Academic literature on the topic 'Jesus Christ – History and criticism'

A Danish theologian, Johannes Horstmann (1915-99), belonging to the movement Tidehverv, reacted in the years 1959-68 in a series of articles on the new quest of the historical Jesus initiated by Ernst Käsemann i 1953. He did so by reviving Søren Kierkegaard’s paradox christology, showing that if form criticism is taken to its logical end, no historical Jesus will be left to the historian. In stead consequent criticism will have as its result that the gospels are testimonies of Christ and that their content considered as history is absurd. Thus, to Horstmann, every quest of the historical Jesus is theological illegitimate, because they fail to appreciate the unique character of the gospels.

The article refutes the widespread view that Dostoevsky's Christian beliefs were strictly Orthodox. It is proved that Dostoevsky's religious and philosophical searches' central tendency is the criticism of historical, ecclesiastical Christianity as a false, distorted form of the teaching of Jesus Christ and the desire to restore this teaching in its original purity. Modern researchers of the history of early Christianity find more and more arguments in favor of the fact that the actual teaching of Jesus Christ is contained in that religious movement, which the church called the Gnostic heresy. The exact philosophical expression of the teaching of Christ was received in the later works of J.G. Fichte, whose ideas had a strong influence on the Russian writer. Like Fichte, Dostoevsky understands Christ as the first person who showed the possibility of revealing God in himself and gaining divine omnipotence and eternal life directly in earthly reality. In this sense, every person can become like Christ. Dostoevsky's main characters walk the path of Christ and show how difficult this path is. The article shows that Dostoevsky used in his work not only the philosophical version of true (Gnostic) Christianity developed by German philosophy (Fichte, Schelling, Hegel), but also the key motives of the Gnostic myth, primarily the idea that our world, filled with evil and suffering, is created not by the supreme, good God-Father, but by the evil Demiurge, the Devil (in this sense, it is hell).

AbstractUnderstanding our interconnected world as the "oikoumene" or one household of God, Johannes Nissen in this article sketches out nine "models" of partnership that appear in the Bible. These are (1) covenant; (2) koinonia; (3) the church as the Body of Christ; (4) the eucharist; (5) the Roman notion of societas; (6) the Pauline collection; (7) the material and spiritual fellowship of the Jerusalem community; (8) "conciliar fellowship"; and (9) Jesus' criticism of the "logic of equivalency" and his replacement of it with a "logic of grace." Nissen concludes his article with several reflections on how biblical models of partnership might be interpreted within our contemporary context.

According to Søren Kierkegaard, the development of Christianity is a history of going away from it, or at least of mitigating the criteria of belonging to it. Dane proposes two models of the trans confessional faith: (1) The recognition of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, of his death and resurrection, and nothing more. (2) The recognition of the faith as that which was defi ned above in the fi rst point and, additionally, on this basis of the choice of the Bible, which is possible as the secondary act related to the faith but not as its starting point. Moreover, all the interpretations of the beyond-confessional faith should be subjectively considered by a single individual. Kierkegaard mentions here some mystical elements. All the religious relationships should be personal in character. As far as the questions of faith and reason are concerned, the standpoint of Paulinism – either/or – is binding. Kierkegaard demands that the existing churches recognise themselves as representing the mitigated forms of Christianity; otherwise they have to undergo criticism. For him, the fi rst two centuries of the existence of Christianity are the ideal ones, and the personal model is the „witness of the truth”, of which he gives the detailed description. The increasing phenomenon of the trans-confessional faith has its roots in the civilisational changes (the secularization) as well as in the intensive manifestation, in the history of Christianity, of the practices which are inconsistent with the biblical background.

