Religion

This essay argues that the public defender should not undertake, or fail to undertake, any action to the legal detriment of a client on the basis of a conflict the attorney perceives between religious and professional responsibility, except for imminent death or serious bodily harm to another. Having accepted the responsibility of representing indigent criminal defendants, the public defender is duty-bound to not compromise that responsibility for competing religious obligations. This argument rests on four premises: (1) the public defender occupies a unique position in our legal system, and options available to private interest lawyers or other clients should not be available to the public defender; (2) any deviation from the governing professional constraints in representing a client that stems from conflicting religious belief and harms the client is both professional unethical and immoral; (3) religion is at best equivocal in addressing the propriety of specific actions taken or...

Scholars of all disciplines are invited to contribute papers that engage with – but are not limited to – the following topics:

An integration of philology, history, and the scientific approaches to religion (tribute to Walter Burkert):

• Contribution of philology to understanding of religious phenomena (classical philology, Biblical studies, Oriental Studies);
• Language as a source of data for the study of religion;
• "From biological programs to semantic chains": ways of explaining or understanding myths and rituals (historical, anthropological and cognitive perspectives);
• Anthropology of sacrifice (texts, images and theories);
• Anthropology of mysticism and mystery cults;
• Religion and power: rituals of submission, movements of disobedience;
• Relationship between religion and morality in cultural evolution from antiquity to the present day;
• Nomothetic/idiographic controversy and the academic study of religion;
• Quality and quantity in the methodology of scientific studies of religion.

The cognitive study of religion, evolutionary psychology, and sociobiology; new tracks in the landscape:

• Understanding in the cognitive study of religions: the researcher's mind vs religious representations;
• A body in the field: sensorimotor experience as a hermeneutical tool in anthropological research;
• Understanding and explaining the human propensity to sacrifice one's life for genetic strangers;
• Cognitive studies of religion and the problem of reductionism;
• Religion and the theory of the levels of integration (strata ontologies, religion as emergent quality);
• Cybernetics and system theory as integrative paradigm for the studies of religion.

What implications does the Srin-mo, a pre-Buddhist deity who traverses across almost all of the periods of time in Tibetan religious life, have on the social status of women? Embodying the places and spaces of Tibet, a malevolent demoness called the Srin-mo has been essential in laying the formation of Tibetan Buddhism. The concept of the Srin-mo can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet: Bön. The story of the Srin-mo is not a creation myth in the sense of a worldly inception,  but the story of the demoness does represent the creation of a harmonious society, spurring from the preceding time of primordial chaos found amongst the Bön religion. Looking at the origins of the demoness’ story is necessary in order to understand how and why the Srin-mo holds efficacious power over the land and people of Tibet. Here, I will investigate the case of the Srin-mo, which is controversially one of the most important beings in Tibet, but unquestionably, an irrevocable component of understanding what implications geography holds on Tibet.

The fall of the Muslim civilization resulted from the rejection of reason. The rejection of reason was a result of the characterization of the use of reason to know revelation as kufr. The rejection of reason became explicit in the shutting of the gates to ijtihad and was reinforced by al-Ghazali’s attack on philosophers. The rejection of reason found political expression in the repression of the rationalists by Musa al-Hadi in 786. The slaughter of five-thousand philosophers was an event analogous to the Reign of Terror of the Jacobins, under Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. Sixteen thousand followers of “tradition” were beheaded at the guillotine with the emergence of the Age of Reason, touted by the European Enlightenment, a millennium afterwards. In Islam, the rejection of reason made it harder to understand and follow revelation. The perception that “all knowledge is in the Quran” did not help matters. This was an example of perfunctory thought. For it automatically withheld the designation of “knowledge” from all knowledge not in the Quran. This perception was based on a problematic understanding of epistemology or what constitutes knowledge. It was a reflection of hubris. In response to the bewilderment caused the prohibition of the use of reason, exegetes alleged that revelation features “ambiguous” passages. The rejection of reason made it hard to know and follow revelation. It also made it hard to understand key terms as “mutashabihat,” “hikma,” and “hawa.” As a result, Muslims turned to tradition, which replaced reason for the purpose of explaining revelation. But to “explain” revelation, tradition had to be elevated to an “equal” of revelation and subsequently even “above” revelation.
For the expectation that it would “explain” revelation placed tradition in the position of a “judge” of revelation. The elevation of tradition above revelation reversed the relation of revelation and tradition. The word of God was subordinated to the words of persons. The reversal of the relationship between revelation and tradition facilitated the adoption of the teaching of abrogation. The abrogation of the peace verses by the ayah as-sayf transformed Islam into “political Islam.” The abrogation of revelation by tradition transformed Islam into “traditional Islam.” The application of the teaching of abrogation warped penal law. The abrogation of revelation by tradition subjugated revelation to tradition. Hence, the process that led to this requires attention. It is necessary to restore revelation to its pre-eminence in relation to tradition, to rehabilitate reason, and to ensure that all laws are in agreement with revelation rather than based on inclination. (4 pages)

