bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Replik til Hans J. Lundager Jensens "De fremmede, Det Gamle Testamente, vi"
Authors: Andersen Vagn
Published: February 2018

The article is a reply to the foregoing article by Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen and discusses especially HJLJ’s concept of cultural identity. It is held, that HJLJ’s concept of identity in the final analysis implicates a Nietzsche-inspired idea of identity as powerful self-assertion. In contrast to this, a Hegel-inspired idea of identity as mutual recognition is advanced. Taken in this manner, the reply is a variation on the philosophical objections raised by Jürgen Habermas against Michel Foucault. In consequence, a cosmopolitical version of cultural identity is sketched and some of its problems are discussed.
"Si quid sunt manes ..." - Aspekter af gammelromersk dødekult
Authors: Toftager Hanne
Published: February 2018

On the basis of archeological and literary material from the centuries around the beginning of the Christian era, the article delineates popular religious beliefs about death. The understanding of death is reflected in the ritual burial practice and in the equipment of the grave and its significance. The grave is understood as a sacred place, dedicated to the divine “manes” of the deceased. Family graves are used, graves that function, on the one hand, as the abode of the deceased who lives according to the laws of the hereafter, and, on the other, as a place of commemoration for the bereaved who come at fixed intervals to sacrifice. Further, the grave and the tombstone with the portrait of the deceased is seen as a symbolic substitute for the deceased thus causing the grave to signify that death has usurped the community of the living and at the same time that the deceased in his grave is part of another, transcendant community consisting of the living and the dead. The dual nature of the portrait on the tombstone reflects the dual nature of the cult of death: protective measures mirroring a deep-rooted anxiety alternate with expressions of veneration, thus marking that the deceased is radically different and at the same time familiar. This duality also characterizes some present-day Italian burial practices, as outlined in the closing paragraph.
Sted og anti-sted - om forholdet mellem person og lokalitet i Markus-evangeliet
Authors: Hallbäck Geert
Published: February 2018

The opposition between Galilee and Jerusalem is a well-known feature of Mark, which suggests that the localities form a specific level of meaning (theological and literary) in the gospel. Furthermore, on a text-theoretical/structuralist basis you are to expect some kind of rivalry between person representing change, and place representing stability. From this point of view the main sequences of Mark are analysed as follows: ‘The Wilderness’ forms the place of mythical re-qualification; ‘Galilee’ is the scene of a duel between the places and Jesus the anti-place, always going elsewhere; this scene is altered into ‘the way’, leading from Caesarea Philippi to ‘Jerusalem’, where the Temple is dissolved symbolically giving place to the omnipresence of the absent Christ in the Eucarist. The article concludes with some reflections on the theological perspectives of the empty tomb, representing the absence which brings meaning to presence.
Religionspsykologi som teori om den individuelle religiøsitet
Authors: Nørager Troels
Published: February 2018

The first part of this essay deals with some of the theoretical and methodological problems related to the scientific status of psychology. On this basis, the precarious position of psychology of religion is addressed and the author suggests that the discipline’s future is dependent upon realizing the necessity of returning to the original formulation of the task and purpose of psychology of religion, i.e. the creative investigation of the individual’s religion. The second part is a survey of four major positions in the psychology of religion (William James; experimental and psychoanalytic psychology of religion, and approaches from social psychology) and leads, finally, to a brief discussion of some of the more interesting perspectives: (1) the relation between “classic” and “contemporary” approaches of psychology of religion; (2) the influence of secularization and the complementary relation between the scientific perspective of psychology of religion and the self-understanding of religious traditions, groups and persons; (3) the prospect of a future theoretical convergence in psychology of religion.
En bristet drøm - til forståelse af Karl Emil Franzos' forfatterskab
Authors: Riis Carsten
Published: February 2018

In a wide fictional and cultural historical authorship the Jewish Galizier Karl Emil Franzos (1848-1904) presented arguments for Jewish emancipation under the influence of the Haskalah movement. His chief work, Der Pojaz, is about a young East-Galizien Jew’s fight against the narrow limits of Hasidism and the aspirations about German culture. Der Pojaz was finished in 1893, but Franzos held it back, and it was first published posthumously in 1905. In his article Carsten Riis points out that the background for this must be found in the growing anti-Semitism during the second half of the 19th century – being the Germany that Franzos had seen as the new native country of the emancipated Jews. The anti-Semitism of the 19th century was the old traditional one, but the modern racist anti-Semitism had appeared, and this ruined Franzos’ hope and dreams of a new era for the Jews. In disappointment and powerlessness he withheld Der Pojaz and turned his authorship in other directions.
Religionens rolle i naturvidenskabens legitimering
Authors: Riis Ole
Published: February 2018

