RSS 1.0Protestant Ethics
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The Protestant Ethics collection aims to complement the various religious ethics collections in the Globethics library, by highlighting key insights of Protestant ethics from the 16th century to the contemporary era. The collection offers a comprehensive overview of the different theological traditions in Protestantism, particularly its moral and ethical doctrines.
Recent Submissions
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Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Rejection: Rejection as the Shadow-Side of Election, With Special Reference to the Case of Judas IscariotKarl Barth defends the Reformed doctrine of rejection because it, as well as election, means that God loves in freedom. Barth’s doctrine of election is interpreted as a consistent dialectical application of double predestination in that Jesus Christ, as the subject of God’s grace to humanity, because he is both the elected and rejected subject of divine predestination. The doctrine is consistent because Barth unites the doctrine of God with the doctrine of Jesus’s election as the fulfillment of the covenant of grace. The argument of the thesis is that Barth’s doctrine of rejection is appropriately viewed as an improvement to the Reformed understanding of election and God’s singular will of grace. The argument in favour of Barth’s doctrine of rejection proceeds in three stages: the dialectical methodology of double predestination, Jesus Christ as the material precedent of double predestination, and Judas Iscariot as a case study of Christocentric rejection.
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Las cuestiones polémicas de la Declaración Conjunta sobre la doctrina de la justificaciónLas reacciones ante la Declaración Conjunta sobre la doctrina de la justificación firmada por la Iglesia Católica y la Federación Luterana mundial han sido diversas. La misma Iglesia Católica hizo algunas precisiones al documento antes de la firma del mismo. En este artículo, después de analizar las cuestiones mencionadas en la respuesta de la Iglesia Católica, para ver en qué sentido la Declaración Conjunta puede ser aceptada por los católicos el autor se plantea el problema del valor de este acuerdo ecuménico: es un signo que las Iglesias han ofrecido a nuestro mundo en el paso del segundo al tercer milenio con el que indican que quieren continuar caminando hacia la unidad; es también un reconocimiento de que todos los cristianos estamos llamados a proclamar juntos al mundo la salvación que Dios nos ofrece sólo por Cristo; es un paso en el camino del diálogo ecuménico y, por ello, es un documento perfectible y no definitivo.
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Între viață și cărți. Despre neajunsurile și beneficiile ratării: Between life and books. On the shortcomings and profits of failureThis study analyses the relationship between failure and success from two perspectives: creative psychology and sociology of creation. By starting from Angelo Mitchievici’s recent book, “Farmecul vieților distruse. Câteva reflecții despre ratare” [The Charm of Failed Lives] (2022), which explores one of the favorite themes of decadent literature and art (failure), I aim to highlight the most relevant existential postures in a writer’s life: the anti-bourgeois aristocratic posture (the dandy) and the proletarian-democratic posture (the bohemian). It is not by chance that Mitchievici dwells on the works the Romanian-French writer Emil Cioran, who tried to build an image of a secluded writer, close to anonymity, avoiding to cultivate both the bohemian and the dandy style, by adopting a lifestyle shaped by the cult of work and discipline, in the spirit of the Protestant ethics theorized by Max Weber. Mitchievici explains very convincingly how, once he emigrated to Paris, Cioran completely abandoned the Romanian language, in which he was convinced he was failing as a writer, in order to devote himself exclusively to writing in French, with the idea of conquering global glory. In addition to Cioran, the authors in focus are Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Flaubert, Dino Buzzatti, Mihail Sadoveanu, Mircea Cărtărescu, etc., which provides the critic with the opportunity to reconnect with his former books (e.g. “Decadență și decadentism în contextul modernității românești și europene”, 2011) and to show a refined and mature essayist’s vein.
