scholarly journals Understanding Folk Religiosity in the Philippines

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 800
Author(s):  
Juan Rafael G. Macaranas
Keyword(s):  
The Philippines ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Clear Sense ◽  
Catholic Faith ◽  
Folk Religions ◽  
Religious Elements ◽  
The Church

This paper argues for the appreciation of Filipino folk religiosity as part of cultivating authentic faith expressions among Filipinos. It presents historical, anthropological, sociocultural, and theological views on significant folk religious groups, traditions, and practices in the Philippines, including but not limited to the millenarian movements and popular Catholic feasts. Despite the varied influences and variegated Philippine culture, folk religiosity among Filipinos can be generalized as a syncretic blending of pre-colonial beliefs with the Catholic faith. As an academic and practicing Catholic, the researcher explores the folk religious elements present in the development of the millenarian movements, the unique faith expressions and influences behind folk Catholic feasts and celebrations, and probes deeper into the meaning of ordinary faith expressions. Coming from his own experiences and insights, he refers to previous scholarly works in discussing how spirituality or reverence to the sacred is inherently embedded in the folk religious ways, how the cultural Filipino traits manifest in the religious practices and vice versa, and how folk spirituality enables the expression of deep cultural and personal Christian faith experience. In conclusion, he maintains that millenarian movements are valid faith expressions that also celebrate independence and Filipino identity; traditional festivals and religious rites are the locals’ unique way of authentically expressing their faith, and; preserving folk religions and folk religiosity among Catholics is beneficial for engendering the growth of the faithful and the development of religion. A clear sense of folk religiosity is elemental in reappropriating religious dogmas and doctrines as the church and the faithful continuously study, dialogue, and fully experience life in the pursuit of approaching authenticity in faith, beliefs, and religions.

The Synekism of Catholic Faith and Citizenship in Peninsular Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 335-365
Author(s):  
Shanthini Pillai
Keyword(s):  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
The State ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
General Context ◽  
Subject Formation ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Catholic Faith ◽  
Cultural Mobility ◽  
The Church

Abstract In this paper, I focus on the influence of the Société des Missions étrangères de Paris (MEP) on the performative poetics of Christian faith and citizenship among Malaysian Catholics. Using the central trope of the house, both in its general context of home and dwelling, and its Christian context of the church as a house of worship, I specifically show how cross-border movements, through intersections of individual, material, and cultural mobility stretching across centuries have led to synekistic practices of subject formation in the religious sphere. In this way the paper interjects into discourses on conflict between Christianity and the state and highlights alternative notes of interdependencies and creative synergies.

scholarly journals Mengajarkan Konsep Trinitas sebagai Pembekalan Apologetis Jemaat di Era Disruptif

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Fekky Daniel Yermia Tatulus
Keyword(s):  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

The subject of the Trinity in the Christian faith is often the subject of questions from other religious groups that are posted to the congregation. The concept of the Trinity is not easy to understand, but the church must strive to teach the congregation so that they can become apologetic in this disruptive era. The method used in this study is descriptive and phenomenological analysis, giving an overview of the situation in the disruptive era and its effect on the lives of believers. The conclusion of this study is that the pastor as a leader has the responsibility to teach the subject of the Trinity through weekly sermons. Abstrak Pokok Trinitas dalam iman Kristen sering menjadi bahan pertanyaan dari kelompok agama lain yang dilayangkan kepada jemaat. Konsep Trinitas memang tidak mudah dipahami namun gereja tetap harus berusaha untuk mengajarkan kepada jemaat agar dapat menjadi bekal apologetis di era disruptif ini. Metode yang digunakan dalam kajian ini adalah deskriptif dan analisis fenomenologis, memberikan gambaran tentang situasi di era disruptif dan efeknye terhadap hidup orang percaya. Kesimpulan dari kajian ini adalah, gembala sidang sebagai pemimpin memiliki tanggung jawab untuk mengajarkan pokok Trinitas melalui khotbah mingguan.

