Redemptive Work Research Articles

Kajian Teologis Tentang Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini Dalam Alkitab

The background of the problem is the lack of enthusiasm in early childhood and the lack of parental ability in accompanying early childhood into bad habits and also the lack of God's word to early childhood so that mistakes occur in bad behavior, for example shouting, cursing, like hitting, not wanting to worship, and likes to fight parents. Theological Study of Early Childhood Education in the Bible. The purpose of this paper is to describe the Theological Study of Early Childhood Education in the Bible. By analyzing the text in accordance with the principles of exegesis, to get the meaning and results contained in the context of the Theological Study of Early Childhood Education in the Bible The results of the descriptive analysis of the Theological Study of Early Childhood Education in the Bible are first, early childhood recognizes the Torah and celebrations holidays through parents. Second, understand religion, such as religious values, the introduction of the Lord Jesus, the procedures for worship and prayer, and the implementation of religion in life. Third, early childhood can pray, memorize, sing, and testify about Jesus. Description of Theological Study of Early Childhood Education in the Bible consists of: First, the Old Testament. Spiritual education and formation in the Old Testament world usually took place at home, in the context of worship and at court. Of course there is no education that is ready for everyone as in the present era. In general, the family context is the most central place for education and coaching. Second, the New Testament. The role of parents in building perseverance in early childhood, fathers in Christian families are expected to start introducing perseverance as early as possible since children can communicate or respond when spoken to or taught something, for example, perseverance in praying is taught to early childhood, namely praying before going to bed, wake up, and every time you want to eat. Third, Bible Analysis. Moses warned the Israelites to teach the word of God to children from an early age from every generation. How important is God's word to be an inheritance for early childhood according to the Torah, even early childhood must understand the confession of faith. God's church must do the same, which is to teach children from an early age as a new generation. The gospel is the good news of knowing the person and work of redemption of the Lord Jesus that must be taught to children from an early age from every generation.

An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 5:20 from a Ghanaian (Akan) Perspective

2 Corinthians 5:20 belongs to a long chain of verses beginning from 5:11 to 6:13. These verses at large deal with the subject of reconciliation. A concept that emerges from Paul’s teaching is that God through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross is restoring the whole world to himself and has given us also this ministry of reconciliation. However, this paper focuses on three Greek words extracted from the text: Christou, presbeoumen, and katallasso. The study is done mainly through literary activities from existing materials such as Biblical and Akan literature. It first examines, in brief, the background data on Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians to provide a historical milieu for understanding the issues Paul raises. It then continues to discuss the above-mentioned Greek words. It will also be seen that the explanation of the text has been looked at from Akan (Asante Twi) reading of the same text and then engages them within the Akan context. The paper concludes with an invitation to see ourselves as key players in what God is doing in the world.

Explication of the Relationship Between the Ministers & the Ministry & Christ (1 COR. 3:1-15): Contextual Understanding of Catholic Priests

The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-14). This Word is named Jesus Christ (Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31; 2:21). He took flesh and dwelt among us for the salvation of mankind (Matt. 1:21b). From the beginning, Jesus knew that the work of salvation has to go on from generation to generation and thus called people who would assist him to propagate the message even when he is no longer there physically. He thus selected disciples and out of the disciples he selected twelve ordinary men named apostles whose names and ministry appear in Matthew 10:2- 26. This shows that Jesus Christ is the one who calls, the one who owns the ministry, and the one who will reward each according to his or her contribution and based on the quality of the contributions. The greatest problem today is that some ministers have forgotten that the ministry does not belong to them and have no reason at all to quarrel with one another but should see one another as collaborators in Christ's ministry. Secondly, some people of God have forgotten that every minister has God-given talent which should not warrant them to be involved in a personality cult that is, preferring one minister over another or even preferring a minister to Jesus. This paper aims at explaining again who a minister is, how he should see his fellow minister, and how he should see Jesus Christ. The work adopts the Historical-Critical Method (HCM) as well as Textual Criticism (TC) to unravel the inner meaning of 1 Cor. 3:1-15. HCM is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand the world behind the text – 1 Cor. 3:1-15. In the same way, TC was used so as to get to the original wording of the text as was written by Paul. The writer discovers that some ministers have forgotten their roles, their relationship with their fellow ministers, and with Jesus Christ, the owner of the ministry. The paper recommends, among other things, that there should be the adequate formation of candidates going into the ministry as priests as well as constant catechesis on the part of members of the Church, especially, on the nature of the Church. This will enable us to avoid unnecessary rivalry in the Church. As a matter of policy, this should be started as soon as a child reaches the age of reasoning. Hence, the saying, “catch them young.” Significantly, this work will be of immense benefit to all the members of the Church as well as her ministers.

