from him. Jesus’ calling is not an invitation to a hermetically isolated community for a few elected Jews, who will later enjoy the blessings of their master’s proximity and the advantages of the security of his presence. Jesus’ calling viewed the commission. The way Jesus carried out his ministry of preaching and healing with the authority he received from God he sends his disciples to drive out demons and to heal diseases giving them the same authority and power. Service primarily means preaching the gospel. One of the aims of the appointment is preaching the gospel, which task the disciples fulfil obediently. Only Mark mentions the subject of preaching: the repentance. In the gospel of Mark the disciples do not proclaim the kingdom of God because they do not understand it yet, this is why they preach only about repentance so far. However, in the gospel of Matthew they preach about the coming kingdom of heaven. The apostles do not teach at Matthew, instead they are going to teach and explain the commandments only. Matthew makes a certain distinction between the verbs ‘to preach’ and ‘to teach’. Jesus never does preach to the disciples but he does always teach them. Ulrich Luz points to the fact that in the usage of Matthew the two verbs sometimes appear side by side. That is why their distinction remains an open question. In the gospel of Luke the issue is also discussed that the disciples preach the kingdom of God. Luke speaks in 4,43 and 8,1 about the content and implementation of Jesus’ mission, which almost word by word occurs again with regard to the disciples in 9,2 and 9,6. Besides preaching, ministry means healing as well. In the disciples commission these two instructions are combined most of the time. We can find many examples to this parallel in the ministry of Jesus too. Healing was a sign that indicated the arrival of the kingdom of God. In the most significant manuscripts the command for healing does not occur in Mk 3,15 but Mk 6,13 speaks very clearly about the fact that the disciples healed people. The apostles healed many people by anointing them with oil. Using oil as ointment was a widespread practice in that time, however what the disciples did was more than the activity of their contemporaries, because they healed in the name of Jesus. The disciples were not theios andres despite the fact that they preached and healed, because they did all this by the power of Jesus, as his commissioned followers. They had to use this authority in order to heal the sick. This instruction is in imperative mood and is subordinated to the preaching. In Lk 9,1 the disciples did not get authority only, as in Mk 6,7 but also power to cure diseases and cast out demons. Many people healed the sick in the ancient times but the practice of Jesus and his disciples was different from theirs because besides healing they proclaimed the kingdom of God.
More...
The current study is part of the recent discourse of Old Testament Anthropology, in which feelings, affects, and emotions play a prominent role. In particular, Paul Kruger and Andreas Wagner's approaches and observations have given new impetuses to this research area. My study on the emotions of prophets is situated at the crossroads of the Old Testament emotion research and of the Old Testament prophecy studies. Reflecting on the newer achievements, I examine the description and nature of emotions appearing in prophetic books and in biographies of Old Testament prophets, surveying their possible characteristics. After a brief overview of the research history (1.), the study first deals with the Old Testament concept of emotions in general (2.), then specifically examines three issues of prophetic emotions (3.): how do the emotions of God and the emotions of the Prophet relate to each other? (3.1.); how does the so-called “container-metaphor” appear in context of prophetic emotions? (3.2.); how does emotion and communication relate to each other in the symbolic acts of prophets? (3.3.)
More...
The situation of the Protestant churches was quite difficult in the 18th century, because of the counter-reformation. This was the reason why they were not able to avoid the introduction of laymen in their everyday lives. After the diet of 1791, which partially allowed the churches to fulfil their legally granted rights, this practice caused conflicts between the laymen and clerics. The principal place of these debates was in the Transtibiscian region. The situation of the Cistibiscian Church District was quite different. Because of its unique conditions, it required the involvement of the laymen in the church-governance. Our work focuses on the question of how did Lajos Zsarnay – as the professor of the Reformed College of Sárospatak, later the chief-clerk, after that the bishop of the Church District – consider these conflicts. The conclusion of our work is that in the Cistibiscian Church District there were no such debates before, during and after the service of Zsarnay. In contrary, he always considered the cooperation of the clerics and laymen as a positive phenomenon.
More...
