Jens Zimmermann | Regent College, Vancouver, BC (original) (raw)

Books by Jens Zimmermann

What does hermeneutics have to do with consciousness? Everything-at least that is what I want to ... more What does hermeneutics have to do with consciousness? Everything-at least that is what I want to argue in the following few paragraphs. To make this argument, let us agree that questions of who we are and how we know (in philosophical terms anthropology and epistemology) lie at the heart of many pressing social issues of our time. For example, how we define what constitutes a person will determine our approach to a host of ethical questions in medicine and genetics. Likewise, we cannot address intelligently the crisis of higher education evident in the erosion of the humanities until we decide whether literature, philosophy, religion, and the arts provide knowledge that is essential to the kind of beings we are. These two aspects of who we are and how we know coalesce in human consciousness. Evolutionary psychologists tell us that human consciousness, for reasons still debated among scientists, evolved far beyond the mental abilities of our animal cousins. The main difference, they believe, consists in the human capacity for "theory of mind," that is, the ability to have theories about other persons' possible beliefs. This unique ability to imagine another's beliefs about a reality also indicates the uniquely human trait of self-consciousness. Unlike more developed animals who may have a form of self-knowledge comparable to that of a four year old child, adult humans "can believe that they themselves believe that something is the case." 1 This human ability to objectify the world and oneself is certainly an important feature of human consciousness, but to reduce consciousness to mental ability alone is reductive. This view narrows consciousness down to self-reflexive thought rather than recognizing that human perception of self and world is mediated through our bodies and our relation to other persons. The continuing difficulty, especially by scientific circles, fully to recognize the embodied and social nature of consciousness requires a brief foray into intellectual history. The tendency to reduce consciousness to the mind is influenced by a certain philosophical branch called "philosophy of mind," which all too often continues to operate under the gravitational pull of a mind-body dualism initiated by the 17 th century philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650). By making self-reflexivity, in his case the mental activity of doubting, the final proof of selfexistence and thus the starting point of philosophy, Descartes effectively split apart the mind from the material world, including the body. Ever since this move, philosophers have been busy trying to relate the mind back to the world, the body, and to other minds; they also had to occupy themselves with the related problem of how to verify the mental representations of the outside world conveyed by sense impressions to the perceiving consciousness. According to this model of perception, the mind registers information from an assembly of objects out there, from a world-machine that, just like our body-machine, can be broken down into information, into context-free, atomized bits and propositions that are transmitted as verifiable symbolic representations to the inner mind. When we add Galileo's mathematization of nature to this representational worldview, we complete the ideal of the modern truth-seeking mind: a calculating, verifying machine that seeks truth by breaking reality down into its most primitive components and devises algorithms to present formalized representations of reality to the information processing mind.

Politics and the Religious Imagination is the product of a group of interdisciplinary scholars ea... more Politics and the Religious Imagination is the product of a group of interdisciplinary scholars each analyzing the connections between religious narratives and the construction of regional and global politics, combining a set of theoretical and philosophic insights with several case studies that represent varied geographies and religious customs.

the constructive and destructive hermeneutics of religious stories

the relevance and importance of religion as a dominant political narrative

the rise of new stories among groups as agents of change

the way that religious narratives help to define and constrain the Other

the manipulation of religious stories for political benefit

This work argues that it is insufficient to judge the relationship of religion and politics through mere institutional or quantitative lenses, and this collection proves that while this promise of the narrative part of the social imaginary has been recognized in political theory to a certain extent, its influence in the realm of empirical political science has yet to be fully considered.

Combining the work of a wide range of experts, this collection will be of great interests to scholars of politics, philosophy, religious studies, and the literary influence of religion.

Hermeneutics is the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, a behaviour that is intri... more Hermeneutics is the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, a behaviour that is intrinsic to our daily lives. As humans, we decipher the meaning of newspaper articles, books, legal matters, religious texts, political speeches, emails, and even dinner conversations every day . But how is knowledge mediated through these forms? What constitutes the process of interpretation? And how do we draw meaning from the world around us so that we might understand our position in it? In this Very Short Introduction Jens Zimmerman traces the history of hermeneutic theory, setting out its key elements, and demonstrating how they can be applied to a broad range of disciplines: theology; literature; law; and natural and social sciences. Demonstrating the longstanding and wide-ranging necessity of interpretation, Zimmerman reveals its significance in our current social and political landscape. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Christians and the Middle East Conflict deals with the relationship of Christians and Christian t... more Christians and the Middle East Conflict deals with the relationship of Christians and Christian theology to the various conflicts in the Middle East, a topic that is often sensationalized but still insufficiently understood. Political developments over the last two decades, however, have prompted observers to rediscover and examine the central role religious motivations play in shaping public discourses.