Kenneth Burke confessed that Permanence and Change was a secularization of the writing of Mary Baker Eddy that he learned in his Christian Science childhood. Eddy’s Platonic treatment of substance as “truth” engages with the tension between the symbolic and the nonsymbolic, foreshadowing Burke’s treatment of substance in relation to symbol, nonsymbol, and identification. The ways in which substance and identification interact in the works of Plato, Eddy, and Burke follow a line of discursive development that can illuminate critical review of how different forms of public discourse argue for “truth.”

This book shows how scholarly studies of prejudice, identity formation, and genocide studies can shed light on global examples of religious hatred. The book is divided into four parts, focusing respectively on: theories of prejudice and violence; historical developments of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and race; contemporary Western antisemitism and Islamophobia; and, prejudices beyond the West in the Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions. Each part ends with a special focus section.

Key features include:
- A compelling synthesis of theories of prejudice, identity, and hatred to explain Islamophobia and antisemitism.
- An innovative theory of human violence and genocide which explains the link to prejudice.
- Case studies of both Western antisemitism and Islamophobia in history and today, alongside global studies of Islamic antisemitism and Hindu and Buddhist Islamophobia
- Integrates discussion of race and racialisation as aspects of Islamophobic and antisemitic prejudice in relation to their framing in religious discourses.
- Accessible for general readers and students, it can be employed as a textbook for students or read with benefit by scholars for its novel synthesis and theories.

The book focuses on antisemitism and Islamophobia, both in the West and beyond, including examples of prejudices and hatred in the Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions. Drawing on examples from Europe, North America, MENA, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, Paul Hedges points to common patterns, while identifying the specifics of local context.
Religious Hatred is an essential guide for understanding the historical origins of religious hatred, the manifestations of this hatred across diverse religious and cultural contexts, and the strategies employed by activists and peacemakers to overcome this hatred.

There was no Kotel prior to the middle of 16th century. Jews did not pray at the Western Wall until some time in the 16th or 17th century. One of the reasons why Jews did not pray there was because for many centuries access to it was blocked by residential buildings. All this changed at noon on Thursday January 14, 1546, when a severe earthquake hit the region.

This article is about the question whether or not human religiousness can be interpreted and explained by evolution. First four concepts of evolution are introduced and discussed (general, teleological, functional, Darwinian). It turns out that a purely functional understanding of evolution proves to be to narrow. It is argued that only a combination between an essentialist and functionalist understanding of religion is sustainable. From this perspective a taxonomy of religions is developed to classify them. The core of the argument is that religion can be understood as a continuing process of selftranscendence. Thus the aspects of rite, myth, mysticism can be understood as results of this process of selftranscendence. Finally the relation between human religiousness and Christian belief is being discussed.

This article puts the focus on the role of religion during the French Revolution. It tries to combine two often separated streams of research: the sacralisation of the nation and the pluralisation of religions. It will also be argued that there is not only one type of violent religion during revolution. "Religion" does not necessarily lead to violent conflicts but there are other kinds of religion during revolutions: for example religions of political indifference as well as concepts of universal religion.

This Article documents how and why the sixteenth-century Lutheran Reformation helped to build the modern public education system of the West. Rejecting the medieval tradition of church education primarily for and by the clergy, Martin Luther argued that all Christians need to be educated to be able to read the Bible on their own, to participate fully in the life of the church, state, and society, and to prepare for their distinct vocations. Lutheran Germany and Scandinavia thus set up public schools as "civic seminaries," in Philip Melanchthon's apt phrase, designed to offer general spiritual and civic education for all. In early modern Lutheran lands, the state replaced the church as the chief educator of the community, and free basic education with standard curricula was made compulsory for all children, boys and girls alike. The Article offers case studies of new German city and territorial laws on education on the books and in action, and it reflects on the enduring significance of this early experiment in education even in our day.

