Christian Communication Research Articles

‘Take Up Your Mat and Walk’: [Dis-] Abled Bodies of Communication and Early Christian Wandering

Early Christianity relied heavily on walking, yet New Testament Studies has largely neglected the cultural significance of walking in the ancient world and its connection to Early Christian communication. Walking, often seen as a conscious cultural act, is often overlooked in scholarly discourse, with the focus primarily on its symbolic aspects. Drawing from interdisciplinary research in classics, cultural studies, and social science, this study aims to explore how early Christian bodily movement and communication have been perceived and culturally appropriated in European and North American scholarship. It presents three case studies: the portrayal of disabled bodies’ movements in healings, the interpretation of Jesus and his disciples as itinerant wanderers, and the examination of walking in Pauline literature as a means of profiling missionary success.

Dogmatik som samtidsteologi

This essay develops a program for defining doctrinal studies as the descriptive and normative study of contemporary Christian thought. “Dogmatics” is contemporary theology in the two-fold sense of studying current varieties of Christian doctrine, worldview formation and ethos, and of constructing coherent and self-reflexive proposals for Christian teachings in contemporary contexts. History of doctrine remains an important sub-discipline which serves the purpose of clarifying basic grammars and continuing patterns of Christian thought. Likewise, the study of major theologians exemplifies how well-winnowed theological proposals of the past may continue to inspire and inform contemporary theology. The focal interest, however, lies in analyzing and re-articulating contemporary expressions of Christian faith, while evaluating the potentials of Christian semantics for future Christian communication practices. The regulative rules of Christian grammars, the fluid forms of Christian semantics, and the communicative potentials of Christian pragmatics thus make up the core subject-matter of contemporary theology. It is furthermore argued that contemporary theology is to be pursued in the interest of the society at large. Yet the field has a special function for the Church. For while contemporary theologians propose, communities of faith dispose when it comes to the fate and fortunes of the theological proposals.

Communication Forums Christian: A Wisdom Local As Receptacle Communication Churches In Bekasi City

Bekasi City Christian Communication Forum, is a forum for Christians across churches, where this forum is a forum for communication between interfaith and churches in Bekasi, such as from HKBP, GPIB, Bethel, Catholicism, this forum is a center for establishing communication between church residents who experience problems and threats related to intolerance that is rampant, especially in the Bekasi City area. The existence of a Christian education or education that breathes Christian beliefs is very beneficial. Religion began to become a part of the culture of every people. The role of the church, apart from being a message of the gospel to the unsaved, is also very important in building the spiritual life of its congregation in order to grow into a spiritually mature congregation. The objectives of this study are: 1). To find out and analyze the extent of the role of community service through the FKK Christian organization in Bekasi City. 2). To find out and analyze the problems faced, especially by the FKK Christian organization in Bekasi City. In this study, this type of research is descriptive qualitative research, that is, the data collected is in the form of words, pictures, not numbers. The purpose of descriptive research is to make a systematic, factual, and accurate description of the facts and nature of a particular population or area. The results in this study can be concluded that Religion must be a social glue, which plays a role in bridging tensions, maintaining the survival of society when faced with life challenges. In this case, religion plays a role in uniting members of society in the midst of existing plurality. Religion should promote a high sense of tolerance and love, not excessive fanaticism that thinks what we have is good and what else is bad.

The Apostle Peter communicating his divinely inspired message to the Jews

This article sought to answer the question ‘what are the communication forms employed by Peter the Apostle to the Jews?. The aim article seeks to highlight the communication forms employed by the Apostle Peter and to describe the various forms of communication used by him The theoretical framework used in the paper was the Shannon and Weaver Communication Model. A desktop research methodology was employed and information was gathered from journal articles, books, and internet sources. Due to this being a historical type of research, much of the literature was gathered from theological sources. The paper argues that Christian communication should be recognised within the field of communications, as Christian organisations used various forms of communication to maintain and propagate teachings and beliefs that are still valid today.