This book proceeds on the assumption that neither a focus on the eschatological nor a narrow understanding of the plight of Christians in the Middle East is sufficient. Instead, it is necessary to understand Christians in context and to explore the ways that Christian theology applies through the actions of Christians who have lived and continue to live through conflict in the region either as native inhabitants or interested foreign observers. This volume addresses issues of concern to Christians from a theological perspective, from the perspective of Christian responses to conflict throughout history, and in reflection on the contemporary realities of Christians in the Middle East.

The essays in this volume combine contextual political and theological reflections written by both scholars and Christian activists and will be of interest to students and scholars of Politics, Religion and Middle East Studies.

The question of who 'we' are and what vision of humanity 'we' assume to undergird Western culture... more The question of who 'we' are and what vision of humanity 'we' assume to undergird Western culture lies at the heart of hotly debated issues on the role of religion in education, politics, and culture in general. Ongoing complaints about higher education, and the apparent failure by European countries to integrate religiously vibrant cultures into a secular conception of society reveal a profound lack of identity and purpose within Western culture. This book suggests that the long-standing separation of reason and faith offers an explanation for the West’s cultural malaise. The author proposes that the West can rearticulate its identity and renew its cultural purpose by recovering the religious humanistic ethos that originally shaped Western societies. Tracing the Christian roots of humanism from patristic theology, through the Renaissance into modern philosophy reveals the religious foundation for the correlation of reason and faith based on the incarnation that enabled central Western values. Drawing on this history, the author combines humanism, religion, and hermeneutic philosophy to re-imagine a humanistic ethos for our current cultural and intellectual climate. The hope of this recovery is for humanism to become what Charles Taylor has called a 'social imaginary', an internalized vision of what it means to be human. This vision will encourage, once again, the correlation of reason and faith in order to overcome current cultural impasses, such as those posed, for example, by religious and secularist fundamentalisms.

Having left its Christian roots behind, the West faces a moral, spiritual and intellectual crisis... more Having left its Christian roots behind, the West faces a moral, spiritual and intellectual crisis. It has little left to maintain its legacy of reason, freedom, human dignity and democracy. Far from capitulating, Jens Zimmermann believes the church has an opportunity to speak a surprising word into this postmodern situation grounded in the Incarnation itself that is proclaimed in Christian preaching and eucharistic celebration. To do so requires that we retrieve an ancient Christian humanism for our time. Only this will acknowledge and answer the general demand for a common humanity beyond religious, denominational and secular divides. Incarnational Humanism thus points the way forward by pointing backward. Rather than resorting to theological novelty, Zimmermann draws on the rich resources found in Scripture and in its theological interpreters ranging from Irenaeus and Augustine to de Lubac and Bonhoeffer. Zimmermann draws his comprehensive study together by proposing a distinctly evangelical philosophy of culture. That philosophy grasps the link between the new humanity inaugurated by Christ and all of humanity. In this way he holds up a picture of the public ministry of the church as a witness to the world's reconciliation to God.

This book is a careful, historical demonstration of the way in which hermeneutics was secularized... more This book is a careful, historical demonstration of the way in which hermeneutics was secularized yet continues to borrow on the capital of Christian theology. By exposing the problems inherent in secular hermeneutics and correcting the histories of philosophical hermeneutics on record, Zimmerman points a way forward beyond secular hermeneutics. This is a bold project that should be read not only by theologians but, more especially, by those philosophers working in the wake of Heidegger, Gadamer, Derrida, and Levinas. This book is an excellent addition to any course in philosophical hermeneutics.

Bonhoeffer was convinced that God spoke to his people through the Bible. How did a theologian of ... more Bonhoeffer was convinced that God spoke to his people through the Bible. How did a theologian of his caliber, who was well acquainted with the historical-critical interpretation of the scriptures, justify such a claim, and how did he apply this conviction to his daily challenges as theologian, pastor and political dissident during the Nazi regime? This book presents the attempts by a group of international Bonhoeffer scholars to answer some of these questions. By approaching Bonhoeffer's theology from a number of different hermeneutical angles, the contributions in this volume cast new light both on his more general hermeneutical framework and on specific theological and political issues concerning his reading of the Bible. The essays underline Bonhoeffer's contemporary relevance for the current resurgence of theological interpretation and for postmodern discussions about the interpretive nature of truth.

