Authors & Affiliations: Fickert V., Pfarrerin bei Evangelische Kirche, Region Stuttgart, Germany

Pages: 7 - 26

Abstract: It has been a fundamental insight of John Dewey, that democracy "receives its relevance by balancing different life-forms and value-convictions." For my paper I have chosen the narratives of Afro-American Michaela DePrince, a young girl who embodies the American dream as a black ballerina, and the Sino-American martial artist Bruce Lee, who described Chinese Kung Fu as a way to express yourself, as different forms of aesthetic expression and self-awareness, i.e., as different life forms in the context of diversity in our society including their spiritual dimension: Actually, for a passionate ballerina dancing is greater than love, and of course far-eastern martial arts such as Chinese Kung Fu as well as the Japanese way of fighting in Karate-Do are deeply rooted in Chan/Zen Buddhism. Finally, the Christian way of living, which is then according to Schleiermacher the most concrete spiritual life-form, gives you the greatest sponaneity, the ability to act in public space freely (Galatians 3:28) and creatively as God's true image (Genesis 1:27). That's the fundamental difference between (artificial) Acting Ability and the original Ability to Art responsibly in relation to God the Creator. Jesus's way of healing on the Sabbath in public space is a demonstration of the Christian life-form as a really living form. At the same time it says something about its contribution to democracy as an ethical life-form (Rendtorff), finally about real humanity in contrast to abstract normative ideas, all kinds of copies or mere illusions. © 2022 Chung Yuan Christian University. All rights reserved.

Keywords: ability to act; acting abifiry; freedom; ideology; spontaneity

Authors & Affiliations: Yang J., Department of Philosophy, SunYat-sen University, China

Pages: 53 - 78

Abstract: In Confessions 4.4.7-4.12.19, Augustine reminisced and reflected on "the intimate's death." In The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis insisted that Augustine was searching for a way to obtain calmness and avoid suffering. However, Lewis failed to interpret the textual logic and the thrust of writing in Confessions IV. In substance, Confessions IV primarily focuses on "realness and falsehood" "truth and erroneousness," rather than "calmness and suffering." Through "the intimate's death," Augustine realized that Manichaeism is not the truth, but falsehood, fallacy, and superstition. Nevertheless, there are several striking echoes between Augustine's comprehensions from "the intimate's death" and the main idea of The Four Loves, in other words, Lewis' misreading did not lead to fundamental disagreements between them. From Lewis' points of view, we may even better understand the dilemma of friendship amid "the intimate's death." As a result, although Lewis "Loses on One Side," he finally "Gains on the Other". © 2022 Chung Yuan Christian University. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Augustine; C. S. Lewis; Confessions; Friendship; The Four Loves

Authors & Affiliations: Huang Y., School of Marxism Studies, Xinyang Normal University, China

Pages: 79 - 112

Abstract: That the Trinity is discussed at the end of The Christian Faith does not mean that Schleiermacher sees the Trinity as the dispensable appendix. On the contrary, the Trinity is seen as "the coping-stone of Christian doctrine." Based on "the Reformation impulse" which is characterized as against speculation, Sola the New Testament, and Sola redemption through Christ, Schleiermacher criticizes the traditional immanent Trinity which is counted as the stumbling block of the Christian faith. Schleiermacher demonstrates economic Trinity which is characterized by Christocentrism in The Christian Faith. © 2022 Chung Yuan Christian University. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Schleiermacher; The Christian Faith; the Reformation impulse; Trinity

Authors & Affiliations: Huang Y., Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China

Pages: 141 - 162

Abstract: In his doctoral dissertation Sanctorum Communio, Bonhoeffer develops an interdisciplinary method to study the two-dimensionality of the religious community, whose manifestation in Christianity is the church as revelation and the empirical church in history. Previous research on this issue among Chinese scholars has presented Bonhoeffer's ecclesiology as a simple I-Thou-you structure. Unlike earlier studies, this article aims to represent the methodological complexity and farsightedness of Bonhoeffer's ecclesiology, in which he analyses the religious community with philosophical, sociological and theological conceptual tools. Moreover, this article traces the origins and development of Bonhoeffer's thought, highlighting both its similarities with and significant departures from the ecclesiology of the liberal theologian Reinhold Seeberg and the dialectical theologian Kad Barth. By comparing these three approaches to ecclesiology, the present article shows the originality and the creativity of Bonhoeffer's early thinking. © 2022 Chung Yuan Christian University. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Bonhoeffer; Karl Barth; Reinhold Seeberg; Sanctorum Communio; the two-dimensionality of the church

Authors & Affiliations: Xu X., Institute of Ethics, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, China

Pages: 163 - 190

Abstract: Over the past three decades, as D. T. Suzuki's social and cultural contexts were exposed in Western academia, his authority of Zen has been questioned in the West As a result, Merton's late works on inter-religious dialogue, which were deeply influenced by Suzuki, were regarded as outdated However, it is unfair to evaluate Merton's religious dialogue by way of the "from Suzuki to Merton" approach. The paper attempts to take the approach "from Merton to Suzuki," and puts Merton in the context of the development of Catholic theology in the 20th century. By re-discussing the works, letters, and diaries of Merton's inter-religious dialogue, it finds out Merton's theological motivation behind them. This paper argues that by clarifying and explaining Zen, Merton reflects and criticizes the theologies before and after Vatican II, that is Neo-Scholasticism and modernism. After that, he puts forward another approach, sacramental ontology, to understand theology, which offers the theological background to engage in inter-religious dialogue on the metaphysical intuition level. During the inter-religious dialogue, Merton's theological standpoint, approach, and purpose still sheds some light on us. © 2022 Chung Yuan Christian University. All rights reserved.

Keywords: inter-religious dialogue; metaphysical intuition; modernism; Neo-Scholasticism; sacramental ontology

Authors & Affiliations: Lei S.

Pages: 193 - 199

Authors & Affiliations: Man Z.

Pages: 206 - 209

Authors & Affiliations: Chiu L.C.

Pages: 210 - 214