This thesis explores how the Christian Democratic Appeal’s (CDA) attitude towards the Israeli- Palestinian conflict has affected the party’s understanding of its key principle solidarity during its...Show moreThis thesis explores how the Christian Democratic Appeal’s (CDA) attitude towards the Israeli- Palestinian conflict has affected the party’s understanding of its key principle solidarity during its most prominent years in government between 1980 and 2010. By analyzing primary source material in the form of personal statements from key CDA members, election programs and official party documentation, it focusses on two aspects of the CDA’s identity: (1) its membership of a family of Christian democratic parties, whose political identity is based on an explicit appeal to Christian values in general; and (2) its primary objective of both “nationally and internationally appealing to the responsibility of the strong to show solidarity with the weak” as laid out in the party’s Statement of Principles in 1980. This thesis concludes that the CDA, throughout its years in government, has been gradually drifting away from these aspects of its Christian democratic identity, because of (1) the CDA’s core principle of solidarity being originally inspired by Catholic social doctrine, (2) the Israel-Palestine conflict having been an internally dividing topic ever since the start of the CDA, and (3) the increasing support of the secular vote having made the party’s successes possible in the first place. This combination of factors has often made room for circumstances in which not always the content of the party’s foundational Statement of Principles was of the utmost priority. Moreover, it has often resulted in a negligence of the protection of those Christian values and traditions in places where Christian solidarity was actually needed the most. While this research gives an interesting insight into the CDA’s developing understanding of solidarity towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, future research on the connection between Christian democratic politics and threatened Christian communities in the rest of the world might be a welcome addition to the discussion.Show less
In ancient thought memory has long been regarded as a magnificent instrument of the soul. Up until this point, it has remained a rather open question to what extent Augustine draws from Neoplatonic...Show moreIn ancient thought memory has long been regarded as a magnificent instrument of the soul. Up until this point, it has remained a rather open question to what extent Augustine draws from Neoplatonic sources and possibly from Roman mnemotechnics, as well as from developments of contemporary Christian doctrine in in order to structure and formulate his thought on memory. Although Augustine thematises the concept of memory throughout his literary works, book X of the Confessions stands out as a definite and original analysis of memory. In it, we see how Augustine traverses the vast spaces of his memory, retrieving from its hidden recesses all kinds of mental images and objects, his past experiences, himself, his forgetfulness, with the aim to find God, whom he could not find in the world around him. Interestingly, book X presents us not just with an extensive theory of memory as a cognitive function, but as the place through which we attain knowledge of the highest Being, namely God. In this thesis I will attempt to address the extent to which Augustine’s analysis of memory in Book X of his Confessions is influenced by and differs from the Ancient Western philosophical tradition that went before him through three different themes: i) the structure by which we attain Beauty, ii) the objects of memory and iii) the metaphysics of Being in memory. All themes lend themselves for comparative analysis. The Form of Beauty is for Plato, and later for Plotinus not something immanently graspable. We need to go through some process, that is characterized as an ascent in order to attain it. Likewise, Augustine traverses memory in search of God, who is Beauty in an apparently similar fashion. Chapter 2 will engage with the structure of the ascent in order to answer the question whether Augustine views our reconciliation with God as a like-mannered ascent. In Chapter 3, another comparison is made, now on the subject of memory proper, specifically with regard to its function and objects. A classical text by Aristotle, De Memoria, although probably unknown to Augustine, offers nonetheless one of the most comprehensive competing theories on memory. The comparison sets out to establish the key differences between the texts, with which we can more firmly argue for Augustine’s originality. Finally, chapter 4 seeks out the “metaphysics” discussed in book X. Augustine addresses the Being of God in a distinctly Christian manner, which differs extensively from Plotinus’ metaphysical views on the One. The overall picture that emerges from this thesis is that book X of the Confessions contains persisting Neoplatonic traces that Augustine either incorporates into a Christian framework, or discontinues altogether in order to bring into light the Being of God. Memory is set at the core of human cognition, as the place that we traverse in search of God, and in which we predict, imagine, contemplate. In it we find memories that haunt us, but also those that bring delight and hope. Ultimately, happiness can only be attained beyond memory, by finding it in TruthShow less