By following the sectional structure of this volume, these afterthoughts explore a multitude of venues for approaching aesthetics as a means to study the dynamics of religious narratives and their reception. They not only elaborate on the theoretical and methodological potential of the aesthetics of religion for the study of narrative cultures in diverse religious contexts, but also explore the main insights of this volume’s contributions by applying it to a case study. The afterthoughts follow the sectional structure of this volume and engage in methodological and theoretical reflections on issues central to the aesthetics of religion. To demonstrate how the theoretical and methodological approach as proposed in this volume could be put into practice and work within the context of a single case study, these afterthoughts illustrate how the aesthetics approach can be used to elucidate less obvious forms of narrative cultures and the different aesthetic means of their transmission within different religious and cultural contexts. By presenting a case study in which different narrative cultures are intertwined through lines of socially and culturally interconnected storyworlds, the most significant insights of these afterthoughts outline the potential framework for future analysis that emerges through the assemblage of the individual contributions. With the aim to highlight unrecognized connections and expand on the aesthetic junctures of sensation and imagination, a nuanced consideration of all dimensions and aspects promises to exemplify the theoretical and methodological relevance of the aesthetic frame and narrative focus as integral to the makeup of this volume and the study of religion as a whole.

The practice of taxing church property while exempting other nonprofit groups appears to violate the “no special burden” principle of the free exercise clause. The Supreme Court case of Walz v. Commission charted a course between the free exercise and establishment clause. The Court argued from neutrality, separatism, and history to state that tax exemption of church property is part of an unbroken national tradition. However, the Court’s neutrality argument does not address constitutionality, its separatism argument is contrived, and historically, only established religions have been exempt from taxation.

Past tax exemptions are rooted in two traditions: the common law adopted from England that granted exemptions to established churches, and the equity law tradition that granted exemptions to all churches. The common law tradition was restricted to certain types of church property of established churches, and the exemptions could be put on hold during times of emergency. The equity tradition gave churches another chance; ecclesiastical and charitable organizations could be tax exempt.

These traditions continued uninterrupted in the early American republic. Three provisions ultimately provided ground for a challenge to the tax exemption of church property. The disestablishment of religion undercut the authority of officials to prefer one religion over the other. The truncation of the equity tradition removed the equitable privileges given to charities. Finally, equal and uniform taxation was considered a basis of American life.

In modern theory, churches are seen as beneficial to society because they promote public morality, charity, and education. The law of equity is now based in statutory schemes or state constitutions, but the religious use of property is key to its tax exempt status. In the future, courts must find a via media between the eradication of exemptions and blanket endorsements.

This article examines how currents of renewal, particularly the
charismatic movement, have been leading to new patterns of Christian
formation within the Roman Catholic Church. I will look first at the
overall context; secondly, at the first stage of reform and renewal in
Catholic formation (1965-85) This article examines how currents of renewal, particularly the charismatic movement, have been leading to new patterns of Christian formation within the Roman Catholic Church. I will look first at the overall context; secondly, at the first stage of reform and renewal in Catholic formation

John Skelton is a central literary figure and the leading poet during the first thirty years of Tudor rule. Nevertheless, he remains challenging and even contradictory for modern audiences.

This book aims to provide an authoritative guide to this complex poet and his works, setting him in his historical, religious, and social contexts. Beginning with an exploration of his life and career, it goes on to cover all the major aspects of his poetry, from the literary traditions in which he wrote and the form of his compositions to the manuscript contexts and later reception. Contributors: Tom Betteridge, Julia Boffey, John Burrow, David Carlson, Helen Cooper, Elisabeth Dutton, A.S.G. Edwards, Jane Griffiths, Nadine Kuipers, Carol Meale, John Scattergood, Sebastian Sobecki, Greg Waite

I recently published a book about the theological, canonical and practical elements involved in forming a new religious community in the Catholic Church.    This paper provides the way to purchase the book, its description and the table of contents.

