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Leisure Studies And Christian Scholarship: Two Solitudes?, Paul Heintzman

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

This paper examines the interrelationships between scholarly Christian writings on leisure and leisure studies literature. As an academic field of study leisure studies is a fairly recent development, however throughout Christian history leisure has been considered by Christians such as Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and Calvin. A number of observations can be made from a review of these two bodies of literature. First, although numerous books have been written in recent decades by Christian scholars on the subject of leisure, very few of these scholars have been leisure studies scholars, and in most cases, these Christian writings have not made reference …

Buddhist Phenomenology And The Problem Of Essence, Jingjing Li

Comparative Philosophy

In this paper, I intend to make a case for Buddhist phenomenology. By Buddhist phenomenology, I mean a phenomenological interpretation of Yogācāra’s doctrine of consciousness. Yet, this interpretation will be vulnerable if I do not justify the way in which the anti-essentialistic Buddhist philosophy can countenance the Husserlian essence. I dub this problem of compatibility between Buddhist and phenomenology the ‘problem of essence’. Nevertheless, I argue that this problem will not jeopardize Buddhist phenomenology because: 1) Yogācārins, especially late Yogācārins represented by Xuanzang do not articulate emptiness as a negation but as an affirmation of the existent; 2) Husserl’s phenomenological …

Tilting Toward The Light: Translating The Medieval World On The Ming-Mongolian Frontier, Carla Nappi

The Medieval Globe

Ming China maintained relationships with neighboring peoples such as the Mongols by educating bureaucrats trained to translate many different foreign languages. While the reference works these men used were designed to facilitate their work, they also conveyed a specific vision of the past and a taxonomy of cultural differences that constitute valuable historical sources in their own right, illuminating the worldview of the Chinese-Mongolian frontier.

Japan On The Medieval Globe: The Wakan Rōeishū And Imagined Landscapes In Early Medieval Texts, Elizabeth Oyler

The Medieval Globe

This essay explores how the poetry collection Wakan rōeishū becomes an important allusive referent for two medieval Japanese works, the travelogue Kaidōki and the nō play Tsunemasa. In particular, it focuses on how Chinese poems from the collection become the means for describing Japanese spaces and their links to power, in the context of a changing political landscape.

The Painter, The Warrior, And The Sultan: The World Of Marco Polo In Three Portraits, Sharon Kinoshita

The Medieval Globe

In the wake of Edward Said’s Orientalism and postcolonial theory, Marco Polo is often cast as a quintessentially Western observer of Asian cultures. This essay seeks to break his text out of the binaries in which it is frequently understood. Returning the text to its original title, “The Description of the World,” it reconstructs the diversity of late thirteenth-century Asia through the portraits of three figures who were Marco’s contemporaries.

Towards A Connected History Of Equine Cultures In South Asia: Bahrī (Sea) Horses And “Horsemania” In Thirteenth-Century South India, Elizabeth Lambourn

The Medieval Globe

This article explores ways that the concept of equine cultures, developed thus far principally in European and/or early modern and colonial contexts, might translate to premodern South Asia. As a first contribution to a history of equine matters in South Asia, it focuses on the maritime circulation of horses from the Middle East to Peninsular India in the thirteenth century, examining the different ways that this phenomenon is recorded in textual and material sources and exploring their potential for writing a new, more connected history of South Asia and the Indian Ocean world.

The Geographic And Social Mobility Of Slaves: The Rise Of Shajar Al’Durr, A Slave-Concubine In Thirteenth-Century Egypt, D. Fairchild Ruggles

The Medieval Globe

Large numbers of outsiders were integrated into premodern Islamic society through the institution of slavery. Many were boys of non-Muslim parents drafted into the army, and some rose to become powerful political figures; in Egypt, after the death of Ayyubid sultan al-Salih (r. 1240–49), they formed a dynasty known as the Mamluks. For slave concubines, the route to power was different: Shajar al-Durr, the concubine of al-Salih, gained enormous status when she gave birth to his son and later governed as regent in her son’s name, converting to Islam after her husband’s death and then reigning as sultan in her …

Identity In Flux: Finding Boris Kolomanovich In The Interstices Of Medieval European History, Christian Raffensperger

The Medieval Globe

The politics of kinship and of monarchy in medieval eastern Europe are typically constructed within the framework of the modern nation-state, read back into the past. The example of Boris Kolomanovich, instead, highlights the horizontal interconnectivity of medieval Europe and its neighbors and demonstrates the malleability of individual identity within kinship webs, as well as the creation of situational kinship networks to advance individuals’ goals.