Bonhoeffer's stance on political issues has been the focus of considerable research. Insufficient... more Bonhoeffer's stance on political issues has been the focus of considerable research. Insufficient attention has been given, however, to the theoretical foundations of Bonhoeffer's political theology, that is, to the fundamental elements and concepts that shape his understanding of religion's relation to politics. This volume aims to redress this oversight in Bonhoeffer studies. The collected essays show how Bonhoeffer's theological core convictions resulted in assumptions about the nature and goal of politics that remain relevant for today. The contributions to this volume document the 4th International Bonhoeffer Colloquium which took place in Mainz, Germany, in 2010 and was funded by the Fritz-Thyssen-Foundation.

Suffering, the sacred, and the sublime are concepts that often surface in humanities research in ... more Suffering, the sacred, and the sublime are concepts that often surface in humanities research in an attempt to come to terms with what is challenging, troubling or impossible to represent. These intersecting concepts are used to mediate the gap between the spoken and the unspeakable, between experience and language, between body and spirit, between the immanent and the transcendent, and between the human and the divine. The twenty-five essays in Through a Glass Darkly: Suffering, the Sacred, and the Sublime in Literature and Theory, written by international scholars working in the fields of literary criticism, philosophy, and history, address the ways in which literature and theory have engaged with these three concepts and related concerns. The contributors analyze literary and theoretical texts from the medieval period to the postmodern age, from the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, and Herbert to those of Endô Shûsaku, Alice Munro, Annie Dillard, Emmanuel Levinas, and Slavoj Žižek. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of religion and literature, philosophy and literature, aesthetic theory, and trauma studies.

The past decade has seen increasing interest in the links between religion and politics, and this edited volume seeks to take religion seriously as a motivator of action. Few studies have attempted to bring together the multi-disciplinary work in this burgeoning field of study and this work takes a global perspective, using a variety of contexts including East-West relations to analyze the following key themes: the constructive and destructive hermeneutics of religious stories; the relevance and importance of religion as a dominant political narrative; the rise of new stories among groups as agents of change; the way that religious narratives help to define and constrain the Other; the manipulation of religious stories for political benefit

Combining the work of a wide range of experts, this collection will be of great interests to scholars of politics, philosophy, religious studies, and the literary influence of religion.

Who are we? What does it mean to be human? What is the purpose of our existence? In our time thes... more Who are we? What does it mean to be human? What is the purpose of our existence? In our time these continue to be urgent questions. The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer thought deeply about these questions out of a desire to understand the importance of Christ and the incarnation for modern culture. His conviction that Christ died for a new humanity is at the core of his theological anthropology. Bonhoeffer's Christ-centered, Trinitarian theology establishes the intrinsic sociality of humanity as made in the image of God. Being Human, Becoming Human assembles a distinguished and international group of scholars to examine Bonhoeffer's understanding of human sociality. From the introduction of his dissertation, Sanctorum Communio, where he notes the social intention of all the basic Christian concepts, to his final writings in prison, where he describes Christian faith as being for others, the theme of human sociality runs throughout Bonhoeffer's works. This theme links Bonhoeffer with contemporary concerns in theology, philosophy, cultural studies, and science regarding human reason, human nature, and their socio-cultural expressions. Vital reading for Bonhoeffer scholars as well as for those invested in theological debates regarding the social nature of human being, the essays in this volume examine Bonhoeffer's rich resources for thinking about what it means to be human, to be the church, to be a disciple, and to be ethically responsible in our contemporary world.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, best known for his involvement in the anti-Nazi resistance, was one of the 2... more Dietrich Bonhoeffer, best known for his involvement in the anti-Nazi resistance, was one of the 20th century's most important theologians. His ethics have been a source of guidance and inspiration for men and women in the face of evil. Today, Bonhoeffer's theology is being read by Continental thinkers who value his contributions to the recent "religious turn" in philosophy. In this volume, an international group of scholars present Bonhoeffer's thought as a model of Christian thinking that can help shape a distinctly religious philosophy. They examine the philosophical influences on Bonhoeffer and explore the new perspectives his work brings to the perennial challenges of faith and reason, philosophy and theology, and the problem of evil. These essays add Bonhoeffer's voice to important contemporary debates in the philosophy of religion.

