Search Results (110)

Protestant Christianity has, from the 16th century onward, developed an understanding of politics and the state that gives it a strong and independent role. This was the result of a process of differentiation between religion and politics, which strengthened both sides. In this paper, the result is described: how the state and how politics are understood within Protestant Christianity, what consequences this has and what misunderstandings can occur. Special explanation is given to the Lutheran concept of the two regiments of God. The peculiarities of the Protestant state concept are then further described with the Lutheran understanding of the social state and of the military service of Christians. Full article

Background/Rationale: Transnational caregiving may be influenced by religious beliefs and cultural traditions that frame elder care as both a moral and religious obligation. While migration alters caregiving dynamics, religious teachings and cultural expectations remain central in guiding transnational caregiving practices. This study examines how Christian Nigerians who have immigrated to Canada navigate caregiving responsibilities within a transnational context, integrating their religion, cultural values, and the practical realities of crossing borders. Methods: This study employed a predominantly qualitative narrative approach, drawing on in-depth interviews with Nigerian Christian immigrants (N = 10) providing transnational care. Data collection involved a pre-interview survey and semi-structured interviews, providing the opportunity for participants to share their lived experiences. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes related to the role of religion and culture in caregiving, ensuring a comprehensive exploration of participants’ perspectives. Findings: Caregiving is shaped by religious duty and cultural obligation, reinforced by biblical teachings and cultural values. Participants view elder care as a moral responsibility, tied to spiritual rewards and familial duty. Despite migration demands, family-based care remains preferred over institutional care, with social stigma attached to neglecting elders. Conclusions: Religion and culture remain integral to transnational caregiving practices, sustaining caregiving responsibilities despite migration-related realities. While religious teachings provide moral guidance and emotional support, cultural expectations reinforce caregiving as a collective and intergenerational duty. Policies and resources are needed that support transnational caregivers, ensuring they can fulfill their caregiving roles while adapting to new sociocultural environments. Policymakers should prioritize the implementation of policies and programs to support transnational caregivers, including family reunification measures, caregiving-related travel provisions, culturally tailored eldercare services, diaspora–local collaborations, organized caregiver support groups, and financial mechanisms such as tax incentives for remittances dedicated to elder care. Full article

This article presents a theological framework of a Theology of Living, which seeks to reimagine the task of theology as a lived, communal and practical enterprise. Departing from purely systematic or disembodied approaches, this theology emphasises the relational and contextual dimensions of Christian faith. The embedded nature of theology acknowledges that theological reflection is always situated within particular histories, cultures and communities. The deliberative dimension foregrounds the necessity of intentional, dialogical discernment in response to complex moral and spiritual challenges. The embodied aspect affirms that theology is not merely spoken or written, but enacted through the rhythms of everyday life, worship and service. Drawing upon pastoral experience, biblical reflection and theological discourse, this article proposes that such an integrated approach to theology not only bridges the gap between doctrine and practice but also reclaims theology’s vocational role in forming individuals and communities shaped by love, justice and hope. Full article

The ecumenical movement’s basic purpose is to seek Christian unity. In facing the challenge of mission and ecumenism today, it is important to explicate how the ecumenical movement understands unity currently, and how the concept may have changed. This article’s hypothesis is that the goal of the church’s visible unity has changed less than appearances might suggest. The concept is now generally understood more holistically in ecumenical theology. In this article, a historical-systematic analysis focuses on the concept of visible unity, especially in the unity statements of the Assemblies of the World Council of Churches. An analysis of ecumenical models of unity and ways of realising churches’ unity in practice follows, as well as a reflection on the turns created by the latest ecumenical debate. The analysis confirms that the visible unity remains a central ecumenical goal in the quest for Christian unity. The turn towards holistic ecumenism seems to help address those who shun institutional ecumenism, without forgetting the Trinitarian and Christological theological basis and the institutional dimension. Diversity is not arbitrary: at its best it supports creativity and trust, freeing individuals for common witness and service. Full article

