dialogo 7.1: The Melting Pot: The World is reshaping under pressure

Journal of the Dialogue between Science and Theology

DIA LOGO Volume 7 - Issue 1 - November 2020

Edited by Cosmin Tudor Ciocan

The Melting Pot: The World Reshaping under Pressure!

www.dialogo-conf.com

DIALOGO International Journal with biannual volumes on regard to the Dialogue between Science and Theology

Dialogo Journal is the intellectual property of RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology), Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania

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DIALOGO 2020 volume 7 - issue 1:

The Melting Pot: The World is reshaping under pressure - The Annual Virtual Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

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Organized by the RCDST - Romania in collaboration with Institutions from Slovakia - Pakistan - Switzerland - Poland - India Egypt - Uganda - Jordan - Turkey - Argentina - USA - Canada - Germany - Australia November 2020 www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this volume do not necessarily represent those of the Dialogo Organizers and are attributable to the authors of the papers alone.

Publication Series: Description: ISSN (CD-ROM): ISSN (ONLINE): ISSN (PRINT): ISSN-L: Editors:

DIALOGO (Multidisciplinary Journal for the Dialogue between Science and Theology) 2392 – 9928 2393 – 1744 2457 – 9297 2392 – 9928 Fr. lecturer Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, Ph.D. (Romania) - In-Chief - and Ing. Stefan BADURA, Ph.D. (Slovak Republic)

Series Publisher: RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology) of

the “Ovidius” University of Constanta. Romania Volume6, Issue1 Title:

The Melting Pot: The World is reshaping under pressure

subtitle: The Annual Virtual Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC DOI: Published by: (DOI issuer) Pages: Printed on: Publishing date:

10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1 EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina Univerzitna 1, 01026 Zilina - Slovak Republic 271 100 copies 2020, November 30

Note on the issue: This is the volume of our general topic, with articles gathered until November 2020 on 14 sections of research.

*All published papers underwent double peer review. *All published papers are in English language only. Each paper was assigned to 3 reviewers and went through two-level approval process. * The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not nec-

essarily represent the views of RCDST. Authors only hold responsability over their papers and content.

Open Access Online archive is available at: http://www.dialogo-conf.com/archive (articles will be available online one month after the publication releases).

In case of any questions, notes or complaints, please contact us at: info(at)dialogo-conf.com.

Warning: Copyright © 2014, RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology), Romania.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of this material, even partial, is allowed without any permission, but you need to indicate if changes were made, do not use for commercial purpose, and use the appropriate citation.

Dialogo by RCDST is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License This is in an Open Access journal by which all articles are available on the internet to all users upon publication.

doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1

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DIALOGO

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Conference Sponsors and Parteners

Ovidius University of Constanta (UOC/Romania) www.univ-ovidius.ro

University of the Punjab (Lahore) www.pu.edu.pk

The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (UAIC/Romania) www.uaic.ro

“Vasile Goldis” Western University of Arad (UVVG/Romania) www.uvvg.ro/

The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Tech- Horizon Research Publishing, HRPUB - USA nology (ISCAST/Australia) http://www.hrpub.org/ www.iscast.org

Research and Science Today www.lsucb.ro/rst

Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology www.rcdst.ro

www.The-Science.com (Slovakia)

Maritime University of Constanta “Mircea cel Batran” Naval (UMC/Romania) Academy (ANMB/Romania) www.cmu-edu.eu www.anmb.ro

Global Ethics (Geneva/Switzerland) www.globethics.net

Faculty of Educational Sciences (WNP) Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland www.pedagogika.umk.pl doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1

Action-research in Contemporary Culture and Education – Practice & Theory (ACCEPT/Poland) www.accept.umk.pl

Centre for Research and social, psychological and pedagogical evaluation (CCEPPS/Romania) ccepps.univ-ovidius.ro

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Open Access Theology Journal www.mdpi.com/ journal/religions

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Conference Sponsors and Parteners

Faculty of Medicine (UOC), Romania www.medcon.ro

Faculty of Theology (UOC), Romania teologie.univ-ovidius.ro

Faculty of Orthodox Theology (UAIC), Romania www.teologie.uaic.ro

Faculty of Theology (UAB), Romania www.fto.ro

Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education (UAIC), Romania www.psih.uaic.ro

Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education (UOC), Romania pse.univ-ovidius.ro

Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (UAIC), Romania snsa.univ-ovidius.ro

Centre of Inter - Religious Research and Christian Psychopedagogy Alba Iulia - Saint Serge (CCIRPC)

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering (UOC), Romania fcetp.univ-ovidius.ro

Faculty of Law (UOC), Romania drept.univ-ovidius.ro

Christian Theological Institute after the Timotheus Gospel, Romania http://timotheus.ro/

Institute for Peace Studies in Eastern Christianity [IPSEC] Cambridge, MA 022380246, U.S.A. https://orthodoxpeace.org/

Volume published by

EDIS Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina Univerzitna 1 01026 Zilina Slovak Republic

RCDST Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology Ovidius University of Constanta Romania

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DIALOGO

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International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributers Christoph STUECKELBERGER Globethics.net Executive Director and Founder; Prof. PhD. (Switzerland)

Mohammad Ayaz AHMAD University of Tabuk; Assistant Professor PhD (Saudi Arabia)

Maria Isabel Maldonado GARCIA Directorate External Linkages/Institute of Language University of the Punjab; Head of Spanish Dpt. / Assistant Professor (Pakistan)

IPS Teodosie PETRESCU Archbichop of Tomis disctrict; Faculty of Orthodox Theology; “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof.

PhD. (Romania)

Filip NALASKOWSKI

Faculty of Educational Sciences - Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun; Dr. (Poland) Lucian TURCESCU Department of Theological Studies - Concordia University; Professor and Chair (Canada)

Edward Ioan MUNTEAN Faculty of Food Sciences and Technology - University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj–Napoca; Assoc. Professor PhD. (Romania) Altaf QADIR University of Peshawar (Pakistan)

Francesco FIORENTINO Dipartimento di Filosofia, Letteratura e Scienze Sociali; Universita degli Studi di Bari «Aldo Moro»; Researcher in Storia della Filosofia (Italy)

Eugenia Simona ANTOFI “Dunarea de Jos” University (Romania)

Dagna DEJNA NCU Faculty of Educational Sciences (Poland)

D. Liqaa RAFFEE Jordan University of Science and Technology (Jordan)

Panagiotis STEFANIDES Emeritus Honoured Member of the Technical Chamber of Greece HELLENIC AEROSPACE IND. S.A. - Lead engineer; MSc Eur Ing (Greece)

George ENACHE Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology „Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati; Associate professor PhD. (Romania)

Cristiana OPREA European Physical Society; member Joint Institute for Nuclear Research - Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics; Scientific Project Leader (Russia)

Ahed Jumah Mahmoud AL-KHATIB Faculty of Medicine - Department of Neuroscience University of Science and Technology; Researcher PhD (Jordan)

Coli NDZABANDZABA Rhodes University (South Africa)

Gheorghe ISTODOR Faculty of Orthodox Theology - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof.

PhD. (Romania) Nasili VAKA’UTA Trinity Methodist Theological College University of Auckland; Ranston Lecturer PhD. (New Zealand)

Akhtar Hussain SANDHU Department of History, University of the Punjab; Associate professor PhD. (Pakistan) Richard WOESLER European University press, PhD. (Germany) Riffat MUNAWAR University of the Punjab; Dr. PhD. (Pakistan)

Dilshad MAHABBAT University of Gujrat (Pakistan) Adrian NICULCEA Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof.

PhD. (Romania) Tarnue Marwolo BONGOLEE Hope for the Future; Executive Director (Liberia)

Hassan IMAM Aligarh University, PhD. (India) Ioan G. POP Emanuel University of Oradea; PhD. (Romania) Farzana BALOCH University of Sindh Associate professor PhD. (Pakistan)

Ahmed KYEYUNE Islamic University in Uganda

Petru BORDEI Faculty of Medicine - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania)

Ahmed USMAN University of the Punjab (Pakistan) Mihai Valentin VLADIMIRESCU Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Craiova; Professor PhD. (Romania)

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Ioan-Gheorghe ROTARU ‘Timotheus’ Brethren Theological Institute of Bucharest (Romania)

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Khalil AHMAD University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan) Maciej LASKOWSKI

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DIALOGO

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International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributers Politechnika Lubelska; Prof. PhD. (Poland)

Mihai CIUREA University of Craiova, PhD. (Romania)

Muhammad HAFEEZ University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan)

Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad University of Tabuk, Assistant Professor PhD. (Saudi Arabia)

Muhammad Shahid HABIB International Islamic University; Lecturer Ph.D. (Pakistan)

Mirosaw ZIENTARSKI Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru, PhD. (Poland)

Muhammad Zakria ZAKAR University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan)

Manisha MATHUR G.N.Khalsa College; University of Mumbai; Assistant Professor (India)

R S Ajin GeoVin Solutions Pvt. Ltd.; PhD. (India)

Pratibha GRAMANN Saybrook University of San Francisco, California (United States of America)

Mustfeez Ahmad ALVI Lahore Leads University; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan)

Adrian GOREA Concordia University, Montreal (Canada)

Radu NICULESCU Ovidius University of Constanta; Assist.prof. PhD. (Romania)

Richard Alan MILLER

Navy Intel (Seal Corp. and then MRU); Dr. in Alternative Agriculture, Physics, and Metaphysics (United States of America)

Fermin De La FUENTE-CALVO De La Fuente Consulting (Corporative Intelligence) B.Sc. Physics and Professor PhD. (United States of America)

Maria CIOCAN “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy; teacher PhD. (Romania)

Kelli COLEMAN MOORE University of California at Santa Barbara (United States of America) Osman Murat DENIZ Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi; Associate Professor PhD. (Turkey) Daniel MUNTEANU The International Journal of Orthodox Theology (Canada) Dragos HUTULEAC Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava; Assistant Lecturer, PhD candidate (Romania) Shiva KHALILI Faculty of psychology and education - Tehran University; Associate Professor PhD. (Iran) Mihai HIMCINSKI Faculty of Orthodox Theology - „1 December 1918” University of Alba Iulia; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Richard Willem GIJSBERS The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology - ISCAST (Australia) Flavius Cristian MARCAU Constantin Brancusi” University of Targu Jiu; Phd. Candidate (Romania) Stanley KRIPPNER Association for Humanistic Psychology, the Parapsychological Association; President; Prof. PhD. (United States of America)

Sorin Gabriel ANTON Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi; PhD. (Romania) Sultan MUBARIZ University of Gujrat; PhD. (Pakistan) Gheorghe PETRARU Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Iasi; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Rania Ahmed Abd El-Wahab Mohamed Plant Protection Research Institute; PhD. (Egypt) Rubeena ZAKAR University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan) Mihai GIRTU The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology (RCDST); President Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology (RCDST); Executive Director Faculty of Orthodox Theology - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Lecturer PhD. (Romania)

Fouzia SALEEM University of the Punjab, Dr. PhD. (Pakistan)

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International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributers Mihaela RUS “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Professor PhD. (Romania) Sónia MORGADO Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna, (ISCPSI); Aux. Prof., PhD (Portugal)

Muhammad Shahzad ASLAM Universiti Malaysia Perlis; Assistant Professor PhD (Pakistan) Musferah MEHFOOZ Islamic Studies, Humanities Department; Assistant Professor PhD (Pakistan)

Jean FIRICA

University of Craiova; Assoc. Professor PhD. (Romania) Ahmed ASHFAQ Assistant Professor PhD (Saudi Arabia) Shoaib Ahmad SIDDIQI Faculty of Biological Sciences, Lahore Garrison University; Assistant Professor PhD (Pakistan) Rehman ATAUR Lahore Garrison University; Senior Lecturer PhD. (Pakistan)

Stefan Gregore CIORNEI University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine; Assistant Professor PhD (Romania) Ahmed Kadhim HUSSEIN Babylon University, College of Engineering; Assist.Prof.Dr.Eng. (Iraq) Muhammad SARFRAZ Kuwait University, Department of Information Science, College of Computing; Professor and V. Dean of Research & Graduate Studies (Kuwait)

Kuang-ming Wu Yale University Divinity School; Senior Lecturer PhD. (Pakistan)

Abbasali BARATI Al-mustafa International university in Qom; Professor PhD (Iran)

Nursabah SARIKAVAKLI “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Professor PhD. (Turkey)

Amando P. SINGUN Higher College of Technology, Muscat; Lecturer PhD (Oman)

Laurentiu-Dan MILICI “Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava; Professor PhD. (Romania)

Marian Gh. SIMION Harvard University - Harvard Divinity School; PhD (United States)

Emad Al-Janabi “Al-Mussaib” Technical College; Asist. Prof. Dr. (Iraq)

Besmira LAHI University of New York in Tirana; Lecturer PhD (Albania)

Sugiarto TEGUH Budi luhur and AAJ Jayabaya; Lecturer PhD. (Indonesia)

Zeyad Samir Zaki al-Dabbagh Mosul University / College of Political Science; Assist. Prof. PhD (Iraq)

Liliana BUZATU “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy; teacher PhD. (Romania)

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Mahesh Man SHRESTHA International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management (INPIM); Lecturer PhD. (Nepal)

Hamnah Naveed MALIK Lahore Grammar School; PhD (Pakistan)Amando P. SINGUN Higher College of Technology, Muscat; Lecturer PhD (Oman)

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DIALOGO

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Organizing Committee Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN - SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME OFFICER

RCDST Executive Director and Founder; Lect. ThD. Faculty of orthodox theology, Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania) Mihai GIRTU

RCDST President and Founder; Professor PhD. Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering , Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania)

RESPONSIBLES FOR SESSION 1. ART and LITERATURE Mihai Valentin VLADIMIRESCU - University of Craiova; Prof., PhD (Romania)

Radu NICULESCU - Ovidius University of Constanta; Assist. Prof., PhD (Romania)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 2. EARTH SCIENCES, ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT Cristiana OPREA - Dzelepov Laboratory for Nuclear Problems (DLPN) - JINR Dubna, Professor PhD (Russia)

RESPONSIBLES FOR SESSION 3. SOCIAL SCIENCES, CULTURE, LIFESTYLE CHOICES Maria Isabel MALDONADO GARCIA - University of the Punjab; Assist. Prof., PhD (Pakistan)

Miguel ALGRANTI, PHD (ARGENTINA) - Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte, Universidad Favaloro; Lecturer PhD (Argentina)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 4. LAW AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Mihaela RUS - Faculty of Law, Ovidius University of Constanta; Assoc. Prof . PhD. (Romania) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 5. PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Osman Murat DENIZ - Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi - lahiyat Fakültesi; Assoc. Prof . PhD. (Turkey) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 6. LIFE SCIENCES Ahed Jumah Mahmoud AL-KHATIB - University of Science and Technology - Department of Neuroscience; Dr. (Jordan)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 8. METAPHYSICS AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES Muhammad Shahid Habib - Lahore Garrison University, Prof . PhD. (Pakistan) Bruno MARCHAL - IRIDIA, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Prof . PhD. (Belgium)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 9. MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, ECONOMICS AND TOURISM Sónia MORGADO - Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna (ISCPSI), Prof . PhD. (Portugal)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 10. BIOETHICS Christoph STUECKELBERGER - University of Basel ; Founder and Executive Director of Globethics.net, Geneva ; Professor PhD. (Switzerland) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 11. ASTRONOMY, ASTRO-PHYSICS Valeriu Gheorge CIMPOCA - “Valahia” University of Targoviste; Professor PhD. (Switzerland) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 12. HISTORY, DEMOGRAPHY, ARCHAEOLOGY Akhtar Hussain SANDHU - University of Gujrat; Professor PhD. (Pakistan) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 13. MATHEMATICS, TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRY, NETWORKING Anton LIESKOVSKY - Faculty of Management Science and Informatics, University of Zilina; Ing. PhD. (Slovakia) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 14. GENERAL TOPIC (THEOLOGY) Teodosie PETRESCU - Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Ovidius University of Constanta; Professor PhD. (Romania) Stefan BADURA - RESPONSIBLE FOR I.T. Publishing Society of Zilina; Ing. PhD. (Slovakia)

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Welcoming Speech

EDITORIAL “The Melting Pot: The World is reshaping under pressure”

We have entitled this conference `The Melting Pot` - a concept borrowed from the area of cooking, more precisely the fondue technique, to help us understand how contemporary society is in fact a huge crucible of a mixture of all previously separate and somehow independent civilizations, creating a rich mixture with hints of novelty despite the components old that it incorporates. This metaphor is best for understanding how a heterogeneous society as we previously were in many situations becoming more homogeneous, the different elements “melting together” with a common culture and behavior. We will focus in this conference on what `human society` means today, how the current generation makes its insignia, significant gestures, and values, with which the` traditional world` strives to survive the speed of kneading a new dough, but especially at what costs all these initiatives are supported and the fermentation of the production of a superior taste.

Starting from the keyword `reshaping`, We have invited researchers, teachers, and students to join on this global forum, where research, knowledge, and ideas can be efficiently presented and shared. The conference provides a smart virtual platform to share your research ideas with personal attendance but without traveling or expensive accommodation. Any paper that brings forward a new approach, a research report, or a case study, a decent-provocative supposition, or a challenging hypothesis is more than welcome into DIALOGO Conference. We have the pleasure to discuss findings and ideas with fellow scholars worldwide and the opportunity to publish it into an international, indexed publication!

I. Topic and Significance: We are witnesses of a major reshaping of our world nowadays: the World and our lives as we used to know are ending and they are reshaping constantly and drastically under pressure. These are some issues we considered important when raised this theme to a public discussion.

1. Art and Literature (topics under consideration: These are the days of creation, of inspiration as it was always the case with times of sorrow, despair, and challenges - a strong motive for humans to immortalize their struggle of surviving. So many artworks emerge amid pandemic, from daily impressions and blogging to hard-core literature and other arts - all proving that humans are more than individuals and survival more than a sacrificed generation... On the other hand, this is a time for huge changes in Arts as well for artists cannot perform in public but online, cannot be free in the creative act, and, most of all, there are tremendous changes demanded in all kind of arts from the ‘black lives matter” movement up to adjustments of literature, sculpture or cinema...).

2. Earth Sciences, Ecology, Environment & Theology (topics under consideration: The worldwide disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous impacts on the environment and the climate in a positive sense. The considerable decline in planned travel has caused many regions to experience a large drop in air pollution. Other positive impacts on the environment include governance-

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Welcoming Speech

system-controlled investments towards a sustainable energy transition and other goals related to environmental protection such as lockdowns and other measures resulted in a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions and up to 50 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides emissions and many other similar....).

3. Social Sciences, Culture, and Lifestyle Choices & Religion (topics under consideration: The chain of challenges in social and psychological areas of interest is endless amid pandemic. We witness results of despair all over the world (from suicide to riots with street violence), atypical and unusual attempts of medical care (it is notorious the huge mistake of president Trump when concealing the use of bleach for ‘internal cleansing’), or the almost ‘classical’ denial of corona-skeptics - whether the threat of the Covid-19 is real or not.

On the other hand, the educational system is continually threatened to clash for many countries, poor or not, and became inoperational. Children and teachers as well are not at all used to advancing pedagogy into the digital era so that the survival of education is also under menace. New curricula, rethinking teaching, and emerging methods are required. Marriage, traditional gatherings, and social parties were banned or reduced to a minimum...).

4. Law and Political Science & Theology (topics under consideration: Whereas the spread of coronavirus outbreak [Sars-CoV-2, December 2019-2020], developing into a global pandemic situation, the governments everywhere have declared a ‘state of emergency’ to stop the spread of the pandemic as much as possible.

What are the human/legal rights that you have faced as being violated under this pretext by State? I mentioned also the ‘legal’ rights as if there are local constitutional lawful rights that are also violated by police enforcement or so. How can this interference of the Public authorities with our rights be regarded, justified, or on the contrary, denied and fought against?

The fights between protecting the health vs those carrying for fundamental human rights constitute the greatest challenge of our times. “While the virus is resulting in the tragic loss of life, we must nonetheless prevent it from destroying our way of life - our understanding of who we are, what we value, and the right to which every human is entitled. There is an urgent need to coordinate States’ responses, to exchange good practices, and to help each other in the quest for a quicker recovery.” Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe) 5. Philosophy of Science & Theology (topics under consideration: Is human language adequate to describe God? Genesis! Fact, fiction or faith? Is mathematics .. the language of science or philosophy and religion?

When artificial intelligence becomes everyday life, do you think philosophy is the only science of human beings? Does a theory always have/ require an underlying philosophy? Is the universe conscious?).

6. Biology, Medicine, Natural Sciences & Theology (topics under consideration: Doctors and physicians, researchers of biology and medicine, and the entire staff of hospitals are under siege across the globe in circumstances created by the actual pandemic; it was thought, designed and considered previously as a possible scenario, but no one ever considered it could occur for real. Now medicine is forced to take unprecedented measures, excedent its ethics while struggling to develop a vaccine and many other ‘new’ actions. On the other hand, without previous occurrence, these measures are highly condemned and fought against in streets and Parliaments. How society will settle this battle, how we envision medicine for a future similar situation? What motivates human beings to carry on in a new way of understanding rights and health? What humans value the most in the actual situation, living, creeds, or health?).

7. Neurobiology & Theology (topics under consideration: mind and consciousness; More Than a Body?; the idea of God and the brain; If our reasoning is simply a product of a deterministic neuronal state how does it conform to the rules of logic and consistency? What motivates human beings? Do Plants Have a

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Soul? Who am I?).

8. Epistemology, Metaphysics and Communication Sciences & Theology (topics under consideration: Scholars like the philosophy professor Markus Gabriel call for a metaphysical pandemic, a gathering of the peoples, to decide the new understanding of living via the signs of life. The global order has been shaken. A virus, invisible to the eye and of yet unknown magnitude, is spreading. How many people have been infected with the coronavirus, how many people might still die and when will we have developed a vaccine—these and many other questions remain unanswered. Just like the question of how radical action currently taken around Europe will impact our economies and democracies.).

9. Management, Marketing, Economics and Tourism & Religion (topics under consideration: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions in the global economy. By the end of the first quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had brought international travel to an abrupt halt and significantly impacted the tourism industry. For many developed and developing countries, the tourism sector is a major source of employment, government revenue, and foreign exchange earnings. Without this vital lifeline, many countries may experience a dramatic contraction in GDP and a rise in unemployment...The pandemic has prompted governments and businesses to view the interdependence of global supply chains, particularly for critical supplies such as medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and food, as a vulnerability. Some countries and regional blocs, such as the US, European Union (EU), China, and India, have enacted export prohibitions or restrictions on such supplies; and many countries are rethinking strategic autonomy...).

10. Bioethics - Science - Theology (topics under consideration: What are the Human Rights that are violated and temporarily annulled under the pretext of the Covid19 pandemic? Ethical Issues And Challenges; Artificial Intelligence; Engineering).

11. Astronomy, Astro-Physics & Theology (topics under consideration: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which has rapidly become a global pandemic and is continuing to spread across the globe. Apparently, the Astronomy community has less to do with this issue, still, it helped a great deal to help understand the spread of the disease and to help develop new treatments and vaccines, to increase healthcare capacity (such as ventilators, personal protective equipment, etc) and help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic...).

12. History, Demography, Archeology & Religion (topics under consideration: How can we define living in the actual state of things - considering that the entire human species is now struggling to choose between ‘traditional’ way of living and the new, emerging and imposed one? What is our life going to look like from now on? In light of the spread of the COVID-19, see what our experts are doing to investigate and address this issue. Demography can help us understand how this pandemic has spread and has had a disproportionate effect on certain age groups, as well as why its spread affects everyone...).

13. Mathematics, Technology, Industry, Networking & Religion (topics under consideration: All the academic meetings conferences and almost all courses were canceled this year or at the best move on a virtual platform. We were used to receiving information about an important event through online advertising, but taking the entire activity into the virtual domain... this is another thing and we must state that such „living” - without socialization and physical contact - is unacceptable for human beings, and still... we are forced to reconsider this position mostly from now on).

14. General Topic: Science and Theology (Can science have all the answers? Does religion have all the answers? How can theology prove its assertions about it all? What scientists think about Religion / Science vs. Religion: What scientists really think / Building a bridge between science and faith: A response to ‘Science on Faith / Incompatibility / Independence / Dialogue. Can the existence of God be established by

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scientific experimentation? Can God be found in the gaps of scientific knowledge? Is scientific research allowed to take place without any theological restrains?

II. Conference details: »» Conference full name: The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology: “The Melting Pot: The World is reshaping under pressure” »» »» »» »»

Conference short name: DialogoConf 2020 VIC Conference edition: 12th Conference dates: November 3 - 12, 2020 Conference web page: www.dialogo-conf.com

»»

Conference online archive: www.dialogo-conf.com/archive

III. Conference paper approval process: Each registered paper was evaluated in a double tier approval process.

1. Scientific Committee evaluation (on average 2 reviews were prepared per paper).

2. Conference Editorial Board.

Only those papers recommended by these committees were accepted for online presentation at the conference and publication in the Journal. That was rated to 85% of the total submitted papers.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATION: 1. General presentation As the chief editor and founder of Dialogo enterprise, I have started this endeavor with a lot of anxiety, for there were many failures regarding the same purpose, as well as there are some other already internationally recognized. Still, I have started this quest along with a few fellow researchers in my University [i.e., Ovidius University of Constanta, RO] from diverse fields of science. I was encouraged to propose our version of dialogue in this form, a virtual forum of debates and discussions, capable of bringing people from around the globe more comfortable and environmental-friendly; and I did. Now, after only five years and ten published volumes, I am grateful I had these colleagues beside me and also God, who blessed our proposal since it started with 21 professors. Now it reaches more than a hundred involved academics in a genuine and targeted dialogue. I could not be amazed by the considerable amount of questions these events usually raise, sometimes from the papers as the starting point of discussions, or just as an excuse for considering addressing such items to people who often taught such issues. Overall, I cannot be more proud that we achieve this aim of bringing people of such diversity of research fields, sciences, religious backgrounds, or spirituality in an academic arena for discussions and clarifications.

Considering the phrase of Norman Vincent Peale, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”, we, at Dialogo, are but proud to seeing this outcome on our endeavor.

2. Aim and Scope The Dialogo Journal is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed academic journal published twice a year. It aims to study the theory and practice of dialogue between all types of sciences and any religious background, understood provisionally as meaningful interaction and exchange between people (often of different social, cultural, political, religious, or professional groups) who come together through various kinds of conversations or activities with a view to increased understanding on both these two ways of human

doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1

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Welcoming Speech

reasoning, scientifical and religious/spiritual. The Journal is published by the Research Center on the Dialogue between Science and Theology of „Ovidius” University of Constanta, Romania, in partnership with several academic institutions and research centers from Romania and abroad. The conference is addressed to scholars from all over the world interested in communicating on topics of interest at the crossroads of science and religion. The participation of young scientists, graduates, and students is greatly encouraged, one of the goals of the workshop being to offer the new generation an opportunity to present original new results and a chance to learn from the experience of distinguished researchers.

The goal of the Virtual Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology is twofold.

First, it aims to collect high-quality, authoritative, well-documented information on topics placed at the intersection of science and religion. Secondly, it makes an effort to provide a way for leading scholars to share and exchange their views, as well as to comment on the opinions of their peers regarding particular aspects of science and religion. This might include ways to challenge the boundaries within and between religion and science, and or between and within the academy, as well as the boundaries of the sacred and secular, of reason and faith. Ultimately, we want to ask how queer religion, science, and philosophy, can and/or should be. It is our pleasure to introduce you to this volume. This book contains all the accepted papers from the 12th conference organized by the Dialogo community of scholars, which is described below in more detail. We hope that all these published papers contribute to the academic society and provide interesting information for researchers worldwide.

Sincere thanks for: • •

Scientific Committee for their volunteer work during reviewing.

Conference partners for promotional work and their contribution.

•

Editorial Board for enormous workload and patience.

Be welcomed to enjoy this accomplishment!

See you again for the DIALOGO 2021 row of events! your host, lect. Fr. Ciocan Tudor Cosmin, PhD Executive Director of The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology (RCDST) „Ovidius” University Constanța / Romania Scientific Programme Officer of DIALOGO international conferences E-mail: office(at)dialogo-conf.com

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Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.

Eleanor Rosevelt

DIALOGO

7.1 (2020)

doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

t h e Di a l ogue b et ween Sci en c e a n d Th eol ogy

Table of Contents Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 EDITORIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

SECTION 1. Art and Literature & Religion Medieval penitentials and nature of women’s sins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Anabela Katreničová

Resistance and Assimilation in the Irish-American Melting Pot (Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn). . . . . . . . . .37 Nicoleta Stanca

The reshaping of the world in the Romanian press between the two World Wars. Sandu Tudor under the pressure of accelerated modernism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Carmen Ciornea

Ways of improving your ESP students’ employability skills - A Case Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Ionela Ionitiu

The Journalist Sandu Tudor and the ‘gândirist’ paradigm. The tributary stylistics of the early years. . 62 Carmen Ciornea

SECTION 2. Earth Sciences, Ecology, Environment & Theology Involvement of Interreligious Activists in Environmental Movement of the Sedulur Sikep Community in Central Java, Indonesia – A Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Aloys Budi Purnomo, Cecilia Titiek Murniati, Budi Widianarko

SECTION 3. Social Sciences, Culture, Lifestyle Choices & Religion Taking ‘the leap of faith’. How religious views affect people’s’ way of living?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Cosmin Tudor Ciocan, Pratibha Gramann

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Tabel of Content

DIALOGO 7.1 (2020)

November, 3 - 12 www.dialogo-conf.com The 10th Virtual International Conference on

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

t h e D i al o gue be t we e n Sc i enc e and Theology

The Way of The Christianity Sinicization From The View of Bible Translation. Word Frequency and Sentiment Analysis of CUV and KJV Bible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Yigang Ding

Education in Sumatra: a case study of Indonesian Islamic School in Bukit Lawang. . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Beata Pietkiewicz-Pareek

World without pressure, uncertainty and without the pandemic - the Old Order Amish. . . . . . . . . 119 Dagna Dejna

In the Same Melting Pot? America and Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Iulian Isbasoiu, Nicoleta Stanca

Righteousness of Judah and Tamar: a problematic encounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Štefan Novotný

SECTION 5. Philosophy of Science & Theology The consciousness’ forming by fractal education and the problem of Divinity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Marius Arghirescu

SECTION 7. Neurobiology

& Theology

Stress and the effects of COVID-19 on mental wellbeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Any Docu Axelerad, Andrei Motoc, Marian Mitrica, Silviu Docu Axelerad, Alina Zorina Stroe, Anca Elena Gogu, Dragos Catalin Jianu, Victor Dumitrascu, Horia Ples, Daniel Docu Axelerad

Neurological Disorders Associated to Coronavirus Infection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Any Docu Axelerad, Semsedi Selen, Anoanela Oltean, Silviu Docu Axelerad, Alina Zorina Stroe, Anca Elena Gogu, Dragos Catalin Jianu, Victor Dumitrascu, Horia Ples, Agneta Pusztai, Carmen Adella Sirbu, Daniel Docu Axelerad

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t h e Di a l ogue b et ween Sci en c e a n d Th eol ogy

SECTION 8. Epistemology, Metaphysics and Communication Sciences & Theology Intuition: A Heart-based Epistemology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Tina Lindhard

SECTION 10. Bioethics - Science - Theology The Melting point: How is the World reshaping under pressure nowadays?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Cosmin Tudor Ciocan, Osman Murat Deniz, Filip Nalaskowski

SECTION 12. History, Demography, Archaeology & Religion The fragility of the human mind under the infernal pressures from the Security. The reshaping of the world from perspective of the prisoner George Văsîi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Andrei Ciornea

SECTION 13. Mathematics, Technology, Industry, Networking & Religion Prediction of Big Data Analytics (BDA) on Social Media: Empirical Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Ahed J Alkhatib, Shadi Mohammad Alkhatib, Hani Bani Salame

SECTION 14. General Topic: Science and Theology in dialogue The Coronavirus Pandemic and the faith problems – biblical arguments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Nicolae Popescu

Considerations on the synergistic significance of the evangelistic message in the Gospel of John. . 260 Ilie Soritau GUIDE FOR AUTHORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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This page was intentionally left blank ** ‘Urban Melting Pot’ is a painting by Donna Blackhall uploaded on March 19th, 2011 https://fineartamerica.com/

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Available online at www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

Medieval penitentials and nature of women’s sins Anabela Katreničová

Department of Classical Philology; Faculty of Arts Pavol Jozef Šafárik University Košice, SLOVAKIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 September 2020 Received in revised form 21 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.1

The medieval penitentials propose a very interesting source to understand the sight of the whole society on the women. In our study, the presented books of penance reveal the women in their different social roles. We see them as the poor victims of the sinful activity of men. Nevertheless, we can recognize them as evil sinners. In this study, we try to present the medieval view of women’s social position, the nature of their sins, and their manner of trespassing God’s commandments as well. The numerous penitentials denote that the women commit only some kinds of sins, from which we can mention murder, witchcraft, and lust. Thus the women in Middle-Ages arouse fear and that is why they must be subordinated by men in society. Fortunately, the 20th century brings to women the liberty and equality with men, the new situation to which the Catholic Church reacts with the exaltation of the women.

Keywords: Middle Ages; penitential; sin; women; gender;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Anabela Katrenicova. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Katrenicova, Anabela. ”Medieval penitentials and nature of women’s sins.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 25-36. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.1

I. INTRODUCTION

The medieval penitentials, also known as the books of penance, used by Catholic priests and bishops to reconcile men with God, could serve us to better perceive the concept of sin, especially of women’s sin, established by medieval Church. These books enumerating the different sins propose us the way to identify the comprehension

of the women’s role in the society. That is why we try, in this paper, to present the various penitentials and underline the sins concerning the women. It could help us, in the second part of this paper, to restore the nature of women’s sins and better understand their place in the whole society.1 1 This paper is the partial result of the project VEGA 1/0257/20 The concept of woman heroine in the medieval exegetic literature.

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928

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II. Penitentials

The penitentials, libri poenitentiales, represent the specific kind of medieval literary production. We can find the origin of these books in the 6th century on the area of the Iro-Scotish and Anglo-Saxon mission made by Saint Columban and his disciples.

These manuals, often anonymous, served as the handbooks for the confessors owing to the spread of the new praxis of the confession and repeatable absolution of sins. The 6th century, therefore, became the turning point, when the penitential praxis of the Antiquity characterized by the public penance due to the excommunication, that could be received only once in a lifetime, ceases to be fully valid [1, 1441]. The public penance is fully in accordance with the understanding of the sin, that represented, in that time, the depravity against God and against the society breaking the unity of all Christians [2, 103]. Due to the increased number of the penitents who sinned after baptism and needed to confess their inclination to the different heresies, apostasy or to the paganism as well. In that time also the sins as adultery or fornication were seen as the return to the paganism and idolatry [3, 159; 4, 67]. In addition, the penitential praxis was so rigorous, that the Church prohibited to make the penitence to the spouses or young person in fear break up the penitence or to commit the new sins [4, 74]. Thus, it is natural, that the new situation needed the new form of the penance.

This new form of penance which unstoppably extended from the British islands is mentioned for the first time by the Council of Toledo in 589. As we can see from the Canon 11 of this Council, the new way of reconciliation with God is judged as the hideous and abominable act: “Because we find that in certain churches of Spain, men do not according to the canons, but unworthily repent them of their sins, that so often as they please to sin, so often they desire of

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the priest to be reconciled: therefore for the restraining so execrable a presumption, it is commanded by the holy council, that the repentance should be given according to the form of the ancient canons; that is, that he who repents him of his doings, being first suspended, from the communion, he should amongst to other penitents often run to the imposition of hands, that is, to the prayers of the bishop and the church: but when the time of his satisfaction is completed according as the priest’s prudence shall approve, let him restore to the communion.”2 [5].

It is evident, that the new way of penance praxis did not gain easily its place in the Catholic Church because it weakened in its nature the position of the bishop and on the other hand it eliminated the public and social mark of the penance. In addition, this manner of confession brought the possibility to obtain the remission of the sins more than once in a lifetime, so it facilitated to sin.

The penitentials do not provide only the representation of the penance praxis in the period of Middle Ages. They also serve us as the primary source to better know and understand the moral and spirituality of men in that time. They became furthermore wonderful basis to recognize the social, moral and spiritual status of women not only in the Catholic Church, but also in the whole cultural society at that time.

2 “Quoniam comperimus per quasdam Spaniarum ecclesias

non secundum canonem, sed fedissime pro suis peccatis homines agree paenitentiam et quotiens peccare libuerit, totiens a presbyteris se conciliari expostulent. Et ideo pro coercenda tam exsecrabili presumptione id a sancto concilio iubetur, ut secundum formam canonum antiquorum detur paenitentia.

Hoc est ut prius eum quem sui paenitet facti, a communione suspensum faciat inter reliquos penitentes ad manus impositionem crebro recurrere. Expleto autem satisfactionis tempore sicuti sacerdotalis comtemplatio probaverit, eum communion restituat. Qui vero ad propria vitia vel infra paenitentiae tempus vel post reconciliationem relabuntur, secundum priorum canonum severitate damnentur.” [6].

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III. Women seen through the books of

penance

By the thoughtful analysis of the books of penance we can testify very interesting phenomena concerning women. The first and the most ancient penitentials are not dedicated to the women at all. It is obvious that the books of penance are written primary for the clergymen while the women are seen only as the object of the sinful act, not as the actor. In addition, some of the penitentials do not speak explicitly about women. The woman, object of the sin, is very often hidden behind the kind of the sin itself. The best example of that kind of sin is fornication, as we can read in the Penitential of Gilda: “The priest or deacon doing the natural or sodomite fornication before the pronunciation of his vote may make satisfaction for three years.”3 [7, 39].

The formal structure of the penitentials is based on the description of the sin, which is followed by the given penance in the form of the restriction from the food or beverage.

The announcement of the sin could be addressed directly to the concrete person, who has committed the sin in question, as we can read: Christian who: “Christianus qui;” Priest or deacon doing: “Praesbyter aut diaconus faciens;” Monk: “Monachus;” or If monk: “Si monachus;” Priests: “Sacerdotes;” Bishop: “Episcopus;” If anybody of laics: “Si quis laicus;” If clergyman: “Si autem clericus” [7, 38-49]. Sometimes the sinful activity is included directly in the recipient’s title, that we can see: Usurer: “Usuram accipiens;” Adulterer: “Adulter;” Who has an intercourse with his mother: “Qui mechator matris;” Drunks: “Inebriati;” Lazy man: “Otiosus;” Anteater: “Vagus;” Liar: “Mendax;” Envious man: “Invidus;” Killer: “Homicida” [7, 43-92].

In the other cases the addressee stays unspecified without the use of the 3 “Presbyter aut diaconus faciens fornicationem naturalem sive sodomitam praefato ante monachi voto III annis peniteat.”

grammatical gender. The most common formulation of the sinner is usage of the indefinite pronoun somebody: “Si quis,” or simple pronoun “Qui” [7, 38-92]. And it is very clear that sinful activity is presupposed for the men what is certain from the nature of the sins and delicts against the God’s commandments. We can find a very nice example in the Penitential book of Theodore entitled Iudicia Theodori, where is written: “1.

If somebody kills a man due to the vengeance of his relative, he may make satisfaction for seven or ten years. If he wants to pay to the relatives, his repentance may be reduced in half. 2. Who kills a man due to the vengeance of the brother, he may make satisfaction for three years, in other place is said for ten years.”4 [7, 92]. Or better: “6. Who kills a man on commandment of his master may abstain for forty days from the church and who kills a man in public war may make satisfaction for forty days.”5 [7, 93].

This fact, that the women are seen mainly as an object of the sin, is supported also by the opinion of Georges Duby, the significant French historian and medievalist, who in the book Women of the Twelfth Century expresses, that the medieval penitentials were at the very beginning used only for the men’s confessions. And the men, as the head of their family, were responsible for all the family members, women included. And according to his study, the twelfth century brings the confession of women [8, 17].

Therefore, on the pages of the books of penance occur firstly the women, which are the passive victims of the men’s sin. And, it is not a surprise, that these sins committed on the women have the sexual character. In 4 “1. Si quis pro ultione propinqui hominem occiderit peniteat

sicut homicida VII vel X annos, sit amen reddere vult propinquis pecuniam aestimationis levior erit penitentia id est dimidio spatio. 2. Qui occiderit hominem pro vindicta fratris III annos peniteat in alio loco X annos penitere dicitur.”

5 “6. Qui per iussionem domini sui occiderit hominem XL diebus abstineat se ab ecclesia et qui occiderit hominem in publico bello XL dies peniteat.”

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addition, the women have no responsibility for these acts. That could be the sign, that the women in this period of time, have very low status in the society.

The only sin that is reserved for the women is sorcery. The witchcraft as the mainly domain of the women, we can observe till the sixth century in the Irish penitential issued by Finnian of Clonard, the well-known Irish saint and father of the Irish monks. Nonetheless, also in the case of this penitential, it is evident, that the women in their actions were not autonomic, but they played the role of the handmaids or co-operators of the sinful activity. At that time, the sorcery is not the women exclusively sins. This penance is dedicated predominantly to the man, in addition to the clergyman, as we can read: “18. If some clergyman or if some woman is malicious and if they deceive somebody by their malicious worship, it is the immense sin, but it could be redeemed. They may make satisfaction for six years, three years consuming only bread and water and the last three years they may abstain from vine and meats. 19. If they do not deceive somebody, but if they bait him due to the love, they may make satisfaction for one year consuming only the bread and water.”6 [7, 50]. As we could see, this book of penance criticizes the use of magical practices focused to fraud or lie and to serving the beverage of love.

Nevertheless, the women in this book of penance are seen as the sinners as well. It happens in the case of the magical activity with the goal to incite the abortion for another woman: “20. If woman with her malicious worship aborts the child of another woman, she may make satisfaction for a half 6 “18. Si quis clericus vel si qua mulier malefica vel maleficus

si aliquem maleficio suo deciperat, inmane peccatum est sed per penitentiam redimi potest; sex annis peniteat, tribus cum pane et aqua per mensural et in residuis III annis abstineat a vino et a carnibus. 19. Si autem non deciperat aliquem sed pro inlecebras amore dederat alicui, annum integrum peniteat cum pane et aqua per mensura.”

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of year consuming only bread and water and she may abstain from the vine and meats for two years and she may six times fast consuming bread and water for forty days.”7 [7, 51]. The way of penance represents in this case a paradox, because it is less severe than in the case of the fraud or a lie.

The other sin of women is giving the birth to a child after the secret fornication or adultery. This sin is more scandalous if it concerns the nuns and virgins devoted to God8 [7, 51].

In the other paragraphs of this penitential is the woman seen again as the victim of the man’s sin, mainly of the sin of fornication, when the woman is not mentioned explicitly, but the nature of the sin needs her voluntary or involuntary participation9 [7, 51].

The Finnian’s penitential contains the explicit mentioning of women as well, nevertheless their status still remains unchanged. They are the simple victims of the sinful action of men. The question of their voluntary participation is, at this point, not in the question: “14. If a clergyman has the familiar relation with a woman…; 15. If he has the familiar relation with many women…; 16.

If a clergyman desires a virgin or any woman …”10 [7, 50-51].

The sinful action toward women is not only the area of the clergymen. It is the 7 “20. Si mulier maleficio suo partum alicuius perdiderit,

dimedium annum cum pane et aqua peniteat per mensural et duobus annis abstineat a vino et a carnibus et sex quadragesimas (ieiunet) cum pane et aqua.”

8 “21. Si autem genuerit, ut diximus, filium et manifestum peccatum eius fuerit, VI annis, sicut iudicatum est de cleric, et in septimo iungatur altario, et tunc dicimus posse renovare coronam et induere vestimentum album debere et virginem nuncupare.”

9 “10. Si quis autem ruina fornicationis ceciderit et clericus fuerit (et) coronam suam perdiderit… 12. Si quis autem clericorum ruina maxima ceciderit et genuerit filium…”

10 “14. Si quis autem ex clericis habuerit familiaritatem alicuius femine…; 15. Si autem multarum feminarum habuerit familiaritatem…; 16. Si quis clericus concupivit virginem aut aliquam femina…”

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problem of the laics as well. Their sins committed on the women have the same nature as it was in case of clerks but the circumstances of these sins differ, so the form of penance is less severe in their cases11 [7, 55-57].

We can find a very similar situation in the penitential book of monk Columban, the great preacher in Merovingian France at the end of the 6th century and at the beginning of the 7th century [7, 61-70]. All what we said is applicable for the penitential books of the following centuries as well [7, 72-81].

In our analysis of the books of penance from the side of the specification of women’s sins we can proceed to the two main sources, which are embodied by the penitential of Anglo-Saxon origin, entitled the Penitential of Theodore and by the Decretum written by Burchard of Worms.

These two books of penance represent the partial change in the question of nature of women’s sins and women’s confession.

IV. Nature of women’s sins

In the Theodore’s book of penance, the women still play the role of victims or cooperators of men´s sins, as we could see in the previous penitentials. Nevertheless, this manual shows us for the first time in history the women capable to commit a sin, so capable to act independently and take all the responsibility of their sins. The sins of women described in this penitential are of the same nature as we found in the book of penance of Finnian of Clonard in the 6th century. Now, in the penitential of Theodore, the sins are more specified and identified.

The majority of the described sins concern the 6th commandment12 [7, 91], but we can 11 “35. Si quis autem laicus ex malis actibus suis conversus

fuerit ad Dominum et omne(m) malum egerit, id est fornicando et sanguinem effundendo, tribus annis peniteat…; 36. Si quis laicus macu 12 “12. Si mulier cum muliere fornicaverit III annos peniteat.

13. Si sola cum se ipsa coitum habet sic peniteat. 14. Una

find the sins of witchcraft and sorcery as well. We finally discover the typical women’s sins in the chapter 14 dedicated especially to the sins of married couples, committed in marriage: “De penitentia nubentium specialiter.” As usually, the women are represented as the victims of the men’s sin but there are the sufficient number of the sins committed by the women themselves.

There is strong appeal for the women not to behave immorally, do not trespass the God’s commandments mainly in question of the fornication and adultery. The special place in this book of penance is reserved for the women’s sin concerning the use of magical acts and the effort to convoke the love of men via magical beverages and different matters added to the beverages or foods.

In contrast with the penitential of Finnian, the Theodore’s manual specifies all kind of this magical matters. So, we find in this book of penance, the adding of the male semen to the food offered to the men: “15. Woman who has adulterous intercourse may make satisfaction for three years as the fornicator.

The same for the woman who adds the semen of her husband into his meal to gain more love from his side.”13 [7, 100-101]. The drinking of the blood was used by women in order to restore the health: “16. The wife who tastes the blood of her husband to heal him may poenitentia est viduae et puellae; maiorem meruit quae virum habet si fornicaverit. 15. Qui semen in os miserit VII annos peniteat. Hoc pessimum malum. Alias ob eo aliter iudicatum est ut ambo usque in finem vitae paeniteant vel XV annos vel ut superius VII. 16. Si cum matre quis fornicaverit, XV annos peniteat et nunquam mutat nisi dominicis diebus. Et hoc tam profanum incestum ab eo similiter alio modo dicitur, ut cum peregrination perenni VII annos peniteat. 17. Qui cum sorore fornicaverit XV annos peniteat eo modo, quo superius de matre dicitur. Sed et istud alias in canone XII annos confirmavit, unde non absurd XV anni ad matrem transeunt, qui scribitur… 20.

Si mater cum filio suo parvulo fornicationem imitator III annos abstineat se a carne et diem unum ieiunet in ebdomada usque ad vesperum.”

13 “15. Mulier quae se more fornicationis adulterio coniunxerit, III annos peniteat sicut fornicator, sic et illa quae seme viri sui in cibo miscens ut inde plus amoris accipiat peniteat.”

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make satisfaction for forty days.”14 [7, 100].

This book of penance contains the description of the unnatural and prohibited sexual intercourses of the spouses as well, see paragraphs 19-23, but we will not specify them in this paper. The interesting fact in these cases is, that the greater responsibility is attributed to the men. The women are, for the first time, responsible as the accomplices because they gave the permission to their husband to use their bodies in illicit way.

The trespassing against the 5th commandment merits our attention as well. While men commit the murders under the anger, vengeance, jealousy or even drunkenness or other passions [7, 92-93], the women are guilty for the death of born or unborn child [7, 101]. In the case of abortion, the degree of woman’s sin depends on the time that expired from the moment of conception. According the ideas of that period, the degree of the guilt was lower if woman underwent an abortion in 40 days from the conception. See: “24. Women who do the abortion before the time when the foetus has the soul, may make satisfaction for one year, or three times forty days, or forty days according to their guilt. If they commit the abortion after that time, so fifty days after conception, they may make satisfaction as murderer, so fasting for three years on Wednesday and Friday and three times forty days… 27. Woman who conceived and killed her child in uterus before forty days from the time of conception may make satisfaction for one year. If she killed him after fifty days, she may make satisfaction as a murderer.”15 [7,

101-102].

In the case of murder of the born child the accent is placed on the circumstances of the murder in question. If a woman kills his own baby, she can obtain the reconciliation only after the 15 years of perpetual penitence.

This repentance is reduced in half in the case of very poor woman, and it is reduced on three years of penance in the case of an accident or neglect from the part of both parents. The murder of the child before the baptism is taken for the great culpability: “25.

If mother murders her child, if she commits a murder, she may make satisfaction for fifteen years and she can never change it, only on Sunday. 26. The very poor woman, if she murders her child, she may make satisfaction for seven years, in canon is said that she may make satisfaction for ten years as murderer.

29. If it happens by negligence of the parents, the woman may make satisfaction for one year and if dies the child being three years old without baptism, both, the man and woman may make satisfaction for three years. 30.

Who kills his child without baptism may make satisfaction for ten years, as it is written in canon, but for seven years as it is decided by council.”16 [7, 101-102].

The final paragraphs of the Theodore’s penitential are dedicated to the sins of idolatry, from which are guilty the men and the women as well. The women’s sins in this area concern some medical practices.

We can mention the praxis of the fever reduction that held in the bedding of the ill daughter on the top of the roof or into the furnace [7, 102].17 We can find here also the

14 “16. Uxor quae sanguinem viri sui pro remedio gustaverit

16 “25. Mater si occiderit filium suum si homicidum facit XV

XL dies plus minusve ieiunet.”

15 “24. Mulieres quae abortivum faciunt antequam animam habeat I annum vel III quadragesimas vel XL diebus iuxta qualitatem culpae peniteat, et post id est post XL dies accepti seminis ut homicidae peniteant id est III annos in IIII et VI feria et in tribus quadragesimis. Hoc secundum canones decennium iudicatur… 27. Mulier quae concepit et occidit infantem suum in utero ante 40 dies I annum peniteat. Si vero post XL dies ut homicida peniteat.”

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annos peniteat et numquam mutat nisi in die dominico. 26.

Mulier paupercula si occidit filium suum VII annos peniteat in canone dicitur si homicida sit X annos peniteat. 29. Si negligentia sit parentum I annum peniteat et si moritur infans trium annorum sine babtismo III annos peniteat pater et mater.

Hoc quodam tempore quo contigit ad eum delatum sic iudicavit.

30. Qui necat filium suum sine babtismo in canone X sed per consilium VII annos peniteat.”

17 “2. Mulier si qua ponit filiam suam supra tectum vel in

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practicing of some magical acts or reciting of the magic charms: “4. If a woman makes the recitals or diabolic divinations, she may make satisfaction for one year, or for three times forty days, or forty days according to her guilt. The canon says about it: Who observes the divinations or interprets the dreams as the pagans are used to do or who invites into his house these men and asks them to do some of these divinations, he may be suspended from the clergy. If he is laic, he may make satisfaction for five years.”18 [7, 102].

The most interesting and the most important for our study is the penitential written by Burchard of Worms. This manual of penance consists from two books entitled Corrector and Medicus issued in 11th century. Burchard of Worms in his penitential tried to repair the body of man and to bring the medicament to his soul [7, 143].19 In comparison to the previous penitential, the Burchard’s Decretum is unique with his precision to a very detailed appellation of the various kinds of sins. The exceptional trace of this penitential is the chapter dedicated only to the women’s sins.

Their nature reflects, indeed, the faith and customs of that time. We can find there the character, weaknesses and the nature of women in the social atmosphere.

The enumeration of the women’s sin Burchard started with the words: “Although these questions are common fornacem pro sanitate febris VII annos peniteat.”

18 “4. Si mulier incantations vel divinationes diabolicas fecerit I annum vel III quadragesimas vel XL iuxta qualitatem culpae peniteat. De hoc in canone dicitur: qui auguria auspiciae sive somnia vel divinationes quaslibet secundum mores gentilium observant aut in domos suas huiusmodi homines introducunt in exquaerendis aliquam artem maleficiorum penitents isti si de clero sunt abiciantur. Si vero saeculares quinquennio peniteant.”

19 “Liber hic Corrector vocatur et Medicus, quia corrections plene continent, et docet unumquemque sacerdotem, etiam simplicem, quomodo unicuique succurrere valeat, ordinate vel sine ordine, pauperi, diviti, puero, iuveni, seni, decrepito, sano, infirmo, in omni aetate et in utroque sexu.”

for men and women, these interrogations concern especially women.”20 [7, 169]. All the mentioned sins committed by women confirm their prevalence. Burchard asked: “Have you done what some women use to do…”21 [7, 169].

The very first sin of women according the teaching of Burchard of Worms is idolatry and faith in the pagans practice. That is why he asks: “Have you done what some women use to do at any time in a year; have you prepared the table at your home and have you put on the table the meal and beverage with three knives in case that arrive those three sisters called by antique predecessors and silliness the Parcas, so that they could refresh themselves. Have you taken from the divine piety the power and your name and have you given it to the devil since you believe that they, called sisters by you, can help you now or in the future?”22 [7, 169].

On the second place Burchard of Worms confronts us with the women’s sins of sexual nature. George Duby confirms that the lust and desire were the women’s sins par excellence [9, 17]. The sinful act is underlined by the fact, that the women practice the lust in their chambers, closed from the sight and control of men. So, that is why the women are interrogated if they did not commit the prohibited union with some artificial tools, or sexual intercourse with the other women, cattle or even the worst, the simulation of sexual act with their baby boys [7, 169-170]. These terrible 20 “Quamvis hae praedictae interrogations feminis et viris

sint communes, tamen hae sequentes specialiter ad feminas pertinent.”

21 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent…”

22 “Fecisti ut quadam mulieres in quibusdam temporibus anni facere solent: ut in domo tua mensam preaparares, et tuos cibos, et potum cum tribus cultellis supra mensam poneres, ut si venissent, tres illae sorores, quas antiqua posteritas et antiqua stultitia parcas nominavit, ibi reficerentur, et tulisti divinae pietati potestatem suam, et nomen suum, et diabolo tradidisti, ita, dico, ut crederes illas quas tu dicis esse sorores, tibi posse, aut hic aut in future prodesse?”

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sins are supplemented by the enumeration of the sins concerning the killing the unborn child using the different kind of aids and method, by which women can prevent the conception or kill the conceived foetus, the prove of their sin: “Have you done what some women use to do, when they fornicated and wanted to kill the foetus, with help of their worships and herbs try to abort it in uterus, or they kill the foetus or abort it, or they use some contraceptive manner, if they never have conceived?”23 [7, 170-171].

In the amount of the evil and even demonic acts of women we can find the preparation of the various beverages to obtain the power on another person. Very often the women prepare the beverage of love but we can see the cases when women offer to the men something to weaken, emasculate them or to bring them the illness. The use of the ingredients for this goal is very rich. The women serve them the male semen, the menstrual blood, various kinds of herbs, stones or even honey or wheat24 [7, 171]. Women are familiar not only with these magic ingredients. They know very well the magical way of its preparation, too25 [7, 172-173], and to do it they use their 23 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent, quae dum fornicantur et partus suos necare volunt, agunt ut utero conceptus excutiant suis maleficiis et suis herbis, ita ut aut conceptum interficiant aut excutiant, vel si nondum conceperunt, faciunt ut non concipiant?”

24 “Gustasti de semine viri tui, ut propter tua diabolica facta plus in amorem tuum exardesceret?... Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent? Tollunt piscem vivum, et mittunt eum in puerperium suum, et tam diu eum ibi tenet, donec mortuus fuerit, et, decocto pisce vel assato, maritis suis ad comedendum tradunt, ideo faciunt hoc, ut plus in amorem earum exardescant?”

25 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent? Prosternunt se in faciem, et discoopertis natibus, iubent ut supra nudas nates conficiatur panis, et eo decoct tradunt maritis suis ad comedendum. Hoc ideo faciunt, ut plus exardescant in amorem illarum?... Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent?

Tollunt menstruum suum sanguinem, et immiscent cibo vel potui, et dant viris sius ad manducandum, vel ad bibendum, ut plus diligantur ab eis?... Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent? Tollunt testam homiis, et igni comburunt, et cinerem

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bodies in illicit way [10, 348]. The women are also interrogated if they do not consume the blood of the animal possibly as the part of pagan ritual or demonic immolation: “Have you eaten or drunk the blood of some animal?”26 [7, 173]. The women are suspected as capable of preparing the beverages that can provoke the death: “Have you prepared some deadly beverage and kill somebody with it?”27 [7, 171].

In the Burchard’s penitential we find allusions about the God’s judgement designated for the women. The confidence of men toward this kind of judgement cannot be very strong in that time, because Burchard believed that the women are capable of obfuscating the verdict using the different tools28 [7, 171].

The greatest women’s sins concerning the witchcraft, as wrote Burchard of Worms, are these, which are committed by invocation of demons. Even these magical practices are oriented to the gain of fortune or some good or advantages29 [7, 171-172].

Burchard believed that the women could be the true disciples of demons. [11, 76-77].

According to him, the women could be used by devil, as they could be used by men. That is why he also interrogated the women if they believe to be able to spell and to course the others [7, 172]. The huge trespass against the God’s commandment is also to dant viris sius ad bibendum pro sanitate?”

26 “Comedisti vel bibisti alicuius animalis sanguinem?”

27 “Confecisti aliquam mortiferam potionem, et cum ea aliquem occidisti?”

28 “Bibisti chrisma ad subvertendum Dei iudicium, vel aliquid in herbis vel in verbis, vel in lingo, vel in lapide, aut in aliqua stulta fide, vel ipsa fecisti, vel aliis consiliata es, aut in ore tuo tenuisti, aut in vestimentis tuis insutum, vel circa te ligatum habuisti, vel qualicunque ingenis faceres, ut crederes divinum iudicium subvertere posse?”

29 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent et firmiter credunt, ita dico, ut si vicinus eius lacte vel apibus abundaret, omnem abundantiam lactis et mellis quam suus vicinus ante se habere visus est ad se et ad sua Animalia, vel ad quos voluerint a diabolo adiutae, suis fascinationibus et incantationibus se posse convertere credant?”

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course somebody with a help of something that was stolen or taken from him, as we can read: “Have you done what some women use to do full of diabolic teaching? They observe the traces and footprints of Christians, take the dust from their traces, observe it and from it they could fetch the health or take the life.”30 [7, 173].

The other very remarkable sin attributed to the women is the activity that we know, using the modern esoteric terminology, as astral traveling. Is the phenomena, issued from German paganism [12, 53], of abandoning the proper physical body and the relocation of the spiritual body to the other place, where it can harm someone else or damage something31 [7, 172]. In addition, these evil women believed that they could: “kill the men by consuming them from the inside.” [13,19].

The women sins relied to the domain of bearing the children, same as all superstitions belonging to this exclusively women domain are very interesting, too. Burchard mentioned the curious superstition how to calm the crying baby: “Have you done what some women use to do? I say that those, who have the crying child, dig a pit and push him through this pit, so that the crying child stops

to cry.”32 [7, 173]. We can find in this manual for confessors the fear of women, that the stillborn children can rise from the graves and harm the other people or cattle if their hearts are not transfixed by the wooden sticks33 [7, 173-174].

The filthy women and the mistresses have, according Burchard of Worm, the power to harm the men due to the perverted love and jealousy. This passion is the reason why they can cause even the impotence on the side of their beloved men to prevent their sexual intercourse with their wife34 [7, 175].

As we can see, the women were very thoroughly interrogated if they did not commit any sin in their competences and social roles that were attributed to them [14, 32]. And so we become the witnesses of the women’s sins that women committed with their bodies in desire of illicit delights. The women committed the sins by their bodies.

They are able also to obtain the control over the men with use of some magical practices.

In addition, they trespass their authority upon their children, born or unborn.

Georges Duby claims that the women were considered as the carrier of death.

According to him, in Middle-Ages there was conviction that the women are responsible

30 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent, diabolicis

32 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres facere solent? Illas dico

adimpletae disciplinis? Quae observant vestigia et indagines Christianorum, et tollunt de eorum vestigio cespitem, et illum observant, et inde spirant sanitatem aut vitam eorum auferre?”

31 “Credidisti quod multae mulieres retro Satanam conversae credunt et affirmant verum esse, ut credas inquietae noctis silentio cum te collocaveris in lecto tuo, et marito tuo in sinu tuo iacente, ted um corporea sis ianuis clausis exire posse, et terrarium spacia cum aliis simili errore deceptis pertransire valere, et homines baptizatos, et Christi sanguine redemptos, sine armis visibilibus et interficere, et decoctis carnibus eorum vos comedere, et in loco cordis eorum stramen aut lignum, aut aliquod huiusmodi ponere, et commestis, iterum vivos facere, et inducias vivendi dare?... Credidisti quod quaedam mulieres credere solent, ut tu cum aliis diabolic membris item in quietate noctis silentio clausis ianuis in aerem usque ad nubes subleveris, et ibi cum aliis pugnes, et ut vulneres alias et tu vulnera ab eis accipias?”

quae habent vagientes infants, effodiunt terram, et ex parte pertusant eam, et per illud foramen pertrahunt infantem, et sic dicunt vagientis infantis cessare vagitum.”

33 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres instinctu diabolic facere solent? Cum aliquis infans sine baptismo mortuss fuerit, tollunt cadaver parvuli, et ponunt in aliquot secreto loco, et palo corpusculum eius transfigunt, dicentes, si sic non fecissent, infantulus surgeret, et multos laedere posset?... Fecisti quod quaedam facere solent diabolic audacia repletae? Cum aliqua femina parere debet, et non potest, dum parere non potest, in ipso dolore si morte obierit, in ipso sepulcro matrem cum infant palo in terram transfigunt.”

34 “Fecisti quod quaedam mulieres adulterae facere solent?

Cum primum intellexerint quod amatores earum legitimas uxores voluerint accipere, tunc quadam arte malefica libidinem virorum extinguunt, ut legitimis prodesse non possint, neque cum eis coire.”

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for the death of unborn foetus, death of the stillborn, and they were suspicious in the case of the death of their husbands [9, 27].

The books of penance were in reality oriented exclusively for men, for the women were reserved very specific sins, that we presented in this study. Analysing them, we can pronounce that the women invoke a fear in men [15, 42].

V. The view of the women´s sin in the

contemporaneous Church

We have seen, that the medieval Church had very specific view towards women due to the social status of the women and to the scientific knowledge influenced mainly by medicine and Aristotelian biological conception of women adopted by Thomas Aquinas [16, 557-616]. That is why we were interested, how the Catholic Church examines the women today. Currently, since the 1960s grace to the process of radicalization of feminism the situation dramatically changed. Now the society focuses on the equality of two sexes observing the essence of being female.

The woman stops to be seen as a poor being, determined by her biological sex and particularly her reproductive functions.

Or, by the role which society has imposed on her. The women stop to be humiliated and seen through their bodies [17]. Finally, women stop to be taken for an object in the hand of powerful men. The women in 20th century gained their liberty.

The Church is influenced by the social development and scientific progress and reflects the gained knowledge in its teaching.

In the contemporaneous society we observe the complete absence of specifically women´s sins. The Catholic Church today does not do the difference between the sins of men and women and speaks about nature of sin only generally in the meaning of the human trespass against God´s will

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and order. In addition, the Catholic Church does not dispone the official penitential to examine the sinful activity of men or women.

Reading the official documents of the Catholic Church we have to testify that the Church in the most important documents after the Second Vatican Council does not make the difference in sexes and speaks about laics, spouses, young or adults. If now Church speaks about women, it highlights their dignity. So, we can absolutely tell, that the women today are not seen as the carrier of death, or as the sinful creature seducing the men, or as the witch communicating with devil that men should fear of. On the contrary, the Church gives to the women all their dignity, as expressed pope Paul VI on the closing ceremony of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council: “And now it is to you that we address ourselves, women of all states—girls, wives, mothers and widows, to you also, consecrated virgins and women living alone – you constitute half of the immense human family. As you know, the Church is proud to have glorified and liberated woman, and in the course of the centuries, in diversity of characters, to have brought into relief her basic equality with man. But the hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of woman is being achieved in its fullness, the hour in which woman acquires in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at this moment when the human race is undergoing so deep a transformation, women impregnated with the spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid mankind in not falling.

You women have always had as your lot the protection of the home, the love of beginnings and an understanding of cradles. You are present in the mystery of a life beginning. You offer consolation in the departure of death.

Our technology runs the risk of becoming inhuman. Reconcile men with life and above all, we beseech you, watch carefully over the future of our race. Hold back the hand of man who, in a moment of folly, might attempt

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to destroy human civilization…. Society is appealing to you on all sides. … Especially you, consecrated virgins, in a world where egoism and the search for pleasure would become law, be the guardians of purity, unselfishness and piety. … Lastly, women in trial, who stand upright at the foot the cross like Mary, you who so often in history have given to men the strength to battle unto the very end and to give witness to the point of martyrdom, aid them now still once more to retain courage in their great undertakings, while at the same time maintaining patience and an esteem for humble beginnings.

Women, you do know how to make truth sweet, tender and accessible; make it your task to bring the spirit of this council into institutions, schools, homes and daily life. Women of the entire universe, whether Christian or non-believing, you to whom life is entrusted at this grave moment in history, it is for you to save the peace of the world.”

[18].

Conclusion The study of the presented texts reflects the anxiety of men towards women.

They are taken as dangerous directly in their proper nature. That is why the most important text in the Middle-Ages, the famous Decretum of Burchard of Worms suspects the women as creatures capable of harming the men and of leading them to the spiritual and physical death. As we could see the nature of women’s sins consists in reality, that women, in certain area of social life, have power upon the men themselves and they are also able of acting as men do. The contemporaneous view of women is diametrically different. Adopting the reasonable conclusions and results of the feminism of 20th century, the society claims the importance of women and expresses the dignity of women and their equality with men.

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[3] De Palma, Luigi Michele. 2017. “Accoglienza dei peccatori e riconciliazione dei penitenti nella Chiesa antica.” Apollinaris 90: 153-172.

[4] De Palma, Luigi Michele. “Penitenza e perdono nella Chiesa antica e medievale.

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[9] Duby, Georges. Women on the Twelfth Century: Eve and the Church. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988.

[10] Tyszka, Przemyslaw. 2014. “Human Body and Corporeality in Provision of Penitentials (6th - 11th Century).” Quaestiones Medii Aevi Novae 19: 343-366.

[11] Conti, Fabrizio. 2011. “Preachers and Confessors against “Superstitions”.

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[12] Cardini, Franco. Magia, stregoneria, [1]

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superstizioni nell’Occidente medievale.

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[14] Vetere, Benedetto, and Renzi, Paolo (eds.).

Profili di donne: Mito, Immagine, Realta fra medioevo et eta contemporanea. Lecce, Congedo editore, 1986.

[15] Duby, Georges. I peccati delle donne nel Medioevo. Roma-Bari, Editori Laterza, 1999.

[16] Johnston, Eric Michael. 2013. “The Biology of Woman in Thomas Aquinas.” The Tomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review 77 (4): 577616.

[17] Fiamc. “Cardinal Eijk, Willem Jacobus. The gender theory, looked at from the perspective of Christian anthropology, creation theology and human ecology.” Accessed October 8, 2020, https://www.fiamc.org/bioethics/ the-gender-theory-looked-at-from-theperspective-of-christian-anthropologycreation-theology-and-human-ecology/ [18] Vatican. “Pope Paul VI. Closing of the second vatican ecumenical council address of pope paul VI to women.” Accessed October 8, 2020, http://www.vatican.va/content/paulvi/ en/speeches/1965/documents/hf_p-vi_ spe_19651208_epilogo-concilio-donne.html

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This paper was presented at

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Resistance and Assimilation in the Irish-American Melting Pot (Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn) Assoc. Prof. Nicoleta Stanca, Ph.D. ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanța, Faculty of Letters ROMANIA

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ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 28 August 2020 Received in revised form 15 September Accepted 1 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.2

This article makes use of the metaphor of the melting pot in order to explain the manner in which patterns of Irish and American identity are illustrated in the popular novel Brooklyn (2009) by Colm Tóibín.

Keywords: melting pot; Irish-American; migration; Colm Tóibín;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Nicoleta Stanca. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Stanca, Nicoleta. ”Resistance and Assimilation in the Irish-American Melting Pot. (Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn).”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 37-43. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.2

I. INTRODUCTION

The melting pot has been used to describe a homogeneous culture made up of heterogeneous elements, namely this being the very pattern that described the cultural integration of immigrants in the US across the centuries.

This utopian vision of America as “a city upon a hill” melting all these diverse waves

of ethnicities and races was coined in a phrase for the first time in 1908 from a play

by Israel Zangwill called The Melting Pot [1].

Early references in literature to the concept of immigrants melting into the culture of the receiving country are to be found in: J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer (1782), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1912), a magazine in 1876 [2], the historian Frederick Jackson Turner,

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The Significance of the Frontier in American History, Henry James, The American Scene (1905) [3].

Later, adepts of multiculturalism in the US rejected the term “melting pot,” claiming that it implies a policy of assimilation of the migrant cultures into the new one, effacing the former. Instead, they suggested other terms to describe the reality of America, such as: “a mosaic,” “a salad bowl,” “a kaleidoscope” or a “patchwork quilt” [4].

In spite of criticism, the term melting pot is still in use in the US and worldwide to refer to patterns of assimilation and integration in the political, economic, and cultural domains [5].

II. Views on exile in Irish culture and

literature

Since the novel to be discussed in the article, Brooklyn (2009), focuses on the experience of a young female protagonist who leaves Ireland for America in 1950, as a story of departure and disruption, it is necessary to look at the perceptions of Irish exile in the context and on a larger scale.

According to George O’Brien, whether at home or abroad, characters in contemporary Irish novels seem characterized by a sense of solitude, which is the result of their liberation, but which also requires “the sanction and tolerance of somebody else’s similar experience, wishes for partnership, community, some restructured sense of trust, mutuality, neighbourliness.”

[6] The observation is valid for Eilis Lacey, the protagonist of Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn (2009), a young Irish woman who is against her wish sent to America and feels lonely among the members of the Irish community and also strangely awkward once back home and finds a response to her need for affection in the relationship with an Italian

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young man, also from a migrant family.

Exile creates a sense of possibility and openness about leaving Ireland, embraced

by Irish young females throughout the decades of the 20th century. Irish exilic writing can be read as a type of representation of those who felt excluded from the nationalist state, de Valera’s ultranationalist and conservative state [7]. Thus, young women fell into this category and their leaving could be associated with a struggle against their powerlessness and an escape from patriarchal structures.

Interestingly, Brooklyn explores both the 1950s context, when the story is set, but also the 2009 context of the novel’s publication in relation to Irish immigration and emigration. In the 1950s, the Irish were forced to leave home for material opportunities in the US, where the tendency was to keep them “safe” within the IrishAmerican community, yet, especially the young, like Tóibín’s protagonist, Eilis, longed to be assimilated within the American melting pot. There seemed to be a clash between an Irish melting pot, striving to encompass the Irish home and abroad, and the American melting pot, as we know it, allowing for a not always smooth integration of various migrants in New York in the 1950s, yet an appealing one, rich in opportunities.

In 2009, the context showed a similar duality: the Irish cultural heritage is confronted with a multiethnic population of emigrants to Ireland, which contemporary literature renders visible. President Mary Robinson stressed, in 2003, the importance of “accurate portrayal of the diversity in Ireland today” [8]: “a reciprocal acknowledgment of differences, of the other’s ‘otherness’ (Habermas), could become a feature of a (future) common identity” [9].

Theorizing further on exile in general, we become aware of possible dualities of its approaches: on the one hand, in the political

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and individual context associated with negativity and absence, on the other hand, from a postmodernist and psychoanalytical perspective, exile as an existential way, as transgressiveness, hybridity, subjectivity [10]. Edward Said, for instance, looked at exile as “a condition of loss,” “an unbearable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home” and “a crippling sorrow of estrangement,” but later, he added the “plurality of vision” offered by exile [11]. This is what Eilis Lacey experiences in New York, once displaced from hometown, mother, and sister, but after meeting Tony, her Italian boyfriend, the healing of homesickness starts mending slowly but steadily.

According to Miller, the social construct of exile, with Irish cultural and political roots, is reconstructed as part of Irish identity among Irish-Americans when Ireland was modernizing and becoming a nation-state [12]. Jim McLaughlin connects exile to postcolonial theory: “a continuation of trends dating from at least the 18th century when Ireland was integrated into an evolving world capitalist order under the hegemony of Great Britain” [13] in the political context of post-Famine Ireland, excluding all those who were not part of de Valera’s nationalist projects, namely: Anglo-Irish, labourers, traveling poor and women.

In more recent criticism on Irish exilic writing, Gerry Smyth, in The Novel and the Nation, discusses an exilic tradition in the Irish novel revisited in contemporary fiction as “an interior process of alienation from the narrow definitions of homeland which characterize post-revolutionary Irishness” [14]. Eventually, in a globalized world context, which is the background looming in recent fiction, even if set in the 1950s, like in Brooklyn, Fintan O’Toole speaks of the same long tradition of Irish emigration which

allowed a sense of identity and difference as well: “[Ireland] has buried memories, forgotten histories, that offer it some useful precedents for engaging with, rather than being swamped by, the new realities. By remembering and re-imagining them, it can, perhaps, learn how to surf the global waves without drowning in a flood tide of blindness and amnesia.” [15] Even if the result of colonialism induced economic dependency, Irish migration can be regarded as a resource for a re-defined Irishness characterized by tolerance and pluralism.

III. The case study of Eilis Lacey in Colm

Tóibín’s Brooklyn (2009)

Tóibín’s story is set in 1950 Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, where Eilis Lacey lives with her mother and sister, Rose, at a time when emigration was common among young women in Ireland because of unemployment and low marriage rates: “as soon as young Irish women realised that there was ‘no husband and no job at home,’ they departed in great numbers” [16]. Women’s migration contradicted the desires of the newly independent Irish state which wanted to keep them in the family, in the community, to protect them from “moral, national and social perils” [17]. Yet, daughters left to send remittances back home, to support families, to look for marriage prospects, to escape stifling moral norms.

Eilis has a part-time job as a shopassistant, working for Miss Kelly, who has a servant taken from the convent and whom she treats harshly. Eilis shares her own humiliation in Miss Kelly’s shop. Thus, her sister arranges with Father Flood, an Irish priest on holiday from New York for her sister’s departure. When the priest visits the family, Eilis, who has not been consulted about it, discovers with surprise, the

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migration plan and she is unable to voice her disapproval seeing her mother’s consent.

“Eilis felt like a child when the doctor would come to the house, her mother with cowed respect. It was Rose’s silence that was new to her [...] In the silence that had lingered, she realized, it had somehow been tacitly arranged that Eilis would go to America. Father Flood, she believed, had been invited to the house because Rose knew she could arrange it.” [18] The three women are silent about the leaving and Eilis sees it as forced displacement and not an act of freedom with an opening for new opportunities.

In New York, Eilis is first plunged into the diasporic community, which is an extension of the Irish neighbourhood back home.

“Family, church and ethnic organizations dominated community life among the Irish ... the parish to which one belonged typically defined social and neighbourhood boundaries.” [19] Eilis is supervised by Father Flood, who pays for her journey, finds her a job as a shop-assistant, enrolls her in accountancy classes at Brooklyn College, and in general, is extremely influential. Eilis lives in a boarding-house run by an Irish woman, Mrs. Kehoe, who claims to be a guardian of “Irish manners” for Eilis and the other Irish girls sharing accommodation. Yet, she feels lonely.

“She was nobody here. It was not just that she had no friends and family; it was rather that she was a ghost in this room, in the streets on the way to work, on the shop floor. Nothing meant anything.” [20] Together with her boarding mates, Eilis attends Irish dances supervised by the priest but she keeps it a secret when she starts dating Tony, an Italian boy, whom she introduces eventually to Mrs. Kehoe as Irish.