The great sociologist, R.K. Merton, presented in 1938 a study concerning the establishment of science in 17th century England. In this study, he pointed out the importance of Puritanism in the legitimation of natural science. The present essay argues that the establishment of empirical science was an international trend which therefore ought to be seen in an international perspective. Many international and English intellectual sources can be traced. They merged into a mainline during an era when society underwent fundamental changes: the political system changed with the bureaucratization of the monarchical government. The economic system changed with the rationalization of trade and manufacture. These trends also implied an interest in a more pragmatic and materialistic approach to natural phenomena. But the political and economic factors were insufficient for the establishment of natural science in the 16th and 17th centuries. The whole world view was legitimated by religion, including the political power. Therefore, natural science had to demonstrate that it was meant for the honour of God and the benefit of mankind. However, Merton narrows the scope too much, since he focuses on the Puritans. The term is not well-defined, and the discussion therefore becomes either too broad, including all devout Protestants, or too narrow, for instance, by including only non-conformist Presbyterians.The pioneers of natural science were often keenly interested in theology as well. The most important scientists tended to correspond with the church policy of the political leaders, but few of them can be regarded as Presbyterians. During the interregnum, many of the spokesmen of science had close contact with Cromwell. During the restoration, most of the spokesmen of science were Latitudinarian Anglicans. In some cases the religious attitudes swung in accordance with the official church policy. This does not mean that the spokesmen of science were compromising. They were rather representatives of an intellectual élite, which changed its religious views due to the experiences of the civil war, the interregnum and the restoration. A more profound study of the religious writings of the spokesmen of science indicates that they were not typical Puritans in the more narrow Presbyterian sense. Their views were characterized by Natural Theology, tolerant deism and Latitudinarianism. This tendency became more explicit after the Restoration, and the establishment of The Royal Society. Natural Theology was the cornerstone in the comprehensive World View, which also included Natural Law and Natural Science. The outline of the complex was already sketched in the works of the scientific pioneers in the beginning of the 17th century. At the end of the century, it unfolded as the basis for legitimating the Second Revolution. The views of Newton, Locke and Tillotson thus fitted into a universal system. Still the religious legitimation of science was needed. The split between science, religion and politics only took place in the 19th century with the advent of Positivism.
Kristendomshistorie - hvad skal det forestille?
Authors: Balling Jakob
Published: February 2018

In this paper the author presents and discusses some of the leading ideas in and behind his book “Kristendommen” (Copenhagen 1986). The concept of ‘history of Christianity’ is defined and compared with that of ‘church history’; but the main emphasis is on a discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of the system of periodization – governed by the principle of relatedness to a ‘civilization’ – which is used in the book. In this connection the notion of ‘Old Europe’ (AD 750/1100-1800) as a coherent and distinct period is particularly emphasized; this entails a discussion of three fundamental and interdependent concepts, valid for the period as a whole: that of ‘internal mission’, that of ‘reform’ and that of ‘clericalism’.
Om symboler og deres virkning - inddragelse af Jungs analytiske psykologi i religionsfænomenologien
Authors: Albinus Lars
Published: February 2018

Certain aspects of Jung’s analytical psychology are treated in the first section of the article. After this, the relevance of his theories in relation to research within the history of religions is critically assessed. The aim is to establish that a deeper understanding of religious symbols can be reached on the basis of Jung’s model of the unconscious. The concepts of the archetypes and the collective unconscious have no a priori content of their own. Being categories of experience, they constitute structural properties of the psyche. Thus, Jung does not postulate the existence of universal symbols. He shows that the unconscious is a determining factor in religious matters, and he points to a psychic principle which the historian of religion must either take into account or choose to ignore artificially.
Jødedommen som et hellenistisk fænomen
Authors: Otzen Benedikt
Published: February 2018

With the somewhat provocative title the theme is given: the relations between Hellenistic culture and Judaism. The Hellenistic impact upon Judaism is not restricted to the Diaspora (e.g. Egypt); also in Palestina Hellenism had a strong influence canalized through the many Hellenistic poleis, free cities. This fact is demonstrated with examples from the Book of Sira and from apocalyptics.
Gnosticismens oprindelse
Authors: Adamsen Johannes
Published: February 2018

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Nyere danske kommentarer til Det Ny Testamente
Authors: Bilde Per
Published: February 2018

Review-artikel.
Rasesynet hos mormonerne i det forrige århundre
Authors: Glad Johnnie
Published: February 2018

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church) was established on April 6, 1830, by Joseph Smith, Jr. in Fayette, New York. The Mormon Church claims to be not only a Christian church, but also the only true church here on earth. In addition to the Bible, this church has several authoritative sacred scriptures, such as the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.One of the issues that has haunted the Mormon Church down through the years and caused considerable embarrassment and unrest, has been the race issue. Why were Negroes prohibited from entering the priesthood? Why were the Indians and the Negroes stigmatized? Why should a white skin be considered better and more favourable than a dark skin?The intention of this article is to throw some light on this issue and see how it developed during the previous century. It is important in this context to examine the Mormon scriptures. What did they have to say about this issue? And what about the church leaders? How did they look upon and tackle these problems? The leaders of the church had great authority and power. What they said and did had far-reaching consequences in the church and created a pattern for other to follow. The following century is a case in point.
Kirke og prigrim i "Pilgrim's Progress"
Authors: Gregersen Susanne
Published: February 2018

