Search Results (139)

This qualitative article is informed by queer theory, and more specifically queer theology, and explores how youth ministers in various denominations care for LGBTQ+ teenagers in their congregations. Seven youth pastors from three major denominational groups were interviewed from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), Alliance of Baptists, and Presbyterian Church, USA (PC-USA). Participants had to identify as LGBTQ+ affirming, though their congregations could be in various states of affirmation. Thematic analysis found the following significant categories: confidentiality, implications of whole church engagement, student-led engagement, theology/image of God, and degree of support for identity development. Full article

In this article, I aim to briefly examine the ontological structure of religious life from a phenomenological perspective. By this, I mean how what the subject thinks and does reveals certain principles and patterns of religious life. The first step is to identify the guiding principle. We ask ourselves what the ultimate motivation of the religious human being is. After this, the main thing is to determine how they think of themselves, what image they have of themselves as human beings with regard to the divine. This points to a greater configuration of their consciousness. Next, we look at their habits and the ritualization of their lives. And finally, we examine the relationship they have with their community. Furthermore, we inquire about the implications of being part of that community. The findings are that religious subjects can only be happy as part of their community if, paradoxically, their desire is to abandon their ego (self-interest and desires) and devote themselves to the glorification of their god. However, although we can use the term “religious” to describe the form of life where subjects maximize the glory of the divine, other historically and sociologically constituted religions are moved by a different ontological principle. Full article

This paper will examine how tomb chapel imagery changed to depict a state of being that marked a theological and cultural shift during the reigns of Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III. The iconography of the royal kiosk scene reflects the growing influence of solar theology. At the same time, the king, as the mediator between the gods and humanity, appears as the primary source of the tomb owner’s well-being in the afterlife. Scenes of family life give way to depictions illustrating the tomb owner’s official role in relation to the king. Likewise, many of the so-called innovations in Amarna tomb decoration are already evident, such as the depiction of locality and specificity, setting and action, emotion, and the spontaneity of the here-and-now. At this time in the tomb’s transverse halls and porticos, the king dominates the decoration in the public areas of the chapel, along with depictions of the deceased’s service to him. Family images are gradually relegated to the inner hall of tombs, becoming almost non-existent by the late reign of Amenhotep III. By the reign of his son, all tomb scenes became oriented towards Akhenaten, who alone would provide, along with the Aten, for the deceased’s cult, career, social identity, and eternal survival. Full article

Generally speaking, the conception of God serves as the theoretical focal point and central concern of Kant’s philosophy of religion. Its content is multidimensional, covering many aspects, such as proof of God’s existence, the image of God, and God’s status and functions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of the concept of God in Kant’s philosophy of religion in three different philosophical periods—the pre-critical period, the period of the critical philosophy and the post-critical period—to analyze the evolution of the internal contradictions in Kant’s philosophy of religion and the course of its systematic construction, and, on this basis, to reveal the three pivotal systemic transformations achieved by Kant’s philosophy of religion—the deconstruction of traditional theology, the reconstruction of rational theology and the construction of moral religion. Finally, this paper elucidates four internal roots which drive these pivotal transformations: (1) methodological foundation: the development of critical philosophy; (2) systematic goal: the establishment of scientific metaphysics; (3) axiological orientation: the secularization of theology into anthropological theology; and (4) practical culmination: the extension of pure moral philosophy. Full article

In 1973, British musician, social anthropologist, and ethnomusicologist John Blacking published his seminal work, How Musical is Man? In this book, Blacking describes his 1950s ethnographic study of the Venda people in South Africa, which explores how humans develop and interact with music. For this transcendent autoethnography, I transform Blacking’s book title into a transcendent research question and ask, “How musical is God?” Springboarding off four of Blacking’s principles, I answer this question from the perspective of a Christian and music educator who believes the Bible is the foundation of truth. I explore the mystery of God, humans, and music by referring to the account of the creation in Genesis 1 and 2 and other related verses in the Bible. The exploration encompasses the sonic order wisely created by God, the cognitive system that reflects humans as God’s image bearers, how music is structured reality for things unseen and necessary for faith, and beauty as a God-ordained component for rest. I conclude the paper by answering, “How musical is God?” by reconciling my response to biblical truth in the Christian tradition. Full article

