Christian Existence Research Articles

Research on Camus' Philosophy of Rebellion

The thoughts of the famous French writer and philosopher Albert Camus are profound. His literary works, imbued with his philosophical ideas, are embodied in characters like Meursault from "The Stranger" and Sisyphus pushing the rock uphill. Camus seeks the meaning of life through the "rebellion" against the absurd, which is fundamental to his philosophical significance. Camus' philosophy of rebellion is influenced by Christian existentialism and Nietzsche's "superman philosophy," among other thoughts. "Absurdity" is the target of Camus' philosophy of rebellion; it is omnipresent and unavoidable. People should acknowledge the "absurd." Camus' philosophy does not aim to prove the absurdity of the world through philosophical speculation but rather to address how one should respond after recognizing the absurd. Evaluations of Camus should consider the century-long debate between Camus and Sartre, Sartre's criticism of Camus, and the subsequent scholarly "rehabilitation" of Camus. These discussions highlight the uniqueness and influence of Camus' philosophy and provide us with valuable insights.

„Civilis, non tyrannica dominatio” (Tert. Apol. 2.14.)

In the first three centuries of the existence of Christianity, it was exposed to sporadic and then increasingly organized persecution by the authorities of the Roman Empire. All of the Christian apologists emphasized the illegality of these persecutions. Tertullian, the jurist, who worked under Septimius Severus, emphasized that the Roman Empire is a state of law, not a tyrannical rule, and this law did not allow the execution of innocents. Although the number of Christians continued to grow despite the persecutions – in Carthage, for example, at the end of the 3rd century, one in ten inhabitants of the city declared themselves to be Christians – it seems that they resigned themselves to the constant oppression. In the Apologeticum, Tertullian lists three possible forms of resistance: internal disruption, open armed rebellion, or mass emigration, but he considers them both unjust and impracticable. According to him, the persecutions were approved by God in order to purify his Church. At the same time, there is also an eschatological reason why they did not stand against the tyrannical oppression: some Christian theologians interpreted the statement in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 about the “one who now holds it back” (niv) or “he who now restrains it” (esv), viz. who prevents the appearance of the Antichrist as being the Roman Empire or the emperor itself. If the current emperor falls, the Empire itself will collapse, and the “ten kings” will come, who will be the direct forerunners of the Antichrist. This is why Christians honour the emperors and they do not oppose them by force even if they are sent to death by the imperial authorities.

Lived experiences of the ‘Wisdom of God’ according to 1 Corinthians 2

This article investigates the theological concept Wisdom of God, which could appear vague to many Christians. Paul refers 17 times to the concept wisdom in the first epistle to the Corinthians. The first four chapters include 16 references to wisdom, and then again in 12:8, where Paul uses it with reference to a spiritual gift. The nine occurrences of wisdom in chapter one exposes a dialectical approach in which the ‘Wisdom of God’ is opposed to the ‘wisdom of the world’. In the second chapter Paul compares the content and character of these two types of wisdom. This article predominantly focuses on chapter 2 by pursuing different perspectives for the concept of the wisdom of God. The investigation starts with a brief overview of the Corinthian circumstances to contextualise the reasoning of the research, followed by a discourse analysis of the Greek text to determine corresponding semantic networks. These networks provide headings for the research. Thirdly, Paul is assessed as protagonist of, and intermediary for, communicating this wisdom. Fourthly, the focus falls on the reception of the ‘wisdom of God’. Fifthly, the article outlines the ‘role’ and ‘function’ of the Spirit in the revelation of the ‘wisdom of God’. Sixthly, the focus is on how wisdom is received. Finally, the research examines features used by Paul to communicate the ‘wisdom of God’ as lived experiences.Contribution: The concept, activity, and lived experience of the ‘wisdom of God’, is understood to be the epistemology to Christian existence, living and experience of God. This article investigates and highlights the ‘presence of God’ living in Christ as righteousness, redemption, and holiness (sanctification).