Too often Christian college students feel they must either downplay their faith or stick to a sma... more Too often Christian college students feel they must either downplay their faith or stick to a small circle of like-minded friends and organizations. Somewhere along the way assumptions have taken root that intellectual university life and Christian faith cannot be synthesized.

Klassen and Zimmermann assert that much is at stake for the young university student. A worldview takes a lasting shape and faith is usually discovered, deepened, or discarded during a collegiate journey. This new work is designed to give students, parents, and other interested readers a guide to the intellectual culture of the modern university and its contribution to society, helping them to realize the power of the university's influence and discover how to connect Christian belief to cutting-edge thinking.

In this study, Jens Zimmermann aims to recount the history of Protestant hermeneutics while takin... more In this study, Jens Zimmermann aims to recount the history of Protestant hermeneutics while taking seriously some of the issues raised by contemporary critical thought. He begins by considering some of the basic principles of Protestant biblical interpretation from the Reformation era, focusing particularly on the work of Martin Luther and Matthias Flacius. In the second section, he offers an appraisal of postmodern philosophical thought and its secular nature. Zimmermann concludes that while there is some validity to the issues raised by contemporary philosophers, a Trinitarian approach offers a viable method for recovering a theory of interpretation that is both philosophically sound and theologically informed.

Papers by Jens Zimmermann

Based on a comprehensive reading of his entire work, in this book Jens Zimmermann presents Bonhoe... more Based on a comprehensive reading of his entire work, in this book Jens Zimmermann presents Bonhoeffer’s theological ethos as a Christian humanism, that is, as an understanding of the gospel rooted in apostolic and patristic writers who believed God to have renewed humanity in the incarnation. The heartbeat of Bonhoeffer’s Christianity that unifies and motivates his theological writing, his preaching, and his political convictions, including his opposition to the Nazi regime, is the conviction that Christianity as participation in the new humanity established by Christ is about becoming fully human by becoming Christlike. In eight chapters, the author details Bonhoeffer’s humanistic theology following from this incarnational starting point: a Christ-centered anthropology that shows a deep kinship with patristic Christology, a hermeneutically structured theology, an ethic focused on Christ-formation, a biblical hermeneutic centered on God’s transforming presence, and a theological pol...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christian Humanism, 2019

Chapter 6 outlines the main features of Bonhoeffer’s Christian Humanist ethics. Bonhoeffer’s ethi... more Chapter 6 outlines the main features of Bonhoeffer’s Christian Humanist ethics. Bonhoeffer’s ethical realism and rejection of moralistic legalism is based on ethics defined as participation in Christ whose incarnation and person structure reality as a whole. The chapter begins by showing that the personal and eschatological structure of this Christological realism exonerates Bonhoeffer from the charge of collapsing reality into Christ. The next section delineates the goal of Bonhoeffer’s ethics as Christformation with its essential aspects of renewal into the divine image through the work of the Holy Spirit, through ecclesial communion, through Christian action in the world, and by means of the sedimentation of Christian virtues in cultural traditions. Next, the chapter takes up from the previous one the hermeneutic element of discernment in describing ethics with Bonhoeffer as realistic responsible action. Realistic responsible action denotes the call to action in response to concr...

the constructive and destructive hermeneutics of religious stories

the relevance and importance of religion as a dominant political narrative

the rise of new stories among groups as agents of change

the way that religious narratives help to define and constrain the Other

the manipulation of religious stories for political benefit

Combining the work of a wide range of experts, this collection will be of great interests to scholars of politics, philosophy, religious studies, and the literary influence of religion.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christian Humanism, 2019

Chapter 3 continues to outline parallels in patristic and Bonhoeffer’s theology. The first two se... more Chapter 3 continues to outline parallels in patristic and Bonhoeffer’s theology. The first two segments focus on the humanist significance of the church as Christ’s body. Bonhoeffer’s relational understanding of God’s image disallows an individualistic understanding of salvation. His view of the church as “Christ existing as community,” with its transformative ethical implications mirrors Irenaeus’ and Augustine’s ecclesiology. In Bonhoeffer’s deeply sacramental understanding of the church as God’s presence in the world his theology of Stellvertretung, the eucharist, and his ethics converge into a depiction of Christianity as transformative humanism. The chapter then elucidates the biblical roots of “being in Christ,” along with the often overlooked, deeply Trinitarian structure of this participatory ontology in Bonhoeffer. The remainder of the chapter compares his anthropology to the teaching of deification that defines patristic theology. Once deification is properly understood as...

