Pentecostal Mission: A German Free Church Perspective

The Pentecostal movement is growing worldwide. This applies both globally and to the German context. Pentecostal mission, therefore, plays an increasingly important role – a role that is also reflected in new networks and institutions emerging in Germany. As Pentecostal churches increase in importance, their ecumenical relationships are also moving into focus. The reproach of prosyletism arises repeatedly at the intersection of mission and ecumenism in ecumenical discussions. This article illustrates the development of ecumenical relations in Pentecostal churches in Germany from a Free Church perspective, viewing ecumenical challenges and opportunities in relation to approaches of church theory.     

The Future of Multilateral Ecumenical Dialogue

This article offers an overview of work undertaken in multilateral ecumenical dialogue, as it has been conducted at the international level by the commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC), to clarify the issues discussed in this dialogue and the methods used. In particular, the article analyzes the statements on unity made at various WCC assemblies. While they demonstrate a certain continuity regarding the key points of church unity they identify, they clearly mark a shift in the overall understanding of how unity is conceived. The second part of the article examines the current ecumenical situation and its importance for this dialogue, to show how Faith and Order has responded and what further progress in multilateral dialogue might look like.     

The Imperative of Diakonia for the Church and Theological Education

This article begins by arguing that diakonia is an imperative for the church, be it at the local, national, regional, or global level. It goes on to describe how diakonia has been part of the identity of the World Council of Churches during its 70 years of existence, and highlights the struggle of diakonia and development within the fellowship and ecumenical partners. The article focuses on the document Called to Transformative Action: Ecumenical Diakonia as the most recent attempt to reflect on who we are and what we do as church. It identifies one important aspect of diakonia as reflected in the Pan‐African Women's Ecumenical Empowerment Network perspective on theological education. The article concludes by reflecting on the author's vision for a just community of women and men in prophetic diakonia.     

Examination of the Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale among Adults Using Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory1, 2

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has impaired every aspect of life, especially causing much psychological damage—for instance, increasing the risk of suicide. Intense fear and anxiety are considered to play a central role in mental health problems. This study examined the psychological properties of the Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) using classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT). Five hundred fifty participants aged 18–69 years and from across Japan completed questionnaires, including the Japanese FCV-19S, the Japanese Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-15 (DASS-15), and the Japanese version of the Kessler 6 (K6). CTT showed that each item of the Japanese FCV-19S had no ceiling and floor effect and was close to the normal distribution, and IRT revealed that each item had an appropriate parameter of discrimination and difficulty. Finally, the Japanese FCV-19S was shown to have an acceptable reliability and moderate good concurrent validity. Consequently, the Japanese FCV-19S has robust psychometric properties and can be useful for early detection of adults impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.     

The Networking of Differences That Makes a Difference: Theology and the Unity of the Church

Abstract : What does the church mean when it confesses through the Creeds its oneness? My aim is to reflect on how and why theology needs to bring to the fore a hidden dimension in the discourse on the unity of the church, that is, its tendency to fall into a “solid” and “totalizing” disciplinary technology, i.e., an ideology. I will approach the theme following these basic theological pointers: (a) a biblical primary symbol as it emerges to unveil a new existence and practice—Paul's metaphor of the body in 1 Corinthians 12; (b) a secondary symbol through which the church understood itself to be lodged—the trinitarian understanding of being as a communicative relationship; (c) the regulative principle of law and promise as guiding a discursive practice that supports different levels of decentering and centering that signals a breakthrough of the eschaton—Luther's understanding of law and gospel. These overlapping theological dimensions allow a different metaphorization of the oneness and unity of the church.     

The Fortieth Anniversary of Women's Ordination in the Lutheran Church

Abstract : This article offers a perspective on the present and future roles of women in the ELCA. It gives some analysis of women's roles in the trend of declining traditional congregations and rising megachurches while imagining the role of clergywomen in the church's next forty years as new models of ministry emerge.     