Qu’est-ce que la laïcité ? Comment, dans un contexte scolaire, faire
observer la laïcité, comme cadre neutre respectueux de tous ?
Comment, dans le cadre de cours, aborder la laïcité comme
principe structurant de notre société, mais aussi comme sujet
qui provoque débats, parce qu’il est le résultat d’évolutions historiques ?
Ce volume, fruit d’un travail collectif de personnes engagées sur différents
terrains du champ éducatif, cherche à présenter des pistes de réflexion sous
une forme dynamique, autour d’une architecture synthétique.
• Une dynamique structurée selon trois types de repères pour penser et
agir avec des élèves.
• Une dynamique liant des textes courts, des développements plus
conséquents à lire en ligne, des compléments en vidéo, des adresses utiles
vers les textes institutionnels. Des pictogrammes signalent ces ressources
et ces liens.
• Une dynamique à créer en proposant aux étudiants, aux stagiaires et
aux formateurs de se saisir de ces textes.
• Une dynamique à amplifier en alimentant la page Laïcité (www.univnantes/
espe/laicite) avec de nouvelles ressources.
Ce numéro de la collection « Repères » pour la laïcité est le produit du
partenariat entre l’ESPE de l’académie de Nantes (Université de Nantes) et
l’Institut du Pluralisme religieux et de l’Athéisme, réseau pluridisciplinaire
(créé par la région Pays de la Loire).
Anne Vézier, Maître de conférences en histoire et didactique de l’histoire,
Référente Laïcité ESPE Académie de Nantes, Université de Nantes
John Tolan, Professeur d’histoire médiévale, Université de Nantes
Dominique Avon, Professeur d’histoire contemporaine, Université du Maine

Resumen: Los santuarios religiosos representan, en la actualidad, espacios de atracción de turistas, creyentes o no, y de devotos; sobresalen algunos que, por su magnetismo espiritual, exhiben áreas extendidas de adherencia devocional y turística. Guatemala se inserta en el escenario anterior a través del caso de la Basílica de Esquipulas que resguarda a la venerada imagen del Cristo Negro; ubicada en la Ciudad-Santuario homónima al suroriente del arribo cíclico de miles de turistas y peregrinos que incentivan la economía local. El contexto territorial referido motivó la realización de este trabajo que tiene como objetivo revelar características geográficas del turismo religioso en el Santuario del Cristo Negro de Esquipulas; en una primera parte, se precisan los postulados teórico-conceptuales examinados que atañen al turismo religioso; posteriormente, se describen particularidades geográficas del contexto regional y local; finalmente, se detallan los hallazgos que comprueban la importancia geográfica del turismo religioso en el Santuario a partir de la investigación en gabinete y el trabajo realizado en campo. Palabras claves: Turismo religioso, lugar sagrado, magnetismo espiritual, Esquipulas. Abstract: At present, religious sanctuaries all over the world, attract a considerable amount of tourists, devotees or otherwise. Due to their spiritual magnetism, these places create ample devotional and tourist hinterlands. It is in this context that Guatemala stands prominently; in the southeast of the country, the Esquipulas Basilica homes the wood-carved Black Christ, a popular image which annually attracts thousands of tourists and pilgrims that endorse the local economy. Considering this situation, the city of Esquipulas is recognized as the Faith Capital of Central America. This paper aims at examining the geographical attributes of religious tourism in the Black Christ sanctuary of Esquipulas. In the first part of the text, we present the theoretical platform used to study religious tourism; then, we describe the geographical features of Esquipulas at both regional and local scales. Finally, we present our main research results; they authenticate the geographical importance of religious tourism in this Basilica.

This article sketches some of the main ideas that informed the work of the post-colonial Indian philosopher Margaret Chatterjee (1925-2019). A philosopher of language and religion, her work straddles the "frozen" traditions of the east and the west, and astutely philosophizes about Gandhian thought in the realm of religious alterity and coevality.

This is a draft section of a chapter in my forthcoming Ph.D., in which I explore the anti-Semitic theories and theological views of 19th-century German preacher and politician Adolf Stoecker. I examine Stoecker's influence on Nazism, and suggest that whilst Stoecker certainly influenced Nazi ideology, it is a mistake to view his own anti-Semitism through the lens of the Holocaust.

In the field of identity politics and cultural identity, the representation of differences plays a crucial role. The extent of the differences a society has determines the social outcomes in divergent ways. Surely, there are other variables that cause social anxiety or communal solidarity such as religious views, socio-political conditions and also gender relations. To the point of departure, the case of homosexuality, or in a general way, the boundaries of sexuality is very controversial field so as to reveal the effects of ideologies, social conditions and historical past where all of these evolved through times. In order to understand and to reach a general view, the experiences of small towns are very decisive and unavoidable parts of such studies. As a basic explanation, that is why Arlene Stein chooses to make an ethnographic study in the USA around 1990s. In this paper, I will try to make a basic analysis of ‘The Stranger Next Door: The Story of a Small Community’s Battle Over Sex, Faith and Civil Rights’ by presenting my reading of this story and through reacting to the general points.

