Abstracts numero 2003/4

Articles varia

  • - De la Cène du Christ à la scène humaine. La fresque de Léonard de Vinci à la lumière de la psychologie, de l’astrologie et de la théologie
  • This text has been presented at a Colloquium of Practical Theologians. The meeting was dedicated to the theme of Christian Tradition and Artistic Creativity. The different figures of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous fresco, The Last Supper, are analysed from a psychological (jungian) and astrological point of view. Consecutively to these interpretations, three theological questions are raised : that of the dignity, that of the grace and that of the various expectations of people concerning liturgy.

  • - Architecture paradigmatique de la philosophia christiani d’Erasme : Les préfaces au Novum Instrumentum
  • Perhaps the purest incarnation of the renowned « philosophia christiani » of Desiderius Erasmus has long eschewed recognition  despite the fact that it is inextricably linked to his most famous humanist contribution. Christopher M. Greenwell attempts to deconstruct the intricate architecture of the Prefaces to the Novum instrumentum by heeding their very exhortation. He proposes that the three sources of knowledge advocated by the Rotterdammer embody themselves not only rhetorically, but structurally : Scripture (a Biblical chiasm) : Paraclesis ; the Church Fathers (Augustine’s De doctrina christiani) : Methodus, and the Pagan philosophers (the Apology of Socrates) : Apologia. Erasmus’s paradigm of the philosophy of Christ, therefore, could be personified within the very anatomy of the text.

  • - Le modèle d’emprisonnement des quakers : la notion wéberienne d’ascétisme séculier appliquée à la réhabilitation des criminels
  • In 1829, the Quaker authorities of Philadelphia opened a new penitentiary for the eastern part of Pennsylvania. The philosophy of its imprisonment based on solitary confinement was the object of an international debate on how to rehabilitate criminals. In the discussion, arguments were deeply informed by theological perspectives. This essay uncovers the theological foundations of solitary confinement and discusses its legitimacy.

  • - Créolité et théologie et théologie de la créolité aux Antilles – Guyane
  • Adopting the « Négritude », the Negro cultural and spiritual values of Aimé Césaire, the recent emergence of the « Creolity » (« Créolité » in french), the Creole movement led by brilliant French West Indies intellectuals can no longer be ignored by a Creole Christianity that is much too far removed from its own culture. Creolity and theology must, however, come to terms with a difficult inheritance – that of the past colonial slavery to which the Church was an accessory. The Creolity movement, by intercepting and reinterpreting the whole of the Christian theological vocabulary and its bible-based concepts, has overcome this obstacle in a truly remarkable way. Theological thought must now, however, take note of this and seek a dialogue. Given that their aims are ultimately identical this could only be fruitful and would enable a genuine Creole theology to become a reality.

  • - Entre passion et raison. La théologie pratique en quête d’une méthodologie
  • In this study on the status and methods of practical theology, Félix Moser gives a contemporary interpretation of Schleiermacher’s Kurze Darstellung, especially the sections between § 257 and § 259. Practical theology is located at the junction between faithful affirmation and critical reflection – it cannot escape rational scrutiny. Is there a methodology capable of combining these two distinct approaches while doing justice to both ? The author’s plea for a « hermeneutics of implications » constitutes his answer to this question.

Situations

  • - A propos de l’autorité dans l’Eglise
  • According to Reformation standards, Christ alone has authority in the Church. But if this authority cannot be delegated to anyone, how does it manifest itself in the life of the Church ? Laurent Schlumberger suggests that this manifestation takes place principally in interpretation and discernment. President of a regional council of the French Reformed Church, the author analyses the distinction between authority and power from the pragmatic point of view of his own experience.

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