Biblical Concept Research Articles

Sustainable Development Revisited: Rethinking Growth-Centric Paradigms Through the Lens of the Sabbath

This paper argues that the current growth-centric paradigm of sustainable development is fundamentally flawed and proposes a paradigm shift towards the biblical concept of the Sabbath. It critiques the internal contradictions of the SDGs and challenges the unsustainable pursuit of infinite growth in addressing social and ecological crises. By exploring Sabbath's principles of rest, recalibration, and redistribution, the paper offers an ethical foundation for self-limitation and a basis for human identity beyond productivity—addressing the shortcomings of the degrowth movement. It proposes practical applications of Sabbath principles at individual, community, and structural levels, drawing upon empirical examples to demonstrate their potential as pathways to environmental justice. These multi-level applications aim to bridge the gap between the intentions of international agreements and impactful local action. The paper concludes that Sabbath presents a transformative vision for sustainable development and environmental justice, fostering a harmonious relationship between humanity and the planet. Keywords: Sustainability, Development, Sabbath, Degrowth, Capitalism, Environmental Justice, Poverty, Well-being, Ethics, Religion.

The Biblical Aspect of the Term “Immaculate” as the Basis for the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception

In this article, we considered the biblical basis of the Church's teaching on the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Church proceeds from the biblical concept of «kekharitomen» (гр.), which formed the basis of the teaching about this glorious Marian dogma. In this work, the linguistic sources of this term were presented, which shed light on the actions of the Holy Spirit, Who, erring over all creation with the will of the Father through the Son, being their common personal Love, creates Mary as a new Creation. In Eph 1, 6 St. Paul speaks of our justification through the will of the Father by grace in His beloved Son Jesus Christ. The Apostle of the Nations uses the verb «kharito» (гр.), which means that the Mother of God was justified in advance thanks to the anticipatory action of the Holy Spirit with the will of the Son and the Father. God would not be omnipotent if He did not protect His Mother from the sin of the ancestors. That is why, thanks to the future Incarnation, He forbids the Most Pure One from original sin in an anticipatory way, so that through Her He may take the body and redeem the whole world on the Cross. This work should become a bridge between Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, who should look at Christ in a new way through the prism of Mary's perfect holiness from the Conception.

Have You Eaten?

Abstract Throughout history, empires have promised perpetual peace and justice for all; however, they have constantly bathed in blood while expanding their colonies and control. This paper intends to explore the theological concept of peacemaking from the experiences of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (uccp) and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (prok), both of which suffered from U.S. (neo)colonialism. It also aims to study how we can live faithfully amidst the empire by decolonizing theology and the church. To achieve this, I will begin by reviewing the concept of peace as proclaimed by empires, from the Roman to the American, and contrast it with the biblical concept of peace. This will be followed by analyzing and evaluating the impact of the received colonial American Protestant cultures and the churches’ responses to the colonial gospel. The final part will propose peace as a way of peacemaking amid the empire. This paper suggests that the concept of peacemaking is essential to decolonizing theology, particularly the theology of sallim (life-giving).

The Concept of ``Shema'' in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 as an Application of Educational Theology

Educational theology provides the basis for religious education by integrating religious values into the curriculum and teaching methods. Through the authors’ literature research, it was determined that the biblical concept of Christian religious education for children has significant value. This discipline is steeped in Bible teachings and aims to cultivate a personal relationship with God, which ultimately glorifies His name. Those who are responsible for teaching in the field of Christian religious education play an important role. The Israel Shema, or Jewish Creed, found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, serves as the basis for teaching God’s teachings to children. The authors provide a qualitative analysis of the text and its contextual background, which is closely related to Israeli beliefs and their relationship to educational theology. Shema, as a declaration of faith for the nation of Israel, is a manifestation of personal commitment and determination to the one true God and is used in the practice of teaching faith education in both the family and church circles. Keywords: Deuteronomy 6:4-5, education, Shema, theology

How God Became a Lawgiver

The Torah is God’s law. This biblical concept is so prominent and is considered so self-evident that it has hardly been perceived as a historical problem until now. Traditionally, it was considered to be a basic element of the Bible within its historical context. But in fact, it represents an innovation in the ancient Near East, and for this very reason it should be investigated historically: In the ancient world, kings, not deities, were lawgivers. Only the legal tradition of ancient Israel developed the idea that God himself formulated laws and passed them on to his people. In the Torah, Moses plays a prominent role in this mediation. Divine laws then became a central element of religion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but what historical circumstances and factors gave rise to them? The loss of kingship in Israel might have provided a major impact, but in addition to political and socio-historical developments, fundamental transformations in ancient Israel’s intellectual history must also be considered, which could have led to the formation of the idea of God as a lawgiver. Due to new insights into the historical emergence of the Torah, which research has developed in recent decades, but also due to new findings on the legal tradition of the ancient Near East, there is both the possibility and the need for reconstructing the historical forces and factors that made the Torah God’s law.