NATIVE MESSENGERS OF GOD IN CANADA?:
A TEST CASE FOR BAHA’I UNIVERSALISM (1996)

*** Christopher Buck, “Native Messengers of God in Canada?: A Test Case for Baha’i Universalism.” Baha’i Studies Review 6 (1996): 97–133.

*** Award for Excellence in Baha’i Studies. Association for Baha’i Studies, 1994.

EPILOGUE

Thereupon Tekanawitaˀ [Deganawida, the Peacemaker] stood up in the center of the gathering place, and then he said, “First I will answer what it means to say, ‘Now it is arriving, the Good Message.’ This indeed, is what it means: When it stops, the slaughter of your own people who live here on earth, then everywhere peace will come about, by day and also by night, and it will come about that as one travels around, everyone will be related. …

Now again, secondly, I say, ‘Now it is arriving, the power,’ and this means that the different nations, all the nations, will become just a single one, and the Great Law will come into being, so that now all will be related to each other, and there will come to be just a single family, and in the future, in days to come, this family will continue on.

Now in turn, the other, my third saying, ‘Now it is arriving, the Peace,’ this means that everyone will become related, men and also women, and also the young people and the children, and when all are relatives, every nation, then there will be peace as they roam about by day and also by night. …

Then there will be truthfulness, and they will uphold hope and charity, so that it is peace that will unite all the people, indeed, it will be as though they have but one mind, and they are a single person with only one body and one head and one life, which means that there will be unity.” …

When they are functioning, the Good Message and also the Power and the Peace, moreover, these will be the principal things everybody will live by; these will be the great values among the people.”

– Chief John Arthur Gibson, Concerning the League: The Iroquois League as Dictated in Onondaga, newly elicited, edited and translated by Hanni Woodbury in Collaboration with Reg Henry and Harry Webster on the Basis of A.A. Goldenweiser’s Manuscript. Memoir 9 (Winnipeg: Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics, 1992): 36–41. 

ABSTRACT

Academic and popular interest has lent prestige to native spirituality and has brought it into prominence. The United Nations proclamation of 1993 as the International Year of Indigenous People gave native peoples international recognition. A corresponding interest in native culture has “valorised” (brought respect to) native spirituality.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada took a position of advocacy on behalf of First Nations Canadians in its formal submission to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in the fall of 1993. The strong native presence in Canadian Bahá’í community life raises the question of the place of native spirituality within a Bahá’í worldview.

Homefront “pioneers” have extended Bahá’í universalism to a recognition of the richness and authenticity of native cultural values. Such recognition has been supported by local Bahá’í policy, as attested in teaching pamphlets addressed to native peoples, in which the concept of First World messengers of God has been validated. Although theoretically acknowledged, explicit recognition of native messengers of God has yet to be formalised in Bahá’í doctrine.

This study discusses the possibilities of incorporating the principle of “Messengers of God to Indigenous Peoples” within formal Bahá’í doctrine, reflecting a development that has already taken place in popular Bahá’í belief in the North American context. A hitherto under-studied Persian text of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá establishes the principle in such a way that its explicit enunciation is now possible.

The problem of historical attestation remains. The prophetic credentials of Iroquois culture hero and statesman Deganawida are critically examined as a test case. The legend of Deganawida has a kernel of historicity overlaid by hagiography, with admitted Christian influence. Nonetheless, if the Bahá’í principle of “Progressive Revelation” can assimilate the Amerindian spiritual legacy as distinct from and developmentally asynchronous with Irano-Semitic and Sino-Indic religious histories, then it might be possible to accord Deganawida a provisional status with Bahá’í prophetology, and still affirm Bahá’u’lláh’s unific role in world history, as oral cultures take their place alongside the more familiar “literate” traditions.

https://www.academia.edu/36294314/_Native_Messengers_of_God_in_Canada_1996_

The period 550 to 750 was one in which monastic culture became more firmly entrenched in Western Europe. The role of monasteries and their relationship to the social world around them was transformed during this period as monastic institutions became more integrated in social and political power networks. This collected volume of essays focuses on one of the central figures in this process, the Irish ascetic exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (c. 550-615), his travels on the Continent, and the monastic network he and his Frankish disciples established in Merovingian Gaul and Lombard Italy.

The post-Roman kingdoms through which Columbanus travelled and established his monastic foundations were made up of many different communities of peoples. As an outsider and immigrant, how did Columbanus and his communities interact with these peoples? How did they negotiate differences and what emerged from these encounters? How societies interact with outsiders can reveal the inner workings and social norms of that culture. This volume aims to explore further the strands of this vibrant contact and to consider all of the geographical spheres in which Columbanus and his monastic communities operated (Ireland, Merovingian Gaul, Alamannia, Lombard Italy) and the varieties of communities he and his successors came in contact with — whether they were royal, ecclesiastic, aristocratic, or grass-roots.