Some John, we are told, possibly both the Evangelist and the beloved apostle, but, for reasons we will see, possibly only one, the other, or neither, reanimated so his dying words can be recorded by other early Christians, tries to tell those who will now live with no contact with anyone who had contact with Jesus Christ, how they may live with that absence. Although his reanimaters preserve and venerate his words, it's not clear that they actually follow them or even understand them. In the wake of the questions first German Higher Criticism and then more recent work in the 1860s had raised with regard to the historical accuracy of the New Testament, Robert Browning, tries to propose how his contemporaries might believe. At the same time, as a consequence of a definition of how to believe, Browning also suggests how to look at the beliefs of others as expressions of one's condition and situation rather than as assertions whose accuracy it is in our interests to measure: he tells us what a dramatic monologue may show us. With regard to either aim, either with his contemporaries or with his critics, he did no better than John did with the poem's auditors. At least with regard to the issue of how to believe, one watches an odd critical history as readers have become increasingly aware of how completely Browning seems to have accepted the conclusions of the Higher Criticism about the historicity of the gospels, but have refused to accept how completely this meant that his justification for belief wound up reproducing the Higher Critical position about the historical reality of Christianity, with the addition of an epistemologically daring and dangerous justification of willed belief in an object accepted as possibly fictional that gives his ostensible Christianity only the appearance of an orthodoxy it had in fact abandoned.

Summary This article deals with an Islamic criticism that Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 is professing religious dissimulation – in Islam called Taqiyya – and that in Islamic contexts throughout history missionaries, and the so-called Insider Movements in particular, have adopted this as their missionary strategy. Paul seems to change his religion from Jew to Gentile and vice versa in order to trick people into Christianity. A more careful reading of this passage in context, however, shows that Paul primarily emphasizes the essence of the Christian faith while he is willing to give up anything that might hinder people from seeing God in Christ. He never denies his full allegiance to Jesus Christ and the cross, and is even willing to suffer for this confession. He is not dishonest about it, but he merely makes everything subordinate to this essence of the gospel. The author discusses the consequences of this conclusion for contextual missiology and the Insider Movements in relation to the Missio Dei. Zusammenfassung Der vorliegende Artikel befasst sich mit der islamischen Kritik, dass Paulus in 1. Korinther 9 eine bewusste religiöse Verschleierung bekundet – im Islam wird dies Taqiyya genannt – und dass im islamischen Kontext durch die Geschichte hindurch Missionare und besonders die sogenannte Insiderbewegung diese als ihre missionarische Strategie angewandt haben. Paulus wechselt scheinbar seine Religion von jüdisch zu christlich und umgekehrt, um die Menschen zu überlisten, sich zum christlichen Glauben zu bekehren. Jedoch zeigt eine etwas sorgfältigere Lesart dieses Abschnitts im Kontext, dass Paulus in erster Linie das Wesen des christlichen Glaubens hervorhebt, während er bereit ist, jedwede Sache aufzugeben, welche die Menschen abhalten könnte, Gott in Christus zu erkennen. Niemals leugnet er seine uneingeschränkte Loyalität Jesus Christus und dem Kreuz gegenüber, ja er ist vielmehr bereit, für sein Glaubensbekenntnis zu leiden. Paulus ist diesbezüglich nicht unehrlich, doch er ordnet nur alles diesem Wesen des Evangeliums unter. Der Autor erörtert die Konsequenzen dieser Schlussfolgerung für eine kontextuelle Missiologie und die Insiderbewegung in Zusammenhang mit der Missio Die. Résumé Cet article traite d’une critique faite par les musulmans à l’encontre de Paul qui, en 1 Corinthiens 9, enseigne la dissimulation (Taqîya dans l’islam) dans le domaine religieux et des missionnaires – des Insider Movements en particulier – qui, dans un contexte musulman, ont de tout temps fait de cette pratique une stratégie missionnaire. Paul donne l’impression de passer d’une religion à l’autre – juif un jour, païen le lendemain, et vice-versa – dans le but d’attirer les gens dans le christianisme par la ruse. Mais une lecture plus attentive de ce chapitre replacé dans son contexte montre que Paul met avant tout l’accent sur l’essence même de la foi chrétienne, tout en affirmant qu’il est prêt à renoncer à tout ce qui pourrait empêcher l’un ou l’autre de voir Dieu en Christ. Il ne nie jamais sa totale allégeance à Jésus-Christ et à la croix et se dit même prêt à souffrir pour cette confession. Il n’est pas malhonnête à ce sujet; simplement, il subordonne toute chose à l’essence de l’Évangile. L’auteur étudie les conséquences de cette conclusion pour la missiologie contextuelle et le rapport entre les Insider Movements et la Missio Dei.