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Protestantische-Ethik-Skala (PES) : Messeigenschaften und KonstruktvaliditätSeit Max Weber zu Beginn des letzten Jahrhunderts bestimmte religiöse Überzeugungen mit der Entwicklung des Kapitalismus in Zusammenhang brachte, ist seine “protestantische Arbeitsethik“ zu einem der einflussreichsten sozialwissenschaftlichen Konzepte avanciert und hat gleichzeitig Eingang ins öffentliche Bewußtsein gefunden. Während im angloamerikanischen Sprachraum eine Vielzahl von Skalen zur Messung von protestantischer Arbeitsethik als Personmerkmal verfügbar sind, sucht man solche Instrumente im deutschen Sprachraum vergebens. Eine deutschsprachige Protestantische Ethik Skala (PES) wurde im Forschungsprojekt „Gerechtigkeit als innerdeutsches Problem“ entwickelt. Ihre Messeigenschaften und ihre Konstruktvalidität wurden an einer Stichprobe von N = 2175 Probanden untersucht. Die interne Konsistenz der zehn Items beträgt .85, die Retestkorrelation des Skalenwertes über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren .72. Latent-State-Trait-Analysen ergeben eine gute Reliabilität des Skalenwertes (.89), eine hohe Trait-Konsistenz über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren (.61), eine Messgelegenheitsspezifität von .16 und eine Spezifität der Testhälften von .12. Die PES ist normalverteilt. Männer haben höhere PES-Werte als Frauen, Selbständige höhere Werte als Beamte, Personen aus ländlichen Gemeinden höhere Werte als Stadtbewohner, Ostdeutsche höhere Werte als Westdeutsche. Die Alterskorrelation der PES beträgt .32. Übereinstimmend mit englischen Skalen korreliert die PES positiv mit dem Gerechte-Welt-Glauben, internalen Kontrollüberzeugungen, materialistischen und konservativen Werthaltungen, der Befürwortung des Leistungsprinzips bei der Verteilung begrenzter Ressourcen sowie der Sympathie für konservative politische Parteien. Eine Korrelation mit der Konfessionszugehörigkeit wurde auf individueller Ebene nicht gefunden. Auch dies stimmt mit angloamerikanischen Befunden überein.
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Max Weber’s Sociological Concept of Business LegitimacyIn his famous book The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber presented the idea that it was the Protestant reformations and what followed that gave the basis for the creation and expansion of capitalism in Europe and later on in the whole world. However, in his less known Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Religionssoziologie, collected treatises on the Sociology of Religion, Weber has also described how other significant world religions like Hinduism and Confucianism hindered the creation of capitalism in India and China although these countries had better productive, technological, political, and cultural preconditions for a capitalist change of the material reproduction of society.
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Max Weber’s Sociological Concept of Business LegitimacyIn his famous book The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber presented the idea that it was the Protestant reformations and what followed that gave the basis for the creation and expansion of capitalism in Europe and later on in the whole world. However, in his less known Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Religionssoziologie, collected treatises on the Sociology of Religion, Weber has also described how other significant world religions like Hinduism and Confucianism hindered the creation of capitalism in India and China although these countries had better productive, technological, political, and cultural preconditions for a capitalist change of the material reproduction of society.
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O progresso do peregrino e a ética da conversão individualistaThis article aims to present the religious allegory of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, seeking to find, in the narrative and in the historical con-text that interweaves the literary work, some elements that allow us to unders-tand the peregrine life ethos of the main character in search of his salvation. Considering that the book was written in response to the troubled religious and political scene of seventeenth-century England, we will analyze the narrative, dogmas and religious symbols present in the book, seeking to understand the relationship between faith and “mundane” life, individual and community, and especially the value of the devotion narratives present in the conversion expe-rience, and then to understand how those values, exposed in Bunyan’s powerful allegories, generated a playful and concrete universe that validated a profoundly individualistic religious ethic that became the a mark of puritanical conversionism that continues to make sense even for people who do not share Bunyan’s histo-rical and social context
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A Forceful and Fruitful Verse: Genesis 1:28 in Luther's Thought and its Place in the Wittenberg Reformation (1521-1531)"Be fruitful and multiply" is a verse with a storied history. Whether in theology or natural law, this much-debated verse’s explosive potential had gone largely dormant prior to the Reformation. For Luther, however, in the context of the debate surrounding monastic vows, this verse would once again take on new life. Fueled by the contributions of his fellow reformers - especially with regard to the normative nature of man's sexuality - a powerful new understanding of this verse emerged. This new understanding, a synthesis of Luther’s own scriptural understanding coupled with powerful natural-philosophical insight from Melanchthon, would go on to play a significant role as former celibates abandoned their vows. It would also offer normative shape to the contours of Reformation marriage even as it took its place in such important works as the Augsburg Confession and Melanchthon's Apology.
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[Rev.] Ionin L.G. The Drama of Max Weber’s Life. Moscow: Izdatel’skii dom “Delo” RANKHiGS publ., 2022This is a review of Leonid G. Ionin’s book devoted to Max Weber’s life and work. The book presents certain facts from Weber’s biography that are not widely known to the Russian audience. The author of the book focuses on Weber’s relationships with the people surrounding him. Aside from that, the author analyzes some elements of Weberian sociology while defining the influence of Protestant ethic on modern capitalism, as well as rationalization theory and the typology of domination. It is argued in the review that Ionin’s book makes an important contribution to the development of Max Weber studies in Russia.
