El Shaddai Research Articles

Israel’s Religion during the Patriarchal Age (2000 to 1500 B.C.)

This research focuses on Israel’s religion during the Patriarchal age (2000 to 1500 B.C). The beliefs and practices of Israel’s religion during the patriarchal period remain a bone of contention among scholars. Did the Patriarchs have a belief system different from the people in the Ancient Near East? If they had, what made their faith distinct from that of the surrounding nations? Scholars are indecisive about the content of the patriarchal religion. The book of Genesis does not elaborate on the patriarchal religion; rather, it expresses the Patriarchal religious experiences timidly. The researcher argues that the spiritual experiences stated in Genesis prove that Israel’s religion was possibly distinct and directional. The patriarchal era is situated within Genesis 12-50. The patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Nuzi, Mari, and Ebla tablets are archaeological discoveries that shed light on critical religious centres like Shechem, Bethel, and Beersheba during the patriarchal era. The researcher uses a narrative approach to collect data for analysis. The findings reveal that; the Patriarchs erected altars in Shechem, Bethel, Beersheba, and Moriah, to offer sacrifices, libations, and prayers. The patriarchs were clan heads and played the role of a priest in officiating at the altars. God revealed Himself to them through visions and dreams. As nomads, the Israelites were conscious of YHWH’s protection and guidance during the patriarchal era. They lived depending upon His provision for their daily needs in the Ancient Near East. The Patriarchs worshipped God as El Elyon, El Olam, and El Shaddai. The lesson for the Christian community is to depend on God for protection and provision. God’s presence with the patriarchs also serves as an example to encourage the Christian community to be conscious of God’s presence with her always. Keywords: Patriarchal Age, Religion and Archaeological discoveries

Yhwh Tsevaot before Samuel: canonical foundations for a Davidic title

It is argued that the title, Yhwh Tsevaot, first appearing in Samuel, is rooted in the pre-Samuel canon. ‘Host’ language in Genesis–Judges is assessed, as are comparable expressions to Yhwh Tsevaot, including ‘hosts of Yhwh’ and ‘God of Israel’, to conclude that Yhwh Tsevaot refers to the deity of the federated tribal armies of Israel. The new term is designed to demarcate a new salvation-historical era, like ‘El Shaddai’ and ‘Yhwh’. It marks the age of military victory and rest attained under the Davidic monarchy. The canonical background does not suggest an angelic meaning and gives quite a different concept to the Canaanite council of the gods.

Business and Marketing Mix Analysis of Bacang Food Industry Through Conventional and Online Marketing (Case: El Shaddai Food Small Industry)

Bacang agroindustry is undeveloped in Indonesia and the internet has not been maximally utilized by bacang entrepreneurs. Therefore, business and marketing analysis of bacang agroindustry is important to do to develop the business and internet utilization for bacang agroindustry. The research aims to analyze profit, cost of goods manufactured, financial performance, marketing mix, and the impact of online marketing on the chicken bacang agroindustry. This research uses a case study method at El Shaddai Food Agroindustry, Penjaringan District, North Jakarta. Research data were collected from December 2019 until February 2020 and the data analysis methods used were qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that conventional marketing profit was smaller than online marketing profit and the selling price exceeded the cost of goods manufactured, so the agroindustry was considered viable on every marketing method. Financial performance in the last three years was quite good. The marketing mix was not good. Online marketing gave an impact on agroindustry revenue and profit. Keywords: agroindustry, bacang, business, marketing mix, online

KERAGAAN AGROINDUSTRI BACANG AYAM EL SHADDAI FOOD MELALUI PEMASARAN KONVENSIONAL DAN ONLINE DI KECAMATAN PENJARINGAN, KOTA JAKARTA UTARA

This study aims to analyze the raw materials procurement based on six right components, standard cost, distribution channels, marketing margins, and the role of supporting services. This research uses a case study method at El Shaddai Food Agroindustry, Penjaringan District, North Jakarta City. The research data were collected in December 2019 to February 2020 and the data analyses method used were qualitative and quantitative descriptive analyses. The results showed that the six components of raw material procurement process had been done precisely. The standard cost of chicken bacang was less than the selling price so the business was profitable and the marketing channels consisted of two channels. Support services that have been utilized to the fullest were market and transportation.Key words: agroindustry, bacang, marketing, online, performance

