Harvard Theological Review articles from October 2004

Harvard Theological Review archives from October 2004

The fragility of the moral self *.
October 1, 2004... Exemplary of both the self's loss of sovereignty and a new paradigm in ethical thought, which could be called "ethics after autonomy," is the dialogue about the self-other relation in current post-structuralist thought. This dialogue seems to...

Moral impurity and the temple in early Christianity in light of ancient Greek practice and Qumranic ideology.
October 1, 2004... The relationship between ritual purity and moral purity is of great importance for understanding the emergence of Christianity within its Jewish matrix. In his recent monograph, Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism, Jonathan Klawans...

Mother and maiden, sister and spouse: Sarah in Philonic Midrash *.
October 1, 2004... In an age of feminist criticism, it is of considerable importance to understand how the archetypal matriarch of the Jews fared in the writings of Philo, the most prolific and influential of Alexandrian Jews. The story of Sarah raises key...

A medieval Jewish version of original sin: Ephraim of Luntshits on Leviticus 12 *.
October 1, 2004... * Judaism and the Concept of Original Sin There is a widespread popular misconception that Judaism and Christianity have radically divergent anthropologies, primarily because Jews supposedly do not believe in original sin. The Jewish view...

Transforming the maimonidean imagination: aesthetics in the renaissance thought of Judah Abravanel *.
October 1, 2004... * Introduction The life and work of Judah Abravanel (ca. 1460-after 1523) are at such odds with each other that one wonders how such an important and optimistic Renaissance treatise could have been produced by such a tragic figure. (1)...

A neglected feature of sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible: remarks on the burning rite on the altar *.(Notes and Observations)
October 1, 2004... In honor of Rolf Rendtorff Israel's sacrificial cult has recently received much attention from biblical scholars. The interpretation of Israelite sacrifice has mainly focused on two ritual acts: the slaughter of animals and blood rites....

YHWH's coming of age: Jason A. Bembry [Ph.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... This dissertation studies old age in biblical Israel and Ugarit, a relatively untouched subject. Chapter one examines how senescence was portrayed in the Hebrew Bible. Sometimes old age is a time of wisdom or an occasion for dispensing...

The poetics of Iblis: Qur'anic narrative as theology: Whitney S. Bodman [Th.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... This thesis explores the application of reader-response criticism, specifically that of Wolfgang Iser, to Qur'anic narrative. The narratives in question are the seven different renditions of the Iblis story. Commentary on the Qur'an...

The geography of grieving: exploring bereavement with the compass of Japanese confucian rites: Margaret Widdifield Izutsu [Th.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... This thesis examines the role of Japanese rites known as hoji in mediating the personal and social reintegration processes attending bereavement. Since hoji are observed at increasing intervals for a potentially unlimited period, they provide...

Politics and religion: the religious significance of Charles Taylor and Judith Butler on agency: David Kim [Th.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... This thesis is an examination of the religious, moral, and spiritual motivations that underpin an understanding of agency as meaningful action. Through a comparative study of the work of Charles Taylor and Judith Butler, two influential...

Topics in the history of repentance: from the Hebrew Bible to early Judaism and Christianity: David A. Lambert [Ph.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... Modern biblical scholarship has misidentified as penitential a number of religious rites in the Hebrew Bible. This dissertation deals with two examples, including fasting and the very phrase associated with repentance in the Hebrew Bible,...

Imperial authority and local shrines: the Yoshida House and the creation of a countrywide Shinto Institution in early modern Japan: Hiromi Maeda [Ph.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... This dissertation examines the formation of central authority that oversaw Shinto priests and institutions during the early modern period (1568-1868). Contrary to the prevailing opinion that Shinto before 1868 lacked an overarching...

A study of early and contemporary Muslim attitudes toward Hadith as scripture with a translation of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i's Kitab Jima'al-'ilm: Aisha Yusef Musa [Ph.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... The present study scrutinizes the opposition to the use and authority of the Hadith that is recorded in various classical Sunni Muslim sources spanning several centuries and compares that early opposition to its recent and contemporary...

"Reviving religion": the Qadiri Sufi Order, popular devotion to Sufi Saint Muhyiuddin 'Abdul Qadir al-Gilani, and processes of "Islamization" in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka: Susan Elizabeth Schomburg [Ph.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... Through a multifaceted research strategy incorporating ethnographic, literary, and historical exploration, the dissertation documents living and literary Qadiri traditions and popular traditions of devotion to Sufi saint Muhyiuddin 'Abdul...

That great and awful change: death and Protestant practical theology in the American Northeast, 1700-1900: Stanley Marc Sherrod [Th.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... Historians of death in America have given insufficient attention to the role of Protestant clergy and their churches in mediating the symbols, beliefs, and spiritual practices that enabled survivors to overcome the angst associated with...

Nectar of devotion: Bhakti-rasa in the tradition of Gujarati Saint-Poet Narasinha Mehta: Neelima Shukla-Bhatt [Ph.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... An enduring legacy of the devotional (bhakti) movement that swept across India during the medieval period is the practice of singing the devotional lyrics composed by regional saint-poets in vernacular languages. The tremendous popularity of...

Anti-cultic theology in Christian biblical interpretation: a study of Isaiah 66:1-4 and its reception: Valerie A. Stein [Th.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... Although both Jews and Christians consider the Hebrew Bible sacred scripture, they often differ on the interpretation of its text. In fact, throughout history it has been common for Christians to interpret Hebrew Bible passages in a way that...

Gather to my feast: YHWH as sacrificer in the Biblical prophets: Henrietta Lovejoy Wiley [Ph.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... This dissertation is a study of four prophetic texts that employ an image of the god of Israel sacrificing his enemies. In Isaiah 34, YHWH places Edom under the war herem; in Jeremiah 46, Egypt is the sacrifice; in Ezekiel 39, the figure Gog...

Toward a critique of capitalism as quasi-religion: a study of Paul Tillich's critical interpretation of capitalism and modernity: Francis Ching Wah Yip [Th.D. 2004].(Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations *)
October 1, 2004... This dissertation paves the way for constructing a religious critique of global capitalistic modernity through a reconstruction and evaluation of Paul Tillich's critical interpretation of capitalism and modernity, which is found to be a...

Books received.(Bibliography)
October 1, 2004... Aasgaard, Reidar. 'My Beloved Brothers and Sisters!' Christian Siblingship in Paul. JSNTSup 265. London: T&T Clark, 2004. 361 pp. n.p. hb. Ahlstrom, Sydney E. A Religious History of the American People. 2d ed. New Haven, Conn.: Yale...