Ecclesiasticus, or The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach Reference library
John J. Collins and John J. Collins
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...There is also evidence of Stoic influence in the notions of complementary opposites ( 33:14–15 ), teleology ( 39:21 ), and in the striking affirmation about God that ‘He is the all’ ( 43:27 ). There may be an echo of Epicurean teaching in 41:1–4 . Sirach certainly shows no aversion to foreign wisdom, but he seems to have favoured Hellenistic material that resembled Jewish traditions and conversely pays little attention to the most distinctive aspects of Judaism such as the levitical laws. E. The Text. 1. The textual history of Ben Sira's book is...
Matthew Reference library
Dale C. Allison, Jr. and Dale C. Allison, Jr.
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...as forbidding all oaths. (Tolstoy went so far as to affirm that Jesus' words require the abolition of courts.) Perhaps indeed the situation envisaged is not swearing in court but swearing in everyday speech. However that may be, early Christian literature does not show much aversion to swearing (e.g. Gal 1:20; Rev 10:6 ; Prot. Jas. 4:1 ), and Matthew itself seems to presuppose the validity of certain oaths ( 23:16–22 ). Further, the reduction of speech to ‘yes, yes’ and ‘no, no’ is obviously hyperbole. (The meaning of this last appears to be: let your...
Rhetorical Criticism Reference library
David A. deSilva
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation
...profession of faith and reinforcement of one another’s commitment. This strategically moves their focus away from the expectations of their non–Christian neighbors, who have used shaming to motivate the converts to be less actively and openly “Christian.” The author promotes aversion from the contrary course of action by arousing fear in connection thereto. Having developed the Son’s honor and authority ( Heb 1:1–14 ; 2:5–9 ), the author can now warn against affronting this Son ( 6:6 ) as a dangerous course of action, marking out the perpetrator as an...
Family Law Reference library
Sarah Islam
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World: Digital Collection
... Based on Qurʾān 2:229 and 4:128 as well as supporting prophetic traditions, khulʿ was based on the idea that a woman could request a divorce even if she had no specific legal cause beyond her dislike of her spouse or her aversion being married to him. Through this process, the wife could release herself from her marriage by returning to her husband an agreed on sum of gifts or mahr payments that he had previously given her. Jurists disagreed...
Biophilia Reference library
The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature
...distancing from potentially injurious elements in nature. Lacking this awareness, people often behave naively, constructing structures where they do not belong or ignoring their inevitable vulnerability before uncertain and powerful forces. We should not presume our fears and aversions of nature always provoke contemptuous or destructive tendencies. Deference and respect for nature can arise as much from appreciating and recognizing its capacity to defeat and destroy us as from feelings of affection and allegiance. Awe and respect combine reverence and wonder...
Economics Reference library
Roland Boer
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics
...subject to external empire, subsistence-survival remained a dominant form through the late Bronze and Iron Ages. This form constitutes a response to a situation of crisis—the population of the Judean highlands by local peoples—that both picks up older strategies of risk aversion and sustains them during later periods. Second, the nature of subsistence-survival is to engage in periodic nomadism. One may settle for a time, during the growing season, only to move about with the herds to prevent overgrazing. Here it is not a situation of nomads...
Ritual Reference library
Ronald Hendel
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law
...holy and profane bread—between symbolic and instrumental food—is blurred in a way that saves lives and reputations. Later authorities cite this story to illustrate that ritual laws may be suspended when life is at risk ( Mark 3:25–26 and parallels; b. Menaḥ. 95b–96a). It is perhaps ironic that it is primarily the priest’s life that is at risk in the exchange over the ritual bread. The Body. Biblical ritual often focuses on the body. As Douglas observes, “the body is capable of furnishing a natural system of symbols” ( 1973 , p. 12). Pierre Bourdieu emphasizes...
Sexuality Reference library
A. K. M. Adam and Margaret B. Adam
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics
...love of neighbor permits indiscriminate carnal intimacy, while the next restricts such relations to a particular culture’s marital conventions, and both justify their actions in the name of “love.” This approach, predetermined by its assumption of univocal meaning and by its aversion to biblical particulars, offers uncertain guidance relative to distinguishing one alleged instance of neighbor-love from another. Ideological Complications. Third, attention to historical and cultural criticism challenges the assumption that biblical and contemporary accounts of...
