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Paul’s Discourse on Slavery and Freedomin the Light of Stoic Philosophy
No full textThis thesis focuses on Paul’s view on freedom for believers in the context ofslavery. Paul’s understanding comes through in his metaphorical usage of slavelanguage in 1 Cor 7:20-24. In this thesis, a comparison between the teaching ofPaul and that of the Stoics Seneca, Musonius, and Epictetus will support myinterpretation of Paul’s opinion regarding slavery and freedom. I first explore howPaul and the three Stoics advocate for their understanding of freedom for slaves,and then I compare Paul’s theological interpretation with the moral values of thethree Stoics. There is no doubt that Paul, Seneca, Musonius and Epictetus wereaware of the cruel physical judgments and hardships, which slaves suffered in thecontext of slavery. Though neither Paul nor the three Stoics expressed an intentionto terminate the existing hierarchical social structure and slavery system, they alsodid not ignore the physical judgments and hardships placed upon slaves. Theteachings of Paul, Seneca, Musonius and Epictetus testify that they had a commonwill to end, or at least reduce, the exploitation and dehumanization of slaves. Theircommon interest is to promote the possibility of freedom, equal fairness and kindlytreatments for slaves. Both groups preferred freedom and dignity for human beingsby ignoring the social standards and social identification of the Roman society.However, they emphasized inner freedom rather than the social freedom of the slaves.Aim of thesis: To compare Paul’s attitude to slavery and his metaphoricallanguage of slavery and freedom with that of the Stoic philosophers, Seneca,Epictetus, and Musonius
Christian Feminism and a Powerful God : A comparative textual analysis on God’s power from a feminist theological perspective
No full textThe aim of this study is to explore how it might be possible to talk about God as powerful within a Christian feminist framework. This has been declared impossible by Mary Daly who, in her book Beyond God the Father (1973), strongly criticises the Christian tradition for being too deeply intertwined with patriarchy to be of any use for women seeking liberation from male oppression. This essay compares the works of two contemporary feminist theologians, with the aim to answer Daly’s criticism and seek for ways to talk about God’s power that considers this criticism as relevant while still remaining Christian. The method used is textual analysis, and the material consists of the books Cloud of the impossible by American process theologian Catherine Keller and Powers and Submissions by British Anglican theologian Sarah Coakley. The views presented on God’s power by these two theologians are introduced thematically. The three themes used are The relation between humans and God, The importance of language and The Male Trinity. These are then discussed in comparison to Daly’s standpoints. Keller promotes an image of God as radically relational and uses apophatic theology to show how limited our knowledge of any definite insights of God and the limitations of the human language is. Coakley advocates for submission to God through contemplation, which leads to insights about God’s genderlessness and makes space for God’s power to work within humans in order for them to overthrow gender inequalities. When compared to Daly this essay reaches the conclusion that there are ways to speak of God’s power in a “feminist friendly” way, such as through a form of submission to the creative power of God, although it has to be done with consideration to context and without forgetting the dark history of how the Church has misused power in the past
När naturen talar tillbaka ställs idéhistorien om
No full textVad händer med vårt tänkande när vi tvingas låta allt det andra—det som inte är Gud eller människa—komma till tals? När vår relation till tingen, växterna och djuren förändras, hur ändras då vår idéhistoria, vår kultur,vår tro? Det är frågor som Petra Carlsson ställer och diskuterar i denna artikel utifrån en alltmer alarmerande klimatkris
A study of happiness by the concepts of self-actualizationand self-transcendence
No full textThis study aims to analyze the concept of happiness via the concepts of self-actualization and self-transcendence. The analyze performs on both an individual level and a level in a society context and also performs from both a descriptive and an analytical perspective. The study refers primarily to two theorists which are Abraham Maslow and Martha Nussbaum. Maslow's theory of a human motivation is about dividing a human´s needs, and therefore motivations, in a hierarchical order. Two of these divisions are self-actualization and self-transcendence. Martha Nussbaum describes the capability approach through partly a list of ten criteria for a human, worthy life. Nussbaum calls this list for the central capabilities. In this study emerged one of the conclusions that, from a rights perspective, the central capabilities can be a tool to increase people's opportunities to choose to become satisfied in levels of self-actualization and self-transcendence
satan is not Satan : An investigative text study about Satan’s description
No full textSatan or satan? Hebrew word שטן (satan) has been interpreted both as either a resistance or an opponent, but also as a name, Satan. This essay deals with the interpretation and meaning of various texts by שטן to see how the representation of the character Satan emerged. The essay deals with why satan became Satan and how the character Satan became a malicious figure through an ambiguous interpretation of שטן. The result of the study shows that because of the definite article ה in front of שטן the word שטן should not be read as a name but as the opponent, the satan
