(Nie)obliczalny świat. Z filozoficzno teologicznych rozważań nad granicami racjonalności

Author(s): Antoni Nadbrzeżny / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2016

Teza Rogera Penrose’a o nieobliczalnym (niealgorytmicznym) charakterze ludzkiej świadomości (umysłu), będąca argumentem przeciwko możliwości stworzenia sztucznej inteligencji, może przyczynić się do wzmocnienia poczucia tajemniczości świata. Niezależnie od naszego stosunku do platonizmu matematycznego(zakładającego istnienie obiektywnych pozaczasowych bytów matematycznych)filozoficzna refleksja brytyjskiego kosmologa stanowi impuls do rozwijania współczesnej teologii w twórczym dialogu z naukami, kierującym się zasadą krytycznej otwartości i wzajemnej dynamicznej wymiany osiągnięć poznawczych.

,,IATĂ NE ÎNTOARCEM CĂTRE NEAMURI...” (F. AP. 13, 46). ASPECTE PREMERGĂTOARE PRIMEI CĂLĂTORII MISIONARE A SFÂNTULUI APOSTOL PAVEL

Author(s): Vasile Doru Fer / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 01-03/2019

The present study addresses a topic of interest not only for newtestamentary theology but also for other related theological disciplines. In the contemporary context, the reminder of the missionary framework is imperative, given that the Apostle Paul, appealing to his disciple and associate Timothy, urged him to preach the word, persevering with time and without time (cf. II Timothy 4:2) such a vivid exhortation nowadays too. The Book of Acts provides us with the most comprehensive information about the vast ministry of preaching the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles who are covered by the darkness of unbelief have thrilled to the message brought by the missionary preachers of the teaching of Christ. Not having much opportunity, the Apostle Paul, along with the other collaborators who formed the missionary group on the first missionary journey, Barnabas and John Mark, through the preaching, will succeed in transforming the pagan world into a people of the righteous. Actually, the missions of St. Paul the Apostle will be a particularly important element that will change the future of mankind, becoming the voice of the hopelessness hope. Though he considered himself the least importanat among the Apostles, he will consecrate himself as an Apostle of the Gentiles. He not only proclaimed the Gospel to them, but always tried by his presence, and when he failed, he kept trying, through his epistles, to return to the midst of those he converted, in order to keep alive and unaltered the doctrine of Christ. The versatility of the paulin genius left its mark forever on the teaching of the Church. Therefore, if an analysis of his missionary journeys is desired, it must be done in different ways. The devotion with which he had fulfilled the 36 Altarul Banatului mission entrusted to him has to be emphasized, regardless of the missionary journeys analysis. Although the present study only considers the preliminary aspects of the first missionary journey and not an exhaustive presentation in its entirety, we will find that the perspective and missionary work among the Gentiles as well as the formation of the first missionary group are landmarks that require a special attention.

1563: a Heidelbergi Káté első négy kiadása

Author(s): Mihály Márkus / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2014

A felmentés: megérteni annyi, mint megbocsátani

Author(s): Sándor Béla Visky / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 6/2017

This paper examines the issue of absolution by Vladimir Jankélévitch. The absolving party’s role is to discover the cause external to man, deep down beneath human malice, which motivates the criminal actions. With an investigator’s zeal, an answer is sought to the question of “unde malum”? The old answer comes from dualism: the negative transcendent force, Satan, is the source of all sins. If there is an explanation, sin is mitigated and rage is attenuated, therefore explanations must be found. So one needs to explain – and this absolves one from all obligations of forgiveness. But this method fails the three requirements of true forgiveness, too: it is not an “immediate” “event”. It does not involve a personal relationship between the perpetrator and the injured. The offender is not offensive – at the very most, he is ill or illadvised,but there are no bridges from here to the other side of the abyss, where there is anobligation of love. Absolution is painless, but forgiveness is a heart-breaking, painful sacrifice. However, there is always something behind the intention of absolution which is ultimately similar to forgiveness and love: our author calls it a surplus of energy. The state of the soul is not the same when it seeks exempting or aggravating circumstances.Another substitute for forgiveness treated by Jankélévitch is the thoughtless purging of the crime committed and its destruction. The author does not use Freud’s concept of suppression, but essentially that is what he is about: throwing the case file into the fire and “never speaking about it again”. According to Jankélévitch, this misleading, abrupt gesture, which sends the message that nothing happened, primarily lacks the third characteristic of true forgiveness, the personal relationship between the parties. The relationship between the victim and his tormentor remains superficial, mere window-dressing, if they fail to work through the most sensitive questions, if the former fails to strive to show mercy, love and forgiveness so that the requirement of truth is left intact.

