This article examined Augustine’s just war theory through René Girard’s scapegoat mechanism, as posited in his theory of mimetic desire. Augustine, in his development of just war theory, adopted a realist approach to justify the ethical criteria for judging the morality of conflict. Just war theory, in its historical form, interpreted as a positive rule of action based on just war principles that were developed over time. Therefore, through a comparative approach, this article argued the rationality of modern warfare and violence on the notion of the surrogate victim, which is necessary for social order and the formulation of cultures, as posited by Girard. In his corpus, Girard highlights the role of scapegoating and victimisation in the process of unifying a community. Thus, a comparative analysis of just war theory and the scapegoat mechanism can be developed to study the conditions for peace, religious liberty and social cohesion. This article discusses the following points: (1) the modern relevance of just war principles; (2) the effects of scapegoat mechanisms in modern societies and their impact on social order and political discourse; and (3) the role of missio Dei in the context of warfare and violence.
Contribution: This article contributes to a comprehensive study of moral philosophy through the thoughts of Augustine and Girard. The convergence between violence, war, peace and justice is studied through anthropology and religious cultural lens. Arguably, this process has the potential to develop an empirical framework to study war and violence acts in our modern polarised world. Furthermore, it considers the ideal praxis for missio Dei in the context of social order and the common good in the 21st century.
The doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible is commonly affirmed in the Pentecostal tradition. For the most part, Pentecostal statements regarding Scripture have parroted the views Evangelicalism that focus attention on infallibility and inerrancy. This article suggests that a Pentecostal theology of inspiration is needed that takes into account Pentecostalism’s epistemology, theology of the Holy Spirit, and understanding of prophecy. Utilizing a method that integrates theological interpretation and grammatical exegesis, this study suggests six theological maxims that can be inferred from a Pentecostal perspective on the doctrine of inspiration. These six points are offered as starting points for discussion and for the development of a robust theology of inspiration.
Church planting is an essential instrument in God’s hand to redeem humanity through the power of the gospel. Several church planters and locations have utilised several church planting methods at different eras. The aim of this article is to find out how it was done during the apostolic period and its significance to the body of Christ. The historical-analytical method was used to discover the scriptural foundations of church planting, patterns of church planting in the book of Acts, the challenges accompanying the pattern and its implications for the contemporary church.
Contribution: Therefore, the researcher believes that all Christian missionaries, missions agencies, church planters, missiologists and pastors will have a better understanding of how best to go about the business of Church planting in contemporary times as the article concludes that the church planting pattern in the book of Acts is fundamental and strategic in propagating the gospel in the world today.
Decolonisation of theology can be undertaken by engaging African proverbs and idioms. Pentecostalism, although the African Christian phenomenon is exploding, also needs to be decolonised in order to break itself of the western shackles of stereotyping Christianity as a western civilisation. The historical development of Pentecostalism, highlighting the heresies that invaded it, is examined, expanded and explained to support the notion that, indeed, the Setswana proverb: Maši ke phepa ke le nosi, selabe se tla le motsaya kgamelo, is a powerful tool to show that Pentecostal faith in its original form was unadulterated, but that the misunderstandings were brought along by certain Pentecostal teachers. The hermeneutical principle of inculturation is referred to as a way of justifying the usage of African proverbs in order to express and simplify theological concepts. Exegesis of 1 Peter 2:2 is undertaken to make an appeal that Pentecostal theology cannot be thrown out as it is a pure milk to be desired for spiritual maturity. This Petrine text is referred to as a basis that doctrinal purity within Pentecostalism should be a goal to be desired. The original Pentecostal initiative has been historically invaded and tinted by dissenting voices promoting some questionable beliefs and practices; however, its originality remains evangelically and fundamentally oriented.
Contribution: This article contributes towards the journal’s vision of multidisciplinary theological perspective using hermeneutical studies and the literature to express the truth experienced in a context but embedded within a text. The article also contributes to the ongoing discourse on decolonisation of theology, especially within the Pentecostal Christianity.
Is there a metaphorical wall that separates science and religion? In the continued interaction between science and religion, the questions of ontology (what is there?) and epistemology (how do we know what is there?) plague efforts to come to an integrated model that successfully includes both partners. In this article, three possible scenarios are discussed: firstly, that science and religion occupy opposite sides of a dividing ‘wall’. Secondly, that science and religion stand on the same side of a ‘wall’ that separates the known from the unknown. Thirdly, the possibility that no ‘wall’ exists and that science and religion effectively come to interdependent conclusions based on their interaction within an open system. This article addresses the questions of transcendence and immanence against the background of the wall metaphor.
