Christian Spirituality Research Articles

TRANSFIGURED LEADERSHIP: KEPEMIMPINAN ALKITABIAH SEBAGAI FONDASI MITIGASI RISIKO DIGITAL

In an increasingly digital era, Christian leaders face new challenges in managing digital risks. To face these challenges, Christian leadership needs to be based on the spiritual values ​​contained in the event of Christ's transfiguration. This article explores the meaning of Christ's transfiguration and its implications for contemporary Christian leadership. The concept of "Transfigured Leadership" can be a valuable approach for Christian leaders to face these challenges from the perspective of Christian spirituality. The method used is a descriptive qualitative analysis of the Bible and literature with related themes. The research results show that the transfiguration of Christ reveals the character of Christ as a sanctified Messiah, a leader whose life is pleasing to the Father, and a role model for His followers. Christian leadership values ​​that originate from the transfiguration of Christ require leaders who live in holiness, have a close relationship with God, humility, willingness to make sacrifices, obedience to their calling, and continuous self-transformation. By focusing on the example of Christ's leadership, Christian leaders are expected to implement leadership that is oriented toward spiritual transformation.

PRAYER AND VIGILANCE: A BIBLICAL AND PHILOKALIAN APPROACH TO THE RENEWAL AND PROTECTION OF THE NOUS

This article examines the biblical and Philokalian approach to renewing and protecting the nous or intellect (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:17), proposing that prayer and nepsis (vigilance) are essential strategies for mitigating the influence of logismoi and passions. Analysis reveals that these practices are vital in cultivating authentic Christian spirituality. The Philokalia invites a reevaluation of spiritual perspectives, offering a novel framework that integrates an investigative tool, therapeutic technique, and theoretical insights into the human mind. This study highlights how these ancient practices can be adapted to modern psychotherapeutic interventions, providing a transformative approach to revitalizing our nous faculties. The findings underscore the relevance of the Philokalia in contemporary spiritual and psychological contexts, introducing innovative methods for addressing spiritual and emotional challenges in today's world. This article aims to bridge ancient spiritual wisdom with contemporary therapeutic practices, offering new insights and practical applications for enhancing mental and spiritual well-being.

Drowning in Hegel or the Baptism of Philosophy

Abstract In this contribution, I will focus on Hegel’s presentation of the practice of baptism as found in his work, The Spirit of Christianity and its Fate. First, I contextualize the motif of baptism in its variegated forms in the New Testament and especially in Paul’s theology (Rom 6:4). Subsequently, I situate Hegel’s engagement with baptism in his early philosophy of religion, demonstrating how he refers to biblical accounts of baptism and then transforms them. My thesis is that Hegel transformed baptism from a biblical motif in his Early Theological Writings into an entrance into philosophical thought, as can be observed repeatedly in several of his later works such as the Lectures on the History of Philosophy, the Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences and the Phenomenology of Spirit.

Africa’s Aquifers

While John S. Mbiti (1931–2019) is highly acclaimed for his scholarly contributions to the fields of African religion and philosophy, little attention has been paid to his reflections on African Christian spirituality. Arguing vehemently against “imported Christianity,” he contends that only a genuine encounter between African religiosity and the Christian faith will quench the spiritual thirst of African peoples. This essay identifies and explores a few key contributions Mbiti offers in this regard and outlines certain critiques of his work. The central argument is that like the tremendous resource of Africa’s vast aquifers, African religiosity is a deep, enduring reservoir for enriching the understanding and experience of African Christian spirituality. Examples of the wellsprings of African religiosity that African Christian spirituality draws from include prayer, a unified worldview that does not erect dichotomies between the physical and spiritual realms, and a deeply communal orientation. Mbiti also underlines that certain elements within African religion require discernment in light of the gospel, so that Africans’ prior religious experience might be transposed into the fullness of life in Christ. Thus, African Christian spirituality can enhance not only the faith experience of African believers, but also followers of Jesus throughout the world who seek to deepen their spiritual lives.

Body and Imagination: Healing Trauma through Ignatian Meditation and Bio-Spiritual Focusing

Abstract: Ignatian meditation and bio-spiritual focusing (or BSF) hold healing potential for those recovering from the effects of trauma. This essay, originally delivered as the presidential address of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality in November 2023, outlines the nature and sources of trauma, explores its effects on the human psyche and body, and offers healing pathways from two streams in Christian spirituality—imaginative Ignatian prayer and BSF. It also explores the theological and spiritual implications of Christ's solidarity with the sufferer, and some of the ways in which Christ offers compassionate witness and embodied presence for those on the healing journey.