A Ferencz József-féle Unitárius káté átdolgozásai és kiadásai

Author(s): Elek Rezi / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2018

This article explores revisions to József Ferencz’s (1835–1928) Unitarian Catechism, including the revisions’ underlying evolving theological aspects and perspectives. The most significant revisions were made in 1875, 1947, and 1973, and in different circumstances. The article evaluates the theological aspects of the revisions, and proposes that the revisions have contributed to the development of Hungarian Unitarian theology, and enriched the practice of confirmation. The article also calls attention to the necessity of revising the present Unitarian Catechism, and includes the editions of the Unitarian Catechism.

A Genfi Káté fordításai és a kátéhoz csatolt konfirmációi kérdések

Author(s): János Hermán M. / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 5/2015

Calvin wished to change the structure of his first catechism (1537/1538), which explained the Ten Commandments before the Apostles’ Cred. Having recognised that his first catechism was too difficult for children, Calvin rewrote his text. He arranged the Geneva Catechism (1542) in questions and answers in an effort to simplify doctrinal complexities. His second Catechism displaced all other Reformed catechisms until 1563, the year when the Heidelberg Catechism appeared. In 1563 the bishop of Debrecen, Péter Méliusz, translated the Confession of Geneva into Hungarian. The text was also translated into Italian (1551 and 1556), Spanish (1550), English (1556), German, Dutch, Greek and Hebrew. The second Hungarian translation was made by István Zilahi in 1695 and was edited by Miklós Misztótfalusi Kis. Finally, in 1907 Sándor Czeglédy prepared a new translation of its text. The La maniere d’interroger les enfants qu’on veut recevoir a la Cene de notre Seigneur Jésus Christ and Das Genfer Konfirmationsformular von 1553 are very important catechetical instruments.

Az ábrahámi felajánlás missziológiai [újra-]értelmezése, mint lehetséges paradigmaváltás a [poszt-]modern filozófiai és teológiai gondolkodásban

Author(s): Levente Horváth / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 3/2007

The Missiological [re]Interpretation of Abraham’s Offering, As a Potential Paradigm-Shift in [post]Modern Philosophical and Theological Reasoning. Consideration has to be taken in new view of the striking and in many ways mysterious and scandalous narrative of Abraham’s offering his son, Isaac on the mountain of Moriah. It was with Kierkegaard that this Old Testament story came to the forefront of philosophical investigations. The Danish philosopher marvelled on the obedience of the Patriarch in not even wavering (although certainly accepting the deadly burden of the angst which entails this action) to act without really understanding why Yahweh has asked for such a terrible sacrifice. Abraham is eulogized as the ‘knight of faith’, but Levinas has a different view of the story, more closely of the ‘Kierkegaardian Abraham,’ and as such opts more for a kind of ‘knight of action’ in a responsible undertaking of compassion and empathy toward the Other human being, and of the act of looking into the God-given image of the Other One. Thus he seems to put the emphasis on the second part of the narrative when God’s Angel intervenes and Levinas marvels (and opts) for this second kind of obedience based on a second Word coming from the same Yahweh, which, curiously enough, could not take Abraham by surprise, despite the seemingly contradictory demand of the God of Israel this time. In Levinas we face the embodiment of concern and responsibility as the ultimate ethical demand, when the father looks into the face of his son, and the face of the Other, as that of Abel and tells him: “Thou shalt not kill!” This inherent ‘categoricus imperativus’ reflecting on the human face of the Other is the ethical stage, and Levinas criticised Kierkegaard for replacing this ethical stage illegitimately by the religious one. The uncritically embraced neo-Kantian patterns are still lurking with both philosophers, despite the post-modern claims made especially by Levinas. The story still serves as a paradigm-shift taking place at the borderline of modernity and postmodernity, which of course will survive for long concomitantly in contemporary reasoning and in ongoing moral debates both locally (I am critically evaluating to some extent in this study Tavaszy’s philosophy as well on the matter as it emerged locally), as well as globally. Yet, the interpretation of the ‘akkedah’ of Abraham seems not to be near of completion neither with neo-Kantians and existentialists, nor with theological hermeneutics listed above. The narratives of the Moriah event, as well as the whole Genesis context of it, and beyond, the whole Old Testament-context of the Abrahamic Covenant serves us with a new missiological challenge, as Abraham and successively Israel, and finally the Messiah-Seed plays the role of a ‘missionary priesthood’ in order to bring all the nations under the blessings of salvation promised to Abraham exclusively and fulfilled through him inclusively in the whole world. After twenty centuries of Systematic theology engaging itself exclusively in a dialogue only with Western philosophy, the post-modern age might be in due time kept opened up at last to a different kind of dialogue, such as with missiology. The challenge of a new paradigm-shift emerging out of this dialogue is expected to determine the theology of mission in order to become the very mission of theology itself. That impulse would bring Christian theology and theistic ethics back again to its real and primordial state.

