Racism and God-Talk

BOOK REVIEWS 643 Will There Be Free Will in Heaven? Freedom, Impeccability, and Beatitude. By SIMON FRANCIS GAINE. London and New York: T & T Clark, 2003. Pp 141. $40.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-567-08950-9. The beatific vision excludes the possibility of sin. Thus George Wall concludes that the blessed are unfree. John Donnelly, conversely, sacrifices the impeccability of the blessed in favor of their freedom (3-7). According to Simon Francis Gaine, Wall and Donnelly are led to these unorthodox views because of an inadequate conception of freedom. Gaine intends to show not only that the freedom of the blessed is coherent with the beatific vision, but that freedom, correctly understood, has its fullest development when the blessed are in complete possession of God and when they are no longer subject to sin. What leads one to see a tension between freedom and impeccability is the understanding of freedom as "freedom of indifference." The tension is solved, however, when one adopts the patristic and Thomistic conception of freedom, which the author, borrowing an expression from Pinckaers, calls "freedom for excellence." Gaine investigates the problem of freedom in heaven mostly from the theological perspective. His main interest is seemingly to defend the orthodox view of eschatology according to which freedom is supremely possessed by the blessed. The framework of the problem of freedom in the presence of the universal good is clearly theological, yet it is also of great philosophical relevance: what is at stake is the understanding of the pedect mode of freedom and the definition of freedom. The question of the freedom of the blessed thus bt:comes a litmus test for an author's understanding of freedom and a test case for the coherence of his psychology and moral theory. The historical approach to this question gives rise to an interesting observation: "It seems that the more voluntarist a theologian becomes, the more he must perhaps limit the freedom of the blessed in order to maintain an orthodox position on impeccability" (84). The main authors Gaine studies are Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham, and Suarez. He first examines Suarez, who is significant as an historian, as it were, of medieval philosophy, and as one of the most influential thinkers to transmit medieval thought to modernity. Suarez provides us with a helpful conceptual tool by distinguishing between an intrinsic cause (i.e., the vision of God) of impeccability and an extrinsic cause (i.e., God's providence or grace}. Suarez attributes the intrinsic view, a position he himself adopts, to Thomas, while he classifies Scotus's and Ockham's views as extrinsic (16-21). Regarding the question of how there is freedom in the blessed, Suarez reviews the classical solutions of Augustine and Anselm of Canterbury for whom freedom, understood as freedom from the slavery of sin (Augustine) and as the power to preserve rectitude (Anselm}, is fully realized in heaven. But Suarez considers this an equivocal use of the notion of freedom, since in its core, freedom means for him not freedom from sin, but freedom from obligation and absence ofnecessity. In this regard, Suarez admits that the blessed are free to a certain extent, but due 644 BOOK REVIEWS to the necessitating character ofthe divine vision, this freedom is diminished (2132 ). On Scotus's account, the finite will of a creature has essentially the power to do otherwise than it does. This does not change in the vision of God. Though one cannot unwill or "nill" (nolle) happiness, one can always turn one's attention away from happiness and thus "not will" it (non velle). The vision of God does not by itself alter the will's capacity to turn away from God. It is God, not as beheld, but as providing a special grace, who prevents the blessed from sinning. God extrinsically determines the will so as to remain steadfast in the free enjoyment of the beatific vision (35-68). Ockham understands freedom as freedom of indifference: whatever the practical intellect dictates, the will has the power to will its opposite. The will does not necessarily will the good in general and it is capable of willing evil as such. The will is thus equally free to...

This book challenges the status quo of studies in literature and religion by returning to “experience” as a bridge between theory and practice. Essays focus on keywords of religious experience and demonstrate their applications in drama, fiction, and poetry. Each chapter explores the broad significance of its keyword as a category of psychological and social behavior and tracks its unique articulation by individual authors, including Conrad, Beecher Stowe and Melville. Together, the chapters construct a critical foundation for studying literature not only from the perspectives of theology and historicism but from the ways that literary experience reflects, reinforces, and sometimes challenges religious experience.

