The article describes topos of the Cartesian dualism, characteristic of different trends in philosophy of mind. Topos is based on the well-known argument against soul existence: it assumes that if there are soul and body there are causal relations between them. It seems yet to be impossible, because we can think about causes only in a physical sense. So only bodily relations are comprehensible and body cannot cause something that is noncorporal and vice versa.

Author of the article is pointing, that this strict dualism does not belong to Cartesian philosophy on the one hand and this argumentation fails on the other because there is a wide range of relations, (for example, logical or social) that are not physical. So he draws conclusions that cartesian topos in a philosophy of mind is the so-called straw man fallacy. 

Descartes introduced a new method of thinking, which became a binding paradigm of modern science. This method replaced Aristotle's physics and in practice invalidated his metaphysics. The main thesis of the article is a statement that the Cartesian way of thinking is unable to "see" human beings in their humanity. It perceives a human being as a complicated mechanism – a machine. Therefore, theology cannot accept Cartesian assumptions as the basis of its reflection. It has to find other rational foundations and ways of thinking. Certainly, it is not a right way for theology to attempt to revoke or disregard the Cartesian revolution and return to scholasticism. Theology receives assistance in this quest from the European philosophy of the twentieth century, which also tries to break free from the Cartesian paradigm. In this context, the article indicates the twentieth century philosophical reflection on the language: semiotics and hermeneutics, and the reflection of E. Levinas, as especially useful in these theological quests. Offering theological and spiritual reflection beyond the Cartesian paradigm is increasingly important, due to the rapid development of technology, especially the so-called "artificial intelligence".

The paper discusses the consequences of technological change for agent’s spiritual development, defined here as a form of experiencing one’s life, its meaning and relation with the key aspects of reality. The analysis revolves around the concept of the “Butlerian Jihad” adapted from Frank Herbert’s Dune. I start with brief discussion of Samuel Butler’s claim against the machines to pinpoint his and early XIX-century luddites’s insights into the consequences of technological development. This is followed by addressing anarcho-primitivist critique of industrial society by Theodore Kaczynski and John Zerzan. Part three deals with the notion of “jihad” which offers useful insights into both the religious presuppositions underlying some of the innovations, as well as enables rising some important questions concerning agent-related consequences of the wide spread use of technology. This, I argue, might be best dealt with within the virtue ethics framework.

The author of the article analyses the problem of spirituality and subjectivity in the context of the issue of interpersonal communication in cyberspace. Spirituality is deeply connected with the concept of soul and spirit, and it is usually associated with a religious image of the world, but it is possible to express the problem of spirituality in a broad anthropological and cultural context. In the modern concept of a human being, one usually resigns from using the term "soul", but treats seriously problems that concern a spiritual man, such as the consciousness and activity of the subject, and individual identity. The author of the article postulates a return to the interest in the issues of spirituality in the context of a reasonable use of technological tools, and to the defence of one’s own authenticity of experiences and agency in relation to the contemporary activities in the cyber world.

Wassily Kandinsky defined the character of the spirituality of modern art and outlined its territory. The notion of the spirituality of art has proved to be an important characteristic feature of works of art, and is interpreted by the art historians, theologians and aestheticians. It seems to correspond to Charles Taylor’s conception of epiphanic art. Nevertheless, the very notion of the spirituality of art is far from being clearly defined: it can refer to the spiritual nature of an artwork itself or to the creative process, or the spirituality of a work of art can be determined by its theological context. In this paper, I have compared several distinct readings of the notion of the spirituality of art, with Kandinsky’s thought constituting the frame of reference for the interpretations of the works of Rothko and Viola.

Edith Stein proposed the conception of philosophy that is strictly different than any other. She postulated that philosophy should adapt some theses of theology to be able to explain correctly and ultimately the whole reality. I presented and analyzed the critiques made by Joseph Stallmach and Karl-Heinz Lembeck that were published on Edith stein’s conception of philosophy. I also made an apology of this conception and marked new patches of understanding the relation between philosophy and theology and of considering a mystical experience
and alive faith as sources of knowledge.

The paper “Stephen and Saul of Tarsus in Acts 7:54–8:3” which points out on the one hand the importance of the encounter between Stephen and Saul in Acts 7:54–8:3 and on the other hand the role these two characters in the context of the Acts of the Apostles, is divided into four parts. The first part shortly discusses the delimitation of the textual unit Acts 7:54–8:3 and its position in the Acts of the Apostles. The second part examines the question of the tradition and redaction criticism of Acts 7:54–8:3. The third shows Stephen as an important model of discipleship whose correspondence with Jesus, his Master, is not so much in terms of imitation but in terms of continuation. The fourth demonstrates that Stephen might be seen as the precursor of Saul/Paul who can be regarded as his continuator and successor.

