Christian Context Research Articles

Lecturers’ understanding on Bible doctrine: An Indonesian Pentecostal Perspective

The Christian context is found to be one where there are differences in understanding and attitudes based on how the Bible is interpreted. Plurality in Christianity causes groups that say that the Bible is a history book, or contains moral teachings, or contains the Word of God. On the other hand, defending the Bible is the Word of God. This research aims to determine some lecturers’ understanding of Pentecostal doctrine. The research method adopted in this study was quantitative in orientation, while the type of research done was by means of correlation research. The findings from such research can be used to ascertain the prevalence and relationships among variables and allow researchers’ to forecast events from current data and knowledge. The population in this study comprised of 50 lecturers at ITKI Jakarta, STT Bethel The Way and STTRE Jakarta. The results showed that 1) The Understanding Trend of ITKI Jakarta Lecturers, The Way Jakarta STTB, and Jakarta STTRE (Y) was in the good category. 2) The dominant aspect that shapes lecturers' understanding is God's Special Revelation Bible (X2). So, the second hypothesis is proven. 3) The background of lecturer education strata predominantly shapes the Understanding of ITKI Lecturers in Jakarta, The Way Jakarta STTB, and STTRE Jakarta. The understanding of the theology of STT (theologiacal seminary) lecturers needs to be improved, both through advanced theological education at a higher level, namely strata two or strata three, or by participating in various scientific activities in theology where one can gain superior knowledge on Biblical doctrine.

Isupo: Assessing the relevance of Deuteronomy 25:5–10 in the Nigerian Christian context, with particular reference to the Yoruba

The description of levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5–10 has reminiscences with the same practice in Africa, especially isupo (levirate marriage) among the Yoruba of south-west Nigeria. The article seeks the relevance of this text in Nigeria in the possibility of levirate marriage still being of some socio-economic value to Christian widows and the society at large. It employs the historical-critical and descriptive methods. The work finds that in both the Hebrew and African cultures, levirate marriage served the purpose of raising children for the deceased, who would perpetuate his lineage and inherit his property. But in Africa the institution was most significant in providing economic and social protection for widows and their children. Unfortunately, levirate marriage is fast disappearing in Nigeria because of Western influence, particularly Christianity. The effect of this for many widows is abject poverty, by virtue of which some of them resort to illegitimate and dishonouring means to make ends meet. The work, therefore, concludes that resuscitating levirate marriage would be of immense socio-economic value to Nigerian widows and the society.Contribution: The article is a contribution to Old Testament theology and Christian ethics. It proposes that levirate marriage can still be employed as a means of socio-economic protection for Nigerian Christian widows.

Paying Attention to the Spiritual Flourishing of Young Children in Church Toddler Groups: A Scoping Study Evaluating the Feasibility of a Research Study in This Context

Attention to the spiritual flourishing of young children contributes to their well-being, both their being and their becoming, but much-needed research in this area poses many challenges. The National Institute for Christian Education Research is undertaking a funded research project investigating the spiritual flourishing of young children in church toddler groups in England. This article reports on a scoping study which investigated the feasibility of a major research study in this area. The study was multifaceted, it involved clarifying terminology, evaluating previous research studies and early years research methods, and led to the development of a potential research framework. The article defines spiritual flourishing as a dynamic state of being, revealed in nurturing the right relationship with self, others, creation, and the transcendent. The findings propose an understanding of children’s spirituality as relational, based in the here and now, and shaped by the environment. Secondly, an exploration of midweek church toddler groups, a common feature across the denominations, through the lens of belonging, behaving, and believing reveals a potential critical contribution to young children’s spiritual flourishing or faith development. Thirdly, following an evaluation of potential effective research methods, the discussion highlights the value of an interdisciplinary study, the potential challenges and proposes a research framework. The article draws attention to the urgent need for more research to understand what contributes to young children’s spiritual flourishing within a Christian context.

