Uma selva entre o céu e o inferno: representações iconográficas e literárias dos índios do Brasil pelos portugueses nos séculos XVI e XVII

A partir de abril de 1500 a armada de Pedro Álvares Cabral dá início ao contato e ao registro através das páginas da carta de seu escrivão, Pero Vaz de Caminha de um novo mundo e uma nova humanidade: os índios que habitavam o território que atualmente conhecemos por Brasil. No desenrolar dos quinhentos, estes diferentes povos e culturas foram decodificados e reinterpretados de diversas maneiras em cartas, livros e demais documentos manuscritos. No campo das artes visuais portuguesas, não foi diferente. Esse outro assume um papel coadjuvante quase sempre inserido em duas temáticas principais, a arte religiosa e as grandes navegações mas nem por isso menos interessante: o gosto pelo exótico, característica marcante durante o período das expansões ultramarinas, não só em Portugal, mas em outras regiões europeias, aliado ao etnocentrismo e a influência do Cristianismo, acabou por caracterizar os índios do Brasil, mutatis mutandis, como novos homens selvagens. Para uns, são como bestas, mais perto do inferno; para outros, são cristãos em potencial, mais próximos do céu

O nacionalismo no laboratório latino-americano: política, história e ideias

O estudo do nacionalismo como conceito e como prática política mostra que não se pode atribuir ao termo um significado unívoco. De fato, alguns autores procuraram ressaltar que o nacionalismo potencialmente cumpria um papel muito diferente nas periferias do Sistema Mundial, quando não oposto, ao que se verificava com maior frequência nos países centrais. Na América Latina e no Brasil, o nacionalismo só foi articulado de modo coerente nas primeiras décadas do século XX. Antes disso, em sua notação moderna, não se observou nenhuma tentativa de articulação desse tipo em sociedades que reproduziam, em larga medida, os esquemas herdados do colonialismo. O nacionalismo foi articulado de modo coerente na região quando esteve teórica ou politicamente ligado a um programa que visava integrar as parcelas majoritárias da população, historicamente excluídas, ao país. Essa tarefa foi vista como o passo essencial para, de fato, criar a nação e, por essa via, se observava uma forte articulação do nacionalismo com o anti-imperialismo. Por outro lado, o nacionalismo de matriz conservadora demonstrava pouca capacidade de sustentar de modo consequente os elementos que caracterizavam o que o nacionalismo poderia ser em países coloniais e ex-coloniais ou periféricos. Essa incapacidade se dava geralmente porque tais forças sociais conservadoras não podiam assumir compromissos mais amplos de integração, em função de seu caráter eminentemente antipopular. Assim, o nacionalismo assumia com frequência a face do ufanismo vazio e patrioteiro, ou o melindre com questões pontuais irrelevantes, ou ainda a mera utilização política de um conceito com ampla repercussão popular. Politicamente, a América Latina viveu seus ciclos nacionalistas por meio de governos policlassistas, com grande relevância de lideranças carismáticas que realizaram parcialmente as tarefas de integração e construção nacional em seus países. A tentativa de desqualificar essa experiência pela via do populismo parte de pressuposições teóricas esquemáticas e inadequadas que empobrecem a compreensão do processo histórico e político desses países. A atualidade, a relevância e o resgate contemporâneos do nacionalismo como teoria e como prática política passam pela busca de uma revisão profunda da ortodoxia epistemológica que se consolidou através de uma ótica eurocêntrica, cientificista e esquemática constituída no século XIX. Nos dias de hoje, o laboratório latino-americano do nacionalismo pode potencialmente assumir uma nova face, ao realizar sua mais antiga tradição e vocação, aquela que remete a um nacionalismo integracionista, de cunho regional, isto é, um nacionalismo internacionalista.

First bi-lateral consultation meeting on Gulf of Mannar ecosystem, Rameshwaram, India, 5-6 September, 2011

Status papers on resources, livelihoods and ecosystem approach to fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar(GoM) were presented.Five priority initiatives were agreed: collaborative effort in conservation and management of charismatic species (e.g. dugong),capacity building and training,education and awareness building, strengthening of data collection and sharing of information.

