Systematic theology

Why is the “sin of the past” sin and how far is that the sin of the church…?

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Nach einem Vierteljahrhundert seit den gesellschaftlich-politischen Umwälzungen Ost- Mittel-Europas im Jahre 1989 sind die ungarischsprachigen reformierten Kirchen der Region immer noch vor die Frage gestellt: Mit welchen weitreichenden Konsequenzen ist zu rechnen, wenn die Verantwortung für die Geschichte und für die moralisch-sittliche Schuld erwähnt wird? Eine Reduktion der Schuldfrage auf die Feststellung, dass Kirchenleitende, Pfarrerinnen und Pfarrer bzw. kirchliche Mitarbeiter zu ihren persönlichen Taten (d.h.

Is there Need for Anti-Semitism in the (Hungarian Reformed) Church?

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In 1519 Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote in a letter to Jacob Hoogstraeten: “If to be a Christian is to hate Jews, then we are all thoroughly Christian.” Our aim is to examine whether this sentence is in any way relevant – evidently under the changed circumstances – in the Transylvanian (Hungarian) Reformed Church. We show that the main cause of occasional anti-Semitism is the anti-Semitic heritage of Christian Church, particularly the anti-Semitic heritage of Protestantism. After facing this heritage, we shape the theological, moral and psychological risks of anti-Semitism / anti-Judaism.

The Hungarian ethos of forgiveness during the decades of “the western past elaboration

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After World War II many questions were raised by the „generation of sons” to their fathers regarding the war. There was an urgent need to cope with the past somehow. In this past elaboration the voice of the victims was worth to listen to and forgiveness of the aggressors became a major question of the society. This article was born from a study of western forgiveness-discussions and presents the Hungarian forgiveness-ethos after the end of the Great War and the big changes of 1989.

A Sermon of Karl Barth in Oradea (Nagyvárad) Condemning Bolshevism and Fascism in 1936

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This sermon of the famous professor, based on the text of John 14:1, is hardly familiar for readers of Hungarian theological literature. However, it is known that a Hungarian summary was made at the time the sermon was held, and once published, an exact translation of the German text was made. Our aim is to review Barth’s visit to Oradea (Nagyvárad) on 7–8 October 1936, to revisit the above mentioned sermon, as well as the short interview with Barth that was published in one of the local newspapers at that time.

Translations of the Geneva Catechism and the Attached Questions and Answers Related to the Confirmation

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Calvin wished to change the structure o f his first catechism (1537/1538), which explained the Ten Commandments before the Apostles’ Cred. Having recognised that his first catechism was too difficult for children, Calvin rewrote his text. He arranged the Geneva Catechism (1542) in questions and answers in an effort to simplify doctrinal complexities. His second Catechism displaced all other Reformed catechisms until 1563, the year when the Heidelberg Catechism appeared. In 1563 the bishop o f Debrecen, Péter Méliusz, translated the Confession o f Geneva into Hungarian.