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Las cuestiones polémicas de la Declaración Conjunta sobre la doctrina de la justificaciónLas reacciones ante la Declaración Conjunta sobre la doctrina de la justificación firmada por la Iglesia Católica y la Federación Luterana mundial han sido diversas. La misma Iglesia Católica hizo algunas precisiones al documento antes de la firma del mismo. En este artículo, después de analizar las cuestiones mencionadas en la respuesta de la Iglesia Católica, para ver en qué sentido la Declaración Conjunta puede ser aceptada por los católicos el autor se plantea el problema del valor de este acuerdo ecuménico: es un signo que las Iglesias han ofrecido a nuestro mundo en el paso del segundo al tercer milenio con el que indican que quieren continuar caminando hacia la unidad; es también un reconocimiento de que todos los cristianos estamos llamados a proclamar juntos al mundo la salvación que Dios nos ofrece sólo por Cristo; es un paso en el camino del diálogo ecuménico y, por ello, es un documento perfectible y no definitivo.
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A exaltação do trabalho: o poder pastoral e a ética do trabalho na Nova EraO presente estudo procura estabelecer os contornos do discurso popular relacionado à espiritualidade no ambiente de trabalho por meio da análise de textos acadêmicos e de textos orientados para profissionais da área, bem como de relatos de práticas organizacionais. Identificamos vários temas, chamando a atenção às potenciais contradições nos conceitos de “significado”, “avaliação” e “comunidade”, que o discurso procura promover. Ao investigar os meios pelos quais este discurso se materializa como fonte de poder administrativo, valemo-nos de uma série de exemplos organizacionais históricos e contemporâneos para ilustrar como o poder pastoral é reforçado pela elaboração de tecnologias disciplinares. Argumentamos que o discurso da espiritualidade no local de trabalho compartilha a aceitação de Weber das condições estruturais do capitalismo e busca resolver os dilemas que isso cria para o indivíduo, pelo desenvolvimento de uma percepção interna de significado e virtude. Sob esse ponto de vista, representa uma renovação da ética protestante de modo a repensar a relação ambivalente entre o indivíduo e a organização. Concluímos que a “ética social” cedeu lugar a uma ética de trabalho da Nova Era, que se apóia na gerência da metafísica individual como fonte de transformação, tanto organizacional quanto pessoal.
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Reforming Virtue: Bavinck's Method of Engaging with Virtue Ethics from a Reformed PerspectiveThere is a distinct reluctance in the Reformed tradition to engage with natural theology and scholarship in the study of, among other things, virtue ethics. This thesis attempts to demonstrate that Herman Bavinck’s four pillars of reformed dogmatics allows reformed ethicists to robustly engage in the study of virtue ethics. In chapter 1, I describe the nature and impact of the widening philosophical rift between specific and general revelation in the Reformed camp which can be traced to nineteenth-century Barthian dialectics, Van Tillian presuppositionalism, and Neo-Calvinism which served to bifurcate, and not integrate, general and special revelation. As a result, ethicists are discouraged from the use of evidences, natural theology, and secular scholarship (i.e., Aristotelian-Eudaimonist virtue) in constructing a Biblical system of ethics. In chapter 2, I demonstrate how Herman Bavinck utilized a reformed framework of theology and ethics to robustly engage with the culture, politics, and science of his day. Chapter 3 analyzes the first of four pillars of Herman Bavinck’s ethical thought, namely Bavinck’s doctrine of Revelation, to demonstrate the classical reformed understanding of special and general revelation. Chapter 4 examines Bavinck’s Biblical anthropology to show prescribed ethical outlooks based upon a tiered understanding of humanity’s condition. Chapter 5 looks to Bavinck’s doctrine of Imitatio Incarnatus Christi to argue that the imitation of Christ bridges mystical and practical ethics. Chapter 6 addresses the last of the four pillars—the Kingdom of God—as a converging ethical paradigm. In chapter 7, I conclude by discussing the ramifications of applying Bavinck’s four pillars to the study of ethics for the purpose of encouraging ethicists to rigorously pursue the study of virtue not despite, but due to their Reformed heritage.
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La ética del marketing en Colombia desde la mirada de algunos expertos de la academiaEste trabajo tiene como propósito identificar la ética implícita en el marketing en Colombia a partir de la visión de profesores expertos de las mejores universidades del país. El diseño metodológico fue el análisis hermenéutico de la información recogida en entrevistas semidirigidas. Los resultados identifican que la ética impartida en los pregrados de Colombia: tiene una postura moral hegemónica basada en la ética utilitarista; es importante para el profesional de mercadeo; deviene de la moral religiosa; se enseña a través de códigos de ética y tiende a ser incluida transversalmente en los currículos. Varias universidades incorporan, transversalmente, cuestiones éticas en sus currículos, mientras que otras eliminan o dejan a elección del estudiante el aprendizaje de este componente. El enfoque de ética que se imparte en los programas de pregrado en marketing en Colombia debe ser revisado, para evitar fenómenos del contexto nacional que se consideran inadecuados, como la competencia desleal o la publicidad engañosa.