Periodization And “The Medieval Globe”: A Conversation, Kathleen Davis, Michael Puett

The Medieval Globe

The period categories “medieval” and “modern” emerged with—and have long served to define and legitimate—the projects of western European imperialism and colonialism. The idea of “the medieval globe” is therefore double edged. On the one hand, it runs the risk of reconfirming the terms of the colonial, Orientalist history through which the “medieval” emerged, thus homogenizing the plural temporalities of global cultures and effacing the material effects of the becoming of the Middle Ages and its relationship to conditions of globalization. On the other hand, “the medieval globe” brings to bear a comparative focus that does not ask when and …

Editor’S Preface, Carol Symes

The Medieval Globe

No abstract provided.

The Medieval Globe 2.1 (2016), Carol Symes

The Medieval Globe

No abstract provided.

'Singing Of Psalms Of Which I Could Never Get Enough': Labouring Class Religion And Poetry In The Cambuslang Revival Of 1741, Elspeth Jajdelska

Studies in Scottish Literature

Describes and discusses the nature and uses of poetry by Scottish labouring-class participants in the revival at Cambuslang, near Glasgow, in 1741, drawing on the manuscript account of the revival collected by the parish minister, William McCulloch; setting the poems in the context of recent scholarly reconsideration of 17th and 18th century Scottish religious culture; relating the poems to the Scottish use of metrical psalms in kirk services and domestic devotions; and commenting in detail on poems by Alexander Bilsland and George Tassie, and a report on religious poetry reading by Ann Wylie.

An Incongruent Amalgamation: John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism On Naturalism, Jeffrey M. Robinson

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

John Stuart Mill's utilitarian principle of the greatest happiness for the greatest number, often surfaces in cultural debates in the contemporary West over the extent and foundations of moral duties. Given the drift from its historical Judeo-Christian moorings, naturalism now provides much of the epistemic grounding in Western culture in relation to moral duties. The amalgamation of Mill’s utilitarianism and naturalism has resulted in a cultural and epistemic disconnect. Naturalism is hard-pressed to provide consistent epistemic support for Mill’s utilitarian principle. This essay provides a number of suggestions as to why Mill’s utilitarianism may be inconsistent on naturalism.

Book Reviews, Various Authors

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Book Reviews

Letter From The Editor, Managing Editor

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Letter from the Editor

A Critical Analysis Of Neural Buddhism's Explanation Of Moral Transformation, Jeffrey R. Dickson

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

As non-theistic arguments for morality become increasingly sophisticated and complex, they are harder to criticize without first admiring their skillful design and near-artistry. One such argument involves a relatively new innovation that is the child of naturalism and eastern philosophy—Neural Buddhism. Like two world-renowned designers collaborating on a new garment, Naturalism and Buddhism have come together in this distinct program to offer something inventive, especially in its explanation of moral transformation. However, this critical analysis will ultimately reveal that Neural Buddhism’s explanation of moral transformation is incapable of providing good answers to several compelling criticisms.

Unique History, Unique Opportunity: Evangelicalism In Austria Since 1945, John D. Doss M.Div.

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

The article deals with the history of evangelicalism in Austria, a subject on which there is hardly any scholarly research. In focus is the development of the newly recognized baptist, charismatic, mainline evangelical, mennonite and pentecostal denominations since 1945. The role of immigration in the growth of evangelicalism is examined, especially during two periods: the decade after WWII (1945-55) as well as the massive immigration from Eastern Europe (particularly from Romania) after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The article also presents examples of indigenous church movements among the Austrian people themselves, especially during the 1970's and 1980's. …

Churches Of Christ, Spiritual Formation, And The Liturgical Christian Calendar, Wes Horn

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

For many Christian traditions, participation in the liturgical year does not seem remarkable; in fact, it is second nature being the form, or liturgy, through which congregational members grew up practicing their faith. However, for those Christian traditions, like the Churches of Christ, who have avoided the liturgical year, the inclusion of liturgical practices is a substantial deviation in worship theology, practice, and comfort.