Christian Communication, Forms, Secularity, and Dimensions of Language in a Multifaceted Cultural Setting

Christian communication and the various dimensions of language are profoundly connected and interchangeably used in a multifaceted cultural setting. Christian churches in South Africa, similar to any other African countries, profess their philosophies, passions, and beliefs to multi-cultural congregations through the use of sacred languages and communication. This study posits that the uprising of Pentecostal churches has paved the way for nonspiritual dialectic languages and has also greatly lessened spiritual communication. As a result, the study highlights the relationship between language and religious communication among Pentecostal churches in a culturally diverse environment. This study employs a qualitative approach, through the gathering and categorisation of information between 20 churches located in Durban, South Africa to recognise Christian communication and the influence of secular linguistic features and their relationships with spirituality. This study has found that there are different forms and secular dimensions of language which differ from spiritual language and Christian communication. The study reveals that as modern Christian churches emerge, a revolutionised communication has evolved as compared to the language of orthodox churches. The study recommends that the use of language for religious communication and discourse should necessitate expounding spiritual values and courses of action.

Канонічний жанр сповіді у християнській комунікації

The article is devoted to the canonical genre of confession in Christian communication. It is noted that in the complex global linguistic picture of the world, scientists identify many private pictures, each of which is characterized by linguistic uniqueness, which is manifested at all levels. The notion of the genre of confession is seen as intersecting with the interests of different branches of science, although the keen interest of linguists in this object of study is a relatively new phenomenon. The article gives definitions of the concept of confession, which are recorded in religious and secular literature; the forms of realization of the confessional genre are analyzed and the situations of confession available. In the scientific literature, the study of confession as a genre of communication has a fragmentary character: it is considered as a genre and as an intention, as an intended and an act of communication. Confession as a genre is characterized by communicative freedom, relative stylistic and compositional independence. The conditions of sincerity and conscious intention to tell the truth, which are embedded in the genre characteristics of confession, make it possible to distinguish it from other genre forms.

Pay Attention and You’ll Overhear Me

This article contends that an increase in the use of indirect communication, as defined by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, has the potential to transform how individuals and communities receive messages about faith, up to and including an embodied—or lived out—faith as opposed to rote religion. Through an analysis of the author’s background, conception of faith, development of indirect methods, and a review of recent scholarship there emerges a renewed call within a postmodern age to communicate indirectly. Changing lives is a central desire for Christian communication scholars. As such, consideration of new possibilities for reaching humanity via indirect methods of communication are not only timely but also critical. Identity and effective communication are key elements to Kierkegaard’s extensive writings on faith, and he offers a compelling voice for Christian culture to implement on a broader scale.

Komunikasi Kristiani: Melawan Desakralisasi Diri di Media Sosial

Fake news spreads quickly and changes situations in the society. It has become a sort of linguistic violence circulating negative ideologies and perspectives that slowly destroy people both mentally and physically. The growing tendency of circulating fake news raises a serious problem in the society and moreover among Christians, for important human values, including religious values, are disregarded. Christian understanding of human beings as created in the image of God implies that they have the capacity to use good words to build a sacred society, that is, a society blessed by God. However, the tendency to retrieve and to disseminate information too quickly occurs almost automatically in this age of information, which ironically threatens every good intention of the self in building a trusting community. This article explores the elements of Christian communication based on the Church teachings on the subject matter, in order to counter the tendency of desacralisation of the self on social media and to promote truthful as well as deliberating communication in the society.

Delivering Oracles from God: The Nature of Christian Communication in 1 Peter 4:11a

AbstractIn 1 Pet 4:11a, those who exercise χαρίσματα involving speech acts are instructed to carry out their tasks ὡσ λόγια θεοῦ. Two interpretations of this phrase have gained prominence within Petrine scholarship. Some claim that Scripture is being referenced to establish a standard for regulating the use of communicative gifts in the church. Others contend that the verse sets up a hypothetical comparison designed to emphasize the appropriate manner in which the spoken word should be performed. The problem is that both of these positions have left crucial questions unattended. The purpose of this study is to provide a close examination of the three issues that most significantly impact the interpretation of 1 Pet 4:11a: (1) the meaning of λόγια; (2) the reconstruction of verbal elision; and (3) the Petrine author’s view of divine revelation through human mediation. In the end, I suggest that the verse is intended to convey a direct correspondence between the comparative image (i.e., one who delivers oracles from God) and the ministry of those who exercised speaking gifts within the Anatolian congregations. That is, when Christians rendered service to the community through various forms of verbal communication, they were understood to be dispensing divine revelation.

