A Theological Review of the Practice of Abortion among Unmarried Women in India

In 2022, the Supreme Court of India has legalized abortion for all women, regardless of marital status. Consequently, all women in India are free to terminate their pregnancy without having to face a legal case. This decision is a breakthrough for new laws in India, including the issue of upholding women's rights. Even so, the act of arbitrary abortion is contrary to morals and Bible teachings. This article aims to discuss the legalization of abortion carried out by the Indian government from a biblical theology perspective by using a literature review approach. The findings of this research indicate that legalizing abortion through legislation is contrary to the biblical principle of the right to life. The government must guard abortion cases not only from political and socio-economic roles but also from religious beliefs and provide good sex education and a healthy environment for its people to suppress unwanted abortions. The role of parents in educating children and the role of the church in maturing the faith of the younger generation can prevent free sex and unsafe abortion in India. The contribution of this research is related to abortion, the right to life of the fetus, women's rights, sex education for the younger generation, parenting and government law

Paul's Principles of Pastoral Care in Acts 20:17-38 and His Challenges to Pastoral Leaders

This article aims to analyze the pastoral service practices of Paul that are worthy of being imitated by the local church leaders today by focusing on the content of his farewell speech to the elders of the church in Ephesus based on Luke's record in Acts 20:17-38. The narrative hermeneutic method will analyze each statement related to his service actions. The results of the analysis show the pastoral service practices that are lived, taught, and need to be imitated by church leaders today in Indonesia. The study results show that the Apostle Paul presents the principles of pastoral service that are timeless and relevant to the context of local church service today. The fundamental principles he taught and the challenges pastoral leaders face today are: First, making the most of time. Pastoral leaders in the present era are challenged to maximize every opportunity in their service, especially amid many distractions and demands of the times. Second, he emphasizes the importance of humility in service. Today's leaders must be aware of the danger of arrogance and constantly realize their trustworthy source of strength. Third, Paul not only serves with enthusiasm but also with deep emotion. This challenges today's church leaders to engage emotionally, empathize with the congregation, and feel grief and joy with them. Fourth, he often faces threats and dangers in his service. Church leaders must be ready to face challenges, especially when voicing the truth of the Bible in an increasingly secular cultural context. Fifth, serving with teaching. He emphasizes the importance of correct and profound teaching. In the information age full of false teachings, pastoral leaders are challenged to continue to provide teaching based on the Bible and relevant to their congregation

Allusions and Omissions in Augustine’s Confessions

This paper discusses possible biblical allusions and omissions in Augustine’s Confessions, arguing that the themes he presents can be understood with greater nuance if viewed in light of not only the scriptural passages he chooses to support them but also the verses from the immediate context, which he omits. The paper will examine four examples from within the Confessions: the way that in the Confessions but not elsewhere, he only utilizes the second half of James 1:17, eliding the phrase ‘Father of lights,’ his use of the term unam for his concubine, his depiction of his mother Monnica like the apostle Paul, and possible reasons for his elision of portions of the prologue to John. As a result, this paper has offered four possible instances of Augustine omitting, or only allusively referring to, specific scriptures throughout the Confessions: his omission of God as the Father of lights when referencing James 1, his allusion to the una columba of the Canticle of Canticles in describing his concubine, his undertone of Pauline episodes in recounting the tale of Monnica's arrival in Rome, and finally his omission of John the Baptist from It has been suggested that, in each of these cases, a deeper grasp of the parts of the Bible that Augustine has left out can help us comprehend the major arguments that he has made in more depth

Corporate Compassion: Analyzing John 15:9-17 through a Socio-Rhetorical Perspective

