We discuss the concept of a ‘body’, the individual body as the lived experience of the body, the social body, shaped by the tensions between the demands of a social/moral order and the egocentric drives, and the body politic, as an institutionalized and disciplined body. We describe the body as it was perceived in Classical Greek Antiquity at the time when the Hippocratic Oath was first conceived, and any changes that may have occurred by Late Antiquity, using the concept of a body-world as represented by everyday life, the arts, politics, philosophy, and religion. This ‘recreated’ body-world elucidates how a person of Classical or Late Antiquity perceived her/his body via their ‘lived-in’ world and relates it to medical and philosophical thinking about the body as well as to concepts of health and disease. We demonstrate how the institutional structures of the Roman Empire and the Church influenced the way a body was understood, how the administrative and governmental needs led to the first developments of Public Health, and how the Christian understanding of the body as the body and spirit of Christ changed the attitude towards suicide, euthanasia, and abortion. These changes are reflected in the understanding of bioethical thinking and affected the interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath.
{"title":"Bioethics and the Human Body","authors":"Ursula Plöckinger, Ulrike Ernst-Auga","doi":"10.3390/rel15080909","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080909","url":null,"abstract":"We discuss the concept of a ‘body’, the individual body as the lived experience of the body, the social body, shaped by the tensions between the demands of a social/moral order and the egocentric drives, and the body politic, as an institutionalized and disciplined body. We describe the body as it was perceived in Classical Greek Antiquity at the time when the Hippocratic Oath was first conceived, and any changes that may have occurred by Late Antiquity, using the concept of a body-world as represented by everyday life, the arts, politics, philosophy, and religion. This ‘recreated’ body-world elucidates how a person of Classical or Late Antiquity perceived her/his body via their ‘lived-in’ world and relates it to medical and philosophical thinking about the body as well as to concepts of health and disease. We demonstrate how the institutional structures of the Roman Empire and the Church influenced the way a body was understood, how the administrative and governmental needs led to the first developments of Public Health, and how the Christian understanding of the body as the body and spirit of Christ changed the attitude towards suicide, euthanasia, and abortion. These changes are reflected in the understanding of bioethical thinking and affected the interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"46 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141800344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This essay focuses on the reception of Pauline ideas in the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies, commonly dated to the early fourth century. At first, the claim that the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies contain Pauline ideas may seem surprising, since the Homilies are commonly considered “Jewish Christian” and thus anti-Pauline. However, new readings of Paul generated by the “Paul within Judaism” perspective, along with new insights on the Homilies, reveal that the latter work seems to contain Pauline ideas not preserved in other receptions of Paul. The Homilies share with Paul the following traits and ideas: (1) like Paul, the Homilies distinguish between Jews and non-Jews (the term “Christian” never appears) and, like Paul, the Homilies’ teachings about law address gentiles and prescribe a kind of Judaism for them; (2) gentiles must adapt to a Jewish lifestyle and keep the commandments that the Torah prescribes for non-Israelites; (3) Jews and Jesus-oriented gentiles together make up the people of God (called theosebeis in the Homilies), but the distinction between them remains. They have equal status in the eyes of God but differences in their observance of the law remain. An important point where the Homilies deviate from Paul is their insistence that Jews do not necessarily need Jesus. For the Homilies, Jesus is primarily the teacher of gentiles, and they envision two parallel paths to salvation: Moses for Jews and Jesus for gentiles. This essay suggests that the Homilies’ understanding of ideas that we recognize as Pauline developed in a milieu marked by the presence of non-Jesus-oriented (rabbinic) Jews.
