{"title":"Reconciling the Republic of South Moluccas Movement with Indonesia Nation: A Christian perspective","authors":"R. Iwamony","doi":"10.1177/02653788231151360","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788231151360","url":null,"abstract":"The Republic of the South Moluccas Movement was responsible for some rebellious attacks a few years after Indonesia proclaimed its independence. This movement made significant impact upon Indonesia as a nation. This research aims to explore how Christian perspective can reconcile the nation with this regional movement. To answer this question, this research relied on mass media, online news, books, and journals. Qualitative method was used to analyse the data. The results show that remembering the past even if painful can enable not only a nation but also a regional movement to transform the present. Besides, forgiveness is a way to embrace past memories, so people are able to create better future together. The nation is not perceived as the oppressor, and the Moluccan regional symbols are acknowledged as part of the national identity without branding them as separatist. The outcome is the stability of the nation of Indonesia.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"514 1","pages":"131 - 142"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86862670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Climate Change, Inequality, and Vulnerabilities in Pre-Modern Korea: Implications for Mission After COVID-19","authors":"Bright Myeong-Seok Lee","doi":"10.1177/02653788231151228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788231151228","url":null,"abstract":"Korea's late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Chosŏn Dynasty is marked by evidence of climate change. A distinctive feature of this period was the frequent outbreak of plagues such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid, especially among the less privileged. There was, consequently, a large-scale discontentment among the poor. In this milieu, some local Confucian scholars, dismayed by the prevailing corruption in the central government, withdrew themselves from government business, focused on studying imported Catholic texts from China, and converted to Catholicism. The emergence of indigenous religious movements also reflected this social reality. This paper explores the correlation among climate anomalies, decline in agricultural productivity, competition for limited common resources, heightened social inequality, and frequent plagues, and how Catholicism, an indigenous religious movement, and Protestant Christianity impacted and were impacted by these processes in Korea's late Chosŏn Dynasty. It also suggests missional implications of this in the post-Covid-19 era.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82061778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Political Disputes and Religious Fusions: From Countering to Understanding the Naga and Zo Narratives of Self-Determination","authors":"Samuel G Ngaihte","doi":"10.1177/02653788231151227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788231151227","url":null,"abstract":"One of the recurring themes pertaining to the ‘Northeast’ of India is the question of ethno-political unrest prevalent in the region. While the lens through which this ‘unrest’ is interpreted is diverse, the language of ‘insurgency’ continues to be the privileged perspective. This has led to the reductionist perception that the issue is a particularly postcolonial phenomenon, and in the Naga and Zo Hills, an aftermath of the Christian mission influence in these areas. This perception is problematic as it offers no conceptual space to account for the historical particularities that have shaped these respective struggles, and is unable to imagine a way beyond countering to understanding in seeking honourable and sustainable resolutions. This paper explores the particularities of the Naga and Zo ‘insurgencies’, particularly in the context of their encounter with the British Empire and Christian missionaries, to seek substantive insights about dialogic transformation as a possible way forward.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":"107 - 118"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77226190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"TRN regnum book notice","authors":"Irene Banda Mutalima","doi":"10.1177/02653788221148649","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788221148649","url":null,"abstract":"This book is a systematic and comprehensive investigation into con fl icts in a multicultural congregation in an urban area in the UK. It provides a comprehensive account of con fl ict through ana-lysing and interpreting diverse types of con fl ict from a combined range of perspectives of anthropology, sociology and theology. It also profoundly explains the dynamics of con fl ict phenomena from a multidimensional perspective to understand the nature, scale and intensity of multifactorial and multifaceted con fl icts in the four con fl ict domains: interpersonal behavioural con fl ict, cul-tural con fl ict, theological con fl ict and political con fl ict. The most sig-ni fi cant contribution of this book is to establish a holistic model of handling diverse types of con fl ict for peace-making, peace-keeping and peacebuilding through employing con fl ict resolution, settlement, management and transformation in a multicultural con-gregational setting.