Divine power, justice, and reconciliation

This contribution seeks to provide a plausible answer to the question as to whether the biblical concepts of justice and reconciliation are compatible with the notion of an omnipotent God. Justice presupposes conditions of injustice, while reconciliation presupposes situations of enmity. This give rise to questions about theodicy: If God is an omnipotent and good being, why would he in the first place have allowed a dysfunctional situation where injustice and enmity could enter creation? The question is dealt with in three sections. The first evaluates answers provided by divine self-limitation theory and the opposing secundae causae theory. I point out that these theories show serious shortcomings. Section 2 reflects on divine power from a philosophical, theological, and biblical perspective. I argue that omnipotence does not mean that God possesses a capacity to act in logically impossible ways. Moreover, omnipotence is a non-necessary attribute of God. God is not a prisoner of his power but can limit and retake his power whenever he wants to. Section 3 deals with the relation between divine power, justice, and reconciliation. I argue that the topic of divine power must be approached through a trinitarian lens that understands God’s attributes in terms of his ad intra perichoretic communion which is revealed ad extra through the concrete ways in which God deals with us. Seen in this light, the exercise of divine power is intricately related to God’s nature as a faithful, loving, and free being who allows for creaturely freedom and who decides to redeem and renew rather than to coerce and obliterate.

Ecumenical Challenge in the Third Millennium

Ecumenical movement is a Christian attempt to unite the fragmented Christian denominations, which has not materialized. From this failure, this paper aimed at finding out the ecumenical challenge in the third millennium. This study followed a qualitative approach that employs content analysis of historical data. It described theological and hermeneutical themes in five sections. The first section gives a brief working definition of three theological terms, millennium, third millennium and filioque controversy. The second section focuses on the description of the ecumenical movement in the third millennium. The third section gives a hermeneutical understanding of biblical teaching on unity. The fourth section presents the contrast between the biblical teaching on unity and the concept of unity in the ecumenical movement in the third millennium. The last section presents the challenges that face the ecumenical movement in the third millennium. Base on the findings, the study concludes that the challenge that faces the ecumenical movement is disregarding the biblical concept of unity and neglecting doctrinal differences among Christian denominations. Therefore, the study recommends that unity should be sought in accordance with biblical truth; moreover, the quest for unity should focus on solving the doctrinal differences among Christian denominations.

Information and Biblical Logos Revisited

ABSTRACT The paper discusses how modern theories of information converge with the Biblical concept of Logos. We begin with a condensed review of the various concepts of information. We then present some informational interpretations of Biblical Logos and compare them with modern theories of information, specifically the general theory of information (GTI). In closing, we point out some aspects of this study that warrant further analysis. Our informational interpretations of Biblical Logos are based on a paper by Henrik Gregersen.

A Comparative Study of the Concept of Sin in Christian Religion and African Indigenous Religion

The study examined the biblical concept of sin in Christian Religion. It explored the concept of sin in Ifá Corpus of African Indigenous Religion. This was done with a view to eliciting an intercultural understanding of the concept of sin in Yorùbá and biblical cultures. The selected texts of the Bible were interpreted using “Theological Interpretation of Scripture” (TIS) method, while the data collected from both Yorùbá and biblical cultures were analysed using the ‘Intercultural Hermeneutics Principles.’ The result shows that Sin è̩s̩è̩ in Ifá corpus is conceived as às̩ìs̩è (a mistaken deed, a deed that is wide of the mark), àìtọ́ (that which is not straight forward), àìyẹ (unbefitting, unbecoming), àìgbọràn (disobedience), ìrúfin (breaking of the law), àìs̩ótítọ́ (untruthfulness), àìs̩òdodo (unrighteousness) and iniquity (àìs̩edéédé). Also, Sin is conceived as Èèwò̩ (things forbidden, taboo) or A kìí s̩e é (it is not done). All these cognate with the Hebrew words for Sin in Old Testament: Pesha (breaching of morals, passing a reasonable boundary, or breaking a just rule), Chatha (to miss the mark), Awon (iniquity, guilt or punishment) and the Greek words for Sin in the New Testament: Parabaino (to transgress, break or deviate from the way), Parabasis (wrong doing), Paraptoma (trespass, offense, fall, sin, or fault), hamartia and hamartano (a missing of the mark), adikia (unrighteousness), anomia (breaking of the law), apeitheo (disobedience) and apistos (unbelief). The study concluded that there is an intercultural understanding of the concept of sin in both Yorùbá and biblical cultures, as the two cultures regarded sin as a negative value.