Na granicy życia i śmierci… Motyw przejścia do wieczności w lirykach Kaspra Miaskowskiego

The article discusses the motives related to death that can be found in the poetry of Kasper Miaskowski. The author reflects on the soul crossing the border between the temporal and the eternal world. It draws attention to the death of Christ, the Passion that preceded it, and the participation in these events of the Mother of the Savior. Then he presents the creations of the death of sinners and analyzes the role of Mary in the work of redemption – she is the intercessor and intermediary between people and their Creator. The last part of the study is devoted to glorious death and the way it is visualized – it is in line with the ars bene moriendi principle. He notices that the Baroque poet describes in laudatory topics not only the death of eminent people, but also of his relatives and relatives.

History unveiled: Theological perspectives from St John’s Revelation

This article aims to highlight St John’s peculiar perspectives on the meaning and the consequences of Christ’s sacrificial death for our apparently evil-dominated history and to bring a new light on the mystery of evil the Book of Revelation speaks about. My analysis begins with St John’s Christocentric perspective on history, continues with the significance of its driving forces revealed in the vision of the seals and ends with an evaluation of the evil triad, which tries to stop the unfolding of the salvific work of God. Alongside Christ, Christians play an essential role in the conflict with these powers and, thus, in transforming the world according to God’s plan. The outcome of this conflict does not depend on which side has more power, as one may conclude under the effect of the violent imagery of the book, but on the Lamb’s blood’s lasting effects, which enable each Christian to become a conqueror, sharing in his Lord’s victory.Contribution: This article highlights some of the contributions of the Book of Revelation to a Christian theology of history and argues that the main point is the overwhelming value of Christ’s blood and its reception for the much expected victory over evil. To transform the world, the victory won by Christ has to be actualised by each of his followers.

Artificial Light as A Supporting Element to Achieve Sacredness in the Holy Spirit Cathedral Church of Denpasar

The sacred space in Catholic Church buildings is intended for people to experience the mystery of God’s work of salvation and the epiphany of faith through light as one of its design elements. Light is seen as a significant aspect of Catholic teachings, representing divine manifestation through its symbolic function. The presence of artificial light in the worship room of the Holy Spirit Cathedral Denpasar was designed to accommodate all worship activities in conveying symbolic meanings. This study aimed to determine how artificial lighting through pragmatic, psychological, and symbolic functions is present in the prayer room. The data collection techniques used were observation, interviews, and questionnaires. The study results showed that the pragmatic function of light in the worship room of the Holy Spirit Cathedral Denpasar is considered a supporting aspect, while light with its psychological and symbolic functions is considered to be the main aspect, which is very influential in creating a spatial atmosphere that facilitates the religious experience of the churchgoer. Although the presence of artificial lighting in the worship room does not fulfill visual comfort, churchgoers consider the presence of artificial light to be able to accommodate the whole procession of worship activities.

