Kajian Biblika Makna Ibadah yang Murni dalam Yakobus 1:26-27 Dan Implikasinya Bagi Orang Percaya Masa Kini

Worship is an important part of the life of a believer. Worship cannot be replaced with anything in this life. Because worship is part of the lifestyle of every believer. When it comes to worship, it is immediately focused on the concept of praise, worship and listening to God’s Word in church buildings, retreats or commission services. This is not wrong; indeed, the essence of worship is to perform religious rituals to meet God. But there is something interesting in James 1:26-27 mention of true worship. In order to obtain accurate and accountable data, in this study authors used the method of writing descriptive literature. The purpose of this writing is Frist, to reveal and straighten out an incorrect understanding of a concept of worship according to the truth of God’s Word. Second, contribute to believers in thinking to be able to be role models in society. Third, it provides a nuance of the mindset of believers to reflect practical worship into a holistic form of service.

Menstrual Exclusions in Nepal: Some Evidence of Transition

There is a long history of menstrual restrictions, stigmas and taboos across nearly all religions, regions and cultures. The origins of myths and misconceptions have often been linked to various religious texts and women were prohibited from participating in normal life while menstruating. Culturally, in many parts of the world, menstruation is still considered ‘dirty’ and ‘impure’, although this is not true. Menstruation is often associated with feelings of shame, horror, danger, disgust, and sin. There have been initiatives to change the perception that menstruating women are not polluted, thus bringing an end to traditional customs such as not being allowed to sleep in their own home or touch male relatives to more extreme forms of isolation such as being confined to the ‘cow shed’. This paper draws on research conducted between 2019 and 2021 under a British Academy-funded Global Challenge Research Fund project entitled ‘Dignity Without Danger’. The study employed qualitative methods, covering 160 qualitative interviews and 16 focus group discussions among different caste and ethnic groups in three different ecological areas (mountain, hill, and tarai) in seven provinces in Nepal. Today, menstruating women have relatively more freedom to discuss this topic due to increased awareness that menstruation is a natural process. However, our study shows there are still differences between cultures, religions, castes and ethnic groups, and regions, and a single narrative does not represent the issues related to menstrual exclusion in Nepal. The study shows that many menstruating girls and women are still restricted in a number of diverse ways, from not offering prayers, entering or worshiping in temples, touching holy books, and participating in religious rituals. In some areas, more extreme practices persist which discriminate against women when menstruating. Our research highlights that education and an interdisciplinary, multisector approach are required if menstrual discrimination is to be addressed. Finally, this paper emphasizes the necessity for providing correct knowledge about menstruation to the entire community including elders, males and religious leaders as well as adolescents and young girls. Such knowledge will help them practice safe and hygienic menstrual practices, challenge and reduce their traditional beliefs, misconceptions and restrictions regarding menstruation that are essential to achieving menstrual dignity.

ERA BARU DALAM RITUAL KEAGAMAAN: STUDI ZIARAH KUBUR DI MASA PANDEMI COVID-19

Religious rituals during the COVID-19 pandemic are indeed different from previous times. Nowadays, it is required to use a series of conditions in running it. In various regions in carrying out many worship activities, cultural rites, religion must be limited by several provisions. In celebration, not all will attend the assembly or mosque. As for this article, the author uses a phenomenological approach methodology to map current phenomena on the surface that are different from religious activities before the outbreak of Covid-19. The result of this study is that pilgrimage to the grave has become a rite in Islamic society when approaching major holidays, making pilgrimages always a social gathering and ritual that must be carried out even though there is a pandemic. However, with this pandemic, many public cemeteries have been closed and many appeals not to come to the graves during the pandemic, especially during major holidays in Islam. So it can be concluded that the religious ritual of pilgrimage to the grave, which has taken root in the community and becomes a ritual that must be carried out when approaching a certain day, cannot be limited even with the Covid-19 pandemic. Abstrak Ritual keagamaan di masa pandemi covid-19 ini memang berbeda dengan masa-masa sebelumnya. Masa hari ini dituntut untuk menggunakan serangkaian persyaratan dalam melaksanakannya. Di berbagai daerah dalam melaksanakan banyak kegiatan peribadatan, ritus budaya, agama harus dibatasi dengan beberapa ketentuan. Dalam perayaannya, memang tidak semua akan hadir dalam sebuah majelis atau masjid. Adapun pada artikel ini penulis menggunakan metodologi pendekatan fenomenologi untuk memetakan sebuah kejadian fenomena yang hari ini timbul dipermukaan yang ada sebuah perbedaan dengan kegiatan keagamaan di kala sebelum mewabahnya covid-19. Hasil daripada kajian ini ialah ziarah kubur yang sudah menjadi ritus dalam masyarakat Islam ketika menjelang hari-hari besar, menjadikan ziarah akan selalu menjadi pertemuan dan ritual keagamaan yang tetap harus dikerjakan meski pandemi. Namun, dengan adanya pandemi ini, tempat pemakaman umum banyak yang ditutup dan banyak himbauan untuk tidak datang ke makam di masa-masa pandemi, terutama ketika hari-hari besar dalam Islam. Sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa ritual keagamaan ziarah kubur yang sudah mengakar dalam masyarakat dan menjadi ritual yang wajib dikerjakan ketika menjelang hari tertentu, tidak bisa dibatasi meskipun dengan adanya pandemi Covid-19 ini.

Transformation of Religious Communication Under the Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article analyzes the transformation of forms of religious communication against the background of the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus, that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the advanced opportunities offered by the virtual space, various religious organizations and individual leaders have the opportunity to acquaint all users with their religious doctrines. But if in ordinary times the virtual religious space often functioned as an "addition" to the real religious space, then in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it became almost the main channel for broadcasting religious teachings and ideas. In this regard, the capabilities of the virtual environment made it possible to search and experiment. For some people this can lead to a deeper understanding of their religious traditions and practices, while for others it can open up completely new ways of worshiping God, generating a variety of new ideas and trends. The closure of prayer facilities during the coronavirus pandemic has forced most religious institutions around the world to communicate with their followers online, and most of the self-isolated believers have also turned to virtual space in order not to interrupt their religious practices. By itself, virtual religious activity is not a new phenomenon, but in a crisis situation it has become an adequate substitute for real religious activity, making it possible to maintain the epidemiological situation and curb the outflow of the flock, adjusting their religious rituals to the new conditions. On the example of some religious institutions operating on the territory of Russia, it was revealed that during the period of restrictive measures in the country, some forms of religion have undergone significant changes and accelerated digitalization.

Corona Virus – Some Important Religious Aspects of its Prevention

The issue of religious rituals like congregational prayers (Salah with Jamaat) in Masajid is being extensively discussed during the pandemic of COVID-19. The suspension of religious congregations in the current scenario so as to ensure social (physical) distancing and the permission of praying (Salah) at home is discussed in the light of Islamic teachings. The discussion is mostly based on the Shariah view on human values whereby opting out safety especially in the wake of infectious diseases / pandemics. The references are primarily taken from Qura’n and Sunnah and Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh).

A new way of understanding the relationship between men and the gods: Socrates, gods and wealth

A careful methodology can enable us to be confident in the idea, largely neglected by historiography, that Socrates understood the relationships between men, the gods and wealth, in a very different manner to that of the large majority of his contemporaries. While the latter thought that the rites could lead the gods to bring them prosperity, that wealth was a blessing, Socrates was convinced of the opposite: wealth was not, in his view, a blessing, and had nothing to do with the gods. This was able to draw a few Athenians to think that philosophy could threaten the practice of religious rituals.

The prayers of evocatio and devotio: Between religious ritual and Roman law

This paper, which is a work in progress and a continuation of previous articles that were published on the Roman concepts of evocatio and devotio, will explore a new approach: the juridical context and implications of these religious and magical rituals. After reminding briefly the traditional interpretation (religious prayers pronounced only in a context of war) and the results of our previous articles 1 (evocatio was not limited to military context, and evocatio and devotio included magical elements very similar to formulas of execration (defixiones), we will ask questions that seem to be innovative: on the one hand, “can we compare these prayers with juridical contracts?”, and on the other hand, “had these rituals juridical and political consequences?”, such as the loss of status of a person (in this case, the devotio of enemies) and the loss of status of a place/city (in the case of evocatio). Were these religious rituals a way of making possible the symbolical destruction of a territory and the transfer of a divinity's statue to Rome, and consequently a way of making possible the real destruction of this territory and justifying its conquest? To carry out this study, we will analyze different texts that mention evocatio and devotio, and we will contrast them with texts that refer to juridical concepts (such as consecratio capitis et bonorum, exsecratio, bellum iustum, and damnatio memoriae). We will also analyze the case of cities (Veii, Praeneste, Falerii Veteres, and Carthago) that probably lost their juridical and political status after a war and after religious rituals such as evocatio and devotio. It would not be the first time that religion was used for political reasons, to justify Roman imperialism.

Feasting Ritually: An Ethnography on the Implications of Feasts in Religious Rituals

Food and feast are integral and key components of human cultures across the world. Feasts associated with religious rituals have special social and cultural significance when compared to those in any other festivities or celebrations in people’s life. In this study, an approach is made to comparatively analyze the feasts at religious festivals of two distinctive groups of people, one with a characteristic of simple society and the other of a complex society. The annual feast happening at the hamlets of the Anchunadu Vellalar community in the last days of the calendar year is an occasion that portrays the egalitarian nature of the people. While this feast is restricted within a single community of particular caste affiliation and geographical limitations, the feast associated with the kaliyattam ritual of village goddess in North Malabar is much wider in scope and participation. The enormous feast brings the people in a larger area and exhibits a solidarity that cuts across boundaries of religion, caste and community. Beyond the factors of social solidarity and togetherness, these events also illustrate its divisive characters mainly in terms of social hierarchy and gender. A comparative study of both the two feasts of two different contexts reveals the characteristic features of religious feasts and the value of food and feast in social life and solidarity and also how it acts as a survival of their past and as a tradition.

Respon Teologis Terhadap Dampak Pandemik Coronaviruses Disease 2019

The coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic has had a huge impact on human life. This study highlights how the theological response to the impact caused by covid-19, both in the context of religious and economic rituals. The method used by the researcher is a qualitative method with a literature study approach. The results of the description in this article suggest that the covid-19 pandemic has caused all global communities and various aspects to be seriously affected by this outbreak, In this outbreak, the world economy has slumped, many people have died due to covid-19, and the space for religious rituals has been restricted. In the context of Christian theology, this pandemic can be indicated as the fulfillment of Bible prophecy as John's prophecy in the book of Revelation. Theologically, this plague is a punishment for humans who are willing to exploit nature. This epidemic is also a form of God's warning in the midst of increasingly corrupted human morality, which eases sinful acts without heeding the truth of God's word. This study concludes that the theological response to the covid-19 pandemic is to be more vigilant spiritually and build a life that glorifies God.