Radical Environmentalism Reference library
The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature
...which involve risks to people – have generated criticism and vilification of these movements. Radical environmentalists are sometimes labeled terrorists and believed to harbor, and hope to develop, weapons of mass death. The focus on their tactics, real and imagined, often obscures their religious motivations as well as their ecological, political, and moral claims. Not all radical environmentalists engage in illegal activities, of course, and many specific tactics are controversial within these movements, especially those which might entail risks to living...
Sex Reference library
Anthony Dupont, Wim François, Paul van Geest, and Mathijs Lamberigts
The Oxford Guide to the Historical Reception of Augustine
...205.2; s . 208.1; retr . 2.48). Aug. later describes the monastic lifestyle as the membrum honorabilius (‘more honourable member’) in the mystical body of the Church ( Io. ev. tr . 13.12). He also opposed Jerome's aversion to the body and sex. In 389 Aug. still interpreted the command of God to ‘increase and multiply’ (Gen. 1:26) in purely spiritual terms ( Gn. adv. Man .). At that time, he had written that God only introduced sexual relations...
Monarchy and Administration Reference library
Keith Bodner, Casey D. Elledge, and Anselm C. Hagedorn
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law
...contrast to the pro-Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7 . In fact, nowhere do the “Statutes” envision a cultic role for Israel’s king, nowhere is “the house of David” referenced, and it seems that the king may derive from any family within Israel (11QT 56.14). Despite its total aversion to Davidic ideology, the laws do, nevertheless, allow for a purely conditional hereditary succession for obedient kings. What was the purpose of the Temple Scroll ’s royal law? Uncertainty enshrouds the question. The law has value as an abstract refinement to earlier biblical laws...
Johann Casimir (1543–1592) Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation
...in western Europe in order to strengthen the domestic efforts against the Counter-Reformation. While initially he had great support, including that of the new Saxon elector Christian in 1586 , Lutheran confessional considerations that precluded ties with Calvinists and aversion to risk reduced his ranks of supporters. Still, Johann Casimir used English and Danish funds to hire mercenaries, whom he led to France in 1587 to support the French Huguenots. In 1590 Johann Casimir was the motor behind the notion of a European alliance of Protestants. He...
Gender and Religiosity in the United States Reference library
Mirya R. Holman and Erica Podrazik
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion
...education may reinforce or challenge gendered socialization patterns like risk control; building gender into work like that by Guhin ( 2016 ) and others might provide a fruitful avenue of study. While a robust debate has emerged about the sources of women’s risk aversion, a similar debate has also emerged about the degree to which risk aversion actually provides a full explanation of gender differences in religiosity. Upon testing, most research finds little evidence that risk preferences or beliefs in hell, the afterlife, or eternal damnation explain...
Personality, Politics, and Religion Reference library
Amanda Friesen
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion
...have connected to worldviews, including need for cognition, need for closure, risk aversion, social dominance orientation, and dogmatism/ tolerance. For example, management of aversion to risk has been negatively linked to political participation and positively related to religiosity. The risk associated with conflict or losing leads cautious individuals to avoid certain political situations or politics altogether ( Kam, 2012 ). Conversely, individuals who are risk averse seek out religious communities for assurance and religious beliefs that...
The Impact and Conceptualization of Religious Identity Across Disciplinary Perspectives Reference library
K. Amber Curtis and Laura R. Olson
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion
...of benefits compared to some other groups” ( Ysseldyk, McQuaid, McInnis, Anisman, & Matheson, 2018 , p. 2). In terms of physical health, attending worship service is associated with reduced mortality risk ( McCullough, Hoyt, Larson, Koenig, & Thoresen, 2000 ; Powell, Shahabi, & Thoresen, 2003 ), presumably through the mediating factors of risk aversion, enhanced mental health, effective coping mechanisms, and close social support networks ( Oman & Thoresen, 2005 ). Narrowed down to identity, strong ties to a religious in-group even mitigate inflammatory...
Philippists Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation
...for crypto-Calvinism; Peucer and Schütz remained in prison until the end of August's reign twelve years later; the others died in jail. August also expelled Pezel, who later led Bremen to the Reformed church. Political factors played a role in August's act: even greater Lutheran aversion to Calvinism and the desire to protect its legality in the wake of the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France ( 1572 ), and the end of the Ernestine rivalry—and banishment of its Gnesio-Lutherans—with his assumption of a regency government for the duchy in 1573 . And then a...
