scholarly journals Jurgen Moltmann’s Theology of Hope and the Task of Public Theology in Ghanaian Context

Author(s):  
Francis Appiah-Kubi ◽  
Isaac Osei Karikari

This article examines the relevance of theology in public life particularly from the Ghanaian (African) Christian experience in society. The idea of the public relevance of theology has been ably examined by Jurgen Moltmann in the perspectives of his Theology of Hope and the continuous reflections in the “Ethics of Hope”. The eschatological sacrifice of Christ’s story animates in Moltmann the understanding of what particular transformation one must experience when envisaging what the shape of Christianity is in modern society and the task it has to fulfill in the field of social ethics in the Ghanaian social and political history. Critical to the Ghanaian social- political life is to be encountered with is a sub-culture trend that the task for the socio-political and the economic development of the nation-state is the preserve of politics or political activists. The conversation on the rise to action of the Ghanaian Christian to social ethics is now due to the growing trends of poverty, violence, unemployment, corruption, dwindling social and moral order and failing institutions of state. Jurgen Moltmann develops his thoughts in the Ethics of Hope to deliberately project Christian social ethics that is focused on projecting the Bible as the gospel of hope for the people. This paper evaluates Moltmann’s understanding of modern realities of life and how Christians must relate with and what Christian character brings to bear on the positive change in the life of the people.

Author(s):  
_______ Naveen ◽  
_____ Priti

The Right to Information Act 2005 was passed by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government with a sense of pride. It flaunted the Act as a milestone in India’s democratic journey. It is five years since the RTI was passed; the performance on the implementation frontis far from perfect. Consequently, the impact on the attitude, mindset and behaviour patterns of the public authorities and the people is not as it was expected to be. Most of the people are still not aware of their newly acquired power. Among those who are aware, a major chunk either does not know how to wield it or lacks the guts and gumption to invoke the RTI. A little more stimulation by the Government, NGOs and other enlightened and empowered citizens can augment the benefits of this Act manifold. RTI will help not only in mitigating corruption in public life but also in alleviating poverty- the two monstrous maladies of India.


Journalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146488492095858
Author(s):  
Leena Ripatti-Torniainen

This article provides an alternative contribution to journalism studies on a foundational concept by analysing texts of Jane Addams, a public intellectual contemporary with the seminal scholars Walter Lippmann and John Dewey. The author uses methods of intellectual history to construct the concept of the public from Addams’s books: Democracy and Social Ethics and The Newer Ideals of Peace, showing that all three authors, Lippmann, Dewey and Addams, discuss the same topic of individuals’ changed engagement with public political life. Addams departs from Lippmann and Dewey in setting out from the standpoints of exclusion and cosmopolitanism. Her argument regarding the public, as constructed by the author, consists of two premises. First, public engagement is a method of democratic inclusion as well as social and political inquiry for Addams. She sees the extension of relationality across social divisions as a necessary method to understand society and materialise democracy. Second, Addams emphasises cooperative and reflexive involvement especially in the characteristic developments of a time. She considers industrialisation and cosmopolitanism as characteristic developments of her own era. Addams suggests an in-principle cosmopolitan concept of the public that includes marginalised persons and groups. Compared to Lippmann’s and Dewey’s accounts of the public, Jane Addams’s argument is more radical and far more sensitive to the social inequality and plurality of a drastically morphing society.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutia Silvia Rose

Partisipasi masyarakat adalah perwujudan dari masyarakat di dalam negara demokrasi, dimana pemerintahan yang di dasarkan kepada rakyat merupakan tujuan utama kehidupan berpolitik, baik dalam kebijakan maupun dalam tujuan pemerintahan. Perda Label Batik Pekalongan merupakan peraturan daerah yang mengatur tentang suatu tanda yang menunjukkan identitas dan ciri batik buatan Pekalongan yang terdiri dari tiga jenis yaitu batik tulis, batik cap atau batik kombinasi tulis dan cap. Tujuan dibentuknya Perda tersebut adalah agar masyarakat dan konsumen Batik Pekalongan tidak dirugikan akibat dari salah dalam membedakan jenis batik. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa partisipasi masyarakat dalam pembentukan Perda tentang penggunaan label batik Pekalongan masih bersifat elitis, karena yang mendominasi mengikuti public hearing hanya pengusaha kelas atas yaitu seseorang atau kelompok orang yang memproduksi seni batik dalam bentuk tulis, cap dan kombinasi dalam jumlah besar, sudah mempunyai nama merek yang terkenal, dan pemasarannya sudah sangat luas baik di dalam negeri maupun di luar negeri. Partisipasi masyarakat dalam pembentukan perda tentang label batik pekalongan yang masih bersifat elitis dapat berpengaruh karakteristik produk hukum yang di hasilkan yaitu lebih menguntungkan pengusaha batik kelas atas, karena dalam pembuatan label batik Pekalongan merugikan dalam segi ekonomis bagi  pengusaha kelas menengah dan bawah.<br /><br />Community participation is the embodiment of the people in a democracy, where the government is based on the people as the ultimate goal of political life, both in policy and administration purposes. Label the Perda Batik Pekalongan local regulation of Batik Pekalongan Label is a sign which indicates the identity and characteristics of batik from Pekalongan which consists of three types of batik, batik or batik and stamp combination. Purpose of the establishment of the regulation is that the public and consumers are not harmed Batik Pekalongan result of incorrect in distinguishing the types of batik. The result of this research indicates that participation in the formation of legislation on the use of Pekalongan batik label still elitist, because that dominate following the public hearing only top-class entrepreneurs is a person or group of people who produce batik art in written form, stamp and combinations in bulk, already has a well-known brand names, and marketing has been very widely both domestically and abroad. Public participation in the formation of regulations about labeling Pekalongan batik is still elitist may influence the characteristics of a legal product that produced batik entrepreneurs are more favorable upper classes, as in the manufacture of Pekalongan batik label in terms of economic harm to employers middle and lower classes.<br /><br />


