Search Results (360)

This article addresses the problem of the truth of religion from a personalist perspective, moving beyond classical propositional conceptions of truth. The starting point is the claim that, in Christianity, truth has a personal character and is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, which leads to a shift from truth understood as the correspondence of judgment and reality to truthfulness as the existential integrity of the human person. Methodologically, the study is located at the intersection of fundamental and systematic theology. It employs conceptual analysis, theological hermeneutics, and systematic argumentation in order to reconstruct, from within Christian personalism, a criterion of religious truthfulness. It is argued that the truth of religion cannot be reduced to doctrinal coherence, but is manifested in the degree to which religion fosters personal integration, relational capacity, and participation in communion. Particular attention is given to the role of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, understood as a space of personal integration and transformation, in which the human person is drawn into relationship with God and the ecclesial community. The analysis further suggests that this criterion may have heuristic value in comparative theology, provided that the distinction between Christian claims to fullness and analogical participation in truthfulness is carefully maintained. In conclusion, a religion is true insofar as it makes the human person true, that is, integrated, relational, and capable of participation in communion. Such truthfulness has an ontological and personalist character, rather than being merely functional or pragmatic. Full article

This paper addresses the contemporary challenge of religious disaffiliation and the “supermarket mentality” of liquid religion by proposing a prophetic paradigm shift in evangelisation and catechesis. Utilising Richard Osmer’s practical theological framework as a structure, the study identifies a historical shift from the lived apostolic kerygma (fides qua) toward an over-reliance on formal conciliar definitions and Magisterial formulae (fides quae). This diachronic analysis suggests that the current “apparent failure” of institutional engagement is rooted in a linguistic and methodological disconnect. Drawing on the visionary models of St Augustine and St Benedict, and grounded in Karl Rahner’s transcendental theology, the paper proposes a normative way forward: an inductive pedagogy of the heart. This model prioritises the art of accompaniment and the return to elementary, foundational concepts that address the experiential core of the human person. Ultimately, the study argues that restoring the balance between the lived tradition and the contents of the faith is a theological requirement for helping contemporary believers to live their faith in daily life. Full article

Tertullian provocatively asked (circa 200 AD), “What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church?” The relationship between formal philosophy and religion has been a contentious battleground ever since. It has historically come into sharpest focus in biology generally, and evolutionary theory specifically. Charles Darwin clearly won the day in the short-term. His evolutionary functionalism looked like an inglorious abandonment of time-honored metaphysical realism for positivist empirical reductionism with a concomitant horizontalization of perspective that has secularized and flattened the intellectual landscape. But more recently the rise of evo-devo (evolutionary developmental biology) and epigenetic factors have forced a reevaluation of his archrival, Richard Owen. This paper argues that the key to understanding Owen is rooted in his devout Anglicanism through his broad church theology which put Plato into the service of evolutionary theory only now beginning to receive our belated attention. The road to Owen’s evolutionary theory weaved its way from Athens through Jerusalem, finding itself in the contentious intersection of 19th-century Victorian science and religion. Inaccurately mapped by William Paley, Owen’s evolutionary structuralism offered an alternative through science, philosophy, and religion that is only now beginning to be appreciated. Full article

Nuclear contamination challenges assumptions that harm can be contained through technological control, political borders, or bodily separation. Across the Asia-Pacific, radioactive exposure moves unevenly through racialised, gendered, and colonial histories, rendering some bodies more vulnerable to ecological violence than others. Nuclear regimes continue to depend upon theological logics of purity, sacrificial exclusion, and protected innocence. This article develops a spirituality of fermentation through Asian eco-feminist theology and the Korean practice of sakhim. Fermentation becomes a practice of sustaining wounded life through endurance, permeability, and communal care. From this spirituality of fermentation, I develop the concept of Vital Fluidity as an ethical and theological framework for understanding how life continues through shared vulnerability, where bodies, nourishment, and histories remain deeply entangled. The article contributes to intersectional debates in theology, religion, gender, and ecology by approaching contamination through relation rather than separation. Under nuclear conditions, ethical responsibility emerges through practices that hold grief, contamination, memory, and nourishment together within shared existence. Fermentation therefore becomes a practical theological model for living with nuclear bodies. Full article