Is an AI-Generated Icon an Icon? A Case Study in Artificial Intelligence and Christian Spirituality

Abstract: This article examines the potential for AI-generated icons from the viewpoints of the iconographer, the worshiper, and the liturgical community. The ability of AI programs to produce convincing images reopens questions previously thought put to rest in the eighth and ninth centuries during the iconoclastic controversy. These questions go beyond icons themselves, questioning our materiality, the nature of spiritual experience, and the centrality of the incarnation for a Christian faith. While AI-generation may produce images virtually indistinguishable from those made by human hands, the processes involved in their generation and dissemination risk spiritually deskilling iconographers and distancing those who acquire them from the community of faith.

Ignatian Influences on Nikos Kazantzakis's Askitiki

Abstract: Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957), a highly influential Greek novelist and poet, spent a long apprenticeship to Christian spirituality, and he admired Ignatius Loyola (1491–1556). Examining Kazantzakis's Askitiki (English translation, The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises ), this essay discloses how the moves in Kazantzakis's lyrical essay, like those in Ignatius's masterwork, are drills that constitute an "always more" ( semper maior ) training for the arduous ascent to a knowledge of the God-world alliance. Three themes unite Kazantzakis and Ignatius: active mindfulness; soul-freedom through detachment from disordered affections; and pansacramentalism, finding God in all things and all things in the divine.

Jesus and the angels: A comparative reading of Hebrews 1:1–4 in light of Ewe angelology

This article examines the phrase, tosoutō kreittōn genomenos tōn angelōn (Heb 1:4a) (having become as much superior to the angels) in the exordium of the epistle to the Hebrews in the light of Ewe angelology. The article employs both comparative and mother tongue hermeneutical approaches as its methodologies. An exegetical analysis of the cosmic superiority of Christ over angels in Hebrews 1:4a was carried out to situate the text in its historical and literary contexts. This was followed by an excursus on angels to explore the angelic world of the text, and a comparative discussion with angelology motif in Ewe cosmology. Finally, the article assesses the cosmic supremacy of Christ over the angelic world of the Ewe against the backdrop of the continuous quest for spiritual protection in Ewe-Ghanaian spirituality today. The quest for spiritual protection in popular Ewe-Ghanaian Christianity today stems from the perception that Christ’s cosmic superiority over the cosmos he created and owns including angelic beings alone is not enough and that one would need to resort to other mediums to enhance access to God for quicker solutions to one’s predicaments. This has resulted in the introduction of syncretic elements in spirituality. To cure the syncretic elements in Ewe Christian spirituality, this article makes the following proposals: Firstly, the preaching (kerygma) and teaching (didache) of the gospel message must be given priority in the pulpit. Secondly, Christian educators must constantly emphasise Christ’s superiority and his exclusive mediatory function over Ewe cosmic beings to ensure that old and new converts to Christianity view him alone as sufficient for their spiritual development.Contribution: The article contributes to the academic knowledge of the priestly Christology in Hebrews situating it within the context of mother tongue biblical hermeneutics.

A 32-Year Systematic Review: Exploring the State of Christian Spirituality and Mental Health Research

A 32-Year Systematic Review: Exploring the State of Christian Spirituality and Mental Health Research

Spirituality of Communication as Foundation for a Missional Approach to Digital Culture

The article seeks to make the case for a Christian spirituality of communication, one that especially addresses the communicative and interpersonal dynamics in digital culture and strives to elevate these toward a disposition of authentic relationality. From this foundation in a Christian spirituality of communication, the article proposes several key theological characteristics as fundamental for a missional approach to digital culture, including revelation, incarnation, communion, truth in context, and announcing hope. The article concludes by proposing a framework for a lived, missional spirituality expressing each of these in the digital context. Living out of this framework offers digital culture greater potential toward human flourishing as a whole. Keywords: Christian spirituality, digital culture, theology of communication, relationality, mission and evangelization

Adoptive Youth Ministry of Chap Clark. A Critical Appraisal from a Catholic Perspective

Based on the two fundamentals in Youth Ministry, namely the role of the youth in Youth Ministry as protagonists and subjects, as proposed in Christus Vivit, the apostolic exhortation on the Youth, a fresh thinking has been taking place in the Church. This study explores Youth Ministry based on the theology of Adoption propounded by Chap Clark, a Presbyterian Pastor from the United States, who has been in the field of Youth Ministry for the past 27 years. He proposes a Christian spirituality which is found in one’s belongingness to a community, which he terms as “Adoptive Youth Ministry.” The objective of Youth Ministry as adoption is for every child, every adolescent, and every young adult, to be so embraced by the community of faith that they are assured a home, a people, and a place where they can discover who they are and how they are able to contribute. It proposes a concrete step towards a process of integrating the youth in ecclesial life. A Catholic perspective on his method is an enrichment in the Church’s theology of Youth Ministry.

