The range of issues related to the origins of Christianity, the birth and formation of its doctrine, the existence of Christianity at an early, pre-conciliar stage, the problem of the identity of its founder, always concerned not only Christian scholars, not only those scholars who in one way or another were involved in them in their research, but society as a whole. However, in all of this, in Ukraine these problems are not well developed. Those researchers who are now engaged (...) in them, as they say, can "count on your fingers." For the most part, this gap in Ukrainian religious studies is still traditionally filled with information from former Soviet and contemporary Russian scientific publications, some foreign reprints, and the findings of Russian Christian scholars. (shrink)

It is not without reason that a number of early Christian scholars remain convinced that true Christianity, which was primarily derived from the teachings of Jesus himself, was later "distorted" by the apostle Paul. Kant, Lessing, Fichte, and Schelling separated the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth from those of his "followers." On the differences between Paulinism and Petranism, many Soviet scholars were noted in their time. Some of the modern theologians hold this view, paradoxically. One of them, the famous German (...) theologian H. Kersen writes: “What we call the Christian faith is in fact an artificial doctrine that consists of the rules and regulations created by Paul. His teaching corresponds more to the term "Paulism" than to Christianity. "Christianity is a religion founded by Paul," writes W. Nestle. - The Gospel of Christ is replaced in it by the Gospel of Christ ». (shrink)

Arseniy Rychinsky, unfortunately, belongs to the cohort of Ukrainian geniuses whose names have long been erased on the tables of Ukrainian history. Not widely known and therefore not popular in Ukraine, they still are. And it is unlikely that any of them would ever mind if it was already in an independent Ukraine - the one for which such patriots, including Arsen Rychynsky, only dreamed in their prayerful aspirations, the names and affairs of the great Ukrainian patriots, who by their (...) martyrdom sacrificed themselves to the pantheon of apostles of Ukrainian custom, they will not be properly honored. The reason for this is too simple: such genius-patriots, like Captain Arsen and their creativity, are not particularly needed for this Ukraine, since they wrote about the greatness of the Ukrainian spirit, talked about Ukraine's special dreaming role in the world. In their faith in her divine destiny, they ignited the hearts of Ukrainians, turning them into prometheus of Ukrainian patriotism, plowmen of the field of Ukrainian national construction. (shrink)

Even in the superficial reading of the New Testament, the fact that all the texts attributed to the Apostle Paul are too different not only in their creed, but also in their orientation to representatives of the Hellenistic world is striking. In contrast, the Gospels, the Epistles of James, Peter, John, Judas, and the Epistle to the Jews, and the Book of Revelation, are focused solely on the Jewish reader, have a clear, Jewish attitude. In one way or another, they (...) constantly emphasize that Jesus of Nazareth is a Jewish Savior. (shrink)

Essayism or essayism is one of the largest and most authoritative currents of pre-Christian Judaism. According to the texts of Flavius, the essays, after the Pharisees and Sadducees, were the third "philosophical school" or "sect" within Judaism at that time.73 to say something like a secret order. And what characterized the essays in general was their remoteness from the people, their conscious secrecy, the system of rigid admission to membership, and strict religious discipline. And while in the religious literature the (...) search for the origins of Christianity in the environment of the Pharisees, not to mention the Sadducees, is unpopular, then the Essenic version of the origin of the religion of Christ is quite common. The first who tended to such a point of view were the English deists and French encyclopedists. Later, this version was supported by German rationalists, especially Wachter and Steidlin. (shrink)

If Phariseeism in most of its followers had somehow assumed the coexistence of Jews within the pagan world, implied some compromise on relations with colonial Rome, then zealotism in this matter was categorical. His main motto can be summarized in the following thesis: Israel under Yahweh's rule or death. The Zealots considered any reconciliation with the Gentiles the gravest sin, recognizing the true ruler and ruler of Israel as only one Most High. Thus, Zelotism, coming out of Phariseeism, differed from (...) the latter not so much by political views as by the means of realizing these views. The idea of ​​political freedom and independence of Judea, the ethnocultural purity of the Zealots was the cornerstone of their religious and political doctrine. (shrink)

The global social, political, and cultural disasters of the twentieth century have proven themselves primarily to devalue or deny the deep foundations of Western or European civilization. And since Christianity is considered to be its basic basis, it gave an opportunity to emphasize its crisis, because Christianity, they say, has ceased to meet the demands and problems of modern man with his cult of utilitarian rationality under new conditions.