“We Take Hold of the White Man’s Worship with One Hand, but with the Other Hand We Hold Fast Our Fathers’ Worship”: The Beginning of Indigenous Methodist Christianity and Its Expression in the Christian Guardian, Upper Canada circa 1829

With more and more evidence coming to light of the cultural genocide inflicted by settler Christians upon Indigenous peoples through the residential school system, it is hard to see how Christian and Indigenous identities can hold together in the current Canadian context. Nevertheless, many in the Indigenous community within Canada continue to call themselves Christian, and Indigenous Christians continue to provide important leadership for the Canadian church. This phenomenon cannot be properly understood or appreciated without knowledge of the longstanding tradition of Indigenous Christianity and its origins. Beginning in 1829, Indigenous leadership within the Methodist Episcopal church in Upper Canada used the Christian Guardian to tell the story of their work among Indigenous communities. These Indigenous accounts of mission work provide a window into how early Indigenous converts to Methodism understood their faith and its meaning within the context of Canadian colonial Christianity, an understanding that differed in significant ways from that of their settler co-religionists. The early Indigenous narrative found in the settler Methodist publication emphasized Indigenous leadership, Indigenous language and the compatibility of Indigenous and Christian spiritual teachings. This study provides an important perspective which confirms and challenges contemporary views on Indigenous Christianity in Canada and helps to reimagine the past, present and future of Christianity in postcolonial contexts.

The Good Shepherd: Image, Meaning, and Power

The Good Shepherd: Image, Meaning, and Power

The Neoplatonic Substructure of Russian Orthodox Iconography and Theology

This paper aims to uncover the underlying Neoplatonic ideas embedded in Russian Orthodox iconography and theology. The focus is on two earlier figures of Neoplatonism, namely, Iamblichus and Plotinus. In Iamblichus, his determination of religious practices or theurgy as imperative for union with God is emphasised. This includes his utilisation of symbols and icons for heightening the worshipper’s faith, a practice that Russian Orthodoxy largely appropriated into a Christian context. However, the understanding of Beauty that both Iamblichus and Russian Orthodoxy incorporated is propelled out of Plotinus’ ontology set in the Enneads. The suffusion of Plotinean ontology and Iamblichean theurgy resulted in the Orthodox portrayal of a divine ladder symbolising assimilation with God. This theological symbolism is markedly adopted by central figures of Eastern Orthodox theology and artistically rendered in Orthodox icons, such as the 12th-century icons Ladder of Divine Ascent and the Faith, Hope, and Love. Both icons are also closely intertwined with the theological texts of Eastern Orthodoxy, especially the Philokalia, which is permeated with Neoplatonic themes that portray a deep historical trajectory of influence that this paper hopes to have better elucidated.

The World and the Desert: A Comparative Perspective on the "Apocalypse" between Buddhism and Christianity

abstract: In this essay, the concept of apocalypse, understood as the "end of the world," will be examined within the context of ancient Buddhism and Christianity. The study will focus on the genealogy and use of expressions such as lokanta, lokassa anta ṃ, and lokassa atthaṅgama , as found in the Pāli canon of Buddhism, going on to compare them with Jewish, as well as early Christian, apocalyptic literature, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Epistles of James and Jude, and the Gospels. The goal of this article is to identify points of convergence in the history of these two concepts of apocalypse, foregrounding the central role within both traditions of analogous socio-cultural circumstances that were actually more influential than their respective doctrinal visions. The essay will argue how the ascetic character of early Buddhism and Christianity, reflecting their opposition to the surrounding social order, contributed to the emergence of similar apocalyptic visions.

