ABSTRACT Personal autonomy is a central principle in Humanistic therapy. However, for counselors of the Christian faith, the concept of grace (God’s influence) is also likely to feature in their practice. This raises the question of how to reconcile these potentially conflicting principles. This UK-based qualitative study explored how Christian-faith counselors reconcile belief in God’s influence with the principle of personal autonomy. Eight Humanistic Christian-faith counselors were interviewed, with transcripts undergoing reflexive thematic analysis. Six major themes were found: (1) Psychological Contact with a Relational God (2) Intentionality for God’s Influence (3) Internal Spiritual Locus of Evaluation (4) Surrender to the Space for Grace (5) Thin Spaces (6) Socratic Questions for Tensions. The findings indicated harmony between the two principles, operating at both philosophical and practical levels. This included a growth-through-grace conception of clients’ autonomous development. Suggestions for resolving tensions between grace and autonomy are also made. Implications of the study include the potential for Christian-faith Humanistic counselors to develop practice rationales consistent with the principle of grace, and the benefits of supervision and training in facilitating this integration.

ABSTRACT This article situates the everyday liberation politics of community activist Vesta Smith within the recent historiography that recovers the overlooked contributions of black women in South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggles, participating in ongoing efforts to restore epistemic justice. It expands this scholarship by broadening the study of protest politics beyond formal organisations and after 1994. Born in Johannesburg and forcibly displaced to the coloured area of Noordgesig (Soweto) in 1941, Vesta remained there for life, a life that itself became a praxis of resistance rooted in her community. During the Soweto uprisings, Ma Vesta or Ma Vee, as she came to be known, was recognised as a senior activist for her earlier participation in the signing of the Freedom Charter and the Women’s March. Operating primarily outside organisational politics, she was a key figure in connecting banned movements and youth-led protests and sustaining multiple anti-apartheid networks across generations, ideologies, and townships. The article foregrounds Vesta’s lifelong commitment to non-racialism, non-sectarianism, and social justice – principles grounded in her Christian faith – and highlights her continued engagement with the social, economic, and political challenges of the post-apartheid period.

ABSTRACT In the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries, the plays of Thomas Heywood, Robert Daborne and Philip Massinger portrayed Africa as a ‘land of deficient justice’ by staging unequal rights, private vengeance and judicial irregularities in public spaces of the Barbary states. Informed by widely circulated travel narratives and historical records, this imaginative framework reflects English anxieties over conversions to Islam and increasing migration to North Africa. By dramatizing the fragility of African public order, these plays caution against departure from national identity and Christian faith. These dramatized narratives construct imagined African public spaces marked by disorder, while simultaneously reflecting and interrogating the fragility of legal order that haunted early modern England, prompting broader reflection on governance and law. These works have shaped early modern English judicial discourse, exposing the fluid and contested character of justice, through implicit textual and theatrical inquiries into the nature of legal and social order. Present-day performance, pedagogy and scholarship invite reflection on issues of justice, identity and cultural encounters across time.

Abstract The Valparaíso School in Chile is celebrated as an experiment in post–World War II educational ideas and neo-avant-garde aesthetic practices. The school’s singular collective works, such as the Open City—charged with developing an architecture cogenerated with poetry—have sought to erase the boundaries between learning, working, and living. This essay posits a reinterpretation of the Valparaíso School by foregrounding the religious framework underlying its members’ collective undertakings. It examines the 1967 Architecture School Manifesto, which called for testimonies of Christian faith, underpinned by a masculinist rhetoric, to contextualize the revolutionary impetus of the school’s practice, the relationship between poetry and theology, and the founding of the Open City in 1971. With close readings of foundational texts, archival evidence, and original interviews, this essay reveals a lay apostolate guiding the school’s philosophy, pedagogy, and practice. By challenging the secularizing logic of modernity, it highlights progressive Christians who, oriented toward a sacrificial form of masculinity, sought an ecumenical project based on their faith.