The city of New York seems to suggest a sense of freedom, compared to Enniscorthy

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back home, through the ethnic mixture, the commercial sense and its continuous flux: “’Brooklyn changes everyday,’ Miss Bartocci said as Father Flood nodded. ‘New people arrive and they could be Jewish or Irish or Polish or even coloured. Our old customers are moving out to Long Island and we can’t follow them, so we need new customers every week. We treat everyone the same. We welcome every single person who comes into this store. They all have money to spend. We keep our prices low and our manners high. If people like it here, they’ll come back. You treat the customer like a friend.’” [21] After, Rose’s death, Eilis feels the family pressure again when her mother, her brothers and Mrs. Kehoe, all suggest she goes back home to take care of her aging mother. The protagonist is caught in this dilemma: her plans in Brooklyn and her relationship with Tony and her duty to her mother back in Enniscorthy. So, she keeps silent about her desire, marries Tony secretly, and goes back home for a while, there not being asked by her mother about her life in America.

During her stay at Enniscorthy, Eilis also falls into a relationship with Jim Farrell, considered an appropriate suitor, her mother hoping that this marriage would keep her daughter in Ireland. Though the divorce from Tony was inconceivable, Eilis is still undecided about what to do until Miss Kelly, her former employer, tells her she knows about her commitment in America. It turned out that Miss Kelly was Mrs. Kehoe’s cousin, so Brooklyn is only an extension of Enniscorthy: “the transnational linkages between Ireland in Enniscorthy and Ireland in Brooklyn turn into ties that bind and perhaps strangle” [22]. This is the Irish-American melting pot, connecting across the Atlantic the two Irelands and keeping Irish-Americans away from melting in the American pot with other migrants of

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different ethnicities and races.

The heroine confesses the marriage to her mother, as much as the news comes as a shock, and she goes back to New York, for fear of disclosure and scandal and also out of family duty (towards her new family with Tony). Even if it is true her self is shaped by silence and self-restraint and moral duty, Eilis may have gained instead a sense of liberation through her second migration. “’She has gone back to Brooklyn,’ her mother would say. And, as the train rolled past Macmine Bridge on its way towards Wexford, Eilis imagined the years ahead, when these words would come to mean less and less to the man who heard them and would come to mean more and more to herself. She almost smiled at the thought of it, then closed her eyes and tried to imagine nothing more.” [23] Interestingly, Romero [24] links the publication of Tóibín’s novel to the Irish realities in terms of migration at the time, during the 2000s. Tóibín began to write the book in 2006 as a response to the 2004 Irish Citizenship Referendum, which removed the automatic citizenship to children born to immigrant parents.

“Some of the impulses for [Brooklyn] is entirely political. There were times ... where I felt alone in my views on emigration.” “If you are born here [in Ireland] then where else could you be from other than the place where you were born? Blood, maturity, paternity – those issues are very abstract compared to ‘I was born here ... that’s what I know!’” [25] According to the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act (2004), children born of foreign national parents on the island of Ireland on or after 1st January 2005 are not automatically entitled to Irish citizenship and her parents must prove a genuine link to Ireland [26].

Therefore, against the background of

narrow definitions of Irishness, Tóibín was inspired to write this novel illustrating a situation in 1950s Ireland and Irish-America in which Irish(-American) identity features needed reconsidering from a broader perspective.

Conclusion: from the Irish-American melting pot to the American one The US, as we have already mentioned in the introduction to this article is often referred to as the “Great Melting Pot,” blending numerous cultures, languages, religions of immigrants groups to form a single identity as one nation. Yet, critics considered that the term does not capture properly the way in which each ethnic/ racial/ cultural group joins the US culture and transforms it. Thus, an issue of EJournal USA has been dedicated to the revision of the concept: Becoming American: Beyond the Melting Pot. “Indeed, many American immigrant communities worked, lived and married exclusively among their fellow immigrants for decades. Most enclaves have eventually faded as distinguishable ethnic neighbourhoods only through changes in the economy, increased usage of the English language and a growing number of marriage outside the ethnic enclave.” [27] Read using the image of the melting pot, this is the process that the novel may illustrate. According to Sylvie Mikowski, the novel advocates “hybridity, the croming of the colour-line, the blending of racial, religious and ethnic identities” [28]. The encounter of the young female protagonist with characters from other parts of the world triggers a clash of ethnic backgrounds and eventually, for most of the immigrants an assimilation into a multi-ethnic society, the American melting pot, through marriage and child-bearing is what eventually occurs.

“She wished she could tell the difference

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between Jews and Italians. Some of the Jews wore skullcaps and many more of them appeared to wear glasses than did the Italians. But most of the students were darkskinned with brown eyes and most were diligent and serious-looking young men.

There were very few women in her class and no one Irish at all, no one even English.” [29] Through her secret at first relationship with the Italian Tony, Eilis discovers differences between the physical traits of the Irish and Italians. When sharing an Italian dinner, in Tony’s house, with his family, she notices the differences in the taste of the Italian food. In the end, in the dilemma between Tony and her mother, Brooklyn and Enniscorthy, she chooses the former, perhaps unconsciously still out of family duty towards her new husband.

The mother-sister-priest triad plan to send Eilis to New York was somehow unconsciously the Irish state’s plan for its citizens in the newly independent country – use emigration to relieve the economic and social tension but keep the Irish identity as fixed as ever wherever the people might have gone.

Brooklyn is a narrative of exile and confrontation with the other in the context when the novel was written and published and Ireland has been transforming from a rather homogeneous society into a globalized, multi-ethnic one [30], an Irish melting pot, in the American sense, but at home in Ireland.

“One of the most palpable trends in Irish culture of the Celtic Tiger is the juxtaposition, literal or implied, of narratives of Irish emigration to the United States with those of immigration to Ireland” [31].

This is what gives the complexity of the novel and lends it to interpretation using the lens of the melting pot metaphor.

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References [1] Gary Gerstle, American Crucible; Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century (Princeton University Press, 2001), 51. Also see, C. Hirschman, “America’s Melting Pot Policy Reconsidered,” Annual Review of Sociology 9 (1983): 397.

[2] Titus Munson Coan, “A New Country,” The Galaxy volume 0019, issue 4 (April 1875): 463.

[3] Henry James, The American Scene (Bloomington: Indiana University Press), 116.

[4] H. Lawrence Fuchs, The American Kaleidoscope: Race, Ethnicity and the Civic Culture (Wesleyan University Press, 1990), 276. Also see, Tamar Jacoby, Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means to be American. (Basic Books, 2004).

[5] R. W. Caves, Encyclopaedia of the City (Routledge, 2004), 457.

[6] George O’Brien, The Irish Novel 1960-2010 (Cork University Press, 2012), xxi.

[7] S. J. Connoly, Oxford Companion to Irish History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 607-608. The entry referring to Eamon de Valera (1882-1975) mentions the biographical landmarks of the important postindependence Irish leader and the fact that he served two terms as president at the time 1959-1973.

[8] Angela Vaupel, “Exile, Migration and ‘the Other’ in Contemporary Writing”. 161-172.

Werner Huber, Sandra Mayer, Julia Novak, (eds.). Ireland in/ and Europe: Cross-Currents and Exchanges. Vol. 4. (Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2012):165.

[9] Ibid. 169.

[10] Michael Böss, Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Britta Olinder, Re-Mapping Exile: Realities and Metaphors in Irish Literature and History (Aarhus University Press, 2006).

[11] Ibid. 15.

[12] Kerby Miller, Emigrants and Exile: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America (Oxford University Press, 1985).

[13] M. Böss, op. cit., 28.

[14] Ibid. 34.

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[15] Ibid. 39.

[16] Geraldine Meaney qtd. in Romero, Carregal José, “The Irish Female Migrant, Silence and Family Duty in Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn,” Études irlandaises 42-3 (2018): 129-141.

[17] Fintan O’Toole in Romero, op. cit., 129-141.

[18] Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn (London: Penguin, 2010), 23.

[19] Dowling Linda Almeida, in Romero, op. cit., 129-141.

[20] Tóibín, op.cit., 67.

[21] Tóibín, op.cit., 59.

[22] Eve Walsh Stoddard in Romero, op. cit., 129141.

[23] Tóibín, op.cit., 252.

[24] Romero, op. cit., 129-141.

[25] Tóibín in Romero, op. cit., 129-141.

[26] www.citizeninformation.ie.

[27] “Becoming American: Beyond the Melting Pot.” EJournal USA. Vol. 15, no. 9. U.S. Department of State. 1.

[28] Sylvie Mikowski, “Race and Ethnicity Across the Atlantic: Revisiting the Discourse of Nation-Building in Colum McCann’s Transatlantic, Sebastian Barry’s On Canaan’s Side and Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn.” 233-244.

Hedwig Schwall, ed. Irish Studies in Europe, vol. 8. Boundaries, Passages, Transitions.

Essays in Irish Literature, Culture and Politics in Honour of Werner Huber, (Wissenschftticher Verlag Trier, 2018), 234.

[29] Tóibín, op.cit., 79.

[30] Ibid. 240.

[31] Moynihan qtd. in Mikowski, op. cit., 240.

Biography Nicoleta Stanca is Associate Professor at Ovidius University Constanta. She has published four book-length studies: Irish-Romanian Cultural Connections. Travellers, Writers and Ambassadors (2019), Mapping Ireland (Essays on Space and Place in Contemporary Irish Poetry) (2014), The Harp and the Pen (Tradition and Novelty in Modern Irish Writing) (2013), Duality of Vision in Seamus Heaney’s Writings (2009), articles in academic journals and book chapters on Irish-American identity, literary studies and popular culture. She has been a co-editor of conference volumes, the most recent being: Ideology, Identity and the US: Crossroads, Freeways, Collisions (2019). She is a member of ESSE and EAAS and an alumna of the Multinational Institute of American Studies, New York University (NYU).

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This paper was presented at

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

The reshaping of the world in the Romanian press between the two World Wars.

Sandu Tudor under the pressure of accelerated modernism Lecturer Carmen Ciornea, Phd “Ovidius” University of Constanţa The Faculty of Theology Constanța, România

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 10 October 2020 Received in revised form 20 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.3

The present study aims to reveal new aspects of the involvement of the journalist Sandu Tudor in the press campaign launched by Petru Comarnescu, the editor-in-chief of “The Literary Printing Press” magazine. The campaign was based on the thesis of the new spirituality put forward by Mircea Eliade in his articles entitled “Spiritual Itinerary” and on a survey initiated by Nae Ionescu in “Cuvântul” [“The Word”] newspaper; it was focused on the issue of changing the date of the celebration of Easter. On this occasion, Sandu Tudor wrote memorable lines that proved his position as a remarkable representative of the young generation, who claimed a new spirituality. The confrontation of ideas between the interwar elite and the Church hierarchy should not be perceived as hostile. In our opinion, the press campaign must be considered proof of the maturity of the elite. They strove hard to fulfill their mission to outline a pattern of Christian religious behavior in the general public and in the members of the clergy. The articles signed by Sandu Tudor on this issue focused on the need to revive the Tradition, the only appropriate way of preserving a nationʼs religious life intact. His theological criticism regarding any canonical deviations, expressed in a journalistic register, generally aimed at creating an authentic conviviality between laity and Church beyond the rigid and sterile traditionalism, a reshaping of the world under the sign of spirituality.

Keywords: Sandu Tudor; “Tiparnița literară” (The Literary Printing Press), ”Cuvântul” (The Word); interwar publication; discursive strategies; religious discourse; cultural models;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Carmen Ciornea. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Ciornea, Carmen. ”The reshaping of the world in the Romanian press between the two World Wars. Sandu Tudor under the pressure of accelerated modernism.” DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): pp. 44-53. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.3

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I. INTRODUCTION

The present study aims to highlight the persuasive strategies used by the journalist Sandu Tudor. His belonging to the generation of Orthodox supporters is proved by his involvement in two significant press debates on the ideological and cultural landscape of the Romanian press between the two world wars. Following Sandu Tudor in his path to becoming a journalist and subsequently in a short time the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Floarea de foc” [“The Burning Pyre”] and the newspaper “Credința” [“The Faith]”, can reveal new contexts, ideas and nuances, which have been neglected until now, related to the discursive strategies and cultural policies that the publicists of those times used.

The first World War caused a severe crisis of the European consciousness, easily identifiable at all cultural levels. The world, which had been well-organized to the point of monotony, made up of systematic and tenacious accumulation, with boundless progress as its founding myth, was shattered. These changes had a strong impact on Romania, which was fully connected to the rhythms of the time. The terrible sufferings of the Romanian people during that period were linguistically marked by the usage of “before” and “after” with reference to the war years, which led to the individualization of a generation differing from the previous one. In 1927, the young Mircea Eliade (he was then 20 years old), published a “Spiritual Itinerary” primarily of his generation in “Cuvântul” [“The Word”], Nae Ionescu’s newspaper (one of the most prominent leaders of the time): “A generation, of course, the elite, singles out only from a crisis of catastrophic proportions, such as the War” [1]. Thus, the “new generation” disdained the inherited culture and proclaimed the organic and polyvalent character of its own cultural experience, which aligned the value of the empirical and

logical with the ethical and religious, all of which were closely linked to the “inner life”.

In other words, they set the rediscovery of the spiritual dimension as their objective, which led Mircea Eliade to the conclusion that Homo Sapiens is, necessarily, also a Homo Religiosus. Eliade stated, along with Sandu Tudor and other great thinkers of that time, that Orthodoxy “is reached”; it is a dogma generating life and a direct and verified mystical experience: “Orthodoxy is, for us, authentic Christianity, which must be updated by fresh and warm spiritual deeds.

Christianity casts light on a central axis in the universe and in ourselves”. [2] However, this was not an easy goal within reach of any neophyte: “not everyone can become Orthodox, said Eliade. It is this search that is beautiful”. [3] Unlike the older generation, who took the doctrine of faith for granted and treated it carelessly (just like anything acquired in life without a fight), leaving it lost in a corner of their heart, the generation of the two World Wars, or at least those who had evolved around „Gândirea” [„The thought”] and „Cuvântul” [„The Word”] magazines wanted Christianity to be an appropriate, rich experience turning them into ”the people of God, i.e. souls in the body, the souls that seek to acquire and spread the values of God in the world, the values of the great, or, rarely, the values of human life”.

This spiritual itinerary could only lead to a single destination: „therefore, whatever road it takes, a contemporary conscience reaches Orthodox Christianity” [4].

II. AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EXISTENCE OF THE NEW SPIRITUALITY FROM THE “ LITERARY PRINTING PRESS” MAGAZINE

Practically, the programme proposed

by Mircea Eliade foreshadows a different traditionalism from that of the 20s –

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’semănătorism’ and ’poporanism’ trends – by shifting the emphasis from the rural universe (with all its elements) to the ecclesial, Christian world.

Predictably, this thesis aroused strong reactions and heated controversy in the cultural space [5]. In this context, Petru Comarnescu, the editor-in-chief of The Literary Printing Press Magazine [6] started an investigation about whether or not a new spirituality existed, examining the literary personalities of the time, who were assigned the status of representatives.

On this occasion, Sandu Tudor wrote a memorable reply which established him as a remarkable representative of the young generation in search of a new spirituality. He emphasised the necessity to acknowledge spiritual values, recommending that cultural personalities should avoid slipping into Utopias, which incorporated the matrix of death; they should naturally embrace the search for that modus vivendi specific to Christian Orthodox spirituality: „spiritual life is neither new nor old, it is eternal like the Holy Spirit of God. The present time does not seem to bear any sign of true spirituality. It implies ’concern’ (which cannot last long), wondering, not living in holy spheres (...).

If something new is given to us, those who wish to serve the sign of the crucifixion, it is not a new spirituality, but new strong and harsh repentance experienced by true followers of the one who comes on the last white horse”; „the world today”, as the journalist reiterated, „does not bear the signs of true spirituality”. Sandu Tudor accused his generation of seeing the new spirituality as a subject for „concern and wonder” rather than as a way of ”life in the holy spheres”. The spirituality of the demonic, of the devil disguised as an angel of light, a metamorphosis meant to deceive people, is, from his point of view, an unpredictable decaying development: „If we are given something new, this isn’t a new spirituality, but rather new repentance, light and rugged,

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suitable for soldiers in combat with the multifaceted forms of Evil that are knocking at the door. The conclusion is an apocalyptic premonition: „The Beast is coming! The Antichrist Is Coming! Let’s not lie to each other!” [7]. Therefore, the journalist’s fame is also supported by the conflict between generations, in the broad sense, namely the recognition of his different types of being and writing. History will make the paths of these two friends (we refer, in particular, to Petre Comarnescu – the editor-in-chief of „The Literary printing press” magazine, the one who initiated the investigation into the new spirituality – and Sandu Tudor, the editor-inchief of the newspaper „Faith”) intersect unhappily; their irreconcilable differences would come up to the surface during the heyday of the Association „Criterion”. The reasons for the dramatic conflict and its multiple reverberations will be presented in the following studies.

The theme of the „new generation” appeared in articles in „The Word” magazine in 1927 signed by its theorist and leader, Mircea Eliade, and taken over by „Gândirea” magazine one year later, where a young philosopher, Sorin Pavel, an archaeologist, Ion Nestor and a young lawyer, Petru MarcuBalș (Petre Pandrea) signed a manifesto „the White Lily,” which Lucian Boia considered „an echo to Eliade’s series”[8].

III. THE CONTEXT OF THE REFORM OF THE

CHURCH CALENDAR

In our opinion, the second enlightening moment in the configuration of the Orthodox Sandu Tudor’s fame is related to changing the date of Easter.

Greater Romania was a challenge to all old institutions, which had to go through a significant reconfiguration process. That also triggered an endless series of administrative, legal, political, social issues, etc.

The imperative of renewal concerned the ecclesiastical institution. It is worth noting

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that the reform of the calendar was not a recent topic. The Gregorian calendar had been introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, immediately adopted by the whole Catholic world and later by Protestants.

However, Orthodox churches rejected the Gregorian form of the calendar on account of tradition.

As early as 1864, A. I. Cuza, a ruler with pro-Western sympathies, proposed the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, which was rejected both by public opinion and by the Church Council, established on that occasion to express the representatives of the clergy’s point of view on this issue. Moreover, the action of the ruler was sharply criticized by the patriarch of Constantinople: „[Cuza-Voda] hurries to introduce the calendar, the so-called Gregorian, instead of the old chronological one used in the Eastern Church so far „ [9].

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church showed the same resistance to the idea of changing or reforming the Julian calendar in 1902, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate had sent an encyclical letter which, among other issues, asked for their opinion on that matter. Another attempt to synchronize with the West was reported during the First World War, specifically during the German occupation of Bucharest.

The German administration would have liked the new calendar to apply to both secular and church issues. General August von Mackensen issued an ordinance that stipulated that after December 19, 1916, followed January 1, 1917, which would have meant that Romanians would no longer have been able to celebrate Christmas in 1916. Again, the Romanian Orthodox Church resisted.

As expected, the Union of 1918 raised the question of adopting a unified calendar. A year later, in March 1919, the government issued the Decree-Law no. 1.053 adopting the Gregorian calendar: thus April 1 became April 14.

Therefore, the situation in the Romanian Orthodox Church was not simple. Faced with the challenges of an administrative and legal need to confirm its utility and dignity as quickly as possible both at internal and external levels, pressured by the secular power and the need for modernization as well as by the scientific trends in fashion, the young institution deeply rooted in the needs of the time tended to mistrust Tradition. As shown, the situation was not a particular one. In fact, the entire Orthodox community in Eastern Europe shared the same problem.

In 1923, the reform of the calendar was decided at the Pan-Orthodox Congress in Constantinople, headed by Patriarch Meletie Metaxakis. However, not all Orthodox churches accepted the reform so that the moment caused a divide. The Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, Mount Athos and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem remained faithful to the old style, while the Romanian, Greek, Bulgarian Orthodox Churches and the patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch accepted the new calendar.

A year later, Patriarch Gregory IV, supported by the followers of Patriarch Meletie, applied the decision of his forefather and introduced, from March 1, 1924, the new style for fixed-date holidays in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. As for the celebration of Easter, it was established that, temporarily, until the convocation of an Ecumenical Synod, Easter should be celebrated according to the old style. In the same year, The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church asked Prof. Dr C. Chiricescu to insert the old Easter in the recently rectified calendar, without changing the canon of the Holy Ecumenical Synod I (325).

However, a more detailed presentation of the literary landscape is required to better understand the classical/modern, tradition/ innovation dynamics and to provide landmarks and general typologies.

On July 30, 1925, the Romanian

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Orthodox Church was raised to the rank of Patriarchate based on volume 1579 of the Ecumenical Patriarch Basil III and the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

This act opened much broader horizons and responsibilities to our ecclesiastical institution. The statute and law for the Organization of the B. O. R. (Romanian Orthodox Church) appeared soon and was promulgated in the official Monitor, No. 97, May 6, 1926.

Thus, the reform of the calendar was driven by the modernist momentum that had engulfed the Patriarchate of Constantinople after the First World War. The process of modernization of the Romanian Orthodox Church took place in two stages, each of which had broad, international contextual meanings: the revision of the calendar and the change of the date of Easter. Although the transition to the new calendar of the Romanian Orthodox Church was not without repercussions – the protests which occurred especially in Bessarabia near Soviet Russia, an underprivileged province forgotten by the capital, Bucharest – the resistance of the intellectuals of the inter-war period was not caused by the reform (as, for reasons easy to imagine, some representatives of the stylist movement would suggest, even nowadays).

The protests of the interwar elites were related to changing the date of the celebration of Easter in 1929, a debate in which the journalist Sandu Tudor, the subject of this study, was involved.

IV. THE INITIATIVE TO CHANGE THE

EASTER DATE AND THE MEDIA SCANDAL Just three years after the rise of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the rank of Patriarchate, the ecclesiastical institution, probably intimidated by scientific movements, was involved in an investigation into the possibility of “restoring” the canons according to the needs of the time. Thus, Metropolitan Pimen of Moldova, President

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of the Synod, was the one who initiated the change of the date of the celebration of Easter so that the date of the celebration of Holy Easter in 1929 was not 5 May, according to the new calendar, but 31 March. The action triggered harsh accusations from Nae Ionescu, the journalist pointing out the dangers of the interference of politics in ecclesiastical affairs, the interference of the secular in church life at the expense of tradition and canonicity: “March 31? Who decided this impossible date and for what reasons? If Easter holidays fall on the 31st of March, we will not celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord on the same day as the Catholics, nor as the Protestants, nor, what is still more serious, as the other Orthodox Christians.

We are told that the date of 31 March was calculated scientifically according to the new calendar, and if we give it up and use another date as the rest of the Orthodox Churches, this would be so late that St. Peter’s fast should not be more than three days...

Scientifically? Well, yes! I’d forgotten that Metropolitan Pimen is all science from head to toe. We, like fools, were thinking, first of all, of the Holy Scriptures, of the canons and decrees of the ecumenical chambers” [10].

Predictably, the beginning of 1929 was marked by the question of celebrating the resurrection after the Jewish Passover.

Pamfil Şeicaru [11] and Nichifor Crainic stated that they would support [12] Nae Ionescu’s opinion. The above-mentioned journalists described the act as a canonical violation, an act that would shatter Eastern Christianity, alter its unifying spirit, at a time when the religious revival of the East should have led to the foreshadowing of shared consciousness.

If the change of the calendar “was, for better or worse, more accepted over time” [13], this new reform would constitute an opportunity for virulent reactions at the level of the masses in interwar Romania. Nae Ionescu even spoke of the compromise of the Holy Synod and called Metropolitan Pimen “the Liberals’ man” [14].

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Those protests had reverberations not only among the leading representatives of the press of the time but gradually acquired alarming proportions involving clerical elite-associations, parliamentary groups of Bessarabians, or simple villagers.

The most obvious resistance among the clergy was manifested, as expected, by the bishops of Bessarabia, who submitted memoirs to the patriarch, Regency, and government to return to the old Easter [15].

The general outlook of the religious Press at that time confirmed the profound disorientation that this initiative had caused in the Romanian theological space, the conflicts between mentalities being mirrored on the one hand, through the church magazines (the theological magazine of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Orthodox Sunday, Solidarity, The Voice of monks, Romanian Telegraph and The Renaissance) and the newspapers Word, Thought, Current and Tradition, the secular publications of the interwar elite.

The Pastoral issued on September 10, 1928, focused on the calendar but confused the question of the new calendar with that of accepting the change of the date of the celebration of Easter.

Nae Ionescu’s reply came at the beginning of 1929 when he stated that the Holy Synod was schismatic towards Orthodoxy because it did not act under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit; the substance of his argumentative approach was taken from a patriarchal act of 1583, where those who proposed to change the date of celebration of holy holidays were anathematized. Soon after that, on January 22, 1929, „The Word” newspaper published the article „The Infallibility of the church and the synodal failability”, a text signed by the laymen Sandu Tudor, Mircea Vulcănescu and George Racoveanu, practicing Christians, representative figures of the young generation in the Romanian interwar cultural space. As the title

announced, the question of infallibility was raised, which, in the authors’ view, became the semantic equivalent of ecumenicity.

Ecumenicity cannot be the product of an informal group but it is the result of the truth contained in tradition, in Orthodoxy, hence the conclusion reached by the three signatories: „in order for a General Synod to be worthy of the attributes of Ecumenicity, it needs to share everything that the Church has always shared as the participation of all the Orthodox bishops is not enough” [16].

Later, the Paschal campaign launched by „The Word” newspaper was joined by Paul Sterian. In his article, Between the Equator and the Equinox, Paul Sterian noticed the inconsistency between the scientific criterion and the Holy Synod (which posed as a group of scholars under these conditions) and the Paschal feast which, by its very nature, did not escape such limits [17].

Sandu Tudor published „The schism of the former Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church „[18], on February 1, 1929, in which he drew attention to the danger of provoking schismatic movements, an aspect that, unfortunately, history confirmed. A month later, the same author strengthened his position by putting forward the testimonies of Athonite monks who demanded to exit the jurisdiction of the Romanian Patriarchate, which they considered „heretical” [19]. However, the hierarchs did not let themselves be intimidated and found new reasons for justification, the main argument being that the reform had the role of a spearhead in the Universal Orthodoxy.

Before turning Romanian Orthodoxy into one capable of playing a leading role in all Orthodoxy, the Synod had to impose its authority on its church. It was precisely at this level that failure would strike.

The driving force behind the reaction was Metropolitan Gurie of Bessarabia who, together with the other bishops of the region, denied the veracity of the signatures, although according to the

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official communiqué they had supported the unanimous agreement of the hierarchs on the final schedule of the new Paschal date. The situation in Bessarabia was out of control, and it was becoming increasingly clear that this reform was likely to provoke retaliation and social unrest.

Although the former Minister, Vasile Goldiş, had defended the members of the Synod - an act that did not escape the vigilance of Nae Ionescu, who gave him a harsh reply in his magazine [20] - Iuliu Maniu (who, incidentally, was a Greek-Catholic) and the PNT party (National Peasant Party), which was governing for the first time, refused any involvement. Moreover, there is the hypothesis, held especially by Nichifor Crainic, of a liberal manoeuver created to confuse the PNT government.

In this context, the Synod lost its firmness and began to issue increasingly contradictory messages, suggesting that Easter could be celebrated on both dates (according to “ the new”, and” the old” calendar).

In Parliament, the main public forum of the time, Dumitru Lupu, a PNT MP, former Minister for Labour, harshly attacked the decision of the Synod with arguments that easily betrayed the source (“The word”), demanding the intervention of the government. Although the prime minister refused to intervene, his speech emphasized that there would be no retaliation against those who would celebrate Easter according to the old date. Mircea Vulcănescu later evoked the real origin of this position in “Nae Ionescu as I knew him”: “Nae Ionescu needed a man to take the matter to Parliament, and he could not find him. (...) Suddenly, he thought: Dr. Lupu! He had been on the Liberals’ side and now he was ignored. He was looking for a platform to reinvent himself. It was a popular matter.

“This is a priest’s boy,” said Nae Ionescu. “Tell them tonight that Lupu will take the floor to question the government about Easter.” The political editor said shyly: “well, did you talk

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to him?” Nae:” No. No need. Prepare his file for tomorrow! “Said and done” [21].

Under these circumstances, Nicolae Iorga met the patriarch who, in his turn, would talk with Metropolitan Nicolae Balan. Although the situation seemed resolved, Bishop Vartolomeu Stănescu stressed the importance of the laity, who could not address a theological issue as legitimate interpreters [22]. The energetic, theologically well-grounded intervention of the philosopher Nae Ionescu was prompt – „a response to Bishop Vartolomeu – which demonstrated that the laymen had not only the right but also the duty to defend their church heritage.

In this state of general confusion, the celebration of Easter on March 31, 1929, by the Romanian Orthodox Church produced a chain of negative reactions in the Orthodox Ecumenical space, which Nae Ionescu would disseminate in his magazine, under the name „Ecumenical Patriarchate against the Romanian church”.

Paul Sterian joined the effort of the editor-in-chief of The Word newspaper to publicise the negative effects of the issue of the Romanian Easter internationally and published „statements of the most important teachers of the Russian Academy of Orthodox Theology in Paris”, two of them – „Statements of Professor Florovski of the Russian Academy of Orthodox Theology in Paris”, and „a conversation with a trăirist philosopher.

Conclusions That was the end of the road. The Synod returned, finally adopting the right measure of restoring ecumenicity. Once again, Metropolitan Tit Simedrea (who had also acted in the case of the break of the A. S. C. R. from the protestant patronage of the Y. M. C. A.), this time in his capacity as the leader of the Holy Synod, in the summer of 1929 issued a communiqué announcing that

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following the agreement of the Holy Synod with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the date of celebration of Easter in the year 1930 would be on the 20th April.

However, in Bessarabia and in some parts of Moldova, some communities maintained their position and, unfortunately, initiated a sectarian phenomenon, called „the stylists” (niceeni or starostilnici in the early stages), thus, unfortunately, fulfilling Sandu Tudor’s warning given in his article, „The Schism of the former holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church”. The phenomenon, although minor in appearance, once deepened, led to a surprisingly wide context: the problem is characteristic not only for the Romanian orthodox space, but also for the entire eastern space. In Greece, for example, the same measure, the introduction of the new calendar, caused multiple „stylistic” schisms.

Therefore, the promoters of the press campaign that supported the preservation of the Easter date were Nae Ionescu and Nichifor Crainic. In short, the „Word” argued that changing the date of the Paschal celebration contravened tradition and canons while ‘Gândirea’ [„The thought”] insisted on the fact that, by the unilateral decision of the Romanian Synod, the Romanian Orthodox Church was placed outside the ecumenicity of universal Orthodoxy. In other words, Nae Ionescu emphasized the imperative of preserving tradition and the rejection of „scientific” arguments, while Nichifor Crainic put more stress on the need to preserve ecumenicity than on canonical rigour.

Both in the case of the press investigation initiated by Paul Comarnescu in „The Literary Printing Press” magazine and of the one initiated by Nae Ionescu in „The Word”, the Orthodox trăirist Sandu Tudor, the subject of our study, proved his skillfulness in the spectacular world of the interwar press.

His versatility as a journalist was revealed in moments of crisis with a

background of conflicts between modernity and traditionalism and their multiple reverberations. Two important actors of the press of those times – Paul Comarnescu and Nae Ionescu – turned to Sandu Tudor to find pertinent answers and clarify sensitive issues that polarized the elites. However, publicist Sandu Tudor’s actions foreshadowed the position of the future editor-in-chief of the publications „Floarea de foc” [„The Burning Pyre”] and „Credința” [„The Faith”], the experienced journalist who had found his own type of being and writing, which brought him the recognition of an Orthodox ‘trăirist’.

Note: ”Trăirism” was a philosophical movement in Romania between the world wars that stated the prevalence of instincts over reason and mystical life as the only way to knowledge. ”A trăirist” is a supporter of the philosophical movement, whose main initiator and promoter were Nae Ionescu.

His ideas were mainly publicized by the magazines „Gândirea” [„The thought”] and „Cuvântul” [„The Word”]. The movement advocated an attitude inspired by the philosophy of life, promoting the unconscious over reason, mysticism over logical knowledge, redemption over cultural ideals and religious practice over academic endeavours.

References [1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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Mircea ELIADE, Profetism românesc [Romanian Profetism], vol. I, (Bucharest: Roza Vânturilor Publishing House, 1990), p.

10.

Mircea ELIADE, Profetism românesc [Romanian Profetism], vol. I, (Bucharest: Roza Vânturilor Publishing House, 1990), p.

58.

Mircea ELIADE, Profetism românesc [Romanian Profetism], vol. I, (Bucharest: Roza Vânturilor Publishing House, 1990), p.

58.

Mircea ELIADE, Profetism românesc

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[5]

[6]

[Romanian Profetism], vol. I, (Bucharest: Roza Vânturilor Publishing House, 1990), p.

59. Șerban Cioculescu argued that “the critical relationship, however, would be especially between spirituality and Orthodoxy”, which called its intellectual and moral excellence in question. In the opinion of the critic, a literary Orthodoxy is a “faith of the minor and the obscure” indifferent to morality or rigour both in the villages and in the towns and cities, where they had to deal with “a faith built on rituals and completely lifeless traditions”: “the Orthodoxy of dogma, and the scientist” from „Cuvântul” [“The Word”] and Gândirea” [„The thought”] would be a double “invalid”: on the one hand, the sources of cultural inspiration (“Asian-European”) are “in conflict primarily with the ethnic or national element, which they claimed to represent,” and, on the other hand, the “esoteric apostolate addressed to the urban intelligentsia or the literati” remains an elitist “mandarinate” and isolated both from the religiously indifferent masses and from a dying and sick church institution. The socalled Orthodoxy of the younger generation is more about a “crisis of puberty and growth”, a fact exemplified by the vitalism, romance and individualism of Eliade himself, “whose ideality can only mask a painful rebuttal of instincts reversed in spasms of mysticism”.

Romanian interwar literary magazine that appeared between 1928-1931, having as directors Petru Comarnescu, Camil Baltazar, who collaborated with prestigious personalities of the cultural landscape of the time: Liviu Rebreanu, H. Papadat-Bengescu, E. Lovinescu, Ion Barbu, F. Aderca. In 1928 he carried out an investigation into the existence or not of a “new spirituality” involving Nicolae Iorga, C. Radulescu-Motru, Octavian Goga, Eugen Lovinescu, Lucian Blaga, Nichifor Crainic, Radu Dragnea, Şerban Cioculescu, Sandu Tudor, Ionel Jianu, Mircea Vulcănescu, Mircea Eliade, Mihai Sebastian, Mihai Polihroniade.

The answers highlight a clear delimitation between those who accept and those who deny “spiritualism” as a generating factor of culture. For C. Rădulescu-Motru, Pompiliu Constantinescu, Şerban Cioculescu, Mihail Ralea or Petru Comarnescu, spiritualism is tantamount to irrational, to betraying the spirit

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of greco-Roman culture and modern classicism, which would constitute the basis of modern European culture. They argue that all the “classical” values of European culture are the building blocks of civilization:” we need, here on Earth, Organization, not only preparation for the afterlife “ (Petru Comarnescu). Those who accepted the existence of “spirituality” continued the debate to establish the relations of the notion of “spiritualism” with two other concepts, which were extremely important in the age, namely “mysticism “ and”orthodoxy” [subl. C. C.].

[7] Apud George ENACHE, «Ortodoxie si putere politică în România contemporană» [“Orthodoxy and political, power in contemporary Romania”], (Bucharest: Nemira Publishing House, 2005), p. 387.

[8] Lucian BOIA, Capcanele istoriei. Elita intelectuală românească între 1930 și 1950 [The traps of history. The Romanian elite between 1930 and 1950], second edition, (Bucharest: Humanitas Publishing House, 2012), p. 35.

[9] N.V. Dură, „Serbarea Paștilor în lumina tradiției canonice ortodoxe și a ultimelor hotărâri panortodoxe”, în Îndrumătorul bisericesc misionar și patriotic [“The Paschal Celebration in the light of the Orthodox tradition and canons”, in The Missionary and patriotic guidelines], (Roman: Episcopia Romanului și Hușilor Publishing House, 1988), p. LV. [10] Nae IONESCU, „Dificultăți bisericești. Ce este cu data Sf. Paști?” [“Church difficulties. What about the date of Easter”], in Cuvântul [The Word], year IV, nr. 1147, Bucharest, Tuesday 3 July 1928, p. 1.

[11] Pamfil ŞEICARU, „Datoria guvernului” [“The Govenment’s Duty”] in Curentul [The Current], no. 360, Bucharest, 15 January 1929, p. 1.

[12] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Pimen, marele vinovat” [“Pimen, the culprit”], in Curentul [The Current], No. 365, Bucharest, 20 January 1929, p. 1.

[13] Nae IONESCU, „Dificultăți bisericești. Ce este cu data Sf. Paști?” [“Church difficulties.

What about the date of Easter?”], in Cuvântul [The Word], IV, no. 1147, Bucharest, Tuesday 3 July 1928, p. 1.

[14] Nae IONESCU, „Cine e vinovatul de la 24

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ianuarie”, în: Teologia. Integrala publicisticii religioase, in [“Who is responsible for 24 January”, in : Theology. The Complete Religious Publications”], (Sibiu :Deisis Publishing House, 2003), pp. 170-171.

[15] See the magazine The Current, Bucharest, January-March 1929, for further information on the General Association of Orthodox priests, led by pr. Prof. Dean Ioan Mihălcescu, who submitted a memorandum to the Synod signed by 500 Clerics; “ Help” Association of Bucharest priests who voted a motion against the new Paschal; the Memorandum of the Eparchial Council of Moldova, i.e. from Pimen’s diocese, calling for his dismissal; the Memorandum of the Bessarabian Parliamentary Council, led by C. Stere, Ioan Codreanu, Vice President of the chamber and Scodigor, Vice President of the Senate, submitted to Iuliu Maniu, etc.

[16] George RACOVEANU, Sandu TUDOR și Mircea VULCĂNESCU, „În chestia calendarului. Infailibilitatea Bisericii și failibilitatea sinodală” [“About the calendar.

The church Infailibility and the Synod Bisericii failibility”], in Cuvântul [The Word], year V, no. 1348, Bucharest, Tuesday, 22 January 1929, pp. 1-2.

[17] Paul STERIAN, „Rătăcirea sinodală. Între isimerie și echinoțiu (Argumentul științific al nouii Pascalii)”, [“The synod confusion.

Between the Equator and the equinox” (The scientific argument for the new date of Easter)”], in Cuvântul [The Word], year V, no. 1356, Bucharest, Wednesday, 30 January 1929, pp. 1-2.

[18] Sandu TUDOR, „Schizma fostului Sinod al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române” [“The Schism of the former Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church”], in Cuvântul [The Word], year V, no.

1358, Bucharest, Friday 1 February 1929, pp.

1-2.

[19] Sandu TUDOR, „Sfântul Munte al Athosului ne socotește eretici” [“Mount Athos thinks we are heretics”], in Cuvântul [The Word], year V, no. 1391, Bucharest, 6 March 1929, p. 1.

[20] Nae IONESCU, „Despre sinoadele tâlhărești, pe cari le uită d-l V. Goldiș” [“On the dishonest synods ignored by Mr V. Goldiș”], in Cuvântul [The Word], year V, no. 1366, Bucharest, 9 February 1929, p. 1.

Mircea VULCĂNESCU, Nae Ionescu aşa cum l-am cunoscut [Nae Ionescu the way I knew him], (Bucharest: Humanitas Publishing House, 2003), p. 148.

[22] Constantin MIHAI, „Elita intelectuală interbelică și Ecclesia. Campania de presă în jurul Pascaliei (1928-1929)” [”The interwar elite and the Church. The press campaign around Easter (1928-1929)”], in Răduț BÎLBÎIE, Mihaela TEODOR (ed.), Elita culturală și presa (Congresul Național de Istorie a Presei, ediția a VI-a) [The cultural elite and the press (The National congress on the history of teh press, ed VI)], (Bucharest : Military Publishing House, 2013), p. 171.

The denunciation continued: “He said he was thinking of the relief of the implementation of this demented fact but since he had no order he could not do anything”.

[21]

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Ways of improving your ESP students’ employability skills - A Case Study Ionela Ionițiu

“Ovidius” University of Constanţa Department of Languages for Specific Purposes, Faculty of Letters Constanța, România ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 19 September 2020 Received in revised form 7 October Accepted 15 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.4

The goal of this paper is to emphasize the importance of employability skills within a two-year ESP course. It is not only about getting, doing, performing, or keeping a job but about developing within that job. The perfect way to achieve, foster, and boost these employability skills is through ESP, namely English for Specific Purposes. Moreover, the interdisciplinary dialogue between Theology and ESP is not going to question concepts such as knowledge through scientific reasoning, or knowledge through religious faith.

Rather than being inward-looking and churchy, these skills could be applied to or work for a broad community in mind. When designing and adjusting your ESP course to our learners’ needs, we developed topic-specific activities based on authentic texts that would sharpen their analytical, communicative, creative, and critical thinking skills.

Therefore, the teaching and learning proposals provided within this paper are meant to encourage an introspective, deliberate approach to the use of each skill within your ESP context. Apart from the fact that Theology attaches greater importance to emotions and feelings, affective commitment and faithfulness, and subjectivity, whereas ESP is still realist, impartial, and unbiased, using these skills is entirely your choice as an English language teacher because you will have to minutely assess and sort out those skills that best satisfy the demands of your program’s particular objectives and learning outcomes, and those that foremost fulfill the interests and needs of your ESP students.

Keywords: ESP (English for Specific Purposes); employability skills; analytical skills; communication skills; creative versus critical thinking skills; EBT (English for Bible and Theology);

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Ionela Ionițiu. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Ionițiu, Ionela. ”Ways of improving your ESP students’ employability skills - A Case Study.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): pp. 54-61. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.4

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I. INTRODUCTION

II. ESP and employability skills

The importance of employability skills is unanimously acknowledged. Competencebased approaches define employability as a process involving several dimensions or aspects.

For instance, Dacre Pool, L., and P. Sewell. 2007 considers that employability means “having a set of skills, knowledge and personal attributes that make a person more likely to choose and secure occupations in which they can be satisfied and successful“ [1], whereas for Yorke the individual’s employability is “a set of achievements – skills, understandings, and personal attributes – that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community, and the economy“. [2] Whether referred to as “enterprise skills“, “communication skills“ or “workplace skills“, employability skills are regarded as essential skills, personal qualities, and values that will prepare your ESP students to flourish in any workplace.

They often boost your students’ potential and performance, reduce their errors, and encourage collaboration with coworkers, enabling them to perform their role within a company more effectively and efficiently.

So, how can ESP cope with employability skills? Are there any methods or ways of improving those skills? Since ESP is a relevant learner-centered approach that focusses on learner’s needs and demands, it is important to successfully impart knowledge and skills for a specific occupation, activity, or vocation (see Peter Strevens 1998). Moreover, ESP could be another way to help our learners to develop the vital employability skills that they are going to need to be successful in their vocation.

When talking about languages for specific purposes, we should bear in mind that ESP encompasses a broad spectrum of different approaches, hence the various branches and terms used: EAP (English for Academic Purposes) or EOP (English for Occupational Purposes) but the difference between the branches lies in the learners.

Differently stated, EAP is focussing on trainees that are developing their expertise, vocational and language skills required for a certain job, whereas EOP is dealing with learners that are already experts in their field but are eager to develop their English communicative skills. So, it goes without saying that your goal as an English teacher would be to develop their language and vocational skills simultaneously.

When designing your ESP course and adjusting it to your students, you need to pay attention to the following specific aims: 1. Develop communicative skills (for instance if your students are future civil or mechanical engineers they will need to talk to their clients, customers, project managers in English in any kind of situation they are presented within their line of work.)

2. Meet the specific needs of the learners (what will civil and mechanical engineers need in terms of skills compared to someone in the nursing field, for example? Perhaps speaking and listening skills) 3. Use authentic materials and methodologies (a lot of realistic materials and approaches to help them practice their English in the most realistic way possible) 4. Focus on specific language and skills related to their vocation (In each kind of vocation, whether civil or mechanical engineering, practice topic-specific/ related vocabulary. You will have to tailor your ESP course towards these learners and provide them with the exact terminology and vocabulary that they are going to need to be

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successful in their job).

Since the two key features of ESP, namely specificity (language skills) and authenticity (realistic exposure to the language) go hand in hand, and since we are not the experts in the classroom or field, we can adapt the realistic texts and turn it, for instance, into a reading comprehension exercise or a functional language exercise studied in the context. Furthermore, you can design a listening activity within an authentic context – listening to a real conversation between two civil engineers discussing what kind of materials they are going to need to refurbish a historical building.

So, to illustrate the importance of employability skills and ESP, two questions arise: What would be the benefits of these activities: it will be the best exposure of students to realistic language and vocabulary, whereas teachers will exploit the texts to develop both the knowledge and the skills needed.

How are we going to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes with our learners to help them boost the employability skills that they need as much as possible?

III. Ways of improving your ESP students

employability skills

After 17 years of ESP teaching and to give their employability skills a boost, I came to realize that they must practice them consciously whenever they can. So, what employability skills could you develop and improve during a two-year ESP course?

The most frequently skills exploited during my lectures are: Communication skills. Whether exposed to verbal or written communication, by the end of the course, my ESP students will be able to assimilate, share, and understand the information presented; use appropriate knowledge to explain and elucidate

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thoughts and ideas; and last, but not least, to listen to others, ask questions for a better understanding. It goes without saying that the more they practice these skills, the more confident and trustworthy they will get.

Analytical skills refer to one’s ability to cross-examine a problem and deliver a flawless solution or answer in a timely, efficient manner. By providing and exploiting methods that can encourage your students to gather, arrange, visualize, and absorb information, eventually, by the end of the ESP course, they will be able to identify patterns and structures, brainstorm, analyze, comprehend data, and make decisions considering the numerous factors and available choices.

Critical thinking skills are focussing more on being an active ESP learner rather than a passive recipient of data or information.

Therefore, before reaching an objectively reasoned judgment, students will analyze, conclude, assess whether the knowledge they possess is sufficient and reliable, through evaluating, explaining, and communicating their reasoning plainly and objectively, addressing unexpected problems, and providing the rightful solutions.

Creative skills are mainly concerned with a person’s ability to think about issues and problems in a rather distinct manner, and therefore provide new answers, solutions, and proposals through brainstorming, roleplay techniques, problem-solving, decision making, and creative writing.

Leadership and team working skills are co-related since leadership is a fundamental pillar of creating effective and efficient teams. The leadership and team-oriented approach play an important role in the ESP course because students will have to assume a wide variety of formal or informal roles within teams of various sizes and complexity.

To promote and foster these employability skills, exposure to real-life situations is a must, because students will have the chance to practice: problem-solving

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activities, resolving conflicts, dealing with potential clients and customers, accepting and rejecting proposals, providing reasons and arguments for solutions, defining appropriate behaviour at work and so on.

Moreover, when designing my ESP courses for Civil and Mechanical Engineering, I also took into consideration the four main characteristics of any realistic/ authentic ESP material used, which should be: a. instructional, informing the learner about the language. According to Dudley Evans and St. John, 1998, authentic materials should supply cultural knowledge about the target language, useful real language, provide a more constructive attitude towards teaching which will most definitely have a positive effect on the learner. b. experiential, providing exposure to the language used. The advantages of experiential-based learning would be to combine theory and academic knowledge with real-world situations and experiences to solve real-world problems by fostering teamwork and communication skills.

Consider the following experiential learning example I frequently use with my Civil Engineering students: A construction company runs several case studies regarding recent events (e.g., earthquakes, floodings, storms or other natural catastrophes, or disasters) for a better understanding and for offering different problem-solving solutions for building safer dwellings. This kind of experiential learning example not only encourages the ESP students to learn by doing, by experimenting instead of passively presenting and studying written material but trains them to perform properly in their target communities by using individual language learning and problem-solving strategies. c. elicitation, producing, and stimulating language use. According to McGrath (2013), an elicitation content material is highly correlated with the communicative approach, which means that engaging

content is more probably going to stimulate communicative interaction. d. exploratory, discovering the language used in natural settings. Differently stated, the learning process occurs through direct language exposure and use, or as Tomlinson (2011) suggests “through experiencing the language or responding to elicitation.”

Methodologically speaking, the task-based language teaching approach is exploited encouraging students to practice linguistic features that are closely connected to their job expertise or field, through role-play in group activities.

IV. Case Study

With that in mind, here is how we can put into practice and adopt these skills inside our ESP lecture for Civil Engineering. Essentially, we are dealing with learners that hopefully in four years will become civil engineers.

The name of the topic/ chapter is Building materials. During this lecture, students will be exposed to a lot of topic-specific vocabulary, reading activities, listening, speaking, and writing activities.

When introducing this topic, perhaps it is best to start with a warming-up activity such as the ones proposed below: 1. Group/ Teamwork activity (5 minutes). Book closed. In groups, brainstorm: List as many building materials as possible and write them on the board.

Open books and compare them with the vocabulary words.

2. Group work activity (5 minutes).

Look at the pictures and list as many building materials as possible: This is a chance to share from their expertise because some of them might have some experience and might have worked in the field. Besides introducing topic-specific vocabulary, we provide a visual presentation of vocabulary and at

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the same time, we are helping our students to familiarize themselves with topic-related lexical items. This is the instructional phase of our lecture, when we inform our learners about the language, about the topic-specific vocabulary.

Moving on through the lecture, as teachers, we can include a pre-reading activity such as the one below: 3. Before reading the passage, think for yourselves and in groups discuss these questions: • What material can be used to reinforce concrete?

• What material can be recycled for road construction?

• What material/s can be used to make decorative walls?

• What material can be used for floorings?

Before reading the authentic texts, we are actually inviting our learners to start discussing the topic a little bit, sharing ideas, experience, and expertise. How is this helpful for our learners and what employability skills are exploited? First of all, they are discussing details or information related to the forthcoming text; second of all they will recall any previous experience and knowledge and relate/ connect it with content knowledge, helping them to assimilate as much vocabulary as possible; thirdly, they are encouraged to talk about vocabulary which is aligned with the target discipline. This would be the elicitation stage, the one in which we stimulate language use.

For the reading part/ activities, we are using an authentic text adapted from the internet: http://www. sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/ archive?journalid=618&issueid=6180401.

“In this modern age, Civil engineering constructions have their own structural and durability requirements, every structure has its own intended purpose, and hence

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to meet this purpose, modification in traditional concrete has become mandatory.

It has been found that steel fibers added in a specific percentage to concrete improve the durability of the structure. Therefore, we have compared the durability in terms of weight loss and reduction in compressive strength of controlled concrete (with 0% steel fibers) and steel fiber reinforced concrete (with3% steel fibers), when exposed to acid, Sulphate, and chloride attack.

Concrete is one of the versatile and widely used building materials in the world construction industry. Cement being the main binder in concrete, its production process is both uneconomical and environmentally unfriendly. To alleviate these problems, the use of alternative materials that have a lower cost of production, lower emission of CO2, and lower energy consumption, were being implemented. Therefore, we have investigated the effects of waste paper ash as cement replacement material in concrete production. Accordingly, chemical compositions of waste paper ash were investigated and cement was replaced by waste paper ash in a range of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. To examine the suitability of paper ash for concrete production, its’ effect on both fresh and hardened properties of C – 25 concrete was studied. The cement paste with replacement up to 10% showed a normal consistency within the standard range.

The workability of the concrete was tested immediately after preparing the concrete mix whereas the compressive strength tests were tested after 7, and 28 days of curing.

The results indicated that the workability of concrete containing waste paper ash decreases as the waste paper ash content increases. There is a significant improvement in the compressive strength of concrete.

Replacement of ordinary Portland cement by waste paper ash up to 10% resulted in better compressive strength than that of the conventional mix.“ [3] If you have a closer look at the text,

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you will see that this is probably what civil engineers will use in terms of building materials all around the world or you will find in any raised constructions. Within the text we have a lot of thematic vocabulary, that can be extracted and exploited. This is the experiential stage where students are provided with or exposed to the language in use. In other words, they are experiencing the language as they would have experienced it at their workplace. Moreover, as we are not the real experts in the field, by using this kind of short authentic texts we can simultaneously improve our students’ topicspecific language skills and their linguistic competence as well. For that purpose, we have designed several text-related reading comprehension activities such as the ones suggested below: “Mark the following statements as True (T) or False (F): a. Cement is an eco-friendly binder. b. Nowadays, modifying the traditional concrete recipe is compulsory. c. Concrete is a widely spread building material. d. Replacing Portland cement by waste paper ash generated a higher compressive strength.

Answer the following questions: a. Why do scientists try to find a proper replacement for cement? b. Why do we have to change the traditional concrete recipe? c. Can you think of other alternative materials/ solutions?“ [4] And finally, when it comes to the assimilation of subject-specific vocabulary, we have drawn several types of group exercises that would help my ESP students cope with the lexical items and feel more comfortable in their future job.

“Match the words or phrases in column

A with their definition in column B Write a word that has a similar meaning to the underlined part Roleplay activity. Imagine you are working as a shop assistant for a building materials company. Talk to a client about his order invoice.“ [5] During this ESP lecture, students will be engaged, perform and improve a lot of employability skills such: communication (oral and written), attitude and confidence, teamwork, critical and analytical thinking such as problem-solving, and decisionmaking skills. For instance, during a listening/ viewing activity, students will be listening to/ watching an authentic conversation on a building site, highlighting how to use phrases effectively and efficiently, how to make polite recommendations, by giving the best possible advice in terms of building materials. Moreover, you can exploit the listening/watching text by designing guidedspeaking and guided-writing activities, such as the ones provided below, that will improve their employability skills.

“Pair work activity. Talk about the benefits of at least 3 building materials.

Roleplay activity/ Acting out. You are a famous architect. Advise a potential customer which building materials to use.

(200 words)“ [6] But could this pattern work as well for students attending Theology? If your plans, as an English teacher, are to help your students acquire key concepts and vocabulary, or master common biblical terms, comprehend English sermons or the Bible, and as long as, their English-language needs comprise reading, writing, listening, and communication skills related to topicspecific, namely biblical, or theological themes, these students can take full advantage of the category of ESP that has

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been labeled English for Bible and Theology.

In our effort to understand more plainly the interdisciplinary dialogue that exists between ESP and Theology, and to improve our students’ employability skills, we came to realize that the key factor is none the less than exposure to real-life situations that will allow learners to practice them by introducing problem-solving activities, suggesting and providing reasons and arguments for solutions, resolving conflicts effectively and professionally in their day to day workplace, accepting and rejecting proposals, dealing with potential clients/ customers/ managers/ parishioner, and so on.

Notes [1] Dacre Pool, Lorraine, and Peter Sewell. . “The Key to Employability: Developing a Practical Model of Graduate Employability.” In Education + Training 49 (4) (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2007), 277–289.

[2] Yorke, Mantz. Employability in Higher Education: What It Is-What It Is Not. Vol. 1 (York: Higher Education Academy, 2006), 8.

[3], [4], [5], [6] Ionițiu, Ionela. English for Civil Engineering. Part II (București: Editura Universitară, 2020), 38-46.

Bibliography

Conclusion Employability is not just a list of skills that can be taught and achieved immediately, but rather an ongoing developmental process.

Employability is more than getting a job, it is a continuous process that allows learners to develop a range of very specific skills and attributes that vary from individual to individual, and helps them to continue to be successful in their job.

The role of ESP, whether we are talking about English for Civil Engineering or English for Bible and Theology, is to develop vocational and linguistic knowledge that will allow our learners to use, demonstrate and apply very specific skills in realistic professional settings across different vocations through roleplay activities, problem-solving, teamwork, communication, customer care, and so on.

As for the effectiveness of EBT in fostering the dialogue between ESP and Theology, we consider that the dialogue’s greatest value does not mean solving certain ethical problems, but rather entitles introspective learners to dwell in a consolidated cognitive, theoretical, analytical, and rational universe.

Last, but not least, the more that we can help them develop their skills to be employable, the more successful they are

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going to be in their future jobs.

[1] Dacre Pool, Lorraine, and Peter Sewell. . “The Key to Employability: Developing a Practical Model of Graduate Employability.” In Education + Training 49 (4): 277–289.

Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 2007.

[2] Dudley-Evans, Tony, and Maggie-Jo St John. Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

[3] Ionițiu, Ionela. English for Civil Engineering.

Part II, București: Editura Universitară, 2020.

[4] Mcgrath, Ian. Teaching materials and the roles of EFL/ESL teachers: theory versus practice.

London, Continuum, 2013.

[5] Tomlinson, Brian. Materials development in language teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

[6] Yorke, Mantz. Employability in Higher Education: What It Is-What It Is Not. Vol. 1. York: Higher Education Academy, 2006.

Online sources https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/030 75079.2019.1623770 http://www.philologician.com/Articles_46/ ESPmaterialsLesiak-Bielawska.pdf

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Bibliography Dr. Ionițiu Ionela was born in Tulcea, on 23rd November 1978. She graduated Faculty of Letters/ Ovidius University of Constanta in 2001, followed by a Master’s degree in 2002. She attended Al. I. Cuza University, Iași and received her Ph.D. degree in 2012. Her major field of study is English language teaching, particularly English for specific purposes.

She has started working as a full-time ESP teacher since 2003/ Department of Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes/ Faculty of Letters/ Ovidius University of Constanța. At present she is a Lecturer, working in the same Department. So far, she has published 5 books and many ESP topic-related articles: Ionițiu I., 2020. English for Civil Engineering.

Part II, Editura Universitară, București.

Ionițiu I., 2014. English for Civil Engineering.

Part I, Editura Universitară, București.

Ionițiu I., 2020. English for Mechanical Engineering. Part I, Editura Universitară, București.

Currently, she is gathering documents and intends to publish by the end of October 2020 English for Mechanical Engineering. Part II.

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This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

Multidisciplinary JOURNAL Available online at www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

The Journalist Sandu Tudor and the ‘gândirist’ paradigm The tributary stylistics of the early years Lecturer Carmen Ciornea, Phd “Ovidius” University of Constanţa The Faculty of Theology Constanța, România

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 10 October 2020 Received in revised form 20 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.5

The research considers the positioning of the journalist Sandu Tudor in the very diverse and polemical background of the interwar Romanian press, assuming a comparative position of the future editor-in-chief of the magazines “Floarea de foc” [“The Burning Pyre”] and “Credința” [“The Faith”] in the Romanian cultural environment of the third decade of the twentieth century. The requirement of a synchronous and diachronic comparatist study aims to analyze the activity of the journalist in the Romanian interwar publications but also his involvement together with the main representatives of the young spiritualist generation in the literary, cultural, national, political polemics of the time. Going through the articles signed by Sandu Tudor in “Gândirea” [“The thought”], the magazine that constitutes the subject of this study, one can see the inextricable mixture between culture, religion, and politics, the guiding line being that the church must be present in society, just as the dispute of values, hierarchies and meanings must be subsumed to the spiritual.

Keywords: Sandu Tudor; “Gândirea” [“The thought”]; interwar publication; discursive strategies; religious discourse; cultural models;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Carmen Ciornea. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Ciornea, Carmen. ”The Journalist Sandu Tudor and the ‘gândirist’ paradigm. The tributary stylistics of the early years.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): pp. 62-73. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.5

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I. INTRODUCTION

The reason for the study on the articles published by Sandu Tudor in the Journal “Gândirea” [“The thought”] lies, naturally, in the need to identify innovative queries present in the vision proposed by this interwar publication.

The articles, signed by the future editorin-chief, Sandu Tudor, cover heterogeneous subjects: literary, philosophical, theological, social, political, educational, legal, cultural, etc. – the reader cannot but be surprised by the magnitude of his involvement and enthusiasm ready to shape the direction of the spirit of the audience. Besides these articles, there are other texts signed by Sandu Tudor in the magazines “Gândirea” [“The thought”], “Cuvântul” [“The Word”] and “Tiparnița literară” [“The literary printing press”] which consolidate his profile as a trademark representative of the young generation, who claims a new spirituality.

The paper focuses on several cultural aspects (semănătorism and gândirism), whose understanding brings the reader closer to Sandu Tudor’s life and work.

The ‘semanatorism’ movement is a social, cultural and literary movement initiated by “Sămănătorul” magazine in Romania at the beginning of the 20th century. It idealized the patriarchal village opposing it to the corrupted city. The promoters of the movement considered the peasantry to be the exclusive source and treasure of national values. They promoted literatureinspired from folklore and history.

II. Clasic/Modern, Tradition/Innovation

Dynamics in the Interwar Romanian Press

As mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, the configuration of the ideological and cultural landscape of the publishing press in the Romanian inter-war period,

of its policies and polemics will be easier to recreate by following the path of the journalist Sandu Tudor, the editor in chief of “Floarea de foc” [“The Burning Pyre”], a remarkable representative of the generation of Orthodox trăirists.

Alexandru Teodorescu made his debut in the press in 1924, when he first used the pseudonym Sandu Tudor; a year later, he made his literary debut with the volume of lyrics “Comornic”[1]. His first articles appeared in the magazine “Contimporanul” led by Ion Vinea and Marcel Iancu, an avantgarde publication, which brought to our literature the constructivist direction, an artistic movement influenced by futurism, which appeared for the first time in Russia [2].

Sandu Tudor’s adherence to this innovative vision, which involved harmonizing art with the contemporary spirit of modern technology, was short-lived.

We cannot understand all these tribulations of the writer who sought representative forms of expression outside the context, the spiritual-cultural climate of those times.

December 1, 1918, raised awareness about the fact that post-war Romania represented a national fulfillment that inevitably led to a rethinking of national life, with a corollary that provided for its affirmation as an independent and unitary state under European and world horizons. In contrast, this movement was balanced by the need to emphasize the national individuality, the uniqueness of thought and expression, the specificity that justified and ruled our national existence. From this perspective, the original avant-garde option of our topic corresponds to the need for synchronization with the European culture, which meant, implicitly, the demonstration of simultaneity of initiatives as a consequence of comparable values.

The position of a critic, Alexandru Philippide, seems to be revealed from

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this point of view; he held that even the literary avant-garde was under the sign of traditionalism, because, according to him, the competition and dispute within the same art movements were dictated by the imperative of a deeper order: “it is worth mentioning that the movement of renewal accompanied by contempt for the monuments of the past have had the most numerous and most vocal representatives in the literature of longstanding tradition and values and which could have looked worn out for being imitated for a long time. In this literature, there was, of course, the danger of stagnation in outdated patterns and natural boredom accompanied by such stagnation. However, the danger of stagnation and saturation was not so acute in Romania: its literature had developed later and accumulated the stages in a short interval so that tradition and classical models had scarcely been constituted. Here the desire for renewal and the search for new forms had a quiet character at the time, albeit very deep; the renewing current developed with respect and appreciation of the past and preserved its deep connections, of substance and structure, with the literary tradition and with the existing literary values. It was not, therefore, a movement of overturning, but further construction.[...] The trend and will for renewal, common to European poetry after 1920, was also present in Romanian poets of that time. The renewal, however, unlike what happened in other works of literature, was accomplished in Romanian poetry by always keeping in touch with the past, with folk poetry, with the native land, according to the Romanian literary tradition – as I tried to sketch it at the beginning of this talk”[3].

Thus, in a short time, Sandu Tudor (and many others of his generation) realized that this avant-garde path did not stretch the structure-matrix, the formative forces specific to our nation enough. With this awareness, the emphasis of the National specificities would be revealed with an added energy, becoming part of an intensive

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dynamic. Thus, in 1925, the year in which he became a member of the A. S. C. R., his name could also be found in the traditional magazine “Gândirea”, a publication where prestigious personalities of the Romanian culture published: Mircea Eliade and Vasile Bancila, Radu Gyr, Tudor Vianu, Vasile Voiculescu, Lucian Blaga; the magazine appealed to him through its vision of spiritual awaking based on the consubstantiality “God – Nation – Country”. Nichifor Crainic’s statements such as “Orthodoxy is the tradition of the eternity of the spirit, which coincides with tradition, ‘Everything that exists comes from God and returns to God”, “Beauty in itself is the beauty of God” (Sensul Tradiției [The Meaning of Tradition], 1927), and many others, were encouraging; creative personalities understood that, in the future, one did not come out of nowhere, out of no one, and with the soul of a stranger. The young generation, in search of landmarks, thirsting for authenticity, for direct living and with an intensity of life experiences, was conquered by the values of Christianity [4].

In order to better understand the classical/ modern, tradition/ innovation dynamics and to provide landmarks or general typologies, a more detailed presentation of the interwar literary landscape is required.

III. Critical debates and cultural

national strategies

Nicolae Iorga and NichiforCrainic represented sequences of a complex and vast process which - depending on the pressure of the socio-historic and personalized philosophical-ideological support - offered a network of phenomena of an inexhaustible variety. The doctrines supported by them go beyond the literary struggle and touched the cultural-political one. Following this logic, then, the programs supported by them, concerning the numerous literary-artistic attempts of the time (traditionalist or modernist), offered a broad explanation that, to a large extent,

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had a common basis. The issue is not only of spiritual essence but subordinates itself to the peculiarities of the historical-social and philosophical-ideological mechanism.

What is more, several interconnections, contaminations, loans, etc. are highlighted by relating the organization and finality of such phenomena to the whole. When put together, some parts (respectively some of the attempts of traditionalist or modernist systematization) can generate a semantic area antithetical to their philosophicalideological status. In other words, since any doctrinal development of a literary direction means an inevitable slip in cultural and political spheres, the organized movements (either traditionalist or modernist) are defined and differentiated by the way they respond to certain political requirements of the era.

IV. The Semanatorist Paradigm– Nicolae

Iorga

The diversity of the accents of traditionalism and its artistic poses between the two world wars were amazing. The evolution of the forms of its manifestation was also marked by the accelerated dissolution of the two great traditionalist strands of the nineteenth century: ‘sămănătorism’ (which polarized prestigious names in Romanian culture such as Mihail Kogălniceanu, George Coșbuc, Ioan Slavici, etc.) and ‘poporanism’ (Mihail Kogălniceanu, Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creanga, Garabet Ibrăileanu, etc.) [5].

The change was predictable. The emulation after December 1, 1918, imposed a general framework of traditionalism that was somewhat more comprehensive than the overly theoretical posthumousness of the ‘sămănătorism’ movement. Nicolae Iorga, after the First World War, no longer managed to be the former animator, despite (or, perhaps, because of) his consistent attitude. Gradually, the number of creators ready to support him was thinning and the

‘sămănătorism’ publications suffer from an anachronism, according to the vision of the contemporaries. Of course, writers trained in this spirit continued to write and the connection between their blockage in a stable aesthetic regime and their loyalty to the cultural mentor Nicolae Iorga is understandable. Their loyalty means in fact their maladaptation to the new socialhistorical and, above all, artistic conditions.

Unfortunately, although Nicolae Iorga was aware that he got blocked in a permanent rigid position, he did not understand (or refused to understand) that in order for him to maintain the structure (the meanings, the fundamental principles), successive modeling, a continuous readaptation of the signs, was necessary.

The freezing of his aesthetic program led his contemporaries, even adherents of interwar traditionalism, to see Iorga as a precursor.

The Traditionalism movement was at that moment seeking new forms of identity that led to complex, seemingly paradoxical forms and nuances [6].

But even if Iorga’s activity was part of the sphere of perpetuating the old desiderata ignoring the pulse of the interwar period, this does not mean that all his enterprises from the above-mentioned period would be rooted in a horizon opaque to all that was an artistic necessity, or cultural and social development.

Nae Ionescu’s position is surprising (at least on the surface)in these circumstances.

The undisputed leader of the far-right, the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Cuvântul” [“The Word”] supported Iorga’s doctrine: “Iorga defined our generation, he specified our roads. That is why, wherever we are, with him or ... against him, we, the generation of war that is responsible for the creation of the new Romanian state, are the historical generation, also called ‘Nicolae Iorga’ generation.” [7]. This situation is surprising because, on the one hand, Iorga’s ideological and political program led to a radical rejection

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of the fascist orientation (ending as known, with tragic consequences for the scientist), and, on the other hand, from the position of cultural-artistic personality the author of “The history of contemporary Romanian literature” repeatedly manifested himself against the Orthodox-thought “aesthetics”.

What could be the reasons that led NaeIonescu to portray Iorga as a promoter of the far right? We appreciate his consideration for the great scientist even if this sense of evolution was proved by history as inconsistent. We cannot deduce from the calculation the impression that, in most cases, and especially after 1925, the name of the scientist was used as a lever, as an instrument of authority; it was undeniable that Iorga’s prestige offered to launch support for an ideology whose connection – in descent – to Iorga’s ideas was no longer even formula in time.

The ‘gândirism’ movement had another trajectory, dictated in particular by the “right” typed ideology of traditionalism, which determined another development of that spiritual category, responding to a distinct ideology and philosophy. We consider that the substructures that made up Iorga’s unitary ideology and those of the Ortodoxist-gândirist movement were not similar, these are components that belonged to autonomous structures whose individuality cannot be nullified by a possible, approximate tangency.

Initially, “Gândirea” [“The thought”] started from the premises of capitalizing on the cultural tradition of Transylvanian publications and aimed to give meaning to the present by exploiting the values of our past. In this context, predictably, the Journal had as main collaborators publicists and writers formed or influenced by The “Semănătorul” [8], even adopting a graphic formula close to that of the ‘semănătorist’ periodicals.

Thus, the first issue of the magazine appeared in Cluj, on May 1, 1921, under

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the leadership of Cesar Petrescu, Gib. I. Mihăescu and Lucian Blaga. A few months later - September 20, 1922 - the editorial office moved to Bucharest, having as its director Cesar Petrescu, already supported by Nichifor Crainic, who had signed literary materials and even critical observations in periodicals from the beginning. Firstly, a ‘post-sămănătorist’ climate governed that era, a fact recorded as early as 1915 – by Nichifor Crainic: “the ‘Sămănătorism’ movement continues today, spread out in the diverse magazines, being like a river, branching its unitary riverbed and flowing in affluents over various and numerous meadows”[9]. Secondly, Cezar Petrescu had debuted at the “Semănătorul” and the novels and stories of the period were strongly marked by the ‘sămănătorist’ doctrine; the directions of the magazine were in tune with and corresponded to the horizon of expectations of that era.

NichiforCrainic himself did not shy away from confessing that the ‘sămănătorist’ doctrine was his school of cultural-literary formation: “I am a humble and steadfast learner of the new regenerating school”[10], which is also certified by his position as a collaborator in N. Iorga’s other publications. In the early years of “Gândirea” [“The thought”], Pamfil Şeicaru (a virulent journalist, whose caustic verb led many to see in Sandu Tudor his follower), had superlative appreciations for Iorga’s magazine: “and if one can speak, following Eminescu, of a new moment in Romanian literature, no doubt that that moment of a new orientation of thoughts was Mr Iorga’s activity at “Sămănătorul” between 1902-1906 [11].

Radu Dragnea, a cultural personality of the same Semanatorist formation, was among the first who expressed the need to continue the ‘Semănătorist’ tradition (which highlighted the idea of evolution, of transition to a superior stage) [12].

How could the episodes of maximum adversity between Nichifor Crainic and Iorga be explained? At a closer look, beyond

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these declarations of the fidelity of the main ideologists of the “Gândirea” [“The thought”] magazine, the proclamation of the need to develop and complete the ‘Semănătorism’ program could not but irritate Iorga, who realized shortly that his ideology was accepted as a guide only at the declarative level. That led to increasingly hostile relations among the parties. Thus, at the beginning of “Gândirea” Iorga agreed to collaborate, in turn receiving the collaboration of some thinkers to the periodicals that he gradually printed; however, in time, he distanced himself so that, in the end, he adopted a somewhat hostile position towards the main theorists of the publication.

Nichifor Crainic took over the management of the magazine in 1926 (Cezar Petrescu had left for Paris) and kept his position until July 1944, the date of the last issue of the magazine. Thus two great periods in the evolution of “Gândirea” were distinguished: the first (1921-1926) under the leadership of Cezar Petrescu and the second under the direction of Nichifor Crainic [13].

If at its beginnings, the magazine grew parasitic on Iorga’s authority and had a composite content, with the most heterogeneous collaborators and articles, with the change of leadership the policy of the publication underwent profound changes. The Orthodox supporters had already made a name for themselves and by overcoming it they admitted that Iorga’s work had already belonged to a classical “Gândirism” [14].

Thus, Crainic made a rigorous selection and turned “Gândirea” [“The thought”] into a coherent group, an expression of a generation that considered the traditions of the nation viable sources of artistic creations.

In the article “The meaning of tradition” Nichifor Crainic quoted Nicholas Berdiaev as a landmark in terms of the cohesion “religion-religiosity-nation”: “Culture is related to the cult of ancestors and tradition.

It is full of sacred symbolism.” The distancing of “Gândirea” from “Sămănătorul” became an unequivocal fact. Moreover, an analogy between “sămănătorism” and “gândirism” establishes equivalence only at the level of general principles, anchored by a general traditional background. The principle of national specificity is one of the elements of connection; it functioned as programmatic support for both movements with specific demarcations, though. Iorga aimed to express the National specificity as a structure in the life of the historical Romanian village with ethical value, while Nichifor Crainic considered it a dimension of Orthodoxy: “... our people have lived for almost two thousand years in the faith of Orthodoxy and in its practice. [...] The ethnic character of this people was deepened, but its religious character was ignored.[... ] “Sămănătorul” had the magnificent vision of the Romanian land, but did not see the sky of Romanian spirituality. [...] Over the land that the “Sămănătorul” has taught us to love, we see the arched golden shelter of the Orthodox Church “ [15].

Iorga’s reply was prompt, accusing the orientation of “Gândirea” [“The thought”] that “they imposed their task, that it was impossible to build new poetry, new literature, new thinking on an Orthodoxy that was not and would never be the inspiration of literature without canons, after the transient mysticism of Mount Athos in the fourteenth century.[...] Fortunately, the literary collaborators of the Beautiful magazine, in constant change, remained what they used to be, totally on the edge of the persistent but vain doctrinal purposes” [16].

V. The Gândirist Paradigm – Nichifor

Crainic

For Sandu Tudor, Gândirea” [“The thought”] quickly became a school, in the literary but also pedagogical sense, a stimulating school cultivating feeling and

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self-affirmation, “plenitude using the means of theology and art” [17].

Constantin Jinga wrote about the contribution of the journal to the development of the Romanian culture and its influence on the political scene: “the journal was, to a large extent, the main source for the political principles of Romanian rightwing, thus contributing to the development of a “national mysticism”, and, on the other hand, to the secularization of theological concepts especially valorised in political life” [18].

Crainic intended to establish a philosophy of culture and aesthetics on the Christian conception, appealing, on the one hand, to the eastern patristic thinking and, on the other hand, to the Orthodox Theological developments of Berdiaev, Bulgakov and Florensky [19]; in his pursuit, he introduced the category of “theandric mode”, that is, the “divine-human mode” [20] as a premise for the theoretical operation. As such, the refusal to “believe in the power of autonomous reason” [21] was established, which Sandu Tudor would also resort to (not only at this stage): “Man has lost the power to understand through knowledge and touch the fine being that he is. The path that leads to it has been lost or is blocked” [22]. Science in Sandu Tudor’s conception is Man’s great pride, the sign of Lucifer. There is a grain of truth in it: “....you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8: 32).

Science is rooted in methodical doubt and its organization, or this fundamental disbelief, which is the deepest stage of doubt, is the source of modern atheism: even the Kantian solution of criticism, with all its subtleties and boldness, only encloses us even more in the subject, which it tries to objectify, transforming the self into a generic being, our knowledge always being a cut-off of the real” [23]. In this context the conclusion sounds natural: “we should get immune to the dogma of rationalism” [24].

Sandu Tudor embraced the freedom of

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thought beyond any system. The system threatened him as an inherent constraint; it reduced him, cataloged him, distorted him. He wanted to be everything and not just be part of a programmed mechanism, structured, registred within another system, equally constraining and unacceptable to free-thought: “we get to know our knowledge but not the Being, The Living Truth and our nature that stand before us” [25]. For this reason, the truth of life, The Unspoken Truth, is constantly threatened to be tempted, defiled, denied, crucified: “not only do you not believe according to reason, nor even above or below it, but you believe against reason. Religious faith is not only irrational but also antirational” [26].