Serikat Sosial Vinsensius Merawat Iman Orang Muda Katolik dalam Dunia Modern

This research aims to find an organizational forum for Catholic Young People (OMK) to care for their faith. The focus of this study is on the SSV (Society of Saint Vincent) as a forum for the growth of catholic youth's faith. SSV is an international social organisation that focuses on serving the poor and is a means of directing young people on the path of holiness that originates from the Christian faith. SSV is open to anyone of good will, inclined towards Christian spirituality. The method used is quantitative andqualitative methods, namely through interviews with 6 members of the Saint Mary SSV Conference (Saint Mary Senior High School), several children outside SSV and found out from various literature research. This research found that SSV is able to become a forum for the growth of faith in young people who are under pressure from developments that are difficult to control. SSV is able to become a forum for the growth of young people's faith because it is engaged in social work that encourages youngpeople to meet other people and maintain the faith of both clients and members in the spirit of Christian faith. The findings in this research provide a contribution to the local and universal Church, that SSV is able to become a forum for the process of nurturing the faith of young people in facing the onslaught of secularization and the progress of the times.

Prawosławna ikona na przecięciu duchowych i politycznych dróg. Wybrane problemy

This paper is meant as a commentary on less obvious developments of Western and Eastern Christian spirituality. It can hardly be denied that religions have their connections with this world: history, geography, culture, and accordingly develop in symbiosis with their environment. The reverse of that is the influence which religious beliefs exert on cultural endeavours, a most spectacular example of which is the art of painting. In this vein, the author examines the political and cultural context of the partition into the Catholic and the Orthodox Christianity, together with the differences between Western and Eastern spirituality, to search then for the correspondences between the political and cultural formation and the modes of artistic expression. Finally, some possible connections are established between the politically and historically-shaped spiritual traits of the Catholic and Orthodox Church, and the rules which inspired Western religious painting and the writing of icons, respectively.

Spiritualitas Relasional: Antara Dosa Dan Masa Lampau

Sin and the past are two crucial concepts in Christian spirituality that significantly impact an individual’s spiritual life. Sin is defined as a violation of God’s law, resulting in damage and conflict. Meanwhile, the past encompasses the totality of past events and experiences, including sins committed, which can carry emotional and spiritual burdens. Sin separates humans from God, but God forgives through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Handling sin and the past involves confession of sins, repentance, acceptance of forgiveness, learning from the past, and transformation through Christ’s love. Biblical teachings provide guidance in facing sin and the past, encouraging self-forgiveness and forgiveness of others. In daily life, this is applied through worship, spiritual growth, Christian community, meditation, service, and self-awareness. By following these principles, Christians can overcome the challenges posed by sin and the past, attain peace, and experience spiritual growth and restoration of their relationship with God

THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN EUROPEAN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL REALITY

Introduction. The article considers historical and legal origins of the foundations of the legal status of an individual in the European system of protection of human rights and freedoms as part of international legal reality of the region. The work examines the phenomenon of the legal status of a person in the European international legal reality in view of its modern normative regulation, protection mechanisms at the regional level and worldview sources of the evolution of its foundations. Summary of the main research results. It was determined that the European international legal reality is a regional phenomenon of international law and includes universal and European regional norms and principles, sub-regional European international legal acts, legal culture and legal consciousness, moral value characteristics and institutions of European international law. The latter is closely related to the phenomenon of the European international legal reality in terms of reflecting the objective legal realm in Europe. The main purpose of the functioning of the European international legal reality is the protection of human rights and freedoms in the region. The regional system of protection of human rights and freedoms is an integral part of the European international legal reality and guarantees the fundamentals of the legal status of a person in Europe. The main principles of the legal status of a person in the European international legal reality are the general principles and standards of law, the moral, value and ideological characteristics of European international law. The genesis of the foundations of the legal status of a person in Europe and European identity in general is ancient Roman law, Christian dogmas and Germanic customs. It was the preservation of the main system-forming components of the Roman legal complex of principles and norms, the influence of Christian spirituality concept on the general European attitude towards the individual and the separation of the Romano-Germanic legal family features on the basis of Germanic phenomenon that became the basis of the modern European legal reality and laid the foundations of the individual's legal position. Conclusions. At the current stage of the European international legal reality development, the legal status of a person is a fundamental category that emerged and evolved on the basis of centuries-old legal traditions of the region. Current regulatory and legal consolidation and functioning of regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights and freedoms is the result of historical and legal evolution of the foundations of the legal status of a person in Europe.

