The aim of this study is to illustrate the ethnocentrism of Western thought by projecting its own science-oriented culture onto cultures with different beliefs. A comparative study between African witchcraft and the Greek phenomenon of the evil eye will be done to investigate whether similar reasons can be given for their existence today. The article reflects on the view that has been prevalent since the Enlightenment, namely that belief in the supernatural is "primitive" and has no place in a world where most things can be explained or solved scientifically. Against this background, contemporary Western perspectives on evil are explained and compared with those of the Greek Orthodox worldview, which shows similarities with New Testament textual evidence. This correlation is demonstrated by an anthropological perspective on the phenomenon of the evil eye as seen from a social, cultural and ecological point of view. These insights are compared with the belief in witchcraft, demonic possession and exorcism within African tradition and spirituality.
Recently, there has been a flurry of publications on children and adolescents turning into “digital junkies”, those addicted are said to be using “electronic cocaine”, or being diagnosed with Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) or Pathological Internet Use. This article discusses the emerging disorders in children and adolescents who spend too many hours online and how it may affect their spiritual well-being. This article makes a contribution by making a start on specifically looking at how the spiritual well-being of children and adolescents may be affected by too much screen time. Apart from the clinical side effects described by the recent research, it is imperative that the spiritual lives of “digital junkies” be carefully examined.
This article will argue that the recent turn towards lived theology or religion in practical theology can offer a useful hermeneutic to interpret the impact of the Harry Potter series on the spiritual formation and identity creation of adolescents. In practical theology there has been a turn towards lived theology or religion as lived religion has moved out of institutions into social–cultural phenomena as people seek to find meaning and purpose for their lives in alternative places to institutionalised religion.
South African society is grappling with the challenges of post-apartheid expectations within a ‘rainbow nation’. As a result of this rainbow nation, many people have to deal with fragmented identities and spiritualities. This can be particularly true for adolescents who are living out their lives in multicultural schools with multiple discourses. In this article, it will be argued that fantasy narratives, especially those written by South African writers from a South African context, may help heal the fragmented identities and spiritualities of school-going adolescents.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.