Una testimonianza silenziosa.Storia della Chiesa cattolica in Tunisia dal Trattato del Bardo alla ‘rivoluzione dei gelsomini’

The work examines the change involving the Church in Tunisia from the period of the Protectorate to the present through the fundamental moments of independence (1956) and the signing of the ‘Modus vivendi’ (1964). In the first structure of the “modern” Church, a fundamental role was played by the complex figure of the French Cardinal Charles-Allemand Lavigerie who, while giving strong impulse to setting up disinterested charitable social initiatives by the congregations (Pères Blancs, Soeurs Blanches and others), also represented the ideal of the ‘evangelizing’ (as well as colonial) Church which, despite its declared will to avoid proselytism, almost inevitably tended to slip into it. During the French Protectorate (1881-1956) the ecclesiastic institution concentrated strongly on itself, with little heed for the sensitivity of its host population, and developed its activities as if it were in a European country. From the social standpoint, the Church was mostly involved in teaching, which followed the French model, and health facilities. In the Church only the Pères Blancs missionaries were sincerely committed to promoting awareness of the local context and dialogue with the Muslims. The Catholic clergy in the country linked its religious activity close to the policy of the Protectorate, in the hope of succeeding in returning to the ancient “greatness of the African Church”, as the Eucharistic Congress in Carthage in 1930 made quite clear. The Congress itself planted the first seed in the twentyfive- year struggle that led the Tunisian population to independence in 1956 and the founding of the Republic in 1957. The conquest of independence and the ‘Modus vivendi’ marked a profound change in the situation and led to an inversion of roles: the Catholic community was given the right to exist only on the condition that it should not interfere in Tunisian society. The political project of Bourguiba, who led the Republic from 1957 to 1987, aimed to create a strongly egalitarian society, with a separation between political and religious powers. In particular, in referring to the Church, he appeared as a secularist with no hostility towards the Catholics who were, however, considered as “cooperators”, welcome so long as they were willing to place their skills at the service of the construction of the state. So, in the catholic Community was a tension between the will of being on the side of the country and that of conserving a certain distance from it and not being an integral part of it. In this process of reflection, the role of the Second Vatican Council was fundamental: it spread the idea of a Church open to the world and the other religions, in particular to Islam: the teaching of the Council led the congregations present in the country to accept the new condition. This new Church that emerged from the Council saw some important events in the process of “living together”, of “cultural mixing” and the search for a common ground between different realities. The almost contemporary arrival of Arab bishops raised awareness among the Tunisians of the existence of Christian Arabs and, at the same time, the Catholic community began considering their faith in a different way. In the last twenty years the situation has continued to change. Side by side with the priests present for decades or even those born there, some new congregations have begun to operate, albeit in small numbers: they have certainly revitalized the community of the faithful, but they sometimes appear more devoted to service “within” the Church, than to services for the population, and are thus characterized by exterior manifestations of their religion. This sort of presence has made it possible for Bourguiba's successor, Ben Ali (president from 1987 to 2011), to practice forms of tolerance even more clearly, but always limited to formal relations; the Tunisians are still far from having a real understanding of the Catholic reality, with certain exceptions connected to relations on a personal and not structured plane, as was the case in the previous period. The arrival of a good number of young people from sub-Saharan Africa, most of all students, belonging to the JCAT, and personnel of the BAD has “Africanized” the Church in Tunisia and has brought about an increase in Christians' exterior manifestations; but this is a visibility that is not blatant but discreet, with the implicit risk of the Church continuing to be perceived as a sort of exterior body, alien to the country; nor can we say, lacking proper documentation, how it will be possible to build a bridge between different cultures through the “accompaniment” of Christian wives of Tunisians. Today, the Church is living in a country that has less and less need of it; its presence, in the schools and in health facilities, is extremely reduced. And also in other sectors of social commitment, such as care for the disabled, the number of clergymen involved is quite small. The ‘revolution’ in 2011 and the later developments up to the present have brought about another socio-political change, characterized by a climate of greater freedom, but with as yet undefinable contours. This change in the political climate will inevitable have consequences in Tunisia’s approach to religious and cultural minorities, but it is far too soon to discuss this on the historical and scientific planes.