뉴미디어 생태계가 기독교적인 의사소통 환경에 미친 영향에 관한 연구

본 논문은 뉴미디어 생태계가 기독교적인 의사소통 환경에 미친 영향에 관하여 연구한 것이다. 연구의 전반부에서는 뉴미디어 생태계를 분석하였고, 후반부에서는 기독교적인 의사소통 환경에 미친 영향을 평가하였다. 뉴미디어 생태계 환경은 콘텐츠(Contents)와, 플랫폼(Platform), 네트워크(Network), 그리고 디바이스(Device)의 네 가지 요소가 서로 상호작용하는 가치사슬체계이다. CPND의 가치사슬체계는 뉴스와 콘텐츠를 소비하려는 현대인들에게 시간과 공간의 한계를 넘어서 무한대의 정보와 콘텐츠를 제공하되 여기에 더하여 정보가 가지는 현장감과 현존감, 그리고 실재감까지 제공한다. 그렇다면 뉴미디어 생태계가 기독교적인 의사소통 환경에 미친 영향은 무엇인가? 뉴미디어 생태계는 전통적인 권위 구조의 쇠퇴와 영적인 설득력 구조의 붕괴, 그리고 실제 현실과 가상현실의 양극화 심화에 상당한 영향을 끼쳤다. 의사소통과 설득을 위해서는 권위 체계와 설득력 구조가 중요하다. 뉴미디어 생태계는 전통적인 권위 구조와 설득력 구조를 무너뜨리면서 현대인들의 설득력 기제의 빈 자리를 점령하였다. 그래서 현대인들은 더 이상 전통적인 권위 구조나 설득력 구조를 따르지 않고 뉴미디어의 가치사슬체계를 채우고 있는 가공된 시뮬라크르 이미지들에 의하여 더 많은 영향을 받는다. 하지만 뉴미디어 생태계의 상당한 영향력에도 불구하고 가상공간이 제공하는 가상현실과의 상호작용이나 교감은 면대면 상호작용이 아니라 매개된 의사-상호작용에 불과하다. 그 세계에서 상호작용하는 이미지들 역시 현실에 존재하지 않는 초현실의 이미지들인 시뮬라크르에 불과하다. 그리고 현대인들은 두 세계 사이에 끼어 있기 때문에 결국 실제 현실과 가상현실의 괴리감이 점차 심화되고 정보 무력감도 더욱 깊어가고 있다.

Kierkegaard as Socratic Street Preacher?: Reimagining the Dialectic of Direct and Indirect Communication for Christian Proclamation

Is it possible to believe that the implications of the Christian Gospel are of such a kind that it cannot be communicated directly, and that the implications of the Christian Gospel are of such a kind that it ought to be preached on the street? Whether such a view is indeed “possible” did not bother the great paradoxical thinker, Søren Kierkegaard, who appeared to hold it. Indeed, one of the most enduring elements of Kierkegaard's theological legacy is his rigorously dialectical approach to Christian communication. For the reader of Kierkegaard, comprehending his (in)direct communication is typically both a frustrating and inspirational affair. On the one hand, Kierkegaard believed that the Gospel—precisely because of its unique existential consequences—cannot be preached directly; and on the other hand, he believed in the impassioned proclamation of this very same Gospel for the very same reasons. Traveling through his enigmatic authorship, one finds both of these aspects side by side, back to front, or sometimes one on top of the other. It is well noted that although Kierkegaard displays different stages of emphasis, he never totally relinquishes the importance of either method. It is the question of this article to re-engage this dialectical quandary, and to see how the paradoxical juxtaposition might prove both directly and indirectly instructive to a theology of Christian proclamation.