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"33 1","pages":"86 - 89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81344503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: The Evangelical Theology of the Orthodox Church by Bradley Nassif","authors":"Calum Samuelson","doi":"10.1177/02653788221144422","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788221144422","url":null,"abstract":"In this book, Professor Bradley Nassif has provided significant insight that is seldom found anywhere else. Positioned as very few others are, he brings clarity to vital matters within Orthodoxy while using language that is usually associated with other Christian traditions. In doing so, he has crafted a work of tremendous ecumenical importance. Nassif has extensive experience with different branches of Christianity, holding degrees from Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox institutions and having taught in prominent universities from different traditions as well. Perhaps, the best way to describe Nassif’s skill is that he can ‘speak the language’ of each group with fluency. The publication begins with a Foreword from esteemed Professor Andrew Louth, which excellently frames the nature and importance of the work as a whole. Louth helpfully signals the fact that this book is mostly a collection of previously published essays and conference lectures. Nassif’s own introduction (entitled ‘What is the Gospel’) is also useful in setting the tone of the book. The stated goal involves ‘making the gospel clear and central’ for both Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christians (p. 9). Nassif therefore envisions an audience comprised of both Evangelicals and Orthodox, and readers of both kinds are expected to gain a fuller awareness of what the gospel has meant for the Church throughout its history. The terms ‘gospel’ and ‘evangelical’ are wisely qualified to avoid confusion with assorted popular conceptions. This allows Nassif to speak of the ‘evangelical ethos’ (p. 12) within Orthodoxy and the gospel as a ‘many-sided mystery’ (p. 13) rather than a narrowly defined dogma. Because the different essays do not necessarily lend themselves to a cohesive flow of thought, the book is divided into two major sections. Part One focuses on the ways that core evangelical traits have always been part of the rich Orthodox tradition. To accomplish this task, Nassif draws heavily from the Ecumenical Councils and from the Philokalia, with special attention given to some neglected Church Fathers. Part Two deals more directly with the relationship between Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism and is somewhat less academic in style. It is here that Nassif’s gracious and generous ecumenical motivations are most manifest. He admirably offers praise about various features of both Evangelicalism and Orthodoxy without refraining from simultaneously making serious criticisms – especially regarding the nominalism of his own Orthodox tradition. Inevitably, there will be some Evangelicals who are unsatisfied with Nassif’s portrayal of their specific branch, but overall, this reviewer was impressed by the tact and precision of this section. In fact, it may even be that some Evangelicals will glean new perspectives about their theological particulars due to the way that Nassif locates them in a broader Christian context. Some of the strongest essays in the first section explore the thinking and theology of","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"22 1","pages":"82 - 84"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89163068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Trauma and Coping Mechanisms among Assemblies of God World Missionaries: Toward a Biblical Theory of Well-Being by Valerie A. Rance","authors":"Melody J. Wachsmuth","doi":"10.1177/02653788221141017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788221141017","url":null,"abstract":"Trauma and Coping Mechanisms among Assemblies of God World Missionaries: Toward a Biblical Theory of Well-Being by Valerie A. Rance is a 2021 monograph in the Evangelical Missiological Society series. Rance herself is an Assemblies of God missionary with a background in psychology. She lived for 20 years in El Salvador, part of that during the civil war. Thus, it is the author’s long-term missionary experience and proximity to traumatic events that informs her research questions. The monograph’s purpose is to explore a basis for missionary well-being by evaluating the relationship between traumatic experiences and subsequent coping mechanisms, in comparison with Biblical characters who also experienced trauma. The author’s first two chapters establish definitions, goals, and limitations before introducing an extensive secondary literature review which includes exploring perspectives of trauma, coping mechanisms, resilience, pain, and suffering. Her third chapter moves into an analysis of 23 Biblical characters, assessing the various traumas they encountered as well as their coping mechanisms in order to propose a Biblical theology of well-being. Chapter four introduces her methodology which is qualitative and quantitative research. The primary research encompassed 254 surveys completed by Assemblies of God missionaries from seven regions which included questions of trauma, PTSD symptomology, and coping mechanisms. Her final chapter draws these two strands together and proposes a Biblical theology of well-being that could be applicable to missionaries. One of the strengths of the book is the subject of inquiry itself— the focus on missionaries and their trauma. This is an area that is in need of significant primary research, considering, as the author notes, the high attrition rate among missionaries. Further, another strength is the extensiveness of the questionnaires, the meticulous statistical calculation of the results, and the number of participants; although the author cites the number as a weakness (254 out of 1907), it is still a significant number by which to assess her questions. One of the study’s primary contributions is the exploration of the extensiveness of various traumas missionaries experience. This is important quantitative and qualitative data which could be incorporated into missionary training and also provides a good basis for further research into missionary trauma. The author points to the correlation between higher PTSD symptomology and negative religious coping as an important insight gained from the study, and indeed, this correlation has been documented in other studies. More uniquely, however, is the fact that there was no significant correlation found between variant levels of PTSD and coping skills such as being adventurous, social support, resilience, sense of calling, or positive religious coping. This finding disproved her initial hypothesis and warrants further research, given missionary attrition and the fact t","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"290 1","pages":"80 - 