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Hell in orthodox Christian eschatology is presented as a place of eternal punishment for the damned or sinners. Damnation follows from disobedience to God's will. Hell is contrasted with heaven, a place of eternal reward and benefits for the righteous. In contrast to this eschatology, African Traditional Religion (ATR) broadly denies the existence of hell. ATR rather asserts that violators of God's moral codes receive their punishment on earth while those who have lived ethically laudable lives transition to a new phase of existence in the ancestral realm, the ideal home. Given that the ancestral realm can be compared with the Christian heaven, more or less, African eschatology paints a less gloomy picture of human destiny than orthodox Christian eschatology. We assert, in this article, that the ATR eschatology that denies the existence of hell is more ethically attractive than the Christian eschatology that punishes temporally bounded wrongdoing with eternal damnation. We argue the attractiveness of the African view from the perspective of the understanding of God as a benevolent being, which both orthodox Christian theism and traditional African theism endorse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joseph Ratzinger points to the dialogical nature of the human being. Indeed, the human is by nature called to live in relationships, and for him/her social life is a natural environment of existence. This need, which humans discover within themselves, has its source in Communio Trinitatis, the profound communion of the three Divine Persons. In essence, God is not a loner but an eternal dialogue of love. As evidence of this, He created the human being in His image and likeness. The human's role model lives in a relationship of love. Hence, the individual also discovers a deep need within him/herself for interpersonal communication. In this respect, it is healing for a person to live in a relationship. Firstly, because the dialogue of faith with God is true healing and salvation for the human being. Secondly, relationships with other humans also have an enriching impact on their personality. However, J. Ratzinger stresses that isolation alienates people and even leads to illness or death. Meanwhile, a living relationship with God and other people transforms the human person and ensures personal growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines whether Ignatius of Loyola's Rules for Thinking with the Church should be integrated into the Spiritual Exercises by directors leading retreats. Topics include the historical context and relevance of these rules, the debate among specialists regarding their integral role in the Exercises, and the evolving understanding of their significance within contemporary spiritual practice.

The article explores the concept of a hierarchy of truths and devotions as articulated by the Second Vatican Council, emphasizing that devotion to the Trinity takes precedence over devotion to Mary. Topics include the historical significance of Mary in the New Testament, the limited focus on Mary in the writings of early Christian figures like Paul, and the gradual development of Marian devotion over time.

This study examines the information-seeking behavior of the clergy using parish pastors in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Agbarho community in Delta State as a case study. The study seeks to identify the information needs, the sources of information, the purpose of the use of information, and the challenges to information seeking among RCCG parish pastors in Agbarho. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The total population for the study comprises 44 parish pastors of the RCCG in two Zones of RCCG Delta Province 4 in Agbarho Community. The entire population was used as a sample using the total enumeration sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The data collected for this study were analyzed using simple percentage/frequency counts. The study found that RCCG pastors in Agbarho need and use the information for several issues such as sermon preparation, personal and church growth, church administration, evangelism, conflict resolution, meetings/programs, and personal/members' welfare among others. They get the information they need from formal sources such as the Bible, books including all RCCG publications such as Open Heavens and Sunday school manuals, magazines (RCCG Bulletins), etc. Also, RCCG pastors in Agbarho community, Delta State, Nigeria also gets information from informal sources such as senior pastors, colleagues, friends in the ministry, church members, and family among others. In their effort to seek information, RCCG pastors in Agbarho community, Delta State, Nigeria faces some challenges such as limited financial resources, lack of access to ICT facilities, language barriers, information overload, time factor, and poor awareness of information sources. The study recommends that the RCCG authorities in conjunction with other churches and community leaders should establish and equip a library in every community where they are present as a way of advancing their Christian Social Responsibilities (CSR) as this will allow their pastors to have access to free and timely information among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study presents some of the significant learning outcomes in gathering, interpreting, sharing stories and the impact on our institutional memory. It places this article in a learning context; learning from past expressions and experiences for a better future. To this end it highlights the virtues associated with notions of what is commonly associated with the aims and objectives of a "Learning Organisation." The case study emphasises the value of a "bottom up" story and not just telling it from the "big man's" perspective, from the point of view of a male dominated hierarchical organisation and in so doing, it recognises the valued contribution of our diverse demography. Sharing our stories within the context of heritage enables us to look at our Pentecostal tradition with respect