Scriptures

Explores definitions, distinctions, and contexts key to understanding the concept of moral injury, and provides abstracts of the other essays in the book. I've decided to upload the full version as it is already available via Google Books' preview.

This study explores ways in which women are being unfairly treated in some selected religions as a result of menstrual flow. The work showed that in spite of scientific explanation on menstrual flow, some religions still see it as a curse and consequently tagged women unclean during this period. Therefore, for the purpose of clarity, the work specifically focused on Celestial church of Christ and Cherubim and Seraphim church position. For women, menstrual blood is accepted as a fact of womanhood and God given, but our society has seen it as an obstacle to spiritual growth, causing disdain for church practices, which to the present day is seen as a way of emphasizing patriarchal ideologies. Also it was noted that since Jesus Christ was not rendered impure by the woman with the issue of blood, it therefore means that menstrual blood could not have been the cause of unanswered prayers in churches that believed otherwise. After all, men too have periods of ritual impurity and it had never been on record that they were asked to go for spiritual cleansing less being the one responsible for unanswered prayers. Therefore depriving women of space in religious activities as a result of menstrual flow is seen as infringements on women rights and it creates a range of restrictions on her physical mobility that limited her space for action. The work concludes by imploring religious groups particularly Christians to always give correct interpretations and application of the scripture and at the same time to taken into consideration the geographical, cultural and historical situations of that time before any meaningful interpretation can be done.

Keywords: Menstruation, Women, Rights, Cycle, Scripture

Images of books appear in art, advertising and commercial logos to symbolize learning, knowledge and wisdom. In religious and secular rituals around the globe, people carry, show, wave, touch and kiss books and other texts, as well as read them. Such images and rituals utilize the iconic dimension of texts. This volume is the first comprehensive survey of iconic books and texts. It traces their development and influence from ancient to modern times and compares their roles in multiple cultures and religious traditions. The essays presented here are original, cutting-edge contributions to this new academic field, and will appeal to students and scholars across the study of religions, literature, book history, archives and libraries.

Öz: Kutsal kitapların günümüzde hak ettiği değeri görmesi için çeşitli vasıtalarla din adamları, dinlerin mensupları ve dinî kurumlar tarafından vurgu yapıldığı görülmektedir. Bu yollardan biri olarak seçilen film/sinema, görselliğin ön planda olduğu çağımızda kullanışlı ve kıymetli bir araç olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Film, dinî mesajların doğrudan ve/veya dolaylı yollardan bilinçaltına işlenmesi şeklinde kullanılan bir vasıta olmuştur. Albert ve Allen Hughes kardeşlerin yönettiği, ünlü aktör Denzel Washington'ın başrolünü üstlendiği "The Book of Eli" (Tanrı'nın Kitabı) filmi, Hıristiyanlıktaki Tanrı, peygamber, kutsal kitap ve insan anlayışı hakkında önemli bilgiler içermektedir. Film hem Hıristiyanlara kendi kutsal kitaplarına daha fazla değer vermeleri gerektiği fikrini aşılamakta hem de diğer dinlerin müntesiplerine, bu kitabı uygulayan kişilerin dünyayı nasıl yönetebileceği, yani ne kadar önemli bir kitaba sahip oldukları mesajını vermektedir. Bu filmin, kutsal kitap vurgusuyla birlikte verdiği başka mesajlar da vardır. Bunların en önemlileri, eskatolojik, apokaliptik vurgular ile seçilmiş bir elçinin Tanrı tarafından her şartta korunacağı ve mesaj yerine ulaştırılıncaya kadar destekleneceği fikridir. Aynı zamanda filmde arka planda, deizm düşüncesinin aksine, insanları başıboş bırakmayacak bir Tanrı düşüncesi de işlenmektedir. Bu çalışma, mezkûr film örneğinde, filmlerde dinî öğelerin kullanılması, mesajların verilmesi ve kutsal kitapların değerinin vurgulanmasının keyfiyeti hususunda bir analiz yapmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Abstract: It is seen that the holy books are emphasized by religious institutions, clergy or religious people through various means in order to see the value they deserve, as they used to, again today. Film/cinema, chosen as one of these ways, emerges as a useful and valuable tool in our age when visuality is at the forefront. Film/cinema has also been a tool used to convey religious messages both directly and indirectly to the subconscious. "The Book of Eli", directed by brothers Albert and Allen Hughes and starring the famous actor Denzel Washington contains important information about God, the prophet, the holy book, and human understanding in Christianity. The Film both instilled in Christians the idea that they should value their own scriptures more and gave the message to members of other religions about how the people who practice it can rule the world, that is, how important a book they have. This study aims to make an analysis of the use of religious elements in films, how to give messages and to emphasize the value of holy books in the aforementioned film example.

