Christian Church Research Articles

The Encounter of Christianity With The Old Religion of Minahasa

The purpose of this article is to carry out an in-depth analysis of the encounter between Christianity and the old Minahasa religion. The problems that arise related to the revival and re-existence of old Minahasa beliefs affect the faith of congregation members in Minahasa today. Christianity has been embraced by the Minahasa people since 1831 and has transformed Minahasa culture. The way to transform it is through the preaching of the Gospel and Christian religious education. The research method used to solve this problem is a qualitative research method with stages of collecting scientifically tested literature exploration such as books and journals, without ignoring field data. Through this discussion, the author offers a new perspective that the old Minahasan religion needs to be studied critically and constructively to highlight the local wisdom contained in it in order to enrich theological efforts within the Evangelical Christian Church in Minahasa. The author's thesis is that the manguni bird is a form of local Minahasa cultural wisdom, enriching the theological efforts of GMIM congregation members. The author then differentiated this thesis in depth with the following systematics: First, the religion of the Minahasa tribe, Second, the entry of Christianity in Minahasa, Third, the encounter of Christianity with the religion of the Minahasa tribe, Fourth, GMIM theology in its service. The end of this article is a conclusion which confirms that the goals have been achieved and problems have been answered.

The Church in the context of corruption: A case of the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe

Corruption has caused serious dysfunction in most of the public institutions in Zimbabwe. The effectiveness of public institutions on providing meaningful services today hinges upon the capacity of the Church and other social institutions to combat corruption. Regrettably, corruption has infected and affected both the Church and the secular institutions. This theoretical qualitative study explores the potential of the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (COCZ) in curbing corruption in Zimbabwe. It employs a combination of the Christological kenosis and Ubuntu or Hunhu as its theoretical lenses. The article argues that the Church has great potential to tackle corruption. The potential of the COCZ manifests in its organisation and public engagement. The restorative nature of the COCZ Restoration Movement (RM) magnifies scripture, the gospel of Christ (Christological kenosis) as a tool of conviction and behaviour change in public spaces to combat corruption. These unique attributes of the COCZ provide the rationale for choosing it as a case study in this article. The data were collected through the engagement with literature largely from the Zimbabwean scholars on the subject and the COCZ documents. The findings were that the COCZ can only unlock its potential if it is committed to taking a self-introspection and reconfigure itself in order to take a robust anti-corruption stance.Contribution: The study poses questions about the potential of the Church’s voice, through the case of the COCZ, in the context of corruption in Zimbabwe. It pushes for the Church to reclaim its authentic status in order to root out corruption and have relevance in the Zimbabwean communities’ lived experiences. Religion has always claimed higher ground in ethical and moral issues, but there is scanty literature on the COCZ’s role in combating corruption in Zimbabwe. The study maintains that the Church has a consequential opportunity to either drive the agenda to end corruption or lose relevance due to perceived complicit attitudes towards the same.

Do religious and cultural considerations militate against body donation? An overview and a Christian perspective.

The development of anatomy as a scientific undertaking appears to have left little room for religious and cultural input into the conduct of anatomical investigations. This has been brought to the fore by questionnaires regarding the willingness or otherwise of individuals to donate their bodies for dissection, with higher levels of willingness from those without religious affiliations. This has led to the assumption that there is inherent opposition to body donation by those with a religious stance, although there has been little exploration of this. This is increasingly important with growing awareness that anatomy is an international discipline, leading to increasing attention to the religious and cultural contexts within which it is practiced. There is a diversity of responses toward body donation within different countries, as well as by those influenced by Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Additionally, there are diverse cultural attitudes within Confucianism in Asia, Zulu in Africa, and Māori in New Zealand. Even those within the Christian church are influenced by a variety of values, some of which are in tension, with emphasis on the sacredness of life and the significance of burial being negative toward body donation, with informed consent and altruism pointing in a positive direction. The challenge for anatomists is to understand those within their communities, seek to appreciate their perspectives, and also make known the potential of body donation and dissection for enhancing medical practice and improving the education of future health workers.

Renovating House Church Assumptions

Missiologists have often claimed that early Christian house churches could not have surpassed 15-30 people. The argument often centers on two prongs—persecution and space. Persecution kept house churches relatively small to avoid visibility. The size of Greco-Roman houses kept churches relatively small due to space limitations. For some missiologists, these limitations became advantageous and led to rapid multiplication as the church grew "sideways." This article questions both of these assumptions and instead provides evidence that early Christian churches could and did embrace several models based on their particular context.