A ‘Righteous Intervention’: Megachurch Christianity and Duterte’s War on Drugs in the Philippines

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayeel Cornelio ◽  
Ia Marañon
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Religious Organizations ◽  
Illegal Drugs ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Drug Dependent ◽  
The Church

Megachurches, which are among the fastest-growing religious organizations in the Philippines, have been apolitical towards Duterte’s war on drugs. In contrast to some influential religious groups, that they have not released any statement is glaring. At the same time, megachurches have adopted interventions that aim at the rehabilitation of drug-dependent individuals and the moral renewal of police officers. What accounts for these actions? For megachurch pastors, the war on drugs is a ‘righteous intervention’ on the part of a God-ordained administration. At the same time, addressing the proliferation of illegal drugs is ‘humanly impossible’. Thus responding to substance abuse can only be a spiritual matter. The task of the church is to treat it as a spiritual condition to which the answer is conversion and moral recovery. The article ends with a critical reflection on how these theological views ultimately reflect the interests of the class these megachurches represent.

Charismatic Movements, State Relations and Public Governance in Sierra Leone

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-256
Author(s):  
Joseph Bosco Bangura
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Church Development ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
State Relations ◽  
New Church Development ◽  
The Church

Sierra Leone has seen the rise of Charismatic movements that are bringing about greater levels of co-operation with the state. This new church development aims at renewing the Christian faith and projecting a more proactive role towards public governance. This ecclesial development shows that African Pentecostal/Charismatic theology appears to be moving away from the perceived isolationist theology that once separated the church from involvement with the rest of society. By reapplying the movement's eschatological beliefs, Charismatics are presenting themselves as moral crusaders who regard it as their responsibility to transform public governance. The article probes this relationship so that the Charismatic understanding of poverty, prosperity, good governance and socio-economic development in Sierra Leone can be more clearly established.

The Church as a Sacrament in a Time of Pandemic: The Philippine Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-280
Author(s):  
Rhoderick John Suarez Abellanosa
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Presence Of God ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The declaration of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in various provinces and cities in the Philippines did not impede the Catholic Church from celebrating its sacraments and popular devotions. Mired with poverty and various forms of economic and social limitations, the presence of God for Filipinos is an essential element in moving forward and surviving in a time of pandemic. Predominantly Roman Catholic in religious affiliation, seeking the face of God has been part of Filipinos' lives whenever a serious disaster would strike. This essay presents how the clergy, religious and lay communities in the Philippines have innovatively and creatively sustained treasured religious celebrations as a sign of communion and an expression of faith. In addition to online Eucharistic celebrations that are more of a privilege for some, culturally contextualised efforts were made during the Lenten Season and even on Sundays after Easter. This endeavour ends with a reflection on the Church as the sacrament of God in a time of pandemic. Pushed back to their homes, deprived of life's basic necessities and facing threats of social instability, unemployment and hunger, Filipinos through their innovative celebrations find in their communion with their Church the very presence of God acting significantly in their lives.

All His Father’s Sins

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Church Of Scotland ◽  
Parting Ways ◽  
The Church ◽  
Critique Of Religion

This chapter explores the life and thought of John Stuart Mill’s father, James Mill. It seeks to unravel his journey from pursuing the calling of an ordained Christian minister in the Church of Scotland to parting ways with the Christian faith altogether. It will also seek to understand James Mill’s mature critique of religion, as well as that of his friend the Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the author of several works critical of traditional Christianity. The unhappy marriage of John Stuart Mill’s parents is presented as a vital background for understanding his future choices and convictions. The Christian identity of his mother and siblings are also presented.

‘The Substance of the Faith’ A Clarification of the Concept in the Church of Scotland

1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-338
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Torrance
Keyword(s):  
Church Of Scotland ◽  
Catholic Faith ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Nicene Creed ◽  
Articles Of Faith ◽  
The Church