Several viewpoints took shape about the pictures and icons during the history of Christianity. The image representations have been subject to debate not only among religions but among the various Christian approaches, too. This debate flamed up quite strongly in different times in history.The study aims to determine the extent to which the icons and representations are rooted in Christian tradition. The study points out that early Christian art did not appear and develop in a void. It was the outward manifestation of a new spirituality as well as the result of a development process that occurred when the local cultures of the ancient world got in contact with each other.It is essential to point out that in icon painting as well as in the paintings in the catacombs the message of the icons was also perfectly grasped by those who did not study painting or were not very skillful painters, but still observed the iconographic traditions while those who the painting were addressed to accepted them. One can assess Early Christian art by the very few frescos remaining in the catacombs in Rome.They used pagan symbols as well as some themes of Greek and Roman mythology in order to convey the teachings of the church. They also used the ancient forms of art, loading them with a new content subsequently altering the respective forms as well. The art of the catacombs was actually dogmatic art since the theme depicted on the frescos mostly followed the texts of the scripture. Furthermore, the symbolic language had a paramount importance. The works of art created in the first centuries can also be considered as “visual sermons” that helped them explain God verbally and drive them to God.
More...
The study has three major units:A) Protestantism and social engagement. In the Hungarian Protestantism it is common and a tradition to be socially engaged. One can’t be indifferent in the case of social issues, but has to declare God’s glory in the world through having a responsible approach to their community in social, economic and cultural respects.B) The culture-historical role of pastor’s families. The walls of a manse are made of glass – as the Hungarian saying says the life of the pastor and their family has always been interesting to the outer world. After the period of illuminism, but more in the 19th century the residents of the manse consciously assumed the role of being an example. They readily undertook the duty of social organisation, the one of spreading culture, and educating the people.C) The exemplary voluntary work of Gyarmathy Zsigáné. The lady presented in the study was born in the middle of the 19th century as a pastor’s daughter, with her husband they have coordinated and made a considerable contribution to the cultural, social life of Călata (Kalotaszeg) region in Transylvania. She took the beautiful handmade embroideries sewed by the countrywomen to world fairs, and promoted this kind of traditional craft through her assiduous publicistic work. She formed friendships with painters, ethnographers, fashion designers, won the support of noble women from around Europe, using her network she popularized the embroideries, so they reached America, queens in European royal courts, Parisian, Viennese salons. With her writings she aided the picturesque but dismally poor region with waking demand for the embroideries, so opening the door to home-industry, which was almost life-saver for the country-folk. This helped not only to lessen the economic hardship, but also to save the values of folk art from sinking into oblivion, this way the techniques and the pristine patterns have been passed on to the coming generations and they can still be admired as a decoration of many reformed churches in Călata region (Kalotaszeg).
More...
A szerzőtől megszokott igényességgel, magas szakmai tudással ajándékozza meg ez újabb kötetével ingyen, e-book formában az olvasót. Ha a Püsök Sarolta tudományos teológiai profilját nézzük, alapvetően a rendszeres teológia területével foglalkozik, így e bemutatásra kerülő kötet rendhagyónak bizonyul. Az előszóban ő maga fogalmazza meg, hogy miért tartja ezt a kötete fontosnak: „...szükségszerű is a biblika teológiai kitekintés, hiszen becstelen volna az a rendszeres teológiai vizsgálódás, amely függetleníti magát a bibliai alapoktól, ezek vizsgálatától. A két évtizedes tanári és kutatói munka során gyűlt össze ez a válogatás a bibliai kutakodás eredményeként, amelyen a szűk szakmai körhöz tartozók természetesen azonnal érzékelhetik a rendszeres teológus sajátos munkamódszerének a nyomát. Az említett megközelítési mód elsődleges célja, hogy a Biblia nagy kérdéseinek kontextuális vizsgálatát követően a fő üzenetet a vizsgált korszakból áthelyezze a mába, újrarendezze, kiemelje az időszerűség mércéjével, de ennek érdekében alkalmanként eltekint a biblikusoktól megszokott részletességtől.” (5.o.)
More...
