Numerous films, especially reinterpretations of the Gospel, can be read as loci theologici. Nevertheless, it’s important to recognize that the commercially motivated interest of filmmakers has its theological consequences: a resulting challenge is the catechetical use of apocryphal films in the pastoral praxis of the Church. The paper recalls main documents of the Church, relating to the cinema, stressing the absence of official teaching on the cinema in the last 20 years. Films, produced with commercial motivation, are often kitsch; it’s a result of tendencies to gain the possibly large audiences and to fulfill their expectations. An analysis of selected films (e.g. The Passion of the Christ and Son of God) indicates that the kitschy audiovisual apocrypha, superficial, emotional and lacking of authenticity, become a false filmic transformation of the message of the Bible. The paper postulates the need of constructing a theology of film: its object could be audiovisual texts, which extra-ecclesial theologies influence religious imagination and thinking of the viewers.

The debate around the relations between Christians and Jews has recently become one of the discussed issues in the cultural Israeli world. This article examines the references to Christianity and to Jesus in the contemporary Israeli fiction. Through the analysis of some literary works produced by the best-know Israeli writers, we will try to describe the way the authors deal with Christian elements and explore their personal considerations. In particular a great attention will be devoted to Amos Oz’s last novel Judas, published in 2014. The story is based on the life of a young student who is writing a doctoral dissertation on “How Jews see Jesus” but it ends up focusing on the figure of Judas. In revealing the intent of his research the protagonist presents a detailed investigation of the Jewish attitude towards Christians quoting sources from the ancient times until today. Through Oz’s book it is possible to explore the complex relationship between Christians and Jews and offers new starting points for the future debates.

The presence of the Bible in the movies is a complex reality: besides direct interpretations of the stories from the Holy Scriptures, a number of films has been inspired by other cultural sources (passion-plays, arts, literature, music, other films). By reason of its subject and its non-religious origin, a biblical film is important for theologians: numerous audiovisual adaptations of the Gospel have raised the issues of the faithfulness of this particular kind of translation (transmediatization) of the Bible. A particular attention should be paid to Jesus-movies because of their impact on the audiences and very different ways of portraying of Jesus (from a relatively simple „historical" Jesus till elaborated Christ-figures).

The aim of the study is to show the essential elements of theological anthropology contained in the scientific work of Fr prof. Marian Rusecki. The problem is presented and resolved in five points. The following issues were presented in turn: man created by God (1); the Christ dimension of the human person (2); Homo Paschalis (3); the anthropogenic dimension of Christianity (4) and showing the meaning of life as a task for fundamental theology (5). Rusecki’s constitutive belief, which is the core of the above anthropological themes, is that understanding the mystery of man is possible only through divine Revelation. The definitive truth about man has its source and explanation in the Logos, Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Therefore, the professor’s anthropology can be described as theological, Christocentric and ecclesiological. Particularly interesting are the elements of paschal anthropology, in which the issue of homo Paschalis was highlighted. Rusecki’s postulate that fundamental theology even more clearly undertakes to study the issue of the meaning of life, which is crucial for man, is also reasonable.

University and the Church need each other. Following the example of Christ incarnated, Christianity “incarnates” the spiritual. The Church and theology need university and cooperation with other sciences to be able to “incarnate” Christ’s issue into our world. Th e university, on the other hand, needs the Church and theology because otherwise it would be deprived of cultural and spiritual foundation: there is no alternative to a discussion about Christ (God and a human). Theology is sometimes defined as scientia fidei; it is determined by the mind and faith. It’s a discussion about God, but due to the Christ event it is also a discussion about mankind. Th erefore it has the form of a dialogue, a discussion. The dialogue is always held in a specific context (nowadays postmodern), in which theology not only has to ask but also answer the question about the meaning. In this sense it is wisdom. Theology as a discussion has to approach the most urgent human problems. These include agnosticism towards which Benedict XVI suggests the “veluti si Deus daretur” rule, relativism in case of which theology cannot stop asking about truth, despair in case of which theology reminds about God, in whom there is no darkness.

Joseph Ratzinger binds together the triptych “theology – the university – science” by the common issue of a search for the truth and the service to the truth. Theology is being done “in the Church and with the Church”, it belongs to the Church and depends upon her. Thus, theology is ecclesial in its essence, it teaches not in its own name but on behalf of the Church.

The ethos of the university – particularly of a Catholic university – consists in the common witness to the truth and in forming the transcendent dimension of man. Thus, the service to the human person is expressed by the university in developing “a new humanism” as a response to cultural and spiritual desires of the humankind. The mission of the university is not only its service to knowledge but also to the education, which means bearing witness to the truth that has been found.