Stary Noe of Zuzanna Orlińska as an example of modern religious care for children
The article presents the figure and achievements of the author and illustrator of children’s books Zuzanna Orlińska. Detailed analyzes were book Old Noah awarded in 2016. Kornel Makuszyński price and highlighted by the jury of PS IBBY. Old Noah is an example of modern adaptation of the Biblical story of the flood. Draws attention to the character of Noah and his relationship with God. The author raises many questions about obedience to God’s will and trust.
Resumo: análise do texto de Jó 28 destacando as relações entre a atividade mineradora na antiguidade e a busca da Sabedoria na literatura bíblica assumindo a integridade da terra como lugar hermenêutico para o enfrentamento do sofrimento e a injustiça.
Palavras-chave: Jó 28. Mineração. Tecnologia. Sabedoria. Terra.
ABSTRACT: In God's Revelation, the structure of the covenant consists of God's promises and Israels answer to them. In the covenant God has revealed Himself personally to both individuals and his chosen people. In the theology of religion developed by Hendrik Kraemer, there are two types of religion: The (prophetic) religion based on Gods revelation and the other (naturalist) religions are based on efforts to grasp the identity of his real self with divine reality, this is called as trans-empirical self realization. What is the essence of religion based on God's self revelation? God's revelation is the only source of all knowledge about true spirituality and the salvation in Christ. The Bible as the witness of God's revelation to prophets and apostles is the criterion of all religious truth. The Bible relates the history of redemption, gives a foundation to personal faith, and is the only guidebook to the life and work of the Christian community. From this starting point I try to analyze the Biblical concept of religious truth as the standard for determining religions, and to give a real answer to Gods self revelation. KEYWORDS: covenant, revelation, faith, religion.
What is distinctive about Pentecostals’ reading of the Bible? In what way do Pentecostal people read the Bible so that they reach different conclusions than believers of other denominations? Is it possible to speak of a Pentecostal herme-neutics? In what way does it differ from the hermeneutics found in other theological traditions, such as the Catholic, Eastern and Reformed traditions? And how does their hermeneutics inform Pentecostals’ practice? These questions are discussed and some preliminary conclusions reached. Pentecostals’ religious consciousness expects an experience or encounter between God and human beings through his Spirit. This is supposed to happen in the worship service and also in the practice of Bible reading, whether individually or collectively. The presupposition is that the Word is revealed in the Bible only when people experience God, and the existential precondition leads to a Pentecostal emphasis of narratives describing such encounters in the Bible.
This article investigates the naturalisation of the Bible. Three voices are of special importance in the narrative presented in this article; they are Aristotle (384–322 BC), Rene Descartes (1596–1650) and Baruc Spinoza (1632–1677). This article will investigate the scientific method and metaphysics espoused by each of the three scholars, thereby highlighting changes in scientific method and metaphysics that lead to the naturalisation of the Bible. Firstly, Aristotle pioneered a scientific method (his logic) that would dominate for centuries, as well as a highly influential metaphysics. Secondly, Descartes, witnessing the horrors of the Thirty Years War and seeing first-hand the new discoveries that brought about the scientific revolution, reacted against Aristotle’s metaphysics. Ironically he then used Aristotle’s scientific method to provide a foundation for the new science resulting in Descartes’s famous dualism. Thirdly, Spinoza, equally horrified by the amount of religious violence of his time, reacts against Descartes’s dualism, providing scholars with a monist metaphysics that would contribute greatly to the naturalisation of the Bible. This article will be relevant to theologians who wish to engage more fully with contemporary Western culture.
This study examines how religiousness influences social network site (SNS) membership and frequency of use for emerging adults between 18 and 23 years old utilizing Wave 3 survey data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Independent of religion promoting a prosocial orientation, organizational involvement, and civic engagement, Catholics and Evangelical Protestants are more likely than the “not religious” to be SNS members, and more Bible reading is associated with lower levels of SNS membership and use. We argue there are both sacred and secular influences on SNS involvement, and social behaviors, such as being in school and participating in more non-religious organizations, generally positively influence becoming a SNS member, yet certain more private behaviors, such as Bible reading, donating money, and helping the needy, lessen SNS participation. We also suggest four areas for future research to help untangle the influence of religiousness on SNS use and vice versa.