THE FORMS OF COMMUNICATION USED BY THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Ponte Academic JournalAug 2017, Volume 73, Issue 8 THE FORMS OF COMMUNICATION USED BY THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCHAuthor(s): Mike Megrove ReddyJ. Ponte - Aug 2017 - Volume 73 - Issue 8 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2017.8.13 Abstract:The Disciples of Christ and the Jews failed to understand His mission because theyanticipated the coming of a political leader. Therefore, when Christ died the disciples becamedemoralised and when they heard that his body was missing, they believed that someone had stolen the body. However, it was the day of Pentecost which brought about a boldness within these followers which instantly transformed them. Initially the primitive community had no fixed order or organisation. Those who were converts of the apostles also communicated the gospel. Initially oral communication was used by the laymen movement. Laymen imply that the preachers of the gospel were men. When the movement was being established as anorganisation, written communication played a vital role in the early Christian church.The aim of the study is to test validity of Klopper’s theory of optimisation of humancommunication (TOHC) in comparison to how human forms of communication developed in the early Christian church from the time they saw themselves as a movement to when they became an established religious organisation. This study was constructed within the framework of Klopper’s theory which is on optimisation of human communication. Within a culture people optimise a variety of forms of communication; in so doing they ensure personal survival and as a long-term survival strategy maintain their culture (Klopper, 2002). Theauthor did a qualitative content analysis of the historical trends in the use of Christian communication. This study confirms the validity of Klopper’s TOHC regarding the establishment of the early Christian church. The author shows how the early Christian church used the basic forms of communication while they were in the movement phase and how they widened the forms of communication when they became an organization. Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password

Religiosity versus Spirituality in the Contemporary Nigerian Gospel Music

Abstract There have been remarkable (r)evolutions in the Nigerian gospel music industry for the past decades. These revolutions have led to the emergence and survival of various modern and controversial musical cultures/traditions, modes and performances including worldliness and paganism in the industry. In view of these relatively nefarious musical cultures, a good number of scholars and observers tend to arguably redefine and (re)brand Christian communication in general and Nigerian gospel music in particular. It is in following this premise that this paper examines the phenomenon of religiosity and worldliness in the Nigerian gospel music industry. Based on observations and secondary data (literary sources), the paper argues that the Nigerian gospel music industry is just a vivid reflection of the country’s gloomy socio-religious landscape, characterized by the emergence/prevalence of fake ministers and various ubiquitous instrumentalities that perpetrate spiritual bareness in the country. Aspects of religiosity observed in some Nigerian gospel songs include controversial rhythms, imitations/adaptations of worldly songs, lyrical emphasis on prosperity (materialism, fame and earthly glories) at the detriment of spirituality/salvation, gospel artists being associated with sex scandals and occult practices.

Orality and Literacy in Early Christianity

This review essay engages Pieter Botha's Orality and Literacy in Early Christianity in a wide-ranging discussion of the ancient and early Christian communications culture. It reviews and seeks to carry forward some of the author's principal ideas about voice and chirographic practices, oral-scribal interfaces, compositional processes and performative activities, authorship, and memory both as an individual and as a social force. The first part draws a stark difference between the modern typographic media world and the oral-scribal-memorial communication processes of antiquity, and it exposes a tendency in biblical studies to project key features of the former upon the latter. The second part focuses on two major issues. One is the development of the Jesus traditions with an emphasis on rumor transmission, an unofficial, uncontrollable, interactional process. The second issue concerns the compositional identity of Mark, posing a sharp alternative between Mark as autograph of oral traditioning vis-à-vis a scribally accomplished hermeneutical act of interpretation. The third part revisits Paul's practices of authoring, placing his letters firmly in the context of the ancient memorial-oral-scribal-performative network of communications.