Religious socialization by parents, which encourages religious participation and affiliation, as well as family upbringing, which instills values like educational success, hard work, resilience, and respect, shape the everyday lives of second-generation Africans. This shaping influence remains central to ongoing scholarly debates, particularly in light of the growth of Pentecostal Christianity within African diaspora communities. Focusing on second-generation Nigerians, this paper explores the role of Christian faith in everyday life within multicultural Britain, thereby contributing to the wider debate on the religion and minority identity. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and diaries written by a sub-sample of participants, this study finds that Christian faith offers guidance and influences participation and settlement among second-generation Nigerians in Britain. Religious lessons provide tools for understanding and drawing intra-racial and inter-racial boundaries, while values like patience, tolerance, and good sociability help individuals manage workplace racism, build broad interracial networks, and progress socioeconomically.

This fictional story, inspired in part by real-life events, develops an episode in the life of Sarah, who comes from a family of modest means in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Sarah weds Ned Khoury, a self-made businessman whose Christian faith invites criticism in Sarah’s community. The marriage brings Sarah and her family financial stability, but it soon becomes clear that Ned’s interests lie elsewhere. Sarah learns she is a cover for Ned’s same-sex inclinations and later meets his lover Rayan, who offers her a feisty parrot—Churchill—as a companion. Ned introduces Sarah to his childhood friend, Dani, who seduces her. Sarah grows close to and later fetishizes Churchill, whose presence becomes essential to her lovemaking rituals. Meanwhile, Ned encourages and guides her as she forms her own network of partners. When Churchill dies, his skull mangled, his beak squashed in the heat of a moment, Sarah experiences a fleeting rapprochement with a slightly chastened Ned, but feels ashamed and no longer expectant when her affections are unreturned.

Background: Pacific patients and families in New Zealand have limited access to palliative care services in comparison with non‐Pacific families. Culturally, Pacific families prefer to take care of their family members in the home. Yet, Pacific families tend to experience challenges in accessing services and support from such services typically because of limited knowledge of where to go as well as cultural concerns. The purpose of this review was to capture the voices and diverse experiences of Pacific people and families who used palliative services in New Zealand. Methods: This review adopts a systematic integrative method using the PRISMA diagram. Four databases were used, Medline (Ovid), CINAHL (Complete), Scopus and PubMed, to search keywords related to Pacific people, palliative and end‐of‐life care. Each research article was then analysed thematically using thematic analysis with the Vā methodology, which is a Pacific concept of understanding relationships. Results: A total of 112 records were retrieved and 21 sources were included. Four main themes emerged: perceptions of palliative and hospice care, the Vā and Pacific caregiving, the importance of spiritual care, and healthcare‐related services. The cultural traditions and the Christian faith of Pacific people continue to influence perceptions and decisions associated with palliative and end‐of‐life care. Conclusion: This review highlighted factors that influence Pacific people's access to and use of palliative and end‐of‐life care services. Doing so can lead to a better understanding of how to improve communication and build meaningful relationships between Pacific people with palliative care needs, their families and health professionals.

This research analyses the local wisdom of Sigale-gale in Batak Toba culture as a social symbol rich in anthropological, philosophical, and theological meaning. While previous studies have largely examined Sigale-gale from anthropological or folkloric perspectives, limited attention has been given to its theological significance within the framework of Christian religious education. As a representation of a strong patrilineal system, Sigale-gale is positioned not only as a cultural artifact but also as a reflection of the collective spiritual longing of the Batak Toba community. This research applies an interdisciplinary approach: cultural anthropology to understand the traditional social structure of the Batak, Dooyeweerd’s modal aspects philosophy to explore the interconnected dimensions of reality, and Reformed theology to interpret the meaning of humanity as the imago Dei within the context of Sigale-gale. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative, literature-based, hermeneutical–theological approach, grounded in critical and interpretive engagement with existing ethnographic scholarship, rather than primary ethnographic fieldwork. The analysis shows that Sigale-gale can function as a dialogical medium between Christian faith and local culture, enabling a theological reinterpretation of human dignity, social structure, and cultural meaning. By integrating philosophical and theological perspectives into cultural analysis, this research proposes a conceptual framework for the integration of Christian Religious Education that is incarnational, contextual, and transformative, particularly in addressing epistemological fragmentation, digitally mediated subjectivity, and the growing tendency to reduce education to instrumental outcomes within global cultural contexts.