God knows all: An intertextual study of Hebrews 4:12–13 and Deuteronomy 29:28

While most scholars view Hebrews 4:12–13 as the author’s own composition which contains various parallels with Old Testament language and thought, very few consider Deuteronomy 29:28 (29:29 ET) as one of the possible conceptual backgrounds of the passage. The current article argued that Hebrews 4:12–13 contains among others a conceptual echo of Deuteronomy 29:28, which when noted, enhances the interpretation of the passage. The article started with a baseline interpretation of Hebrews 4:12–13, by discussing its content and message, and especially its proposed backgrounds. It found that of all the parallels between Hebrews 4:12–13 and the LXX, Wisdom 1:6 and 1 Enoch 9:5 forms the closest parallels, and that scholars do not view Hebrews 4:12–13 as containing an echo of Deuteronomy 29:28. Next, the article investigated Deuteronomy 29:28, particularly the meaning of the phrase ‘the hidden things’ known to God. The article argued that from the wider context of Deuteronomy 29:15–27 ’the hidden things’ refer to ’the hidden intentions’ of the human heart, which is known to God. The next section of the article indicated that this interpretation of ’the hidden things’ as the unknown intentions of the human heart, finds support in Philo’s De Cherubim 16. Revisiting Hebrews 4:12–13, the article argued that based on the similarities of thought, structure and function, Deuteronomy 29:28 forms one of the conceptual backgrounds of Hebrews 4:12–13 and indicated how this enhances the interpretation of the passage. The article concluded by very briefly reflecting on the contribution of Hebrews 4:12–13 to the biblical concept of the knowledge of God.Contribution: The article contributed to the investigation of the well-known and important Hebrews 4:12–13, as well as the investigation of the occurrence and use of Deuteronomy in the book of Hebrews.

A Reexamination of τάσσω in Acts 13.48: “Enrolled,” “Appointed,” or “Arranged”?

Most commentaries interpret Acts 13.48 as a strongly predestinarian verse. Key to this reading is the perfect passive participle τεταγµένοι. Modern translations frequently translate the word with the equivalent of “to appoint,” “to ordain,” or “to choose.” Typically, God is understood as the unstated active agent of this participle form of τάσσω, which results in a translation of “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (ESV). Often the biblical concept of enrollment in the Book of Life is woven into explanations. In this article, the evidence for this interpretation and translation is critically evaluated and demonstrated to be problematic to support the typical understanding. Instead, by examining the semantic range of τάσσω and the discourse context, the following translation has better lexical and contextual merit. The thesis is that Acts 13.48b should be understood as, “they believed, as many as were arranged by Paul for eternal life, specifically the Gospel.”

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

The Nature of God: God is Self-Existent, Omniscient, Sovereign, and Triune

It can be difficult for us to understand some aspects of God's nature since they are so different from what we normally experience as humans. We might eventually accept that these things are true of God as our trust in the Lord deepens, but we'll undoubtedly spend a lot of time pondering how these things function in the meantime. Due to their limited brains, humans find it difficult to understand God's nature, although it is clear from the scriptures that God has made himself known to be self-existent, omniscient, Sovereign, and Triune. Therefore, this paper attempts to understand the Biblical concept of the nature of God.

Ecofeminist Perspectives and Familial Dynamics: Exploring Women’s Roles in Environmental Sustainability and the Filipino Concept of “Ate”

This essay explores women’s role in environmental sustainability drawing from the Filipino concept of “Ate.” Through a contrapuntal analysis, it unveils the convergence and divergence between women’s roles in formal environmental advocacy and as caregivers within the family, emphasizing the interconnectedness of these roles. Examining birth order in Filipino culture reveals the early-age responsibilities, particularly for first-born females, highlighting their leadership, teaching, and caregiving roles. The study underscores women’s significant role as environmental stewards, both locally and globally, aligning with the biblical concept of overseeing and caring for the Earth. The exploration of women as promoters of welfare, within Filipino culture and through environmental protection efforts, demonstrates diverse contributions to community and planetary well-being. The study intertwines biblical perspectives with cultural insights, emphasizing shared responsibility for Earth stewardship. In conclusion, it calls for a comprehensive understanding of women’s contributions in environmental and familial spheres, recognizing their pivotal and interconnected roles. As the world faces urgent environmental challenges, leveraging the diverse perspectives and actions of women emerges as crucial for sustainable and equitable solutions. The study contributes valuable insights to discussions on gender roles, environmentalism, and cultural contexts, advocating for the recognition and promotion of women’s roles in shaping a sustainable future. Keywords: ecofeminism, environmental sustainability, gender roles, caregiving, “ate” concept, formal advocacy