The Role of Institutions in the Civilization Schism (the Case of Christianity)

The geopolitical transformations of recent decades have added to the topicality of the study оf civilizational differences between the East and the West relevant. Religion is often cited as a contributing factor to these differences. This can be confirmed by the example of the split of the Christian Church into the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches and, as a consequence, the emergence of the Western and the Eastern Christian civilizations. As a rule, the authors “isolate” religion from the social system, considering it independently of all other spheres, as the primary factor that triggers the emergence of civilization. In this work, the emergence of a new Western and Eastern Christian, is considered within the framework of the institutional approach, as a process of formation of a certain complex institutional structure that regulates the life of society and consists of a whole complex of interconnected and interdependent economic, political, and socio-cultural institutions, including religion. This process can begin in the bowels of the “mother” civilization, causing its crisis. The stages of development and resolution of such a crisis are analyzed using the example of a split in the united Christian world using a matrix approach. This approach assumes that civilization is characterized by a civilizational matrix formed by an institutional core that simultaneously contains market and redistributive institutions on the basis of dominance/complementarity, and a shell that includes cultural-religious and national-demographic characteristics, the naturalclimatic and material-technological environment. The necessity of both strengthening dominant institutions in the institutional core and creating balancers (complementary institutions) for the sustainable development of civilization is shown.

Attitudes of Black American Christian church leaders toward Opioid Use Disorder, overdoses, and harm reduction: a qualitative study.

Black American Christian church leaders are trusted community members and can be invaluable leaders and planners, listeners, and counselors for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) sufferers in the opioid overdose crisis disproportionately affecting the Black community. This qualitative study examines the extent to which the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs of Black American church leaders support medical and harm reduction interventions for people with OUD. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct in-depth interviews of 30 Black Rhode Island church leaders recruited by convenience and snowball sampling. Thematic analysis of the interviews identified four themes: Church leaders are empathetic and knowledgeable, believe that hopelessness and inequity are OUD risk factors, are committed to helping people flourish beyond staying alive, and welcome collaborations between church and state. Black American Christian church leaders are a critical resource in providing innovative and culturally sensitive strategies in the opioid overdose crisis affecting the Black American communities. As such, their views should be carefully considered in OUD policies, collaborations, and interventions in the Black American community.

How the Fourth Statistical Account of East Lothian Recorded Developments in the Church in the County Between 1945 and 2000

This article will use the Fourth Statistical Account of East Lothian, which was produced by a consortium of local history societies, to provide a case study of how the church in the county developed between 1945 and 2000. Because East Lothian is the only Scottish county to have a fourth statistical account, the study provides a unique opportunity to trace the development of the church within a Scottish local authority during the second half of the twentieth century. The article will use, as its main sources, essays on four established denominations and the sections on ‘Belief’ in each of the parish entries. It will detail how the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Methodist Church contracted between 1945 and 2000; show that, while the Roman Catholic Church was more stable, it began to suffer from a lack of vocations and the disinterest of younger members of the Catholic population, and that, while the Baptist Church increased its presence in the county and Pentecostal congregations and ‘house churches’ were formed, the Brethren and Church of Christ both declined and, as a consequence, these other churches remained on the margins of the church in East Lothian.

Traditional Eye Practices: Economics and Visual Status of Users in North Central Nigeria.

Traditional medicine is a constellation of practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs, which encompass material-based medicines, spiritual therapies, and manual techniques applied individually or combined. This study seeks to determine the cost and visual status of traditional eye treatments users among new patients at a health facility. This is part of the study titled "Traditional eye practices: A facility-based study in North Central Nigeria." It is a cross-sectional, facility-based study conducted between July 2013 and June 2014 on new patients seen in the eye unit of Church of Christ in the Nations Rehabilitation Center, Mangu. Interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to gather information on patient demographics; cost of traditional eye medication and manipulations and visual status of new patients were recorded. The use of traditional eye treatment was reported by 134 (4.3%) of the 3113 new patients. Traditional operative couching of lens was more expensive than using traditional eye medications (P < 0.001). Payment modality varied, and poor visual status was significantly higher among traditional eye treatment users (P < 0.001). Since most respondents who had their eyes couched or used traditional eye medicine were able to pay such high price with dissatisfaction and poorer visual status, they should be able to pay for modern cataract surgery with good outcome. There is a need for health education of the general public about the deleterious effects of traditional eye treatment.

