Showing papers on "Idolatry published in 1996"

No King, No Popery: Anti-Catholicism in Revolutionary New England

Abstract: Introduction Exposing the Idolatry of the Romish Church: Anti-popery and Colonial New England Deliverance from Luxury: Pope's Day, Social Conflict, and the Anti-papal Persuasion The Pope of Canada and the Fool of England: Anti-popery and the Ideological Origins of the American Revolution However Erroneous It Might Appear to Me as a Protestant: The Beginning of Religious Toleration for Catholics The Perfidy of My Countrymen: Whigs, Tories, and the French Alliance Our Ancient Prejudices Were Very Far from Being Eradicated: The French in Massachusetts, 1778-1782 An Unalienable Right of All Mankind: Religious Freedom for New England Catholics How Would Our Fathers Have Stared: New England, Popery, and the Reverend John Thayer Conclusion Selected Bibliography Index

The Jesus-Tradition and Idolatry

Abstract: We do not find the word eἰδωλολατρία (idolatry) in the canonical Gospels. Persons appearing in the latter and representing non-Jewish religion are never denounced by Jesus as idolaters, not even Pontius Pilate, whose religiously provocative actions against the Jews are known through Philo and Josephus. In the word ‘dogs’ which Jesus uses in the dialogue with the woman near Tyre (Mark 7.27, cf. Matt 7.6) there may be an allusion to pagan religion, but this is not certain. The low profile towards non-Jewish religion in our Gospels stands in contrast to the New Testament writings which precede them, i.e. the letters of Paul, or which come after them, e.g. Acts and the Book of Revelation. In his confrontation with non-Jews and in his prophecies about the share of the peoples in the Kingdom of God Jesus seems to be indifferent towards non-Jewish religion, in contradistinction to many New Testament writers and also many Jewish contemporaries, such as the Qumran Essenes (1QS 2.11–12, 17; cf. Deut 29.17–20; CD 11.14, 12.6–11; lQpHab 12.12–14) and Philo. If the Gospels were written by persons with an interest in transmitting the Christian message to the non-Jewish world, it seems odd that explicit anti-pagan utterances in the mouth of Jesus are almost lacking.

Holiness and Idolatry: Coleridge and Tillich on the Nature of Symbols

Abstract: No one is in any doubt that symbols form an integral part of human religious belief and practice. In all ages and places humanity's search for meaning and truth has found expression in symbolic form. A glance at the rites and practices of the various religious traditions of the world is enough to substantiate the general observation. However, one could say, without exaggeration, that human religious consciousness is, by its very nature, 'symbolic' in that it arises through and is expressed in symbols. Such symbols, be they narrative images, objects, actions or historical events, lie at the very heart of religious awareness and faith. For Christians, events in the life of Jesus, the narrative imagery of the Bible, liturgical rites and practices and the furnishings of our churches constitute powerful and formative symbols. The fundamental difficulty in relation to such symbols, however, lies in the business of determining how they are best to be understood. How do they function in relation to God and what is 'going on' in our engagement with them? How is human perception involved and what are the dangers? There has been a great deal of attention paid to this subject in recent years, either in the context of a study of symbols as such, or within the wider concern with aesthetics. In this article I shall tum to the work of two established writers whose awareness and discussion of symbols is especially challenging. They are Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Paul Tillich. These two together enable us to grasp, perhaps more clearly than is often the case, what is at stake in our relation with symbols. Through looking at their work I shall emphasize the power and the danger inherent especially in religious symbols. In doing this I shall underline the capacity of symbols both to engage us with the holy but also to 'provoke idolatry'. Let us begin with the contribution of S. T. Coleridge.