The subject of this study is the methodological approach used by Aldous Huxley to study religious experience and mystical experiences. The article pays special attention to the theoretical origins of this methodology, as well as the social and cultural context of its formation. The article examines how science, philosophy, and religion of that time contributed to the formulation of Aldous Huxley's methodological approach. The author of the article examines which principles and methods formed the basis of Huxley's methodology, how the principle of objectivity of scientific knowledge with the subjectivity of personal experience is consistent in the applied approach. The article also examines his experimental use of mescaline to explore the depths of human consciousness and search for a "divine foundation", analyzes the results and limitations of Huxley's methodological approach and his contribution to understanding the nature of religious experience. This article is based on methodological approaches such as biographical and comparative historical methods, as well as an analytical study of sources and their systematization. The work used a comprehensive analysis of Huxley's texts to identify key aspects of his worldview. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that a holistic reconstruction of Huxley's methodology used by him for the study of religious experience has been carried out. Based on sources, the author shows how it developed from the late 1920s to 1960. The article analyzes not only key works, but also little-known essays and lectures, some of which have not been published in Russian. Huxley's interest in religious experience stems from personal experiences and cultural context. His methodology includes philosophical, psychological, and anthropological aspects, focusing on the phenomenology of religious experience. Huxley conducts a comparative analysis of various religious traditions, identifying common features and a universal spiritual reality. He strives to integrate scientific methods with mystical ones based on critical analysis, facts and experimentation. In theoretical analysis, he juxtaposes binary categories such as body-mind and religion-magic, emphasizing the importance of bodily experience in spiritual enlightenment. Also, as an important conclusion, the strengthening of the body-oriented principle in understanding religious and mystical experience in the last decade of the thinker's life should be noted.

This article presented some critical remarks relating to the understanding of the panen-theism as a postmodern revelation, proposed by David Ray Griffin in his book Panentheism and Scientific Naturalism. Rethinking Evil, Morality, Religious Experience, Religious Pluralism, and the Academic Study of Religion. The main objection relates to the question that the American philosopher and theologian presents the philosophical, not theological conception of revelation. In addition he used the assumptions taken from process philosophy of A.N. Whitehead to construct this conception. The result of these assumptions is a new and original understanding of postmodernism. According to these assumptions panentheism is a conception that reflects properly the God-world relationship. Moreover, panentheism, as Griffin said, avoids mistakes of classical theism and extremes of early and late modernity. This panentheism is an integral part of naturalismppp. Griffin’s attempt to equate panentheism and revelation is based on the interaction recognized by him between God and the world. It manifests in the religious experiences and in the human drive to discover truth, which is, as Griffin said, a divinely-instilled drive. Process panentheism is the attempt to reconcile this revelation with the revelation that comes to us through the Abrahamic and other the-istic traditions. But it is difficult to accept that the revelation that comes to us from these religions, especially the revelation realized in Jesus Christ, gave rise to the recognition of the God-world relationship in terms of panentheism proposed by process theology

There is limited research around how mental health (MH) student nurses interpret and differentiate between people's religious and cultural beliefs and the existence of psychopathological symptomatology and experiences. Here we focus on one cultural issue that arose from research exploring how MH student nurses approach and interpret religion and culture in their practice - that is, the difficulties in determining the clinical significance of the religious beliefs and experiences expressed by the people they care for. While problems with establishing the cultural boundaries of normality in clinical assessments are an important area of debate in cultural psychiatry, it remains a peripheral issue in MH nurse education. An anthropologically informed qualitative research design underpinned 'critical incident' (CI)-focused ethnographic interviews with 36 second and third-year MH nursing field students and seven undergraduate MH branch lecturers. Follow up focus groups were also carried out. Interview transcripts were subject to thematic analysis. Four subthemes were identified under the broad theme of the clinical significance of religious-type expression and experience: (1) identifying the difference between delusions and religious belief; (2) identifying whether an experience was hallucination or religious experience; (3) the clinical implications of such challenges; and (4) applying religion-specific knowledge. There are clinical implications that may result from the difficulties with assessing the clinical significance of religious beliefs and experiences, identified in both our research and within international cultural psychiatry literature and research. Misinterpretation and therefore wrongly assessing someone's experience as pathological is a significant concern. It is suggested that CI analysis could be adapted to help nurses, nursing students and nurse educators recognize the religious dimensions of mental distress, particularly those that then potentially impact upon the accuracy and person centeredness of clinical assessment. Further research is proposed to investigate the clinical assessment and training needs of nurses in the area of religion and mental distress.