Utopia as compensation for secularization

In this article, I argue for an historical understanding of the relationship between ideology and utopia/utopianism that positions the latter as a specifically modern compensation for the loss of the cosmologically grounded, unitary ideology supplied by the late medieval Christian Church. This claim relies upon but revises Fredric Jameson’s early theorization of the collaboration between ideology and utopia/utopianism, which emphasizes that utopian elements allow ideology to offer subjects a ‘compensatory exchange’ for their complicity. Developing my central argument requires considering the current viability of the ‘secularization thesis’, which classically associated modernization with secularization but which has undergone heavy criticism and revision by social scientists over the past half-century. These theoretical discussions, finally, are couched within a critical appraisal of the status of utopianism in contemporary politics.

Identity(ies) and Transnationalization of Brazilian Evangelical Churches in Portugal: Case study of World Cathedral of Hope and Victory in Christ Churches

Identity(ies) and Transnationalization of Brazilian Evangelical Churches in Portugal: Case study of World Cathedral of Hope and Victory in Christ Churches

Breastfeeding Attitudes and Social Support Among Christian African Americans.

Purpose: To describe the breastfeeding attitudes and subjective norms of breastfeeding among African American Christians from the New England region. Study Design and Methods: A study was conducted using an online survey. Participants were recruited from four Christian churches in the New England region during the summer of 2021. Responses from direct questions about exclusive breastfeeding histories were tabulated. Open-ended question responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Two results were merged to make the conclusions. Results: Participants (n = 101) aged 18-44 years (62.3%), college graduates (72.3%), and Catholics (71.4%) responded. Participants were willing to recommend six months of exclusive breastfeeding practice to relatives (89.9%) and friends/peers (87.9%) and support relatives (94.0%) and friends/peers (94.8%) to practice exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. Breastfeeding attitude themes included beneficial and natural and receiving breastfeeding support. Subjective norms of breastfeeding themes included receiving support for breastfeeding; Christian leadership, teachings, and communal engagements; and gaps in Christian influence. Conclusion: The African American Christian community may be an emergent agent of breastfeeding social support for African American Christian women who chose to breastfeed. Health professionals should collaborate with African American Christian leadership to initiate programs to promote breastfeeding among African American Christian women in the United States.

Qingdao Modern Church Contrast and Analyzing Based on Religious Influences Perspective: Examples from Qingdao Catholic Church and Qingdao Christian Church

Qingdao, as a city with a colonial history, has numerous architectures that combine traditional Chinese architectural style and Western architectural style. One of the most distinctive types of architecture is the church. Churches have significant mental support functions as well as their function as shelters. They are symbols of the city, and valuable for the city to present its architectural scene. This article wishes to state the backgrounds and history of Catholicism and Protestantism; compare the differences in external spaces, internal spaces, decorations, and volume of Qingdao catholic church and Qingdao Christian church to analyze the architectural differences based on different religious backgrounds; emphasize the characteristics and connotations for churches. Studying church architecture can reveal the creativity and technical proficiency of ancient architects and craftsmen. Church architecture encompasses knowledge and skills from various fields, including structural engineering, sculpture, painting, and decoration. Such research contributes to the advancement of architectural design and engineering technology. Church architecture is a reflection of human creativity and cultural traditions, and it holds significant importance for the study and preservation of cultural heritage.

The Filioque Controversy: Analysing Theological Differences between the Western and Eastern Churches

The Filioque is a theological issue that has caused a divide in the Christian Churches, with the Western Churches (Latin Church) and Eastern Churches having different understandings of the procession of the Holy Spirit. The Western Churches believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, while the Eastern Churches believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone. The Western Churches have a strong emphasis on the one divine nature, while the Eastern Churches have a strong focus on the monarchy of the Father. This difference in theological perspective has created complications in the theological dialogue between the two regions. Despite these differences, the two theological traditions share the same faith perspective and can bear valuable fruit in theological thinking. The Filioque debate has been a longstanding issue in the Christian Churches, and despite efforts to regain unity, the problem remains unresolved.

