THE CRISIS OF HISTORICISM: AND THE PROBLEM OF HISTORICAL MEANING IN NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES

The rapid rise of varieties of historicism in Germany, during the mid‐ to late‐nineteenth century, and subsequently in England and America, resulted in a radical transformation of the principles of coherence and methods of analysis within biblical studies. 1 This paper will argue that the foundational ‘subject/object’ metaphysics of historicism has been subverted over the past century. For this reason, historical positivism should no longer be accorded the status of ‘normative paradigm’ and ‘gatekeeper’ over and against other interpretive approaches. This paper next lays out five principles for a renewed practice of historical inquiry. It argues, first, that historical inquiry continues to serve a vital function within biblical studies in its ability to call attention to historical difference, and, thereby, to contribute to a strategy of resistance to ideology and to totalizing theories; second, that the traditional appeal to historical ‘context’ and ‘author’ in the interpretation of texts continues to be a useful practice – despite the provisional and constructed nature of both – as a way of taking into account extra‐lingual reference and of avoiding presentism; third, that the substitution of new ‘grand narratives’ of Christian origins in place of the (quasi‐theological) ‘historical’ narrative of traditional Christianity – under the claim of historical objectivity – should be abandoned because the very concept of ‘origins’ is the result of a literalizing of a metaphor. Such totalizing narratives always reduce history's inherent polycentricism. Fourth, I will argue that the continued use of historicism in the antiquarian attempt to reconstruct the past, disconnected from both a quest for social justice and a desire for personal self‐creation, represents a form of thought that alienates scholars from themselves and from their real material contexts. Finally, and following on the previous point, this paper submits that the practice of historical analysis has an ethical dimension by virtue of the fact that the personhood of the biblical historian is indissolubly linked to other dimensions of life including the social and ethical aspects of life. These added dimensions complicate the making of choices, which is implicit within all practices of interpretation. These five principles are here suggested as points of departure for the reconceptualization of the scope and function of historical inquiry within the discipline of New Testament studies.     

RECENT BOOKS IN…NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES

Exploring the Gospel of John: Essays in Honor of D. Moody Smith , R. Alan Culpepper and C. Clifton Black (eds) Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Writings , Majella Franzmann, T. & T. Clark Renewal through Suffering: A Study of II Corinthians , A. E. Harvey, T. & T. Clark The Social Ethos of the Corinthian Correspondence: Interests and Ideology from I Corinthians to I Clement , David G. Horrell, T. & T. Clark Jesus Matters: 150 Years of Research , C. J. den Heyer Who Did Jesus Think He Was? , J. C. O'Neill, E. J. Brill Scripture and Discernment: Decision Making in the Church , Luke T. Johnson The Human Condition: Anthropology in the Teachings of Jesus , Paul and John, Udo Schnelle, T. & T. Clark     

THE NEW EVANGELIZATION IN AN ECCLESIOLOGICAL CONTEXT

This paper will seek to explore some of the implications of the new evangelization from an ecclesiological perspective. A key question is, what is an appropriate ecclesiological context for the new evangelization? Any conclusions or recommendations about how to respond and contextualize the new evangelization need to be grounded in an appropriate ecclesiology; one that sits well with contemporary Catholic scholarship, especially in light of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. Following Dulles, no single approach to ecclesiology can fully explain the complex nature of the Church. Taking the ecclesiology of Lumen Gentium as a departure point a number of perspectives will be addressed, but an argument will be made for understanding the new evangelization within an ecclesiology of communion and of discipleship.     

面临着新时期的我国心理学

随着我国的社会主义革命和社会主义建设进入了一个新的历史发展时期,我国的科学文化也将要进入一个崭新的光辉灿烂的繁荣发展时期。我们的心理学面临着这样一个伟大的新时期,应该怎么办呢?我想就我们心理学会在粉碎了“四人帮”之后举行第一个具有继往开来意义的年会的时候,对这个问题讲一些个人不成熟的看法,提供同志们参考、讨论并请指正。 华国锋同志向我们指出:“‘四人帮’的垮台标志着我国第一次无产阶级文化大革     

NATURALIZING TRANSCENDENCE IN THE NEW COSMOLOGIES OF EMERGENCE

Abstract. Recent discourse on emergence within the natural sciences offers a superior alternative to traditional notions of transcendence. Emergence is a term of common parlance in the natural sciences. It designates moments when various systems develop an internal dynamic that generates an entirely new level of complexity, a qualitatively different mode of existence that cannot simply be reduced to its constituent parts. To the natural scientist, emergence is an expression of transcendence without reference to final causality or central organizing principle. Autopoietic emergence is more congruent with contemporary understandings of the universe than the traditional anthropomorphizing concept of teleological design. In this article I offer both an interpretation of emergence as a new category for the interpretation of divinity and an explanation for traditional anthropomorphism rooted in contemporary cognitive sciences.     

中国心理学史研究的新进展

新开拓的一个分支学科——中国心理学史已经宣告建立。它填补了世界心理学史的一项重大空白,为国内外心理学界所瞩目。它正朝着纵深的方向发展:研究对象和指导思想更加明确,划清了一些基本的界限;基本范畴与术语的研究更加深入,整理出了一套中国古代心理学思想的范畴体系;开展了中西比较研究,更有说服力地确立了中国古代心理学思想的历史地位;建立和发展了国际学术联系,扩大了中国心理学的影响。