In Nichifor Crainic’s opinion the meaning and purpose of the work of art started under the spiritual auspices reflecting the divine will: “thus, according to the biblical doctrine, all the attributes of the human spirit, which can be exercised in the philosophical, scientific, artistic, craft fields, i.e. all the creative faculties of culture and civilization appear to us inspired and guided by God’s power. We see that all these creative activities focused on religious worship, which lent them a maximum of brightness and enabled them to get more light from the flame of faith” [27]. Predictably, Sandu Tudor will be part of this ideological trajectory, the flame of faith which the director of the “Gandirea” evoked would become Sandu Tudor’s source of the inner independence to achieve the awareness and the ascent of inner Calvary: “I don’t know the truth if I don’t become the truth myselfandifI don’t want to belong to the truth, to be deep down inside the truth, and, what is more, to fully embody it as perfectly as possible.” [28].

Crainic established what he found to be the opposite of the practical creation (civilization)/ spiritual creation (culture); he appreciated that civilization carried in itself an annihilating germ of culture in the sense that it promoted resistance to the religious

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spirit although the organic development of culture could not be achieved outside it.

Technology gave civilization its international aspect, while culture was the element meant to embody the “myth of blood” [29]. Moreover, Romanian culture is “a culture deeply embedded in ethnic autochthonism and absorbing the spiritual light of Orthodoxy” in its structures, as “the guarantee of its style “[30]. As a result, it was in danger of altering itself, of losing its ethnic specificity if it followed the path of civilization. “Westernization means the denial of our Orientalism [31], of those spiritual dimensions that were born from the full Fusion (more complete than in the case of other peoples) between culture and religion, based on a liberating relationship of great creative energies: “Culture expresses a symbolic relationship with Heaven; religion a real relationship” [32]. Nichifor Crainic concluded clearly: “art is not a religion but prepares the soul for religion” [33].

Disciple Sandu Tudor found himself in this perception of the finality of art and culture in general. Within the limits of this program, Sandu Tudor condemned the meanings of modern culture and anchored himself in the effort to work on the elaboration of the aesthetic norm. Following Berdyaev, he lamented (along with his mentor, Nichifor Crainic) “the secularization of the culture of human life” and the self-sufficiency of the culture, i.e. its separation from the tutelage of religion, leading to its anarchic development: “One is God, the scholar and the ruler of the day, and the other is the God of the prophet and of a poor man, one is God’s Job, and the other is the God of the brilliant teacher and scholar, doctor in theology,” [34].

Under these circumstances, the pulverization of the style of culture is inevitable: “the decentralization of modern culture, that is, its rupture from the religious spiritual center, means its fragmentation into individual varieties, devoid of the higher

sense of spiritual unity.[ ... ] Modern culture, however, is unable to create a style since it is dominated by individualism. It can reveal us at most a personal style, as an expression of the creative personality” [35].

In tandem, Sandu Tudor consented that their age demanded a “disciplined autonomy of the Church”[36] and implicitly conforming to a theological “aesthetics”: “in order for a man to rise, we must lift his thoughts. When we have learned to ascend and master our thoughts, we will be able to keep our spirit open to the great flow of God’s life, thus we will learn the secret of human happiness” [37].

In his prestigious publication, Sandu Tudor signed a series of poems, which blended modernism and traditionalism.

Sandu Tudor’s poetry of Orthodox theme and inspiration from the Gandirea period differed from Nichifor Crainic’s lyrical creation, for whom religiosity is a style and orthodoxy a manner. The above-mentioned distinction was made by Dumitru Micu in his monograph - “«Gândirea» și gândirismul”: “systematizing the procedures used by Voiculescu and Crainic, programmatically applying articles of faith, they approach sacred themes with perseverance, their language is artificial and bookish, often twisted according to the Old Church style, lexically sprinkled with archaic terms collected from the ecclesiastical jargon, from ancient religious literature. Cerebral par excellence, more artisans than singers, these authors are not so many religious poets as churchgoers” [38].

His styles both of historical inspiration (Ballad of the rubber prince, His inner Ascent, Being an outlaw, etc.) and those of religious inspiration (the Great Passage Of The Virgin, Small canon for the mother of God, The last hearing of a Christian ready for his final sleep, etc.) were extremely elaborate compositions in a scholarly style when they were not imitations of texts from the books of worship; they were „not unwieldy but rigid

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and monotonous, tiresome by repetition”, „constructions of remarkable virtuosity where the use of stylization sometimes managed to compensate for the absence of lyricism to some extent” [39]. Dumitru Micu captured their religious character, the cultivation of the sonorities of Slavic and Greek in Romanian, the observance of the fixed and rigorous byzantine trope, a predilection for the extensive descriptions and presentations of the festivities; he ended up, as George Călinescu did, by evaluating all of these elements which led to the incomprehensibility of the text, and concluded that „Sandu Tudor’s poetical production belonged more to the literature of the cult than to literature” [40] (this perception is not completely unbalanced). Also, during this period, he published articles in other literary magazines such as „Convorbiri literare” [“Literary conversations”] or „Cuvântul artistic” [“The artistic word”].

Conclusions We consider that Sandu Tudor is an author who can not be understood outside the perspective of the canons of Byzantine aesthetics which he, proof of his rigorous knowledge, cultivated both as a style and as an expression of the Eastern tradition.

Biblical themes, motifs, and symbols were the sources of his literary creations, the poet thus capitalizing on his liturgical experience of the text of the Bible. This explains, we believe, the evaluation of the critics, George Călinescu and Dumitru Micu, who denied him his place in the poets’ fortress.

But even if “Gândirea” [“The thought”] opened him the door to Romanian literature, differences of vision which Sandu Tudor considered irreconcilable loomed over time. Consequently, he disengaged himself from the thinkers even as early as the 30s (which did not prevent many of them from joining the ranks around The Burning Pyre later). After 1930 the ideological axis of the

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thinking movement acquired new accents in the sense that the Orthodox doctrine was strengthened by ethnicism and gained a fascist nuance. Sandu Tudor loathed the idea of any form of extremism or self-serving.

That is why, as soon as he discovered that the political finality of the ‚gândirist’ thinking (more precisely, the one shared by the editor-in-chief, Nichifor Crainic, and the major ideologies) became more and more openly part of the doctrine support of the far-right he moved away from this ideology, opposing it sharply.

Thus, he was active in the left-wing press alongside the young Communist writers (Stancu, Jebeleanu), as well as in the intellectual life of the Romanian left in general, being involved even in the illegal activity of communists (he printed an illegal anti-fascist bulletin) [41]. At that time the communist group was a modest one (which did not reveal any of its later totalitarian evolution). Tudor’s Orthodox calling pushed him towards messianic ideologies that adopted social policies. He supported the idea of taxing the wealth and profits of the rich by 45-60 %, and the money thus collected by the state to be used to help the poor, the suffering, the disabled, etc. Constantin Jinga recalled this period in the poet’s life in these terms: “in Romania of the 30s, Sandu Tudor became an unusual figure: after a violent divorce from the ‘gandirism’ movement and the extreme right, he had reached his peak, opposing the power on the barricades of the weak, then communist groups.

He disapproved of fascist nationalism, abhorred anti-Semitism and considered the bourgeoisie in general as the class responsible for the spiritual decline of man, for the erosion of traditional values and traditional hierarchies for the benefit of the neurotic obesity of wealth” [42]. Moreover, Nichifor Crainic and Sandu Tudor looked at the Romanian Orthodox Church from slightly different perspectives. For Sandu Tudor, as Mircea Vulcănescu remarked, theological rigor was more pronounced and, hence,

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he vehemently retaliated against acts that contravened tradition and canons and he detached himself from any decorative religiosity to propose an “Orthodoxy in the dimension of the divine spiritual life ( ... ) and deep insights into the liturgical horizon where the divine spirituality is realized” [43].

REFERENCES [1] Sandu TUDOR, Comornic [Wealth] (Bucharest: 1925), passim.

[2] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no. 013495, vol. 2, f. 12, f. 22.

[3] Al. PHILIPPIDE, „Despre poezia română dintre 1920 și 1940 în raport cu poezia europeană”[„About Romanian poetry between 1920 and 1940 in relation to European poetry”], in Scrieri [Writings], vol. 4, Studii și eseuri [Studies and essays], (Bucharest: Minerva Publishing House, 1978), pp.150151.

[4] Mircea ELIADE, „Itinerariu spiritual: Tânăra generație”, în Profetism românesc [„Spiritual Itinerary: The Young Generation”, in Romanian Prophecy], vol. I, ed. Dan Zamfirescu (Bucharest: Roza Vânturilor Publishing House, 1990), 11.

[5] Nicolae MANOLESCU, „Poezia între cele două războaie mondiale. Vârsta modernă a lirismului”, în vol. Istoria literaturii române.

Studii [„Poetry between the two world wars.

The modern age of lyricism”, in vol. History of Romanian literature. Studies] coord. de Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga, (Bucharest: Academia RSR Publishing House, 1979), pp.

218-221.

[6] See the case of Lucian Blaga, a modern poet who was equally and at the same time claimed by traditionalists from “Gandirea” but also by modernists from “Contimporan”, and the current reception of his work oscillates between his perception as an expressionist writer or one who revives traditions of ancient or religious literature. The poetry of Tudor Arghezi (at least in the beginning), Ion Pilat’s lyrics (a representative of the late parnassianism, which in French literature is widely considered modern and an attempt to disrupt the traditional Saint-John Perse’s surrealism), or Urmuz’s literary work, a writer

who used the literature of the absurd, ‘in nuce’ in classical forms of literature (e.g., fable).

[7]Nae IONESCU, Roza Vânturilor. 19261933 [The Rose of the Winds. 1926-1933] (Bucharest: Cultura Națională Publishing House, 1937), p. 193.

[8] The literary historian Dumitru MICU in his monograph “Gândirea și gândirismul” (Bucharest: Minerva Publishing House, 1975), 14, highlighted the strong and easily recognizable ‘semanatorist’ mark in the debut works of the writers Cesar Petrescu, Nichifor Crainic, Ion Agârbiceanu etc. even if, at the beginning of his work, he had appreciated that in the magazine Gândirea “The Sămănătorists are in the minority” (concerning only two writers: Ecaterina Pitiş and George Voevidca).

[9] Nicolae IORGA, Istoria literaturii românești contemporane, vol. II – În căutarea fondului [The history of contemporary Romanian literature, vol. II - In search of the fund] (Bucharest: Adevărul Publishing House, 1934), p. 274.

[10] Nicolae IORGA, Istoria literaturii românești contemporane, vol. II – În căutarea fondului [The history of contemporary Romanian literature, vol. II - In search of the fund] (Bucharest: Adevărul Publishing House, 1934), p. 144.

[11] ȘEICARU, Pamfil, „Pe marginea unui volum de omagiu” [“On the subject of a volume of homage”], în: “Gândirea” [“The thought”], I year, no. 20, February 15, 1922, p. 383.

[12] See DRAGNEA, Radu, „Trecerea între generații” [“The transition between generations”], în: Gândirea, VIII year, no.

8-9, March 3, 1928, pp.102-103.

[13] See Dumitru Micu’s monograph “Gândirea” și gândirismul [“The Thought” and the thinking], (Bucharest: Minerva Publishing House, 1975), passim.

[14] Iorga’s reaction came promptly. As prime minister, a position he held at the time, he forbade the “calendar” of Nichifor Crainic and continued to vehemently criticize the aggressive policy of those who declared themselves his disciples.

[15] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Sensul tradiției”, în: Gândirea [“The meaning of tradition”, in: The Thought], IX year, no. 1-2, January-February 1929, reproduced in fragments in, Presa

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literară românească: articole-program de ziare și reviste (1789-1948) [Romanian Literary Press: articles-program of newspapers and magazines (1789-1948)], ed. Ion HANGIU; Dumitru MICU, vol. II, (Bucharest: Editura pentru Literatură [Literature Publishing House], 1968), pp. 351-352.

[16] Nicolae IORGA, Istoria literaturii românești contemporane, vol. II – În căutarea fondului [The history of contemporary Romanian literature, vol. II - In search of the fund] (Bucharest: Adevărul Publishing House, 1934), 316.

[17] Petre ȚUȚEA, Între Dumnezeu și neamul meu [Between God and my people], edited by Gabriel Klimowicz, Anastasia Foundation, (Bucharest: Arta Grafică Publishing House, 1992), 10.

[18] Pr. Constantin JINGA, Ieromonahul Daniil Sandu Tudor, omul și opera [Hieromonk Daniil Sandu Tudor, man and opera] (Bucharest: Christiana Publishing House, 2005), p. 49.

[19] See Dumitru MICU, “Gândirea” și gândirismul, [“The Thinking” and the thought], (Bucharest: Minerva Publishing House, 1975), pp. 992-999.

[20] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [“The Thinking”], XVII year, no. 8 (october 1938), 395.

[21] Nichifor CRAINIC, Nostalgia paradisului [Longing for paradise], (Bucharest: Moldova Publishing House, 1994), p. 9.

[22] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 4: Ce e omul?

[Notebook 4: What is man?], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2003), p. 76.

[23] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 4: Ce e omul?

[Notebook 4: What is man?], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2003), p. 76.

[24] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 4: Ce e omul?

[Notebook 4: What is man?], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2003), p. 76.

[25] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 4: Ce e omul?

[Notebook 4: What is man?], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2003), p. 76.

[26] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 1, Dumnezeu – Dragoste [Notebook 1: God-Love], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2000), p. 269.

[27] CRAINIC, Nichifor „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea

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[The thought], XVII year, no. 8, October 1938, p. 54.

[28] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 4: Ce e omul?

[Notebook 4: What is man?], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2003),p. 70.

[29] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [The thought], XVII year, no. 8, October 1938, p. 348.

[30] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [The thought], XVII year, no. 8, October 1938, p. 22.

[31] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [The thought], XVII year, no. 8, October 1938, p. 348.

[32] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [The thought], XVII year, no. 8, October 1938, p. 40.

[33] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [The thought], an. XVII, nr. 8, octombrie 1938, p. 303.

[34] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 1, Dumnezeu – Dragoste [Notebook 1: God-Love], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2000), p. 43.

[35] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [The thought], XVII year, no. 8, October 1938, p. 114.

[36] Nichifor CRAINIC, „Certitudini” [“Certainties”], in: Gândirea [The thought], XVII year, no. 8, October 1938, p. 132.

[37] Sandu TUDOR, Caiete 4: Ce e omul?

[Notebook 4: What is man?], (Bucharest : Christiana Publishing House, 2003), p. 195.

[38] Dumitru MICU, “Gândirea” și gândirismul, [“The Thinking” and the thought], (Bucharest: Minerva Publishing House, 1975), p. 641.

[39] Dumitru MICU, “Gândirea” și gândirismul, [“The Thinking” and the thought], (Bucharest: Minerva Publishing House, 1975), p. 643.

[40] Dumitru MICU, “Gândirea” și gândirismul, [“The Thinking” and the thought], (Bucharest: Minerva Publishing House, 1975), p. 645.

[41] Mihai RĂDULESCU signed an article Sandu

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Tudor în derivă spre stânga [Sandu Tudor drifting to the left], which reveals Sandu Tudor’s less known feature; he was a painter and an art reviewer; he described paintings in art exhibitions in the magazine “Credinţa”, in 1932. Mihai Rădulescu highlighted Sandu Tudor’s left-wing languagein an article in the newspaper Permanenţe, no. 6, June, 2005, p.

13.

[42] Pr. Constantin JINGA, Ieromonahul Daniil Sandu Tudor, omul și opera [Hieromonk Daniil Sandu Tudor, man and opera] (Bucharest: Christiana Publishing House, 2005), p. 147.

[43] Hieroschemamonk Daniil TUDOR, Acatiste [Hymne-akatist], (Bucharest: Anastasia Publishing House, 1997), p. 99.

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This page was intentionally left blank ** The exhibition, titled “Reduce the Litter”, was held by a group of artists. The hanging installation used scraps of plastics, cans, and containers. /VCG Photo The highlight of the Réduisons! (Reduce!) exhibition, held

by PRX-Vietnam at the Institut Français de Hanoï – L’Espace at 24 Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem District from July 15 to August 31, 2019, is an art installation made of around 500 kilograms of used plastic items and designed as a giant wave of trash.

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This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Available online at www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

Involvement of Interreligious Activists in Environmental Movement of the Sedulur Sikep Community in Central Java, Indonesia – A Review Rev. Aloys Budi Purnomo

Ph.D. Program on Environmental Science; Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, INDONESIA

Cecilia Titiek Murniati

Budi Widianarko

Ph.D. Program on Environmental Science; Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, INDONESIA

Ph.D. Program on Environmental Science; Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, INDONESIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 01 October 2020 Received in revised form 13 October Accepted 20 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.6

Threats of ecological destruction have triggered concerns among many communities around the world. The Sedulur Sikep community in the North Kendeng Mountains Region, Central Java, Indonesia, has been experiencing such threats since early 2006.

As a response, the Sedulur Sikep has initiated an ecological movement that has been noticeably documented in the literature. The environmental movement of the Sedulur Sikep community has attracted the attention of many scholars, probably due to its unique historical root. This review focuses on the movement instigated by the Sedulur Sikep to protect the karst ecosystem of the North Kendeng Mountains Region and highlights the involvement of environmental activists representing religious diversity. The final part of this review is specifically devoted to analyzing possible ways to sustain interreligious environmental activists’ involvement in supporting the Sedulur Sikep community’s movement.

Keywords: ecological destruction; Sedulur Sikep community; environmental movement; interreligious activists;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Aloys Budi Purnomo, Cecilia Titiek Murniati, Budi Widianarko. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Purnomo, Aloys Budi, Cecilia Titiek Murniati, and Budi Widianarko. ”Involvement of Interreligious Activists in Environmental Movement of the Sedulur Sikep Community in Central Java, Indonesia – A Review.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 77-88. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.6

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928

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I. INTRODUCTION

Threats of ecological destruction have triggered concerns among many communities worldwide, specifically in environmental studies [1]-[2] and religions’ perspectives in Indonesia [3]. The Sedulur Sikep community in Sukolilo (hereafter referred to as Sedulur Sikep) in the North Kendeng Mountains Region, Central Java, Indonesia has been experiencing such a threat since early 2006 to protect the karst ecosystem in the North Kendeng Mountains area [4]. As a response, the Sedulur Sikep has initiated an ecological movement that has been noticeably documented in the literature [5]-[11].

One of the controversial movements in preserving the environment but which raised sympathy was the protest to cementing their feet for 36 hours when they held a demonstration in front of the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta (see Photo 1 and 2) [12]-[13]. The media coverage of the protests was enormous, not only by local and national media. Several foreign media also raised the cement factory’s rejection by the Sedulur Sikep and the Kendeng community. An example was the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) on May 1, 2016, issued a reportage entitled “Women of Rembang Reviews put their feet down to save farms from cement factory” [see http://www.smh.com.au/world/womenof-rembang-put-their-feet-down-to-savefarms-from-cement-factory-20160501goj5q7.html.] [14]. Another movement was when they did a 150 kilometers long-march from Rembang to Semarang, Indonesia (see Photo 2) [15].

Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kendeng farmers are constantly holding demonstrations to reject mining activities in the area. For example, on April 12, 2020, 10 Kendeng women questioned the cement factory that continued to operate during the

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Corona pandemic. They act by keeping their distance and wearing masks. The action was part of the umpteenth time Kendeng women resisted the extractive industry operations in their region. Cement factories are considered to threaten water sources, ecosystems, and the livelihoods of farmers. [https://www.mongabay.co.id/2020/04/26/ perempuan-kendeng-pertanyakanoperasi-pabrik-semen-di-masa-pandemi/ (women-kendeng-question-cement-factoryoperation-in-pandemic-era – translation by author)].

The Seludur Sikep is an indigenous religious community living in Bombong and Bowong, Sukolilo District, Pati Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Since 2006, they have struggled to reject the plan to build a cement factory in Sukolilo. Their movement was led by Gunretno, a descendant of the Samin community, which was pioneered

by Samin Surosentiko in 1890. Samin Surosentiko started a campaign against the Dutch colonial rule, which later became known as the Saminist movement. Samin Surosentiko lived a religious spirituality known as “Adam Religion” [16]-[21].

Currently, this community is in a melting pot [cf. http://dialogo-conf.com/aboutconference/] position in maintaining the integrity of creation and environmental sustainability, specifically to care for Kendeng Lestari for future generations by protecting the North Kendeng Mountains and their water resources through the anti-cement factory movement [22]-[27].

The Sedulur Sikep has been reshaping under pressure [cf. http://dialogo-conf.com/ about-conference/] as a new Saminism in an ecological movement, even involving several interreligious activists [28]-[30].

There are threefold of the primary purposes of this review. The first is to describe the movement instigated by the Sedulur Sikep to protect the karst ecosystem of the Kendeng Mountains Region. The

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Photo 1: Nine Kendeng Women representing farmers who were shackled by the plan to build a cement factory held a demonstration to cement their feet in front of the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta, 12/4/2016, (Source: Purmama’s paper as taken from http:// www.smh.com.au/world/ women-of-rembangput-their-feet-down-tosave-farms-from-cementfactory-20160501-goj5q7. html./)

second is to highlights the involvement of environmental activists representing a diverse religious background. Third, to analyze possible ways to sustain the involvement, interreligious environmental activists support the Sedulur Sikep Sukolilo community’s movement.

Methodologically, these three goals are achieved by collecting literature data that examines the Sedulur Sikep movement and the historical background, which is their historical roots. All data were analyzed using content analysis as the method for writing this paper.

II. Ecological and Historical Root of the Sedulur Sikep Movement to Protect the North Kendeng Mountains Region

The ecological movement of the Sedulur Sikep community has attracted the attention of many scholars, probably due to its unique historical root. They are still related to the historical root with the Saminism movement during the Dutch colonialization period in pre-independence Indonesian history pioneered by Samin Surosentiko (18591914), who conducted his movement in Northern Central Java in the late nineteenth

century [31]-[34]. Samin Surosentiko inspired Gunretno (born in 1969), the leader of all movements, and the Sedulur Sikep to save the North Kendeng Mountains Region (in Indonesian: Kendeng Lestari) [35]-[36].

They have carried out the Earth care movement since 2006 through the anticement factory in their region [37]-[39].

Pioneered by Gunretno, the Sedulur Sikep has forged and moved anyone concerned for the Earth in a joint movement to face the ecological crises. In 2007/2008, Gunretno has initiated an eco-interreligious movement to care for the Earth in the North Kendeng Mountains in the Kendeng Mountains Care Community Network (Jaringan Masyarakat Peduli Pegunungan Kendeng/JMPPK) [40]-[42]. The Sedulur Sikep Sukolilo and JMPPK won their struggle legally when on May 16, 2009, the Supreme Court granted their lawsuit by annulling PT. Semen Gresik’s construction permit in Sukolilo-Pati [43]-[44]. Their movements have even inspired and encouraged the same struggles elsewhere to the present [45].

The historical root of Sedulur Sikep is the Saminism movement during the Dutch colonialism era in Indonesia as pioneered

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Photo 2: Farmers Shackled

by Cement - another angle from the photo of Kendeng Women representing farmers who were shackled by the plan to build a cement factory held a demonstration to cement their feet in front of the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta, 12/4/2016 (Source: http://www.kompasiana.com/ teguh_puryanto/kartini-yangterpasung-semen, 10/6/2016 as quoted by Nawiyanto and Endrayadi)

by Samin Surosentiko [46]-[47]. Samin Surosentiko founded this community and started his movement in Randublatung, Blora, Central Java, in 1890 [48]-[50]. The heir and the next generation of Samin Surosentiko are scattered in several regions, especially in Central Java and East Java in Indonesia, including Sedulur Sikep [51].

Samin Surosentiko fought against the Dutch colonial government, which was considered tormenting the people, mostly the peasants. For that reason, Samin Surosentiko formed a community which is known as the Samin community. The focus of their struggle and movement was to defend their natural resources as farmers.

They refused to pay taxes on their land and livestock to the Dutch occupation. That is why, in the past, the Saminism movement was labeled as a rebel movement [52][56]. The Saminist did not send their children to formalized schools as he Sedulur Sikep community continues this practice to this day. They do their learning in their home [57]-[60].

The historical root of Sedulur Sikep has a religious context in the “Adam Religion”

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(Indonesian: Agama Adam) [61]-[63]. Samin Surosentiko pioneered the “Adam Religion” as a source of their movement with an ecological character. They value Earth and make it the center of their religiosity [64][66].

This spirit of religiosity also underlies the current Sedulur Sikep movement, in their resistance to constructing a cement factory in the North Kendeng Mountains.

With that ecological spirit, they protect Kendeng Lestari [67]. The movement is not only limited to moving in Sukolilo, Pati Regency, but also in Kayen, Larangan, and Tambakromo, Pati Regency, and in Tegaldowo, Rembang Regency [68]-[70].

We have already mentioned that “Adam Religion” was established and pioneered

by Samin Surosentiko. What is “Adam Religion”? According to Benda and Castles, this religious belief’s true nature cannot be explained with certainty because their spiritual utterances were mostly in the form of oral speech with a secret meaning as a form of resistance to Dutch colonialism.

However, “Adam Religion” is one of the longest-lived social phenomena in modern

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Photo 3: Kendeng residents, as Kendeng Lestari (Kendeng Sustainability) fighters, carried out a long march of 150 kilometers from Rembang to Semarang on December 5-9, 2016. They demanded the implementation of the Supreme Court’s judicial review (PK) decision.

The verdict stated that the environmental permits held

by PT Semen Indonesia in Rembang did not comply with legal regulations (Photo by: Ragil Kuswanto dan Joko Prianto, Source: https://www. radioidola.com/ and https:// crcs.ugm.ac.id/)

Javanese history [71].

When talking about “Adam Religion,” the meaning of religion is not the same as the anthropological understanding in general [72]. That is why it is more accurate to call “Adam Religion” as the indigenous religion [73]. The followers of “Adam Religion” do not have a special sacred place for worship. For them, an entire universe is a sacred place. Therefore, no one should destroy and plunder it. More than that, they believe that the “holy text” is within their lives as guidelines and a part of their daily life. The inheritance is carried out orally from generation to generation [74]. The followers of Samin Surosentiko summarize the teachings of “Adam Religion” as follows: Do not be idle; do not lie; do not steal; do not commit adultery; behave patiently; if insulted, remain silent; do not ask money or food from anyone; but if anyone asks food or money from you, give it [75].

Meanwhile, Sindhunata shows that the essence of “Adam Religion” is in universal religious and humanitarian principles. In “Adam Religion”, every human being is Adam and lived by Adam. Therefore, every

human being is sami (the Javanese language means the same and equal). That is why Samin Surosentiko and his movement in the spirit of Adam Religion have always rejected the discriminatory attitude and monopoly of power capitalism both politically and economically. The most important teachings in “Adam Religion” appear in reverence for nature, land, and home. That is why their commitment is to protect the Earth, live, and work as farmers. In such a spirit, they experience and appreciate nature’s fertility that they cannot create independently. They experience nature’s fertility as supernatural and magical powers. They worship and even “deify” the fertility of this nature. In every inch of the Earth, in the home, and the universe, an unreachable “God” is present and worshiped [76]. That is the Sedulur Sikep movement to protect the karst ecosystem in the North Kendeng Mountains area based on their historical roots related to Samin Surosentiko, the Saminist movement, and the “Adam Religion.”

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III. The Involvement of Environmental Activist Representing Religious Diversity in a Melting pot in the Sedulur Sikep Movement

The ecological movement of the Sedulur Sikep community has attracted the attention of many environmental activists who represent various religious backgrounds [77], including religious leaders, especially from Islam and Catholicism [78]. Based on the historical roots and the movement of Sedulur Sikep, preserving the North Kendeng Mountains Region, the following will highlight the involvement of environmental activists who support it. It includes religious leaders, especially from Islam and Catholicism.

The Sedulur Sikep has implemented several new strategies and adaptations to maintain strong relationships with other actors involved in the anti-cement factory movement in the North Kendeng Mountains Region [79]-[80]. To some extent, it means that they must break out of the philosophy of ‘encounter and isolation’ which influenced their identity [81]. Here, they experience a kind of melting pot [cf. http://dialogo-conf. com/about-conference/] to save the karst ecosystem in the North Kendeng Mountains Region.

The Sedulur Sikep strive to survive in caring for the Earth through their movement, supporting interreligious leaders, specifically Islam and Catholics. The struggles of Sedulur Sikep and Gunretno even inspired and encouraged local communities whose religious beliefs differed [82].

The Sedulur Sikep and Gunretno, as a small group (minority), can move the majority of the community and members of the North Kendeng Mountains to work together to protect Kendeng Lestari.

It makes the Gunretno movement, and the Sedulur Sikep Sukolilo brings sympathy and fosters empathy for many people,

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including interreligious figures such as KH. Ahmad Mustofa Bisri (Gus Mus), KH. Yahya Cholil Tsaquf (Gus Yahya)], KH. Ubaidillah Achmad (Gus Ubaid), KH. Nuril Arifin (Gus Nuril), even Ignatius Cardinal Suharyo (Utama, 2019) [83]-[85].

The general stigma that the Sedulur Sikep community has isolated from the outside community [86]-[87] is renewed by the movement of Gunretno and Sedulur Sikep Sukolilo, supported by interreligious leaders just like a disruption [88]. It has become a “discontinuity” of the Samin community’s historical roots, which has been considered exclusively closed among themselves. The dynamics of the encounter and isolation of Sedulur Sikep with the wider non-Samin community has occurred since the post-independence era and the New Order era [89]. In 1969, Benda & Castles saw that the Samin community was living tolerance with other religions [90]. In this era, Sedulur Sikep has collaborated with interreligious leaders to maintain the integrity of creation and environmental sustainability in the North Kendeng Mountains [91]. That is what we call an eco-interreligious melting pot of the Sedulur Sikep in caring for the Earth.

The Sedulur Sikep movement, Islamic and Catholic leaders to care for the Earth, plays a pivotal role in presenting the new dough about interreligious ecotheological [92] as will be analyzed in the following part.

IV. Analyzing Possible Ways to Sustain

the Involvement of Interreligious Environmental Activist in Supporting the Sedulur Sikep Movement The final part of this review is specifically devoted to analyzing possible ways to sustain interreligious environmental activists’ involvement in supporting the Sedulur Sikep community’s movement.

Scholars have interpreted the term Sedulur Sikep to mean “those who are alert,”

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“those who are responsible for the state,” or “those who embrace” [93]-[96].

The Sedulur Sikep interpret themselves as humans who are no different from others because, as Samin Surosentiko taught, everyone is the same. That is why Sedulur Sikep is open to collaborating with anyone without discrimination in caring for Kendeng Lestari [97]-[98].

From the melting pot’s perspective and their historical roots, the Sedulur Sikep movement with Gunretno is marked by three things in this current era. The first is the spirit of protecting nature; they are developing organic agriculture that is environmentally friendly and dealing with agricultural, industrial capitalism [99].

Second, they strive for equality as members of society, especially concerning their recognition of their beliefs as adherents of the faith in “Adam Religion” with patterns of their “faith” and “linguistic religiosity” [100].

Third, especially in the political Reformation Era (the post-New Order era), Sedulur Sikep’s ecological struggles marked by their rejection of ecological threats due to plans to build a cement factory at the North Kendeng Mountains Region [101]-[102].

The Sedulur Sikep’s praxis to defend their rights to natural resources as farmers in the cement factory movement’s refusal can be read as an environmental and humanitarian ecology movement without violence [103].

The Sedulur Sikep and their movement to reject cement factories without violence are to defend their capital resources and protect their identity, culture, beliefs, livelihoods, and future generations’ humanity by protecting land and water resources. The idealism and spiritual attitudes of Sedulur Sikep played an essential role in defining their activism in the movement against cement factories. Sedulur Sikep positions itself to reject strong actors’ interests in the cement agenda as a non-violent movement in collective and open resistance [104]-[106].

Sedulur Sikep’s rejection of a cement factory’s construction at the North Kendeng Mountains rests on the environment’s ecological aspects and humanity. For the Sedulur Sikep, establishing a cement factory at the North Kendeng Mountains can destroy their ecological traditions [107][108]. The residents are worried that the raw material’s mining for making cement will damage Kendeng’s environment. This type of limestone is non-renewable. Limestone will be depleted if exploited continuously.

Environmental damage has made residents as farmers lose their livelihoods. What the residents fear the most is the damage to the post-mining environment that will disrupt their survival as farmers [109]-[110].

The movement to protect the environment, such as that carried out by the Sedulur Sikep, is interesting to continue to be noticed and supported, as has happened today by activists from various religious backgrounds [111]-[113]. Thus, the Sedulur Sikep movement, Islamic and Catholic leaders to care for the Earth play a pivotal role in presenting the new dough about interreligious ecotheological praxis [114]. The involvement of environmental activists and religious leaders from Islam and Catholics, together with the Sedulur Sikep, can be a starting point for developing ideas about an eco-interreligious movement to maintain the integrity of creation and environmental sustainability in the North Kendeng Mountains Region.

Conclusion Interestingly, the Sedulur Sikep community ecological movement in Central Java, Indonesia, has attracted many scholars’ attention because of its unique historical roots. Their campaign has become a melting pot that reshapes their community in a new trend. It was an environmental rescue movement in the North Kendeng

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Mountains Region. The movement even involved many environmental activists with various religious backgrounds.

This paper has reviewed the involvement of interreligious activists in the Sedulur Sikep community’s environmental movement The Sedulur Sikep environmental movement has attracted many scholars’ attention for its unique historical roots with Samin Surosentiko, “Adam Religion,” and Saminsme during Dutch colonialism. With this background, the Sedulur Sikep has presented a new movement in safeguarding the North Kendeng Mountains Regions in cooperation with environmental activists and religious leaders, especially Islam and Catholics. The experience became a melting pot that reshaped Sedulur Sikep in a new way of caring for the environment.

This analysis makes it possible to maintain the involvement of interfaith environmental activists in supporting the Sedulur Sikep community movement in the Kendeng Mountains Region. Sedulur Sikep Sukolilo has provided a unique context for the melting pot in the eco-interreligious movement to care for the Earth. This analysis can serve as a basis for studies on interreligious ecological movements, or even on interreligious eco-leadership in the context of the Sedulur Sikep community.

As discussed in this DIALOGO Conference, I - the main author of this article – could not deny that I cannot escape emotion and optimism when I write it because I accompany Sedulur Sikep, who has been fighting protect Kendeng since around 2006 against the cement factory. At that time, they handled the first case directly in their area in a sub-district of Sukolilo, Central Java, where they lived. They reject and oppose the plan to build a cement factory designed by the corporation PT Semen Gresik and the local government (Governor). At that time, Sedulur Sikep, who works as a farmer, took the initiative to fight and reject the cement

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factory in his area because the Kendeng Mountains are identical to the mother who gives life. That is why Mother Earth must not be damaged and injured. They believe that the cement factory in their area will be a source of suffering, not welfare.

As the lead author of this paper and a Catholic priest, I am very interested in the thoughts and perspectives of Sedulur Sikep, even though most of them have never attended formal schools. Since its founder, Samin Surosentiko, it is one of their characteristics as resistance to Dutch colonialism in 1890. This trait has survived to this day, especially Sedulur Sikep in Sukolilo.

However, whenever they argue about rejecting the cement factory, they can say it coherently based on field data. They know so many springs in their area, underground rivers, and biodiversity, all of which will be destroyed by the cement factory. As a result, agriculture, which is their main livelihood, is threatened.

In the first case of refusing a cement factory in their area of Sukolilo, ​​ they won legally. Finally, the company canceled the plan to build the cement factory. Their victory was not without victims. Nine of them were arrested, beaten, and jailed for five months in 2009. Those incarcerated have wives and children; even their children were small. Their children also struggle until now. Now, they see the victory of their parents’ struggle to inspire other places with similar problems in Rembang, Tambakromo, Kayen, and the North Kendeng Mountains Region.

So, the facts on the ground are the basis for my optimism. After all, from the perspective of Christian faith, we must stand firm in the face of God‘s expectations in defense of truth and justice. Even Sedulur Sikep, who is often labeled by some as an atheist in our country, has optimism and hope. How can we claim to be the Father’s children not learn from Sedulur Sikep to

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hope from the Father to protect the Earth?

That fact is what makes us learn from each other and work together to remain optimistic in caring for the Earth not only as a common home but as Mother Earth.

Finally, I thank all the Professors and Colleagues in this DIALOGO Conference who have discussed this paper. In particular, I thank Cecilia Titiek Murniati, Ph.D., and Prof. Dr. Y. Budi Widianarko for being coauthors of this paper. Since the beginning, they have enriched my perspective on this article as Copromotor and Promotor for my dissertation on the Sedulur Sikep community ecological movement’s field research subject.

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[2] Willis Jenkins, Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Routledge Handbook of Religion and Ecology (London & New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2017), 6.

[3] Zainal Abidin Bagir, “The Importance of Religion and Ecology in Indonesia,” Worldviews 19 (2015): 99, https://doi. org/10.1163/15685357-01902002.

[4] Primi Suharmadhi Putri, “Re-Claiming Lost Possessions: A Study of the Javanese Samin (Sedulur Sikep), The Movement to Maintain Their Peasant Identity and Access to Resources.” (MA, thes., University of Oslo, 2017), 96.

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12, no. 37 (April 2013): 157–68. (translation by author) [7] Abu Rokhmad, “Configuration and the Role of Community Leaders in the Conflict of Natural Resources of Limestone Mining for the Cement Industry in Rembang Indonesia,” International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy 10, issue 2 (2017): 522–24. https:// doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.8321.

[8] Budiyanto, “Model Fungsionalisasi NilaiNilai Kearifan Lokal (Local Genius) Dalam Kebijakan Hukum (Legal Policy) Daerah Di Provinsi Jawa Tengah (Kajian Konstitusional Penguatan Komunitas Adat Sedulur Sikep Pati Dalam Pengelolaan SDA & Pelestarian LH)” [Model of Functionalization of Local Wisdom Values (Local ​​ Genius) in Regional Legal Policy in Central Java Province (Constitutional Study of Strengthening the Indigenous Community of Sedulur Sikep Pati in Natural Resources Management & Environmental Conservation)], Jurnal Pembaharuan Hukum III, no. 1 (Januari April 2016): 65-89 (translation by author).

[9] Muhamad Isnur, “Menjaga Ibu Bumi, Merawat Ibu Pertiwi” [Caring for Mother Earth, Caring for Mother Earth], Bantuan Hukum Diponegoro 74, no. 01 (2017): 24–33 (translation by author).

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[11] Nawiyanto and Eko Crys Endrayadi, “The Saminist Movement of the Kendeng Mountains Complex of Java during the Dutch Colonial and Indonesia’s Reform Eras” in TAWARIKH: International Journal for Historical Studies 8, no. 2 (April 2017): 117–30.

[12] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 108.

[13] Purnama, “Semen,” 805.

[14] Purnama, “Semen,” 805.

[15] Aloys Budi Purnomo, “A Model of Interreligious Eco-Theological Leadership to Care for the Eart in the Indoensian Context.”

European Journal of Science and Theology 16, no. 4 (August 2020): 22.

[16] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 105–10.

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[17] Putri, “The Meaning,” 313–15.

[18] Harry J. Benda and Lance Castles, “The Samin Movement,” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 125, no. 2 (1969): 224.

[19] Victor T. King, “Some Observations on The Samin Movement of The North-Central Java,” BKI, Matinus Nijhoff, ’s-Gra-venhage 129, no. 4e (1973): 461–63.

[20] Pieter E. Korver, “The Samin Movement and Millenarism,” Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia 132, no. 2 (1976): 250.

[21] Justus M. Kroef, “The Messiah in Indonesia and Melanesia,” The Scientiic Monthly 75, no.

3 (1952): 161–65.

[22] Aprianto, “Perampasan,” 157–68.

[23] Budiyanto, “Model,” 69–85.

[24] Hendra Try Ardianto, Mitos Tambang Untuk Kesejaheteraan, Pertarungan Wacana Kesejahteraan Dalam Kebijakan Pertambangan [The Myth of Mining for Welfare, the Battle of Welfare Discourses in Mining Policy], (Yogyakarta: Penerbit PolGov, 2016), 165–95 (translation by author).

[25] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 105–10 [26] Purnama, “Semen,” 803–14.

[27] Lutfi Untung Angga Laksana, “Srawung: An Sedulur Sikep Advocacy Strategy of Chement Factory Establishment”. Jurnal Cendekia 1, no. 12 (2013): 153–54.

[28] Rokhmad, “Configuration,” 525.

[29] Aloys Budi Purnomo, “Towards an Interreligious Ecotheological Leadership Paradigm to Overcome the Ecological Crisis.”

Journal of Asian Orientation in Theology 02, no. 01 (February 2020): 34–35, http://dx.doi. org/10.24071/jaot.

[30] Purnomo, “A Model,” 21–22.

[31] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 207–40.

[32] Korver, “The Samin,” 249–66.

[33] Kroef, “The Messiah,” 161–65.

[34] King, “Some Observations,” 461–63.

[35] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 5.

[36] Nawiyanto and Endrayadi, “The Saminist,” 124.

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[37] Aprianto, “Perampasan,” 157–68.

[38] Ardianto , “Mitos,”165–95.

[39] Laksana, “Srawung,” 145–64.

[40] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 96–98.

[41] Purnama, “Semen,” 811.

[42] Nawiyanto and Endrayadi, “The Saminist,” 124–25.

[43] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 111.

[44] Rokhmad, “Configuration,” 524.

[45] Ardianto, “Mitos,” 166–77.

[46] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 111–12.

[47] P. Widiyanto, “Samin Surontiko dan Konteksnya” [Samin Surontiko and His Context], Prisma 12, no. 8 (1983): 59–67 (translation by author).

[48] Amrih Widodo, “Samin in The New Order: The Politic of Encounter and Isolation,” in Imagining Indonesia, Cultural Politics and Political Culture, eds. Jim Schiller and Barbara Martin Schiller, (Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1997), 263–64.

[49] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 133 [50] Widiyanto, “Samin Surontiko,” 82–83 [51] Purnomo, “Towards,” 34.

[52] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 211.

[53] Korver, “The Samin,” 262–64.

[54] Widodo, “Samin,” 165–66.

[55] King, “Some Observations,” 463.

[56] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 49.

[57] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 58.

[58] King, “Some Observations,” 459.

[59] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 219.

[60] Aprianto, “Perampasan,” 162.

[61] Putri, “The Meaning,” 299.

[62] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 52.

[63] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 224–25 [64] Korver, “The Samin,” 250.

[65] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 89.

[66] Widodo, “Samin,” 263–66.

[67] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 224–25.

[68] Aprianto, “Perampasan,” 162–63.

[69] Rokhmad, “Configuration,” 523.

[70] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 94.

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[71] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 208.

[72] Widodo, “Samin,” 270.

[73] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 219.

[74] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 51.

[75] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 228.

[76] Sindhunata. “Die Samin-Bewegung,” in Hoffen Auf Den Ratu-Adil [The Samin Movement, in Hope for Ratu-Adil/Messiah], (Hambur: Kovac, 1992), 175–208 (translation by author).

[77] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 4.

[78] Rokhmad, “Configuration,” 524–25.

[79] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 5.

[80] Purnama, “Semen,” 806.

[81] Widodo, “Samin,” 279.

[82] Rokhmad, “Configuration,” 525.

[83] Puji Joko Sulistyo, “Dua Tokoh Agama Romo Budi Dan Gus Nuril Temui Warga Kendeng Penolak Pabrik Semen” [Two Religious Leaders, Father Budi and Gus Nuril Meet Kendeng Residents Who Refuse Cement Factory], https://Semarangpedia.

Com, last modified 2016, accessed January 20, 2020, https://semarangpedia.com/duatokoh-agama-romo-budi-dan-gus-nuriltemui-warga-kendeng-penolak-pabrik-semen/ (translation by author).

[84] Rofiuddin, “Tolak Pabrik Semen, Romo Budi Dan Gus Ubaid Ikut Berorasi” [Rejects the Cement Factory, Father Budi and Gus Ubaid Participate in Public Oration], Tempo.Co, last modified 2015, accessed July 29, 2019, https://nasional.tempo.co/read/719640/tolakpabrik-semen-romo-budi-dan-gus-ubaidikut-berorasi/full&view=ok (translation by author).

[85] Praga Utama, “Ignatius Suharyo, Membela Warga Kendeng Hingga Papua” [Ignatius Suharyo, Defending Kendeng Residents to Papua], Www.Tempo.Co, last modified 2019, accessed February 16, 2020, https://nasional. tempo.co/read/1255993/ignatius-suharyomembela-warga-kendeng-hingga-papua/ full&view=ok (translation by author).

[86] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 233–35.

[87] Widodo, “Samin,” 261–87.

[88] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 4.

[89] Widodo, “Samin,” 287.

[90] Benda and Castles”The Samin,” 233.

[91] Rokhmad, “Configuration,” 524–25.

[92] Oprea, Ciocan, and Oprea, “The Ecotheological,” 207 [93] Benda and Castles, “The Samin,” 226 [94] Widodo, “Samin,” 264.

[95] Sindhunata. “Die Samin-Bewegung,” 92.

[96] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 53–54.

[97] Budiyanto, “Model,” 76.

[98] Gerardus Majella Adhyanggono, “Imagining Javaneseness in Contemporary Indonesian Socio-Cultural Documentaries.” (PhD diss., Lancaster University, 2016), 97–109.

[99] Laksana, “Srawung,” 145–64.

[100] Budiyanto, “Model,” 77.

[101] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 95–98.

[102] A. Widyarsono, “Gerakan Samin: Perlawanan Rakyat Tanpa Kekerasan” [The Samin Movement: People’s Resistance Without Violence], Unisia 36, no. XXI/IV (1998), 84–86 (translation by author).

[103] Widyarsono, “Gerakan,” 81.

[104] Budiyanto, “Model,” 77.

[105] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” III. [106] Widyarsono, “Gerakan,” 84–86 [107] Budiyanto, “Model,” 75.

[108] Putri, “The Meaning,” 199.

[109] Putri, “Re-Claiming,” 12.

[110] Putri, “The Meaning,” 316.

[111] Rokhmad, “Configuration,” 525.

[112] Purnomo, “Towards,” 40–41.

[113] Purnomo, “A Model,” 22.

[114] Oprea, Ciocan, and Oprea, “The Ecotheological,” 207.

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Biographies Aloys Budi Purnomo, born in Wonogiri (Indonesia), February 14, 1968. He is a catholic diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Semarang, Indonesia; ordained as a

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Roman Catholic priest on July 8, 1996. Completed the Theology Licentiate study at the Pontifical Faculty of Wedabhakti, Yogyakarta, and Master of Theology, Field of Contextual Theology Concentration, Sanata Dharma University of Yogyakarta, Indonesia (July 1996-February 1998). He currently serves as Head of Campus Ministry of Soegijapranata Catholic University and also a student for Environmental Science Doctoral Program, Soegijapranata Catholic University, Jl. Pawiyatan Luhur IV/1 Bendan Duwur, Semarang 50234, Indonesia. He served as Chief of Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Semarang (March 2008 – March 2019). Some of his books that have been published include Membangun Teologi Inklusif-Pluralistik (Penerbit Kompas: Jakarta, 2004), Rakyat (Bukan) Tumbal Kekerasan & Kekuasaan (Gramedia Pustaka Utama: Jakarta, 2005); Preferential Option for and with the Poor (Bina Media: Medan, 2003); The Wonderful Europe (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2011). He also actively wrote as a columnist in several newspapers in Indonesia. In 2004 he founded a monthly magazine of INSPIRASI, Lentera yang Membebaskan as Editor-in-Chief of the journalistic pastoral. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-00022430-7643. Scopus ID: 57218914177.

in Environmental Science, Master Program in Urban and Environmental Studies Soegijapranata Catholic University (SCU), Semarang – Indonesia.

Cecilia Titiek Murniati is a faculty member at Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. She received her Ph.D. degree in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies from the University of Iowa, U.S.A. She currently serves as the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs. Murniati’s research interest spans the fields of higher education policies and leadership studies, teaching and learning in higher education, and the integration of technology in the classrooms. She was instrumental in the early development of the University of Iowa’s The TILE (Spaces to Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage) program through her involvement in TILErelated policy studies.

Y. Budi Widianarko is Professor of Food Ecology & Safety, Food Technology Department, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, PhD Program

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SECTION 3

Social Sciences, Culture, Lifestyle Choices & Religion

This page was intentionally left blank ** Customers seated in small greenhouses are eating lunch at the Mediamatic ETEN restaurant in Amsterdam, Netherland

by Peter Dejong https://www.euronews.com/2020/07/20/ in - p i c t ure s - re staurant s - f in d - c re a tive-ways-to-enforce-social-distancing

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This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Taking ‘the leap of faith’.

How religious views affect people’s’ way of living?

Rev. Cosmin-Tudor CIOCAN, Ph.D. The Faculty of Theology, ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanța, ROMANIA

Pratibha Gramann, Ph.D. De Anza College California USA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 15 September 2020 Received in revised form 1 October Accepted 10 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.7

There is consistent evidence that everything coming out from the religious/spiritual (R/S) phenomenon bends us most harshly. And that occurs regardless of the form religiousness or spirituality takes in practice or theory, despite the broad range of embracing religious concepts and creeds from atheism to fanatism, or moreover disregarding the impossibility of labeling as good or wrong these creeds from another perspective than the one that produced it. Many people adhere to religion for the sake of their souls, but it turns out that regular participation in faith-based activities is good for the body and mind, too. Whether we are talking from a social perspective, or a psychological, mental, or bodily one, religious creeds and/or faith-based activities change us in a way or another, nearly for good and incessantly. Is that a good or a wrong thing? – the problem is that we cannot even assess this except from the same perspective that originates it, which makes even more difficult to analyze the religious phenomenon, especially for its better eventual management. Could this be a motif for lesser religious engagement in the civil societies characterized by a decreasing religious attachment?

Keywords: religious phenomenon; faith-based activities; religiousness; spirituality; violence; happiness; trust; Wellbeing;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Cosmin-Tudor Ciocan, Pratibha Gramann. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Ciocan, Cosmin-Tudor, Pratibha Gramann. ”Taking ‘the leap of faith’. How religious views affect people’s’ way of living?”

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have occurred in their lives.

I. Introduction

Religion is a universal human pursuit, affecting many different cultural parameters, moral concepts, and ideals, and influencing human thinking and behavior by offering answers on the meaning of human existence.[1] Either we want it or not, any religious belief, creed, or superstition turn our lives eventually in another direction than it may actually be, and that happens either positively or negatively. For example, the “new Pew Research Center study of the ways religion influences the daily lives of Americans finds that people who are highly religious are more engaged with their extended families, more likely to volunteer, more involved in their communities and generally happier with the way things are going in their lives.”[2] In the opposite situation, we have many other studies proving that, based on religious beliefs, there are also people who engage in terrorism, commit acts of violence associated with religious sayings, at the same time others are fighting for their religious beliefs against anybody through any meaning, even if it implies violence sometimes[3]. All in-between situations that happen from religious involvement give us the conclusion in this regard that we must be certain of at least one thing for sure: that religious views/ beliefs interfere with our lives, altering them in a way, positively or negatively, but never leaving them untouched. That is also happening regardless of how these religious acts are conducted, willing or not, conscious or not, deliberately or purposelessly. Some may say that this should not be a special topic since everything we get in touch with within our lives alter them more or less.

Still, I would like to give some examples in both directions to conclude on what would be the motifs of this alteration on behalf of religious views and also envision how selected people for this research would have acted if religious beliefs would not

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II. The Influence of Religiousness over

Thinking and Acting as Individual

It is clear for everyone, even for nonspecialists, that the level of engagement in a certain field [with no special regard to religious belief] alter the individual’s thinking and acting in direct proportionality.

For example, people in the political campaign staff will tend to emphasize the qualities of their promoted candidate, while ignoring or even denying his loopholes and mistakes. The same thing goes with all other circumstances and domains if we are considering the high[est] level of personal engagement. On the opposite, if the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity is poor, then we can expect at all times acts of betrayal, disloyalty, and also to falseness. These two psychological factors, commitment and deception, are indirectly proportional - that is why all respectable institutions adopt weekly psychological monitoring of their employees for the special purpose of these two factors, to care for their employees or at least the need to prevent any breach of trust. Now, concerning religiousness and spirituality (R/S)[4] level of engagement, things stay no different.

From my point of view – of course, not mine alone, but embraced by me as well – there is no actual and real thing as ‘absolute freedom’; instead we can have relative power in choosing some of our pathways.

Thus, choosing a religious view or another does not make you free from all burden – as it is stated – but gives you the benefit of having the elected/assumed ones. My point is that deep religious engagement does not provide you with serenity and relief, instead, it deepens you with other levels of concern, duties, worries, and fears – all sources of anxiety and distress, just the

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opposite most religions profess; possibly that is why an increasing number of people are actually in favor of practicing spirituality without religious commitment. However, regarding this chapter’s threat, there are several directions in which high religious engagement alters individual acting and thinking. On the one hand, there are studies to underline how the high level of convictions and the frequency of attendance at religious services (but not private prayer) is associated with a larger sympathy group and a greater sense of bonding to congregation members and therefore a direct impact on happiness or life satisfaction.[5] The feelings of bonding and belonging to a group are a very primordial psychological need; it is redundant to say that from youth individuals strive to become accepted by groups while performing acts of initiation – known as rites of passage, sometimes most dangerous or at least awkward[6]. These ceremonies of initiation are also labeled as ‘leap of faith’ in the group dogma, while, in return, that group membership offers protection and aids to self-accomplishment. On the opposite, the sense of nowhere-belonging is stressful and ultimately sociopath.

On the other hand, some other studies point out that “higher religiosity/spirituality (R/S) and magical ideation scores have often been associated with increased obsessivecompulsive traits.”[7] There is no secret that the relationship between religiosity and mental health has been a perennial source of controversy. It is notorious that “religiosity/ spirituality and personal beliefs constitute important parameters of human experience and deserve greater consideration in the psychotherapeutic treatment of psychiatric disorders.”[8] For some individuals, religious faith may enhance the ability to cope with negative life events, whereas for others, negative life events may result in greater religious faith.[9] Clinical studies indicate that “the weighted average correlation

is .03 (95% CI [.01, .05]), indicating that a greater R/S is minimally but significantly associated with better mental health.”[10] Thus “individuals who have more R/S have less depression, anxiety, suicide attempts, and substance use/abuse, and experience a better quality of life, faster remission of depressive symptoms, and better psychiatric outcomes.”[11] However, other clinical indicators prove that “increased religiosity was generally associated with an increased risk of PE (psychotic experiences) [12] .” Although for the individual existence this is rather an improvement on its mental or physical activities and wellbeing (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/ alcohol use/abuse, while for individual’s social engagement and duties PEs are conjunction that can become problematic (e.g., personality disorders, self-centrism) [13] . These personality disorders which are educated within religious organizations are most intense and can be found within the leadership structure of many religious organizations. * Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) is the most difficult to identify for being chameleon-like ability. It consists of deceiving people who came in good faith for religious guidance and spiritual growth to whom they make commitments (which they have no intention of carrying out) while actually doing the opposite. The danger in confronting ASPDs is that they are highly revengeful and will stop at nothing until a person is completely destroyed. This personality can be violent when provoked. * A person with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) loves to be the center of attention proving a deeply insecure person who will stop at nothing to protect their image. NPDs believe they have a special relationship with God and therefore should be in complete control over everybody.

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* Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) is a compulsion to imposing rules and regulations at their will over anybody else. In religious circles, OCPDs are very legalistic about the rules and order to the point that they miss the real meaning behind worship. There is no compromise with OCPDs, everything is either black or white and they are the principal determining factor as to who falls into which category.[14] III. Religious Beliefs improving Living

“…do not lead us into temptation…” this is one of the most used religious prayers concerning the daily chores and duties religious people have. There are many things that we can offer here as proof for endorsing the idea that religious activities have their way of changing things to a better end in social living. Speaking of events on a big scale like slavery, and going unto the individual terms such as resisting junk food, raising self-esteem, or helping soothe the anxiety associated with mistakes in life or loses – it became obvious that religious beliefs improve living boundless in so many ways. At the same time, it is most curious about how the same cradle of improving living is also the source of the opposite outcome.

It is a notorious fact for everyone that a critical feature of religious creed is ‘selfcontrol’ over many things, usually of those that ‘are’ or at least ‘are appointed’ by religious views as damaging. We refer to certain food consumption, or of substances [such as alcohol, drugs, etc.], to acting or inaction, to proceeding or to endure – everything in religion is about assuming control over your life [of course under the strict supervision and ‘divine’ guidance of a religious leader, confessor or guru]. It is also well-known the phrase of ‘the leap of faith’, envisioned either as a very pleasant and joyful way such as that in Paradise

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Island, Bahamas[15] , or as one of the most dangerous rites of passage on Pentecost Island[16], this concept strives to leave you out of self-control and place you entirely in ‘God’s capable and powerful hands’. This is just the opposite related to what we taught previously, as empowering self-control.

From an internal perspective ‘following the word of God’ has the most healing and positive effect in one’s life, mentally, bodily, socially, and other dimensions of an individual entity. As proved in the chapter above, overall the religious faith produces several positive effects, engaging individuals to many things that produce ‘the happiness hormones,’[17] that improve one’s way of perceiving himself and the world.

From the inside, any religious community seeks equilibrium for its adepts, in mind and body through a variety of means.

Keep your expectations low will reduce disappointment from people, while God is always trustworthy and gives you what you deserve – this universal creed offers both comforts to those in distress, as well as satisfactions for those afflicted. Building a grateful personality keeps you open-minded, sincere, and appreciative to everything, no matter how small it is, that you receive in life; being grateful as a daily habit on bigger and smallest things significantly rise in happiness.

Another happiness booster appointed in religious practice is to cultivate altruism; those who give money away [easily] rather than spending it on themselves get higher energy of positiveness. Not only that, but people who volunteer for selfless reasons live longer, according to a study published in August 2011 in the journal Health Psychology.

Focus away your negative emotions is also part of the R/S healing process. Either it teaches us to stay free of rage and revengeness, or to express it fully to those that caused these negative emotions, R/S views were always dealing with them in a way or another, but never let them harm you from inside. The whole philosophy of religious views on the

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individual level is not to seek happiness itself, for it will give you anger, anxiety, lack of self-trust, and eventually unhappiness.

Instead, it is in pursuing activities that make you happy, rather than happiness itself.

From the same religious psychotherapy is the fact that regardless of the relation you have with others, even family, ‘the religious family’ welcomes you the way you are, disregarding all your flaws and imperfections, all your past and uncomfortable deeds.

Simply ‘God welcomes you as you are right now’, a sinner – this is the fundamental theme of all Christian [not limited to] NeoProtestant religious discourse and not only. The profound positive thinking of these religious movements has only one purpose: to set one’s mind free of self-pity and remorses over the past and move on in freedom [from your past] and responsibility [to your new institution of affiliation].

Helping others, renouncing the dark past, letting God’s energy to fill you from within and to drive your life while protecting you wherever you are and whatever you do – these and many other similar concepts are fundamental keys in discovering how R/S views build satisfaction and total engagement of their disciples.

In a quick reference on how R/S improve living, we can successfully add some examples, out from the enterprise R/S have over individuals in general. Thus, besides welcoming everyone aleatory and taking care of their needs, R/S is used as a tool for several categories to purposefully improve life/living to a better outcome. One example might be the case of elders. “According to one 1998 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, older patients who were hospitalized for physical problems but also suffered from depression recovered better from their mental struggles if religion was an intrinsic part of their lives.

More recently, scientists reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2010 that

belief in a caring God improves response to psychiatric treatment in depressed patients.

Interestingly, this increased response wasn’t tied to a patient’s sense of hope or any other factor that might be bestowed by religion, according to study researcher Patricia Murphy of Rush University.”[18] The concept of positive aging is gaining attention in the literature as an approach to health and wellbeing that incorporates several factors into the lives of older adults, one of which is consistent R / S. “Religion, spirituality and/or belief are still centrally important for many people, providing structure, meaning and understanding to everyday life, as well as support through life challenges.”[19] Many features R/S provide for the individual’s improving living are used in these social reinsertion processes with success. “We find that religious attendance is associated with higher levels of social integration and social support and that social integration and social support are associated with lower levels of loneliness.”[20] As an important indicator of social well-being in later life, loneliness is known to increase the risk of poor health and premature death. In the case of elders’ positive aging the usual fact of the increased risk of social isolation and loneliness drops in damage and effects if the R/S factor is called. It provides various and numerous factors to elders on health, wellbeing, and positive aging. For elders in R/S engagement, positive aging is generated by maintaining relationships, having a good [social/religious] family and social support, and active participation in some activities and within the community produce positive emotions. The R / S factor thus acts through spiritual activities (e.g., prayer) that can reduce feelings of isolation, positive spirituality can reduce some of the feelings of helplessness and loss of control, and the ability to cope with health.[21]. Optimism, hope, positive emotions, higher selfesteem, feelings of purpose and meaning, sense of control et. al.[22] are some of the

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many features R/S factor brings into elders [not limited to] lives and attracts positive outcomes. In fact, there are opinions and research conducted in this regard that older adults tend to be more religious than younger generations, and some claim that religiosity can increase with age[23].

Another example in which people are helped to get through their special [negative] situation with R/S leverage is of those in prison[24]. It is not a subject as studied as the previous one, but nevertheless, the researches proved to have the same improvement and positive influence on all the investigated cases. “First, religious participation can help an inmate overcome the depression, guilt, and selfcontempt that so often accompanies the prison sentence. This is especially the case for younger inmates who lack experience coping with prison. These inmates can immerse themselves in the teachings of faith as a way to restore a sense of self-control in the face of the often dehumanizing prison environment. Second, other inmates, older and more experienced, may seek a way to avoid the constant threats faced in prison.

Involvement in religion can reinforce attitudes and behaviors that circumvent the traditional hustles of prison life.”[25] The same thing goes with other corrections departments[26], religious and spiritual help being provided since forever to these social categories successfully.

IV. Acting worse in life by following

religious views

Usually, when appointing the ‘bad’ influence of religious views in peoples’ lives, we address faith-based violence and terrorism. “There are continuing acts of intolerance and violence based on religion or belief against individuals, including against persons belonging to religious communities and religious minorities around

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the world, and the number and intensity of such incidents, which are often of a criminal nature and may have international characteristics, are increasing.”[27] Either we remember the entire history of the religious phenomenon or refer to what happens in our times alone, and there will always provide us with a significant amount of acts of violence and terror from the religious environment towards the secular society and backwards. Setting 22 August as the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism,[28] the General Assembly of United Nations strongly deplored all acts of violence against persons based on their religion or belief, as well as any such acts directed against their homes, businesses, properties, schools, cultural centers or places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites, and shrines that violate international law.

Of course, due to this tragic involvement in the public space, there are many voices and movements – raising in numbers – that struggle to ban religious practice and faith from the public sphere looking to reduce to the minimum its influence over the aspects of our lives. With all the struggle in the secular society in this direction and purpose, the importance and thus the influence of the religious and spiritual realms cannot be shut away entirely. On the contrary, there are studies and reports conducted in this direction that prove contrariwise.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith has investigated, in its report Does Faith Matter?[29], some of the ways in which faith and spirituality have a positive impact on society. “In some societies, traditional religious institutions are more marginalized and separated from public life, with a growing number of people saying they have no religious affiliation. Yet more than eight in ten people worldwide still identify with a religion”.[30] However, regardless of the positive, mostly individual, effects religions have in society, the results

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of their bad influence and outcomes are more devastating and irreparable. The theologians strive to prove religion’s good nature to the people while sociologists and anthropologists bring the certainty of facts that religious views are mostly used for human motifs thus with bad results. In this regard studies have proved that “the greatest importance seems not to lie on R/S beliefs in general, but rather on specific religious coping strategies”[31]. Religious coping reflects the functional expressions of R/S in stressful situations. Positive religious coping is suggested to have a positive impact on mental health, while the negative one (ie, wondering whether God has abandoned someone or believing in a punishing, vengeful, or simply indifferent God) has been repeatedly found in close association to negative psychological adjustment, higher psychopathology scores, and worse mental health status and treatment outcomes[32].

Opposite to what is mostly found in the literature, religion does not act as a protective barrier to the primary objective of terrorism, which consists in the use of violence to create fear[33]. People worried about the probability of becoming a target in terrorist attacks are also victims of terrorism.

V. Religious views and pandemic

The last concern I want to overview in this research is, of course, how religious views have altered pandemic spread and if it made a difference, for better or worse. The point is that it should not be a problem for the actual research either this influence is for worse or better solving and containing the spread of this new coronavirus, Sars-coV-2, since we are only concerned here if R/S has an actual influence conducting to altering the path of things. Instead, the global influence of religious phenomenon has been visible for all, entirely and not addressing a

single faction or religion. Therefore, I said it is global, even if not entirely manifested in the same direction. While some religious factions have proved diligent and willing to support governments in containing the spread of Covid19, many others tended to oppose most impositions or even rise riots against some of them. This is not essentially a statement against one or another religious community since there are also parties in every religious denomination acting against or embracing these (medical) impositions.

Thus while some Churches responded with understanding and consideration for the human worldy needs, other defiles these impositions and the public health with their disrespectful responses. For example, the Megachurch in suburban Los Angeles had closed its doors in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic; after its reopening in late July was in full capacity and with no regard to public health whatsoever, as some photos and videos posted on social media[34] by church officials show indoor services and tightly packed rows of congregants, most if not all of whom are maskless. In holding church, MacArthur is betting on divine protection in a pandemic hotspot.

Los Angeles County is reporting 1,500-2,000 new Covid-19 infections a day.[35] In Korea, the largest Christian Church, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, had no regard for these regulations and, in return, most of their churchgoers got infected. About 60% of the country’s more than 4,000 confirmed cases are sect members. Deaths nationwide now stand at 28. Lee Man-hee, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, got on his knees and bowed at a news conference for forgiveness.[36] Another example in this religion-State agreement against Covid pandemic has been with Orthodoxy, ‘a’ Church that promotes its most intimate and fundamental creed as being ‘one’ (not necessarily ‘the one’), but despite this, it acts more and more as plural,

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especially from the last decade. Amid actual pandemic, this multi-one Church proved its capability to act in multiple directions, by no means as one, unitary and unique.

Concerning the pandemic’s containing some were benevolent and assumed them fully (as it was the case with the Russian Patriarchy, the Patriarchate of Tbilisi, or Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christian Church), while others raised public riots and vocal disobedience (e.g., The Serbian Orthodox Church, The Bulgarian one, Greek, Georgian, and others)[37].

On the other hand, for different reasons (e.g., for political propaganda, populism, or religious support in campaigns) there is an alarming trend of government officials ignoring public health warnings and refusing to call on houses of worship to close while it is crucial to respond thoughtfully and prudently to this pandemic. As a response to these religious exemptions, many religious communities say that there is nothing to be afraid of inside a Church, ‘for Jesus is my sanitizer’[38]. On account of God’s unworldly protection over a more than a worldly threat, many religious communities have discontent with these impositions and denied any possibility of people getting the infection by religious means. All this resistance to obeying special rules for special times suggests that it is ignoring the science and advice of health experts. To the other side of the chain, the entire RomanoCatholic Church took all the necessary measures containing the pandemic spread and help the authorities in this regard. Thus it will always be remembered the image of Pope Francis delivers an extraordinary blessing “To the City and to the World” on Friday to pray for an end to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic to an empty plaza.

It is a fact that there are also changes this pandemic imposes on religious rituals and expression. With all the reactions coming from religious communities involving

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either obedience to regulations and thus a consistent drawback from previous rituals, or on the contrary others’ disobedience - all these force religious communities to change the relationship with the State in public statements. In the end, it is obvious from all the social media’s comments that the relations religion has with the civil world have worsened and the process of secularization entered another stage.

Conclusion It is thus a fact that regardless of the form religiousness or spirituality takes in practice or theory, in spite of the extensive range of trust and embracing religious concepts and creeds from atheism to fanatism, moreover disregarding the impossibility of labeling as good or wrong these concepts and creeds from another perspective than the one that produced it – all in all, everything coming out from religious phenomenon influences us most viciously. Faith permeates our world, providing a moral and ethical compass for the vast majority of people as well as with purpose, means, and highly, unearthly values on acting at a ‘divine call’. The greater the renunciation of one’s own person and opinion while increasing obedience to the ‘divine calling’, the richer the reward in the after-life - this is the hope offered by any religious creed. It is, in fact, the engine of the most extreme and controversial faith-based acts - of course from diverse perspectives, mostly secular and non-religious. Due to these sine-quanon conditions, of forgetting common sense and disregarding reasoning, from outside of the religious acts and creeds, they seem periculous and hazardous, thus people tend to label them as illicit and contestable.

Day by day, age after age, generation after generation, human acts religiously grounded and obtained through the leap of faith are increasingly challenged and socially rebuked. This is tagged for example the

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Mosaic and Muslim baptism that requires invasive interventions on the human body, the absolute fast of the Jainists, the sharing with a single teaspoon of all parishioners even during the pandemic to Orthodox Christians - all this passes as alienable and primitive before those who do not I share that [religious] faith. However, regardless of these social disagreements, there is no escape from this vicious circle of conducting [socially labeled] ‘dangerous’ acts by those inside the religious phenomenon who carry out their lives trying to please the divine.

Unexplainable, irrational, and beyond any self-preservation instinct, the ‘leap of faith’ makes people act unpredictably and against the social-ethical codes. To this extent, most religious acts and moreover what drives them to fulfill cannot be accepted by the secular society and thus, closing the circle, ensures the religious people that their faith-based acts should continue to pursue for they are unearthly and worthy of divine rewards. In conclusion, the unseen forces and highly contestable motifs from the religious/spiritual realm continue to bend our nature and our lives in the most conspicuous way.

Trying to measure and find the heavier plate while balancing the positive effects with those of bad influence religious beliefs have over individual/people, there are two sides of these results that must be taken into consideration for the conclusions. On the one hand, we have their numbers in which the positiveness has a larger proportion, while the bad one has fewer, on the other hand, though speaking in quantities the negative effects are more visible in proportion than insignificant results of those positive. In other words, the peaceful tranquility that the individual gains in attending religious acts will always matter less to civil society compared to the countless deaths and more other lives destroyed by religious terrorism and wars.

In both cases, the usual interactive destinies are disturbed. Initiation thus provides initiates with the means to learn means that allow them to appear simultaneously as themselves and not as themselves. In doing so, they convey to the uninitiated the very idea of ​​transformation itself. What is defining in this process is the change itself, always lasting and irreversible. But to submit a conclusion that this influences, negative motif for lesser religious engagement in the civil societies characterized by a decreasing religious attachment There are, of course, many other issues over which religious views and beliefs have important influence (e.g., cross-cultural and cross-religious influences, the mutual influence between culture and religions, etc) but they are altogether related to the social problems raised by religious background and not, in particular, the aim of the actual study. However, there still others with specific regard to our research (e.g., religious background affecting people’s choices over food, clothes, art, et.all. – but of course there are many studies already published in some of this regards), but, due to the extend of this research, they were left behind, perhaps with concern to the second paper on this topic; for the moment it is not a promise, but it could definitely be a proposal.

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Problems of definition]. Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft. 1995;3(2):163– 190. German.

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Cosmin Tudor Ciocan, “RSCCI (religious social-conflict-causing-issues).

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[4] There is a significant difference between these two, even if those addressing from the religious realm often deny this separation. However, they are related closely even if they are two different identities. I adopt the definitions given by Koenig et al. [Koenig HG, McCullough M, Larson DB. Handbook of religion and health: a century of research reviewed (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)] Religion: is an organized system of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols designed to facilitate closeness to the sacred or transcendent (God, higher power, or ultimate truth/reality).

Spirituality: is the personal quest for understanding answers to the ultimate questions about life, about meaning, and about relationship with the sacred or transcendent, which may (or may not) lead to or arise from the development of religious rituals and the formation of a community. Spirituality is understood as ideas surrounding “a sense of connectedness, purpose, meaning and ‘transcendence of self’ ”. [Nelson-Becker, H.; Ai, A.L.; Hopp, F.P.; McCormick, T.R.; Schlyeter, J.O.; Camp, J.K. Spirituality and Religionin End-of-life Care Ethics: The Challenge of Interfaith and Cross-Generational Matters.J. Soc. Work2015,45,104–119. P106] [5] R.I.M. Dunbar, “Religiosity and Religious Attendance as Factors in Wellbeing and Social Engagement”. Religion, Brain & Behavior ISSN: 2153-599X (Print) 21535981 (Online), 2020. doi:10.1080/215359 9x.2020.1712618.

[6] E. Aronson, J. Mills, “The effect of [3]

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severity of initiation on liking for a group”, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 1959/59 (2): 177–181.

CiteSeerX 10.1.1.368.1481. doi:10.1037/ h0047195 [7] Agorastos, C. Demiralay, CG. Huber, “Influence of religious aspects and personal beliefs on psychological behavior: focus on anxiety disorders,” Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 2014;7:93-101 https://doi. org/10.2147/PRBM.S43666.

[8] Ibidem.

[9] Connor KM, Davidson JR, Lee LC. “Spirituality, resilience, and anger in survivors of violent trauma: a community survey”. J Trauma Stress.

2003;16(5):487–494.

[10] Bastian Hodapp, Christian Zwingmann.

“Religiosity/Spirituality and Mental Health: A Meta‑analysis of Studies from the German‑Speaking Area”, in Journal of Religion and Health (2019) 58: 1970– 1998. DOI 10.1007/s10943-019-00759-0 [11] Koenig HG. “Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: a review”.

Can J Psychiatry. 2009;54:283-91.

Bonelli RM, Koenig HG. “Mental disorders, religion and spirituality 1990 to 2010: a systematic evidence-based review”. J Relig Health. 2013;52:657-73.

[12] The CIDI [W.H.O. Composite International Diagnostic Interview] Psychosis Module included questions about six PE types – 2 related to hallucinatory experiences (HEs) and 4 related to delusional experiences (DEs).

Kovess-Masfety, V., S. Saha, C. C. W. Lim, S. Aguilar-Gaxiola, A. Al-Hamzawi, J. Alonso, G. Borges, et al.. “Psychotic Experiences and Religiosity: Data from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys”.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2018. doi:10.1111/acps.12859.

[13] More about this thread on Philippe

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Huguelet, Harold G. Koenig (edit.).

Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry.

New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

[14] Christine Hammond, MS, LMHC. “The Three Personality Disorders Prevalent in Religious Environments” in Psych Central, 28 Jun 2019. Retrieved from https://pro.psychcentral.com/exhaustedwoman/2016/07/the-three-personalitydisorders-prevalent-in-religiousenvironments/ [15] https://youtu.be/aUm2I3ojGW8, accessed 5.10.2020.

[16] https://youtu.be/DnWvU604DNg, accessed 5.10.2020.

[17] These “happy hormones” include Dopamine, also known as the “feel-good” hormone, a hormone and neurotransmitter that’s an important part of your brain’s reward system; Serotonin, a hormone and neurotransmitter that helps regulate your mood as well as your sleep, appetite, digestion, learning ability, and memory.

Oxytocin, often called the “love hormone,” it is essential for childbirth, breastfeeding, and strong parent-child bonding; and Endorphins which are your body’s natural pain reliever, which your body produces in response to stress or discomfort.

[18] Stephanie Pappas, “8 Ways Religion Impacts Your Life” in LiveScience, February 10, 2012. URL: https://www. livescience.com/18421-religion-impactshealth.html, accessed 4.10.2020.

[19] Malone, Joanna, and Anna Dadswell.

“The Role of Religion, Spirituality And/ or Belief in Positive Ageing for Older Adults”. Geriatrics. Geriatrics, 2018/3:28. doi:10.3390/geriatrics3020028.

[20] Rote Sunshine, Hill D. Terrence, Ellison G. Christopher. “Religious Attendance and Loneliness in Later Life”. Gerontologist. 2012;53:39–50. doi: 10.1093/geront/gns063. P.39

Harold G. Koenig. “Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications”. ISRN Psychiatry, 2012:133. doi:10.5402/2012/278730.

[22] Ibidem, 4.

[23] Vern L. Bengtson, Merril Silverstein, Norella M. Putney, Susan C. Harris. “Does religiousness increase with age? Age changesand generational differences over 35 years.”, in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 2015,54, 363–379. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12183 [24] Jim Thomas, and Barbara H. Zaitzow. “Conning or Conversion?

The Role of Religion in Prison Coping.” The Prison Journal 86, no.

2 (June 2006): 242–59. https://doi. org/10.1177/0032885506287952.

[25] Todd R. Clear, Bruce D. Stout, Harry R. Dammer, Linda Kelly, Patricia L. Hardyman & Carol Shapiro. “Does Involvement in Religion Help Prisoners Adjust to Prison?”. NCCD (The National Council On Crime And Delinquency), November 1992, 1-7. Retrieved from https://www.nccdglobal.org/sites/default/ files/publication_pdf/religion-andprisoners.pdf [26] Harry R. Dammer, “Religion in Corrections”. The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, Vol. 3. Pg. 1375. 2002.

