Református Szemle 110.3 (2017)

Few passages in Matthew deal with the relation between Christ, his followers and the authorities. When Christ or the believers came into contact with the authorities, they usually ended up being persecuted, mistreated, jailed or executed. We examine the encounter of Jesus with Herod, Pharisees, Herodians, Pilate, chief priests, the first and second Roman centurion, and then the meeting of John the Baptist, Simon from Cyrene and Joseph of Arimathea with the authorities. It is only in very rare instances when a representative of the authorities makes no abuse of his status but acts as a normal human being. Jesus prepares his disciples for the ill treatment to come and assures them of his help. They have to react during the persecution as the sons of the heavenly Father, they may rejoice in the suffering, knowing that the power of the authorities is limited, and the word of God is endless.

This paper presents a summary of Sándor Makkai’s lifework (1890–1951) focusing on his frequent appeals to reform. This study concentrates on those publications in which he reassesses national, ecclesiastical and personal issues. I offer a review of the situation of the church, the theological education, the components of the national pedagogy and minority politics. We also perceive his major achievements as a pastor, as a theological professor and as the bishop of the Transylvanian Reformed Church District. He was critical towards the practices and beliefs of his age, and his reforms aimed to reach the most divergent issues. He raised existential questions, encouraged the members of his nation of a minority status. He superseded his age with his vision, so that some of those still wait to be accomplished. Sándor Makkai was the loud conscience of his generation.

In Calvin’s eschatological reflection the intermediate state of the believer is of primary importance. After death the soul leaves body, the body (and only the body) falls into sleep, the soul, however, rests by God. The perfect happiness of the soul is not diminished by the fact that in this intermediate state one still has to wait for the resurrection. Although Calvin uses platonic terminology in order to clarify his ideas, the scriptural content usually overwrites this platonic terminology. The prudence, ingenuity, critical acumen, erudition, and biblical thinking of Calvin make his eschatological cogitations worthy of (re)considering for his 21st century readers, too.

The performances organized by the educational institution at the turn of the century contributed not only to the aesthetic education of students but also to the evolution of style of the town and its vicinity. The festivities held on the occasion of birth or death anniversaries of political or clerical notorieties, school advocates, writers and poets, the plaque from Zabola, and, moreover, the ceremonious screenplays invented for the inauguration of the school’s flag remained essential elements of the contemporary social life.

In his book: Die Bibelfälscher. Wie wir um die Wahrheit betrogen werden (“The Falsifiers of the Bible. How we are betrayed concerning the truth”) Klaus Berger criticizes the historical-critical exegesis of the New Testament. Although one might find much fault with his polemics, it does deserve our attention, and his theological intention should be taken seriously.