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Abbreviations
Maps
Contributors
Foreword Walter Pohl
Part I: Columbanus in Context
Chapter 1: Introduction: Columbanus and Europe Alexander O'Hara
Chapter 2: Columbanus and the Language of Concord Damian Bracken
Part II: The Insular Background
Chapter 3: The Political Background to Columbanus's Irish Career Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
Chapter 4: Movers and Shakers? How Women Shaped the Career of Columbanus Elva Johnston
Chapter 5: Columbanus's Ulster Education Alex Woolf
Part III: The Frankish World
Chapter 6: Columbanus in Brittany Ian Wood
Chapter 7: Columbanus and Shunning: The Irish peregrinus between Gildas, Gaul, and Gregory Clare Stancliffe
Chapter 8: Orthodoxy and Authority: Jonas, Eustasius, and the Agrestius Affair Andreas Fischer
Chapter 9: Columbanus and the Mission to the Bavarians and the Slavs in the Seventh Century Herwig Wolfram
Part IV: On the Fringe: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia
Chapter 10: Between the Devil and the deep Lake Constance: Jonas of Bobbio, interpretatio Christiana, and the Pagan Religion of the Alamanni Bernhard Maier
Chapter 11: Drinking with Woden: A Re-Examination of Jonas's Vita Columbani I. 27 Francesco Borri
Chapter 12: Between Metz and Überlingen: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia Yaniv Fox
Chapter 13: Quicumque sunt rebelles, foras exeant! Columbanus's Rebellious Disciple Gallus Philipp Dörler
Part V: Lombard Italy and Columbanus's Legacy
Chapter 14: Columbanus, Bobbio, and the Lombards Stefano Gasparri
Chapter 15: Disputing Columbanus's Heritage: The Regula cuiusdam patris (with a translation of the Rule) Albrecht Diem

David Hume (1711-1776) ranks among the greatest of philosophers and issues of religion lie at the heart of what most concerned him. Although the exact nature of Hume’s attitude to religion is a matter of some controversy, there is general agreement that his basic stance was critical, if not hostile, to the doctrines and dogmas of orthodox religious belief and practice. There remains, however, considerable disagreement about whether or not Hume believed that there is any truth or value in religion. According to some, Hume was a sceptic who regarded all conjectures relating to religious hypotheses to be beyond the scope of human understanding – he neither affirmed nor denied these conjectures. Others read Hume as embracing a highly refined form of “true religion”. On the other side of this spectrum, it is claimed that Hume was committed to atheism, although due to social conditions at the time, this had to be (thinly) concealed or masked. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of Hume’s core concerns and arguments on this subject and to provide the reader with a framework for interpreting and assessing his various contributions.

Did Jesus and his disciples use cannabis and other drugs in magical ceremonies? Author and cannabis historian Chris Bennett takes us through some of the startling ancient evidence of early Christianity’s drug-fuelled rituals.

An illustrated version of this article can be accessed here - https://www.cannabisculture.com/content/2016/12/20/early-christianitys-drug-fuelled-magic-rituals/

Taft R. F. The Great Entrance. A History of the Transfer of Gifts and other Preanaphoral Rites of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. [A History of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, vol. II]. Roma, 1975. (Orientalia Christiana Analecta; 200).

¿Qué secreto se esconde tras el primitivo símbolo cristiano del pez? ¿Quiénes fueron los gnósticos y cuál fue su mensaje?¿Por qué fueron condenados como herejes y sus obras perseguidas por la Iglesiade Roma? ¿Qué ocultos secretos encerraban sus enseñanzas? ¿Quié­nes fueron los alquimistas? ¿Era su propósito transformar el plomo en oro o eran devotos cristianos que escondian al­gún valioso tesoro oculto bajo metáforas pseudoquímicas? ¿Quién es el enigmático Abraxas? ¿Qué misterioso código se oculta bajo su nombre? ¿Son Ciencias y Religión real­mente incompatibles? ¿Es el modelo del Cristianismo Pa­triarcal adecuado a las necesidades vitales de la sociedad contemporánea? La hermandad de los iniciados narra la his­toria de una comunidad cristiana formada por doce novicios y regentada por un anciano sacerdote excomulgado, don­de estas y muchas otras preguntas encuentran una osada y controvertida respuesta.