This article examines the theological trajectories of Watchman Nee (1903–1972) and Witness Lee (1905–1997) on sanctification, union with Christ, and deification, situating their contributions within recent reappraisals of the doctrine of theosis in the academy. Though deification was universally affirmed by the early church and retained in various forms in medieval and early Protestant theology, post-Reformation Western Christianity marginalized this theme in favor of juridical and forensic soteriological categories. Against this backdrop, Nee and Lee offer a theologically rich, biblically grounded, and experientially oriented articulation of deification that warrants greater scholarly attention. Drawing from the Keswick Holiness tradition, patristic sources, and Christian mysticism, Nee developed a soteriology that integrates justification, sanctification, and glorification within an organic model of progressive union with God. Though he does not explicitly use the term “deification”, the language he employs regarding union and participation closely mirrors classical expressions of Christian theosis. For Nee, sanctification is not merely moral improvement but the transformative increase of the divine life, culminating in conformity to Christ’s image. Lee builds upon and expands Nee’s participatory soteriology into a comprehensive theology of deification, explicitly referring to it as “the high peak of the divine revelation” in the Holy Scriptures. For Lee, humans become God “in life and nature but not in the Godhead”. By employing the phrase “not in the Godhead”, Lee upholds the Creator–creature distinction—i.e., humans never participate in the ontological Trinity or God’s incommunicable attributes. Yet, in the first portion of his description, he affirms that human beings undergo an organic, transformative process by which they become God in deeply significant ways. His framework structures sanctification as a seven-stage process, culminating in the believer’s transformation and incorporation into the Body of Christ to become a constituent of a corporate God-man. This corporate dimension—often overlooked in Western accounts—lies at the heart of Lee’s ecclesiology, which he sees as being consummated in the eschatological New Jerusalem. Ultimately, this study argues that Nee and Lee provide a coherent, non-speculative model of deification that integrates biblical exegesis, theological tradition, and practical spirituality, and thus, present a compelling alternative to individualistic and forensic soteriologies while also highlighting the need for deeper engagement across global theological discourse on sanctification, union with Christ, and the Triune God. Full article

The image of the vasa domus Dei, repeated on two occasions in the book of the prophet Daniel (Dan 1:2 and 5:4), enables Jerome to formulate an explicit judgement on pagan culture. Drawing extensively on a well-established repertoire, he highlights in one case its positive aspects and in the other its negative ones, and so in CDan 1,1,2b, he underlines the presence, at least in philosophy, of some truths drawn from the doctrine of God; in CDan 2,5,4, he discusses the wicked use the heretics make of the saeculares litterae. Full article

There are discriminatory, structured, opaque human rights violations that keep the socioeconomically vulnerable subservient, a social problem that goes against the core Christian principle: humans are created in the image of God and all share equal dignity. Studies show that sociocultural, political, and economic elements are available in society, which form into clusters, namely social representations, helping people to categorize others and interact with her/him. They carry with them the historical consciousness, providing the people with social-living tools such as social identity and the like. The qualitative empirical research conducted among the Catholic youth of Tamil Nadu, India, showed that the enslaving semantic elements contained in the social knowledge facilitate the youth to affiliate with a group and to disaffiliate from another. Caste-ridden endogamic semantic elements are part of this knowledge. This affects individual as well as social cognition. Therefore, besides conceptual understanding, epistemological approaches are necessary to eliminate the enslaving elements contained in social knowledge. This is possible through the Ego–Alter dialogue. Ego stands for an individual, group, institution, movement, or anything similar. Alter can stand for social knowledge, which is available in society. Full article