The historical study of modern Orthodox theology is a very important process, which is only now finding its place in science. Orthodox dogmatic theology can only seem static, while a closer examination can reveal the processes of decomposition, change and mutation. This article analyzes the theological history of the organic atonement theory, with Vladimir Lossky as its main advocate. The appearance of several atonement theories in theology (along with the criticism of legal theory – a traditional theory peculiar to academic education) highlights the reasons leading to such an unusual state of affairs. In the author’s opinion, this situation is one of the indicators for the changes in theology under the influence of new philosophical trends. The links between the organic atonement theory and philosophical research were noticed as early as in the 20th century. However, the issue has been still insufficiently explored. In connection with this, one of the objectives in this article is a thorough consideration of the way the Russian religious thought participated in the development of the 20th-century Orthodox theology. The largest school of religious philosophy at the beginning of the 20th century was the philosophy of unitotality, which was supported by many famous authors, including theologicians Sergei Bulgakov, Lev Karsavin, Sergei and Evgenii Trubetskoy, Vladimir Ern, Pavel Florensky, et al. The Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov was the initiator of this movement. The thinkers mentioned above and the authors of “organic” theology (in particular, Lossky and Georges Florovsky) are linked not only by their biographies, but also by common themes, methodological guidelines and objects of criticism. Thus, one of the key features of the “organic” atonement theory is the idea that Jesus Christ adopted the common human nature, and it exists as real and integrated in every single human hypostasis. In the author’s opinion, this viewpoint is not specific to Russian Orthodox theology before the 20th century. It was indeed inspired by the philosophy contemporary to Lossky. We can find the same ideas in the works by Karsavin and archpriest Bulgakov, whose teachings influenced Lossky’s views. At the same time, Lossky tried to dissociate himself from philosophy and remain a theologician. However, the author undertakes to demonstrate that not all of his resources are in the patristic tradition. In this regard, we cannot speak about imitation. On the contrary, we discuss the unconscious adoption of some topics, images and methodological techniques by Lossky from his opponents and teachers.

Hebrews 3:1-6 is one of the most intriguing passages of the letter. It catches the attention of who reads or hears the letter for several reasons: one of which is the way the author presents Jesus Christ. It establishes a comparison between Moses and Christ in order to demonstrate Christ’s superiority as the high priest and apostle. It is the only passage in the New Testament where Jesus is presented as an apostle. The reader-oriented research points out to the way the author addresses the audience of his letter and how he manages to catch their attention and present their present status. Those who accept Christ’s mission as the apostle are sanctified and can be considered the house of God governed by Christ.

Anyone who wants to say something about the earliest Christian use ofChristosshould start with the oldest written sources: the (genuine) letters of Paul.1.1.1. Paul's use χριοτòς has been set out convincingly by N. A. Dahl1and W. Kramer.2The apostle uses the term very frequently: 270 out of the 531 occurrences of the word in the New Testament are found in the genuine letters of Paul.3He also uses it in combinations with other words: Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ the Lord; but never in the combination κúρως χριτóς.4Certain patterns can be recognized in the use of Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus and also in the use of the article with χριτóςbut nowhere with a clear difference in meaning.5Dahl says: χριτóς is never a general term; the word is also never used as a predicate. Paul never feels the necessity to state ‘Jesus is the Christ’; a genitive is never added (Paul does not use χριτòς κυριου or related expressions) and also Ίηιοṽςò Χριιτóς is not found.6

