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.

Sharing On Suffering Experiences As The Secularity Of Incarnation

The changing context of the Christian life brings Christian life at a crossroads, the first whether to remain in a comfort zone or the second whether to enter into the realm of profane daily life. The urge to get out of selfness and deal with the public world makes the Church deal with questions about its own identity. In this article, I want to explore the question of incarnation in Johan Baptist Metz's secularity. However, the concept of incarnation is applied solely to Jesus Christ as the Divine Word became flesh. Ricoeurian hermeneutics could help explain the term secularity on incarnation to immediate. And corporeal suffering of the others. The turn to Ricoeur as a methodological resource for theology provides a philosophical account of the methodology behind critical theology. The article concludes that the human being in their relationship its suffering experience is an experience of encounter.

From Theocentric to Theopraxis: Renegotiating Theology in the Context of the Plurality of Traditions in Asia

The Church in Asia received first the gift of the Christian faith through missionary activity, starting with the Apostles and then later through the colonial expansion. For a long time, the good news has been spread through various means – conversion, persuasion and sometimes compulsion, primarily when most of Asia was colonized by the ‘Christian West’. The post-colonial era (in Asia) has seen a revival in the Christian faith and many other Asian traditions and religions. Does this now call for a reimagining of what it means to be a ‘Church in Asia’? The Church in Asia has to “redefine” her mission in the light of the changing socio-economic-political landscape, and for this to happen, there is a need also to look at the merging theology that brings ‘uniqueness’ to the Church in Asia. Here I propose to look at emerging theology as put forward by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and discover the changing landscape of doing theology from theocentric towards the direction of being theopraxis.

Theological Review for Tambak Development of Batak Toba Community

Building and moving ponds or ancestral graves in the Toba Batak community, who have become Christians, is still practised today. The practice of building ponds is, of course, contrary to God's word, for that it needs to be responded to theologically and is the goal of this research. The method used is a descriptive qualitative method by reviewing the literature related to the research topic and reporting the findings in a description. The study results are as follows: First, building a pond with the motivation of asking for blessings from the ancestors is an act of sin. The gift of both physical and spiritual life comes from God and not the spirits of the ancestors. Second, moving and caring for ponds is wrong to prevent sickness and family quarrels because Christ bore all curses and diseases on the cross. Third, building a pond as a tribute to parents is wrong. The fifth commandment in Exodus 20:12 concerns respect for parents. It cannot be opposed to supporting the practice of building ponds. The substance of this verse is not only related to relations between humans but concerns God's blessing for His people to glorify God, the Creator, not ancestral spirits.

Proposing Publicity Leaving Church Apolitical Piety

This article seeks to release the Church from the false dichotomy of piety vs activeness in political issues, so that church members can optimally actualize piety and public responsibilities simultaneously. Apolitical piety has been running in GKS since its establishment on January 15, 1947, as the Dutch Reformed Church's evangelism legacy. Apolitical piety places the piety only as an individual's internal affair, not covering the public sphere. This discourse is a direct influence of Pietism, which began to develop in Europe in the 16th century. And Pietism itself was present as a response to Secularism, which originated in European society since the end Middle Ages. Like Pietism, Secularism also places the Church/religion and mystical aspects as personal human affairs because it doesn't want state life to be governed by or based on religion. But ideally, I view apolitical piety as the distorted discourse that should be abandoned and embrace new discourse: politics as an integral part of Church piety.

Mystical Kinship of Creation: A Foundation of Ecospirituality for Interreligious Ecological Movements

This article explores the intersection between Bhumi Devi in Hindu Mythology and the Canticle of Creation of Saint Francis of Assisi. This intersection discovers the concept of the mystical kinship of creation as a foundation of ecospirituality. The exploration which is rooted in two different traditions, Hinduism and Christianity, enlightens interreligious ecological movements that they need not only action but also a spiritual foundation.

A Prophetic Pastoral of Presence: An “Exchange of Places.” Re-contextualizing the Encounter of Jesus and the Leper in Mark 1:40-45 for the Role of the Asian Church in the Midst of Pandemic Covid-19

The pandemic due to covid-19 makes the Asian Church stuttering in their services especially to the patients of covid-19. In light of Mark 1:40-45, the author proposes to the Asian Church to do a prophetic pastoral presence, just say it an “exchange of places” as it is done by Jesus who takes the place of the leper as a risk of His action. To arrive at such conclusion, the author proceeds this study by analysing the text of Mark 1:40-45 from the narrative perspective and intertextual approach, then the reader is invited to review the consciousness of the FABC regarding its basis and praxis in Asia and how the Asian Church is trying to bring the face of God for the Asian people.

Corruption, Ritualism and Prophetic Role of the Catholic Church

This interdisciplinary study attempts to relate corruption with the Catholic Church's role as the moral and social critics that compel believers to participate in confronting corruption and bribery. The interdisciplinarity is also the method applied in the study. It includes an exposition of the economic data of the GDP, its theological interpretation based on the story of Naboth and the king in the Old Testament, and strategic action field theory. The article begins with widespread corruption in ASEAN, then continues with a theological foundation for believers’ role as guardians of moral and social values. The Church, however, faces ritualism and religious formalism that cause faith values do not influence to eradicate corruption. Finally, by implementing the social study of Strategic Action Field (SAFs) theory, the paper proposes an anti-corruption movement as a strategic action for the Catholic Church to tackle corruption. The study found that the social study of Strategic Action Field (SAFs) theory allows the Church to develop the anti-corruption movement as the strategic action to create pastoral works to tackle corruption

Theologizing “Teing Hang” Ceremony In The Culture of Manggarai, Indonesia

The Teing Hang ceremony, which is practised by the Manggarai people in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, celebrates local wisdom regarding the relationality of the Manggarai people with the Highest Being, with one’s fellow beings who are still living and with the relatives who have died. The methodology is what I call “critical reading” of the dialectical model, which has been proposed by Stefan Bevans and Daniel Pilario. By using the critical reading method of the teing hang ceremony data (collected through interviews and reviews of related studies), I found that the local wisdom of Manggarai can explain and illuminate the content of the Catholic faith with regard to the communion of saints in three ways. First, the communion of saints is a participation in God's providence. Second, the communion of saints is a participation in the lives of one’s fellow beings. Third, the communion of saints is an intersubjectivity relationship between those who believe in Christ and are indwelt by His Spirit.

Jesus - His Transforming Effect

Transformation of an individual and the society at large is the sole objective of Jesus’ message to his disciples, and in turn, his disciples too preached on the same theme to the believers of Jesus. The first part of the presentation highlights interpreting and understanding Jesus basing on the gospels. The gospels help us to understand Jesus in our own situation and give meaning to our life. As a result, transforming oneself is the most important and meaningful message we learn from the gospels for our life. The second part of the presentation shows how he plays a transformative role in his disciples' lives, and it also gives us an invitation to transform ourselves in our present life. But when we analyze the reality, the believers/disciples are not transformed, rather they remain the same, and their life does not correspond to the teachings of Jesus. They are more preoccupied with observing the rituals and rubrics than following the teachings of Christ in their lives. The third part of the presentation suggests three corrective measures to be taken by every disciple of Jesus, enabling us to transform ourselves and thus live a meaningful life.