John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress has usually been interpreted as a allegorical account of an individual pilgrim's search for salvation and sanctification on his lonely soul-journey, with a superimposed addition of church fellowship in the second part of the story. An interpretation like this loses the depth and complexity of Bunyan's story. Far from being an individual story Pilgrim's Progress describes the relationship and covenant between the individual pilgrim and the visible church of the elect as depicted in the Palace Beautiful. In Palace Beautiful, the history of the individual pilgrim from The City of Destruction to The Celestial City meets the history of God's salvation of his elected people from before creation to the Last Day. If any of these three layers of interpretation is missed out or translated into modern individualism, the whole scope of Bunyan's imaginative universe is reduced and oversimplified.
Livsdrik og vidensdrik
Authors: Schjødt Jens Peter
Published: February 2018

Denne artikel beskæftiger sig med et tema af allerstørste betydning i før-kristen skandinavisk religion, nemlig den måde, hvorpå det er muligt at få overnaturlig eller numinøs viden. Mit udgangspunkt er myten om Kvasir og Odins tyveri af visdommens mjød. Ved at analysere mytens horisontale struktur er det muligt at vise, at vi bliver konfronteret med nogle vigtige binære modsætninger: indsigelsen mellem de to faser, før og efter tyveriet, svarende til passiv og aktiv, mytisk fortid og mytisk nutid; og til to slags "verdener" - denne og den anden - hvor den "anden verden" er karakteriseret som et sted for latent overnaturlig magt og viden, og "denne" verden (Odins og Asernes verden) er karakteriseret som den dynamiske og kreative kategori.Alt dette svarer til vilkårene liminalitet - ikke liminalitet af Victor Turner, og følgelig til symbolikken i ritual, især til overgangsriter med sin næsten universelle symbolik som indeholder sådanne elementer som død og opstandelse og tilegnelse af viden.
Asketen og forfædrene: et indisk fortællingsmotiv
Authors: Sand Erik Reenberg
Published: February 2018

Denne artikel henleder opmærksomheden på et narrativt motiv, der findes flere steder i Mahabharata og i Puranaerne vedrørende en asket, der møder sine forfædre. Efter en gennemgang af L. Dumont og WD O'Flahertys teorier om den strukturelle opposition fundet i hinduismen mellem asketers religion og gruppens eller samfundets religion viser forfatteren, hvordan det pågældende motiv passer ind i denne opposition og tilføjer det nogle nye eskatologiske perspektiver. Desuden foreslår han, at dette motiv viser, at en af de førende kræfter, der motiverer religion i gruppen, er tanken om familien og afstamning, samt behovet for deres kontinuitet både her i denne verden, ved at producere nye familiemedlemmer, og i den næste verden, ved at give gaver og mad til forfædrene.
Gilgameš-epet. Kosmologi og antropologi
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

Gilgameš' Epik er traditionelt set blevet analyseret ud fra to synsvinkler: På den ene side er det historiske synspunkt blevet anvendt til at belyse tidligere skriftlige og mundtlige overleveringer om Gilgameš', og på den anden side det interne tematiske synspunkt har været anvendt til at bestemme epiken rækkefølge og dens behandling især temaer som "død" og "venskab". Denne artikel viser - med behørig henvisning til og kritik af Th. Jacobsens analyse i "The Treasures of Darkness" - at en ensidig interesse i epikkens syntagmatiske dimension er reduktiv. En todimensional analyse er foreslået som en alternativ løsning. En sådan analyse illustrerer, hvordan et univers (en ideel model, endnu ikke afsluttet inden for sin egen referenceramme) er udfoldet i løbet af fortællingen. Moralen af epikken er, at menneskeheden må finde sin plads i dette univers, mellem dyr og guderne, mellem himmel og helvede og mellem udødelighed og død.
Anmeldelse af "L'invention de la mythologie" af Marcel Detienne
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

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Ritualistik - en ny religionshistorisk disciplin
Authors: Sørensen Jørgen Podemann
Published: February 2018

The idea of ritualistics as a new discipline in history of religions is based on practical as well as theoretical considerations. The broad, comparative discipline sometimes called the phenomenology of religion has above all adressed a number of interesting themes, usually without distinguishing levels of analysis. In discussions of themes like the idea of god or divine kingship, the failure to recognize ritual as a distinct level not immediately compatible with levels of beliefs, ideas, attitudes etc. has entailed inconsistencies and subsequent diacronical fragmentation of contemporary source material. By introducing the new discipline of ritualistics to replace part of the phenomenology of religion, it may be hoped that some of the pitfalls of an uncritical thematic approach may be avoided. Ritualistics is not in itself a new method, but a discipline that defines a level of analysis as do linguistic disciplines like phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics; it may thus be considered a first step towards an analogous theoretical contruction of the object of history of religions.
Sporsøgeren Carlo Ginzburg
Authors: Bay Ole
Published: February 2018

