Christian Mindfulness and Mental Health: Coping through Sacred Traditions and Embodied Awareness

Mindfulness is increasingly implemented as a tool in mental health practice for coping and self-care. Some Christians worry that these practices might be in conflict with their own tradition, while other Christian contexts are reclaiming the contemplative aspects of the faith. Though clinicians are not trained to teach on religious topics and ethically must avoid pushing religion onto clients, conceptualization and research extend the benefits of mindfulness practices for religious clients. This paper will discuss the evidence for using mindfulness in mental health treatment and connect mindfulness to the Christian tradition. The authors explore how intentional awareness and embodiment of the present moment are supported in Christian theology through the incarnation of Jesus and God’s attention of the physical body in the Christian scriptures. The authors also discuss how sacraments and prayer naturally overlap with mindfulness practices for the dual purposes of emotional healing and spiritual growth. To bolster the benefits of mindfulness in the psychological and religious realms, the purpose of this paper is to empower therapists to address client concerns of whether mindfulness is in conflict with Christianity, support clients in expanding current Christian religious coping, and provide Christian leaders with more information about how mindfulness elements are already present in Christian rituals and beliefs.

Because We Are Christian and Filipino

As part of his campaign against criminality, President Duterte has called for the reinstatement of the death penalty in the Philippines. Its most vocal supporters are evangelical and independent Christian leaders and lawmakers. Although a religious minority, these entities are politically influential. In this article we show that they support the death penalty because they are Christian and Filipino. They articulate their support in two respects: it is biblical and it must be administered on heinous crimes for the sake of innocent people. We unpack these statements in terms of a religious citizenship that disregards the reality of religious diversity in Philippine society.

Dilema Kepemimpinan Kristen, Tuhan atau atasan?

This paper aims to examine and describe the nature of dedicated Christian leadership and to explore the essential elements of servanthood leadership. To serve is one of the most basic substances of Jesus' work. The problem of Christian leadership today is when leaders lose the character of Christ and are trapped in manipulating the name of Christianity or the church for the sake of his/her power. Methodically, this research refers to the leadership patterns of figures in the Old and New Testaments, with the support of literature studies that discuss Christian leadership discourse. Jesus displaying his leadership as a critique towards the misgovern leader who can only tells order, same as the authoritarian leadership, those who reigning over the official or government employee by own wish or merely by his/her desire. If so, it means that the leader's character humiliates even corrupts his/her own leadership. In all conscience, the leader is a minister to his/her follower's needs; to serve with love, humility, and forgiveness. The result of this study emphasizes that Christian leaders who want to grow up should simply be like Jesus, great leaders originally ought to serve others first, thus in plain reality, the core of his/her leadership will be visible in greatness. Tulisan ini hendak mengkaji dan menguraikan hakikat kepemimpinan Kristen yang mengabdi, dan mencari tahu unsur esensial dari kepemimpinan yang mengabdi. Mengabdi/melayani adalah sebuah unsur yang sangat mendasar dalam kepemimpinan Yesus. Problem kepemimpinan Kristen masa kini adalah ketika pemimpin kehilangan karakter Kristus, dan justru terjebak mengatasnamakan kekristenan dan gereja untuk kepentingan kekuasaan. Secara metodik, penelitian ini merujuk pola kepemimpinan tokoh dalam Perjanjian Lama dan Perjanjian Baru, dengan dukungan studi kepustakaan yang membahas wacana kepemimpinan Kristen. Yesus memberikan kritik pada kepemimpinan yang bersifat memerintah pengikut, menempatkan pimpinan sebagai bos yang harus selalu diikuti perkataan dan kehendaknya dan tidak memberikan teladan benar. Karakter pemimpin yang demikian merusak dan merendahkan wibawa eksistensi dari kepemimpinan. Seorang pemimpin adalah pelayan bagi pengikutnya. Melayani dgn kasih dan pengampunan. Hasil pengkajian ini menandaskan bahwa seharusnya pemimpin Kristen yang mau besar, mula-mula harus melayani orang lain, dan bahwa kenyataan yg sederhana ini merupakan inti kebesaran-Nya sebagai seorang pemimpin

