Menstimulasi Praktik Gereja Rumah di tengah Pandemi Covid-19

This paper is an analysis of various collective resources to consider the current practice of churches in Indonesia in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic. Government regulations have restricted social gatherings, including worship in churches, to break the chain of the spread of this deadly plague. Finally, worship was held online by adopting internet-based technology to carry out worship in their respective homes. This paper is qualitative research litera-ture to analyze the Covid-19 phenomenon from the perspective of Christian theology. As a conclusion, the church must see the pandemic outbreak as an opportunity to stimulate the rise of house churches through the government's social restriction policy regarding religious worship. The house church is typical of the church carried out by the early church in the Acts. Abstrak Paper ini adalah analisis berbagai sumber daya kolektif untuk mem-pertimbangkan praktik gereja-gereja di Indonesia saat ini sehubungan dengan pandemi Covid-19. Peraturan pemerintah telah membatasi pertemuan sosial, termasuk ibadah di gereja demi memutus rantai penyebaran wabah yang mematikan ini. Akhirnya, ibadah pun diadakan secara online dengan mengadopsi teknologi berbasis internet untuk melaksanakan ibadah di rumah masing-masing. Paper ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif literatur untuk menganalisis fenomena Covid-19 ini dari perspektif teologi Kristen. Sebagai kesimpulannya, gereja harus melihat peristiwa wabah pandemi ini sebagai kesempatan untuk menstimulasi bangkitnya gereja rumah melalui kebijakan pembatasan sosial dari pemerintah terkait ibadah keagamaan. Gereja rumah merupakan tipikal gereja yang dilakukan oleh gereja mula-mula di dalam Kisah Para Rasul

Exploring the lived experiences of online worshipers

This ongoing qualitative study uses long interviews to seek to understand the lived experiences of individuals who participate in online church services. Online church has rapidly grown in the past few years and many Americans have participated in, or are willing to participate in, alternatives to traditional worship. Many churches are adopting online formats as a way to address the interest of individuals in alternative worship experiences. This study seeks to understand how individuals use online worship and how it plays into their spiritual lives

The Priority of the Church’s Ministry during a Pandemic

 The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused churches to change their worship patterns from meeting at church buildings to virtual worship at home to prevent transmission of the virus and comply with the health protocols set by the local governments. This study aims to determine the priority of the pastoral ministry during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore new strategies to be adopted analyze and examine the functions of the church, especially with regards to how the church responds previously during the pandemic and determines the priority of the church's ministry to continue to do the Great Commission and the Great Commandment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses the descriptive qualitative method by researching relevant literature using Biblical perspective. Based on this study, we   recommend that churches to embrace digital online technology for digital evangelism to effectively reach, connect and engage with many people who are more connecting to social media platforms. Online church is an effective tool for evangelism and missiology to extend the reach and enable the spread of the Gospel worldwide in the digital era. ABSTRAK: Pandemi global COVID-19 telah menyebabkan gereja-gereja untuk mengubah pola ibadahnya dari yang dilakukan di gedung gereja kepada pola ibadah virtual di rumah, sebagai upaya untuk mencegah transmisi virus dan mengikuti protokol-protokol kesehatan yang telah ditetapkan oleh pemerintah setempat.  Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa dan menggali apa yang menjadi fungsi dari gereja, khususnya berkaitan dengan pertanyaan apa yang menjadi sikap gereja sebelumnya ketika diperhadapkan dengan pandemi dan untuk mengetahui akan apa yang menjadi prioritas pelayanan gereja untuk tetap dapat melakukan apa yang menjadi Perintah Utama dan Amanat Agung di masa COVID-19 pandemi. Metode yang digunakan bersifat kualitatif deskriptif melalui penelitian terhadap berbagai literatur yang relevan dengan menggunakan perspektif Alkitab. Berdasarkan penelitian ini, kami merekomendasikan gereja-gereja untuk memanfaatkan teknologi digital untuk dapat menjangkau, terhubung dan terlibat secara efektif dengan banyak orang yang sekarang menggunakan platform media sosial. Gereja online adalah alat yang efektif untuk melakukan pekabaran Injil dan misiologi untuk memperluas jangkauan penyebaran Injil ke seluruh dunia di era digital

Nettbaserte gudstjenester: Mediebrukernes opplevelse og gudstjenestens formål

publishedVersio

Ο ΛΟΓΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΣΤΗΝ ΨΗΦΙΑΚΗ ΕΠΟΧΗ. Μια νέα πρόκληση για την Ορθόδοξη Επικοινωνιακή Θεολογία. Ψηφιακή επανάσταση και Ορθόδοξη θεώρηση.

