Christian Theology Research Articles

Moderasi Beragama Di Media Sosial Dalam Perspektif Teologi Kristen

This article discusses the concept of religious moderation in the context of social media from the perspective of Christian theology. This emphasizes the importance of moderation in managing Indonesia's diverse religious landscape to prevent conflict and promote harmony. The article also explores the role of social media in facilitating interfaith dialogue, increasing empathy, and challenging negative stereotypes about religion. The report highlights the potential of social media in fostering understanding, tolerance, and cooperation among different faith communities. This article provides insight into the importance of utilizing social media as a tool for interfaith dialogue and understanding.

The Priesthood of All Sentients? The Eclipse of Transcendence in an Age of Artificial Intelligence

BlessU-2 is a robot and a specifically designed anthropomorphic machine that performed a blessing service during 2017’s exhibition in Wittenberg, Germany, commemorating 500 years of the reformation. The exhibition was intended to open a conversation about the future of the church’s service and AI’s role in it. This research explores and introduces today’s AI research development and theological challenges for ecclesiology and Christian worship. The research explores the theological themes that can be employed by Christian theology in general and ecclesiology in particular. It proposes that the main challenge of AI developments is the reinterpretation of the transcendent in the form of AI in which technology is perceived as godlike. On the other hand, AI fills a void in the religious lacuna that reaffirms the yearning for meaning and connection. Finally, the paper proposes the importance of the basic human nature of relationality in an age of simulated artificial reality.

Jesus Christ as The Embodiment of the Wisdom of God: A Theological Commentary on James 3:13-18

From the time of the Reformation until contemporary times, the epistle of James has been considered to have no significant contribution to Christian theology. When compared to Paul's letters, the letter of James is less desirable or even often considered inferior to be involved in theological discourse. In reality, it can be argued that James 3:13-18 provides constructive theological implications when read with a theological interpretation of Scripture approach. This article proposes an assessment with a theological interpretation approach to James 3:13-18 to see the Christological indication that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s wisdom. Without neglecting the importance of the praxis of wisdom, this interpretation theologically testifies that the gentle, from above, pure, reconciling, gracious, obedient, merciful and so on wisdom that James refers to has been realized in and through the person of Jesus Christ. The church as a community of believers who read James 3:13-18 needs to realize its calling to become a community of wise people with the power of the Holy Spirit to imitate the life of Jesus who is the embodiment of God's wisdom.

Pierre Gassendi: Humanism, Science, and the Birth of Modern Philosophy

Pierre Gassendi: Humanism, Science, and the Birth of Modern Philosophy

Feminism against Progress

Feminism against Progress

Helping Formators Shine a Light on the Internal Life of Seminarians

Spiritual directors and formation advisors are charged with the responsibility of getting to know the men and women they work with who are in formation for religious life and the priesthood. This includes understanding the experiences of the people they work with, especially their inner lives. But the inner life of another person is a dark, vast, and mysterious world. This article draws on features of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy to help shine a light on the interior lives of those in formation for religious life and diocesan priesthood. IFS can help a formator make sense of the complex internal relationships every person experiences by identifying the different kinds of internal reactions a person experiences while proceeding through formation. The article explains key IFS terms such as protectors, managers, firefighters, exiles, and the Self that help formators understand those reactions and what a person in formation is experiencing. After considering some of the implications that this IFS approach to the interior life holds for formation advising and spiritual direction, the author offers three formational practices based on IFS that can promote self-knowledge for those in formation. The author concludes with a discussion of the transformation of one's identity and leadership. This article lays the groundwork for further research on the status of the Self in IFS and Christian theology.

Mapping Atonement: The Doctrine of Reconciliation in Christian History and Theology by William G. Witt and Joel Scandrett (review)

Mapping Atonement: The Doctrine of Reconciliation in Christian History and Theology by William G. Witt and Joel Scandrett (review)

Performing the Insect and Its Mysterious Metamorphosis

Insect metamorphosis fascinated Greek philosophers, bewildered Christian theologians, affirmed the beliefs of Chinese moralists, and continues to mystify science. Yet dramas representing human-animal transformations rarely involve insects. When they do appear, they usually serve as metaphors satirizing human flaws, but are also demeaning to the insect in their simplistic representation. In some 21st-century performances, however, that approach is evolving to better appreciate the multifarious intricacies of insect life.

