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This is a theological analysis directed towards elucidating the notion of the Church and ministerial priesthood in Sheen's writings. His view of the Church's nature as the prism of the diffusion of Divine Life serves as the theological basis for understanding his notion of the evangelizing mission of the Church. In line with Sheen's ecclesiology, his theology of ministerial priesthood is elaborated within the theological framework of the so-called Divine Equation. In the analysis of Sheen's theological ideas in reference to Vatican Council II, certain similarities and differences come to light, between his notion of the Church and priesthood, and some key conciliar teachings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 14 propositions in this article were prepared for the opening session of the international online consultation "Teaching Ecumenism in the Context of World Christianity," organized in June 2021 by the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey and related programme units in the World Council of Churches. They were drafted as a discussion starter, based on two observations: the first is that the notion of "World Christianity," in the sense that it is understood in the title of the conference, presupposes a critical reference to the interrelated Eurocentric projects of global modernization and Christianization; the second is the truism that the understanding of ecumenicity and the teaching of ecumenism are interwoven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the image of the child in Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of God and its significance for discipleship today. It argues that the image is a metaphor for a new beginning, and from this perspective a variety of perspectives emerge for faith today in its openness to the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From its very beginnings, the teaching of Christianity has been characterised by its cultivation of intelligence. This task is still fundamental, especially as education does not always succeed in harmonising the intellectual dimension with other dimensions (especially the emotional or affective and social dimensions), which often come to the fore. However, it is necessary to demand that the educational task refers to reason theoretically and in practice, and here this is presented as an objective. Within this framework, this work considers that Christian education provides the light of faith, faith which enters into relationship with reason and, therefore, with culture or cultures. This is presented, in religious education classes in a dialogue between ethics, science and religion, with a view to the interdisciplinary nature of education. The teaching of Christianity has its scientific roots in theology, on the level of both speculation and practical wisdom. In conclusion, religious education classes, with their humanising and educational potential and their proclamation of faith, can enrich reason and the works of humankind. All of this is especially relevant when illuminating the intellectual approaches and existential attitudes of young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the cross-cultural organisational adaptation of host religious organisations through their interaction with non-Christian Chinese international students in the UK. Grounded in Kim's integrative adaptation theory, the research employed the methods of participant observation, interviews and document analysis to examine the interaction of international students with two specific churches (part of the Church of Scotland). The study found that in order to provide international engagement, the churches in question underwent cross-cultural organisational adaptation and transformation with a consideration of the cultural differences and the needs of Chinese students in intercultural communication, including in terms of multicultural team building, the improvement of intercultural competence and adaptive religious practices. These adaptive transformations or 'customised services' attracted and engaged large numbers of Chinese students in the intercultural interaction surrounding congregations. The cultural adaptation of host congregations contributes to the quality of social support for international students as well as the intercultural expansion of Christian values and beliefs throughout the trend of student mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's education system is complex because it has to meet the needs of a population which is culturally, geographically, politically, religiously and economically diverse. The principal investigator spent two summers in India talking with teachers and learners. This paper reports on the impact of Christian values in the secular but arguably Hindu nationalist education system. Working within an interpretivist paradigm and through an ethnographic lens, an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach was adopted to make sense of 34 interviewees' narratives from five Indian states. The narratives were mapped onto an adaptation of a 'tree metaphor' to illustrate how values underpin decision-making and action in the school context. Five of the narratives are presented as keyhole examples to exemplify the similarities and contrasts in reported beliefs, values and behaviours set within the context of teachers' professional practice. Findings reveal that all 34 participants drew on their Christian faith, and Indian cultural context, in their decision-making both in how they made sense of education policy, and how they interpreted school events and behaviours. Despite their common faith (Christianity), the 34 interpretations, decision-making and actions varied as demonstrated in the five selected narratives. We explore how the variance manifested and was influenced by the geographical, cultural, post colonial and school context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses that attributing violence to the fundamental teachings of Christianity is tantamount to affirming that God is a malevolent God who works through his people to spread evil in the world. It mentions that Christianity is one of the primary reasons why violence breaks out in the first place; and also mentions that in light of the fundamental Christian conviction that all people are created in the image of God.