Religion, 2018

In his opening chapter, Ronald E. Osborn states the central problem of this book: is it possible ... more In his opening chapter, Ronald E. Osborn states the central problem of this book: is it possible to have 'a rationally coherent, morally compelling, and historically sustainable discourse as well as practice of humanistic values and human rights without a "thick" metaphysical or religious framework such as the one provided in the Western tradition for some two millennia by Judeo-Christian sources?' (4). To put it another way, the question 'Can we be good without God' is a superficial one; more urgent, in Osborn's view, is the question, 'Will we still be good to the stranger in our midst […] once we have truly and utterly abandoned the idea that every person is made […] in "the image of God"?' (54). Although the underlying argument or theme is, as we shall see, an 'essentially Dostoevskian' one, those primarily responsible for removing that metaphysical or religious framework are, of course, Darwin, Marx, and Nietzsche. It is these figures, as well as those involved in the resulting three-cornered fight between (in Charles Taylor's words) secular or 'exclusive humanists,' postmodern or 'neo-Nietzschean' anti-humanists, and 'acknowledgers of transcendence,' on whom Humanism and the Death of God focuses. In the chapter entitled 'Dignity After Darwin,' Osborn traces how Darwin's theory of evolution undermines concepts of inherent human dignity and leads, not to moral individualism, but to moral nihilism. On this account, there is a clear link between the utilitarian outlook underpinning the theory of natural selection and 'a deeply unsettling dark side' to Darwin (34), expressed by the proponents of social Darwinism. Far from misconstruing Darwin, such thinkers as Herbert Spencer or William Greg had 'properly understood' Darwin's theory (39), Osborn suggests. In his Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), Hume argued that to live as 'a sensible knave,' or as someone who behaves morally as 'a general rule' while secretly taking 'advantage of all the exceptions,' was foolish idea, since those who violate social norms for their own selfish gain tend to be 'betrayed by their own maxims' (44; Hume 2006, 267). In short, the best way to appear honest is to be honest, but does honesty require the support of the Platonic concept of the 'noble lie' put forward in the Republic? Yet in the 19th century, the challenge issued by Thrasymachus to Socrates, that 'injustice on a sufficiently large scale is a stronger, freer, and more masterful thing than justice,' and that 'it is the advantage of the stronger that is the just, while the unjust is what profits a man's self and is for his advantage' (Republic, 344c), now appeared as 'an irrefutable scientific truth' (56). For the problem with grounding human dignity in autonomous reason, as the Enlightenment in general and Kant in particular had done, was that freedom and a capacity for reason itself seemed inconceivable in an immanent, naturalist universe. Noting Conor Cunningham's penetrating critique of Richard Dawkins's notion of the 'selfish gene' and Denis Noble's tongue-in-cheek reversal of Dawkins's highly metaphorical language (59-60, n. 96), Osborn stakes his claim for 'a holistic, embodied, and integrative view'one that takes 'the interiority and subjectivity of human experience' as 'primary datum and departure points,' inseparable from yet not reducible to the laws of biophysics and the categories of Darwinian theory (66). As Alasdair MacIntyre argued in After Virtue (1984), the 18th and 19th centuries were not so much centuries of Enlightenment, but of 'a peculiar kind of darkness in which men so dazzled themselves that they could no longer see' (71; MacIntyre 1984,

Contents: Johannes Woyke: Contemporary Biblical Hermeneutics and Bonhoeffer's "Theologic... more Contents: Johannes Woyke: Contemporary Biblical Hermeneutics and Bonhoeffer's "Theological Exposition" of Scripture. A comparative Overview - Stephen Plant: God's Dangerous Gift: Bonhoeffer, Luther and Bach on the Role of Reason in Reading Scripture - Robert Steiner/Helen Hacksley: Enticing Otherness in Barcelona - Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Retelling of the Gospel like "a fairy tale about a strange land" - Jens Zimmermann: Finitum Capax Infiniti or The Presencing of Christ: A Response to Stephen Plant and Robert Steiner - Edward van 't Slot: The Freedom of Scripture - Bonhoeffer's Changing View of Biblical Canonicity - Karina Juhl Kande: Biblical Metaphors in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Understanding of The Church - Marie Theres Igrec: Bonhoeffer's "theological interpretation" of the Biblical Narrative of the "Creation and Fall" of Man - Florian Schmitz: "Only the believers obey, and only the obedient believe." Notes on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Biblical Hermeneutics with Reference to Discipleship - Paul R. Hinlicky: Verbum Externum - Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Bethel Confession - Nicola J. Wilkes: Confession of Sin as the Mirror Image of the Fall - Anne Reichold: Bonhoeffer's Worldly Hermeneutics: Language and Life as Spheres of "in-between".