The Doctrine of Exemplarism: A Symbolic Attempt to Escape the Pelagian Heresy

Heresies are intrinsically intertwined with the evolution and inner growth of the very religions that denounce them. They serve as theological junctures, challenging and thus refining the orthodoxy of religious beliefs. The Pelagian heresy touches on one of the central tenets of Christian theology: the question of salvation. Pelagianism posits that human beings retain freedom of the will and, more specifically, the capacity to earn salvation through their own merits rather than relying solely on the grace of God in Christ. This stands in contrast to the predominant Christian view that Original Sin fundamentally impaired man’s will and intellect. A central tenet of Christianity is that through His suffering and death on the Cross, Christ atoned for humanity’s Original Sin and paved the way for our redemption. But what exactly made this redemption possible through the suffering and death on the Cross? Unlike many of the answers offered, Abelard’s explanation, also referred to as exemplarism, resonates with modern sensibilities: Christ set an example to imitate, and through this imitation, man learns humility and love. However, this stance faced criticism and was condemned by Bernard of Clairvaux as having Pelagian tendencies because it suggests that Christ’s redemptive work might not inherently require Christ’s divine nature. This study will attempt to defend the exemplaristic approach while ensuring Christ’s essential role and addressing criticisms against the Pelagian heresy. This discussion is further enriched by an examination of the Eucharist, illuminating the theological tension between symbolic and realistic interpretations of religious rites.

Indonesian Eco-Ecclesiology: Defending Earth Against Ecological damage in Batak Land

This study focuses on efforts to build an eco-ecclesiology of liberation in Indonesia. The idea of restoring the earth is based on Leonardo Boff's ecological spirituality and KSPPM's ecological praxis. Ecological damage is a logical consequence of exploitative-destructive attitudes and actions of humans. This study promotes the spirit of defending or protecting the earth from the clutches of ecological destruction in Batak Land, Indonesia. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method with a comparative study approach on the ecological work of Boff and KSPPM and serves as the basis for the development of liberating eco-ecclesiology. Ecology must become an integral part of Christian theology and it must offer a new perspective on the relationship between humans and the earth. The sacrifice of Christ who was crucified and suffered for the redemption of the world (John 3:16) should be a spirit for the Christian community to initiate strong multi-faith and cultural cooperation to save the earth which has been granted to us. The church is also responsible for building an eco-literacy movement as a manifestation of faith in the context of vast ecological destruction, thus, the church as an ecological community should embrace the earth and the oppressed people through a transformative diaconia which is inspired by the love of Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. The church must expand its ministry mandate to answer the struggles of all creation.

New Narratives for Old: The Historical Method of Reading Early Christian Theology, Essays in Honor of Michel René Barnes ed. by Anthony Briggman and Ellen Scully (review)

New Narratives for Old: The Historical Method of Reading Early Christian Theology, Essays in Honor of Michel René Barnes ed. by Anthony Briggman and Ellen Scully (review)

Christian improvisation

My thesis in this article is that Christian improvisation is a helpful way to understand the practice of Christian leadership ethics. We sometimes find ourselves in ethical situations with no clear script or guideline to prescribe actions. In such cases, the ethical practice is analogous to that of improvisation. I argue that Christian theology and practices can help form a character prepared for improvisation. Moreover, Christian theology can foster an imagination useful for improvisation as it helps us interpret the ethical situation in light of a greater story and creatively imagine new ways of responding.

Vita passibilis, imperturbatio (apatheia), vita passiva: Die pathische Bedingtheit des Menschen im theologischen Denken von Maximus dem Bekenner

Maximus the Confessor distinguishes three stages in the spiritual becoming of man: vita passibilis i.e. the way of life in that man is living under the reign of the bodily passions, apatheia as state of liberation from the reign of the lower passions, and vita passiva as modus vivendi in which the human makes the personal experience of the revelation and the presence of God. Thereby being man means according to Maximus suffering under the rule of someone - divine or demonic - or something. The human condition is especially passive. Even contemplation (theōria) becomes in this approach a kind of passion: the passive experience of the presence of God. Although there is an old tradition in the classical Greek culture concerning the equivalency mathein-pathein (from Aeschylus to Aristotle and until Neo-Platonist thinkers like Proclus) which is received in the Christian tradition first of all by Denys the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor is one of the first Christian theologians who tries to reconstruct the classical conception concerning the typology of the human ways of life (vita activa-vita contemplativa) as being based on passion: passion of lower impulses, passion of the demonic temptations and sins, but also passion of the overwhelming divine presence. Man can only lead a passionate life as slave of the lower passions (pathēmata) and as such of the devil or as slave of God in the Holy Spirit.

Critique of Supernatural Revelation

This article argues that the claim of traditional Christian theology and religion to be in possession of supernatural revelation cannot be substantiated in a valid and non-circular manner in principle. It then notes the consequences for theology if the notion of supernatural revelation is abandoned. It proposes agnosticism about unknowable matters as a way of exercising faith or trust in the limits God’s providence has established for human knowledge.

Феномен секуляризации: философские и теологические основания

This article analyzes the interpretations of the phenomenon of secularization from the perspective of three discourses. The axiological programs of social philosophers such as Brian Wilson, Dmitry Uzlaner and Lewis Shiner are considered, who see secularization as a process during which religion loses its social significance as a result of the natural movement of history. Secularization has an acutely negative assessment in conservative discourses of Christian theology, which the author shows by analyzing the opinions of the most important representatives of the three Christian denominations. It is revealed that radical scientism as the ideological basis of the religious generates anti-religious and anti-clerical positions, fraught with conflicts. As a result, the article concludes in favor of constructive dialogue as part of all discursive practices to maintain stability both in society and in the inner state of the individual.