This article recounts one congregation’s journey through the liturgical calendar as a test case for a Doctor of Ministry project. The thesis questioned whether the introduction of the liturgical Christian calendar into the worship life of …

Helping My Little Brothers And Sisters, Megan Gillson

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

When I think about my trips to El Salvador, I think of peace and joy. I also think of peace and joy when I think about Christmas break and summer. In the blur of a school day, it can be so hard to find these things—why? How is it that we can accomplish so much in one day, from 8am until midnight, but still feel as though we’ve missed out on something bigger, something better? My argument is this: I think we were created to experience life to the …

Be Opened!, Paul A. Rothermich

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

After you have messed up, or made a mistake, or made a poor choice, have you sometimes heard a voice whispering to you, “You just didn’t listen”?

Ascension, Cody Schweickert

Verbum

No abstract provided.

The Birth Of Skepticism, Joe Heinlein

Verbum

No abstract provided.

When I Was Younger I Didn't Realize That Invisible Borders And Unsaid Rules, Isabela Leech

Verbum

No abstract provided.

Problematic Use Of Revelation In Dispensational Theologies, Joseph Deraddo

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

Dispensationalist theologies that use the Book of Revelation as their primary source of evidence are exegetically and hermeneutically problematic. The dispensationalist doctrine utilizes scripture in consistently literal interpretations. Followers of these various theologies are often jarred when told to switch hermeneutical gears to better understand unfulfilled prophecies. The primary belief fueling these theologies concerns dispensations, or separated periods of time thought to reveal God’s different purposes for human history and in particular the destinies of Israel and the Church. This paper seeks to demonstrate how these theological views fail …

The Power Of An Opera, Sarah Sorrentino

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

Samson et Dalila, a French opera composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, tells the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, focusing specifically on the final chapters of the story from the Book of Judges—Samson’s betrayal and death. After many years of struggle and conflict, Samson et Dalila was finally finished in 1876 as an opera rather than an oratorio. This was the idea of Ferdinand Lemaire, who composed the libretto for the opera. Much conflict and disapproval arose from this decision, as nobody during this time expected a biblical story to …

Following In The Footsteps Of My Parents, Seth Billington

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

When I was very little, around the age of 4-5, I was baptized at the Cobleskill Methodist Church on Chapel Street. And my family, which consisted of my mom Theresa, my father Kevin, and my twin sister Kate and I, at the time, were quite devoted to our faith. We were Christian and every Sunday my sister and I would attend Sunday school and we would attend Sunday mass as a family. I would say that we were fairly religious in general because we would always attend our church’s …

In Memoriam, No Author

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

The Office of Campus Ministry continues to mourn the loss of Fr. Joe Lanzalaco, who passed away a little more than three months ago. We have each written an open letter to share what Fr. Joe meant to us.

The Influence Of Social Protest From Ancient Israel To The Modern Day, Kyra Krieg

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

Social protest is the way in which an oppressed minority group pursues some form of social change on their own behalf. Without social protest, the decisions of the majority population would go unquestioned and the needs of the suppressed minority would be ignored. For beneficial changes to be made for the oppressed minority, social protest is in order. Social protest has long paved the way for societal change, and without the creative minority, these changes would never occur.

The Impact Of Judaism On Social Reform, Meghan Conner

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

Judaism marked the beginning of a revolutionary idea that laid the groundwork for social reform: humans have the ability and therefore the responsibility to stop injustices in the world. The Jews were the first to decide that it was their responsibility as the Chosen People to fight against inequality in the world. This mentality revolutionized social reform and brought it into existence as a way for human beings to positively shape their world. The ideas laid by the Jews continued to impact people for centuries and are especially relevant …

Preliminary Pages, No Author

Verbum

No abstract provided.