Religious Studies Review, 2013

Perhaps it was unintentional. In 2011 the atheist Steven Pinker wrote a book (The Better Angels o... more Perhaps it was unintentional. In 2011 the atheist Steven Pinker wrote a book (The Better Angels of Our Nature) about the history of violence, but contended our world was becoming less violent and so may obliquely offer various indications of God's ongoing presence in our world. Brad Gregory, a Catholic historian espousing a more somber awareness of the negative effects of the Reformation on modernity and promoting a renewal of theology in the university, writes in 2012 the present work that sees moral failure and aimlessness vainly grasping after panaceas (human rights), thereby sabotaging their own hope of re-establishing a purified Christianity or of establishing a shared moral foundation and commitment. How and why did things go so horribly wrong? Gregory contends that the 16 th century Reformation unintentionally contributed to our hyper-pluralist, obsessively consumer-oriented, and morally and politically fractured contemporary society. Such a society, Gregory laments, has removed any substantial public God-talk and marginalized or devalued the essential investigation of Life Questions (Why are we here? What is our purpose? Is there a higher, unifying Good or principle? Is there a God?).

Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, 2009

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Humanism and Religion, 2012

Introduction, Paul S. Rowe, John H.A. Dyck, and Jens Zimmermann Part I Theological perspectives 1... more Introduction, Paul S. Rowe, John H.A. Dyck, and Jens Zimmermann Part I Theological perspectives 1. Reconciliation as a Christian response to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Salim J. Munayer 2. The New Testament and the land, Gary M. Burge 3. Orientalism in Christian theology, Magih Abdul-Masih Part II Historical perspectives 4. Christian reactions to the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem (637 CE), Maher Y. Abu-Munshar 5. Albert Hourani, Arab Christian minorities and the spiritual dimension of Britain's problem in Palestine, 1938-1947, Todd Thompson 6. The beginnings of a new coexistence: A case study of the veneration of the Prophet Elijah (Mar Ilyas) among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Haifa after 1948, Akiko Sugase Part III Contemporary perspectives 7. In this world you will have trouble: Christians living amid conflict in the Middle East, Paul S. Rowe 8. Christians working for peace in the Middle East: Efforts and expectations, Peter E. Makari 9. "The cross and the crescent are the marks on my hands": The performance of Palestinian unity amidst political fragmentation, Alain Epp Weaver 10. Researching Palestinian Christian uses of the Bible: Israeli and Israelite violence as a canonical problem? Mark Daniel Calder

Journal of the History of Philosophy, 1968

MANCHE INTERPRETEN BEHAUPTEN, I-IEIDEGGER HABE bald nach der VerSffentlichung yon Sein und Zeit i... more MANCHE INTERPRETEN BEHAUPTEN, I-IEIDEGGER HABE bald nach der VerSffentlichung yon Sein und Zeit in 1927 neue Probleme aufgewoffen und andere Denkwege eingesehlagen. I)aran ist richtig, dass Heideggers Besch~ftigung mit den Dichtern, die uns hier interessiert, im Lauf der Jahre immer mehr an Bedeutung ffir ihn gewonnen hat. Trotzdem bleibt es fraglich, ob man die Spaltung seines Werks in eine frfihe und eine sp~te Periode aufrecht erhalten kann. Im Vorwort zu William J. Richardsons ausgezeiehnetem Buch fiber seine Philosophie hat Heidegger vor dieser Periodeneinteilung gewarnt: "Nur yon dem unter I (erste Periode) Gedaehten her wird zun~ehst das unter II (zweite Periode) zu Denkende zug~nglich. Aber I wird nur m6glieh, wenn es in II enthalten ist." 1 Im Winter-Semester 1934/35 hat Heidegger ein Seminar fiber H61derlin abgehalten. Dem folgte ein Vortrag fiber HSlderlin 1936 in Rom gehalten und ein Jahr spiiter die erste VerSffentlichung fiber H61derlin unter dem Titel HOlderlin und das Wesen der Dichtung. Diese Arbeit wurde unvergndert in einen 1951 erschienenen Band Erlguterungen zu HOlderlins Dichtung aufgenommen. Wenn man Heideggers Arbeitsweise kennt, muss man annehmen, dass seiner ersten 6ffentlichen Nusserung fiber HSlderlin ein langes Studium seines Werkes vorausgegangen ist. Im Falle Nietzsches waren es zehn Jahre. ~ Wir wissen auch welchen tiefen Eindruck die H61derlin-Ausgabe, yon Norbert yon Hellingrath vor dem ersten Weltkrieg begonnen, auf Heidegger gemaeht hat. Chronologisch betrachtet hat H61derlin vermutlich schon wiihrend der Arbeit an Sein und Zeit eine nicht unbetriichtliche Wirkung auf I-Ieidegger ausgefibt. Wichtiger ffir den inneren Zusammenhang von Sein und Zeit mit sp~teren Arbeiten Heideggers ist die Tatsache, dass ein Hauptgedanke yon Sein und Zeit, niimlich das Wesen des menschlichen Daseins als eines In-der-Welt-seins, erst einen Zugang zu Heideggers Auffassung yon Dichtung erSffnet. Man muss sich hfiten, diesen Gedanken in einen Begriff umzuwandeln, der alle Bewegung zum Stillstand bringt. In-der-Welt-sein meint die Weise des menschlichen Daseins, die den Menschen in