Christian Rhetorical Theory: A New (Re)Turn

Responding to Martin Medhurst’s call for a “fully rounded Christian rhetorical theory,” I claim that a focus on orthodox Christian doctrine provides an auspicious beginning for a strong rhetorical theory. This claim runs counter to the belief that doctrine is incompatible with a non-foundationalist rhetorical epistemology. In establishing this claim, I examine how Christian communication scholars have relied on the doctrine of Christ’s incarnation to build rhetorical theory and how such use typically relies on theological error. Correcting this error leads to a robust Christian rhetoric in which truth is eloquent and persuasion is an act of faithful obedience.

Seelsorge auf dem Weg in die Netzwerkgesellschaft: Rahmenbedingungen und Herausforderungen für das seelsorgerliche Handeln der Kirche angesichts sozialer Wandlungsprozesse im Computerzeitalter

Spiritual Care in a Network Society : Conditions and Challenges for Christian Counseling in the Light of Social Changes in the Computer Era. From an overview on current sociological and socio-psychological analyses of the network society, it can be seen how the focus of spiritual care will change. It helps people to find their way and prepare for a life of biographical disruptions. For the church the responsibilities of the individual church members for spiritual care in the communication networks becomemore important than increasing specialization in professional care. Spiritual care serves as a navigator in the plurality of places and opportunities of Christian communication.

Contact Rhetoric: Bodies and Love in Deus Caritas Est

Abstract A close textual analysis of Pope Benedict XVI’s inaugural encyclical Deus Caritas Est—God is Love is offered from the perspective of Platonic and contemporary rhetorical theory An acclaimed inspirational success, this letter proposes loving "encounter" and "response" as the fundamental dynamic of Christian communication; God is "felt" and made manifest in concrete love-of-neighbor. Benedicts "contact" orientation has significant implications for contemporary theory—humanity becomes ontologically contiguous, subjects are holistically embodied, Truth is grounded in co-felt exchange, and discourse is decentered by direct public engagement. Deus Caritas Est draws attention to ethical limits in Dramatism and Logology and advances embodied, invitational, and theological perspectives on rhetorical theory by showing how genuine love initiates and feeds a divine dynamic that can transcend divisions and unite humanity.

Contact Rhetoric: Bodies and Love in Deus Caritas Est

A close textual analysis of Pope Benedict XVI’s inaugural encyclical Deus Caritas Est—God is Love is offered from the perspective of Platonic and contemporary rhetorical theory. An acclaimed inspirational success, this letter proposes loving “encounter” and “response” as the fundamental dynamic of Christian communication; God is “felt” and made manifest in concrete love-of-neighbor. Benedict’s “contact” orientation has significant implications for contemporary theory—humanity becomes ontologically contiguous, subjects are holistically embodied, Truth is grounded in co-felt exchange, and discourse is decentered by direct public engagement. Deus Caritas Est draws attention to ethical limits in Dramatism and Logology and advances embodied, invitational, and theological perspectives on rhetorical theory by showing how genuine love initiates and feeds a divine dynamic that can transcend divisions and unite humanity.

Seed Thoughts from Saint Mark

The article explores the imagery of the sowing and growth of seed, as it is developed in the parables of Mark chapter 4. After noting how this chapter functions within the overall plan of Mark's Gospel, we look in turn at its three story-parables, with their respective focus on the effect of different types of soil, the self-sufficiency of the seed, and the contrast between small beginnings and ultimate success. It is suggested that the apparently predestinarian message of the parable of the sower and its explanatory comments needs to be offset against the more optimistic tone of the two other parables; the contribution of this chapter lies not in any one parable taken alone but in the cumulative impact of the whole series of images. Some final comments recommend Jesus’ parabolic method as a model for our Christian communication.

Landscape and the Kingdom of God

‘Landscape and the Kingdom of God’ examines how co-operation with secular partners in a World Heritage Status Bid may be seen as an expression of mission, and how the transformation of urban landscape and sacred space may reflect the Kingdom of God. The history of Wearmouth-Jarrow, explored through Bede’s story of the founding of the seventh-century monastery, highlights contemporary resonances in art, learning, community and Christian communication. The Wearmouth context is explored historically, practically and theologically, with the etching of cruciform pathways on the site’s surface seen as a means of interpreting access, encounter and human transformation.