Retrieved from https://www.scranton. edu/faculty/dammerh2/ency-religion. shtml [27] “Human Rights Related to Freedom of Religion or Belief” in United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/observances/ religious-based-violence-victims-day, accessed 5.10.2020.

[28] In May 2019, the General Assembly of the United Nations (resolution A/ RES/73/296) designated Aug. 22 as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. URL: https://undocs.

[21]

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org/A/RES/72/165, accessed 5.10.2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/ GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_RoleFaith_ DoesFaithMatter_Report_2014.pdf, accessed 5.10.2020.

[30] Ibidem.

[31] Baetz M, Bowen R, Jones G, KoruSengul T. “How spiritual values and worship attendance relate to psychiatric disorders in the Canadian population”.

Can J Psychiatry. 2006;51(10):654–661.

[32] Hebert R, Zdaniuk B, Schulz R, Scheier M. Positive and negative religious coping and well-being in women with breast cancer. J Palliat Med. 2009;12(6):537– 545.

[33] Ângela Leite, Ana Ramires, Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis, and Hélder Fernando Pedrosa e Sousa. “Who Is Concerned about Terrorist Attacks? A Religious Profile”. Social Sciences, . 2019: 8, 316.

1-16; doi:10.3390/socsci8110316.

[34] h t t p s : / / p b s . t w i m g . c o m / m e d i a / E e _ xKvbU8AYn6DS.jpg [35] h t t p s : / / w w w. c t v n e w s . c a / h e a l t h / coronavirus/california-megachurchdefies-public-health-orders-holds-indoorservices-for-thousands-with-no-socialdistancing-1.5062764 [36] “Coronavirus: South Korea church leader apologises for virus spread” BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/worldasia-51701039, accessed on 15 July 2020.

[37] https://www.euronews.com/2020/04/19/ orthodox-easter-churches-largely-emptyamid-coronavirus-pandemic [38] Father Allawi, who belongs to the Maronite Catholic Church in Vivian Yee, “In a Pandemic, Religion can be a balm or a risk”. URL: https://www.nytimes. com/2020/03/22/world/middleeast/ coronavirus-religion.html [29]

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This paper was presented at

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

The Way of The Christianity Sinicization From The View of Bible Translation Word Frequency and Sentiment Analysis of CUV and KJV Bible Yigang Ding

School of Educational Information Technology South China Normal University Guangzhou, China

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 26 September 2020 Received in revised form 15 October Accepted 20 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.8

At present, how to deal with the localization of Chinese Christianity has become a topic of great concern to the Chinese Christian community. There is an undeniable step of it is to enable the Chinese people to know and understand Christianity, and to integrate Christian doctrine and philosophical thinking with Chinese traditional culture. Based on natural language processing technology, this research conducted word frequency and sentiment analysis on the two versions of the Bible of CUV and KJV. Furthermore, we taking Revelation as an example, this paper analyzes the emotional attitude towards Revelation in the Chinese-English cultural context, hoping that the translation of The Bible is more in line with the Chinese cultural context and provides a new path for the Sinicization of Christianity.

Keywords: Christianity Sinicization; Sentiment Analysis;

Bible;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Yigang Ding. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Ding, Yigang. ”The Way of The Christianity Sinicization From The View of Bible Translation. Word Frequency and Sentiment Analysis of CUV and KJV Bible.” DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 103-111. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.8

I. Introduction

The so-called Sinicization of Christianity refers to the Chinese Christian Church, guided by the Bible, and actively strive to make Christian theological doctrines, rites, organizational structure, and missionary

methods suitable for China’s national conditions and people, and suitable for the psychological acceptance and spiritual expression of the Chinese people, make it identify with the masses of the people and social reality.It is a cause to make the Chinese church better[1].

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At present, how to deal with the localization of Chinese Christianity has become a topic of great concern to the Chinese Christian community. As for the way to manage Chinese Christianity, there are different opinions at home and abroad. On the one hand, overseas organizations such as the “China Evangelical Society” claim to “make China evangelize”, which means to make a Christianization in China, and it is not accepted by Chinese Christianity because of its strong anti-Chinese ideology. On the other hand, some Christians and scholars in China have proposed “the localization or sinicization of Christianity.”

II. Christianization in China or

Sinicization of Christianity

Compared with China’s five major religions, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Christianity, all religions except Taoism are foreign religions.

However, in the history of China, Buddhism and Islam both paid more attention to the harmony with Chinese culture and folk customs in the process of their dissemination. As a result, Buddhism became the core of Chinese traditional culture, an important branch of the three traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. And Islam has become the national belief of many ethnic minorities in China.

However, although Christianity (including Catholicism and Christianity) have come to China several times, they are still striving to realize Sinicization. The hardships and twists of its sinicization process have attracted much attention. Although from a practical perspective, the growth rate of the number of Christian believers is the fastest compared to other religions. Some people even predict that Christianity will soon surpass other religions to become the religion with the largest number of believers in Chinese religions. However,

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the basic theological concepts accepted

by Chinese Christians still have a strong Western color, especially conservatism and fundamentalism. The result of this has led to fanaticism or utilitarianism in some places.

Therefore, whether China is Christianized or sinicization of Christianity has become a major issue in the religious and political circles. Investigating the reason, Zhou pointed out that the core of the dispute is that Christianity lacks theological concepts and ideas suitable for Chinese people[2].

Bishop Ding Guangxun1 has advocated the construction of theological ideology in recent years, which is actually an active attempt and beneficial exploration of establishing a Chinese theological ideology system. He said, “I hope that after a long period of time, a new type of Chinese Christianity, a sensible one, a Chinese Christianity that distinguishes right from wrong and with a keen sense of true and false , a Chinese Christianity that upholds both Christ and morality, which introduce a very beautiful and sympathetic God , a God of love rather than a cruel God to humans!

This vigorous Chinese Christianity will rise on the eastern horizon. This Christianity will bring important messages to the world [3].”

However, it is undeniable that the “Eurocentrism” prevailing in the West from the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century as well as after the Opium War, Christianity (Protestantism, Catholicism) came East four times set up obstacles to the spread of Christianity in China. Due to the specific historical background at that time, missionaries generally preached a “dualism” cultural view. They divided the world into Christian countries and pagan countries and believed that European and American 1 Bishop Ding Guangxun, graduated from New York Concord Theological Seminary, Master of Arts, Doctor of Theology. In August 2006, he was elected honorary chairman at the Eighth World Conference on Religious Peace.

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countries belong to the former, and their cultures are the best, but the cultures of countries outside the West are inferior pagan cultures. They ignore the five thousand years of history and traditional culture of the Chinese nation to a certain extent and take an extremely contemptuous attitude towards China. They even compare China to a “Satan” power, and believe that the armed invasion of China by foreign powers is also God’s “predetermined”. It goes without saying that what they preach is naturally “completely Westernized” Christianity, copying Western cultural models from content to form, which is incompatible with Chinese culture. Western colonizers’ missionary work in China was rejected by Chinese culture. To some extent, it has influenced the progress of the Sinicization of Christianity.

Therefore, Mo believes that for Christianity to gain a foothold and take root in China, it must first handle its relationship with the Chinese government. Secondly, it must be integrated with the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, not only to maintain the basic beliefs, but also to absorb Chinese cultural elements in theological thinking, ethical values, etiquette, and customs, and correctly handle the relationship between the two heterogeneous cultures[4].

This article starts from the Bible, the core classic of Christianity, to analyze the cultural and semantic differences that need attention in the sinicization of Christianity. We know that the “Bible” circulated in the world has been translated into many different languages, and there are also many Chinese translations in China, with a lot of interpretations of Christian beliefs and doctrines. However, these translations are obscure, such as transliteration of geographical names that lead to ambiguities, or the translation of some scriptures is too absolute, making Chinese missionary work be rejected or

resisted by the local traditional culture. In this study, we analyzed the Chinese Union Version (CUV) and the English King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, and performed word frequency analysis and sentiment prediction on the Bible text based on natural language processing. We hope to compare the emotional differences brought by the Bible in the context of Chinese and English, it provides a new path for the exploration of the sinicization of Christianity.

III. Bible analysis

In order to discover the emotional similarities and differences between the Chinese and English versions of the Bible, we selected the Chinese Union Version 2010 revised edition (CUV) and the English King James Version (KJV). These two more commonly used Bible versions are used as corpora for sentiment analysis and word frequency analysis. CUV not only corrected some errors in translation but also more in line with the word order and grammatical characteristics of Chinese culture, its sentiment analysis was more accurate.

Through data cleaning, volume names and chapter numbers were removed. First, we compared the nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the two versions of the Bible to discover the understanding of Bible translation in the context of Chinese and English translation.

A. Word frequency analysis

We use two libraries, Jieba and Nltk, to segment the Chinese and English versions of the Bible and calculate the frequency of words in different parts of speech. This is to compare the similarities and differences of the core words that appear in the Bible. We analyzed the relationship between nouns, adjectives and verbs that appear in CUV and KJV, and displayed them in a word cloud.

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1) Noun word

Living up to expectations, judging from the nouns, the most common noun in these two versions of the Bible is the name of God or the word “God”. In the Old Testament of the CUV Bible, God appears under the name “耶和华” (Jehovah from Hebrew The fourcharacter holy name). The etymology of this name is “being”. Tang Shiwen believes that the name emphasizes the self-existence of God and the eternal immutability[5]. In the KJV version, the capitalized “Lord” noun refers to God. This shows that the core nouns of the two translations of the Bible are God himself, at least from the subject, the image of God is the driving force of the Bible.

Figure 1.

Noun frequency analysis of CUV (left) and KJV (right)

In addition, based on the word cloud, we found that the CUV Bible has translated a large number of names of people and places into the Chinese context by transliteration, but we believe that the effect is not ideal.

These old translations were determined

by British and American missionaries and did not take into account the reading and aesthetic habits of the Chinese, and the later vernacular versions were almost completely accepted (except for the Bible of Chinese Catholic)[6]. One of the most obvious shortcomings is that “it is to use common words with strong syntactic function or strong word-formation to translate proper nouns such as names and places, which can easily be confused with the context and hinder reading.”

For example, when the translator is

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translating Terah (father of Abraham), they transliterate to “他拉”, the word “ 他” in Chinese means ‘He’, which will be understood as a personal pronoun if you are not careful. Otherwise, Sarah( original meaning “princess”) is a peerless beauty in the eyes of the Egyptian pharaohs, but the CUV is translated as “撒拉”, It is easier to be associated with “吃喝拉撒” (which is an idiom that represents diet and excretion in Chinese”).

For this reason, Ma believes that it is best not to use transliteration for social science terms and proper names[7]. Although transliteration has the advantages of fidelity and incorrigibility, it does not convey any information after all. It may even lead to misunderstanding. Some translators try to save trouble, and never translate terms and proper names when they encounter them, and they call it “faithful.” However, history has proved that transliteration of scientific and technical terms has strong vitality, but in the field of humanities and social sciences, transliteration words are gradually withdrawn. Some semantically translated terms and proper names will establish their own semantic categories over time, and eventually Enter the target language. Therefore, Bible translators can consider translating the nouns in the Bible from a different perspective, and there may be unexpected gains.

2) Adjective word

From the perspective of adjectives, we found a very interesting literary phenomenon. In the Chinese context, the noun 犹大(Judas) can be used as an adjective alone. It reflects the meaning of fraud and betrayal. However, in the original English Bible, Judas not only refers to the betrayer of Jesus, but also the apostle Judas of the same name, and can even refer to the Judah tribe of Israel. In The Chinese context, the meaning of Judas has been excessively demonized, equating the treachery person.

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Perhaps the Chinese are more familiar with the story of Judas betraying Jesus, but not familiar with the twelve tribes.

Figure 2.

Adjective frequency analysis of KJV and CUV

From the word clouds of adjectives, it is not difficult to see that the Chinese Bible has a very literary aesthetic translation of adjectives. For example, in the Chinese context, “strong” is more often replaced by “刚强(instead of 坚强)”, and “pain” is more replaced by “苦楚(rather than 痛 苦)”. Another example: “peace” should be translated as 平安 or 太平 or 和睦 in different contexts. We take detailed verses for example: • CUV：在至高之处荣耀归与 神！ 在地上平安归与他所喜悦的人！ • KJV：Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

(Luke2:14) • CUV：也要离恶行善，寻求和睦， 一心追赶。 • KJV：Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensure it.

(1Pet3:11) It shows that the translator’s higher literary level and translation level, and it also reflects the flexible combination of Chinese words. Because of this, the CUV Bible has had a major impact and promotion on the vernacular movement and the increase in the literacy rate in rural areas[8].

3) Verb

From the verbs that appear. Whether in Chinese or English, the core is mostly imperative verbs, which reflect the

imperative instructions of “God said...” in the original text of the Bible. As mentioned in the famous Genesis:” God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

Figure 3. and CUV

Verb frequency analysis of KJV

In addition, we found whether it is “must”, “shall” or “should” all be translated as “要”(Having a strong sense of necessity in Chinese), this is a direct translation of the original meaning, but it may strengthen the absolute sovereignty of God in the Chinese context. We believes that there are advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, God’s Authority can be demonstrated, but on the other hand, the absolute tone may lack the possibility of cultural integration. Even when there are no modal verbs in the English version, the Chinese also adds modal verbs that mean 要（“must”）, for example: • CUV: 耶和华对雅各说，你要回你 祖，你父之地，到你亲族那里去，我必与 你同在。 • KJV: And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.(Ge31:3) • CUV: 多梦和多言，其中多有虚 幻。你只要敬畏神。 • KJV: For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.(Eccl5:7 ) To sum up, we tried to compare the cultural similarities and differences between the two versions of the Bible through word frequency analysis, and then we used natural language processing emotional analysis tools to analyze the two versions of

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the Bible.

Emotion type

Count

Proportion

乐Happy

3317

0.0968

平安、欢喜 (Peace, Joy)

衰Grave

2545

0.0743

后悔、患难 (Repenting, Suffering)

怒Anger

774

0.0226

羞辱、怒气 (Shame, Anger)

惧Fear

1298

0.0379

恶Evil

10505

0.3067

惊Wonder

327

0.0095

B. Sentiment Analysis

In order to further analyze the emotional similarities and differences in the Chinese and English contexts, we used SnowNLP and Nltk to perform emotional analysis on the overall context of the two versions of the Bible. The above two libraries are based on natural language processing technology, using a large number of Chinese or English corpus-trained sentiment analysis tools.

They use machine learning methods to establish a mapping relationship between the combination of word segmentation (context) and human emotion or classification. This completes the predictive analysis of new text sentences in different cultural contexts.

We first tried to import the entire Bible into a model of sentiment analysis, and found that the positivity of the English Bible was 0.559 by normalized Processing (originally 0.119, 1 for positive, -1 for negative, 0 for neutral emotions), the positivity of the Chinese Bible is 0.99, but because this is a processing of very long texts, it is not accurate and unscientific. But we want to know why the Chinese version of the Bible has such high positive emotions for machines, so we use Cnsenti (a Chinese sentiment analysis tool) to calculate the seven emotional dimensions of the CUV. First, we get 1413038 segmentation word.

In the Chinese context, there are 34245 words that have sentiment classification.

These segmentations are divided into seven sentiment dimensions by Cnsenti. As shown in TABLE Ⅰ.

Example

提心吊胆 (Scary) 欺压、罪孽 (Oppression, Sin) 奇妙、猛然 (Wonderful, Sudden)

As shown in Figure 4, converting the above proportion into the form of a radar chart, we found that although there are many phrases describing sin and punishment in the Chinese Union Bible, the good words representing prosperity and blessing are more dominant, although the word frequency cannot directly explain the semantic relationship, but from this kind of word frequency analysis, we can still

TABLE I. THE SEVEN EMOTIONS IN CUV Emotion type

好Good

Count

15479

Proportion

Example

0.4520

创造、喜爱、 智慧 (Create, Love, Wisdom)

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find that most of the emotional participles appearing in the CUV are still positive.

Figure 4.

Radar map of the seven major emotional distributions

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IV. AN ANALYSIS OF THE REVELATION

In order to further study the similarities and differences of the Bible in the context of Chinese and English, we selected “Revelation” as a case of sentiment analysis.

This is because the Book of Revelation, as the last chapter of the entire Bible, is also an important manifestation of apocalyptic literature. It has a strong religious color.

In recent years, both the Mayan conveyed in the movie “2012” and the discussion of the traditional Chinese prophecy book “Tui Bei Tu” has aroused people’s attention to “the end of the world” and “the imminent disaster”. As we all know, Judeo-Christian, as human civilization, also has a deep concern for the topic of “doomsday”. The important theme of the Revelation in its classic “Bible” is to explore “eschatology”. Through the sentiment analysis of the Chinese and English versions of the Apocalypse, we can compare the emotional perception after reading the Revelation in the Chinese and English environments, and consider how different human civilizations pay attention to and interpret the same topic differently.

The number of Revelation verses in the two selected versions of the Bible is 404 verses. We still use SnowNLP and Nltk tools to analyze the sentiment and attitude of each verse. The results after comparing the sentiment analysis of each verse are shown in TABLE II. TABLE II. THE EMOTIONS IN THE REVELATION CHAPTERS

We found that through the prediction of machine learning, in the context of human use, there are 255 positive sections in Chinese, which is much larger than the number of positive sections in the English context. In order to further analyze the emotional score of each section in a different context. We convert the sentiment score of section 404 into a line graph with the lowest value of 0 (the more negative) to the highest value of 1 (the more positive). As shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 A line chart of the emotions in each section of Revelation

The horizontal axis represents 404 chapters. Orange represents the sentiment value of the KJV version of the Revelation section, and blue represents the sentiment value of the CUV. It is found that in most cases, the emotional value of blue is higher than the emotional value of orange, which indicates that most of the scriptures in the Chinese version have positive colors or are understood as positive emotions in the Chinese context. We have listed two subsections with larger and smaller gaps for comparison. As shown in TABLE III.

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TABLE III. THE COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT EMOTIONAL CHAPTER

There is no obvious emotional difference in verse 92 (Revelation 5:11) in the Chinese and English contexts. Although the good word “angel” appears in this verse, the emotions expressed are all neutral narratives. And verse 223 (Revelation 13:13) is understood as positive emotions in the English context.

This may be because “wonder” and “heaven” contain more positive words, or in the English-American context, these word is understood as positive, divine, and holy semantics, but in the CUV, wonder is translated as “奇事”, losing those positive meanings, heaven is translated as “天”(Just represents the sky), instead of “天堂” (referring to the God Kingdom). This may cause readers to be influenced by the social and cultural emotions in their understanding of the scriptures, or didn’t get what the text is really trying to convey. conclusion In today’s world, many scholars acknowledge that different cultural traditions can coexist and blend and that cultures and religions are diverse. It should be said that the free atmosphere in the field of ideology and culture, China’s policy of freedom of belief, and a good environment

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of stability and unity provide a rare condition for exploring the Sinicization of Christianity.

It should be remembered that the communication and integration of different cultures is feasible to a certain extent, and the Sinicization of Buddhism is a good example of this. But it has come a long way.

Therefore, we should be patient with the sinicization of Christianity. From a long-term point of view, the Contemporary Chinese Christianity has made some achievements, but it is just at the beginning, it still needs to be known and understood by people, needs the church’s own efforts to make further development.

At present, how to deal with the localization of Chinese Christianity has become a topic of great concern to the Chinese Christian community. The core is to make Chinese Christianity adapt to China’s native and traditional culture so that Christianity can be accepted and understood by the Chinese people. To achieve this, the Chinese people must understand the Bible and agree with the core ideas and philosophical speculations in the Bible.

However, people’s understanding of the Bible is not only derived from the original meaning of the original text, but also naturally influenced by the literature level and cultural environment of the translator and readers. Therefore, the translation of the Bible must not only pay attention to the original meaning of the original text but also pay attention to the social culture of the reader. In this study, we tried to use machine learning, natural language processing and other methods to compare the word frequency and semantics of the two versions of CUV and KJV and analyze the characteristics of the CUV Bible translation in the Chinese context.

Through analysis, we believe that the development of Christianity with Chinese characteristics not only requires church members and theologians to learn Chinese

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and Western, but also requires them to have a full understanding of the Chinese cultural and language environment. In addition, this work also requires them to have an open mind and a mind to accommodate others, and be able to combine Chinese cultural traditions to propose theological theories with Chinese characteristics.

One of the prerequisites for this is to first confirm whether the Bible’s text can be read, understood and accepted by the broad masses of people, translators need to be based on the main body of Chinese culture, and more importantly, understand the emotions of the Bible in the Chinese context. Natural language processing can quickly, intuitively analyze the text of the Bible, and analyzed the connotation of its language expression.

Of course, the literal expression is actually superficial, and there is a deeper level, that is, whether the fundamental purport and core value of religion can be coordinated with the Chinese cultural spirit and national characteristics. This process requires the joint efforts of scholars, churchgoers and government.

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Reality], Journal of Fudan University (Social Science Edition) 03(1999):61-66.(translation by author). 汤士文. “从”神””耶和华””耶和华神”三个 名称看神的属性” [Look at the attributes of God by the three names “God”, “Yahweh” and “Yahweh God”], Tianfeng 8(2020). (translation by author). 唐君毅. “中国文化之精神价值” [The spiritual value of Chinese culture], Chongqing Press, 2005. (translation by author). 马乐梅. “人文社科学术论文中术语和专名 的翻译——以《圣经的文学特征》为例.跨 语言文化研究” [Translation of the terms and names in academic papers in humanities and Social Sciences: a case study of The Literary Characteristics of the Bible.” Cross-cultural Studies] (2014).(translation by author). 苏以葆. “圣道常新——和合本圣经的延 续” [The word of Holiness -- the continuation of the CUV Bible], The wind. Chinese Christian Journal 000.008(2012):48-48. (translation by author).

References [1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

王 美 秀 ,“基 督 教 的 中 国 化 及 其 难 点” [Sinicization of Christianity and its difficulties], World Religious Studies, 01(1996):74-82. (translation by author). 周宁. “基督教在当代中国社会的发展 趋势刍论”[On the development trend of Christianity in contemporary Chinese society], Chinese Religion 12(2005):12-15. (translation by author). 张秀秀. “中国基督教的未来——丁光 训主教谈神学思想建设” [The future of Christianity in China -- Bishop Ding Guangxun on the construction of theological thought], Chinese Religion (2003).(translation by author). 莫法有. “基督教的中国化: 历史和现 实” [Sinicization of Christianity: History and

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This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Education in Sumatra: a case study of Indonesian Islamic School in Bukit Lawang Beata Pietkiewicz-Pareek University of Wroclaw Department of General Pedagogy Wroclaw, Poland

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 27 August 2020 Received in revised form 10 October Accepted 15 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.9

The presented case study results are based on the investigation on the effect of Muslim education in Islamic schools conducted by the author during her Indonesia visit in 2018. The research was conducted using the qualitative approach. The method of collecting data includes interviews, observation, and documentary studies. The data analysis technique was based on data reduction, data presentation, and verification of data. Interviews were held with religious education teachers and pupils from different provinces of Sumatra.

Keywords: madrasa; education; children; Islam; Muslims;

Indonesia;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Beata Pietkiewicz-Pareek. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Pietkiewicz-Pareek, Beata. ”Education in Sumatra: a case study of Indonesian Islamic School in Bukit Lawang.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): pp. 112-118. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.9

I. The issue of Education in the Post-

Colonial Development in Indonesia

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Because of the combination of Islamic science and Indonesian culture, Indonesian Islam is significantly different from other Muslim countries especially in comparison to

the Middle East. According to the 1945 Constitution and Pancasila, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia is responsible for the development of education concerning the needs of society. “National education” means education based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, and is rooted in the religious values, national cultures of Indonesia, and one that is responsive to the

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needs of the ever-changing era [1]. Law 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System states that “the Government of the Republic of Indonesia is responsible for educational policy, curriculum, and national educational standards” [2]. The competence map has been prepared based on aspects of the philosophy of the Indonesian nation pluralistic ideology, Pancasila. It was advocated to embrace all people, social conditions (sociological aspect) of Indonesians who want to cooperate in everyday life, as well as in a legal basis, whether in terms of teleology the national education system or the Indonesian national education standards [3]. Pancasila constitutes five principles: Belief in One God, Humanity, Unity of Indonesia, Democracy, and Social Justice. Using those principles, the country’s elite from different ideological backgrounds such as nationalism, religion (Islam), and socialism agreed to create a country that catered to different ideological interests [4].

Based on Pancasila, the main goal of the national education system is to develop the capability, character, and civilization by enhancing its intellectual capacity and developing the students’ human values: being faithful and pious to one and only one God; possessing a moral and noble character; being healthy, knowledgeable, competent, creative, and independent; and acting as democratic and responsible citizens.

The 1945 Constitution stipulated that every Indonesian citizen should have the right to obtain a quality basic education.

Compulsory primary education for children aged 7 to 12 years of age was made a national policy in 1985. In 1994, Indonesia extended basic education by including 13 to 15-year-olds, that is, the lower secondary years. In 2013, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) has extended the need for compulsory education to include the upper

secondary years (Years 9 to 12) [5].

Table 1: Subjects for primary and junior secondary levels Primary school

Secondary school

Group A: subjects that are more oriented towards the intellectual and affective aspects

1.Religious education 2. Pancasila and civics education 3. Indonesian 4. Mathematics 5. Science 6.

Social science

1.Religious education 2.

Pancasila and civics education 3. Indonesian 4. Mathematics 5. Science 6.

Social science 7. English

Group B: subjects that are more oriented towards the affective and psychomotor a s p e c t s (includes l o c a l content)

1.

Cultural arts and skills 2.

Physical education, sport, and health

1.

Cultural arts and skills 2.

Physical education, sport, and health 3.

Vocational subjects

Source: Michael Michie, Comparing the Indonesian Curriculum 2013 with the Australian Curriculum: Focusing on science for junior secondary schools, The International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives Vol. 16, No. 2, 2017, pp. 83-96

Ministry of Education and Culture plays a crucial role in the education system, though the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) has the responsibility for all matters related to Islamic Schools. Primary school education is mainly provided by the public sector. Only about 10% of all primary school students attend the madrasa (Islamic schools).

The primary school curriculum covers the study of the Indonesian language, mathematics, science, social science, arts, physical education, and religion. In addition,

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the schools may add ‘local element’, like additional languages, or the study of local cultures, or additional English. Except that, the Islamic schools teach the traditional Islamic subjects. In general, the Islamic schools (Pondok pesantren) account for about 13% of all school students, which are often located in poorer rural areas, and generally directed by a Muslim scholar.

An increasing number of these schools have responded to the modernization of Indonesian society by adding secular and more general subjects to their curriculum [6] II. METHODOLOGY

Using the social constructionist perspective as an approach, the methodology used in this research is that of the case study.

The case study approach is a “detailed examination of a single person, group, institution, social movement, or event” [7]. According to Stake, a case study is not generalization but particularization [8].

During my practice in Sumatra, I had a chance to participate in Madrasa Bukit Lawang and public school in Amarita (Lake Toba) and Nature for Change Education Center in Bukit Lawang. A review of madrasa policy documents and pedagogical documentation was carried out at the beginning of the research. I carried out observations; all that I observed and wrote in this manuscript, as detailed field notes.

The observation was used to understand the true state of this institution and to verify the problems that the interviewees discussed. I used also photography as another technique to collect data.

As the main tool besides observation, I considered interviews – all that I led were similar to regular conversations in English rather than to prepared questionnaires. I carried out informal and formal interviews with administrators and teachers. The interview allowed me to hear the children`s voices, to know their opinion and stories. I

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talked to the children and listened to them during their regular daily activities.

In this article, I focused on the madrasa curriculum where I try to show how important are Muslim educational institutions for this community to reproduce their traditions. The distinction of using the social constructionist orientation to study curriculum is that this theory requires a wide definition of curriculum as a social artifact. In this context, the curriculum is not understood as a mere teaching-learning guideline; rather, it is seen as a product of certain social and political circumstances, and can lead us to see the way society views the importance of knowledge. According to Bernstein: both the distribution of power and the principles of social control were reflected by the society selected, classified, distributed, transmitted and evaluated the educational knowledge considered to be in public [9].

III. MADRASA IN BUKIT LAWANG In 2018, I had the opportunity to visit Madrasa school in Bukit Lawang. In general, Madrasa school plays a huge role in maintaining ethnic identity and religious Muslims in Indonesia. The visited Madrasa school was located on a rain forest area, where most of the Muslim inhabitants lived in very poor conditions. The children attending to Madrasa school could not go to any other public schools. In addition, to study the recitation of the Koran, children also learn subjects like English language, mathematics, and history. Generally, most of the Madrasa schools are located near the mosque, because teaching Madrasa education plays an important role in the Islamic religion.

According to Amnesty International, most of the children help their parents after attending school, and on weekends and holidays. Unfortunately, some children have dropped out of school and work all day. Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil in the world with the production of 35 million tons of oil per year. Palm oil plantations in Sumatra have been developed by destroying forests and because of this resultant deforestation caused serious environmental

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problems, including the destruction of habitats for orangutans and the Sumatran tiger [10].

IV. DEFINITIONS OF THE CURRICULUM OF MUSLIM EDUCATION IN INDONESIA

The term curriculum refers to the teacher’s behaviour toward the pupil or student, to the knowledge and skills students should acquire during the course.

For that reason, the curriculum is always used as double-guidelines for both teachers and institutions to plan and implement the teaching and learning process in educational institutions. Besides this, the term hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten, unofficial, and often hidden content provided during the lessons [11] In the term “modernization of Islamic education” Daun and Arjmand involved two broad senses i.e., the general and particular. In a general sense, it referred to the complete integration of Islamic educational institutions into national education which was run and financed by the government. The particular sense referred to the standardization of Islamic education according to the national level, while the property and administration were under control of the Muslim organizations and communities [12]. According to The Act of The Republic of Indonesia number 20, published on National Education in the Year 2003, there are three types of Islamic education institutions in Indonesia: - Sekolah Islam (Muslim School), day schools were adopted the Ministry of Education curricula, which were enriched with each school’s own religious education.

Since Sekolah Islam creates its own religious education curricula, the Ministry of Religious Affairs does not supervise their religious education.

- Madrasah1 (Islamic School), day-schools provided more Islamic teaching in their 1 The first Madrasah in Indonesia was built in 1909 in West Sumatra, which is known as Madrasah Adabiyah

curricula in comparison to secular schools.

Following the year 1975, the composition of secular subjects constituted the majority of topics in the Madrasah curricula such as sciences, language, and citizenship education. While the majority of Madrasah belongs to private institutions, the curricula of Madrasah are regulated by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in contrast to the Ministry of Education.

- Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School), most Pesantrens were responsible to teach the non-religious subjects such as math, sciences, and languages [13].

As a traditional institution that has lasted for hundreds years, the pesantren is a unique teaching phenomenon, making it an interesting subject both for research and discussion. Indonesian anthropologist, introduced two characteristics of the pesantren that make it so different and unique. First, in a dormitory, where the students live and spend most of their time.

Secondly, the mosque, where the students not only have a place for prayer but also have a place where santris meet their teachers for learning because traditionally pesantrens did not have any classrooms [14].

Historically, the primary teaching method was based on memory learning and memorization with a special push on traditional Islamic religious studies, including Quran recitation, Arabic grammar and linguistics, as well as, Islamic practices filled by basic skills such as writing, reading and arithmetic [15]. This reflected the traditional Kutab Islamic primary school curriculum for elementary education. Remembering and memorizing (talqin) were often recognized as the basic elements of Islamic religious learning and scholarship [16]. Hence, in Islamic learning, “mouth to mouth”, a continuous teaching and learning chain leading back to the Prophet, accreditation and recognition of achievement having obtained through a chain of scholarship were dominated for the centuries. This

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teaching and learning were practiced by many Muslims as evidence of the usefulness of these methods for past and present Muslim communities [17]. A detailed profile of textbooks, as they were more commonly known, the Iqro, was developed in the 1990s.

The Iqro is a textbook used in Indonesia and Malaysia for learning Arabic letters and pronunciation. It was originally published in early 1990s, authored by As’ad Humam and „Team Tadarus AMM”. This book was offered as an alternative to the older „Traditional” or „Baghdadi” method and emphasized the student’s active role in learning. It is divided into six volumes, each introducing the Arabic letter shapes and sounds with increasing difficulty. The higher volumes were also introduced elementary tajwid rules, or pronunciation rules to recite the Quran [18].

By comparing to the traditional method with a focus on teacher-student relationship, the Iqro method was designed to allow more independent learning [19]. Iqro is considered as one of the most popular textbooks for learning and to read the Quran in Indonesia as well as other countries in Southeast Asia [20]. The Iqro is usually learned by kindergarten to early elementary school children and is often used in the designated recitation schools, seminaries viz., pesantren or surau, or in home-schooling for religious education [21].

It is important to note that there are two important measures to understand the phenomenon of religious education: curriculum and teachers. In despite to the fact that education is part of the district autonomous policy, the curriculum phenomenon in Indonesian education is heavily centralized. The government including both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Religious Affairs developed the curricula phenomenon for all levels of schooling [22]. However, successful implementation of the curriculum depends heavily on teachers. Two different institutions supervise teachers from Indonesia. Teachers of religious education mostly belong to the

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Ministry of Religious Affairs (centralized), while the teachers of other subjects belonging to the district or provincial selfgovernments [23].

According to M. Zuhdi Islamic education is compressed into one subject called Pendidikan Agama Islam (Islamic religious education). Therefore, although there is only one subject in the secular schools in comparison to five subjects in Madrasah, there are four sub-divisions of that subject, which is similar to the contents of Madrasah curriculum: - Quran–Hadith (the Quran and the Prophet’s traditions), - Akidah and Akhlak (theology and morality), - Fiqh (Islamic law), - Sejarah Peradaban Islam (The history of Islamic civilization[24].

The religious education curriculum is responsible to explain the details of core and basic competencies of religious education, guided teachers to prepare their lesson plans, provided teachers with detailed explanations of each competency. Because of this, teachers can perform their duties in the transfer of knowledge, values, and skills as well as in transforming students’ behaviours to reflect Islamic teachings.

The most important aspect, as pointed out

by Zainiyati, is the teachers’ perspectives towards the ideologies developed in educational institutions, because they play an important role in the process of transferring knowledge and views to students [25].

In accordance with Daulai’s theory, knowledge-oriented Muslim education is expected that students will not only be experts in the field of religion but also masters in science. The demand on the mastery of both disciplines has recently become an essential prerequisite due to rapid social changes, advances in science and technology that cannot be denied. On one side, it is to form the Islamic students and teachers

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who are not secular and not opposed to the progress. There is a balance between intellect and spirituality. In the world of Western education, intellectual intelligence is a priority and generally ignores spiritual intelligence. In other words, the Western world is developed in intellectual intelligence by lacking of spiritual intelligence aspect.

One of the most important features of modern society is the aggressive approach towards the advancement of science.

Guided by the various achievements in science and technology, modern society is trying to remove the myth of the sacred universe [26].

CONCLUSION The most important aspect, as pointed out by Sakowicz, Islam emphasized the importance of education as a method of man’s development.

The first centuries of the existence of Islam coincided with the medieval period in Western culture and the cultural heritage developed in that period, including education, became an integral part of Islam [27]. The “Muslim education” was defined as any form of teaching and learning based on the principles and values of Islam. It is important to trace the relationship between schools and society especially the way the current trend in Indonesian Islam is being taught at schools. Thiesen religious education is very important in order to promote the harmony of a pluralistic society. Furthermore, it promoted the great importance of maintaining the existence of religious schools as part of society.

It also argued that “the key to promote harmony within pluralistic democracies is to acknowledge and respect the deeply held cultural and religious differences that exist within our society” [28].

The way in which various Islamic educational institutions reacted to the changing social and political situation has been the focus of research by many scholars. Steenbrink (1986), Dhofier (1994), Lukens-Bull (1997), Lee Kam Hing (1995).

According to Włodarczyk, understanding of the phenomenon of Muslim education can be useful for the pedagogy of religion and general

pedagogy [29].

REFERENCES [1] Act Of The Republic Of Indonesia Number 20, year 2003 On National Education System p.6 [2] Ibidem, p.7 [3] Zainiyati Husniyatus.Salamah, Curriculum, Islamic understanding and radical Islamic movements in Indonesia, Journal of Indonesian Islam, Vol 10 No.2, 2016, p.296 [4] Zuhdi Muhammad, Challenging Moderate Muslims: Indonesia’s Muslim Schools in the Midst of Religious Conservatism, Religions 2018, 9(10), p.4, https://www.mdpi. com/2077-1444/9/10/310/htm [5] Ibidem.

[6] Zuhdi Muhammad, Challenging Moderate Muslims: Indonesia’s Muslim Schools in the Midst of Religious Conservatism, Religions 2018, 9(10), p.3-5, https://www.mdpi. com/2077-1444/9/10/310/htm [7] Thomas Murray, Brubaker Dale, Theses and Dissertations: A guide to Planning, Research, and Writing, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, p.103 [8] Stake Robert, The Art of Case Study Research, SAGE, 1995, p.19 [9] Bernstein Basil, Class, codes and control Vol,3: Towards a theory of educational transmission, Boston, Routledge and Kegan paul.1975, p.85 [10] THE GREAT PALM OIL SCANDAL LABOUR ABUSES BEHIND BIG BRAND NAMES, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 2016, 2016 p.3 [11] https://www.edglossary.org/curriculum/ [12] Daun Holger., Arjmand Reza, Handbook of Islamic education, International Handbooks of Religion and Education, Springer Link 2018, p.309 [13] Ibidem.

[14] Ibidem.

[15] Rahman Abdul, The aims of madrasah education in Singapore: Problems and perceptions. (w) Aisha N., Rahman A. & Lai Ah Eng (red), Secularism and spirituality: Seeking integrated knowledge and success in madrasah education in Singapore (pp.58-92).

Singapore: Marshall Cavendish 2006 [16] Anczyk Adam, Grzymała-Moszczyńska

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Halina., Stojkow Maria. Job Marek Idea edukacji w wybranych religiach: w Chrześcijaństwie, Islamie, Buddyźmie i Konfucjaniźmie” [The idea of education in selected religions: in Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Confucianism], Psychologia Wychowawcza, 1-2 2012, s.131-145 [17] Azhar Ibrahim, An evaluation of madrasah education: Perspectives and lessons from the experiences of some Muslim societies. (In) Aisha N., Rahman A. & Lai Ah Eng (Eds.), Secularism and spirituality: Seeking integrated knowledge and success in madrasah education in Singapore (pp.93-124). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish 2006 [18] Gade Anna M, Perfection Makes Practice: Learning, Emotion, and the Recited Quran in Indonesia. University of Hawaii Press, 2004, p.152-153 [19] Srijatun Srijatun, Implementing Quranic Literacy Teaching using the Iqro method for Young Children in RA Perwanida Slawi in Tegal Regency, 2017, Walisongo State Islamic University, p.34-35 [20] Gade Anna.M, Perfection Makes Practice: Learning, Emotion, and the Recited Quran in Indonesia. University of Hawaii Press, 2004, p.152-153 [21] Nakata Yuki, Constructing New Stages of Education for Muslim Children: Impacts of the Dissemination of the Iqro’ Method Textbook on Islamic Education in Indonesia and Malaysia, EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 2009, p.31-32 [22] Suratno Tatang, The education system in Indonesia at a time of significant changes,Revue internationale d’éducation de Sèvres, (in) Colloque : L’éducation en Asie en 2014: Quels enjeux mondiaux ?2019, p.3. URL: http:// journals.openedition.org/ries/3814 29.04.2020 [23] Zuhdi Muhammad, Challenging Moderate Muslims: Indonesia’s Muslim Schools in the Midst of Religious Conservatism, Religions 2018, 9(10), p.4, https://www.mdpi.com/20771444/9/10/310/htm [24] Ibidem.

[25] Ibidem.

[26] Daulai Afrahul.Fadhila, The Educational Culture Of Muhammadiyahin North Sumatra IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social

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Science (IOSR-JHSS) Vol. 22, No 3, Ver. VII 2017 p.57-61 [27] Sakowicz Eugeniusz., Edukacja w Islamie Retrospekcja, Forum Pedagogiczne 2/2011, p.189-205 [28] Thiessen Elmer.J., Liberal case for educational pluralism, Montreal, Mc Gill University Press, 2005, p.2 [29] Włodarczyk Rafał, Wymiary fundamentalizmu religijnego w ujęciu teoretycznym, [Dimensions of religious fundamentalism in theoretical terms] M Humeniuk, I. Paszenda, Między inkluzją a ekskluzją w edukacji religijnej [Between inclusion and exclusion in religious education], Wrocław, Instytut Pedagogiki Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 2017, p.15

dr Beata Pietkiewicz-Pareek Assistant Professor, University Wroclaw, Poland Department of General Pedagogy

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This paper was presented at

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

World without pressure, uncertainty and without the pandemic the Old Order Amish Dagna Dejna, PhD

Institute of Educational Sciences Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 September 2020 Received in revised form 08 October Accepted 10 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.10

The actual paper raises the problems that are placed at the crossways of the social sciences and theology. In this paper, the author’s own ethnographic research on the hermetic, orthodox and inaccessible Old Order Amish community living in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States is concisely reconstructed. The background for consideration is the pandemic of the Covid19 contagious disease caused by the SARS CoV2 coronavirus announced by the World Health Organisation on March 11, 2020.

This historic event changed the world and reconstructed the existing social and political order. It caused rapid changes of a global nature. It happened almost all over the world.

One of the few places the pandemic (or even knowledge of it) has not reached is the Old Order Amish community. The text describes mechanisms and strategies that effectively protect the described community from the outside world and its influence.

Keywords: niche; old order Amish; ethnographic research; faith, pandemic; crisis; defense mechanism;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Dagna Dejna. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Dejna, Dagna. ”World without pressure, uncertainty and without the pandemic - the Old Order Amish.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 119-125. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.10

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I. Introduction and background of

considerations

We are witnesses and participants of historical events whose range and impact have unprecedented power. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation announced the pandemic of the Covid19 contagious disease caused by the SARS CoV2 coronavirus. This event changed and continues to change the world. We all experience profound changes of a global nature, and these changes affect all spheres of the functioning of modern societies. We experience violent economic and social storms. Restrictions on movement and assembly canceled sports, cultural, religious events, closed schools and kindergartens, restaurants. The humanitarian crisis swelling around the refugee camps, catastrophic social problems in the United States, rising social inequalities, and deepening gaps.

Bankrupting businesses, the epidemic of mental disorders, drastically falling cancer detection rates, millions of personal and family tragedies. This crisis has many faces, and each face has almost one common denominator: insecurity and absolute chaos caused by the constant stream of information; which is dynamic and evolving.

The collapse caused by the pandemic has unpredictable dynamics.

In science, the pandemic has created an extremely interesting trend and a niche that is penetrated by researchers from various scientific disciplines. This phenomenon is even called an interdisciplinary coronastream in modern science. No wonder that this historical period needs a reliable, scientific description and record.

However, the present paper is not another one that raises this current and striking issue. However, the crisis caused by the pandemic will provide the background for the considerations. The essence of considerations and reflections, in response

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to the invitation from the organizers of the Dialogo - The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology, was the author’s own ethnographic research conducted in the most conservative, closed, orthodox, and religious communities of the Old Order Amish living in the state of Pennsylvania (Lancaster County) in the United States.

This research, consisting of ethnographic participant observation, was conducted for the purposes of the doctoral dissertation of the author. Years later, the author decided to refer to it again, but in a completely new context than before. This publication is the first of the “Amish cycle” the author has planned. The cycle, which was planned much earlier, and its shape and impact were changed by the dynamically changing socioeconomic and political circumstances in the world.

II. Research sources - history

The ethnographic research of the author had been conducted in the communities of the Old Order Amish in Pennsylvania, USA (Lancaster County) for several weeks.

The sources of my research are based on a simple assumption that refers to the classical anthropological school of M. Mead and B. Malinowski: as a researcher, on behalf of the native environment, the scientist explores and describes an exotic, inaccessible community. The author participated in the daily, natural rituals of the community that developed its own culture and tradition. A detailed research procedure with justifications is described in the previously published book.

The roots of the Amish roots date back to the Reformation. It is assumed that the Amish are a faction of Swiss-Alsatian-South German Anabaptism, which arose as a result of a schism introduced by the extremely radical Jakob Ammann of Erlenbach

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(Germany), the leader of the Swiss Anabaptist Church, who wanted religious laws to regulate all possible spheres of life (J. A. Hostetler, 1989, p.22). Anabaptism is a religious movement that arose and developed in the 16th century among the heavily oppressed German peasants and urban plebeians. They were characterised by strict religious discipline and socioreligious radicalism. They rejected all estate differences and postulated for a community of goods and property. It was the preacher Jakob Amman, who pointed out the sins of fellow believers: luxury, the pursuit of temporal goods, curiosity about the world, reminded them of the necessity to renounce violence, of modesty, humility, and the obligation to work hard. It was Amman, in 1693, who created a new community - the Amish. The first Amish came to the United States in 1720 (Włodarski, 1968, p. 163).

At this point, the author would like to mention the opinion of the reviewer of her first book, expressed at one of the meetings with the authors - Professor Bogusław Milerski (a Protestant priest), who claimed that the Amish were Mennonites who had fled from Europe that had been spoiled and devastated by wars. In the United States, the Amish reverted strongly to even more severe morality. Probably as the only group (ethnic? religious?) they were given the right to conduct their own education at the primary level without the obligation to teach English!

It is worth noting that the first group of Mennonites, numbering approximately 200 people, appeared in Poland, which was then considered to be a “heaven/asylum for heretics” in 1535 (D. B. Kraybill, 2001, p. 34).

Mennonites settled in the vicinity of Gdańsk, Malbork, on the Vistula Lagoon, in the vicinity of Toruń (where the Olender Ethnographic Park, introducing tourists to the culture and everyday life of the Mennonites living in the area has been established recently) - giving

rise to the so-called oleander colonisation.

The social history of the Mennonites in the Vistula Delta lasted until the end of World War II (P. Yoder, 1991, p. 22).

III. Are there places without the virus?

The author places this work in Section 3 of the DIALOGO conference: Social Sciences, Culture, and Lifestyle Choices & Religion. This is a natural and quite obvious choice, considering the raised issues. As mentioned above, the background for the considerations is the SARS CoV2 coronavirus pandemic announced by the World Health Organisation. A pandemic that has brutally spilled almost all over the world, causing gigantic changes of a violent and destructive nature. The epidemic situation affected all spheres of life, taking away people’s sense of security and relative stability. However, there are places in the world where the pandemic has not reached. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), for August 2020, there are 12 places in the world where no cases of coronavirus have been reported so far. However, it is very important, and even crucial, that these data should be approached with caution and distance (considering several indicators that are so obvious that it is worth mentioning them now, but it is not worth developing this thread: e.g. test availability, reliability and truthfulness of statistical data provided to WHO, political situation and climate).

These places are North Korea, Turkmenistan, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, Kiribati, Micronesia, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Nauru. In addition to the places that are present in the WHO reports, there is, according to the data collected by the author during the period of social isolation and quarantine, at least one community not reached by the virus - the Old Order Amish. This is the community I have already mentioned, in which I had the chance to conduct ethnographic observation much

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earlier. This is another aspect that confirms the phenomenon of this unique community.

It should be definitely emphasised that the current data that the author is referring to relate to an absolutely irenic community, closed and avoiding contact with people outside their environment. Their source is not a direct participant observation of the author (as was the case in the previous research in Lancaster County, which was described in the book entitled Amish. The phenomenon of endemic education), but only data collected from spontaneous, neighborly interviews, which are fragments limited to the minimum, determined by the necessity of conversation. The author collected this data using the contacts and friendly courtesy of members of the less conservative local New Order Amish communities (using the telephone, the Internet, running small family businesses).

Current information about the absence of infections and Amish ignorance about the epidemic situation was provided to the author by e-mail in the period from April to September 2020. The author decided to use it for the purposes of the present conference and the present publication.

IV. Endemic community as a rescue from

a pandemic

Most European societies (and also nonEuropean ones) have experienced social isolation and quarantine in the last six months. Something that was a painful and completely unknown situation, for the Old Order Amish is a multi-generational tradition and everyday life; a custom, norm, a religious and cultural necessity. It is a community that mastered the issues of defense against external influences almost to perfection (the author described her unusual way of reaching this community and staying there in detail in the book). The Amish created effective defense mechanisms, impregnated

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values, set inviolable boundaries, and established laws that built a cultural wall against the outside. Against things which are, as they say, dirty, dangerous, and sick.

Years ago, when the author identified and named these “connecting elements” of the community, the biggest threat included moral issues. Now another threat that could prove lethal for numerous Amish appeared - this is Covid19. Why lethal? After all, the fatality rate of the virus, although it varies by geographic region, is relatively low. The Amish community is a sick, weak, and frail community. The reasons are complex, but the most important include the so-called inbreeding, which results in a very limited gene pool, or reproduction of closely related people, lack of medical care, poor hygiene standard, lack of preventive health care. All this means that the Old Order Amish have a short life (the average life expectancy of men and women is approx. 60 years, of course, there is no standard statistical data because of the obvious impossibility to collect and store them; the information comes from qualitative interviews the author has collected). Therefore, this community certainly belongs to the Covid19 risk group.

What does it mean that the Amish are an endemic community? And how did this endemic nature protect them from the unbearable stream of pandemic information, conspiracy theories, the virus itself, and the consequences of its presence in consciousness, but also in social consciousness?

The members of the Amish community are equipped with specific stuffing, they are not able to and cannot function outside the borders of their own community in which they were born. The Amish are endemic people that occur in a limited area.

They are adapted to live only within one geographical, moral, and social area. Just as a marmot or a marine iguana would not

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have a chance to survive, for example, in an urban space, the Amish would not be able to function outside their community.

Moreover, the condition for maintaining the well-being and inviolability of the community is to close it and avoid contact with strangers. Adaptation to other living conditions, theoretically possible (after all, marmots are also present in the zoo) would mean a complete rejection of the principles of Galessenheit and Ordnung, in favour of completely new patterns of behaviour and values. This would deprive the Amish of their identity. The Amish, like the species of endemic fauna mentioned above, do not tolerate even slight fluctuations in ecology, and their endemic religious and cultural corset (including upbringing) shows features of a narrow specialization (Dejna, 2012, p. 60). The opposite of endemics is cosmopolitanism, which has overwhelmingly contributed to the rapid spread of SARS CoV2.

V. A defenseless world like The Melting Pot? Not in the Amish community

Contrary to the societies severely affected by the pandemic, the Amish have over the generations developed defense mechanisms that have proven effective in protecting against the pandemic over the past six months.

In the first place space. The vast areas of Pennsylvania, where the houses and farms of the Old Order Amish are scattered, are picturesque. These farms are located far from the main communication routes, they are exposed - so no unnoticed guest has a chance to get close to the houses.

The United States proved to be a perfect space for orthodox and religious Amish.

And although in the past numerous conflicts broke out over, for example, the obligation to serve in the army or educate children up to 16 years of age, the USA authorities

finally agreed to the far-reaching autonomy of this orthodox community. The Amish are exempt from military service, pay no taxes, and do not have health insurance.

Their education system is not subject to any control or state guidelines. It is the perfect space to be unique and live according to own rules.

In the second place school. In the Amish school, work is the most important thing, it shapes and prepares children to gain full rights of the member of the community.

The school teaches obedience, humility, community, and respect for tradition. It is an ideal example of the implementation of the educational ideology of cultural transmission. The most important condition for the successful education of young Amish is to teach children to respect adults since this is the basis of the entire education system. The period of school education leads to the acquisition of new behaviour packages, which form the socalled pedagogical deposit, i.e. obedience, independence and responsibility. A school constructed in this way paves a path through which values that build the identity of the community are transmitted. And this coherent identity is an undeniable weapon to defend against outside influences and, more broadly, against contacts with the world outside the community.

In the second place family and home. The key to understanding the phenomenon of the Amish community is the word Ordnung.

From this word derives the word ordo which means order, order which means law.

Therefore, the Amish are, in a way, a variant of the order in which there is a specific rule, treated as a guideline, a constitution. This rule is transmitted to successive generations by transmitting culture. This happens in the post-figurative model. The nature of the younger generation is decided by the older one, transmitting the values and norms they recognise. In the language of the European

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tradition, we would speak of the Thomistic order. Here, the home is the source of values and the structure of norms. Then, the culture has a vertical dimension, allowing its members to take root and settle in the world in which they grow. This allows for contact with the past, and the past of adult Amish is the future of the young members of the community. Here, the continuity of the value system is based on meeting the expectations of the older generation, the generation of parents and grandparents.

The post-figurative community shapes ready answers to fundamental questions: who am I, how to live, talk, walk, love, and die? These answers are universal, they do not undergo negotiations and discussions, they are shaped and protected against dangerous modifications by tradition (https://www.rstjournal.com/wp-

content/uploads/2014/12/No.8-RevistaRESEARCH-AND-SCIENCE-TODAY1. pdf).

There are three indicators of the strength of the family as an institution: its cohesion (what and how tightly binds its members?), the way in which it fulfills its basic functions, and the amount of power, that is, how the family compares to other social institutions (Szlendak, p. 392). Considering this classical, sociological classification, the Amish family is extremely strong and from the point of view of the survival and immutability of the community - an effective institution upholding religious values, norms and customs.

Here, it is also worth mentioning the language. This is because the Old Order Amish use a dialect that is difficult to learn and understand, known in the source literature as Pennsylvania Dutch. It is a mixture of German and English with an admixture of words with an unidentifiable origin. This endemic composition can be considered another brick of the defensive wall, which was built and carefully cared for

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by the Amish.

As an example of specific “holes in the wall” the author can mention the community of the much less hermetic New Order Amish with whom she is in contact.

This community is covered by the services of the Lancaster General Health. And although this social group is very suspicious, it remains relatively calm. This peace of mind is ensured by constant access to printed information materials in which disturbing rumours and hearsay are dispelled, and access of the government organisation to trusted information channels (teachers, religious representatives, fire-fighters).

Information on minimising the risk of infection is also printed in the Busy Beaver bulletin, which is very popular in that region and the community.

VI. Is it worth building a high wall? A

summary

From an epidemic point of view - it’s worth it. The world is arming itself, the protective measures include helmets, masks, disinfectants, closed borders, quarantine and social distance. As the armament and the threat increase, the anxiety in the world grows as well, the statistics show an epidemic of neuroses, depression and compulsive behaviour. The number of suicides has increased dramatically, also among children. Social inequalities, caused by distance learning falling on the shoulders of parents, increase. Patients die alone in hospices and hospitals. The historic moment revealed aversive racism and various phobias (for example those directed at the Chinese).

This madness avoided the rhythmic and closed world of the Amish people. This is evidenced by the data collected by the author which shows unequivocally the most orthodox communities were not affected not only by the epidemic, but also by the knowledge about it. And thus, the Amish

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community was not affected by the fear and uncertainty of tomorrow. But what is on the other side of the wall? It is easy to draw an idyllic picture of the described community.

The Amish are very photogenic, their image is present in thousands of postcards bought by tourists all over Pennsylvania.

Numerous publishers issue photo albums with photos of the Amish. The place has its own power and atmosphere. It was an inspiration for the world of cinema (Witness from 1985 with Harrison Ford) and music (Amish Paradise, Weird Al Yankovic). The Amish world arouses curiosity, attracts lost people (creating numerous sectarian factions), and can fascinate. However, it cannot be forgotten what is located behind the wall described above, which protects the community also against the devastating impact of the pandemic. Because apart from deep religiosity and perfectly functioning schools (tailored to specific needs), there is the loneliness of teenage women who are given in marriage. There are multiparous women without gynecological care, toothless children without dental intervention, the absolute domination of men over women. There is also violence against children (manifested in among others corporal punishment) and animals.

Finally, there are genetic diseases caused by the close relationship of the spouses.

The idea accompanying the founders of the DIALOGO conference was to build a dialogue between science and theology.

The Amish world is silent, it is a niche - a gap in the present time. The author places her ethnographic research in the context of descriptions of the traditions of a poor culture, rejecting excess and preferring austerity of life and orthodox religiosity.

This research at the crossways of the social sciences and theology understood according to the Fides quaerens intellectum maxim1.

In the face of the global health crisis and its consequences, scientific reflection on an endemic community takes on new meaning and a surprising context.

References [1] Dejna D., Amisze. Fenomen wychowania endemicznego [The phenomenon of endemic education], Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2012, p. 60.

[2] Hostetler J. A., Amish Roots: A Treasury of History, Wisdom, and Lore, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1989, p.12.

[3] Kraybill D. B. The Riddle of Amish Culture, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2001, p 33-36.

[4] Szlendak T., Socjologia rodziny. Ewolucja, historia, zróżnicowanie [Family sociology.

Evolution, history, diversity], Warsaw 2012, p. 366.

[5] Włodarski Sz., Tarnowski W., Kościoły chrześcijańskie [Christian churches], Warsaw 1968, p. 163-164.

[6] Yoder P., Tradition and Transition: Amish Mennonites and Old Order Amish, 1800– 1900, Herald Press, Scottdale 1991, p.22.

1 Wiara szukająca zrozumienia [Eng. Faith seeking understanding].

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This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

Multidisciplinary JOURNAL Available online at www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

In the Same Melting Pot? America and Europe Assist. Prof. Fr. Iulian Isbășoiu, Ph.D. The Faculty of Theology, ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanța, Romania

Assoc. Prof. Nicoleta Stanca, Ph.D. Faculty of Letters, ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanța, Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 30 September 2020 Received in revised form 08 October Accepted 15 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.11

Revolving around the key concept of the melting pot, the article discusses cultural models adopted in the American and European societies (i.e. Americanization, multiculturalism, interculturalism, the cultural mosaic, muscular liberalism, and pillarization) in the attempt to explain, historically up to the present day, the circumstances of the encounters of immigrants’ cultures with the ones of the host countries.

Keywords: melting pot; Americanization; Europe; multiculturalism; interculturalism; unity; diversity; integration; pillarization;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Iulian Isbășoiu, Nicoleta Stanca. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Isbășoiu, Iulian, Nicoleta Stanca. ”In the Same Melting Pot? America and Europe.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 126-135. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.11

I. Theoretical background. The

(American) Melting Pot

A. Definitions

According to the New Webster’s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English Language [1], the term “melting pot” has two meanings: 1. a container in which

metals or other substances are heated until they fuse; 2. a country, locality, or situation in which a blending of races, people or cultures takes place. In the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English [2], the term is assigned three interpretations: 1. a place where people from different races, countries, or social classes come to live together; 2. a situation or place in which

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many different ideas are discussed and 3. BrE “in the melting pot” means still changing and not yet in a final state. The interesting aspect about these definitions is that their majority seems to cover the abstract readings of the term, the ones that have been applied to the characterization of cultures.

Equally, on the online library [3], the entry on melting pot theory covers this passage from the crucible in which metals melt together at great heat to the melting pot as a metaphor for a society shaped as an assortment of immigrant cultures, which finally engender a new hybrid culture. Since the melting pot theory has been mostly applied to the US as a new world, the metaphor has become synonymous with the process of Americanization.

B. History

Americans seem to have laid the foundations of the melting pot, even if the term was only coined in 1908, with the arrival of the first waves of immigrants and then solidly built on it: the Puritans and Pilgrims (1600s); Northwest Europeans (1800s); Irish Catholics (mid-19th century Potato Famine); Asians (1870s-1880s); Eastern Europeans (early 20th century); Spanish-speaking immigrants from Central and South America (20th-21st centuries) – they all came looking up at the Statue of Liberty and believing in the American Dream. America as a land of opportunities and an inclusive and free society has also occasionally displayed bouts of anti-immigration feelings, scapegoating the newly arrived wave and imposing severe laws banning migrants from entry into the US. On the background of the assimilation movement, the “cycle – immigrate and then turn against those who came after” [4] continued.

As early as the 18th century, the idea of the different cultural backgrounds of the immigrants melting into one another

started occurring in American writings, without using this concept proper: Letters from an American Farmer (1872) [5], in which J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur uses this image about America; The Significance of the Frontier in American History (1893) [6], in which Frederick Jackson Turner discusses the composite nationality of the American people and the frontier as a crucible for Americanization and The American Scene (1905) [7], in which Henry James sees New York as a fusion of elements, a large pot.

The metaphor of the melting pot was used for the first time in 1908 for the title of a play by Israel Zangwill, The Melting Pot [8]. For a long time, the face of America has been perceived in the spirit of the words uttered by the protagonist of the play, David Quixano: “America is God’s Crucible, the great Melting-Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming ...

Germans and Frenchmen, Irishmen and Englishmen, Jews and Russians – into the Crucible with you all! God is making the American” [9]. The belief in God, faith, is the most important component that characterized the newly shaped product in the American melting pot. In the play, Quixano is a Russian Jew who survived a pogrom in which his family was killed and who emigrated to the US. There he writes a symphony called “The Crucible”, in which he expresses his hope for a world free of ethnic and cultural dissensions. He also falls in love with Vera, a Russian Christian immigrant, the daughter of an officer who had executed David’s family, but now admits his guilt. The play shows a happy ending in the spirit of the melting pot metaphor assimilating them all. The play, premiered in Washington D.C., Oct. 5, 1908, benefitted a double response, like the reaction to the melting pot model: joy at the promise of a new American home accommodating differences and rejection of the homogenous tendencies of the mainstream society in the US.

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C. Approaches

Hence, the melting pot has been equated with “Americanization,” “cultural assimilation,” and “acculturation” and discussed concerning whiteness, race, ethnicity, immigrant legislation, intermarriage, sports, music, food, to mention only a few domains. A few examples of studies exploring uses of the concept to reflect aspects of unity in diversity of the American culture could include: on history, Melting Pot Soldiers: The Union’s Ethnic Regiments, by William L. Burton [10], with stories of the immigrants responding to the Civil War and ethnic politicians in the North recruiting young men in the regiments based on the country of origin: German, Irish, Scandinavian; on music, Irving Berlin: Songs from the Melting Pot: The Formative Years, 1907-1914, by Charles Hamm [11], portraying Irving Berlin as a very popular American composer, whose music illustrates the melting pot concept, beginning with his roots as an immigrant from Russia in 1893 to the musical pieces written drawing on the various ethnic cultures of New York’s melting pot: Jewish, Italian, German, Irish, Black; on food, Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting Pot, by Edward Lee [12], in which the author considers that the best way to know somebody is to eat the food they eat and in America with all the waves of immigrants, bringing their own cuisine, the melange is unique and makes it one of the most interesting places on earth; the personal example of the author is relevant: Korean immigrant, a New Yorker and a Southerner, he is worth exploring through recipes which are considered narratives about people, places and points in time; on marriage, The Melting Pot and the Altar: Marital Assimilation in Early Twentieth-Century Wisconsin, by Richard M. Bernard [13], in which the writer starts from the idea that it is equally interesting to look at the exchange between a host culture and the immigrant ones, without ignoring

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aspects of pluralism; by looking at census and marriage records, the author analyses the intermarriage model in early 20th century in a region in his country, with the result that there was a significant intergroup mixing between the 11 immigrant groups and the native population of Wisconsin, marital choice depending on occupation, age, location and birthplace of parents rather than ethnic identification alone.

All in all, it seems that iconic images of immigration into the US, such as the long queues of people from all over Europe, whole families, huddled together with baggage, being processed on Ellis Island, peeping at the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of New York City, engendered the myth of the melting pot and successive waves of migrants confronted with what became the native population constantly refashioned it.

D. Revisions: multiculturalism and

interculturalism

Critics of the melting pot model have based their attacks on three interpretations of this ideal pattern: the Anglo-Saxon conformity model, the fusion model and the Americanization model [14]. The first one considers that there is a specific ethnic core to the American identity derived from the original English settlers and the first Northwest European waves of immigrants, to which newcomers must adapt. The second pattern admits that American identity is fluid and never completely forged, as mentioned in one of the dictionary definitions above, which makes the nation exceptional. This model favors a biological approach and sees intermarriage between ethnic groups as beneficial in such a way that in time these groups forget their old identities. The third model, the Americanization one, considers that there is a distinct American culture made up of beliefs and values that immigrant groups are acculturated to.

The necessity to look at alternative

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ways of dealing with immigrant groups belonging to diverse ethnicities and races or holding different beliefs comes when these assimilation models fail. Thus, new models were proposed: in 1915, in the Nation magazine, Horace Kallen, professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, wrote an article titled “Democracy versus the Melting Pot: A Study of American Nationality,” proposing the “cultural pluralism theory” [15]. Under this umbrella, immigrants and members of minority groups would be allowed to preserve their identity through belonging to clubs, religious associations, and other types of societies. The only common skill required of them would be cooperation with other citizens within the democratic state.

However, the idea of the “multicultural society” is also criticized today as having proved a failure both in the US and in Europe.

If immigrants are allowed to retain their cultural and religious differences, this might lead them to look for a sense of belonging within radical, marginalized and sometimes fundamentalist religious groups, prone to violence. Orosco’s study mentions two cases in this context: one of the four British youth that committed suicide bombings on London’s public transportation in 2005 and that of Mohammed Bouyeri who killed a Dutch filmmaker, Theo Van Gogh, for a film critical of Islam [16]. Hence, hostile attitudes towards “undocumented immigrants” arose and America started passing laws against them beginning in 2010. Also, there was an action against multicultural curricula in public schools, in Arizona, prohibiting those programs that foster ethnic solidarity.

But the moral costs of not finding adequate ways of dealing with this problem were immense: in the period 1998-2012, nearly six thousand people died trying to cross the US-Mexico border, while in the same period, according to the United Nations, 16 thousand emigrants died trying to reach the European Union [17]. Therefore, while the melting pot failed as assimilationist,

its opposite, multiculturalism and cultural pluralism also proved their deficiencies.

In this search for a new model, pragmatist philosophers came up with a suggestion for “an intercultural exchange” between immigrant/ minority cultures and mainstream US American society [18]. On the journey of the critique of the melting pot model, from multiculturalism to interculturalism, Horace Kallen’s ideas were taken over and developed by John Dewey, according to whom, there should grow a common culture receiving the contributions of all the incoming groups but still being able to ensure social unity. Dewey puts forward three principles for maintaining unity within diversity: the Principle of Group Flourishing, the Principle of Cultural Contribution and the Harm Prevention Principle [19], these guidelines embraced by other theoreticians, such as Louis Adamic, W.E.B du Bois, Josiah Royce. Within such as exchange, the receiving community retains some core beliefs, practices, traditions but is otherwise transformed and renewed by the cultural baggage brought by the immigrant ethnic/ racial minorities.

After being referred to for some time as the “Great Melting Pot”, as we have seen before, the US culture received other labels throughout the 1960s: “salad bowl,” “symphony,” “cultural mosaic” or “patchwork quilt,” metaphors that stress the visibility of the specific features of each of the groups settling in the US. An entire issue of the eJournal USA, titled “Becoming American: Beyond the Melting Pot,” is dedicated to the exchange between longtime residents and newcomers trying to live peacefully in various communities in the US (Marshalltown, Iowa; Beaverton, Oregon and Louisville, Kentucky). The issue of the publication proves that the integration of immigrants has been a two-way process involving the immigrants themselves but also the receiving community, public institutions and private organizations in

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this give-and-take accommodation. For instance, schools and hospitals provide interpreters and support; police forces are informed about the cultural practices of the newcomers; individuals receive linguistic training; workplaces make accommodation for religious practices. “Immigrants are certainly transformed by settling in the United States, but their new communities are transformed as well” [20]: Marshalltown has become Anglo-Hispanic; Beaverton accommodates a population speaking 80 languages, from Albanian to Urdu and 30% of the students speak another language besides English; Louisville has half the population foreign-born – Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Conclusions All in all, we can draw some conclusions regarding the use of the concept of the melting pot and the attempts to revise it: 1. one of the most enduring models to describe the cultural complex identity of the US and other European countries has been the melting pot; according to Samuel Huntington, in Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity, the model to describe American culture to this day is still that of the melting pot, with the core colonial European foundation – English language, religious commitment, respect for law and Protestant work ethic, receiving periodical immigrant influences and being remodeled by them [21]; 2. this model has received criticism for being an assimilationist one and it has been replaced by the patterns of cultural pluralism and multiculturalism, which have also been met with criticism, as they favored marginal and violent forms of belonging and expression; 3. A third way has been proposed, one in which today’s immigrants assimilate into the mainstream/ receiving culture while this culture receives new influences from the migrants’, in a continuous intercultural exchange, which ultimately proves the ideal quality of all these models which have been shaped

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and reshaped throughout the decades as required by societies’ needs.

II. Multiculturalism in Europe A. Origins of multiculturalism in Europe

If, in the case of the US, the melting pot concept probably best suits to describe the society even after centuries, as proved above, in Europe and in Canada the term has been occasionally invoked, more in Britain than elsewhere, multiculturalism and cultural pluralism being preferred as terms and models.

After the Second World War, due to the need for labor, there was significant migration to Western Europe. Thus, in Germany, Turkish emigrants arrive, in the United Kingdom Indians and Pakistanis, in the Netherlands Moroccans and Indonesians and in France Algerians. Most of them of Muslim descent. If at the beginning of their migration, the countries that received them considered that their stay was temporary, it was noticed that they wanted to settle there, due to the attempts to bring their families [22]. Thus, in the eighth decade of the twentieth century, the West experienced a natural development of multiculturalism.

One by one, Britain (1976), Germany (1980), France (1981) and the Netherlands (1983) adopted various legislative measures to combat racism and encouraged the idea of multiculturalism. If in Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, the acceptance of ethnic-religious manifestations was easy to achieve, France faces a threat of a fundamental principle: secularism. The issue of young Muslims wearing the Islamic veil in schools brought to justice in 1989, and the judges’ decision not to consider the practice as an element against secularism, would prove that multiculturalism was a fact in France.

Researcher Riva Kastoryano wrote that “in France, Germany, the United Kingdom,

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the Netherlands, the term multiculturalism refers ... to the assumed form of community organization of migrating populations around a common nationality or religion (or both) and a claim of their features in the public sphere” [23].

B. Unity in diversity

Debates on multiculturalism triggered a resurgence of latent issues: national, ethnic, linguistic identity. The struggle for “unity in diversity” has thus begun. Is it possible for such a concept to work?

This unity must take into account two elements: economic - material and cultural.

Social behavior is determined by economic stability. Modern man functions in relation to personal material stability. They have an individualistic behavior and seek solutions that lead them to personal welfare. When they emigrate they think of themselves.

When they reach their destination, they ask themselves: who am I?, what am I looking for here?, what is my name?, what do I accept?, what do I give up?, what do I lose?, what do I gain?, what do I want to be?, what can I be?, etc. For many, the idea of identity is reactivated. After winning the first personal struggles, they begin to search for and identify the way to preserve their cultural identity that would be part of the delineation of the cultural, social and philosophical-religious systems to which they could adhere.

Detachment, by accepting mobility, from the values in which they were born and educated, leads to living a new reality that has become a challenge in Europe.

This is how the phrase “unity in diversity” appeared, which refers to two realities: cultural pluralism and multiculturalism.

Since the advent of the European Union, the issue of unity in diversity has been raised.

This reality, compared to the beginnings of the European Union, was easier to accept because it was a union between states

that developed in the same democratic structure, with strong economies and a balanced relationship as a socio-cultural and religious component.

“The European project cannot prove its viability without the modeling force of culture, without benefiting from its vocation to build solidarity in human and social terms. The culture in its lived forms alone, manifested in meaningful practices, rituals and the melange of daily life, can strengthen the sense of community of the citizens of various European countries, the sense of belonging and loyalty to an abstract organization to which they do not feel essentially part of” [24].

This concept was fully valid until the massive fall of communism in Eastern Europe around 1990. The European Union found itself in a position to accept enlargement, assuming certain risks that, over time, would become realities. Communism had managed to produce in its area of ​​domination a type of education that contradicted that of the European Union. The release from the restrictions and frustrations acquired in the communist space left its mark on the sociocultural behavior of the people in this area.

The opening of borders for free movement has allowed Eastern European citizens to work in Western countries. This has had a positive effect, on the one hand, of economic development and solidarity among the countries that joined the European community later, and, on the other hand, of the revival of nationalist sentiments.

The latter arose against the background of disciplinary discrepancies between the West and the East of fundamental differences in the perception of national values.

The communist nationalism of the East confronted the secularizing democracy of the West.

From that moment the struggle for the creation of European public space and, above all, of a European identity, started.

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C. Patterns of immigrants’ integration

policies

“The nation-state, which is the most common form of state, is defined by the sharing of a common language and culture,” wrote Sabine Choquet [25]. When we talk about the state, we refer to integration.

When we talk about immigration, we refer to two models: one assimilationist and the other multiculturalist. The assimilationist is also called the “republican” because it demands “a certain blindness to cultural and religious differences” and the multiculturalist one assumes that “all citizens must have the right to live according to their culture and religion” [26]. Both models claim a situation of equality but each has its own way of reaching a certain type of equality.

The first claims equality that does not take into account differences, the second claims equality taking into account differences without discrimination.

Canada. It has been called the “model pattern of multiculturalism” because its multiculturalism policy has acknowledged that the country is “a bilingual and bicultural country formed on the contribution of two equal founding peoples, the Francophones and the Anglophones” [27].

Canada allows newcomers to preserve their culture of origin, but claims that those who want Canadian nationality must know one of the official languages (French or English), the way the Canadian society works and the rights and responsibilities of a citizen. One cannot become a Canadian citizen if they do not pass a test.

Great Britain. After 1948, when many British colonies gained independence, many immigrants from those territories moved to Britain, where they were received with racist attitudes, especially the people of color. British laws in the 1970s and 1980s sought to remove discrimination. In 1966, the Secretary of Home Office considered that there was no need for a “melting pot” in the UK to transform the world

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into a common pattern, but that “integration must offer an equal opportunity, associated with cultural diversity, in an atmosphere of natural tolerance” [28].

At the beginning of the 21st century, the policy of integration was changed.

David Blunkett, secretary of Home Office, recommended, in September 2002, that all minorities, speak English in their homes as well. In parallel, he proposed a civic education course in schools to familiarize immigrants with English history and language. He was reluctant to confessional schools. Thus, a citizenship test emerged for emigrants who wanted to become British citizens, in which English, knowledge of British institutions, history and laws are assessed. During the citizenship ceremony, the new citizens declare their faith to the Queen [29].

The Netherlands. In the 1980s, the Dutch authorities provided support to emigrant associations, respecting their cultural and religious identity. This system is called “pillarization,” the construction on the pillars of the foundation of the Dutch society: Protestant, Catholic, Social Democrat and Liberal. Each of these “pillars” has the right to have its own political parties, media, newspapers, unions, universities, hospitals, schools, funded by the state.

At the beginning of the 90’s the problem of the integration of emigrants was raised, provided that the Dutch language was known. According to a 2000 article titled “Multicultural Drama,” the Dutch model failed: We live in the Netherlands next to each other without meeting one another: everyone has their own cafe, their own school, their own idols, their own music, their own faith, their own butcher, and soon their own street or neighborhood.

Tensions in the Dutch society, because of violent events, led in April 2004 to a renewal of integration policy. Thus, it became mandatory to pass a test for those who applied for a family reunification visa or those who wanted to settle in the Netherlands and

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came from a country that is not a member of the European Union. This test must be passed by all the mentioned immigrants, 3 years after arriving in the Netherlands. If they do not pass the first test, they have the right to another test, after two years. In case of failure, they can be denied a residence visa.

Germany. If a child is born in the country of non-German parents, he or she becomes a citizen by birth if one of the parents has been in Germany for more than 8 years. In fact, a foreigner can become a German citizen if he/ she has lived in the country for at least 8 years. They must pass a language test and adapt to German values. The German state helps them by offering them free German language courses.

Switzerland. In Switzerland, cultural adaptation is taken into account first. In order to acquire citizenship, you need 12 years of residency and the necessary knowledge of Swiss politics, culture and tradition. Also, the behavior of the immigrant must not compromise national security. It is absolutely necessary for those who want to emigrate to Switzerland to know one of the 4 official languages. Switzerland offers all its citizens equal opportunities.

D. The failure of European multiculturalism

The two basic treaties, according to which the European Union operates, refer to a basis necessary for its consolidation, namely: the cultural heritage with its religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity.

Equality, in all respects, is the basic principle of the relations among European citizens.

The second decade of the 21st century would surprise everyone with the statements made by four of the leaders of some of the most powerful European states: Germany, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands.

They stated that multiculturalism has been a total failure [30].