Theologische Revue, Oct 20, 2021

Mit dieser wichtigen und genau recherchierten Arbeit bestätigt die Vf.in die schon von vielen and... more Mit dieser wichtigen und genau recherchierten Arbeit bestätigt die Vf.in die schon von vielen anderen Forscher:inne:n hervorgehobene Relevanz der Theologie Bonhoeffers für die Kirche der Gegenwart. Wir skizzieren kurz die Gestalt von Bonhoeffers späterer Theologie, die Nicole Hermannsdörfers Untersuchung trägt und die einen breiten Konsens in der Bonhoefferforschung findet. Bonhoeffers theologisch-pastorale Grundfrage, "Wer ist Christus für uns heute?", war mindestens seit seiner Christologievorlesung 1932 im Rahmen eines christologischen Wirklichkeitsverständisses so gestellt, dass ein diesseitiges und damit politisch relevantes Christentum theologisch notwendig wird. Seit der Menschwerdung Gottes in Jesus Christus, so Bonhoeffer, kann Gott nicht mehr ohne Welt und Welt nicht mehr ohne Gott gedacht werden. "Es gibt nicht zwei Wirklichkeiten, sondern nur eine Weltwirklichkeit, und das ist die in Christus offenbargewordene Gotteswirklichkeit in der

Derrida und danach?, 2008

Der bekannte amerikanische Literaturwissenschaftlers Stanley Fish hat kurz nach Derricks Tod beha... more Der bekannte amerikanische Literaturwissenschaftlers Stanley Fish hat kurz nach Derricks Tod behauptet, in der Literaturtheorie deuteten alle Anzeichen auf eine religiöse Wende. Fish kündigt an, dass nach den linguistischen und ethischen Trends der ...

The practice and character of biblical hermeneutics, tied as they are to cultural history, are pr... more The practice and character of biblical hermeneutics, tied as they are to cultural history, are presently undergoing a postmodern phase of reassessing a long hermeneutic development. This history of interpretation began with the premodern theological

Issues in Business Ethics, 2015

Recent debates about human dignity and the role of religion within democratic, constitutional soc... more Recent debates about human dignity and the role of religion within democratic, constitutional societies in Europe and North America demonstrate a deterioration of secularism and the need to retrieve the religious, Christian humanist roots of our culture. After demonstrating the necessity to recover a metaphysical framework for answering the question of our humanity and society’s ultimate purpose, and for regaining a synthesis of reason and faith, this chapter offers a reconstruction of Christian humanism for the renewal of Western culture based on patristic, medieval and Renaissance roots, modern theology (both Protestant and Catholic), and hermeneutic philosophy. While non-Christians share intrinsically in this ideal as those created in God’s image, the chapter concludes, that renewal of a humanistic ethos depends first of all on Christians’ living out the belief that God became flesh to make us truly human.

This brief article explores what hermeneutic philosophy contributes to our understanding of human... more This brief article explores what hermeneutic philosophy contributes to our understanding of human consciousness

Literature and religion were the two most important shaping influences of human culture in the We... more Literature and religion were the two most important shaping influences of human culture in the West until the scientific revolution, with its initial conception of a mechanical universe, undermined the hitherto generally accepted notion that the human mind participated in an inherently meaningful cosmos. 1 Recognizing this break with the long-standing notion that human consciousness participates in a greater, meaningful reality is crucial for any adequate understanding of philosophical hermeneutics because this particular twentieth-century branch of continental philosophy depicts itself as an attempt to heal the breach caused by the scientific revolution.