Nation-Building in Korea: Role of Christianity During Japanese Colonization

Religion plays a valuable role as an essential institution in Nation-Building. Studies of Nation-Building movements throughout the world recognize religion as a major driving force of Nation-Building. In the history of Korea, the colonial period of Japan (1910-1945) has been marked as one of the darkest periods, and this disaster has become a backbone to growing-up Christianity in Korea.Different people and groups approached nation-building in distinct ways resulting in a variety of nationalistic moments. Christianity as a Korean institution played an integral role in shaping the view of Christians and the church and their actions toward nationalism. Under the Japanese colonial era, the people of Korea had to face phycological injuries, injustices, inequalities, and impoverishment, and it has also flourished the existence of Christianity and its political environment in Korea. Christianity started to gain popularity and became identified as a reliance with which the people of Korea hoped to liberate themselves from the dark period of Japanese Colonial rule.The presence of Christianity was pronounced at every level of anti-Japanese organizations, and they started to participate actively in the independence movement against Japanese rule. On the way to nation-building, Korea needed to adopt elements of Western culture to strengthen the nation.This article provides insights into the nation-building carried out by Christianity in Korea during the colonization period of Japan. Although it is not a depth study of Christianity in Korea, it’s role in nation-building. It will also try to find the links between Christianity and nation-building in Korea.

The Dialectic of Christian Politics

This article suggests that the problem of Christianity’s involvement in the world of politics may be described as taking the form of a dialectic of Christian politics. This means that while the transcendent essence of Christianity is apolitical, the presence of the Christian message in the immanent world always brings with it political consequences and makes Christendom a part of political life. The dialectic is presented with reference to the thought of two key contemporary Christian thinkers: Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and Jacques Maritain (1882-1973). Both recognized the dialectical tension inherent in Christianity, but each found a different solution to this problem: whereas Kierkegaard denies Christianity any possibility of political involvement, Maritain concludes that such involvement is necessary for proper Christian existence in the world. The goal of this article is to uncover, on the basis of their considerations, a third, positive solution to the dialectic of Christian politics—a model that would demonstrate how the elements of the Christian ideal (transcendence) could be transferred to the temporal world (immanence), morally improving the latter without becoming falsified in it.

Unamuno, Berdyaev, Marcel: A Comparative Study in Christian Existentialism by C. A. Longhurst (review)

Unamuno, Berdyaev, Marcel: A Comparative Study in Christian Existentialism by C. A. Longhurst (review)

ہندوستان میں برطانوی دور اقتدار میں مسلم متکلمین کی مشنریز سے مزاحمت

Evidence of the existence of Christianity in India can be found from the second century AD. When the industrial revolution came in European countries, European countries established colonies in other countries of the world and in this context, many European countries turned to India,but Britain was successful in them. The British government through the East India Company like When he started gaining power, he made a plan to convert the people of India into Christianity. For this purpose, priests from European countries were called to preach Christianity to the Muslims here. The religious literature of India was made suspicious and various missionary organizations were given full support by the government to force the Indian people to accept Christianity through threats or greed. All the doubts raised by him were countered in the form of books and debates, so in this article the life conditions and services of these scholars will be presented.

NEGOTIATING RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES AND MODERNITY IN MALUKU: A Socio-Historical Perspective

This research article was based on a literature review using the lens of a socio-historical perspective on the dynamic relationship between Islam and Christianity in Maluku throughout the social history of the Maluku archipelago. The research question “How did the metamorphosis of religious identities (Islam and Christianity) take place through the history and contemporary social reality in Ambon?” becomes a reference to trace the historical trajectory of relations between the two religions in Maluku. The religious conflict that occurred from 1999-2005 still leaves social residues that must be carefully considered for the future of these two religions in Maluku and Indonesia. A hermeneutic analysis of social history was used to map the sociological variables that determine the existence and interaction of Islam and Christianity in Maluku, which in turn also determine interfaith relations at large in the context of Indonesia’s pluralistic society. A multidisciplinary approach was used to synthesize various documents and analyses of some experts, especially Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological analytical framework. The result of this research is the construction of historical understanding that must be understood in managing religious pluralism, especially in the relations between Islam and Christianity in Maluku and Indonesia.

