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Showing papers by "Protestant Theological University published in 2009"



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose the concept of ecology, a system of diverse populations, including populations of congregations and faith communities, that interacts with these populations and with their specific environments.
Abstract: The missional church concept promises to guide local churches in the direction of a new identity and mission. It is a response to a sense of ecclesiological and congregational urgency that is felt all over the world. In Africa, North America and Europe, churches and local faith communities have been challenged by the changes in the religious state of affairs since the 1960s. Whether we still call it ‘secularisation’ or rephrase it as ‘differentiated transformation’, the face of religion is changing globally. In many parts of the world, this raises a feeling of crisis that gives way to the redef nition of the mission and purpose of the church. ‘Missional church’, however, is a precarious concept. Nobody disagrees with the intention but can it be more than an inspiring vision? In order to realise this vision, a multi-layered and multi-dimensional analysis of ‘culture’ is essential. We should move the analysis beyond the philosophical interpretation of relatively abstract and evasive macro-level processes, such as ‘modernity’ and ‘post-modernity’. The future of the missional church depends on a differentiated and empirical, informed perspective on culture. For this purpose, this article proposes the concept of ecology: A system of diverse populations, including populations of congregations and faith communities, that interacts with these populations and with their specific environments. Preparing a missional congregation for the future should be accompanied with a thorough empirical investigation into the ecology of the congregation. We should be thinking intensively about and looking for vital ecologies.

6 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, it was observed that the determined state (the noun with article in postposition) in the singular in the Targums of Onqelos and Jonathan, as well as the ending -ē to m. pl. nouns, used to be explained from supposed linguistic influence of Eastern Aramaic.
Abstract: The unexpected occurrence of the determined state (the noun with article in postposition) in the singular in the Aramaic of the classical Targums of Onqelos and Jonathan, as well as the ending -ē to m. pl. nouns, used to be explained from supposed linguistic influence of Eastern Aramaic. It can be observed, however, that in all or nearly all of these cases these endings indicate the non-countedness of the nouns, uniqueness or amorphousness in the singular or collectives in the plural. The picture is especially clear when the noun is found with cardinal numbers. It is proposed that the noun in Targumic Aramaic had, beside absolute, construct, and determined states, a fourth state which can be designated as the uncounted state. This characteristic linguistic trait of the Targumic dialect probably sets it apart from most other Aramaic dialects, also has a number of consequences in the exegetical field, and may explain the origin of certain grammatical characteristics of Eastern Aramaic.

1 citations


Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the recognition of the space between the one and the other is a necessary condition of being and living together in peace, and they argue that this recognition and respect creates an in-between space/time in the intersubjective relation that will enable the subjects to flourish together and individually.
Abstract: In this text, I argue that the recognition of the space between the one and the other is a necessary condition of being and living together in peace. Departing from Luce Irigaray’s ethics of sexual difference, I will address the issue of the recognition of irreducible difference in the relations between women. I will show that Irigaray’s ethics of sexual difference goes hand in hand with an aesthetics of recognizing the irreducible difference of the other. This recognition and respect creates an in-between space/time in the intersubjective relation that will enable the subjects to flourish together and individually. Pivotal to these ideas is Irigaray’s argument that the subject is disappropriated by the fact that it belongs to a “gender”: a horizon of meaning or universal that is marked by (linguistic) gender; thus that “belonging to a gender” constitutes the limit to the I or her/his irreducible difference.

1 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the everyday spatial consequences of different political theories for the place of the sacred in the metropolis and compare them with public spheres, domains and public spaces.
Abstract: Urban space has its impact on lived religion, but, at the same time, the public domain is affected by religious practices. Since the public is shared space and therefore a common good, many political philosophers have addressed the question of the proper public place of the sacred. Over the past decades, this issue has gained new interest in the light of the changing social role of religion. In scholarly literature on this topic, many spatial metaphors, like public spheres and domains, are applied. However, discussions often remain theoretical and abstract. This contribution assesses the everyday spatial consequences of different political theories for the place of the sacred in the metropolis. (A revised version of this paper will be published in print in 2010)