There has been a significant increase in the number of young people converting from traditional Chinese Religion to the Christian Charismatic movement since the 1980s. Faith Community Baptist Church, especially, is a mega-church which has a large following. The features of FCBC is the small group (Cell Group) organization and the theology of The Third Wave Movement to emphasize a miracle. For example, "Testimonies" of cell members, given during the pastor service and cell group meetings, reveal cases of miracle healing. In this way, firstly, Chinese Singaporeans are attracted to FCBC hoping for a miracle to cure physical disease. Secondly, FCBC provides young people with spiritual or mental healing. Thirdly, FCBC provides the meaning of life and a spiritual lifestyle to the follower. This multi-function of FCBC is its great attraction for younger Chinese in Singapore.

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This study analyses the usage of the term hindu in various contexts in the Gaudiya Vaisnava literature, which is a series of hagiographies of the saint Caitanya (1486-1533). Caitanya is well known as the medieval Bengali saint, who took the initiative in the Bhakti movement in the eastern and northern parts of India. In particular, the term hindu appeared on two masterpieces of the hagiographies, namely the Sri Caitanya Bhagavata (completed around 1545) and the Sri Sri Caitanya Caritdmrta (around 1612-15). In the Sri Caitanya Bhagavata, the term hindu appears 14 times, and in the Sri Sri Caitanya Caritdmrta, it appears 22 times. The author categorises the meanings of the term hindu in each sentence, and points out the transition of the usages in both texts. Many scholars have argued that the concept of "Hinduism" is a modern construction through the interactions between the Western colonizer and the colonized. This analysis, however, sheds light on the process of the formation of self-religious consciousness, in which the native people of India became aware of a religious community, who are supposed to share the same norms and values as the Muslims. In particular, the usage of the term hindu-dharma indicates that the Hindu people recognised their belief and practice as a "religion" (dharma) , in contrast to the different beliefs and practices of the Muslim, who were in control of the Bengal region of those days as the rulers.

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Es ist sehr bemerkenswert, dass es sich in Tanabes ,,Todesphilosophie" um die Toten als Andere handelt. Aber in seiner "Todesphilosophie" ist es nicht deutlich, in welchem Verhaltnis das "Shi-hukkatu" (das Sterbe Auferstehen) des Selbst zu dem Wirken des Absoluten Nichts steht und in welcher Weise die Toten zum Absoluten Nichts gehoren. Bei V. E. Frankl und K. Takizawa wird es behauptet, dass alle Werke eines Menschen als "Vergangen-sein" ewiglich im Protokoll der Welt (Frankl) oder im Raum Gottes (Takizawa) aufbewahrt sind. Es gibt also hierin eine grosse Ahnlichkeit zwischen Frankl und Takizawa. Takizawas Denken wird immer im Grunde vom Urverhaltnis zwischen Gott und Mensch bestimmt. Auch wenn ein Mensch sturbe, konnte er sich nach Takizawas Theologie nicht aus dem Urverhaltnis oder dem Raum Gottes herausziehen. Im Gedanken des "Vergangenseins" konnen die Toten vom Gedachtnis der Toten unterschieden werden, und ausserdem konnte man nuchtern sogar den Spuk als eine Erscheinung der Toten behandeln. Zum Schluss wird eine Spukgeschichte von W. Bergengruen vorgestellt.

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The present article takes up the Brabantine mystical author Jan van Ruusbroec (1293-1381) , and investigates his criticism against heresies in his work Vanden XII Beghinen. In this work Ruusbroec is dealing with heretical doctrines that insist on the total unity between God and the human person on the level of nature and essence, and deny the role of Christ and the Catholic Church. On the other hand, he is defending his own understanding of the unity in his Boecsken der Verclaringhe. In 1329, the teachings of the German Dominican Meister Eckhart, who was preaching the total unity between God and the human person, were condemned by the papal bull In agro dominico (1329). Under the deep impact of this event, Ruusbroec seems to intend to reconstruct the theme of unity between God and the human person, which was tested by this condemnation, on the foundation of Catholic doctrine. The purpose of this article is to clarify his intention by analyzing his works, and to situate him in the current of the mystical theme of unity in the post-Eckhartian era.

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This paper considers the understanding of faith in the works of Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677). According to Spinoza, faith is a matter only of revealed cognition. Moreover, faith signifies "being obedient to God." He also insists, in his Theological-Political Treatise, that faith and act are in a circulatory relationship. That is, obedience is not established if a person is ignorant of faith, and faith is not established if obedience is not established, act proves "one's faith" or "obedience to God." Although act is established by faith, faith is proved only by act. This relation of circulation does not merely exist objectively. In order for a human being to be saved, this relation of circulation ought to be newly produced unremittingly through one's belief in a covenant with God and living subjectively within this circulation. The impetus of the human being to live in this circulation is none other than conatus as "the endeavours to persevere in its own being." The basis of the faith that Spinoza presents is love of God for human beings, and the object of faith is God. In short, the source of act to prove faith is conatus originating from God.

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Iwashita Soichi (1889-1940) was a Catholic thinker and, for about 10 years from 1930 to 1940, was engaged in a leprosy relief service as the sixth director (the first for a Japanese) of Koyama Fukusei Hospital. Iwashita investigated desirable relations between society and human life in the subcommunity of the leprosarium, which imitated a nation state. This paper examines the structure of the leprosy patients-nation state relations in the history of the Catholic leprosy relief from the viewpoint of Iwashita's outlook on patients. Iwashita attempted to inspect real society from the perspective of medieval philosophy as learned from his teacher von Hugel, by reflecting on the situation of the society of 1930's as it headed toward totalitarianism. Iwashita built a philosophy of leprosy patients-nation state relations from the viewpoint of the subject-formation of the patients, in order to regenerate their identity/subjects which was lost because they were leprosy patients. It was supported on the outlook of patients who were able to form an identity as a person with the ethical social relations of a nation state, that is, for individuals who established an inward authority. Therefore it may be said that the conventional evaluation of Iwashita, which concludes that he took part in a leprosy relief policy out of a nationalistic concern, is not proper when Iwashita is reevaluated from such a perspective.

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Preceding studies on Tenrikyo have insisted that devotees of Oyagami decided to be "law-abiding" and went along with what the state wished after Nakayama Miki's "death" in 1887. While those studies emphasized their services to the state, they treated their daily religious practice lightly. In this paper I take up Iburi Izo, who narrated "osashizu"-Oyagami's words-and led the devotees on behalf of Miki. I examine the process in which Izo came to narrate "osashizu" and the way his physical body and oral narration reconstructed the community and revived their faith. At the site of "osashizu," his gesture, voice, tone, and illness reminded the devotees of Miki, and adjusted her teachings to their environment. This study will enable us not only to understand the state of the devotees' religious practice, which had nothing to do with political matters, but also to carefully consider the connection between their faith and their submission to the state.

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