The article offers information on the concept of catechesis, a Christian religious education in the digital technology age. It highlights about catechetical formation as a path of initiation into the Christian life, which considers not just a mere transmission of doctrine or only a preparation for the sacraments and also practice the effects of cyberculture on faith.

This article examines the term "whiteness," providing a historical review for context. It uncovers whiteness using educational theory that identifies three aspects of curriculum—explicit, implicit, and null. A particularly unexamined biblical interpretation itself illustrates the explicit curriculum. Visual images that permeate the culture provide examples of implicit indicators of whiteness. Episodes in our history that are not taught create a null curriculum that reveals whiteness. Finally, it suggests three educational steps with examples to expose and dismantle whiteness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on the study of Islam and Christianity with the introduction of feminism. Topics discussed include religious difference, introduction of sexuality and feminist theory in the study of Islam, and introduction of Islam into Christian theology. The author also mentions the argument of scholar Judith Butler on vulnerability.

RE in Russia has been recently introduced as a compulsory regular school subject during the last year of elementary school. The present study offers a critical analysis of the current practice of Russian RE by comparing it with RE in Sweden, Denmark and Britain. This analysis shows that Russian RE is ambivalent. Although it is based on a non-confessional religious studies approach, Russian RE also serves the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church, which aims to educate students into Orthodox Christianity, as well as the interests of the Russian state itself, which turns RE in a kind of citizenship education focusing on the patriotic upbringing of students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Going on a field trip to the church, pupils can experience lived religion. But how do they feel during such a church visit? In this paper, we analyse statements of 516 German third graders (about 8 years old) made after they had visited their local church on a field trip. Using affective schema theory, we develop a conceptual model of emotions in churches that serves as theoretical framework for our quantitative content analysis. All in all, the vast majority of the participants report about positive feelings during their church visit. Moreover, it is one-third of the children who show spiritual or religious references in their statements. They talk about personal peace and comfort during the visit, or describe the church as a place to pray and experience the presence of God. Regression analysis identifies that it is the religiously educated children who express such references. Furthermore, children with high centrality of religiosity tend to choose traditional religious concepts, symbols and practices to express reference. These results are mostly in line with relevant theory from sociology of religion and primarily support the concept of subjective turn in religion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Individuals and communities occasionally need asking and giving forgiveness. Because the process of forgiving is not always well understood, it has become necessary to consider including forgiveness education in school pedagogy and in formal school programs such as Citizenship Education. This possibility is illustrated with examples from South Africa and The Netherlands. To date, forgiveness education has mostly taken the form of brief research interventions. It is recommended that forgiveness education, also from a Christian viewpoint, be given a more prominent place in school curriculums as well as in teacher education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the relative significance given to the religious founding figures of Montreal and of Nouvelle-France in general, as well as what sort of representations are proposed of these figures, in the teaching books of Quebec's Ethics and Religious Culture Program in those chapters where religious heritage is addressed. We shall try to identify the essential qualities of the memory that is transmitted to today's young generations of the religious project which was that of Quebec's original settlers, in today's profondly secularized Quebec society, as well as to what extent the deep motivations driving these founding figures can be understood today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conversation between the editors of Teaching Theology and Religion and Joanne Maguire Robinson continues an occasional series of interviews that has previously featured Jonathan Z. Smith, Stephen Prothero, Mary Pierce Brosmer, and Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore. The exchange takes as its point of departure the teaching statement that Professor Robinson produced in support of her candidacy for the American Academy of Religion's Excellence in Teaching Award. Issues addressed include the impact of institutional context on one's teaching, teaching the humanities in universities that are ever more focused on job training, making the transition from a graduate program focused on research to teaching undergraduates who are unlikely to take even a second course in the study of religion, and ways in which women are challenged to navigate multiple responsibilities while striving to make their way in a male-dominated academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decades have seen an intensive reassessment of older scholarly categories within the discipline of Religious Studies, spurring a turn toward more microhistorical approaches in the study of ancient Judaism and Christianity in particular. With an eye to the power and limits of scholarly practices of categorization, this article reflects upon the pairing of "Apocalypticism" and "Mysticism" in modern scholarship on premodern Judaism, focusing on two works commonly cited as exemplary of their connection--1 Enoch and 3 Enoch. Drawing insights from interdisciplinary research on the History of the Book/Material Texts, it experiments with situating scholarly acts of categorization in relation to other practices of constructing continuity, both ancient and modern. It highlights the potency of anthologies and related textual practices for naturalizing certain categories of comparison and certain trajectories of retrospective connection--for modern scholars no less than for ancient and medieval readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pliny the Younger's letter to Trajan regarding the Christians is a crucial subject for the studies on early Christianity. A serious quarrel among scholars concerning its genuineness arose between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th; per contra, Plinian authorship has not been seriously questioned in the last few decades. After analysing various kinds of internal and external evidence in favour of and against the authenticity of the letter, a modern stylometric method is applied in order to examine whether internal linguistic evidence allows one to definitely settle the debate. The findings of this analysis tend to contradict received opinion among modern scholars, affirming the authenticity of Pliny's letter, and suggest instead the presence of large amounts of interpolation inside the text of the letter, since its stylistic behaviour appears highly different from that of the rest of Book X. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual activity and desire have often been seen as inimical to Christian spirituality and practice, and many people have come to view Christianity as austere and shaming regarding sexuality. However, sexuality, religion, and policy-making have become so intertwined, that to ignore how they intersect and affect particular individuals' lives does a disservice to students. This article presents resources and strategies for incorporating the topic of sexuality into liberal undergraduate and graduate theological classrooms. It provides guidance to instructors lacking research expertise in sexuality and focuses on three main pedagogical categories: perspective transformation; embodiment pedagogy; and sexual violence and trauma. One purpose of this article is to generate conversation: there is a need for further collaboration with colleagues who are experts in various disciplines to continue mining resources to offer diverse strategies and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author discusses approach of Churches in teaching all forms of intercultural dialogues. It states that education creating true dialogue include two key factors such as liturgical formation at heart catechesis and educators with knowledge and interest in Church's traditions. It mentions that the main aim is to create professional link of doctrinally orthodox with Catholic teachers; and also mentions the challenges faced by Catholic education.