and honesty whilst at the same time being open to new ways of seeing and thinking about our legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the position of people with intellectual disabilities in two areas of study: the theological discourse of the image of God and the scientific study on the evolutionary theory of human origin, exclusively in social Darwinism and Homo sapiens. In Christian interpretations of God's image, this paper succinctly presents and revisits two parts: ancient Christian (Augustine and Irenaeus) interpretations of God's image and several different directions (substantial, relational, functional, and ethical approaches), providing the understanding of the image of God in the modern era. In evolutionary theory, this paper focuses on two parts: the idea of social Darwinism and Homo sapiens. In addition, this paper revisits both ideas in constructing an inclusive paradigm of God's image. The main argument of this paper is that the image of God liberates people with intellectual disabilities from the confines of the exclusive ideas of God's image and Homo sapiens to a concept of Homo Dei. In conclusion, this paper proposes the idea of Homo Dei to portray an abstract concept of God's image vis-à-vis the evolutionary theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a reading of the figure of the God[ly] teacher who has become aware of the paradox of the nature of the relationship of the teacher and student, where God is the relation between them. It points towards a theology of education that is based on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and rests in the logic of education that learns of and from the paradox of this relation. The article invites the teacher to reconsider their practice from seduction and lover categories, to giving the gift of education in fear and trembling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the challenges of studying history in anthropology, using Eric Hirsch's research on the Fuyuge people in Papua New Guinea as a case study. It discusses the difficulties of capturing a society's continuous change and the limitations of ethnographic research. The article also examines the translation of foreign concepts and the complex nature of history itself. It emphasizes the differences in perspectives and experiences of historical events between Oceania and the Western Indian Ocean. The text explores the concepts of myth, history, and historicity in relation to the Fuyuge people, suggesting that their understanding of history is complex and cannot be easily categorized. It highlights the importance of considering diverse perspectives and historicities in anthropological research. [Extracted from the article]

The usage of the term 'Te Atua' for God within Māori contexts has been largely accepted and unchallenged, yet its appropriateness is questioned due to its colonial origins and misalignment with Māori epistemologies. This paper explores the disqualification of 'Te Atua' as a Māori term for God through historical analysis and Māori scholarly perspectives. By applying a Kaupapa Māori research rubric which aligns to four statements—1. The source is related to being Māori; 2. Is connected to Māori philosophy and principles; 3. Takes for granted the validity and legitimacy of Māori, the importance of Māori language and culture; and 4. Is concerned with the struggle for autonomy over our own cultural well-being—this paper argues that the term 'Te Atua' fails to meet these criteria. I propose that in accordance with Māori epistemologies, we can discern alternative terms for the blanket term 'God' that resonates with whakaaro Māori. This paper is a response to the recent Māori language translations of scripture, advocating for the re-indigenizing of the reo Māori bible to make it relevant to an increasingly non-Christian Māori audience and calls for a reimagining of Christianity that is authentically Māori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to contribute with some analytical philosophical perspectives to Pentecostal theology and the contemporary understanding of Pentecostal experiences of God as 'mediated immediacy' to further specify these experiences' distinct contribution to systematic theology. A trend within Pentecostal theology is to emphasize how Pentecostal experiences are encounters that are theologically interpreted and related to specific beliefs. However, the amount of information and areas of theological knowledge from such experiences need more clarifications. Hence, in Part 1, the author presents four philosophical arguments why experiences of God can contribute to systematic theology with prima facie justified beliefs or theological knowledge. In Part 2, the author proposes that their distinct theological contribution can be specified as manifestation beliefs about God's doing and being towards a person that represent personal and relational knowledge of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of spirituality and religion on the health and well-being of older adults has gained considerable attention as older adults worldwide continue to live long, active lives. This study explores the influence of spirituality and religion on the health and well-being of older Pacific people living in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Using the principles of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach and talanoa with 39 Tongan, 42 Cook Island Māori and 23 Samoan elders revealed spirituality is essential to Pacific elders' health and well-being. Participants faith in an omnipotent Christian God and the subsequent influence on their relationships with family and community significantly impacted their experiences of health and well-being. Strong relationships with God, extended family and community enabled Pacific elders to live a harmonious life. Religion and spirituality should be embraced as an integral component of health and social care plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late nineteenth century, the Phrygian funerary imprecation, known as the Eumeneian formula, has been considered one of the clearest indicators