Preventing genocide: the role of the church

2006 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-394
Author(s):  
Nico Vorster
Keyword(s):  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Preventative Measures ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Universal Dignity ◽  
Culture Of Impunity ◽  
The Church

Recent events in Sudan reiterate the fact that genocide is still a real threat in the modern age, despite important developments in international law. The aim of this article is to discuss ways in which churches can help to prevent genocide. The central theoretical argument is that military and legal preventative measures cannot address the underlying causes of genocide. Social factors that usually contribute to genocidal behaviour are difficult living conditions, nationalism, ethnocentrism, collectivism, authoritarianism, a culture of impunity and the distortion of morality. The most effective way to prevent genocide is to change the moral fabric of genocidal societies by fostering caring societies that emphasize individual moral responsibility, respect for life and the universal dignity of all human beings. As a moral institution the church can play an important role in changing the moral habits of societies. Churches must not compromise themselves by seeking political power or serving secular ideologies. The Bible must be interpreted in a responsible way that does justice to the message of the gospel. Churches must also foster individual moral responsibility; proclaim reconciliation, justice and peace; try to be active bystanders in conflict situations; address difficult life conditions and promote respect for life.

scholarly journals Does the Christian worldview provide a place for the law of attraction? (Part 2): An apologetic evaluation of the way the Bible is used in promoting this idea

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dani�l J. Maritz ◽  
Henk G. Stoker
Keyword(s):  
Word Of God ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Biblical Law ◽  
Word Of Faith ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Christian Worldview ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law Of Attraction ◽  
Positive Confession ◽  
The Church

This article investigates the biblical motivation that is given for the secular idea of the so-called spiritual law of attraction to become part of Christian doctrine. In 2010 Pastor At Boshoff of the Christian Revival Church (CRC) preached two sermons on the law of attraction in which he claimed it as a powerful principle in the Word of God. According to him this biblical �law� provides human beings with physical manifestations of their thoughts and words. The idea to create one�s own favourable future through the law of attraction flows from a New Age worldview and is similar to the positive confession doctrine taught by popular Word of Faith teachers. Boshoff�s claim regarding the law of attraction cannot be deduced from the key Scripture passages he uses, which reflects an unfounded use of Scripture to promote this idea.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article challenges the secular infiltration of the Law of Attraction in the church. This is important since the so-called Law of Attraction was preached by Pastor A. Boshoff of the CRC. Many of his listeners embrace his teaching although it reflects a poor exposition and application of Scripture.

scholarly journals HIDUP DALAM KERAGAMAN: MASALAH DAN WAWASAN KERAGAMAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-72
Author(s):  
Barnabas Ludji
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ethical Perspective ◽  
Theology Of Religions ◽  
The Bible ◽  
God's People ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Biblical Perspective ◽  
The Church

As God's people, the church needs to realize that diversity is an essential nature of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Efforts to homogenize nations that are diverse in race, ethnicity, culture, and religion must be seen as efforts to divide the nation. Therefore religions in Indonesia, especially the Church of God must really be a motivator and encourage their citizens to be truly aware of the diversity of the nation and take part in fostering a lifeof life that respects diversity and tolerates life with fellow human beings with everything attached to himself, including his religion and culture. In connection with the above, the church leaders and theologians must really try to find an understanding of faith that encourages people to accept differences and be able to build a tolerant life together. Efforts in that direction can be built through the perspectives of all fields of theological studies. This paper contains efforts to build a tolerant shared life from a systematic perspective. Theology of Religions and the Biblical (Old Testament). The dogmaticperspective sees two basic needs, namely to nurture and increasingly take root in the faith of church members, and the need to determine attitudes towards the presence of other religious life together. Without forgetting the universal nature of religion as an expression of religious awareness. From an ethical perspective feel the need to develop global ethics that are universal. From the perspective of the science of religions, it is necessary to highlight the verses of the Scriptures possessed by each religion that is universal. While the Biblical perspective sees the importance of Christians understanding their holy books diachronically and holistically. Because improper ways of understanding the Bible make possible the birth of exclusive fundamentalists. Central themes, such as love, justice, truth, peace, redemption, goodness, and life are believed to be from God, all of which are universal. All biblical texts, if understood, diachronically, then the text messages are the central themes already mentioned.