Mercy as the essence of the Gospel: key themes in Walter Kasper and in the ministry of Pope Francis

This article explores two books by Walter, Cardinal Kasper, who brings to the task wisdom and experience drawn from his ministries as Professor of Theology, Bishop and President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. His major study explores mercy as the essence of the divine, engaging with biblical studies, philosophy, and systematic theology as he lays the foundation for this radical focus. In the second volume, Cardinal Kasper offers a perceptive account of the theological and pastoral perspectives of the ministry of Pope Francis. He characterises the theological approach as kerygmatic, an identification which applies also to his own approach to theology. There is a coincidence of themes and concerns evident in the two studies. Pope Francis has designated 2016 as a Year of Mercy. This article emphasises the importance of this focus on mercy for ecumenical discussion, explores the ecclesiology which results from it and examines the ecumenical implications and opportunities afforded by the Year of Mercy and the 2017 celebration of Martin Luther’s 95 theses with their focus on the question, ‘How may we find a merciful God?’     

Similar minds in the family: COVID-19 centrality and relationship quality

We examined whether perceived similarity in COVID-19 centrality (i.e., the extent to which one thinks of the pandemic as shaping current and future life) is associated with family relationship quality during the pandemic. Thinking that other family members are similar to oneself regarding the pandemic's centrality may improve the quality of family relationships. We collected data from Turkish family triads (i.e., mother, father, 18–25 years old child) and had 481 participants from 180 families. Participants rated their similarity in COVID-19 centrality with the other two family members and reported the general and daily quality of their relationship with them (relationship satisfaction, closeness, conflict). We analyzed the data using the Social Relations Model. We found that family members who, on average, perceived more similarity in COVID-19 centrality reported higher levels in positive attributes of general relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction and closeness). The effects on conflict and daily relationship quality were less conclusive. This research confirms that family members' reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic are interdependent. Perceiving that other family members are of similar minds about the centrality of the pandemic relates positively to some aspects of relationship quality.     

释“易，所以会天道人道者也”

《郭店楚简·语丛》"易,所以会天道、人道者也",大概是现存最早和最明确表达"天人合一"思想的命题。《易》的"所以会天道、人道",表明"天"、"人"之间的关系实为一内在关系,二者是不离相即的,而西方哲学则以"外在关系"立论。《周易》是中国最古老探讨"所以会天道、人道"的经典。     

Relational Ethics of Globalization under the COVID-19 Pandemic

Globalization has been going on for a long process, although controversial, never stopping the pace of development. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 which profoundly changed human society and human life, globalization has been facing unprecedented resistance and challenges. Returning to various debates on globalization ethics, analyzing various problems that occur in the process of globalization development, this article starts from relational ethics, aiming to demonstrate the rationality of the sustainable development of globalization in the post-pandemic era. It will argue that although globalization will have new forms and contents under the new situation, the overall trend will not be reversed. It stresses the significance and urgency to explore the discourse construction of the human community with a shared future and the relational ethics of globalization in the post-pandemic era from the perspectives of history, reality, and methodology.     

The psychological benefit of future vividness in goal persistence: An illustrative case of the class of 2020 before & during COVID-19

Graduating during COVID-19, the Class of 2020 had difficulty pursuing their future goals. This research examined the likelihood of academic and career goal change early in the pandemic, disparities in persistence by socioeconomic status (SES), and how psychological resources mitigated goal change during the early stages of the pandemic. This 4-year study surveyed students in the Class of 2020 eight times from their first week in college (Fall 2016) to their last semester before graduation (Spring 2020; N = 115; 20% below middle SES, 80% middle SES or above). Even in the first weeks of COVID-19, a quarter of students changed goals. Lower SES students were less likely to persist in their post-graduation plans. Nevertheless, students who entered college with a vivid image of their future were more likely to have secured a graduate school or job prospect prior to COVID-19, and, in turn, were less likely to change goals.     

《黄帝内经》中的易学象数学--兼论医、《易》思维理路之异同

<黄帝内经>中有丰富的<易>学象数学内容.<内经>吸纳<易>学的"三才"之道,作为其理论建构的基础,蕴含着天人同构、天人之气相通的"天人合一"理念.天人相应是通过动态的阴阳的消息、四时的更替、五行的运转、八风的常正转换、及五运六气的运行来具体展现的.医、<易>皆注重"时"的作用,但<内经>更注重五行之间的生克制化,而<易>则更重阴阳之间的对待与流行.<内经>理论与八卦"卦气"说有内在的联系.医、<易>皆注重天人合一,但前者更注重人与天的自然的合一,注重天地自然对人的生理病理的影响,而后者注重本天道以立人道,开天文以立人文,充满着浓郁的人文关怀.两种"天人合一"的思维理路非但没有根本的矛盾,而且具有内在的联系.人类可以同时追求人与天的自然的与人文的合一.     