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Η περί απολυτρώσεως διδασκαλία του αποστόλου Παύλου υπό το φως της πατερικής ερμηνείαςREDEMPTION was man's constant concern. People always felt the need for redemption from many bonds and were seeking a deliverer. The present thesis aims at studying the teachings of Apostle Paul on redemption, in the light of interpretation by the Fathers of the Church. The study is mainly based on the epistles of Apostle Paul, also texts of Fathers and Ecclesiastical writers. The main conclusions of the research are listed below: 1. In the Old Testament are to be found messianic prophecies and verses on Christ, where the redemption plan of God if announced. 2. Paul accepts redemption of mankind as a result of the conquer of Christ over Satan. 3. The Son of God came in flesh in order to redeem people from sin and death. 4. For Apostle Paul, apart from the coming of Jesus in flesh, basic stages of the redeeming mission of Christ is His sacrifice on the Cross and His Resurrection. 5. According to Paul, every man can be saved only within the Church. 6. Divine grace, truthful faith and good deeds are the factors guaranteeing man's redemption. 7. Everybody will be judged "in the Day of our Lord" by Jesus Christ. The faithful and the righteous ones will inherit the eternal life, however the unfaithful ones not.
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Abrégé de la théologie et de la morale chrétienne en forme de catéchisme, /Universiteitsbibliotheek Amsterdam (OTM: O 61-9997)
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Liturgy and ethics : new contributions from Reformed perspective /The connection between Christian ethics and liturgy has been on the research agenda for some decades now. Liturgy and Ethics addresses this issue departing from the particularity of the Reformed tradition and its potential for contributing to the discussion. The volume offers in-depth studies of how to understand Godâs acting in worship, the centrality of justice, and the formative meaning of the liturgy, and relates these reflections to various moral issues and contemporary liturgical practices. In combining a specific theological approach with a broad disciplinary treatment of the topics this volume aims to push forward the scholarly discussion on liturgy and ethics in significant ways.
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Kontinent der Zukunft: Friede für Afrika - nachhaltig und gerechtDer afrikanische Kontinent hat nicht nur mit gewaltsam ausgetragenen Konflikten, Hungersnöten und Armut zu kämpfen, sondern auch mit den Folgen des Klimawandels. Zugleich ist Afrika aber auch ein Kontinent der Chancen und der Zukunft. Die Beiträger*innen des Bandes fragen daher: Was können und sollten wir tun, damit sich auf unserem Nachbarkontinent ein nachhaltiger und gerechter Friede etablieren kann? Im Zentrum dieser Überlegungen stehen dabei die UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele (Sustainable Development Goals), denen eine Kompassfunktion zugeschrieben werden kann, die aber auch selbst diskussionswürdig sind.
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Streams of Latin American Protestant Theology /Although church historians often call the 19th century the Great Century of Protestant mission, for Latin America it was the 20th century that was the great century of Protestant growth and expansion. The 20th century witnessed vast societal changes and the realization of systemic poverty and injustice as well as the exponential growth, pentecostalization, and diversification of Latin American Protestantism. Latin American Protestant Theology emerged during this century of change. This text provides an introduction to Latin American Protestant Theology by engaging its dominant theological streams (Liberal, Evangelical, and Pentecostal) and how they understand themselves through the lens of mission. The text offers both a critique of the Christendom cartography that is dominant in Latin American Protestant Theology as well as suggestions for how to move towards a transformative theology of mission. The primary intention of this text is to offer an informed outline and analysis of the theological landscape of Latin American Protestantism. The secondary intention of this book is to note the contributions as well as deficiencies of the streams of LAPT in the hope to signal a possible path towards the development of an integral, transformative, contextual, and decolonial theological voice.
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Theological remarks on the Accra ConfessionThis article provides a critical evaluation of the Accra Confession (WARC 2004). The misery in
 various regions of the southern hemisphere poses an extreme ethical challenge for the Christian
 faith; the outcry for justice should not be left unheeded. It is necessary that the causes of this
 misery should be clearly described before viable strategies for overcoming it can be developed. The
 Accra Confession seems to be rather one-dimensional in its evaluation of reality. The ethical charge
 implied by the term ‘confession’ is of little use when dealing with complex global fi elds of action
 that only rarely allow a simple equation of cause and reaction. It is not so much a ‘confession’ (or
 Bekenntnis) that is needed but rather a renewed discussion among all concerned on the best ways
 to achieve more justice.