At Munich Security Conference on 5

February 2011, David Cameron showed a hostile attitude towards “state multiculturalism” in the British version. He saw in it a danger to the British identity and an environment conducive to the development of fundamentalism. To stop this danger he proposes a solution that he calls “muscular liberalism” to solve this situation. From this speech, the British Conservatives concluded that multiculturalism was over. Cameron’s intervention does nothing but continues the idea of an earlier statement of his, from 2008, that “multiculturalism - an idea by which different cultures must be respected to live separately has undermined Britain’s sense of identity and triggered a cultural apartheid” [31].

In the Netherlands, in the mid-1990s, the government abandoned the policy of ethnic minorities [32].

In the United Kingdom, a 2001 report noted that there were “distinct ethnocultural minorities living parallel lives to the majority” [33].

Germany had a more relaxed policy towards multiculturalism, especially after 1990 when it allowed immigrants access to German nationality on the condition of renouncing their citizenship.

In France, as in the United Kingdom, an official report noted that the expansion of multiculturalism has led to many demands from the part of minorities: “absences for religious holidays, breaks for fasting or prayer, the refusal of young girls to give up the veil. .... etc. “ [34]. The report gets a law from the parliament banning the use of ostentatious religious signs in schools.

In order for multiculturalism not to be considered dead, it was proposed that a Jewish and a Muslim holiday be declared days off.

Conclusions The sad events that began with the assassination of a politician in the

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Netherlands in 2002, and continued with the Islamist terrorist attacks in Great Britain (2005) and France (2012) and certain economic factors led to the statements of the heads of state of the four countries mentioned earlier, to conclude that multiculturalism has approached a failure.

German Chancellor Angele Merkel has firmly stated that “Multikulti” has failed completely [35].

The UK therefore calls for immigrants to learn English and understand British culture and values; The Dutch government asks immigrants for a civic integration exam, a ban on clothing covering their faces in public places, language courses and exams; Germany demands integration, speaking German and respect for Christian values, and France wants renewed secularism as a variant of multiculturalism.

It seems that in the long journey of immigrants and minorities from the American melting pot to European and Canadian multiculturalism, a third way has to be found, one in which the newcomers are welcome into the receiving culture while the host culture also accepts new influences from migrants’, in a two-way intercultural exchange.

References [1] The New Webster’s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English Language. New York: Grammercy Books, 1997.

[2] The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. London: Longman, 1995. [ 3 ] h t t p s : / / o n l i n e l i b r a r y. w i l e y. c o m / d o i / abs/10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm359.

[4] Higgins, Julia. “Immigration: The Myth of the Melting Pot.” 26 Dec. 2015. https://www. newsweek.com/immigration-myth-meltingpot-408705 [5] de Crevecoeur, J. Hector St. John. Letters from an American Farmer. New York: Dover Publications, 2005.

[6] Turner, Frederick Jackson. The Significance of the Frontier in American History. Okitoks

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Press, 2017.

[7] James, Henry. The American Scene. Las Vegas: IAP, 2010.

[8] Zangwill, Israel, The Melting Pot. Drama in Four Acts. New and revised edition. New York: Macmillan, 1916.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Burton, L. William. Melting Pot Soldiers: The Union’s Ethnic Regiments. Fordham University Press, 1998.

[11] Hamm, Charles. Irving Berlin: Songs from the Melting Pot: The Formative Years, 1907-1914.

New York: OUP, 1997.

[12] Lee, Edward. Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting Pot. New York: Artisan, 2018.

[13] Bernard, M. Richard. The Melting Pot and the Altar: Marital Assimilation in Early TwentiethCentury Wisconsin. University of Minnesota Press, 1981.

[14] Orosco, Jose-Antonio. Toppling the Melting Pot. Immigration and Multiculturalism in American Pragmatism. Indiana University Press, 2016.

[15] Wallace, Mike. Against the “Melting Pot” Metaphor.

On Arguments Over Americanization and Homogenized Culture.

30. Oct. 2017. https://lithub.com/against-themelting-pot-metaphor/.

[16] Ibid. 2.

[17] Ibid. 3.

[18] Ibid. 5.

[19] Ibid. 8.

[20] Ibid. 1.

[21] Huntington, Samuel. Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity.

New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.

[22] Rousseau, Guillaume. “L’échec du multiculturalisme en Europe de l’Ouest: des origines à la recherche des toutes alternatives,” nr. 10 de la série « La question nationale à travers du monde », Institut de recherche sur le Québec, Decembre 2013. 3.

[23] “«Multiculturalisme» une identité pour l’Europe?”, dans Riva Kastoryano, dir., Quelle identité pour l’Europe?, Paris, Presses de Sciences po, 2005, 19. 27, apud Guillaume Rousseau, “L’échec du multiculturalisme en Europe de l’Ouest: des origines à la recherche

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des toutes alternatives,” nr. 10 de la série «La question nationale à travers du monde», Institut de recherche sur le Québec, Decembre 2013. 2.

[24] Stoica, Marcela Monica Stoica. “Succes sau eșec al modelului multiculturalismului în Uniunea Europeană,” in revista Polis. vol.

3, no. 2 (8), New Series, March – May 2015, note 11. 152.

[25] Choquet, Sabine. “Le modèle d’integration en Europe,“ en „Question d’Europe”, no. 449, 30 oct. 2017. 1.

[26] Ibid. 2.

[27] Ibid. 3.

[28] Ibid. 5.

[29] Ibid.

[30] Didier Lassalle. “Le post-multiculturalisme de David Cameron,” in Revue française de Civilisation Britanique (en ligne), XII2/2012, mis en ligne le 15 mars 2016. accessed 20.09.202, URL http://journals.openedition. org/rfcb/688; DOI: 10.4000/rfcb.688. 1.

[31] Ibid. 1.

[32] Rousseau, Guillaume, op. cit. 6.

[33] Ibid. 6.

[34] Ibid. 7.

[35] Ibid.

Biographies Iulian Isbășoiu graduated the University of Catholic Theology of “Marc Bloch” University of Strasbourg and received the title of Doctor in Theology with the doctoral thesis: Culte et religion populaire dans l`Eglise Orthodoxe.

Le mariage chez les Roumains Orthodoxes a l`aube du XXI-e siecle. He worked as a teacher at the Theological Seminary and as a cultural adviser at the Archiepiscopacy of Tomis. At present, he works as a priest at ”Saint John the Baptist” church in Constanta and as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology of the Ovidius University, Constanța. Among his publications, the most remarkable are: “Culte et religion populaire dans l`Eglise Orthodoxe.

Le mariage chez les Roumains Orthodoxes a l`aube du XXI-e siecle”, French ed. Vasiliana, Iaşi, 2008; “The implementation challenges of

the Bologna process in theological orthodox university education in Romania – the dialogue between church and state”, International Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences & Arts, Albena, Bulgaria, 3-9th September 2014, vol.

III Psychology, psychiatry, sociology, healthcare education, pp. 913-925; “The Personality of the Saintly Prince Constatin Brâncoveanu as Revealed in the Prefaces of the Books Printed in his Age” in International Journal of Cross-Cultural Studies and Environmental Communication. Special Issue “Constantin Brâncoveanu’s Legacy from Cross-Cultural Perspectives”, 2015. Coordinators Florentina Nicolae and Nicoleta Stanca. Editura Universitara & ADI Publication. pp. 39-48; “The Place and Role of Youth in the Liturgical Life of the Church” in Dialogo. Journal of RCDST. Volume 2, Issue 1, November 2015, University of Zilina, Slovak Republic. 27-34. www.dialogo-conf.com.

Nicoleta Stanca is Associate Professor at Ovidius University Constanta. She has published four book-length studies: Irish-Romanian Cultural Connections. Travellers, Writers and Ambassadors (2019), Mapping Ireland (Essays on Space and Place in Contemporary Irish Poetry) (2014), The Harp and the Pen (Tradition and Novelty in Modern Irish Writing) (2013), Duality of Vision in Seamus Heaney’s Writings (2009), articles in academic journals and book chapters on Irish-American identity, literary studies and popular culture. She has been a co-editor of conference volumes, the most recent being: Ideology, Identity and the US: Crossroads, Freeways, Collisions (2019). She is a member of ESSE and EAAS and an alumna of the Multinational Institute of American Studies, New York University (NYU).

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The righteousness of Judah and Tamar: a problematic encounter Th.Dr. Štefan Novotný, Ph.D.

Department of Systematic Theology; Faculty of Theology Catholic University in Ružomberok Košice, SLOVAKIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 10 October 2020 Received in revised form 20 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.12

The story of Judah and Tamar is a part of the story of the Abrahamic line. Judah is problematic Jacob’s son and Tamar is Judah’s problematic daughter-in-law. A climax of their story is the judgment on Tamar: “She is more righteous than I since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” (Gen 38:26). The paper examines the context and composition of the story to evaluate the righteousness of both characters in their respective social roles. Judah and Tamar’s dramatic relationship shows an anthropological perspective of conversion and spiritual growth in borderline situations. In the present COVID-19 pandemic the story shows how the actual world could be reshaped under pressure.

Keywords: Judah; Tamar; social role; conversion; genealogy; righteousness; family;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Štefan Novotný. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Novotný, Štefan. ”The righteousness of Judah and Tamar: a problematic encounter.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 136-143. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.12

I.

Introduction

The biblical story of Judah and Tamar has been studied so many times from different points of view using different methodologies and approaches, it seems therefore quite naïve to propose a new perspective on the phenomenal narrative. Nevertheless, this paper has the ambition to reread

the passage in terms of righteousness. A climax of the narrative is the judgment on Tamar pronounced by Judah: “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” (Gen 38:26). The paper examines the context and composition of the story and afterward the righteousness of Judah and Tamar in terms of their social roles. To be righteous in his/her social role is

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a key to reshape a tough reality and helps each other to solve the actual crisis with dignity and bilateral benefit.

II. Context of Genesis 38

Authors [1] using a diachronic historicalcritical analysis on the passage conclude, that the story of Judah and Tamar has been inserted not into the Joseph story, but rather into the broader context of Jacob story. One can find similar narratives about first three sons of Jacob: Reuben in Gen 35:22-33 and Simeon and Levi in Gen 34. Both narratives describe wrong deeds of three oldest sons of Jacob. The fourth is Judah; therefore Gen 38 could be another story about a problematic offspring of Jacob.

On the other hand, authors [2] using synchronic narrative analyses describe literary and content references between Gen 38 and the Joseph story in Gen 37 and 39-50, which makes Gen 38 an integral part of Joseph’s story. They generally pointed out these references: a) Judah’s strategy of covering up (the selling Joseph to Egypt in Gen 37:27-33; the encounter with a prostitute in Gen 38:20-23); b) cheating with clothes (Judah and his brothers cheat Jacob by Joseph’s coat dipped in the blood in Gen 37:31-33; Judah is cheated by Tamar’s veil in Gen 38:14-19); c) an act of recognizing (Jacob is asked to recognize Joseph’s coat in Gen 37:32-33; Judah is asked to recognize his seal, cord and staff in Gen 38:25-26); d) an act of seduction (Judah is seduced by his daughter-in-law Tamar in Gen 38:14-19; Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph in Gen 39:7-12).

Both methodological approaches seem to be valid and at the same time, complementary. Labuschagne remarks making a synthesis of synchronic and diachronic findings: “If an author wanted to tell this story, or if a redactor wished to incorporate it, there

was no better place to do so than within the Joseph story. After all, next to Joseph, Judah is Jacob’s most important son, therefore this episode in Judah’s history is perfectly in place in the Joseph story, which is really the ‘History of Jacob’ (Gen 37-50), in the same way as the story of Jacob and Esau is in fact the ‘History of Isaac’ (Gen 25:19-35:29).” [3] Another important aspect of the insertion of Gen 38 into the whole book is genealogical perspective. It has been proved [4] that the genealogies (toledoth) of Genesis not only frame the whole book, but also are its basic structural elements. Toledoth are clear signs of division of the book. Each section begins with a phrase: “This is the history of”. There are 11 genealogies in Genesis: “genealogy” of Heaven and Earth (Gen 2:4); genealogy of Adam (Gen 5:1); genealogy of Noah (Gen 6:9); genealogy of sons of Noah (Gen 10:1); genealogy of Shem (Gen 11:10); genealogy of Abraham (Gen 11:27); genealogy of Ishmael (Gen 25:12); genealogy of Isaac (Gen 25:19); two genealogies of Esau (Gen 36:1, 9); genealogy of Jacob (Gen 37:2). This genealogical perspective shows that Gen 37:2 starts with Jacob’s genealogy, but the clash behind the story between Joseph and Judah in some way repeats the previous fight of brothers between Esau and Jacob in the previous genealogy of Isaac starting from Gen 25:19.

An important topic in the narrative in Genesis 38 is the motive of primogeniture.

Who is going to get the blessing of the firstborn? The motive is present in the threefold reference to Er as the firstborn of Judah in Gen 38:3,6,7 and at the end of the narrative in the story of Perez’s birth, who had to fight to be the firstborn. [5] The dilemma of primogeniture and inheritance in Judah’s genealogy lies between Shelah third son of Judah and his Canaanite wife, and Perez – firstborn son of Judah and Tamar as well as heir-at-law of Judah’s deceased firstborn son Er. Wünch in his recent study

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asserts: “Chapters 37 and 38 can be viewed as a double exposition. This double exposition then leads to a double closure in Gen 48 and 49. Here we find the blessing of Jacob for his sons. (...) Joseph receives the double portion, which was an important part of primogeniture, while Judah and his descendants receive the ruling position.” [6] Another important aspect is the role of women in this patriarchal toledoth. They influence a division of the power and blessing in every narrative – Sarah in Abraham story, Rebecca in Isaac narratives, Leah and Rachel fight in case of Jacob, and Tamar manipulates Judah after death of his wife in order to be a mother as well as to include her sons into the blessed line coming from Abraham.

III. structure and composition of

Genesis 38

A commonly accepted structure of the chapter is concentric, and it can be divided into seven parts [7]: A – Judah starts a family (vv. 1-5) B – The sons of Judah are dying because of their wickedness (vv. 6-10) C – Judah sends Tamar back home (v. 11) D – Tamar helps herself to get her rights (vv. 12-19) C’ – Judah sends Hirah to Enaim (vv. 2023) B’ – Judah condemns Tamar to death, but she proves to be righteous (vv. 24-26) A’ – Judah’s family is continued through Tamar (vv. 27-30) On the first sight, at the A-A’ level of the structure, this is a story about Judah and his family line. In passage A (vv.1-5) Judah starts his family by leaving his brothers and settling amidst Canaanite people. He becomes friend of Hirah and takes the daughter of Shua as his wife. She bore him three sons Er, Onan and

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Shelah. This short birth narrative of Judah’s sons surprisingly provides some detailed but unnecessary information. Firstborn Er get his name directly from Judah, other two from their mother. The youngest son Shelah is born when his mother is in an enigmatic place named Chezib. At the end of the chapter from three sons of Judah and the unnamed daughter od Shua only Shelah is alive. Another two – Er and Onan – will be punished by Yahweh.

On the other hand, the passage A’ (vv.2426) provides another branch of Judah’s family line coming from Tamar. Names of both sons come from two remarks of unnamed midwife. The dramatic situation of their fight during birth connects this short birth narrative with a situation of Rebecca’s birth of Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:21-26). [8] Judah’s gets two sons as a replacement for Er and Onan, and Tamar becomes an important mother in the Abrahamic genealogy and later with great impact in the genealogy of king David.

Passages B and B’ are the key parts to understand a concept of righteousness used in the chapter. At the level not only Tamar pass through the trial led by Judah, but also two Judah’s sons and Judah himself pass a test of righteousness through their own attitude towards Tamar. She becomes in some sense a mirror of justice.

In B passage (vv.6-10) Judah is the main protagonist. He takes Tamar as a wife for his firstborn son (v. 6). After the unexpected death of his firstborn son, Judah gives Tamar to his second son in order to provide a male heir to Er (v. 8). All his decisions have a bitter end – the death of both sons. Both cases relate to Tamar. She becomes the main suspect who brought the curse of death to Judah’s family. This is a point of view of Judah. On the other hand, Tamar is helpless, mute, and passive. She accepts her position, she knows the wickedness of both brothers, but she does her bests to be a good wife and mother. But Yahweh himself is the one who

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knows the truth. He himself – not Tamar – causes the death of both brothers, because they are evil in his eyes (vv. 7 and 9-10). Judah doesn’t have any clue about the wickedness of his sons, nor his own unjust prejudice.

Similarly, in passage B’ (vv.24-26) Judah is the main actor. The father of the clan is the judge who is told about the “sin” of his daughter-in-law Tamar. While in passage B it is Yahweh, who punishes Er and Onan because of their evil deeds, in passage B’ it is Judah who oversees the punishing of Tamar because of her presupposed adultery.

Surprisingly, he is again very superficial and erroneous in his decision. Judah, who seems to be the main actor, does not really know the reality. Judah apparently thinks that his daughter-in-law has committed adultery and should be sentenced to capital punishment.

He does not have any clue about his own wickedness. Tamar, on the other hand, she has situation under control, because she knows, but in this time, she is not mute or inactive. In some sense Tamar is in the position of Yahweh: she knows, sees, acts, and changes the game. The difference is her expected motherhood, which makes her stronger. The double paradox lies not only in fact, that Judah himself makes her stronger by making her pregnant, but also in fact, that she pushes him forward by unveiling him the truth about himself and his own wickedness. Therefore, Judah knowing the truth acknowledges her righteousness.

At the level C-C’ is described the sophisticated wickedness of Judah. In very short passage C (v.11) Judah avoids giving third son Shelah to Tamar due to his age and sends her back to her father to wait for Shela’s maturity. Judah seems to be righteous: he has formally promised his son to Tamar, but in reality, he has sent her far away with empty hands with only theoretical hope to be an honored mother.

He has covered his violation of the rules in very smart way.

In passage C’ (vv.20-23) Judah send Hirah

to pay his own debt and redeem objects of his own personal identity. The reason is a covering of his escapade with a harlot. He would like to keep his image of a righteous man. He, therefore, doesn’t say the truth and send Hirah to find a cultic prostitute instead of a harlot. Ironically Hirah as well as men from Ennaim (“place of eyes”) didn’t see there any cultic prostitute nor harlot.

In the middle of the chapter – level D (vv.12-19) – is Judah outwitted. His smart covers meet a smarter cover – literally.

It is a veil, which protects the identity of Tamar. On the other hand, Judah’s identity is uncovered by a deposit he left for Tamar instead of young goat he has promised.

The longest dialogue in the whole chapter (vv. 16-18) proceeds between veiled Tamar and unveiled Judah. Judah gives not only a deposit but also a progeny. A man who saved his last son before a death through intercourse with Tamar, desire himself to have the intercourse and pays for it. At the end he gets not only two other sons, but also the new righteousness.

IV. Righteousness in Genesis 38

Hebrew narratives like to contrast two characters to develop a story: in Gen 38 Tamar is contrasted to Judah in terms of righteousness. In this part will be examined all social roles of both main figures in order to clarify their righteousness.

In Genesis 38 is Judah presented in four different social roles: as husband, as father, as father-in-law and as widower. As husband he saw his future wife, marry her, and went to her (Gen 38:2). He fulfilled all his marital duties and therefore she became a mother of three sons (Gen 38:3-5). After her death he kept the period of mourning (Gen 38:12) He did everything in just and right way as a righteous husband and his unnamed Canaanite wife should have been content.

In her sight Judah was a good and righteous husband.

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As father he also kept all his paternal duties. He gave the name for his firstborn son (Gen 38:3) and later took a wife for him (Gen 38:6). He took care for Er also after his death and gave his wife Tamar to the second son Onan to get a male progeny to his firstborn son. After Onan’s death he tried to save his last son and refused to give him to Tamar. In the eyes of his firstborn son he was a good and caring father as many other biblical fathers who took care for their children [9]. He was probably a good father also in the eyes of Shelah, but from the point of view of Onan he was a biased father who refused him the status of the firstborn son.

But the main weakness of Judah as father is lack of recognition of the wickedness of his two sons.

As father-in-law, Judah also failed. As noted above, he didn’t allow his third son to fulfill levirate duties. He failed because he did not stay in his social role in relation to his daughter-in-law Tamar. One can see the conflict between two social roles of Judah as father and as a father-in-law. From his point of view, he tried to save his third son.

He chooses rather to send out Tamar in a politically correct way, than to risk the life of his last son. He postponed a fulfillment of the levirate praxis also excluding himself from the duty. Later he acts righteously as a father-in-law when he sentenced her to death on basis of her presupposed adultery.

Westermann remarks: “Tamar is thus accused of adultery either as Er’s widow or Shelah’s betrothed. According to old family law, the establishment of the fact is sufficient for criminal punishment without inquiry or legal process.” [10] A turning point is the revelation of the identity of the man who made Tamar pregnant (Gen 38:25-26). There is a moment of truth for father-in-law. Judah acknowledges he failed as father-in-law by the refusal of giving Shelah to Tamar. At the same time, he realizes he fulfilled the levirate duties by giving the progeny to Tamar. Clements argues that the

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assumption that Judah was also legitimate levir explains the dramatic change in Judah’s reaction to Tamar’s pregnancy. [11] In Gen 38:26 the author remarks that Judah had no further relations with Tamar. Westermann argues that “a relationship which would not have fulfilled the levirate obligation could be regarded as incest.” [12] Judah therefore in his last decision in Gen 38 acts finally as a righteous father-in-law.

As widower acts Judah according to standards of Canaanite people. He did not look for another wife, but for a short escapade with a harlot zonah (Gen 38:15). He lives amidst Canaanites; he is an honorable man on the way to a party and he lives according accepted standards of their culture. It is clear from the later explanation he gave to his friend, when he mentioned a cultic prostitute kedeshah (Gen 38:21-22).

Skinner reminds that “the present of a kid on these occasions may be due to the fact that (as in classical antiquity) the goat was sacred to the goddess of love” [13] Therefore according to the Canaanite standards Judah acts righteously.

Tamar is in Genesis 38 presented in five different social roles: as wife, as daughterin-law, as widow, as harlot and finally as mother. Tamar as wife fulfils all her duties, but she fails in bringing children. A reader knows the real cause, Tamar probably as well, but the text doesn’t mention it. There is an interesting wordplay between the name Er which means “master, witness, protector” (Mal 2:12) and reverse word ra which means “bad”. Nevertheless, Tamar as wife acts righteously.

As daughter-in-law, she obeys a decision of her father-in-law and allows Onan to enter and have intercourse with her in order to fulfil levirate law. The result is: she is “used and abused” [14]. After Onan’s death she becomes a scapegoat in Judah’s family.

There is a kind of distorted reality. On the one side, Tamar is righteous and on the other side she looks like a danger for the whole

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family. Therefore, Judah refuse a possibility of Tamar’s intercourse with young Shelah.

Tamar as an obedient and unresisting daughter-in-law and widow respect all decisions of his father-in-law and returns to the house of her father. She becomes righteous widow in the house of her father awaiting the possibility to become a mother when Shelah grows.

The time spent in the safe environment of father’s house makes Tamar more secure and after realizing she was cheated by Judah; she creates a plan how to become mother. Her role as harlot or cultic prostitute becomes a risky way to make claim to her right. She is cheating by covering herself under the veil, but it mirrors the distorted reality in which she has lived. Under the veil of a prostitute, she has forced the widower Judah to fulfil his levirate responsibility. Therefore, she becomes righteous also under the veil of a prostitute. In other words, the social role of the prostitute was just a veil, Tamar was not a cultic prostitute but a widowed daughterin-law of widowed Judah. This is the basis for the judgment: “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” (Gen 38:26) Tamar in social role as mother is presented at the end of chapter. She is blessed by two sons and received back into Judah’s family with honor. Therefore, “the twins that she is expecting are legitimate, i.e., they are recognized as children of her deceased husband, fathered by a member of the family of this house.” [15] An interesting observation is the social role of both main characters according to the aforementioned composition. At the level A-A’ there is Judah as the father of his family in the opening passage and Tamar as the mother of his heir in the end of the chapter. At the level B-B’ they are a fatherin-law and his widowed daughter-in-law; at the level C-C’ a widower and his widowed daughter-in-law; and at the level D they are a widower and his widowed daughter-in-law

clothed and veiled as a prostitute.

V. Some observations on a conversion

of Judah

The final judgment of Judah on Tamar: “She is more righteous than I” (Gen 38:26) shows she has stood faithfully in all her social roles. Moreover, her righteousness is embedded deeply in her identity as a woman, wife, and mother. She would not harm Judah, but to show him the truth about herself and him as well. Wünch describes this conversion of Judah: “This story in the life of Judah starts a process of transformation which changes him to be a man who stands in for others and can finally be described by his father with the words: “Judah, you are the one, your brothers will praise you” (Gen 49:48).” [16] A process of transformation of Judah begins with an exchange of identities. The whole Tamar’s trick has its climax in the uncovering of Judah’s identity. Judah finally sees himself in the story of Tamar. He finally sees Tamar as well. Claassens remarks in her explanation of the story that to be human means “to be recognized or seen” [17]. In this sense, by recognizing of his own identity Judah recognizes Tamar and presents her to society as an honorable mother. Suchocki explains: “One brings another’s experience into one’s own, albeit with the natural limitation of perspective that finitude entails and offers one’s own experience to another. This provides an intuited enlargement of perspective that can deepen or challenge one’s attitude and actions. To open oneself to the legitimacy of the other’s point of view through empathy is to open oneself to transformation and spiritual growth.” [18] However, this encounter of seeing each other repeats the story of creation (Gen 2:25; 3:7). The One who still really sees is God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen 38:4.9).

Another interesting aspect of the story is a

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borderline experience with the Lord through a relationship with relatives. As it is noted above, Judah’s story is connected to a bigger story of his father, Jacob, and the whole Abrahamic clan. One common feature of their stories is an extraordinary experience with the Lord, which produces a kind of test and at the same time their conversion. For Abraham, it is the experience at the mountain Moriah, when he is challenged to kill his only beloved son Isaac (Gen 22), after he has sent Ismael to an expected death in desert (Gen 21,9-14). For Jacob it is his fight on the riverbank of Jabok when he becomes Israel (Gen 32:25-31). Judah is his “eyes opener” experience when he almost kills his daughterin-law and his own children. In each of these existential encounters, the Lord is present. In each of these experiences main character goes through personal conversion. Abraham has a counterpart in Isaac, Jacob in Esau, and Judah in Tamar.

Conclusion The story of Judah and Tamar is intrinsically connected with the story of Joseph and the story of their father Jacob.

Tamar is another brave woman and mother in the Abrahamic line who has influenced not only a permanent fight of primogeniture but also a conversion of an important male character. She contrasts Judah and provides him a lesson of righteousness by her fearless and risky garment trick. She opens the eyes of Judah, who was blinded by his own lies, and helps him to pronounce the right verdict in her case. Therefore, she is claimed as more righteous than Judah. Moreover, she is recognized as a woman and an honorable mother and helps Judah to find himself and begin his conversion as a leader of the Jacob’s clan.

In the context of actual COVID-19 pandemic, which causes a cluster of crises at many levels of our world, the story of the problematic encounter shows an interesting trajectory of reshaping and strengthening individuals and whole families and bringing

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new hope and dignity for future generations.

Acknowledgment The article is funded by the project VEGA 1/0257/20 The concept of woman heroine in the medieval exegetic literature References Westermann, Claus, A Continental Commentary: Genesis 37–50. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002, 49.

[2] Wünch, Hans-Georg, 2012, “Genesis 38 – Judah’s Turning Point: Structural Analysis and Narrative Techniques and their Meaning for Genesis 38 and its Placement in the Story of Joseph”, Old Testament Essays 25 (3): 777806, 778.

[3] Labuschagne, Casper J., 2008 “1. The Story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38: Its Compositional Structure and Numerical Features,” Dataset/Database Online, University of Groningen, http://irs.ub.rug.nl/ dbi/48a542a490ca5 [4] Hieke, Thomas, Die Genealogien der Genesis, Freiburg: Herder, 2003, 249-250.

[5] Cowan, Margaret P., Genesis 38: The Story of Judah and Tamar and its Role in the Ancestral Narratives of Genesis Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, 1990, 167-168.

[6] Wünch, Hans-Georg, 2012, “Genesis 38 – Judah’s Turning Point: Structural Analysis and Narrative Techniques and their Meaning for Genesis 38 and its Placement in the Story of Joseph”, Old Testament Essays 25 (3): 777806, 784.

[7] Hilbrands, Walter, Heilige oder Hure?

Die Rezeptionsgeschichte von Juda und Tamar (Genesis 38) von der Antike bis zur Reformationszeit, Leuven: Peeters, 2007, 1415.

[8] Fischer, Irmtraud, “On the Significance of the “Women Texts “in the Ancestral Narratives”, In Torah. The Bible and Women: An Encyclopedia of Exegesis and Cultural History. edited by Oakland, Jorunn; Fischer, Irmtraud; Navarro Puerto, Mercedes; Taschl-Erber, Andrea, 251294, Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature 2011, 290.

[1]

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Fenik, Juraj, 2019, “Children as Gift in the Gospel of Luke”, Neotestamentica, 53 (1), 79-100, 80.

[10] Westermann, Claus, A Continental Commentary: Genesis 37–50. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002, 54.

[11] Clements, E. Anne, Mothers on the Margin?

The Significance of the Women in Matthew’s Genealogy, James Clarke & Co Ltd.: London 2014, 43.

[12] Westermann, Claus, A Continental Commentary: Genesis 37–50. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002, 55.

[13] Skinner, John, A Critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis. New York: Scribner 1910, 453.

[14] Clements, E. Anne, Mothers on the Margin?

The Significance of the Women in Matthew’s Genealogy, James Clarke & Co Ltd.: London 2014, 50.

[15] Westermann, Claus, A Continental Commentary: Genesis 37–50. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002, 55.

[16] Wünch, Hans-Georg, 2012, “Genesis 38 – Judah’s Turning Point: Structural Analysis and Narrative Techniques and their Meaning for Genesis 38 and its Placement in the Story of Joseph”, Old Testament Essays 25 (3): 777806, 803.

[17] Claassens, L. Julianna M., 2012, “Resisting Dehuma-nization: Ruth, Tamar, and the Quest for Human Dignity.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Vol. 74, No. 4 (October 2012), 659674, 668.

[18] Suchocki, Maijorie, The Fall to Violence: Original Sin in Relational Theology, New York: Continuum, 1999, 40.

Biography

[9]

ThDr. Štefan Novotný, PhD. Born in 1974 in Prešov Slovakia Education: 1994 - 2000 Master’s degree in Catholic theology, Comenius University Bratislava; 2002 - 2007 Doctoral study of Catholic theology Comenius University Bratislava.

Academic experience: 2008 - Assistant Professor, Department of Systematic Theology, Faculty of Theology Košice, Catholic University in Ružomberok.

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The consciousness’ forming by fractal education and the problem of Divinity Marius Arghirescu

Patents Department, State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, Bucharest, ROMANIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 10 October 2020 Received in revised form 22 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.13

This paper examines the extent and how an individual or group consciousness can reach a “graceful level” close to the maximum possible, considered of the Divinity. A first conclusion of the analysis is that fractal, networked education, obtained from simple to complex and from an individual to larger and larger groups of individuals, has generated and is generating fractal, group consciousness, within which the learning of an individual but superior consciousness, with the role of spiritual leader, in particular - teacher, professor, is transmitted to those spiritually guided by transmitting not only of his teaching but also of his attitude towards the transmitted teaching and the strategy of using it in society.

It results also that the forming of individual and fractal consciences, of a group, of gracious level, (“haric/gracious”-in some acceptions) - understood as the highest value level of the psycho-social Good, requires a strategy of using the obtained orthodoxscientific teaching, based on completing the fundamental principles of the orthodoxy: purification, enlightenment, union with the Divinity, fight against evil, with the scientific principle of orthodox reciprocity. Another conclusion is that - because the possibility of the existence of a divine gracious meta-consciousness, understood in the sense of gracious spiritual leader of several gracious superconsciences which are spiritual leaders of a significant number of superior consciences relative to the average level, exceeds the capacity of a single psycho-bio-social entity, it results that a God with super-normal powers capable of restoring the Good of the orthodox-scientific type in worldwide can exist more as a judicial entity than as a single physical and spiritual entity, so- as a Divine Organization, more realistic and scientific being the concept of Godness. In this case, the Godness must be both judicial and executive, based on Scientific Orthodoxy, which includes the principle of orthodox reciprocity. The possibility of spiritual leadership of the mankind by the Godness supposes energo-informational action with advanced technical means, such as telepathic amplifiers, which could also explain the transmission of the Holy Spirit and some paranormal manifestations such as the cases of “intelligent ghosts”, reported. It results also that the Godness may be recused by scientific orthodoxy and the principles of the Providence must be modified in the form: orthodox-scientific cooperation with the Creation; orthodox-scientific leadership of the Creation and orthodox-scientific preservation of the Creation.

Keywords: fractal education; consciousness; gracious; Godness; Scientific Orthodoxy; Providence;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Marius Arghirescu. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Arghirescu, Marius. ”The consciousness’ forming by fractal education and the problem of Divinity.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 147-162. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.13

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I. Introduction.

The term “consciousness” is derived from the Latin term “con Scientia” which means “knowledge”) is the feeling of understanding the personal existence and integrating it into the universe. It is the most evolved form of psychic reflection of objective reality through sensations, perceptions and thinking, in the form of representations, notions, judgments, reasoning, including emotional and volitional processes. Consciousness can also be considered as a feeling that man has about the morality of his actions.

The word first appeared in the Latin legal texts of writers such as Cicero [1]. René Descartes (1596–1650) is generally regarded as the first philosopher to use consciousness in a way that does not fit with this traditional sense. [2]. The origin of the modern concept of consciousness is often attributed to Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding, (1690, [3]). Locke defined consciousness as “the perception of what passes into a man’s mind.” [4] From a philosophical point of view, Kant is the one who developed the concept of “self-consciousness”. He distinguishes in self-consciousness both a consciousness of the intellect and a consciousness of the inner sense.

From the etic point of view, consciousness is the foundation of morality and has three functions: - judge (approves, condemns), lawgiver (teaches how to act), and executor (rewards, punishes).

From a theological point of view, consciousness was identified by St. Augustine as having a function of establishing the truth within the human being, [5].

From a psychological point of view, consciousness is a means of knowing the outer and inner world.

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The simplest definition of consciousness is “consciousness or awareness of internal or external existence.” Today, with modern research on the brain, it often includes any kind of experience, knowledge, feeling, or perception. It can be “awareness” or “awareness of awareness” or selfawareness, [6]. It is recognized that there may be different levels or orders of consciousness, [7] or different types of consciousness, or a single type with different features, [8].

It is accepted the reality that there is no unanimously accepted rigorous definition of the concept.

Other questions raised by the question of consciousness are related to the consciousness of animals and the problem of other minds, as well as those related to the possibility of making conscious cyber brains.

A. Types of consciousness

Ned Block proposed a distinction between two types of consciousness that he called ‘phenomenal’ (consciousness P, given by the relationship with the reality to which we have perceptions, sensations, emotions, and feelings) and ‘accessible’ (consciousness A, the phenomenon through which information in our minds are accessible for verbal reporting, reasoning and behavior control), [9]. Kong Derick also stated that there are two types of consciousness: highlevel consciousness, which he attributes to the mind, and low-level consciousness, which he attributes to the underworld, [10].

William Lycan believes that several distinct types of consciousness can be identified, including body consciousness; control consciousness; state/event awareness; reportability; introspective consciousness; subjective consciousness; self-awareness) - and that even this list omits several more obscure forms, [11].

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The collective consciousness is the set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society, [12]. In general, it does not refer to the specifically moral conscience, but to a shared understanding of social norms, [13]. Various forms of what might be termed “collective consciousness” in modern societies have been identified by other sociologists, such as Mary Kelsey, going from solidarity attitudes and memes to extreme behaviors like group-think, herd behavior, or collectively shared experiences during collective rituals and dance parties, [14].

It is also used the metaphysical concept of “meta-consciousness”, which is identified generally with the soul, i.e. the consciousness that allows man to be aware of the Existence, [15].

There is also debate as to whether consciousness A and consciousness P always coexist or may exist separately. Although consciousness P without consciousness A is more widely accepted, there have been some hypothetical examples of A without P. Block, for example, suggests the case of a “zombie” who is computer-identical to a person but without any subjectivity, [16] B. The problem of other minds

Many philosophers consider the experience to be the essence of consciousness and believe that experience can only be fully known from within, subjectively. The question is how can we consider in this case that all active people are conscious? This problem is also related to the belief in the possibility of the existence of philosophical zombies, i.e.- the possibility of having an entity that is not physically distinct from a human being and behaves like a human being in all ways but still lacks consciousness, [17]. Related issues have also been raised regarding the research /study of

artificial intelligence in androids, [18].

The most common answer is that we attribute the consciousness of other people because we see that they resemble us in appearance and behavior, considering that if they resemble us and behave like us, they must be like us in other ways, including having experiences like us [19].

Philosophers who do not accept the possibility of the existence of philosophical zombies consider that the consciousness is reflected in behavior (including verbal behavior) and that we attribute consciousness based on behavior, i.e.- we attribute experiences to people because of what they can do, including the fact that they can tell us details about their experiences, [20].

Ken Wilber, in his book “The Spectrum of Consciousness” [21] described consciousness as a spectrum with ordinary awareness at one end and deeper types of awareness at higher levels.

Philosophers have used the term “consciousness” for four main topics: knowledge in general, intentionality, introspection (and the knowledge it specifically generates), and phenomenal experience.

Introspection is often considered to provide the primary knowledge of mental life. Another mental entity is “phenomenally conscious” only if there is “something that is” for someone to have.

The clearest examples are perceptual experiences, such as tastings and viewings; sensory bodily experiences, such as pain, tickling, and itching; imaginative experiences, such as one’s own actions or perceptions; and thought flows, as in the experience of thinking “in words” or “in pictures.” But many fall into the trap of equating consciousness with self-awareness – to be aware it is only necessary to be aware of the outside world.

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C. The problem of consciousness in cyber

machines

Alan Turing dreamed of being able to make a computer that could be much better than the great chess champions, he was also the author of a test based on written questions able to distinguish a conscious entity (man) from an unconscious entity, [22]. Although today’s machines can solve problems at high speed, they are not aware of what they are doing.

Researchers have tried to divide consciousness into three categories: * The lowest category was called C0, equivalent to the brain’s ability to solve problems without being aware of its actions.

Computers can perform this task without problems, as evidenced by the evolution of autonomous machines. However, experts say that it is inappropriate to name this ability as consciousness. * The second category, called C1, refers to the relationship between a cognitive system and a specific object of thought, for example- the mental representation of a machine. * The last category, C2, can be represented as a supervisor aware of his tasks. It covers everything that is called “meta-cognition,” a sense that refers to the fact that you are aware of what you know.C1 cannot take place without C2 and vice versa.

But according to experts, no teeth have been acquired by machines so far.

Researchers suggest that C1 evolved to produce a rupture in the modularity of consciousness processes.

II. The development of consciousness

through fractal education.

Taking into account the Freudian psychoanalysis [23] which identifies three fundamental aspects of personality: id (the

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equivalent of the unconscious, guided by the pleasure principle), ego (the equivalent of the conscious side, guided by the principle of reality) and super-ego (formed as a sum of models of activity and reporting to society and to the surrounding reality, acting as a censor of the id and the ego), it follows that education forms consciousness through the Ego and the Super-ego of the individual and of the collective of individuals.

Education has a decisive role in the evolution of the individual’s consciousness because it evolves from a simpler stage, which involves the relationship with the environment and the people, to a more complex stage, which also involves the relationship with the society and the need to comply with its rules/laws, through education that allows him to specialize himself in adapting to the requirements of society to become a contributor to its progress. This specialization is based on the experience of others who have transmitted to society contributions to scientific, technical, social progress, etc. and /or which have been accepted by the individual as examples/models of knowledge, thinking and action. In this sense is known the ‘memes theory’, which has as essence the exchange of information necessary for evolutionary survival through language, [24], a ‘meme’ being an idea, behavior, or style that becomes a fad and spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

These social-human examples/models of knowledge, thinking and action complete the super-ego of the individual and contribute greatly to the formation of selfawareness and morality, to a relationship with other individuals and determine its psycho-social evolution through influence both consciously, at the Ego’s level of the individual, who censors his instinctive,

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unconscious tendencies, as well as at the subconscious level, influencing the desires /preferences, affinities and abilities of the individual.

It is also known as the concept of fractal education, formed by knowledge’s transmission in a network, the name is inspired by fractals in nature: a visual expression of a model that repeats itself, which starts simple and becomes more and more complex. In the educational systems, the fractal education programs benefit from external perspectives that visualize a different approach that leads to positive growth and order, similar to the perspective needed to see the patterns of a fractal [25], the concept being based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, [26], which states that humans are not born with all the intelligence they will ever have.

This theory challenges the traditional view that there is only one type of intelligence, sometimes known as “g” for general intelligence, which focuses only on cognitive abilities.

To broaden this notion of intelligence, Gardner introduced eight different types of intelligence consisting of: Logical/ mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, and intra-personal. Gardner notes that linguistic and logical-mathematical modalities are the most typical appreciated in school and society.

Gardner also suggests that there may be other “candidate” intelligence - such as spiritual intelligence, existential intelligence, and moral intelligence - but does not believe that they meet his original criteria for inclusion, [26].

But we can see that fractal learning is a natural feature of human society and even of groups of other living entities such as animals or birds that learn to cope in the environment to which they have adapted, by memes, i.e. by imitation, taking the

experience of parents or of group leaders.

This networked experience, from one individual to another and from one group of individuals to another, is, therefore, an essential feature of the evolution of species and a characteristic of mankind’s evolution.

If we consider simplistically that the consciousness is the sum of teaching understood as the sum of knowledge and responsible attitude of the individual (entity) towards the material and informational reality, resulting as a strategy to use the teaching for legal, conservative reporting to useful psycho-social values of ​​ the material, energetic and informational reality, it results that the main distinction between the way of learning with the help of a teacher (in classroom) and that of learning through material and energetic-informational means (reading or hearing a robotic voice) of a scientific specialty, consists in the fact that in the first case it can be transmitted to the pupil/ student both the informational teaching of the teacher and his /her responsible attitude towards the transmitted teaching.

So- according to the accepted simplifying definition, in this case, is transmitted and a part of his/her consciousness, while in the second case it is transmitted that’s just the teaching. Even if the teaching transmitted by technical means, computerized - for example, is supplemented with indications of the ethical, moral use of this teaching, these indications can be perceived by the student as simple information, his education is the one that will decide whether or not to use them, in this case, in the absence of the intervention of another conscience.

This shows that the learning through only material / technological means, without the help of another consciousness, presents the danger/inconvenience of non-transmission to the student and the normal psycho-social attitude that he must have towards the transmitted teaching. This inconvenience is less for individuals who have already formed

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a normal attitude towards that teaching and greater for individuals who have not formed this attitude, for example - for children.

III. The fractal development of the group consciousness and the problem of Divinity

The concept of Divinity is understood, in a religious sense mainly, as the supreme consciousness, defender of the absolute Good, which can exercise this role through its special powers. The deity(s) is/are closely related to the transcendent force(s) or the power(s) assigned to it, [27] so much so that in some cases the powers or forces may be invoked independently. This leads to second use of the word ‘divine’ (and less common use of ‘divinity’): to refer to the functioning of transcendent power in the world.

The basic principles of Orthodoxy are also known as being: purification, enlightenment, union with the Divinity, the fight against Evil, as well as the principles of Providence (which the Divinity must respect in relations to the Creation, in the context in which the earthly man is considered a result of the intervention of the Divinity): collaboration with the Creation, leadership of the Creation and preservation of the Creation.

The religious concept: “Holy Spirit” is also known and can be interpreted in a scientific sense as a spiritually and psychosocially beneficial energetic-informational action of the Divinity. Also, the concept: ‘gracious level’, i.e. ‘level of grace’, showing the divine grace, is called “haric level” (as in Romanian) by some practitioners of alternative medicine and is defined as the ‘level of intentions’, “the foundation on which the aura rests”, (Karlfried, [28,12], Brennan, [29, 287]). This level of human existence is called “gracious” due to the center of power located in the abdominal area, known as the oriental martial arts. It is considered also that this “gracious level” is

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“the level of human existence connected to the accumulation of energy that is necessary to achieve our goals or our initial intention at any time” and which- at the group level, realizes a holographic connection between individuals, ([29, 291]).

In the religious sense, the term ‘grace’ comes from the Latin ‘gratia’, (offered without payment) and includes a set of attitudes that Scripture attributes to God in His works “ad extra”, as a gift benevolence, of mankind’s saving [30], but the original biblical terms are hèn and the Greek χαρισ.

In the religious sense, this ‘level of grace’ is therefore a level of the good teachings and good intentions of the Divinity in relation to a particular individual and the society in general or to a specific part of the society.

Reaching a high level of religious, orthodox type, supposes the approach to the goal of reaching a divine teaching/ discovery, the signs of reaching of a such teaching being considered the following: 1) the height of the discovered teaching; 2) the divine purity of teaching; 3) the power of the discovered teaching to change people in a better sense [31]. The discovery of the Divinity or of a spiritual part of it is considered in the religious sense as a ‘supernatural discovery’ [31].

An attempt to generalize the concept must take into account the fact that to the Divinity is also attributed the quality of possessor of the absolute truth, the most corresponding to the reality, the level of grace resulting in this context to be the highest value level of the psycho-social Good, given by the highest psycho-socialuseful value of the teaching necessary for the human society and its members and by the most orthodox strategy of its use.

In the case of an attempt of scientific generalization of the ‘gracious level’ concept by taking into account the human contribution to the beneficial strategy of

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human society’s evolution, we can consider - following the acceptance of current philosophy and psychology that considers the political genius in the first place of the progress of society, the philosophical genius on the 2nd place, the scientific genius on the 3rd place and the artistic genius on the 4th place, five gracious levels: - gracious level no.1, of political genius; - gracious level no.2, of philosophical genius; - gracious level no. 3, of scientific genius; - gracious level no. 4, of artistic genius; - gracious level no. 5, of sports and technical genius.

In the context of this generalization of the concept, the question naturally arises: to what extent and in what way can an individual or a human group reach a consciousness level close to that of the Divinity, which - in the religious sense, possesses qualities corresponding to all 5 levels of genius?

Regarding levels no. 2, 3, 4, and 5, it is obvious that - in addition to adequate chances for person’s development as a psycho-social personality, in order to reach a level of contribution specific to one of these gracious levels, the human person needs superior cognitive qualities and implicitly and adequate intelligence, resulted from a superior capacity of analysis and synthesis, as well as a higher level of consciousness that allows him to withstand long-term intellectual or physical activity, being known the major role of intense activity for obtaining results of major importance for society.

In the modern society, as it is known, the exceeding of the current level of cognitive/ creative progress in a field of science or technology, for example, usually involves a cognitive /creative activity in a team or a larger group, in institutions that can provide the necessary support through

cognitive/technical means, adequate to the accelerated progress in the knowledge of the reality/nature and in the creation of social-useful technical products.

It is known also the opinion that the consciousness and the intuition of the animals have fractal nature, in a report with the brain’s functioning [32], existing also opinions that- in this sense, for both plants and animals the consciousness is fractal [33].

Suppose that in the definition of the concept of ‘consciousness’ we disregard the necessary morality, understood in the sense of responsibility towards society. In that case, it follows that- at the level of a larger psycho-social system such as that of a people, if a consciousness exceeds the middle level it can become a superior consciousness, which insofar as it is transmitted through learning/education to the led consciences it becomes a spiritual leader and can multiply itself spiritually employing information, in a fractal way, either in a moral or in an immoral sense.

To the extent that this higher consciousness, which has become a spiritual leader, forms the group consciousness of the led consciences, it becomes a super-consciousness, which can be either beneficial or evil. The group consciousness formed by it through fractal education can be considered a fractal consciousness.

Regarding how the consciousness must be guided by education to reach as close as possible to the gracious level and to become a super-consciousness of more consciences, it may be concluded that the educationunderstood in the sense of respect for society, scientific specialization and for basic principles of Orthodoxy: purification, enlightenment, union with the Divinity, the fight against evil, could ensure the achievement of this goal by a moral person, with a healthy mind and conscience, through harmonious cooperation. But the reality is that the wisdom of censorship plays a very

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important role.

For example, in the Orthodox religion, the mercy by granting forgiveness contrary to the legal principle of compensation can lead to an increase in the number of criminals such as crooks, for example, who can take advantage of the weakness of scientific censorship, based on laws of justice.

Also, the desire for freedom can lead to a misunderstanding of the freedom offered by democratic rules of society, contrary to the philosophical definition of the concept of freedom, philosophically conceived as an understood necessity.

These realities show the need of scientification of both religion and psychosocial life in general, through the scientific principle of orthodox reciprocity, defined as that reciprocity which is based on the four principles of orthodoxy as they are known today (purification, enlightenment, union with the Divinity, fight against evil).

This involves the replacing the old form: ‘eye for eye, tooth for tooth’ of reciprocity, inspired by Hammurabi’s code of laws, (lex talionis), with reciprocity established by the principle of orthodox compensation, (compensation for the injured party), for example - in court based on orthodox law, in particular, the so-called Divinity.

The principle of orthodox reciprocity at the religious level generates a basic scientific principle of religion, of ‘harmonization with the Divinity’.

This scientific principle can also be considered as Scientological because it agrees with the psychoanalytic practice specific to Scientological dianetics [34] of healing the spirit by analytically eliminating aberrations and paradoxes and leads to a scientific version of Orthodoxy that could be a way to reconcile politics with religion, a goal followed by adepts of Dianetics and of the Scientology Church.

The Orthodoxy which is scientified

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through the principle of ‘harmonization with the Divinity’ based on the principle of orthodox reciprocity, can be considered a ‘Scientific Orthodoxy’ [35], and the consciousness based on the principles of scientific orthodoxy is orthodox-scientific, in our meaning.

Unlike hesychastic orthodoxy, based on trust in the love and competence of the “free will” (God), the scientific orthodoxy supposes, in the previous sense, the consistently respecting of the mentioned five characteristic fundamental principles, in the service of the ideal of civilization and through absolute love, based on honor, so it may be an ideal of the intellectual elite, of a follower of scientific and moral rigor whose correctness is guaranteed even in the absence of the “free will.”

In this way, the social good and the destiny of the society, (the providence), can be achieved through the three characteristic principles: preservation of Creation, cooperation with the Creation and leadership of the Creation, by the society itself, (by the human civilization), through Scientific Orthodoxy, the three principles of the scientific orthodox Providence becoming in the form: 1) the orthodox-scientific preservation of the Creation; 2) orthodox-scientific cooperation with the Creation and: 3) the orthodox-scientific leadership of the Creation.

In relation to a broader system, larger than that formed by a single people, especially at the political and philosophical level, it follows that a moral super-consciousness, beneficial in the sense of respect for the Scientific Orthodoxy, is a gracious superconsciousness, of gracious level (political , philosophical, scientific, artistic, sporting or technical) and an immoral superconsciousness is - to a greater or lesser

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extent, evil.

An example of beneficial gracious super-consciousness, of the philosophical and political level, can be considered Pope John Paul II, and an example of evil superconsciousness of political level can be considered Hitler.

Politically, the emergence of evil super-consciences is usually prevented in a democratic society by legislative and electoral procedures that prevent access to society’s political leadership by those with pending criminal cases or criminal convictions.

However, the possibility of the formation /emergence of a super-consciousness of gracious level depends not only on the value of its consciousness but also on its capacity for systemic organization.

In psycho-social systems, the entropy and the functional organization depend on a considerably higher number of variables than in the case of simply structured systems.

The functional harmony of these systems must reflect their productive efficiency of psycho-socially useful values.

A general used method of expressing the efficiency of a functional system is given by the report:

R ε = ; (efficiency), E

(1)

where: R - represents the result and E the effort.

There are three sub-cases: 1. ε < 1; (E >R); - inefficiency; 2. ε = 1; (E = R); - simple reproduction; 3. ε > 1; (E < R); - efficiency (expanded reproduction).

The result of the activity of some productive systems is represented by the product-subsystems, bearing functional negentropy (functional organization),

therefore it can be expressed mathematically by the amount of negentropy (organization), produced in the system in the time interval considered:

ε=

∑ ∆O E

K

;

∑ ∆O

K

= ∑ ( S1 − S 2 ) (2)

with S1 = S(t1); S2 = S(t2); ∆ τ = t2 - t1 .

The efficiency “ε” thus represents both a criterion for evaluating the system’s functional organization and a criterion for assessing its social-useful value. Within complex systems, for example- even for a person’s psycho-social system - producer of spiritual values, the criterion of efficiency describes its social-useful value through criteria of ranking the psycho-social domains.

In turn, the effort E can be measured in socially useful values, consumed in the time interval ∆t, values ​​that can also be considered carriers of negentropy, so that the efficiency criterion can be expressed in general, in relation to systems psycho-social, in the form [35]:

ε=

R  ∆OP  =  E  ∆OC  ∆t

(3)

(∆Op - produced negentropy ; ∆Oc consumed negentropy).

Depending on an importance index i = 15, it can be expressed through the efficiency criterion also the social-useful value of a productive system, VSU , which can be approximated based on the relation (3), through the relation [35]:

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(4)

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in which: k1 ; k2 –proportionality constants, (k2 < k1); - i = 5, for the socio-political domain; i = 4, for the philosophical domain; i = 3, for the scientific domain; - i = 2, for the artistic domain; - i = 1, for other domain (sports, technical, etc.).

In the relation (4) are considered two component parts of the social-useful value of a productive system: an effective value, VSE - given by the total effective/productive efficiency, and a potential value, VSP - given by the intrinsic useful potential of the system, having a lower weight to the total social-useful value, (k2 < k1). This potential value VSP depends mainly on the gained experience and on the evolution conditions of the system (socio-psycho-biological in the case of psycho-social systems, and physical-technical in the case of physical and mechanical systems).

By considering the social-useful value of the system VS as equivalent with a total negentropy (a valorizing organization) of the system, and relating it to a maximum standard value VSo, it can be considered by relation (4) also an expression of the global potential of negentropization (of harmonization) QN of the considered productive system which is part of a super-system, in particular - of a superconsciousness in report to the super-system of which it is part [35]: VS

QN = e

VS0

= eν

; ν= (5)

VS - the relative social-useful VSo value

for which the non-entropy potential QN can be expressed as in the case of technical functional systems, by the theory of reliability (of safety), depending on the danger of functional blocking of the system, Λb, [35]:

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ON = -SM ln Q = -SM (1 - Λb τ) = - (SM - Sτ) = OM + SL (6) where OM = -SM, is the maximum possible negentropy of the system and the functional entropy has the value: k

Sτ = + S M ⋅ Λ ⋅ τ = S M ⋅ τ ⋅ ∑ λi ⋅ i =1

ni ⋅c; N

(7)

with OM = -SM, SM representing the maximum entropy that the totally disorganized system can have, τ is the moment in the evolution of the system at which the negentropy is calculated, λi represents the danger of blocking of a number ni of elements of the respective system that have an average duration of operation Ti = 1/λi and N is the total number of elements of that system, c being a coefficient which depends on the links between the parts of the system and which can be c < 1 for some systems of cybernetic types [36], especially, including also the case of the human (animal) brain, for which the functioning capacity increases with the number of inter-neuronal links.

It follows from the relations (5) and (7) that: VS(τ) =Vs0· lnQN = -SM· lnQN = Vs0·(1 - Λb· τ) (8) In the relation (8), Vs0 therefore has the significance of the maximum possible organizing value of the respective system, in particular- of the consciousness / superconsciousness having at the moment τ the degree of organizing /of psycho-social value: VS(τ).

Obviously, the systems’ and the connections with the other systems in the given supersystem make the expression (5) of the harmonization potential of more

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complex systems to be very general.

For example, considering the harmonization on a certain psycho-social level, such as the political, philosophical, scientific, artistic, etc., it must be considered an expression of the social-useful value which is characteristic of the respective field, disregarding the harmonization potential on other levels.

If the harmonization of two (or more) psycho-social systems is considered in terms of a long-term coexistence, both the global potential for harmonization and each specific potential for harmonization must be considered. Also, the particularities that characterize the psycho-social system, in general, must be taken into account.

Considering the psycho-social personality characterized according to psychoanalysis by a conscious level (a kind of conscious ego), a subconscious level with two sublevels: the ideal ego and the superego - given by all activity models and specific ideals, and an unconscious level ( id -dynamized by the pleasure principle), it results that a real harmonization of psycho-social systems in interaction can be achieved by harmonizing them at all three levels and characteristic sublevels (id, ego and superego), as well as these three levels interdependent.

An important aspect in the formation of the consciousness and the reaching of the (super) consciousness’ level is therefore the ability to normalize/organize the personal spiritual and psycho-social life and those of the bio-psycho-social system of which it is part. It is known the philosophical opinion according to which the interference between classicism and romanticism generated naturalism. An observation that can be made in this sense is that the psycho-social thinking and the life can be naturalized only through rational legality, based on respect for rational laws and principles, which are orthodox in the humanistic-scientific sense and which can include rational romanticism

and classicism. In the absence of this capacity for normalization, naturalization, the superconscious and in particular -the Divinity are only potential or virtual, abstract.

If the psycho-social efficiency ε = (∆OP/∆OC)τ of the system (relation (3)) is considered as an index of extrapersonalism, e, the extra-personal, “gracious” consciousness, is the one that produces more negentropy (understood in the sense of psycho -socially useful value) than it receives /consumes, so with εe > 1, and the intrapersonal consciousness is the one that receives/consumes more useful psychosocial negentropy than it produces, with εe <1.

A gracious super-consciousness is therefore a super-consciousness of gracious level, which has become the spiritual leader of several consciousnesses of gracious level and has a positive extrapersonalism index in relation to the driven system.

A gracious super-consciousness, with extrapersonalism (εe > 1), that has become the spiritual leader of several gracious superconsciences can be considered a gracious meta-consciousness, with the capacity of scientific and orthodox soul creation for the driven system.

For example, an ideological and social leader, in particular-religious, who has an index of supra-unitary extrapersonalism and have a major, extrapersonal contribution to the maintaining world peace, through cooperation and spiritual leadership of gracious ideological and psychosocial consciences and by mediating the reconciliation of some social parts in armed conflict, can be considered a gracious metaconsciousness, (in the sense that it exceeds the level of the other gracious superconsciences).

The highest level of consciousness can be considered the ‘divine gracious metaconsciousness’, which- in opposition to

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the evil meta-consciousness, (in extremisdiabolical), can restore the psycho-social common good of orthodox type also in the absence of consistent help from other super-consciences than those led by it, at globally level ( not just locally) and within a reasonable time.

Conclusions A first conclusion consists in the fact that the fractal education, in the network, obtained from simple to complex and from individual to larger groups of individuals (classes, schools, research institutions, society, world system), has generated and generates fractal consciousness, i.e.- group consciousness formed through fractal education, within which the teaching of an individual but higher consciousness, with a role (and right) of a spiritual leader (in particular - teacher, professor) but also its consciousness, are transmitted at least in part to those spiritually guided/educated by the transmission not only of its teaching but also of its attitude towards the transmitted teaching and of the strategy of its use in society, forming similar consciences.

A particularly relevant example in this regard is the religion, in which many of the religious consciences formed by a spiritual leader such as Jesus have in turn become preachers of his religious teaching and local spiritual leaders in various parts of the world, who- in turn, have become preachers of Christian teaching or also spiritual leaders. In this way was therefore fractally transmitted, in network, not only the hesychastic Christian teaching but also the religious conscience, in this case- of Jesus, from direct followers of his teaching and faith, to indirectly indoctrinated followers, through indirect preachers who took over the teaching and faith of the direct preachers (apostles).

The group of hesychastic religious consciousness thus formed can be

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considered a fractal consciousness, obtained through fractal education, which played a particularly important role in the forming and maintaining of the group unity and individuality of the Christian peoples, as it is known.

Regarding the learning of useful psychosocial skills, it results that if we consider simplistically the consciousness as the sum of learning (understood as the amount of knowledge) and the responsible attitude of the individual (entity) towards the material and informational reality, resulted as a strategy of teaching use for legal purposes, (i.e.-conservative of useful psycho-social values reporting to the surrounding material, energetic and informational reality), it results that a main distinction between the way of learning with the help of the teacher, (in classroom) and that of learning through material and energo-informational means (reading or listening a robotic voice) of a scientific or technical specialty, consists in the fact that in the first case it can be transmitted to the student both the informational teaching of the teacher and his/her responsible attitude towards the transmitted teaching, so- according to the accepted simplified definition of the concept- and a part of his consciousness, while in the second case only the teaching is transmitted.

Another conclusion is that the fractal education has allowed not only the formation of individual and fractal (of group) consciousness but also the development of these consciences through the formation of spiritual leaders with increasing organizational capacity. This capacity, in a positive, orthodox sense, can be developed through education both spiritual, psychosocial and moral and can reach the gracious level, of consciences beneficial to humanity which are not only enlightned but also generous, with extrapersonalism. This is possible through the scientific orthodoxy,

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based not only on the known principles of the orthodoxy (purification, enlightenment, union with the Divinity, fight against evil) but also on the scientific principle of orthodox reciprocity.

According to the scientific orthodoxism, the principle “the goal excuse the means” may be used in an orthodox way if the goal is in accordance with all five principles of the scientific orthodoxism and the means are in accordance with at least three principles of the scientific orthodoxy.

Another conclusion of the paper’s analysis refers to the possibility of naturalizing thought orthodox-scientific consciousness.

It is considered that the interference between classicism and romanticism generated naturalism. However, a real naturalization of the thinking implies an objective knowledge and a realistic and creative relation with the material world and with the spiritual, psycho-social world.

The conclusion is that the thinking and implicitly also the consciousness and the psycho-social life can be naturalized through rational legality, so- through orthodoxscientific consciousness, which can include rational romanticism and orthodox and scientific classicism.

Another conclusion deduced from the presented analysis is that a God with supernormal powers capable of restoring the Orthodox Good scientifically worldwide it can exist more as a legal entity than as a single physical and spiritual entity, so as a Divine Organization, more realistic being the concept of ‘Godness’, in this case.

This conclusion results because the possibility of the forming of a divine gracious meta-consciousness exceeds the capacity of a single psycho-bio-social entity.

In this sense, related questions arise, such as: 1q) the mode/regulation of functioning of the Godness;

2q) how the Godness meets the requirements of Providence, in which way it cooperates with the members of the managed psycho-social system and how it leads and preserves the system’s value.

An answer to the first question can be: 1r) The Godness could function as a judicial-political institution on a global scale, controlling and coordinating/helping the progress of civilization with the Legislative and the Executive, with two subdivisions: a) In Legislative a1) with the Legislative and Judicial Chamber, (LJC), with the role of judgingdeciding of/in some cases that were not and do not have the chance to be solved orthodoxly and scientifically within the civilization, for example-military confrontation problems between parties belonging to two different civilizations.

At the level of LJC, the decisions can be taken with the complete judicial procedure and by unanimity of votes un-rejected deterministically, logistically and legally, by members with the right of vote/veto, representing several parties /civilizations, and by clauses in accordance with the Scientific Orthodoxy and can remain as final and enforceable decisions by unanimity of votes when the representative members whose vetoes were deterministic rejected can be excluded/recused from the court of case’ judgment by deterministic, orthodoxscientific recusal procedure, and: a2) with the Judicial Council of the Godness, composed of lawyers members, with the right of hierarchically appeal also to the decisions of Legislative and judicial chamber, (LJC) but without the right of veto- excepting the case of the president of the LJC who must be also a representative member, with the right to vote/veto and with the power to sustain those appeals that have reached the level of the JC from outside or from inside the Godness and have

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passed its orthodox-scientific censorship; For example –in the case of appeals based on new judicial evidence, sufficiently relevant for the reinstatement of classified files/trials, judged by the Judicial Godness, the JC making also judicial investigations for LJC; b) the Executive- with: b1) the Anti-Crime Brigade of the Godness, ACB, which includes the so-called ‘angels’ and ‘archangels’ who may be - as appropriate, members of the Legislative, but which may also accept more inexperienced entities, including intrapersonal, constrained by circumstances to contribute to the defense of the common orthodox Good of the society, to its normality, by their enrolling under asseveration for the respect of the principles of scientific orthodoxy and b2)-the ACM Military Police, with the role of preventing criminal deviations from the ACM’s mission(s).

The conclusion, in this case, is that- in the context in which the Godness is at least morally obliged to respect the orthodox principles and rules of the society, especiallythose of the scientific orthodoxy, it is deterministically questionable/censurable at least in part, through these orthodox principles, insofar as it does not respect them.

In this sense, it is necessary to modify the principles of Providence, in the form of: - orthodox-scientific cooperation with the Creation; - orthodox-scientific leadership of the Creation and orthodox-scientific preservation of the Creation.

For example, the intervention of another civilization in the life of our civilization without humanitarian orthodox-scientific motivations/actions of proved existence for at least a member of the Deity must be forbidden, normally, according to these

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principles of the Providence.

2r) A possible answer to the second question refers to the availability of telepathic leadership of the Godness through psychological, spiritual and technological possibilities (telepathic amplifiers, electronic cognitive means, very fast-moving ships, etc.). For example, the use by God of advanced telepathic amplifiers may explain the possibility of transmission also to a fractal (of group) conscience of the Holy Spirit or some so-called “visions,” reported also in some cases of “intelligent ghosts,” with action similar to an intelligent man.

A particular aspect of the previous conclusion is represented by some paranormal cases of acquisition by an individual, usually - believer, of some aptitudes and/or particularities which are characteristic to other entities, usually - deceased, sometimes known by the individual but - in various paranormal cases, unknown consciously by him. The most relevant in this sense is the cases of metempsychosis, of reincarnation of the soul of a deceased person in the mind of another person.

References [1] Cassin, B., Dictionary of UntranslatablesA Philosophical Lexicon, Princeton Univ.

Press, (2014), p. 176 [2] Hennig, B., “Cartesian Conscientia”. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 15 (3): (2007), pp. 455–456.

[3] Locke, John. “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding “, Chapter XVII, New York: Dover, (1690), p.663; Australia: University of Adelaide, Retrieved August 20, (2010), Chapter XXVII.

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[4]. Locke, J., “Science &Technology: consciousness”, Encyclopedia Britannica.

Retrieved August 20, (2010). (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/ topic/133274/consciousness).

[5] St. Augustine, Confessions, I, 1, Migne, P. L., XXXII, (397-400aHr.) [6] Rochat, Philippe “Five levels of selfawareness as they unfold early in life”, Consciousness and Cognition.

12 (4): (2003), pp. 717–718.

[7] Peter Carruthers “Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness”. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (15 Aug 2011), pp. 1-2 [8] Michael V. Antony, “Is consciousness ambiguous?”, Journal of Consciousness Studies , 8: (2001) pp.19–20.

[9] Ned Block “On a confusion about a function of consciousness”. In N. Block; O. Flanagan; G. Guzeldere (eds.), The Nature of Consciousness: Philosophical Debates, MIT Press, (1998), pp. 375– 376.

[10] Kong Derick Njikeh “Derician Trialism: The Concept of Human Composition into the Mind, Submind and Body Substances/ Components”, International Journal of Philosophy: (2019), pp. 17–18.

[11] William Lycan, ”Consciousness and Experience”, MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262-12197-2. (1996), pp. 1–2.

[12] Jary, D., Jary, J., Collins Dictionary of Sociology, Ed. Collins, Glasgow (2005), p.93.

[13] Thomas E. Wren, Conceptions of Culture: What Multicultural Educators Need to Know, Rowman & Littlefield Pub. Group. Inc., Plymouth, UK, (2012), p.

64 [14] Combs, A., & Krippner, S. “Collective consciousness and the social brain”, Journal of Consciousness Studies, 15: (2008), pp. 264–265.

[15] Block, N., ”How many concepts of consciousness?”, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 18 (2):(1995), pp.272–273.

[16] Kirk, R., “Zombies and Consciousness”, New York: Oxford University Press, (2005), p.4 [17] Greg Littmann, The Culture and Philosophy of Ridley Scott, Lexington Books (2013), pp. 133–144.

[18] Wallach, W.l, Allen, C., ‘Moral Machines’, Oxford University Press, USA, (June 3, 2010), pp.13-14 [19] Hyslop, A. “The analogical inference to other minds”. Other Minds, Springer, (1995), pp. 41–42.

[20] Harnad, S. “Why and how we are not zombies”. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 1: (1995), pp. 164–165.

[21] Ken Wilber, “The Spectrum of Consciousness”, Ed. Motilal Banarsidass, (1 may 2002), pp. 3–4.

[22] Stuart Shieber,” The Turing Test: Verbal Behavior as the Hallmark of Intelligence”, MIT Press, (2004), pp. 407-411 [23]Paul-Laurent Assoun, La Psychanalyse, Puf, coll. « Quadrige manuels », (2007), pp.377-380.

[24] Heylighen, Fr., Chielens, K.; Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science: ”Evolution of Culture, Memetics”, Meyers R. (eds), Springer, New York, NY., (2009), pp. 10-30

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[25] Enriquez, L., ‘Fractal: an educational model for the convergence of formal and non-formal education’, OPEN PRAXIS, Vol 9, Iss. 4, (2017) , pp. 375-386 [26] Howard, G., ‘Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences’, Paperback, Ed. Basic Books, (1983), pp.12-13 [27] St. Augustine, ‘Nature and Grace’, I, q.3, art. 3, “Whether God is the Same as His Essence or Nature” [28] Karlfried,Graf Von Durckheim, „Hara: The Vital Centre of Man”, (1977), p.12 [29] Brennan, B., “Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing”, (1997), pp. 287, 288 [30] Ciocan, C.T., “The schism between nature and supernatural or the Roman Catholic teaching about divine grace”, Theologia Pontica, No. 1-2, (2008), pp.

271-288; https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/259471758_ [31] St. Augustine, Confessions I, 1, Migne, P. L., XXXII, col. 661 [32] T. Asselmeyer-Maluga, ‘The Fractal Nature of Consciousness and Intuition’, FQXi Essay Contest, (feb.2017): pp.1-8 [33] Gardiner, John, ‘Fractals and the irreducibility of consciousness in plants and animals’, Plants Signaling&Behavior Journal, Vol. 8, Iss. 8, (2013), pp. 1-2 [34] Ron Hubbard, ‘Dianetics’, Astounding Science Fiction, May (1950).

[35] M. Arghirescu, ‘The Cold Genesis of Matter and Fields’, Ed. SciencePG, (2015), pp. 195-198.

[36] M. Arghirescu, ‘The Triad “Cause-Mean-

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Effect” as a Way of Approximating the Efficiency of Technical or Non-Technical Creations or Systems’, Int. Journal of Phylosophy, Vol. 8, No. 1, (2020), pp.

8-14.

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This paper was presented at

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Stress and the effects of COVID-19 on mental wellbeing Any Docu-Axelerad, PhD Faculty of Medicine, ‘Ovidius’ University Constanta Constanta County Clinical Emergency Hospital Constanta, ROMANIA

Marian Mitrica Department of Neurosurgery, Central Military Emergency University Hospital Bucharest, ROMANIA

Dragos Catalin Jianu Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, Timisoara, ROMANIA

Andrei Motoc Constanta County Clinical Emergency Hospital Department of Neurology Constanta, ROMANIA

Silviu Docu-Axelerad Student at Vasile Goldis University, Faculty of General Medicine Arad, ROMANIA

Victor Dumitrascu Department of Pharmacology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes” Timisoara, ROMANIA

Alina Zorina Stroe Faculty of Medicine, Ovidius University Constanta Constanta County Clinical Emergency Hospital Constanta, ROMANIA

Horia Ples Department of Pharmacology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes” Timisoara, ROMANIA

Anca Elena Gogu Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, Timisoara, ROMANIA

Daniel Docu-Axelerad, PhD ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanta, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Constanta, ROMANIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 September 2020 Received in revised form 17 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.14

This article aims to review and analyze the current literature on the topic of mental health issues related to the new coronavirus pandemic in an attempt to postulate an understanding conclusion regarding the effects of a pandemic on the human mind. In the studies from literature was found a significant prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms related to depression and anxiety, subsidiary to the continuous feelings of loneliness experienced by the human race in the pandemic. Moreover, a proportion of up to 36% of adults and 20% of children experienced at least a form of anxiety and depression during the pandemic. Also, special attention is drawn to the fact that a vulnerable part of the population – the elderly – have become even more at risk during the pandemic.

Furthermore, healthcare workers are generally experiencing more psychological symptoms of distress because of the pandemic. In the literature is not yet sufficient evidence to support the claim that people suffering from pre-existing Severe Mental Illnesses are more likely to suffer from worse psychological manifestations of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amongst the persons infected with the coronavirus, findings show that at least 20% of patients have experienced symptoms associated with delirium. In conclusion, as a tool in the confrontation with coronavirus infection, is revealed that symptoms of mental distress could be alleviated by staying away from news reports covering the evolution of the current pandemic, choosing to believe information only from trusted sources and keeping in contact with friends and family. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Keywords: stress; anxiety; psychiatric disorders; COVID-19; pandemic; reaction; mental health; coronavirus infection; mental state;

Copyright © 2020 Any Docu-Axelerad, Andrei Motoc, Marian Mitrica, Silviu Docu-Axelerad, Alina Zorina Stroe, Anca Elena Gogu, Dragos Catalin Jianu, Victor Dumitrascu, Horia Ples, Daniel Docu-Axelerad. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Docu-Axelerad, Any, Andrei Motoc, Marian Mitrica, Silviu Docu-Axelerad, Alina Zorina Stroe, Anca Elena Gogu, Dragos Catalin Jianu, Victor Dumitrascu, Horia Ples, Daniel Docu-Axelerad. ”Stress and the effects of COVID-19 on mental wellbeing.” DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 165-170. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.14

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928

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B. The effects of the novel virus on the

I. INTRODUCTION

Confusion, generalized fear, and anxiety are among the most reported mental health problems during the 2019 SARS-CoV-2 viral pandemic. The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which originated in the province of Wuhan in China causes severe inflammatory reactions, extreme respiratory syndrome and has a high mortality rate, along with a growing rate of infection. Psychiatric symptoms have seen a surge during this time of constant uncertainty about the future, be it the future of the virus and its treatment or the future of billions of people sent into lockdown to adapt to working from home, to online schooling, or to having their job temporarily put on hold. As the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths continued to rise, so did a generalized state of mental instability and panic [1].

II. PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS CAUSED BY

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

A. Loneliness before and after the pandemic

At a time when a vast array of fast traveling and communication options were part of the normality, the strict confinement brought about by the imposed lockdowns worldwide has given humanity a burdensome task: being alone. Studies have shown that the world had already been affected by a “loneliness epidemic”. A study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in May 2020 revealed numbers ranging from 10 to 40% in Europe, the USA, and China [2]. Also, a survey conducted in the United Kingdom revealed that during the lockdown, one in four adults experienced feeling disconnected and alienated, whereas before the lockdown one in ten people complained of the same symptoms of loneliness, as concluded by The Mental Health Foundation [3].

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elderly

Of great interest is the prevalence of being exposed to more social distancing and isolation for people over 70 years, coincidentally being the most vulnerable with a fatality rate of 8%, compared to 0.0026%–0.3% in patients over 45 years [4].

Data from the ALONE national helpline revealed that from a period ranging from March to July, a number of 26,174 calls were received, among which 55% of people in need were over 70 years old. The percentage of callers living alone during the pandemic was revealed to have been 75%, part of the reason why they needed support to fulfill basic emotional and psychological needs.

ALONE also reported a growing prevalence of reported suicidal tendencies and clouded thoughts in those who requested help via calling or texting the support line.

C. The medical crew and the COVID-19 battle

Among individuals reporting symptoms of distress, an important part is represented by hospital staff. Elevated percentages of depression, anxiety, and traumatic distress were reported in health care professionals who frequently come in contact with positive or suspect cases of Covid-19 patients.

Medical staff already suffering from a disease that can raise their risk of infection reported higher levels of depressive thoughts, worry, stress, and agitation. Other risk factors reported by workers in the health care system were mostly tied to a haphazardous response from the hospitals’ managerial team, as well as stigmatizing views upheld by society. According to a study published online by MD, MPH Murray B Stein, the numbers look as follows: 12-20% of caregivers in China and Italy reported feeling anxious, 15-25% reported depressive symptoms, 8% reported dealing with insomniac episodes, while an alarming 35-49% admitted to having

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experienced symptoms of traumatic distress [7].

Adding to these statistics, a survey of around 500 Canadian healthcare staff revealed that 47% found themselves in need of mental health support.