Promise in Martin Luther’s Thought and Theology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Walter
Keyword(s):  
Speech Act ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Bible ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Church

Martin Luther used the practice and notion of promise for theological and practical ends. As a theological notion, promise allowed Luther to work through important problems about God and God’s actions in Christ. Practically, Luther employed promise to understand sacraments, human action, and interpretation of the Bible. What unites these two ends is Luther’s taking promise as a gift of God, albeit a gift difficult to categorize according to the taxonomy of gifts in cultural anthropology. God’s promise is an effective word (verbum efficax), a speech act that does what it says. In other places of Luther’s work, promise denotes an action that priests and ministers undertake in order to communicate God’s word. He used it to articulate Christ’s activity in the Eucharist. Faith can mean many things in Luther’s work, but he frequently sees it as the correlate of promise. This shows that Luther follows the practical use of promise and fidelity in the Stoic tradition in addition to his interpretation of the Bible and his theological heritage. Luther considers promise to point to something God will do in the future or that promise limits God’s power in a way that makes that promise trustworthy. When compared to a “last will and testament,” it signifies a gift to those designated as heirs. In sum, not only does promise offer practical aims for the activity of the church; it also limits and generates theological reflection on God. For Luther, “God does not deal, nor has he ever dealt, with [human beings] other than through the word of promise” (De captivitae babylonica (1520) WA 6:516, 30–33; LW 36:42, translation modified).

scholarly journals KESETARAAN GENDER DAN MEMBERDAYAKAN KAUM PEREMPUAN SESUAI DENGAN AJARAN IMAN KRISTEN

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inra Patuju
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Life Choices ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Theological Foundation ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Church

Gender equality is one of our human rights as human beings. The right to live with dignity, freedom from fear and freedom to make life choices is not only reserved for men, women also have the same rights in essence. The figure of a woman who excels and can balance between family and career is very rare to find. Women are often afraid to have a career because of the demands of their role as a household. The Bible is the source of princip and consist of Christianity foundational of faith, but it ought to be made as the theological foundation that potentially seems in mistake viewpoint. That is why in the church there must be gender equality, as evidenced by the existence of a women’s fellowship, not only a father’s association, such as the Toraja Church Womens Fellowship (PWGT).

The Bible in the spiritual culture of Kievan Rus

1998 ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
S. V. Rabotkina
Keyword(s):  
Full Text ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Spiritual Culture ◽  
Slavonic Language ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Church

A huge place in the spiritual life of medieval Rusich was occupied by the Bible, although for a long time Kievan Rus did not know it fully. The full text of the Holy Scriptures appears in the Church Slavonic language not earlier than 1499.

The Church on the World's Turf

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Bramadat
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Sexual Ethics ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Conservative Protestant ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Christian Fellowship ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

Is it possible for conservative Protestant groups to survive in secular institutional settings? Here, Bramadat offers an ethnographic study of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at McMaster University, a group that espouses fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible, women's roles, the age of the earth, alcohol consumption, and sexual ethics. In examining this group, Bramadat demonstrates how this tiny minority thrives within the overwhelmingly secular context of the University.

Inspiration and Textual Preservation: A Catholic Essay on the Bible

Pro Ecclesia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 106385122199391
Author(s):  
James B. Prothro
Keyword(s):  
Textual Criticism ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Single Text ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Church

The doctrine of inspiration grounds Christian use and interpretation of Scripture, making this doctrine at once theoretical and practical. Many theoretical accounts, however, restrict the “inspired” status of biblical texts to a single text-form, which introduces problems for the practical use of Scripture in view of the texts’ historical multiformity. This article argues that such restrictions of inspiration are theologically problematic and unnecessary. Contextualizing inspiration within the divine revelatory economy, this article argues that the Spirit’s same goals and varied activities in the texts’ composition obtain also in their preservation, so that we can consider multiple forms of a text to be inspired while acknowledging that not all forms are inspired to equal ends in the history and life of the church. The article concludes with hermeneutical reflections affirming that we, today, can read the “word of the Lord” while also affirming the place of textual criticism in theological interpretation.

scholarly journals Kerk en owerheid binne ’n regstaat. Die profetiese roeping van die kerk met betrekking tot die Suid-Afrikaanse owerheid

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Vorster ◽  
J.H. Van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
The South ◽  
African Government ◽  
Constitutional State ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Government ◽  
Just Society ◽  
The Church

Church and government within a constitutional state. The prophetic calling of the church towards the South-African government With the transition to a new political dispensation in South Africa, a constitutional state has been established. A typical characteristic of this new dispensation is that the government remains neutral while the executive powers are subject to the Bill of Human Rights. The question of how the church can realize its prophetic task towards the government within the context of a constitutional state is highlighted in this article. The central theoretical argument is that a constitutional state that acknowledges fundamental rights provides an excellent opportunity for the church to fulfil its prophetic calling within the South African context. The church can contribute to a just society by prophetic testimony within the perspective of the kingdom of God.

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