This article develops a symbolic hermeneutic framework for interpreting contemporary socio-educational phenomena within the horizon of decolonial thought and Liberation Theology. It begins from the assumption that symbols are not merely decorative forms of representation but fundamental structures of meaning that shape both individual experience and collective life, especially through their educational effects. From this perspective, the article examines how the symbols circulating in social communication reveal the ideological underpinnings of imagination, authority, exclusion, and resistance. The essay then places this symbolic analysis in dialog with decolonial theory, arguing that the enduring epistemological legacy of colonialism continues to organize hegemonic forms of knowledge, subjectivity, and power. Particular attention is devoted to the concept of the frontier, first understood as a modern device of exclusion and then reinterpreted as a space of epistemic resistance, ethical encounter, and democratic confrontation among differences. The discussion further engages key authors of Liberation Theology and the philosophy of liberation—especially Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff, Enrique Dussel, and Paulo Freire—in order to show how religious discourse and pedagogical practice intersect in processes of emancipation. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretative approach grounded in philosophical hermeneutics and critical conceptual analysis. It reconstructs and compares major theoretical positions rather than presenting empirical data. The article argues that the integration of symbolic hermeneutics, decolonial thought, and liberationist theology offers an original framework for rethinking education as a transformative practice grounded in ethical responsibility toward the Other. By bringing the concepts of frontier, sentipensamiento, communality, and pluriverse into a single analytical constellation, the paper contributes to current debates in religious studies, critical pedagogy, and epistemic justice. In the context of contemporary global crises—migration, ecological devastation, social fragmentation, and the weakening of democratic participation—it proposes a renewed role for religion as a critical and generative force capable of opening new educational spaces for dialogue, liberation, and the reconfiguration of knowledge. Full article

The Neo-Calvinist Johan Herman Bavinck was one of the most significant missionaries of the mid-twentieth century in the Reformed tradition. Bavinck considered the question of the status of non-Christian religion and religious consciousness the most pressing issue for missionary thought and practice. This article offers a text-driven account of Johan Herman Bavinck’s theology of religions. It argues that Bavinck treated non-Christian religion as a culpable yet always partial suppression of God’s universal self-disclosure, in which religious systems cohere around what he calls vague truths while lacking the determinate knowledge of God given in special revelation. Attention to his distinction between systems and persons clarifies how he believed missionary encounter could combine judgement with humility, as the Christian confronts unbelief while recognising the church’s own tendency toward pseudo-religion. The article situates Bavinck’s account within Reformed Augustinianism and eclecticism, such as in the use of Freudian psychology in exegesis. It then provides a preliminary application of Bavinck’s thought to select issues in Chinese Christianity as part of recent scholarly attention to the prospects of Sino-Reformed theology. Full article

The emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses unprecedented challenges to homiletic practice, compelling a shift in focus from the textual proficiency of the machine to the ontological status of preaching itself. Through a theological-pastoral analysis anchored in sacramental dogmatics and in dialogue with digital religion, this article scrutinizes the validity of algorithmic mediation in the ministry of the Word. The study establishes a tripartite normative framework—assistance, delegation, and substitution—demonstrating that while technical support is legitimate in preparatory tasks, the syntactic success of generative models acts as a critical mirror, exposing a pre-existing crisis of frequently generic and standardized preaching. It concludes that, within a sacramental framework, the homily constitutes an unrepeatable liturgical and spiritual event, requiring the authority of an embodied subject vulnerable to their own message. Full article

Social media in Hong Kong Christian communities has been viewed in terms of social equalization, allowing laity to shape theology and community practices. But how is social media an equalizer for religious communities, and along which social dimensions? Drawing on Heidi A. Campbell’s “layers” and Pauline Hope Cheong’s “logics” of power, we offer a framework for examining how social media affects leadership roles, community practices, ideology and identity, and approaches to religious texts, in terms of whether these impacts are continuous with and complementary to existing power structures, displace traditional authority, or involve a dialectic between the two. Through case studies of Hong Kong Christian Key Opinion Leaders (KOL), we show displacements of official roles by lay leaders interacting with an underlying logic of continuity along traditional lines such as gender, social class, and sexual orientation. Online structures of community practice complement existing power structures, reinforcing traditional hierarchies of identity, ideology, and religious texts. We conclude by considering how theological approaches to dispossession may help Hong Kong Christian communities to enter a dialectic of challenges and opportunities for equality. Full article