This research delved into the intricate facets of workplace spirituality within the contemporary context, specifically addressing labor challenges in Indonesia. The study employed socio-rhetorical analysis, anchored in John's theology from chapter 15:9-17, to explore the theological and practical dimensions of spirituality in the workplace. Selected sources from prominent databases underpinned the socio-rhetorical analysis, providing a comprehensive understanding of the subject. The findings underscored that implementing spirituality in the workplace, particularly from a Christian perspective, could foster inclusivity, harmony, and organizational efficiency. Effective communication and respect for diverse beliefs emerged as pivotal factors in ensuring universal understanding and embrace of workplace spirituality. The research contributed nuanced insights into the intersection of theology and practice, offering implications for theory and application in contemporary workplaces. It concluded that workplace spirituality, rooted in John's theology, possessed transformative potential, infusing workplaces with transcendent purpose, nurturing harmonious relationships, and cultivating effective leadership. The implications of this study extended to the broader discourse on spirituality in organizational contexts, enriching the understanding of the role of faith and theology in shaping the modern workplace, especially in the unique socio-cultural landscape of Indonesia

DAMAI Model as a Prototype of Religious Moderation

The first principle of Pancasila states that Indonesia as a nation that believes in God Almighty. Although Indonesia is officially secular, it is a diverse nation in terms of culture and religion. This diversity presents the possibility of disputes arising from religious matters in different areas. This article emphasizes how elements like the politicization of religion, exclusivism, and identity politics may lead to religious insecurity. The use of the DAMAI paradigm (Dialogue, Adaptation, Mediation, Accommodation, Integration) to build religious moderation in the context of Christian theological education in Papua is also covered in this article. Descriptive qualitative research methodology is employed in this study. Forty participants—representing staff, instructors, and students—were interviewed, and observations were made in order to gather data. The study’s findings demonstrate the high degree of DAMAI model application at Sentani State Protestant Christian College (STAKPN Sentani), with scores ranging from 80% to 99% for indicators including Communication, Justice, Love, Security, and Innovation. The DAMAI paradigm is presented in this article to foster inclusive and peaceful religious moderation in Papua while shedding light on the challenges related to religious moderation in Christian theological education settings

Pastoral Theology: A Methodological Approach to Analyzing Social Cases

Religious life cannot be separated from society. As a religious institution, the church must impact society through concrete action. One of these approaches is through pastoral theology. This research aims to provide a methodological template for academics and churches, in particular, to use pastoral theology to analyze societal problems. This is necessary because some churches are still bound by dogmas that restrict the church’s role to “spiritual” matters rather than matters of concrete social concern. So, churches often distance themselves from the social theory approach in dissecting society's problems. The analytical tool used in this paper is the pastoral cycle method. A pastoral theological approach focuses on cases that have occurred or are currently occurring in society. This paper uses the case of food scarcity, namely cooking oil, which has occurred in Indonesia. The research results show that the social theological approach, which has been shunned by evangelical theology, can be used in dissecting and mapping social cases in society to contribute to the church in determining anticipatory steps and responding with concern to these social problems. Through this research, it can be concluded that the social function of the church as light and salt of the world can be achieved by using pastoral theology. The implications of this research will encourage churches to position themselves as government partners in realizing the achievement of SDG targets on the one hand and the other hand, provide new insight that pastoral theology does not only deal with “spiritual” (i.e., intangible) matters. It can be seen that a Biblical approach can be intertwined with social analysis for the purpose of social welfare

The Implications of Nahum 1:12-2:2 for the Case of Religious Discrimination in Indonesia

The book of Nahum is full of the news of God’s judgment upon Nineveh; this book looks gloomy and hopeless, but one will find the theme of restoration as well. This article analyzes Nahum 1:12-2:2 as a basis for addressing the problem of religious discrimination in Indonesia.  Using the literature study method, the results from this article are divided into theological and practical implications. Theologically, the text of Nahum 1:12-2:2 provides believers with hope for restoration from the One who brings true restoration: God himself. Practically, this text encourages God's people to remain steadfast and not despair but have hope, for there will come a time when God restores them. In addition, when true restoration occurs, believers should return to God and not continue to indulge themselves in pleasure and self-satisfaction

Embracing Psychology for Theology: The Role of Developmental Theories in Christian Spiritual Formation

