INTELEKTUALITAS, GAIRAH & KERENDAHAN HATI: SIKAP TERHADAP SAINS DAN TEKNOLOGI [INTELLECTUALITY, PASSION & HUMILITY: ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY]

Some would claim that science and technology contradict the life of faith, or that the one is more important or higher than the other. Such dualism/dichotomy may result from the pressure of atheism or the friction between various convictions in which scientists work. This writing suggests a healthier attitude towards science and technology for people of faith, where science, technology, and faith are approached without the crippling sacred/secular dichotomy. The concept of cultural mandate (Kuyper) provides a model for cultivating intellectuality, passion and humility as a divine mandate in faithful stewardship towards nature. A well-rounded scientist or engineer must be also aware of the ethical challenges in his or her field.BAHASA INDONESIA ABSTRAK: Ada yang mengklaim bahwa sains dan teknologi berkontradiksi dengan kehidupan iman, atau bahwa yang satu lebih penting atau lebih tinggi dari yang lain. Dualisme/dikotomi demikian dapat muncul dari tekanan paham ateisme atau gesekan dari berbagai keyakinan tempat ilmuwan beraktivitas. Tulisan ini mengusulkan suatu sikap yang lebih sehat terhadap sains dan teknologi untuk orang percaya, di mana sains, teknologi dan iman didekati tanpa dikotomi sakral/sekuler yang melumpuhkan. Konsep mandat budaya (Kuyper) menyediakan model untuk mengusahakan intelektualitas, gairah & kerendahan hati sebagai mandat ilahi dalam penatalayanan yang setia kepada alam. Seorang ilmuwan atau insinyur yang lengkap juga harus peka pada berbagai tantangan etika dalam bidangnya

A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N=10,535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β=0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β=0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

A Many-analysts Approach to the Relation Between Religiosity and Well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N = 10, 535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β = 0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β = 0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

The Dangerous Love of the Gentiles: A Christian Vision for Living with Islam in Indonesia

The year 2014 closed with a hostage drama in a Cafe in Sydney, and the year 2015 opened with Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris, followed by the shooting of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Tensions in Christian-Muslim relations are felt in many parts of the world. Even without violent incidents, mutual understanding and sharing a common life between the two faith communities is not always easy. In this thesis, I will first analyze current Christian-Muslim relations in Indonesia and then offer a Christian vision of what sharing a life together with Muslims might look like. Hospitality, friendship and love are the main elements in envisioning this shared common life. But love is the most “dangerous” element, especially from or for ones, who are supposed to be enemies.Master of Theological Studie

Does Anger Toward God Moderate the Relationship Between Religiousness and Well-Being?

Most of the current research has found that highly religious people have better well-being compared to people with low religiousness. However, the former group is not immune from occasionally feeling anger toward God, which has an adverse effect on well-being. The purpose of this research is to study whether anger toward God moderates the effect of religiousness on the well-being of Christian college students. The data were derived from 228 respondents (55 male) from a religious university using the Four Basic Dimensions of Religiousness (4-BDRS), the Attitude toward God Scale (ATGS-9), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The results of the moderation analysis using Process version 3 demonstrated that Anger toward God significantly moderated the effect of religiousness toward well-being (b = .01, 95% Cl [.001, .023], t = 2.14, p < .05). The higher the level of anger toward God, the lesser the effect of religiousness on well-being. Therefore, it is essential for students to resolve their divine struggles. The implications and applications of this study are discussed

Religiousness and Anger toward God: Between Spirituality and Moral Community

Religious individuals and communities often struggle with anger toward God (ATG) upon experiencing suffering. ATG is related to poor mental health. Certain types of religiousness can moderate the effect of this negative feeling on well-being; however, research varies. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether religion at the individual (spirituality) or communal levels (moral community) may affect the association of ATG with well-being. Moderation analysis was performed on data from 307 students at a Christian university in Indonesia. Spirituality lowered the effect of ATG as one form of a religious stressor on well-being, but moral community did not. Both the cognitive and affective aspects of spirituality (individual level) are needed to buffer the effects of ATG on well-being. Conversely, the moral/behavior and belonging/communal aspect of a moral community (communal level) do not appear to ensure support for the individual with ATG. The implications of this study are discussed below

Religiousness and Anger toward God: Between Spirituality and Moral Community

Religious individuals and communities often struggle with anger toward God (ATG) upon experiencing suffering. ATG is related to poor mental health. Certain types of religiousness can moderate the effect of this negative feeling on well-being; however, research varies. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether religion at the individual (spirituality) or communal levels (moral community) may affect the association of ATG with well-being. Moderation analysis was performed on data from 307 students at a Christian university in Indonesia. Spirituality lowered the effect of ATG as one form of a religious stressor on well-being, but moral community did not. Both the cognitive and affective aspects of spirituality (individual level) are needed to buffer the effects of ATG on well-being. Conversely, the moral/behavior and belonging/communal aspect of a moral community (communal level) do not appear to ensure support for the individual with ATG. The implications of this study are discussed below

Small-World Network in OMNeT++

The small-world phenomenon describes the behavior of very large networks with a relatively small number of hops between any two nodes. The main characteristics of such networks are small average path length (L) and large clustering coefficient (C). In this work, a model of the small-world network from Watts and Strogatz is created by using the simulation platform OMNeT++. The generated network is then verified by checking the two parameters L and C. It is found that the characteristic path length L of the small-world network will decrease more rapidly with a higher initial number of connections. The small-world model also provides an insight to the internal structure of such network. The model shows that in the network of 1000 nodes with the initial connections of 4, there exist only 4 highest connected nodes (hotspots). The small-world network model can be very useful for investigating various network dynamics