Petr Sláma

Notes from the Coasts of Bohemia or Which of these Was a Neighbour

Pavel Paluchník

Let Us Go Outside the Camp: Hebrews 13:13 and the Purpose of the Epistle

Collin Cornell

Name and Nihilism: Miskotte as Theological Interpreter for a World Come of Age

Jan Zámečník

Disfigurement – On Environmental Sin

Jobst Reller

Seliges „Rindvieh Gottes“: Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk von Jaroslav Hašek und die Seligpreisungen der Bergpredigt

Peter E. Sotiriou

Book review: Zdenko Širka, Transcendence and Understanding: Gadamer and Modern Orthodox Hermeneutics in Dialogue

Author:

Petr Sláma

Abstract

Editorial of the editor-in-chief.

Citation:

SLÁMA, Petr. Notes from the Coasts of Bohemia or Which of these Was a Neighbour. Communio Viatorum. 2021, vol. LXIII, issue 3, pp. 183-184.

Author:

Pavel Paluchník

Abstract

Heb 13:13 aids in understanding the paraenetical purpose of the epistle. The term ὀνειδισμός and the appeal to go outside the camp (ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς) highlight the problems of the intended readers as well as the author’s pastoral strategy. The writer demonstrates his concern for the readers living in a non-Christian society where they experience suffering and some sort of shame. It is the Christ’s form of being. The author points the readers to the counter-world of “out-side” marked by suffering as well as the glorious victory of Jesus which establishes the identity of the Christian community. The pop-ular hypothesis of the recipient’s desire to return to Judaism can’t be satisfactorily proved out of Heb 13. This article aims to contribute to the discussion on the social and pastoral profile of the recipients as well as the relationship between exposition and exhortation in the let-ter. This examination of Heb 13:13 may also bring some impulses to think of the Christian-minority identity in many countries of the world.

Keywords:

suffering; shame; Christ; outside; community; identity; society; counter-world

Citation:

PALUCHNÍK, Pavel. Let Us Go Outside the Camp: Hebrews 13:13 and the Purpose of the Epistle. Communio Viatorum. 2021, vol. LXIII, issue 3, pp. 185-208.

Author:

Collin Cornell

Abstract

The present article takes departure from Angus Paddi-son’s 2015 call for theological interpretation of scripture that engages with practical theological concerns. It contributes an instance of just such “practical theology” by sampling from the exegetical sketches in the book When the Gods are Silent, written by K. H. Miskotte (1894–1976). After introducing this Dutch Reformed theologian, the article examines the “divine Name” theology of his sketches. It also retrieves from Miskotte a critique of religion (and ecclesiocentrism). The church, though gifted with faith, shares the same struggles with the world, and must take responsibility for them; the “nihilism” of the paper’s title identifies a circumstance that church and world jointly face. Like Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers, Miskotte addresses what he calls “the eclipse of God” – the recession of a formerly default Western belief in God – and he outlines a new vision of Christian life and formation under these conditions.

Keywords:

theological interpretation of scripture; Miskotte; Bonhoef-fer; Old Testament theology

Citation:

CORNELL, Collin. Name and Nihilism: Miskotte as Theological Interpreter for a World Come of Age. Communio Viatorum. 2021, vol. LXIII, issue 3, pp. 209-226.

Author:

Jan Zámečník

Abstract

This article summarizes and extends the discussion on environmental sin and shows that this topic is fundamental for Chris-tian theology. It also stresses that in this field Christian theology can enter into a fruitful dialogue with other disciplines, such as philosophy or psychology. The article clarifies the concept of sin and its connection with evil, guilt, and anxiety. Further, it discusses the basic categories of sin – pride, concupiscence, and sloth – and places them in an environ-mental context. And in the end, it suggests four theological fulcrums which can be helpful for dealing with sin and serve as an incentive for pro-environmental action.

Keywords:

ecotheology, environmental sin, pride, anthropocentrism, speciesism, violence, concupiscence, consumerism, sloth, moral indif-ference

Citation:

ZÁMEČNÍK, Jan. Disfigurement – On Environmental Sin. Communio Viatorum. 2021, vol. LXIII, issue 3, pp. 227-267.

Author:

Jobst Reller

Abstract

The Good Soldier Švejk by the Czech author Jaroslav Hašek (1893–1923) is a famous satirical novel depicting the adventures of a Czech soldier in the Austrian army in World War I. Both in the original shorter version by Hašek and in the amended version by Karel Vaněk Svejk is addressed as “fool of God” overcoming difficult dangerous situations. The current article deals with the question, whether Hašek alluded to the beatitudes in Mt 5, resp. whether a sense of humour is one approach to unterstand the beatitudes.

Keywords:

Hašek, Beatitudes, Pacifism, Humour, poor in spirit

Citation:

RELLER, Jobst. Seliges „Rindvieh Gottes“: Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk von Jaroslav Hašek und die Seligpreisungen der Bergpredigt. Communio Viatorum. 2021, vol. LXIII, issue 3, pp. 268-286.

Author:

Peter E. Sotiriou

Abstract

Review of the book: ŠIRKA, Zdenko. Transcendence and Understanding: Gadamer and Modern Orthodox Hermeneutics in Dialogue. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2020. ISBN: 978-1532678073

Citation:

SOTIRIOU, Peter. Book review: Zdenko Širka, Transcendence and Understanding. Communio Viatorum. 2021, vol. LXIII, issue 3, pp. 287-294.