In Russia the theme of science and religion found its strongest resonance at the levels of humanistic scholarship and Christianity in general, where visions of harmony dominated and doctrinal and confessional particularity was largely absent. The fraught relations of both the Holy Synod and the Imperial Academy of Sciences with the Russian state since the early eighteenth century had the collateral consequence of minimal institutional contacts between theology and natural philosophy. Though "scientific apologetics" eventually found a place in the seminaries, scientists did not contribute to this scholarship in the nineteenth century. The rare prominent scientist who entertained religious beliefs posited either harmony or conflict in public writings even more rarely, and it is the varieties of religious indifference--not solely Soviet in origin--that invite historical inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions of Christian higher education are charged with helping students steward their current callings and prepare for future callings (Plantinga, 2002). Subjective knowledge, or knowledge of self, plays an important role in this sort of vocational discernment. John Dirkx's “soul work” can help educators lead their students to a deeper understanding of themselves. Soul work does not require additional course content but rather heightened attentiveness to the emotional reactions of students as they engage both course material and their colleagues in a learning environment. This article introduces faculty in Christian higher education to soul work and equips them to apply relevant concepts to their pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of student persistence and retention literature has brought to light factors of social, academic, and religious fit that influence a student's decision to remain at or depart from an institution. At Christian institutions, increasing student pluralism raises the likelihood that students will not fit religiously. This qualitative study of 21 first-time, full-time students contributes to the existing literature by exploring how students who already feel they do not fit for religious reasons work at constructing a sense of fit at a Christian research university. Many participants coped with religious discontinuity by redefining specifically Christian practices and teachings in terms that were personally palatable: as either general moral lessons that would help them to be a better person or as cultural insights that would benefit them social and professionally in the future. In many cases, university staff were instrumental. Finally, participants worked to construct an acceptable level of fit, or fit threshold, through various combinations of social fit, academic fit, and religious fit, often compensating for one with others. As Christian institutions increasingly invite students from diverse religious backgrounds into their campus community, understanding ways that these students attempt to adapt to religious incongruence will be paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented regarding the association of the manuscript "The End of What?" to the published paper "Preservation, Restoration, Reformation," by Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley in his medieval study of Christianity. The author discusses the effort of Nibley in dealing with Latter-day Saint (LDS) inquiries in tackling apostasy, and the indicators on the manuscript preservation concerning the primitive church and Christian antiquity.