This article provides a critical analysis of the term “entheogen” as a name for certain psychoactive drugs, arguing that it functions more as a theological construct than a neutral designation. The article analyzes how entheogenic discourses present claims about the historicity of their use, their supposed spiritual or religious meaning, and their ultimate significance for individual and social transformation as descriptive, when they are, in fact, normative. Particular attention is given to the creation of the term “entheogen” as an alternative to other designations, how advocates understand the alleged exceptional nature of entheogens and what they do, appeals to shamanism as a legitimating discourse, and the eschatological hopes invested in these substances as agents of social, cultural, and religious renewal. Rather than adjudicating the truth of these claims or creating an alternative designation, the article interrogates the theological interests and commitments at work, and the rhetorical strategies that sustain them. In doing so, the article argues that entheogenic discourses often blur the boundaries between description and prescription, or advocacy. The article suggests the need for a more reflexive, contextual approach to how we understand the use of these substances. Full article

Despite common Pentecostal rhetoric positioning divine healing as normative and imminent, it remains rare, unpredictable, and temporary. This disconnect creates substantial pastoral and psychological challenges for Pentecostals experiencing chronic disease. Drawing on Pentecostal history, theology, and Pargament’s psychology of religion and coping, this paper employs practical theology to investigate contemporary Australian healing praxis. 17 pastoral caregivers and 8 care receivers experiencing chronic diseases were interviewed to contrast expectations and actual experiences of healing ministry. The findings reveal that, even when healing does not manifest, caregivers maintain high healing expectations founded on atonement theology and faith-motivated prayer, and their praxis tends to blame recipients for insufficient faith or unconfessed sin, appeals to God’s mysterious sovereignty, and resists re-evaluation. Using Pargament’s means-and-ends model, the analysis demonstrates that inflexible praxis hindered coping, creating guilt, self-doubt, and religious trauma. While caregivers demonstrated genuine concern and practical support, care receivers felt pressured to hide ongoing struggles and privately developed acceptance strategies. Disconnectedly, caregivers remain confused by the expectation-experience gap while receivers quietly embrace suffering as God’s will. This paper invites Pentecostals toward greater self-awareness, recommending reforms: recognising faith and suffering as compatible, honest acknowledgment of healing rarity, expanded engagement with coping resources, and person-centred care. Full article

With a focus on how both traditions influence identity, memory, and lived spirituality in African contexts, this article examines the theological and cultural interactions between Christianity and African Traditional Religion (ATR). This study highlights the ongoing interaction between ATR and Christianity as two significant systems ingrained in African life, notwithstanding the continent’s religious diversity. In Africa, religion and culture are inextricably linked, influencing social customs, moral standards, and a sense of community but also constantly changing due to personal experience. African spiritual systems were frequently disregarded by missionary Christianity in the past, which led to conflicts that still exist in modern African Christianity. The importance of ancestors, rituals, and supernatural beliefs all of which are still fundamental to the worldviews of many African Christians are areas where these conflicts are especially noticeable. This article makes the case for a positive theological approach that acknowledges ATR as an essential tool for African Christian identity rather than as a rival or subpar system, drawing on the idea of inculturation. The article illustrates how African spirituality serves as a storehouse of collective memory and identity over generations by delving into issues of ancestry, ritual, and spiritual mediation. Additionally, it offers a liberative and dialogical theological concept that promotes understanding between Christianity and ATR. Such an approach not only bridges spiritual divides but also contributes to the development of a contextually grounded liberation theology that affirms indigenous knowledge systems while remaining open to global theological discourse. Full article