NEGOTIATING RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES AND MODERNITY IN MALUKU: A Socio-Historical Perspective

This research article was based on a literature review using the lens of a socio-historical perspective on the dynamic relationship between Islam and Christianity in Maluku throughout the social history of the Maluku archipelago. The research question “How did the metamorphosis of religious identities (Islam and Christianity) take place through the history and contemporary social reality in Ambon?” becomes a reference to trace the historical trajectory of relations between the two religions in Maluku. The religious conflict that occurred from 1999-2005 still leaves social residues that must be carefully considered for the future of these two religions in Maluku and Indonesia. A hermeneutic analysis of social history was used to map the sociological variables that determine the existence and interaction of Islam and Christianity in Maluku, which in turn also determine interfaith relations at large in the context of Indonesia’s pluralistic society. A multidisciplinary approach was used to synthesize various documents and analyses of some experts, especially Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological analytical framework. The result of this research is the construction of historical understanding that must be understood in managing religious pluralism, especially in the relations between Islam and Christianity in Maluku and Indonesia.

The Impact of Transmigration on The Development of Christianization in West Pasaman (1953-1980)

Abstract : This study reveals the social history of transmigration's effects on the chirstianization of pasaman. This chirstianization took place in 1953, for the existence of christians who have settled in about the 20th century. These christians came from java, and it's mainly in transmigration resettlement areas. In progress until the end of 1980, chirstian activity look dinamics, so that christian could engage in various activity of life. The study uses historical science research methods of heuristic, critisim, interpretation, and historiography. Studies have found that, the social movement of christian resulted from transmigration trough all walks of life in the pasaman. The christian movement in the pasaman included education, place of worship, youth and art, and socioeconomic society. A propesive action is that without resorting to anarchy in a persuasive or inviting approach. This effrot has brough various froms of infrastructure to all sector of life.Keywords : Impact, Transmigration,Christianization, Pasaman.

Урок Пришвина

In the article, the author sums up his research on Prishvin. The focus is on the problem of the specifics of artistically oriented cognition, a unique exam­ple of which was realized in the work of the Russian writer-thinker Mikhail Mikhailovich Prishvin (1873–1954). It is shown that behind his external, seem­ingly purely literary activity, there is a deep intellectual work of a thinker who positioned himself as a representative of the philosophy of spiritualism and intu­itionism. The author of the article compares the Prishvinian artistic method of cognition with the philosophy of the Christian existentialist Gabriel Marcel. The common denominator between these figures, who are at first glance distant from each other figures, is their inherent rejection of the “spirit of abstraction”, the negative role of which in culture both of them demonstrate in their own way.­For Prishvin as a personalist differences are important in the world, and not the similarities and identities of things accessible to mathematical representation. The lesson of Prishvin, as understood by the author of the article, is to reveal the significance of artistic and existential personalistic knowledge not only in the narrowly artistic practice of art and literature, but also in philosophy and even in science. After all, “the origins of science and art”, as Prishvin believed, “are personal”. The author suggests that in order to cognize such synthetic cul­tural phenomena as Prishvin, a spiritual resonance of the cognizer with his cog­nizable is needed.

A Contemporary View of Christian Holiness

In modern times, the understanding of holiness is often overshadowed by notions of achievement in various areas of human existence, and holiness could be understood as merely human commitment in the moral realm. Therefore, within the Christian tradition there are discussions of a call to holiness and not only to moral perfection, where holiness rests above all on the fact of God’s chosenness, to which the Christians respond by changing concrete lives. This article shall highlight several main characteristics of holiness as a model of Christian existence important to the Church in the third millennium. Firstly, a biblical-theological account of holiness shall be presented as a landmark of understanding holiness in the Church and in theology. Then, the fundamental dimension of holiness shall be introduced which is the principle of giftedness, opposed in a certain contrast to the widely present principle of achievement and perfection. The third part shall highlight the exemplary character of holiness, which has the ability to attract others, thus realizing in the life of the Church its main character of holiness that comes from God Himself. In their response to God, Christians find a model among the saints who have accepted various means of consecration within the Church and given God an answer to His call to holiness. Finally, the importance of a personal response to the call to holiness shall be indicated. The goal of Christian holiness is to unite with God, and on the way to this union, the effort of every individual who manifests himself primarily in accepting God’s gifts and His grace is also needed. Moral and sacred life is not primarily the adventure of spiritual giants of tried and tested moral behaviour and virtues, where these behaviours and virtues are only the result of their own endeavour and humanistic aspirations, but rather holiness is a response to God to his great love, which he expressed in the history of salvation and in the lives of people.

A tale of two Martins: Is Luther to blame for Heidegger's destruction of ontotheology?

