The end of Jesus' mission and the honor of God in the Qur'an: the search for common ground between Muslims and Christians

Jesus is important for both Muslims and Christians, and this has led some in both groups to search for common ground concerning him. Nevertheless, two important points of disagreement concern the Christian claims that Jesus is the Son of God, and that Jesus was put to death on the cross. The present article focuses on the last point, noting four key qur'anic passages (Q 3.55; 4.157–8; 5.117; and 19.33). Muslim commentators have mostly denied the historical aspect of Jesus' crucifixion, advocating some version of a substitutionist theory whereby the Jews crucified someone other than Jesus, while Jesus himself was taken alive by God into heaven. Muslim–Christian dialogue on this issue remains problematic. The present article encourages mutual exploration of a theological dimension of the end of Jesus' mission, that of the honor of God. Both Muslims and Christians affirm that God maintained his honor by thwarting the Jews' attempt to get rid of Jesus. The usual Muslim belief is that God rescued him alive to heaven before the crucifixion, while the Christian understanding is that God vindicated Jesus through the resurrection and ascension. Similar views of God's honor through his intervention regarding Jesus can contribute to positive Muslim–Christian dialogue.1 An abbreviated form of this paper was delivered at the International Symposium on Qur'an and Contemporary Issues at the University of Nairobi, 5 June 2011.      

The construction of religious and cultural meaning in Egyptian psychiatric patient charts

The late antique world was particularly conscious of malevolent supernatural power constantly laying in wait to attack and enslave humans. Demons incited vices; they could persuade both their unsuspected and suspected victims to venerate them, and to persecute Christians, and to feel an overwhelming attachment to material things. However, what demons seemed to enjoy the most was taking total control by retiring into a human soul. Today our Western civilisation would not easily recognise anti-social behaviour, mental disorder and a strange illness as signs of demon possession, as it was often the case in late antiquity. Christian ascetics and monks were generally considered a very powerful antidote to demonic possession and they managed to enhance their power and to build great reputations, and attract considerable numbers of admirers (even from the upper classes) and converts to Christianity by successfully handling demons.     

Existential and religious issues when admitted to hospital in a secular society: Patterns of change

Situated in a secular culture, this study examined the relationship between four dimensions of health and a number of existential, religious, and spiritual/religious practice variables in questionnaires sampled from 480 Danish hospital patients. Illness dimensions were: self-rated health, severity of illness, illness duration, and recent changes in illness. The results indicated the youngest age group (<36 years) to be the most active on all existence/religious/practice variables. Small overall correlations were found between the illness dimensions and existential/religious/practice variables, but results had underlying complex patterns. The dimension of severity of illness showed the most consistent results in the expected direction: the worse the illness, the more existential/religious/practice activity, but very different patterns were found for men and women. Men generally had low levels of existential/religious/practice issues, when illness was not severe, but levels heightened when illness turned worse. The opposite was the case for women who had overall higher levels, when illness was not severe, but unexpectedly lost interest and activity when the illness grew worse, especially regarding the religious faith variables. When illness turned to the better, women (re)gained religious faith. The illness duration of 1–3 months showed to be the most sensitive period for the existential/religious/practice variables involved. The patients’ experience of change in existential/religious/practice issues and the actual measured change pattern did not always follow each other. The findings might contribute to clinical reflection and planning in health care settings in secular societies like in Scandinavia.     

“There's a deeper level of meaning as to what suffering's all about”: experiences of religious and spiritual growth following trauma

Some survivors of trauma report experiencing beneficial changes in self-perception, relationships, and philosophy of life, and positive changes in the realm of existential, spiritual, or religious matters. The purpose of the present study was to examine participants’ phenomenological experiences of spiritual and religious posttraumatic growth (PTG). Transcribed data from semi-structured interviews with 10 women, self-identified as Christian, who had experienced spiritual or religious growth following various trauma were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results indicated how religion provided a framework that assisted participants to incorporate life changes, and to find meaning in their suffering. The most salient themes identified in relation to religious and spiritual PTG included: process of spiritual and religious growth, strengthening of religious and spiritual beliefs, and personal and spiritual growth and healing. Participants’ trauma and associated distress prompted a process of questioning and meaning-making that facilitated deeply experienced personal and spiritual growth, and was related to intrinsic religiosity.     

