Nature’s Perfection: Aristotle and Descartes on Motion and Purpose

Descartes holds that, insofar as nature is a purposeless, unthinking, extended substance, there could be no final causes in physics. Descartes’ derivation of his three laws of motion from the perfections of God thus underwrites a rejection of Aristotle’s conception of natural self-motion and teleology. Aristotle derived his conception of the purposeful action of sublunar creatures from his notion that superlunar bodies are perfect, eternal, living beings, via the thesis that circular motion is more complete or perfect than rectilinear motion. Descartes’ reduction of circular motion to rectilinear motion, achieved through his theological foundation of the laws of motion, thus marks a crucial break from Aristotle’s philosophy of nature. This paper argues that the shift from the Aristotelian conception of nature as self-moving and teleological to the Cartesian conception of nature as purposeless and inert, is not an empirical discovery but is rooted in differing conceptions of where perfection lies in nature.

KESETARAAN GENDER DAN MEMBERDAYAKAN KAUM PEREMPUAN SESUAI DENGAN AJARAN IMAN KRISTEN

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).

JABATAN GEREJAWI DAN PERAN PEREMPUAN DALAM PELAYANAN GEREJA

The issues on gender seems as a kettle of fish, as complicated as human being in live. It is not an independent problem that stands alone, but rather be related to the humanity issues. A kind of causal factors that contribute toward the gender discrimination is religion (theology-red). Some of theology paradigm was build and influenced by gender refracrion. The Bibile is the source of princip and consist of Christianity foundational of faith, but it ought to be realize that the Bible also be made as the theological foundation that potentially seems in mistake viewpoint. Human of course are easily missed. It means that, human could be mistaken on theirself comprehension; finally there will be appear some of refractions in theology

A.B. Simpson’s Fourfold Gospel in the Evangelical Church of Vietnam: A Study of Selective Theological Assimilation

The officially distinctive mark of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) is the Fourfold Gospel emblem. It is inherited from A.B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), through the teaching of C&MA missionaries in Vietnam. However, ECVN adapted some of the teachings and reinterpreted the symbols in the Vietnamese context. The reason is that the assimilation of the Fourfold Gospel to the ECVN’s theology has been selected through a fundamentalistic perspective and a serious uneasiness about Pentecostalism, and hence, it has become disconnected from its original theological foundation.

Apocalyptic Ethics, End-Time Christians, and the Storming of the US Capitol

This article argues that an apocalyptic interpretation of divine revelation provides the theological foundation for discerning the appropriate space for human life to thrive. This apocalyptic theological ethic is contrasted with that of end-time Christians who have supported Donald Trump as God’s chosen one and who joined the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. It contrasts five features of apocalyptic thinking for both groups: (1) expectation of the end of the world, (2) ethics, (3) Christ, nation, and the first commandment (4) Christians and Jews, and (5) the cross. While the article seeks to give a fair description of the beliefs of end-time Christians, it argues that their beliefs have taken a heretical and dangerous turn.

Pemberdayaan Kaum Miskin Sebagai Panggilan Gereja terhadap Masalah Kemiskinan

This article aims to analyze empowerment measures as a church calling on the poverty problems faced by the people.These problems cover various aspects of life, namely education, health, economy and infrastructure including transportation, housing and drinking water.This research uses qualitative methods with interview techniques, observation, documentation, and literature study.The results of the study found that the people of Siahari hamlet experienced poverty in absolute and relative terms.Therefore, in the task and calling of the church, GPM is called to empower people by referring to the theological foundation of Christian faith. In addition, the church can also build cooperation with the government so that empowerment actions can be carried out holistically and produce change for them. AbstrakArtikel ini bertujuan menganalisis tindakan pemberdayaan sebagai panggilan gereja terhadap masalah kemiskinan yang dihadapi oleh umat. Masalah tersebut mencakup berbagai aspek kehidupan, yakni pendidikan, kesehatan, ekonomi dan infrastruktur yang meliputi transportasi, perumahan, dan air minum. Penelitianini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan teknik wawancara, observasi, dokumenasi, dan studi pustaka.Hasil penelitian menemukan bahwa masyarakat dusun Siahari mengalami kemiskinan secara absolut dan relatif.Oleh sebab itu, dalam tugas dan panggilan gereja maka GPM terpanggil untuk memberddayakan umat dengan mengacu pada landasan teologis iman Kristen. Selain itu, gereja juga dapat membangun kerja sama dengan pemerintah agar tindakan pemberdayaan dapat dilakukan secara holistik dan menghasilkan perubahan bagi mereka.

Corruption, Ritualism and Prophetic Role of the Catholic Church

This interdisciplinary study attempts to relate corruption with the Catholic Church's role as the moral and social critics that compel believers to participate in confronting corruption and bribery. The interdisciplinarity is also the method applied in the study. It includes an exposition of the economic data of the GDP, its theological interpretation based on the story of Naboth and the king in the Old Testament, and strategic action field theory. The article begins with widespread corruption in ASEAN, then continues with a theological foundation for believers’ role as guardians of moral and social values. The Church, however, faces ritualism and religious formalism that cause faith values do not influence to eradicate corruption. Finally, by implementing the social study of Strategic Action Field (SAFs) theory, the paper proposes an anti-corruption movement as a strategic action for the Catholic Church to tackle corruption. The study found that the social study of Strategic Action Field (SAFs) theory allows the Church to develop the anti-corruption movement as the strategic action to create pastoral works to tackle corruption

Missionale ekklesiologie in die Afrikaanse gereformeerde kerke sedert 1990

Missional ecclesiology in the Afrikaans reformed churches since 1990This article argues that “missional ecclesiology” in the last decades became a new mission paradigm for churches in South Africa, especially after the demise of apartheid. After an overview of the development of a “missio Dei” theology, the article examines texts from various South African churches in which this terminology is used. The article concludes with a section which underlines the importance of missional ecclesiology in the context of the local congregation. Congregations are seen as “missional”, challenged to be present in local communities as a living witness to God’s love. Missional ecclesiology has its theological foundation in the “missio Dei”. In missional ecclesiology, mission is understood as part of the nature of God as well as the nature of the church. Without mission there is no church. Mission is not a project, it is existential. However, there are diverse interpretations of “missio Dei”, “missional ecclesiology” and “mission” itself. As a result, many congregations find it difficult to identify with missional ecclesiology and enter a process of transformation. The historical analysis presented here contributes to a better understanding of the terminology as well as the challenges facing churches in the 21st century.

Catholic Social Teaching and Human Trafficking in War and Natural Disasters

This essay examines Catholic social teaching in the context of human trafficking in South Asia during armed conflict and natural disasters. Using a see-judge-act framework to construct the argument, this paper is focused on finding ways to narrow the gaps in these efforts. The gaps occur horizontally when individual issues become isolated from a larger effort, failing to recognize that many challenges are symptoms of a larger problem. The gaps also occur vertically, with the divide between theory and practice. The Church, including religious and lay actors, can diminish the threat and damage from human trafficking through a comprehensive implementation of Catholic social teaching that has a theological foundation and is conscious of the relevant cultural factors.

Ökumenische Performance

This paper aims to explore both the textual performance and the cultural transfer of the Word of God from a Protestant (Christian Hild) and Catholic perspective (Juan Rego). Building on Pope Benedict XVI’s post-synodal apostolical exhortation Verbum Domini (§ 53), the variety of ritual performances of the Word will be analysed in terms of an “ecumenical performance” in order to explore the common theological foundation of both confessions