Az életmű, amely felfedi a keresztyénség érzékcsalódását, avagy Kierkegaard egyház- és keresztyénségkritikája

Author(s): Sarolta Püsök / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 3/2007

Entropy is a main characteristic of the human world; consequently the Church also has a similar tendency. Criticism is in symbiosis with Christian life. One of the most important critical analysis of Christianity is made by Kierkegaard. To understand his life-work from the point of view of criticism, we have to deal with three important aspects: a) The religious influence in his childhood. His family comes from the Moravian tradition; he had the opportunity to examine the dark side of this tradition as wel. b) His relationship to other personalities belonging to the golden age of Denmark. This period is characterized by the intensive reception of Hegel. Kierkegaard could not agree with the Danish Hegelians, because his consequent subjectivity was in permanent polemics with the objectivity of speculative theology. c) The methodology of Kierkegaard – interpretation. The Danish thinker used two types of communication, the direct and the indirect one. The indirect communication is characteristic for his poetical, aesthetical works. This type of communication has a maieutical character, in this manner the writer helps the reader find the truth, but he never gives formulated definitions. An other characteristic of his works are the use of pseudonym for the name of writers’. Kierkegaard protests against the quoting of this works under his own name, because he personally does not agree whit the opinion of the authors. Kierkegaard’s writings at the beginning include aspects of criticism, but in the last period he mostly attacks Christianity. In 1850 was published his Training in Christianity. In this book we can find the main points of his criticism, but after bishop Mynster’s death in 1854 his criticism becomes the sharpest. The targets of his criticism are: the erroneous Church – concept and the problem of sate Church; the cheap grace; the different sins of clergies; the insufficiency of knowledge for true Christian faith, and the discrepancy between Christian teaching and personal life of religious teachers.

AZ ERDÉLYI MAGYAR EGYHÁZAK KISEBBSÉGI SORSBÓL ADÓDÓ ÖSSZEFOGÁSA AZ 1918-AT KÖVETŐ KORSZAKBAN MINT TÖRTÉNELMI MEGBÉKÉLÉSI FORMA

Author(s): Olga Lukács / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2020

The Unity of the Hungarian Churches in Transylvania Arising from their Mi-nority Status, in the Period after 1918, as a Form of Historical Reconciliation. In the Transylvania belonging to Greater Romania, the Hungarian churches, which came to be in a minority situation, did not have the opportunity to discuss the wounds inflicted on each other in previous centuries, for which they were not pre-pared anyway. Thus, putting aside the tension, pain, rivalries, destructive measures, denominational conflicts that stretched over the centuries, clinging to the strength and protective power of their identity, they formed a common front against the new state power.The first part of the study gives an overview of the Hungarian churches in Transylvania, presenting some of the most important historical events between the two World Wars. Following the unification of 1918, the Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches established a permanent deliberative and decision-making body, the Interfaith Council (1920). Due to their minority status, the churches were forced to cooperate in the field of education policy, regarding denominational schools, and for acquiring political rights and preserving their cultural identity. Co-operation was necessary due to various state laws, including the Land Reform (1919–1922), the Education Acts (1924, 1925), the Cult Act (1928), and the 1923 and 1938 constitutions, which considered the Orthodox Church to be the ruling church, the Greek Catholic Church to be a national church, while the Ro-man Catholic Church and the Protestant churches were considered recognised de-nominations. The study presents the controversies and defiance regarding the above legislation.As a summary of the presented period, the study states that national self-consciousness and its protection overwrote the previous conflicts and tensions, and that religious affiliation became secondary, thus achieving a special Transylvanian ecclesiastical rapprochement, a “reconciliation”.