Though many Christian churches exist in Hong Kong, some who claim to be Christians are not members of churches, nor do they attend a Sunday service regularly. They identify as faithful but not religious. Some might even be pursuing advanced degrees in Christian studies. Why do they not join an institutional church then? Have they experienced trauma in institutional churches, and how do they process such issues? What do they hope for spiritually? Is there something in Christianity that cannot be replaced by secular spirituality which leads them to still claim to be Christians? In this article, I explore the experiences of dechurched Hong Kong Christians through archival and qualitative study, a method that foregrounds the often contradictory, complicated lived experience of faith, and ask questions about their earnestness and commitment to Christianity outside of the institutional church. I aim to understand the theological and religious perspectives of dechurched Christians and question the role of institutional churches in Hong Kong, discussing the following: (1) mundane trauma as a cause for leaving church, (2) the tendency of contemplative believers to leave church, and (3) the fragility of religious identity. I conclude that the institutional church in Hong Kong, as it is now, needs radical reimagination. Full article

This article, including the Introduction and Conclusion, consists of five parts. The first part discusses the role of the catechist in the early Church and its significance in the process of faith education, particularly during the preparation for receiving the sacraments of Christian initiation. The second part emphasizes the bearers of the catechetical ministry, i.e., bishops, priests, and consecrated persons, but also the Christ’s lay faithful, to whom special attention is given in the third part. This part describes the place and role of the lay faithful in the Church’s evangelizing mission, especially in light of the challenges posed by socio-cultural and religious changes. The fourth part, based on the Apostolic Letter in the form of a motu proprio, Antiquum Ministerium, in which Pope Francis establishes the lay ministry of catechists, and the current state in the Church and socio-cultural context, highlights the reasons that contributed to the establishment of this ministry and the challenges it brings with its establishment. In the fifth part, based on the analysis of ecclesiastical activity in Germany, Italy, and Croatia, the current situation regarding the (non)introduction of a lay catechetical service in the mentioned countries is highlighted. Full article

A pastor and academic theologian is invited to perform a devotional service at a marksmen’s festival in a small German village. Unaccustomed to this kind of festive culture, he also finds himself confronted with theological and ethical questions: Is it possible to provide a place of shooting with rifles and pistols with a prayer service and thus shape it liturgically as a place of God’s blessings? One could also ask: is it not necessary for theology to engage with communal forms of festivity, not just theoretically, but performatively, if Christianity itself is fundamentally festive? According to practical-theological reasoning, occasional services, i.e., celebrations of life rites, accompanying liminal situations and transitionary events of human life are growing in variety and importance and “new occasional services” are being developed. Also, the church and (public) theology continuously search and find their role in civil society. After all, there are many life situations in which God’s blessing should be clothed in a festive garment. But in which way is the marksmen’s festival to be considered? Two theologians explore these questions—autoethnographically and theoretically—and thus shed light on the marksmen’s festival as a theological topic. Full article

The latest technological advancements, above all artificial intelligence, are raising pressing questions regarding the relationship between machines and humans. Not only have previously known challenges arisen in the new context of digital technological achievements, but machines have now penetrated into spheres of human existence where they were not present until now. In addition to other ethical problems, there are therefore fundamental anthropological questions needing answers, which would clarify the role of the latest digital technologies in the context of our individual and social lives, and define the boundaries of the inviolable human spheres. In this study, we compare responses to these challenges from two important sources. First, we will review how the use of artificial intelligence and the anthropological challenges it poses appear in the teaching of Pope Francis, in line with the Catholic Church’s wider teaching on technology. Second, we examine how this problem is treated in the legislation of the European Union, which is a leader in the regulation of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence. We will highlight four concrete challenges posed by artificial intelligence to the human person (profiling, predictive algorithms, human intervention and manipulation), to which the legislation of the European Union has responded partly on anthropological grounds. We will argue that a systematic analysis of the relevant EU regulations on digital technologies (the General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act, and the Artificial Intelligence Act) can shed light on new aspects of the legal concept of human dignity, which—even without religious justifications—clearly mirror significant elements of Christian anthropology that are present in Pope Francis’ teaching on artificial intelligence. The anthropological approach of the European legislation is remarkable from a comparative perspective, since other globally relevant regulators have not yet taken such a position and seem to prioritize practical advantages, especially effectivity in the context of new technologies. Full article

