Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan

After Evangelicalism: A New Path to Christianity

Grant Nixon — 2024-12-01

A Trinitarian Model as an Alternative Approach to Disability

Imanuel Teguh Harisantoso — 2024-12-01

This research aims to explore alternative models of disability. The charity, medical, social, rights-based and cultural models of disability have had a tendency to bring disability into aperichoreticd stigmatizing categorization. The “model” approach to disability, which originally acted as a means of liberation, instead isolates disability in the category of people who are weak, sick, have no potential, have no rights and therefore deserve the identity of sinners. Disability as a social construct is the result of the strong hegemony of eugenics that upholds normality. Postcolonial approaches aid resistance to colonialism and colonialist ideologies that emerge in new forms. The dominance of normality ideology places disability against abnormality, including domination and marginalization of disability. The perspective of normality against abnormality, non-disability against disability shows a negative relationship between two human entities. For this reason, an alternative model is needed, a relationship whose existence is actually emphasized by the other. One does not exist without the other. I exist because you exist. This relationship is only possible if the existing relationship is a reflection of the trinitarian relationship, where the perichoretic relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit becomes the basis for understanding human relations between both disabilities and non-disabilities.

"You Are Not to Be Called Rabbi": A Hermeneutic-Pedagogical Approach to Matthew 23:8

Erman Sepniagus Saragih — 2024-12-01

Matthew 23:8 is a complex and controversial passage. However, a comparison of Jesus' teaching principles and those of the Jewish rabbis that are widespread in the texts of Matthew can be useful to interpret the meaning of the verse in its broader context. Ignoring the duty to teach the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:8 may result in a distortion of interpretation, even misrepresenting the meaning of the text. This paper provides a new perspective on the reading of Jesus’ prohibition “do not be called Rabbi” in Matthew 23:8 by using a hermeneutic-pedagogical approach. The purpose of this study is to understand and articulate why Jesus forbade the disciples and the people to be called rabbis and how this is read through a pedagogical lens. The results of this study are, first, there is a diacognition of the meaning of the word rabbi in Jesus’ teachings. Second, teaching does not lead to the goal of position and prestige. Third, Jesus was teaching a principle that prioritizes the attitude of brotherhood that serves each other with the view that Jesus is the only “Teacher.”

Manifesting God's Presence in His Temple: Proclaiming the Word, Tongues, and Prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14

Wilson W. Suwanto — 2024-12-01

This article examines 1 Corinthians 14 to address the research question: How is God's presence manifested in the church as His temple? The objective is to analyze Paul's teaching to determine how practices in the Corinthian church's worship align with its identity as God's temple. The method is textual analysis of the passage, informed by scholarship on the Corinthians' context. Paul asserts that the Corinthian church fails to live out its identity as God's temple when members speak in uninterpreted tongues during worship. These tongues do not clearly proclaim God's word and hinder unbelievers from encountering God’s presence. In contrast, prophecy entails proclaiming the gospel understandably through the Spirit to build up believers' faith and provide unbelievers an opportunity to worship God. Thus, the practice of prophecy better aligns with the missional identity of the church as God's temple compared to uninterpreted tongues. The article concludes that churches today should prioritize clear preaching over ecstatic speech in worship services to manifest God's presence. This contributes a framework for assessing worship practices based on how they proclaim the word to make God's presence tangible to believers and unbelievers alike.

The Gospel for Fishers: A Maritime-Theological Reading of Mark 1:16-20

Elia Maggang — 2024-12-01

In the maritime country of Indonesia, fishers have significant roles, including actualising God’s providence for the Indonesian people and nature. However, in its political crisis, the fisher’s world seems ignored in theological discourse. Therefore, this article seeks to delve theologically into the meaning of the Christian Gospel (euanggelion) and its implications on the fisher’s life. In anchorage with the new meaning of the Gospel drawing from a discussion on Jesus’ calling of the four Galilean fishers to be his disciples in Mark 1:16-20, this article affirms that fishers have a place in the Gospel’s message and actualisation. Thus, the proclamation and actualisation of the Gospel must include active involvement in overcoming the crisis in the fisher’s world.