In the course of the romantic movement, the vision of the poetic ministry has been expressed by several poets through the figure of Jesus at the Mount of Olives. While Lamartine appropriates the suffering of Christ in order to proclaim himself to be a poet-prophet, Vigny refuses the silence of God. He, thus, accomplishes his poetic mission against God. Whereas Hugo does not take into consideration the meaning of Jesus' agony in order to make the Gethsemane a place of glory, Nerval rejects the notion of a Christlike mission. Hence, by putting into words the death of God, he foretells what Hugo Friedrich will later call an "empty transcendence", which is the very sign of modern poetics. Romanticism carried within itself the signs of the end of transcendence of poetics. Therefore, we will analyse the transition of romanticism to modernity in these four poems1 through the representation of Jesus Christ at Gethsemane.
1"Gethsemani ou la mort de Julia" d'Alphonse de Lamartine, "Le Mont des Oliviers" d'Alfred de Vigny, un extrait (strophes VI, VII et VIII du Chapitre intitule Jesus-Christ) de La Fin de Satan de Victor Hugo et "Le Jardin des Oliviers" de Gerard de Nerval.

In the fictional world of the twentieth century author, Georges Bernanos, a medieval spirituality is reflected through Christocentric imagery. This study highlights the Christocentric focus of medieval spirituality found in three bernanosian characters: Donissan in Sous le Soleil de Satan, Chantal in La Joie, and le cure d'Ambricourt in Journal d'un cure de campagne. Two medieval images, the Mirror and the Way, provided a backdrop for considering common thematic characteristics. This study is divided into two parts. Part One comprises two chapters which present background for textual analysis in Bernanos' three novels. Chapter one explores formative elements in medieval spirituality. These include: descriptions of the medieval mindset, clerical and ecclesial influences, devotional trends related to themes of Christocentric imitation, edification images, specifically, the Mirror and the Way, and chivalry. Chapter two presents formative elements in Bernanos' spirituality. Familial, clerical and ecclesial influences of his childhood contributed to his Christocentric spirituality. Biographical descriptions of Bernanos' adolescent and adult years reveal similarities of his lived experience to medieval themes of pilgrimage, chivalry and imitation. In Part Two, Donissan, Chantal and le cure are considered in the context of medieval trends to imitate Christ. Images of the Way and the Mirror emerge in the four chapters of this section. In chapter three, a textual analysis is presented which juxtaposes virtuous qualities of each main character to the virtues of the medieval devotion to the Infancy. In chapters four and five, the characters are described in relation to another major devotional trend of medieval times: the Passion. Chapter four considers the bernanosian saints as imitators of Jesus' agony while chapter five addresses their imitation of his Way of the cross. In both chapters, imagery related to medieval Christ-like imitation is identified. Chapter six highlights themes of death and resurrection, the culminating steps of the medieval journey of imitation. Descriptions of Bernanos' saintly instruments of grace emphasize their adherence to the medieval pursuit towards wholeness. Dawn imagery and the theme of communion of saints are treated in this discussion of transformation. Endnotes accompany each of the six chapters.

[Truncated abstract] In this thesis I examine the poetics of Thomas Traherne’s often over-looked Christology through a reading of The Kingdom of God. This work, probably written in the early 1670s, was not discovered until 1997, and not published until 2005. To date, no extended studies of the work have been published. It is my argument that Traherne develops an expansive and energetic poetic expressive of the theme of the ‘Cosmic Christ’ in which Christ is understood to be the source, the sustaining life, cohesive bond, and redemptive goal, of the universe, and his body to encompass all things. While the term ‘Cosmic Christ’ is largely of 20th century origin, its application to Traherne is defended on the grounds that it describes not so much a modern theology, as an ancient theology rediscovered in the context of an expanding cosmology. Cosmic Christology lies, according to Joseph Sittler,“tightly enfolded in the Church’s innermost heart and memory,” and its unfolding in Traherne’s Kingdom of God is accomplished through the knitting together of an essentially Patristic and Pauline Christology with the discoveries and speculations of seventeenth century science: from the infinity of the universe to the workings of atoms. … The thesis concludes with a distillation of Traherne’s Christic poetic The Word Incarnate. The terms put forward by Cosmic Christology are used to explicate Traherne’s intrepid poetic. In his most remarkable passages, Traherne employs language not only as a rhetorical tool at the service of theological reasoning, but to directly body forth his sense of Christ at the centre of world and self. He promises to “rend the Vail” and to reveal “the secrets of the most holy place.” Scorning more “Timorous Spirits,” he undertakes to communicate and “consider it all.”