성고정관념과 이분법적 젠더정체성을 기초한 성서해석 해체하기

The present study aims to criticize Old Testament hermenuetics based on the dualistic heterosexual norm of gender. It explores the normative view that gender is male and female alone, a view that entrenches gender roles based on the notion of binary sexes. Instead, this study suggests we read the Bible through a gender spectrum, rather than assume a gender dualism, because this would reveal the diverse characters of gender and different aspects of life. For this purpose, this study first examines the diversity of gender in the Bible by delving into the appearance of androgynous figures in the Old Testament (Gen 1:28; 2:7; Prov 18:8; 19:15; 31:10-31). Then it investigates the fluid gender identity in the metaphors of God and two ancestral figures, i.e. Jacob and Joseph.<BR> The study employs feminist criticism and queer criticism. The word, ‘queer,’ which itself means strange, weird, rebellious, had been combined with theology and has three meanings. First it refers to talk about God and the interpretation of the Bible, reflecting the experiences of the LGBTIQA community. Second, it criticizes dualistic heterosexual gender views that are found in traditional theologies and biblical interpretations. Third, it applies queer theory to deconstruct heterosexual patriarchal norms of gender and explores different and diverse frames of gender in the Bible.<BR> The investigation of the fluid gender roles of God and the gender non-confirming characteristics of Jacob and Joseph deconstructs normal dualistic understandings of ‘male’ and ‘female.’ The description of the appearance and character of Jacob and Joseph is quite strange or weird to a modern reader who sees them as ‘typical male’ figures. Jacob is a girlish boy who has smooth skin, stays in the tent, the women’s place, and cooks. Joseph is a boy with ketonet passim, which was a garnet for girls in ancient Israel. He is compassionate, and a dreamer. Jacob, the father, blesses Joseph by the androgynous name of the deity, El Shaddai.<BR> Overall study shows that modern readers can see diverse gender spectrums in the Bible when they approach the Bible without dualistic patriarchal gender norms. Gender is not destined to be unambiguously male and female. Gender is confirmed in and by the society through performance.

The Interface between Religion and Politics in The Philippines Based on Data from Recent Philippine Elections

The Philippines held its national elections last May 2019. During the election campaign, several religious groups organized electoral slates or supported particular political candidates. Among these groups were the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) with its Alagad Party, the Jesus is Lord (JIL) Movement with its CIBAC Party, the El Shaddai with its Buhay Party, and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ which supported all of the candidates backed by the Duterte government. On the other hand, the dominant Roman Catholic Church did not support any political party or candidate as a bloc but emphasized the need for the electorate to use their conscience and vote wisely. Some Roman Catholic priests, however, openly supported the opposition Otso Diretso slate for the Senate.This paper looks at the interesting link between religion and politics in the Philippines, especially in its recent political history, i.e. from 1986 up to the present. In particular, this paper will attempt to answer the following questions: What role do the various religious groups in the Philippines play in the field of the political arena? Do Filipinos vote based on their religious affiliation?

God and Goddess Emerging

God and Goddess Emerging

Urban Religious Change at the Neoliberal Frontier: Notes toward a Spatial Analysis of a Contemporary Filipino Vernacular Catholicism

This article sketches a theoretical point of departure for a spatial analysis of a contemporary Filipino vernacular Catholicism. Based on materials from religious studies, the sociology of religion, and ethnographic and historical materials, it focuses on the new neoliberal spatial dynamics of Manila and the extent to which recent shifts in its spatial constitution might be correlated with shifts in the sites and occasions of contemporary Catholicism, and in particular with the emergence of El Shaddai. It asks: If increasingly the neoliberal city is eviscerated of public and civic spaces, can El Shaddai serve to revitalize and reenchant the city?

