https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/41955 Sun, 19 Apr 2026 05:31:39 GMT 2026-04-19T05:31:39Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15426 Title: Religions in transition : an attempt at a synthesis Authors: Sultana, Mark Abstract: Any serious discussion about what religion is would probably be endless. Nowadays there is fairly general consensus that, certainly in the case of religion, it is methodologically incorrect to insist that for any x, one should be able to state what feature (or set of features) the x should possess by virtue of which one is entitled to call it x. Consequently, rather than begin an inquiry into what religion is by defining the phenomenon, it seems better to start in some less formal way. Description: This paper was delivered at a conference on the philosophy of religion, attended by a select working group, and held at All Hallows’ College, Dublin between the 16th and the 18th May 2012. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15426 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15189 Title: 'L’eternel feminin' in Teilhard de Chardin intoning the creation Octave, with Promises to Keep! Authors: Farrugia, Edward Abstract: Was Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) really “a scientist among theologians and a theologian among scientists,” as Karl Rahner describes him in one of his studies? The judgment may sound ironical or simply too harsh, but paradoxically it may also suggest an alternative way of reading Teilhard de Chardin. To those familiar with the Eastern way of thinking, spirituality is dogma seen from within. Teilhard had plenty to say about the outside (“outer face”) and the inside (“inner face”) of things in general, and as a palaeontologist he laid stress on the latter. This same approach, through the interiority of things rather than through their exterior appearance, is recommended in seeking access to a thinker of Teilhard’s complexity. There are many things which elude a facile categorization, either because they are the elementary blocks on which everything else is built, such as protoplasm, or because they afford the highest criteria available, as do transcendentals in metaphysics, which help define but cannot be defined. Many of the great discoveries were not made by experts scrupulously applying a sophisticated method but rather by those who used method in an unorthodox way, thereby poaching on neighbouring territory at the risk of many a surprising twist and turn. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15189 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15188 Title: The triple strand of the Liturgical tradition of the Church in Malta : Byzantine, Roman, Gallican Rites Authors: Fiorini, Stanley Abstract: This article discusses Greek Church traditions in the Maltese islands which took a long time to eradicate. The author highlights certain customs and practices which can be traced back to when the Greek Church traditions came to Malta. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15188 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15187 Title: The Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei : cross-sectional eological refections and pastoral implications Authors: Scerri, Hector Abstract: !e scope of this article is twofold: (1) "rstly, to identify Benedict XVI’s intentions for the celebration of the Year of Faith. !e key to his intentions is found in the mentioned homily and address on 16 October 2011; (2) by means of a cross-sectional reading of the Apostolic Letter, to identify a number of themes in Porta Fidei while proposing some pastoral implications for ecclesial life in dioceses, parishes, religious groups and movements. !is article does not seek to provide a summary of the Apostolic Letter, but focuses upon the main threads of its text. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15187 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z