of Christian religious identity on inscriptions from Roman Asia Minor. After a brief précis of the early scholarly history of interpretation of this formula and the historiographical assumptions which underpinned its identification as Christian, this article attempts to reframe how we understand the specific context out of which these inscriptions emerge—that of the wider socio-religious context of Roman Asia Minor—and to examine the degree of continuity which these inscriptions have in terms of religious sentiment with similar pagan examples from wider Anatolia. The central contention of this article is that the Eumeneian formula inscriptions, quite apart from what they can tell us about the socio-political status of early Christians and their relationships with their wider civic environment, are also an important index for understanding early Christian popular religion in the pre-Constantinian period and how ordinary Christians expressed their religious identity in a potentially hostile environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of the study is the phenomenon of the death of God in the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche and its reflection through interpretation and evaluation by the following thinkers: M. Heidegger, K. Jaspers, E. Fink, G. Deleuze and P. Kouba. Special attention is paid to the reasons and consequences of the cultural and dramatic event, which is the death of God. Attention is also focused on the personality types that are characteristic after the death of God and on the desirable and undesirable life possibilities that this event opens up. The current reception of Nietzsche's statement "God is dead" demonstrates that his insight and justification of the consequences that flow from the death of God in the sense of the loss of Christian faith in his existence is justified. The result of the analysis is that there are consequences regarding 1) the current Western metaphysics in its onto-theological structure, 2) the loss of the guarantee of the so-called moral interpretation of the world and its "benefits" for a spiritually weak person, 3) the character and spiritual level of a person to project the overall meaning of life. At the same time, in our postmodern era, some consequences of the death of God are confirmed. The argumentation confirms the legitimacy of these three consequences of the death of God. This is the main thesis of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the life and work of the Spanish missionary Antonio de Santa Maria Caballero (1602-1669), who played a significant role in re-establishing the Franciscan presence in the Catholic missions of China during the 17th century. Caballero began his active missionary work in 1633 and became proficient in the Chinese language and culture, mainly focusing on understanding the works of Confucius and other classics. His dedication allowed him to pass the ri�-gorous imperial exams in Lipu, northeast of Guangxi, in 1653. Caballero's work, published in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Chinese, includes books, treatises, comments, and letters that identify his missionary theory and practice. He strongly opposed the accommodation model promoted by the Jesuits, which allowed Chinese converts to Christianity to continue practicing ancestor rituals and worshiping Confucius. Caballero criticized any blending of traditional Chinese beliefs with Christian doctrine. In 1666, together with 24 other Catholic missionaries in China, Caballero was arrested and exiled to Canton, where he died three years later. During exile, the surviving missionaries, 20 Jesuits, three Dominicans, and Caballero, held from December 18, 1667, to January 26, 1668, a series of meetings that, later known as "Canton Conferences", intended to develop a consensual text on the missionary strategy. Dominated by the Jesuit accommodationist model, all the missionaries present signed the final document known in Latin as Acta Cantoniensia authentica, except Caballero, who immediately worked on a document justifying his critical position. The result was a long letter written originally in Spanish addressed in 1668 to the Portuguese Jesuit Luís da Gama (1610-1672), then provincial of China and Japan, entitled "Tratado que se remitió al muy R. P. Luís de Gama de la Compañia de Jesús sobre algunos puntos de esta misión de la Gran China" (Treatise sent to the very R. P. Luís de Gama of the Society of Jesus on some points of this mission in Great China). Mobilizing the main Confucian and neo-Confucian classics that Caballero shared in-depth, the text criticized in detail the cults of ancestors and Confucius as pagan, also denying any possibility of finding even remote forms of natural theology and an approach to the Christian God among the ancient school traditions that underpinned traditional cults. At the same time, seeking to substantiate his critical positions with works produced by some Jesuits, Caballero translated into Latin during this period of exile a treatise initially written in Portuguese by the Italian Jesuit Nicolò Longobardo, the successor of Matteo Ricci, critic of the accommodationist model and, in particular, of the proposed Chinese translations of the name of God. The two texts, Caballero's letter and Longobardo's treatise were translated into French and published in Paris in 1701 by the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris, a congregation extremely hostile to the Jesuit missionary model in China. Entitled "Anciens Traitez de divers auteurs sur les ceremonies de la Chine" (Ancient Treatises of various authors on the ceremonies of China), the work would be offered in 1715 to the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz at the end of 1715 by his French correspondent Nicolas-François Rémond de Montfort. The critical reading of Leibniz produced his unfinished reflections, written in 1716, on the ethical compatibility between Chinese classical moral thought and Christian doctrine written in French as "Lettre sur la philosophie chinoise à Monsieur de Rémond" (Letter on the Chinese Philosophy to M. Remond). Republished since 