In the early Edo period (17th century), Christianity was persecuted in Japan after about a century of missionary activities by European priests. The Japanese persecution used fumi-e, ‘trample...Show moreIn the early Edo period (17th century), Christianity was persecuted in Japan after about a century of missionary activities by European priests. The Japanese persecution used fumi-e, ‘trample images’, to force converts to apostatize. This thesis analyses an extant fumi-e from the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, and aims to answer how this fumi-e can be used as an illustration of the process of mutual exchange and adaptation, also called transculturation, that occured before and during the persecution. Using Panofsky’s iconological analysis, the image on the fumi-e can be identified as a depiction of the Madonna of the Rosary. Art featuring this motif was brought to Japan by European missionaries. The fumi-e shows stylistic influences from non-European artistic traditions. These are reminiscent of the art made by Japanese students of the Jesuits, Japanese Buddhist art, the yamato-e style, and nanban art. These influences can be explained by placing the object in the context of the persecution. The Volkenkunde fumi-e was specifically made for the persecution, as a replacement of the worn-out initial fumi-e that consisted of paintings and other fragile items. Using other extant fumi-e featuring the same motif, the development and gradual change of the ‘Madonna of the Rosary’ image can be seen. This change can be explained by the lack of European examples due to the ongoing persecution, and the process of transculturation that had already begun with the first missionaries. This process of transculturation can be seen in other aspects of the persecution as well. The government systematized three major ways of persecution, which can be seen as methods of surveillance and population control. These methods were social control in the form of the goningumi system and offering rewards to informants, monitoring in the form of obligatory registration at Buddhist temples and the compilation of population registers, and tests of faith using the fumi-e. These methods did not only impact Christians, but became part of the fabric of Japanese society, and affected the shape of Japanese Buddhism as well. Furthermore, they asserted the authority of the Tokugawa government. The persecution also helped shape a narrative about identity, in which Christians served as the ‘Other’ against which ‘Japaneseness’ could be contrasted. Echos of this narrative can be seen throughout the Edo period extending into early Meiji, and even in contemporary attitudes towards (Western) foreigners. The Volkenkunde fumi-e illustrates all these points. Its visual qualities show the artistic exchange in the ‘Christian Century’, while its purpose and use demonstrate how the subsequent persecution transformed society by providing methods for population control, assertion of authority for the Tokugawa bakufu, and creating a narrative about identity. It is therefore both a product and an illustration of the transcultural process that occured in the encounter between Japan and Christianity.Show less
In The Secret Garden the religious aspects of the text are subtle, and not to be understood as being rigorously either Christian or pagan. This thesis explores the idea that Burnett’s The Secret...Show moreIn The Secret Garden the religious aspects of the text are subtle, and not to be understood as being rigorously either Christian or pagan. This thesis explores the idea that Burnett’s The Secret Garden presents ‘nature’ as a Christian presence, but in fact the text suggests that a syncretism between the pagan and the Christian aspects heals the two children, Mary and Colin, physically and emotionally. In order to argue this syncretism, it is important to understand the cultural context regarding symbolism, paganism and Christianity.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This thesis examines the significance of the concept and representation of angels from the 5th until the 15th century in Egypt and the adjacent Nubian Kingdoms (Makuria, Nobadia and Alwa). This is...Show moreThis thesis examines the significance of the concept and representation of angels from the 5th until the 15th century in Egypt and the adjacent Nubian Kingdoms (Makuria, Nobadia and Alwa). This is done by examining the political and religious history of both areas, and looking at religious continuity and change. It operates from the idea that religion is not a static concept that exists in boxed-in entities, but a process in flux, in which past and present practises are always interacting. Within this interaction, in this case between traditional Egyptian and Nubian religion and Christianity (and Islam), we see that angels fulfil an important role. This role of angels is examined through looking at textual evidence (mainly magical texts), a small amount of archaeological finds, six case studies in which angelic imagery in (excavated) religious buildings is looked at. This concerns the sites Bawit, Saqqara and St. Antony in Egypt, and Dongola, Faras and Banganarti in the Nubian Kingdoms. At these sites, many depictions of angels can be found, each of which are rich in iconographic and stylistic data. Comparing the iconography of the various sites gives us insights in the similarities and differences between Egyptian and Nubian iconography and styles, which is in part informed by their respective political histories. One such difference is the difference in focus and size between the two areas: angels in Nubian buildings are much larger and more the centre of the scene than they are in Egypt, and seem to play a role in the legitimisation of Nubian Kingship. When compared with the available textual evidence, it becomes clear they are of great significance to the Nubian and Egyptian peoples, and display a number of similarities with earlier gods, symbols and practises. Iconographically too, there are similarities to be found between angels and ancient Egyptian gods, as well as traditional Roman art. In this way, the angels seem to be an important part of the ever changing religious landscape, and take up an important place in the lives of the Egyptian and Nubian people in the time period under consideration. They seem to have been part of a cult, which is evidenced both in personal piety through spells and texts, and more organised religion through for example the dedication to the archangel Raphael of the churches at Banganarti. Angels play an important role in both organised religion and more personal piety, and seem part of the transition between ‘pagan’ religions and Christianity.Show less
