Abstract: Fiducia Supplicans is a thematic exegesis of blessings by the Roman Catholic Church. The possibility, contained within the document, of blessing same-sex couples has monopolised much of the discourse. A linguistic analysis is performed of the concept of blessings epiphanised in the New Testament. Primarily two words connote the single English lexeme “bless” – eulogeo and makarizo. Eulogeo is a semantically inclusive blessing without necessarily connoting rectitude or probity. It is a non-contingent gift or eleemosynary. By way of contrast makarizo is an approbative blessing indicative of propriety or a commendation. A similar dichotomy is seen in Hebrew with Baruch referring to an inclusive or restorative blessing and Asre consonant with makarizo, an approbative blessing. There potentially some support for a selective, qualified, non-ceremonial, extemporaneous blessing of individuals in irregular relations. Such blessings are coincident with eulogeo and cognates used by Christ, himself when instructing followers to bless their persecutors. This is essentially an act of charity and an aspirational blessing for repentance. Misunderstanding of and misapprehension regarding Fiducia Supplicans is borne from linguistic limitations of the English language. Almost paradoxically such an exegesis simultaneously expounds the protean blessings of the Blessed Virgin Mary in her sinless state. Mary, mother of God, through her Immaculate Conception and divine maternity was blessed by grace in an unmerited and unmeritable “eulogeo” formula, but through her faith and “fiat” is commended by a “makarizo” blessing. This contrast articulated by Elizabeth during the Visitation who uses cognates of both eulogeo and makarizo in the Greek translation in Luke 1:42-45, as she greets her Cousin and describes her as blessed.

Abstract: Contemporary colloquy is monopolised by our proofs of God. There is much less attention on God’s proof of his own existence. Few understandably have had the audacity to petition God to prove his being. The most iconic instance occurs in Moses’ encounter in Exodus 3. Moses asks God, tangentially, for proof, euphemising with the term “name”. Ironically hermeneutics have obfuscated the very answer; which is as much a proof, as it is a response to Moses’ question. God’s own proof cannot rely on that subordinate to him, namely creation, it must therefore be self-referential. Secondly it must be self-evidently true, axiomatic, irrefragable and of incontrovertible historicity. It must be an Autoapodixs. This Theoautoapodixis must be synchronous to persuade contemporaries but equally metachronous to convince future generations. Herein it is shown that God achieves the impossible Autoapodixis when Moses seeks proof. The name given to Moses and his contemporaries is “I AM THAT I AM”, although it is potentially inclusive of multiple other tenses. However in Modern Hebrew the same word has the singular meaning “I SHALL BE THAT I SHALL”. Hence, at a single point in time Moses asks God for proof. To Moses and his peers he says his name and his proof is “I AM THAT I AM” AND at that time in history, speaking to those in the future, who will also ask the same question and read the text, he says “I SHALL BE THAT I SHALL BE” even before “I SHALL BE” means “I SHALL BE”. This is the Autoapodixis. This proof also tessellates with the previously articulated intriguing hypothesis that during the Transfiguration there was a coalescence time and the disciples saw Jesus speaking to Moses and Elijah in the past. We also evince and epiphanise a Marian apodixis.

Abstract:

