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Abstract
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The Bible of the Old and New Testaments presents universal history as an overarching story of the world from Creation to eschatological consummation constituting the basic theological framework embodied in creeds, symbols and liturgies and interpreted in various complementary approaches and methods in science, art and religion. The biblical vision of universal history is based on the crucial place and metaphorical meaning of the word in the Bible and in Judeo-Christian religion and culture, while encompassing cosmological and personal dimensions in intensive interaction. God addresses the earth (Isa 1:2; Hag 1:11; Ps 50:4), speaks to natural entities (Gen 1:22; 3:14; Isa 45:8; Job 37:6; 38:35), and calls them by name (Isa 40:26; Ps 147:4). The cosmic dimension of God’s speech through creation is conspicuously depicted in the poetic descriptions in Ps 19:2-7 and Ps 29. In Ps 4-5 we read: “There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” In personal relationship, the Word of God is conveyed in dreams, visions, voices out of clouds, as well as directly to the human mind and heart. In the context of Creation, Election and Covenant traditions, an especially great weight is attributed to the role of Jesus of Nazareth as “the centre of time” in the New Testament.
The scientific background of the project is the undisputed recognition of the comparative study of philosophy and theology that the Jewish-Christian concept of the word complements essentially the concept of the word in the general use of language and in the philosophy of language. The semantic and hermeneutic range of the biblical concept of the word determines religious hermeneutics, directions of developing systematic theology and directions of investigation of the history of Church. It adds to religious and humanistic sciences criteria which are not self-evident for the general research in humanities. The history of philosophy of biblical scholarship and of theology paves the way for recognition, under which aspects the Jewish-Christian concept of the word complements the general concept of the word, and consequently of communication and dialogue. One of the important areas of research into the concept of the word in this broader context is the theory and the practice of translation in general and especially of translation of the Bible. Another important area of research is transformation of biblical motifs and symbols in literature of subsequent periods.
The outline of the interdisciplinary project “Word in Dialogue” is based on the central meaning of the concept of the word in our culture and on the fact that in the areas of biblical exegesis and of general literature, systematic theology and in the history of the Church there are very few studies dealing with the concept of the word in a broader cultural, intercultural and interreligious context. The members of the project group from the field of biblical studies, history of literature, systematic theology and history of the Church engage themselves in the task of realizing, on the basis of an appropriate literary analysis of selected areas and concrete examples, how each word – and especially the biblical word – functions in a concrete cultural environment in mediating values, illusions, propaganda, magic and “mystification” of power. The members of the project group are faced with the challenge of a search for real possibilities of a dialogue between individuals, communities, nations, religions and cultures. With this challenge this question is raised: how can theology enter into constructive dialogue with contemporary sciences and arts? It is the uniquely broad range of meanings of the biblical concept of the word that determines the scientific background of the project, and a restrictive selection of documents for a detailed analysis provides an opportunity for its feasibility and originality.
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