1977 as "Discourse on the Natural Theology of the Chinese," Leibniz's text is a defense of the Jesuit missionary accommodation system, stressing its contribution to his personal ongoing research on the possibilities of an autonomous, universal moral philosophy grounded in transcultural foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article was to examine the views of Theodoret of Cyr in his Ecclesiastical History on the ideology of victory and to compare them with the concept expressed by his predecessor, Eusebius of Caesarea, to whom he claimed to be a continuator. The author showed that for Theodoret military victories in confrontation with pagan enemies had a sacred aspect and proved the truthfulness of the Christian religion and the power of the God of the Christians, the ally of the Christian rulers, and on the other hand the falsity of the beliefs of the followers of traditional cults. The author also pointed out Theodoret’s dependence on Eusebius. For according to both, the ideology of victory had three dimensions: military, martyr and doctrinal, related to the war waged by the evil spirit against God and came down to winning victories in the name of Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the soul's capacity to see God. This is the process by which a human subject can apprehend and define the nature of God on a philosophical and theological level. Two conceptually very close philosophers, Plato and Dionysius the Areopagite (pseudo-Dionysius), highlighted this metaphysical function. The article will look into light as a concept of the mind and an expression of God's nature. For Plato, God is the visible light, whereas for Areopagite, it is the invisible light. At the conceptual level, "God" will eventually combine the Platonic (Form of) Good(ness), or the "Good", with the Christian God, perceived and defined as Goodness, beauty, perfection, and virtue. In attempting to know God, the soul follows an ascending or descending path, and the concept of negation will play a crucial role in this metaphysical and theological function. It will eventually be shown that the Good is the essence of God and, at the same time, what defines his unique singularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is debate about whether the Corpus Dionysiacum consists of two parts or offers a coherent position. One group of scholars presents a divisionist position, distinguishing one group of treatises dominated by the idea of hierarchical mediation from a second concentrating on the idea of individual and mystical knowledge of God. The second scholarly interpretation supports a holistic view and underlines the unity of the Corpus. I argue that the Corpus is a unity fraught with tension. Dionysius presents, I argue, a comprehensive view of human beings and their place in the world that offers different—and maybe at times competing—paths to understanding and to the ascent to the divine. The mystical, metaphysical, and meditative path and the sacramental path are not merely parallel ways, one for monks and the other for the bishops and laity. They are connected through the communal theological work presented in the fiction of a theological correspondence between the author and various members of the hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Studying the military thinking and military history of the Middle Ages, one can observe several forms of warfare ideologies. Three of these ideologies are the holy war ideology, the ideology of ordeal (or iudicium Dei), and the traditional just war theory. Every such ideology has the common characteristic of a stronger or weaker link to concepts of a Christian God, religion, or church. Beyond this common characteristic, the ideologies differ from each other in some key respects. The holy war ideology applies first and foremost the concept of God, traditional just war theory applies the concept of justice, and the ideology of ordeal relies on both the concepts of God and justice. This article presents the ideology of ordeal as a form of just war thinking, and describes its features through historical examples, through its essence, and in contrast to other ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay builds upon previous work introducing the hermeneutic of Divine relationship, a lens by which systemically oriented Christian therapists can begin to understand the connections between the relational nature of God and their systemic worldview. Specifically, we explore what liberation theology has to offer each of the five domains of the hermeneutic of Divine relationship (i.e., God's nature, human nature, sin and suffering, reconciliation, and hope) and by doing so demonstrate how a revisioning of the hermeneutic of Divine relationship through a liberation theology lens helps move the hermeneutic forward in its ability to aid all systemically oriented Christian therapists with their personal and professional integration. Additionally, this essay explores what a training course on the hermeneutic of Divine relationship could look like and presents a prototype curriculum for training on the hermeneutic of Divine relationship and personal/professional integration for systemically oriented Christian therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 1187 was profoundly emotional for Catholics, who collectively responded with grief and despair. The loss interrupted easy assumptions of divine goodness and support for Christian occupation of Jerusalem, and therefore required explanation. This article traces several claims of atheism, faithlessness, and polytheism among Christians and Muslims, which was part of the causative dialogue that followed the conquest. We will focus on four claims: that the Christian armies at Hattin did not trust in God; that Saladin was an atheist who paradoxically believed in a God named Muhammad; that Christians had become polytheists; and that the Christian God was dead. Although these claims do not necessarily reflect an underlying reality, they are useful evidence of emotion and mentality. They permitted authors to contemplate the loss of Jerusalem without explicit