Startup Culture: MLMs, Mormons, and Entrepreneurship

Startup Culture: MLMs, Mormons, and Entrepreneurship

ЭТИКА ОБЩЕГО ДЕЛА Н.Ф. ФЕДОРОВА И ЭТИКА НЕНАСИЛИЯ

The article considers the complex of religious and philosophical ideas of N.F. Fedorov, a Russian thinker, who affirmed the ideal of man’s cooperation with God in the transformation of the world, who put forward the idea of history as a “work of salvation”. It is shown that Fedorov’s philosophy of resurrection and regulation is based on the principle of matching goals and means and relies on a subject-subject approach to the world and man, puts Christ’s commandment about love as the basis of social interaction and in that sense is related to the ethics of nonviolence, appealing to the highest principle in man. In the context of comparing the ethics of the common cause and the ethics of nonviolence, as well as the dispute between N.F. Fedorov and L.N. Tolstoy is considered. It is revealed that the philosopher, arguing with the writer, seeks to put the principle of nonviolence in a strong position, combining it with an ideal of active Christianity, overcoming division and fratricide through the return of life to all victims of history. It is also revealed that the main divide between the ethics of the common cause and the ethics of nonviolence runs along the line of faith/disbelief in the possibility of overcoming evil and death altogether. Fedorov’s approach, which opens up the prospect for moving from non-resistance to evil by violence toward overcoming death and discord as inevitable causes and equally inevitable consequences of violence, frees the ideal of nonviolence from internal contradictions and inevitable compromise with distorted social reality. In the light of the ideal of the universal cause, nonviolence becomes the “minimum program” that should lead to the “maximum program”, where the commandment “Thou shalt not kill!” will expand into Christ’s “Raise the dead!”.

Pandangan Terhadap Disabilitas: Upaya Menjadikan Gereja Inklusi

This work aims to share theological thoughts about people with disabilities based on the Bible. Using a qualitative, non-experimental concept, the author accumulated information by studying the Systematic Dogma. From the Dogma of God, the result is that people, including people with disabilities, are God's creation. The person of God is a person who is perfect and omni present. The study of the Dogma on the person led to the idea that man is the Imago Dei, who was built by God Himself. Sin cannot be looked at from physical deficiencies as some people think, because real sin is disobedience to God which causes human separation from God. This is what Jesus brings to His work of salvation, which is to achieve the healing of the bond between man and God. In this case the church needs to actively carry out its function and calling, especially koinonia and diakonia, so that all people, including those with disabilities, continue to be in hope of a glorified body. Applications that must be tried in the church community are to view people with disabilities appropriately, share good learning, serve and share service space with people with disabilities.

History unveiled: Theological perspectives from St John’s Revelation

This article aims to highlight St John’s peculiar perspectives on the meaning and the consequences of Christ’s sacrificial death for our apparently evil-dominated history and to bring a new light on the mystery of evil the Book of Revelation speaks about. My analysis begins with St John’s Christocentric perspective on history, continues with the significance of its driving forces revealed in the vision of the seals and ends with an evaluation of the evil triad, which tries to stop the unfolding of the salvific work of God. Alongside Christ, Christians play an essential role in the conflict with these powers and, thus, in transforming the world according to God’s plan. The outcome of this conflict does not depend on which side has more power, as one may conclude under the effect of the violent imagery of the book, but on the Lamb’s blood’s lasting effects, which enable each Christian to become a conqueror, sharing in his Lord’s victory. Contribution: This article highlights some of the contributions of the Book of Revelation to a Christian theology of history and argues that the main point is the overwhelming value of Christ’s blood and its reception for the much expected victory over evil. To transform the world, the victory won by Christ has to be actualised by each of his followers.

René Girard and the Coherence of the Redemptive Work: Example, Instruction, and the Sacrifice of the Cross

René Girard’s mimetic theory opens up a possibility of unifying the ethical and objective dimensions of Christ’s redemptive work, harmonizing a problematic tension that arises from the redemptive act. To demonstrate this, I draw on Girard’s writings on the Gospels to show how a Girardian reading of the cross leads to an understanding of the redemptive work of Christ as simultaneously exemplary, didactic, and sacrificial, with no real distance between any of these terms.