This paper argues that English translations of the Qur’ān play a pivotal role in shaping interfaith dialogue, either fostering mutual understanding or reinforcing religious division, depending on the translator’s ideological stance. While interreligious relations have historically been marred by conflict, the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions marked a turning point toward more inclusive and dialogical engagement. In this context, translating the Qur’ān emerged as a crucial medium through which Islamic teachings could be made accessible to non-Muslim audiences. Several scholars, including Kidwai and Elmarsafy, have explored the Orientalist framing of Qur’ān translation; however, few researchers have examined how modern renderings consciously reposition the text as a site of interfaith ethics. This study critically examines whether George Sale’s influential translation of the Qur’ān—reprinted nearly 200 times—contributes to or hinders interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians. It compares Sale’s Qur’ān rendition into English with five contemporary translations. The paper analyzes the translations of five Qur’ānic verses promoting coexistence, with particular attention to key terms such as إِكْرَاهَ ikrah (compulsion), الدِّينِ ad-dīn (religion), تَّقْوَىٰ taqwā (piety), and مُسْلِمُونَ muslimūn (submitters). Guided by Munday’s theory of ideology in translation, the analysis demonstrates that Sale’s rendering adopts a distinctly polemical tone intended to assert Christian superiority. The findings indicate a clear shift from polemical to dialogical translation strategies. Sale’s Orientalist approach—evident in his footnote on Q.4:157, where he characterizes Muslim exegesis as intellectually deficient—ultimately constrains meaningful interfaith engagement. In contrast, Khattab employs an inclusive and ethically grounded approach that actively fosters interreligious dialogue. By positioning Qur’ān translation at the intersection of theology, linguistics, and interfaith relations, this paper demonstrates that translation choices hold significant power: they can either bridge divides or exacerbate tensions between religious communities. Full article

This paper investigates women’s movements in German-speaking Europe that operate at the intersection of academic theology and activism, challenging the assumption that gender parity within theological institutions has been achieved. Despite broader European progress toward gender equality, theological faculties continue to exhibit structural disparities, including women’s underrepresentation in senior positions and persistent obstacles such as the “leaky pipeline,” the “glass ceiling,” and restrictive ecclesial procedures like the Nihil Obstat. These dynamics intensify the vulnerability of women theologians, particularly those advocating for gender justice within Church structures that do not consistently recognize women as full participants. The study also highlights the vulnerability experienced by women theologians who advocate for gender equality within ecclesial institutions that do not consistently recognize women as full participants. Interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and the social sciences is often met with suspicion, as religion is frequently portrayed as a source of division rather than a catalyst for transformation. Moreover, extremist and fundamentalist movements instrumentalize gender issues, polarizing European societies and suppressing interfaith initiatives that promote justice, care, and cooperation. The paper argues for transversal, intersectional, and inclusive approaches that bridge academic and activist networks. By fostering collaboration, critical reflection, and shared praxis, these movements reimagine the role of women in both Church and society, offering transformative models grounded in justice, dignity, and equality. Full article

Joel Robbins wishes to renew anthropological theory from a transformative dialogue with theology. There, he looks for actors’ categories which may assist him in anthropologically interpreting his ethnographical data on Christian life. One of these categories is the notion of interruption which he borrows, among others from my theological work, in order to describe the radical conversion of the Urapmin and, more broadly, radical change in religion. In my contribution, I first examine how Robbins uses the category of interruption to enrich his anthropological theory. In a second and third part, I explain how I have conceived of interruption in my theological work and, afterwards, how that concept itself has gained significance from a transformative dialogue with philosophy. Finally, I evaluate Robbins’ use of the category of interruption and engage in conversation with him again about how the interaction between theology and anthropology can be mutually interruptive. The twofold lesson to be drawn from this interdisciplinary dialogue appears to be (a) that our categories, vocabularies and approaches are caught up in a ceaseless game of borrowing and reinterpretation between disciplines and language games and (b) that we—each in our own discipline—have every interest in allowing our own theory formation to be interrupted by dialogue with other disciplines. Full article

Bede Griffiths is considered one of the pioneers of interfaith theology. He sought to establish a profound connection between different religious traditions at a time when even Christian ecumenism was still in its infancy. His spirituality, nourished by monastic sources, and his mystical teachings devoted an unusually high degree of attention to the problem of nature. According to his own interpretation, he first found God in nature, then in Christ and the Church, and finally in the comprehensive horizon of religions. This article attempts to demonstrate that his theology of religions, which reflects an explicitly mystical approach, is not simply pluralistic in orientation, but remains committed to Christianity, yet presupposes an almost forced harmony between different religious traditions. An analysis of Griffiths’s most important texts reveals a series of ambiguities and inconsistencies in his thinking that are rarely examined in the relevant literature. By analyzing Griffiths’s mysticism, his conception of nature, and his theology of religions, the article argues that his thinking is still so nuanced and complex that it has potential for the future. Full article