discussion of the vexed theodical questions that 1187 engendered. They can also be read as allowing authors the opportunity to voice their own cosmological anxieties following the conquest, which may have crossed strong lines of taboo around divine goodness, unicity, or existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic flustered dimensions of public and private life in varied ways. In Nigeria, as in several parts of the world, faith-based groups variously tried to make sense of the event as they also try to cope with government 'lockdown' measures introduced to contain and limit the spread of the virus. This study focuses on the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), one of the largest megachurches within global religious landscapes. The study compares the narratives birthed within the RCCG to what obtained among other Pentecostal denominational leaders to make sense of the pandemic as everyone confronted a befuddling global event. Both science and religion became instruments of discerning the meaning of the pandemic, sometimes as competing and sometimes reconciled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Seventy-Seventh General Meeting of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas was held in Vienna, Austria from July 25-28, 2023. The meeting, hosted by the University of Vienna, had 401 registered participants, including 229 members. The meeting featured plenary sessions and seminars covering a range of topics related to New Testament interpretation, feminist perspectives, parables, and the New Testament canon. The Society of New Testament Studies (SNTS) also held its 77th General Meeting in Vienna, which included sessions on New Testament textual criticism, Philo and early Christianity, and the Book of Acts and the political culture of the Roman Empire. The Society elected new members, discussed reports, and approved a Statement of Professional Conduct. They also accepted an invitation to hold their 2024 General Meeting in Melbourne, Australia. [Extracted from the article]

By reading the Psalms in its entirety as a book (also called the Psalter) rather than focusing on individual psalms or sections, a primary theological claim becomes clear: the Lord alone reigns over the cosmos and therefore is the only reliable source of refuge. The essay also explores the role of David in the formation of the Psalter and the ancient view of David as a prophet that grows out of the structure and content of the Psalter. David, along with Moses, is the primary voice that urges hearers and readers to take refuge in the Lord alone (Pss 2:12; 37:39-40; 146:3-4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a book that explores the relationship between Old and New Testament revelations of God and the development of Trinitarian theology. It examines the nature of God as simple, perfect, and eternal, and the inner processional life of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The article also discusses different perspectives on the nature of God and the Trinity within the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, emphasizing the importance of ecumenism and unity among Christians. The book aims to explore the mystery of God within the context of Thomism, while also acknowledging other theological approaches and promoting dialogue between different traditions. [Extracted from the article]

Like many other lowland South American groups described in the literature, Ache give a higher epistemic value to visually experiencing events, a sensibility that some have argued has impeded lasting conversions by Amerindians to Christianity given that the evidentiary practices of the latter can only be expressed through language. In this article, I qualify this idea by showing how the Ache acceptance of the idea of "being seen" by an omnipresent Christian God was able to reconfigure Ache evidentiary practices regarding vision and visual experience. Through a series of Ache conversion narratives recorded in the late 1970s, I show the importance of "being seen" in Ache conversion and how it eventually provided resources for lasting engagements with Christianity—both with and without the surveilling practices of missionaries from the New Tribes Mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Kojève's account of history and philosophy of science. Kojève's understanding of science can be characterized as internalism, which is evident in his holistic view of philosophy, theology, quantum physics, and the history of classical Newtonian mechanics. It precipitates the facilitation of a further inquiry into the Christian genesis, secular evolution, and subsequent de-Christianization of scientific thought. The paper includes a critical scrutiny of Kojève's philosophical tenets, followed by a comparative analysis of the views of Hegel, Koyré, and Kojève. The primary objective of this research is to juxtapose Kojève's doctrines with Hegel's contemplations on the history and philosophy of science. In addition to identifying affinities, notably the emphasis on the Christian concept of God's Incarnation for the advancement of science, I draw the distinctions between the positions of Hegel, Kojève, and Koyré, specifically concerning the valuation of mathematical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the prophecy of Zephaniah, the fate of Judah and that of foreign nations in the purposes of God are intertwined, both in regard to judgement and salvation. Judah needs to learn from God's dealings with the nations. God's verdict and judgement on the nations (1.14–18; 2.4–15) are lessons for sinful Jerusalem, which is under the same threat (2.1–3; 3.1–8). Likewise, but more positively, and this is the focus of the present article, cultic unfaithfulness in contemporary Judah (1.4–6) is set in contrast to the prospect of future cultic devotion to Y hwh by the nations of the world (2.11b; 3.9–10). The prediction of God's favourable dealings with the nations of the world is a salutary lesson to the Judahites and should motivate them to reform the cult and faithfully serve Y hwh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]