Review: Machines for Making Gods: Mormonism, Transhumanism, and Worlds Without End, by Jon Bialecki

Review: <i>Machines for Making Gods: Mormonism, Transhumanism, and Worlds Without End</i>, by Jon Bialecki

Thomas Aquinas's and Herbert McCabe's Relational/Friendship Understanding of Christ's Passion

AbstractIn this essay, I argue that Thomas Aquinas's and Herbert McCabe's soteriological paradigms are immensely compatible with one another. In contrast to the presuppositions held by certain interpreters of Thomas, I contend that Aquinas, like McCabe, rejects a primarily juridical/transactional understanding of Christ's Passion, and, in light of this fact, it is a mistake to assert that his soteriology is a precursor to later penal-substitutionary conceptions of the atonement. Once Aquinas's and McCabe's teachings are correctly situated within a relational/friendship rather than juridical context, their similarities and mutual aversion to penal-substitutionary atonement becomes explicit. Likewise, after appropriately identifying McCabe's indebtedness to Aquinas's thought, one can perceive his unique and substantial contribution to the Church's understanding of Christ's salvific work. The comparison between Aquinas and McCabe, in particular, provides clarity to a proper conception of the intrinsic disordering of sin and the essential character of Christ's meritorious love and obedience offered to God the Father.

René Girard and the Coherence of the Redemptive Work: Example, Instruction, and the Sacrifice of the Cross

René Girard’s mimetic theory opens up a possibility of unifying the ethical and objective dimensions of Christ’s redemptive work, harmonizing a problematic tension that arises from the redemptive act. To demonstrate this, I draw on Girard’s writings on the Gospels to show how a Girardian reading of the cross leads to an understanding of the redemptive work of Christ as simultaneously exemplary, didactic, and sacrificial, with no real distance between any of these terms.

Творчество Ф.М. Достоевского как пролог к рождению русского космизма

The work of F.M. Dostoevsky is considered a kind of ideological and artistic precedence of Russian thought that was formed in Russia in the last quarter of the XIX century and was called “Russian cosmism”. The importance of Dostoevsky's ideas and images in the formation of ontology, anthropology, ethics, historiosophy, eschatology of Russian cosmism is shown. The revolt of Dostoevsky's heroes against the idea of the thermal death of the universe stimulated cosmist philosophers to create the idea of the antientropic essence of human life and work. The writer's idea of Christ as the “ideal of man in the flesh” and his belief in the Incarnation of God are explained on the basis of the idea of moral interpretation of dogma peculiar to the writer and cosmist philosophers. It is shown that Dostoevsky, like Russian cosmists, represents the world and man from the point of view of deontology, in the light of what they should be. He is one of the forerunners of the idea of history as a work of salvation, the development of which was given by N.F. Fedorov and Christian cosmists.

Fides et ratio: O nepoškvrnenom počatí Panny Márie podľa Jána Dunsa Scota

When Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in 1854, he ended a theological debate on this question centuries long. The well­-known Medieval Franciscan thinker John Duns Scotus offered one of the most important theological contributions to defend the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Because of the universality of Christ&#8217;s redemptive work and the universality of original sin, the opposite opinion prevailed among theologians during his life. The aim of this paper is to examine Scotus&#8217;s solution to this Marian question in the context of the Medieval debate on it. First, the most serious theological objections to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary are presented, as well as Scotus&#8217;s response to them. In the analysis of Scot&#8217;s solution, the emphasis is on his famous argument potuit, decuit, ergo fecit. Final remarks on his solution, including critical ones, are presented in the conclusion and its significance for the formulation of dogma is evaluated.

The Church as God’s agent in uniting immigrants and natives: A case from Ephesians 2:11–22

As the number of people migrating from many different countries to South Africa constantly increases, there is bound to be immense tension between the immigrants and the citizens for many and different reasons. Within this context, the South African Church is expected to play a critical role in bringing peace and unity between the immigrants and the natives. In responding to the proposed challenge, this article submits that the Church has a God-given role of uniting immigrants and native South Africans by utilising Ephesians 2:11–22. This conception arises from locating Ephesians 2:11–22 in the broader context of Scripture. In so doing, the article submits that the role of the Church entails both preaching and practising the social aspects of the vertical (God’s reconciliation with humans) and the horizontal (human to human reconciliation) reconciliation that were accomplished by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. That is to say, the Church should be perceived as the agent of God in uniting the immigrants and the native South Africans by proclaiming the doctrine of vertical and horizontal reconciliation to Christians and non-Christians in both word and deeds.Interdisciplinary implication: This is an interdisciplinary article that conducts a thorough exegetical work on Ephesians 2:11–22. Thereafter, the article alludes to relevant biblical passages to draw some ensuing social implications of Ephesians 2:11–22 in easing the existing tensions between immigrants and native South Africans. In bringing the aforesaid together, the former aspect of the article falls within biblical studies, while the latter falls within practical-missional theology.

