Articles varia
- GANGLOFF Frédéric - La « Grande Déesse » dans le Proche-Orient ancien et dans l’Ancien Testament : une esquisse
- LESTRINGANT Frank - Minorité et martyre : les huguenots en France au temps des guerres de religion
- REYMOND Bernard - Les chaires réformées et leurs couronnements
- CARDON-BERTALOT Philippe - L’universalité du salut et la possibilité de la connaissance de Dieu dans la théologie de Barth
- AUQUE Hubert - Propos sur le travail de deuil
- REIJNEN Anne-Marie - Paul Tillich et Martin Buber : entente et malentendus
In this article, F. Gangloff attempts a classification of the various facets of the omnipresent figure of the « Great Goddess » in the literature and image of the Ancient Middle-East. Far from being confined to the classical scope of the « mo-ther-goddess », the determining activities of the « Great Goddess » arouse the jealousy of her masculine counterpart. Some traces of this rivalty can be found in the Old Testament.
The lack of understanding people shown when confronted with the phenomenon of Protestant martyrs finds two main expressions : violent condemnation or sorrowful scepticism. In the first case, the vogue of martyrdom is ascribed to the Machiavellian behaviour of theologians and ministers ; in the second case, it is attributed to the fanaticism of the faithful. In this study, F. Lestringant sheds light on some aspects of the « war of the martyrs » in relation to the situation of the Reformed as a minority group in France.
Pulpits are a characteristic element of Protestant religious architecture and particularly of Reformed architecture. Though they appeared in the Middle Ages, before the Reformation, Reformed Protestantism acknowledges their particular value. By examining some sounding-boards, with which they have always been equipped until the beginning of our century, B. Reymond shows that their function was not essentially an acoustic one, but a symbolic one : the sounding-board « crowns » the pulpit, so to speak. Thus there is a close relationship between the æsthetics of Reformed pulpits and the Protestant theology of worship.
Ph. Cardon-Bertalot puts together two essential dates in K. Barth’s life : 1919, when the first version of this Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans was published in Berne, 80 years ago, and December 1968, the date of this death. The comparison of these two dates shows that, for 50 years, Barth dedicated himself continuously to theological work. The author shows one of the possible basic threads running through Barth’s thought over such a long period of elaboration : the question of the knowledge of God, the answer of which is in God’s self-objectivation in his revelation.
Far from being limited to the period the death of a loved one, the work of mourning has to deal with the management of every loss, including the loss of our illusions. We are invited, H. Auque explains, to reorganize our relationships with others as soon as one of them happens to be taken from us. In the same way, we must accept an alteration in our affectivity as a result of a disappointment. The nations, too, have to live through types of renunciation in order to survive the upheavals they experience. Reconciliation with others or with oneself must pass through this stage during which time contributes to the reorganization of relationships.
An appraisal of the search for an authentic encounter. Martin Buber’s work and personality have durably influenced Paul Tillich, as A.-M. Reijnen demonstrates. To portray religious experience by means of the category of encounter with the Divine was one of the Jewish philosopher’s passionately held views and one for which Tillich was truly indebted to him. Yet this dialogue, its openmindedness notwithstanding, remained flawed in som aspects, e.g. the tenacious misunderstanding as to religious universalism or the meaning of Israel. Beyond an appraisal of the encounter between two thinkers belonging to different faiths, this article also focuses on the need for a more demanding interreligious dialogue in which less palatable dimensions shall not be side-tracked.