81"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79445022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘There is light despite all of the darkness’: Exploring perceptions of faith and hope during the pandemic in Australian church settings","authors":"Dawn Joseph, B. Hyde","doi":"10.1177/02653788221144701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788221144701","url":null,"abstract":"The pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders since March 2020 have come at a high cost to lives and livelihoods around the globe including ways in which faith communities meet. This paper forms part of a wider study Exploring hope, grace, and resilience in parish communities in COVID-19 times. It investigates how members of Christian faith communities in Melbourne (Australia) made meaning of their understanding of hope during the pandemic. The authors draw on survey data gathered between November 2021 and mid-March 2022 and using thematic analysis they discuss two overarching themes (Light despite the darkness and Connection to God). While generalisations to other faith communities cannot be made, the findings indicate churches fostered hope and offered a sense of belonging. The paper discusses implications for ways in which churches can continue to build faith with church members and the wider community in the changing landscape of the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"105 1","pages":"63 - 79"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76660548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Theosis in the Ethiopian Tradition: A Preliminary Assessment","authors":"Calum Samuelson","doi":"10.1177/02653788221139564","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788221139564","url":null,"abstract":"This essay represents the first formal attempt to identify themes of theosis within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawāḥǝdo Church (EOTC). The first half explores four historical phases in the development of the doctrine of theosis: Ancient Pagan, Biblical, Patristic, and Medieval and Modern. It is argued that theosis finds strong support in the biblical corpus but that it is best to clarify which historical type one has in view due to its complex development. The second half of the paper considers themes of theosis within three genres of Ethiopic literature: Hagiography, Liturgy, and National Epic. New discoveries and insights are leveraged in order to demonstrate that although theosis lacks a precise equivalent in Classical Ethiopic, the literature of the EOTC demonstrates a strong familiarity with the basic contours of the doctrine of deification.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"30 1","pages":"49 - 62"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85730486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integration of Social Critical Consciousness in Missionary Methodology for Social Transformation","authors":"Stefano Giudici, S. Selvam","doi":"10.1177/02653788221131903","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788221131903","url":null,"abstract":"Social critical consciousness, understood in terms of one's awareness of his/her social identity and positionality, is a crucial component of social transformative action, particularly in multicultural contexts. While there is a vast literature examining the significance of social critical consciousness among practitioners in social fields, there is not much evidence of such a reflection in Church environments. The present study explored the relationship between social critical consciousness and pastoral action for social transformation in two international missionary religious orders ministering within the Catholic Church in Kenya. The qualitative data was gathered using interviews and focus group discussions involving 34 participants (26 male and 8 female), who were purposefully sampled from the religious orders. A sample of archival documents were also analysed. The findings indicate that generally pastoral practitioners avoid the challenge of owning their social identity and positionality, and rather take refuge in the charismatic identity of their religious orders. They exalt their mission without due focus on their own identities. The outcome of this lack of social critical consciousness is a fragmented pastoral and charity work rather than systematic social transformation. The study proposes a positive engagement with complexity by integrating positionality and allyship in missionary methodology and focusing on building a social critical community prior to any pastoral action for social transformation.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"11 1","pages":"34 - 48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87743572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Orality Reality: Implications for Theological Education in Romania and Beyond","authors":"C. Armstrong","doi":"10.1177/02653788221131484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02653788221131484","url":null,"abstract":"Orality, generally defined as the preference for the spoken over the written word, is an academic discipline that has only recently received attention from the missiological community. The reality of widespread oral preference, also known as “secondary orality,” is no less true in Europe. In this article, the author focuses on the Romanian context. Using qualitative research gleaned from interviews with nine university-educated Romanians, patterns are developed that display how “secondary oral learners” choose to learn and retain new information. Specific attention is given to theologically-related material. Six implications for theological education are advanced in the areas of (1) hermeneutics, (2) preaching, (3) evangelism, (4) discipleship, (5) church planting, and (6) leadership development. Paths forward for ministry in oral preference cultures like Romania are developed. The author concludes that the implementation of such suggestions could lead to more holistic ministry and is potentially transferrable to similar contexts.","PeriodicalId":41530,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies","volume":"37 1","pages":"16 - 33"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89930738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}