The article gives an introduction to the wotk of the Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg, known worldwide specially for the books The Cheese and the Worms, The Night Battles and Ecstasies. Deciphering hte Witches' Sabbath. Working on source material from the archives of the Inquisition, Ginzburg has tried to recover the authentic popular beliefs from the distortions they have been subjected to in the official interrogations of the Inquisition. A main theme in his research has been a continuous effort to explain the phenomenon benandanti, those "good wanderers" who fought nightly battles against the witches in sixteenth century Friuli in norther Italy - according to what the peasants told the Inquisition. In his latest book, on the origens of the witches' sabbath, Ginzburg sees the phenomenon in a tradition of Euro-Asiatic shamanism. That has been much debated, and although Ginzburg's theories only partly explain the with-persecutions of early nmodern Europe, they certainly throw new light on popular beliefs, and therefore they can not be ignored.
Religiøs argumentation som religionsfænomenologisk forskningsområde
Authors: Aktor Mikael
Published: February 2018

This article is a reflection on the specific character of religious assertations and religious arguments. The basic point of view is that these religious practices should not be investigated as isolated religious phenomena sui generis, but on the contrary, that they are conditioned by and derived from common linguistic and epistemological practices that relate to the concrete material world. Religious assertations join together finction and description of the world, whereas religious arguments refer todata which are either quasi-empiric (a holy scripture  for instance) or quasi-public (a mystical experience for instance). in four text examples these derivations are investigated in the light of a two-component definition of religion, which stresses the concept of an essential difference as well as the concept of a possibility of a passage to an fro between essentially differenct categories.
Jøderne i diasporaen i romersk tid
Authors: Bilde Per
Published: February 2018

In earlier research the situation of the Jews in the Western diaspora in the Roman period was often described as being essentially different from that of the Jews in Palestine: The diaspora-Jews were genrally regarded as more "hellenized" and less "militant". The aim of this article is to question such a traditional interpretation. This program is carried out in the following way: We begin and end by presenting and discussing the general situation of both parts of the Jewish world. However, the substance of the argument consists of analyzing the situation of the Jews in the diaspora in three specific cities, and by discussing the cases of the three personalities of Philo, Josephus and Paul. This analysis is followed by a brief general discussion of the relations between the Jews - both in the diaspora and in Palestine - and the Roman government. In addition, in order to obtain an adequate perspective, the Jewish diaspora is compared with that of other ethnic groups such as the Greeks, the Syrians and the Egyptians at the same time. On this basis, finally, the conclusions are drawn with the result that, although the situation was generally the same for the Jews in the Western diaspora and the Jews in Palestine, there still exist some important differences which we have to keep in mind when discussing these two groups.
Hellenismestudier
Authors: Christiansen Erik
Published: February 2018

Review-artikel
Hvad religion er, fortæller historien os
Authors: Rudolph Kurt
Published: February 2018

Against Rudolf Otto and his like, the article insists that there is not such thing as the essence of religion that can be grasped only by people equipped with some mysterious sort of religious intuition. Religion can only be studied as religions, i.e. in the different forms it assumes in various historical circumstances. Fundamentally the study of religion therefore must be a historical discipline and accordingly it can learn a lot from the new insights that have been won in history since the 1960s. The historical anthropology of the French Annales-school is mentioned, but the main focus of the article is on the impulses that can be found in the socalled "historische Sozialwissenschaft" developed by German historians. It is especially underlined that the theoretical discussions of this school have presented clues to old problems in the humanities, for instance the relation - so important in the history of the study of religion - between "Verstehen" and "Erklären".The article is a Danish translation of a lesson given by professor rudolph in German at a conference on "Methodology in the Study of Religion", held at the University of Aarhus in June 1992.
K.E. Løgstrups tanker tangeret
Authors: Gregersen Niels Henrik
Published: February 2018

In his philosophical dissertation that can be translated as K.E. Løgstrup. A Modern Prophet (1992), Hans Hauge proposed the thesis that the philosophy of Løgstrup, from first to last, tales leave of any epistemological foundation. In this critical evaluation, the author supports the interpretation by Hauge that Løgstrup's appeal to ontology in fact refers to ever changing life situations with each of their own characteristics. However, one has to distinguish between epistemologies. Already in 1933, Løgstrup opposed Husserl's epistemology of the transcendental ego. But only much later, Løgstrup criticized Heidegger for his universalization of the regional ontology of historicity. This metaphysical "Kehre" can be dated between January and September 1969. Furthermore, in his late philosophy, Løgstrup not simply abandoned epistemology. Rather, he developed a non-foundational epistemology  on the basis of an interplay between historical understanding, rooted in the need for self-preservation, and the "useless", albeit penetrating sense qualities of the world.
Social vrangorden i klassisk bramisk samfundslære
Authors: Aktor Mikael
Published: February 2018

