What is the ultimate goal of education? Is it an acquisition of knowledge and competences? Is it a pragmatic ability to compete with others? Is it self-assertion on the labor market? The goals of educational endeavor change according to the demand of time. This study presents an alternative view in relations to the contemporary cosmology and theology tends to be set aside by modern interpreters. However, these aspects cannot be separated without substantial loss of integrity of Comenius’ work. That is why this study strives for such interpretation that would maintain the integrity of the work by Comenius. In particular, we will outline the relation of Comenius’ anthropological principle called “samosvojnost” (self-sustaining modus of being) and his pedagogy. His educational approach which strives for overcoming of the dehumanizing “samosvojnost” might sound as archaic and old-fashioned, but a closer scrutiny discloses a surprisingly rich and profound material which may contribute to contemporary philosophy of education.
Forms of worship in the home are connected with the origin and development of the Church. First of all, Jesus’ disciples met in the Temple and in their homes. Christians also used synagogues, which were spread across the whole Roman Empire. Further advancement brought an emphasis on the development of wor- ship in the home, which is preserved in the record called Didachē, and later on, “daily prayer of the Church”—liturgia horarum—which provides proof of the importance that was placed on family devotions along with continual prayer. Some forms of daily prayer were developed in monastic communities and others came to life in the homes of the laity. Practically every period of Church renewal was connected with new emphases on liturgy in the home. We can follow that development in both the Czech and worldwide reformation and in other streams of renewal. Worship in the home had the advantage of accessibility for entire families since it was not dependent on the presence of an ordained minister, and it introduced knowledge of the Scriptures and an active life of prayer. This article looks at the topic of worship in the home (family devotions) from an ecumenical perspective today. What is the problem and what can become an inspiration for the renewal of liturgy in the home?
Being theologians of life: A Christian theology as a way of loving (self-)comprehension of/in reality as a whole
(Radek Labaj)
The aim and the content of this article could be summarized by the motto “return to cosmology” (i.e. to the unified Christian “worldview”). The author of this article starts with a brief description of the inauspicious state of “disintegrated mind” of (post)modern man. Then he proceeds to present two illustrative syntheses, whose authors strive to overcome that harmful disintegration: 1) N. Murphy and G. Ellis provide a model of integration of science, ethics and theology in order to live a good and full life in the age of secularism and scientific/technological naturalism. 2) A. Nesteruk introduces his “cosmic vision”, which helps us to see our scientific and theological endeavour (as of subjects of knowledge created in the image of God) in the light of “Mystery” and wants to teach us wisdom, humility and awe in our research (both in natural and human branches of science). Those syntheses imply cosmology which bombards us with questions which cry for further explanation. Theology cannot ignore them. The concluding part of the article proposes several practical impulses how we—through our continuous articulation and “living” of the all-comprehensive Christian “worldview”—can become “theologians of life” in its complexity.