Educational Emphasis (Asynchronous Session)
A Garden of Biblical Plants within School as an Educational Resource and Contribution to Class Climate: Environmental Teaching and the Bible
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session David Shneor
The objective of this research is to sharpen the need for teaching outside of the classroom via time spent in the field and its many advantages, particularly in the field of Bible Studies. As a professional guide for Bible themed tours and field trips, and as a Professor in Bible in schools and teachers' colleges, I realized that many students and individuals learning to teach Bible lack a basic level of knowledge regarding the simple realities that Scripture describes in parables, stories, and prophecies. It is therefore necessary to illustrate to students the realities and culture of the stories of Bible in order to gain a deep understanding of the narrative. The aim of the research was to take advantage of a resource that exists in every school, a garden and courtyard, in order to richen and deepen Bible learning, coupled by taking advantage of leaving the classroom, for learning pedagogical content which require out of the classroom activities, such as: developing leadership skills, experiential learning, taking responsibility, and teamwork.
A Case Study of Timothy Schmalz’ Homeless Jesus: Religious Art as ‘Translation’ in Religiously Diverse and Secular Societies View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kaitlin Wynia Baluk
While many religious groups are compelled by faith to engage in political issues, policy and scholarly literature frequently portray religious diversity as a problem to be managed. Democratic and religiously diverse secular societies must grapple with the question, ‘what role can/should religion play in shaping policy?’ In response, this paper leverages a case study of Timothy Schmalz’ sculpture, Homeless Jesus, to investigate how religious institutions use publicly placed religious art to engage in political discussions about issues, such as homelessness. This sculpture is of Jesus, identifiable by the wounds on his feet, sleeping on a street bench, wrapped in a blanket. With a large international and mass media presence, this public art piece is an evocative symbol that presents a Christian argument about the nature of and right responses to homelessness. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 5 leaders in Christian institutions with a Homeless Jesus replication, 110 online news articles that reference it, and photos in 8 locations, this research employed iconography to identify this sculpture’s culturally-shared meanings and a thematic analysis to determine how Christian institutions may use it. Findings indicate that art may present an avenue for contributing religious ideas to political dialogues in a manner that is accessible and acceptable for a religiously diverse and/or secular society. This research contributes to discussions of Jürgen Habermas’ concept of ‘institutional translation proviso’, which presents the logic that religious arguments with political relevance should be ‘translated’ into a universally accessible language at the formal levels of a democratic state.
University Students’ Religion as a Coping Strategy : Considerations and Concerns about Terrorism View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Saima Aqeel
Terrorism creates a wave of fear and uncertainty. Terrorism has influenced many, but specifically it has had a dreadful influence on students. The current research study investigates the concerns about terrorism using three scales: anti-terrorism, peace, and social context (attitudes to modern female emancipation); and the coping strategies they are using to deal with it. A cross sectional study research design is employed in current study. Sample is comprised of 387 students collected from all nine faculties of Karachi University faculty, 1-Faculty of Education, 2- Faculty of Engineering, 3- Faculty of Islamic Studies, 4- Faculty of Law, 5- Faculty of Management and Administrative Sciences, 6- Faculty of Medicine, 7- Faculty of Pharmacy, 8- Faculty of Science, 9- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Consent form, demographic sheet, students’ concerns about terrorism scale, and COPE inventory were administered on students. Descriptive and inferential statistics are applied to analyze the data. All statistical analysis is done on SPSS version 22.
The playing of Isaac and Rebecca in the judao-hellenistic and the early-Christian interpretations View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maksim Prikhodko
The biblical episode of the playing of Isaac and Rebecca, described in Genesis 26: 6-9, holds a special place in the exegetics of Bible. From the point of view of the judeo-hellenistic commentator Philo of Alexandria, it is much more than an episode of conjugal relations. It is very important that this happened with patriarch Isaac, whose name is translated as “laughter”. The relationship between laughter and playing was traced in the pagan mystery cults in such phenomena as the sacred play and the ritual laughter. These notions were implied by Philo to the explanation of the monotheistic relationship between transcendent God and the immanent creature. The early-Christian exegete Clement of Alexandria develops Philo’s concept of the sacred play to show the dialectic of the relationships between Christ and the Church. In Clement’s interpretation, the sacred play embraces the historical/empirical realm in which the presence of Jesus Christ as the eternal Word of God is realized.
Apostles of Salamanca, Adherents of Thomism: The Dominicans Salazar and Benavides as the Earliest Human Rights Advocates in the Philippines View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Tyrone Nepomuceno
The study revisits the lived experiences and contributions of two Dominican missionaries from Spain who both served as Archbishops of Manila namely: Domingo de Salazar, OP and Miguel de Benavides, OP. Both men were shaped by the Salamanca School which produced Francisco de Vitoria known as the Father of International Law and Bartolome de las Casas who was branded the Spanish Defender of the Aztecs. Both also proved to be adherents of Thomism, emphasizing the Angelic Doctor’s views on Justice and Love as expressed in Summa Theologica. Using the precepts of Phenomenology, their experiences in mission, and influences of the Salamanca School and Thomism in their lives and writings are examined. Their experiences at Salamanca ignited their notable choice of fighting for human rights even before that concept became a standard of the world, even if it entailed being at odds with their fellow Spaniards during their mission in the newly established Spanish colony of Las Islas de Filipinas.