The Unforgivable Sin

The Unforgivable Sin Ifeoluwa Togun (bio) I didn’t mean to kill my sister, but I needed to make it right at the annual revival. It had rained all seven days that week, and the ground was littered with giant puddles of muddy water. You would think this would have kept us away, sign-prone as Nigerian Christians tend to be. But it did not. We pushed ahead like dressed-up cattle toward the giant white tent in the middle of the field, our pant legs cuffed and skirts pulled high to keep them out of the mud. I was dressed in a pair of pants that hung about five inches from the ground and were in no danger of getting dirty. Still, I carefully stepped around every puddle. I had something important to do that night, and I could not imagine doing it with tainted pants. My mother held my left hand as we entered the tent, and in my right hand I held her golden tambourine. It was her most cherished possession, and holding it made me feel like I mattered, especially when the brothers and the sisters—the same ones from every revival—would bend down to say so. “God is very proud of you, Femi,” they would say. Or, “Jesus will bless you mightily.” “Thank you, Uncle,” or, “thank you, Auntie,” I would reply—everybody is your Uncle and Auntie in Nigeria. I tried not to look at my mother, but I always hoped she was watching and listening and feeling proud of me. Sometimes she was, but mostly she missed it. She rarely noticed me anymore. Not since my sister died. My mother and I sat in the front row, as we did at all the revivals, and waited for it to begin. The revivalists always made us wait, allowing time for personal prayer and reflection before coming out to stir it up into a holy frenzy. The hum of a thousand prayers rose up and undulated in the air like waves of energy seeking release. Heads bobbed as if caught in some unseen and enchanting ether. Men and women sprang to their feet and screamed out the names of God. “El Shaddai! Jehovah-Rapha! Elohim!” My mother and I were more reserved. We just lowered our heads and prayed silently. My prayers were always simple, always the same. All I ever asked for was forgiveness. Not long before my sister died, I had asked my mother if there was a sin that God would not forgive. She had said no, but as I started to walk away she added, “Unless you blaspheme the Holy Ghost; that one God cannot forgive.” “Why is that one so bad?” She’d shrugged, kissed me on the forehead, and turned back to her Bible. But it had not been so easy for me to let it go. The words “blaspheme the Holy Ghost” bounced around in my head day and night, and I did not even know what “blaspheme” meant or how you would even do it. Yet I felt possessed by it, as if the Devil had found my weakness and was poking at it with his fiery pitchfork. It was this unshakable curiosity that caused me to commit the unforgivable sin. One day while my mother and father were away and my baby sister slept. I stepped into the backyard and screamed at the sky. “I blaspheme you, Holy Ghost!” That’s how I thought it was done: you said the words and you had committed the act. I was frightened. I ran back into the house, ignored my nanny’s calls, and hid under my bed, shaking. The next morning my little sister was dead and no one knew why. I knew. I wondered if he had meant to take me, but because I hid, he had taken her instead. But God would not do that … would he? [End Page 749] The revivalist finally came out dressed in a white linen leisure suit, the unofficial uniform of the trade back then. His polished, black wing-tipped shoes carried none of the mud that was so heavy on ours. In his pristine shoes he stepped onto...

Biblical and Theological Themes in Heinrich Bullinger’s "De Testamento" (1534)

De testamento is a both theological and a historically biblical treatise in which Bullinger discusses themes such as, for example, justification by faith, God’s accommodation to mankind, the covenant as the subject or focus of all Scripture, the covenant with Adam, the unity of the Old and New Testaments, the seed of Abraham, the covenant and right living, the Holy Spirit and covenant, the Law and covenant, the conditions of covenant, the ceremonies of covenant and the sacrament of the covenant. Far from being a work that only focuses on the covenant De testamento reveals Bullinger as a biblical theologian who is committed to challenge the elect to live integer before the sovereign El Shaddai. An examination of the Latin terms for "covenant" (foedus, testamentum and pactum) reveals that, for Bullinger, the terms are interchangeable. However, he avoids using pactum lest pactum theology be read into his work. His use of the terms are more consistent than that of Zwingli which indicates a measure of independence from Zwingli in his understanding of the covenant.

City of God: Christian Citizenship in Postwar Guatemala. By Kevin Lewis O'Neill

Kevin Lewis O'Neill's brilliant and provocative work, City of God: Christian Citizenship in Postwar Guatemala, on what he terms “Christian citizenship,” among neo-Pentecostals in Guatemala in the early twenty-first century, is an ambitious study that upends our standard readings of Pentecostal political engagement (or lack thereof) and in doing so demands that we expand our definitions of the sorts of activities that constitute community activism and civic engagement. This work is an expansive ethnography: first, of place—a Guatemala City so ravaged by violence and corruption that it seems almost post-Apocalyptic—but also of people—a collection of urban dwellers, men and women, some poor, some wealthy, some Maya; some recent migrants from the countryside, others not—who are united only by a common vision as members of the Guatemalan mega-church, El Shaddai. Although O'Neill's work speaks more broadly to the neo-Pentecostal experience in Guatemala, almost all his research and the focus of his analysis centers on El Shaddai, and particularly on the discourse generated by the church's charismatic founder and pastor, Dr. Harold Caballeros. Because El Shaddai is a very particular and idiosyncratic entity, one might question whether O'Neill is on solid ground in projecting it as a template for a new Pentecostal paradigm for civic engagement. Nevertheless, the church's size and influence (Pastor Caballeros ran unsuccessfully ran for president in the last elections and plans to run again in 2011) means that El Shaddai's model and, indeed, its perceived mandate for transforming Guatemala certainly merits close analysis.