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 1996.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with a reinvention of rhetorical criticism and its application to the parable discourse. The first part of this study examines the theoretical background of rhetoric, and shows that rhetoric emerged as a disciplinary discourse after mythos and logos, and was used as the first systematic hermeneutical method. Rhetoric has developed in two directions: influence and system. Influence study keeps to the tradition of classical rhetoric, while system study covers the system of rhetoric by integrating classical rhetoric with modern human and social sciences. Through this process, rhetorical criticism has been established as a theory and a method for biblical study. Its focus has shifted from rhetoric restrained to rhetoric revalued/reinvented, a shift toward social/practical criticism from hermeneutics. Moreover, rhetorical criticism has begun to treat text as a dialogic, collaborate art or social activity rather than as a mere instrument of persuasion in the monologic scheme of speaker-message-audience, and occupies a prime position in biblical studies in the mode of either one-dimensional or a comprehensive multi-dimensional approach. It is clear that there has been a shift in the application of rhetorical criticism from the performance of rhetorical discourse to its archaeology (inventio). The second part investigates the parable discourse. I suggest that Jesus' parables are net rhetorical discourses of either the dominant Jewish or the dominant Hellenistic-Roman culture. Rather, it is a rhetorical discourse of the Christian subculture. In addition, Jesus' parables in Matthew 13 are not merely grouped but woven into a textus which has a rhetorical structure centred on a basic unit (chreia) to be elaborated. The parable discourse thus takes the pattern of chreia elaboration, and occupies the representative position in Matthew. Against this background, this thesis formulates dialogic rhetoric, as a mode of reinvented rhetoric which deals with invention, for studying the rhetorical function of the parable discourse in Matt 13. Dialogic rhetoric combines Burkean pentadic criticism, Bakthinean dialogic and the social scientific approach. This method differs from the recent historico-critical reading, the semiotic reading, the pragmatic reading in the study of the parable discourse, and also from the structural study carried out by discourse (colon), chiastic and triadic analysis. Dialogic rhetorical criticism has two dimensions. Centripetal rhetoric investigates various rhetorical strategies such as chreia elaboration, figures of dialogism, honour and shame, spatial arrangement, and dyadic personality. Multiple scenes, agents, acts, agencies and purposes in the parable discourse provide a special opportunity for Burkean critique. Centrifugal rhetoric examines the relationship between the parable discourse and two groups of discourses. The first group includes Man 12:46-50 and Matt 13:54-58 which frame the parable discourse, and the second comprises Jesus' other great discourses which, together with the parable discourse, provide key elements within the chiasm of Matthew's Gospel. In final assessment, I define the nature of Christian culture as represented in the parable discourse in terms of response to the world. The parable discourse configures conversionist, revolutionist and gnostic- manipulationist responses, particularly to the Hellenistic-Roman world of the first century. Therefore, I propose that the parable discourse has the function of separating the disciples from the crowds, and then promoting the building of community.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif handel oor die herontdekking van retoriese kritiek en die toepassing daarvan op die gelykenis-materiaal, en val uiteen in twee afdelings: die teoretiese agtergrond van retoriek en die navorsing van gelykenis-materiaal. Die eerste afdeling van hierdie proefskrif behandel die teoretiese agtergrond van retoriek. Retoriek het ontwikkel as 'n dissiplinêre diskoers na mythos en logos, en het gefunksioneer as die eerste sistematiese hermeneutiese metode. Dit word tans op twee maniere nuut omskryf: die sogenaamde invloed-studie staan in die tradisie van klassieke retoriek, terwyl die sogenaamde sisteem-studie klassieke retoriek integreer met moderne menslike en sosiale wetenskappe. Die retoriese aard van Bybelse materiaal is vroeg reeds raakgesien, maar is nou algemeen bevestig. Retoriese kritiek as teorie en metode het ontwikkel vanaf beperkte retoriek na 'n herontdekte retoriek en word daarom nou beskou as sosiale aktivisme of praktiese kritiek op meta-hermeneutiese vlak. 'n Teks word deesdae beskou as dialogise, kollaboratiewe kuns of sosiale aktiwiteit eerder as oorredingsinstrument in die monologiese skema: spreker-boodskap-gehoor. Retoriese kritiek, hetsy as 'n enkelvoudige of 'n omvattende benadering, beklee dus 'n eersterangse posisie in die Bybelwetenskap. Dit is duidelik dat daar 'n ontwikkeling plaasgevind het in die toepassing van retoriek vanaf die performatiewe aard van die retoriese diskoers na die argeologie daarvan (inventio). Die tweede afdeling van hierdie proefskrif ondersoek die gelykenis-materiaal. Ek meen dat die gelykenisse van Jesus nie die retoriese diskoers van die dominante Joodse of Hellenisties-Romeinse kulture is nie, maar eerder die retoriese diskoers van die Christelike subkultuur. Verder is die gelykenisse in Matt 13 nie bloot saamgevoeg nie, maar ingeweef deur middel van 'n textus met 'n retoriese struktuur wat bestaan uit 'n basiese eenheid (chreia) met uitbreidings. Die gelykenis-materiaal neem dus die vorm aan van chreia uitbreiding, en neem die representatiewe posisie in Matteus in. Hierdie proefskrif postuleer dialogiese retoriek as 'n vorm van herontdekte retoriek, met klem op invention, vir die studie van die retoriese funksie van die gelykenisrede in Matt 13. So gesien, kombineer dialogiese retoriek Burke se vyfledige kritiek. Bakthin se dialogiese benadering en die sosiaal-wetenskaplike benadering. Hierdie metode word gekontrasteer met die onlangse histories-kritiese, semiotiese en pragmatiese benaderings in die gelykenis-navorsing, asook die strukturele benadering soos dit manifesteer in diskoers, chiastiese en triadiese analise. Dialogiese retoriese kritiek vertoon twee dimensies: sentripetaal en sentrifugaal. Sentripetale retoriek ondersoek verskeie retoriese strategieë soos chreia uitbreiding, dialogiese styl, eer en skande, ruimtelike inkleding en diadiese persoonlikheidstipes. 'n Veelvoud van plekke, agente, handelinge en bedoelinge in die gelykenis-materiaal maak die gelykenisrede besonder ontvanklik vir Burkeaanse kritiek. Sentrifugale retoriek ondersoek die verhouding tussen die gelykenisrede en twee ander diskoerse; Matt 12:46.50 en Matt 13:54-58 wat die gelykenisrede omraam, asook die ander toesprake van Jesus wat sleutelposisies binne die chiastiese struktuur van Matteus se Evangelie beklee. As finale bevinding, word die aard van die Christelike kultuur soos aangebied in die gelykenisrede in terme van 'n antwoord aan die wêreld gedefinieer. Die gelykenisrede artikuleer bekerings-, revolusie- en gnosties-manipulasie-reaksies in terme van die eerste- eeuse HeIlenisties-Romeinse wêreld. Gevolglik, stel ek voor dat die gelykenisrede die funksie vervul om die dissipels van die skare af te sonder, en om gemeenskapsbou te bevorder.

