Pauline Kollontai

Healing the heart in Bosnia‐Herzegovina: art, children and peacemaking

Data gathered by the United Nations show that in modern warfare civilians make up the majority of casualties, most of them are children and women. Children affected by war can experience both physical and psychological problems. This can damage their own sense of purpose and identity which can lead to difficulties in the way they see and relate to others. This paper explores using art with children and young people who have experienced war in Bosnia‐Herzegovina. I examine how children find ways to respond to the effects and aftermath of war in terms of their sense of resilience and morality and how they can become peacemakers by using their creativity, giving it expression through art. The content of the paper is drawn from a collection of written sources and empirical research carried out in post‐war Bosnia‐Herzegovina since 2008.

MESSIANIC JEWS AND JEWISH IDENTITY

In recent years Messianic Judaism has grown considerably worldwide and has caused much concern within the contemporary Jewish community. Messianic Jews claim they are completely Jewish, but they are considered by the majority of the Jewish community to be Christian apostates. This paper considers the practices and beliefs of the Messianic community, explores the issue of their identity and reflects on this in relation to Jewish identity throughout the universal Jewish community. It explores the question of placing Messianic Jews outside the Jewish fold, given that the various branches of contemporary Judaism are deeply divided over central tenets of faith and practice. It considers the Messianic belief in Jesus as the Messiah in the light of normative Jewish approaches to aspects of Halakhic teaching.

Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education: Using Art in a Philosophical Discussion on God, Evil and Suffering

The use of emotional intelligence in peace-building has grown significantly during the past few years. Many projects across the world include some form of art activity to help victims of conflict, both individually and together across conflicting parties, in shaping a political process which enables a more profound understanding of each other with the aim of reconciliation and building a future where the break-down of societies into violence are less likely to occur. This led me to consider how the use of paintings/drawings, done by the victims or witnesses of conflict such as war, genocide and ethnic cleansing, could contribute to the learning experience of students undertaking an elective module on the Philosophy of Religion which addressed the issues of God, evil and suffering. The findings presented here are the result of a qualitative study I undertook with undergraduate students on this elective module over a period of three years.

Contemporary Thinking on the Role and Ministry of Women in the Orthodox Church

The article is concerned with contemporary Orthodox thinking on the role of women in the Church. This topic is explored in the context of Orthodox theology, tradition and history. The starting point for Orthodox theology as regards the division of humanity into masculine and feminine is fundamental to understanding the Orthodox Churchs view on the past, present and future role of women. In particular, the current issues of restoring the female diaconate and ordaining women to the priesthood present a significant challenge to the Orthodox Church in its understanding of the meaning of faithfulness to tradition and its discernment of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Storytelling in Religious Education

Many peace-building and conflict resolution projects across the world include the use of the arts (e.g. theatre, music, dance, painting, storytelling). The utilization of art in this way is aimed to help people from across communities to overcome their fears and prejudices by learning about each other through creativity and imagination with the aim of building a future where the break-down of social trust, which sometimes spirals down into violence, is less likely to occur.

The Sacred Icon: Confronting the Anthropocentrism of a Secularized World

This chapter is concerned with the pedagogical use of sacred icons in nurturing human qualities which promote and support the dignity of all life and respect and empathy for each other. Christian Orthodox teaching is used to provide a framework to explore this topic in the contemporary context with its wide diversity of religious and non-religious belief positions. The Orthodox Church came about because of the split, known as the Great Schism of 1054 between the Eastern and Western Churches. Historically, Orthodox Christianity has been mainly located in the Middle East and parts of East and Central Europe, but through the migration of people Orthodox Churches can be found in most regions throughout the world. It is made up of four Patriarchates, nine autocephalous churches and four autonomous churches, all self-governing and independent, but held together by unity of faith and communion in the sacraments.

The Sacred Icon in the Contemporary World

Prayer, for the major part of the Old Testament, is a humble asking, a supplicating of God, and not bearing within it any sense of presumption that what is being asked for will necessarily be given. When intercessors make their prayers for others in their distressing situations, frequently it is their situations of weakness and powerlessness that are emphasized before God. The mercy of God is sought for such people, and thus it was that Amos, for example, prayed for the people of Israel,