Orientis Aura: Macau Perspectives in Religious Studies

“To Listen to the Language of Nature and to Act Accordingly” :

Franz Gassner — 2023-12-30

The article sets off from a speech given by Benedict XVI in the German Bundestag in 2011, where he requested an ecological learning process to aim at sustainable human development. Appreciating the Ecological Movement, he asked to learn to listen to Nature’s language and act accordingly, which he applies analogically to “human ecology”. The article bridges elements of “Listening to Nature” and the Natural Moral Law Tradition in Benedict’s speech and in Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudatu Si’ inview of serving human flourishing in an ecological civilization.

Keywords: Natural Moral Law; Nature, Laudatu Si’, Benedict XVI, Francis; Ecological Civilization/生態文明, Sustainable Development, Ecology of Man.

Sancitification and the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Fr. Agüero — 2023-12-31

TIn the nineteenth century, the suppression of the Religious Orders in the wake of the definite implementation of a Liberal Government in Portugal led the authorities in Goa to seize the rich and extensive archives of the colleges and convents throughout the Estado da ’India.. However, unlike the archives of the Dominicans, Augustinians or Oratorians, which are kept at the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology in Panaji, Goa, the records from both Franciscan Provinces (Mother of God and Saint Thomas) are nowhere to be found. This article aims to highlight the potential of the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology’s holdings in order to further the knowledge of Franciscan presence in Asia by exploring documentary series not directly produced by Franciscans.

Keywords: Archives; Directorate of Archives and Archaeology; Goa; Province of Mother of God; Province of Saint Thomas

Does Romans 2:14 Refer to the Natural Law?

Chi Hei Leong — 2023-12-31

Whilst after decades of research, exegetes have all agree on the complexity of Paul’s line of thinking in Rom 2:14–16, the ITC in its 2009 document, In Search of a Universal Ethic, still in an oversimplified manner propagates the view that Rom 2:14 presupposes a theory/theology of the natural law. This article makes plain the major disagreements among Pauline exegetes whether such presupposition stands by reviewing some major contributions to the discussion by raising major questions regarding the issue of φύσει in those verses, the nature of the law mentioned by Paul, the identity of the people Paul calls “Gentiles.” This article offers a more nuanced understanding of Rom 2:14.

Keywords: Rom 2:14, ITC, Universal Ethic, Natural Law, φύσει, Gentiles

Natural Law and the Šarīʿah:

Roberto Ceolin — 2023-12-30

This paper will examine the role played by the faculty of human Reason in Islamic Shariah law in pre-modern times. It is generally accepted that Natural Law played no part in the inception and development of Shariah and that natural morality is alien to the Islamic tradition, which is based mainly on a written religious tradition, namely the Quran, the Sunnah and the Hadiths. However, because law based on Revelation has a limited reach, which becomes more evident as time progresses, Reason may have played some part in the development of the Islamic legal system. In this article, we will see the significance of Reason in Islamic jurisprudence or fiqh and how Al-Ghazali felt the need to design a device called maqāṣid al-šarīʿah in order to bring under control the use of rational thinking in Islamic fiqh system so as not to endanger Sunni orthodox views on how the will of God makes itself manifest to men.

Keywords: Natural Law, Shariah, Islamic Law, Usul al-fiqh, Fiqh, Maqasid, Reason, Revelation, Islam, Al-Ghazali