{"title":"A Reception of Pauline Ideas Shaped by a Jewish Milieu: The Case of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies","authors":"Karin Hedner Zetterholm","doi":"10.3390/rel15080903","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080903","url":null,"abstract":"This essay focuses on the reception of Pauline ideas in the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies, commonly dated to the early fourth century. At first, the claim that the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies contain Pauline ideas may seem surprising, since the Homilies are commonly considered “Jewish Christian” and thus anti-Pauline. However, new readings of Paul generated by the “Paul within Judaism” perspective, along with new insights on the Homilies, reveal that the latter work seems to contain Pauline ideas not preserved in other receptions of Paul. The Homilies share with Paul the following traits and ideas: (1) like Paul, the Homilies distinguish between Jews and non-Jews (the term “Christian” never appears) and, like Paul, the Homilies’ teachings about law address gentiles and prescribe a kind of Judaism for them; (2) gentiles must adapt to a Jewish lifestyle and keep the commandments that the Torah prescribes for non-Israelites; (3) Jews and Jesus-oriented gentiles together make up the people of God (called theosebeis in the Homilies), but the distinction between them remains. They have equal status in the eyes of God but differences in their observance of the law remain. An important point where the Homilies deviate from Paul is their insistence that Jews do not necessarily need Jesus. For the Homilies, Jesus is primarily the teacher of gentiles, and they envision two parallel paths to salvation: Moses for Jews and Jesus for gentiles. This essay suggests that the Homilies’ understanding of ideas that we recognize as Pauline developed in a milieu marked by the presence of non-Jesus-oriented (rabbinic) Jews.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"18 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141799127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Buddhist “Knotted Thread” originates from the ancient Indian practice of venerating sacred threads. In Indian culture, sacred threads symbolize identity and status and possess functions such as exorcism, healing, disaster prevention, blessing, protection, and divination. Initially, Buddhism opposed the use of sacred threads by its followers. However, as Buddhism evolved, it began to adopt this and other practices. Buddhist threads could be monochromatic or multicolored, with five-colored threads (五色縷) having significant cultural connections to China. In Buddhism, the five colors typically consist of four primary colors (四本色; blue, yellow, red, and white) plus an additional color. The difference between the Buddhist and traditional Chinese five colors lies in the selection of the fifth color. The five-colored threads in Buddhism have various combinations, such as blue, yellow, red, white, and black; blue, yellow, red, white, and purple; and blue, yellow, red, white and green. With Buddhism’s spread into China, to align with traditional Chinese notions of five colors, the Buddhist five-colored threads gradually standardized to blue, yellow, red, white, and black. The evolution of the Buddhist five-colored threads reflects the cultural exchange between India and China.
{"title":"Buddhism’s Knotted Thread (結縷法): Indian Origins and Chinese Adaptations","authors":"Gang Yang","doi":"10.3390/rel15080906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080906","url":null,"abstract":"The Buddhist “Knotted Thread” originates from the ancient Indian practice of venerating sacred threads. In Indian culture, sacred threads symbolize identity and status and possess functions such as exorcism, healing, disaster prevention, blessing, protection, and divination. Initially, Buddhism opposed the use of sacred threads by its followers. However, as Buddhism evolved, it began to adopt this and other practices. Buddhist threads could be monochromatic or multicolored, with five-colored threads (五色縷) having significant cultural connections to China. In Buddhism, the five colors typically consist of four primary colors (四本色; blue, yellow, red, and white) plus an additional color. The difference between the Buddhist and traditional Chinese five colors lies in the selection of the fifth color. The five-colored threads in Buddhism have various combinations, such as blue, yellow, red, white, and black; blue, yellow, red, white, and purple; and blue, yellow, red, white and green. With Buddhism’s spread into China, to align with traditional Chinese notions of five colors, the Buddhist five-colored threads gradually standardized to blue, yellow, red, white, and black. The evolution of the Buddhist five-colored threads reflects the cultural exchange between India and China.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"35 34","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141800466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The private writings of two Southern Baptist women missionaries in China are analyzed to deepen our understanding of women’s perspectives on their daily lives. After reviewing secondary research on married and single women’s work in China, the author uses primary source examples from family letters and diaries to illustrate differences in responsibilities and opportunities for single and married women, and how motherhood changed their relationship to their work even further. Requirements for “homemaking”, and a “civilizing mission” expected of married women, increased pressure on missionary wives. Single women, arriving in larger numbers in the early 20th century, were able to focus only on the mission work and accomplish more. The success and productivity of single women further marginalized married women, particularly those with children, who could not keep up with their single counterparts in the mission work. By exploring these two exemplars we can draw an even more nuanced picture of the many ways Baptist women missionaries negotiated their callings in light of their family status.