AbstractMuch has been written about Heidegger's indebtedness to Luther in developing Being and Time. Recently Duane Armitage has claimed that since Heidegger is the “root to all continental philosophy of religion and postmodern theology,” and since his “disdain for onto‐theology is rooted in Luther, . . . essentially all postmodern theological thinking is fundamentally Lutheran.” Clearly, both Martins de‐emphasize theology's penchant for abstract metaphysics and look instead to recover the facticity of concrete lived Christian existence. But surface similarities should not occlude what profoundly differentiates the two, for the Martins depart radically in what they thought thinking did and what the truth‐conditions of their respective discourses were. Luther who assumed theological realism was concerned with how human beings really stand in relation to God, while Heidegger brackets such questions in favor of a description of the phenomenological shape of the Christian life. I employ elementary model theory in order to provide greater precision and accuracy in evaluating the stark semantic differences between their respective approaches.

KIERKEGAARD'S EXISTENTIAL EXPERIENCE OF RELIGION

Søren Kierkegaard is well-known for being the first founder of existential philosophy, and since he ‎was a genuine Christian philosopher, he established the Christian's existentialism, in which he ‎associated religion and existentialism, through an existential experience par excellence, that is, a life ‎lived by a very distinguished person; the existential philosopher.‎ Kierkegaard draw a distinction between the public religion; a religion of the common people or the ‎mob, which is based on tradition only, and on superficial external practice, like various rituals and ‎rites, which do not express the accurate essence of religion, and the religion of the philosophers, ‎which is the religion of special people; it is founded on a completely individual experience, which ‎reflects the self-existence of every human being, with his pains, fears, sorrows, and ‎disappointments., this is surely the true religion for Kierkegaard; a profound inner spiritual and ‎existential experience, which expresses the individual's own life, and is not shared by anyone ‎else.For that, Kierkegaard's religious experience was based on the most important existential ‎concepts, such as anxiety, despair, sin, boredom, pain, loneliness.‎ In this paper, we seek to study Kierkegaard's religious experience as an existential experience in ‎the first place, by examining how Kierkegaard has transformed the religious experience into an ‎existential experience? What are the most important existential concepts on which this experience is ‎based? Then to what extent Kierkegaard has successfully linked the Christian religion with his ‎existential philosophy?‎

Единый вектор социальной направленности христианства и ислама

The relevance of the exploration is related to the study of a single vector of the social orientation of Christianity and Islam. On the example of the Holy Scriptures of the Bible and the Quran, the Catechism, the main collections of traditions from Muhammad, collected by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud and others, the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, the social doctrine of Muslims, as well as historical practice, the closeness of both religions in relation to a person and society. This is also manifested in the commandments of Christianity, with the exception of the doctrinal aspect, since the concept of God in Christianity and Islam is different from each other and not identical. Identity is observed in those qualities, some of which a true believer should have: love for the transmitter of revelation, love for neighbor, love for enemies, humility, patience, righteousness, purity of heart, mercy, repentance, trust in the Lord, preservation of the world, etc. There is a similarity in those qualities that a believer must eradicate in himself: breaking an oath, lying, anger, arrogance, a passion for accumulation, etc. The identity of traditional values in Christianity and Islam is considered: the institution of traditional marriage, the equality of men and women, the dignity of motherhood, the attitude to children, the prohibition of abortion and homosexuality, the attitude to slavery, which was at the time of the emergence of Islam and the existence of Christianity, is separately mentioned. The conclusions emphasize that feelings of love and compassion, understanding of man as the crown of creation, spiritual and moral development and gaining transcendental experience are common to Christianity and Islam. This exploration will allow us to better study the Russian model of interfaith relations in building a constructive dialogue in the socio-cultural sphere and, if necessary, use it in countering the challenges of our time. It should be taken into account that the Abrahamic religions are characterized by the concept of religious exclusivity, which practically excludes tolerance in matters of dogma and worship, as well as recognition of other religions as equal to them, while this allows you to save the religions themselves from distortion.

David I. Starling. Reading Ephesians and Colossians: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Reading the New Testament, second series.

David I. Starling. <i>Reading Ephesians and Colossians: A Literary and Theological Commentary</i>. Reading the New Testament, second series.