Purity and Sanctification
No full textA Church-historical study of the importance of the concept of purity for women's view of sanctification and action within schartauanism and methodism
Die polyphone Theologie der Kirchenväter. Der Beitrag des Johannes von Damaskus
No full textCan a compilation from the past be creative? Does the notion of tradition contradict the idea of innovation? The case of a Syrian theologian, who lived in the Arabic caliphate when Antiquity turned to the Middle Ages, whose name was John of Damascus, demonstrates that the answer to both questions can be positive, contrary to the common wisdom. The article explores the concepts of Tradition with capital T, traditions with lower case t, and traditionalism, through the prism of the writings of John. It argues that the best illustration to what tradition was for John, is not the famous »Black square« by Kizimir Malevich, but the Farbstudie Quadrate by Wassily Kandinsky
Sex trafficking in India : A study in how to combat sex trafficking
No full textThis paper will strive to obtain an understanding for sex trafficking in India, underlying reasons for it and solutions to it. The study includes a case study of STOP, an organization working against sex trafficking in India. The main objective being to study what, according to an organization working with the issue, is the best course of action when working towards combating sex trafficking in India; what factors STOP believe contributes towards sex trafficking, how to help the victims of sex trafficking, challenges they experience in their work and what they believe are the solution to ending sex trafficking in India. STOP has been active in India since 1990, working towards combating sex trafficking och rehabilitating survivors.The reason for focusing on sex trafficking as a human rights issue can easily be shown in the staggering numbers surrounding it:According to the 2017 report conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) there was an estimated 24.9 million people trapped in modern slavery. 4.8 were victims of trafficking. Women and girls make up 71 percent of the victims, the number of children below the age of 18 is estimated to be 5.5 million. The largest number of trafficking can be found in the Asia-pacific region with 62% of the cases or 15.4 million victims. The profit made from human trafficking globally is estimated to be around 150 billion dollars a year for the trafficker, this according to an ILO report from 2014. Sex trafficking stands for 99 billion dollars. In stark contrast to the staggering numbers of victims and profits made from sex trafficking, are the cases of prosecutions and convictions. In the year 2016, 14,894 prosecutions took place globally with 9,071 convictions. In South and Central Asia there were 14,706 victims identified, 6,297 prosecutions and 2,193 convictions (Human rights first, 2017).The numbers are staggering and the act of sex trafficking is one of the greatest crimes against human rights today. The modern term for slavery, it is a crime that strikes against the most basic of human rights. Still it is a multi-million industry that is spread around the world, with India being a particularly affected country. What is done to stop it and what is the best way of working towards stopping it? That is something that will be discussed in this thesis
Sons or Children? : Possibilities of Inclusive Translations of Sonship in the Epistle to the Galatians 3:15-4:7
No full textSpråket är en stor del av vårt liv. Det styr hur vi interagerar med vår omgivning och relaterar till varandra och oss själva. Relationen mellan språk och kultur och hur de påverkar varandra har fascinerat mig länge. Spänningen mellan den värld som bibeltexterna skapades i och den värld vi lever i idag gör att en översättning där de båda får ut sin rätt blir svår. Brännpunkten mellan dessa två världar har sedan länge intresserat mig personligen, och att kunna fördjupa mig i det här ämnet gläder mig oerhört.En vanlig fråga som dyker upp kring inkluderande översättning är hur vi översätter det grekiska ordet υἱός. Ska vi översätta det till ”son”, den lexikografiska betydelsen, eller ska vi översätta det till ”barn”, som är en mer inkluderande variant. Förlorar vi något när vi väljer det ena ordet över det andra? Språket påverkar oss, och det är en av anledningarna till att jag började intressera mig för bland annat queerteori. Queerteori uppkom runt 1990 inom den akademiska världen, med inspiration hämtat från bland annat feministisk teori (Ambjörnsson 2006:35). Den intresserar sig för hur sexuella normer uppstår, fungerar, upprätthålls och ifrågasätts. En sådan norm som ifrågasätts inom queerteori är könsnormen. Grundläggande inom queerteori är en skepsis mot ett sanningsbegrepp som något som är universellt och allmängiltigt (Ambjörnsson 2006:41).En annan viktig aspekt av queerteori är synen på språket som centralt för skapandet av världen. Enligt denna teori är det språket som skapar bilden av vad som är betydelsefullt och verkligt i livet. Språket är det som skapar både våra identiteter och våra självuppfattningar. Ett könsinkluderande språk i översättningen av våra bibelberättelser gör kanske att fler personer kan ta berättelserna till sig, men det ger oss då en översättning som hamnar längre från originalet. Det är en fin balansgång mellan de två, och den balansen är mitt intresse i den här uppsatsen