Since David Hume, the interpretation of miracle stories has been dominated in the West by the binary distinction of fact vs. fiction. The form-critical method added another restriction to the interpretation of miracles by neglecting the context of its macrotexts. Last but not least the hermeneutics of demythologizing was interested in the self-understanding of individuals and not in political perspectives. The book revisits miracle stories with regard to these dimensions: 1. It demands to connect the interpretation of Miracle Stories to concepts of reality. 2. It criticizes the restrictions of the form critical method. 3. It emphasizes the political implications of Miracle Stories and their interpretations. Even the latest research accepts this modern opposition of fact and fiction as self-evident. This book will examine critically these concepts of reality with interpretations of miracles. The book will address how concepts of reality, always complex, came to expression in stories of miraculous healings and their reception in medicine, art, literature, theology and philosophy, from classic antiquity to the Middle Ages. Only through such bygone concepts, contemporary interpretations of ancient healings can gain plausibility.

The fight against HIV and Aids involves not only medical issues, but also raises fundamental ethical questions. Hence, rather than approaching the socially significant subject of HIV/Aids primarily from a medical or technical research perspective, this volume deliberately examines it as a field of ethics. Contributions from the fields of theology, religious studies, philosophy, jurisprudence, media studies, political studies, medicine and economics have been compiled here in a single volume for the first time, in order to address the ethical perspectives of HIV and Aids.

Reading the Bible Intertextually explores the revisionary hermeneutical practices of the writers of the four gospels. Each of the contributors examines the distinctive ways that the canonical evangelists put a particular ""spin"" on the story of Jesus through rereading the Old Testament in different ways. In addition, the evangelists' different ways of reading Israel's Scripture are correlated with different visions for the embodied life of the community of Jesus' followers. This is an exciting new reading of the gospels, bringing interdisciplinary and intertextual readings to the texts, articulated by some of the most brilliant New Testament scholars of our time.

John's apocalyptic revelation tends to be read either as an esoteric mystery or a breathless blueprint for the future. Missing, though, is how Revelation is the most visually stunning and politically salient text in the canon. Revelation and the Politics of Apocalyptic Interpretation explores the ways in which Revelation, when read as the last book in the Christian Bible, is in actuality a crafted and contentious word. Senior scholars, including N.T. Wright, Richard Hays, Marianne Meye Thompson, and Stefan Alkier, reveal the intricate intertextual interplay between this apocalyptically charged book, its resonances with the Old Testament, and its political implications. In so doing, the authors show how the church today can read Revelation as both promise and critique.

Since David Hume, the interpretation of miracle stories has been dominated in the West by the binary distinction of fact vs. fiction. The form-critical method added another restriction to the interpretation of miracles by neglecting the context of its macrotexts. Last but not least the hermeneutics of demythologizing was interested in the self-understanding of individuals and not in political perspectives.The book revisits miracle stories with regard to these dimensions: 1. It demands to connect the interpretation of Miracle Stories to concepts of reality. 2. It criticizes the restrictions of the form critical method. 3. It emphasizes the political implications of Miracle Stories and their interpretations.Even the latest research accepts this modern opposition of fact and fiction as self-evident. This book will examine critically these concepts of reality with interpretations of miracles. The book will address how concepts of reality, always complex, came to expression in stories of miraculous healings and their reception in medicine, art, literature, theology and philosophy, from classic antiquity to the Middle Ages. Only through such bygone concepts, contemporary interpretations of ancient healings can gain plausibility.

Wie reagierten individuelle oder institutionelle Repräsentantinnen und Repräsentanten evangelischer Kirchen auf aktuelle politische oder soziale Herausforderungen? In diesem Sammelband sind Beispiele aus dem 20. Jahrhundert zusammengestellt, die die Rahmenbedingungen in Deutschland untersuchen, indem nach spezifischen Konstellationen gefragt wird. Der zeitliche Rahmen reicht vom frühen 20. Jahrhundert bis in die Gegenwart. Berücksichtigt werden Ereignisse oder Entwicklungen des Kaiserreichs, der Weimarer Republik, des Nationalsozialismus, der Parallelwelten der DDR und der BRD sowie Aspekte der jüngeren öffentlichen Erinnerungskultur.