Studies also reveal that health care workers from countries hit by the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic report significantly lower numbers of mental corrosion due to anxiety, depression, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An article on uptodate. com seems to equate better response in facing the virus with the experience of having fought a similar war before [7], [8].

D. People with Severe Mental Illness during

the pandemic

Studies are also increasingly showing a prevalence for those among the general public suffering from pre-existing Severe Mental Illness to be potentially at a higher risk of infection. Not only could they constitute a more endangered minority, but these people could also face the resurgence of symptoms due to restricted access to proper medication and care.

The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) supports the view that living with SMI may exponentially raise the chances of coming into contact with the virus. The data provided by CEBM, however, is far less than what is needed for a study to be conclusive, therefore, the risk for people living with SMI cannot be proven to be higher than the risk for the general population. CEBM seems, although, to uphold the view that the social distancing measures imposed by the government during the pandemic can be a cause of the rise in worsened or returning symptoms for people with SMI [9].

E. The long-term psychological impact on

patients suffering from COVID-19

The data from studies on the effects of the Covid-19 virus on patients should be of great concern. Previous studies of past such epidemics reveal grim numbers. A systematic review of 43 studies published on PubMed on the effects of SARS, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and COVID-19, include 2 studies on patients confirmed positive for the COVID-19 infection. These 2 studies revealed that 96.2% of patients experienced post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) [10]. The rest of the cases’ results showed that 20-40% of patients were positive for delirium-associated symptoms as follows: 42% suffered from insomnia, along with 33% depressive episodes, 38% manifested lasting deficiencies of concentration, while 21% reported having manifested altered states of consciousness [11]. There is quite extensive literature on the neurotropism of the known coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. Damage on the Central Nervous System was revealed by an analysis performed on a 54-year-old patient whose cause of death was severe respiratory failure caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The nervous tissue showed immense damage to all components of the brainstem, more notably so, to glial cells and neurons, including their axons and myelin, as resulting from a publication on Minerva Anestesiologica in June of 2020.

Studies revealed that patients that have experienced acute forms of the virus, still manifest lessened olfactory senses even six months after recovery [10], [11].

F. The general population and the impact of

the pandemic

The rate at which the general public’s psychological health was affected during the pandemic has been the subject of various studies. A cross-sectional study published online measured levels of psychological

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stress resulting from the pandemic during the months of January through April of 2020 [6]. Results point to a clear surge in anxiety, depression, generalized fear and confusion, and in some cases, PTSD in up to 36% of adults.

Along with fears of contracting the virus not only themselves but also passing it to their loved ones, most adults feared provisionally or indeterminably losing their ways of generating income and the indeterminate length of time required until their world would return to “normality”. Socioeconomic failure and the unpredictability of the virus’s future timeline and long-term consequences have driven a significant part of the population to request the help of physicians in order to deal with symptoms of moderate to severe depression (9-17%) and various forms of distress, including hopelessness, agitation, and insomnia (812%), among other manifestations of a troubled mental state.

Children were, unfortunately, not immune to the pressure of the reality of a worldwide pandemic, as revealed by a selfadministered online survey to pupils in China, aged 8 to 12. The children spent an average of 34 days quarantined from February to March 2020. Around 20% reported feelings of anxiety and depressive thoughts, while roughly half of the children confessed worrying about contracting the virus [8].

G. Methods for lessening the psychological

burden of the pandemic

With numbers of psychological discomfort outgrowing the previous day by day, the prioritization of mental health is being met with more encouragement than ever before. An article published by Santosh K. Chaturvedi under the title Covid-19 Related Psychiatric Disorders and the New Psychosocial Rehabilitation speaks about one of the main factors for mental health issues during this pandemic, which lays

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mostly out of one’s own control [2].

The most prevalent factors for some of the more commonly experienced mental health problems are the wide circulation of chains on unverified, misleading information about the spreading, treatment, and prevention of the virus, along with irresponsible masking of rumors as “news” on all major mass media platforms. The World Health Organization came forward about this after publishing an infographic on coping with stress during the 2019-nCoV outbreak where, among many advisable habits and activities, it is recommended that the time spent of following the media news coverage of the outbreak be reduced, in an attempt to keep levels of stress and anxiety in check.

The WHO also made available publishing on the 18th of March titled ‘’Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak’’, which is roughly a guide on minimizing the harmful implications that the Covid-19 pandemic has on human mental stability. The WHO advises refraining from addressing insulting words to those suffering from the virus, such as referring to them as “COVID-cases” or “the diseased”, in an attempt to lower social stigma.

Keeping in touch with one’s family and community through the available networks such as the Internet, or mobile networks is highly emphasized as beneficial not only to personal mental wellbeing but to those around us, as well. The article attempts to normalize feelings of sadness, stress confusion, and anger and assures the reader that these are normal reactions during a crisis such as the one present. The use of intoxicating substances as a means of coping with one’s mental state is highly unadvised, reaching out to friends and loved ones or professional personnel being the best option. The importance of keeping to one’s routines or making changes to fit the current situation is advised for both adults

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and children alike [5].

Children have now available a storybook online “My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!” published by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. The storybook is currently available in more than 130 languages and is meant to teach children ways of protecting themselves and their loved ones, as well as how to embrace and cope with their emotions during the current reality.

The WHO advises caregivers to understand the ways children may react to stress, often emitting withdrawal symptoms, agitation, anger, therefore, they need to be listened to, not brushing aside their concerns. Instead, facts about the pandemic should be conveyed in clear and simple terms. In the case of those children that are required to be separated from their family, constant contact should be maintained with the family through calls [5].

An increasing number of studies are being conducted on the damaging effect of COVID-19 on psychological wellbeing, as a response to more people reporting declining mental health as a direct consequence of the spreading of the virus. It is clear, through previous research and data provided on past epidemics, that the vast majority of the world is not highly equipped for, nor does it possess enough stability in the face of natural disasters. Although the current data cannot confirm or infirm a scale of the stain left on the human psyche in terms of years or decades, the immediate impact of an unpredicted viral pandemic reverberates immediately on all levels of human existence whether that be social, political, economical or psychological.

said that the studies in question revealed substantially more elevated numbers of people of all age groups and varying backgrounds, suffering from anxiety, depression, and many other associated psychological problems.

Among the most important means of keeping a healthy mind during such challenging times is to keep contact with our close people, steering away from the news propagated through mass media, and choosing to educate ourselves from trusted sources.

REFERENCES [1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

CONCLUSION To form an overall conclusion, it can be

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Barber, Sarah, Lara Reed, Nandana Syam, and Nicholas Jones. “Severe Mental Illness And Risks From COVID-19 - CEBM”.

CEBM. (Aug, 2020) https://www.cebm.net/ covid-19/severe-mental-illness-and-risksfrom-covid-19/.

Chaturvedi, Santosh K. 2020. “Covid-19 Related Psychiatric Disorders And The New Psychosocial Rehabilitation”. Journal Of Psychosocial Rehabilitation And Mental Health 7 (2): 103-105. doi:10.1007/s40737020-00178-5.

Hwang TJ, Rabheru K, Peisah C, Reichman W, Ikeda M. 2020. ‘’Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic’’.

Int Psychogeriatr. 26:1-4. doi: 10.1017/ S1041610220000988. Epub ahead of print.

PMID: 32450943; PMCID: PMC7306546.

Wu ZY, McGoogan JM. 2020. ’’Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention’’. JAMA, 323(13):1239-1242 doi: 10.1001/ jama.2020.2648.

Yuhong Dai1, Guangyuan Hu1, Huihua Xiong1, Hong Qiu and Xianglin Yuan. 2020. ’’ Psychological impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on healthcare workers in China’’. medRxiv.

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(March, 2020) https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.0 3.03.20030874.

[6] Stroe, Alina Zorina, Any, Docu Axelerad, Silviu, Docu Axelerad, Daniel, Docu Axelerad. “Compulsivity and coronavirus,” DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 6, issue 2(2019): pp. 146 - 152. DOI: 10.18638/ dialogo.2020.6.2.13, [7] Rogers, Jonathan P, Edward Chesney, Dominic Oliver, Thomas A Pollak, Philip McGuire, Paolo Fusar-Poli, Michael S Zandi, Glyn Lewis, and Anthony S David.

2020. “Psychiatric And Neuropsychiatric Presentations Associated With Severe Coronavirus Infections: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis With Comparison To The COVID-19 Pandemic”. The Lancet Psychiatry 7 (7): 611-627. doi:10.1016/ s2215-0366(20)30203-0.

[8] Serafini, G, B Parmigiani, A Amerio, A Aguglia, L Sher, and M Amore. 2020. “The Psychological Impact Of COVID-19 On The Mental Health In The General Population”.

QJM: An International Journal Of Medicine 113 (8): 531-537. doi:10.1093/qjmed/ hcaa201.

[9] Trinity College Dublin. “New research highlights increased loneliness in over-70s during COVID-19 pandemic.” ScienceDaily.

(July, 2020) www.sciencedaily.com/ r e l e a s e s / 2 0 2 0 / 0 7 / 2 0 0 7 1 5 111 4 5 1 . h t m (accessed October 9, 2020).

[10] Vindegaard, Nina, and Michael Eriksen Benros. 2020. “COVID-19 Pandemic And Mental Health Consequences: Systematic Review Of The Current Evidence”. Brain, Behavior, And Immunity 89: 531-542. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.048.

[11] Wilson, Mitchell P, and Andrew S Jack. 2020.

“Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) In Neurology And Neurosurgery: A Scoping Review Of The Early Literature”. Clinical Neurology And Neurosurgery 193: 105866. doi:10.1016/j.clineuro.2020.105866.

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Neurological Disorders Associated to Coronavirus Infection Any Docu-Axelerad, PhD Faculty of Medicine, ‘Ovidius’ University Constanta Constanta County Clinical Emergency Hospital Constanta, ROMANIA

Alina Zorina Stroe Faculty of Medicine, Ovidius University Constanta Constanta County Clinical Emergency Hospital Constanta, ROMANIA

Horia Ples Department of Pharmacology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes” Timisoara, ROMANIA

Selen Semsedi Constanta County Clinical Emergency Hospital Department of Neurology Constanta, ROMANIA

Anca Elena Gogu Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, Timisoara, ROMANIA

Agneta Pusztai Department of Anatomy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes” Timisoara, ROMANIA

Anoanela Oltean Faculty of Physical Education and Sport ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanta, Constanta, ROMANIA

Dragos Catalin Jianu Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, Timisoara, ROMANIA

Carmen Adella Sirbu Department of Neurology, „Titu Maiorescu University”, Bucharest, ROMANIA

Silviu Docu-Axelerad Student at Vasile Goldis University, Faculty of General Medicine Arad, ROMANIA

Victor Dumitrascu Department of Pharmacology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes” Timisoara, ROMANIA

Daniel Docu-Axelerad, PhD ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanta, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Constanta, ROMANIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 September 2020 Received in revised form 17 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.15

Started as a form of atypical pneumonia concerning only a limited area in China it has become a worldwide issue that may affect our bodies entirely. Since its onset in late 2019, the Coronavirus infection has taken many shapes and forms, some of which take their toll on the nervous system.

On average neurological symptoms begin 10-12 days after the flu-like ones and come in a wide range: encephalopathy and encephalitis, cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy or Guillan-Barré syndrome. Pathophysiological events that lead Coronavirus infection to nervous system disorders are not completely understood- there are both para-infectious and postinfectious mechanisms tied to it. The pathogen might find its way towards the nervous system through the olfactory bulb which is its only part without dural protection, therefore, triggering a direct infection or it could induce the neurological pathology by indirect mechanisms such as hypoxia, metabolic derangements or immunological mimicry. Even though patients with this type of pathology are scarce, their state might become dire in a short time due to the cumulative effects of infection, pre-existing condition and nervous system disorders. Even though the Coronavirus issue is a recent one, medical science has been studying it thoroughly. We have researched a part of the literature regarding this topic, and we have concluded that the neurological disorders associated with this infection. Articles released after the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic that analyze this pathogen’s effects regarding the nervous system were taken into consideration. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Coronavirus infection; encephalopathy; encephalitis; stroke; epilepsy; GuillainBarré syndrome; medical care;

Copyright © 2020 Any Docu-Axelerad, Selen Semsedi, Anoanela Oltean, Silviu Docu-Axelerad, Alina Zorina Stroe, Anca Elena Gogu, Dragos Catalin Jianu, Victor Dumitrascu, Horia Ples, Agneta Pusztai, Carmen Adella Sirbu, Daniel Docu-Axelerad. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Docu-Axelerad, Any, Selen Semsedi, Anoanela Oltean, Silviu Docu-Axelerad, Alina Zorina Stroe, Anca Elena Gogu, Dragos Catalin Jianu, Victor Dumitrascu, Horia Ples, Agneta Pusztai, Carmen Adella Sirbu, Daniel Docu-Axelerad. ”Neurological Disorders Associated to Coronavirus Infection.” DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 171-177. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.15

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928

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I. Introduction

Coronaviruses are quickly adaptable and able to cross the species barrier, leading to epidemics or pandemics. Infection in humans often causes severe clinical symptoms and high mortality. Multiple types of Coronavirus can cause human disease, most of which are usually associated with respiratory infections. Their most aggressive form is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoV-2 (SARS-CoV2) which is now more dangerous compared to previous outbreaks such as the H1N1 pandemic. The situation is worsened because of the lack of any avialable vaccine ore specific antiviral drug, therefore the treatment of patients infected with the new strain of Coronavirus is based on drugs previously used on SARS-CoV and MERSCoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) due to genetic similarity. The new pathogen might have neuroinvasive and neurotropic potential based on the fact that some patients have suffered symptoms such as headache, ataxia, nausea and vomiting or have developed acute cerebrovascular problems.

This disease is a crisis that shapes neurological care in a new way. Quarantine, social distancing and the general fear and anxiety regarding the possibility of infection have drastically reduced the access to medical care for people with neurological diseases, some of whom might also be impaired by comorbid conditionspeople with respiratory problems caused by lateral sclerosis, or those who need immunosuppressive treatments.

II. Encephalopathy and encephalitis

Encephalopathy is a fast-developing process that manifests as changed cognition, behaviour or modified consciousness including even coma. Various causes lead to this situation and one of them is infection [1], [2].

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The new Coronavirus might find it’s way towards the nervous system through the olfactory bulb which is its only part without dural protection, therefore, triggering encephalopaty. This spreading mechanism also used by the herpes simplex virus can explain anosmia in this new type of infection, while other means of reaching the central nervous system include the bloodbrain barrier or spreading through infected leukocytes. Upon arrival, the pathogen’s damage may follow two patterns: it is either produced directly or is caused by an immune response to infection. Morphopatological analysis of autopsy material from patients who suffered encephalopaty following SARS-CoV 2 infection showed neuronal necrosis, oedema, macrophages’ infiltration, and T cells and B cells whose immunohistochemical expression was an elevated level of cytokines [2].

Other mechanisms incriminated in its physiopathology are hypoxia and metabolic derangements.

A study from Wuhan analyzed 214 patients with infected with the new pathogen, a quarter of whom suffered symptoms such as dizziness, headache or impaired consciousness [2],[3].

The problem raised by this pandemic is that most people in need of neurological care bare chronic medical conditions or are elderly patients, so both of these groups are likely to develop severe Coronavirus infection forms. The article written by Asia Filatov presents the case of such a patient, a 74-year-old male with a medical history of atrial fibrillation, cardioembolic stroke, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD) disease whose reasons for seeking medical help were fever and cough. After laboratory tests and chest X-ray the patient the diagnosis was that he suffered an exacerbation of his COPD but the next day his symptoms worsened.

The second time, besides fever and cough

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they included headache and altered mental status. The computerised tomography (CT) scan only proved that the old stroke and electroencephalography (EEG) showed diffuse signs of temporal lobe dysfunction, possibly an epileptogenic area. The antiepileptic medication was initiated due to the risk of seizures. The patient was then tested for Coronavirus infection and found to be positive. The treatment for this problem included hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, ritonavir, and broad-spectrum antibiotics [4].

This article proves that Coronavirusinfected patients could develop neurological symptoms although these are not the first symptoms to be considered. The risk for altered mental status caused by infections is already higher in elderly patients or people with chronic medical conditions.

Encephalitis is a term that describes the inflammation of the brain parenchyma whose cause is frequently an infection or an immune system that is not fully functional.

Its diagnosis is based on clinical evidence of cerebral inflammation: pleocytosis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), an abnormal EEG pattern, imaging changes and of course neurological focal signs [2].

Two studies by Moriguchi T, Harii N, Goto J, and Wong PF, Craik S, Newman P respectively took into consideration eight patients in total and showed that neurological and respiratory symptoms are in most cases- six- simultaneous. Central nervous system manifestations took the form of irritability, reduced consciousness and confusion. Three patients suffered neck stiffness and one of them developed a psychotic episode. The analysis of CSF proved pleocytosis in most cases while brain imaging was normal in six out of eight cases and two patients suffered temporal lobe modifications [5], [6].

As for respiratory manifestation, there are no curative means for Coronavirus related

encephalopaty. Because of the scarcity of central nervous system symptoms, it is unlikely that this type of medication will be developed soon therefore symptomatic treatment would become the easiest avialable solution.

III. Seizures and epilepsy

The first case of documented of SARSCoV infection which was reported in 2003 included seizures as the cardinal neurological symptom. In this case, the viral infection mark was the positive reaction of cerebrospinal fluid for SARS Coronavirus [7]. A study carried on afterwards regarding 183 children who suffered acute encephalitis proved 22 of them to be Coronavirus infected by detecting specific antibodies triggered by this infection (Immunoglobulin M type antibodies- anti-CoV IgM). Out of the 22 patients 5 suffered seizures, 10 had pleocytosis and 3 underwent EEG, but the results were normal. The physiopathological mechanisms that can be acounted for seizures in Coronavirus infected patients are the direct viral damage caused to the brain and metabolic derangements, hypoxia, and even organ failure [8].

Another problem raised by the global pandemic is the management of patients who suffer documented epilepsy and the reduced availability of neurologic care to this demographic. This situation might lead to people not recieving their medication or situations in which symptoms worsened and required immediate hospitalization. There are also interactions between antiepileptic medication and Coronavirus infection treatment and side effects of both these therapeutic classes. The main concern is the risk of prolonged QT interval that both types of medication are able to trigger (for instance both carbamazepine widely used for seizure treatment and chloroquine might lead to cardiac conduction abnormalities[9].

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IV. Guillain-Barré syndrome

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a type of acute polyradiculopathy characterised by motor and sensory deficit and areflexia. Its most usual form follows a symmetrical limb weakness pattern with the most affected part situated at the distal extremity of the limb. Since it is an acute complication the evolution is quickly progressive after the respiratory episode.

Camdessanche presented the case of a 64-year-old man whose neurological symptoms started a week after the debut of cough and fever. The former complaints included motor deficit, paresthesia, areflexia and loss of vibration sense, later they included dysphagia and respiratory insufficiency. The usual cause of GuillanBarre syndrome, Campylobacter jejuni was excluded due to its lack of antibodies, while electromyography proved the acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Chest CT showed groundglass opacities and Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was positive since admission therefore it was concluded that the cause of demyelination was the new virus [10].

Using the same diagnosis pattern 19 patients in total have been reported by six separate studies to suffer Coronavirus induced Guillain-Barré syndrome [11]-[16].

Their nervous system signs followed the flulike symptoms 7 to 24 days later. 11 of them suffered involvement of all four limbs while 4 had facial weakness and dysphagia. The 11 patients who suffered tetraparesis did not have any sensory loss [11]-[16].

Pathophysiological events that lead Coronavirus infection to Guillan-Barré syndrome are not completely understoodthere are both parainfectious and postinfectious mechanisms tied to it. The main immunological explanation is the cytokine releasing syndrome: macrophages,

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natural killer cells and neutrophils become active after their contact with the virus, then the cells are attracted to the interstitial space by chemoattractant proteins while blood vesseles facilitate their diapedesis via vascular endothelial growth factor. These cells also produce interleukins (IL) such as IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, and tumour necrosis factor alfa- TNF-α who contribute to the cytokine storm that can inflict damage not only to the lungs but also to distant tissues such as the peripheral nervous system because of the molecular mimicry phenomenon [17], [18].

Understanding Coronavirustriggered Guillan-Barre syndrome is extremely important because this acute polyradiculopathy can quickly become lifethreatening and also because the cytokine releasing syndrome may also trigger other autoimmune complications.

V. Cerebrovascular complications

Both the incidence and prevalence of cerebrovascular disease are growing worldwide because of the increased frequency of its risk factors such as hypertension diabetes, atrial fibrillation or dislipidemia. Coronavirus infection also leads to a procoagulant status due to its ability to bind angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on endothelial cells, causing a proinflammatory and vasoconstrictive state of endothelial dysfunction leading to endorgan damage, including stroke.

Another cause that might lead to cerebrovascular disease is the production of antiphospholipid antibodies who can cause stroke, especially in younger patients.

In a study by Harzallah which included 56 patients with confirmed or suspected SARSCoV-2 infection, 25 of them were positive for lupus anticoagulants, and 5 had either anticardiolipin or anti–β2-glycoprotein I antibodies [19].

Severe cases of Coronavirus infection

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are characterised by sepsis-induced hypercoagulability whose biological signs are increased intravascular platelet activation, increased fibrinogen, increased D-dimer levels and prolongation of partial thromboplastin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT).

In a retrospective study from Wuhan that included 220 patients, 11 of them suffered an ischaemic stroke, one had cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and one suffered intracerebral hemorrhage [20].

Cerebrovascular symptoms followed the flulike debut at a median of 10 days [20].

Low-molecular-weight heparin is the recommended therapeutical solution to reduce the risk of thrombotic disease not only cerebrovascular disease. If the stroke is already formed with CT proof and clinical signs of its onset the solution is thrombolytic treatment. Despite the clear benefit that these types of medication have in reducing the burden of Coronavirus related ischaemic stroke, both low-molecular-weight heparin and thrombolytic put the patient at risk of intracranial hemorrhage or hemorrhagic transformation of an ischaemic stroke.

VI. THE NECESSITY FOR REMOTE

MEDICAL CARE

The Coronavirus pandemic seems to be a milestone that would change medical care more than any modern historical event.

Because of quarantine access to routine neurological check-ups has been reduced for many people with diseases of both central and peripheral nervous system problems.

A great proportion of them is at high risk when coinfected with Coronavirus because of their comorbid issues. To reduce their risk of infection it became necessary for them to avoid traditional ways of using the medical system and find new ways to manage their diseases. Some situations require unavoidable hospital treatment such as

thrombolysis in stroke, while others could be delayed resulting in worsened disability such as postponed enteral catheter treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Some reasons support remote neurological care, especially for people with chronic issues. Treatment response can fluctuate therefore it becomes difficult to be entirely taken into consideration just by analysing its efficiency during an outpatient visit. The same principle applies to observation in a clinical setting – for instance in patients with Parkinson’s disease movement disorders may be reduced when observed by the doctor although the patient could still develop severe problems such as freezing on gait. Traditional hospital visits lack the ability to observe the patient in their natural environment and sometimes also lack confidentiality. Some people might have to take a long commute to the hospital only to spend a short time in the doctor’s office [21], [22].

The most obvious and convenient solution to all these issues is using video calls for remote communication between patients and healthcare providers. Other ways to remotely evaluate the patient include sensors that analyse certain parameters or events in a passive manner or even online diaries which require more participation of the patient such as narrating the symptoms or performing tasks at various intervals.

Conclusion

Coronavirus infection could concern the nervous system taking the form of Guillan Barre syndrome, stroke, or encephalitis and encephalopathy, therefore this pathogen should be taken into consideration for differential diagnosis in these situations.

Neurological symptoms could be triggered directly caused by an immune response to infection.

Although the proportion of patients

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with neurological manifestation is small compared to their respiratory counterpart, cases with central nervous system issues become extremely severe in a short time due to the cumulative effects of infection.

This pandemic requires new ways for patient management; the best emerging solution is remote online communication using video calls, online diaries or sensors that analyze certain parameters or events.

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[4]

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Solomon T, Michael BD, Smith PE. 2012.” Management of suspected viral encephalitis in adults—Association of British Neurologists and British Infection Association National Guidelines”. J Infect. 64: 347–73.

Mao L, Jin H, Wang M. 2020.” Neurologic manifestations of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan, China”. JAMA Neurol 10.https://doi. org.10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.1127.

Filatov A, Sharma P, Hindi F, Espinoza P.S. 2020.” Neurological Complications of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Encephalopathy”. 12(3): e7352.

Moriguchi T, Harii N, Goto J. 2020.”

A first case of meningitis/ encephalitis associated with SARS-coronavirus-2.”

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Wong PF, Craik S, Newman P.2020.”

Lessons of the month 1: a case of rhombencephalitis as a rare complication of acute COVID-19 infection”. Clin Med (Lond) https://doi.org.10.7861/ clinmed.2020-0182.

Hung Ec, Chim Ss, Chan Pk, Tong Yk, Ng Ek, Chiu Rw. 2003.” Detection of SARS-

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coronavirus RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with severe acute respiratory syndrome”. Clin Chem 49:2108–9.

[8] Li Y, Li H, Fan R, Wen B, Zhang J, Cao X. 2016.” Coronavirus infections in the central nervous system and respiratory tract show distinct features in hospitalized children”. Intervirology 59:163–9.

[9] Wu CI, Postema PG, Arbelo E. 2020.” SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 and inherited arrhythmia syndromes”. Heart Rhythm 17(9): 1456-1462. https://doi. org/10.1016/j. hrthm.2020.03.024.

[10] Camdessanche J-P, Morel J, Pozzetto B, Paul S, Tholance Y, Botelho-Nevers E. 2020. ’’COVID-19 may induce GuillainBarré syndrome’’. Rev Neurol (Paris) 176: 516–18 [11] Toscano G, Palmerini F, Ravaglia S .2020.’’ Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS CoV-2’’. N Engl J Med. 382(26):2574-2576. DOI:10.1056/ NEJMc2009191.

[12] Zhao H, Shen D, Zhou H, Liu J, Chen S. 2020.” Guillain-Barre syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: causality or coincidence?” Lancet Neurol 19: 383–84.

[13] Galán AV, del Saz Saucedo P, Postigo FP, Paniagua EB. 2020.” Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection”. Neurologia 35: 268–69.

[14] Alberti P, Beretta S, Piatti M. 2020.”

Guillain-Barré syndrome related to COVID-19 infection”. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 7: e741 [15] Virani A, Rabold E, Hanson T. 2020.”

Guillain-Barré Syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection”. IDCases 20: e00771.

[16] Padroni M, Mastrangelo V, Asioli GM. 2020” Guillain-Barré syndrome following COVID-19: new infection, old complication?” J Neurol https://doi. org.10.1007/s00415-020-09849-6.

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Moore JB, June CH. 2020.” Cytokine release syndrome in severe COVID-19”.

Science 368(6490):473–474 [18] Jamilloux Y, Henry T, Belot A. 2020.”

Should we stimulate or suppress immune responses in COVID-19? Cytokine and anticytokine interventions”. Autoimmun Rev 19(7):102567 [19] Harzallah I, Debliquis A, Drénou B. 2020.” Lupus anticoagulant is frequent in patients with Covid-19”. J Thromb Haemost. https://doi.org/10.1111/ jth.14867 [20] Li Y, Wang M, Zhou Y. 2020.” Acute cerebrovascular disease following COVID-19: a single-center, retrospective, observational study”. Stroke Vasc Neurol 5(3):279-284.

[21] Cramer SC, Dodakian L, Le V.2019.”

National Institutes of Health StrokeNet Telerehab Investigators. Efficacy of home-based telerehabilitation vs in-clinic therapy for adults after stroke”. JAMA Neurol. 76(9):1079-1087. doi:10.1001/ jamaneurol.2019.1604 [22] Beck CA, Beran DB, Biglan KM. 2017.” Connect Parkinson Investigators.

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Intuition: A Heart-based Epistemology Tina Lindhard, Ph.D.

Dept. of Consciousness Studies International University of Professional Studies (IUPS) Maui, Hawaii. USA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 27 September 2020 Received in revised form 17 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.16

COVID 19 is just one more problem we humans have to face today. Crises, such as global warming, species extinction, climate change, and the extended use of anxiolytics and antidepressants by all sections of the population including youngsters, are telling us we are out of sync with Nature, and with our Self. Here, I suggest we need to change the focus of our attention from outside to inside, and from the overextended use of logical thinking mind associated with the brain to the feelingmind linked with the heart. I associate the thinking mind with the male principle and the feeling heart-mind with the female principle. This change can bring about the necessary next step in our evolution by providing us with a way to connect with the deeper Self or Essence to obtain Higher Guidance. This epistemological way of knowing is based on intuition, and heart-based esoteric traditions throughout the ages have known about it. However, to find solutions to the multiple problems we are facing today, many more people need to learn how to tap into their heart-mind.

In this article, I explore and expand on these ideas from different angles, including the scientific.

Keywords: Epistemology; thinking; feeling; intuition; heart; Self; guidance; female principle; evolution;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Tina Lindhard. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Lindhard, Tina. ”Intuition: A Heart-based Epistemology.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 181-194. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.16

I.

Introduction

The way each one of us views the world is unique, and even when looking at the same object, each one of us will probably describe it differently. This is even more obvious and relevant when it comes to looking at circumstances that are happening in our shared Universe today. Collectively we are facing many crises, from global warming, climate change, species distinction to the

new COVID 19 pandemic. To this list, we can add the extended use of anxiolytics and depressants by all sections of the population.

In the USA alone, it is estimated that “40 million people take psychiatric drugs” [1, title]. For me, this indicates we are living out of sync with nature and with our deeper Self.

In this paper, I share what this means to me, partly based on my inner journey, and partly based on insights including the scientific one that have come to me on my journey into my

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deeper realms.

A. Background

Many years ago, several dreams revealed to me that I was living in a way that was not favourable to my health. With this insight, it took me less than a day to give up smoking, and slowly I changed my eating habits to include food that was very nutritious and healthy. I also cut down on alcohol; much later, I was to give it up altogether as I found my mental clarity improved. These changes led to more changes. I realized I did not know who I really was or if there was or was not a God. If there was, I knew HE/SHE could not be like what I believed as a child; a God who had created the Universe and then left it to its own devices. Having been brought up in Africa, I had a deep love and respect for Nature and the tremendous awesomeness of the night sky had always fascinated me, both by its order and beauty. There had to be something more, no matter what we cared to name it.

For many years I had tried to meditate, but with little success. My background as a research psychologist into different states of consciousness in South Africa had led me to believe that meditation was some secret route to happiness. But if it was, it had illuded me, even after many years of trying to silence my mind. So, I left my academic studies as I decided that if I had not personally experienced certain inner states in meditation, I, as a scientist, could not ask another person about them – I would not even know what to ask. This probably was the start of a lifelong quest, but I was not aware of it at the time.

Many other changes in my life followed the experiences with my health but it was only many years later after I had an existential crisis involving multiple miscarriages and extensive use of medical drugs that I met the Yogi and philosopher Srinivas Arka. They say

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when the pupil is ready the teacher appears.

It had taken me many dead ends to get me to the point where I was open to something new. He explained meditation in a way that filled my soul (if I had one; at that stage, I was not sure of this) with delight. Before there were teachers, before people wrote books, and of course, before there was an internet, people wanted to know their true nature and the nature of the Universe.

They, therefore, sat down and took their questions deep inside and waited for Mother Nature to supply them with intuitive insights and answers1. This, for him, was what true meditation was all about; not about silencing the mind. For me, this was illuminating – questions, like he mentioned had always fascinated me. However, I had long realized that the scientific method could only get us so far, examining the outside world through our senses or extensions of them, although fascinating, was for me not going to answer the deep questions I kept asking myself.

B. The Intuitive Meditation Method

The Intuitive Meditation Method, also known as Arka Dhyana (Arka means sun or source of light in Sanskrit) helps people go below their thinking logical minds so they can tap into their intuitive mind associated with their heart. It is a nonsectarian method that was developed by the Yogi Srinivas Arka. It involves touching 19 energetic points in the body and accompanying our touch with our breathing and a vibratory humming sound. It also consists of a gesture inviting the cursor of the thinking mind to descend to the heart [2]. I have now practiced this method for over 20 years, and it is unlike any I encountered before. With time, one begins to feel the more subtle layers both inside and outside the body, which changes our perception from thinking to feeling based. When I first heard Arka talk about the different levels of consciousness, I did not 1 Arka, private talk.

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know what he meant by the ‘intuitive mind associated with the heart’, even though on another level, his words made sense as I had had many guiding dreams and I relied on my intuition. As a scientist, I wanted to know more about our logical thinking mind and the scientific link between intuition and the heart. This paper addresses some aspects related to these concerns.

II. origins of the Western Educational

system

I realized our formal educational system is dedicated to training young people to develop their logical thinking minds and their success in life is mainly measured by the academic levels and degrees they have achieved. Although I support academic learning, for me, it seems ludicrous that, for example, knowing when Columbus discovered America is given a higher priority than teaching children how to breathe fully so they can release old tensions and emotions and also improve their health. I began to question how did this come about?

What was the origin or origins of our Western Educational system that is spreading all over the world?

I traced its beginnings back to ancient Greece, and it became apparent to me that our Western educational system is based on the male idea of excellence encapsulated in the Ancient Greek concept of Paideia [3] [4]. For Naugle, the term was linked with the shaping of the Greek character and was at the centre of the Greek educational genius which “is the secret of the undying influence of Greece upon all subsequent ages”[5, para 1].

To understand this concept, we need to be aware of the context in which it developed. The educational system in Classical Greece was not uniform as Greece was made up of various city-states or polis (pl poleis) that were autonomous and

where each state had their own sociopolitical system, way of socializing their children, and educational systems [6]. The prevailing characteristic that united all the states was the competitive nature of the males, summed up in the word agon which “could mean ‘war’, but also ‘dispute’, philosophical, political or juridical, or ‘contest”. Honour was achieved through doing one’s best no matter what the context and there were not only contests in sports, but also in music and drama, between potters and even between doctors” [7, para 2]. There were continual skirmishes between Greek states, but, during the Greco-Persian Wars, they formed alliances to conquer the Persians. Later interstate fights were resumed which consumed many resources. Paideia was a universal ideal to which each male strived and its goal was a political man ‘both beautiful and good’, the servant of the polis or state [6] [8]. However, the Athenian state elevated their system of education and training to include “gymnastics, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, music, mathematics, geography, natural history, astronomy and the physical sciences, history of society and ethics, and philosophy—the complete pedagogical course of study necessary to produce a wellrounded, fully educated citizen” [9, pp. 2930]. Summing this up, Paideia involves the development of the mind in a superb body, the union of moral perfection, intellectual excellence, artistic harmony, and physical beauty [5].

Education in the Athenian polis was only open to males and non-slaves. According to Plutarch [10], it was a complex system where the love of beauty and military undertones existed side by side. Physical training was considered necessary for improving one’s appearance, preparation for war, and good health at an old age. As such, it had military, political, social, and economic undertones in that it helped prepare students for both

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peace and war.

In this system, the inherent competitive and warlike nature of the early Greeks was sublimated into organized games, which included different components of physical education such as athletics, sport, wrestling, throwing the javelin [3]. The state imparted this training in large open public areas known as Gymnasiums, At first young men performed physical activities there in the nude, but with time, these areas became places for men to meet and practice “punching the sack, anointing (with oils), bathing and dressing . . .Young men engaged vigorously in the athletic games and exercises while the older men were spectators or critics, or perhaps participants in the discussions and lectures that formed an important part of the activities of the place . . . As the instructors in the gymnasia had to be paid, the places were patronized principally by the well-to-do” [11, para 1].

Intellectual training accompanied physical education, but it was imparted privately at a price, first at the elementary level, and then after 420BC, at a higher level [6]. Both levels were only open to males, and only the richest could afford to receive higher education which included rhetoric, grammar and philosophy, and more scientific subjects like arithmetic and medicine. The Athenian polis played only a small role in intellectual schooling, and anyone could open a school [12] [13], which was likely to be one room. They “were private enterprises established and run for profit by individual entrepreneurs who followed their own curricula and methods” [Golden in 6, p. 51]. Girls were not allowed to attend schools. However, some families provided education for them privately, but this was rare.

Females were considered to be intellectually inferior, and social expectations limited them to the home [14]. In the Athenian system females were supposed to

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be silent and in politics and power, lacked any right to be heard [15, p. 37]. This bias has only been overcome in the West with women getting the vote in England in 1918. Although in most places women now participate fully in the Western educational system, formal education is nearly exclusively based on intellectual excellence and acquiring knowledge, although other aspects related to the term Paideia have, to a large extent, been stripped from it.

The heavy accent on fomenting our intellectual ability associated with developing the rational thinking mind has, according to Spencer [16], led our society to the verge of an abyss. Built into the Western educational system is the idea that ‘man’ is competitive and warlike. He [16] casts an intriguing insight into the motivation of the men who created rhetoric and logic as being directed related to winning arguments, a non-violent expansion of the warrior values of competition, and winning. “Argument was simply a verbal analogue of a combat duel between two warriors but with less lethal results. These values have been maintained ever since in European societies, so the Clever Men have continued with their valuable role ‘educating’ the next male generation of their societies’ rulers” [16, abstract] The reliance on the development of our rational thinking mind has given rise to a masculine way of seeing the Universe represented by science, and many new technologies, which at the same time, has created a way of living on this planet that is not sustainable [17] This is echoed by other female writers such as QuallsCorbett [18] who points out that when the feminine is not revered, “social and psychic become over mechanized, over-politicized, over militarized. Thinking, judgment and rationality become the ruling factors.”

[18, p. 16]. This creates an imbalance and a lack of harmony both inside and out, and

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relatedness, feeling, caring, and attending to nature go unattended. To understand what the female principle involves, we need to look at some of the inherent features of females, particularly mothers.

A. Socialization and the Family

Informal educational systems have always existed, and the family plays a prime role in socializing youngsters in a certain way. It imparts life skills, religion, and gender roles which supports living in a manner that is traditional to each specific society. The role of affect and emotional skills are also mainly learned in the family, particularly through the mother. However, today this major social institution is beginning to break down in some Western countries. In the USA, 39 percent of all marriages end up in divorce [19].

In South Africa, colonial history and the migrant worker policy of the old apartheid regime fractured family life. The continuing need for parents, including the mother, to migrate to find work away from their traditional place of residence has also resulted in many children growing up without coresident parents [20]. This complex situation has led to high rates of parental absence from some children’s lives in South Africa [20].

In industrialized countries, numerous women work away from home in the formal or informal sector resulting in many young children attending creches at an increasingly earlier age. “High-quality childcare has been associated with benefits for children’s development, with the strongest effects for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

There is also evidence that negative effects can sometimes occur” [21, p. 4].

Reviewing the literature, it seems most studies measure learning and development where the play environment can promote, to varying degrees: children’s interests,

identity and belonging, interactions, selfregulation, language and communication, and a range of thinking and problem-solving behaviours. However, there is more to life than learning and training the mind. Humans need affection, and we must consider what happens when children do not receive it at an early age.

B. The Need for the Affect

Harlow’s experiments with infant monkeys in the nineteen sixties showed that primates need more than food to be socialized properly. The socially isolated monkeys were unsure how to interact when reintroduced to the group. Many stayed separate from the others, and “some even died after refusing to eat”.

They demonstrated “disturbed behaviour, hyperactive behaviour, and even selfmutilation [22, para.2].

These experiments reveal the importance of contact with the mother figure that is beyond the need for food, and where contact with something soft is preferred to nothing. It seems that for overall health, timely attention, affect, feeling, warmth, and contact are necessary for the socialization process.

Research into childcare is generally positive when they are above 3 years.

However, Melhuish et al. [21] found discrepant results regarding the effect on infants 0 – 3 years with some negative, some null, and some positive results. They suggest the quality of childcare in important and is also modified “by the relative balance of quality of care at home and in childcare” [21, p. 4]. What is being measured and assessed in the studies included in this review is also important as factors other than those to do with our cognition development are needed for the socialization process, a factor which is often ignored when we only emphasize developing mental abilities instead of

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human welfare. As I point out in the next section, the heart seems to play a big role in our wellbeing as a centre of feeling, even if this is not yet fully recognized by most scientists.

III. Energetic Communication and the

Heart

The heart is more than a piston pump and these days we know it produces the largest electromagnet field in the body that extends beyond the body and also permeates every cell in the body. It may “act as a synchronizing signal for the body in a manner analogous to information carried by radio waves” [23, p.1]. Others within the range of its field are affected by it as are cells in vitro [23]Emotions also affect the strength of our heart field. In the living matrix model of Oschman (2009), body sensations to do with emotions are initiated in direct response to the environment in the case of danger, activating the flight fight response.

He calls this ‘authentic action’ opposed to ‘thoughtful action’, which involves our thoughts and neural pathways. Pribram (1996) suggests that higher frequency oscillations produced by the brain are probably a reflection of the conscious perception and labeling of feelings and emotions of the low-frequency oscillations produced by the heart in the form of afferent neural, hormonal, and electrical changing patterns [in 23]. But it is possible this works in both directions, and our thoughts, especially those of an emotional nature, may affect our electromagnetic field via changes in cardiac rhythms and through this, the whole body which the electromagnet field permeates.

As humans have developed a thinking mind, the thoughts making up the stories that we tell ourselves or those we listen to also activate our inner environment in the form of body sensations [24]. The findings of

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Nummenmaa et al [25] support this. They suggest that each emotion affects our body in a specific topographical way depending on the emotional word pronounced. It appears that our bodily reactions are the same or similar no matter whether the source is a genuine outside emergency or virtual, based on mental stories we tell ourselves or stories we listen to on the TV or in the cinema. The mental stories that we keep repeating can, therefore, keep us in a high state of arousal involving the flight fight response.

We can utilize this same insight to our advantage. The HeartMath Institute [26]. has shown that creating positive thoughts brings the heart and the mind into coherence reflected in the emission of a coherent pattern in the HRV derived

by ECG and the emission of brain waves in the alfa range. When subjects generated a feeling of self-appreciation, their heart rhythm coherence increased scientifically, as did their alpha rhythms [23, p. 4]. There is also a link between positive emotions and enhanced physiological functioning involving improved cognitive ability, mental clarity, and emotional stability [23, p.5].

The heart has been shown to have an intrinsic nervous system of its own, containing around 40,000 neurons called sensory neurites. This extensive and complex neural network has been characterized as a brain on the heart or heart-brain [27] [28] [29].

This allows the heart to act independently of the brain, sending and receiving meaningful messages of its own. Largely what goes on in the area of our feeling heart is below our conscious awareness. Nevertheless, the heart has been found to send more signals to the brain than vice versa [23]. The way the heart communicates with the brain is through neurological, chemical, biophysical, and energetic pathways [30, para 1].

Interactions between human beings go far beyond overt signals such as facial expressions, tone of voice and bodily

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gestures. Evidence “now supports the perspective that a subtle yet influential electromagnetic or “energetic” communication system operates just below our conscious awareness” [23, p. 7]. It also seems that empathic people can tune in, sense, and respond to the electromagnetic fields of others which takes communication to another level. In some experimental cases, the ECG signal of a subject was recorded in another who was sitting close by. The amplitude of the signal increased tenfold if the pair held hands [23, p. 10].

A. The Mother-Child Relationship

Although McCraty [23] talks about the energetic communication between subjects as possibly promoting the healing process in the therapist-client relationship, it has direct relevance to the parent-child relationship and more specifically to the mother-infant relationship.

It is interesting to contemplate whether, in Harlow’s experiment, it was the lack of training in energetic communication between infants and their mothers that resulted in the infant monkeys being ‘unsure of how to react’ when reintroduced into the group. Confirming McCraty’s results, Russek and Schwartz [31] have found that subjects who rated themselves as receiving care and love by their parents are better able to receive cardiac signals than those who assessed their parents as less loving. Receiving and maybe interpreting cardiac signals might be relevant when we are interacting with others. Maybe energetic communication does not only have a favourable effect on the physical and emotional level of the child but possibly early synchronization between the mother helps infants socialize and adequately relate to the environment. Maybe the ‘more’ that mothers add to a relationship revolves around empathy, loving touch, and the ability to feel, ‘read’ and react to fields in a

specific manner.

The heart can be seen as a sensory organ [32] [33] and the question arises what does this sensory organ do? Can we learn to tap into it to become more consciously aware of the type of information it is picking up?

B. Mothers and the 6th Sense

Females, especially mothers, are said to have a 6th sense. Almost all mothers have a faculty “naturally available and readily accessible to help them understand the intense needs of their children and people they care about” [2, p. 37]. This suggests that at least mothers have developed a way of obtaining information that is not available through the secondary perception system related to our senses.

According to the Theory of the Six Main Levels of Consciousness Arka 2013), identifies the first level as Mind Consciousness. It is to do with our thinking mind associated with the prefrontal cortex.

The second is called Subliminal-Mind – Consciousness, which governs many of our daily activities. Although he identifies more levels that involve increasing degrees of feeling, what is of is of relevance here is the third level, which Arka calls Feeling-Mind Consciousness. “This feeling-consciousness generally prevails in the heart area and can thus be called the Heart of HeartConsciousness. It includes an emotional faculty called intuition” [2, p. 37]. As it involves caring, empathy and sensitivity, Lindhard [2019} associates this level of consciousness with the ‘female principle’.

However, this ability is not exclusive to females, and both genders can tap into this level of consciousness.

Using meditation methods like the Prayer of the Heart or the Intuitive Meditation Method, we can train our surface mind to return to the Mother Mind [2]. associated with the heart. These methods go far beyond

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training people to think positively and expanding silence leading to insights is one of the factors the practitioner progressively experiences on their journey to the heart [34] [35]. Other factors include increased intuition, peace, unity, feeling centred, and a feeling of being connected with the deeper Self [36] [37]. Prayer of the Heart is a very ancient esoteric method, which different cultures such as the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Persians, early Christians, the Sufis and certain traditions in India (Atmavichara) used to discover their true Self [38].

This method gives rise to gnostic knowing or intuitive knowing, in much the same way as the Intuitive Meditation method.

These methods suggest that by bringing one’s attention associated with the brain down to the level of heart, the practitioner can begin consciously to tap into subtle changes in their heart field and receive information in this way. It is also probable that by identifying with another through empathy and union, one can also tap into their heart field and obtain information about their wellbeing. With the practice of the methods mentioned, it appears that increasing levels of experiencing silence accompanied by the ability to deeply relax permits one to tap into knowledge that goes beyond that of what one has learned using one’s intellectual capacity. Although he did not talk about the link with the heart, Einstein was one of the great scientists who readily acknowledged intuition as a way of acquiring fresh knowledge [39]. It seems that dreams sometimes reveal information arising from these deep layers; some of which have played a role in the development of scientific ideas. In 1869, based on the image and insights that came to him in a dream, Dmitri Mendeleev developed the periodic table [40]. Niels Bohr is another who openly admitted the inspirational role of a dream that led him to discover the structure of the atom [41].

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C. Heart-Transplant Patients

Mothers are not the only people who can tap into what is happening to others through their fields. Books and also research involving transplanted hearts indicate between 5 and 10 per cent of the people who receive a transplanted heart can tap into memories of their donors and even adopt some of their habits [42] [43]. The fact that some heart-transplant recipients undergo changes in food and lifestyle preferences and experience fears and memories of their donors has made scientists contemplate the role and function of the heart in more detail.

The changes seem to be more robust in heart transplants compared to other organ transplants [42, Discussion Section, par.

6]. Communication involving the transfer of information between the transplanted heart and its recipient seems to be energetic or feeling based as information about the donor is not disclosed to the recipient.

IV. Primary and Secondary Perception

Systems

It seems we have two identifiable perception systems; one that involves our five major senses, and another that possible involves our vestigial senses. The first is linked to the neural system. Even though these senses develop early on during our embryological development, we only begin to use them actively after we are born and begin to explore the world making up our outside environment. They give us information about people, other living beings, and objects in our outside environment and involve both sensation and perception. Freud [44] considered our superficial perception consciousness system consists of these senses.

This suggests that we might also have another deeper or primary perception system which many of us are unconscious.

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This system probably involves bodily awareness linked to feeling [45]. Touch is considered as the first sense to develop in the embryo. According to Fulkerson [46] [47], it involves more than perceptions constituted by signals made available through the receptors in our skin but is multisensorial in that bodily awareness is also coupled with it.

The superficial part, known as cutaneous touch, is entirely mediated through the skin (ectoderm) and depends on our subjective awareness as a secondary quality. Feelings such as hot, cold, and pain, are connected with it. These sensations develop during the third trimester of pregnancy when the receptors in the skin join with their neural connections in the cortex [48, Fetal development, para 1].

The other aspect of touch is known as ‘haptic’ touch. It is connected with movement and “involves many essential receptors that are located in the muscles, joints, and tendons, and not in the skin at all” [46, 2, Is Touch Multisensory? para. 5].

As the heart system is the first to develop in the embryo, changes in its field are probably picked up by the developing embryo through bodily feeling. As many body components are developing before the third trimester, it is probable that through bodily awareness, the embryo is aware long before most scientists believe they are. This also suggests we are first feeling beings; I touch on some of the many implications in the next section.

V. Discussion

The proposal that we are first and foremost feeling beings suggests that we might share this characteristic with other animals, plants and even the planet earth.

Possibly all these entities may respond to what is happening in their immediate environment based on their capacity to feel connected with changes in their

electromagnet fields (or even other fields science is not yet aware of). The feeling capacity might be rudimentary or highly developed like in migratory birds who “orient themselves on migration paths using internal compasses guided by Earth’s magnetic field” [49, para. 2]. Recent research has shown that plants respond to the way we touch them [50] [51], indicating they can feel.

Although the earth does not have a heart, it has a ferrous magnetic core which is responsible for its electromagnetic field, which extends beyond the earth and also permeates everything on the planet. It may even adjust to changes in the fields of other planets and entities through changes in its own field. Changes in the earth’s field also affect all living beings in a certain way, just like the cells in our body are affected by changes in the field produced by the heart, but maybe we too are affecting the earth’s field through our activities and thoughts.

This perspective supports the idea of a dynamic interconnected Universe.

The probability that we are first and foremost feeling beings also has implications regarding what we do to little embryos who are in reality living beings. Legally, abortions are permitted in many countries up to the third trimester on the grounds embryos do not feel pain as the receptors in the skin are not connected to the brain. However, the proposal presented here suggests that our capacity to feel is not linked to the neural system and might predate the development of these connections.

The suggestion we are feeling beings who also have a thinking mind implies consciousness is not only limited to the brain. It seems we, as human beings, can develop our thinking minds and also explore and enhance our feeling ability. To do this, we have to go below or above our thinking mind2. We can also choose to develop our 2 We can go below or above our thinking mind but going below it is slightly easier [2].

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intuitive ability linked to our heart and learn how to relate to others in a more empathic way. Empathy is probably related to a telepathic communication between humans and between species. Some scientists classify research into intuition and psych phenomenon as pseudoscience despite there being quite strong statistical evidence which would be “be widely accepted if … (this data) pertained to something more mundane. Many scientists reject the possible reality of these abilities without ever looking at the data” [52], possibly because this research involves feeling, empathy, and the ability to tune into the fields of others and not our thinking ability which most scientists are more comfortable. This is also what probably makes it difficult to replicate studies in parapsychology as a researcher will not get the same results if he or she is working with subjects who are skeptical as opposed to those accustomed to tune into fields. Radin [53] [54] has undertaken much research in the field of parapsychology and, although he supports the idea that we live in a conscious interconnected universe, his `perspective is not yet readily accepted by other scientists.

The insights revealed imply everything we say, think or do for they have a repercussion on our own cardiac rhythms, which affect our electromagnetic fields which in turn also permeates all the cells in our body and thus affect our wellbeing. However, these fields also affect others in our environment, through fields everything is interconnected.

If we are continually listening to stories or our thoughts are continuously centered around happenings or beliefs that are negative and frightening, we will probably be activating the flight fight response in ourselves. This may cause an overproduction of the stress hormone cortisol that is not reduced through an activity. The production of cortisol is a natural response if the cause of the stressor is physical, like a dangerous

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animal entering the room. In this case, cortisol is needed to arouse us to fight or flee. Levine [53] the person who developed the Somatic Experiencing Therapeutic Method, outlines the importance of this in the book Awakening the Tiger.

This insight has direct relevance to the high state of arousal the news media are keeping people during the COVID 19 pandemic as it probably is activating the flight fight response in their bodies, which may harm their immediate and long term health.

Our educational system rests on the male idea of excellence. Many Greek philosophers considered the goal of education is the service of the ideal for the common good of the State. However, for Plato the primary directive of education was in the service of the soul and divine, where philosophy focused on “inner perfection realized through disciplined education involving the development of the intellect, will, and the body motivated by a ceaseless desire to regain the lost union with the eternal” [56, 42-43]. Today education seems to involve training our intellectual capacity and be a mixture of preparing people for leadership roles and supplying people for the job market. But this does not necessarily produce a happy, healthy and caring society.

The Greek system rests on the idea that men were competitive and warlike.

However, the Seville Statement on Violence points out that “it is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behaviour is genetically programmed into our human nature” [57, para.6]. (para. 6).

In 1986 in Seville, the statement was signed by top scientists from different disciplines, continents, and countries, and was adopted

by Unesco in 19893. It prepared the basis of UNESCO Education for Peace Programs and points out “there is nothing in our biology 3 For more information, see https://cicainternational. org/ssv-the-seville-statement-on-violence/.

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which is an insurmountable obstacle to the abolition of war and other institutional violence” [58, para. 2]. Unfortunately, war and other institutional violence are still with us today. We need a new approach and here I suggest we need to incorporate the female principle into our educational system to cocreate a more intuitive, caring, empathetic society that is based on relatedness and interconnectedness, not on separation.

Rousseau claimed that ‘man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains’ [59]. This has led to people wanting to change the social order and to change the society in which they live, a populist idea that is becoming more prevalent today. Although noble, it is proposed here that our real chains are our own mental stories and habits, and if we want to change the outside world, we need to start with ourselves. As we have seen, whatever we do, say or think, affects everything else including ourselves.

VI. Summing up

My journey has taken me down many avenues, the last one has involved me returning to science to complete my Ph.D. and start publishing articles from the perspective of a women scientist. Being a woman, however, does not mean that one embodies the female principle. Many women use the male principle to operate in the world, often without being aware of it.

Modern society and our school system have programmed out the inherent female caring and intuitive nature4. This happened to me, and it was only when I learnt to change the focus of my attention from outside to inside, I found I could connect with a deeper Intelligence that is in me and all of us. I refer to this as the Self with a capital S or Essence.

It is the capacity to connect that I refer to as the female principle [4][17]. For me, God, Spirit or however we want to name the

Supreme Being, is not separate from His/ Her creation but is present in every one of us including all living beings as a supreme Intelligence. In our search for Truth, science can only get us so far as the idea of probability is built into it. Science will forever change paradigms as we look at nature through a new and different lens. Jointly both men and women are responsible for the way we are living on Earth today, and jointly we need to work together to create a new way of living on this planet. Recognizing, and cultivating the ability to contact with this immeasurable Intelligence via our hearts, is a necessary next step.

Acknowledgment I am very grateful to the philosopher Srinivas Arka who helped me understand the nature of heart-based consciousness and refine my intuition through his Intuitive Meditation Method. I also wish to acknowledge the work of Dr. McCraty whose insights regarding the link between the heart field and changes in cardiac rhythms have given me a basis from which to extend my understandings.

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4 Ensign, B. private communication, 12 Sept. 2020.

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Advisory Board. An estimated 40 million Americans take psychiatric drugs. Here’s what they’re taking. 2016. https://www. advisory.com/daily-briefing/2016/12/14/ what-psychiatric-drugs-are-americans-taking [Arka. S. Arka Dhyana Intuitive Meditation.

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Madrid: Universidad Antonio de Nebrija.

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[4] Lindhard, T. Corporates and the Need to Embrace the Female Principle. Book chapter under Review. 2020 [5] Naugle, D. The Greek Concept Of Paideia— PAIDEIA. DBU Summer Institute in Christian Scholarship (n.d.).. Retrieved from https://www3.dbu.edu/naugle/pdf/institute_ handouts/paideia/notes.pdf [6] Robertson, E A. Growing up Greek: The differing journeys through childhood in ancient Athens and Sparta. MA Thesis, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University. 2018.

[7] Ancient Olympics, The Greek competitive mentality.

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[8] Fieser, J. Hellenistic Philosophy. The History of Philosophy: A Short Survey. 2017. https:// www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/110/3hellenistic.htm [9] Tarnas, R. The Passion of the Western Mind.

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of Women in Athens and Sparta. Saber and Scroll. (Revised 2015). https://saberandscroll. weebly.com/social-and-political-rolesof-women-in-athens-and-sparta-by-kayorsquopry.html [15] Beard, M. Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures and Innovations.

NY: Liveright Publishing Corporation. 2013.

[16] Spencer, H. LOGICA CRITICA – a critical essay on WESTERN LOGIC. Academia Edu.2019. https://www.academia. edu/38799820/LOGICA_CRITICA_-_a_ critical_essay_on_WESTERN_LOGIC [17] Lindhard, T. Discovering Our Full Potential: Resuscitating the Female Principle. Open Journal of Social Sciences. 2019b.

[18] Qualls-Corbett, N. The sacred prostitute: Eternal aspect of the feminine. Toronto: Inner City Books. 1988.

[19] N.A. How Frequently Are People Divorcing in 2020? SMU Daily Campus. https://www. smudailycampus.com/sponsoredcontent/ promoted/how-frequently-are-peopledivorcing-in-2020 [20] Hall, K and Posel, D. Fragmenting the Family?

The Complexity of Household Migration Strategies in Post-apartheid South Africa. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Vol 10 (2). 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ izajodm-2019-0004 [21] Melhuish, E., Erky-Stevens, K., Petrogiannis, K., et al. A review of research on the effects of early childhood Education and Care (ECEC) upon child development. CARE project. 2019. https://www.researchgate. net/publication/291970194_A_review_ of_research_on_the_effects_of_early_ childhood_Education_and_Care_ECEC_ upon_child_development_CARE_project [22] APS (2018). Harlow’s Classic Studies Revealed the Importance of Maternal Contact. The Association for Psychological Science. https://www.psychologicalscience. org/publications/observer/obsonline/harlowsclassic-studies-revealed-the-importance-of-

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maternal-contact.html McCraty, R. The Energetic Heart: Bioelectromagnetic Interactions Within and Between People.

Neuropsychotherapist 6(1):22-43. 2003.

DOI: 10.12744/tnpt(6)022-043 [24] Lindhard, T. Emotions including anger, bodily sensations and the “Living Matrix.” The Open Psychology Journal, 8, 3–10. 2015 http:// benthamopen.com/TOPSYJ/VOLUME/8/ ISSUE/001/ [25] Nummenmaa, L., Glerean, E. H. R., Hari, R., and Hietanen, J. K. Bodily maps of emotions.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 111(2), 646–651. 2013.

[26] HeartMath Institute. Coherence. 2016. https:// www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-theheart/coherence/ [27] Armour, J. A. Anatomy and function of the intrathoracic neurons regulating the mammalian heart. In I. H. Zucker & J. P.Gilmore (Eds.), Reflex control of the circulation. Boca Raton: CRC Press. p. 1–37.

1991.

[28] Armour, J. A. The little brain on the heart.

Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 74, 48–51. 2007.

[29] Armour, J. A. Potential clinical relevance of the ‘little brain’ on the mammalian heart.

Experimental Physiology, 93(2), 165–176.

2008 [30] HeartMath Institute.

Heart-brain communication.

2016. https://www. heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/ heart-brain-communication/ [31] Russek, L. G., & Schwartz, G. E. Interpersonal heart-brain registration and the perception of parental love: A 42-year follow-up of the Harvard Mastery of Stress Study. Subtle Energies, 5(3), 195–208. 1994.

[32] Schultz, HD. The spice of life is at the root of cardiac pain. The Journal of Physiology.

551 (pt.2): 400. 2003. doi: 10.1113/ jphysiol.2003.050104 [23]

Shepherd, JT. The heart as a sensory organ.

J Am Coll Cardiol. (6 Suppl):83B-87B. doi: 10.1016/s0735-1097(85)80533-7.

[34] Louchakova, O. Ontopoieses and union in the Prayer of the Heart: Contributions to psychotherapy and learning. In A.-T. Tymeinjecha (Ed.), Analecta Husserliana: Logos of phenomenology and phenomenology of the logos. Book four (Vol. 91), pp. 289–311.

Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. 2005.

[35] Louchakova, O. Spiritual heart and direct knowing in the Prayer of the Heart. Existential Analysis, 18(1), 81–102. 2007.

[36] Lindhard, T. Experiencing peace through heart-based meditation on the Self. The Open Psychology Journal. 10(1): 27–40. 2017 [37] Lindhard. T. The Theory of Six Main Levels of Consciousness: A Study of the Third level.

Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, Vol 9, Issue 1. 2018 [38] Louchakova, O. Essence of the Prayer of the Heart. In L. Lozowich, Gasping for air in a vacuum (pp. 35–50). Prescott. AZ: Holm Press. 2004 [39] Howard, DA. Einstein’s Philosophy of Science. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2004/2019.

[40] Feder, M. Dmitri Mendeleev. Khan Academy. n.d. https://www.khanacademy. org/humanities/big-history-project/stars-andelements/knowing-stars-elements/a/dmitrimendeleev [41] Webb, A. The Role of Dreams inn Scientific Interventions. ReseauBiofuelnet. 2015. http:// www.biofuelnet.ca/nce/2015/04/22/roledreams-visions-scientific-innovation/ [42] Pearsall, P., Schwartz, G. E., & Russek, L. G. Organ transplants and cellular memories.

Nexus Magazine, 12(3).2005. http://www. paulpearsall.com/info/press/3.html [43] Skofield, J. Mindshock: Transplanting memories.

(Video file).

(2012, December 6. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=GADSbc2AI8I [33]

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Freud, S. The Ego and the Id. Penguin Freud Library (P.F.L.) 11. 1923.

[45] Lindhard, T. Mesoderm: The Possible Key to the Organic Basis of Freud’s Theories.

Unpublished paper. 2020 [46] Fulkerson, M. The First Sense: A Philosophical Study of Human Touch. MA: The MIT Press.2014.

[47] Fulkerson, M. The First Sense: A Philosophical Study of Human Touch. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 93(4), p. 838. 2015. DOI.org/1 0.1080/00048402.2015.1020318 [48] Miller, S. G. Do Fetuses Feel Pain? What the Science Says. Live Science. 2016. https:// www.livescience.com/54774-fetal-painanesthesia.html [49] Morrison, J. Electronics’ noise disorients migratory birds. Nature. 2014. https:// w w w. n a t u r e . c o m / n e w s / e l e c t r o n i c s noise-disorients-migratory-birds1.15176#:~:text=Interference%20from%20 electronics%20and%20AM,report%20 today%20in%20Nature1.&text=Decades%20of%20experiments%20have%20 s h o w n , g u i d e d % 2 0 b y % 2 0 E a r t h ’s % 2 0 magnetic%20field.

[50] MacDonald, F. Plants Really Do Respond to The Way We Touch Them, Scientists Reveal.

Sciencealert. 2016. https://www.sciencealert. com/plants-really-do-respond-to-the-waywe-touch-them-scientists-reveal [51] Van Aken, De Clercq, Isanova, Law, Van Breusegem et al. Mitochondrial and Chloroplast Stress Responses Are Modulated in Distinct Touch and Chemical Inhibition Phases. Plant Physiology. 2016. http://www. plantphysiol.org/content/171/3/2150 [52] Utts, J. Appreciating Statistics. In Journal of the American Statistical Association.

111:516: 1373-1380.2017.

DOI: 10.1080/01621459.2016.1250592 Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/1 0.1080/01621459.2016.1250592 [53] Levine, P. & Frederick A. Wakening the Tiger: Healing Trauma. CA: North Atlantic Books.

[44]

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1997.

Radin, D. The conscious universe : the scientific truth of psychic phenomena (1st HarperCollins pbk. ed.). New York: HarperOne. 2009. ISBN 978-0061778995.

[55] Radin, D.. Entangled Minds, Paraview Pocket Books, New York, 2006.

[56] Tarnas, R. The Passion of the Western Mind.

NY: Ballentine. 1991 [57] Seville Statement on Violence Education Nonviolent Education. UNESCO. 1986 Retrieved from https://wayback.archiveit.org/all/20050928235336/http://portal. unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ ID=3247&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_ SECTION=201.html [58] Adams, D. The Seville Statement on Violence: A Progress Report. Journal of Peace Research.

Vol. 26 (2), pp. 113-121. 1989. https://www. jstor.org/stable/423863 [59] Rousseau, J-J. The Social Contract. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1895.

[54]

Biography Tina Lindhard was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She earned her PhD from the International University of Professional Studies in Consciousness Studies and her MA in Transpersonal Psychology from Sofia University (ITP).

She is an academic mentor at IUPS and also a qualified teacher in the Intuitive Meditation method, also known as Arka Dhyana. She has also acted as a cranial sacral therapist for many years. Her many publications mainly involve her prime interest centered around finding out about the connection between the heart and different levels of Consciousness, and the Female Principle.

Dr. Lindhard is currently president of the nonprofit organization CCASpain and also chair of Consciousness Research of CICA, an international scientific organization.

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This page was intentionally left blank ** Thousands of opponents to France’s new bioethics bill, which aims in part to extend medically assisted reproduction, known by the acronym PMA in French, to lesbian couples and single women, demonstrate in Paris on January 19, 2020. © Christophe Archambault, AFP https://www.france24.com/en/20200120-france-s-controversial-bioethics-bill-reaches-senate-amid-continuing-outcry

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The Melting point: How is the World reshaping under pressure nowadays?

Lecturer Rev. Cosmin-Tudor CIOCAN, Ph.D. The Faculty of Theology, ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanța, ROMANIA

Assist. Prof. Osman Murat Deniz, Ph.D. Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Çanakkale, TURKEY

Assist. Prof. Filip Nalaskowski, Ph.D. Faculty of Educational Sciences Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun POLAND

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 24 August 2020 Received in revised form 19 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.17

We are witnesses to a major reshaping of our world: the World and our lives as we used to know are ending and they are reshaping constantly and drastically under pressure.

Everything we knew about this world, our old habits, values, human rights, ethical patterns et all. These days, since the pandemic outburst, I saw the perceptions we have/ had on religious impositions and requirements changing for an unprecedented behavior and inconsiderably reshaping religious phenomenon could have ever think of. With the title taken from the topic of this volume, Inspired by the conference titled, we have tried to envision the actual human environment through the ongoing pandemic that revolutions the entire human society in a way we had never considered as possible and so that we will not recognize in a year or so. Following the Philosophy of Dialectics and seeing a larger number of possibilities beyond those that were revealed to us in most obvious ways, we wonder thus, what makes us, in fact, do these changes – is the pandemic itself and its requirements or is it just US, humans, that were long longing for a change, a motif to do it all new again? It is though a human-divine desire to anew all from time to time and seek a reboot to all wrongness that grows in the world.

Keywords: religious pluralism; dialectics; values; changes; social innovation; Covid-19; social engagement; infection; infectious disease; riots; curfew; pandemic; outbreak;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Cosmin-Tudor Ciocan, Osman Murat Deniz, Filip Nalaskowski. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Ciocan, Cosmin-Tudor, Osman Murat Deniz, Filip Nalaskowski. ”The Melting point: How is the World reshaping under pressure nowadays?” DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 197-210. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.17

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928

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I. Introduction

“Behold, I am making all things new.”

(Revelation 21:5) - this is quite a scary and undesirable statement coming from the divine part and regarding the world as we, humans, got used with. It happens with it for several occasions though [considering Noe’s event, Christ’s appearance or Apocalyptic events or on a small scale in many other occasions], and we are witnessing as such nowadays too, amid Covid-19 pandemic.

Liked or not, a tremendous change occurs nevertheless, but we surely need to understand why is it happening so that we can assume what is happening. In order to have this figured out we need to establish the steps our world walked and the stages of this outbreak and how it evolved at least until today (November 2020). But let’s start with the beginning.

Starting in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei, China [1] and shortly after this infectious disease caused by acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) broke out in an ongoing pandemic.

The starting point of this pandemic in Europe, America and then globally was in February-March 2020, beginning with Italy where the first case was reported in January 30 and its spread escalated rapidly, but especially frighteningly. As of 13 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered Europe the active center of the pandemic[2]. On 19 March 2020, Italy overtook China as the country with the most deaths (3,405 by then)[3]. By 26 March, the United States had overtaken China and Italy with the highest number of confirmed cases in the world.[4] And so on and so forth; one after another many different countries from both continents, European and American, negatively ‘fought’ for the pall position in this pandemic. Either it was for the most infected country, the highest curve of rapidness, the largest rate of deceased, the largest number of daily reported cases or

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deaths, confirmed cases, healed cases or even the first City with the largest number of deceased by Covid19 [New York with more than 20,000 deaths in October or before that for months][5].

There are so many and various data to process right now and it is very useful to simply measure them for the moment. A time to learn from them will come eventually and new reports and conclusions will become our priority after lowering the threat. But no matter what angle we have while looking at this outbreak, regardless what specific impact of it we want to analyze, the ground fact is the same: it all started and escalated so rapidly throughout the entire world that no region was possibly hided from its haze.

II. Stages of social ‘welfare’ amid

pandemic

A. First stage, Imposing measures

For at least three months, February to May, the entire world had an ascendant curve on anything regarding this coronavirus: infected, daily new cases, acute to severe cases, deceased.[6] That was a period of irrationality, of fear in which we have built frightening scenarios, when the cases of infected grew so rapidly that all Governments could do at that point was to act in kind as humans, individual or species: protect what’s left, try to preserve the remains while taking drastic measures aimed at containing the disease. That stage was in fact governed by the afraid of extinction – no one spoke of, considered as a possibility, everyone denied it as even being feasible, but, deep inside, everyone saw it before their eyes. Under the influence of this emotion that has the most effectiveness and the largest amount of dopamine, and thinking that, even if the species as a whole might survive this threat as individuals, regions or even countries might not be that ‘lucky’,

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each and all the national governments took several measures to ensure our survival as many as it could be possible. For this first stage it was not concluding or considerable what other changes their decision provoked, what other negative impact will occur aftermath, or what set of human rights are disputed by the impositions. It was the stage of ‘acting before thinking’, a stage of ‘first aid’ that is always characterized more by emotions and less by reasoning, fear and anxiety mostly over other human emotions; This fear of human disaster stimulated in every person a behavior of ‘flight-or-fight’, entering a stage of self-preservation and disregarding everything taught before. It was brief, but strongest, thus the measures that have been taken overpassed the unimaginable of humans: constraints and limitations of rights were imposed as in a totalitarian and absolutist atmosphere – all in a beneficial and protective note. The main idea of this stage was to protect life itself by any means necessary and with all costs. What would be those measures imposed by each State in the World as precaution against the spreading of Covid-19 in the most dangerous and uncontrollable way? Strict surveillance measures are being enforced at airports, seaports and border crossings to prevent the disease wide-spreading into countries/ territories which either share a border with or are located in the neighborhood of most affected countries. Lockdown within countries or just regions were also immediately effective. It is very important to understand two things about this first stage: a) the need to respond rapidly to the Covid-19 crisis has led to the adoption of emergency measures and b) the measures adopted are allowing exceptions to the main principles of European and Global laws while most States that gave these impositions were previously declared as ‘democratic’. We have discussed a) while saying that everything was scarcely considered in perspective, with analytical depth and consideration of all domino

effects generated by these measures. Also, we need to take special care on b), but we will do this later on, when learning about second stage.

Whereas the spread of coronavirus outbreak [Sars-CoV-2][7], developing into a global pandemic situation, the governments everywhere have declared a ‘state of emergency’ to stop the spread of the pandemic as much as possible. What are the human/legal rights that you have faced as being violated under this pretext by the State? I mentioned also the ‘legal’ rights as if there are local constitutional lawful rights that are also violated by police enforcement or so. And the people that was ‘protected’ by the impositions against their will, but also in a state of low awareness, have reported these rights violations: the right of free movement, the right of congregation, the right of equal treatment (for businesses and shops), the right of schooling for children…

This is a stage of pure action[8], mostly without considering the effects of these actions themselves or even without caring about them at all, and the main reason of this course of action was always a greater good.

Thus, everyone was banned from public places, workers redraw from work, children from schools, and all these increasingly dramatic measures while the spread of the deadly contagion filled the hospitals at a level that doctors had to take another unprecedented decision, who lives or dies.

‘In normal conditions’ – a phrase that lasts on everyone’s’ lips this year – they shouldn’t have to make this decision, but now they are forced to do it so everything officials do is to protect the last barricade against this deadly virus, medicine. “We need to buy time for the medical research to find a cure” are the worldwide declarations, moreover since most countries, even those advised to face a pandemic have not been properly prepared and equipped to respond to such a biological ‘attack’. It is pointless to say that

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these so-called ‘predictions’ or ‘foreseen messages’ from previous years were taken as the complot of some ‘secrete society’[9] against humanity by those in favor of the ‘conspiracy theory’.

As proved by facts, there were so many collateral drama that have risen precisely of these first stage impositions that people took a step back in this ‘game’ of survival and started another stage. As a result of COVID-19, many companies moved to remote working in response to lockdown measures. Now many businesses have redesigned their offices, to account for social distancing, attempting to give employees the confidence to return.

B. Stage two, Reconsidering priorities

How can this interference of the Public authorities with your right be regarded, justified, or on the contrary, denied and fought against? Many people were directly affected by the pandemic in the first stage, but even more indirectly, through the crises that followed the impositions took ‘in their interest’. Thus questions like ‘what is worse…’, or sayings like ‘if the pandemic won’t kill us, the hunger will do it for sure’ gave people a brief moment of thinking and reconsidering their position regarding those impositions of the first stage. Not seeking or caring about the ‘greater good’, common people took that step back and leave Governments in off-side, drawing a line in this ‘reality’ and escaping to the other side of it. This second stage was established around April-May 2020.

“It is no secret that the lockdown and the health crisis will have major economic consequences. To avoid companies collapsing like dominoes, especially the most vulnerable already facing cash-flow problems, the government has adopted a three-pronged response, encompassing tax, employment law and direct support for

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companies.”[10] C. Stage three, Riots and disobedience

It was this brief stage two, of reconsidering our position in regard to the actual threat and the waves that are caused by the initial measures, which started stage three, riots and disobedience. This stage of reaction was initiated also by fear, by uncertainty, but this time not of the damages that could be caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but of all other major crises that are raised by the impositions against this pandemic.

There is an interesting case of events in this stage of denial, consist of the wave of speeches by supporters of conspiracy theories. At a time when the development of the epidemic was weakening, when the growth curves started to flatten, a movement of people questioning the danger of COVID-19 emerged. These people went out on the streets with the slogans ‘Stop PLANdemic’. According to the demonstrators, there was no pandemic, or it was much weaker than what the authorities suggested.

A large proportion of the demonstrators were those in favour of conspiracy theories.

The scenario they presented was as follows.

There is no virus, or it is just the common flu.

It is not dangerous, or in any case not more dangerous than the flu. The measures taken by governments are not really designed to protect the population and prevent the virus from spreading, but to restrict civil freedom.

Societies horrified by the Sarc-Cov-2 threat will not protest against the actions of the authorities without seeing their freedom threatened. What restrictions are we talking about? Various ones. First of all, the difficulties connected with everyday life. The obligation to wear masks and disinfect hands, obligatory temperature measurements.

Restrictions on traveling abroad, on the functioning of shops, cinemas, restaurants,

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attending religious public services, etc.

Secondly, more severe restrictions on civil freedom. Prohibitions on gathering in a larger group – is one that mostly bothers people due to its social impact on individuals.

Obstacles related to the holding of elections (presidential, local parliamentary elections), sometimes involving their postponement or cancellation. Surveillance activities are carried out by governments, such as registering and controlling infected persons, tracking their contacts to identify the spread of the disease. Finally, literal deprivation of liberty, such as when an infected person or a person suspected of being infected is placed under quarantine - then there is a ban on movement and the need to break the rhythm of the previous life.

Surely, the state of the pandemic restricts our free functioning, part of our civil freedom, but it is entirely a planned action of a global government? In the opinion of the opponents of PLANdemic, yes, it is.

They claim that the entire action of the authorities is aimed at making societies fully subordinate and facilitating their control.

Supporters of this theory are keen to cite the case of the United States, where, after the 9/11 attacks, horrified American society did not protest when the President and Senate adopted further legal acts that strongly restrict the freedom of US citizens, while at the same time strengthening mechanisms and institutions of social control.