The OT Messianic Expectations as fulfilled in the Incarnation of Jesus – Points for Reflection for Christians

That Jesus is the Messiah is acclaimed and professed by Christians right from the early times. That he is the Messiah who has been expected right from the OT times could also be said to be common knowledge for many Christians. But what this statement actually means as well as its full implications are not clear to many people, Christians and non-Christians alike. This paper, therefore, sets out to explain how the OT messianic expectations are fulfilled in the Incarnation of Jesus, a term that encompasses Jesus’ earthly life, ministry, death and resurrection, i.e. the entire mystery of Christ’s redemptive work. The method employed in this work is historical-theological, augmented with the Historical Critical method, when necessary, in the analysis of pertinent biblical passages. The information is that the people of Israel in the OT were, in different epochs, always expecting a Messiah, a liberator to be sent by God. They associated this Messiah with the successive kings of the Davidic dynasty through the Oracle of Nathan in 2 Sam 7:12, on the one hand, and with other historical and messianic figures, on the other. But after the exile, during the last pre-Christian centuries of Palestinian Judaism, these expectations narrowed down to an individual liberator and ultimately to Jesus, in the NT, as is amply explained in many NT passages. The recommendation is for all Christians to recognize and cherish the depth of our Christian heritage in the OT and in the lives of the people of Israel, a depth which gloriously highlights God’s universal plan of salvation as one. All this would invariably lead Christians to the greater appreciation of their faith and its praxis as well as further enhance Jewish Christian relationship as one commonly founded on a single divinely instituted history of salvation. This work is also a very useful tool for all teachers and students of religion, as well as biblical scholars and researchers, in the pursuit of their various endeavours.

The Theandric Role of the Church in the Life of the World during, before and after COVID−19 Pandemic

The “earthly” Church is on pilgrimage and has the task of making disciples of all peoples (cf. Mt 28:19−20). She has her transcendental dignity, proportional to its representative (sacramental) essence and function as the universal sacrament of salvation. In the Christological perspective, the “earthly” Church carries out the redemptive and salvific work of Christ. On the part of the Church, this saving work is still relevant, polymorphic and incomplete, and sometimes also tainted by sin. For the Church is not identical with the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the current question remains how to realize the theandric nature of the Church in her mission in the current historical, social and cultural context? A particular drama in the implementation of the Church's mission is added today by the situation of the Covid−19 pandemic, which on the one hand contributes to hindering the exercise of a particularly liturgical function and, on the other hand, intensifies the process of impoverishment of people in many countries of the world. The new poor become an additional challenge for the Church in her charitable mission. The article has a dogmatic-pastoral character, and its main sources are post-conciliar documents and the latest statements of Pope Francis. According to the author, the Church, as a community of Christ's disciples, must learn from her Master to build interpersonal relationships in search of harmony with the world and at the service of humanity. Remembering the theandric nature of the Church can be very helpful in this task.

Exploring the Nexus between Akan and Christian Perspectives on Atonement

One of the key Christian doctrines is atonement. The subject of atonement is very important in Christian theology because it is the basis for God’s reconciliation of the world onto himself. The concept of atonement is found in many other religions apart from Christianity. From an Akan socio-religious perspective, atonement is required to maintain the relationship between humans and the supernatural realm. This paper explored the nexus between the Akan primal concept of atonement and the Christian doctrine of atonement using a literature-based research methodology. The paper demonstrated how an Akan primal understanding of atonement might enhance the Akan Christian understanding of the atonement of Christ. The discussions serve to facilitate the contextualization of the Christian doctrine of atonement for the Akan Christian community so as to make God’s salvific work relevant and meaningful to the Akan people. The main thesis of the paper is that an adequate understanding of the Akan traditional concept sin, priesthood and atonement prepares one to appreciate Jesus’ role as the ultimate high priest whose once-for-all sacrifice brought to an end the repetitious and imperfect sacrifices offered in Akan traditional religious context.