In the name of God and profit, Jorge Álvares, the first Portuguese to set foot in China, arrived in 1513 and opened a new chapter for missionary work. One of the most significant forms of “Sino-Portuguese” decorative art, ivory sculpture, is closely linked to the Portuguese mission in the Orient and serves as a witness to encounters between different cultures and religions. This study focuses on representative Sino-Portuguese ivory sculptures of the Virgin and Child from the Late Ming period through a detailed analysis of iconography and a comparative visual critique with European prototypes and Guanyin representations to discuss the significance of missionary visual imagery in cultural interactions. The ivory sculpture of the Virgin and Child is not merely an image; it is a physical object with both material and visual characteristics, acquiring its religious significance during the missionary process. The present study aims to present its artistic hybridity and demonstrate how the Chinese carvers make the Sino-Portuguese “speak” different visual languages, leading to different interpretations. It also reflects the cultural translation that occurs in the complex process of religious contact. In this space of ‘culture in between’, Christianity has been able to transcend cultural and religious boundaries. Full article

Eusebius transmits a fragment of Porphyry’s Contra Christianos in which the philosopher claimed that a disease or plague (νόσος) had seized the city for many years because there was no longer any sojourn (ἐπιδημία) of Asclepius and the gods there. Since Jesus was honored, no one experienced any public help from the gods. Porphyry’s claim that Asclepius and the gods no longer dwelt in Rome resembles one of the elements of the ancient Roman ritual of evocatio, in which the tutelary deities were called out of a city by a Roman commander. It is only an analogy, since the Christians did not promise the tutelary deities that their images would be carried to their own city and given a cult, and they certainly did not make use of an obscure Roman military ceremony. Whether or not the ritual was practiced in the Imperium is not the central question of this article. Instead I wish to show that the implicit debate between Eusebius and Porphyry alludes to similar arguments between pagans and Christians in antiquity and that there are important analogies between Porphyry’s argument about the departure of Rome’s tutelary gods due to the presence of worship of the Christian deity in the city and the ritual of evocatio. Full article

The majority of people living in the U.S. report that spirituality is an important part of their life that is influential to their well-being. However, individuals vary widely in how they conceptualize spirituality, which often stems from and overlaps with their conceptualizations of God or so-called “God image”. Examination of people’s experiences of spirituality and conceptualization of God can enable psychologists to improve their understanding of individuals’ core personal experiences. This study evaluates both spirituality and God image, as well as the relationship between these two constructs, using qualitative hermeneutic analysis of interviews with 63 adults (51% women, 49% men, aged 18–75) from a midwestern U.S. university town. Substantial overlap characterized participants’ descriptions of spirituality and God. Participants tended to either view spirituality in relational terms or as an abstract concept, with the latter conceptualization being distanced from personal experience. Religious concepts and personal experiences were integral to most participants’ descriptions of both spirituality and God. The results emphasize the importance of addressing contextual worldviews about spirituality, inclusive of personal experiences. Full article

The polemics of idol worship in John Capgrave’s Life of Saint Katherine of Alexandria have been interpreted by previous scholars as either the author’s engagement with the Lollard image controversy or a political critique of Henry VI. This essay, however, shifts the focus from Katherine and her iconoclasm to the concept of divine iconoclasm, defined here not only as the divinely sanctioned or divinely motivated destruction of religious images but also as God’s direct intervention to dismantle false representations and correct human perceptions of the divine. It further argues that Capgrave’s Life redefines sacred space as primarily constructed through light, emphasizing its immateriality and exposing the saint’s physical limitations. In these scenarios, divine iconoclasm emerges as a constructive force that resolves the tension between the secular and the sacred. Moreover, Christ’s celestial manipulation of the vision of sacred space and the relationship between body and space—encouraging confidence while discouraging self-inflation—serves as a model for how a monarch should inspire both love and fear. In this way, Capgrave’s Mirrors for Princes is embedded within his hagiography, where the image debate features prominently, addressing the heated political and theological controversies of his time. By combining these elements, the essay bridges two strands of criticism that have previously treated the political and theological dimensions of the text separately. Full article

