Marburg Journal of Religion

Role Models as Moral Means of Persuasion in Apocalyptic Literature

2019-12-17T11:21:52+01:00

Apocalyptic texts are teeming with moral teachings and ethical values, which make up the very core of their messages, acting like a mantle that caresses and bonds together all the parts of the narrative and moves the plot by justifying events, thoughts and actions. Apocalyptic discourse, as every other form of religious and philosophical speech, aspires to teach its recipients about the moral way of life and persuade them about the importance of remaining virtuous and ethically just, avoiding at the same time everything bad or unethical. As product of the restless political and social environment of the Hellenistic-Roman period, apocalyptic texts attempt to remind their recipients of the ethical values which they had acquired from their religious and philosophical paideia, a recurrence of moral lessons that it is dire need to remain faithful to. These are mostly presented as ‘role models’, that is, examples of thinking and acting which are meant to be imitated or avoided by them, followed always by the reward or punishment that comes as a result by means of divine judgement. Through them. the writers manage to enhance the clarity of their teachings, leaving no room for misunderstanding, concerning the true meaning of their messages. From the examination of their various forms, it is concluded that they totally correspond with the moral teachings which can be located within any work of the same literary tradition, while the obvious predominance of the negative role models over the positive ones attests to their perfect accordance with the moral teachings of both Jewish-Christian and classical texts.

'To the Top of the World'

2019-12-17T11:21:53+01:00

The prominent role of the mountain as the starting point of revelations in numerous apocalyptic narratives is in absolute relevance with the 'cosmic mountain', a motif widely attested within every cosmological and religious system across the southeastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. However, apart from its relation to the latter, the mountain motif emerged from the background of supernatural descriptions and displayed an 'individual' character, acquiring a role as distinctive as few other motifs in apocalyptic literature. This paper focuses on its forms of manifestation within the various apocalyptic texts, its relations to the 'cosmic mountain' motif, and its catalytic presence in every revelatory story-line. In addition, its value as a place of religious isolation and an 'all-observing' locus is reported, as well.

Scientology’s Legal System

2020-01-13T14:41:23+01:00

This paper provides an overview of the legal system of the religion of Scientology. To the members of the religion, this legal system supersedes and fully displaces the mainstream legal system. Scientology’s legal system is self-contained and independent, with rules, enforcement mechanisms, and correctional facilities. The overview provided in this paper will be useful to courts and to further research in the nascent yet vital field of Scientological legal research.