Since the mid-2000s, cognitive science approaches have been used in biblical studies. Cognitive science came into existence in the 1950s as a reaction to the psychological behaviorism of the time, and it studies human thought processes, such as memory, learning, decision making, and social cognition, including the role of emotions. Cognitive science is multidisciplinary in nature, with contributions from linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, experimental psychology, ethology, computer modeling, and other disciplines. It has influenced a variety of academic fields, ranging from anthropology and education to musicology and medicine. Its appearance and impact is often referred to as the “cognitive turn.” Cognitive approaches to religion examine cross-culturally recurrent religious thought and behavior from the perspective of cognitive science. Cognitive approaches to religion, in turn, offer important insights and theories for the cognitive scientific study of biblical texts and traditions. Three research areas can be identified that especially influenced the emergence of cognitive science approaches to biblical studies: (1) A considerable part of cognitive research on religion can be linked to the program called cognitive science of religion (CSR), which started in the 1990s. In the beginning, CSR focused mainly on god concepts and rituals, with a strong emphasis on the evolved cognitive structure of the human mind. New research areas of CSR include the role of religion in social cooperation, experimental studies in ethnography, discussions and applications of the theory of cultural evolution, quantitative studies of large-scale historical processes, and computational models of religious thought and behavior. While some scholars have argued that religion is a by-product of cognitive mechanisms (such as traits underlying social cooperation) that evolved previously for other purposes (the so-called by-product hypothesis), others see religion as an evolutionary adaptation. (2) The neuroscientific study of religious experience started in the 1980s and gained momentum with the rapid development of new neuroimaging technologies in the 1990s. Work on religious experience in biblical studies draws on insights from this area. (3) Finally, the field of cognitive linguistics also started in the 1980s and examines the role of the human body in shaping human thought and language. Biblical scholars have drawn especially on cognitive poetics and conceptual metaphor theory. In this article we will first discuss overviews of cognitive science approaches in biblical studies. Second, major contributions to the cognitive science of religion and conceptual metaphor theory will be presented, with an emphasis on publications that have exerted an influence on biblical scholars. This part will also include cognitive studies of ancient religions outside biblical studies. Third, cognitive science approaches to various research questions and topics in biblical studies will be discussed, including Jewish and early Christian history, memory and transmission, ritual, miracle and magic, ethics and morality, religious experience, theological and Christological concepts, applications of conceptual metaphor theory, the use of computational modeling, and other exegetical topics.

Recently social movement research has opened to the idea that emotions are important to collective action. Social movements challenge emotions, such as loyalty, gratitude, or love, that cement society, and reinforce the established institutions and relations of domination. They also redirect (empathy, anger, loyalty), weaken (fear, in‐group animosities), convert (shame into anger) or intensify (anger with the opponent, in‐group solidarity) the emotions of their members to sustain the momentum, help win over accidental onlookers and deal with movement opponents (Flam & King 2005). An entire spectrum of emotions in various constellations plays a role in social movement mobilization, internal dynamics, and demise. Of these solidarity, shame, anger, pride, and fear receive most attention.

This chapter briefly discusses the landing of the first A 380 at Frankfurt International Airport reflects from a theological perspective. Many important people are expected to be at the airport to welcome the first landing of an A 380 in Frankfurt. mayor of Frankfurt, the minister of the State of Hessia, and several regional politicians are already waiting at a special VIP gate to observe the landing from a first class position. The Airbus 380 is the biggest passenger plane in the world and the first plane with two continuous passenger decks. time of the landing of the A 380 could not be foreseen exactly. This acknowledgement underlines the incalculability of such an event. It out rules human control and can lead to the metaphysical sphere where human ratio is transcended and makes room for spiritual or even religious experiences.Keywords: A 380; Frankfurt International Airport; human control; religious experiences

The overlapping understandings of Jewish and Christian traditions (the Traditions), both influencing and reincorporating Western culture from the Greeks to the present, underpin many of the ethical constructs of present society, in ways both obvious and subtle. The concept of justice is central to the ethical outlooks of both religious traditions. This article systematically develops values related to justice from within the Traditions and extends them to the question of intergenerational equity as proposed precepts for assessment and action. Many of the results seem familiar because they are deeply embedded in our culture. They are assertions that transcend time-the value of human life; an obligation to support the necessary interests of others, especially the powerless; the concepts of brotherhood, the common good, and stewardship of resources; and the transmission of knowledge, resources, and values through the vehicles of families and communities. Other ideas from within the Traditions, such as giving beyond the requirements of equity and the connection of human life with God whose abilities are unbounded by time, continue to draw people beyond the limits of culture. These outlooks are organized into 17 statements or proposals constitutive of this view of justice. These summary statements are used as the basis for comparing a system of principles proposed by a panel of the National Academy of Public Administration for intergenerational decision making with the views represented by the Traditions. This broaches a broader question of fairness in resource distribution. The article concludes with reference to some developed resources of the Traditions from which further insight can be drawn, and another illustration related to resource allocation. It is hoped that the article helps stimulate wider analysis of the values on which our decisions are made.