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2020

https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/the-cambridge-companion-to-hermeneutics/

Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2007

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 2007

Calvin Theological Journal, Nov 1, 1997

Further, if we truly believe that Jesus rose again, then we know for sure that our whole way of g... more Further, if we truly believe that Jesus rose again, then we know for sure that our whole way of going at life must likewise change. For our God is life and not death, he is lovingly inclusive and not harshly discriminatory. And one day he will raise up both Abel and Cain, reconciling them to each other as part ofthat shimmering moment of cosmic renewal that will be the wedding feast of the Lamb-the innocent Lamb who died that we all may live.

Calvin Theological Journal, Nov 1, 1997

Abstract: One legitimate way of reading Paul Ricoeur’s work is as a philosophical anthropology i... more Abstract:
One legitimate way of reading Paul Ricoeur’s work is as a philosophical anthropology in which the philosopher explores the ways in which the embodied will of the human person is open to the transcendent, certainly to the transcendent human other, but also, albeit more opaquely, to the divine. For Ricoeur this openness is inscribed in symbols, language, and textual traditions that shape our imagination. In this presentation, I will draw on Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self to expose reductive views of human identity, represented at their extreme edge by the philosophies represented by the movement of transhumanism. Transhumanist views of the human mind and identity are in turn beholden to a cognitivism still suffering from the effects of Cartesian dualism, combined with reductive physicalism. The purpose of this paper is to show that Ricoeur’s exchange with neuroscience (his dialogue with Jean-Pierre-Changeux in What Makes Us Think), Ricoeur’s defence of ethical “ipse” selfhood against Derek Parfit’s reductive anthropology (Oneself as Another), and Ricoeur’s embodied selfhood delineated in the personalism of his earlier works (Freedom and Nature), offer a robust philosophical framework for resisting the reductive anthropologies of modern techno-reasoning that increasingly shape our contemporary social imaginary to the diminishment of our humanity.

Beyond Competing Paradigms: The Dignity of Work in Lutheran and Catholic Social Ethics Our confer... more Beyond Competing Paradigms: The Dignity of Work in Lutheran and Catholic Social Ethics Our conference is dedicated to reflecting from a biblical perspective on the nature of work, and to do so in light of the Protestant Reformation, together with Catholic social thought. Within this larger theme, our panel today is specifically dedicated to competing Reformational and Roman Catholic concepts of work as vocation or divine calling. Any Christian reflection on the concept of work as vocation must consider two aspects. The first is theological anthropology. We cannot think about the nature of work without pondering human nature. Given that the central mystery of the Christian faith is God's becoming human for the restoration of our true humanity according to God's image, any reflections about work must, in the words of Jean Paul II, emphasize " the primacy of man over things. " 1 Thinking about vocation must be grounded in theological anthropology: what is human nature, and how does our view of work accord with this view? In the biblical tradition, human nature is special by being created in God's image. The question of work is therefore inevitably linked to the question of human dignity and to the challenge of examining whether our modern view of work accords with human dignity. Only in this way can we decide between humane and dehumanizing work. Besides anthropology, the second important element for thinking about work is epistemology. We should remember that the very notion of work as intrinsic to human nature and dignity emerged only historically, along with changing views of what constitutes a healthy society. This second level of reflection recognizes that humans only know by way of history, and thus asks how Christian anthropology with its view of work has shaped society and how it has in turn been shaped by cultural changes. We necessarily have a rear-view mirror of historical developments, and so we all engage the conceptual history of work from our present historical standpoint as those who inhabit late modern forms of capitalist, consumerist societies. Thus our reflections on work have little choice but engage Max Weber's opening bet in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism that " a product of modern European civilization, studying any problem of universal history, is bound to ask himself to what combination of circumstances the fact should be attributed that in Western civilization, and in Western civilization only, cultural phenomena have appeared which, as we like to think, lie in a line of development having universal significance and value. " 2 Weber's work focussed on the universal phenomenon of capitalism, but his statement is equally relevant to the understanding of work as a vocation and expression of human dignity that grew uniquely in the Western, European context. Perhaps more than anyone else, we owe to Weber's historical analysis of vocation the " competing paradigms, " to which our panel is