TAMNICA KAO PAD I APOKALIPSA U PRIPOVEDAČKOJ PROZI IVE ANDRIĆA

The paper examines the semantics of the dungeon in Ivo Andric’s short stories, primarily in the writer’s dungeon stories. In the theoretical footsteps of Northrop Frye, Nikolai Berdyaev and Michel Foucault, we point to the dungeon as two symbolic forms of human fall, external and internal. The outer dungeon is reflected in the social determinants of the ideologically conceived identities of Andric’s heroes, while the inner dungeon is explained through the psychological and ontological aspects of their existence, through the metaphysical rethinking of the idea of freedom as an impossible free will in the context of modernity which revalues the Biblical concept of innocence. In accordance with such representations, the dungeon is also contextualized through two apocalyptic visions of the human fall that correspond to Berdjaev’s dialectic of external (worldly) and internal (spiritual) apocalypse. It is concluded that the Biblical-Christian semantics of the Fall is deconstructed in Andric’s stories, in order that his heroes become bearers of an absurd desire for ontological salvation, fall as a feeling of modern(istic) self-exile.

Bible Translation as Justice

The translation of the Bible into minority languages has the potential to affirm the dignity and worth of translating communities as people created in the image of God (imago dei). For my own people—the Ghomala’ of Cameroon—the use of the mother tongue was crucial for local acceptance of Christianity and identification as children of God. This article shows how biblical concepts of justice as both primary and restorative relate to the mission of God and the imago dei of all human beings. BIBLE TRANSLATION AS JUSTICE regards Bible translation as not just a pragmatic tool, but a fundamental issue of justice that enables people to have a right relationship with God and others. Minority language communities around the world bear witness to the potential for Bible translation to empower, transform, and contribute to a sense of value and confidence. As a result, Bible translation is not only a key to human flourishing but for Christians a way of following Jesus in his incarnation.

Obedience as Biblical Efficacy for Healing Plagues in Ancient Egypt

All forms of pestilences and plagues are revealed in the biblical account to be the resultant effects and pictures of disobedience. As it was in biblical era so it is in contemporary times. Meanwhile, where obedience is highly placed, cherished, and championed, there seems to be sustainable, nurturing, and nourishing environment that could serve as efficacies for healing of all forms of pestilences and plagues in any locality. In this pattern, a critical study of plagues and their healing in ancient Egypt has revealed obedience as biblical efficacy for healing, health, and longevity. This paper adopts the socio-ethical principle of reading with the author and theological hermeneutical method to examine the biblical concept of healing, health, and longevity. Therefore, in order to have a sustainable, nurturing, and nourishing environment that promotes and supports healing, health, and longevity, total of obedience is required of all. The study argued that where dissidence is seen as norm in a society such a society is prone to causative factors of all forms of pestilences and plagues that are enemies of healing, health, and longevity.

An Evaluation of Bernard Williams’ Necessary Boredom Thesis on Death and Life After Death

The sitcom “The Good Place” tells the story of an imaginary afterlife where everyone in heaven is in an unhappy state (ironically called the “good” place). All the fun things they can do in eternity to the point that everyone gets bored and eventually the meaning in their lives disappears. Seeing death as the source of meaning in life on earth, the solution in this story is to bring death back to heaven. The view that eternity will lead to boredom is based on Bernard Williams’ Necessary Boredom Thesis. Williams argues that when humans do not experience death (immortality), there is a meaning in life that will be lost. The author sees that this view raises questions in two important respects: First, how do believers view the perspective of death as the source of life’s meaning? Second, what is the believer’s perspective on immortality and boredom in the new heaven and new earth—in other words, is immortality something bad and not to be coveted? This paper first examines the philosophical assumptions behind the Necessary Boredom Thesis and shows that compared to the Christian worldview, this thesis does not see human beings holistically, thus making life only partially construed. Secondly, this paper evaluates this thesis with the biblical concept of identity and the new heaven and earth, so that eternity can be interpreted without boredom because we have a relationship with God.

Readings on Evolution and the Nature of Science: One Christian’s Perspective

Readings on Evolution and the Nature of Science: One Christian’s Perspective