The “Philosophical Bible” and the Secular State

Almost all scholars of the Enlightenment consider Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke as the founding theorists of the “secular modern state.” In contrast to the widely held view of the modern state, I argue that far from being “secular” it was the product of the sacralization of politics, which resulted from the way these philosophers interpreted the Scriptures as part of their philosophical inquiries. The analysis of the “linguistic turn” in their biblical interpretations reveals how they tried to undermine the power of the Church to claim greater freedoms for the state. Their philosophical inquiries initiated the secularization of the Christian religion and the sacralization of politics as two correlative developments, rather than the secularization of the state per se, as is usually supposed. The philosophical arguments proposed by Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke helped to resolve the religious battles of Europe’s many confessions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but are still pertinent to our current very different historical context.     

What is scepticism and can it be found in the Hebrew Bible?

Abstract

This is the first installment of a two part study examining scepticism and irinic correlations in the joy statements of Qoheleth. In this article, a synoptic overview of scepticism is provided from Pyrrho to Descartes, Hume and Kant. The article then examines scepticism's methodology and provides a working definition followed by a critical assessment of the above. The article then examines both the general views of a sceptical tradition in the Hebrew Bible and Dell's specific view of scepticism in the Book of Job followed by a critical assessment of them. Finally, a conclusion is provided for this article.     

"昭德"应为"彰德"

中华书局标点本《续资治通鉴长编》(以下简称《长编》)卷十六,开宝八年(975)九月有这样一条材料: 丁酉,以相州录事参军河南钱文敏为右赞善大夫、权知泸州.先是,藩镇多以笔牍私取官库钱,韩重赟领昭德时,颇仍旧弊,文敏不与.重赟怒,召文敏廷责之,文敏词不屈.重赟既死,上始闻其事,嘉文敏有守,故擢用焉,……①     

"群团"还是"社团"

在首届新方志和续修方志中,有许多设了群众团体志(编、篇),还有的将党派群团或党政群团写在一起,称党派群团志(编、篇)或党政群团志(编、篇)。少数则设社会团体志(编、篇),或合设党派社团志(编、篇)。究竟应叫“群团”,还是称作“社团”呢？对此,我们首先要弄清群团和社团的概念。     

"绿"与"绿"

中日两国文化源远流长,在文化融合交汇的过程中,产生许多同形词.在这些同形词中必然存在异义词.本文所讨论的"绿"字,在中日两国语言中同时存在,其基本义相近,引申又有所不同.本文将从"绿"的基本义和引申义的解释和分析出发,试比较"绿"在现代中日两国语言中异同.     

"丘"非"乡"而为"里"辨

~~ 名称 ?笔者认为 ,此处“丘亭”与“乡亭”的说法有类似之处。“乡亭”之名屡见于《汉书》 ,“乡”为地方行政组织的名称 ,则“丘亭”之“丘”是不是也可以作同类解释 ?故顾炎武《日知录》在此条下云 :“又必有人民 ,如今之镇集。”即顾氏以“镇集”释“丘”。再以息夫躬的情况而言 ,他为食邑千户之宜陵侯 ,虽被哀帝遣就国 ,怎能住到一个“空亭”、“野亭”之中 ?因此此“丘亭”之“丘”应为当时一级地方行政组织之名称。另外 ,还有一条史料也可以为此提供佐证 ,《史记·高祖本纪》云 :“汉王……引水灌废丘 ,废丘降 ,章邯自杀。更名…     

"鹭舞"与"鹭鼓"

上个世纪40年代,闻一多先生《说鱼》1一文在考释"鱼"字的隐义时附带谈及"鹭",将鱼、鹭两者释为男女关系的两方,这应该是"鹭"与其他象征之错综复杂关系的一个方面.本文认为"鹭"的杂多象征关系中还有一个被以往学者已注意到但尚未展开的方面,即鹭与舞、鹭与鼓的关系.     

"欺人"与"自欺"

公元1415年4月18日,也就是明永乐十三年三月丁未。贵州建省的第三个年头,历史上由中央政府任命的贵州首位行政长官,贵州布政司右布政使蒋廷瓒对一干人等说：去年皇上北征,得胜回朝,消息传到贵州,贵州思南府务川县的大岩山中听到连呼三声“万     

"葬"和"埋"

本文主要对"葬"释源,并兼谈与"葬"有密切关系的"埋"字,同时附带介绍一些与丧葬有关的历史文化知识."葬"是起源很早的字,很有可能在商周时代产生,"埋"是"薶"的俗字,"埋"的出现理应晚于"薶"字."埋(薶)"起先都是指埋物、埋牲,后来才有埋人之义.本文粗略地说明了"葬""埋"的起源、意义,同时附带介绍一些与丧葬有关的历史文化知识.     

"黔驴技穷"与"夜郎自大"

题目上的这两个成语,都没给贵州人增光,倒让贵州人很气短的。然而不知自何时起,除了“自大”一词仍不能让人安逸外,“夜郎”竞越来越成为抢手货了。先是本省的几个地方争得不可开交,“内战”未息,据说邻省某县就已挂出“夜郎县”的招牌来了。何以然?旅游之故也!人     

“The Lord Your God is God of Gods and Lord of Lords”: Is Monotheism a Political Problem in the Hebrew Bible?

Erik Peterson's famous monograph on “Monotheism as a Political Problem” argued that some pre-Cappadocian Christian theology was at risk of correlating too closely the universal rule of God and the apparently universal rule of Caesar. Peterson claimed that Cappadocian trinitarian theology and Augustinian eschatology ruled out such dangerous political-theological analogies for future Christian thought, thereby undermining the type of political theology that engaged Carl Schmitt. Peterson overlooked key resources for his argument, however, by neglecting the development of monotheism in the Hebrew Bible. Israelite religion, in fact, does not exhibit a correlation between monotheism and theological legitimation of political order, but the reverse. “Political theology” in the Hebrew Bible begins to fade precisely as a more transcendent and universal monotheism emerges in the biblical literature of the exilic and post-exilic periods. This implies that Peterson was mistaken to claim monotheism itself as the primary source of the political-theological problem he identifies.     

"宝顶山"名考释--"宝顶"就是"金刚顶"

大足石刻造像数量众多,内容丰富,遐迩闻名,尤其是“宝顶山”,堪称我国名石窟胜地。本对此作了介绍和考述,认为“宝顶”就是“金刚顶”之意。