While personal experiences and family socialization are likely to influence beliefs and behaviors linking faith to work, religious congregations also are likely to play a prominent role in shaping faith-work connections. Our purpose in this chapter is to draw upon a nationally representative sample of over a thousand working adults to describe the role of Christian congregations in making faith relevant to the workplace. Two variables that have particular relevance to the association of faith and work are the Congregational Entrepreneurial Orientation Scale (CEOS) and the Congregational Faith at Work Scale (CFWS). The CEOS variable assesses the behavior of congregational leaders related to being innovative and demonstrating a willingness to take risks, whereas the CFWS variable assesses the extent to which specific beliefs about faith and work integration are emphasized within a congregation. This chapter reports on the association of these congregational variables, across religious traditions, with work attitudes and behaviors and offers recommendations for future research.

Religion in the Twenty-First Century

The Christian bible is replete with instances where peace is encouraged preached. A cursory look at the life of Jesus the founder of Christianity one sees him as an epitome of peace. Before his birth, he was called ‘Prince of peace.’ After his birth, peace was the conveying message ‘Peace to men and women of goodwill.’ The religion he founded is a religion of peace. This explains why in his ministry, he called ‘peacemakers children of God’ (Matthew 5:9) In spite of these, there are religious and ethnic conflicts among people of various religious confessions. The question arises: from where do these conflicts that threaten the peace of humanity come? The article focused on the social function of religion but discussed in detail the theological perspectives on peace. It also surveyed the efforts religious leaders have made to bring about peace especially through reconciliation. The article recommends national reconciliation for true peace to reign in Nigeria. In order to facilitate this discussion, historical method was adopted which hinges on analytical and critical approaches. The article is hopeful that peace is achievable if all become peacemakers and lovers of one another irrespective of religion, ethnicity and political affiliations.

During her Golden Era, Alexandria, the Delta City of Egypt, was the pride of Africa in that she was larger than the two other world cities of the Roman Empire � Rome and Antioch � and also the unrivalled intellectual centre of the (Greco-)Roman world. Her schools, including the Didaskaleion � the Catechetical School � outshone the schools of her rivals by far. During the first half of the 1st century CE and specifically after the destruction of the temple and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, many Jews fled their home country for different parts of the Roman Empire, like Transjordan, Syria and Africa. A number of these Jews � later called Christians � believed in Jesus of Nazareth. In Alexandria, these believers were confronted with different religions, cults and philosophies. The Didaskaleion was founded to rival these religions and cults and to provide the students with the necessary basis for their newly found religion. The lack of literature, on the one hand, and the credibility of the extant literature, on the other, caused great difficulty in reasoning with authority on the Didaskaleion. This is part one of two articles, the second one being constructed around the heads of the School.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Research about Africa done by Africans (inhabitants of Africa) need to increase because, in many ways Africa, is silent or silenced about her past. The fundamental question is: �Can anything good come out of Africa?� My answer is, �Yes! Come and see.� Therefore these two articles attempt to indicate the significance of Africa, which was actually the place where Christian Theology was founded. This has intra- as well as interdisciplinary implications. In this case the investigation is done from a theological perspective.

The notion of religious experience appears to me central to all discussions of major religious issues today. It is, however, a notion about which there appears to be a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding. There are terms like ‘Nature’, or ‘Freedom’, which admit of such a wide variety of interpretation (some of them sharply contradictory) that their use tends to become almost pointless. ‘Religious experience’ is apt to fall into this class. It is sometimes used to refer to any religious activity or practice whatsoever, and thus to become quite otiose. This is the use that some have in mind when they say that they have never had a religious experience: they just mean that they are agnostics. For others ‘religious experience’ means some very peculiar type of experience, like having visions or hearing voices, or having a distinctively mystical experience. For some the term is associated, with some but only very limited justification, with an excessively emotional religious indulgence. In its main use, and in the profound importance ascribed to it by devout persons in all ages, the term stands for none of these things.

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