Christian Contemplative Prayer: An Embodied Spirituality of Healing and Well-Being Through the Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Within Christian spirituality, contemplative prayer practice is rooted in scriptural teachings, ancient practices, and intentional silent awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Despite the growing popularity of this embodied spiritual practice, limited empirical evidence exists investigating its effects on Christian contemplative prayer practitioners. This grounded theory study explored the long-term (2 to 40+ years) lived experience of thirty-six practitioners. Findings conceptualized the property of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit as it analytically emerged from its four dimensions including: Holistic Healing, Spiritual Formation, Soul Care, and Faith. These findings help to further develop Holley’s substantive theory integrating Christian contemplative prayer, Well-being, and Embodiment, bringing greater understanding to practitioners, minsters, and scholars alike. The findings were also part of the Holy Spirit Symposium (Biola University’s 2023), which presented an integration of various aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry of healing within the body.

The foundations of Franciszek Blachnicki's pastoral-educational concept based on nature

Father Franciszek Blachnicki was a Polish priest, professor of pastoral theology at the Catholic University of Lublin (Poland) and the creator and first moderator of the Light-Life Movement, also known as the Oasis Movement. Its goal was to care for the upbringing and formation of children and youth, and later also adults, in the Christian spirit. Blachnicki developed an original educational method in which observing nature played an important role. Important elements for such upbringing, education and formation are ‘discovery expeditions’, also called ‘open-eye expeditions’. Their goal is to observe and experience nature. Natural phenomena help explain difficult issues in the field of spirituality and morality and other issues related to the meaning and purpose of human life. This article focuses on two issues. The first are small religious groups, an example of which is the Light-Life Movement. The second is a ‘directed life’, meaning to discover the Creator's plan for creatures, especially man. The inspiration of this text is the 70th anniversary of the first formation and educational meetings of the Light-Life Movement.

Defences, Human Nature, and Spiritual Awakening: A Christian Counselling Perspective

This article delves into the intricacies of human defences in various domains, including the biological and psychological responses to protect oneself, and the abstract concept of sacrificing one’s life to uphold ethical, moral, religious, and spiritual values. While physical, psychological, and moral values have been attended to in counselling, regard for the religious and spiritual aspects is still developing. As the author writes from a Christian perspective, Christian faith and values are considered. It is posited that a study of human nature, as presented in the Christian Bible, can facilitate a profound comprehension of human defences. The paper scrutinizes the correlation between “human defences” and “Christian spirituality” through a Christian lens on human nature. Furthermore, it introduces the idea of “spiritual defence” and how it is related to a spiritual awakening.

Psychedelic Mysticism and Christian Spirituality: From Science to Love

The scientific claim that psychedelic drugs like psilocybin reliably occasion mystical experiences was justified using the Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (the MEQ), a survey first developed in the 1960s by Walter Pahnke using W.T. Stace’s Mysticism and Philosophy. Scholars in Christian mysticism reject the adequacy of Stace’s work for Western theistic mysticism, especially Christianity. One objection is that Stace follows William James in focusing on intense and unusual moments of mystical experience rather than the somewhat more ordinary mystical life. A greater concern is that Stace more adequately reflects non-Western traditions than Western theistic traditions like Christianity. For Stace, mysticism centers on the concept of union with external reality or with the absolute, a union in which the human creature is absorbed or fused. Christian mysticism, by contrast, involves a sense of presence rather than union, experienced in a most intimate relationship as a felt loving closeness with the divine, but not as fusion or absorption into the divine. While love of God is central to the Christian view, it is ignored in Stace and the MEQ30. Finally for Christianity, mysticism is not found in the momentary experience, but in the lifelong interpretation that leads to transformation.

Christian Spiritual Formation towards Holiness

Freedom is one of the most fervently fought for values and, at the same time, the very idea of freedom belongs to concepts that are essentially contested. This situation is a part of human brokenness, and in Christian formation, it has to be seriously dealt with. According to the popular view, ‘holiness’ is a life-negating and judgmental attitude towards everything ‘normal.’ In biblical usage, it connotes belonging to God as a gift in Christ. Spiritual formation begins with a biblical explanation of freedom and holiness. A Christian worldview has to be the background to Christian formation, functioning as a correction of the commonly- accepted naturalistic worldview. A personal experiential relationship with God is the key to successful growth towards realistic and practical holiness in daily life. ‘Dos and don’ts’ that usually arise at the beginning of religious education shall be experienced as liberating instructions, if they are offered as guidance to a fully persuaded mind and a devotedly loving heart.