Correlation between the religious and the secular by F. M. Dostoevsky (based on “Writer’s Diary” and letters)

The article analyzes Dostoevsky’s religious and philosophical views on the correlation between the religious and the secular. The article examines journalistic works and letters of the writer. The analysis has shown that Dostoevsky’s philosophical thought is christocentric, moreover the dispute about the relationship between the religious and the secular as well as the dispute about the correlation between the religious and the historical process itself are immersed by him in a theological Christian context. Dostoevsky denied and criticized the key concepts of political philosophy of the Modernity (“Enlightenment”, “Progress”) and filled them with Orthodox understanding. He viewed religion and the culture itself (including rational thinking) as a subsystem of Christianity considering any social relations as a derivative of religion and as part of religion, and not as autonomous spheres. He considered any secular ideals and norms as religious and moral categories, put them inside the religious discourse of Christianity. Thus he doubt on the ontological usefulness of the “secular” as a philosophical category.

Spiritual Formation of Senior Adult Parishioners through the Holistic and Intergenerational Paradigm

Spiritual formation in a Christian context is a con­ti­nu­ous life-long process for a Christian to grow and imitate Christ. This process does not merely occur cognitively and in­di­vi­dual­istically but holistically and communally, and it also ap­p­­lies to senior adults (65 years and above). However, due to historical influences, many chur­ches are still doing a fragmented and segregative spiritual formation. As a result, senior adult parishioners might not grow maximally and tend to be passive and isolated onlookers who merely become ministry targets of the younger ones. There needs to be a paradigm change for the senior adults to keep growing and functioning in the com­mu­­ni­ty as part of their spiritual formation. This article pro­po­ses the significance of spiritual formation for senior adults with a more holistic and intergenerational paradigm which uti­li­zes a qualitative method, including a literature review. According to this study, senior adult parishioners should be served by fol­low­ing God’s design on human nature and through the perspective of ministering-with-senior adults instead of minister­ing­-to-senior adults. This article thus aims to inspire chu­r­ches to apply and develop the spiritual formation of senior adult pa­ri­sh­ioners through the holistic and intergenerational paradigm, not frag­mented and segregative as it used to be.

The Concept of Apokatastasis as a Symbol of Human Equality and Religious Inclusion

This article analyzes the notion of apokatastasis, first as it appears in the Greek philosophical tradition and then in the context of Christian thought. It shows how the cosmic theory of eternal return unfolded within early currents of Hellenic philosophy, and subsequently how the personal dimension of apokatastasis grew out of those traditions, where questions about the fate of humanity became primary. The article then points to the fundamental philosophical assumptions of apokatastasis in its cosmic and personal forms. Christian thought, in the process of its evolution, made significant use of Greek methodology and concepts. One of the theories transferred to the Christian context concerned the notion of universal salvation (apokatastasis). Such thinkers as Origen, Gregory of Nyssa and John Scotus Eriugena developed the concept into its mature form. Although apokatastasis has been condemned on numerous occasions, it has survived in Christian teaching. From a secular perspective, it can be regarded as a symbol of the equity of all people, beckoning us in the direction of the notion of religious inclusion. As such, it ought to be construed as translating into respect and care for the other person sic et nunc.

MEDITACIJA KRIKŠČIONYBĖJE: SAMPRATOS IR PRASMĖS PAIEŠKOS

The concept of meditation is common when discussing various forms of spiritual assistance. It is usually associated with eastern traditions, but it is also sometimes mentioned in a Christian context, and it often becomes a subject of discussion. The article aims to reveal the concept and meaning of Christian meditation in more detail, by analysing its interpretations and the etymology of the term, and by identifying specific features of Christian meditation. Meditation in this context is revealed as a Christian form of prayer, inseparable from individuality, dialogue and Christocentricity.