For most societies, voices such as those above were a rather marginal part of the main political discourse. The anti-PLANdemic demonstrations gathered several hundred people at most, paradoxically increasing the risk of infection in this group. It is not entirely clear whether the personal experience of Covid-19, or the successive statistical increases in the incidence of the disease, has made these voices very quiet, and today not many people question the existence and danger of the virus.

D. Stage four, Relaxation to re-building

economy. Reopening businesses

Many officials were amazed by the side effects of the measures initially taken. At this point it was of the officials that took a step back and reconsider the catastrophic effects of their impositions over the entire society. ‘Maybe we have exaggerated a bit’, some of them eventually agreed and with this awareness a new process began, that of relaxation. It was a stage of awareness, when, balancing the harm caused by the medical pandemic with the damage caused by the restrictive measures, it was found that the latter are much more devastating and deeper for humanity than this pandemic could do. It is clear to everyone that the economy and businesses keep the whole society efficient and moving, in other words alive, and if some measures, no matter how well-intentioned or for any reason, are set up, make the interconnected system of businesses and other stakeholders to collapse so that humanity is doomed even if it comes out fully alive from this pandemic or other uneconomic crisis.

“As the latest data shows, the rate of deaths, new infections and hospitalizations appear to be slowing in some parts of the country and most states are making plans on how to restart their economies, leaving restaurant owners, in particular, with a tough choice: Open at the risk of a resurgence of the invisible contagion formally known as COVID-19, or wait until the scientists reach a consensus that it’s safe.”[11] It was during the summer of 2020 that most countries tried to reboot their economy by having all the previous considerations took in practice and give up the strictness of the measures so that the population could gain some economies for their daily needs. Knowing the severe effects of previous major economic crises [“the Great Depression” back in 1929-33[12]

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or the most recent one in 2006-8 in USA, Europe and beyond] over the population politicians get back into senses with these restrictions and forged the Media’s news about Covid-19 impact and spreading so that it could allow everyone to get back to work.

‘People need to get back work, with safety measures of course, but still they need to start up the economy nonetheless’ it was the most heard motivational speech of politicians and officials before the summer, late May and early June.

Now many businesses have redesigned their offices, to account for social distancing, attempting to give employees the confidence to return. Restaurants have moved outside, in the streets, to regain clients, hotels and touristic stakeholders lowered their prices while considering all the social safety measures in regard to their employees and for the clients as well.

From the other side of this picture, many people who found themselves unemployed overnight amid pandemic for obvious reasons [small businesses closed, factories reducing their numbers or go bankrupted, et all], went on to professional retraining as seasonal workers to finding easy and quick paid work. Thus, in mid-August most businesses were opened and fully functional on most economic sectors. Even with all the measure of precaution taken the rate of reopening was less than half, meaning that it is too low to place everyone far from bankruptcy or to get rid of mortgage.

“There is a question: are we going to make money given the new social distancing guidelines?”, was the main issue most small business have asked (mostly to themselves).

“Disparate reopening plans are going to continue to hurt small businesses, as they are particularly vulnerable to the economic impact of the coronavirus due to a lack of financial resources as compared to larger companies. With fewer resources available, many small businesses likely have not

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developed comprehensive response and recovery plans yet.”[13] Still, this was a step forward in recovery moreover since new infection rates drop during the summer, or at least so it seemed…

What also characterizes this stage is hope, hope that everything is now going back to ‘normal’, hope that we can adapt to the new conditions so that we can live our lives as we used to know it. “I think we’ll be OK, but it is NOT SUSTAINABLE for the long haul: we need to open up…We’ve survived the LA riots, we survived 9/11, we survived 2008…I think overtime we’ll adjust, we figure out how can we get back to as close to normal as we possibly can?”[14] It was either working from home as in IT or School sectors, confining serving food on Take-away format, working in more shifts in industries or installing new costly gears and expensive improvisations just to stay on tracks and earn some money. One way or another businessman found a way to continue working while seasoning all with safety measures. Pernice Ryan, head of three restaurants in suburban Atlanta, says “he’s been scouring the open market for masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, and rejiggering floor plans to do what most savvy restaurateurs would normally consider illogical: creating more space for fewer people.”[15] E. Stage five, Pandemic elevation and new

impositions

With this ‘breath of fresh air’ we witnessed many countries in Europe considering taking one after another relaxation measures to attract clients and restart business. So was the case with Greece, with Italy – the most affected country by Covid-19 pandemic in Europe – any other similar that have majority of businesses based on tourism and stakeholders. They considered reopening their borders for aliens very quickly and with only few, basic rules [e.g. a statement on

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one’s own responsibility at first]. “The GECS report predicts two scenarios for finance professionals to consider when planning for reopening. The first is that there is no significant second wave of virus infections leading to renewed lockdown measures and an inevitable return to recession. On this assumption, we expect the global economy to recover in the second half of this year and through 2021. However, even in this rosy scenario, most advanced economies are not likely to reach end-2019 levels of output until at least the second half of 2022.

The second scenario is that of a second wave. An increasing number of infections in Europe, South America and many U.S. states has raised fears of a second wave of the pandemic that leads to renewed lockdowns in a significant proportion of the world.”[16] After officials all over the world, notorious as Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and many others urged people to come out of ‘the hibernation’, leave lockdown and get back on the streets without masks and other additional precaution than usual, ideas also doubled by the statements of some specialists in the medical field we witnessed a second, steeper and more savage wave that hits the population. We see really serious spikes in the infection daily reports all over the world and people are wondering if it was because of these ‘encouragements’ that a second response-wave occurs quicker and stronger.

F. Stage six, Mistrust and more

disobedience

Being afraid of both scenarios, like Hercules once between Scylla and Charybdis, humans for most of the population redraw its trust from medicine, from its ‘final’ word on the matter and get more disobedience than before. At this level there are in public circulation so many and varied messages about the ‘real face’ of this pandemic

than we can even imagine. ‘Specialists’ in immunology urging people to go about their daily tasks without a mask and without being afraid because this is the only way they can build their immune system, confronting it directly and seeing what effects it has on them – as if we should risk and bet our lives to this confrontation. It is ‘viral’ the new approach two doctors from Bakersfield came up with regarding the wear of masks and our healthy. Drs. Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi from Accelerated Urgent Care held a press conference at their Coffee Road facility on April 22. They claimed their COVID testing proved the novel coronavirus had spread widely in the region and was thus less of a concern, but public health experts say they were jumping to that conclusion based on an unrepresentative sample.[17] These Bakersfield doctors was exactly what many stuck-at-home Americans and beyond wanted to hear: COVID-19 is no worse than influenza, its death rates are low and we should all go back to work and school.

Against everything we were thought about previously on how to avoid Covid infection they state that in reality “COVID-19 is being made out to be more dangerous than it really is”[18].

“When you wear gloves that transfer disease everywhere, those gloves have bacteria all over them. “I’m wearing gloves,” not helping you…Your mask that you’re wearing for days, you touch the outside of it, COVID, and then touch your mouth, this doesn’t make any sense. We wear masks in an acute setting to protect us, we’re not wearing masks (right now). Why is that?

Because we understand microbiology, we understand immunology and we want strong immune systems. I don’t want to hide in my home, develop a weak immune system, and then come out and get disease. We’ve both been to the ER through swine flu and through bird flu, did we shut down for those? Were they much less dangerous than COVID? Is the

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flu less dangerous than COVID? Let’s look at the death rates, no it’s not. They’re similar in prevalence and in death rate.”[19] ‘This is a serious infection and no amount of lifestyle intervention will make you invincible,’ says Dr Jenna Macciochi, an immunologist at the University of Sussex, whose timely new book Immunity: the science of staying well is out on April 16th.

[20] Other scientists say that lockdown and social distancing could make our immune system weaker; “Sunetra Gupta, professor of theoretical epidemiology at the University of Oxford, fears intense social distancing could actually weaken immune systems because people are not exposed to germs and so do not develop defenses that could protect them against future pandemics.”[21] You don’t have to be an expert in anthropology or sociology to foreseen how these statements can start a riot, mass disappointment in the State impositions and civil society dismemberment and destabilization. Now the question is who can possibly take advantage of this state of things in our society? Is it about ‘divide and conquer’? And then again who could ‘order’ such stepping into the limelight of some medical staff and to disavow the whole scenario on which the Covid19 spreading streak is being built, making them the promoters of a new scenario, which already proved to be harmful and futile in phase 4 and 5?!

The pandemic period has changed the agenda of the world so much that many issues became unspeakable. It seems that it will continue to be a predominant topic of economic, political, social, cultural, and religious discussion for some time. Topics discussed in the medical world just before pandemic were whether vaccines are effective in controlling disease, whether different recommendations in the field of healthy nutrition and alternative medicine practices are required. The increase in

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deaths due to Covid-19 pandemic has completely changed daily life as stated above. To prevent its spread, all countries have had to take extremely strict measures at the expense of stopping economic and social life almost wholly. The world economy is negatively affected by pandemic and pandemic measures in terms of both supply and demand. The slow-down or even standstill of economic life impacted the working life strongly and pandemic is presented in the financial circles as a major threat to employment. In this context, employment levels are expected to decline notably further over the pandemic times around the world.[22] Nevertheless, though every non-essential businesses and several branches of economic activity have been closed by virtue of restrictions and social distancing rule, some businesses, such as those in outdoor recreation and those working from home especially via internet without huge investment and social interaction, thrived.

As it turns out, the crisis caused by Covid-19, unlike the others that plagued the world, is completely human-oriented. The main factor that can help end this pandemic process is requiring people to strictly follow the hygiene rules along with mask usage, and as a precautionary measure to keep a safe space between themselves and others. In order to provide the necessary social distance, unless it is necessary, work processes in different business sectors and all kinds of teaching and training activities must be carried out through digital operation using online-remote working systems for a certain period of time.[23] “What is becoming clear is that the post-Covid-19 new normal will be different. Boston Consulting Group’s view is that “comfort with remote work will reshape our future workplace,” where flexible work arrangements will increasingly be the norm.”[24] Looking on the bright side, the possibility and success

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of remote working and distance education have been widely experienced and fully tested. In this process, the digital world is used effectively but we should learn to use it competently.

There is a rich literature on the effects of dreaded diseases in human history. In this literature, it is recorded how diseases affected both Western and Eastern civilizations. For instance, in the 14th century, the Black Death, the plague broke the Malthusian stalemate[25] and on the other hand it was the driving force behind the restructuring of European communities; genetic diseases changed the fates of the British, Spanish and Russian royal families over the past two centuries and played an important role as one of the factors resulted in the rise of Lenin, Franco and Hitler to power. In the last hundred years, we’ve seen “how increased opportunities for diseases transmissions have decimated populations, created panic, and fostered discrimination.”

We are painfully aware of how a contagious disease can lead to large-scale social and political changes and how it creates and worsens social tensions. In the past, diseases played a fundamental role in the spread of colonialism on African and American continents, and they forced the Irish people into mass migration due to demographic pressure and hunger; In the future, an unexpected disease can make the same effect in other places and in other ways.[26] Today, thanks to Covid-19 the importance of urban planning accord with fighting against disease and need for housing that observes public health is comprehended. In the first place, small towns across the world have been hard-hit by the pandemic, but it turns out that “small towns have the advantage of being more nimble and responsive to crisis than cities, largely because they have fewer regulations and more opportunities to be creative about problem-solving.”[27] A specific increase in the fear of pandemics

and lockdowns may prompt migration out of big cities and people flee cities for the suburbs. The “cities might look much as they do today – just a little less crowded, with a little more local open space, and with more of the resources they need to support themselves on the doorstep.”[28] Coronavirus pandemic, based on the death toll, is actually an epidemic with little effect than its historical counterparts. While it is difficult to predict how many people will lose their lives in total, it is possible to say that it will not be as deadly as the great outbreaks in history. This, of course, does not change the fact that the global economy will suffer severely because of measures to prevent the spread of the virus. The Covid-19 is considered the biggest global disaster since the Second World War.[29] It is evident that Covid-19 will compel many people to change the way they do things. However, it might be complicated how they will make their lives different. The pandemic periods have been destructive for everybody who have lost their parents, children and friends or got into a jam, but they have also caused notable opportunity and innovation.

Major infectious diseases have changed the course of the world throughout the history. Porphyria and hemophilia influenced political life in England, Russia, Spain, Germany, and the United States; The Irish Potato Blight caused waves of immigration that changed the policy of the United States. Cholera promoted taking hygiene measures, helped the development of nursing profession and caused the discovery of rehydration therapy. Smallpox led to the invention of the vaccine that allows the elimination of the disease. Bubonic Plague improved quarantine measures and attenuated vaccines were the result of outbreaks of tuberculosis. Syphilis opened the door for cure through chemotherapy.

Malaria and Yellow Fewer formed the

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basis for vector control. However, the two epidemics that engulfed the world, The Great Influenza and HIV/AIDS, have not been completely overcome yet.[30] It seems that the Covid-19 pandemic is a candidate for being the third quite a long time.

It was not foreseen that so many people would be affected. We had some very interesting observations in the process.

The most shocking of these were the high mortality rates in the developed capitalist countries of Western Europe and North America. Pandemic hit the big cities of the big countries. Socio-economically disadvantaged groups living in large cities were the most affected. Anti-racism protests over the murder of a black civilian killed by police brutality in the United States have emerged on the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this respect, it has been an expression of the disproportionately disadvantaged situation that poor people are living in. [31] There are important reasons why death rates in developed capitalist countries of the West are high. As with other similar diseases, the Covid-19 affects people with chronic diseases and is more deadly in those with heart condition, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases etc. As age increases, such chronic diseases increase, so the mortality rate in the elderly population is higher. Therefore, there have been too many deaths in aged care homes, especially in Italy. Turkey’s population pyramid was the advantage of being young. On the other hand, being in a culture that cares about the elderly has provided an undeniable advantage. Those who are ill have to be hospitalized and have access to proper care.

The countries with appropriate number of hospital beds and those having the essential supplies and devices such as inhalers and those have been able to coordinate between hospitals have succeeded. Death rates were lower in countries with high laboratory

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capacity.

Pandemic has closely influenced politics in all countries. Pandemic had significant bottlenecks since the beginning. There were significant problems in the diagnosis, treatment, and control of the infection.

There were areas where science could not respond quickly, and the empty spaces were quickly filled. In this context, a drug has been of interest to politicians.

Hydroxychloroquine was the most discussed drug in Coronavirus-19 disease.

President Trump has directly declared that the drug is so effective. What the scientists say about it? How were the studies? Without the opportunity to answer such questions, a polarization occurred between those on the hydroxychloroquine side and those against it. In the future, probably, this drug will be remembered as an example of the polarization of science. There are many lessons to be learned from this crisis.[32] According to the virologist Guido Silvestri, professor at Emory University in Atlanta, we should “invest in science, at all levels, and protect it from scoundrels.” and “support education in science and culture in general, starting from schools.” Serious information, without catastrophism and sensationalism, must be subject to inquiry.[33] Most important lesson Covid-19 pandemic must have taught us the importance of science in the first place. Hearsay information, superstitions and fake solutions quickly lost their importance. Galilee, the Italian astronomer, taught us that no power can stand in the way of knowledge based on solid foundations. Knowledge is power that is what the philosopher Francis Bacon said.

Studies, works and devoted efforts of health care providers, being in solidarity with each other under the guidance of science, has been our most important assurance.

Corona is not just a health crisis. It is also an economic and social crisis. In this crisis, some people think about their patients,

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while a much larger part thinks about their livelihoods. It is very important that people who feel more economically comfortable allocate a share of their personal budgets to social assistance.

Sociologists have not been able to reach consensus on where society and therefore civilization began. Those supporting the classical sociology theory say that civilization began with the distribution of more food because of the development of agriculture. However, the findings at Göbeklitepe excavations suggest that the need for worship began before the beginning of the settled life. a group of sociologists say that civilization begins with the rituals of social believing, that is civilization sprouted from religion, before agriculture. Moreover, Margaret Mead, the American anthropologist, has a very good explanation: Mead says the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Covid-19 shows us what our civilization is capable of and where it is fragile. It is up to all of us to look outside our own situation and do whatever we can and help by delivering our thoughts, even if we cannot reach out to the one next to us.[34] Developments shows that the whole world is going through a period of depression. The crises created by the periods of depression have always brought new fluctuations. During this period, a surge began and continues. Therefore, as seen in other fluctuations on the world scale, a number of social upsets will occur with the process we are experiencing and a new social balance will be found by forming a new order in a certain period of time. The question of what the new normal will looks like includes some question marks and obscurities.[35]

G. Final stage - for now...

The phase that emerged from the reappearance of the autumn increase in infections was clearly different from the earlier stages. It is a period of simultaneous calm and panic.

The earlier stages have slightly dormant our caution, gave us a lot of confidence, self -survival. On the one hand, people already knew what the epidemic was, what its symptoms were or expect to find out about its development. They got used to it in the media and the mouth of politicians. On the other hand, they have already got used to some of the restrictions and limitations. A lot of faith in improving the situation was given to us by the world of science. There are 150 laboratories in the world working on the vaccine, 30 of which may already be on the market in the coming weeks, months.

Doctors have ways to treat Covid-19.

Governments are prepared for the disease - there is equipment, staff, medicines. We are close to overcoming the virus. After 9-10 months, the pandemic is losing - just a moment more left.

It is also important that Covid-19 existed in the general public consciousness, but not necessarily in ‘ours’. At the beginning of the pandemic, IT had 1 infected in a million, then 1 in 100 000 citizens of the state. The media reports at first sounded ominous, but we got used to it. We are not personally affected.

Even when it appeared in our town, it was not yet our personal problem, not that of our family. When statistics showed that mortality was not exceptional, only for the elderly and the sick, the absolute majority of people slept peacefully. What is more, the governments, some authorities calmed the residents down - the apocalypse is not coming.

Everything started to change in the autumn. Suddenly, there were huge increases in the incidence of disease.

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Something that was supposed to end not only continued but was growing stronger.

Those whom we know began to get sick. The virus came closer and closer, and it turned out that it existed and was next door. Then, everyone knew personally someone who was ill, who was under quarantine. Finally, someone who died of it. The virus became real as it creeps in among us.

So far, the reassuring tone of the media has become less reliable. Information about the return of the lockdown. And increasingly worse reports from the front line of the fight against the disease - from the health service. The capacity of hospitals has slowly become exhausted. There was a shortage of places for patients. It turned out that lifesaving respirators might not be enough. The number of medical staff also turned out to be too small given the growing needs.

A new stage of panic caused some people to start to stock up on food and water, not like at the beginning of the pandemic, but to secure private medical equipment. Cheap medical devices capable of supplying oxygen, cheap respirators, and available supplies of oxygen in bottles were slowly disappearing from shops, from the Internet. While six months ago it was a niche product, which was only of interest to the medical industry, now private homes are being transformed into substitutes for private hospitals.

Societies have begun to move from ‘private prevention’ to ‘private treatment’.

And from ‘the virus is there’ to ‘the virus is here’.

Conclusion The psychological impact of fast, deadly spread of the new coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 has given us fear like as near to extinction and that caused drastic, unprecedented measure of precaution. Aftermath we have realized that in order to survive we need

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to get back to our daily chores and duties regardless of the Covid-19 menace. However, the new the state of vigilance and caution did not last long, and in some places, it was not even established due to the psychological blockage of ‘believing’ in such reality of the threat of this pandemic, considered either as only presumed, or at least exaggerated in effects and danger. People went to the streets where officials did not get aware of the inefficiency of precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the population while leaving the economy to dye. The easy way of assuming relaxation and reopening society, even with some social measures, has risen doubts to many that all these scary scenarios constructed in Media News along the 2020 are even realistic and true and they should not be entrusted with our wealth damaged.

As easily can be foreseen pandemic social spreading didn’t get a pause to let us earn money or trust, instead it took advantage of our ego and this lack of confidence in medical research/advices costs us the new wave of corona-spreading, more rapidly and acute then the first one. Now we stay aside and watch it grows among us, closer and closer to anyone. In the beginning, it was merely a rumor among some researchers in immunology, now it’s a fact that it/ pandemic will be ‘over’ when most of the population will get in touch directly with it [i.e. coronavirus]. Thus, it was surely and clearly foreseen that eventually, we all have to face its rage and get on a list, either of those immune, recovered, or deceased, but anyway infected. In conclusion, how we characterize pandemic of 2020? Fear and despair, then hope and courage, followed by another episode of rising pandemic, then fear, and hope again. What didn’t kill us makes us stronger, so we will figure out a way out of this and we definitely get rid of this eventually, of course not all of us…  At this juncture, we would say that nothing is yet ‘sure’ and we are walking on

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sand with all the knowledge we have on this pandemic. Consequently, it is up to each of us to write the end of this chapter, either taking into account of the safety caution measures – if we afford it financially until the ‘end’ – and thus still being here to tell the story by its bitter end, or making otherwise and researching what’s coming next on your own skin.

References [1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

“Timeline of ECDC’s reponse to COVID-19”, https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/ timeline-ecdc-response.

Fredericks B (13 March 2020). “WHO says Europe is new epicenter of coronavirus pandemic”. New York Post. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

“Coronavirus: Number of COVID-19 deaths in Italy surpasses China as total reaches 3,405”. Sky News. Retrieved 7 May 2020.

McNeil Jr DG (26 March 2020). “The U.S. Now Leads the World in Confirmed Coronavirus Cases”. The New York Times.

Retrieved 27 March 2020.

It is more important to know the rates in these cases because if the number is scary, comparing to the population the rate is even worse. For example, we may report that the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 100 per 100,000 population in NYC. That means for every 100,000 people living in NYC, there are 100 people diagnosed with COVID-19. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid19-data.page, Retrieved 7 October 2020.

All the possible and knew data about Covid-19 are taken from https://ourworldindata.org/ covid-cases.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus strain that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness.

Gorbalenya, A.E., Baker, S.C., Baric, R.S. et al. The species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat Microbiol 5, 536–544 (2020). https://doi. org/10.1038/s41564-020-0695-z

In spite of many comments of the current criticism, I won’t characterize this period as a ‘stage of restrictions’ and not because it isn’t but because that is not its motivational feature; instead fear and reaction to build safety is.

[9] This is not the place to advance and argue the declarations and suggestions of a conspiracy that was somehow proved by previous warnings about the possibility and imminence of this pandemic. Signals such as the movie “Pandemic”, “Contagion” (2017), Bill Gates declarations about that in 2018 and many others who seemingly predicted the coronavirus pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/peoplewho-seemingly-predicted-the-coronaviruspandemic-2020-3, accessed April 2020.

[10] https://cms.law/en/fra/insight/covid-19coronavirus/exceptional-measures [11] Bill Hutchinson, “Prospect of reopening amid COVID-19 crisis has some restaurateurs balking” in Abs NEWS, 5 May 2020. URL: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/restaurantsmull-reopening-amid-covid-19-pandemicrisk/story?id=70368692 [12] h t t p s : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o rg / w i k i / G r e a t _ Depression [13] Raef Lawson, “Financial Planning for Reopening Amid Pandemic” in IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), 12 August 2020. Retrieved from https://www.imanet. org/about-ima/news-and-media-relations/ ima-briefing/ima-briefing-list/2020/8/12/ financial-planning-for-reopening?ssopc=1 [14] “How restaurants plan to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic” in Abs NEWS, May 2020. URL: https://abcn.ws/3eqhLDl [15] Bill Hutchinson, “Prospect of reopening amid COVID-19 crisis has some restaurateurs balking” in Abs NEWS, 5 May 2020. URL: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/restaurantsmull-reopening-amid-covid-19-pandemicrisk/story?id=70368692 [16] Ibidem. June [17] Barbara Feder Ostrov, “Cue the debunking: Two Bakersfield doctors go viral with dubious COVID test conclusions” in Cal Matters, APRIL 27, 2020. Retrieved from https://calmatters.org/health/2020/04/ [8]

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debunking-bakersfield-doctors-covid-spreadconclusions/ accessed on October 5, 2020.

[18] Arjun Walia, “Doctor Claims That Wearing A Mask & Gloves Is “Not Helping You””, in CE – collective Evolution, April 27, 2020.

Retrieved from https://www.collectiveevolution.com/2020/04/27/doctor-claimsthat-wearing-a-mask-gloves-is-not-helpingyou/ accessed on October 5, 2020.

[19] You can watch the full interview here on our member’s platform called CETV. Accessed on October 5, 2020.

[20] Anna Magee, “Easy ways to boost your immune system to fight off coronavirus” in The Telegraph, 8 June 2020. URL: https:// www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/ easy-ways-boost-immune-system-fightcoronavirus/ [21] Steve Bird, “Lockdown and social distancing could make our immune system weaker, says scientist” in The Telegraph, 27 June 2020. URL: https://www.telegraph. co.uk/news/2020/06/27/lockdown-socialdistancing-could-make-immune-systemweaker-says/ [22] Yusuf Balcı and Güldenur Çetin, “Covid-19 Pandemi Sürecinin Türkiye’de İstihdama Etkileri ve Kamu Açısından Alınması Gereken Tedbirler”, İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 19 (37), 40-58, p. 40.

Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/ iticusbe/issue/55168/752714.

[23] ibid., 42.

[24] Sampath Sowmyanarayan, “Return to business as unusual: Workplace of the future”, Retrieved from https://www.verizon. com/about/sites/default/files/Return_To_ Business_As_Unusua-2020-White-Paper.pdf.

[25] The Malthusian Theory of Population is a theory of exponential population growth and arithmetic food supply growth. Thomas Robert Malthus, an English cleric and scholar, published this theory in his 1798 writings, An Essay on the Principle of Population. Retrieved from https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/ malthusian-theory/ [26] Irwin W. Sherman, Twelve Diseases that Changed Our World, Washington: ASM Press, 2007, p. vii.

Session 10. Bioethics - Science - Theology

Leah Kemp, “How small towns are responding to the global pandemic”, June 29, 2020. Retrieved from https://theconversation. com/how-small-towns-are-responding-to-theglobal-pandemic-141016 [28] Harriet Constable, “How do you build a city for a pandemic?”, April 27, 2020.

Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/future/ article/20200424-how-do-you-build-a-cityfor-a-pandemic [29] Emrah Gülsunar “Tarihte Salgınlar, Nüfus Artışı ve Malthusçuluk” [Outbreaks, Population Growth and Malthusianism in History], March 26, 2020. Retrieved from https://daktilo1984.com/yazilar/tarihtesalginlar-nufus-artisi-ve-malthusculuk/ [30] Irwin W. Sherman, Twelve Diseases that Changed Our World, p. viii.

[31] Önder Ergönül, “Pandemi Bize Neler Öğretti?”, Hekim Sözü, Sayı 9, MayısHaziran 2020, 16-19, p. 16 Retrieved from https://www.istabip.org.tr/site_icerik/2020/ hekimsozu/sayi9/syf_16.pdf [32] ibid., p. 17-18.

[33] Guido Silvestri, “10 lessons that the pandemic must have taught us”, May 17, 2020.

Retrieved from https://www.tellerreport. com/news/2020-05-17-coronavirus--thevirologist-silvestri--here-are-the-10-lessonsthat-the-pandemic-must-have-taught-us.

SJUidI6CqU.html [34] Hale Ceren Zeytinoğlu, “Covid-19’a Sosyolojik Bakış”, April 28, 2020. Retrieved from https://baslangicnoktasi.org/covid-19asosyolojik-bakis/ [35] Mehmet Karakaş, “Covid-19 Salgınının Çok Boyutlu Sosyolojisi ve Yeni Normal Meselesi”, İstanbul Üniversitesi Sosyoloji Dergisi, 40 (2020): 569-570. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/articlefile/1224651 [27]

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This page was intentionally left blank ** A piece by Shepard Fairey, in collaboration with Vhils, can be seen in Rua da Senhora da Glória Lisbon, Portugalia. It is the face of a woman, half painted, half carved, drawing attention to this otherwise common street. https://www.itinari.com/urban-art-in-lisboa-2the-melting-pot-zones-59gi

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This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Available online at www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

The fragility of the human mind under the infernal pressures from the Security George Văsîiʼs reshaped the world from the perspective of a detainee in communist prisons Andrei Ciornea

“Ovidius” University of Constanţa Faculty of Theology, Doctoral School in Theology ROMANIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 10 October 2020 Received in revised form 21 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.18

The present research aims to reveal a unique aspect of the confinement periplus of George Văsîi, one of the five young members of “The Burning Altar” group, as it was declared by the Security in 1958. The main source of the present scientific research was the files from the Archives of the National Council for the Study of Security Archives (ACNSAS) from which we selected a series of documents that directly concern Văsîi George. The reading of the pages that his criminal records consist of must be done with caution because they were designed to serve the purpose of supporting totalitarian communist power. The case of the group “Teodorescu Alexandru and others” must be understood in this context, when the atheist offensive of the regime was reaching its peak. The year 1958 represents the moment when the communist regime began the persecution of the Romanian Orthodox Church. As a consequence, Decree no. 410 in 1959, was adopted by the dictatorial communist regime and thus, many monasteries were closed and eight of the monks and priests having connections with “The Burning Altar” group were arrested under the most fanciful accusations, fabricated by the imagination of the Security, which guarded society against the disease of mysticism. Therefore, the purpose of this research sketch is to show how, by deepening of those pressures, the oppressive mechanism in the communist prisons conducted irremediable changes on George Văsîi’s physical and mental health, and these transformations generated the reconfiguration of his perception of the world and existence.

Keywords: formatting; Burning Altar; Father Daniil Sandu Tudor; students; Arhitecture Faculty; George Văsîi;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Andrei Ciornea. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Ciornea, Andrei. ”The fragility of the human mind under the infernal pressures from the Security. George Văsîi’s reshaped the world from the perspective of a detainee in communist prisons.”

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I. Introduction

Daniil Sandu Tudor was the Father who gathered the secular intellectuals and the clerics. He was preaching in an extremely credible way for a doctrine which was not accepted by the communist regime. The communist ideology imposed a specific world shape, in which God was missing. Moreover, those who supported God’s existence were forced to reconstruct their reality, even the change of the way they felt. The purpose of arresting some young believers in God was justified by one of the main charges - that the seniors from the ”Burning Altar” group had oriented the young’s education towards the mystical-legionary line. George Văsîi was among the first young people arrested. He and Șerban Mironescu, another member of the group, received the worst charge. The consequences of the abominable treatment to which the subject of the present study was forced to endure in the confinement universe, even during the investigation, would have irreparable effects on his mental health.

Unlike his colleagues from the Faculty of Architecture, George Văsîi had known Father Daniil since childhood [1], his parents, Petre and Victoria, offering him an education in the spirit of moral, spiritual and cultural authenticity. Predictably, in the eyes of the Security, this mystical-religious inheritance became an undoubted proof of unhealthy origins, especially since, at the time of his arrest, his parents had embraced the monastic life [2].

Why did the young George Văsîi, Șerban Mironescu, Nicolae Rădulescu, Dan-Grigore Pistol, and Emanoil Mihăilescu end up behind bars? The “between the lines” reading of the Security files proves that the investigators’ efforts were focused on justifying the main accusation on the “Burning Altar group” seniors (8 clerics and 3 secular people) namely that they would have oriented their

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education on the mystical legionary line.

In order to break any form of seniors’ resistance, the investigators focused their attention on the vulnerable points of the group, the young students. As George Văsîi was among the first arrested, the investigators resorted to terrifying means of persuasion on this novice [3]. The sentence was handed down on November 8, 1958, and the sentences ranged from 25 to 5 years [4].

The young class enemies George Văsîi, Șerban Mironescu, Nicolae Rădulescu, DanGrigore Pistol, and Emanoil Mihăilescu - in the transcript of the communist Security agents - were exemplarily punished for the iniquity of seeking answers to their great existential questions, so specific to their age. The crime was considered to be extremely serious because the people whom the young students had chosen to be their confessor priests were remarkable personalities. They remained in the history of the Romanian Orthodox Church models of faith, ministry and spiritual life. Because the Security considered George Văsîi as being the head of the students of the group “Teodorescu Alexandru and others”, he received 8 years of forced labour and 6 years of civic degradation [5].

II. THE CONFINEMENT HELL

It is important to understand that the destiny of a man who fell into the hands of the Security bears unimaginable distortions.

He suddenly became dangerous to those around him, or at least he was discredited, questioned. As for the philosophy of the functioning of the confinement system, here the basic attributions of humanity were simply annulled. Detainees - consequently class enemies - were considered dangerous subspecies for outsiders whom they could have attracted in their subversive actions.

The watchword now was repression. The

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initiation into this world dominated by constraints, more or less terrifying, more disfiguring, had at its end the ideal of shaping the new man (homo sovieticus). Snatched right from inside the Moldovița Monastery where, together with his friends and colleagues, he was working on the survey of the exterior painting, transported in a van with tin glasses on his eyes, so as not to see anything around, without knowing why it was arrested or where he would arrive, George Văsîi stepped into the hell of the investigation cells and then, into the prison’s hell. If we take into account the brutal ritual of stark-naked searching [6] that opened the long line of humiliation, insults and beatings during the interrogation, we understand why the effects of this abominable treatment of the 1958 investigation were not reversible in the case of the young George Văsîi. As Mr. Emanoil Mihăilescu pointed out, the first signs of his weakness, of mental wandering date back to this very stage, when the naive student, by virtue of his thorough Christian upbringing, tried to convert the investigator, which, predictably, brought to light the brutality and even the bestiality of the Security organ [7].

The cell was, in every sense, an antechamber of hell. From the first step in a penitentiary, the detainees found out, through various messages, which had as common denominator the brutality that their life is in the torturers’ hands.

Reduced to physiological machines’ status, of bustling wrecks, hungry, chilled, beaten with bestiality, many gave up easily due to this environment detrimental to their health. Any intellectual activity was strictly forbidden because the Romanian political prisoner represented for the repressive apparatus nothing more than an element in the category of non-speakers, immovables, objects. The existence of any writing utensils or sheets of paper in the cells were reasons for torture and hard prison days.

5 o’clock a.m. marked the awakening and the lights went out at 10 p.m. sharp. Within this period, they had to comply with the program fully. It was forbidden to lie on the bed for a long time, but only on the edge of the bed so that the guard who periodically checked them through the cell’s visor could see their hands as well. Silence had to be strictly observed, whispered conversations being a food of the soul often punished with beatings or isolation. The hope of coming out alive from this space had become more and more fragile, and only faith in God kept many of the detainees out from reaching the brink of madness.

III. THE CONFINEMENT PERIPLUS

How did the young George Văsîi endure this regime of extermination? What were the consequences for his health? Reading between the rows of the pages from file no.

377, in the CNSAS Archive [8], can provide clarifying answers. His confinement periplus gathered no less than five dungeons: the “C” Security Prison, Jilava, Stoienești, Salcia and Gherla [9]. In Jilava, according to his own confessions, he was a cellmate with Father Stăniloae Dumitru and Dan-Grigore Pistol. The Jilava penitentiary of those times had the appearance of an underground communist fort, with two-meter-thick walls, 5/5-meter vaulted cells where 20-21 people were crammed on metal beds superimposed on three levels, guarded by a metal door and with a large window with thick iron bars.

There was no sewerage so the detainees were forced to defecate in a barrel and the water was carried from the prison yard in a tin barrel [10]. The state of mind of the young George Văsîi was a tragic one, only the discussions with Father Dumitru Stăniloae about the Holy Fathers and about Maximus the Spiritual Communicator and especially the power of the Heart’s Prayer managing to snatch him from the clutches of despair.

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On December 24, together with GrigorePistol, he was moved to another cell, where his good friend, his former college colleague, Nicolae Rădulescu, was. The thought that those at home knew nothing about them because as I have already presented, they were forbidden to write at home and the trial was held in secret, without a public, the hunger that tormented them more and more represented the daily evidence: “When I arrived in the cell with Nae Rădulescu, the ration of polenta cost as much as a pack of cigarettes (no cigarettes were given either), and the bread weighed 100 gr. It had reached 75 gr. and only three times a week.

In the morning I received a kind of black tea, at noon and in the evening the «food» had become a soup: slopped bean, potatoes, barley or cabbage” [11].

After ten months of detention in Jilava, starting with August 14, 1959, George Văsîi was moved to the Stoienești labour colony, located somewhere in an island in Balta Brăilei. About 1,200 detainees had been installed in two barracks of about 70 meters, with bunk beds on three rows, without ceilings, so that you could see “the ties on the structural frame and the loose cardboard which the roof was made of” [12].

The prisoners had been brought to build an earth dam in order to protect the agricultural land from the overflows of the Danube. The conditions proved even harsher than those in the Jilava penitentiary. The unbearable heat, the dirt, the impossible work norms, the abominable beatings, the lack of medicines and especially of food make the detainees fully understand their state of rejection: “Most of us slept two in a bed.

Before going to bed, two large barrels were put in our barracks for the necessities of the night. These barrels had a terrible smell that we all endured because the regulations stipulated the lock of the barracks during the night and therefore it was impossible for us to use the toilet in the yard because there

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was no sewerage… ” [13].

From here, at the beginning of October, George Văsîi and Nicolae Rădulescu arrive at the savings, where they stayed only two months, the simply unbearable misery causing them to ask to enter the new brigades formed to dig drainage channels.

Before the winter came, at the new sorting of the detainees from Stoienești, carried out by two doctors who, without making any consultation, by a simple glance, dissociated them into fit and unfit, George Văsîi was separated from his friend Nicolae Rădulescu, who was sent in the camp of the unfit. During these two years while he was imprisoned in Stoienești, the young man ends up sinking into the abyss of despair: “A total darkness had set in my soul. I couldn’t pray anymore, everything was gone from my mind. I had become an animal mad with hunger, fear and cold” [14].

IV. MEDICAL SITUATION

An edifying document on the situation of detainee George Văsîi is the medical file for detainees, where the student arrested at the age of 23, who in the health section had only specified the diagnosis of “cardiovascular sclerosis with hypertensive disease TA20/ 10”[15], and in the antecedents, the operation of nasal polyps, tonsillectomy and appendicectomy, arrived on the hospital bed many times, in the period 1962-1964 being specified no less than 8 hospitalizations. On July 2, 1962, he was in the Salcia hospital in epicrisis, mentioning that he was readmitted on 12.V.1962-2.VII.1962 with the diagnosis of rheumatic endocarditis: «During the hospitalization, he presented precordial pain with irradiation on left u[pper]m[ember] (…), diurnal headache, sweating, weight loss (…).He is classified as temporarily unfit until he repeats the laboratory and radiological examinations. It is rec[ommended] the febrile curve to be observed»[16]. Less than

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a month later, he was hospitalized in Grădina Hospital for 11 days (30.07.1962-09.08.1962), diagnosed with “fever with joint reactions” [17]. Between 25.09.1962 -05.10.1962 he is found again in the position of a patient immobilized in bed, this time with osteoarticular tuberculosis with lordosis, in the hospital from Grădinacolony where he will be transferred to Salcia hospital, TB department [18].

Starting with 1963, the doctors who signed the medical file of the patient George Văsîi specify the same diagnosis: anxious visceral neurosis [19]. The frequency of hospitalizations and the period of detention of the patient for the administration of the treatment speaks for itself about the accelerated deterioration of his mental health: «Epicrisis: He was hospitalized in the Security Gherla, Internal Diseases Department, from 25.03.1963-25.04.1963, with the diagnosis of anxious visceral neurosis. (…) 2.08.1963 Anxious visceral neurosis (…) »[20].

V. ISOLATOR

In the Certificate of Characterization drawn up in his name, it can be found the information according to which during his detention he was “disciplined with 14 days for disorderly conduct in the room” [21]. Indeed, even a month before his release, according to the report in the CNSAS Archive, George Văsîi was in solitary confinement for 14 days (March 6, 1964, 6:30 p.m.- March 19, 1964, 6:30 p.m.), where, according to regulation, received food every two days (more precisely on the days of 6,8,10,14,16, 18).

The guardian, in a handwritten document that flagrantly violated the norms of the Romanian language, revealing his lack of any instruction, explained that George Văsîi would have been involved in a conflict in the cell: «The detainee showed above [George Văsîi] beat the detainee Tomoiogă Ion in the

room and when I went to them they told me to take him out of the room because if I don’t take him out they would beat him until he was killed »[22].

The episode can be read and interpreted in multiple. First of all, it is necessary to present, succinctly, what isolation entailed.

“Zarca”, “the black”, “the isolator” was a small cell, dark because there were no windows, in the center of which sat a chain.

It is easy to understand that for those thrown here it became an oven in summer and a refrigerator in winter. Without a bed (sleeping on the cold cement of the cell), feeding once in two days with a ration which, as we have seen, was kept to a minimum and obviously without the right to air (i.e. without the right to walk for an hour, right which they benefited from according to the regulation) or without outside visits, survival became a matter of luck. Spending 14 days here was equivalent to the safe illness of the punished. Among the most common conditions mentioned by the memorialists who have gone through this terrible experience are the loss of speech skills and severe disorders of the nervous system. Then, it becomes clear the decisionmaking power of semi-literate guards who could abusively order such a punishment.

If we take into account the fact that, in 1962, Gherla penitentiary had started to be reorganized, we could speculate on the nature of the above-mentioned conflict between Văsîi and Tomoioagă. From the guardianʼs point of view, the detainees were given a new portion of re-education but George Văsîi explains the incident from his point of view: “I had participated in the beating of a «snitcher» who had made us all «reactionaries» and «enemies of the regime». He had shown the height of his impertinence and insulted us as if he was not on our side with us, but a valuable man, and we were rejects. We were about 70 detainees in a large room of 20/8 and we

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were all outraged by the insults and threats of that individual…” [23].

VI. THE CONTEXT OF MEETING

HEGHEDUȘ IANOȘ

His colleague and friend Nicolae Rădulescu also testified about George Văsîi’s behaviour in prison, who, during his detention, met him again in Jilava and, several times, in the Big Island of Brăila.

Mental health disorders had become apparent. Unfortunately, when George Văsîi was hospitalized in Salcia, he met Hegheduș Ianoș there, in the hospital, an unfortunate event, this Hegheduș Ianoș being the follower of a sect that, among other things, considered himself an incarnation of a third of St. John the Baptist, a medium who would have had the power to communicate with the spiritual world. As we well know, the mental disorder of schizophrenia makes the patient misinterpret reality, see, hear and feel things that are not real. Therefore, for a schizophrenic man, meeting a person who pretended to see, hear and feel things that were not in the real world, had devastating consequences.

In his autobiography [24], George Văsîi confessed that Ianoș’s first spiritualism session he attended was provoked by the shocking news of Father Daniil’s death, when this medium convinced him that he could get in touch with the world beyond.

It is not surprising that the initiation started at such a moment, the most favorable, for a sectarian who wanted followers. The risk of being refused was almost zero under these conditions. Ianoș feeds the young man diagnosed with anxious visceral neurosis with hope for Heaven’s quick intervention on Earth, feeds him with the dream of building a New Jerusalem that he needed so much to cope with an extermination regime for which his mind and soul were unprepared.

Also from this period dates the desire

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to marry mother Veronica, whom he also saw in the same key, as a ”medium” that will facilitate communication with spirits.

George’s fascination with Mother Veronica was not recent, as he knew her as a child [25]. In fact, there was a considerable age difference between them: 15 years.

His parents, devout Christians, attended Tudor Vladimirescu Monastery in Galați, made important donations there and had a lively consideration for Mother Veronica, consideration obviously shared by their son.

Probably during this period of wandering, the idea that he would need a spiritual guide germinated and the fascination of the past became a fascination of the present. While being in prison, Ianoș Hegheduș made George understand that the appearances of Mother Veronica, in the shape of an old man who had come through the corn stubble, could be explained by the person of the great spirit Siu Karta. So George Văsîi considered the release from prison the special opportunity to meet Mother Veronica again to check Ianoș’s predictions and to fulfilled his dreams. What is certain is that immediately after his release he went to Poiana Țapului, the place where Mother Veronica was, and managed to convince her to become his wife.

CONCLUSION The reception of the subject of the present study arouses another lively controversy. And yet, isn’t it too easy to forget that for him, the man officially diagnosed with schizophrenia, there was no way to escape the traps of the mind?

Isn’t the cause that led to this onset of the disease too easily overlooked?

Unfortunately, only Nicolae Rădulescu is alive today, from the 16 people who composed, according to the Security logic, the group “The Burning Altar of the Mother of God”, in 1958, the year of their throwing

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into the confinement hell.

The price paid by George Văsîi was extremely high because, unfortunately, the young student, absolutely brilliant, was deeply marked during the investigation by the methods and techniques of the repressive and manipulative Security. The young man with real desire to be a leader, the integrative personality he imposed through his intellectual-moral stature, showed the first signs of mental lability during the investigation [26]. Subsequently, the deterioration of health will increase, as evidenced by repeated hospitalizations in psychiatric hospitals. It is impressive that this reality did not lead to the rupture of the friendship, the reconstruction of George Văsîi’s portrait through the evocations of his former colleagues - Nicolae Rădulescu and Emanoil Mihăilescu - keeping the lights of tenderness and generosity [27].

Beyond the particular dramas, the memorial literature corroborated with the official documents (see C.N.S.A.S.) offers an impressive amount of evidence of the struggle against the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Church’s policy of compromising using its increasingly diverse and treacherous means. For his colleagues and friends, Nicolae Rădulescu and Emanoil Mihăilescu, it was much easier to understand the devastating result of the mental illness he suffered because we had the term of comparison - George before the time of arrest and George after his release from prison. In the first years of his marriage to Veronica, George, newly released, embarks on their adventure of exploring the spirit world so that all his free time (he worked then, as I have shown, as a designer in an institute), was reserved this activity. Over time, the disease he suffered from gradually manifested and could not be ignored, causing unimaginable mental suffering and severe behavioral changes.

Without giving a verdict to the first and

posthumous reception of George Văsîi, we invite the reader to reflect on the multiple explanations on this topic, to select from superficial, conformist or, on the contrary, mythologized, sweetened interpretations of George Văsîi’s biography. moreover, the subject is not as simple as it may seem at first glance.

One reality remains, however, indisputable: the devastating result of the mental illness that George suffered from. The beatings at the beginning of the investigation, the infernal pressures from the Security, the physical exhaustion and the misery in the labour colonies, on a background of mental lability, influenced, beyond any doubt, the onset of the disease of the sensitive young George Văsîi and these transformations generated the reconfiguration of his perception on world and existence. In consequence, this analysis of the deepening of the contextual pressure effects can reveal some reshaped points of view, which are induced by contemporary problems, realities, and power mechanisms.

REFERENCES [1] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file. no. 000202, vol 1, f 15v.

[2] Carmen CIORNEA, Chipul Rugului Aprins [The Face of the Burning Altar], (Bucharest: Eikon Publishing House, 2015), passim; VladMITRIC-CIUPE, Arhitecții români și detenția politică 1944-1964. (Între destin concentraționar și vocație profesională) [Romanian Architects and Political Detention 1944-1964. (Between confinement destiny and professional vocation)], (Bucharest: Publishing House of the National Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism, 2013), passim; Ioana DIACONESCU, «Martiri la douăzeci de ani: studenții și „Rugul Aprins al Maicii Domnului”» [«Martyrs at the age of twenty: students and“The Burning Altar of the Mother of God ”»], in: Literary Romania, no. 1-2 (2014).

[3] Carmen CIORNEA, “George Văsîi – Student

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Of «The Burning Altar» In A Christian Paradigm”, Management Intercultural, 40 (2018), pp. 45-49.

[4] Carmen CIORNEA, “George Văsîi – Student of «The Burning Altar» in a Christian Paradigm”, Intercultural Management, 40 (2018), p. 48.

[5] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, File 000202, Vol. 4, ff. 216-230.

[6] Minutes no. 377 of the deposition and corporal search of George Văsîi, dated June 16, 1958, is in the C.N.S.A.S. Archive, Criminal Fund, file no. 000202, vol 7, f 35.

[7] Carmen CIORNEA, Chipul Rugului Aprins [The Face of the Burning Altar], (Bucharest: Eikon Publishing House, 2015), p. 152: «Unfortunately, George Văsîi, our friend and colleague, had crises, went through difficult moments of revolt, which cost him highly, much later. He had the first shock during the investigation, because they behaved bestially, they felt provoked. I asked him, “Okay, George, were you crazy?” How did you think you could convert the investigator?”

Because he did this: he tried to convince the investigator of the justice of his mystical, religious point of view. And, of course,this reacted violently, hitting him bestially. In fact, the conditions of detention were aimed at the physical extermination of the opponents. The dirt in prison, hunger, cold, torture, etc. they scared him. They slept in a sheep farm for a whole winter, where the sheep lived! But sheep had fur. Add all this on a nervous, sensitive background and you would understand how a man went crazy. George came out of prison schizophrenic».

[8] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no. 000202, vol 7, ff. 1-38.

[9] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no. 000202, vol 7, f.1.

[10] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006), p. 40.

[11] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006),p. 41.

[12] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț:

Session 12. History, Demography, Archaeology & Religion

Solteris Publishing House, 2006),p. 47.

[13] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006),p. 48.

[14] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006), p. 49.

[15] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no. 000202, vol 7, f.1.

[16] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no.

000202, vol 7, f 4v. The information is also confirmed by the confession of George Văsîi who recalled this period in the objectivelydetachedkey: “I was hospitalised in Salcia for a heart condition. A rheumatic endocarditis that gave me a fever that worried the attending physician,named Mircea Iacobescu,also recruited from among the detainees. Being in the hospital, I befriended a young man named Manea Dumitrescu, whom I called Mitel. He had lung TB, but he was going well. In a short time, we became very close and spent hours telling him about the Philocalie, about Pateric, about Andrei Scrima and Father Daniil, about “The Akathist of the Burning Altar” and about Vladimirești”- George Văsîi, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006), p.50.

[17] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no.

000202, vol 7, f 4v.

[18] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, File no.

000202, vol 7, f 4v. Here are the explanations that George Văsîi offers, related to this subject: “Left without Mitel, I decided to simulate an intense pain in the spine, using a small deformation of the spirals that could be felt by touch. Simply simulating the pain, the doctor of the colony hospitalised me in the infirmary and made a report to Salcia. This happened at the beginning of December, 1961 ” - George Văsîi, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life],(Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006), pp. 53.

[19] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, File no.

000202, vol 7, f 5.

[20] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no. 000202, vol 7, f 5.

[21] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, file no. 000202,

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vol 7, f 3.

[22] A.C.N.S.A.S., Criminal Fund, File no.

000202, vol 7, f 6.

[23] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006), p. 66.

[24] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006), p.

57: «The news of Father Daniil’s death was a real disaster for me. Stumbling, I returned to the room and, lying on the bed, faced down in my pillow, began to cry with hiccups. The man I had loved, the most cherished, was gone forever. I was crying out loud, and my colleagues were dismayed at not knowing what it was all about. Then, Ianoș approached, sat down on the bed next to me and in a gentle voice said to me: “He did not die; he lives; he is alive in the other world; he escaped this miserable life in the material body. He escaped pain and torment and now rejoices with his confreres! Get up! I want to look for him!”I rose to my feet and looked at him in astonishment. I did not know what he wanted to do. He closed his eyes and murmured, “In the name of Izmor, the Son of Light, let Daniel come!” I realized that he was a “medium” and that he had the power to summon the spirits of the afterlife: “A mature young man appeared, with brown eyes, lively and relaxed.”The spirit of the called one addressed his greeting to us. Then he began to speak through Ianoș. I recognised his language, the figures of speech, the intonations, the pauses he made in his sermons, in one word he convinced me that indeed, Ianoș really had Father Daniil in front of his eyes ».

[25] George VĂSÎI, În căutarea sensului vieții [In search of the meaning of life], (Piatra Neamț: Solteris Publishing House, 2006), p. 16: “It was in the spring of 1949 and I was not yet 14 years old, when on a dark and rainy evening, I stepped inside VladimireştiMonastery. I was looking forward to seeing the one who had seen God with her own eyes in the middle of a cornfield; the one who, through an incredible spirit of initiative, had managed, out of nowhere, to build a Monastery with over 200 nuns and sisters, all of them young, around the

age of 20-25.

That evening I heard Mother for the first time as everyone called her - and I cannot forget the strong impression that theangelic smiley face made on me, those warm eyes, as if they always were bathed in tears” .

[26] “Interviu cu domnul Emanoil Mihăilescu” in Carmen CIORNEA, Chipul Rugului Aprins [“Interview with Mr. Emanoil Mihăilescu” in Carmen Ciornea, The Face of the Burning Altar], (Bucharest: Eikon Publishing House, 2015), p. 152.

[27] “Interviu cu domnul Nicolae Rădulescu” in Carmen CIORNEA, Chipul Rugului Aprins [“Interview with Mr. Nicolae Rădulescu” in Carmen Ciornea, The Face of the Burning Altar], (Bucharest: Eikon Publishing House, 2015), p. 33.

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DIALOGO

This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

Multidisciplinary JOURNAL

held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Available online at www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

Prediction of Big Data Analytics (BDA) on Social Media: Empirical Study Ahed J Alkhatib

1 Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Forensic Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, 2 International Mariinskaya Academy, department of medicine and critical care, department of philosophy, Academician secretary of the Department of Sociology.

JORDAN

Shadi Mohammad Alkhatib Department of Software Engineering, Hashemite University, Zarqa, JORDAN

Hani Bani Salameh

Department of Software Engineering, Hashemite University, Zarqa, JORDAN

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 15 October 2020 Received in revised form 30 October Accepted 31 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.19

Currently, most studies are moving towards Big Data Analytics (BDA) because they are important in research, and this is becoming increasingly important as Internet and Web 2.0 technologies become increasingly popular and how to handle this massive data. Moreover, this proliferation of the Internet and social media has revolutionized the search process. With this Big Data of data generated by users using social media or electronic platforms, the use of these details and daily activities is integrated with tools designed for analysis. The topic of analyzing big social media will be discussed and an intensive explanation will be given to the topic of Big Data. This paper compares Big Data analysis techniques using several methods of analysis, the first technique using neural networks and the second technique using data clustering. The purpose of this study is to infer the ages that use social media and what are their interests in writing and in the end, who are the most widely used social media males or females.

Keywords: Big Data; social media; neural network; data clustering;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Ahed J Alkhatib, Shadi Mohammad Alkhatib, Hani Bani Salameh. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Alkhatib, Ahed J, Shadi Mohammad Alkhatib, and Hani Bani Salameh. ”Prediction of Big Data Analytics (BDA) on Social Media: Empirical Study.” DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 23-31. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.19

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I. Introduction

The popularity of the Internet has led to the presence of Web 2.0 technologies, which has given us access to all the topics views of Web 2.0, social media, and any electronic platform in the world over the Internet. Moreover, the spread, adoption, and reliability of social media have created sample opportunities and challenges for the researcher’s data. Globally, more than one billion people use social media platforms that generate data on a daily basis and form such data at short intervals. The huge amount of data generated by users periodically is a result of the integration of the backend details and daily activities in this paper. This huge amount of generated data, referred to as “Big Data”, will be explained recently.

Data are collected in the form of collections and these Big Data collected can be structured, semi-structured or unstructured in various fields. Such as social networks and health care [1]. Every day, a large number of social media is shown, opening up an area of artificial intelligence and data analysis. It is currently an analysis of social media data using automated learning and data extraction.

It is one of the most important fields. It is an active field of research. It includes the contents of social media such as comments, posts, blogs and references, which contributed to the creation of Big Data on a wide range of different websites or system providers. Basic [2, 3] For example, disclosing information to a particular system can take the views of people and these views lead to improved decision-making processes.

This study deals with the work analyzed in large neural network processes using machine learning methods. In this study, we analyze social media data, including the target ages in the analysis process or the ages that use social media frequently or on a daily basis. Second, we determined the

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highest percentage of people who use social media, whether they are males or females.

II. Literature Review

Behavioral factors or changes that occur on content before and after publication and how this content is interacted by monitoring and analyzing all individual activities via Facebook, its mechanism uses Difference in Differences (DID)analysis [4].

How to collect information from social media and make a survey to inquire about these data, in return for the result of this examination or query will lead to an expansion in the world of Wikipedia and the most important factor of the data is the chronological order of social relations. Its mechanism is used for temporal statistical analysis [5].

How to deal with the amount of social data available via the Internet. To analyze this data, Hadoop and Spark were used to analyze Big Data, in addition to the proposed algorithm to reduce data-processing costs, its mechanism uses performance analysis [6].

A solution or algorithm for analyzing Big Data using an intra-model reservation algorithm that follows key words for analysis. Its mechanism uses event detection and analysis [7].

The introduction of tips to use social applications that can be used, such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, and Second Life, to take advantage of this data and support the decision. [8].

How people communicate with each other and must provide platforms for communication among themselves and must encourage customers to participate in these platforms [9].

Six types of flow patterns were used for the video to two-dimensional images. This feature is used for image processing [13].

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The results corroborate that the performance of the support vector machine and fuzzy logic algorithms with fewer features offer better accuracy than other machine learning algorithms. These are also computationally less intensive than the other two current techniques [13].

internal state activation received from input [11].

Financial transactions are presented and social media data are collected to calculate the credit score. artificial neural networks are used to obtain a general understanding of them [12].

A. Artificial Neural Networks

III. Research questions, research

An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is a computational display that endeavors to represent the parallel idea of the human mind.

An (ANN) is a system of very interconnecting handling components (neurons) working in parallel. These components are motivated by organic sensory systems. As in nature, the associations between components to a great extent decide the system work.

Figure1: A Typical Neural Network.

This algorithm relies on image processing and optimization of filters to maintain image processing. Using a low-level structure. [14].

Social relationships depend on the different users of social networks to find a link between network theory and communication [15].

The concept of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) of the most important modern science that focuses on identifying functions of identifying patterns such as images or solving algorithms [10].

Artificial neural networks are inspired by brain modeling called neurons or perceptrons, which are effluents by their

objectives, and methodology

A. Research Questions

This article attempts to identify a set of questions that must be answered explicitly and clearly. These questions are answered based on Big Data and are analyzed using several methods. Finally, these questions are answered.

Q1: What are the ages that use social media?

In this question, we will look at the ages that are most commonly used for social media.

Q2: Who are the most commonly used people for social media, male or female?

In this question, we will look at who are the most commonly used social media, male or female.

Q3: What are people’s interests in writing?

In this question, we will look at the interest of people and what their hobby is in writing.

B. Research Objectives

A neural network is a system of devices or software that is designed similar to that of neurons in the human brain. Neural networks are also called artificial neural networks (ANNs). Moreover, artificial intelligence (AI) has a section including deep learning. In this research paper, project

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data were used, called the social network, and the analysis process was performed using neural network devices. The analysis contains the following data such as number, name, age, source, followers, interests, and Twitter location.

C. Research Methodology

The proposed research methodology used in this study as follows: Step 1: Select new development project applications. The project of ISBSG. More specifically, the way the Excel.

Step 2: Select the attributes.

Step 3: Filter the data through Excel.

Step 4: Divide the data into two sections, Facebook and Twitter and each of them will choose specific attributes to answer the three questions in this search.

Step 5: Analyze the data based on data clustering.

Step6: Analyze data based on the neural network Model.

Step7: View the results of the research and discussions.

Figure 2 illustrates the detailed research methodology done to achieve the research objectives as follows: To read the data from the excel, select the required features, with filter projects, can be divided into development or promotion projects, and then detect extreme programs based on selected features will be used techniques, in the end, get results, for example, data analysis based on data clustering and neural networks.

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Figure 2: Detailed

methodology

IV. Experimental Results A. Independent Variable

The following Table1 shows the variables used in the analysis of the data will be clarified. These variables depend mainly on the analysis process and are of great importance. The following table shows the variables used: Environmental data S. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Predictor Variable

Measurement

User ID Name Age Source Followers Friends Number tweet Reply count

number liter number liter number number number number

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9 10 11 12

Tweet location Reply location Re-tweet count Re-reply count

liter liter number number

13

Tweet messages

liter

Table 1: Predictor

13

Table 2: Description

variable of datasets used in the study

The following Table2 explains all the variables used in the data analysis will be explained in detail. These variables are mainly based on the analysis process and are of great importance.

S. No 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11

Re-reply count Tweet messages

12

Environmental data Predictor Description of Data Variable User ID of each person User ID using social media Name of each person Name using social media The age of everyone Age who uses social media Type of social media Source Facebook and Twitter Number of followers who use the Twitter Followers platform for a particular person Number of people using Friends the Facebook platform for a particular person Number The number of tweets tweet that are used for a particular person Reply The number of posts for count a particular person Tweet From where Tweet has location been Reply Wherever the comment location was made Re-tweet How many times have count been replying to tweets

How often comments have been answered Content or Twitter messages of data in each predictor variable

B. Techniques The Big Data analytics techniques in the social media context are related to neural networks and data clustering. This section presents important techniques for Big Data analytics with respect to social media data analysis.

C. Analysis of results using Neural Network The data must be analyzed to determine who is using Facebook and Twitter and what are their writing Interests, which are the target ages in this study, we must mention the name of the set of data used is a social network, and the analysis process using the multilayered algorithm.

4.C.1) Analyze data people who use Facebook In this section, we need to analyze the data of the people who use Facebook and their written interests and the target ages, and the analysis process using a multi-layer algorithm.

Case Processing Training Testing Valid

Sample

Excluded

Number of Test 1338 554 1892

Percent 70.7% 29.3% 100.0%

0

Total

1892

Table 3: Case

processing summary

In the previous Table 3, gives us a complete summary of the samples and cases taken from the social data network (Facebook) conducted on the total operations: training, testing, and results can be tracked in percentages.

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Factors

1 2 1 2

I n p u t Covariates Layer Number of Units

Age Message Friends Rereplycount

Training

33

Testing

H i d d e n Number of Units in 8 a Layer(s) Hidden Layer 1 Hyperbolic tangent Gender

2 O u t p u t Number of Units Layer Activation Function Softmax Error Function Table 4: Network

823.569

Percent Incorrect Predictions

30.5%

Rule

Training Time

Number of Hidden 1 Layers

Dependent 1 Variables

Cross-Entropy Error

Stopping Used

Rescaling Method Standardized for Covariates

Activation Function

C r o s s entropy information

In the previous table4, gives us a complete summary of the network information (Facebook). In this table, we summarize the process used, namely the inputs and the process of processing and output. In the first stage. of the input you use the attributes of age, messages, friends, etc. In the second stage, the phase splits data into layers and is divided into 8 layers. In the last stage, this stage is called the output and this stage depends on the main factor in the classification is gender (male or female).

1 consecutive step(s) with no decrease in error 0:00:00.74

Cross-Entropy Error

323.332

Percent Incorrect Predictions

26.7%

Table 5: Model

summary

In the previous table5, gives us a complete summary of the network information (Facebook).

This stage is divided into two parts is the first training in this section has several operations, including the percentage of incorrect predictions and time factor in the stage of division, etc. In the second section are the percentage of error tests and the percentage prediction, dependent variables gender.

In the Figure 5, gives us a complete summary of network information (Facebook). In this table, we summarize the process used, namely input, process and outputs. However, at this stage, the text has been converted to visualization for easy data understanding and is always the best way to represent data.in the table below, these images will be summarized to be clarified by typing all data in a table.

Figure 5: Result

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Results

Information Processing

Information Processing Results

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of data

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Table 6: Parameter

estimates

In the previous Table 6, this data was derived from Figure 5. All ages using Facebook were derived from the dataset taken and what interests people in writing.

8 hidden layers were used to linkages and interests, and whether the person using Facebook is male or female.

the source variable (Facebook). Depending on these two variables, the most commonly used category in Facebook was identified as male or female. The answer is male based on the existing data, and the color (red) indicates the male by drawing.

Predictor

Importance

Normalized Importance

Age Message Friends

.241 .156 .200

59.7% 38.7% 49.7%

Re -reply count

.403

100.0%

Predicted Sample

Training

Testing

Observed

female

male

female

5

405

Percent Correct 1.2%

male Overall Percent female

3

925

99.7%

0.6%

99.4%

69.5%

2

145

1.4%

male

3

404

99.3%

Overall Percent

0.9%

99.1%

73.3%

Table 8: Independent

Table 7: Classification

In the previous table 7, two methods of classification were used: training and testing.

In both cases, male and female samples were taken, and according to these samples, samples were given in percentages. This table is based on the dependent variable gender.

In the previous table 8, is one of the most important tables because it shows the most important variables and what is the most important factor. Depending on the response table the response re-reply count is the most important factor among all the factors.

Figure 5: Independent

Figure 4: Predicted

vs. gender

In the previous figure 4, we took the x and y axis. The x axis is defined as the variable that is called the y-axis and y-axis of

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variable importance

variable of the model summary

In the previous Figure 5, is one of the most important charts because it explains the most important variables and what is the most important factor? Depending on the diagram, the information or factors are explained more clearly than the tables. The re-reply count is the most important factor among all factors.

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Figure 8:

Distribution

of message and age

In the previous Figure 8, message distribution and age are determined by percentages. Data is distributed based on the largest category of messages (attack, media, politics, personal, etc.) and age of people using Facebook.

Figure 6: Type

of gender

In the previous figure 6, the distribution of gender (male, female) is indicated by percentages. The percentages of males is 70.65% and females are 29.35%.

Figure 9:

Distribution

of message and source

In the previous Figure 9, this picture uses a number of factors have been adopted to find an illustration of the people who use the social networking platform (Facebook), and through the picture shows that the number of males is more used than the number of females, and also explains the interests of people in expressing their opinion through Facebook.

Figure 7:

Distribution

of age and name

In the previous Figure 7, the distribution of age and name is determined by percentages. The data are distributed depending on the largest category of name, age and given percentages.

Figure 10:

Distribution

of gender and name by name

In the previous Figure 10, the picture shows in detail the ages that use Facebook and they are divided into two parts: first, males, and what are the most used ages

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for Facebook, and the second most used females for Facebook. Other factors, such as name and interests, were also used and the proportions were distributed as shown.

4.C.2) Analyze data on people who use Facebook

Number of cluster

In this section, the data must be analyzed using another method, namely, the analysis of the K-Means group: Predictor

Number of Cluster 1

2

3

4

5

User id

1297069

2193473

1893767

1594793

1000768

Age

1982

1990

1986

1999

1995

Reply count

0

0

2

0

0

Friends

0

0

2

0

1

Reply count

2

2

2

1

1

Table 9: Initial

1

Missing Table 11: Number

In this section, we need to analyze the data of the people who use Twitter and their written interests and the target ages, and the analysis process using a multi-layer algorithm: Training

Number of Test 929

Testing

1894248

1590996

1070991

Age Reply count Friends

1993

1992

1993

1993

1993

4

8

4

4

8

10

18

11

14

35

2

2

2

2

1

70.5%

389

29.5%

1318

100.0%

Excluded

0

Total

1318

Table 12: Case

processing summary

In the previous Table12, a complete summary of the samples and case taken from the social data network (Twitter) conducted on the total operations: training, testing and results can be tracked in percentages.

5

2116645

Percent

Valid

Information Processing

1290069

Factors Covariates Input Layer

Table 10: Final Cluster Centers

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.000 of cases in each cluster

4.C.3) Analyze data on people who use Twitter

Sample

User id

Reply count

Valid

cluster centers

Number of Cluster 2 3 4

446.000 246.000 493.000 463.000 244.000 1892.000

Case Processing

In the previous Table 9, In this table the sample is taken from each factor more accurately (taking values for each factor).

This table is considered the first in terms of taking values was done to five clustering information and created the so-called prototype. One of these factors is age, reply count, friends, etc.

Predictor

1 2 3 4 5

Cluster

k-means clustering aims to partition n observations into k clusters in which each observation belongs to the cluster with the nearest mean, serving as a prototype of the cluster. This results in partitioning of the data space into cells.

Results

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1 2 1 2

Results Age Message Followers Retweetcount

Number of Units

31

Rescaling Method for Covariates

Standardized

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Hidden layer(s)

Number of Hidden Layers Number of Units in Hidden Layer 1a

8 Hyperbolic tangent

Activation Function Dependent 1 Variables Number of Units

Output Layer

error tests and the percentage prediction, dependent variable is gender. dependent variable is Gender.

1

Gender 2

Activation Function

Softmax

Error Function

Cross-entropy

Table 13: Network

information

In the previous Table13, a complete summary of the network information (Twitter). In this table, we summarize the process used, namely the inputs and the process of processing and output. In the first stage. of the input, you use the attributes of age, messages, followers, etc.

In the second stage, this phase splits data into layers and is divided into 8 layers. In the last stage, this stage is called the output and this stage depends on the main factor in the classification is gender (male or female).

Training

Testing

Information Processing Cross Entropy Error Percent Incorrect Predictions Stopping Rule Used Training Time Cross Entropy Error Percent Incorrect Predictions Table 14: Model

Results 534.896 27.3% 1 consecutive step(s) with no decrease in error 0:00:00.92 230.821 28.3%

summary

In the previous table14 gives us a complete summary of the network information (twitter). In this stage is divided into two parts is the first training in this section has several operations, including the percentage of incorrect predictions and time factor in the stage of division, etc. In the second section are the percentage of

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Figure 11: Result

of data

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In the previous Figure 11, a complete summary of network information (Twitter) is given. In this figure we summarize the process used, namely input, process and outputs. However, at this stage, the text has been converted to visualization for easy data understanding and is always the best way to represent data. In the table below, these images summarized to be clarified by typing all data in a table.

Information Processing

Predictor Input Layer

Predictor Input Layer

and whether the person using Twitter was male or female.

Sample

Training

Results [Age=1980] [Age=1981] [Age=1982] [Age=1984] [Age=1985] [Age=1987] [Age=1988] [Age=1989] [Age=1990] [Age=1991] [Age=1992] [Age=1993] [Age=1994] [Age=1995] [Age=1996] [Age=1997] [Age=1998] [Age=1999] [Age=2000] [Message=attack] [Message=constituency] [Message=information ] [Message=media] [Message=mobilization] [Message=other] [Message=personal ] [Message=policy] [Message=support] Followers

Testing

female

male

Percent Correct

female

7

244

2.8%

male Overall Percent female

10

668

98.5%

1.8%

98.2%

72.7%

2

108

1.8%

2

277

99.3%

1.0%

99.0%

71.7%

male Overall Percent

Classification

In the previous table 16 this data was derived from the figure 11. All ages using twitter were derived from the dataset taken and what interests people in writing.

8 hidden layers were used to link ages and interests, and whether the person using twitter was male or female.

Figure 12: Predicted

estimates

In the previous Table 15, this data was derived from Figure 11. All ages using Twitter were derived from the dataset taken and what interests people in writing. 8 hidden layers were used to link ages and interests,

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Predicted

Table 16:

Retweet count

Table 15: Parameter

Observed

vs. gender

In the previous figure 12, we took the x and y axis. The x axis is defined as the variable that is called the y-axis and y-axis of the source variable (twitter). Depending on these two variables, the most commonly used category in Twitter was identified as male or female. The answer is male based on the existing data, and the color (red) indicates the male by drawing.

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Predictor

Importance

Age

.347

Normalized Importance 99.2%

Message

.349

100.0%

Followers

.144

41.1%

Retweetcount

.161

Table 17: Independent

In the previous Figure 14, the distribution of gender (male, female) is indicated by percentages. The percentages of males is 72.61 and females are 27.39.

46.0% variable importance

In the previous Table 17, is one of the most important tables because it shows the most important variables and what is the most important factor. Depending on the table, the message is the most important factor among all the factors.

Figure 15: Distribution

of age and name

In the previous Figure 15, the distribution of age and name is determined by percentages. The data are distributed depending on the largest category of name, age and given percentages.

Figure 13: Independent

variable of model summary

In the previous Figure 13, is one of the most important charts because it explains the most important variables and what is the most important factor? Depending on the diagram, the information or factors are explained more clearly than the tables.

The message is the most important factor among all factors.

Figure 16: Distribution

of message and age

In the previous Figure 16, message distribution and age are determined by percentages. data are distributed based on the largest category of messages (attack, media, politics, personal, etc.) and age of people using Twitter.

Figure 14: Type

of gender

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males, and what are the most used ages for Twitter, and the second most used females for Twitter. Other factors, such as name and interests, were also used and the proportions were distributed as shown.

4.C.4) Analyze data on people who use Twitter

In this section, the data must be analyzed using another method, namely, the analysis of the K-Means group: Predictor Figure 17: Distribution

of message and source

In the previous Figure 17, In this picture, a number of factors have been adopted to find an illustration of the people who use the social networking platform (Twitter), and through the picture shows that the number of males is more used than the number of females, and also explains the interests of people in expressing their opinion through Twitter.

1

Number of Cluster 2 3 4

5

Userid

1000455

1892673

2193232

1596443

1297138

Age

1985

1997

1998

1988

1998

Number tweet

607

743

16688

16688

656

Followers

158

392

29209 29209

139

0

0

Retweet count

Table 18: Initial

0

0

0

cluster centers

In the previous Table 18, In this table the sample is taken from each factor more accurately (taking values for each factor).

This table is considered the first in terms of taking values. was done to five clustering information and created the so-called prototype. Other factors are age, number of tweets, followers, etc.

Predictor

Figure 18: Distribution

2

3

4

5

Userid

1085193

1897855

2117932

1590905

1290858

Age

1991

1992

1991

1991

1991

Number tweet

3390

3267

3607

3172

3175

Followers

3338

3142

3365

2948

2786

Retweet count

0

0

0

0

0

Table 19: Final

of gender and name

In the previous Figure 19, the picture shows in detail the ages that use Twitter and they are divided into two parts: first,

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Number of Cluster 1

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cluster centers

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Number of cluster

Results

1 2 3 4 5

Cluster

162.000 338.000 144.000 335.000 339.000 1318.000

Valid Missing

.000

Table 20: Number

of cases in each cluster

Conclusion The enormous information about life on the Internet has evolved along with the advancement of computer tools as a way of critical experiences in human behavior.

It has been constantly raised by companies, people, and governments. The paper discussed several of their fundamentals by analyzing Big Data. This paper was divided into two sections in terms of social media to Facebook and Twitter and it was found that the age group based on the data used ranges from the twenties to the thirties.

Second, the people were divided into two parts in terms of communication, mail to Facebook and Twitter have been reaching the people most frequently used for social networking based on the data used are males also were divided. Third of people into two parts in terms of social media to Facebook and Twitter were to reach most of the concerns of people confined attack, personal, support, constituency, policy, media, information, mobilization, and others. Finally, we see the difficulties of open research in the testing of Big Data because it depends on the type of data and how to analyze it.

References [1] Hashem, I. A. T., Yaqoob, I., Anuar, N. B., Mokhtar, S., Gani, A., Khan, S. U. The rise of “Big Data” on cloud computing: Review and open research issues. Information systems,

2015, 47, 98-115.

[2] Kwon, O., Lee, N., & Shin, B. Data quality management, data usage experience and acquisition intention of Big Data analytics.

International Journal of Information Management, 2014; 34(3), 387-394.

[3] Lyu, K., & Kim, H. Sentiment analysis using word polarity of social media. Wireless Personal Communications, 2016; 89(3), 941958.

[4] Grinberg, N., Dow, P. A., Adamic, L. A., Naaman, M.. “Changes in engagement before and after posting to facebook”. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

[5] Do, N., Rahayu, W., Torabi, T. A query expansion approach for social media data extraction. International Journal of Web and Grid Services, 2016; 12(4), 418-441.

[6] Santos, M. C., Meira, W., Guedes, D., Almeida, V. F. (2016). “Faster: a low overhead framework for massive data analysis.” Paper presented at the Cluster, Cloud and Grid Computing (CCGrid), 2016; 16th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on.

[7] Li, J., Rao, Y., Jin, F., Chen, H., Xiang, X. “Multi-label maximum entropy model for social emotion classification over short text.”

Neurocomputing, 2016; 210, 247-256.

[8] Kaplan, Andreas M., Michael Haenlein.

“Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media”. Business horizons, 2010; 53 (1), 59-68.

[9] Mangold, W. Glynn, and David J. Faulds.

“Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix”. Business horizons, 2009; 52 (4): 357-365.

[10] Nguyen, Anh, Jason Yosinski, and Jeff Clune.

“Deep neural networks are easily fooled: High confidence predictions for unrecognizable images”. In Proceedings of the IEEE conference on computer vision and pattern recognition, pp. 427-436. 2015.

[11] Fulcher, J. “Computational intelligence: an introduction Computational intelligence: a compendium” (pp. 3-78): Springer, 2008.

[12] Ghiassi, M., Zimbra, D., Lee, S. “Targeted twitter sentiment analysis for brands

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using supervised feature engineering and the dynamic architecture for artificial neural networks.” Journal of Management Information Systems, 2016; 33(4), 1034-1058.

