The religious politics of prophecy: Or, Richard Brothers's Revealed Knowledge confuted

The messianic messages delivered to Londoners by the self-styled prophet, Richard Brothers, were regarded by many sceptical observers and pamphleteers as eccentric or, worse still, the embarrassing utterances of someone wishing to reprise the political turmoil of a by-gone era marred by religious ‘fanaticism’. This article shows the extent to which Brothers's messages, as set down in his Revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times (1794–1795), were absolutely central to the religious politics and culture of the 1790s—or what one contemporary critic mockingly referred to as the ‘age of prophecy’. Brothers's prophecies came to the attention of the British government, which culminated in his arrest for treasonable practices in March 1795 when he became a cause célèbre, before being confined to an asylum for eleven years. He was deemed a criminal lunatic but, as this article seeks to demonstrate, his ‘prophetic imagination’ arose out of the same rich theological, political and cultural context that spurred ‘radicals’ like Tom Paine, whilst inspiring poets and artists such as William Blake. If the content of his prophecies were regarded by contemporary sceptics for having no validity, it remains true to say that Richard Brothers, as an educated gentleman and naval officer, dramatically altered 18th-century expectations and perceptions of what prophets were and the nature of prophecy itself.     

The peculiar touch of the East: Reading the post-war landscapes of the Finnish Orthodox Church

Before the Second World War the heartland of the Finnish Orthodox Church lay in the country parishes of eastern Finland, where the characteristic churches, small wooden chapels, old cemeteries and monasteries were seen as a part of both the physical and the mental 'borderland' landscape. The war changed the situation permanently. The territories that Finland were forced to cede included this main area of Orthodox culture. The evacuation to the remaining parts of Finland meant the end of the previous religious territorial system and the establishment of a new one. After the war the church had to rebuild the majority of its physical artefacts and administrative systems, and, above all inspire a new sense of continuity, identity and sanctity. This article will discuss how the rebuilding process, both material and spiritual, has manifested itself in the landscape of eastern Finland and how its manifestations and representations have been read and interpreted through the discourses of regional and national identity, heritage tourism and pilgrimage. Avant la deuxième guerre mondiale, le coeur de l'Église orthodoxe finnoise résidait dans les paroisses rurales de l'Ést de la Finlande où les églises typiques, les petites chapelles de bois, les vieux cimetières et les monastères étaient vus comme l'expression physique et mentale d'un paysage limitrophe. La guerre a changé ce paysage de façon permanente. Les territoires que la Finlande fut forcée de céder incluaient cette région-clé de la culture Orthodoxe. L'évacuation vers les parties restantes de la Finlande entraîna la fin de l'ancien système territorial religieux et l'établissement d'un nouveau régime. Après la guerre, l'Église dut rebâtir la majorité de ses systèmes administratifs et lieux physiques et, pardessus tout, inspirer un nouveau sens de sa continuité, identité et caractère sacré. Cet article discute comment le processus de reconstruction, à la fois matériel et spirituel, s'est manifesté dans le paysage de la Finlande de l'Est et comment ces manifestations et représentations ont été interprétées à travers les discours de l'identité régionale et nationale, du tourisme relié au patrimoine et des pèlerinages. Antes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial el corazón de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Finlandesa se encontraba en las parroquías rurales en el este de Finlandia donde las iglesias características, las pequeñas capillas de madera, los antiguos cementarios y monasterios eran considerados parte del paisaje fronterizo, tanto físico como mental. La guerra cambió esta situación para siempre. Los territorios que Finlandia fue obligado a ceder incluían esta área principal de la cultura ortodoxa. La evacuación de lo que quedaba de Finlandia significaba el fin del previo sistema territorio religioso y el establecimiento de un nuevo sistema. Después de la Guerra la iglesia tenía que reconstruir la mayoría de sus artefactos físicos y sistemas de administración y, sobre todo, tenía que inspirar un nuevo sentido de continuidad, identidad y sanctidad. Este papel habla de como el proceso de reconstrucción, tanto material como espiritual, se ha mostrado en el paisaje de Finlandia del este y de como estas manifestaciones y representaciones han sido interpretados por los discursos sobre identidad regional y nacional, el turismo patrimonial y peregrinación.     