One of the most numinous expressions in the gospel is the assertion by Jesus in Matthew 11:11 that amongst those born of women, none is greater than John the Baptist and yet the least in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist. We show here that the obstacle to understanding the statement lies in the misconception that it is as a monovalent statement of fact rather than in actuality a riddle; the solution to which expresses multivalent realities. In form, Jesus employs the same lexical bauplan of the conundrum couplet as Sampson in his infamous riddle in Judges 14:14. We show that Jesus consistently phrases paedagogic riddles in this guise. The use of the phrase “of women born” to describe the pool of comparators necessarily includes Jesus and his mother, Mary. Hence continent in the riddle are two elements. Firstly is the question as to how John can be greater than Jesus or Mary. Since Jesus is making a comparison between those inside and outside of the Kingdom, the only possible solution to this moiety of the riddle is that Jesus and Mary are within the Kingdom. This re-affirms the Kingship of Jesus and Queenship of the Mary. By definition the King must be in the Kingdom. However it is the second limb that is even more instructive. The second question is why John is not in the Kingdom. Baptism is the means to enter the Kingdom. As Jesus himself confirms to Nicodemus in John 3:5, one must be baptised by Water and the Holy Spirit. St Thomas Aquinas explains that this is the means of removing the obstacles to the Kingdom. He adumbrates the Catholic Catechism. Both disclose the reality that original sin and personal sin are obstacles to entry into the Kingdom. Some traditions assert John the Baptist was “baptised” during the Visitation, but their remains, nonetheless, the impediment of personal sin. The only possible sequitur is that if Mary is in the Kingdom, before Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, she must have been born without original sin and must never have sinned, via the grace of God. The only other alternative is that she is outside of the Kingdom and not of equivalent greatness to John the Baptist, who said of himself he was not fit to untie of sandals of Jesus; but we must conclude is greater than she who was chosen to carry and nurture Jesus himself. This contradiction must be rejected. This puzzle, which compares of all those born of women, John the Baptist and those in the Kingdom, is in some ways a prolegomenon or pre-articulation of the words of our Lady to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes in 1858 that she is the Immaculate Conception and pre-affirmation of the dogma of the Catholic Church in 1854.

Abstract: This paper asks why figures later accepted as prophets within the Abrahamic traditions were repeatedly ignored, rejected, or dismissed when they first appeared, and argues that the traits historically present at the moment of recognition are now treated as disqualifying within contemporary recognition tools. The analysis reconstructs the recognition time profile of canonically accepted prophets using shared scriptural and historical sources across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, focusing on how these figures appeared before authority, acceptance, or canonization followed. The core finding is that present frameworks emphasize traits that emerged only after recognition, such as institutional approval, public legitimacy, confidence, and affirmation, while filtering out the reluctance, social marginality, conflict, and lack of validation that marked recognition at origin. As a result, the tools used to identify legitimacy are structurally misaligned with the historical pattern and would be likely to overlook the same profile today. This paper does not claim that prophets exist today, that prophecy continues, or that any individual should be evaluated, and is offered solely as a methodological examination of how recognition tools perform against their own historical record.

Abstract: This study offers a comprehensive Qur’an-centric reconstruction of the concepts of Qibla, al-Masjid al-Haram, and Bakka using a mixed-method methodology that integrates corpus linguistics, semantic clustering, hermeneutic analysis, and geographical correlation modelling. The dominant Mecca-centric Qibla narrative, derived from Hadith and Sirah, is shown to lack Qur’anic grounding and to contradict core textual, linguistic, and ecological descriptions. Quantitative results demonstrate that the Qur’anic term Qibla appears solely in Surah al-Baqarah (Q: 2:142-150), where it is consistently linked with guidance (huda), moral testing, and the Straight Path (sirat mustaqim), rather than ritual prayer or architectural direction. Qualitative hermeneutics reveal that the Qur’an frames Qibla as epistemic orientation-alignment with divine revelation-supported by the plural, functional Qiblas established by Moses in Egypt (Q: 10:87). Statistical correlation shows that the sanctuary descriptors of al-Masjid al-Haram and Bakka align more closely with the Hermon/Baqa Valley than historical Mecca. The study concludes that sacred direction in the Qur’an is moral rather than geographical, and that sanctuary identity is defined by universality, guidance, and ecological functionality. This reconstruction calls for a re-evaluation of Islamic historiography, ritual theory, sacred geography, and educational curricula to restore the Qur’anic epistemology of guidance as the foundation of sacred orientation. Collectively, these findings establish a paradigm shift in Qur’anic studies, repositioning Qibla, sacred direction, and al-Masjid al-Ḥaram within the Qur’an’s internal epistemology rather than post-Qur’anic historical tradition.