The Animal within Creation: Thoughts from Christian Theology

The article’s topic is animal in Christian religion and concept of creation. It describes how Christian theology has reflected the status and significance of animals in the historical development, which positions it has created or preferred in this matter and how they have changed from biblical times until our post-modern present age. Methodically this cross-section through history means that each period is conveyed in its basic features and presented through selected authors, works or texts of the given time. Along with the historical line, the text also follows the principal question of the nature of the relation between human and animal from a theological viewpoint. The object of reflection is thus also the theoretical basis for a morally justifiable relation of post-modern people to other living creatures. The text mainly deals with the following key aspects: a) anthropocentrism and its difficulties in relation to the position of animals in the western, traditionally Christian culture, b) possible ethical perspectives and consequences of the theological concept of creation for the status of animal today.

The Dialogical Paths with Islam in the East: Homage to Arabic Christian Theology

This is an opinion article, based on a lifelong syncretic study of the dialogical paths taken by Eastern theologians, Greeks and Arabs. At the crossroads of three continents, in direct relation with the Byzantine and Syriac traditions, with the Mediterranean and its Greco-Roman culture, but also with the Asian and African hinterland, Arab and Arabic-speaking Christian theologians have formed a culture of dialogue. They managed to engage with Islam in shapes and forms that are of very great interest and could point the way to a different approach to Islam today. The article, written by a Greek author, proposes a better integration of Arabic Orthodox theology as an enrichment to Orthodox theology as a whole, serving at the same time a broader connection between the Greek and Arab worlds. The article also proposes that discovering the heritage of the Orthodox East is interesting for Christian theology on a global scale. In primarily Christian/Western academia, one should be open to a genuine encounter with the Islamic world beyond geopolitics and other concerns extrinsic to religion; this is an encounter that would open up paths beyond the “clash of civilisations” impasse and allow for the rediscovery of the humanizing factor of religion. This is of interest to Christian and Muslim theologians as well as serving humanity and creation as a whole.

Responsibility without Choice: Harare’s Baptist Christians and Normative Freedom Amidst Uncertainty

Abstract Baptists living in Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare, engage with a long-standing debate in Christian theology and beyond: that of the relation between moral responsibility and human freedom. The presumption has often been that to be held morally responsible, a person must be free to choose and to act. The views of Harare’s Baptists directly challenge this understanding, with important outcomes for their political lives. I show ethnographically how they do so through the urgency of their daily moral deliberations as religious practitioners. Influenced by Augustinian theology, they treat moral responsibility as a condition of existence, irrespective of choice. I argue that they adhere to a “normative freedom” as an alternative to classically liberal perspectives or to freedom as outlined recently in anthropological discussions of ethics. I propose that attending to moral responsibility provides a key avenue for further theorizing diverse conceptions of human freedoms and the attendant political consequences.

PHENOMENOLOGY OF DIVINE REVELATION: THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY IN DIALOGUE

AbstractAlthough the relationship between theology and philosophy is a perennial issue in the history of thought, recent debates surrounding the so‐called theological turn of continental phenomenology have created a new space in which it can be explored from a fresh perspective. In this vein, I propose three theses concerning the relationship between theology and philosophy of religion, with particular focus on the phenomenon of divine revelation. First, a philosophy of religion that ignores theology's claim about divine self‐revelation will remain incomplete and unsatisfactory, at least from the perspective of a Christian theology which begins with the faith in God's self‐revelation in one particular human person. Second, a theology that does not acknowledge the possibility of philosophical reflections on the human aspect of divine revelation will not be able to escape blind dogmatism, but rather will isolate itself from the academic community. Third, and finally, despite the concerns of both parties, a dialogue between theology and philosophy centred on the phenomena of revelation can develop into mutually critical and mutually constructive interactions.

Can Christian Ethics be Saved? Colonialism, Racial Justice and the Task of Decolonising Christian Theology

Christian ethical practice has historically fallen short, when we consider the histories of European colonial violence from the sixteenth century and the transatlantic slave trade in Africans. Today, Christian ethics can fail to uphold a standard of resistance to contemporary evils, including racial injustice. To what extent can Christian ethics break with this history and be saved? This article considers the ongoing colonial tendencies of Christian ethics and theological education in Britain, before considering the centrality of decolonisation, primarily ‘of the mind’. In the latter part, it turns to examples of anti-colonial Christian ethics, in the work of Robert Beckford, Anthony Reddie, Anupama Ranawana and Anderson Jeremiah. It ends by giving attention to what decolonisation might mean in religious and theological education, as we seek to create spaces for learning in which all people's bodies, minds and voices are welcomed and honoured.