The article focuses on the legacy and Latter-day Saint (LDS) scholarship of Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley on late antique Christianity. Topics include the significant contribution of Nibley to the inquiry method such as academic infrastructure to the apostasy narrative of Mormonism and scholar debates on early Christianity historiography and history, LDS scholarship scope on early church, and the ecclesiological elements of Mormonism.

The article offers the author's insights regarding the "Preservation, Restoration, Reformation" chapter of the papers titled "The End of What?" by Mormon scholar Hugh Winder Nibley and his early and medieval study of Christianity. He discusses the purpose of Nibley in writing the manuscript assessing his contemporary scholarship and the features of Nibley in his Mormon narrative as compare to church historians.

An essay is presented on the instructive approach and essay models used by Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley, focusing on its implications among 20th century Christians who are rejecting the main church. Topics discussed include the description of church as pure, united, and charismatic spiritual gifts, the explicit parallels demonstrated by Nibley in Mormonism, and the anticipation of Nibley in heresy and Christian diversity.

This essay discusses the argument for holistic education proposed in the Old and New Testament scriptures. It proposes a definition of theology that is influenced by holistic orientation or the application of God's Word in all areas of life. It cites that education should emphasize a holistic view of life that many Christian parents fail to consider as they delegate specific areas of knowledge to church teaching and school teaching.

This article calls for balancing attention given to both who we are and whose we are in Christian teaching. Such a stance honors the individuality of persons and their connections to the Christian community and tradition. These are insights gained from writing an educational memoir with suggestions shared for memoir writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Spanish Reformation, we find two excellent Spanish educators, Antonio del Corro and Constantino Ponce de la Fuente, who illustrate timeless principles for Christian teachers. In the middle of extensive persecution, they strived to serve the Lord and his people with the greatest dedication and passion. The Spanish Inquisition failed to erase the memory of these educators, and now Christian educators can imitate their exemplary educational integrity and commitment to Christian ministry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay discusses the morals aspects and teaching of Christianity with special attention to the Anglican Roman Catholic Theological Consultation in the United States and ecclesiology. Other topics mentioned in this article include the ecumenical movement, the concept of morality, and church history.

Growth in Christianity has spurred the appearance of the subfield of world Christianity, whose assumptions increasingly shape scholarship on Christianity. What I term the world-Christian turn, which is often linked to mission studies, yields more comprehensive approaches to the Christian past, connecting local histories of Christian communities to larger-scale historical movements and producing innovative comparative perspectives on Christianity past and present. In Catholic theology, this turn has encouraged new comparative and contextual theologies. Yet support for Christian mission and the world-Christian turn need not go together. Two cases in point: comparative theology tends to eschew mission while the work of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, is suspicious of some impulses behind the world-Christian turn and their potential for undermining Christian mission. Such cases notwithstanding, I argue that missiology is a promising resource for the field of world Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, I first interrogate the in vogue yet ambiguous term “world Christianity.” After assessing alternate nomenclature, I make the case for why “world Christianity” best represents this emerging discipline. Second, I examine two pathways that world Christianity carves out for postcolonial mission in the twenty-first century. While one trajectory falls backward reclaiming and reconfiguring past objectives of evangelization for Christ, the other launches forward engendering dynamic visions of mission made possible by trinitarian reflection. Third, I suggest postcolonial mission is an area of contestation but also negotiation; where these movements intersect paves a way forward for mission thinking and practice. I conclude by reflecting on emerging missiological challenges as these collectives seek to be collaborative and fruitful instruments of God's presence in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented that discusses the study of world Christianity, noting issue articles on topics such as theories of Christian missions, the historiography of Christianity in North India, and Korean feminist theology.

An essay is presented which explores the metaphorical and mystical teachings of Jewish mystic Isaac ben Solomon Luria with an emphasis on the self-distancing of God from the process of creation through withdrawing, breaking, and repairing. The author reflects on the applicability of Luria's teaching to contemporary religious education. Other topics include the love of God, transformative education, and classroom management.