Abstract: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has dominated national development policy for decades, yet it largely neglects relational, spiritual, ecological, and ethical dimensions of collective well-being. As global crises—from climate change to social fragmentation—expose the limits of growth-driven paradigms, alternative frameworks emphasizing relationality, ecological ethics, and spiritual worldviews are increasingly urgent. This paper proposes a spiritual-postgrowth architecture integrating four epistemological traditions: Ubuntu philosophy, Christian theological ethics, Indigenous cosmologies, and the Andean paradigm of Buen Vivir. Drawing on contemporary scholarship, the paper critiques GDP, explores how spiritual and relational values redefine well-being, and outlines policy implications for governance, ecological stewardship, and leadership. The framework advances a postgrowth theory emphasizing relationality, stewardship, and ecological regeneration.

Abstract: This study investigates the Qur’anic characteristics of the Masjid al-Harām and the region of Bakkah by employing a Qur’an-only hermeneutic framework grounded in historical geography, ecology, agriculture, environmental studies, geopolitics, and linguistics. The Qur’an describes the Sacred House as the “first House established for humanity” located in Bakkah (Qur’an 3:96), positioned in a barren valley with no cultivation (Qur’an 14:37), embedded within a mountainous environment, marked by secure geopolitical protection (Qur’an 29:67), and surrounded by distinct ecological and agricultural constraints (Qur’an 14:37; 80:24–32). This research argues that these Qur’anic features do not correspond to the environmental, historical, or geographical conditions of present-day Mecca. Instead, the Qur’anic descriptions align more consistently with the Mount Hermon–Bakka Valley region in the Levant, where a barren, elevated, mountainous, and historically ancient valley exists, matching the Qur’an’s multilayered profile of Bakkah. The Qur’an situates the Abrahamic settlement, the barren valley, and the House’s geopolitical centrality in a region that predates later Islamic historical narratives and does not depend on extra-Qur’anic sources. The findings challenge traditional assumptions and propose a re-evaluation of the location of the Masjid al-Harām through a strictly Qur’anic lens.

Abstract: In the twenty-first century, academic approaches to mysticism often risk reducing the Mystery to an object of erudition and historical distance, as if mystical experience belonged solely to a pre-modern past. Yet, when one encounters the “natural metaphors” that emerge within mystical writings—images of rivers, gardens, fire, and wind—it becomes almost impossible to silence the invitation to perceive the sacred as still unfolding in the present. This article proposes an embodied and associative reflection that brings into conversation the poetry of John of the Cross (1542–1591), the intimate diaries of Etty Hil-lesum (1914–1943), and the musical and visual work of the contemporary artist Björk Guðmundsdóttir (b. 1965). Through this triadic encounter, I argue that natural metaphors are not mere literary ornaments but symbolic languages that articulate the ineffable through the elemental languages of the earth. They sustain a theology of embodiment, re-lationality, and transformation that traverses epochs and artistic media. The study also seeks to fracture rigid and hegemonic readings that have confined mystical texts within colonial geographies of interpretation—readings that domesticate spiritual experience through rigid doctrinal frameworks. In contrast, this essay advocates for a decolonial hermeneutics of the mystical imagination, one that recognizes how the natural, the aes-thetic, and the spiritual interweave in the polyphony of the world. By reading John of the Cross, Hillesum, and Björk together, I suggest that mystical experience continues to unfold today through poetry, diary, and sound—where theology becomes not only a matter of thought but of vibration, beauty, and embodied openness to the Mystery.

Abstract: The Qur’an, described within itself as Umm al-Kitāb (“the Mother of the Book,” Qur’an: 13:39), is not only a compendium of divine revelation but also a complete epistemological and research framework that has yet to be fully explored by contemporary scholarship. While Muslim theologians and philosophers such as Al-Ghazālī, Al-Fārābī, and Ibn Rushd addressed aspects of Islamic epistemology, no comprehensive model has been systematically derived directly from the Qur’an’s own linguistic and conceptual structure. This study, therefore, reconstructs a Qur’anic Research Methodology by extracting its embedded scientific process—Observation (naẓar), Reflection (tafakkur, tadabbur), Validation (burhān, bayyina), Synthesis (ḥikmah), and Application (ʿamal, īmān). Using a qualitative hermeneutic methodology based on thematic exegesis, the study analyses relevant Qur’anic terms and verses to identify an internally coherent logic of discovery, reasoning, and verification. The findings reveal that the Qur’an promotes critical inquiry, empirical observation, and ethical verification as divine imperatives, linking faith, reason, and ethics in a continuous process of knowledge (ʿilm → yaqīn → ḥaqq al-yaqīn). It also uncovers the Qur’an’s cyclical model of knowledge, where understanding leads to conviction, and conviction leads to actionable wisdom (ḥikmah). This research contributes by proposing an integrated Qur’anic epistemological framework, offering a foundational paradigm for contemporary Islamic education, scientific thought, and research methodology. Future studies should operationalise this model across disciplines—bridging revelation and empirical science—to revive the Qur’an’s original vision of knowledge as both a spiritual pursuit and a systematic scientific inquiry.