Many religious and secular studies have already been devoted to questions concerning the Christian religion. However, even today, the problem of the origins of Christianity, the birth and formation of its doctrine, studies of the early stage of its existence remain such that they can not be considered definitively. Thus, Soviet religious studies, being held captive by Marxist "canonical" ideas about religion in general, and ideological postulates about early Christianity in particular, could operate only on a number of hypotheses, according (...) to which, as a matter of fact, the origins of Christianity were first deduced from the social and economic phenomena. found among the slaves of the Roman Empire. Not being able to accurately reveal the theoretical sources of Christianity, Marxist science thus removed itself from the study of a whole set of factors that not only determined the emergence of Christianity itself, but also ideologically determined its entire fate. (shrink)

The progressive process of multiculturalism, cultural and ideological pluralism, the depreciation of traditional values ​​and semantic paradigms, in one way or another, put not only the European states, but all of humanity before the problem of returning their lost ideological and ethnocultural paradigms, and thus led to a reorientation of reorientation. cultural and semantic landmarks. This has inevitably led to the search for ways of solving these problems in the ethno-national and religious spheres as the main components of the spiritual (...) field of culture. (shrink)

The upsurge in non-traditional, including non-Christian, confessions in Ukrainian society is due to a number of factors. To a certain extent, the conversion of a part of Ukrainians to non-traditional religiosity is due to the crisis of social and political life, the transformation of ideological landmarks and the impairment of the ideological guidance of the previous system of values. Crisis phenomena did not bypass the traditional and religious sphere of society, which erupted in the crisis of traditional churches. As a (...) result, the latter were in a state of internecine confrontation and ideological hostility, the struggle for the sphere of influence on the public. This is noticeably reflected in the mind of the believer. Insufficient attention of the clergy of traditional churches to religious requests of a person, often quite formal conduct of ritual ceremonies, inappropriate behavior of the clergyman constitute prerequisites for the transition of the ordinary believer into the womb of non-traditional religiosity, in the hope of finding the necessary personal religious comfort there. (shrink)

The global social, political and cultural cataclysms of the twentieth century have shown themselves primarily to devalue or deny the deep foundations of Western or European civilization. And since Christianity is considered to be its basic basis, it gave an opportunity to emphasize its crisis, because Christianity, they say, has ceased to answer the questions and problems of modern man with its cult of utilitarian rationality under new conditions.

The question of the emergence of individual religions has always been a painful place for Soviet religious studies, since the latter tried to solve it in the Marxist canonical context: religion is the product of a certain historical epoch and has only socioeconomic and class roots of its origin. First of all, based on individual statements of the classics of Marxism, advocated the idea that religions are the fruit of the collective creative work of the masses.

Today, at the turn of the millennium, a unique situation has arisen for all mankind, which puts it, for the first time in its history, before the problem of choice and the drawing of its further destiny, that is, it induces to solve a number of fateful questions which, in one way or another, are reduced to one: "Is it possible for the further existence of mankind?", because failure to the existing global problems of modernity will mean its death.

The cornerstone of any religion is its anthropological concept, which seeks to determine the essential orientations of man, to outline the ideological framework of its existence, to represent the idea of ​​its essence, purpose in earthly life. The main task of the religious system is the act of involving and subordinating man to the spiritual divine realm as the realm of the transcendental existence of God. Belief in the real presence of the latter implies a new understanding of oneself, which (...) ultimately leads the religious individual to the desire to be involved in this transcendental existence, to have intimate relations with him, to have a consciousness inherent in God. Note that in this context, all human being is interpreted as a certain arena for this realization. Therefore, the religious life of the individual acquires the status of religious activity. (shrink)