This article is an investigation of the concept of varnasamkara, the mixing of the four orders of the classical Indian social hierarchy. The concept is described as both a fictive 'explanation' of the origin of those tribal castes, which gradually were included in the social system, and as a reflection of an actual practice of sexual relations across the barriers of the orders. Particularly the pratiloma-relations, the hypogamous relations between men of lower orders with women of the upper orders, are brought into focus. These relations in genealogical as well as other sorts of interaction are finally analyzed in the light of Victor W. turner's concept of antistructure to show why the Brahmin householders, who were explicitly engaged in the affairs of the world, showed contempt for these relations, while the world-renouncers, whether Brahmin or Buddhist, viewed them in a more positive light.
Ludvig Holbergs religionssyn som udtrykt i "Niels Klim"
Authors: Sand Erik Reenberg
Published: February 2018

Niels Klim originally appeared in Latin in 1741 and belongs to the type of literature sometimes called the imaginary travel account. It is shown how this novel, like most contemporary imaginary travel accounts, like Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Montesquieu's Lettres Persanes, was a means of social and religious satire without confronting the censorship which was pretty heavy in Denmark, which at the time was under the sway of German pietism. Holberg's own ideals about society and religion are primarily expressed thrugh the description of the subterranean country of Potu (probably a pun on More's Utopia), an analysis of which shows that his ideal religion was primarily rational and moral, and came pretty close to the contemporary concept of "natural religion", except for his emphatic adherence to the idea of Revelation.
Replik fra montrens indre
Authors: Rothstein Mikael , Warmind Morten
Published: February 2018

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Samtale mellem religion og filosofi
Authors: Thomassen Niels
Published: February 2018

Universal philosophy of religion is occupied with religion as a human manifestation, its essence and its function in human life. Special philosophy of religion is entrusted with giving a rational elucidation of the teachings of a particular religion, e.g. christianity. the medieval philosophers operated in this way  and so do modern philosophers of religion as Kierkegaard and Løgstrup. In principle there is no difference between philosophy of religion and philisophy of science. The tasks of christian philosophy of religion are of the same kind as the tasks of philosophy of science and humanities get from phychoanalytic interpretation of literature, semiotics or hermeneutical bioloy.Philosophy has difficulties in answering the problems which traditionally have been answered by religion. Philosophy is a confession to reason, but the totally rational world is a caricature. Philosophy and reason are not the highest  forms of life, but ought to take up a serving function. therefore the paper concludes in a dichotomy between academic considerations and some unacademic aphorisms.
Litteratur og historie - et svar til Ole Davidsen
Authors: Bilde Per
Published: February 2018

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Odin på træet
Authors: Schjødt Jens Peter
Published: February 2018

The Norse myth of Odin who dangled from the world tree during nine nights has aroused much discussion among scholars as to whether the god is being initiated or sacrificed. After having discussed the arguments, the article proceeds by analysing the two phenomenological categories of sacrifice and initiation and some of the driterias we may use in order to make a distinction. It is concluded that the main difference is the relation between subject and object. Speaking about sacrifice there is no identity between these, whereas identity is exactly what characterizes initiation. In a way initiation may be termed "self sacrifice" - a term, however, which should not be recommended in order to avoid confusion. Thus, even though the symbolism of the two phenomena is much alike, it seems most reasonable to designate the myth of Odin on the tree as an initiation.
Håndspålæggelse hos hittitterne
Authors: Carstens Pernille
Published: February 2018

By showing Eight Examples of the gesture of hand placement from the religious texts of the hittites, this article discusses the meaning of the rite. The hand placement can be understood as a gesture that qualifies the sacrificial animal. The rite of hand placement is also connected with substitution or elimination rituals. Being a small rite in a large sequence, the hand placement gives rise to a consideration concerning the ritual symmetry in general.
At udtage én
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

The rite of the laying on of hands in the Hebrew Bible has been interpreted in different ways, with no final conclusion being arrived at until now. Despite the ritual and semantic diversities of the different instances, one common point unites them all: in all instances one member is singled out of an anonymous group (or a group is singled out of a bigger group). The rituals to which the laying on of hands belongs can lead to enhanced life or death, to honour or shame, to an existence at the centre of the community or outside it. The rite belongs to a bigger group of rites which encompasses the drawing of lots, anointment and stoning and which forms a transformational system.
Begravet og oprejst
Authors: Petersen Anders Klostergaard
Published: February 2018

The purpose of the article is to present a ritual-theoretic reading of an important Pauline baptismal text thereby gaining not only a deeper understanding of the Pauline baptismal references but also a more profound knowledge of the Pauline theology in toto. On the basis of van Gennep's essential work "The Rites of Passage", a heuristic definition of initiation is developed and applied to Romans 6:1-14.
Det hellige og det sublime
Authors: Hastrup Kirsten
Published: February 2018