In Australia, both Christian and non-Christian higher education institutions (HEIs) have experienced a rapidly changing external environment that is becoming more performance-driven, particularly in relation to faculty research. Academics working in Australian Christian HEIs often feel pressure to keep pace with their counterparts in non-Christian HEIs. Without proactive steps by Christian HEIs and the faculty serving in that context, decreasing levels of government funding to support research may be targeted to non-Christian HEIs. The result of this pattern would potentially influence the ability of Christian HEIs to attract high-caliber staff and students. The focus of this article, a case study involving a large Australian Protestant Christian HEI, examines the process of moving from a teaching-led culture to one reflecting a strong nexus between teaching and research. The research methodology included observations made during site visits, reviews of relevant documents, individual semistructured interviews with eight faculty, and follow-up information obtained from the same participants. A thematic analysis, as outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006), identified the primary theme that emerged as that of the journey followed by the participants as the research and publication output of the institution was enhanced. The participants’ personal standing within their institution was also increased during this process. Four related subthemes described in the paper includedstruggles, advances,barriers/blocks, andsupports/backers—as part of the individual and institutional journey. Implications of the findings for higher education professionals within and beyond the research site are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christian scholars inhabit at least two communities: the community of Christians and the community of scholars. Each community has its own distinctive set of beliefs, practices, and criteria for membership. To avoid incoherence, the Christian scholar seeks to understand the relationship between the two communities. The Christian, we are told, must integrate all of her life as a scholar—her teaching and research—with her Christianity. Descriptions of how this integration is supposed to look are often opaque or unhelpful. Further, the fact that the scholarly enterprise looks quite different for the historian, the mathematician, and the physicist adds to the difficulty of prescribing an approach to the integration of faith and scholarship that is helpful across all of the academic disciplines. In this article, I highlight the topic of integration by exploring the anatomy of an “academic discipline.” In doing so, connections between faith and the scholarly enterprise emerge in ways that seem less opaque and more helpful than standard treatments of the topic of integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to Bruce Marshall's use of logic to clarify the metaphysical issues at stake in the doctrine of transubstantiation. While appreciating and agreeing with the general approach of finding connections between logic and metaphysics, on the one hand, and the communal and ecumenical significance of Eucharistic doctrine, on the other, this paper criticizes Marshall's particular analysis as beholden to a distinctively modern approach to logic, and displaying a typically modern neglect of the notion of substance. The conclusion suggests that distinctively Catholic teaching on transubstantiation is significant today not only for proclaiming a mystery of Christian faith, but also for calling attention to classical categories of reality, categories once considered more natural and common but subsequently obscured by modern philosophical and theological developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The apologists are different from other Church Fathers, first by the content of their writings, and secondly through the purpose and final recipient of the work, in that it ceases to be pedagogical work only, being distinguished by polemic aspects, in opposition with the mentality of Pagan world. Unlike the immobile and terrifying belief of the idols and gods worshipers, the Christian belief is a charismatic one, done directly, immediatelly and individually in relation to the spiritual power of each believer. This reality is confirmed and consecrated by the Holy Sacrements and by the believers who partake with Holy Sacrements. The new approach of Christian life in relation to the pagan traditions, of cultivating idols and gods, is that it emphasizes the human virtue, especially the Christian virtue which has a specific Christocentric character. To the apologistic size of their work an obvious missionary activity is added. The apologists are excellent preachers of the Christian life and percepts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, contributing to the spread of Christianity and the edification of the believers on its meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We administered the Celebrity Attitude Scale, Quest Scale, and the Age- Universal l-E scale -12 to 164 undergraduates from three institutions in the United States in order to compare their religious values with a sample of English participants obtained by Maltby, et al. (2002). Results showed no overall relationship, between the tendency to admire celebrities and religiosity, as measured by Quest and the Age-Universal I-E scale-12. The mean of the 12 relationships reported here was only +.12, indicating that many religious persons either ignore the Christian teaching that "Thou shalt worship no other Gods," or they fail to link it to their worship of celebrities. Results were discussed in light of the previous study and suggestions were made for the further study of the relationship between celebrity worship and religiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reprint of a sermon delivered by Reverend Paul Larsen about the importance of Christian education published in the June 1980 issue is presented. Larsen stresses the significance of the groundbreaking of North Hall dormitory at Immanuel Lutheran College (ILC) in Eau Claire, Wisconsin as the event offers an opportunity to educate and learn from the Word of God. He emphasizes the need to listen to the Word of God with hearing ears. He discusses how Christian education leads to eternal life.