Religion and social services in Nigeria has always been the subject of academic interest. Scholars have differing views about the Christian social ministry, giving special attention to the Pentecostal churches and on a narrower scale, the mega churches, as they are often accused of not sufficiently tackling the socio-economic and development challenges facing their members and the communities at large in this economically challenging times. These observations have created a lot of controversy in the school of thought, with various Pentecostal mega churches being accused of adopting economic-driven intentions, exploiting followers and commercializing the Christian faith. On the other hand, some of the mega churches in Nigeria can be described as progressive Pentecostal, whose adherence to community building development in terms of social services is germane. This paper explores the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), a Pentecostal mega church, hence, illustrating the crucial role of faith-based organisations in promoting the welfare and development of the community. To reinforce these results, the research utilized secondary sources of data and implemented the theory of the mission to explore the notion of mega churches and their social intervention in the spiritual and social aspects of their community at this critical time in Nigeria. As a result, the paper uncovered that the problems of Nigeria are too daunting, so that not even one or even a few Pentecostal churches can adequately handle them. Thus, the devotion of Nigerian Pentecostal churches should not be confined to building fancy structures or leading luxurious lives, but by making significant changes to their host communities in terms of social services, new religious practices, innovations and developments. It can be recommended that every church should learn what the Redeemed Christian Church did and come up with workable strategies that can help them reach more people in their communities thus changing the lives of more people in the face of the present difficult situations in the country.

This study analyzes the relationship between Christian faith and artificial intelligence (AI) through a theological-philosophical approach and assesses its relevance to the existence of the Catholic Church in the digital age. The background of this study stems from the rapid development of AI, which brings both opportunities and risks to the life of faith, such as the simplification of theological teachings, the reduction of personal relationships, and the emergence of a technocratic paradigm. The study uses qualitative methods with a literature review of the Holy Scriptures, Church documents, and literature on philosophy and technology ethics. The results of the analysis show that AI is a product of human creativity as the image of God, so it does not conflict with faith, but it remains instrumental and does not have moral or spiritual dimensions like humans. Therefore, AI cannot replace the role of humans in faith relationships. The Church is called to guide technological development through Christian ethical principles, upholding human dignity, being critical of the effects of dehumanization, and utilizing AI wisely for evangelization, catechesis, and faith education. With a reflective and critical approach, the Church can remain relevant amid technological advances without losing its identity and mission for the common good.

Ethiopian Christianity stands as a distinctive manifestation of the Christian faith, uniquely shaped by its integration of Jewish traditions and theological perspectives that diverge from Hellenized Christianity. This study explores the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), highlighting its profound historical roots and its distinctive approach to biblical interpretation and religious practice. The Church’s enduring connection to Judaism is evident in its adherence to ritual purity laws, dietary regulations, and architectural elements reminiscent of the ancient Jewish Temple. By examining these aspects, the study reveals how Ethiopian Christianity represents a vibrant continuation of early Christian traditions, enriched by its assimilation of Judaic practices and its adaptation to the Ethiopian cultural and religious milieu. This unique synthesis underscores Ethiopian Christianity’s role in preserving and transforming early Christian and Jewish heritage within a distinct Ethiopian context.

Nigeria is a multicultural nation endowed with abundant human and natural resources, yet it currently faces profound economic crises marked by high inflation, unemployment, underemployment, widespread poverty, and social instability, particularly banditry and insurgency. This study examines a socio-theological interpretation of Psalm 126:1–6 in the context of these economic challenges and evaluates how the biblical theme of restoration can inspire hope and positive action among Nigerian citizens. Drawing on classical and Keynesian economic theories alongside biblical exegesis of Psalm 126, the study employs a mixed-methods approach using data from 620 Nigerian Christians to analyze the spiritual, emotional, and socio-economic impacts of the crisis. The findings show that the majority of respondents perceive a direct link between Christian faith and socio-economic resilience, viewing Psalm 126 as a source of national encouragement and as a framework for prayer that integrates divine intervention, human responsibility, and aspirations for national development. The study concludes that churches can play a crucial role in national restoration through spiritual support, socio-ethical advocacy, and community development, and recommends stronger governance, church-led social initiatives, and the integration of moral and theological values into policy-making as key pathways toward socio-economic recovery and holistic restoration in Nigeria.