Etyczny profil "Familiaris consortio"

Artykuł koncentruje się na etycznym aspekcie „Familiaris Consortio”, zakładając równocześnie bogatą problematykę pastoralną. Pytanie etyczne, które pojawiało się wraz z ukazaniem się tego dokumentu wiązało się z nastrojami wahania i oczekiwania w wyniku ujawnienia się silnej opozycji wobec nauki zawartej w encyklice „Humanae Vitae” Pawła VI. Adhortacja nie podejmuje bezpośredniej polemiki z przeciwnikami nauki Kościoła, lecz przedstawia pozytywny wykład całościowej nauki na temat powołania małżeństwa i rodziny. Powołanie stanowi w tym dokumencie podstawową kategorię teologiczno-moralną, wyjaśniającą i uzasadniającą istotne wymogi moralne małżeństwa i rodziny i przenoszącą życie ludzkie na poziom świętości. Powołanie ma swe źródło w Boskim planie zbawienia i objawia się wraz z dokonaniem dzieła zbawienia w Jezusie Chrystusie. Tajemnica powołania uobecnia się w dziejach ludzkości jako ukryta a zarazem objawiona w misterium Chrystusa i Kościoła. Powołanie rzuca istotne światło na stworzenie mężczyzny i kobiety czyli stworzenie rodziny opartej na fundamencie małżeństwa. Odtąd prawda antropologiczna posiada wymiar sakramentalny. Powołanie przenikając wewnętrznie rzeczywistość stworzoną, umieszcza w samej głębi bytu „nie dające się stłumić wezwanie: rodzino, stań się tym, czym jesteś” (FC 17). Bóg Stwórca i Odkupiciel powierzył człowiekowi – mężczyźnie i kobiecie- zadanie budowania rodziny mocą tej samej Miłości, przez którą istnieje świat i człowiek, oraz tej samej Miłości, którą Objawił Syn Boży na Krzyżu, ustanawiając nowy porządek stworzenia. Odtąd prawda życia ludzkiego i prawda miłości musi być odczytywana wyłącznie w świetle tajemnicy Paschalnej. To wezwanie płynące z głębi sakramentu odzywa się mocą łaski w sercu małżeństwa, w sercu męża i żony, którzy są wezwani do miłowania się tą samą Miłością, która płynie z Misterium Krzyża. Ta koncepcja powołania, wypływająca z sakramentalnego charakteru chrześcijańskiego istnienia stanowi klucz do rozstrzygania szczegółowych pytań mogących się pojawić w kontekście życia małżeńskiego. Wizja przedstawiona przez „Familiaris Consortio” jest jednorodna i charyzmatyczna, jest teologiczna i antropologiczna zarazem, dotyczy bowiem człowieka jako człowieka, a nie tylko „pewnych jednostek” ludzkich uwikłanych w sidła małżeńskie. W „Familiaris Consortio” jest jedna norma małżeńska i jedna norma rodzicielska: to jest zawsze ta sama Miłość, która z Serca Boga poprzez sakrament przenika do serca małżonków. Dlatego miłość małżeńska jest miłością rodzicielską, czyli odpowiedzialną za świętość tajemnicy zrodzenia, to jest równocześnie za świętość Boga – Stwórcy i za godność człowieka powoływanego na świat. Zarówno miłość małżeńska jak miłość rodzicielska, nie mogą istnieć bez czystości małżeńskiej. Tu leży prawdopodobnie główna przyczyna powodująca opór wobec nauki „Humanae Vitae”. „Familiaris Consortio” odrzuca wszelką manipulację antykoncepcyjna, podkreślając sprzeczność postawy antykoncepcyjnej nie tylko z prawem Bożym, ale i z istotą człowieczeństwa. Zawiera się to w twierdzeniu, które głosi, że pomiędzy prawidłowym życiem małżeńskim a antykoncepcją zachodzi nie tylko różnica moralna, lecz także antropologiczna (FC 32). Jest to surowy osąd tej praktyki, ale prawdziwy: ci, którzy stosują antykoncepcję, staczają się na poziom poniżej-ludzki.