Problematiek rakende ‘opofferende en reinigende liefde’ in die bruid-en-bruidegom-metafoor (Ef 5:22–33)

The problematic use of ‘sacrificial and purifying love’ in the metaphor of the bride and bridegroom (Eph 5:22–33). The sacrificial love expected of the bridegroom in Ephesians 5:22–33 is a totally foreign idea in the culture of the first-century Mediterranean world in which the first Christians lived. An argument can be made that the working of the Holy Spirit within the believing men infiltrated the cultural boundaries and expectations with new values such as sacrificial love. However, ‘cleansing love’ as expressed in Ephesians 5:25–28 is an unfamiliar idea, even in our contemporary culture. How can the husband’s love cleanse his wife as Christ cleanses the church? To what extent can the metaphor of the bride and bridegroom be applied to the marital relationship between the present-day man and woman? This article examines the problematic ‘cleansing love’ as portrayed in the metaphor of the bride and bridegroom in Ephesians 5:22–33. A critical investigation is done into the symbolic importance of the bride and bridegroom metaphor for contemporary culture. Schüssler Fiorenza’s (2001) application of the approach of suspicion is followed to interpret the cultural roles assigned to female and male believers from a feminist point of view. The critical feminist approach and its meaning and application to the ancient context of the early Christians in Ephesus serve as the hermeneutical model of this article. Although certain aspects of the bride and bridegroom metaphor, representing Christ as bridegroom and the church as bride, can be applied to the relationship between a Christian bride and bridegroom, there are also aspects of Christ’s relationship with the church, such as his ‘cleansing love’, which cannot realistically apply to the Christian marriage. The husband’s love cannot purify and sanctify the wife (Eph 5:27). Everyone is responsible for his or her own salvation and sanctification. The wife does not need the love of her husband to be in a relationship with Christ, her heavenly bridegroom. Christ’s love cleansed the church, which consists of male and female believers. The love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross, should result in equality among all people.Contribution: The sacrificial and cleansing love of the bridegroom as portrayed in the metaphor of the bride and bridegroom in Ephesians 5 is problematic regarding the gender roles in contemporary marriages. A critical interpretation of the relevant metaphor respects the integrity of the text, but also sees the underlying message of gender inequality.

Divine Darkness and Legal Darkness: Apophasis, Cataphasis and the Making of Legal Cultures of the First Millennium

The article explores the long lost synthesis between apophatic and cataphatic theological strategies and early legal systematizations which shaped the Christian, Jewish and Islamic legal collections in the twelfth century. It argues that the theological possibilities to achieve Divine knowledge have reached out to all normative forms of human existence including law. It focuses specifically on a Christian context where imagining the law involves complex scales of cataphasis and apophasis and parallels other normative forms such as ritual and ascetic practices. The text only hints that parallel trends appear via very different routes but in a very similar ways in the Jewish and the Islamic legal projects and proposes that a comparative interreligious study of the twelfth century legal collections and their hermeneutic strategies is long overdue and critically important.

A Good and Holy Death: Ars Moriendi and the Battle of Wit versus Truth

AbstractThere is an ancient Christian tradition of a ‘good and holy death’. That tradition has largely been forgotten in the medicalization of death, which regards death solely as an enemy to be defeated at all costs. This paper examines the tradition of a holy death through the lens of Margaret Edson's play W;t, with particular attention paid to the use of John Donne's poetry in the play. The paper then uses theologian Allen Verhey's writings on the Christian art of dying as a means to understand the play in a Christian context, with special attention paid to the way in which it portrays Vivian Bearing, the play's protagonist, as a victim as much as a beneficiary of modern medicine.

Calcidius on Plato’s Timaeus. Greek Philosophy, Latin Reception and Christian Contexts, written by Gretchen Reydams-Schils

Calcidius on Plato’s Timaeus. Greek Philosophy, Latin Reception and Christian Contexts, written by Gretchen Reydams-Schils

What does Herebeald have to do with Christ?

The first half of Beowulf’s speech before the dragon fight (2425-2471) has often been referred to as the most pagan part of the poem, possibly containing an allusion to the god Odin and his sons Hothr and Baldr. This article, however, proposes a new Christian context for this passage, identifying, in Beowulf’s description of a hanged son on the gallows, a hitherto unnoticed allusion to Christ’s passion, evinced by a verbal association between the gallows and Christ in Old English poetry, and a broader syncretism between Odin, Baldr, and Christ in Viking-Age Anglo-Scandinavian culture. This allusion is consistent with other Christological references throughout Beowulf, subtly preserving the conceit of the characters’ pagan world while ironically accenting, in the minds of a Christian audience, the characters’ pathetic ignorance of Christ.