ABSTRACT We examined experiences among Afro-Caribbean mental health service users in Canada, exploring (i) barriers and facilitators towards recovery; (ii) experiences within the official health care system; and (iii) utilisation of alternative treatments and remedies. We conducted 18 in-depth interviews with Afro-Caribbean service users, and subsequent thematic analysis revealed three overlapping themes. First, participants pointed to their Christian faith as a source of comfort. Second, participants often reported that stigma in their family and community was a barrier to recovery. Third, many reported problematic issues within clinical services, including avoiding discussion of religion and spirituality, and a perceived overemphasis on medication. This study reveals that Afro-Caribbean mental health service users in Canada are experiencing many of the same issues that were identified in studies occurring decades ago, suggesting the need for concerted action. This could include cultural and religious competence training for Canadian clinicians and anti-stigma campaigns targeting minority communities.

The article examines the religious-philosophical views and intellectual intersections of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Vladimir Solovyov during the 1870s–1880s, a pivotal decade for their creative and ideological quests. Drawing on the novels “The Adolescent,” “Anna Karenina,” and “The Brothers Karamazov,” as well as publicistic writings and philosophical treatises, the study identifies parallels and divergences in the thinkers’ understanding of central issues: the crisis of contemporary Christianity, the search for a positive moral ideal, the ontology of active love, and personal immortality as the foundation of universal human unity. Special attention is given to the role of personal contacts and mutual influences (Dostoevsky and Solovyov’s pilgrimage to the Optina Pustyn monastery, Tolstoy’s reading of Solovyov’s works), as well as to the significance of Nikolai Fyodorov’s ideas concerning the “common task” of resurrection. The author concludes that, despite differences in their perception of Christ’s figure and the form of resurrection, all three thinkers agreed that Christian faith must be imbued with new content capable of uniting people through active love. Dostoevsky, Solovyov, and Tolstoy considered the aspiration for collective resurrection and faith in the immortality of the human soul to be the paramount needs of the modern individual.

ABSTRACT In this article, I examine the phenomenon of ethnoreligiosity in the post-Yugoslav context, focusing on the Catholic Church in Croatia and the Serbian Orthodox Church. I distinguish between ethnoreligion as a cultural specificity and ethnoreligiosity as a distortion where religion is instrumentalized by ethnonationalist ideologies. By analyzing the role of ethnonational myths in shaping religious discourse, I show how ethnoreligiosity sacralizes political projects of ethnic homogenization and legitimizes violence, leading to the vulgarization of Christian faith. I argue that theology must respond contextually and liberatively by exposing these myths and reclaiming religious discourse for justice, reconciliation, and genuine Christian witness.

This article examines the Pastor Sexual Exploitation Framework, developed from the lived experiences of adult congregation members who were victims of sexual violence perpetrated by pastors or church leaders within Evangelical and Pentecostal Christian faith communities in Australia. Sexual grooming and coercion of adults by pastors remain under-researched phenomena, with no comprehensive examination or national data on the patterns and tactics used by pastors to coerce sexual activity from adults within their congregations. This exploratory study addresses this gap by drawing from the responses of thirty-three participants who completed an online survey, which included both closed and open-ended questions. The findings reveal a clear pattern of ongoing grooming tactics and coercive controlling behaviours that lead to the systemic entrapment of adult congregation members. Furthermore, significant harms were reported, impacting the respondents’ spiritual, psychological, physical, relational, financial, and emotional well-being. This research frames pastor sexual misconduct involving adult congregation members as sexual coercion and sexual exploitation, placing their experiences within the context of gender-based sexual violence.

The concept of post-truth extends deep into history, transcending the boundaries of time and place, and is a defining characteristic of our modern age. The digital age is often associated with post-truth because it fosters an atmosphere where the abundant dissemination of information and the flexibility of truth take precedence over objective accuracy, driven by emotional appeals and ideology. However, the roots of post-truth seem to lie deeper and possess a complex narrative that has spanned centuries. This article examines medieval English romance, notably Richard Coeur de Lion, through the lens of post-truth. Experts have long studied how chivalry, noble love, and heroism are depicted in medieval English romances. These literary narratives intricately blend themes, symbols, and characters to illuminate the complex interactions between Christians and Muslims during the Middle Ages. However, these representations, especially those related to Islam and Muslims, are often overlooked from a realistic perspective. The depiction of Saracens is not just a narrative choice but also a reflection of the cultural and historical context that forms the foundation of medieval English romances. This article examines how Islam and Muslims are represented in the medieval English romance Richard Coeur de Lion, particularly in the context of post-truth dynamics regarding Saracens. This medieval romance depicts a society that strategically manipulates the truth for political and ideological reasons. Richard Coeur de Lion deliberately distorts historical and theological truths to evoke emotional responses, strengthen Christian faith, and position the Saracen as the inherent other. This study uncovers medieval examples of post-truth strategies by examining the adaptable structure of the romance and its narrative style that prioritizes emotional responses over facts. This article discusses how the moral guidance of medieval narratives, such as those featuring Richard Coeur de Lion, influences perceptions of reality by deliberately incorporating distortions and how it affects the representation of Saracens within the context of the Crusades.