Clergy, crusified within the body of Christ - a challenge to pastoral care

M.A. Thesis / University of Pretoria / Department of Practical Theology / Advised by Prof M Masango

That Whole Business about the Cross

digital audio recording

"Not Without My Ancestors": A Christological Case Study of the Shona Ancestor Cult of Zimbabwe

The issue of ancestors has been controversial since the first encounters of Christianity with Shona religion. It remains a major theological problem that needs to be addressed within the mainline churches of Zimbabwe today. Instead of ignoring or dismissing the ancestor cult, which deeply influences the socio-political, religious, and economic lives of the Shona, churches in Zimbabwe should initiate a Christology that is based on it. Such a Christology would engage the critical day-to-day issues that make the Shona turn to their ancestors. Among these concerns are daily protection from misfortune, maintaining good health and increasing longevity, successful rainy seasons and food security, and responsible governance characterized by economic and political stability. Since the mid-16th century arrival of Jesuit missionaries in the Mutapa Kingdom, the Church has realized that many African Christians resorted to their ancestors in times of crisis. Although both Catholic and Protestant missionaries from the 1700s through the early 1900s fiercely attacked Shona traditional beliefs as superstitious and equated ancestors with evil spirits, the cult did not die. Social institutions, such as schools and hospitals provided by missionaries, failed to eliminate ancestral beliefs. Even in the 21st century, many Zimbabweans consult their ancestors. The Shona message to the church remains "Not without My Ancestors." This dissertation examines the significance of the ancestors to the Shona, and how selected denominations and new religious movements have interpreted and accommodated ancestral practices. Taking the missiological goal of "self-theologizing" as the framework, this dissertation proposes a "tripartite Christology" of "Jesus the Family Ancestor", "Jesus the Tribal Ancestor," and "Jesus the National Ancestor," which is based on the Shona "tripartite ancestrology." Familiar ecclesiological and liturgical language, idioms, and symbols are used to contribute to the wider Shona understanding of Jesus as the ancestor par excellence, in whom physical and spiritual needs-including those the ordinary ancestors fail to meet-are fulfilled.

Computer-Mediated Communication and Ecclesiological Challenges To and From the Reformed Tradition

Communities of faith have appeared online since the inception of computer -­ mediated communication (CMC)and are now ubiquitous. Yet the character and legitimacy of Internet communities as ecclesial bodies is often disputed by traditional churches; and the Internet's ability to host the church as church for online Christians remains a question. This dissertation carries out a practical theological conversation between three main sources: the phenomenon of the church online; ecclesiology (especially that characteristic of Reformed communities); and communication theory. After establishing the need for this study in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 investigates the online presence of Christians and trends in their Internet use, including its history and current expressions. Chapter 3 sets out an historical overview of the Reformed Tradition, focusing on the work of John Calvin and Karl Barth, as well as more contemporary theologians. With a theological context in which to consider online churches in place, Chapter 4 introduces four theological themes prominent in both ecclesiology and CMC studies: authority; community; mediation; and embodiment. These themes constitute the primary lens through which the dissertation conducts a critical-­confessional interface between communication theory and ecclesiology in the examination of CMC. Chapter 5 continues the contextualization of online churches with consideration of communication theories that impact CMC, focusing on three major communication theories: Narrative Theory; Interpretive Theory; and Speech Act Theory. Chapter 6 contains the critical conversation between ecclesiology and communication theory by correlating the aforementioned communication theories with Narrative Theology, Communities of Practice, and Theo-­Drama, and applying these to the four theological themes noted above. In addition, new or anticipated developments in CMC investigated in relationship to traditional ecclesiologies and the prospect of cyber-­ecclesiology. Chapter 7 offers an evaluative tool consisting of a three-­step hermeneutical process that examines: 1) the history, tradition, and ecclesiology of the particular community being evaluated; 2) communication theories and the process of religious-­social shaping of technology; and 3) CMC criteria for establishing the presence of a stable, interactive, and relational community. As this hermeneutical process unfolds, it holds the church at the center of the process, seeking a contextual yet faithful understanding of the church.