Jejak Religi Pada Makam Gerald Alfred Cup di Perkebunan Kina Cinyiruan Masa Kolonial

Cinyiruan Plantation of Chinchona has become part of the garden (afdeeling) of the Kertamanah Plantation. Traces of the Cinyiruan Plantation culture can still be traced, one of which is the tomb of Gerald Alfred Cup. What and how the existence of the tomb is the main problem in this paper. The research method used is desk research with a historical approach. The results obtained are that the tomb of Gerald Alfred Cup shows traces of Christian religion in the Cinyiruan Plantation of Chinchona, and the tolerant religious life on the plantations during the colonial period. Traces of religion based on the shape of the tomb marker and European (Dutch) name on tomb inscription. Gerald Alfred Cup or Tuan Keup is a Dutch, plant expert and the last Cinyiruan Plantation of Chinchona of Administrator. The tolerant religious life in the plantations is indicated by the traces of the tomb as an indication of the existence of Christianity and the presence of mosques in the settlements of the workers. The plantation workers are the original indigenous people of the local village who are mostly Muslim.

Discipleship, Secularity, and the Modern Self: Dancing to Silent Music, Judith A.Merkle, T&amp;T Clark, 2020 (ISBN 978‐0‐5676‐9340‐2), viii + 240 pp., pb £21.99

Discipleship, Secularity, and the Modern Self: Dancing to Silent Music, Judith A.Merkle, T&amp;T Clark, 2020 (ISBN 978‐0‐5676‐9340‐2), viii + 240 pp., pb £21.99

Learning to Pray by Singing

Gregorian chants are mostly based on Old Testament texts, predominantly from the Psalms. Decisive for their interpretation in the light of the New Testament are texts of the Church Fathers (Augustine, Gregory the Great, etc.). The texts often do not follow their canonical order in the Bible, but were primarily compiled on the basis of broader associations. Hence, it is not uncommon for new content references to emerge that are committed to a Christian perspective, emotionally and theologically very bold. This article describes an imaginary ‘Gregorian Composition Workshop’: the individual ‘chambers’ include compiling texts, the choice of a suitable mode and melody, as well as the most refined rhythmic differentiations. The final piece, through its unique quality as the ‘sounding word of Holy Scripture’ permits an intensive view of the spirituality of the ninth and tenth centuries, and a realistic understanding of the Psalms as the basis of Christian existence.

Onesimus, Philemon’s runaway slave boy: A brief liberation-theological exegesis of Philemon vv. 8–18 in the Nigerian context

Slavery is one of the life’s most odious vices ever experienced in human history. Its abhorrent nature is such that even those involved in the enslavement of others often detest the cruel phenomenon. The Nigerian ruling elite seems to feign ignorance of the hidden agenda of some modern slavers in their employment, but the Nigerian Christian population has come to acknowledge the ignoble policies that are slavery in disguise. Their cry for redemption has been by praying for Nigeria in distress, numerous crusades, and praising and worshiping sessions dedicated to the Lord of peace and salvation. However, many people have become frustrated, as they feel these activities are tedious, outlandish and irrelevant. For them, action is the master key to solving this national ordeal or hardship. This situation is exacerbated by the ever-increasing tension and sour relationship between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, where it is becoming apparent that there is no political will on the part of the ruling class to promote harmonious living, but that they would rather prefer to gloss over and pay lip service to the enslavement and oppression of the Christian population. The letter of Paul to Philemon, especially verses 8–18, is a relevant biblical resource that we find useful to address the situation. In order to do so, to the best of our ability, we have examined and outlined the undisputed and underlying sensitive levels of religious intolerance, which are making Nigerian Christians to become an endangered species in their fatherland. Indeed, the situation calls for an urgent deployment of the biblical principles that are rooted in, and derived from, the liberation-theological approach to doing contextual biblical exegesis. This study makes use of the liberation-theological approach to argue that liberation is ad rem and considered a relevant tool for this study. It was observed in this study that the current situation in Nigeria is nothing less than slavery and can hardly be described otherwise. If slavery or enslavement of any person, group or ethnic or indigenous people include the overt denial of their God-given freedom, accountability, good governance and social justice that make up the hallmarks of a democracy, then there is enslavement.Contribution: This study contributes to authentic Christian existence and enhancement of principles such of love, justice and solidarity in the Nigerian public domain, as that would render enslavement agenda existing in Nigeria a contradiction. It endorses the values of peace, justice and maintenance of strong institutions.