This paper explores the leadership journeys of Christian women peacebuilders in Myanmar amid ongoing conflict and political instability. Employing qualitative life story analysis, it examines how these women navigate entrenched gendered and religious barriers while advancing inclusive peacebuilding. Their leadership is deeply rooted in Christian faith, drawing strength from values such as compassion, resilience, humility, and service, and challenging male-dominated and patriarchal peace paradigms. Beyond descriptive accounts, the study critically engages with the ethical, spiritual, and relational dimensions of women’s leadership, highlighting the tensions, contradictions, and agency strategies they employ in conflict-affected contexts. The findings underscore the essential and enduring role of faith-driven women in fostering sustainable peace and social cohesion, demonstrating the broader significance of women’s leadership in conflict resolution and community healing. By illuminating the intersection of gender, faith, and peacebuilding, this study affirms the vital contribution of Christian women to inclusive and sustainable peace in Myanmar.

Since the publication of its facsimile in 2002, with the excellent preface of Judit P. Vásárhelyi, I have been taking out and re-reading almost every year the precious Prayer Book of Albert Szenci Molnár. Œis publication of an important pious text, which had two predecessors, is a translation into Hungarian, based partly on the Christian Prayer Book of a work of Heinrich Bullinger and Joannes Frisius of Zurich (Zurich, 1600). Originally published in 1621, its message is primarily to deepen the Christian knowledge and faith of religious women. Albert Szenci Molnár, who had been faithful to Heidelberg, his most important Alma Mater, the seat of the Electorate of the Palatinate, since his student days at the Kazimir College, and had some protectors and collegial friends there, published this book in this remarkable university town. He dedicated his Prayer Book to two women. And now not to high-born, noble ones, just to two financially well-off wives, living not far from his native town, Szenc (today: Senec, in Slovakia). Œe diminutive form in the title ofthe lovely ‘little book’ is the sign of its intimate content, and personal tone, without any disdain or diminutive way of thinking. ŒThe addressees of its dedication are two particularly gracious spouses, namely, Orsolya, married to Gáspár Szegedi Mező, and Anna, married to János Krausz. Both of them were the life-long, faithful partners of their husbands, and two respected patrons of SzenciMolnár from the town of Nagyszombat (today: Trnava, Slovakia, a settlement near to Senec). Its deep faith, vividness and convincing style make this booklet worth reading even in the 21st century, not only by women, but by men as well. In his book Szenci Molnár wrote about Queen Elisabeth I, as one of the greatest personalities and supporters of the Reformation, even as a psalm and religious prose text translator. Finally, let us mention an unforgettable and painfully relevant sentence of Szenci Molnár’s book when mentioning his personal difficulties and efforts and fights. Among others because the financial difficulties of collecting print-expenses when writing a new book: “Lunae radiis non maturescit botrus” / “Œe moonlight is not ripening the grape”.

This article aims to analyze the theological meaning and socio-cultural function of Mangongkal Holi and its application to Christian Religious Education (PAK). The research method used is a literature study with a qualitative approach, through the analysis of contextual theological literature, cultural anthropology, and faith pedagogy. The results of the study show that Mangongkal Holi contains noble values such as respect for ancestors, social solidarity, and gratitude, but still has the potential to experience distortion of meaning due to sin in the form of glorification of social and economic status. Therefore, PAK needs to develop a contextual-critical pedagogical approach that is able to assess, interpret, and transform cultural practices to align with the Christian faith and God's mission. This article emphasizes that Mangongkal Holi can be used as a concrete arena of faith learning, where the gospel is tested and lived in a real cultural context.