The spirit of giving: Mennonite narratives about charitable contributions

Naka, Tomomi

doi:10.1080/14755610.2011.605273

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Extravagant and spontaneous financial giving can also symbolize a strong dedication to God. However, other studies (Naka, 2011;Zaloom, 2016) suggest different religious emphasis of financial giving. Careful allocation of money, for example, can have religious significance, as it can suggest careful stewardship of God's creation.…”

Section: Religious Givingmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Both congregations made efforts to communicate the church's finances to their members. As in other liberal Mennonite congregations (Naka, 2011), the amount of money offered to congregations is announced in church bulletins. Some money offerings are used for general purposes, while others are used for specific purposes, such as local and overseas missions.…”

Section: Congregational Discussion On Givingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies among Christian groups generally indicate that believers consider financial contributions as an important way to express their religious commitment. These studies suggest that, for believers, monetary giving does not only mean expressing support for their congregations and missions, but also provides ways to become part of wider communities of Christian believers (Bialecki, 2008;Harding, 1992, Naka, 2011Zaloom, 2016).…”

Section: Religious Givingmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Conservative groups have maintained some of these rules. Liberal groups have few or no such regulations (Naka, 2008(Naka, , 2011. Despite these differences, these groups usually value their historical roots and religious emphasis on believers' communities and peace positions.…”

Section: Mennonitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy 2023 Official Conference Proceedings

2023

ACERP Official Conference Proceedings

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Although it is common to assume that monotheism grows naturally from polytheism, each of these religious systems presents, in fact, a distinct and sustainable product of spiritual evolution. The main question that arises in this respect is whether such distinctness and sustainability should result in mutual incompatibility and lack of common grounds or whether the two systems could remain dependent on each other both in substance and in form. In terms of substance, it may be more rewarding to approach the evolution of religion not as a headway progress from inferior to superior but as an evolving response to changes of the scope within which the numinous is perceived by human beings. The author believes that this scope is mostly determined by the predominant social unit within which a given religion is professed and practiced. Thus, animism operates chiefly within the context of extended family; mature polytheism corresponds to the level of clan/tribe, while monotheism proper belongs to the scale of nation/empire. As regards the corresponding evolution of the form, one can say that the above succession/expansion of scope results in a situation where newer religions tend to borrow and assimilate their signs and symbols from their predecessors. This creates a relationship of semiotic interdependence between different systems, which is, however, never perfectly symmetrical due to monotheism's more stronger propensity towards 'religiophagia'. Yet the latter's current tendency towards greater reflection and selfexamination inspires cautious optimism with respect to an improved probability of eventual interreligious harmony.

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Section: Religious Givingmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Congregational Discussion On Givingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Religious Givingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Mennonitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy 2023 Official Conference Proceedings

2023

ACERP Official Conference Proceedings

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show abstract

“…A lack of discussions such as these may be due to the relative newness of these lessons and educational materials and their focus on promoting charitable giving. However, studies of charitable giving from other countries suggest that these topics are important (Naka, 2011;Zaloom, 2016). Effectively incorporating these topics into lessons and educational materials should be explored in future research.…”

Section: Topics Excluded From Charitable Giving Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%