{"title":"“I Did Not Come to China for That!”: Intersections of Mission Work, Marriage, and Motherhood for Southern Baptist Women in China at the Turn of the 20th Century","authors":"T. L. Scales","doi":"10.3390/rel15080901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080901","url":null,"abstract":"The private writings of two Southern Baptist women missionaries in China are analyzed to deepen our understanding of women’s perspectives on their daily lives. After reviewing secondary research on married and single women’s work in China, the author uses primary source examples from family letters and diaries to illustrate differences in responsibilities and opportunities for single and married women, and how motherhood changed their relationship to their work even further. Requirements for “homemaking”, and a “civilizing mission” expected of married women, increased pressure on missionary wives. Single women, arriving in larger numbers in the early 20th century, were able to focus only on the mission work and accomplish more. The success and productivity of single women further marginalized married women, particularly those with children, who could not keep up with their single counterparts in the mission work. By exploring these two exemplars we can draw an even more nuanced picture of the many ways Baptist women missionaries negotiated their callings in light of their family status.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"23 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141800722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Catholicism during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties is the most fascinating chapter in the development history of Christian culture in China. Apostolate through books emerged as a prominent method of Sino-West cultural exchange during that time. Apostolate through books by Catholicism was realized by means of translation practice, leading to a notable religious influence. Based on this perspective, this paper discusses the history and connotation of apostolate through books, particularly focusing on the characteristics of apostolate through books by Catholicism during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. In achieving this, this research shows the translation motivation and translation effect of apostolate through books during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Furthermore, this paper emphasizes that the translation practice of apostolate through books by Catholicism has laid a good foundation for the sinicization and acceptance of Catholicism in China, highlighting the relationship between apostolate through books by Catholicism and the sinicization of Christian culture, so as to enlighten the internationalization of religious culture.
{"title":"Apostolate through Books: The Translation Practice by Catholicism during Late Ming and Early Qing","authors":"Yafeng Li, Jingmin Fu, Jiyun Huang","doi":"10.3390/rel15080905","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080905","url":null,"abstract":"Catholicism during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties is the most fascinating chapter in the development history of Christian culture in China. Apostolate through books emerged as a prominent method of Sino-West cultural exchange during that time. Apostolate through books by Catholicism was realized by means of translation practice, leading to a notable religious influence. Based on this perspective, this paper discusses the history and connotation of apostolate through books, particularly focusing on the characteristics of apostolate through books by Catholicism during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. In achieving this, this research shows the translation motivation and translation effect of apostolate through books during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Furthermore, this paper emphasizes that the translation practice of apostolate through books by Catholicism has laid a good foundation for the sinicization and acceptance of Catholicism in China, highlighting the relationship between apostolate through books by Catholicism and the sinicization of Christian culture, so as to enlighten the internationalization of religious culture.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141799489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This contribution to the literature regarding the Christian theology of religions presents a critical view from the outside, a meta-reflection primarily from a religious studies perspective considering the conditions and contexts of academic theology on the one hand, and lived interreligious relationships on the other, which are all-too-easily ignored in works of the theology of religions. First, some newer approaches to the theology of religions will be mentioned before critical questions will be addressed from a religious studies perspective. These are observations in discourse theory, the sociology of religion, religious economics and spatial theory. This is followed by observations from the perspective of intercultural theology, which examine approaches to the theology of religions with regard to phenomena within the Pentecostal movement, discursive constellations in Muslim majority societies and cultural–religious aspects within Indian society. Finally, the “theology of interreligious relations” will be proposed as a corrective to the shortcomings of the ordinary theology of religions.