Abstract:

This study examines the Qur’ānic and Gospel accounts of Jesus’ (ʿĪsā’s) birth, life, death, and ascension, with a focus on the theological question of his supposed bodily return (nuzūl al-Masīḥ) before the Day of Resurrection. Its purpose is to determine whether the Muslim understanding of Jesus—shaped largely by narrations on the signs of the Hour—aligns with the Qur’ān. Methodologically, it engages in comparative textual analysis of Gospel narratives, Qur’ānic verses, classical and modern exegetical interpretations, and relevant ḥadīth reports. The paper first outlines the diverse and often contradictory Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension, noting their differences in sequence and detail. It then examines Qur’ānic verses employing the terms tawaffī and rafʿ, assessing classical exegetical views that affirm Jesus’ bodily ascension and modern interpretations that reject it, arguing instead for spiritual exaltation and death like other prophets. Special attention is paid to the reliability of āḥād reports on the nuzūl, their isnād weaknesses, and their tension with explicit Qur’ānic statements about the suddenness of the Hour, the universality of death, and the finality of prophethood. The study concludes that the Qur’ān contains no explicit statement supporting Jesus’ bodily ascension or pre-Resurrection return; such beliefs are rooted in Christian theology and later Muslim narrations, not in definitive Qur’ānic proof. Therefore, building a belief based on non-mutawātir hadith reports is not sound from the perspective of kalām methodology; rejecting the nuzūl view likewise cannot justly be equated with modernism or sectarian deviation.

Abstract: This research paper presents a comprehensive theological and content-based analysis of the concept of the Holy Land as represented in the Holy Qur’an, with a particular focus on the verses associated with the birth, migration, and prophetic missions of Moses and other prophets. Contrary to many classical and modern interpretations that link the Holy Land and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa directly to Prophet Muhammad, this study argues that no verse in the Qur’an explicitly mentions Muhammad in this context. Through a rigorous content analysis of the Qur’anic text, supported by linguistic and historical exegesis, the study reconsiders Surah Al-Isrā (17:1) not as a reference to Muhammad’s Night Journey, but rather as a continuation of the narrative of Moses and the Children of Israel. The findings suggest that the Holy Land in the Qur’an primarily refers to the geographical and spiritual region associated with the prophetic traditions of Abraham, Lot, and Moses, rather than a direct association with Mecca or Medina. This reinterpretation contributes to a renewed understanding of the Qur’anic geography of revelation and calls for a re-examination of inherited exegetical assumptions.

Abstract: Mount Hermon, rising on the borders of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, is more than a geographic landmark—it is a sacred and cultural symbol deeply tied to Semitic linguistic traditions, religious narratives, and political histories. The name “Hermon,” rooted in the Semitic triliteral root ḥrm, embodies meanings of consecration, prohibition, and sanctity. Yet, through centuries of linguistic evolution and shifting cultural interpretations, its original resonance has become increasingly difficult to trace. This study explores how the mountain’s name and meaning have been shaped across epochs, from biblical and apocryphal texts to Greco-Roman inscriptions, Islamic traditions, and modern geopolitical discourse. It also highlights how oral traditions and cultural memory among local communities preserve Hermon’s significance even as natural features and ecological distinctiveness face erosion. By integrating linguistic, theological, archaeological, and political perspectives, the article underscores Hermon’s role as both a spiritual beacon and a contested frontier. Ultimately, the research calls attention to the urgent need to preserve not only the linguistic and historical legacies of Mount Hermon but also its fragile natural environment and cultural memory.