The Barretstown experience

The thesis was prompted by a simple clinical observation. Seriously ill children returning from Barretstown Holiday Camp appeared changed. Barretstown ‘magic’ confuses the issue but indicates real and clinically evident transformations. The project sought to understand the experience and place it in a recognisable framework. The data was collected by interviews, observations as camp Paediatrician, memberships of the Child Advisory Committee and the Association’s criteria assessment team, participation in volunteer training and visits to international camps. The research presents evidence that the concepts of rite of passage, graceful mimesis and salutogenesis clarify operative social processes. The passage stages of separation, transition and reaggregation can be identified. Passage rites reorder personal and social upsets to fresh arrangements that facilitate change. Interviews confirm the reordering impact of achievements in play activities. These are challenging experiences closely guided by their Masters of Ceremonies – the Caras. The Cara/camper relationship is crucial and compatible with Girard’s theory of external mimesis. Visits to four camps confirm an inspirational process in contrast to a reported camp with a predetermined formative influence. Charismatic Caras/Councillors inspire playful mimesis and salutogenic transformations. Health is more than correction of pathogenic deficits and restoration of homeostasis. Salutogenic health promotes heterostasis – a desire for optimal experiences underpinned by a sense of coherence and adequate resources. Some evidence is presented that children have an improved sense of coherence after camp, which enables them to cope better with the demands of ill health. The camps enable sick children to up regulate risk taking towards more heterostatic experiences rather than down regulate their expectations. The heterostatic impulse can explain the disability paradox of good quality of life in the presence of severe disability. The salutogenic power of Barretstown can trump the pathogenic effects of childhood cancer and other serious illnesses.

Human dimensions of bycatch reduction technology: Current assumptions and directions for future research

Bycatch reduction technology (BRT) modifies fishing gear to increase selectivity and avoid capture of non-target species, or to facilitate their non-lethal release. As a solution to fisheries-related mortality of non-target species, BRT is an attractive option; effectively implemented, BRT presents a technical 'fix' that can reduce pressure for politically contentious and economically detrimental interventions, such as fisheries closures. While a number of factors might contribute to effective implementation, our review of BRT literature finds that research has focused on technical design and experimental performance of individual technologies. In contrast, and with a few notable exceptions, research on the human and institutional context of BRT, and more specifically on how fishers respond to BRT, is limited. This is not to say that fisher attitudes are ignored or overlooked, but that incentives for fisher uptake of BRT are usually assumed rather than assessed or demonstrated. Three assumptions about fisher incentives dominate: (1) economic incentives will generate acceptance of BRT; (2) enforcement will generate compliance with BRT; and (3) 'participation' by fishers will increase acceptance and compliance, and overall support for BRT. In this paper, we explore evidence for and against these assumptions and situate our analysis in the wider social science literature on fisheries. Our goal is to highlight the need and suggest focal areas for further research. © Inter-Research 2008.

The Golden Rule Ethic, its Measurement, and Relationships with Well-Being and Prosocial Values Across Four Religions in India

As a psychological principle, the golden rule represents an ethic of universal empathic concern. It is, surprisingly, present in the sacred texts of virtually all religions, and in philosophical works across eras and continents. Building on the literature demonstrating a positive impact of prosocial behavior on well-being, the present study investigates the psychological function of universal empathic concern in Indian Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Sikhs.

I develop a measure of the centrality of the golden rule-based ethic, within an individual’s understanding of his or her religion, that is applicable to all theistic religions. I then explore the consistency of its relationships with psychological well-being and other variables across religious groups.

Results indicate that this construct, named Moral Concern Religious Focus, can be reliably measured in disparate religious groups, and consistently predicts well-being across them. With measures of Intrinsic, Extrinsic and Quest religious orientations in the model, only Moral Concern and religiosity predict well-being. Moral Concern alone mediates the relationship between religiosity and well-being, and explains more variance in well-being than religiosity alone. The relationship between Moral Concern and well-being is mediated by increased preference for prosocial values, more satisfying interpersonal relationships, and greater meaning in life. In addition, across religious groups Moral Concern is associated with better self-reported physical and mental health, and more compassionate attitudes toward oneself and others.

Two additional types of religious focus are identified: Personal Gain, representing the motive to use religion to improve one’s life, and Relationship with God. Personal Gain is found to predict reduced preference for prosocial values, less meaning in life, and lower quality of relationships. It is associated with greater interference of pain and physical or mental health problems with daily activities, and lower self-compassion. Relationship with God is found to be associated primarily with religious variables and greater meaning in life.

I conclude that individual differences in the centrality of the golden rule and its associated ethic of universal empathic concern may play an important role in explaining the variability in associations between religion, prosocial behavior and well-being noted in the literature.