How do we understand the relationship between preaching and culture? This question is as old as Christianity, even though “culture” in its anthropological sense is a relatively recent development. As every preacher knows, both preacher and listener are shaped by certain pre-understandings and values as they approach the interactive moment of proclamation. Culture shapes the imagination and thought patterns of the preacher, no less than the listener. If preaching is to be considered dialogically—a bidirectional conversation between the preacher and the listeners, in service of a conversation between God and God’s people—then it behooves both human conversation partners to become ever more aware of the cultural milieu(x) in which they are immersed. Every preaching event is the work of constructing an authentic local theology, a theological understanding suited to the particular people, historical moment, and cultural context in which it takes place. This essay seeks to shed light on that question through an engagement with a contemporary approach to the theology of inculturation (or contextualization). The starting point is a theology of preaching and its purpose as a Christian practice. We then turn to a theology of inculturation as it has been developing in recent decades, a theology that frames the interaction of the Christian message with culture in terms of both adaptation and liberation. Drawing upon the work of Robert Schreiter and others in understanding the formation of local theologies, the essay advances some methodological considerations in order for the church to move toward the possibility of authentically inculturated preaching. It concludes with some concrete suggestions for preachers, and an examination of one attempt to think through what it means to preach in a postmodern cultural context. Full article

Taking into consideration both of the statements of the Catholic magisterium and the pastoral environment of Catholic institutions, this essay offers some observations on the roots and objectives of interreligious dialogue. Framing dialogue in the faith experience of Christ as Lord allows the dialogue of life to emerge as a living expression of the way of life of every faithful Catholic. To live in Christ is the essence of being the Church. The mission of the Church is to proclaim the saving work and living presence of Christ. Christian spirituality is an intentional search for the fullness of Christ’s humanity so that the community at prayer can embody the Risen One under all circumstances. This “embodiment” necessarily includes encountering human “others”, diminishing the feeling of separateness, and discerning human conditions and possibilities for growth. To accomplish this task, Catholic Christians are invited to find Christ in all phenomena, including in other religions as disclosures of what it is to be human. To grow spiritually under the present circumstances of our communities, Catholics can begin to listen to hear the “voice” of the Good Shepherd wherever it resounds. In hearing the authentic ring of this voice of mercy and love, the community discerns that a previously “unknown” Christ is present before us, inviting a deepened understanding of Christ, both human and divine. Out of this understanding arises an affirmation of the Christologies of the historical Catholic consensus, now impelling the Church toward new forms of mission, service, and contemplation. This essay takes note of recent trends in Christology, suggesting correction courses for both progressive and traditionalist approaches. Full article

Religiosity and scientificity have long been intertwined in missionary anthropology. Since the 20th century, there has been a shift from religious missionary anthropology to scientific anthropology worldwide. Reviewing published materials and archives, this paper provides a case study of this transformation. It focuses on how the foreign missionary-founded West China Border Research Society transformed from a relatively closed and fixed local Christian academic research institution into a more open, international, and purely scientific research institution disciplined by Christian rationality. It sheds some new light into the Society’s roles and its transformation process. Contrary to the views of many scholars who assert that the Society “died” in 1937 and subsequently engaged in China’s state service and nation-building efforts, we contend that after 1937, the Society sought greater independence and a more scientific approach. Christianity dominated the Society in the early stages after its inception in 1922 in Chengdu, China, and its research results could not be objective or scientific. Although the Society later became more open and globalized, missionary anthropologists still mainly controlled it. After 1937, missionary anthropologists returned to religious rationality under the pressure of being connected to global academia. The Society eventually adopted “salvage anthropology” and tried to develop into a scientific research institution aimed at objective recording, while this somewhat rigid research approach also disciplined and suppressed the nationalist research orientation of Chinese colleagues and scholars. In response, Chinese researchers established other institutions and journals with stronger nationalism and undertook the “border construction work” that the Society could not accomplish. Full article

This paper examines the role of the Ten Commandments in Christian worship and its influence on believers’ spiritual and ethical formation. Although historically the use of the Commandments in public worship was limited, particularly outside Reformed traditions, they remain a powerful tool for moral reflection and spiritual discipline. By reciting, singing, or creatively incorporating the Commandments into worship, believers are invited to engage in continuous self-reflection and reaffirm their commitment to living according to God’s will. This paper argues that, while not mandatory for every service, the regular use of the Ten Commandments provides essential moral guidance and helps shape the ethical identity of Christians, offering a framework for navigating relationships with God and others in a faithful, disciplined way. Full article