Wiegele, Katharine L., Investing in Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines

Wiegele, Katharine L., Investing in Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines

Wiegele, Katherine. 2007. Investing in Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Wiegele, Katherine. 2007. Investing in Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Catholics Rich in Spirit: El Shaddai’s Modern Engagements

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Philippines, this article argues that El Shaddai, a popular Filipino Catholic charismatic movement, offers a unique and relevant religious option by straddling a “modern” and Pentecostal-like approach to spirituality, ritual, and Christian life, on the one hand, and a Catholic social identity and communal life, on the other. Although El Shaddai members, unlike Pentecostals, maintain many of the traditional social attachments of Filipino Catholicism, El Shaddai’s prosperity theology and mass mediated ritual forms contribute to divergent understandings of spiritual power and poverty, as well as a sense of demarginalization and self-determination.

Experiencing Transcendence: Filipino Conversion Narratives and the Localization of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity

In contrast to functionalist explanations for the spread of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity, this article discursively analyzes conversion narratives to understand the localization of a global cultural phenomenon. The narratives were drawn from interviews, conducted in 2005, with members of the El Shaddai and Jesus-is-Lord movements. Approached from the perspective of critical realism, the narratives embody a diversity of plots, creative tensions, and distinctively Filipino elements that speak of a reconstituted self and a new engagement with society. They reveal the informants grappling with the question of God’s existence, which finds resolution in individualized experiences of transcendence that generate and infuse local meanings to Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity.

The Word to the World: An Analysis of the Websites of Five Philippine-Based Catholic Communities

This textual analysis identifies the key design elements of five Philippine based websites, namely Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon (www.lnp.ph), Light of Jesus (www.lightofjesus.net), Couples for Christ (www.cfcglobal.org), Elim Community (www.elimglobal.org), and El Shaddai (www.elshaddai.dwxippfi.org). These elements include text, layout, graphics, page length, color, animation, interactivity, and navigational tools. An analysis of these community websites’ contents showed that the communities’ vision, organizational culture, and charism have been reflected on the Internet. To a limited extent, offline relationships have also been shown in the websites.

Catholics Rich in Spirit: El Shaddai

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Philippines, this article argues that El Shaddai, a popular Filipino Catholic charismatic movement, offers a unique and relevant religious option by straddling a “modern” and Pentecostal-like approach to spirituality, ritual, and Christian life, on the one hand, and a Catholic social identity and communal life, on the other. Although El Shaddai members, unlike Pentecostals, maintain many of the traditional social attachments of Filipino Catholicism, El Shaddai’s prosperity theology and mass mediated ritual forms contribute to divergent understandings of spiritual power and poverty, as well as a sense of demarginalization and self-determination.

Experiencing Transcendence: Filipino Conversion Narratives and the Localization of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity

In contrast to functionalist explanations for the spread of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity, this article discursively analyzes conversion narratives to understand the localization of a global cultural phenomenon. The narratives were drawn from interviews, conducted in 2005, with members of the El Shaddai and Jesus-is-Lord movements. Approached from the perspective of critical realism, the narratives embody a diversity of plots, creative tensions, and distinctively Filipino elements that speak of a reconstituted self and a new engagement with society. They reveal the informants grappling with the question of God’s existence, which finds resolution in individualized experiences of transcendence that generate and infuse local meanings to Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity.

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:Alan Barnard (ed.) Hunter‐Gatherers in History, Archaeology and AnthropologyJeremy Beckett. A Study of Aborigines in the Pastoral West of New South Wales: 1958 MA Thesis with New Introduction and PrefaceRoy Ellen. On the Edge of the Banda Zone. Past and Present in the Social Organization of a Moluccan Trading NetworkThomas Gibson. And the Sun Pursued the Moon: Symbolic Knowledge and Traditional Authority among the MakassarMichael Goddard. The Unseen City: Anthropological Perspectives on Port Moresby, Papua New GuineaLynne Hume and Jane Mulcock (eds). Anthropologists in the Field: Cases in Participant ObservationBruce Rigsby and Nicolas Peterson (eds). Donald Thomson: The Man and ScholarJoel Robbins. Becoming Sinners: Christianity and Moral Torment in a Papua New Guinea SocietyRowena Robinson. Christians of India. New Delhi: Sage PublicationsGerald Sider. Living Indian Histories: Lumbee and Tuscarora People in North CarolinaMonique Skidmore. Karaoke Fascism: Burma and the Politics of FearJenny B. White. Money Makes Us Relatives: Women's Labor in Urban TurkeyKatharine L. Wiegele. Investing in Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines

The Philippines. Investing in miracles: El Shaddai and the transformation of popular Catholicism in the Philippines. By KATHERINE WIEGELE. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005. Pp. xi, 207. Illustrations, Bibliography, Index.

The Philippines. Investing in miracles: El Shaddai and the transformation of popular Catholicism in the Philippines. By KATHERINE WIEGELE. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005. Pp. xi, 207. Illustrations, Bibliography, Index. - Volume 37 Issue 3