Szabó István
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03
12
22
Előadó
A karácsony Krisztus születésének ünnepe, a keresztény világ legmeghittebb eseménye. A 2000 éves ünnep újszövetségi gyökereit vizsgálva azt látjuk, hogy a szeretet születéséről, a karácsony csodálatos titkáról az evangélisták különböző "kameraállásokból" adnak képet. Az előadás bemutatja, hogy milyen közös és különböző jelentéseket ölt magára a karácsony Máté, Lukács és János evangéliumában.
This lecture examines the common and differing meanings Christmas is given in the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John. The word 'evangelium' (gospel) did not originally mean 'biblical text', it meant 'good news' referring to the joyful news of the birth of Christ. In relation to the tory of salvation, Matthew places emphasis on the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Old Testament. For him, the birth of Jesus is marked by the Star of Bethlehem, which guides the wise men to the manger of the new king. Joseph, the humble carpenter and foster-father of the infant Jesus, plays an important role as he tells in great detail the story of Herod's hunt for the infant. Luke, the sensitive and educated physician-evangelist focuses more on precisely dating and historically placing the events. In his writings the angels first bring the Nativity gospel to the simple shepherds, peripheral actors in society. John the theologian-evangelist however, sheds light on great interrelations when he reveals the secret of incarnation in just one sentence, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." The joyful news of Christmas is that the love of God embodied in Jesus Christ can fill us, too.
Sokszor halljuk: a karácsony a szeretet ünnepe. Az előadás ennek a közhelynek az eredetét és értelmét próbálja megvilágítani. Bemutatja, hogy a keresztyén világban a szeretetnek mely dimenziói kerülnek az előtérbe, beszél arról, hogy a szeretetet jelentő görög szavak közül vajon miért éppen az agapé-ra esett az Ószövetség fordítóinak választása, s hogy miben különbözik a szeretetnek ez a formája az érzéki vonzalomtól vagy a baráti érzésektől.
The lecture attempts to reveal the origin and meaning of the commonplace that Christmas is the celebration of love. We know the erotic, fraternal, community and solidarity aspects of love and we need to make a clear distinction between them. It is hardly by chance that the Christian translators of the Old Testament did not use the Greek word 'eros' which denotes the compelling power of desire, nor the word 'filia' which denominates the love of something we happily cling to. Instead, they used the word 'agape', meaning to put another before oneself, to be contented with something, to accept. Love is God's act towards the world, towards us, which manifests itself through Christ and which we can enjoy through the Holy Spirit. How does Man respond to God's initiation of love? With the acceptance of God's redeeming initiative - this is the greatest act of faith. The great joy of Christmas calls us to yield to God's exhortations leading us into a new life through his love. God's love is a sacred love, it urges a way of life and behavior which no human law can oblige man to follow. But why should love be commanded when love itself commands? The unconditional love of God can only be experienced by those who show it in their own lives.
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04
02
02
Előadó
Sokat hallani ma a "posztmodernről" - mintha az valami a modernséget megkérdőjelező fejlemény volna a kultúra, a gondolkodás történetében. Pedig a modernitást magát is a megkérdőjelezés szelleme mozgatja: egyfajta dinamika, amely valahol az ókori Athénben született, ott munkál a zsidó-keresztény kultúrában, és azóta is bomlasztóan hat minden hagyományos, hierarchikus és tekintélyelvű társadalomra. Mégis, a modern társadalom az egyetlen, amelyet ez az elbizonytalanító dinamika nem fenyeget összeomlással - ellenkezőleg, ez tartja életben.
Modernity is driven by the spirit of enquiry, and thus it has had a destructive effect on all hierarchical and authoritarian societies since Hellenistic antiquity. Modern society is the only one not threatened by but fuelled by criticism. The dynamics of modernity first took shape in Socrates' writings, he revealed that what we believe to be righteous, beautiful and good, is not so. During the enlightenment, a decisive phase in the history of modernity, the concept emerged that all human beings are born free. However, the experience of the Holocaust and the Gulag indicate that we cannot believe in the illusion of the enlightenment that modernity naturally embodies the victory of Reason over barbarism. The revolutionary radicalism of capitalism breaks down the traditional order, but it also threatens that which it upholds. Its counterpoise is social democratic policy, which, contrary to capitalism, is conservative as it aims to vindicate the policy of redistribution. These two tendencies become alternately predominant. Important factors are scientific-technical progress, and changeable political orders. Totalitarian systems are also modern but are incapable of keeping the dynamics of modernity alive.