[13] Shanthi, C., Pappa, N. “An artificial intelligence based improved classification of two-phase flow patterns with feature extracted from acquired images.” ISA transactions, 2017; 68, 425-432.

[14] Fan, Z., Bi, D., He, L., Shiping, M., Gao, S., Li, C. “Low-level structure feature extraction for image processing via stacked sparse denoising autoencoder.” Neurocomputing, 2017; 243, 12-20.

[15] Serrat, O. “Social network analysis Knowledge solutions” (pp. 39-43): Springer, 2017.

Biography Dr. Ahed Alkhatib has finished his PhD from Cambell State University in 2011. I am currently working as a clinical researcher at faculty of medicine, Jordan University of Science and technology.

Over the time, I have published more than 200 articles in various medical fields including neurosciences, pharmacology, and diabetes. My approaches in research include the involvement of philosophy of science in research which gives looking, and thinking in depth. I have developed several hypotheses in medicine such as the role of white matter in initiating diseases such as diabetes. In microbiology, I have demonstrated that prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells are similar in producing cell cycle proteins which can participate in autoimmunity diseases.

Research interest: Setting medical hypotheses and writing book in different fields, of which two books have already been written and distributed in the world market.

Other interests include:

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• • • • • •

Neurology Pharmacology Philosophy of science Tumor research Behavioral biology Emergency medicine

SECTION 14

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DIALOGO JOURNAL 7 : 1 (2020) 243 - 259

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This paper was presented at

The Annual Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology (DIALOGO-CONF 2020 VIC)

Multidisciplinary JOURNAL

held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Available online at www.dialogo-conf.com/dialogo-journal/

The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Faith Problems – Biblical Arguments Assist prof. Rev. Nicolae Popescu, Ph.D. The Faculty of Theology, ‘Ovidius’ University of Constanța, ROMANIA

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 22 September 2020 Received in revised form 07 October Accepted 10 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.20

Why does God tolerate Coronavirus pandemic? Here is a partial and unjustified accusation, which would receive a short answer if it were just a question because, for two thousand years, God has not tolerated evil in any of his appearances! The Savior Himself came for the sick and sinners, not for the righteous and the healthy.

The resurrection of the Savior proved that He overcame death in all its forms: poverty, injustice, sickness, suffering, passions. However, the Coronavirus pandemic raises many medical, religious, and social questions about the global effects of this pandemic, which has led to social and economic instability in many parts of the world, xenophobia, and racism against people of Chinese descent, the online spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories. In managing the current Covid-19 epidemic, people’s faith and unbelief have become questionable.

Keywords: Pandemic; Covid-19; effective approach; disease; sin; free will; healing; medicine; faith; science;

© 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Nicolae Popescu. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Popescu, Nicolae. ”The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Faith Problems – Biblical Arguments.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 243-259. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.20

I. For the past two thousand years,

God has not condoned evil

A pandemic is a worldwide event that starts from an infectious disease. What distinguishes a pandemic from a disease is its size and the multiple implications. And, of

course, a pandemic should be resolved like any infectious disease. The complications observed in the pandemics are due only to the incorrect approach of people. In ancient times, healers dealt with body and soul simultaneously. They considered disease and sin to be manifestations of the same

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928

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problem. That is why St. Mark the Evangelist writes: „And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples”, „How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, „Those who well do not need a physician, just those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mc 2, 16-17).

Because, as someones say, no good deed goes unpunished, the Savior had to respond to His critics, the scribes and Pharisees by showing them that He came to solve problems, not to look for culpable.

Which, let’s be honest - we need to do, but we don’t. How does a person show his skill and competence if not in crisis situations? In contrast, the unskilled and the cunning man claims to be skilled in normal situations, and in crisis situations generates conflicts and accusations by adding complications to existing problems. This was also observed in the context of the Coronavirus Pandemic, when people who are skilled solved problems, as evidenced by the perception of doctors as heroes, and the unskilled only added problems and created conflicts.

The worst malicious words in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic would be that some people did not receive Coronavirus because the virus has the ability to choose Its victims using moral criteria. It’s false.

The virus doesn’t use moral criteria. As for us, we will refrain from malicious comments and present only observations that we can support from a religious pont of view.

Thus, researching the events, we can see that the Corona Virus did not discriminate, affecting all people equally. This is how any disease works. In contrast, man discriminates and creates problems even where they do not exist. This is because man often makes decisions without fairness, especially when he has no personal responsibility, decisions that affect both the sick and the healthy.

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Obviously, not all people do this. That’s what inexperienced people and impostors do. Unfortunately, there are too many people like that who can seriously affect the lives of others through their decisions.

As a crisis situation, the Coronavirus Pandemic showed the weakness of the person running the institutions, inappropriate decision making which led to destructive consequences.

As a general human situation, the Coronavirus Pandemic underlined the limits of doctors but also of man in ongoing crisis situations.

The main actors involved in dealing with the pandemic were doctors, politicians and the public. The specialists in the medical field reacted quickly, coherently, efficiently, ie in a professional way. As soon as the pandemic was declared, they focused on healing, reducing the spread of the virus and creating a vaccine.

Politicians and society reacted confused at first, then recovered and finally took the right steps. This evolution shows that man can create problems, by using the wrong approach when he is taken by surprise, as it happend in this crisis, and they worsen the problems instead of solving them. For a start, although I know similar situations in several countries, it is worth mentioning a few situations only in Romania, wherein the context of the pandemic the authorities took chaotic, disproportionate, incoherent, abusive, discriminatory and sometimes even unnecessary measures. These measures, instead of bringing comfort, relief and hope, only managed to panic and intimidate the population, fueling the inclination of some to riots, exaggerations and conspiracy theories.

The Covid-19 epidemic set in in Romania at a time when our politicians were concerned about early elections.

Considering the epidemic just a flu, in

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the atmosphere of electoral hopes and promises, our political authorities suddenly declare a state of emergency. The effect of this measure has been huge. The trips were made only with a Statement on their own acknowledge, and police and military fully-equipped patrolled the streets. No one was driving on the streets after 10 pm.

Let’s not forget that during this period a record number of fines were given for noncompliance with anti-Covid measures. Recall that at that time the churches held religious services without believers or with a very small number of believers, somewhere in the courtyard of each church, which were continuously guarded and monitored by a large number of police officers (2 to 6 police cars)? At the same time, the shops operated without restrictions. Only later, after leaving the state of emergency, did they assume the obligation to measure the temperature and ask customers to wear a mask. From a religious perspective, these measures demonstrate the pragmatic and materialistic orientation of a State that considers food for the soul useless or far inferior to biological food.

Equally, society has also shown that it is morally and intellectually unprepared to deal effectively with crisis situations.

Usually, people stood out by the aggression and frustration with which they reacted against the background of the Pandemic.

We consider suggestive the phenomenon „I can’t breathe!” that appeared during this period. There was also talk of washing hands. Prolonged washing with soap and water. Many times people talk only to accuse because they do not know details and make many mistakes. Thus, we must say that a priest who serves the Holy Mass washes his hands at least three times. He is the same priest whom some accuse of all evils. This priest, when he serves the Holy Mass, washes himself for the first time at Proscomidie during the prayer for washing

hands. A pretty long prayer. Then, he washes his hands again when it comes to the words „It’s really appropriate ...”. Finally, he washes his hands once more at the end of the Holy Mass. The 3 hand washings are liturgical obligations. How many people know this? By comparison, how often does a clinician, a pharmacist, or a surgeon wash?

Obviously, I know, but it’s not my job to talk or to measure what someone else is doing, or accuse anyone of anything. But I am obliged to warn the morally wrong one and if he receives help from someone, to help him to correct himself. It is only in this context that I make these observations.

Finally, the last remark. We have been talking about it many times, in an aggressive tone, the risk of illness by using a single teaspoon during the Holy Eucharist. I also remember this observation because at the same time, in our country, there is talk about local elections. In this context, I am intrigued by the double standard of those who recommend the disposable teaspoon, but they do not say a word about the similar situation of using a single stamp when voting. Why doesn’t anyone recommend a disposable stamp, even though the pandemic is active? This last observation leads me to believe that the approach to the pandemic is enclined to benefit the state authorities and certain parts of society. In fact, people react biasedly not only in the pandemic but in any crisis situation. This is because people (who are not specialists in solving problems, like the leaders of the state institutions), approach the pandemic from the perspective of their own interests, frustrations and expectations, which makes the decisions of these institutions questionable. Knowing these things, it remains to find an answer to the question: Why does God allow the Covid pandemic 19? I allow myself to appreciate that this statement is just a biased and unjustified accusation that would receive a short

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answer if he didn’t hide under a question, namely: For two thousand years God has not condoned evil under any of his appearances!

The resurrection of the Savior proved that He overcame death in all its forms: poverty, injustice, sickness, suffering, passions.

However, the sudden rise of outbreaks of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (also known as 2019nCoV) and their spread from China around the globe has raised many questions about the global[1] effects of this pandemic.The caused social and economic instability in many parts of the world, xenophobia and racism against people of Chinese or Asian descent, and the spread of disinformation and conspiracy theories online. In the management of the current Covid 19 epidemic, people’s faith and unbelief have become questionable.

Obviously, this pandemic could be anticipated, as others were anticipated, and humanity should be prepared to take the most appropriate measures against it, because an unexpected disease always has perceptible antecedents; even the tendency to accidents involves many small preparatory steps before the „accident” as such takes place[5].

Unfortunately, in this case, it did not happen at all in this way. On the contrary.

So today, while scientists are looking to develop a vaccine to limit the spread of the virus and treatment to completely cure the disease, many people believe that the only one who can help us in this situation is God. Actually, the pandemic is a more serious disease in its size, but it is inherent in all living things. Virtually no body is in perfect health. For this reason, health is seen only as a temporary balance between the forces of life and death.[9] Speaking of the disease of the body and that of the soul, Nile the Ascetic defines the disease by distinguishing between disease of the body as „a state contrary to nature,

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the balance of the elements in the body being corrupted by the overflow of one, which brings a state contrary to nature”[13], and the disease of the soul[13] „wich as a deviation from the right judgment”, due to the „sinfull passions that bring disease”[13].

But experience shows that diseases have many forms. However, by origin, we know: „diseases of neglect and disorder of life” and „diseases sent for straightening disobedience.”[23] They have divided again, after which they are divided once more and again several times.

St. John Climacus tells us that there are only two types of diseases as to their purpose or finality, namely: 1) the disease for the cleansing of sins and 2) the disease that comes to humble the soul. And after the fall of the first humans, God used disease to humble the bodies of the lazy in asceticism, through the much more difficult and painful need of disease[22]. The more the soul was immersed in sinful passions, the more intense were its toils and trials, until each man came to regain his thinness and peace, obedience to the soul.

Thus, from a spiritual point of view, diseases, especially physical ones, are considered a form of „pedagogical rebuke”[23] from God, „the attempt to correct ourselves.”[23] They are, indeed, the second form of asceticism, harder fasting and restraint, not only from food and drink but also from pleasures and from all that procures the well-being of the body.

This second form of asceticism replaces the lack or insufficiency of the first, that is, the bodily one, fulfilling and completing the weak efforts ascetic. Illness saddens man, humbles him, and makes him remember God.[8] Illness is an opportunity for each person to experience his or her fragility and dependence, to turn to God as the Only One who can help him overcome suffering, if not fisically, then spiritually. And not only that,

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but the Lord will reward those who care for you. The disease you are going through is not only your cross, it is a cross for them as well. A cross that will bring them a garland.

[4] Today, diseases are no longer allowed

by God, although things are used in such a way that some Christians are tried and perfected. According to the Holy Fathers, the trial by sickness is only one of the trials by which God receives to show some believers that they are worthy to be His sons. There are many other forms of the temptation of Christians, for without the test of temptation the Christian remains inexperienced and immature... While who is tempted in danger becomes a tried man.[8] The simplest answer to the accusation and frustration that God allows us to suffer from coronavirus-like illness would be that most people asked to be alone when they asked God to leave from their lives because they did not like His rebukes. And He withdrew. Although it’s not true, God hates sin and loves man, even if he is a sinner.

God becomes visible only where he is loved.

The proof is that it gives us doctors and medicines, just as priests. he also gives us sacraments and hierarchs, whether we are good or bad, believers or sinners.

However, God does not explicitly tell us why he still endures the suffering of some people. But it is reasonable to believe that when God is silent about a certain thing, He has a reason for that silence. In fact, God does not say explicitly, nor why we still suffer trials even though the Savior has overcome the world, evil and death.

The teaching of the church is that God speaks to us even through sickness. This is because diseases open us to fundamental questions. For all diseases cause us physical suffering and are occasions for spiritual suffering because, it reveals to us, sometimes with cruelty, the fragility of our condition, and remind us that health and biological life

are not goods that we possess sustainably, that our body, in this life, is destined to weaken, degrade, and eventually die[9].

II. The origin of evil

The incorruptible state is supernatural, being given to man by God. But having the body made of the earth’s dust, man is from the beginning and by his own nature unstable, corruptible and mortal compound, which, was kept in an immortal state, by the will and power of the Holy Spirit. Immortality and death, incorruption and corruption, therefore, depend on man’s choice[20a; 20b; 21b], for God gave man free will to help him become whoever or whatever he wanted[20a].

According to the Holy Fathers, only in the distorted personal will of man, in the misuse of his free will, in the sin committed by him in heaven must be sought the source of diseases, infirmities, sufferings, corruption and death, as well as all evils which now affects human nature. „Sin”, says St. John Chrysostom, „is the cause of all evil; the cause of sorrow, the cause of troubles, the cause of wars, the cause of diseases, the cause of all the incurable sufferings that come upon us from all sides”[21a].

By separating from God, the sin of the forefathers resulted in the loss of grace, which give people liberation from any passion, uncorruption, and immortality.

Ancestral sin brought bodily damage and disease, and even death into the world. The fact that we humans are subject to bodily damages, suffering, and disease is due to the sin of the first ancestors[8]. Thus, we can say that diseases, infirmities, and the weight of trials of all kinds come from ancestral sin, and this condition affects all people, even if they personally would not have sinned in their entire lives[9].

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III. Diseases and healing

When he came to earth incarnated, the Savior Jesus Christ chose to endure with great patience the sufferings of life, even the unrighteous. This is enough for the believer to choose to live in the same way, even if he does not fully understand what God is doing. But we know from Holy Scripture that God does not like the way this world works (selfishness, sin, injustice) and calls us all to the world prepared for us, where there is no weeping, no death, no pain. To those who receive the promise of eternal life, God requires of them to fight according to the power given to them, for the change of this world. In this war, doctors are with the priests, in the front line of those who fight to defeat this sinful world that is not natural for man.

Unfortunately, medicine is like humanity, diverted from its natural meaning and tends to become more and more a palliative and analgesic practice, through its naturalistic foundation. Treating a disease, exclusively, as a physical process within in the causal chains does not correct the origin of the dysfunction but is rather palliative than curative[5].

This limitation causes frustration all the more as „disease or deformity is not born from the beginning with our nature,”[19b] and physical suffering and „trials of the body, which are part of our condition, the many diseases,” humanity „in the beginning, did not know them”[19d; 19c]. The man did not have in him by nature, nor as an essential property related to his nature, the capacity to suffer (...), at the beginning of the beginnings (...), but only later the suffering nature was insinuated in him[19a].

If before sin, suffering and death were foreign to man, after the fall, they became intrinsic elements of human nature. Thus, the disease becomes to a large extent „the faithful companion of the human being.”[18]

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But in any disease, stronger than itself hurts the lack of compassion and sensitivity, as well as the indifference of our fellow men.

Or, the golden rule of Christian morality involves behaving with our neighbor as we would like him to behave with us in similar situations. If we want to have love, respect, and help, let us give love, respect and help.

If we sow disregard and indifference, we will reap the same things, exactly when we will need more affection.

The strength and the weakness of modern medicine lie precisely in its success against pain and healing of diseases.

However, the difference between to treat and to heal in modern medicine is that in the case of the first notion the context remains the same, while in the case of the second the clinical response is determined precisely by a change of context. In other words, the aim is to completely eliminate the cause of the problem, and not just alleviate the symptoms. It is one thing to prescribe an antihypertensive for high blood pressure and quite another to extend the patient’s life context so that he ceases to be angry and repressive[5].

Unfortunately, the values of Western civilization favor the overvaluing of biological life. The fear of biological death, which is considered the absolute end of existence, makes many of our contemporaries wait for their redemption from medicine and make the doctor, „The new priest of modern times, a king with the right to life and death over them”[9].

There is even hope that the future development of genetics will allow at some point, through appropriate manipulation, to biologically purify human nature from its imperfections and, perhaps, finally, death itself to be defeated. These attitudes undoubtedly testify to positive aspirations, deeply rooted in man: that of escaping death, which he rightly considers being foreign to his deep nature, that of exceeding the limits

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of his present condition, that of to access a life free from imperfections and in which he could develop without hindrance. [9] But the cause of the disease is beyond matter, in the soul. Not the body is the cause of disease, but the soul, for the disease of the body is only a consequence of the disease of the soul. That is why Dr. David Hawkins sincerely acknowledges that: in every case of return from incurable or hopeless diseases that we have studied, there has been this major change in consciousness, so that the pattern of attraction that resulted from the pathological process no longer was the dominant one[5].

If death is a result of material dysfunctions, as modern medicine claims, then we must believe that doctors will one day bring heaven to earth. But we do not see this direction of medicine at all. On the contrary.

But if death is the result of sin, as Christians say, it turns out that the disease is produced by sin and both have the same solution. Socrates said that you cannot heal the body without healing the soul and therefore, the spiritual „cures” or the spiritual „drugs” of these sufferings are among the most effective.

Ignoring the spiritual dimension when a man wants to remedy his troubles inevitably means causing him serious damage and depriving him of the beginning from the outset of any means of helping him to assume his condition and to overcome the various trials they have to face[9]. In addition, the remedy proposed by modern medicine is often, insufficiently experienced, being worse than the evil itself that it wants to cure. This is because the real problem of the medicine is not the incorrect intervention in diseases but its misconception about healing.

According to Christian medicine, healing [14]:

a) must be applied to the whole being; we consider man healed if both body and soul are healed; we also consider healed that man who has only his soul healed; b) has an eschatological meaning: we could almost say that healing does not really exist in this world because this notion aims at the salvation of the soul and the deification of the whole man (body and soul).

Although in Orthodox theology the disease consists in the darkness of the mind [12], as a Christian event, the disease is presented as a great blessing, as a gift of God, made to man’s weakness, so that he can unite with Him. When a man does not get sick, he often becomes harsh, suffers from a lethargy like a death, the worst death: of conscience and will. For Christian, accepting the sickness is accepting God’s will. That is why the Church does not pray to be given to us many years, but a time of repentance. We do not wish God to give us health, but to give us what He wants. [2]. We enjoy health, and we protect it, if we have it, but we do not ask for it in especially mode, because we trust in His choices, even then if He would give us illness He also gave us doctors and medicines to cure ourselves alone from many diseases. And where science stops, the salvation of the sick is in God’s hands. Testimony is the many serious cases of cancer and other untreatable diseases diagnosed by specialists over time, to which they gave no chance and in which the patients miraculously recovered.

For that, the church is often the hospital that receives all people and it heals their diseases, starting with the spiritual ones.

The healing of the soul is the „means” of the Orthodox way, and it can be attained only by the orthodox healing craft, that is, by necessity, as depicted in the vigilant tradition of the Church [12]. God Himself sometimes behaves like an all-powerful and merciful surgeon, but He is never an executioner.

Despite the successes of modern

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medicine, the number and intensity of suffering have not decreased, nor does it remain the same, but seems to increase in parallel with technical development and we must recognize that new medical, biological and genetic techniques have more problems than it solves [9]. Often, man becomes the object of medical experiences, which have in mind, less the relief of the sufferings and limitations of the person than the progress of science or technology, considered as an end in itself. In this context, if we consider the pandemic a punishment, then it is rather a punishment of man, towards his neighbor. A punishment that man gives to those close to him, instead of giving them love. But what does punishment mean???

The sufferings that humanity goes through cannot be interpreted in the rudimentary perspective of the connection between crime and punishment, as a crime of majesty followed by God’s retaliation.

After Christ’s resurrection, God has no reason to longer punish people before the end of days.

However, some see a divine punishment in this pandemic, although God’s only concern is to call people to the kingdom of heaven and send believers on the path opened by Christ. God does not force anyone to love Him. He leads His sons from faith according to the teachings He has given them. Just as Christ did not show His power to save Himself from crucifixion, and thus to persuade all men to come to Him in fear, nor through the pandemic He has no reason to show His power. He wants communion willingly. On the other hand, the devil is egocentric, narcissistic, a liar and a murderer. So he can and has every reason to cause pandemics, because what does this virus do? It steals our economy, kills people, destroys lives, businesses and families.

These may be from men or the devil, but they are certainly not from God, because the Savior has manifested Himself in the world

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to destroy the works of darkness (1 John 3: 8). Christians of strong faith know this, but those who are weak and beginners in the faith doubt it.

Contemporary man is virtually a sick and mortal man [16], and his illness and suffering are confined to the general picture of the spiritual crisis that postmodern society is going through. The great Romanian theologian and moralist, Professor Constantin C. Pavel, stated years ago that the drama of modern man consists in the fact that „he perishes and does not realize where his doom comes from.” [3] This happens for that in the ambiguous social, cultural and religious context of the society in which we live, man has lost his faith and no longer knows where and how to find God. What is the solution to get out of this state and how can we get rid of this modern „enemy”? The Church’s answer is simple: The Return to God. IV. The coronavirus pandemic causes many problems for believers and atheists alike

However, whether it came from the devil or from humans, the coronavirus pandemic causes many problems for believers and atheists alike. In terms of faith, it creates problems for doctors who propose sharing with a single-use teaspoon or even to not sharing and to closing the church. And in terms of unbelief, it creates problems because we cannot be sure that something protects us. The Devil’s Advocate tells us that the disposable teaspoon is made in China, which created and spread the Coronavirus.

So are the masks. So it doesn’t protect us.

Then, if you are tested or vaccinated, how can you know that you are not intentionally infected by those same measures? Or, how do you know that a chip is not implanted instead of a vaccine, or, is there something else that you do not know about and that

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affects your privacy? And so on. Who can you to trust that will give you safety measures against the Virus? In doctors? But, they only want to experiment on you. In relatives?

But, they want your fortune or, they want revenge, or to get rid of you, your claims, etc. This universal suspicion is characterized by a contemporary man in postmodern society who is mentally ill. In which modern medicine cannot fully heal man. His only chance for healing is the Church, the spiritual hospital in which the spiritual illness of the people is cured. [12] Undoubtedly, the church cannot be destroyed (Mt 16: 13-20), but indifference, hatred, injustice and other forms of evil can erase or numb the faith of the people in the church. And the Son of Man will come as He promised, but will he still find faith?

(Lk 18: 8). Definitely yes. Not much. But he will find. For this reason, the Holy Scripture says that at the coming of the Savior, some believers will be changed in an instant (1 Cor 15:52). Those will have faith. It is true, today we live in times of terrible mistrust.

No one, nothing, and in no way can provide us with a single certainty. In all these, the only common factor is the reality of illness, suffering, and death.

Unlike diseases and epidemics, pandemics have many unforeseen effects.

In the current Covid-19 pandemic, countries were not affected by the epidemic at the same time nor to the same extent.

The measures are taken being different provoked discussions and even controversy from the clergy, the monastic communities, the faithful and the theologians. Regarding these, we can mention some controversies and some solutions regarding closing churches and stopping religious services, changing the way of sharing and worshiping icons, use of disinfectants, of a teaspoon, of masks, or social distancing and isolation.

Each local church has adapted its reaction to the evolution of the disease and to the

measures imposed by each government.

Of course, each local Church is sovereign and can take, through his authority, any measures it considers more useful in each particular situation.

V. Physical distancing, or social

distancing?

It was found that the transmission of the COVID-19 virus depends on many factors, the most obvious being the physical distance. Therefore, the recommended measures to prevent infection depended on the likelihood that a person would come into physical contact with sick people.

Distancing slows the spread of the disease by minimizing close contact between individuals. The use of the term „social distancing” has led to the implication that people should be in complete social isolation, instead of being encouraged to stay in touch with others through alternative means.

To this end, at the end of March 2020, the WHO and other health organizations began to replace the use of the expression „social distancing” with „physical distancing” to clarify that the aim is to reduce physical contact but to maintain social connections.

Other recommendations included frequent hand washing with soap and water, without touching the eyes, nose, or mouth, unless the hands are clean and covering the mouth when coughing.

A. Closing churches and stopping liturgical

services.

It should be noted that most states have not directly decided to close churches but have only limited to a minimum the number of people who can attend services, and pastoral visits have been made only to isolated people. The Greeks are the only ones who have stopped the service of the Holy Mass, including in monasteries, which

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has allowed the monks to serve the Mass and fulfill their essential duties, which we especially need during this period: for that they to pray for the world.

In Romania, at the beginning of the emergency period, the priest’s travels and pastoral visits to the home of the faithful were restricted, however, not eliminated, the pastoral activities being supplemented with volunteers who wore the recommended protective equipment. For example, the Holy Gifts were distributed to the orthodox parishioners through volunteers. And, the Holy Light was given to the faithful at the Resurrection, by the priests with the help of volunteers directly on the street or at the block 0where they lived. The liturgy was performed continuously, with a priest, a singer, possibly a deacon and a servant, being transmitted through the internet. In addition to these facilities, each Christian could perform certain religious services on his own, separately from the Liturgy, which he cannot replace it, because the service of the Holy Sacrifice can only be performed by a priest. During the period of isolation, Christians had the opportunity to practice the prayer of Jesus and other prayers, along with invocations addressed to Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin and other saints.

B. How to live in isolation?

First of all, wear a mask and keep your physical distance. If you love your neighbor wear a mask, keep your distance and wash your hands. You do this for him, not for You. That want God from you. It is helpful to act preventively because we do not know when we are sick and do not want to tempt God. Undoubtedly, you do not need to protect yourself through a mask, keep distance and washing your hands, if you are Christian. But loving your neighbor you will do them. The Savior Himself did many things only because it was for the good of others. Thus, although he did not need to pay the tax at the Temple

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as the Son of God, so He Himself king, paid it (Mt 17: 24-27), so as not to disturb the ignorant. St. Paul was willing to give up eating meat if his food it scandalized the weaker Christian (1 Cor 8:13).

Unfortunately, the preventive attitude, of concern and humility for you and your neighbor is increasingly rare. For example, how many of us have the power to ask God to cleanse our souls of passions and send us a disease rather than He let us fall into sin? [4] Also, how many sick Christians Have they not sincerely repented of their sins before God and their spiritual father and received communion with the Holy Sacraments? Instead, how many healthy people have thought about their sins, but if they happened to prepare for communion once a year, this it was not due to their godliness but snobbery so that they too can say: „I too have confessed and I have shared.”[4] Perhaps this is why, spiritually, it often happens that even the sick no longer seek the medicines of the soul [11], even if isolation has given them time for it.

VI. As for the power of the Eucharist, it

is another matter.

It is important to do everything by faith.

For those who have doubts about the health of others or about a possible transmission of diseases through the teaspoon, the advice is not to share themselves. Otherwise, those with doubt in faith will get sick on his own.

That made St. Peter, when having strong faith, walked a few steps on the water believing the call of the Savior, but then, doubting his fear, he quickly sank. Therefore, the mask must be worn out of love. If faith guards you, he who does not believe in God or who believes in science must be guarded because is human like you. Do not provoke conflicts by refusing an anti-coronavirus measure because you seem irresponsible instead of helping it.

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The Church teaches that the Holy Gifts - the Body and Blood of Christ - are the absolute cure for any disease and can never make anyone sick. However, some people are weak in faith who appreciate that there may be a risk of contamination through the objects used in sharing. For them, in some churches, the cloth with which the lips of the one who shares is wiped was replaced by paper towels, and the glasses with which drink, after communion, the mixture of water and wine were chosen from those for single use.

Some Churches have also changed the traditional way of performing the Eucharist, which is to introduce it with the Holy Spoon in their mouths, and have poured the contents directly into the wide-open mouth of the believer, keeping a distance from it. The Russian Church even proposed to be disinfecting the teaspoon with alcohol between two communions or to using disposable teaspoons that were then will be burned. In this way, some doubts about the teaspoon used for sharing, have been debated, although some believe that by touching the Body and Blood of Christ the teaspoon is disinfected and protected by them. Let us remember that Christ and the Holy Apostles drank from the same glass (Mt 26:27). Moreover, they ate, most of the time, the same bread, without washing their hands. The Jews even accused him the Savior that He and His disciples ate without washing their hands. While Jews were washing their hands even elbows and eating only afterward (Mt 15: 2; Mk 7: 3).

The power of Eucharistie is considered to be extraordinarily great and we do not know of any medical cases related to this ritual. The Savior himself, when describing the signs of the faith, says that by faith even if they drink deadly drinks, Christians will not suffer anything (Mk 16: 17-18).

It can be recognized that among the faithful of the great churches are inevitably

sick of all kinds, especially during the celebration of the Holy Unction, and the priests consume each time, at the end of the Liturgy, the Holy Gifts that remain from Eucharistie without contracting any disease. And even if there are no reliable documentary records, it must be pointed out that during the great epidemics of the past, priests shared contaminated believers without being contaminated themselves.

For all these reasons, the official position of the Romanian Orthodox Church claims that Eucharistie is an internal matter that concerns only its members and moreover, for two thousand years, no one has ever fallen ill due to the use of the same teaspoon in the ritual of Eucharistie, which shows once again that the ritual must remain unchanged.

But there are also arguments for those who are weak in faith and who can be presented to those who want to change the current form of communion, and its are provided even by the canonical principles, which allow the use in pandemics of several teaspoons and vessels which will be disinfected with vinegar. Thus, Saint Nicodemus the Aghiorite comments, at the interpretation of canon 28 of the VI Ecumenical Synod, that „both priests and bishops must use a specific model in the time of the plague” to share the sick, not directly with The Holy Body in his mouth, but in a holy vessel, and from there he to take it, or the sexton[24], „or the sick, with the teaspoon”. Then „the vessel with the teaspoon should be placed in vinegar, and the vinegar should be poured where the priests are washes after the Holy Mass, or in any other way, they can do, more harmless but canonical” [17]. The Churches, which have changed the traditional way of communion, have taken into account the Christians with doubts in faith and weaken, (1 Cor 11: 27-31). But let’s be honest. How much struggle we see for those suspected

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of being contagious (symptomatic or asymptomatic) but, at the same time, no shock to sinners. Why? Because of those of us who longer are still Christians today we have become a minority.

For those who ask who is the author of evil by accusing God of being the author or the One who allowing evil, we will say that in no way is He the author of evil. The evidence is not debatable. Health is more important than the disease, life is more important than death, honor is preferable to dishonor, faith and trust are preferable to doubt and cynicism, the constructive is preferable to destructive, all these are obvious statements in themselves, which must not be proved and they are not debatable. [5]. We humans alone do these evils and troubles through which we end up in difficult situations. God doesn’t make us sick to teach us things.

God is the creator of all things seen and unseen, but not of the destruction caused to them by abuse, injustice, passion, etc. which are only manifestations of the sinful will.

And not all things are from God, some are from the devil, some are from man, some are from the world, and so on. However, from God are only the good ones. But while God is trying to show His love for everyone, there is another power (satan) at work in this world that brings disaster, tragedy, sickness, and death into the lives of God’s children. Man must be very careful about what he chooses from the offerings of this evil power. Therefore, nor suffering is not God’s gift. Resistance to suffering, however, is God’s gift to every man who asks for help.

In fact, there are many explanations for God’s tolerance of disease, namely, to confirm the observance of the freedom he has given to people; to transform us by gradually transforming the evil in us into good, obviously, with our consent; to interest us in the choice of good; that by all making us experience evil we shall never again be drawn into darkness; that we may

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be united by suffering, that this union may be inseparable between us men and with God. Finally, God allows all this so that together we can restore the whole Creation as it was in the beginning: very good. Perfect.

There are a collective benefit of our wrong choices namely that more and more people now know that the path of suffering, destruction, and death is a path of the devils. That’s why, physical and mental health is accompanied by a positive attitude, while illness, whether physical or mental, is associated with negative attitudes such as resentment, jealousy, hostility, self-pity, fear, anxiety, etc. [5]. God hates this path.

Only for our salvation did He allow it and endure it until the fullness of time (Gal 4: 6) when He sent His Son and saved us from the curse of death on the Cross. Since then, God no longer allows unrighteous suffering, saving many people from the chains of wickedness through Christ. Since then, God has called each of us to receive salvation and get out of the mentality of this world. And to all of us who choose the kingdom of heaven and the way of eternal life, God helps us to realize this ideal. Let us also know the victory over the world through Christ.

We already know that this world is coming to an end if we notice that the number of those who love God is dwindling, and the number of those who hate God increases.

We can know this, because nowadays, despite the extraordinary progress of medical science, the sick multiply and new diseases appear [8]. The sufferings will continually increase and become so great that, if God had not shortened the last days of the salvation of the faithful, nobody would escape (Mt 13: 20).

VII. The current pandemic would be a kind of collective punishment for the sins of people.

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evil, nor does he allow it, but, he uses it intentionally, against the wicked. In other words, the current pandemic would be a kind of collective punishment for the sins of people who are thus called to humility and repentance. More and more people today accuse a direct link between the pandemic and God. Blinded by their passions, they do not see the situation they are in and do not understand that they must turn from their path and repent of their sins. There are even Christians who have great sins and do not want to repent. No matter how hard the iron of the disease burns, they never cease to be surprised that they are going through such a trial. Among these people, who has the strength to acknowledge that his illness is the result of sin? In the best case, they prefer to consider that the disease is sent to cause them a crown or for their pure soul, however, purer than the other, to be sanctified.[4] In the orthodox conception, the divine punishment will come after this world will finish all its chances of correction, that is, at the end of the days.

The Coronavirus pandemic challenges the foundations, organization and materialist and consumerist way of life of our modern society, the false sense of security that they extract from the progress of science and technology. Replacing falsehood with truth is the essence of healing all that is visible and invisible, says Dr. David R. Hawkins.[5] And new viruses are expected to appear and epidemics to multiply in the future, often showing the helpless man.

Today, thousands of researchers, bacteriologists or chemists, in immaculate white laboratories and equipped with bright devices, are trying to develop a magical and synthetic panacea for all known diseases.

And, their motto seems to be contradicted

by Hippocrates, because he says, „You will take as a cure our latest invention.” And yet, despite technological advances and billions spent on medical research programs,

hospitals and asylums are full of the sick and unbalanced. [6] Unfortunately, most people who are overwhelmed by anxiety and influenced by newspaper and radio advertising imagine that health is a food released by a pharmacist in a bottle. They forget - if they ever knew it - that health is obtained only by obeying the clearly defined laws of nature. The examples are numerous [6]. The idea of a divine pedagogy through pandemic thus becomes a blasphemy of the ignorant because God is a Father to us, who are His children in Christ.

Let us also remember the position of those who presume that God created viruses, so the responsibility for Coronavirus 19 is His. The mistake of this position is that one forgets the good character of all created beings and forgets that the evil in the world is due to man’s bad choice and its spread by fallen man. Yes, God created viruses, just as He created tigers and crocodiles and lions, which are carnivorous animals today, although by creation they were not meant to be carnivores, and at the end of the time they will return to their gentle state (Isaiah 11: 6). -10).

Why did not Almighty God destroy the sickness and suffering from the world, and why do they subsist after Christ overcame them for all mankind that He assumed in His Person?

Obviously, the answer is the same from the Resurrection to the present day. Namely, that Christ suppressed sin as a necessity, put an end to the tyranny of the devil, made death harmless, but He did not suppress the free will of the wicked, that is, implicitly neither sin, nor the action of demons, nor physical death, nor the consequences in general sin. In the physical plan, the fallen world remains subject to its destructive logic. Only at the end of time will all things be restored and „a new heaven and a new earth” will appear, in which the order and harmony of nature destroyed by sin will be

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restored to a higher mode of existence, in which the goods acquired by Christ through the redeeming His work and deifying nature will be fully communicated to all who will be united with Him. However, incorruption and immortality will not become real to the human body until the Parousia.

Therefore the Covid-19 pandemic is not a divine pedagogy.

Knowing that it is not God who brings evil upon man, but man’s mistakes in his free choices, atheists and the ignorant still insist: If He is omnipotent, loving, wise, just, and good, why is there so much hatred and injustice in the world?? Obviously, because the bad guys have the freedom which they use badly. However, by the wisdom of God, the Christian is not affected by the freedom of the evil one, because all acts, including evil, committed by sinners, work together for the good of those who love God (Rom 8: 28). But denying the existence of God, and refusing communion in love with God, the questions accusing the origin of suffering implicitly deny the existence of the devil, forgetting that „the world lies in the evil” (1 Jn 5: 19), and that the Devil is the king of this world of sins. (In 12: 31), the same Devil who took the kingdom of the world from man, when he defeated him in Heaven. God loves and entitles at the same time. He cannot love and be unjust, nor be righteous and hateful. He offers love, while Satan imposes fear.

Today we see best that „Fear in all its forms is certainly the most important factor in undermining the health of modern people.” [10] Far from God, man today seems rather paralyzed by fears, and the most terrible among them is, it seems, the fear of death and its ambassadors, poverty, disease, and suffering. The Christian does not want suffering because „mankind was created not for suffering and death, but for eternal life and communion with God.”[15].

However, he accepts her with manhood

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when it is a savior because Christians understand that he who flees from trials, he runs away from the virtues which he might have received over at the end of them, and that true spiritual conduct does not seek the comfort of this world, does not flee and does not dodge in the face of trials, does not revolt or boast, but it seeks to understand their deep spiritual meanings and to transform them into havens of divine rest and consolation. Illness can be a divine gift; it can be the carrying of the cross by the one who does not make asceticism and the discovery of the deep spiritual meaning of suffering. Saints Varsanufie and John say that the disease is considered to the one who patiently endures it „instead of asceticism or even more” [23], hence their exhortation: „Be patient in thanks and you will soon be merciful to God.” [23] Interestingly, anti-Covid-19 measures are almost identical to the principles of the measures we should take against sin.

With a difference. Where the anti-Covid-19 measures were correct, the results were as expected. In contrast, anti-sin measures do not have the expected results. For this, we will say that sickness, which is either due to sin or to some other cause, is a means of healing and cleansing the soul [8], which God allows.

Note that sin does not have an existence in itself and nor the viruses do not have an independent existence either. They just parasitize the livings. Also, viruses do not reproduce or self-replicate but are „replicated” (ie passively and not actively) through the metabolic activities of the cells they have infected. Replication of viruses involves a process of copying performed by certain constituents of host cells. [7] In the same way, sin behaves after it enters man.

Unfortunately, when we observe closely at our world, we see that the number of those who hate God increases and the number of those who love God decreases.

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As long as the man is healthy and lives in his usual rhythm, everything seems in order, he has no idea what is happening to others, maybe he is not even interested in what this world is like. This it shows us that suffering, sin, and injustice are multiplying and that things will be the same as before. I mean bad. Those who love goodwill continue to do good and will be saved and those who hate good will continue to do evil. This shows that suffers will increase and not decrease in this world. For that, the Christian who strongly believes in the healing grace of Christ will turn with priority to priests, but also to doctors with the conviction that they too work with enlightenment from God. [8] (In. Sir. 38: 1-9).

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[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

„Coronavirus declared global health emergency”. BBC. 30 ianuarie 2020. Accesat în 30 ianuarie 2020.

Arhimandrit Emilianos Simonopetritul, Așteptarea lui Dumnezeu. Despre boală, suferință și moarte, [Waiting for God. About illness, suffering and death] trad. de Ierom.

Agapie [Corbu], Arad: „Sfântul Nectarie” Publisher, [2019], XI-XII. C. C. Pavel, Problema răului la Fericitul Augustin: studiu de filosofie morală, [The Problem of Evil in Blessed Augustine: A Study of Moral Philosophy] ediţia a II-a, Bucharest: Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române [1996]: 9.

Danion Vasile, Despre înfruntarea bolii.

Scrisoare către omul bolnav [About facing the disease. Letter to the sick man], Areopag Publisher, [2018], 12, 14, 16.

David R. Hawkins, Putere versus Forță.

Determinanții ascunși ai comportamentului uman [Power versus Force. Hidden determinants of human behavior] Publisher Cartea DAATH, [2007], 46, 89, 91, 147, 153, 155.

Dr. Henry G. Bieler, Alimentele, miracolul vindecării, [Food, the miracle of healing] Publisher Rom Direct Impex SRL, Bucharest,

[1994], 11, 12.

[7] Encyclopedia of Virology, 3rd ed., Dr. Brian W J Mahy & Dr. Marc H V Van Regenmortel, [ed. in chief], Vol. 3, Academic Press, Slovenia [2003], 399.

[8] Ieromonahul Grigorie, Bolile și credinciosul, [Diseases and the believer] trad.: ieroschimonah Ștefan Nuțescu, Bucharest, Publisher Evanghelismos, [2007], 3, 9, 11, 33.

[9] Jean-Claude Larchet, Teologia bolii, [Disease theology] trad. din franceză de Pr. Prof. Vasile Mihoc, Publisher Oastea Domnului, Sibiu, [1947], 7-13, 24-26.

[10] Konrad Lorenz, Cele opt păcate capitale ale lumii civilizate, [The eight deadly sins of the civilized world] ed. a II-a, Bucharest: Publisher Humanitas, [2001], 39.

[11] Mitropolit Antonie de Suroj, Taina vindecării, [The mystery of healing] Publisher Reîntregirea, Alba-Iulia, [2009], 8.

[12] Mitropolit Hierotheos Vlachos, Boala și tămăduirea sufletului în Tradiția Ortodoxă, [Illness and healing of the soul in the Orthodox Tradition] Publisher Sophia, [2007], 4-5, 17, 46.

[13] Nil Ascetul, Cuvânt ascetic, [Ascetic word] în Filocalia, vol. I, ed. a 2-a, trad. din grecește de Pr. Stavr. Dr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Publisher Institutul de Arte Grafice „Dacia Traiană” – S.A., Sibiu, [1947], 247-248.

[14] P. Chirilă, Vindecarea, [Healing] Publisher Christiana, Bucharest, [2009], 62.

[15] P. Meyendorff, The Anointing of the Sick, Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Press, [2009], 65.

[16] Paul Evdokimov, Ortodoxia, [Orthodoxy] Trad. Pr. dr. Irineu Ioan Popa, Bucharest: Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, [1996], 298-299.

[17] Nota 189 la Tâlcuirea Canonului 28 al Sinodului VI ecumenic, în Pidalion sau Cârma Bisericii Ortodoxe, [Pidalion or Rudder of the Orthodox Church] f.l., Publisher Credința Strămoșească, [2007], 208.

[18] Pr. Dr. Ioan C. Cândea, „Misiune şi slujire în Instituţiile social-medicale [Mission and service in socio-medical institutions]” în Revista Teologică, nr. 3, [2010], 70.

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[19a] Sf. Grigorie de Nyssa, Despre feciorie [About virginity] XII, 2, trad. de Laura Pătraşcu, Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Bucharest, 2010.

[19b] Sf. Grigorie de Nyssa, Epistole, III, 17, [Epistles] tr. rom. de Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae și Pr. Ioan Buga, Note: Pr. Prof.

Dumitru Stăniloae, Indice: Pr. Ioan Buga, în vol. Sfântul Grigorie de Nyssa Scrieri – Partea Întâia, P.S.B. 29, Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Bucharest, 1982.

[19c] Sf. Grigorie de Nyssa, Marele cuvânt catehetic, V, 8, [The great catechetical word] tr. rom. De Pr. T. Bodogae, în vol. Sfântul Grigorie de Nyssa Scrieri – Partea a doua, colecția Părinți și Scriitori Bisericești, [P.S.B.] vol. 30, Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Bucharest, 1998.

[19d] Sf. Grigorie de Nyssa, Omilii la Fericiri, III, 5, [Homilies to Happiness] trad. și schiță biografică de Pr. Sandu Gh. Stoian, în Colecția Comorile Pustiei, vol. Sfântul Grigorie de Nyssa, Opt omilii la fericire, [Eight homilies to happiness] Publisher Anastasia, 1999.

[20a] Sf. Grigorie Palama, Omilii, [Homilies] XXXI, PG 151, 388D, in Patrologiae Cursus Completus Series Graeca Accurante JacquesPaul Migne, volumen 151. [Graeca Edition] [Migne, J -P [Jacques-Paul] 1800-1875].

[20b] Sf. Grigorie Palama, Omilii, [Homilies] XXIX, PG 151, 369C., in Patrologiae Cursus Completus Series Graeca Accurante JacquesPaul Migne, volumen 151. [Graeca Edition] [Migne, J -P [Jacques-Paul] 1800-1875].

[21a] Sf. Ioan Gură de Aur, Omilii despre pocăință, [Homilies on repentance] VII, trad. din lb. greacă de Pr. Prof. Dumitru Fecioru, Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Bucharest, 1998.

[21b] Sf. Ioan Gură de Aur, Omilii la Facere, [Homilies at Genesis] XVII, 7, trad. introd. indici și note de Pr. Dumitru Fecioru, în Sfîntul Ioan Gură de Aur, Scrieri, Partea Întîia, Omilii la Facere [I], P.S.B. 21, Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Bucharest, 1987.

[22] Sfântul Ioan Scărarul, Filocalia, vol. IX,

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trad. introd. și note de Pr. Prof. Dr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Bucharest, [1980], 370.

[23] Sfinţii Varsanufie şi Ioan, Filocalia, vol. XI, ed. a 2-a, trad. Publisher Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române și note de Pr. Prof. Dr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Publisher Universalia, New York, [2001], 115, 117, 189, 493 [24] – The Sexton or the Grave-digger was the person who carried the plague deads to the pit.

BIOGRAPHY Born on 09/01/1977.

Attended the Theological Seminary [1992-1997], Faculty of Theology [1997-2001] and Faculty of Law [2000-2005], graduated from the same faculty and graduated level courses [Theology - 20012002] and [Law - 2003-2004].

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology, „Ovidius” University of Constanta since 2007.

Published three works along with Pr. Prof. Emilian Corniţescu, PhD: Old Testament and timeliness and The Old Testament - cultural and social moral religious issues at the Europolis Publishing House in Constanta in 2008, and Biblical Studies at the Archdiocese of Tomis Publishing House in 2015, as well as other books, studies, and articles.

The Rich Man’s Worry about Tomorrow. In „DIALOGO”, Zilina: EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, Slovak Republic. ISSN-L 23929928, Volume: 4.2, doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2018.4.2.7, June 2018, pp. 64-73.

How can a Confessor better call upon Believers to achieve Perfection?. In „DIALOGO”, Zilina: EDIS Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, Slovak Republic. ISSN-L 2392 – 9928, vol. 3 „Bridging Science and Religion: SELF - SOUL – CONSCIOUSNESS. Dialogo Conf 2017 SSC”, ISBN: 978-80-554-1338-9, DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2017.3.2.10, pp 110-124.

Church, Society, and Conflict. In „DIALOGO”, Zilina: EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University

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of Zilina, Slovak Republic. ISSN-L 2392–1744, vol.

2 „The 3nd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. Dialogo Conf 2016”, ISBN: 978-80-554-11208-5, DOI: 10.18638/ dialogo.2016.3.10, pp 96-111.

Tolerance Edict of Milan and Religious Freedom in a Biblical Perspective, la „Conferința științifică internațională – Libertatea religioasă și de conștiință în contextul securității sociale”, 29 septembrie 2016, Palatul Parlamentului, Bucharest, în „Jurnalul libertății de conștiință – supliment” [Journal for freedom of conscience], Editions IARSIC, 2016, France, ISSN: 2495-1757, pp. 64-82.

St. Ap. Thomas and steps of faith. In „DIALOGO”, Zilina: EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, Slovak Republic. ISSN-L 2392 – 9928, vol.

2 „The 2nd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. Dialogo Conf 2015”, ISBN: 978-80-554-1131-6, DOI: 10.18638/ dialogo.2015.2.1, pp 302-317.

The Tolerance and Need for Absolute. In „DIALOGO”, Zilina: EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, Slovak Republic. ISSN: 23931744, vol. 6, issue 1, „The 10th Scholarly Meeting on the Dialogue between Science and Theology”. Dialogo Conf 2019, ISBN: 978-80-973541-0-7, DOI: 10.18638/ dialogo.2019.6.1.30, pp.329-341.

PhD in Theology since 27/11/2009.

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held online, from November 3 - 12, 2020

Considerations on the synergistic significance of the evangelistic message in the Gospel of John Ilie Soritau, Ph.D.

Theology Department Emanuel University of Oradea Oradea, ROMANIA ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 30 September 2020 Received in revised form 20 October Accepted 25 October 2020 Available online 30 November 2020 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.21

This paper presents multiple, cooperative ways and levels of reality in working with Jesus Christ (Yeshua Hamashiach) to share the Word of God with people in a very specific context: a meeting between the Jews, and the Samaritans from the city of Sychar. In the context of His visit with the sinful Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar, the ministry school that Rabbi Jesus has for His Apostles is configured as a laboratory of life to teach them His methods in understanding the multiple levels of reality in life and the synergistic significance of the evangelistic message. At the same time when the Apostles are closed in a room learning about the lands or fields full of harvest, the Samaritan woman leaves her vessel at the well, goes into the city, and openly proclaims her meeting with Him. There are two remarkable synergistic significances to transmit the message about the Savior of the world, Yeshua Hamashiach, in a particular transcultural context. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Keywords: synergistic significance; contextual message; transcultural context; harvest; Savior;

Copyright © 2020 Ilie Soritau. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Soritau, Ilie. ”Considerations on the synergistic significance of the evangelistic message in the Gospel of John.”

DIALOGO, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 7, issue 1 (November 2020): 260-271. DOI: 10.18638/dialogo.2020.7.1.21

I.

Introduction

II. Synergistic Significance in the

Context of the Gospel of John

As communicators of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have to influence people to live Christcentered lives. We detect walls or barriers in every communication process due to political, physical,

spiritual, and geographical reality. To avoid miscommunication, we have to pass over the natural tendencies to maintain these barriers and walls instead of building bridges to put together two or more individual or communitarian entities [1][2][3, 17]. Understanding is the purpose of any communication process, to build a commonness of understanding in a very natural context, without manipulating people with artificial eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928

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methods. The agreement may not result in genuine understanding; genuine understanding may lead to total and perhaps violent rejection.

What the message recipient does with the new understanding is his or her decision and responsibility. The communicator must create an understanding of a message—nothing more and nothing less. Too frequently, we are satisfied with some behavioral response as proof that ‘God is working.’ Very often, we aim for wrong things using wrong methods—methods appropriate for that wrong goal but not suited to the goal of achieving understanding of God’s message [4][5][6].

Derived from the Greek word synergos, synergy means “working together, as a cooperative work.” In the biblical context, synergism is defined as the doctrine that human effort cooperates with divine grace in the salvation of the soul [7]. Another definition of synergy, as cooperative work done by two or more personal or collective entities, is given in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, where the author S. Covey labels the habit of synergy as “creative cooperation.” claiming that “synergy is the highest activity in all life” [8, 262]. We have to realize that the very strength of the relationship is the differences as another point of view. It gives the sense of the communicational process through the significance of understanding the process in its dynamics. Here, we can find the oppositional but complementary terms, sameness, and oneness, unity and oneness, with unity but not uniformity—the essence of synergy being the valuation of the differences [3] [9,55]. The best understanding of the synergistic communication is realized through the semiophysical contextual message model.

This is the synergistic process (1+1 > 2, more than everyone, the whole greater than the sum of its parts, the relationship which the parts have to each other as a part in and of itself, being not only a part, but the most catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting sequence), and signification (1 - 1 ≠ 0, otherwise the parts of process, the separation of

the initially coupled entities has great importance for all the parts in different ways) between the Sender, Receiver, and the Contextual Message [1,117][2, 4][10].

In the Holy Bible, there are several connotative meanings of synergism; its basic etymological meaning is unity, cooperation, love, harmony, and relationship being purely etched in many Biblical texts. The best example of synergism in the Bible is the Holy Trinity, as Perichoresis—One God in Three Persons, living in unity, harmony, and perfect communion. Another synergy metaphor is the Bible itself as One Book, One Story – from “In the beginning” through “Amen.”.

It tells from the beginning the exciting story of Jesus Christ, as Son of Man and Son of God, the most important significant synergy [11,22].

There are other examples of the synergism with a lot of great significance in the context of the biblical text [3, 23]. There are ten key concepts of Synergistic Communication Theory based on the popular communication theories [9, 49][10], as well as the Biblical principles and Christian philosophies, which remain a constant Gospel message of God to mankind [2, 6-7][6, 28]. The Synergistic Communication Theory is transdisciplinary integrated in the semi-physical contextual synergistic message model as a purposeful paradigm shift of concept change from the monodisciplinary viewpoint to a Godcontrolled human communication process, as an integrated semi-physical perspective [9, 11][12].

Synergistic Communication Theory is not a new concept; it was reformulated by shifting the paradigms and changing common, traditional views into another viewpoint, a new mindset, and a thinking attitude, as a transdisciplinary integration dynamic process [1, 48]. In the biblical context, synergistic Significant Communication is a permanent and unending process to exchange thoughts, words, and synergistic significant actions within a person, people, and communities purposely driven by love, unity, cooperation holiness. This being (a) continuous, (b)

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irreversible, (c) transactional, (d) multidimensional, (e) inescapable, (f) multiple roles, (g) complex, (h) transformational, (i) relational, (j) God-centered and Godcontrolled authoritative processes [Pop, 2011; Barrios 2014]. Communication has spiritual consequences; God is the first and original Communicator. He spoke, and everything was created, so communication is a gift from God. The Holy Bible is the record of His loving communication to humanity with the greatest synergistic significant command.

The eternal Love1 [13][6, 30].

III. Spiritual Ladder from Sychar, a

Transdisciplinary Approach

At the well of Jacob from Sychar, a cosmic meeting happens between a woman with a terrible reputation and Jesus Christ.

He had to cross Samaria (what an irony) to have a communion about the living water, as the subject, and the source of this water (an increasing quality of know-what). The communicator’s authority levels have to harmonize symmetrically for a better synergistic understanding of the contextual message [1, 96][14, 203]. The woman, as Receiver, has a low level of knowledge about Deity, upraised by the Sender (the contextual functional legitimacy, knowwhy), in a synergistic significant step by step process, passing through the known levels of integration from thematic-curricular monodisciplinary level (very different status, He as a Jew and she a Samaritan woman2, through the methodological pluritransdisciplinary level (both as descendants of the common Father Jacob), and finally working synergistically at the structurativefunctional-generative superior top-level, as 1 “Love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:3435KJV) 2 “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? for Jews do not associate with Samaritans” (Jn. 4:9).

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inter (He, as a Prophet), cross (He, the coming Messiah), and transdisciplinary (He, the Savior of both Jews and Samaritans) stages of the knowledge integration as is presented in figure 1. The Sender uses the water (knowwhat) as the subject of the dialogue, asking for a cup of water, as a Jew, from a Samaritan woman (know-how, as an ironical way to communicate the truth) [15, 132]. Every sequence of the communicational process, as all life learning sustainable knowledge achievements, produces a gradual, understandable transition from bottom to top, passing through statistics, syntactic, semantics, pragmatics, and apobetics levels [16, 140][1,136], upraising the ethicsemiotic valuation of the communicational products, through the knowledge of God, from the first level, that of a Jew, with a lot of differences, passing through the level when he is recognized as greater than “our Father Jacob,” as a common shared element, to configure a possible bridge in communication. The knowledge process is a cumulative one. It balances the quantity and quality of the message, asks for a cup of water, offers the living water, and discusses the authentic praising to God (another big difference between Jews and Samaritans).

The synergistic significant communication is built-in slices, every sequence being the background for the next with a new element of knowledge.

The Sender and the Receiver are participating together in the communication process, by a continuous togetherness of the top-down and bottom-up negotiation through the included middle [17][9, 48-49].

This is due in part because of the necessity to adjust the deference differences between the communicators, possible to be done only in a transdisciplinary way, wisely avoiding the failure in communication made by the Sender through the assumed and negotiated harmony, the most important moment being the discussion about the place for praising, here (Gerizim) or there (Jerusalem), the only valid answer, given by the expected Messiah,

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being in the spirit of the truth [9, 113]. The third sequence represents an integration of the process started at the level of differences through the level of possible common things (the same father Jacob), preparing the moment when He will affirm His identity as Messiah. At this level, the barriers are forced through the inter(cross) disciplinarity, when the woman is asking to receive the living water, but without understanding the spiritual context, seeing only material benefits (“Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water” Jn. 4:15).

At this moment, the woman’s true identity is discovered by the personal testimony about her disastrous marital status. The dirty vessel of her heart has to be cleansed to receive the Living Water. Jesus is recognized as “prophet.” Jesus restarts a new perspective of the knowledge integration, the next sequence being a special one, a synergistic significance where Jesus and the woman have a very transdisciplinary theological discussion about the place of praising; “here or there” (at this level of reality, there is another very important difference, quality or location of praising). The climax of the communicational process started from a cup of water, is represented by the answer given by Yeshua Hamashiach to the woman’s affirmation “we know that Messiah will come” (Jn. 4:25): “I who speak to you am He” (Jn. 4:26). The transition from the “prophet status” (v. 19) to that of “Yeshua Hamashiach—Messiah, Jesus Christ” (v. 25) marks the turnaround point. This includes the moment when Jesus changes the communication register, determining her to testimony about her life without any meaning. Till that moment, from the Living Water in her heart as a cleansed vessel to the praise in the spirit of the truth. The praising ways (know-how – quality, and not knowwhere – location) presented by Yeshua Hamashiach transcends all the known earthly ways of praising, visible in the space and time, having superior connotations by

overarching every limit of knowledge [2, 3].

Fig.1 Levels

of the synergistic significant integration of the knowledge of Him (2, 2)

IV. The Closed Group of the Apostles

with Jesus Christ and the Open Space Proclamation of the Woman to the People from Sychar

When Jesus chose his twelve disciples, the purpose was to make them “fishers of men” (NKJV, Matt. 4:19). For three and a half years, they spent time with him and observed him perform the works of the Father. They followed him closely, and they saw Him heal the sick, feed the poor, teach the multitudes, and save many. Jesus’ call was “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). If anyone were to study the life of Jesus, they would see that as good and noble as all of the things He accomplished were, His primary purpose was to save the lost. Of course, healing the sick, feeding the poor, and proclaiming the Gospel were all part of a greater work. Each of these works contributing to communicating with excellent efficiency the message of salvation.

The story of Jesus encountering the woman at the well, as recorded in the Gospel of John chapter four, is one of the most amazing stories of salvation offered and accepted. Cultural realities

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and religious realities worked against this possibility because of the historical realities between the Samaritans and Jews. Many commentators have written about the problems surrounding this public meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.

As John Phillips suggests, the story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well should be approached or studied in three major parts [18]. The first four verses deal with the way Jesus took a detour and how that was part of a plan. The plan was to go through Samaria. This geographical region was known to be avoided by all Jews. They would rather travel the long way from Jerusalem to Galilee than to go through Samaria. The historian Josephus wrote, “the Samaritans were regarded by the Jews as despised halfbreeds, the off-spring of the resettlement policies of the cruel Assyrians, who after sacking the Northern Kingdom in 772 B.C., transported large groups of conquered Jews to other conquered sites” [19].

It was unimaginable for the Jews who desired to be a pure and loyal people of God to associate with the Samaritans. On the other hand, the hostility went both ways.

“Samaritans would not trust Jews, since those Jews who returned from captivity refused to permit the Samaritans to be part of rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem” [20].

The Samaritans’ rejection did not help this tension, and discord would boil over many times into open conflicts [19]. While this account in the Gospel of John is a literal, historical encounter between Jesus, a Jewish male, and a Samaritan female, this decision is one of “full symbolic meaning” [18, 84].

Under these circumstances, the One who came to save that which was lost was willing to risk His reputation and the rejection of the woman He approached to offer forgiveness.

It was an extraordinary decision, yet it seems that Jesus was accustomed to dealing with all sorts of people with different backgrounds. It is important to notice that earlier in chapter

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three of the Gospel of John, there was another person who approached him. His name was Nicodemus, a Pharisee (John 3:1).

The comparison of the two helps not only to set the contextual background, which is very important in studying the Biblical text but also to give a glimpse in understanding the reason Jesus came and also to see how people respond to the message of the Savior.

Thus, Jesus is the Giver, and both Nicodemus and the woman at the well are the Receivers.

The message of salvation for all who believe resonates in these two meetings.

The differences between Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well could not have been more distinct. Nicodemus was a man, a Jew, a respected religious leader who had moral acceptance due to his reputation and position. Because of that, he had to visit in the cover of night to prevent others from seeing him associate with Jesus. On the other hand, a woman, a Samaritan, an invisible woman who had no position in society, only rejection due to her immoral reputation, could still meet Jesus during broad daylight in public.

Jesus met them in their context. Both needed answers to either questions or struggles in their heart. There was no condemnation, only an exact conversation revealing their needs.

The heart of the matter was Jesus’ focus for both of them. As Nicodemus cautiously slipped out into the night and the daring woman headed home in the heat of the day, their minds revealed something to their hearts—Jesus was the Messiah sent to meet their greatest need...redemption, the goal of the Gospel. A transdisciplinary integration dynamic process occurred in the Samaritan woman because there was evidence of a transformation in her actions. These actions result in the Samaritan woman continuing the conversation between her and Jesus with those in her town. The Gospel of John says that she brought others to Jesus (7:50, 19:39) [18]. There was nothing on any level of reality that could stop Jesus from fulfilling His call in saving those that were lost.

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The second part of the story, which covers chapter four, verses nine through thirty, reveals the discussion between Jesus and the woman He met at the well. As a result of their conversation, this physical place is where forgiveness is understood best. As we can see in the story, salvation starts with a relationship. It is the relationship between Jesus and the woman from Samaria. It was a planned meeting orchestrated by Sovereign God, with nothing happening by accident or chance. One can see that Jesus is seeking this woman’s salvation by way of relationship.

Jesus is the Giver of salvation and the Sender of the message, and the woman with a very checkered and immoral past is the Receiver of it. This account, recorded by the Apostle John, shows that the woman at the well is the recipient of salvation.

Jesus needed to go through Samaria. As he traveled north, he stopped at Sychar. This was a town near the land that Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, bought and dug a well. It was at that very well where Jesus stopped to rest from his journey. And Jacob erected an altar in that place and called it El Elohe Israel (which means “God, the God of Israel”; Gen. 33:18-20). How unique and how appropriate that name was. Here at this well, the Samaritan woman was about to arrive there and meet the God of Israel in human flesh! The Bible says that He came to rest at the well during the sixth hour. This would be around noon. The journey that day had been about twenty miles on foot. Any man would be exhausted by that distance. In addition to the long journey, the heat of the day would add to his exhaustion. In John’s book, it says that He “sat thus by the well” (v. 5). As a respite from his journey and refreshment for his thirst, the well would be a place of restoration for the Samaritan woman too.

Everywhere around him, there were sights full of history, the history of God’s people. Examples of these sights are Jacob’s well, Mount Gerizim, Joseph’s tomb [18]. John, the Apostle, very specifically

says He “needed” to go through Samaria.

What would the need be? This place would be a meeting that was not by chance or just happened. This was a meeting ordained

by God. A divine appointment where Jesus Christ (the Way, the Truth, and the Life) would meet with the Samaritan woman in desperate need of truth. He met with the Samaritan woman to show His love to her and lead her to salvation. Jesus would endure the hot sun and the long journey for this meaningful moment. It was the moment when the Living Water would ask the Samaritan woman for a drink. Jesus could have quenched his human thirst differently.

He could have even drawn the water out of the well himself. As the Son of God, he could have chosen another way in which not to experience thirst in the first place. But He chose to humble Himself and take full humanity, experiencing hunger and thirst like all of humanity. Jesus patiently waited for this self-conscious woman to arrive at the well so that the divine appointment could take place, and He could ask her for a drink. It is known that for that reason alone, she would have ordinarily been despised by a Jew. There was more to her story. It was more than a cultural barrier; there was also a religious barrier. This woman was known as a sinful woman. A woman that had a terrible reputation due to the free choices she had made in her life. Now she was a slave to sin, and the hopeless trap of sin marred her life.

The context provides a little hint of how her reputation was because the tradition was for the women to go out in the first hours of the morning to draw their water for the day and have conversations with other women.

But this woman came out at noon, at a time when the other women were not likely to be there. There was shame on her part because of the sin in her heart. Another aspect of this divine appointment shows the personal connection that must happen when each individual meets the Truth. Jesus had sent the disciples to buy food for their group, so they traveled into town and left him at the

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well to rest. When the Samaritan woman arrived at the well, Jesus was alone there.

Why would Jesus send the disciples away?

Maybe it was to be merciful to this woman and not have her be at the center of disgrace as she came to draw water under the watchful eyes of so many men. It could be that He sent them away so that there would be no distractions in this divine appointment.

When Jesus spoke, it shocked the woman that He was addressing her. First, a Jew would never talk to a Samaritan, especially to ask for something as they were sworn, enemies. Second, a man would never speak to a woman in public, especially a woman with a questionable reputation. She was bold in questioning the obvious, “How is it that you ask me for a drink?” This act of mercy and love reached directly into her heart. It was a simple request that jumped over all barriers that existed culturally or religiously. Yet, it was a simple act of kindness that showed the woman that Jesus valued her as a person.

The Living Water used metaphors to explain Truth, but the Samaritan woman understood them in literal terms. Only when Jesus declared who He was, did she understand.3 Her heart was opened to the Truth and the Life through His lovingkindness. She could not follow the symbolism, but as they talked, He leads her into seeing who God is—a personal God who acts in history in more ways than she knows, understands, or could ever imagine. An amazing aspect of their encounter subtly comes to light. It is a learning that speaks directly to the heart of the receiver of salvation by grace. That direct, heartfelt conversation resulted in the woman at the well quickly understanding that she was to go and tell her people about Jesus. As in any case, when the Sender meets the Receiver with the Message, there is always a Transformation that takes place.

The story of the woman at the well continues. It began with the detour as presented previously (4:1-8), now it moves to 3 John 4:26

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a look at the discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman (4:9-30), and in a more extended section, it will conclude with an encounter with the disciples (4:31-42). When they returned and found Jesus talking with this Samaritan woman, they were speechless.

Who knows if they saw her and passed by without saying any word on their trip to town to buy food. They missed the moment that would once again define their call, take the Message of salvation to anyone, and take no notice of their status, skin color, age, and gender of the Receiver. The proclamation made by the redeemed woman of the Yeshua Hamashiach to the people from Sychar (again, what a tremendous irony) [15, 134], and the presentation of the big harvest that just needs workers, the Bread and Water of Life being present together as an integrative message through the source of both, Jesus Christ, as Bread of Life and Living Water (Jn. 4:31-38). The woman and Jesus, as Receiver and Sender, are ministering together as disciple and mentor, sharing the seed with the disciples seeing the miracle of the harvest [Keener, 2003]. The past (Jn. 4:7-30) and the future (Jn. 4:39-42) are working together as a whole in a transdisciplinary synergistic generative way, transcending all the barriers or walls, and building bridges [1].

The transgression of thresholds is realized through the cross-disciplinary interaction of knowledge before the final phase of the synergistic generative transdisciplinary integration (see fig.1). This action is possible by canceling all the barriers, the walls by building bridges to communicate synergistically (Jn. 4:39-42). The woman’s testimony about Messiah is crucial for Sychar, acting as a climax of the cumulated information from all previous sequences organized as slices [21] [22]. The synergistic generative conversation is happening in a transitional pattern from a bottom thematiccurricular level of the integrative knowledge of Him, to a top transthematic one [1, 17]. The water from the well (Jew); the Living Water (God’s gift, greater than our father Jacob?);

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the Living Water from a spring of water welling up to eternal life, and confrontation with a bad morality (“...you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband”); place or way of praising (“we know that Messiah will come”- “I who speak to you am He”-“Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus Christ”); the “Bread and Water of Life” in a synergistic generative action.

In this way, Yeshua Hamashiach and the woman minister together as mentors and disciples, sharing the seed, while the disciples are outsiders seeing the harvest.

The last sequence as final transdisciplinary is in the proclamation of Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach. He is proclaimed as Redeemer of the world (the entire city is receiving the good news, being interested in the message transmitted by a woman), and finally altogether are proclaiming the message: “we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (Jn.4:42). There is a successive different quality of the knowledge process.

From the monodisciplinary statistic level to the multidisciplinary approach, as syntactic level, followed by an excellent lesson of the synergistic structurative-functionalgenerative integration of the knowledge of God forcing barriers (interdisciplinary structurative sequence), penetrating them (crossdisciplinary sequences-the testimony of Jesus Christ about Himself – affirmation and the proclamative testimony of the woman about Him) [9, 13]. Finally, are canceled all kinds of possible separations (top transdisciplinary– the testimony of the woman and the people from the city about Him, as a synergistic significant message proclaiming the Jew, greater than common father Jacob, the prophet as Messiah, the Redeemer of the entire world [16, 140][23, 240][24, 9]. All the sequences presented in the text are integrated through final synergistic transdisciplinary significant representation when the Samaritans are transcending all kind of barriers (ethnic, religious, cultural) receiving the knowledge from a Jew, recognized as Yeshua

Hamashiach, Jesus Christ the Messiah, spending time together (three days) without any discrimination between people and the woman with the bad reputation, and apostles, all being equaled in communion with participation [25, 184][26, 11][27].

Conclusions The paper presents a synergistic significance model to the evangelistic message in a transdisciplinary context as a common working of the people of different cultures, religions, and social status living in an incompatible context. The model presented puts together two different ways of working, an open one, where a Samaritan woman with a terrible reputation is proclaiming the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Son of Man and Son of God, Yeshua Hamashiach, to the people of the city Sychar. The second communicational space is a closed one, where the Rabbi Yeshua Hamashiach presents to His apostles the harvest ready to be gathered. Both communicational spaces presented before are working together to motivate the people from Sychar that the Savior of the world is coming to the city.

Acknowledgment The paper was prepared in the inter and transdisciplinary research program of the Ethical Society Research Center of the Emanuel University of Oradea under the supervision of Dr. Ioan G. Pop, Ph.D. in Physics and Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences.

Bibliography [1]

[2]

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Pop, G. Ioan. Ph.D. Thesis in Mechatronics.

Unpublished. Technical University, Cluj Napoca, 2011.

Pop, G. Ioan & Ilie Soritau. The Mankind between Betel and Ai: A Synergistic Contextual Communication Model on Faith (paper presented at the ComSymbol

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Conference 2014 Montpelier at Beziers).

Volume: Communication on Faith, published in Espace Public et Communication de la Foi (2014): 487-502, DOI: 10.13140/2.1.2932.5448.

[3] Barrios, Romeo. “Biblical Origin of Communication in the Context of Synergistic Communication Theory: Basis for Creating the 21st Century Communication Model.”

Adventist University of Philippines Research Journal, (18), no. 2: 32, 2015.

[4] Smith, Donald. Creative Understanding: A Handbook for Christian Communication Across Cultural Landscapes. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1992.

[5] Peterson, Eugene. The Message. Colorado Springs: Navpress, 2002.

[6] Barrios, R. A meta-analysis of secular theories and biblical foundations of communication: Bridging pedagogical gaps. Philippines: Adventist University of the Philippines & AsiaPacific International University, Thailand, 2013.

[7] Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2000 edition.

[8] Covey, Stephen. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Free Press & Ed. Simon & Schuster, 2013.

[9] Pop, Ioan G. & Otniel Veres. Elemente de Semiofizica Aplicata, [Elements of Applied Semiophysics ] Cluj-Napoca: Risoprint, 2010.

[10] Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A. and Sparks, G. A first look at communication theory, 9th edition.

U.S.A.: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2015.

[11] Reyes, E. & Gonzales, E., editors. A gathering of light for empowerment (First LambatLiwanag Network & Saniblakas Foundation Conference Book). Manila: University of Santo Tomas Press, 2002.

[12] Barrios, R. “Developing a metaparadigm tool for teaching communication in christian schools: The synergistic communication model.” Philippines: Adventist University of the Philippines, 2014.

[13] Jones, R. 2013. “How has God Spoken to His People throughout the OT and NT?” (Article).

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www.titusinstitute.com, The Titus Institute of California.

[14] Montuori, A. 2013. “Complexity and Transdisciplinarity: Reflections on Theory and Practice.” World Futures: The Journal of Global Education, (69): 4-6, 200-230.

[15] Cruceru, Marius. Înconjurînd Muntele Fericirilor. O abordare periegetică a Predicii de pe Munte. [Surrounding the Mount of Beatitude: A Periegetic Approach to the Sermon on the Mount]. Oradea, Romania: Editura Ratio et Revelatio, 2013.

[16] Gitt, W. In the Beginning Was Information: A Scientist Explains the Incredible Design in Nature. Germany: Christliche LiteraturVerbreitung, 2006.

[17] Lupasco, S. 1987. Le principe d’antagonisme et la logique de l’énergie - Prolégomènes à une science de la contradiction, Hermann & Cie. Colloque „Actualités scientifiques et industrielles”, no. 1133, Paris, 1951; 2nd ed., Le Rocher, Monaco. “Transdisciplinarité” Series, 2002.

[18] Phillips, John. Exploring the Gospel of John.

Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1989.

[19] Borchert, Gerald. John 1-11: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of the Holy Scripture. The New American Commentary.

USA: Broadman & Holman Publishers, (25):183-222, 1996.

[20] Harrison, Everett. John: The Gospel of Faith.

Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody Bible Press, 1962.

[21] Keener S. Craig, The Gospel of John: A Commentary 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003.

[22] Lute, B. E. “Win/Win - The Art of Synergistic Communication.” Trafford Publishing, 2006.

[23] Everitt, Dave & Alec Robertson. 2007.

“Emergence and complexity: Some observations and reflections on transdisciplinary research involving performative contexts and new media.” International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media (3), no. 2 & 3:239-252.

[24] Vereş, O.L. and Ioan G. Pop. 2009.

“Transdisciplinarity and Christian Thought.”

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Transdisciplinarity in Science and Religion (6):14-22.

[25] Hall, E.T. The Silent Language. Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, Inc. Greenwich, 1959, (Le langage silencieux, Seuil, 1984).

[26] Nicolescu, B. “Transdisciplinarity – Past, Present and Future,” în Haverkort B., Reijntjes C., Moving Worldviews - Reshaping Sciences, Policies and Practices for Endogenous Sustainable Development, COMPAS Editions, Holland, 142-166, 2006.

[27] Soritau, Ilie & Ioan G. Pop. Transdisciplinary Perspective through the Synergistic Communication on Faith in the Seven Letters of Revelation. (paper presented at the ComSymbol Conference 2014 Montpelier at Beziers). Volume: Communication on Faith, published in Espace Public et Communication de la Foi (2014): 453-468, DOI: 10.13140/2.1.3981.1203.

Simuț: “Reformarea mântuirii, Volumul 1, Repere soteriologice în teologia reformatorilor din Anglia și Europa continental în secolele XVI și XVII” (Oradea, Romania: Editura Universității Emanuel din Oradea).

Dr. Soritau is a member of The Evangelical Theological Society and the Homiletical Society.

He serves on the Council of the Romanian Baptist Union and a co-founder of the Family Advisory Council at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Biography Dr. Ilie Soritau was born in Arad County, Romania, in September 1968. He has a M.Div. in theology with biblical languages from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina (1999), and a Ph.D. in theology from BabesBolyai University in Cluj, Romania (2012). He was an adjunct professor of homiletics for six years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas (2006-2012).

Also, he has taught from 1999 to the present day at Emanuel University of Oradea. He currently serves as Vice President and Chief Librarian of Emanuel University in Oradea, Romania. He has co-authored multiple articles with Dr. Ioan Pop on “Transdisciplinary Perspective Through the Synergistic Communication on Faith in the Seven Letters of Revelation” as well as “The Mankind between Bethel and Ai, a Synergistic Contextual Communication Model on Faith.”

He has co-authored a book with Dr. Ciprian

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I have used this idea of a Melting Pot for this 12th edition’s logo because nowadays there are so many and diverse factors involved in reshaping our world – from different areas of living, cultural and civilizational background, countries, sciences, or religions -, which are always willing and eager to provide ongoing newer means and motivations to undergo significant changes in a world in ‘progress’ or at least in an accelerate reshaping process!

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the Dialogue between Science and Theology Volume 7 Issue 1 The Annual Vrtual Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. Dialogo conf 2020 VIC November 3-12. 2020

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