{"title":"How Useful Is the Christian Theology of Religions? Critical Questions from a Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology Perspective","authors":"Henning Wrogemann","doi":"10.3390/rel15080907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080907","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution to the literature regarding the Christian theology of religions presents a critical view from the outside, a meta-reflection primarily from a religious studies perspective considering the conditions and contexts of academic theology on the one hand, and lived interreligious relationships on the other, which are all-too-easily ignored in works of the theology of religions. First, some newer approaches to the theology of religions will be mentioned before critical questions will be addressed from a religious studies perspective. These are observations in discourse theory, the sociology of religion, religious economics and spatial theory. This is followed by observations from the perspective of intercultural theology, which examine approaches to the theology of religions with regard to phenomena within the Pentecostal movement, discursive constellations in Muslim majority societies and cultural–religious aspects within Indian society. Finally, the “theology of interreligious relations” will be proposed as a corrective to the shortcomings of the ordinary theology of religions.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"60 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141798999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper examines Richard Jefferies’ contribution to the study of nature mysticism. I argue that the study of nature mysticism can be utilized as a valuable source of insight to cultivate a more ecocentric response to the ecological crisis. Historically, the study of mysticism in the West has been shaped by a monotheistic bias that tends to marginalize the teachings of nature mystics. I seek to redress this lacuna in the field by calling attention to the understudied teachings of the English mystic and author, Richard Jefferies. I claim that Jefferies’ spiritual autobiography, The Story of My Heart ([1883] 2014) presents a compelling vision of nature mysticism that challenges the reader to reflect critically on conventional understandings of God, body, and time/being. Most significantly, I argue that Jefferies concept of “soul-life” can be interpreted as an ontological category characterized by an intellectual and moral sensitivity towards the wonders of nature. Jefferies believed that the cultivation of soul-life is transformative and key to unlocking the full potential of our relationship to the earth and each other.
{"title":"Soul-Life: Richard Jefferies’ Mystical Vision of Nature","authors":"Jason Kelly","doi":"10.3390/rel15080910","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080910","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines Richard Jefferies’ contribution to the study of nature mysticism. I argue that the study of nature mysticism can be utilized as a valuable source of insight to cultivate a more ecocentric response to the ecological crisis. Historically, the study of mysticism in the West has been shaped by a monotheistic bias that tends to marginalize the teachings of nature mystics. I seek to redress this lacuna in the field by calling attention to the understudied teachings of the English mystic and author, Richard Jefferies. I claim that Jefferies’ spiritual autobiography, The Story of My Heart ([1883] 2014) presents a compelling vision of nature mysticism that challenges the reader to reflect critically on conventional understandings of God, body, and time/being. Most significantly, I argue that Jefferies concept of “soul-life” can be interpreted as an ontological category characterized by an intellectual and moral sensitivity towards the wonders of nature. Jefferies believed that the cultivation of soul-life is transformative and key to unlocking the full potential of our relationship to the earth and each other.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"7 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141799164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Transhumanism presents a view of human progress by transcending the human, regarding finitude and suffering to be fundamental problems that must be overcome by radical bioenhancement technologies. Recent theologians have compared Christianity and transhumanism as competing deifications via grace and technology, respectively. Ron Cole-Turner is a cautious yet optimistic interpreter of the relationship between Christian deification and transhumanism, regarding them, on the one hand, to be incompatible based on self-centeredness vs. kenosis, while on the other hand, they can be compatible through a robust theology of creation and transfiguration such that creative human efforts via technology will be an active agent in transforming the world in glory. In this way, Christian transhumanism offers a vision of human progress in deification that transfigures creation through technology. In this paper, I challenge this proposal. I wish to show how transhumanism in any stripe, whether secular, Christian, or other, is fundamentally incompatible with Christian deification for two reasons: (1) incompatible views of progress and (2) incompatible views of human agency in deification. I will address each in turn. I then propose that human progress is infinite growth in the love of Christ. Finally, I suggest how a view of human agency affects how we think about suffering as a means to human progress.