Spiritual formation is a critical component in faith development toward Christlikeness. When the Christians are no longer growing, they are actively dying. Therefore, various efforts need to be made to help Christians grow. However, many spiritual formation efforts are still segregated, fragmented, or isolated from other discourses. This approach tends to focus only on the spiritual dimension and ignores that an individual has complex dimensions that cannot be separated from one another. To realize a more holistic spiritual formation, this article explores some developmental psychological theories to find approaches that might help to nurture the faith of believers holistically. The research method employed for this research is descriptive qualitative. Data collection was done by library research on various developmental theories from various developmentalists. From the results of the investigation, the author found different insights to realize more effective spiritual formation, namely by involving the community as a social context, taking into account every human dimension, giving space to the process, accommodating the nature of spiritual growth as multi-faceted and multi-directional, and presenting various experiences in the process of forming spiritual disciplines

Aktualisasi Karakter Kristus Menurut Philip Yancey Bagi Pendidikan Iman Kristen

The problem of this article is discussing the importance of Philip Yancey's Christological views applied in efforts to educate Christians in their faith which is centred on Christ. The purpose of this article is to explain Yancey's thoughts about the figure of Jesus who changes the lives of believers to become like Him. The method used is literature study. The results show that Yancey's thoughts about the characteristics of Jesus were not to stimulate objective academic-dogmatic thinking, but rather to present personal reflections as a journalist in order to reveal the identity of the Nazarene Youth through the literature he wrote. The Jesus he knew was a figure who changed him and would also change every person who met personally with the Son of God. Yancey tries to develop a new synthesis regarding the character and profile of Jesus and encourages readers to welcome Jesus as the authority over human life. Yancey's ideas about the figure of Jesus can be used as material for Christian faith education for the maturation of believers' faith. In conclusion, people who know and believe in Jesus personally are guaranteed to experience renewal of life and become like Him

Pendidikan dalam Gereja Sebagai Bentuk Partisipasi Kristen dalam Mencerdaskan Kehidupan Bangsa

Pendidikan dalam gereja berpengaruh bagi generasi gereja. Pendidikan dalam gereja sebagai bentuk partisipasi Kristen dalam mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa didasari oleh fondasi teologis. Ada beberapa prinsip dalam Alkitab dan misi gereja yang menjadi dasar teologis pendidikan dalam gereja yaitu, pendidikan dalam gereja adalah tanggung jawab orang Kristen. Orang percaya harus meneruskan pengajaran dan pembinaan pada generasi selanjutnya. Kemudian pendidikan dalam gereja juga merupakan sebuah pembentukan karakter. Setiap anggota gereja didik untuk memiliki karakter yang serupa dengan Kristus. Selanjutnya, pendidikan dalam gereja juga adalah sebuah misi membawa orang menjadi murid Kristus. Kemudian, pendidikan dalam gereja juga untuk membawa jemaat mengenal Allah dan firman-Nya. Pendidikan dalam gereja membawa jemaat pada pembinaan iman dan ketekunan. Dari fondasi teologis yang terdapat dalam prinsip-prinsip Alkitab tersebut menghasilkan bentuk partisipasi Kristen dalam mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa melalui pendidikan. Adapun bentuk pendidikan dalam gereja yang berkontibusi dalam mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa, yaitu Pendidikan Agama Kristen. Kontribusi yang dilakukan oleh pendidikan agama Kristen meliputi 1) Pengajaran dasar iman Kristen, studi Alkitab dan juga praktik spiritual; 2) Sekolah Minggu yang merupakan pendidikan non-formal yang diselenggaran gereja untuk memberikan pembentukan karakter anak-anak sehingga memiliki moralitas yang baik; 3) Membentuk kelompok kecil atau persekutuan dalam gereja dapat membantu anggota gereja dalam pembelajaran dan pertumbuhan rohani bagi anggota gereja dengan konsep belajar bersama, berdiskusi, saling mendudukang dan menerapkan nilai-nilai Kristen dalam kehidupan sehari-hari; 4) Gereja yang mendirikan sekolah Kristen tidak hanya memberikan kontribusi dalam aspek akademis, tetapi juga pada pengembangan karakter dan spiritual siswa; 5) Pelayanan Sosial dan Pembinaan Karakter. Gereja mendorong anggotanya untuk berkontribusi dalam pelayanan sosial sebagai bentuk partisispasi dalam mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa