Being an Authentic Christian: an Analysis Based on The Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard emphasis the importance of each individual being an authentic person. In his works, he gives an overview and direction to become an authentic person. Realizing whether someone authentically is not easy. Nowadays, I see many Christians who do not really live their lives as a Christian. The focus of this research is to present Kierkegaard's view on the criteria of an authentic Christian. The method used is a critical reading analysis of Kierkegaard's works (particularly Purity of Heart and The Sickness unto Death), previous research studies, observations, and interviews with several individuals. The author finds six criteria about authentic Christian individuals, namely: (1) Living in repentance, (2) Personal relationship with God, (3) Fear of God, (4) Willingness to suffer, (5) Being a loving person, and (6) Living in silence.

KERAJINAN PERAK TINJAUAN PADA PROSES DAN MAKNA SIMBOLIS ORNAMEN DI HOME INDUSTRY DI KOTO GADANG

AbstrakTulisan ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui secara mendalam dan mendeskripsikan tentang kerajinan perak pada home Industry di Koto Gadang ditinjau dari proses dan makna simbolis ornamen dengan metode diskriptif kualitatif. Tulisan ini dengan obyeknya difokuskan pada permasalahan yang berkaitan dengan proses dan makna simbolis ornamen. Data yang diperoleh menggunakan metode observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi dari beberapa sumber informan yang kompeten sesuai bidangnya. Keabsahan data diperoleh melalui ketekunan pengamatan, triangulasi metode dan sumber. Hasil tulisan ini adalah: (1) Proses pekerjaan (meliputi; persiapan alat dan bahan), proses dasar, (meliput; memadukan perak), pembuatan ornamen (meliputi; sket, desain, pembuatan mal, dan penaikan perak), teknik (meliputi; patri, tempa dan jalin.). (2) Makna simbolis ornamen terdapat 3 bentuk yaitu ornamen utama, pelengkap dan isian. Ornamen utama yaitu ornamen bunga mawar (melambangkan cinta kasih), ornamen pelengkap meliputi; ornamen bunga melati (melambangkan kesucian hati), ornamen bunga matahari (melambangkan kehidupan), ornamen daun asam (melambangkan kelengkapan kesempurnaan), ornamen rago/bola juga (melambangkan adanya penyatuan jalan dan roda kehidupan yang bergerak dinamis), ornamen bunga cengkeh (melambangkan kekuatan, keberkahan, kemakmuran, dan keagungan), ornamen burung (melambangkan kegagahan dan kelembutan), ornamen daun nangka (melambangkan kemegahan), dan relung (melambangkan kesetiaan).Kata Kunci: makna, proses, simbolis ornamen, perak.AbstractThis paper aims to find out in depth and describe about silver handicrafts in the home industry in Koto Gadang in terms process and symbolic meaning of ornament. This research is a qualitative descriptive research with the object of research on silver crafts. The research is focused on problems related to the process and symbolic meaning of ornament. The data obtained uses the method of observation, interviews, and documentation from several competent informant sources according to their fields. The validity of the data was obtained through persistence of observations, triangulation of methods and sources. The results of this study are: (1) the work process, includes: work process (including: preparation of tools and materials), basic process (includes: blending silver), ornament making (including: sketch, design, mall making, and silver raising), technique (including: solder, forge, and braid). (2) There are 3 forms of symbolic meaning, namely main ornament, complementary, and stuffing. The main ornament is a rose ornament (symbolizing love), complementary ornaments (include: jasmine flower ornaments (symbolizing purity of heart), ornament sunflower (symbolizes life), Asam leaf ornament (symbolizes completeness of perfection), the rago/ball ornament also (symbolizes the unification of the road and the moving wheel of life), clove flower ornamental (symbolizes strength, blessings, prosperity and greatness) Bird ornament (symbolizes grace and tenderness), jackfruit leaf ornament (symbolizes splendor), niche (symbolizes loyalty). .Keywords: meaning, process, symbolic's ornament, silversmith..

Asceticism before Monasticism

Christian asceticism began not in the desert or other monastic settings, but within the urban churches of the first three centuries. Teachings attributed to Christ and the Apostles, together with older beliefs from Judaism and Greek philosophy, variously influenced patterns of communal and individual asceticism: abstention from foods, sexual relations, and wealth. Communal fasting was practised weekly by many, and by most before the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection. Literature, especially the apocryphal Acts, celebrated or advocated sexual abstention, but the relationship between these texts and social practices remains opaque. Widows and virgins were honoured for their sexual renunciation, which strengthened the purity of heart essential for prophecy and prayer. However, in the mid-third century Origen offered a highly persuasive account of asceticism within the individual’s struggle for holiness, and it was this struggle which was finally carried into the desert and the cloister.

Justification to Others

Prichard posed the question of whether there was a reason for persons to take on the obligations of morality. Scanlon offers a distinctive contractualist answer to this question, which is based on the notion of what it is reasonable for persons to act on as moral duties. It is useful to contrast Scanlon’s theory will John Stuart Mill’s conception of sanctions. For Scanlon, by contrast with Mill, there is no need to appeal to a special psychological element to explain how a person could be moved to moral action. The motivation is adequately captured in the idea of external reasons, which derive from the social relations in which persons stand to one another. This is not intended as a reply to the egoist, but as an account of what moves people to act morally. Scanlon has to assume a thesis of ‘purity of heart’ akin to that of Rawls, and this is implausible. A useful way of understanding Scanlon’s approach is via the idea of relative necessity, where the necessity is relative to the code of a particular society. However, understood in this way, Scanlon’s thesis is vulnerable to the fact that some societies have deep divisions, in which there is no coherent and agreed moral code. Yet, there can still be justice between strangers.

CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE OF HEART PURITY IN THE HORIZON OF "HERMENEUTICS OF CARE"

This article interprets the Christian discourse of purity of heart in the context of the importance of care as a hermeneutic method. The key aspects of this discourse have been identified and studied in the doctrine of purity of heart in connection with the question of caring for the dignity of the individual as an image and likeness of God. The main functions of the heart as an essential factor in the constitution of the inner world of the individual and its intentional directions are identified and analyzed. The main focus of this study is on the Christian doctrine of purity of heart in the face of a situation of spiritual impurity that defiles the honor and dignity of the individual. It is proved that the opposition of purity / impurity is not limited to the ethical dimension, it contains in its content a metaphysical discourse, which indicates a sharp contradiction between the ideal of the integrity of the individual and its phenomenal manifestation in a state of splitting. The concern for the constitution of the ideal personality is traced through the actualization of spiritual acts of purification from attachment to worldly values ​​(aspect of spiritual freedom), filling the inner world of the individual with divine values ​​(aspect of axiological acquisition) and protecting the inner world from spiritual impurity (aspect of spiritual control). The study of the Christian doctrine of purity of heart is made taking into account the understanding of its content and mechanisms of construction. Its basis is determined by an organic combination of theistic and personalist discourses. The complex picture of the interweaving of various discursive mechanisms is reconstructed and the role of metaphysical, ethical, aesthetic, ascetic approaches in the conceptualization of the doctrine of purity of heart is analyzed. Concern for the purity of the heart is assessed as an essential condition and means of personalization, which affirms the values ​​of spiritual freedom (from the state of impurity of the inner world of man) and transcendence as the elevation of personality in the direction of divine-spiritual orientation.

Canti prophani by Sabin Pautza: innocent child’s play illustrated through elaborate composition play

Composer Sabin Pautza’s creation, of a style diversity that is rare in the contemporary landscape of Romanian music, stands out through its effervescence and colourfulness, backed by the extraordinary mastery of writing techniques. The work we are referring to in this article, Canti prophani, is a vocal-symphonic suite written for a children’s choir. The suite includes three contrasting miniatures (fast-slow-fast), united through their motif, Maico, Maico..., Dalbe flori and Dimineața ziua bună, representing a translation into music language of the main features of childhood games: repetitive action, rhythm, word play. In terms of language, the children’s choir is assigned only the pure sonority of diatonic modes, while the orchestra overlays harmonic and polyphonic structures that are much more elaborate. The lay character of the lyrics, underlined in the suite’s title, shifts the emphasis from the religious area to that of purity of heart and of sincere joy, the focus being on the high emotions around the feast of Christmas. This brief analytical examination will only highlight the main approaches to the sound material, looking at both archaic influences and at the modern composition techniques, as well as at the manner in which the two blend together. The actual thread that binds all three sections of this work, the image of the mother, occurs everywhere, as the mother is invoked throughout the length of the three parts.