Rock imagery in the Puebloan region of the American Southwest often combines elements from different animal, human, plant, and natural sources. Blended elements may depict or refer to other-wordly states of existence or to creation narratives. Beings with combined elements can shift from shapes familiar in the present world and transport the viewer’s frame of reference to the spirit world. Puebloan belief in layering worlds below and above the present world is an important underlying social construct. Other worlds, especially those below, refer to past mythical times when animals and humans existed in primordial forms or were not fully formed, or may refer to the land of the dead or the underworld. Certain animal forms may have been selected because they are spirit guides, have specific powers, or were guardian-gods of cardinal directions. Some animals, such as birds, were chosen as messengers of prayers or offerings, while others (such as bears) had healing powers. The placement of images on the landscape or in relation to natural features imparts added power to the imagery. Ambiguity and multiple meanings also enhance these powers and incorporate concepts of emergence and transformation. Some images refer to the transformation that occurs when dancers wear kachina masks and then assume the attributes of those kachinas. Examples will be presented from images dating to the pre-European contact period (1300 to 1540 AD) found at Petroglyph National Monument, in the central Rio Grande valley of New Mexico. Comparisons to painted wall murals in kivas (ceremonial rooms) made during the same time period are presented. Full article

There is a widespread belief today, primarily among the agnostics and atheists, and even among the not so active believers, that all forms of religious belief, including Christian Catholicism, should remain outside the political realm, limited to private spirituality. This paper thematises, in the context of “positive laicity”, the way the Catholic Church changed its understanding of politics after the Second Vatican Council, regarding the involvement of believers, as serving the common good in a plural society. Using conciliar and post-conciliar documents as sources for reflection and argumentation, this paper outlines eight theological and anthropological assumptions regarding Catholic involvement in politics within the context of the 21st century, adapting the (post-)conciliar thought to the conditions of today’s globalised world. For Christians to do well in this responsible assignment, the starting point is Jesus Christ, both in the historical and in the cosmic project of God’s world in the making, expressed in the Old Testament as the arrival of God’s Kingdom. This article is methodologically limited, as the title states, to recognise and briefly sketch the content of a few basic theological–anthropological assumptions of Christian participation in politics, without going into the history of the issue, as well as to the authors who dealt with it in various aspects. In conclusion, we notice that the manner of religious action in politics described in this way presupposes that the believer has already left the state of infancy within his ecclesial community and is ready to make decisions within the political community based on his faith, competences and conscience, without clerical tutelage and obstruction. Full article

Angkor Wat is the supreme masterpiece of Khmer architecture, built by King Sūryavarman II during the 12th century A.D. Jane Przyluski hypothesized that Angkor Wat was the tomb of King Sūryavarman II. On the other hand, George Cœdès thought that Angkor Wat complex was habitation in the form of a celestial palace. According to Henri Parmentier, though the buildings and constructions in Angkor Wat temple complex are majestic, they are geometrically out of place. The temple complex is non-symmetrical, as the complex’s center is left-aligned. The above controversial opinions inspire a deep examination of the geometric system of the architectural and structural design of Angkor Wat. This research investigates the architectural planning and frame structures of Angkor Wat stone temple complex using a Hindu grid system. The study was based on field survey data of the temple complex and Hindu ancient texts, specifically the Vāstu Śāstra. PhotoModeler Pro5 and Polycam for iOS-4.0.5 were utilized to render three-dimensional (3D) images of the entire temple complex. The analysis finds the geometric code (suitable module) used in the planning of 2.75 m × 2.75 m in the metric system (1 Phyeam 1 Hat 1 Thnob in) the local Cambodian measuring system). The geometric code (2.75 m × 2.75 m) highlights the design diagram and construction of the temple complex. The research also unveiled the use of a center-shifting technique where the vertical axis running through the center is deliberately left-aligned, to avoid numerical fractions occurring in the grid modules. The technique gives rise to the asymmetry of the temple complex. The findings led to understanding the symbolic meaning of spatial organization of the layout and plan of Angkor Wat design, which was meant to be a suitable residence for the god on earth, the king, and his citizens. Moreover, it also means the final abode of King Sūryavarman II after his death, represented by the image of Lord Viṣṇu. Full article