超人类主义提出了一种通过超越人类来实现人类进步的观点，认为有限性和痛苦是必须通过激进的生物增强技术来克服的根本问题。近期的神学家将基督教和超人类主义分别比作通过恩典和技术进行的相互竞争的神化。罗恩-科尔-特纳（Ron Cole-Turner）对基督教神化与超人类主义之间的关系做出了谨慎而又乐观的解释，认为两者一方面基于自我中心（self-centeredness）与神化（kenosis）而互不相容，但另一方面，两者可以通过强有力的创造与变形神学（theology of creation and transfiguration）而相容，这样，人类通过技术所做出的创造性努力将成为在荣耀中改变世界的积极力量。这样，基督教超人类主义就为人类在神化中的进步提供了一种愿景，即通过技术改变创造。在本文中，我将对这一提议提出质疑。我想说明，无论是世俗的、基督教的还是其他的超人类主义，从根本上说都与基督教的神化不相容，原因有二：（1）对进步的看法不相容；（2）对神化中的人的能动性的看法不相容。我将逐一论述。然后，我提出，人类的进步就是在基督的爱中无限成长。最后，我提出人类能动性的观点如何影响我们对苦难作为人类进步手段的思考。
{"title":"The Pilgrim’s Progress or Regress? The Case of Transhumanism and Deification","authors":"Kimbell Kornu","doi":"10.3390/rel15080904","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080904","url":null,"abstract":"Transhumanism presents a view of human progress by transcending the human, regarding finitude and suffering to be fundamental problems that must be overcome by radical bioenhancement technologies. Recent theologians have compared Christianity and transhumanism as competing deifications via grace and technology, respectively. Ron Cole-Turner is a cautious yet optimistic interpreter of the relationship between Christian deification and transhumanism, regarding them, on the one hand, to be incompatible based on self-centeredness vs. kenosis, while on the other hand, they can be compatible through a robust theology of creation and transfiguration such that creative human efforts via technology will be an active agent in transforming the world in glory. In this way, Christian transhumanism offers a vision of human progress in deification that transfigures creation through technology. In this paper, I challenge this proposal. I wish to show how transhumanism in any stripe, whether secular, Christian, or other, is fundamentally incompatible with Christian deification for two reasons: (1) incompatible views of progress and (2) incompatible views of human agency in deification. I will address each in turn. I then propose that human progress is infinite growth in the love of Christ. Finally, I suggest how a view of human agency affects how we think about suffering as a means to human progress.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141801064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article investigates the Sanskrit hymn, ´Srī Gurugītā, from a scholarly, scriptural, historical, and ethnographic standpoint. Mystical yogic concepts such as chaitanya-shabda (Consciousness–sound) and shravana samadhi (absorption through reading or listening to holy texts) are introduced in the context of Gurugītā recitation. The history of diverse lineages that practice Gurugītā recitation and several historical dimensions of svadhyaya (long-text chanting) and namasankirtana (short chants) are briefly introduced, and the works of Jeremy Morse and Antonio Rigopoulos are closely considered. This article deals with the significant elements of yogic awakening referenced within the Gurugītā text and the goal of liberation cited therein. Many scholars have researched Hinduism, Tantra, Bhakti yoga, and devotion. This article investigates musical devotion in the context of yogic communities dedicated to Gurugītā recitation with the aim of experiencing the inner Self. The democratization and dissemination of this practice have global dimensions.