‘Simul sanctification' is a transformational program for sanctification derived from Karl Barth's radical appropriation of Luther's dictum simul iustus et peccator. Barth's simul establishes the Christological link of the Second Adam with every human being. From this emerges what I contend is a ‘Chalcedonian anthropology' built on a double-duality: the original Chalcedonian formulation gives rise to a second duality revealed within Christ's one human person—the duality of a true, iustus humanity and a corrupt, peccator humanity. In order to appreciate the benefits regarding Barth's Spirit-charged epistemological program for sanctification and conversion, it will be imperative to elucidate the comprehensive nature of Barth's actualism as a way of establishing Barth's view of humanity's dynamic and free iustitia in Christ. Central to assessing the threat of the peccatum determination will be an examination of Barth's theology of the cross, especially in regards to his single subject economy derived from the person of ‘Jesus Christ and him crucified.' Through Barth's assessment of the cross I exposit the similarities and the differences between Chalcedonian Christology and ‘Chalcedonian anthropology;' the latter duality is proven by resurrection revelation to be ultimately provisional in nature. From here I probe Barth's position regarding the annulment of the simul as well as its beginning. By investigating Barth's doctrine of creation I argue that Barth's simul is reflective of the original antithesis between God and nothingness, the darkness under which Christ first placed himself so that humans would know both his solidarity in the darkness and his victory over it. Christians continue to dwell in the overlap of the simul's two mutually exclusive determinations, but by looking through Barth's simul to our true, created and redeemed humanity in Christ we are equipped to interpret our lives and the world around us most hopefully.

