El fin del mundo de los gigantes. Las tradiciones literarias de Qumrán y su contribución al pensamiento apocalíptico judío sobre el desastre

Apocalyptic scenarios of disaster have frequently been understood in terms of fate and as product of a struggle between otherworldly beings, angels and demons. The archetypical story of the world which ended with the flood in 1 Enoch is significantly supplemented by Qumran literature. The end of the world of giants as described in the Qumran Book of Giants provides a unique narrative personification of this world, highlighting human dimensions of responsibility, warfare and great injustice, and aspects of social organization, and providing references to the Mesopotamian epic hero Gilgamesh who envisaged an end to his mythical strength, when his warfare against all flesh came to a turning point of heavenly vindication. Differently from 1 Enoch 14.8-22 and from Daniel 7,9-10, the Book of Giants situates a throne vision of divine judgement on earth rather than in heaven. The Qumran Book of Giants narrates aspects of the thought world of the giants, describing the anguish of the giants through their conversations and their unsettling dreams. Literary parallels between the book of Daniel, Enochic literature, and the Book of Giants suggest that cultural memory about the destructive use of power in the Babylonian age belongs among the ingredients of the archetypical stories of the giants in the Book of Watchers and the Book of Giants.Los escenarios apocalípticos de desastre han sido frecuentemente entendidos en términos de destino y como resultado de una lucha entre seres sobrenaturales, ángeles y demonios. La historia arquetípica del mundo que terminaba con la inundación en 1 Enoc está suple­mentada significativamente por la literatura de Qumrán. El fin del mundo de los gigantes tal y como es descrito en el Libro de los Gigantes de Qumrán provee una personificación narrativa única de este mundo, destacando las dimensiones humanas de responsabilidad, guerra y gran injusticia, aspectos de organización social y provee referencias al héroe épico mesopotámico Gilgamesh, que previó un final a su mítica fuerza, cuando su guerra contra toda carne llegó a un punto de inflexión de venganza celestial. A diferencia de 1 Enoc 14.8-22 y de Daniel 7, 9-10, el Libro de los Gigantes muestra una visión del trono del juicio divino en la tierra, más que en el cielo. El Libro de los Gigantes de Qumrán narra aspectos del mundo concebido de los gigantes, describiendo su angustia a través de sus conversaciones y sus inquietantes sueños. Los paralelos literarios entre los libros de Daniel, la literatura enoica y el Libro de los Gigantes sugieren que la memoria cultural sobre el uso destructivo del poder en la edad babilónica se encuentra entre los ingredientes de las historias arquetípicas de los gigantes en el Libro de los Vigilantes y el Libro de los Gigantes

Propagating the fear of witchcraft: Pentecostal prophecies in the new prophetic churches in South Africa

Pentecostal prophecy is one of the major themes of the theology and practice of religion among the prophets of New Prophetic Churches in South Africa and a major factor to the growth and expansion of Pentecostalism in Southern Africa. This paper offers a reflection on the role of prophecy in relation to the fear of witchcraft in the region. The contribution is that Pentecostal prophecy is not always in confrontation but sometime propels the fear of witchcraft. Through media analysis, the paper illustrates with some examples of Pentecostal prophecies on witchcraft how Pentecostal prophecy can aid rather than dispel fear of witchcraft. These prophecies raise several challenges to the discernment of Pentecostal prophetic ministry.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiolog

El fin del mundo de los gigantes. Las tradiciones literarias de Qumrán y su contribución al pensamiento apocalíptico judío sobre el desastre

Los escenarios apocalípticos de desas¬tre han sido frecuentemente entendidos en términos de destino y como resultado de una lucha entre seres sobrenaturales, án¬geles y demonios. La historia arquetípica del mundo que terminaba con el diluvio está suplementada significativamente por la literatura de Qumrán. El fin del mundo de los gigantes tal y como es descrito en el Libro de los Gigantes de Qumrán pro¬vee una personificación narrativa única de este mundo, mostrando una visión del trono del juicio divino en la tierra, más que en el cielo. Narra aspectos del mundo concebido de los gigantes, describiendo su angustia a través de sus conversaciones y sus inquietantes sueños. Los paralelos lite¬rarios con los libros de Daniel y la literatu¬ra enoica sugieren que la memoria cultural sobre el destructivo poder en la edad babi¬lónica se encuentra entre los ingredientes de las historias arquetípicas de los gigantes en el Libro de los Vigilantes y el Libro de los GigantesApocalyptic scenarios of disaster have frequently been understood in terms of fate and as product of a struggle between otherworldly beings, angels and demons. The archetypical story of the world which ended with the flood is significantly supplemented by Qumran literature. The end of the world of giants as described in the Qumran Book of Giants provides a uni¬que narrative personification of this world. Differently from 1 Enoch 14.8-22 and from Daniel 7,9-10, the Book of Giants situates a throne vision of divine judgement on earth rather than in heaven. The Book of Giants further describes the anguish of the giants through their conversations and their unsettling dreams. Literary parallels between Daniel, 1 Enoch, and the Book of Giants suggest that cultural memory about the destructive power of the Babylonian age belongs among the ingredients of the archetypical stories of the giants in the Book of Watchers and the Book of Giant

研究

Our aim was to determine whether a fermented milk drink containing probiotics could improve the bowel habits of frail elderly individuals living in a nursing home. A total of 135 participants were enrolled in this pilot study. The bowel habits (stool quality and bowel movements) were recorded by nursing staff during a baseline period of 3 weeks. After this period participants received daily a fermented milk drink containing minimally 6.5×109 colony forming units of Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) for 6 weeks. During this period, bowel habits were recorded and compared to baseline period. Forty-four participants (74-99 years old) were compliant and used for analysis. Consumption of fermented milk containing LcS significantly increased the percentage of ideal stool types per week (P < 0.01), lowered the percentage of constipation stool types per week (P < 0.01) and significantly lowered the percentage of diarrhoea stool types per week (P=0.016) as compared to the baseline period. The study product had no significant effect on bowel movements. During the study, no changes in laxative usage or adverse events associated with the study product were reported. Our results suggest that a fermented milk containing LcS significantly improves the bowel habits of frail elderly residents in a nursing home. These promising results should be further substantiated by a confirmatory study