晚明書畫家董其昌(1555-1636)對小楷用功甚深，他積極訪求古代作品作為學習對象，也為之進行品評、建立譜系，對時人及後代造成極大影響。董其昌在此過程中，拈出 了不少原本不受重視或少為人知的古代小楷作品，這些包括一批珍貴的唐人寫經卷，而其中名聲最大、影響最廣的，當屬傳稱為唐代書家鍾紹京所書的《小楷靈飛經》。此作殘本今藏紐約大都會博物館，雖因書法精妙而廣為人知，然學界尚未深入探究今收於同冊的董其昌信札與十餘則明清人題跋。這些資料為瞭解董氏和此作的關係提供了相當重要的線索，也有助釐清董氏的小楷書史觀。本文首先考察《小楷靈飛經》的藏傳經歷及與董其昌的深厚淵源，再擴及董氏對其他唐人寫經作品的收藏、臨仿及品評等活動，最後探究此一系列活動在董其昌的書法事業中的地位，及其對晚明與清代書家的影響，期望能略補過去認識之不足。

In an attempt to improve his grasp of the xiaokai (the small-sized regular) script, the renowned late-Ming calligrapher Dong Qichang (1555-1636) enthusiastically sought out ancient masterpieces for study. Dong especially treasured brushed pieces even if they were by little-known or even anonymous writers (as opposed to engraved reproductions of works by the celebrated masters). He considered the energy and dynamism in the brushwork of these pieces, many of which were Buddhist or Daoist scriptures, as critical keys to unlocking the methods of the ancients. Dong’s ideas and theories about the aesthetics, techniques, and history of the xiaokai script had a signi cant impact on calligraphers of his time and later. Nevertheless, an in-depth study of Dong’s efforts in this area is yet to be done. Lingfei jing (Scripture of Spiritual Flight), attributed to the Tang calligrapher Zhong Shaojing and now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, was one of the most important pieces in the xiaokai script that Dong collected and studied. This paper looks into Dong’s close connection with this piece, his encounters with other similar works, and how they helped shape his ideas about the xiaokai script. Partly due to Dong’s promotion, the Scripture of the Spiritual Flight became greatly popular after the 17th century. This paper ends with an examination of the numerous copies and reproductions of this piece and how the work itself became a synonym for perfection in the xiaokai script.

Ancient rhetorical tradition discussed the possible semantic discrepancy between the written words (scripta) and writer’s intention (voluntas). In the case of such discrepancy, the intended meaning of an author was usually preferred to the lexical/syntactic meaning of a text. The debate about the hermeneutical importance of authorial intention continues in modern hermeneutics. There are those for whom the meaning of a text is isomorphic with authorial intention, and those for whom the meaning of a text is completely independent from authorial intention. In comparison with these extreme positions, Augustine seems to hold a middle ground. He has both hermeneutical and theological reasons for avoiding the one-sided extremes.
Augustine defends the importance of human authorial intention as an undeniable factor not only in the existence of the signa data (i.e., words/sentences as intentional signs), but partially also in the establishment of their meaning(s). Nevertheless, he postulates certain restrictions to the human authorial intention in determining the meaning(s) of scriptural texts. Accordingly, this paper investigates these restrictions or qualifications that Augustine postulates for the acknowledged hermeneutical role of authorial intention. I will argue that, for Augustine, there were primarily two reasons for defending a limited role of (the human) authorial intention in interpretation of the Scriptures.
1. The Scriptures as a double-authored text (i.e., a text authored by God and humans) prevent the human authorial intention from being the ultimate hermeneutical criterion.
2. To equate the human authorial intention with the meaning of a text would tie the meaning of the canonical texts to the past history and may eliminate the possibility of Christological interpretations of the Old Testament.