The article explores the notion of the sacred in human experience and in scholarship. By an investigation of the sacred as a social category, as first established in the social sciences by Durkheim in 1915, it is argued that this method does not take us near the sacred as it is experienced. Instead, it leaves us with the study of what is at best transfigured representations of the sacre, in texts, rites or cults. By treating the sacred as a social fact, we are bound to remain within a language that cannot capture the experimental nature of the sacred. With reference to Bateson it is argues that the sacred by its nature defies language and retreats to a site of secrecy, which we can only represent as shadows in language. It is suggested that the experience of the sacred is close to the experience of the sublime, as we know it from art. Ritual is compared to theatre, and their relative power in making participants experience a possible world byond the known is discussed.The general point is that ontologically, the sacred is not in the things that represent it, such as texts, rites or chcurches, but in human experience of it. Therefore, the issue whether the sacred can be put to political use is wrong; only the representations and their doorkeepers can be put to such use. The sacred defies it. By way of conclusion it is argued, with reference to Charles Taylor, that the traditional view of theory in the human and social sciences as 'designative' should now give way to a view of theory as 'ecpressive'. Theories must do more than 'mirror' nature, i.e. describe the sacred by its representations in the landscape, they must also realize in their own terms what is not readily seen, and what is not expressed anywhere but in the theory itself, such as for instance the sublime nature of scared experiences.
Magiens dæmonsprog - introduktion til S. J. Tambiah
Authors: Jørgensen Øjvind
Published: February 2018

The article is an introduction to the anthropologist S. J. Tambiah and his theory on magic. Dissociating himself from the evolutionists (ie.e J. G. Frazer) and the functionalists (i.e., B. Malinowski) aand their attempts to place "magic" more or less within the framework of "causality", Tambiah focuses on the fact that in the actions human beings are simultaneously involved in two modalities, sc. the modality of causality and the modality of performative acts. He combines Sausurrean structural linguistics with the theory of performative speeech acts as developed from J. L. Austin and paalies this combination on cases taken from Evans-Pritchard's Azande studies. By doing so, the brings about a new and more fruitful understanding of magic. Finally, on the basis of Tambiah's thoughts I propose a definition of magic which goes beyond the traditional, scientifically inspired perception of causaliity.
"Det bibelske hjemland"
Authors: Lemche Niels Peter
Published: February 2018

I Israel i dag er det almindeligt at begrunde krav på Palæstina ved at henvise til Det Gamle Testamente. Meget ofte argumentet er eksplicit sekulær, dvs det er baseret på Israels historie som fortalt af Det Gamle Testamente. På den anden side ignoreres. den gammeltestamentlige synspunkt, som anser besiddelse af jorden som en gave fra Gud Den "historiske" argument er imidlertid defekt da det stammer fra en grov misforståelse af den "historiske" tradition i Det gamle Testamente som historie i moderne forstand af ordet. Derfor kan vi sige, at jøder ikke har en historisk (dvs. "objektiv") ret til Palæstina, men en religiøs ret, selv om dette kun kan deles af mennesker opdraget i den samme religiøse tradition, hvadenten de er jøder eller kristne.
Religion og politik i antik jødedom og tidlig kristendom
Authors: Bilde Per
Published: February 2018

Initially, definitions of religion and politics are discussed. Then the issue as regards the Mediterranean areas is surveyed in general. The ideas of Eddy and Fuchs are adopted. Ancient Jewish history and literature from 175 B.C. to A.D. 135 are analysed under this point of view, and it is found that in all Jewish trends the religious and the political spheres overlap to a variable high degree. In early Christianity we find a main stream of non-political “quetism” dominated almost totally by the religious sphere. Another trend is more political and more influenced by Judaism. Jesus is found to belong to this latter trend. This means that in the movement of Jesus, religion and politics were closely united. As a consequence, a major transformation of early Christianity is supposed to have taken place early in its history. This transformation is finally assumed to be closely connected with the dissociation between the early Christians and the Jews. After the separation from Judaism, Christianity became an individualistic and spiritualistic religion with little room for the political sphere. This situation changed again in the 4th century with the revolution of Constantine when the Christian religion again was connected with the decisive powers in society.
Den islamiske renaissance
Authors: Simonsen Jørgen Bæk
Published: February 2018