Kerkelijke Eigendom : Memahami Hak Milik Gereja Di Indonesia Era Kolonial

This research aims to elucidate the history of land ownership by Christian Church institutions in the Dutch East Indies colony. In addition to providing a descriptive account of its development, this article endeavors to delve into various documentary sources concerning ownership, particularly the legal status associated with the Christian Church as an institution within the colonial legal framework. Through an examination of its legal standing, this research seeks to discern the nature of the Church's land ownership. Given the historical nature of this study, the historical method is employed to guide the research towards a comprehensive reconstruction. This method comprises five phases: document exploration (heuristic), critical analysis, exceptions, interpretation, and reconstruction. Emphasis is placed on authentic documents to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of the information presented in this reconstruction. In conclusion, this report elucidates the legal status of the Christian Church under the colonial legal system and its implications for material ownership by the Church based on its legal standing. Thus, shedding light on the origins of asset ownership status held by the Christian Church in present-day Indonesia.

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Religious Coping, and Congregational Support among Black Clergy and Religious Leaders

Limited studies have empirically investigated the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among Black clergy and religious leaders despite their status as helping professionals who are implicated in times of crisis. In light of cultural considerations that position African American churches as trusted institutions linking local communities of color with various social services, African American religious leaders are particularly implicated during crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the present study investigates the relationships between adverse childhood experiences, religious coping, and social support from one’s congregation among a sample of Black religious leaders within Christian churches. Compared to a national sample of Black Americans, we observed significantly higher prevalence rates for four forms of adverse childhood experiences: emotional neglect, parental separation or divorce, mental illness in the household, and an incarcerated family member. The results from two moderated moderation statistical models indicated that higher adverse childhood experiences predicted greater endorsement of PTSD symptoms and that negative religious coping strengthened this relationship. Furthermore, this moderation effect was itself moderated by greater perceived emotional support from one’s congregation, such that greater support mitigated this moderation effect. Conversely, we also found that positive religious coping has the potential to compensate for the lack of emotional support from the congregation. Implications for caring for clergy and religious leaders both within the church and in seminaries are provided.

Judge Deborah and Pastor/Teacher Priscilla: Templates for Contemporary Biblical Women’s Leadership

Based on the examples of Judge Deborah from the Old Testament and Pastor/Teacher Priscilla from the New Testament, this paper contends that women have a biblical responsibility to lead in any vocation for which God has called and anointed them, and the Christian church has a biblical responsibility to accept and encourage them. Women leaders offer valuable leadership qualities, as illustrated by Deborah, the prophetic judicial/governmental/military leader of a nation, and Priscilla, the theologian, educator, missionary, and pastor in the nascent church. This paper further argues that leadership structures are not complete or fully effective without feminine inclusion and participation. The church and the world have historically deprived themselves of rich resources by curtailing women’s leadership roles. The need for rediscovering and recovering women’s leadership gifts and styles has never been more urgent or appropriate in the current cultural atmosphere requiring an emphasis on collaboration and cooperation (relationality), emotional intelligence that seeks transformation rather than transaction, and servant leadership, as manifested in Deborah and Priscilla as leaders. The church would be wise to embrace the Deborahs and Priscillas, as well as other types of women leaders whomGod has placed in her midst, thus creating strong, responsive, and nurturing communities that reflect Jesus to the world.

Vladimir Solovyov’s idea of ecclesiastic unity and the Holy See

Summary Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov (1853–1900) was the central figure of Russian religious thought, which had its heyday at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, rich in wonderful and deep thinkers such as Pavel Florensky, Sergey Bulgakov, Nikolay Berdyaev, and Simon Frank among many others. Solovyov was the first classical Russian philosopher, in the sense that he had his own philosophical system at a time when systemic philosophy was being abandoned in the West. It was Solovyov who deepened Russian philosophy and firmly entrenched Christian metaphysics in Russian philosophical discourse. He introduced Russian philosophical thought to Europe. His project of a free universal theocracy intended to fundamentally change the course of social history. In fact, the project of a universal free theocracy and the reunification of Christian churches associated with it became the most prominent idea of the philosopher in the Western intellectual environment. Moreover, the question about Solovyov’s pro-Catholic leanings, including his contacts with catholic clergy and theologians, as well as the issue whether Solovyov converted to Catholicism came into prominence after the book of Michel D’Herbigny Vladimir Soloviev: Un Newman russe was published in 1911. This article focuses on the narrow but important issue of reconstructing the historical context of the philosopher’s ideas. The focus is on the history of Solovyov’s contacts with the Holy See. The author analyzes the existing historiography, which testifies to the indirect contacts of the philosopher with the Holy See, the philosopher’s published correspondence, contemporary research articles, as well as materials from the Vatican and Russian archives. As a result, the article presents a new look at the history of the relationship between the Holy See and Russian philosopher, who is currently recognized by most researchers as the ancestor of the ecumenical movement of the 20th century.