Author(s):  
Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong

Faith in public life can be associated with Christianity in Ghana from the days of the early Western missionaries. Christian faith perspectives on matters of public concerns however, assumed a wider scope with the practice of regular issuance of communiques to governments and the people of Ghana by the churches. Christian ministry is expected to be holistic. A holistic approach in Christian ministry is considered to lead to the holistic development of the nation for the common good and the glory of God. Church leaders subsequently, bring their faith perspectives to matters of public concerns as a ministerial mandate to be in pilgrimage with the people. The study is a reflection on how the churches’ communiques are done and the factors that make the communiques theological in the public space. It further seeks to identify the contribution of the construction of communiques to public theology in Christianity in Ghana. The study as qualitative, examines both available primary and secondary sources. Copies of communiques of some selected churches, ecumenical bodies and joint communiques by ecumenical bodies are examined to appreciate insights of communiques by the churches. The study seeks to make a contribution to the theological construction of public theologies in Ghana and African Christianity. KEYWORDS: Public Theology, African Christianity, Communique, Common Good


Author(s):  
Mariya Viktorovna Kudryavtseva

The article shows the role of the development of information and computer technologies and the process of digitalization in various spheres of public life. It is noted that in such conditions information becomes one of the key resources. It is emphasized that for the modern society in the context of accelerating scientific and technological progress, it is becoming more and more difficult to critically comprehend the constantly increasing information flows. Virtual space offers tremendous opportunities for influencing public consciousness. In the context of the issue under consideration, some negative consequences are noted, including for the evolution of the mental sphere of the population. The article demonstrates important strategic directions for the development of the information society in modern Russia. It is emphasized that the processes of digitalization of the public life spheres and the new risks associated with it pose special tasks for modern social policy, in particular, in matters of purposefully increasing the level of information culture of the population, the quality of human capital and preparing society for global technological changes.


2001 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Tétreault

Kuwait, a small city-state on the Persian–Arabian Gulf, has undergone massive political, economic, and social development throughout the 20th century. In spite of this, Kuwaiti rulers continue to cherish what is perhaps an impossible dream: that Kuwait can be simultaneously a “developed” country and a “traditional” tribally organized social formation run by an autocratic ruler. This dream is echoed in equally ambivalent pronouncements and policies regarding women, not only by representatives of the state but also by Kuwaiti citizens. Should Kuwaiti women stand side by side with men in public life as half of a modern society, or should they be secluded, subjected by, and submissive to the men in their lives as local “tradition” demands? In this essay I argue that these two ambivalences are linked. Democratization of Kuwaiti political life has proceeded in fits and starts that parallel the uneven progress of democratization of gender relations in Kuwait. Perhaps in consequence, the politics of both kinds of democratization have become more closely linked.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-123
Author(s):  
Eric Gregory

This essay situates James K. A. Smith’s Awaiting the King: Reforming Public Theology in the context of contemporary social criticism, Augustinian politics, and the cultural turn in religious ethics. While commending Smith’s liturgical ambitions and newfound appreciation for the democratic tradition, I raise critical questions pertaining to eschatology, war and nationhood, and the extent to which he overcomes familiar debates in Christian social ethics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-300
Author(s):  
Patrick Kofi Amissah

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to draw upon the condemnation of bribery, corruption and miscarriage of justice to be found in the book of Amos for the sake of a public theology. The occasion for such is a bribery scandal that hit the Ghanaian judiciary. An investigative journalist presented evidence to substantiate the hitherto unsubstantiated perception that some judges in Ghana take bribes to skew judgement. The scandal is deepened through many of the judges being Christian. They attracted widespread criticism from religious leaders, both Christian and others, as well as from the wider society. The public sphere of a fair and independent judiciary was thus compromised. The argument draws upon an assessment of Amos 5:7; 10, 12 and 6:12. These texts are examined in the light of this judicial bribery and corruption scandal and thus provide an example of how the Bible can play a part in a public theology and nurture of social justice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 127-146
Author(s):  
Mantas Martišius

Šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje žiniasklaida atlieka svarbią funkciją. Ji ne tik informuoja, teikia pramogą ar šviečia, bet ir kuria bendrąjį kontekstą. Žiniasklaidos temų darbotvarkės kūrimas formuoja visuomenės temų darbotvarkę. Medijos teikiamos informacijos kokybė lemia visuomenėje naudojamo diskurso lygį, o pastarasis turi įtakos bendrųjų politinių, ekonominių ar socialinių klausimų sprendimui. Siūlomas naujas teorinis bendrojo konteksto nagrinėjimo aspektas – informacinis nutylėjimas. Informaciniai nutylėjimai – tai svarbios informacijos nepasakymas, kuris veikia bendrąjį kontekstą. Empirinis tyrimas nėra atliekamas, nes siekiama į reiškinį pažvelgti komunikacijos teorijos aspektu. Kitas aspektas, kad informacinių nutylėjimų empirinis nagrinėjimas vestų prie konkrečios istorijos pateikimo analizės. Būtų prarastas holistinis teorinis požiūris į informacinį nutylėjimą, kai, pateikiant informaciją ir sąmoningai ar atsitiktinai dalį svarbių žinių, duomenų ar faktų paliekant paraštėse, kuriamas nevisavertis visuomenės informuotumas. Straipsnio tikslas – analitiniu teoriniu būdu panagrinėti informacinio nutylėjimo reiškinį, jį sieti su propaganda ir bendrojo konteksto formavimu. Aptarti informacinio nutylėjimo priežastis ir poveikį Jurgeno Habermaso viešosios erdvės teorijos aspektu.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: informacinis nutylėjimas, propaganda, bendrasis kontekstas, žiniasklaida. Informative veiling: causes and consequencesMantas Martišius SummaryIn the modern society, the media play an important role. They not only inform, educate and provide entertainment, but also provide to the people the general context. Creating the news, the media shape the public agenda. The information provided by the media determine the quality of society’s discourse level and affect the political, economic, and social issues. The article theoretically proposes a new aspect of the examination, which is the information veiling. Informative veiling is an important information suppressing, which affects understanding of the context of general events. The information veiling can be intentional or accidental, but the effect will be the suppressing of important knowledge, data or facts and their unbalanced awareness. The purpose of the article is to examine analytically and theoretically the phenomenon of information veiling, linking it with propaganda and the context formation in general. In the deliberate or accidental information veiling, the result appears to be similar. Such information creates a weakly informed audience which is not using the valuable information for making the most effective decisions. If the public space is dominated by a large percentage of information veiling news, in society evolve myths, false assessments, and incorrect conclusions. In order to reduce the influence of information veiling, the audience should be careful as to the source of information and its expected effect. Examination of the media interest in the material reduces its propagandistic effect, and a more critical approach to the media coverage could reduce the information influence on the audience. On the other hand, we have to admit that it is a more idealistic approach rather than the reality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 192-197
Author(s):  
Tamara Sabelnykova ◽  
◽  
Olga Novikova ◽  

The article considers the life of the Galician rural community of the early twentieth century, reflected in the works of Vasyl Stefanyk, the embodiment of the writer’s socio-political views. The spiritual foundations of the public rural system, which exist in the people’s consciousness at the genetic level and which act as a regulator and a reliable guardian of public order, have been analyzed. The authors trace how the new socio-political conditions cause changes in public life and what role the educated intelligentsia plays in these processes. In order to lead the people, it is necessary to understand them, to inspire their trust. Fiction is first and foremost an art. In the article, the writer’s ideas are presented through the interpretation of full-length, relief images, artistic details that express his ideas about the rural community. V. Stefanyk is an expressionist, so he portrays a person in extreme situations, in moments of the highest emotional tension, with a naked soul. This style of writing allows the author to achieve the maximum level of truthfulness. As a result, it was noted that at the beginning of the twentieth century there were traditions of collective solution of social problems in Ukraine, peasants sought to develop through education to improve their lives, to learn to defend their rights. Communities also took care of national life: they honored national heroes who became national symbols, because it was clear that without a common cultural memory, the images of which acquire symbolic significance, it was difficult to unite the people. Thus, Ukrainians have long traditions of public life that were interrupted during Soviet totalitarianism, but now the people are gradually returning to them, especially at critical moments in history when it is necessary to unite to confront the threats to democracy. As you can see, socio-political life continues in a cultural context, which is often determined for it. In view of this, it is promising to study the reflection of society in Ukrainian artistic literature, which depicts being in its entirety and diversity.


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