Aphrahat composed his 15th Demonstration On various foods (or On clean and unclean foods) in the years 343-344. As usual, also in this work, he repeats anti-Judaistic argumentation to undermine the value of the Jewish rituals and to prove the false interpretation of the Old Testament by the Jews. The ultimate source of his arguments is Christ himself whom he calls « the Holy Mouth ».  Christological focus effectively denies the Jewish ritualism and any possibility of concordance between the Jewish customs and the New Covenant. According to Aphrahat, the division between clean and unclean foods becomes worthless and the very idea of such a differentiation denies the fundamental truth about God, the Creator of all. Demonstrations criticize Judaism as an external opponent, but the main axis of Aphrahat’s polemics concerns an internal enemy. The author deliberately reveals a weakness of the Church confronted with the Rabbinic Judaism in Babilonia. A circumcision, a Shabbat observance and the food customs seem to be especially dangerous for those among Christians who have been compared with the unconscious, inexperienced, and childish men.

In the late antiquity, a cult of St. Menas was widespread over the whole Roman world, and his sanctuary in Abu Mena was a centre of a bustling pilgrimage movement. In the course of time, a significant hagiographic dossier has been created around the figure of the Saint. The paper presents two basic texts which are martyr passions. The Greek text originated plausibly in the 5th century. It contains the version of the Menas’ martyrdom that was the most prominent in the Greek and Latin world. The Coptic text, although preserved only fragmentarily, shows how the vernacular Egyptian flavour and the tradition of the Abu Mena contributed to the Saint Menas’ legend.

Among thinkers dealing with the subject of love, Erich Fromm and Hans Urs von Balthasar deserve special attention. Both, making love one of the most important issues in their scientific considerations, treat it as a solution to human difficulties and something that gives meaning to life. They make an in-depth analysis of society, people and the times in which they live and, as part of this reflection, present a multi-faceted approach to the issue of love. Their views, and in particular the differences in their perception of love, are also interesting due to their similar cultural and historical context (similar life years). The article, having regard to the different methodology used by the authors and a different perspective (psychological, philosophical or theological), shows the similarities and differences in their thoughts, and also shows that Hans Urs von Balthasar goes a step further than Erich Fromm, moving and analysing love on spaces unknown to the latter.

In the reality of charismatic communities there are some controversial matters that need to be evaluated. The main criterion of the evaluation is the Word of God and theological analysis. Among many opinions that evoke doubts are overemphasis of healing, demonic influence, so called intergenerational sin and charismania. Apart from that, there are some phenomena during prayers in charismatic communities that are questionable on the pastoral grounds, e.g. so called resting in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, crying and laughter, some practices connected with the prayer of liberation. What is necessary is the proper biblical and theological formation of the congregation so that it is able to accept God’s signs, but not to be focused on them.

The objective of the research. The article presents the results of studies that comprised 179 people belonging to three groups, distinguished on the grounds of the religiousness level. The main objective of the research was an identification of the differences between these groups, in terms of both particular dimensions of wisdom and its general indicator. The first group was created from the members of the Families Covenant Community “Mamre” (n=55). The second group consisted of people not belonging to any religious movement, but characterized by high religiosity (n=60). The third group was formed from the respondents who do not belong to any religious movement and are characterized by their low religiosity level. The methods. In this research project, the following methods were applied: (1) Three – dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS) by M. Ardelt in the Polish adaptation by S. Steuden, P. Brudek and P. Izdebski; (2) Scale of Religious System of Meanings (SRSZ ) by D. Krok; Personal Data Sheet. The results. The analysed groups differed between themselves in terms of all three dimensions of wisdom and its global indicator. Crucial statistical differences were noted between the members of The “Mamre” Community and religious people not connected
with any religious movement, and people of low level of religiosity and not bound up with any religious community. The conclusions. The received results may be a valuable help for priests and leaders of The Families Covenant Community “Mamre” in terms of specifying the characteristics and directions of formative influences towards people declaring the
will of joining the Community.

Patriotism is a phenomenon that has experienced a renaissance in Poland over the last few years. This “sign of the times” was noticed by Polish Catholic bishops who, in 2017, have published the document entitled “The Christian Shape of Patriotism”. The aim of this paper is to present the most important thoughts arising from this document, which emphasizes, first of all, the significant difference between noble patriotism and egoistic nationalism. It seems that these social reflections of the Polish Bishops’ Conference should reach a wider audience (also German-speaking readers) and this is the purpose of this article.

The deficiencies in the official statistics do not mean that it is impossible to determine data on the legitimization of illegitimate children in the19th century Silesia. The recognition of a child was recorded in the church records. As a case study the parish of Groszowice was selected. It was one of the parishes of the archpresbyterate of Opole. The Catholic parish of Groszowice included Grotowice – a village founded in the so-called period of the Frederician colonization, and the majority of its inhabitants were Protestants (members of the Evangelical parish in Opole).

This text focuses primarily on the problem of establishment of a legal relationship between an illegitimate child and his/her biological father. The years 1819-1870 were chosen as a time-frame. Phyton was used for carrying out the analysis (aggregative method, elements of family reconstruction). With the exception of Grotowice, the total of the illegitimate births corresponded to the percentage distribution of the number of inhabitants of particular villages in the total population of the parish. Out of 221 illegitimate children only 30 were legalized or adopt. All adopted children were born in the Protestant Grotowice. It has been possible to establish some single mother families, where this model was present through a few generations. The number of cases when the status of a child was legally altered, was surprisingly low.