To Remember Peacefully: A Christian Perspective of Theology of Remembrance as a Basis of Peaceful Remembrance of Negative Memories
Memory plays an important role in peace building efforts and reconciliation processes. In the modern world, memory is a contesting battleground, where the winner has the merit to write down the story. However, the advancement of technology of memory, and the rise of postmodern philosophy that addres...
| Published in: | International journal of public theology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2017
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| In: |
International journal of public theology
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| RelBib Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality FA Theology NBE Anthropology NCD Political ethics ZD Psychology |
| Further subjects: | B
Eucharist
memory
remembrance
positive remembrance
dangerous memory
dangerous love
anamnesis
Johann Baptist Metz
Søren Kierkegaard
1965 Indonesian communist massacre
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | Memory plays an important role in peace building efforts and reconciliation processes. In the modern world, memory is a contesting battleground, where the winner has the merit to write down the story. However, the advancement of technology of memory, and the rise of postmodern philosophy that addresses the importance of alternative memories have contributed to the complexity of the web of memories of the past. How do we deal with contesting memories, and more importantly, how do we heal them? This paper will explore the possibility of a Christian theology of remembrance that serves as a basis of peace-building and reconciliation. Christian worship and theology are based directly on the order to remember. The act of remembering Christ that is being celebrated in the liturgy of the Eucharist is a demanding remembrance. It has a three-fold demand: First, we are asked to remember the suffering as memoria passionis [memory of the suffering of Christ]—as our responsibility towards others; second, we are asked to love our neighbors who come to the table as a consequence of God’s command to love; and third, we ask God to remember us, because every time we remember Christ, we are demanding that God remember the Parousia [the coming] as the fulfilment of God’s promise. Through these consequences of the remembrance of the past, we are offered a chance of changing the meaning of our painful memories, and instead to remember them peacefully. |
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| ISSN: | 1569-7320 |
| Contains: | In: International journal of public theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15697320-12341484 |