According to Benedict XVI both theology and the university with science should know how to unite the two ways of knowing – faith and reason into one common tone, with its unique enhancing of reason. In a characteristic way Ratzinger gives special attention to rationality which leads to the ultimate Truth.

Foreskin, apart from its literal meaning, functions in Tanach also as a metaphor of blemish. Similarly, the circumcision is presented as a removal thereof. The perfecting function of the rite is visible in Second Temple texts, as well as in later tannaitic sources. The purpose of this paper is to analyze words of Jesus found in J 7:22–23 in the light of circumcision in the Hebrew Bible, understood as a ritual performed to remove a blemish. The conclusion is that Jesus’ words in the analyzed verses continue the biblical view, attesting to an exegetical trend visible in later Jewish sources.

The putting on of spectacular ceremonies finalizing the acts of beatification and canonization of Stanisław Kostka, taking place in the principal Jesuit centers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was an important artistic activity of modern times. The content programs of the decorations which accompanied the celebrations between 1606 and 1726, known to us from written sources, reflect the propaganda of the Kostka ceremonies. The oldest occasional decorations and outdoor shows taking place in the city of Jarosław had been organized on the initiative of his relative Anna née Kostka Ostrogska. They were organized in connection with the proclamation of Stanisław Kostka as Blessed by Pope Paul V in 1606. The theme of the decorations accentuated the importance of the moral values of this ascetic follower of the Counter-Reformation Church, while the widely used language of allegory defined his individual spiritual values and illustrated scenes from his life and miracles.
However, Stanisław Kostka soon became seen as an advocate of the Polish Lithuanian-Commonwealth in its military struggles in the East, especially in the conflict with the Ottoman Porte. After the victory of Chocim (Khotyn) in 1621 he was revered as the patron saint of the Polish knighthood, and after the victory at the Battle of Chocim in 1673 he was rapidly proclaimed (in 1674) one of the main patrons of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was this aspect of Kostka’s promotion that was used in the decorative themes of his thanksgiving ceremonies after the closing of the beatification process and the decree of canonization by Pope Clement XI in 1714. The decorations of the Jesuit Church in Lublin, described in detail in the records of the Society of Jesus (1715), explained and glorified the new role of the young saint. His role as a guarantor of peace and stability of the Commonwealth, revealed in God’s eternal plans, was presented through astral configurations and complicated semantic systems. Kostka’s canonization, which had raised the importance of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as being linked to the papacy and the Catholic faith, was seen as the culmination of a great historical message and the revelation of the secret given to Poland, also recognizable through astral configuration.
The military and diplomatic triumph over the Ottoman Porte was considered a breakthrough moment, opening a period of happiness achieved thanks to Kostka’s intervention and the support of Heaven. The result of a united front in the battle with a common enemy was to achieve a state of happiness that strengthened the ecclesiastical and monarchical order, an idea taken up by the decorations seen in Jarosław and Vilnius, amongst others. The ad hoc political content was moved to the sphere of the monastic political philosophy and historical theology.
An allusion to the happy future that mathematicians had supposedly predicted was also included in the decorations. After the partition of Poland and the dissolution of the Jesuit order, the revival of the fading cult of Stanislaw Kostka took place in the Second Polish Republic, particularly during the jubilee celebrations of the 200th anniversary of his canonization in 1927. This was seen in the ceremony of bringing his relics from Rome to the new church in Rostków, which was attended by the President of the Republic of Poland Ignacy Mościcki. However, there was a significant change in semantics as Stanisław Kostka was now described as the patron saint of children and youth, frequent Holy Communion and felicitous vocational choices.

This paper focuses on three issues. First, it is about the context and environment of pre-Nicene theology. It is emphasized that pre-Nicene theology did not neglect ca-techetical and liturgical reflection (ad intra) while at the same time successfully ente-red into a critical and creative dialogue with both the Semitic and Greco-Roman world where first Christians lived (ad extra). For contemporary theology its means that it cannot reject historical reasoning, placed in space and time. The second part stresses that, in spite of different situations and all historical and cultural contexts, theology before Nicea was above all an understanding of Sacred Scripture to which the key is the Risen Christ as the source and definitive fulfilment of the inspired writings. Finally, the third part of the paper focuses on the existential and spiritual experience from which pre-Nicene theology originated. For this theology the Gospel of Christ is not just the rule of faith but also the rule of life. This leads to a conclusion that a contem-porary theologian is a to take up an existential-personalistic reflection on Revelation using the historical-hermeneutic method .