This chapter contrasts the Jesus of history with the Christ of faith. It charts the growing secularism of Russian culture and society in the nineteenth century, the so-called “century of unbelief.” The chapter also tracks the rise of secularism in the lives and works of the major writers of the day, in the increasing prominence and influence of the works of the historical school of biblical criticism, and in the advent of a radical materialism. In the face of this secularism, the chapter argues that writers like Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy adopted a quasi-apophatic approach to the question of belief as a discursive strategy. This allowed them to advocate for their faith positions along a via negativa, a method in tune with what Dostoevsky called “our negative age.”

Three Scottish theologians contributed major works on Christology during the twentieth century. H. R. Mackintosh, Donald M. Baillie, and John Macquarrie belong to an Enlightenment tradition that was critical of Chalcedonianism while resolutely seeking to re-express its governing intention. While remaining in contact with the catholic traditions of the church, each sought to reinterpret these under the conditions of modernity. In doing so, their work manifests an intense devotional commitment to Jesus while simultaneously wrestling with problems that continue to beset contemporary articulations of Christ’s person and work. This chapter traces their work in context as it tackles problems of metaphysical entanglement, historical criticism of the gospels, and religious pluralism. Similarities and differences are considered, and the critical reception of their work is assessed.

Abstract Throughout his theological writings Maurice Wiles has acknowledged the historical basis of the Christian faith, investigated the history of its development, and sought to identify what can credibly be claimed about ‘acts’ of God in history, while in all three issues he has sought to take fully into account the proper nature of historical understanding and the results of historical criticism. In the first respect he states, for example, that ‘it is a fundamental feature of traditional Christian faith to see in its past history, and in the history of Jesus in particular, the determinative and distinctive element in that faith.... Christianity sees itself as rooted in history in a unique way’ (Wiles 1976a: 99). In a later essay, considering how the Bible is ‘an indispensable resource rather than a binding authority’ for theological reflection, he quotes John Barton’s remark that the Bible is, among other things, ‘the “primary evidence for the events that lie at the source of Christian faith’” (Wiles 1987a: 51-2). His interest in the second matter is manifest in his studies of the sources and factors involved in the ‘making’ and the ‘remaking’ of Christian doctrine (Wiles 1967, 1974) as well as in his later involvement in the debate about the so called ‘myth of God incarnate’ Wiles 1977, 1979) and (at the time of writing) his unfinished study of Arianism (for which Christ Church library provides him with an enviable resource of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century texts).

Richard Bushman’s 2005 biography of Joseph Smith incorporated the findings of the New Mormon history. Bushman saw changes over time in Smith’s vision accounts and granted the critics that point, just not their interpretation that it meant Smith did not experience what he claimed. Bushman did not question whether Smith told the truth about his vision, only what truth he told he time he recorded it. Bushman’s Joseph Smith is therefore not the deceived or deceiving one of Fawn Brodie or Wesley Walters, but neither is he the simplified teenage prophet of the movies and manuals. Though initially barred from use in LDS religious education curriculum, provided the standard interpretation of Smith’s first vision adopted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by 2018. This was most evident in “First Vision Accounts” and Saints: The Standard of Truth, volume 1—products espoused and promoted by LDS leaders.

