Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan

The Priesthood of All Sentients? The Eclipse of Transcendence in an Age of Artificial Intelligence

2024-01-06T11:43:52+07:00

BlessU-2 is a robot and a specifically designed anthropomorphic machine that performed a blessing service during 2017’s exhibition in Wittenberg, Germany, commemorating 500 years of the reformation. The exhibition was intended to open a conversation about the future of the church’s service and AI’s role in it. This research explores and introduces today’s AI research development and theological challenges for ecclesiology and Christian worship. The research explores the theological themes that can be employed by Christian theology in general and ecclesiology in particular. It proposes that the main challenge of AI developments is the reinterpretation of the transcendent in the form of AI in which technology is perceived as godlike. On the other hand, AI fills a void in the religious lacuna that reaffirms the yearning for meaning and connection. Finally, the paper proposes the importance of the basic human nature of relationality in an age of simulated artificial reality.

Unio Non Confusio: An Analysis on the Notion of Activity (Energeia) and Hypostatic Union of Christ in Relation to the Doctrine of Mystical Union

2024-01-06T11:43:50+07:00

This article expounds on the hypostatic union of Christ in its relation to Lutheran and Reformed theology. We begin by contemplating an ontological problem in recent discourse on Martin Luther’s and John Calvin’s conception of mystical union. Both sides believed that humanity is united with Christ in faith to receive His benefits, i.e., justification and sanctification. However, none of them explicates how such a union can distribute the benefits of Christ without confusing the divine nature and human nature. Therefore, we argue that the synergy (Gk. syn- [συν-] + energeia [ἐνέργειᾰ]) in Christ’s hypostatic union is the ontological basis for the participation of humanity into the divine activity of Christ. We defend this argument with a twofold explanation that is constructed using the analytic qualitative method that is executed through a library research. The first part contains a description and analysis of the doctrine of hypostatic union in the patristic era. The second part contains an exploration of the concept of activity (Gk. energeia) in the tradition of Eastern Christianity and its correlation to the participation of humanity into the divine activity of Christ. Lastly, we complete this twofold explanation by referring to the Eucharist as the concrete locus of a continuous mystical union.

The Mortal Swallowed by Life: A Proposed Model of the Resurrection Body of the Believers

2024-01-06T11:43:47+07:00

The doctrine of the Resurrection Body often causes difficulties and confusion for Christians. Some available models tend to be speculative with many possible constructs. This study aims to clear up this confusion by reviewing the doctrine of humanity according to the Reformed tradition, as well as the incarnation and resurrection of Christ, to produce a model of biblical and complete eschatological resurrection body of believers. This study shows that the pattern of pneumasomatic unity in the anthropotheistic integrative nature is manifested from the creation of man, the birth of Christ, up until His ascension to heaven. Like Jesus, at the time of the resurrection, the recreated body of believers is swallowed up by the life-giving Spirit. These findings are compared with the resurrection body model of “psychosomatic unity inducing the Holy Spirit” by Aphrahat and the “pneumatic body one with Christ” model by Troels Engberg-Pedersen.

Theopolitan Worship: A Response to Indonesian Generation Z’s Yearning for Good Life

2024-01-06T11:43:54+07:00

A good life is a picture of the ideal life that drives all our decisions and habits. Based on various research results from home and abroad, the author shows that Generation Z Indonesia has the following image of a good life: a life full of entertainment, a consumptive lifestyle, and financial stability. The author proposes the concept of theopolitan worship as a means of calibrating the good life of generation Z Indonesia through the local church. First of all, the author constructs the concept of theopolitan worship by bringing together Peter J. Leithart’s thoughts on theopolitan vision, reading, and liturgy. Theopolitan worship is a worship liturgy based on biblical narratives that redeem culture and move the church to play an active role in this world. Next, the author provides some support from neurological studies related to worship that triggers several neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. Finally, the author explains the impact of the Word on entertainment and the impact of Holy Communion on the consumerism and financial stability of generation Z Indonesia.

Jesus Christ as The Embodiment of the Wisdom of God: A Theological Commentary on James 3:13-18

2024-01-06T11:43:57+07:00

From the time of the Reformation until contemporary times, the epistle of James has been considered to have no significant contribution to Christian theology. When compared to Paul's letters, the letter of James is less desirable or even often considered inferior to be involved in theological discourse. In reality, it can be argued that James 3:13-18 provides constructive theological implications when read with a theological interpretation of Scripture approach. This article proposes an assessment with a theological interpretation approach to James 3:13-18 to see the Christological indication that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s wisdom. Without neglecting the importance of the praxis of wisdom, this interpretation theologically testifies that the gentle, from above, pure, reconciling, gracious, obedient, merciful and so on wisdom that James refers to has been realized in and through the person of Jesus Christ. The church as a community of believers who read James 3:13-18 needs to realize its calling to become a community of wise people with the power of the Holy Spirit to imitate the life of Jesus who is the embodiment of God's wisdom.