Η ραγδαία ανάπτυξη του διαδικτύου και η διείσδυσή του σε κάθε πτυχή της ζωής επηρεάζει και το χώρο της θρησκείας. Στο διαδίκτυο η θρησκευτικότητα εμφανίζεται με πολλούς τρόπους. Επίσης το διαδίκτυο παρέχει στην Εκκλησία μεγάλες δυνατότητες για την διάδοση των μηνυμάτων της. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, το διαδίκτυο γίνεται ένα χρήσιμο μέσο μαζικής ποιμαντικής. Στην έρευνα αυτή, εκτός από την εμφάνιση των «παραδοσιακών» Εκκλησιών ή θρησκευτικών σχημάτων στο διαδίκτυο (religion online), διαπιστώθηκε και η παρουσία καινοφανών φαινομένων όπως λ.χ. των «εικονικών» διαδικτυακών ναών ή της δυνατότητας εξομολόγησης ψηφιακά (online religion). Αυτού του τύπου τα φαινόμενα οδηγούν σε πλήθος νέων κρισίμων ερωτημάτων: Είναι δυνατόν να τελούνται τα Μυστήρια διαδικτυακά; Αλλοιώνει τη θρησκευτικότητα η ανωνυμία του διαδικτύου ; Επίσης γίνεται μια συνοπτική ιστορική αναφορά στην εξέλιξη του διαδικτύου και αποκαλύπτεται πως από τα πρώτα βήματά του διαδικτύου ο όγκος των θρησκευτικών συζητήσεων υπήρξε ιδιαίτερα εκτεταμένος και αυξήθηκε εκθετικά με την πάροδο του χρόνου. Παρουσιάζονται τα χαρακτηριστικά στοιχεία του διαδικτύου (αμεσότητα της επικοινωνίας και η μείωση του κόστους επικοινωνίας). Αναλύονται τα σπουδαιότερα λειτουργικά χαρακτηριστικά του διαδικτύου και οι συνέπειες της κοινωνικής δικτύωσης. Η νέα μορφή θρησκευτικότητας σε σχέση με το διαδίκτυο δείχνει μια νέα προσέγγιση προς το υπερβατικό. Ο κυβερνοχώρος παρότι δεν είναι ένα θρησκευτικό κατασκεύασμα, αναπροσαρμόζει την παλαιά έννοια του Παραδείσου. Αναλύοντας της κουλτούρα της διαδικτυακής εποχής παρατηρούμε μεταξύ άλλων πως σήμερα χάρις στο διαδίκτυο την πληροφορία τη μοιράζονται όλοι κι όχι πια μόνο ένας εκλεκτός χώρος: το ιερατείο. Επίσης βλέπουμε πως οι άνθρωποι στοχεύουν σε μία εικονική αθανασία. Ο σύγχρονος καταναλωτισμός εισέρχεται και στο χώρο της θρησκείας και η θρησκευτικότητα της νέας εποχής ωθεί τον άνθρωπο σε απομάκρυνση από την παράδοση. Τελικά το διαδίκτυο είναι χρήσιμο εργαλείο στα χέρια της Εκκλησίας, αλλά η θρησκευτική περιπλάνηση στο διαδίκτυο χρειάζεται προσοχή. Ο μεγάλος όγκος θρησκευτικής δραστηριότητας στο διαδίκτυο δείχνει το αμείωτο ενδιαφέρον που ασκεί η θρησκεία στον άνθρωπο.The rapid growth of the internet and its penetration into every aspect of life also affects the area of religion. On the Internet, religiosity occurs in many ways. The Internet also provides the Church with great potential for the dissemination of its messages. In this way, the Internet becomes a useful mean of mass pastoralism. In this research, in addition to the emergence of "traditional" churches (religion online), the presence of novel phenomena such as virtual internet churches or online confession. (online religion). This type of phenomenon leads to a multitude of new critical questions: Is it possible for Mysteries to be done online? Does the anonymity of the Internet alter religiosity? There is also a brief historical reference to the evolution of the Internet and it is revealed that from the first steps of the Internet the volume of religious discussions has been particularly extensive and exponentially increased over time. The features of the Internet are presented (direct communication and reduced communication costs). Also, the most important functional features of the internet are analyzed as well as the implications of social networking. The new form of religiosity over the internet shows a new approach to the transcendent. Although cyberspace is not a religious construct, it adapts the old concept of Paradise. Analyzing the culture of the Internet era, we observe that today, thanks to the Internet, the information is shared by everyone, not just a chosen site: the priesthood. We also see how people are aiming at a virtual immortality. Modern consumerism also enters the field of religion and the religiosity of the new era pushes man out of tradition. Finally, the internet is a useful tool in the hands of the Church, but surfing in internet for religious issues should be careful. The vast amount of religious activity on the internet shows the interest religion has in human being

The Elusive End of the Rainbow: A (Queer) Rhetorical Analysis of Rainbow Sash Rhetoric

