NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion - Volume 52, Issue 2, 1998

In this contribution I compare two ways of structuring Old Testament stories: a structuralistic one that is founded on changes of place, time, action and persons, and the division of MT into open and closed paragraphs (petuhot and setumot). Two parts of 2 Chronicles are investigated: the reign of Ahaziah (II Chr. 22:1-9/12) and the celebration of the passover and the death of Josiah (II Chr. 35:1-24). It appears that the second way of structuring does not agree with the first one at a number of crucial places. However, it seems to have its own logic, having to do with a preference to contrasts.

The narratives of Genesis 1-11 are examined from an anthropological perspective focusing on the origin and development of human society. The actions of ancestors give rise to cultural institutions which deny or inverse those actions. A social world requires the existence of cultural rules and ancestors who precede it. The world is created and recreated so that society can take shape. The development of society is a gradual process requiring an increasing differentiation in terms of image, name, social hierarchy and language.

Papyrus Egerton 5 was published in 1935 as being a leaf from a Christian liturgical codex (ca. 400 AD). Subsequently two Jewish scholars tried to demonstrate that the Greek prayer text on that leaf was a short(ened) form of the Jewish Amidah (or Shemoneh Esreh = Eighteen [Benedictions]). In the past 55 years this text has fallen victim to complete oblivion. This article reopens the debate, summarizes the respective positions, and argues that the Jewish scholars were most probably right, albeit for reasons somewhat different than theirs.

This article tries to answer the question as to what extent buddhism can appreciate and embark on an ethical appeal to ‘human rights’. First of all, it represents the relevant part of an interview with the Dalai Lama on the issue, and takes his conviction as the thread of the article. The article goes on to ask whether buddhism can consider the social order a religious ideal. It then discusses some crucial buddhist conceptions related to human rights and duties. Finally, it goes more deeply into possible buddhist justifications for an appeal to (or approval of) the controversial notion of ‘human rights’.