Religious voices raised for integral ecology in the European Union

ABSTRACT This article looks at how Europe’s Christian churches seek to have their voices heard in the corridors and debating chambers of the European Union through official consultation mechanisms, as well as through more informal awareness raising, and grass-roots activism. On the EU side, Christian inspiration was present from the outset, though arguably neglected or obscured for long periods of its 70-year existence. As the Union in its most recent incarnation seeks to emphasise the values-based nature of the European integration project, it has renewed its outreach to the cultural ‘holders of value’, with churches being particularly prominent in the dialogue. Among the EU’s current priorities, both in terms of domestic policy and global strategy, the ‘Green Deal’ is centre-stage. In striving for its 27 Member States to be world leaders in integral ecological and human development, the Union has found enthusiastic and like-minded partners in the churches.

Decoding the Shift: An Inquiry into the Evolution of Dressing Patterns among Female Christians: A Study of the Universal Reformed Christian (NKST) Church (1911-2022)

The study examined the historical evolution of human attire, tracing its progression from primal nakedness to the development of clothing for decency. Societies have refined dressing norms, reflecting cultural values and moral standards. However, the 20th to 21st centuries saw a significant departure from traditional dressing, particularly among women, transcending religious affiliations. Indecent dressing and exposing body contours became prevalent even in the Orthodox Church, like the NKST. The study aimed to understand the causes of this shift and its societal consequences. While decent dressing is a cultural cornerstone for older generations, some conservative newer generations still uphold this tradition. The analysis emphasizes the negative repercussions of indecent dressing and advocates for a return to decent dressing, especially among female Christians in the Universal Reformed Christian Church and other religious communities. The study contributes to the broader discourse on cultural values, highlighting the importance of reinstating modesty in attire for societal well-being.

MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE OF CONVERGENCE OF CHRISTIANITY AND SPORTS ON PERSONALITY FORMATION

Target setting. The problem of the research is the lack of scientific works on the relationship between the socio-cultural phenomena of sports and Christianity. The topic of finding an educational ideal in a multicultural environment and in the conditions of the growth of individual opportunities for person self-identification needs to turn to the history and current features of sports and Christianity, which turn out to be important factors in the production of moral and educational potential for personality formation. Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. In the conceptual plan, the works of leading Ukrainian philosophers are important for solving the research tasks: V. Andrushchenko, V. Bondarenko, V. Yelenskyi, M. Ibragimov, A. Kyslyi, V. Kremen, O. Sagan, P. Saukha, L. Filipovych, Y. Chornomorets; teachers: M. Bulatova, S. Bubka, O. Vatseby, M. Vizytei, Zh. Kozina, I. Oleksyn, V. Platonova, E. Prystupy; foreign authors: Andrew Parker, David Asa Schwartz, Duke Taber, Earle F. Zeigler, Joseph Price, Kathleen M Armour, Kevin Lixey, Michael Novak, Nick J. Watson, Robert Higgs, Shirl Hoffman, Stuart Weir and others. The research objective. The purpose of the study is to analyze the factors of convergence the socio-cultural phenomena of sports and Christianity in the history of the development both thehuman culture and the modern understanding the possibility of the moral and educational influence of their relationship on the formation of personality. The statement of basic materials. It is considered the formation of organized sports activities, which arose on the basis of Olympic ideals in ancient Greece. Sports competitions had a deeply religious and cult character and contributed to the education of the individual. With the advent of Christianity, the relationship between sports and the Christian church acquired anthropological dimensions. Sports and Christianity appear as a natural result of the centuries-old history of mankind, as a multifunctional cultural phenomenon, where the physical and spiritual qualities of a person are most clearly manifested and the valuable assets of civilization are expressed, which in unity represent a powerful moral and educational resource in the formation of personality.