AT 2013 Supplementum 17
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Browsing AT 2013 Supplementum 17 by Subject "Discernment"
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Item Open Access Catherine of Siena's wisdom on discernment and het reception of scripture(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Villegas, Diana L.Catherine of Siena’s wisdom on discernment represents a significant development in the history of this essential Christian theme. Her teaching is the fruit of personal wisdom rather than formal study as she was an uneducated lay woman in fourteenth century Italy. In this article I show how Scripture was central to Catherine’s wisdom. First I show that she was exposed to Scripture primarily orally and that she assimilated what she heard through her life of prayer and relationship with God. I describe the central biblical themes at the heart of her teaching on discernment, namely growth in charity and capacity for truth, and I show how these are related to her wisdom on discernment. I then examine how Catherine applied her teaching through an analysis of a letter to Pope Gregory XI. In this article I will show that central New Testament themes are at the heart of Catherine of Siena’s teaching on discernment and I will describe how the knowledge of Scripture that suffused her teaching was not internalized as a result of formal study, but rather as a result of her experience of God in prayer and of her personal reflection. Her oral reception of Scripture became transformed through her mystical experience into wisdom that has become a major Christian classic; indeed Catherine is one of only three women named Doctor of the Church in the Catholic tradition.Item Open Access Communal discernment in the early church(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) De Villiers, Pieter G. R.This article investigates the often-neglected communal dimension of discernment by focusing on the way in which the early church responded to the controversy about the circumcision for gentiles in Acts 15. It analyses how discernment takes place mostly in times of ambiguity and crisis in which a faith community is challenged to seek the divine will. The article then investigates the way in which discernment takes place: it is first and foremost a communal matter which brings together all parties in order to participate in intense debate and weighing of possibilities. Before examining the awareness that discernment is about a contemplative gaze, the article analyses the way in which wisdom of community leaders and wisdom of the past play a role in discerning the right way. Discernment is the ability to see the revelatory meaning in the ongoing process of one’s own or another’s life; to see, as the saints say, “with the eyes of faith” the salvific significance of what seem to be ordinary events (Schneiders 1982:49).Item Open Access Discerning the mystical wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita and John of the Cross(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Kourie, C.The 21st century is characterised by a global spirituality. Presently, and more than ever, access to the great religious traditions has enabled many to tap into the wisdom of other cultures. While the respective epistemological foundations of diverse traditions may differ, mutual understanding and respectful dialogue nevertheless facilitate respect for the other and offer opportunities for mutual enrichment. This leads to the recognition that there are multiple dimensions and expressions of the sacred. From within this interspiritual approach, an analysis of the mystical wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita and John of the Cross clearly points to the central theme of discerning the real from the unreal. This leads to detachment from/lack of desire for and, finally, surrender to the Divine.Item Open Access Discernment in 1 Kings 19:1-18: biblical spirituality in works of art(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Bos, Anne-MarieThis article examines the story of 1 Kings 19:1-18 as a story of discernment. It is a story about a divine-human relational process of Elijah and his God, but also a story that draws the reader into a divine-human relational process. The article discerns a fundamental element of this relational process: a perspective change. This aspect of discernment is indicated in the text along the detour of looking at two works of visual art that refer to the biblical story.Item Open Access Discernment: the message of the Bhavad-Gita(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Perumpallikunnel, K.The Bhagavad-Gita is an intelligent response to a perennial human predicament which other religions and philosophies also tried to resolve in their own way. Human beings often stood perplexed and mystified as they confronted paradoxical situations in life that demanded action. Discerning right from wrong often became an existential predicament. The Pandava prince Arjuna found himself standing on the shaky ground of Kurukshetra not knowing the way forward. Lord Krishna outlines for him the path towards gaining flawless self-knowledge and self-mastery from his sorrowful state of confusion and opened his eyes to perceive the truths beyond appearances. Krishna instructs him that, when a person is capable of watching everything that happens within and around him dispassionately and acting with an attitude of detachment, he attains sthithaprajna (equanimity) and samadhai (liberationItem Open Access A hermeneutic of justice. Justice as discernment in Matthew(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Welzen, HuubIn some important dictionaries for the study of the New Testament, δικαιοσύνη has two meanings: justice in the sense of distributive justice and righteousness as a relational notion. In Matthew, we discover that the word concerns a threefold loyalty: loyalty to the law, loyalty to fellow people, and loyalty to the will of God. In the Sermon of the Mount, the word is used in a polemical context. Δικαιοσύνη is the congruency of the explanation of the law and doing the law. It is the opposite of ὑπόκρισις which is the incongruence of explanation and doing. Δικαιοσύνη is an eschatological reality. This means that it is a result of the coming of the kingdom of God in history. This coming is thought to occur at the end of time, but it is also a reality in the present. One can observe it at work in the conduct of people. It is a criterion in the discernment of the correct explanation of the law, and it is a criterion in the discernment of the correct doing.Item Open Access Pavel Aleksadrovič Florenskij's method of discerning spiritual truth(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Camilleri, C.This article explores Pavel Florenskij’s dialectical method as the preferred way to discern spiritual truth. It presents the Russian polymath’s method within his socio-political and ecclesiastical contexts and two of his works, namely his magnum opus entitled The pillar and ground of truth, and his lecture Reason and dialectics, both of which are significant for interpreting Florenskij’s thought. The article also provides an intertextual reading of Florenskij’s Pillar to argue that its context is 1 Timothy 3:14-16. It then analyses the similarities between the context of 1 Timothy and that of The Pillar. As they fall within a period during which particular churches faced certain challenges, both texts call for discernment of the true identity of the churchItem Open Access לֵב שׁמֵֹע ( 1 Kgs 3:9): recieving and forming towards a listing heart(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Cachia, N.This reflection article studies the request made by King Solomon to God for “a listening heart” (1 Kgs 3:9) at the beginning of his reign. It shows that this request entails a deliberate and conscious openness of the whole person to God as well as an attentiveness to the demands of the people whom he is called to govern. In Christianity, the “contemplative listening” is intimately linked with the theological tradition of the spiritual senses, which are referred to as the human capacity to know God. This capacity ought to be discovered and developed through formation and self-commitment. In the Christian tradition Spiritual Direction is highly esteemed as a most useful tool for the achievement of this ability, which would then help the person to be transformed into Christ.