Theological Reflections: Eastern European Journal of Theology

The Hope of History: Paul Ricoeur’s Philosophy on the Uses and Abuses of History

Dan Stiver — 2025-05-26

This article investigates Paul Ricoeur’s thought on the interrelations between history, memory, and ideology, with a particular focus on the contemporary challenges of historical interpretation. It draws on Ricoeur’s hermeneutical methodology to argue that history is not a neutral or objective recounting of the past but is inevitably shaped by present perspectives and ideological forces. Central to this inquiry is the role of memory—both personal and collective—in constructing identity and informing ideological narratives, which may function either as instruments of emancipation or mechanisms of domination. The study offers a critical analysis of the ideological distortions that can arise from historical narratives, especially within contexts of political power. Furthermore, it proposes that a Christian hermeneutic contributes valuable insights into the ethical dimensions of historical engagement, particularly through the lenses of truth, justice, and reconciliation. The article ultimately advocates for a redemptive and dialogical approach to history, one that affirms the potential of narrative identity and collective memory to serve as agents of healing and social transformation in fragmented societies.

The Concept of Memory in the Work of Miroslav Volf: A Critical Survey

Vasyl Matsyuk — 2025-05-26

Miroslav Volf’s concept of memory is deeply connected to his broader theological vision, shaped by his understanding of grace, reconciliation, and eschatological hope. This article surveys how memory fits within Volf’s Christian framework, particularly its relationship to atonement and divine generosity. In The End of Memory, he argues that while memory is essential for justice and identity, it must ultimately be transformed by grace. In the eschaton, the memory of wrongdoing will gradually fade as a gift from God, making perfect communion with God and one another possible. This study explores how Volf’s eschatology informs this claim and considers whether his framework sufficiently accounts for the moral weight of past suffering and the need for recognition. Engaging with critiques of his position, the article examines how his reflections on forgiveness, justice, and reconciliation shape his approach to remembering rightly. By situating his concept of memory within his larger theological project, this survey provides an overview of its role in his vision of redemption and the world to come.

The Relationship Between the Motif of Memory/Remembrance and One of Its Aspects Concerning the Command to Exterminate the Canaanites in Deuteronomy 7

Volodymyr Lukin — 2025-05-26

This article explores the specific features of the theological connection between the motif of memory/remembrance and one of its aspects, namely, the command to exterminate the seven nations of Canaan. It is argued that viewing the world through the lens of covenant doctrine, which defines the foundation and essence of the connection itself in the book of Deuteronomy, is imperative in nature. As a result, the study does not dispute the legitimacy of violence. Instead, it reasserts necessity for this practice in the context of God's evolving relationship with His people at specific border periods of the event-time continuum. That means that the violence mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy 7 is theologically vindicated. Also, for the first time in a discussion of this kind, the necessary negative and positive elements (destruction and freedom) that shaped the content and form of corporate memory generated by two fundamental events in the history of the people of Israel (Egypt and the conquest of Canaan) were identified. The text highlights both the theoretical and practical nuances of “remembrance,” and the specifics of its worldview theological adversary — the motif of forgetting.

The Pentecost Narrative as a Guiding Light for Transforming Social Narratives

Eugene Utkin — 2025-05-26

The article explores the event of Pentecost through the hermeneutical approach of Paul Ricoeur, applying the concept of productive-prospective imagination. This idea integrates memory, forgetting, and the creative potential of imagination, enabling the formation of a new vision of reality and the reinterpretation of the past. The author seeks to analyze the relationship between narrative and imagination, demonstrating how they contribute to the creation of essential personal, religious communities, and societal narratives. Using the story of Pentecost as an example, the article highlights its role as a point of interaction between memory and forgetting, opening a perspective for a new future for the faith community and society. Particular attention is given to the interpretation of the “corrupt generation” as a false narrative and the transition towards a “fellowship” as an alternative model for the future. This transformation is possible only through a conscious approach to leadership and a deep reflection on the traumatic experience of war. A crucial aspect of this process is the ability to hear one another, symbolized by the phrase “speak in his own language” as a metaphor for unity and mutual understanding. Thus, the story of Pente-
cost serves as a guide for shaping new societal narratives.

Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians’ Conflicting Theologies of the Land: Is Reconciliatory Theological Dialogue Possible?

Yuriy Mark — 2025-05-26

This article examines theological positions by some of the most prominent Messianic Jewish and Palestinian Christian authors, who have contributed in significant ways to their respective communities’ theological understanding of the land most commonly referred to as Israel-Palestine. Based on selected representative works, the author’s goal is to assess the potential, or lack thereof, for fruitful dialogue and theological reconciliation that these theological positions have in themselves. The focus, therefore, is on moral and practical aspects of these theologies, particularly whether they create space for the “other” and relate to them as a brother/sister in Christ and as a legitimate neighbor in the land.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 80 Years Since His Passing

Anatoliy Denysenko — 2025-05-26

On 9 April 2025, Christian academia commemorated the 80th year since the death of the prominent German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis a month before the end of World War II. Bonhoeffer left behind a great legacy as a minister of the church, as a patriot of his people, and as an author of theological works. Today, his theological contribution includes sixteen volumes of texts plus one volume of registers and appendices in German. Only the eighth volume of Widerstand und Ergebung, which contains letters and notes written by Bonhoeffer when he was already behind bars since April 1943, has been translated into Ukrainian. It was published under the title Sprotyv i pokora (eng. Resistance and Obedience). Any serious study of Bonhoeffer’s work that is being conducted in Ukraine today should be based on these primary sources. One of the main questions that Bonhoeffer raises in his work is: “Who can stand?” His answer is: not the one for whom reason, principles, conscience, personal freedom, and virtue are the highest authority, but the one who is ready to sacrifice all of this if he is convinced that by faith and through an exceptional connection with God he is “called to obedient and responsible action.” The life of such a responsible person is a response to the request and call of God. The only question is “where are these responsible people?” (wo sind die Verantwortlichen?).

Josiah Baker, A Visible Unity: Cecil Robeck and the Work of Ecumenism

Ciprian Gheorghe-Luca — 2025-05-26

Niels Peter Lemche, If I Forget You, Jerusalem! Studies on the Old Testament

Dmytro Tsolin — 2025-05-26

Peter Harrison, John Milbank, After Science and Religion: Fresh Perspectives from Philosophy and Theology

Orysya Bila — 2025-05-26

Book Review After Science and Religion: Fresh Perspectives from Philosophy and Theology (ред. Peter Harrison, John Milbank, Cambridge University Press, 2022).

David Bentely Hart, All Things Are Full of Gods: The Mysteries of Mind and Life

Denys Kondyuk — 2025-05-26

Review on All Things Are Full of Gods: The Mysteries of Mind and Life. By David Bentely Hart: Yale University Press, 2024, 511p.; ISBN 9780300254723 (hardcover); 32.50 USD.

Tomáš Halík, The Afternoon of Christianity: The Courage to Change

Rodion Kadatskyi — 2025-05-26

Review on Пополудень християнства. Відвага змінюватись. Томаш Галік. Львів: Свічадо, 2024. 328 с. ISBN: 978-966-938-660-1 (обкл.). 420 грн.

Dalit Rom-Shiloni, Voices from the Ruins: Theodicy and the Fall of Jerusalem in the Hebrew Bible

Volodymyr Lukin — 2025-05-26

Review of Voices from the Ruins: Theodicy and the Fall of Jerusalem in the Hebrew Bible. By Dalit Rom-Shiloni. Eerdmans, 2021; (ISBN 978-0-8028-7860-1), xviii + 566 pp.

Slavoj Žižek, Christian Atheism: How to Be a Real Materialist

Mahomed Rubanenko — 2025-05-26

Shin Young Park, From Abyss to Glory: Hans Urs von Balthasar on Faith, the Self, and Kenosis as a Response to Postmodern Nihilism

Andrii Shymanovych — 2025-05-26

L. William Oliverio, Jr. Pentecostal Hermeneutics in the Late Modern World. Essays on the Condition of Our Interpretation

Serhiy Flugrant — 2025-05-26

Bill Kynes, Will Kynes, Wrestling with Job: Defiant Faith in the Face of Suffering

Eduard Denysiuk — 2025-05-26

Nijay K. Gupta, Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church

Bohdan Derkach — 2025-05-26