Pemuridan dan Kepemimpinan sebuah Perspektif dari Pendidikan Kristen

Abstrak: Pemuridan sangat berkaitan erat dengan kepemimpinan. Pemuridan bagi kepemimpinan sangat bermakna karena sangat terbukti efektif guna mempersiapkan, menghasilkan dan membentuk pemimpin Kristen menuju serupa Yesus. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi pustaka. Langka awal adalah dengan mempelajari konsep pemuridan dan kepemimpinan Kristen. Langkah berikutnya adalah dengan melakukan analisis tentang dampak bahaya dan dampak positif adanya praktik pemuridan dalam kekristenan bagi kepemimpinan. Langkah terakhir adalah merumuskan makna dan implikasi pemuridan bagi kepemimpinan sebagai perspektif dalam menyusun pola pendidikan pemimpin Kristen. Hasil penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa implikasi yang harus dilakukan dan dijalani dalam kehidupan sebagai respon dari penelitian pemuridan dan kepemimpinan ini bagi pola pengajaran dan pendidikan kaderisasi kepemimpinan Kristen, adalah: Pertama, Menjadi pemimpin Kristen yang efektif. Kedua, Pemimpin yang mencetak para pemimpin. Ketiga, Pemimpin yang berani bayar harga. Keempat, Pemimpin yang hidup dalam komunitas pemuridan. Kelima, Mengimplementasikan iman yang dipercayai.Abstract: Discipleship is closely related to leadership. Discipleship for leadership is very meaningful because it has proven effective in preparing, producing and shaping Christian leaders to be like Jesus. The research method used in this study is a qualitative method with a literature study approach. The first step is to learn the concepts of discipleship and Christian leadership. The next step is to conduct an analysis of the harmful and positive impacts of the practice of discipleship in Christianity for leadership. The final step is to formulate the meaning and implications of discipleship for leadership as a perspective in formulating the pattern of Christian leader education. The results of this study conclude that the implications that must be carried out and lived in life as a response to this discipleship and leadership research for the pattern of teaching and cadre education for Christian leadership are: First, Become an effective Christian leader. Second, Leaders who print leaders. Third, leaders who dare to pay the price. Fourth, Leaders who live in a community of discipleship. Fifth, implement the faith that is believed.

Perspektif Alkitab Tentang Kesetaraan Gender dan Implikasinya Bagi Pendidikan Agama Kristen

Gender equality is still an interesting issue to be discussed today. Most people, especially those living in various regions in Indonesia, still misinterpret this. Gender equality is seen as an act that puts women first. In Christian circles, this thought is caused by Christian leaders in the past who gave teachings about gender who had unfair treatment between men and women. To provide a solution to these problems, the author uses qualitative research with the literature study method. The author finds that, gender is a characteristic that can be exchanged between each other and can be shared by both. Allah distinguishes the sexes but does not differentiate between the roles of the two. Thus, PAK plays a vital role in building gender understanding in the family and community, especially in the field of education, and in the field of education. AbstrakKesetaraan gender masih menjadi isu menarik untuk diperbincangkan hingga saat ini. Sebagian besar masyarakat khususnya yang tinggal di berbagai wilayah di Indonesia, masih salah mengartikan hal tersebut. Kesetaraan gender seolah-olah dianggap sebagai tindakan menomorsatukan perempuan. Dalam lingkungan Kristen, pemikiran ini disebabkan karena adanya para tokoh Kristen di masa lalu yang memberikan ajaran tentang gender yang membuahkan perlakuan tidak adil antara laki-laki dengan perempuan. Untuk memberi solusi permasalahan tersebut, penulis menggunakan penelitian kualitatif dengan metode studi pustaka. Penulis menemukan bahwa, gender adalah sebuah karakteristik yang dapat saling dipertukarkan antara satu sama lain dan dapat dimiliki oleh keduanya. Allah membedakan jenis kelamin manusia tetapi tidak membedakan peran antara keduanya. Dengan demikian, PAK berperan penting untuk membangun pemahaman kesetaraan gender di dalam lingkungan keluarga, masyarakat khususnya di bidang pendidikan, dan di gereja.