易道:中国古代文论的哲学基础

《周易》是中国文化的宝贵遗产,它影响了中国文化的诸多方面。《周易》中的天人合一、阴阳互动、通变致久理论,为中国古代文论的主要哲学基础。     

论先秦法家的人性理论与领导心理思想

先秦法家对人性认识的基本点是“性本恶”。其思想内容有 :人的需要是推动其行为发展的动力 ,是管理的出发点 ;在追求满足个人欲望的时候 ,人们会违背礼仪和伦常 ;人的欲望是多种多样的 ,而对利益的追求是根本的驱动力和唯一目的 ;人性的善或恶是可以诱导的 ,管理者如何倡导是关键。法家将法、术、势结合起来 ,三位一体 ,形成了法家独有领导心理思想 ,并认为只有善于运用法、术、势的人 ,才可能成为理想的管理者“明君     

The Dialectic Relationship Between the Shared Values of Humanity and a Human Community with a Shared Future

General Secretary Xi Jinping deeply grasps the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and great changes in the world unseen in a hundred years, and forms the important thought of carrying forward the shared values of humanity of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom and promoting the building of a human community with a shared future. The shared values of humanity provide value basis for the community, confirm the morality of the community, and lay the foundation of value recognition for building the community. A human community with a shared future is the practice area for the shared values of humanity, providing it with a real subject and delimiting the boundaries of the times. The shared values of humanity and a human community with a shared future complement each other, and are dialectically unified in the planning and grasp of the “two overall situations,” i.e., the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and great changes in the world unseen in a century．     

行动识别理论

本文介绍Vallacher和Wegner提出的“行动识别理论”。文章结合实验围绕人们行动识别的特点与原则、行动识别与行动的交互作用、决定行动识别水平的因素以及行动识别水平的个体差异和高水平行动识别者与低水平行动识别者的不同行动风格展开介绍。这些研究不仅有其对认知与行动之间关系作科学探索的理论价值,而且对人们更好地实现目标而进行日常行为管理也有着重要的启示意义。     

The reception of Otto and Das Heilige in Japan: in and outside the phenomenology of religion

ABSTRACT

In Japan, Rudolf Otto is commonly identified as a precursor of the phenomenology of religion, claiming the sui generis nature of religion. However, the first Japanese translation of Das Heilige was published in 1927, far before the reception of the phenomenology of religion. This article divides the history of the reception of Das Heilige into three periods: before, during and after the heyday of the phenomenology of religion. It also examines both academic and lay receptions of Otto’s work, considering that its paperback version has sold over 53,000 copies. Its major findings are scholars of religion in the pre-war period framed Das Heilige according to a hierarchical dichotomy of the East and the West; post-war, phenomenological scholars empathetically interpreted the work, rejecting this ideological dichotomy; younger scholars have recently attempted more history-conscious, critical analyses; and, largely ‘non-religious’ general readers viewed it as a classic of Western thought, without being disturbed by its claim of Christian superiority.     

中英文《圣经》翻译中本体论和人性论的文化差异

文化不仅是一个民族、国家、地区人民的生存方式,而且也是他们的思维甚至审美的模式。不同文化自有不同的思维,即使是对同一事物,同一理论,在翻译挪用中,也会留下各自不同的印记而同它的模式保持蛛丝马迹的联系。当圣经被译为不同文字,而与不同国度的社会信仰熔铸在一起的时候,同样表现出各自思维的特色或者说文化的特征。圣经中英文本在本体论上道与word,人性论上罪与sin翻译的不同,同样是文化差异的具体表现。     

Begging what is at issue in the argument

This paper objects to treating begging the question as circular reasoning. It argues that what is at issue in the argument is not to be confused with the claim or position that the arguer is adopting, and that logicians from Aristotle on give the wrong definition and have difficulty making sense of the fallacy because they try to define it in terms of how an argument is defined by logical theory - as a sequence consisting of premises followed by a conclusion. That the problematic about begging the question depends on treating an argument as a context-less sequence of statements seems to be anticipated by the pragma-dialectical approach. The paper offers a critique of this dialogical approach, as exemplified by Douglas Walton in his recent book on begging the question, on the grounds that it raises more problems than it solves. It concludes with the suggestion that what is really at issue in discussions of begging the question is the need for a theory of fallacy.