Az eucharisztia és a kiengesztelődés viszonya a Didachéban

Author(s): Zoltán Juhász / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 3/2007

The author analyzes the relation of the Eucharist and reconciliation through one of the well-known writings of the Early Church – The Lord’s Teaching to the Nations Through the Twelve Apostles. Christianity has evolved from Judaism, and despite many differences there are still numerous similarities, overlaps as the feast, liturgy, prayer, Holy Communion and the renewal of the covenant. The meaning and content of the Eucharist went through several changes during the history of the Church, and differences of opinion on this point exist even in our days. The Eucharist is an important part of Christian faith which lives in the Parousia, through this Christians are in ongoing relation with the resurrected Lord. As a result of the reconciliation of Christ, the participation of Christians in the Eucharist enforces their relation to each other. The strong relationship between the Eucharist and reconciliation is clearly stated in the 8th verse of the 4th chapter of the Didaché: “for if ye are partakers in that which is immortal, how much more in things which are mortal”.

AZ ÚJSZÖVETSÉGI „MEGBÉKÉLÉS” FOGALOM ELŐFORDULÁSAINAK ÉS JELENTÉSEINEK ÁTTEKINTÉSE

Author(s): Lehel Lészai / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2020

Reconciliation may happen on three levels. The first one is to be reconciled with God. In this matter, God himself helps us, who took the first steps towards us after we had left him and had turned our back to him. He sent his only Son, who gave up his life in order to reconcile us with his Father, to restore the broken connection, relationship, and peace. The second level is to be reconciled with friends. In this matter, it could help us a great matter, if one was reconciled with the Creator. To be reconciled with God means a task for human beings, as they have to be at peace with each other. Reconciliation with others may happen outwards and inwards. It happens outwards, when the relationship is handled with God, with the other, and with oneself. We speak about inwards reconciliation, when it happens between husband and wife, between friends (relatives, neighbours), between principal and subaltern, or enemies. The third level is to be reconciled with oneself. This may be the hardest task, because one has to fight oneself: you have difficult issues to let go, you have to be at peace with yourself in order to serve God and your neighbour as your Creator requires from you.

Az üldözött keresztyének nemzetközi megjelenése

Author(s): Vilmos Fischl / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 6/2019

The author is a senior research fellow of the National University of Public Service and General Secretary of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary. He is an expert in international affairs, a Lutheran pastor, holding a PhD in Military Sciences. The author explores how the churches in Hungary can cooperate with the state in order to create security in Hungary and in other parts of the world. Readers may gain an understanding of the tasks and services of the Ecumenical Council and its member churches in Hungary with special regard to the helping of the persecuted Christians.

Az Úr Jézus Krisztus szenvedése a korai keresztyén hitvallásokban

Author(s): György Papp / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 3/2007

In this short paper I present a pending question of the Christological passage of the Apostolic Confession. According to the teaching of the Bible, the passion of the Lord could not be summarized in this sentence: “he suffered under Pontius Pilate”, because the Lord has not suffered only under Pontius Pilate, but in his whole life, as we read it in the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians: “but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men” (Phil 2,7). So, the passion of Christ begins with his “keno/sij”, and his whole life can be summarized in this word: “he suffered”. After a biblical introduction through a historical analysis of the early Christian confessions I try to prove that the correct form of the Christological passage of the Apostolic Confession is the following: “[I believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary and suffered; under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died, and was buried…”

BESZÉLHETÜNK-E JÉZUS PUBERTÁS- ÉS KAMASZKORÁRÓL? – A SZÜLŐK ÉS GYERMEKÜK KÖZÖTTI KONFLIKTUS FELOLDÁSA A MEGBÉKÉLÉS ÉS AZ EGÉSZSÉGES SZEMÉLYISÉGFEJLŐDÉS CÉLJÁBÓL A 12 ÉVES JÉZUS TÖRTÉNETE ALAPJÁN A LK 2,41–52 SZERINT –

Author(s): Gyöngyi Herdean / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2020

Can we talk about the puberty and adolescence of Jesus? – Conflict resolution be-tween parents and their child with the purpose of reconciliation and healthy personality devel-opment based on the story of the 12-year-old Jesus according to Luke 2:41-52 − In the altered social and family living conditions of the modern era, parents are looking for an-swers to the issues of raising their children and dealing with the occurring conflict situations, especially during the age of puberty and adolescence, within the second decade of the child’s personality development. The conflicts that occur during this transitional phase always cause unrest in family relations. In such cases, it is im-portant to find ways of reconciliation, because an essential condition of healthy per-sonality development is that the liberating power of reconciliation accompanies the system of family relations as a blessing. Parents seeking and following a Christian ethical value system also face difficulties in conflict management in these cases. Based on the story of the 12-year-old Jesus, we are looking for the power of the need for autonomy and separation from parents in Jesus’ behaviour and we also study how Mary and Joseph treated their child and the family conflict. We can conclude that in his human condition, the 12-year-old Jesus truly experienced the human phases of puberty and adolescence, and this further strengthened him to fulfil his mission and identity. The path of reconciliation on the part of Jesus’ earth-ly parents was completed by experiencing and demonstrating the liberating and resolution-bringing power of family togetherness, sincerity, attention, and love.