Dialogue needs provocative interlocutors. Instilling a grave and shuddering awakening to the conscience, Emmanuel Levinas has provided a corpus of writings unveiling an immemorial horizon and divine calling of infinite responsibility before the other, the brother/sister stranger. Roger Burggraeve has animated Levinas’ writings within a Christian theological horizon as a source of formation in the service of promoting biblical wisdom and love in the life of faith. The writings of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis together portray a Catholic theological gravity to bring dialogue into a spiritual, practical, and social domain. Accordingly, this article develops the notion of dialogue within a Jewish and Christian lens by introducing the sense of the non-reciprocal character of dialogue, an asymmetrical relation of responsibility to the other evidencing the preconditions of dialogue. Levinas’ notion of non-reciprocal dialogue, taken further by the writings of Burggraeve, reveals a pre-original affectivity or ‘dialogical’ character of interpersonal relations of commitment respecting the other’s mystery and unknowability. This means that the dialogical relation is a pathway of ethical transcendence, a holy ground evoking an integral human ecology of maternity and fraternity. Such covenantal alterity in spiritual theological terms signifies an affectivity of atonement and redemptive love. In this way, the movement towards dialogue reveals a synodal path and holy ground to walk together and imagine an integral ecology of difference and mystery to transform words into sacrifice and truth into redemptive love. Journeying together upon such holy ground witnesses to a spiritual theology of dialogue envisioning a place to hear the “good news” (Lk 4:16) and encounter “the hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt 5:6). Full article

This study aims to explore the issues of Islamophobia and Christian ideology prevalent in Spanish society in the 16th and early 17th centuries by examining the slave trade conducted by Barbary corsairs and the hard lives of Christian captives depicted in the literary works of Miguel de Cervantes, and to highlight his efforts to overcome the clash of civilizations between Christianity and Islam. To achieve this goal, first, the study delves into the historical context of the clash between Spain and Islam in the Mediterranean during the 16th century. Cervantes, who took part in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, was captured by Barbary corsairs on his return from military service and spent five years as a captive in the Bagnio of Algiers. The painful experience left indelible marks on his works. This study focuses on the dual meaning of Orientalism in his works. One prevalent form of Orientalism in Spain and Europe during that period portrayed Muslims as barbaric and anti-Christian. However, Cervantes presented an alternative Orientalism to propose a pathway to co-existence, rather than conflict, between civilizations and religions. Therefore, this study explores how Cervantes, even though he himself was a victim of the clash of civilizations, sought to overcome the confrontations and conflicts in his works, rather than perpetuating the prevalent Islamophobia of his time. Full article

This article examines church–state relations in the early period of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by scrutinising the thoughts and the administration of Chao Tzu-chen—a prominent Chinese Christian leader—at Yenching University’s School of Religion and its successor organisation. This article largely relies on the archives of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, delving into Chao’s psychological conflicts and the role of the Anglican churches in Chao’s plan for the separation of the School of Religion from the university. It argues that Chao Tzu-chen’s self-contradictions in his public versus private expressions after 1949 signify his disillusionment in fostering the convergence between Christianity and Communism, as demonstrated in his dilemma regarding church–state relations. Although Chao tried to adapt to the new political order by urging Chinese churches to offer practical and concrete social services, he continued his independent, critical theological reflections on the indigenisation of Christianity, as reflected in his private portrayal of the incompatibility between Christianity and Communism, and in his close connection with foreign churches in his fund-raising campaign. Moreover, apart from highlighting the importance of the Hong Kong Anglican church in financially supporting the Yenching School of Religion, this article seeks to contribute to academic research of Chinese higher education in the 1950s through examining how the Chinese Communist Party’s remolding of the School put an end to the emerging public sphere of a civil society. It reveals that this liberal Christian institute, which lost its control over curriculum design and the right to accept foreign funds, was quickly converted into a government-funded, socialist theological college in service of two masters: the Party and the Church. Full article