Abstract: Creationism is not only a pseudoscience present in Brazil but also a political problem. In reality, creationism as a pseudoscience and as a political issue are entangled in this Latin American country. Thus, this article has a double objective: to show how Brazilian creationism arises as a danger to both education/science and democracy in Brazil, and to discuss how its epistemological misconceptions and its dependence on Evidentialism portray a divinity that stands in contrast with the Christian understanding of the Trinitarian God. The first section will address how creationism is present in the Brazilian political arena, with special attention to its presence during Jair Bolsonaro’s government and how it constitutes an ongoing danger to Brazil’s education system and democracy due to the rapid growth of the number of Evangelicals in the country and of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front of the National Congress. The second will discuss examples of creationist arguments presented by the two major proponents of the movement in Brazil, the Presbyterians Adauto Lourenço and Marcos Eberlin, that show their standard procedure in dealing with scientific data and drawing religious conclusions from it. The third will analyze how Creationism relies on Evidentialism and portrays a divinity which diverges from the Trinitarian Christian God. I argue that creationism is not based on or an expression of a Christian understanding of the relationship between God, creation, and creatures, but is instead based on epistemological misconceptions, manipulation of data, and religious conclusions drawn from it.

Abstract: This study directs its focus towards contemporary Taoist hermits in the Zhongnan Mountains and Huashan, located in Shaanxi Province, China, via the perspectives of literary works and we-media. Initially, it delves into the motivations underlying the adoption of a hermitic lifestyle among these Taoists. Subsequently, it analyzes the di-verse means by which these hermits sustain their livelihoods in the mountainous re-gions. Next, it conducts an examination of the various religious practices and extraor-dinary experiences of these Taoist hermits. Also, this study contends that some Taoist hermits do not live in complete isolation from secular society; rather, they sustain a tangible connection with the external world. This study unveils a distinct contempo-rary Chinese Taoist group, which has hitherto been overlooked by previous scholarship that predominantly concentrated on the scrutiny of urban or rural Taoist groups in contemporary China.

Abstract: This article explores the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) through the lens of Isaac Luria’s esoteric grammar, treating the divine Name not merely as a sacred symbol but as a metaphysical structure encoding the processes of contraction (Tzimtzum), rupture (Shevirat ha-Kelim), and repair (Tikkun) \autocite{Dan2002}. Drawing from Luria’s radical reconfiguration of the Ma’aseh Bereshit tradition, the paper examines how the Name functions as a vibratory and ontological mechanism within the unfolding of creation. Emphasis is placed on the sonic dimension of divine speech, Vayomer Elohim, and the function of the Name as a tool of interior resonance rather than external invocation. The study also addresses how the four letters of the Tetragrammaton form a sacred grammar that, in Luria’s view, must be reconstructed through meditative practice and interior audition. Finally, the paper explores the reception, and frequent misreading, of Luria’s ideas within Western esoteric traditions, noting how symbolic distortions reflect both the power and fragility of sacred transmission. The Tetragrammaton emerges not as a fixed doctrine but as a living structure, a mystery to be inhabited rather than decoded.

Abstract: The discussion of the Islamization of Mathematics is a fascinating and complex combination of epistemology, religion, education, and postcolonial critique. This paper sets this modern intellectual enterprise apart from the famed history of 'Islamic Mathematics' during the Islamic Golden Age. It investigates the intellectual roots of the Islamization of Mathematics, a subset of the larger Islamization of Knowledge (IoK) movement, which strives to reintegrate all fields of human investigation into a Tawhidic (Divine Oneness) worldview. The paper examines the major criticism levelled at conventional 'Western' mathematics: that it is not value-neutral and instead supports a secular, materialist, and utilitarian worldview. It then investigates the proposed pedagogical and curricular modifications, which include reshaping mathematical concepts, problems, and historical narratives to reflect an Islamic ethos. These modifications aim not to change mathematical truths, but to imbue their study with spiritual value and moral purpose. Finally, the paper discusses the project's major problems and critiques, including concerns about the universal character of mathematics, the possibility of ideological dogmatism, and the practical difficulties of execution. It holds that, despite substantial problems, Islamization of Mathematics contributes significantly to the philosophy of education by promoting a critical reconsideration of values hidden in seemingly neutral subjects.