Islams rolle i samfundet har altid været et meget omdiskuteret emne i den islamiske verden. Det hævdes i denne artikel, at dette skyldes det faktum, at islam er mere end religion i snæver forstand af ordet. Det er dīn wa Dawla ("religion og regering"). På grund af dette, er islams rolle blevet diskuteret i den islamiske verden lige siden grundlæggelsen af det første islamiske imperium. I Vesten var det dog almindeligt i 50'erne og 60'erne at tale om islams faldende rolle i Mellemøsten. Først ved undergang Pahlavis kom der opmærksomhed på den stigende og aktiv rolle i Islam. Denne "islamiske renæssance" blev en synlig faktor i den islamiske verden fra slutningen af 60'erne på grund af flere ting: a) den manglende syntese mellem modernistiske tendenser og de ​​traditionelle religiøse overbevisninger hos flertallet af muslimerne, b) de uløste strukturelle problemer i økonomierne i den arabisk-islamiske verden, c) voksende sociale problemer - først og fremmest i de store byer i den islamiske verden, d) den såkaldte oliekrise i 1973 og den stigende betydning af lande som Saudi-Arabien, hvor traditionel islamiske værdier er bevaret, og e) påvirkning af den iranske revolution på resten af ​​den islamiske verden. Da ingen af ​​disse forudsætninger vil ændre sig i løbet af en kort periode, er den faktiske islamiske tendens dømt til at vare et stykke tid fremover.
Urenhedsforestillinger i den monastiske kultur
Authors: Schönbeck Oluf
Published: February 2018

A number of statements by the eleventh centurt ascetic Peter Damian concerning purity, impurity and purification are interpreted by means of the so-called Container Schema formulated by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. According to Lakoff and Johnson humans experience teir bodies as containers and as things in containers. Containers are characterized by the following structural elements: interior, boundary, exterior. Peter Damian is shown to describe impurity as a state of defilement, disease of bodily injury - all phenomena that are caused by a threatened or an actual breakdown of the boundary of the container, i.e. the human skin, the main purpose of which is to separate the interior  from the m enacing exterior. Basically then, impurity is seen as a result of an invasion of the body by foreign substances through the natural orifices, e.g. the senses, or through lesions - substances that may in their turn bring about unwanted discharges in the shape of e.g. semen or - in a metaphorical sense - sinful behaviour. Acts of purification are described by Damian in terms of the same container metaphor. Finally, it is suggested that the container metaphor may serve as a tool in analysing ideas of impurity outside a Christian, monastic context.
Begrebet 'irregularitet' i den middelalderlige kirke
Authors: Ingesman Per
Published: February 2018

A series of registres in the archives of the Papal Penitentiary in Rome, only recently made accessible to historical research, contain papal absolutions and dispensations from the Later Middle Ages in large numbers. Many of them are dealing with irregularity, a canon law concept designating various hindrances to ordination. After a short introduction to the Penitentiary and its archives, the first part of the articles examines the different forms of irregularity as described in canon law, trying to compare legal prescriptions with administrative practice. The second part of the article examines in detail the most common form of irregularity in the registers of the Penitentiary, namely that illegitimate persons because of their so-called "birth defect" could not enter the clerical profession without a papal dispensation. Having followed the development of this idea from the early 9th to the late 13th century, the article in its conclusion discusses how to interpret the concept of irregularity compared to more well-known forms of religious uncleanness. It is argued that the canon law concept is a complex one, through which the medieval Church tried not only to secure the cleanness of the clergy because of its liturgical functions, but also to uphold Church authority and clerical reputation and to prevent people totally unfit for an ecclesiastical career from entering the profession.
Islamiske renhedskategorier
Authors: Jacobsen Kate Østergaard
Published: February 2018

Tahāra, the Islamic regulations of purity are discussed as they appear in the Islamic scriptures, and as they are practised in Morocco during visits to the public baths, hammām. The formal and local traditions are not considered as opposites, but they are demonstrated to be interacting in a common logic. It is pointed out that impurity is mainly connected to activities necessary for the reproduction of the human body. Consequently, it is proposed that the ablution and the visit to hammām are ways to transcend the earthly condition and prepare for a connection to God. Furthermore, it is suggested that Tahāra, as a system of meaning, can function as an approach to the analysis of other Islamic rituals, for example the fast of Ramadan.
Omvendelse og modvilje
Authors: Engberg Jakob
Published: February 2018

When pagans met Christians or Christianity, this meeting could produce a variety of different reactions or feelings. Some were attracted by what they saw or heard, while others were disgusted. Some were filled with fear or simply annoyed, while others were indifferent, and others again might have had a mixture of conflicting feelings. These different reactions to Christianity in some cases resulted in either conversion or aversion. The object of the article has been to explain these two reactions. An analysis of pagan attitudes towards ungodliness (atheos) and superstition (superstitio or deisidaimonios) notably of Plutarch's De superstitione has formed the basis of my argument. I have argued that some saw Christianity or Christians as ungodly or superstitious and that this could produce aversion. On the other hand, I have argues, inspired by Plutarch, that others in Christianity saw a liberation from superstition, and that this could contribute to conversion.
Zen og kunsten at spejlvende orientalisme
Authors: Borup Jørn
Published: February 2018