Korelasi Positif Mengumpulkan Harta Di Surga Dengan Kerajaan Allah Di Kalangan Gembala Gereja Suara Kebenaran Injil

Many people are facing problems with money, including Christian Leaders. Problems appear when a pastor serves others in order to gain prosperity. This attitude caused his teachings by emphasizing a successful life. Wealthy tend to be a standard of success. Surely the prosperity Gospel is false because Jesus Christ taught His believers to gain spiritual wealth in Heaven by giving priority to the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:19-34). This lack of attitude occurred among the pastors of the Synod of the Bible’s Truthful Voice Church (abbreviated as GSKI). Therefore, this article aims to seek the correlation between the GSKI pastors' perception of the concept of gaining treasure in Heaven consider to the Kingdom of God. Using the Quantitative Method, Correlational type, the Hypothesis is tested with SPSS 20 application. The results showed that the attitude of seeking treasure in heaven is a pattern of life that is formed by the pastor motive who gives priority to serving God, the kingdom of God, and His righteousness simultaneously. Hence, this article contributes to the research on how to practice the Kingdom values.

Misuse of Religious titles by self-proclaimed spiritual leaders: Prophets, Apostles, and Popes in South Africa

In the world of religions, different religious officials are given different titles. Christianity as a religion in the world and in South Africa particularly, has been severely attacked by self proclaimed spiritual leaders who perform false miracles and abuse titles that have been respected by traditional mainstream churches for decades. These self-appointed spiritual leaders make utilization of these titles either through self-propagating or by accepting them when utilized upon them by their followers. This paper argues that self-appointed spiritual leaders' mere use of these revered religious titles cannot be justified within Christianity's framework. This paper offers a closer look at the literature regarding the use of religious titles such as Prophet, Apostle, and Pope. These religious titles remain very respectable within the Christian religion and are used to honour the role played by both biblical and contemporary Christian leaders. This paper makes three arguments; First, the age of the prophets was washed away by God's written Word in the Holy Bible, so those given this title should be pressed to prove the truthfulness of their prophecies beyond doubt. Second, apostles were those who were eye and ear witnesses to the teachings and resurrection of Jesus. Contemporary apostles must be compelled to defend their apostleship, as is the case in 2 Corinthians 11.Lastly, the title of Pope is traditionally bestowed upon the Catholic Bishop of Rome, the head bishop of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and other leaders of traditional ecclesial communities. In its entirety, this paper deals with the scientifically neglected aspect within the larger question of the regulation of religions in South Africa.

The Crusades in North Africa

Although Jerusalem was the ultimate target of many of the largest crusading expeditions during the medieval period, North Africa nonetheless played a crucial role in this movement. Following the establishment of the Crusader states at the end of the 11th century, Latin Christians clashed with the Fatimids of Egypt for regional control of the Levant and Nile River delta. This conflict gave way in the 13th century to the “Egyptian strategy,” through which crusaders thought the most likely way to retake Jerusalem was by attacking the rich and fertile lands of the Nile. The crusades of King Louis IX, which were directed at Egypt and Tunis, were motivated in part by the idea that seizing these lands in North Africa would ultimately lead to the reconquest of the Holy Land. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, crusading fervor reached the shores of North Africa via the Reconquista. Beginning in the 13th century and extending through the early modern period, Christian leaders in Iberia viewed campaigns in northwest Africa as an extension of their earlier repulsion of Muslims from the peninsula. These crusades, which were theorized as dynastic enterprises that served to both spread Christianity and expand the borders of empires, persisted into the 16th century as the papacy marshaled the assistance of European Christian powers against the Ottomans. The response of Muslim dynasties in North Africa to these expeditions was never uniform, as some preferred diplomacy with the aggressing Franks and others conflict. However, there gradually developed in the Islamic world the idea that a persistent jihad against Mediterranean-wide Frankish aggression was an appropriate response. The memory of medieval crusades was a particularly potent one in France, where Louis IX’s expeditions were evoked during France’s conquest of Algeria in the 19th century.