Abstract: Christian Zionism has been one of the most influential theological currents within global evangelicalism, with a significant impact in Abya Yala [the Americas] through evangelical missions[1] and the growth of Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism. Its close relationship with dispensationalist premillennialism has consolidated an interpretation of biblical history that places Israel at the center of eschatological events, promoting unconditional support for the Israeli state. However, this vision has been strongly questioned by other Christian currents in the region, especially by Latin American Liberation Theology (TLL) and the ecumenical movement, which have denounced the strategic use of the Bible to legitimize the Israeli occupation in Palestine; moreover, it is relevant given that “in our region, economic, political and military apparatuses violently deploy discourses of religious content, in the manner of crusades to reach power and dispose of territories, goods, and peoples.”[2] Despite these tensions, sustained dialogues on the subject have been absent, which calls for an in-depth analysis of its theological, political, and social implications.On the systematic approach to Christian Zionism, it is essential to note the two premises that Elizabeth Philipps, in 2008, pointed out in her research entitled Apocalyptic Theopolitics: Dispensationalism, Israel/Palestine, and Ecclesial Enactments of Eschatology: “(1) exposé pieces written journalistically for audiences unfamiliar with Christian Zionism, and (2) awareness-raising pieces written by evangelical leaders and scholars to dissuade evangelical audiences from adherence to Christian Zionism. Of the few recent works on Christian Zionism written for scholarly readers, none is written by a theologian” (p. 4).[3]Likewise, for authors such as Gerald R. McDermott, Zionism is a phenomenon before the appearance of dispensationalist premillennialism and evangelical Zionism. This author assures that Zionism traces its roots some eighteen centuries earlier with antecedents in the Hebrew Bible —the covenant of Yahweh with Israel and the promised land— and in the Jewish authors who wrote part of the Christian Bible maintaining that vision in the figure of the return of the Jewish Diaspora to establish a new Israel.[4] On the other hand, some authors argue that it is not necessarily possible to equate premillennialism and fundamentalism, since although there are notable coincidences, there are also many divergences.[5] This chapter addresses the relationship between evangelical Zionism and the evangelical churches in Abya Yala, exploring both their expansion and the critical responses from liberationist and ecumenical perspectives. To this end, it is divided into four main sections. The first section analyzes the theological framework that has shaped Christian Zionism. It will explore dispensationalist premillennialism, its influence on the literalist interpretation of biblical prophecy, and its impact on global politics, especially concerning Israel. It will examine how this view has influenced Latin American evangelical churches, shaping their perspective on the Jewish people's role and the world’s eschatological destiny.The second section addresses how evangelical missions have promoted Christian Zionism in the region. It studies the role of missionary organizations and evangelical leaders in disseminating narratives that reinforce support for Israel and how these positions have influenced the foreign policy of Latin American countries. In addition, we analyze the evangelization strategies used and their impact on the construction of religious identities in Abya Yala.The third section explores the response of progressive theological movements to Christian Zionism. It examines how the TLL has denounced the instrumentalization of the Bible to justify oppression and how ecumenical churches have promoted a critical view of the Israeli occupation. The lack of an open debate between these sectors and Christian Zionism is also discussed, as are the reasons behind this absence of dialogue.Finally, the fourth section proposes the importance of opening a space for debate among the different Christian currents in Abya Yala. It reflects the need for a theology that prioritizes peace and justice, instead of apocalyptic narratives that reinforce geopolitical conflicts. The possibility of building bridges between evangelical, liberationist, and ecumenical sectors to promote a more ethical vision committed to the social reality of the region is raised.This chapter, therefore, offers a comprehensive analysis of Christian Zionism’s impact in Abya Yala, its theological roots, its expansion through evangelical missions, and the responses it has generated in progressive Christianity. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to a deeper debate on the role of religion in international politics and its influence on faith communities in the region. [1] It is important to recall that, since the Missionary Council of Panama in 1916, the historic Protestant churches in Latin America —direct heirs of the sixteenth-century Reformation— began to adopt the name evangélicas instead of protestantes. This shift, however, should not be confused with the use of the term “evangelical” in the U.S. context, which typically refers to conservative evangelical churches that emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this chapter, this distinction is crucial for Latin American religious studies: iglesias evangélicas históricas (mainline Protestant churches) are differentiated from iglesias evangelicales, often aligned with U.S.-style evangelicalism in theology, practice, and political positioning. For more information, see: Córdova Quero, Hugo (2014). El desafío del diálogo. Historia, definiciones y problemáticas del ecumenismo y la pluralidad religiosa (Buenos Aires: GEMRIP Ediciones). [2] Cardoso Pereira, Nancy, Sandra Nancy Mansilla, and Larry Madrigal Rajo. “Introducción.” Revista de Interpretación Bíblica Latinoamericana 93 (2024): 7. [3] Philipps, Elizabeth. Apocalyptic Theopolitics: Dispensationalism, Israel/Palestine, and Ecclesial Enactments of Eschatology (Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 2008). [4] McDermott, Gerald R. “A New Christian Zionism.” Providence Magazine (April 2016): pp. 57-62. [5] Martins Campos, Breno, and Aretha Beatriz Brito Da Rocha. “Aproximações e distanciamentos entre fundamentalismo e pré-milenarismo: por uma tipologia do protestantismo a incluir John Gresham Machen.” Revista Caminhando 24, no. 1 (2019): pp. 193-213.