A word-by-word explanation of the translation of the so-called creation hymn of Rigveda. The translation is very different from traditional ones.

As I demonstrate, the hymn has been completely misunderstood by previous translators.

The hymn has nothing to do with the origin or creation of the Universe. It is in fact, simply a prayer to God.

The Holy Spirit worked in the revelation-inspiration process in the experience of biblical writers and in that of Ellen White. Her concept of the dynamic influence of the Holy Spirit in the inspiration process does not conflict with the notion of the prophet’s freedom of choice.

Часопис објављује критичко издање записа и натписа на меком (књиге) и тврдом материјалу (фреске, натписи, епиграфски споменици) који до сада нису објављивани или су објављени на
некритички начин и без фотографија. Материјал се прикупља са простора средњовековних српских земаља и са територије српског етничког простора, од антике до краја XIX века. Записи
и натписи новог доба (XIX век) се обрађују само ако пружају непознате податке о историјским личностима и догађајима, или су од значаја за историју поједине појаве.  Часопис издају Центар за историјску географију и историјску демографију Филозофског факултета Универзитета у Београду Народни музеј Пожаревац. ISSN 2406 – 2766 COBISS.SR – ID 215293452

The starting question was: What is the historical and theological concept that is covered by the term Scripture? The answer I tried to develop: In accordance with early Jewish tradition (which is reflected also in the writings that later formed the New Testament), Scripture designates the written form of what was finally regarded by a community as a revelation of God with an ongoing meaning. In this sense Scripture is the written deposit of revelation.

Rahu and Ketu were deployed as planetary deities in the sixth century CE immediately after the mathematical theory of eclipses was propounded by Aryabhata. Their literary credentials however go back to early Vedic times. Here our aim is to examine, in a joint mythological and astronomical-astrological (“astronomological”) context, how the textual meanings of Rahu and Ketu have evolved with time. There are clear stages in their evolutionary histories, which must be borne in mind while interpreting early references.

The legend of Rahu shows signs of internal development. Successor to the Rgvedic Svarbhanu, Rahu as eclipse-causing demon was reduced to a body-less head so that the swallowed sun or moon had an escape route. Rahu's identification with the lunar ascending node represents an attempt to connect new scientific developments with traditional beliefs. Ketu, in contrast, was a dictionary word used to denote a variety of  related phenomenon especially comets. The promotion of the head-less body as a demon represents expansion of mythology in the light of new scientific developments. Ketu was now given an additional entirely new role, creating avoidable confusion. Significantly, Ketu's iconography represents efforts at reconciling its two disparate roles.

James Watts uses rhetorical analysis for this detailed exposition of Leviticus 1-10. In dialogue with a wide variety of contemporary scholarship on Leviticus, this commentary also engages the history of the book’s interpretation and the history of Jewish and Christian ritual practices. Leviticus’s rhetoric aimed to persuade ancient Israelites to make offerings to God. It legitimized the monopoly of Aaronide priests over Israel’s offerings and over determining correct ritual practice. The priests in turn established the Torah containing Leviticus as the authoritative text of Israel’s religion. Rhetorical analysis of Leviticus thus leads to new insights into the role of priests in raising the Pentateuch to the status of scripture and in shaping the biblical canon. It also calls attention to the role of ritual rhetoric in the polities of later Jewish and Christian groups, despite the fact that neither religion makes animal offerings as Leviticus 1-10 mandates.

The comparatively late tantric embodiment of so-called Hinduism gives final shape to a conception the germs of which had indeed been present in the Indian religious world from the earliest times on — namely, that religious practices and the attendant prescriptive texts must constantly evolve and adapt under the pressure of the “heaviness of time” (kālagaurava) — by sanctioning in a recurrent strophe the partition of the Scriptures according to the declining world ages (yuga): whereas vedic ritual as laid down in the “Heard” Revelation (śruti) was fit for the Perfect Age, new and less demanding forms of worship, with their corresponding Scriptures, had to be promulgated down the course of time to cater to the failing powers of the human generations: the “Remembered” Codes (smṛti) in the following Age of Triads, then the “Ancient” Lore (purāṇa) in the Age of Duality and finally the “Newcome” Tradition (āgama) in the present Age of Strife. Outside the tantric context, however, the Purāṇas have been regarded as the authoritative Scriptures also for the present age of degeneration, and they have fulfilled their role as custodians and upholders of the living tradition by various strategies aimed at striking a difficult and sometimes precarious balance between conservation and innovation. Indeed, the notion of constant adaptive evolution is built-in in the very name of the Purāṇas, which according to a long-established (para)etymology defines them as “from of old becoming ever new”. This paper will analyze some of the ways the authors of this remarkable class of texts have gone about their wondrous task of making for change while ensuring continuity.

