Kairos and Carnival: Mikhail Bakhtin’s Rhetorical and Ethical Christian Vision
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2018, Vol 9, Issue 3
Abstract
The term kairos has been used to mean, alternatively, right timing or proportion in Ancient Greek rhetoric, by Jesus to refer to the Christian eschaton and by Paul Tillich and modern liberation theologians to refer to the breakthrough of the divine into human history. Kairos, unlike chronos, is an intrinsically qualitative time and implies a consciousness of the present as well as the need for responsive action. This emphasis on action provides the link between kairos and virtue, the particular virtue in question being that of prudence (phronesis in Greek). The aim of this article is twofold: to highlight and make explicit the connections between the notion of kairos and the Russian literary-theorist and philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin’s rhetorical and ethical world, with particular emphasis on his notion of carnival; secondly, to further support a Christian reading of Bakthin’s work by making explicit the connections between his carnivalesque vision and a Christian reading of the ethical importance of kairos and its links with incarnation.
Authors and Affiliations
Ian Bekker
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25947
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9030079
- Views 340
- Downloads 9
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Religions in 2014
The editors of Religions would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2014: Acevedo, Gabriel A. Ajrouch, Kristine J. Anbar, Ran Angeles, Vivienne Avishai, Or...
Translation and Validation of Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire SHALOM in Lithuanian Language, Culture and Health Care Practice
Awareness of patients’ and healthy people’s spiritual well-being allows for care professionals to support individual spiritual concerns in a timely and appropriate manner, performing a whole-person approach to care. To...
Effect of the “Spiritual Support” Intervention on Spirituality and the Clinical Parameters of Women Who Have Undergone Mastectomy: A Pilot Study
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the spiritual support intervention on spirituality and the clinical parameters of women who have undergone mastectomy. This is a pilot study of a randomized clinical trial. Th...
Protection of Religious Signs under Trademark Law: A Perspective of China’s Practice
This article looks at how religious signs are increasingly used in trade and how misappropriation can be harmful to the identity and preservation of religious cultures. Research has shown that trademark rules can be us...
“I Heard the Voice. I Felt the Presence”: Prayer, Health and Implications for Clinical Practice
Research concerning the relation between physical health and prayer typically employs an outcome oriented paradigm and results are inconsistent. This is not surprising since prayer per se is not governed by physiologic...