Indonesian Journal of Theology

Privacy Spaces in Public Worship

Rasid Rachman — 2024-12-24

This article examines the critical yet understudied phenomenon of church worship services for congregants experiencing physical injury. While general worship practices have received extensive scholarly attention, the spatial and liturgical needs of wounded individuals—who worship alongside the general congregation—remain largely unexplored. These congregants, who bear wounds resulting from the actions of others and themselves alike, require dedicated spaces for healing. The absence of such spaces indicates that the church does not consider the presence of the wounded and injured, thereby preventing worship from serving its potential role in fostering restorative healing from injury. Through analyzing the experiences of stigmatization, injury, trauma, and the need for healing among both victims and perpetrator-victims, this article proposes the concept of privacy spaces for wounded congregants. In doing so, it reconceptualizes the church as one’s first home: a public domain that intentionally incorporates privacy spaces, which constitute liminal areas within the personal dimension of church life.

Online Church

Musdodi Frans Jaswin Manalu — 2024-12-24

This study examines the development of online church amid the challenges faced by Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Maranatha Cilegon in constructing a physical or offline church due to local restrictions. As a case study, it investigates the establishment of online church as an alternative measure to the rejection of building non-Muslim houses of worship in Cilegon, Banten. Employing qualitative methods with data triangulation, this study explores the potential of online churches to serve the mission of the Church in the digital era and discusses the theological and practical implications of online worship spaces as sacred places in the post-pandemic context. By analyzing HKBP documents, related literature, and news sources, this study finds online church can be a viable alternative, supported by the Toba Batak principle of manjujung baringinna (“self-reliance”) that underscores the HKBP ethos. Despite theological challenges, such as the debate over online communion, the findings suggest that digital innovation can strengthen the faith of congregants facing physical and logistical challenges, helping them to overcome access barriers to worship and offering new opportunities to enhance the reach of church services in the digital age—all while maintaining the essence of Christian teachings and values.

Towards an Elastic Church

Marlen Tineke Alakaman — 2024-12-24

The 21^st-century church faces both opportunities for growth and significant ministerial challenges that demand thoughtful response. While many contemporary churches continue to operate within categorical, formalistic models characterized by routine practices, these approaches often prove insufficient for addressing modern church issues. This study examines the intersection of Peter Menconi’s concept of the intergenerational church and the Gereja Protestan Maluku’s (GPM) indigenous notion of Gereja Orang Basudara (“The Brethren Church”). The article proposes the development of new church characteristics, namely, an “elastic church” model that is participatory, embraces the Other (Liyan), and is missional. This research aims to offer an alternative model for church life within GPM.

Reconciliation and Forgiveness

Frans Paillin Rumbi — 2024-12-24

The Darul Islam/Indonesian Islamic Army (DI/TII) rebellion in South Sulawesi (1951-1965) left scars in the collective memory of the predominantly Christian region of Seko Lemo. This study examines how these traumatic memories have shaped local reconciliation processes. Taking a phenomenological approach, we conducted interviews with first- and second-generation survivors to understand the dynamics of Christian-Muslim reconciliation over time. We find that reconciliation emerged organically as displaced communities returned from voluntary refuge, developing through familial bonds, intermarriage, and perpetrator confessions and accounts. While Christians have extended forgiveness based on values like praying for one’s adversaries, the process remains predominantly interpersonal and social in nature. This study therefore posits the theological importance of divine forgiveness—understood as God’s grace extended to flawed humanity—as a fundamental framework for sustained processes of deeper reconciliation that foster collective healing and community restoration.

A Basis for Rejecting Homosexuality?

Randy Frank Rouw — 2024-12-24

The brief narrative of Ham seeing Noah’s nakedness (Gen 9:20-27) has been interpreted by some as a text that can be used against homosexuality. This interpretation is unsurprising given the numerous exegetical traditions that characterize Ham’s action as sexual perversion, informed by a theory of voyeurism that frames Ham looking upon Noah’s nakedness with lustful desire. For such interpreters, this reading of Genesis 9:20-27 offers biblical grounds for rejecting homosexual behavior. The primary purpose of this article is to challenge the use of the Ham-Noah narrative as basis for teaching against homosexuality. This article is not necessarily written to support homosexuality but rather to examine the textual evidence through critical analysis of the term רָאָה (“to see/look”). In Genesis 34:2 and 38:15, this term is found within explicitly sexual contexts that begin with the act of looking. The textual analysis reveals significant differences between Genesis 34:2 and 38:15 and the text of Genesis 9:22 regarding רָאָה. In 34:2 and 38:15, sexual behavior is clearly recorded following the act of seeing, providing strong evidence that the uses of רָאָה in those contexts imply sexual desire. However, unlike those passages, 9:22 records no sexual behavior following the act of seeing. Therefore, it is incorrect to assert that Ham viewed Noah with sexual desire. This finding ultimately refutes the use of the Ham-Noah narrative as a basis for teaching against homosexuality.

No More Eternal Punishment

Christian Arisandi Kiding Allo — 2024-12-24

This article explores the concept of eternal punishment in light of the Christocentric universalism Karl Barth outlines in his seminal work Church Dogmatics. While Barth explicitly rejects the doctrine of apokatastasis, his treatment of election and reconciliation suggests that salvation is already accomplished for humanity, rendering eternal damnation unnecessary. Using a literature review methodology, this study examines key themes in Church Dogmatics II and IV, including Christ’s election and the interplay between grace and sin. The findings highlight Barth’s assertion that eternal punishment is not possible. However ineffective sin might prove to be, Barth by no means diminishes its seriousness. Instead, he emphasizes the work of Christ as central to the doctrine of salvation.

Prophet al-Khidr: Between the Quranic Text and Islamic Contexts

Khurshid Khan — 2024-12-24

A book review of Prophet al-Khidr: Between the Quranic Text and Islamic Contexts.

God at War: A Meditation on Religion and Warfare

Amelia Eno Nabilah — 2024-12-24

A book review of God at War: A Meditation on Religion and Warfare

Toward an Embodied Decolonial Pneumatology: Dishoming Space

Andri Vincent Sinaga — 2024-12-24

A book review of Toward an Embodied Decolonial Pneumatology: Dishoming Space.

Evangelism as Storytelling: A Reconstruction of Evangelism from a Feminist Postcolonial Missiological Perspective

Anita Rushadi Simatupang — 2024-12-24

A book review of Evangelism as Storytelling: A Reconstruction of Evangelism from a Feminist Postcolonial Missiological Perspective.