Rainbow Sash Catholicism refers to several LGBT Catholic groups practice of wearing rainbow sashes to Pentecost Mass to denote their opposition to the Roman Catholic Church\u27s stance on non-normative gender and sexuality. Utilizing ideological rhetorical criticism, this study analyzed the act of sash wearing itself along with multiple publicly-available articles, letters, and other rhetorical artifacts generated about sash wearing. The rhetorical artifacts examined were generated by multiple parties to sash wearing: (1) sash wearers themselves, (2) members of the Catholic clergy, and (3) lay Catholics who do not wear the rainbow sash. The principal purpose of this study was to understand how sash wearing is used to construct LGBT identity in relationship to the Catholic Church, and how publicly available rhetoric about sash wearing mediates that construction process. Analysis ultimately suggest that sash wearing is not used to construct LGBT identity in relationship to the Church, but instead necessitates the (re)construction of LGBT identity in relationship to the Church by queering the Church\u27s most definitive ritual: the sacrament of the Eucharist. Thus, the public rhetoric generated about sash wearing by sash wearers, non-sash-wearing lay Catholics, and the clergy respectively represent ideologically-driven attempts to make sense of the queered sacrament. On the basis of this analysis, I derive several conclusions about rainbow sash rhetoric. I argue that queering is a rhetorically useful strategy for small or under sourced groups to elicit a reaction from larger groups in which they are marginalized, but that this strategy virtually eliminates marginalized groups\u27 control over how others interpret and respond to their perspectives. I also argue that ritual and the logics of ritual are useful (and underused) analytical lenses with which to approach ideological rhetorical criticism

Ceremonial Storytelling

US society has controversially debated civil-military relationships and war trauma since the Vietnam War. Civic activists today promote Indigenous warrior traditions as role models for non-Native veteran reintegration and health care. They particularly stress the role of ritual and narrative for civil-military negotiations of war experience and for trauma therapy. Applying a cultural-comparative lens, this book reads non-Native soldiers’ and veterans’ life writing from post-9/11 wars as «ceremonial storytelling.» It analyzes activist academic texts, «milblogs» written in the war zone, as well as «homecoming scenarios.» Soldiers’ and veterans’ interactions with civilians constitute jointly constructed, narrative civic rituals that discuss the meaning of war experience and homecoming

Pro-Christian Humor and the Online Carnival

Humor that takes as its comedic object the beliefs, practices, and culture of Christianity has flourished in the digital age via journalistic satire, video sharing, and social network websites. Theory of the comic\u27s use as a moderator between the sacred and the profane provide by Conrad Hyers, and the carnivalesque literary theory of Mikhail Bakhtin, reminds us that humor made at the expense of elements of Christian doctrine and culture can serve to reify and strengthen Christianity in the United States, a conclusion justified by textual analysis of three websites featuring this material. The analysis supports that an essential rule for successfully blending humor and religion together is to avoid directly leveling the humor at God or at Christianity as a valid religion but rather restricting the ludic treatment to church practices, church culture, and individual behavior. Comments made by readers reveal that a majority approve of the ludic turn, but vehement dissent shows a strong tension between the ludic and the presupposition that religion must remain sacrosanct and solemn. The specific mechanisms that lead from humor at the expense of Christianity to bolstering of Christian belief include inducing humility, providing reflection on one\u27s beliefs and attitudes, offering corrective (termed parabolic) lessons regarding sin and folly, boosting the salience of Christian practices and beliefs, inoculation, and a negative reaction to perceived sacrilege that inspires recommittment to core beliefs. Christian humor is increasingly available and popular, and is fast becoming a constructive alternative mode through which Christians can address, explore, and consider their faith

Virtually religious: myth, ritual and community in World of Warcraft

In an age dominated by media, religion has been assumed to be resurging, albeit in different forms. This study hypothesises that the massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) video game World of Warcraft, with its powerful ludic, narrative and fantasy features, is a significant aspect of cultural changes, including the religious. Within the framework of a functional definition of religion, this study uses textual analysis to investigate the place of the traditionally identified three major elements of religion namely, myth, ritual and community in constructing what may be understood as a cohesive religious environment in World of Warcraft. The textual data is supplemented by an exploration of the game-playing experiences and religious perspectives of players of World of Warcraft in India and gives added richness to the text. From a cultural perspective, the study identifies how a postmodern generation can construct meaning from virtual worlds like World of Warcraft that transcends some mundane aspects of their life. The study proposes a fresh outlook into how social researchers can look at notions such as religion, whose central ideas revolve around the metaphysical and super-natural, by exploring the boundaries of actual and virtual, of seriousness and play, and of sacred and secular within a technologically constructed fantasy digital game. Further, it explores whether the gamers themselves – individually or collectively – see the MMORPG environment of WoW as having religious characteristics that contribute to their search for transcendence and meaning. Finally, the study considers the implications this has for thinking about the relationship between new media and changes in social religiosity and the re-culturation of religion in a postmodern media context