Abstract This chapter focuses on the history of interpretation of Galatians 3:28 and its application to women’s ministry and ordination in the American context. Not until the nineteenth century was the text understood to mean anything other than a person’s standing before God. After tracing the historical interpretation of the text, the chapter turns to the emergence of and controversy over women in ministry in the nineteenth century. The coalescence of evangelical revivalism and the first women’s rights movement in the 1840s shifted the text’s meaning to the human dimension, namely, to a woman’s right to serve in an equal capacity to men as ordained ministers. Galatians 3:28 emerged as the decisive text in support of women’s ordination. The chapter extends the discussion into recent times, examining advocates of women in ministry from a mainline Protestant perspective (Krister Stendahl), a feminist perspective (Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza), and an evangelical perspective (Richard Longenecker).

A view of the nature of Jesus Christ that rises to the level of full Christian orthodoxy, as expressed in such creeds and definitions as the Apostles’ Creed, and the statements of Nicea, and Chalcedon, cannot be responsibly derived from the New Testament if the constraints of modern historical criticism are obeyed. But robust and faithful views of the nature of Christ may be read from the New Testament, and even from the Old Testament, when the text is interpreted via lenses of creative, Christian interpretation, led by the holy spirit, and interpreted with the guidance of love. Moreover, though constructions of “the historical Jesus” may be used for theological reflection, the Jesus of Christian faith is the Christ of Christian creed and confessions, not the Jesus of modern historical research and construction.

In presenting an exalted concept of humanity, Lewis endorses historic Christian orthodoxy, which corrects and transcends distorted versions of humanity that devalue it in order to accent God’s glory and our fallen condition. Lewis continues to explain how human nature is meant for relationship with God and how persons can find that relation through the historical person of Jesus Christ who, as Athanasius said, “assumed” our humanity in order to heal and redeem it. Lewis navigated early and mid twentieth-century criticisms of the historical Jesus, which are not greatly different from current criticisms by the Jesus Seminar and others, and Lewis concludes that the Gospels reliably reveal an underlying historical personality. Thus, we see the relevance of Lewis’s “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord” trilemma argument. In fact, in his own journey, he held some of these same criticisms and doubts, even after becoming a theist, such that it took a lengthy talk with J. R. R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson to convince him that the Gospels contained some “myths” (conceived as symbolic stories that communicate higher truth) but that in the person of Jesus the higher truth had become uniquely manifested in our world.

Traditional gastronomy, along with history, culture, religion and ethnicity, continues to play an important role in defi ning national and individual identity. Th e intense pace of modern life in recent decades is changing the conception of food very rapidly, and gastronomic traditions are collapsing dramatically under the action of the new preferences of the population to feed themselves. Th e tendency to standardize the taste in terms of food, leads to the disappearance of diversity and culinary identity. Th us, more and more traditional dishes, full of taste, value and history, tend to be forgotten. In the trend of revitalization of poppy cakes, the results of the study are presented within the State Program 20.8009.0807.17 REVICULT; the recipe being found in the Republic of Moldova (north and center), as well as in Moldova and Transylvania, Romania. Poppy cakes (Turte cu mac) are considered fasting dishes. Th ose prepared on Christmas Eve are called Th e Diapers/Wormwoods of the Lord, Julfe, Christmas Cakes referring to the diapers in which the Jesus Christ was wrapped at birth, recording the end of the fasting and being off ered as alms. Th ey are attested, according to several sources, in existence for hundreds of years, the recipes being transmitted from generation to generation and adapted to the possibilities of the time. Th us, we fi nd in some localities cakes prepared and covered only with poppy, aft er their burial (Tarasova village, Mateuţi village, Rezina district), in other localities buried with julfă (mixture of water sweetened with honey, with shredded hemp seeds in the square and passed through the sieve) (Drochia district), covered with shredded walnuts and with poppy or only with poppy (v. Salcia, v. Climatuţii de Jos, v. Socola, v. Vadul-Rascov, Floreși/Kamenka/Soldanesti district, Ungheni district, Donduseni district). Th e utensils used in the preparation of various sweet dishes, such as macohon, marcoteţ, budăiul, etc. are of interest for the study.