Liberation Theology and "Democratic Futures" (By way of Karl Barth and Friedrich Schleiermacher)

Abstract

To engage the question of democratic futures, this essay considers Christian liberation theologies. It pursues an interpretative, constructive, and political agenda. Interpretatively, it identifies parallels between the methods and claims of liberation theologians and two classical theologians: Friedrich Schleiermacher and Karl Barth. Constructively, it suggests ways in which liberationist thought might improve theology in its Schleiermacherian and Barthian modes. Politically, it proposes that liberation theology— a mode of reflection both continuous with and constructively critical of classical theological outlooks— be viewed as a vanguard discourse that could dynamize the project of radical democracy     

"You turn if you want to": The Questions a Pragmatic Political Theology Might Ask of Speculative Realism

Abstract

The question pursued in this article is what might a pragmatic (in the Rortyan sense) political theology ask speculative realists to contribute to its analyses and discussions. The article begins by discussing the potential reservations political theologians might have in employing Richard Rorty as a dialogue partner. It then considers the insights from Rorty that political theologians might value, namely a respect for Western democracy and pluralism, the desire to reform capitalism, and a deeper understanding of the relationship between Christianity and liberalism. These insights are discussed in dialogue with the radical orthodoxy of John Milbank. It is argued that Milbank and Rorty share post-foundational philosophical assumptions but arrive at different political conclusions with regard to democracy and capitalism. The paper makes the case for a pragmatic valuing of democracy and capitalism and a recognition of their Christian heritage.     

Calvin's Legacy for Public Theology

Abstract

Many thinkers, of whom Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a prominent example, have expressed ambivalence regarding John Calvin's contribution to our understanding of a healthy civic order: while Calvin's political genius is undeniable, he and his followers are also known for intolerant attitudes and practices. Thus the image of "two Calvins" by a recent biographer of the Reformer. In this essay I lay out some relevant tensions in Calvin's political thought, while also identifying underlying themes that were later developed by his followers. Special attention is given to the ways in which the "neo-Calvinist" movement, initiated in the nineteenth century by Abraham Kuyper, both corrected and expanded upon Calvin's theology of public life. It is noted that while Kuyper's thought also influenced the Afrikaners' apartheid ideology, Reformed opponents of apartheid also appealed to elements in Kuyper's theology of public life. Although the results have been mixed, Kuyper and others did demonstrate the ways in which some basic elements of Calvin's thought can be used to address issues that are being given sustained attention today in broad-ranging explorations of what makes for a flourishing civil society characterized by a variety of "mediating structures."     

The Paradox at the Heart of American Conservatism

Abstract

This essay considers the state of American conservatism focusing initially on social and political institutions and concluding with a few comments on conservatism as an intellectual movement. A paradox is described as lying at the heart of American conservatism: the economic policies supported by conservatives promote economic conditions that are the main causes of the social problems conservatives lament most loudly.     

民间美术保守性之积淀与变异

民间美术积淀丰厚,有其自身内在的发展规律和传承特点,保守性是其中之一。正因为有这种保守性,才使得我们可以在民间美术中去探寻原始文化发生、发展的线索和传统文化在民间艺术中留存的文化基因;也正因为如此,民间美术在长期的发展过程中才可以保持其相对完整的风格。     

人民解放军执行升国旗任务 礼号手首次亮相

<正>日出东方,叩启苍穹。世界的目光再一次聚焦北京天安门广场。2018年1月1日清晨,在这个举世闻名的广场上,一场全新调整、规模盛大的升国旗仪式隆重举行,致敬昂首进入新时代的伟大祖国。经党中央批准,自2018年1月1日起,由人民解放军担负国旗护卫和     

The Political Theology of The Morpeth Review, 1927–1934

The interwar years saw the initiation of a number of important periodicals that reflected the emerging vitality of public intellectual life in Australia. One such publication was The Morpeth Review, a quarterly that appeared between the years 1927 and 1934. Edited by three Anglican intellectuals — E. H. Burgmann, Roy Lee, and A. P. Elkin — it included contributions from prominent historians, political scientists, anthropologists, cultural critics, and theologians. Though its range of concerns was broad, it was guided by a basic vision of intellectual and social life that aimed at reconciling the conflicting elements of modernity. Such conflicts included the divide between the world of work and the family, the divide between classes, between nations, and between church and state, or more broadly, between the secular and the religious spheres. This article will suggest that in the endeavour to reconcile such competing elements The Morpeth Review expressed a kind of political theology that was modernist in inspiration (welcoming science and the critical consciousness) and drew on several overlapping traditions of thought including liberal Anglicanism, Christian socialism, and British idealism, all of which rejected the modern tendency to compartmentalise life and with it to relegate religion to the private sphere.     

Liberation: The End of Australian Rule in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

In its very early stages, the Bougainville conflict was analysed by academic observers in terms of three main perspectives: ethno‐nationalist demands precipitated by grievances about the Panguna copper and gold mine; cultural perspectives which emphasise the impact of a large mining project on either Melanesian communities generally or particular Bougainvillean communities; and class conflict and other forms of economic inequality. To assess the extent to which these perspectives illuminate the dynamics of almost 10 years of conflict, they are re‐considered in the light of both other published material about Bougainville and an overview of the main stages of development of the conflict. While each perspective illuminates aspects of the conflict, none of them stands alone as an explanation. Rather each tends to reinforce the significance of the others. Stresses in Bougainvillean societies caused by interaction of evoloving cultures with growing economic inequality within and between societies are central, with local grievances about the mine and ethno‐nationalism crucial to the way those stresses manifested themselves.     

解放后北京城市住宅的规划与建设

解放后,新中国的首都面临着只有安居才能乐业的巨大挑战,中共北京市委和市政府坚持为生产服务、为中央服务、为劳动人民服务的方针,在百废待兴和建设新首都的前提下,逐步解决城市居民的住宅问题。改革开放以来,围绕着北京住宅的规划和建设,北京市委和市政府采取了成片开发与危旧房改造并举、房改与改善住房条件并举、市场运作与宏观调控相结合等项措施,使北京在进入新世纪的时候,以城市居民人均17 62平方米的住房面积而达到小康水平。北京作为历史古都、文化名城和新中国的首都,其住宅建设应有其历史的继承性和创新性。     

塞缪尔·亨廷顿“文明冲突论”的文化保守主义倾向

如果从现代化的角度解读亨廷顿的"文明冲突论",就不难发现这一理论本身所隐含的社会发展观及其文化保守主义倾向。"文明冲突论"在相对主义文化决定论的框架下,提出多元现代性和多元现代化的观点。这种观点否认存在具有普遍意义的现代性和现代化,宣称每一种文明都有其独特的现代性内涵和现代化模式。这种社会发展观看似开放,其本质却是文化保守主义的,其矛盾折射出西方文明在当前世界格局下文化策略的调整。它旨在将人类共同享有的先进文明成果特殊化、西方化,以非西方中心论的名义将现代性相对化,最终取消非西方社会实现现代化的可能性。非西方社会对此应保持理性的判断。     

《安元寿墓志铭》中的几个问题

安元寿其人,两《唐书》无传,其他文献也鲜有涉及。1972年《安元寿墓志铭》的出土,补正了文献的阙失。据《墓志铭阿知,安元寿投唐后,历经高祖、太宗、高宗三朝,在玄武门之变、突厥兵临渭水便桥等重大事件中,都发挥了不可忽视的作用。