Abstract: “Heretic” is commonly understood as perspectival term employed by insiders to describe a specific kind of outsider, namely, one who, not only holds to seriously objectionable positions, but having been one of us, should know better. Accordingly, ‘heretic religiosity’ denotes for members of the mother religion a dissenting form of religiosity that deviates too sharply from their own to be con-tained within it. Michael Walzer’s well-known idea of connected criticism, to which this paper’s title alludes, is a person who firmly opposes his community’s way of life, but choses to remain within the fold. The type of religious heresy I shall be looking at in the following pages not only choses to re-main within, but is contained within the fold. And not only that, but it is actually formative of the fold. But in that case, why should it be considered heretical?

Abstract: This article addresses the epistemic and political problem of self-referentiality in theology within the context of post-secular societies, as a demand for public relevance of faculties of theology within the 21st-century university. It focuses on the epistemological emergence of public theology as a distinct knowledge such as human rights, and ecological thinking, contributing to the public mission of knowledge production and interdisciplinary engagement. The study applies Michel Foucault’s archaeological and genealogical methods in dialogue with Michel de Certeau’s insights into the archaeology of religious practices through a multi-layered analytical approach including archaeology of knowledge, dispositifs of power, pastoral government, and spirituality as a genealogy of ethics. As a result of the analysis, it examines the historical conditions of possibility for the emergence of a public theology, and how it needs to be thought synchronously with other formations of knowledge, allowing theology to move beyond its self-referential model of approaching dogma and the social practices derived from it. The article concludes programmatically that the development of public theology requires an epistemological reconfiguration to displace its self-referentiality through critical engagement with a public rationality framework, as an essential task for the public relevance and contribution of theology within contemporary universities and plural societies.

Abstract: This article examines four block-printed Mahāpratisarā dhāraṇī amulets from late Tang to early Song China, highlighting how Sanskrit-script texts circulated in everyday religious life. Through philological and visual analysis, it reveals a decentralised dhāraṇī culture shaped by variant bījākṣara (seed syllable) arrangements, divergent textual recensions, and diverse ritual uses—from burial and temple consecration to daily wear and cave enshrinement. Rather than static texts, these amulets reflect dynamic interactions between sacred sound, material form, and vernacular Buddhist practice, offering rare insight into non-canonical transmission and popular engagement with Indic scripture.