The object of the present essay is to establish the possibility of "theology without anathemas." First, an argument is given for the conclusion that infallible knowledge in matters of theology is not now possible. Both the Protestant doctrine of claritas scripturae and the Roman Catholic understanding of the Magisterium of the Church are rejected. Then, an alternative, "fallibilist" ecclesiology is proposed, according to which (knowingly) to belong to the Church is a matter of (understanding oneself as) having been claimed by Christ as His own. When combined with a universal doctrine of election and a highly objective and actualized doctrine of the Atonement, such a conception of the Church makes it possible to understand theology as a collaborative and cooperative effort on the part of all to understand better this Christ to whom they all always already belong.

This article tries to examine some theological subjects contained in the De locis theologicis by Melchor Cano, one of the most important works on the theological methodology written after the Council of Trent. It wants to show how the method of Salamanca's master – once interpreted over the «long times» of the early modern age – may be a source of inspiration and guidance today. A source of guidance because it is able to consider the unity of the theological discussion without sacrificing the individual expressions of the Christian tradition, because of the possibility of understanding tradition in a broad and historically acceptable sense and because of the value given to the idea of Church as a community of believers safeguarding the pre-eminence of the Scriptures and the apostles' tradition. A source of inspiration because it helps re-understand some fundamental theological places, because it is able to focus proper attention to history as the «place of places» for theology, for tradition and for the Church, making it possible to preserve the requirements of unity with those of plurality and communion.

One underlying question on the ethics of taxation is what makes a tax system just and fair? This article will ethically and philosophically deal with civil freedom, justice, and equity in relation to taxation. Especially, for Christians, the Scripture gives the foundation of believers' responsibility in paying taxes even when taxes required by the government are neither just nor fair.

Satu pertanyaan dasar tentang etika perpajakan adalah apa yang membuat pajak atau sistem pajak itu adil dan pantas? Artikel ini akan meninjau secara filosofis-etis kebebasan warga negara dan keadilan serta kepantasan dalam perpajakan. Dan secara khusus bagi orang Kristen, Alkitab akan digunakan sebagai dasar untuk menunjukkan tanggung jawab orang percaya dalam membayar pajak bahkan ketika pajak yang ditetapkan oleh pemerintah itu ternyata secara etis tidak adil dan/atau tidaklah pantas.

This article analyzes reports about the capture and torture of the companion ʿAmmār b. Yāsir and their later use in the exegesis of Kor 16,106. It also shows why the reports were generated by different sectarian communities (Imamī Šīʿites, Zaydites, Murǧiʾītes) in the different parts of the early Islamic empire (Kufa, Mecca, Medina, Basra, and Jazira) in the late first/seventh and early second/eighth centuries. Through a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the isnāds of reports, the article shows that it is possible to correlate information about the sectarian affiliations of reports’ transmitters with the contents of the reports and in the process show why different communities remembered and transmitted the specific forms of the reports that they did. The article shows how literary Islamic sources are susceptible to a much more granular historical analysis than previously assumed.

In 1961 N. Vlassa and others discovered 3 clay tablets at Tartaria (Alsótatárlaka) in Transylvania, Roumania. The clay tablets were found in the river flats (tide lands, flood area) of the Maros river. The three tablets had been made of local clay. The published papers show contradictory details therefore I suggest to read an astronomic message on these tablets.

Muslim World has been upholding the Tawhidic concept of Ubudiyyah with a massive accumulation of knowledge over the entire period in which has spurred the rise of the great Islamic civilization. In presenting the concepts, Islamic sciences have been categorized the directions of its various aspects: theoretical as well as its practical application have been indicated.However, without meticulous and appropriate division of sources in Islamic sciences the combination of the theory and practical has failed to bring about the desired results. The Islamic sciences as presented currently do not commensurate with its magnitude, depth and brilliance as can be unveiled from the universe of Islamic Knowledge from a multitude of known sources in the Muslim World and elsewhere. The gigantic sources in Islamic sciences are books, film, journals, manuscripts and etc. need to be rearranged accordingly based on current requirement through re-paraphrasing the record or data collection. To upgrade the paper discussion, the research highlights a claim on the success invading of Easters`Easters`mind as a result of spreading Bible teachings wassparked mind;do the Islamic Sciences have no role in signified the moral value into Muslim`s mind? How about the concept of Tawhid as a major revelation in producing a better human being? To answer the above questions, the paper focuses on revisiting sources in Islamic sciences using descriptive and analytic approachesto highlight the overshadowing of Islamic sciencesresulting in diminishing its real worth as the world's pioneer in the knowledge in science. ABSTRAK Dunia Islam telah meletakkan konsep Tawhidic sebagai cara menunjukkan konsep Ubudiyyah terhadap pencipta berdasarkan penulisan ilmu pengetahuan semenjak kebangkitan tamadun Islam. Dalam membentangkan konsep ilmu pengetahuan, Islam telah membahagikan ilmu pengetahuan kepada dua aspek: teori dan praktikal. Bagaimanapun, tanpa pembahagian sumber maklumat yang teliti dan sesuai, gabungan kedua-dua aspek ini gagal membawa hasil yang diinginkan. Ini kerana sumber-sumber hebat ini sama ada dalam bentuk buku-buku ilmiah, filem, jurnal atau naskah maklumat perlu disusun semula berdasarkan keperluan saat ini melalui pengkompilasi ulang rekod atau pengumpulan data. Untuk menaik taraf perbincangan kertas kerja ini, penyelidikan perlu meneliti semula dakwaan bahawa sejarah penjajahan minda terhadap orang-orang Timur oleh bangsa Eropah yang menyebarkan fahaman ajaran Bible ke dalam masyarakat Timur merupakan satu kejayaan. Kenyataan ini telah dilihat sebagai lontaran yang kurang tepat. Justeru adakah Sains Islam tidak mempunyai peranan dalam menggarap nilai moral ke dalam minda orang Islam? Bagaimana dengan konsep Tawhid sebagai wahyu utama dalam menghasilkan manusia yang lebih baik, adakah kurang berjaya? Untuk menjawab soalan-soalan yang dilontarkan, makalah ini memberi tumpuan kepada mengkaji semula sumber-sumber sains Islam menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif dan analitik bagi menyerlahkan ilmu-ilmu Islam yang dibayangi pengaruh pemikiran Barat. Maka akibat dari serangan yang berbentuk intelektual ini, telah mengurangkan nilai sebenar dunia Islam sebagai perintis di dalam ilmu pengetahuan.

This article is an in-depth study of the bDe bar gshegs pa thams cad kyi phrin las (var. ’phrin las) ’dus pa phur pa rtsa ba’i rgyud [The Phurpa Root Tantra that Comprises the Activities of all the Sugatas; hereafter Phurpa Root Tantra], a seminal text on the tantric deity Vajrakīlaya from the bKa’ brgyad bDe gshegs ’dus pa [Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas; henceforth KD] corpus revealed by Nyang-rel Nyima Özer (1124–1192, Tib. Myang ral nyi ma ’od zer) in 12th century Tibet. The study consists of two main parts: a detailed thematic overview of the contents of the tantra’s thirteen chapters, and a philological analysis of selected variants found among the different editions of the text, an analysis which elucidates the relationships between the various textual witnesses and allows us to construct a stemma. Given the increasing awareness among specialists of the formative role played by the KD corpus in the codification of the Nyingma (Tib. rnying ma) school of Tibetan Buddhism, this article lays the groundwork for future investigations of this vast repertoire of tantric material. Our enquiry shows that despite being revealed by a named and famous visionary, the Phurpa Root Tantra shares significant features with the (usually anonymously produced) scriptures of the rNying ma rgyud ’bum [Ancient Tantra Collection; henceforth NGB]. The paper thus contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussion concerning processes of scriptural production in the context of Tibetan tantric religion.

The present study explores the performative nature of the Bible as a sacred text in the Korean context. Drawing on the theory of scriptural performance advocated by James W. Watts, I investigate its character as words and contents. First, I delve into the scriptural performance of thoroughly reading (and listening to) the Bible at the level of words. Second, I scrutinize the scriptural performance of singing and dramatizing the Bible at the level of contents. The specific context of South Korea-whether religious, cultural, or social-alerts us to the performed transformation of the semantic range of the long-standing Christian tradition. Given the cultural differences between Western and Eastern Christianity, I contend that the adaptation of Christianity to Korean soil renders the performative dimension of the scriptures all the more semantic. In other words, the Korean ways of performing the Bible are essentially deeply rooted in those of signifying it. In the long term, Christianity turns out to be such a global religion that it provokes a more complex analysis of its scriptural performance in its widely differing range of semantics.

It is very important to discuss the importance of typography as a scientific field today, when every semiskilled individual who has no points in common with the graphic profession, which, unfortunately, occurs more often in practice, and who may without particular knowledge, and thanks to the technical perfection of modern graphics applications, uninterruptedly work on these jobs not trying to become familiar with the basic postulates of the half-milenia long graphic arts.
Creative typography is a young concept. It occurs with the development of media and marketing. The font itself is no longer just a set of characters with which we are writing out the words, but also an image with which we want to show or amplify meaning. The headlines in newspapers or books, advertisements, advertising boards, billboards and other means of communication convey written messages, but leave on us an emotional impression as well. The information we receive unconsciously, to a great extent defines our attitude and determination. If we allow the message to remain unclear, we'll forget it.

El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar en la medida de lo posible los límites cronológicos inferiores de las escrituras paleohispánicas en el ámbito meridional de la Península Ibérica, entendida esta como la región sur de la provincia de Hispania Ulterior, en los actuales territorios de Andalucía y el sur de Portugal. Con este fin se examinarán los testimonios epigráficos más tardíos que empleen estas lenguas y escrituras, agrupados tipológicamente y presentando los criterios de datación para estos epígrafes. Con esta información se intentará ofrecer una imagen de conjunto sobre este proceso cultural, crucial para entender la romanización de esta región.

All the scriptures, whether it be the Gita or the Upanishads, are there to give us Samskara...Samskaras begin even before the birth of the individual since it is believed that the state of the parent’s mind during conception affects the well-being and ‘quality of the offspring...To gain this ascendance we need to rein our base instincts through Samskaras...In comparing the married couple to the earth and the sky, the Vedas recognize the inherent nature and necessity of this union....A husband should always keep his wife happy, giving her whatever she wants....This Samskara strengthens the bond between husband and wife....It is definitely geared to keep the woman in good cheer, and to show her that she is special.

Abstract:
SR best serves the academy as discipline of reasoning. Reasoning is disciplined, in part, by logic, and the best logic of SR, to date, is a relational (or non-binary) semiotics. Resources for this semiotics may be found in Augustine’s Stoic-and-Trinitarian logic of scripture, Reid’s logic of common sense, Charles Peirce’s logic of pragmatism, Barthes’ semiologies of text-reading, Qur’anic studies of the signs of God (ayat), rabbinic studies of interpretation (midrash) and in recent Chinese theories of comparative literature and comparative religion.i

This article studies the role of theological preunderstanding in interpreting the text of Scripture in the middle of the fourth century CE. It investigates Hilary of Poitier’s use of Scripture in Trinitarian controversies, his hermeneutical approach in his De Trinitate, and his theological exegesis of John 1:1-2. It is contended that Hilary’s pro-Nicene theology determined his particular reading of the opening verses of the Gospel of John. The article demonstrates how this exactly worked. Encountering the exegesis of Arius/‘Arians’/Latin Homoeans, Hilary attempted to show that the Son was eternally born from the Father and therefore, one could not speak about the temporal or even pre-temporal beginning of the Son’s existence. The Son already ‘was’ ‘in the beginning’.