SEEKING God’s Presence

There is evidence that dopaminergic excitation contributes to certain religious experiences however, a natural mechanism by which hyperdopaminergia may be elicited in normative Christian contexts remains elusive. Panksepp’s dopamine-mediated “SEEKING system” offers a plausible endogenous defense against psychological stress, and is activated by rewarding stimuli, so it was hypothesized that significant psychological stress followed by social reward would prompt SEEKING arousal in most healthy individuals. Through a review of 121 data sources describing a prevalent “personal development” seminar – using deductive thematic analysis – it was found that participants endure significant psychological stress for days before it is replaced with love/acceptance/affirmation and that most participants experience a powerful affective state, with effects consistent with SEEKING arousal. Because contemplating one’s sinfulness may elicit acute psychological stress, and Christian salvation may provide a sense of love/acceptance/affirmation, a natural mechanism for stimulating SEEKING arousal, and inducing a religious experience, in a Christian context is conceived.

Mary

The way in which a culture understands itself and its relationship with the sacred shapes not only religious life, but also a way of being in the world. The same can be said in the opposite direction: the religious sphere can be captured in some anthropomorphism to justify a position that excludes. Taking this premise into account, we can look at the position of women in the early church, the roles they played, and how and why the relevance of their performance was minimized through misogyny that occurs in different contexts of Christianity as a historical construction. By misogyny we understand a posture that engenders forms of discourse and practice that transform women into objects. Anchored in religious discourse in order to legitimize male hegemony, misogyny established a stereotype justifying female inferiority and submission. By understanding woman in the role Mary had as a woman and mother in the history and discourse of salvation, specifically in the incarnation, we can propose a positive perspective that goes beyond history and corrects some of the distortions of historicism with regard to the role of women.

Isupo: Assessing the relevance of Deuteronomy 25:5–10 in the Nigerian Christian context, with particular reference to the Yoruba

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies is an acclaimed journal with broad coverage that promotes multidisciplinary, religious, and biblical aspects of studies in the international theological arena. The journal’s publication criteria are based on high ethical standards and the rigor of the methodology and conclusions reported.

BAZI DİN-İNANÇ VE KÜLTÜRLERDE RAḤMĀN KAVRAMININ TARİHİ SERENCAMI

Raḥmān (rḥmn) kelimesinin oldukça uzun bir geçmişe sahip olduğu ifade edilmiştir. Suriye ve Güney Arabistan’daki çok tanrılı dinlerin yanı sıra Yahudilik, Hıristiyanlık ve İslam gibi tek tanrılı dinler tarafından kelimenin hangi çerçevede nasıl kullanıldığını incelemek ve kökeni hakkında bilgi verebilmek adına çalışmamızın önemli birtakım veriler sunacağı kanaatini taşımaktayız. Raḥmān kelimesinin en eski formu olarak kabul edilen rḥmn’ye pagan metinleri arasında yer alan Tell Fekherye ve Palmira Kitabeleri başta olmak üzere Ahikar’ın Öğütleri’nde rastlanmaktadır. Tevrat ve İncil’in yanı sıra Ma’arib ve Murayghan Kitabeleri gibi bazı Yahudi ve Hıristiyan metinlerinde, ayrıca Cahiliye Arap şiiri ve Kur’ân’ı Kerîm’de Raḥmān kelimesinin kullanıldığı görülmektedir. Çalışmamız, pagan bir ortamda doğduğu düşünülen Raḥmān’ın, ilerleyen zamanlarda Yahudi ve Hıristiyan bir bağlama dönüşmesinin arka planını, ayrıca Cahiliye Arap şiiri ve Kur’ân’ı Kerîm’de hangi anlamlarda ve nasıl kullanıldığını ortaya koymaya yönelik olacaktır.