In determining the meaning of the expression ‘the substance of the Faith’, it seems right to go back to the act of the Scottish Parliament in 1690 which ratified the Westminster Confession of Faith ‘as the publick and avowed Confession of this Church, containing the summe and substance of the doctrine of the Reformed Churches.’ There the WCF was regarded as containing the sum and substance of some thirty Reformed Confessions, including the Scots Confession, the First and Second Helvetic Confessions. These confessions expressly acknowledged the ancient Catholic Creeds and Conciliar Statements of the Church, the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Formulations of Ephesus and Chalcedon, and the so-called ‘Athanasian Creed’, and embodied all their main statements as essential articles of belief. This was true of the WCF which, as James Denney once pointed out, ‘contains everything that is in the Nicene Creed’ (Jesus and the Gospel, p. 39If). That is to say, there was no move away from what the Athanasian Creed and the Second Helvetic Confession called ‘the Catholic Faith’, although the basic articles of faith handed down through the Creeds were set within a confessional frame of distinctively Reformed character. It was inevitable, therefore, that a distinction was made between what Samuel Rutherford called (Due Right Presbyteries, p. 13) ‘a confession dejure, what everyman ought to believe, as the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of Athanasius’, and a wider summation of teaching common to ‘true Reformed Protestant religion’.

Le protestantisme et les modes d’institutionnalité du religieux. Complexifier le type « Église »

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-514
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul Willaime
Keyword(s):  
Religious Groups ◽  
Institutional Model ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

Protestantism includes Church-type as well as Sect-type ecclesiastical organizations. Its study therefore allows the Weberian typology to be elaborated. In terms of the way in which religious groups define their legitimacy, their ritual, ideological and charismatic characteristics acquire greater or lesser importance. As regards the Church-type, the author proposes a distinction between a ritual-institutional and an ideological-institutional model. In the Protestant world, legitimacy is better established through ideology (theology) and the authority of the ‘doctor-preacher’ than by ritual and charismatic function. Protestantism represents another mode of Church-type religious institutionalism as well as another mode of Sect-type religious association.

Kristus Sebagai Pusat Misi Pendidikan Kristen Untuk Mewujudkan Murid Kristus Dalam Gereja Lokal

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-63
Author(s):  
Hardi Budiyana
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Christian Education ◽  
Local Church ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Disciples Of Christ ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Teaching Process ◽  
The Church

Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan dan mengetahui Misi Pendidikan Kristen dalam Mewujudkan Murid Kristus, yang tentunya Murid Kristus yang memiliki karakter Kristiani dalam jemaat melalui proses pengajaran di gereja lokal. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian bersifat kualitatif dengan cara studi pustaka yakni mengkaji tentang Misi Pendidikan Kristen yang berpusat pada Kristus akan mewujudkan Murid Kristus yang memiliki wewenang untuk membangun karakter jemaat sesuai dengan ajaran iman Kristiani. Hasil penelitian ini memberikan pemahaman bahwa Misi Pendidikan Kristen berperan baik dalam Mewujudkan Murid Kristus yang memiliki pembentukan karakter kristiani dalam jemaat. Oleh karena itu, disarankan agar Para hamba Tuhan dalam hal ini Gembala Jemaat memiliki loyalitas yang tinggi dalam melaksanakan tugas dan tanggung jawab sebagai rekan kerja Allah yang bukan hanya berkotbah semata, tetapi juga menyampaikan pengajaran dengan hasil terwujud adanya murid Kristus yang memiliki karakter Kristiani nyata dalam diri Jemaat, sehingga jemaat mau melibatkan diri dalam pelayanan maupun dalam penginjilan baik dalam gereja maupun di luar gereja. Kata Kunci: Misi Pendidikan Kristen, Murid Kristus, Gereja Lokal. AbstractThis study aims to describe and know the Mission of Christian Education in Realizing Christ's Disciples, which is certainly Christ's Disciples who have Christian character in the congregation through the teaching process in the local church. This research is a qualitative study by means of literature study that examines the mission of Christian Education centered on Christ will realize Christ's Disciples who have the authority to build the character of the church in accordance with the teachings of the Christian faith. The results of this study provide an understanding that the Christian Education Mission plays a good role in realizing Christ's disciples who have the formation of Christian character in the congregation. Therefore, it is recommended that the pastors of the Church of the Church Shepherd have a high loyalty in carrying out their duties and responsibilities as partners of God who not only preach, but also deliver teaching with the results of the realization of disciples of Christ who have a real Christian character in themselves Congregation, so that the congregation wants to be involved in ministry and in evangelizing both in the church and outside the church. Keywords: Christian Education Mission, Christ Disciples, Local Church

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