‘The wrath of God on children of disobedience’

The arrival of pandemic diseases (of which COVID-19 is the latest, but not likely to be the last) could be understood, along with impending ecological disaster and global warming, to be the major existential threats envisioned by, and facing, our contemporary culture. This article focuses on the use made of the theme of COVID-19 in the theology and ideology of the Westboro Baptist Church – a Calvinist and Primitive Baptist church founded in Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s by Fred Phelps Sr (1929–2014). While numerically small, the church has become infamous through its practice of picketing funerals, and has been characterized as a hate group espousing antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ positions. Through a reading and analysis of sermons and other published materials from the Westboro Baptist Church, the article maps the motif of COVID-19 as it is used by a church whose members perceive themselves as the heralds of an angry God.

Constructions of Moral Values in Reader Comments of the Samantha Sex Robot Discourse in East African Newspapers

Although artificial intelligence (ai) has been touted as revolutionary, this technology has sparked ethical concerns, with man accused of attempting to create a ‘play God’ with it. While creators of sex robots have been hailed for reigniting sexual relationships, they have received flack in equal measure for their apparent moral absurdity. From a Christian values perspective, this study interrogates how the Samantha sex robot invention was framed in 129 online reader comments in two East African newspapers – The Standard and The Daily Monitor. Findings showed that comments fell under the value themes of ‘family bond’, ‘compromised conscience’, and ‘apocalypse’. While a few positioned sex robots as a panacea to domestic instability, the majority opinion viewed the robots as ‘destroyers’ of the God-ordained family unit and tools of dehumanizing women, and thus morally contradictory to Christian teachings. Justifying sex robots was considered to be ‘negotiating’ or ‘rationalizing’ with established Christian values and therefore ‘rebelling against God’. Man’s extremity with the creation and use of sex robots sparked predictions of a self-fulfilling prophecy of his extermination for inciting the wrath of God. The preservation of culture also underpinned the ethical evaluations of robots by some commenters.

Contextual interpretation of COVID-19 pandemic among public space users in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria: An ethnographic review

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all dimensions of lives and has become a social problem as it continues to spread widely through the continuous interactions of people in public spaces where they earn a living. Curbing the spread of COVID-19 requires restrictions in these public spaces, however, the compliance to these measures depends largely on the understanding and interpretations of COVID 19 by users of these public spaces. This study examined the contextual interpretations of public space users about COVID-19 prevention in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State. The study was a rapid ethnographic survey in selected public spaces (markets and commercial motor parks) in Ibadan metropolis. Data were collected through participant observation, key informant interviews (3 females; 3 males) and in-depth interviews (30) with, traders, head porters, clients/buyers and commercial vehicle drivers in these public spaces. Interviews conducted were transcribed, sorted into themes using Atlas-ti 7.5.7 and subjected to interpretive-content analysis. Findings revealed that some respondents felt COVID-19 was brought into Nigeria by rich frequent global voyagers, others felt it was through “uncultured” sexual life or wrath of God. Some also doubted the existence of the disease and many of the respondents perceived COVID-19 as a disease reported by the government or a political propaganda to siphon funds. The users of the public spaces in Ibadan Metropolis have variegated perception about the existence and severity of this rapidly spreading virus and this has grave implications for COVID-19 control in the State. Thus, regular interaction with public space users are essential for control efforts.

Judgment and Mercy: Spurgeon’s Preaching of Hell

Charles Spurgeon contended and demonstrated that clear warnings concerning the coming wrath of God are an essential element of biblical preaching. A survey of published sermons provides a taste of such preaching, from his earliest days in Waterbeach to his later sermons in London. This lays the groundwork for assessing some of the particular features of Spurgeon’s preaching of judgment and mercy, including its clarity, vividness, frequency, and consistency, arising out of a sense of duty, with real compassion and grace. While the examples themselves are illuminating, Spurgeon’s instruction and exhortation also prompt today’s preachers and hearers to consider whether we have achieved anything of a Christlike emphasis and tone on this too-often-overlooked element of faithful gospel ministry. KEYWORDS: Charles Spurgeon, hell, judgment, wrath, mercy, Christ, preaching, damnation, grace, ministry

Factors Associated with COVID-19 Low Risk perception among urban dwellers in Malawi

Introduction: Malawians have yet to broadly adopt COVID-19 mitigation measures despite having overwhelming evidence about its infectivity, morbidity, and fatality. Understanding why the general population is not proactive in reducing the spread of this illness is critical to learning how to address this issue. This study explores Malawian COVID-19 risk perception and the associated constraints in the adoption of mitigations. A Health Belief Model (HBM) approach was used to understand factors that undermine COVID-19 messages to achieve behavior change.Methods: The study applied a rapid appraisal and photovoice methodology in this qualitative inquiry to better understand individual risk perception regarding COVID-19. We selected 33 participants from three major cities in Malawi. We transcribed verbatim audio interviews and videos. Transcripts were coded manually to derive key themes and concepts. Results: Religious and political beliefs strongly influenced COVID-19 risk perception. Critical religious factors included the coming of Christ, the wrath of God, and the coming of the beast. Politically, participants believed that COVID-19 lockdown measures were a ploy by the ruling party to remain in power.Conclusion: The study suggests that religious beliefs and political environment undermine self-perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 among urban dwellers in Malawi. We recommend that diverse actors in Malawi should collaborate to promote the dissemination of accurate COVID-19 discourses and reduce the severity of the pandemic’s impact on the Malawi populous.