Between the dogmatic and magical formula. Ecumenical perspective

Author(s): Marcin Cholewa,Marek Gilski / Language(s): English / Issue: 51/2019

The present article concerns the question of the formulas which both religion and magic use. Although even if they often sound identical, their understanding and their role are radically different. The article consists of four parts. The first part provides examples of Christian magical papyri dating from the first centuries, which show the use of both the New Testament as well as the terms and dogmatic formulas in the magical texts. The second part gives examples of the Fathers of the Eastern and the Western Church in their common criticism of magic. The third part examines differences in the understanding of dogmatic formulas between Christianity and magic. Finally, conclusions of ecumenical character are formulated.

Biblijne i systematyczne źródła teologii muzyki Josepha Ratzingera / Benedykta XVI

Author(s): Tomasz Samulnik / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 16/2018

In this article there are described fundamental ideas in cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s / pope Benedict XVI’s theology of music. We begin with a description of the context of Ratzinger’s theology of music which is the faith expressed in the liturgy. The biblical and patristic sources of his theological thought will be described subsequently. In the next section the theological-systematic basis (christological, pneumatological and eschatological) of Ratzinger’s musical-theological thought is studied.

Bioetyczny i teologicznomoralny wymiar zamrażania ludzkich embrionów

Author(s): Józef Wróbel / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2020

The article discusses the issues of cryopreservation of human embryos. The use of this technique is related to assisted procreation. The supernumerary embryos created in order to increase the effectiveness of the in vitro procedure are frozen so that they can be used in subsequent transfer attempts. The author presents the technical dimension of freezing and the risks associated with it. In the last part, the author analyzes the ethical dimension of these techniques. He emphasize that although assisted procreation is immoral itself, it is morally right to strive to correct this evil by the mother, who is ready to accept into her womb the thawed embryos. The adoption of abandoned embryos seems to be a good solution. However, this solution cannot be justified from the ethical point of view. If it is forced by law to defrost or terminate the contract by the clinic that stores the embryos, it is possible to consent to their death. The health condition of the embryos, which makes their development impossible, releases from the obligation to transfer. Moreover, it is immoral to select embryos by eugenics and transfer only those embryos that have the desired phenotypic or sex characteristics.

Cała teologia w służbie integralnej formacji duchowej studentów

Author(s): Przemysław Sawa / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 5/2019

Theology as a rational reflection on God’s Revelation still remains in the service of the faith of an individual man and of the Church, and thus affects the society and the temporal reality of the world. Theology, by its very nature, must influence everyday life – in the first place for the theologians themselves as well as for their students. In this way, the formative nature of studying the sacred sciences is realized.Formation therefore includes hearing the Word of salvation and its assimilation into life which then leads to thinking and acting in accordance with the Gospel. Therefore, spiritual life, especially prayer, the reception of the sacraments and participation in the everyday life of the Church, is a necessary component of theology. This primarily concerns the lecturers of theology.These goals can be achieved through the kerygmatic inclination of theology, openness to dialogue and transdisciplinarity. For today’s world needs theology that understands the contemporary thinking. At the same time, it is necessary for the graduate of theological studies to be well versed in all areas of theology, and not to remain at the level of narrow interests and specializations. This requirement of modern times demands that the Church takes a new comprehensive view of theology, practiced in the community of believers and in the context of the increasingly secularized world. It is time to return to the holistic vision of life, world and theology.

Chalcedonian Personalism According to Colin Patterson

Author(s): Leonard Sanyu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Colin Patterson from Melbourne, Australia presents Personalism of the Council of Chalcedon (451). He considers the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Person of Jesus Christ and the image of God in each human person. He emphasizes especially the Person-Nature relation in Trinitology, Christology and Anthropology.

'CHRISTUS VERE RESURREXIT!' ZMARTWYCHWSTANIE I JEGO WIARYGODNOŚĆ W NOWYM TESTAMENCIE

Author(s): Jacenty Mastej / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 23/2016

The article shows the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its credibility in the light of the New Testament. Presents early Christian understanding of the resurrection present in the creeds, hymns and liturgical catechesis Paschal. Signs of resurrection: the empty tomb and the Easter revelation of Christ are its credibility. While presented gi s of the Risen Lord are - permanently adjusting to the life Ecclesia − confirmation of the credibility of resurrection.