{"title":"’Srī Gurugītā: A Sanskrit Devotional Text and Musical Yogic Practice","authors":"B. Heimarck","doi":"10.3390/rel15080894","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080894","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the Sanskrit hymn, ´Srī Gurugītā, from a scholarly, scriptural, historical, and ethnographic standpoint. Mystical yogic concepts such as chaitanya-shabda (Consciousness–sound) and shravana samadhi (absorption through reading or listening to holy texts) are introduced in the context of Gurugītā recitation. The history of diverse lineages that practice Gurugītā recitation and several historical dimensions of svadhyaya (long-text chanting) and namasankirtana (short chants) are briefly introduced, and the works of Jeremy Morse and Antonio Rigopoulos are closely considered. This article deals with the significant elements of yogic awakening referenced within the Gurugītā text and the goal of liberation cited therein. Many scholars have researched Hinduism, Tantra, Bhakti yoga, and devotion. This article investigates musical devotion in the context of yogic communities dedicated to Gurugītā recitation with the aim of experiencing the inner Self. The democratization and dissemination of this practice have global dimensions.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"21 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141803253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines church–state relations in the early period of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by scrutinising the thoughts and the administration of Chao Tzu-chen—a prominent Chinese Christian leader—at Yenching University’s School of Religion and its successor organisation. This article largely relies on the archives of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, delving into Chao’s psychological conflicts and the role of the Anglican churches in Chao’s plan for the separation of the School of Religion from the university. It argues that Chao Tzu-chen’s self-contradictions in his public versus private expressions after 1949 signify his disillusionment in fostering the convergence between Christianity and Communism, as demonstrated in his dilemma regarding church–state relations. Although Chao tried to adapt to the new political order by urging Chinese churches to offer practical and concrete social services, he continued his independent, critical theological reflections on the indigenisation of Christianity, as reflected in his private portrayal of the incompatibility between Christianity and Communism, and in his close connection with foreign churches in his fund-raising campaign. Moreover, apart from highlighting the importance of the Hong Kong Anglican church in financially supporting the Yenching School of Religion, this article seeks to contribute to academic research of Chinese higher education in the 1950s through examining how the Chinese Communist Party’s remolding of the School put an end to the emerging public sphere of a civil society. It reveals that this liberal Christian institute, which lost its control over curriculum design and the right to accept foreign funds, was quickly converted into a government-funded, socialist theological college in service of two masters: the Party and the Church.
{"title":"A Caged Bird in a Communist Pavilion: Chao Tzu-chen and the Remolding of Yenching University’s School of Religion, 1949–1951","authors":"P. Law","doi":"10.3390/rel15080898","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080898","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines church–state relations in the early period of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by scrutinising the thoughts and the administration of Chao Tzu-chen—a prominent Chinese Christian leader—at Yenching University’s School of Religion and its successor organisation. This article largely relies on the archives of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, delving into Chao’s psychological conflicts and the role of the Anglican churches in Chao’s plan for the separation of the School of Religion from the university. It argues that Chao Tzu-chen’s self-contradictions in his public versus private expressions after 1949 signify his disillusionment in fostering the convergence between Christianity and Communism, as demonstrated in his dilemma regarding church–state relations. Although Chao tried to adapt to the new political order by urging Chinese churches to offer practical and concrete social services, he continued his independent, critical theological reflections on the indigenisation of Christianity, as reflected in his private portrayal of the incompatibility between Christianity and Communism, and in his close connection with foreign churches in his fund-raising campaign. Moreover, apart from highlighting the importance of the Hong Kong Anglican church in financially supporting the Yenching School of Religion, this article seeks to contribute to academic research of Chinese higher education in the 1950s through examining how the Chinese Communist Party’s remolding of the School put an end to the emerging public sphere of a civil society. It reveals that this liberal Christian institute, which lost its control over curriculum design and the right to accept foreign funds, was quickly converted into a government-funded, socialist theological college in service of two masters: the Party and the Church.","PeriodicalId":505829,"journal":{"name":"Religions","volume":"53 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141803951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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