IVAN HNATIUK’S POETIC TRILOGY IN THE EARLY 1990S: WHY DIDN’T UKRAINE HEAR THE PROPHET OF THE ‘NEW CHRONOLOGY’?

The poetry books by I. Hnatiuk, edited in independent Ukraine, are especially valuable due to the first publication of his poems written in prison. He appeared in front of the reader in his true poetic self, without distortion of censorship, only in the 1990s — in a kind of poetical trilogy beginning with the collection “New calculus of time” (Kyiv, 1990). Three poetry books from the early 1990s — “New calculus of time”, “Via Dolorosa” and “True Revenge” — contain the restored early lyrics and poems of the author prisoner. I. Hnatiuk introduced into Ukrainian poetry the topics and issues related to the crimes of Stalin’s tyranny, the national resistance movement, and the threats of imperial aggression from Moscow in the time of Ukrainian independence. Hnatiuk never announced any prophecies of the expected ‘happy future’ in the new Ukraine, although the collections had a distinct prophetic orientation. The poems of the 1980s and 1990s were also presented, including the cycles brought to life by the Chornobyl disaster. The poet perceived the man-made environmental catastrophe as the last ‘wrath of God’, ‘the deadly tornado’ of the atomic Apocalypse. The evident journalistic component of the three-volume collection requires deeper reading and study in the context of the post-Soviet literature. Based on the classical poetic means and great verse epic forms, the poet created a new expressive type of the lyrical character — the persistent and uncompromising martyr of the Soviet concentration camp. According to the author of the paper, the unsubstantiated evaluations of Hnatiuk’s works as graphomania can be easily refuted by examples of his unique mastery and free command of the word.

Aguirre, Caché, and Creating Anti-Colonialist Puzzles

This chapter explores the anti-colonial narrative potential of certain works of cinema taking Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Caché as a case in point. To do so, this chapter first and draws upon the theoretical and normative lens put forward by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak on the representation of the colonized other and her resulting political and intellectual call for self-reflection on one's privileged Western intellectual positioning. This lens has many normative implications for the ways in which the colonized subject and colonial history are discussed and represented. The partial lack of representation of the colonized other in Aguirre, the Wrath of God leaves the subjectivity of the colonizer in crisis and madness. Second, the narrative of Caché is explored and it is suggested that it resembles the rhetoric of Foucauldian disciplinary power of surveillance turned upside-down thus enforcing the complicit of colonialism to question her privilege.

Sejarah Penafsiran Ajaran Paulus Mengenai Pembenaran Oleh Iman

No one can be justified before God for doing good deeds. No matter how good a man is, if he does not believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, he will not be saved from the wrath of God to come. There is no human being who is right before God, and no sinful man can save himself in any way. The only way out is in the way that God has given to the problem of all sinners, by sending Jesus Christ to the world to die for sinners. "And for this he came, so that every man believed in him, who was sent by God" (John 6:29). The Bible teaches that salvation is only obtained because of faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the object of that faith. This salvation is known as the statement "Justified by faith. Paul explained this teaching in each of his writings. This teaching of justification by faith has been repeatedly denied by some people who disagree with Paul's opinion. The history of the church from the early centuries to the present has proven the variety of understandings that have emerged from this teaching, but one important thing is that sinful humans are justified by their faith in Jesus Christ before God.Keywords: Paul;history; justified by faith.AbstrakTidak ada seorang pun yang dapat dibenarkan di hadapan Allah karena telah melakukan perbuatan baik. Sebaik apa pun manusia, jika dia tidak percaya kepada Yesus Kristus, Anak Allah maka ia tidak akan selamat dari murka Allah yang akan datang. Tidak ada seorang pun manusia yang benar di hadapan Allah, dan tidak ada seorang manusia berdosa yang dapat menyelematkan dirinya sendiri dengan cara apa pun. Satu-satunya jalan keluar adalah dengan cara yang Allah telah berikan untuk masalah semua orang berdosa, yaitu dengan mengutus Yesus Kristus ke dunia untuk mati bagi orang berdosa. “Dan untuk itulah Dia datang, yaitu supaya setiap orang percaya kepada Dia, yang telah diutus oleh Allah” (Yohanes 6:29). Alkitab mengajarkan bahwa keselamatan hanya diperoleh karena iman kepada Yesus Kristus. Yesus Kristus adalah obyek iman tersebut. Keselamatan ini dikenal dengan pernyataan “Dibenarkan karena iman. Paulus menjelaskan ajaran ini dalam setiap tulisannya. Ajaran pembenaran oleh iman ini telah berulang kali disangkal oleh beberap orang yang tidak setuju dengan pendapat Paulus. Sejarah gereja mulai dari abad permulaan sampai pada masa sekarang ini telah membuktikan beragamnya pemahaman yang muncul terhadap ajaran ini, namun satu hal yang terpenting adalah bahwa manusia berdosa dibenarkan oleh iman mereka kepada Yesus Kristus di hadapan Allah.Kata Kunci: Paulus; sejarah; iman; dibenarkan oleh iman.