Much Ado About Something: An Ethic of the Common Good for Information Technology

As the culture of information technology grows and with it the exacerbation of associated problems, so does the body of literature that seeks to reflect on its impact and prospects. The advancements in information technology tend to be outpacing critical reflection and solid ethical analysis. The quality of the foundational ethical work done in information technology ethics has been inadequate, consisting of applied ethics or an appeal to law. This article considers how the richer perspective—the common good, as expressed through the lens of the Roman Catholic Church—can serve as a hermeneutic in the field of information technology ethics, offering a more substantial foundation to address pressing controversial issues associated with this burgeoning field and function as a guide for future developments in this industry. The common good can supplement the operative ways of appealing to law and business ethics to address crime and abuse associated with the World Wide Web with a specifically Roman Catholic paradigm and, in turn, offer a broader and richer appreciation of the societal-wide context that information technology impacts.     

Transhumanism and Roman Catholicism: Imagined and Real Tensions

Abstract

Transhumanists have asserted that religious people would both oppose life extension and allowing people with extended lives to die. In this paper, coming from a Roman Catholic perspective, I refute four myths associated with these claims: that the Church materially opposes life extension, that it conceptually opposes the very idea of life extension, that it opposes human genetic manipulation, and that it opposes letting people die in hospitals. I then propose that there are four real tensions that are much more significant: that material immortality is highly improbable, that injustice and inequality are major concerns, that transhuman omnipotence is impossible, and that utopianism is extremely dangerous.     

A Geneticist Responds

The theory of evolution challenges the traditional temporal pattern of creation, fall, and restoration that lies behind Christian soteriology. This paper explores the possibility of interpreting soteriology without tying it to this temporal pattern. To do so, it examines how salvation is presented in John Wesley's theology to see whether his soteriological concerns can be maintained when the temporal pattern is broken. Certain features of his theology allow a reconception of salvation in light of humans as having evolved to be biocultural.     

Issues in Sino-Christian theology

ABSTRACT

Sino-Christian theology is a relatively recent phenomenon in China, largely pursued in university settings by scholars many of whom are not Christian or are ‘cultural Christians’. It is set apart from the churches in China, and is deeply rooted in classical Chinese, Taoist and Confucian, roots. As Sino-Christian theology seeks contextualisation in contemporary Chinese culture, it begs many questions as to the nature of theology when this becomes a cultural rather than an ecclesial exercise.     

The World Council of Churches and churches in China: partnerships and diaconia

ABSTRACT

Between 1956 and 1991, Chinese church leaders, and Protestant churches active from the formation of the World Council of Churches, experienced a dramatic break in their relations with the international ecumenical movement. This paper will focus on the ecumenical relations between the WCC and the churches in China after 1978, when reforms and the opening up of the country under Deng Xiaoping provided new opportunities for the renewal of ties. The China Christian Council resumed its official ties with WCC in 1991 but between 1978 and 1991, new expressions and new modes of ecumenical relations had already emerged. Central to these ties were the upholding of the Three-Self Principles and the practice of the ‘ecumenical sharing of resources’ influenced by the outcome of the WCC’s El Escorial meeting (1987). These ‘post-colonial’ partnerships contributed substantially to making Christianity better appreciated in China and were important channels for the practice of ecumenism in a rapidly transforming China.     

Blogging while gay and Christian: Andrew Sullivan and the production of the religious,secular, and sexual

This article examines blogger and political pundit Andrew Sullivan's performance of gay Christian identity through his weblog, The Dish. Through a reading of the repetitive and collaborative nature of The Dish as a medium of cultural production, I argue that Sullivan's gay Christian performance is made legible by how the religious and secular are articulated and negotiated through the site of the body in American culture. Sullivan's performance both reproduces and resists religious and secular normativities while at the same time produces a singular identity with distinct political and social advantages. Among other advantages, examining how the religious and secular are articulated through everyday discourse and embodied performance exposes some of the political investments in this articulation and provides a space to consider the stakes of scholars' own investments in ‘secular’ knowledge.