Between Dialogue and Denunciation: The World Council of Churches, Religious Freedom, and Human Rights during the Cold War

While the historiography on the religious Cold War has tended to focus on Christian anticommunism, the World Council of Churches (WCC) sought to transcend the Cold War while simultaneously advancing religious freedom in the Soviet Union. This article connects the WCC's ecclesiastical diplomacy to the wider story of human rights, from which religion has too often been excluded. The WCC's quest for Christian fellowship led it to integrate the Russian Orthodox Church into its membership, but this commitment generated tensions with the rise of Soviet dissidence. Moreover, the WCC's turn towards the left and the Third World contrasted with newly ascendant voices for human rights in the 1970s: Amnesty International's depoliticised liberalism, evangelical anticommunism, and the Vatican under John Paul II. Thus, the WCC, an early and prominent transnational voice for human rights, ran afoul of shifts in both the Cold War and the politics of protest.

Popular cultural representations of postfeminist religiosity in the international christian fellowship: an analysis of the “Ladies Lounge 2021” webpage

Femininity and female gender roles in conservative religious environments are highly disputed topics both within communities of faith and in sociological discourse. In light of social transformations of gender perceptions in the past decades, conservative Christians have had to reevaluate traditional understandings of womanhood in societies that have become steeped in popular culture and thoroughly mediatized. Taking this development as a point of departure, this article examines how femininity is represented in the International Christian Fellowship, particularly on its “Ladies Lounge” webpage. Advertising an annual event geared exclusively towards women, the website’s landing page contains images and text that we examine by means of visual and textual sequence analysis. Our research results reveal that women are depicted as sensually attractive and self-confidently professional while at the same time being relegated to an exclusively female sphere within (but not beyond) which they wield authority and influence. As such, femininity is represented as self-empowering, but only within a specific, postfeminist framework. This ambivalent depiction of women’s agency challenges conservative Evangelical values at the same time as it affirms them. In this sense, the study contributes the growing body of literature on gender and Evangelicalism.

Playing Second Fiddle- Harmony Or Timidity?!

In Playing Second Fiddle, Frances vividly narrates how as a female, one can still play a significant and fulfilling role as the sacrificial lamb or ‘second fiddle’ that can eventually open doors for other females to excel or succeed! Using many biblical examples, Frances shows how significant accomplishments occurred through many people who played second fiddle (cannon fodder) roles such as John the Baptist for Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world; Andrew for Peter who later became the ‘rock’ among the disciples of Jesus; or Barnabas for John Mark who became the author of the first gospel in the bible. In her life experience, she was the first visibly Christian Fellowship female to serve as a Hall President in Africa Hall, the only female and only student to complete a pioneering M.Sc. programme in Pharmaceutical Chemistry as well as the first established Ghanaian female lecturer in the then Faculty of Pharmacy (now Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences). Focusing on female leadership in KNUST and in the Pharmacy Profession, the author cites the instance of at least four females including her, (and myself) who were nominated for the post of Pro-Vice-Chancellor in KNUST, but none got elected for the position. Eventually, the next female nominated for the position after her turn was successfully elected and moved on to be elected as the Vice-Chancellor! Apparently, some people must act as sacrificial lambs or forerunners (cannon fodders) for the ultimate to be realized! Her experiences in the pharmacy profession also tell the same story: although the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has been in existence for about 85 years, no female has been elected President. The closest is the Vice-President position of which she was the first among the three that have so far been elected; with the hope that eventually a female president will one day emerge! The book concludes with some useful advice to all females who may aspire for leadership positions in the Ghanaian society: such as being assertive, but with decorum; working hard, encouraging and mentoring others, etc. in order to succeed.

Epilogue

In the mid-twentieth century leading scholars such as Reinhold Niebuhr or David Riesman wrote off conservative evangelical education as fading. William McLoughlin also saw the new revival movements as ephemeral. Billy Graham and Carl Henry had ambitions to start a major university around 1960 but did not have the resources. Wheaton College in Illinois, the leading ex-fundamentalist college, began to rise academically despite the anti-intellectualism of its tradition. Calvin College had been an ideologically isolated Reformed school but by the 1960s had produced leading Christian philosophers. Intervarsity Christian Fellowship helped raise consciousness regarding strong scholarship, and by 2000 the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities had grown to over one hundred schools with well-trained faculties. Like-minded Christian scholars founded their own academic societies. Baylor University became an intentionally Christian research university. Evangelical Protestant and Catholic scholars often cooperated. Despite many challenges, distinctly Christian scholars could hold their own in twenty-first-century academia.

PERANAN KAUM AWAM DALAM PELAYANAN GEREJA

Ungkapan ”persekutuan Roh” dalam Filipi 2:1 bisa berarti persekutuan dengan Roh yang dimungkinkan oleh Roh Kudus sendiri. Gagasan Perjanjian Baru tentang persekutuan ini sering kali tidak dipahami secara benar, akibatnya kabur, ada orang yang terlalu menekankan persekutuan vertikal (kepada Allah) saja dan kurang menekankan segi persekutuan horizontalnya (sesama), demikian sebaliknya, sehingga tidak heran kalau sewaktu-waktu timbul kesenjangan. Padahal keduanya tidak dapat dipisahkan satu dengan yang lain. Kuduanya sama-sama penting dalam pengertian koinonia yang benar. Abineno menambahkan bahwa: Persekutuan itu mengandung realitas yaitu partisipasi dalam Roh Kudus dan persekutuan seorang akan yang lain. Oleh sebab itu bila dikatakan bahwa kita mendapat realitas Roh Kudus melalui Firmannya, maka kita juga mendapat bagian dalam persekutuan dengan sesama anggota jemaat lainnya.[1] Dengan demikian tidak ada tempat untuk hidup secara individual. Persekutuan Kristen diciptakan oleh Roh Kudus, itu berarti bahwa seluruh anggota berpusat pada Roh Kudus yang adalah merupakan gambaran gereja yang benar. Anggota persekutuan adalah orang-orang yang telah dipanggil untuk hidup dalam kasih karunia dengan penuh ketaatan. Harus diakui bahwa ada banyak perdebatan yang menyangkut persekutuan Roh ini, namun yang jelas bahwa dimensi vertikal tetap merupakan dasar untuk gagasan koinonia. Koinonia dalam gereja haruslah dimulai dengan persekutuan dengan Roh Kudus. The phrase "fellowship of the Spirit" in Philippians 2: 1 can mean fellowship with the Spirit made possible by the Holy Spirit himself. The New Testament idea about community is often not understood correctly, the consequences are blurred, there are people who overemphasize vertical alliance (to God) and do not emphasize the horizontal community (others), and vice versa, so it is not surprising that at any time the gap arises. Though both can not be separated from one another. The hilt is equally important in the correct understanding of Koinonia. Abineno added that: Fellowship contains reality, namely participation in the Holy Spirit and fellowship of one another. Therefore if we say that we get the reality of the Holy Spirit through his Word, then we also get a part in fellowship with other fellow church members. Thus there is no place to live individually. Christian fellowship is created by the Holy Spirit, it means that all members are centered on the Holy Spirit which is a true picture of the church. Fellowship members are people who have been called to live gracefully in obedience. It must be admitted that there are many debates concerning the fellowship of the Spirit, but it is clear that the vertical dimension remains the basis for the Koinonia idea. The Koinonia in the church must begin with fellowship with the Holy Spirit.