This article intends to put into perspective the critique on Orientalism raised by Edward Said with a case story (beyond Said's Orient) exemplifying how the Orientalist discourse has been inverted, serving as a means of religious and cultural identification. Focusing on the religious environment around the Japanese interpreter and poluparizer of Zen Buddhism., D. T. Suzuki, it is argued that a genealogical network of interrelated persons and a reciprocal exchange of ideas and representations, placed within certain historical contexts, made it possible for him to systematically invert those Orientalist ideas, turning them into new East-West dichotomies. It is argued that neither Suzuki-zen nor Orientalism nor inverted Orientalism must be ignored but recognized and contextualized in order to reconstruct Buddhist studies as a natural and important field within the comparative study of religion.
Blod, sved og tårer - prodigier i romersk religion
Authors: Rasmussen Susanne William
Published: February 2018

Modern research has often viewed prodigies as weird and meaningless: either as the byproduct of ignorance, fear and mass hysteria - focusing on phychological aspects, or as calculating politicians' means of manipulating superstition - focusing on the possibility of fraud in political situations. This article is an attempt at presenting prodigies and their expiation as an important institution within official Roman religion and as a stable and effective means of sustaining a religious, political and social equilibrium in accordance with pax deorum and mos maiorum.
Historie og litteratur
Authors: Bilde Per
Published: February 2018

Et essay om historiske og litterære metoder i studiet af historiske fortællinger i Bibelen
Om oldgræsk dæmonologi
Authors: Albinus Lars , Eriksen Trond Berg
Published: February 2018

Resumé og opposition fra forsvar af ph.d.-afhandling
Morton Smiths fortolkning af Jesus
Authors: Bilde Per
Published: February 2018

The purpose of this small article is to present Morton Smith’s book, Jesus the Magician (1978a), seen in the context of his other writings. As well as that, Morton Smith’s book is related to some of the more significant contributions to the quest for the historical Jesus in the 1980s and 1990s. Generally, my evaluation of Morton Smith’s book is positive.
Verdsliggørelse à la française
Authors: Thomsen Lene Frølund
Published: February 2018

This article - Laizication à la française - examines how the modern French state established a hostile and antagonistic relation to the Catholic Church and how this endeavour was partly fuelled by the 1789 Revolution. It is in particular the period 1880-1905 which is crucial for understanding this process of transformation because of the establishment of the modern French Nation during these years. The political laizication of the nation involves moral principles for the French society. As the French State puts itself in a direct anti-religious role, it also engenders a remarkable discrepancy between liberal principles of freedom and real politics. The relation between state and nation is key to understanding why the French state engaged in such a hostile confrontation with the Catholic Church.
Striden om dødehavsrullerne
Authors: Riis Anita Holm
Published: February 2018

Traditionally, the concept of objectivity has been connected with the natural sciences rather than the cultural sciences. In recent years there has even been talk of an outright subjectivist tendency in cultural research. The present article takes issue with this prejudice. Here a concrete example from the field of cultural studies is analysed (the dispute concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls) with the intention of laying bare the underlying concept of objectivity. The example shows that research in this field presupposes a distinct concept of objectivity.
Ph.d.-afhandling om Scientology
Authors: Christensen Dorthe Refslund , Jensen Jeppe Sinding
Published: February 2018

Indledning og konklusion fra forsvar af ph.d.-afhandling samt replik fra formand for bedømmelsesudvalg
Livsfilosofiens indre modsigelse
Authors: Adamsen Johannes
Published: February 2018

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Kønsligt hierarki eller religiøs androgyni
Authors: Hjort Birgitte Graakjær
Published: February 2018

Only a few texts from the New Testament have been used and misused as have 1 Cor 11:2-16. A widespread misreading of the pericope consists in the interpretation that Paul there argued against equality between men and women generally or in the context of worship. The purpose of this article is twofold: To demonstrate why this reading is untenable and to argue for a more proper interpretation.My reading is based on Paul’s line of argument, including his remarkable formation of the kephale-structure and the position of the pericope between chapters (8 and) 10 and 11:17-21, respectively, as well as on the letter as a whole. All these things together indicate that the problem under discussion was not the relationship between the sexes as such, but this relationship seen in a religious, ritual context. Paul reproved a conduct whose shamefulness lay in its threat to both the gender polarity according to the creation and the sovereignty of God, a conduct which may also have caused divisions in the community. What Paul was arguing against, was a syncretism whose hallmark was an emancipatory equalization of gender polarity and, maybe, ritual intoxication and whose religious precedent was to be found in the worshipping of idols.With this interpretation as the main criterion for testing different hypotheses put forward to explain the historical situation causing Paul to write the text, I have found that a possible reconstruction consists of an influence on the Corinthians from pre-gnostic thoughts in a broad sense, combined with a more specific influence from the cult of Dionysus.
Tekst og ritual i zen-buddhismen
Authors: Borup Jørn
Published: February 2018

Rituals and texts have had different and arbitrary status and roles within the different traditions and discourses of Buddhist teachings. In the open hermeneutics of Mahayana ideology they have both been negated and affirmed as a means of reaching and expressing truth. The aim of this article is, with examples from primarily contemporary Japanese Zen Buddhism, to explain rituals in the performative and institutional contexts. It is argues that power, exchange and meaning are important and related frames of interpretation.