宗教研究与文化关怀:从各宗教史研究析陈垣的中华文化观

陈垣的宗教研究蕴涵着深刻的文化关怀。在基督教研究中,陈垣的文化关怀体现在"使基督教在中华文化史上占有地位"的基督教本色化观,认为基督宗教不可能也不会替代中华文化,只能成为中华文化的一部分。这可以并入他在研究各种外来宗教中体现出来的以中华文化为本位的"中华文化观",即包括基督教在内的外来宗教、文化无不融入中华文化,但是不能改变后者;中华文化海纳百川似地容纳外来宗教、文化,本身得以丰富,但是本质不变,强调中华文化的包容性。抗日战争时期,陈垣的"民族文化关怀"表现为用佛教道教著述,表彰遗民,阐扬气节,并论述宗教保存发展民族文化的观点,侧重的是中华文化的长久生命力。陈恒的文化关怀体现了陈垣对自身和国家民族处境的深刻思考,在现实中都有对应,基督教本色化观对应陈垣的宗教信仰以及基督教与中华文化的关系问题,中华文化观对应全盘西化和文化保守观点,民族文化观对应外族入侵的文化保存和发展问题。我们分析陈垣的宗教研究时需要考虑这些因素。     

千手观音试验区的彩绘修复研究

本文详细地调查了试验区域的法器和彩绘的病害,对彩绘的病害机理和绘制工艺进行了研究,确定了修复技术路线和修复工艺.此次修复研究的重点放在法器和彩绘的补色上,在补色过程中遵循了全彩的原则.针对法器彩绘残存不同的情况,本文采用三种不同的补色方案,并通过研究总结出法眼和背景云纹的补色规律.     

千手观音造像髹漆贴金层修复方法研究

作为近年我国修复保护项目的重要工程之一,“大足石刻千手观音造像抢救性保护工程”髹漆贴金层修复是此次修复工程的重点和难点之一.考虑到千手观音的综合价值,以及作为宗教类文物的特殊性,贴金层该如何修复影响着整个保护工程的最终效果.2013年7月,修复工程组技术人员完成了针对髹漆贴金修复效果的本体试验,并得到了专家认可.本文主要介绍此次试验的前期准备和具体实验内容,讨论保护理论与修复操作的实践结合办法.     

20世纪70年代以来美国新基督教右翼运动探析

新基督教右翼,是指美国宗教,特别是基督教新教中一些积极参与政治事务和社会事务的宗教保守派。20世纪70年代以来美国新基督教右翼组织主要派别有道德多数派、基督教联盟等。美国新基督教右翼势力的主要观点是：在国际问题上,主张强权政治,认为只有通过军事手段才能保证和平;认为以色列国是《新约圣经》启示的体现,美国应全力支持以色列。在意识形态上,坚决反对共产主义。在国内问题上,重视传统家庭价值,反对堕胎合法化,主张教育私有化和地方化;相信美国是一个被上帝“捡选”的国家,认为好政府应建立在《圣经》原则的基础之上。新基督教右翼对当今美国社会各个方面都起着不可忽视的作用。     

Predicaments in the Management of Religious Heritage Buildings and Sites in Nigeria

Perhaps the most challenging heritage management issue since the beginning of the modern conservation movement relates to religious buildings and sites. This paper investigates approaches to the management of religious heritage buildings and sites in Osogbo, a multireligious Nigerian city, through the perspectives of various stakeholders. These stakeholders include the State, and its role in formal legislation and enforcement, the religious authorities as heritage owners and decision-makers, local communities’ understanding of heritage, and expert opinions about the properties. Drawing on physical observations, ethnographic assessment methods and secondary literature, the paper demonstrates how decisions taken by political leaders to construct a secularised national heritage have shaped the community’s cultural heritage perceptions, alienated from religious connotations. This selective use of the past gave heritage owners a free hand in decision-making about conservation, without taking into consideration historic and architectural/artistic values. It has also rendered expert judgment marginal.     

Habermas and Taylor on Religious Reasoning in a Liberal Democracy

Abstract

This article compares Habermas’s and Taylor’s approach to the role of religious language in a liberal democracy. It shows that the difference in their approach is not simply in their theories of religious language. The contrast lies deeper, in their incompatible moral theories: Habermas’s universal discourse ethics vs Taylor’s communitarian substantive ethics. I also explore William Rehg’s defence of discourse ethics by conceding that it is based on a metavalue of rational consensus. However, I argue that Habermas’s and Rehg’s discourse ethics and translation proviso are untenable. While Taylor rightly argues that there is no reason to exclude religious reason from the formal political sphere, his proposed fusion of horizons to generate a new hybrid framework is also problematic. I suggest that Taylor’s historical hermeneutics should be extended to include the narrative approach to ethical deliberation as conducive to mutual experiential understanding, and hence to achieving a fusion of horizons of the diverse worlds of citizens in a liberal democracy.     

Placebo: no longer a phantom response

Abstract

Recent clinical studies have revealed several neural pathways that are activated during the response of patients to a placebo. This lends credence to the view that placebos have a genuine role to play in clinical medicine. It is proposed that mechanisms similar to those that cause a placebo response may underlie the beneficial effects of religious belief and other neural stimuli.