European Journal of Theology and Philosophy

Comparing the Holy Spirit in the Gospels with the Being of Light in Near–Death Experiences

2025-03-20T12:28:17+01:00

The Holy Spirit is still one of the biggest mysteries within the Christian belief in God. This mystery is controversially discussed between the different confessions. Neither a commonly accepted general understanding of the nature nor an exact knowledge about the origin is achieved. This article gives a new interpretation of the Holy Spirit by comparing this personification of God as told by Jesus Christ in the Gospels with the Being of Light, which is reported by many people after their Near-Death Experiences. Very clear similarities in several aspects are found. These include the encounters with the Holy Spirit and the Being of Light, the radiated divine love, the communication of God’s knowledge to people, the help and guidance to people, and the rebirth in the spirit. This investigation sees clear indications that the Holy Spirit and the Being of Light are different descriptions of the same Divine Being.

Explanatory and Confirmational Study of the Spiritual Blessings of the Chosen People based on Ephesians 1:3–14

2024-12-20T06:51:54+01:00

The study of spiritual blessings in the context of Christian theology provides profound insights into the identity and purpose of the believers, particularly as illustrated in Ephesians 1:3–14. This passage highlights the blessings that are bestowed upon the “chosen people,” which is central to the understanding of God’s grace and the believer’s life in faith. In the context of the Congregation of the Faithful Indonesian Christian Church in South Sulawesi, this study aims to explore these spiritual blessings and their implications for the faith community. The study confirms that Ephesians 1:3–14 lays a foundational understanding of the spiritual blessings bestowed upon the chosen people, offering significant implications for the life and mission of the Congregation of the Faithful Indonesian Christian Church in South Sulawesi. By recognizing and embracing these blessings, the congregation can foster unity, encourage spiritual growth, and enhance their outreach efforts within the community.

Koinonia as Communion: Rethinking Communion in Igbo Traditional Society as Oriko

2024-11-11T01:57:47+01:00

The Greek term Koinǒnia has been for everyday usage, contextually meaning many things – relationships, fellowship, participation, and communion in usages. This paper situates koinonia within the context of communion, evoking a special usage in Christendom. It applies an intercultural and interreligious linkage of the term to an agelong practice of Ndi Igbo, a practice that predates their encounter with Christianity. Ndi Igbo are people living in the Southeastern part of Nigeria, West Africa whose indigenous religion is the Igbo Traditional Religion – a subset of the African Traditional Religion. The encounter with Christianity introduced Koinǒnia from the Christian perspective, not as a new idea because there is an already existing idea of koinonia in their traditional everyday social and religious life. This paper investigates the religious and social dimensions of Koinǒnia from the Greco-Hellenistic period to the early Christian period, to the Pauline period, and the current usage of the term in the present time. This exploration is placed contextually to an age-long practice of Oriko in the Ogbako Umunna of the Igbo people that has the same meaning, effect, and practice model as the Christian communion, without an encounter between the two culture and religion. This paper explores the ontological, religious, cultural, and substantial relation of Koinǒnia as communion as reflected in Christianity and Igbo Traditional Religion. This investigation is an intercultural and interreligious exposé for enriching and fostering the ongoing mutual dialogue between Christianity and indigenous religions. A dialogue situated in bilateral and constructive exchange of experience for inculturation.

Towards a New Scientific Revolution for a Human Science: The Linguistic Criterion in the Universally Modified Occam’s Razor

2024-10-18T04:56:00+02:00

Although William of Occam’s early epistemological quote “Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity” attempted to put an end to the uncontrollable ontological confusion of his time, Occam’s Razor as its modern epistemological version considers as unscientific any non- measurable entity. However, words such as “immaterial”, “spirit” and “free will” have never ceased to exist in everyday human communication. According to Linguistics every word that has not historically ceased to be used by the total of people (or most of their societies) corresponds to a commonly accepted entity for which its users generally recognize the same distinguishable characteristics. A new, revised and complete–in the standards of the universal human communication–epistemological criterion is required fully now adapted in the linguistic criterion–the language people commonly communicate and use.

Kant’s Reliance on Reason Rejects the Essence of Sympathy and Empathy in Any Moral Choice

2024-10-16T05:08:18+02:00

Kant is noted to have pioneered the deontological position when he argued in defence of reason and duty in moral decision-making. Kant’s use of reason in moral decision-making has made him an ethical rationalist. As moral agents, our theories must be based on rational cognition. This can be said to have dominated Western philosophy since the time of Plato. During Plato’s time, the tradition believed that one must know the object and possess the cognitive principles of practical reason. This must be exercised by the will or rational capacity guided by the categorical imperative. It is only when this is accomplished that it can be said that an action is morally worthy or morally permissible. This paper argues that Kant’s reliance on reason rejects the essence of sympathy and empathy in any moral decision-making endeavour. To act justly there is the need to employ reason so that such action could be attractive as well.