At the height of the deadlocks around global climate change discussions and negotiations, Pope Francis made entry with a morally captivating encyclical letter (Laudato Si) on the Care for Creation. Using a scoping review approach, we focused on a five-year-old body of research around the encyclical, identifying impacts as well as other issues arising from the scholarly engagements. Here, 150 English written publications from 2015 to 2020 were reviewed. The majority of these texts (80 %) addressed the significance and vision of Laudato Si. The rest were distributed between those that presented criticisms of the letter (11 %) and those that gauged the impact of the letter on environmental worldviews (9 %). Second, the climate change (technological advancement)-poverty (climate justice) connection, which is the encyclical’s major focus, remains contested and inconclusive as some critics have rather found and presented a positive relationship between these variables. Third, Laudato Si has recorded a mixed impact. To some people, it has not only led to increased credibility of the Pope but also the increased concern for climate change, whereas to others, it has led to a decreased credibility of the Pope as well as a lessened concern for climate change. Fourth, studies gauging Laudato Si’s impact is geographically biased as they have largely focused on the US and Europe while neglecting other regions especially Africa. The implications of these findings for research and policy are discussed.

The hierarchical functioning of God, men and women in the Letter to the Ephesians

Biblical scholars have given diverse explanations for the Lamb of God metaphor in John 1:29 and 1:36. Most scholars are of the opinion that ‘amnos’ refers to the Passover lamb. This explanation is not obvious from the context of the Fourth Gospel. To understand the metaphor ‘lamb’ or ‘amnos’ of God, one should understand the transferable meaning of the figure or image. In this comparison, only the vehicle, namely the lamb, is given. What and who the lamb is stays open. It can be anything within the limits of the other story elements that have the same qualities as a lamb. To uncover the communicative dynamics of the metaphor, the exegete must have insight into the meaning and function of the original metaphor. Rhetoric provides a clue for the interpretation of the metaphor, namely that it is a Lamb of God. Within the pericope other rhetorical clues like antithesis and varietas are also provided. These clues are important but do not explain the image of the lamb. In this study, these problems will be considered via another medium, namely Hellenistic art and imagesand their penetration into Judaism and Christianity during the 1st century CE. Hellenistic and biblical images will be used to give an alternative interpretation of the metaphor of the Lamb of God.

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Gender studies also relate to a homosexual interpretation of biblical texts. A homosexual reading of biblical texts involves the rereading and re-examination of those passages that condemn homosexuals. It is the questioning of the traditional interpretation of these passages and the identification of the heterosexism and homophobia of biblical scholars. This paper discusses the main principles involved in a homosexual reading of biblical texts.