Journal of International Scholars Conference - PHILOSOPHY/ THEOLOGY

The Relationship of Film and Theology in the Context of Theological Education in Asia: An Adventistt Perspective

Nestor Rilloma — 2016-01-01

Film is becoming an important art form. Studies on the relationship between film and theology have become a growing discipline. Film and its religious significance need to be further recognized as a valid means to understand and interpret society’s particular concerns and beliefs. Clearly enough, theology needs to address these same possibilities. There is of course, a need to further examine the force of film in the light of its potential to serve as an avenue for religious experience and insights. This essay stressed the value of exploring the relationship between film and theology as a means of understanding and interpreting religious experiences and in contextualizing theological education in Asia.
This essay argues that film can become an important source for doing theology as a people continue to search for fresher perception and articulation of their understanding of God as processed through the text of filmic expression. In three ways, this argument is developed: (1) Film can be a repository of religious contents, beliefs and understanding of given culture or society; (2) Film affects our religiosity as a people in that its narrative schema contains elements that are religious in nature. Art reflects the deeper structures with the human heart; and (3) Film in itself becomes the avenue for religious experience and divulges a religious dimension.

Adventist Church Members’s View at Bogor Congregation about Batak Toba Death Tradition Ceremony According to Ecclesiates 9:5

Lianthon Situmeang — 2016-01-01

In this study, the author examines the traditional procession of death in Batak Toba tribe based on Ecclesiastes 9: 5. The author of this research focuses on the Seventh-day Adventists Church in Bogor. As this study to give sense to the members of Seventh day Adventist Church in Bogor for those who come from Batak Toba tribe of death has not been fully understood. It is seem by the presence of granting status to the dead who have a philosophy contrary to the Bible and the liturgy that has properties of spiritism. This study is divided into two parts, namely the study of the theory and field research. The results of theoretical research on how understanding the true philosophy than traditional procession Batak Toba find some sense that contrary to the Bible as granting status Matua Sari is considered unfinished as parents for their children there were not married when the old man died. The Bible describes in Ecclesiastes 11: 5 that humans do not know about the future and what will happen as death. Then a procession of funerals Batak Toba identical with spiritism as Gondang, Tor-tor, and Ulos are closely related to the spirits of the dead (Tondi). The results of field research conducted through a questionnaire distributed to 30 Seventh-day Adventists Church in Bogor generate data that can be summed up well the respondents understand the meaning contained in Ecclesiastes 9: 5 that the dead do not know anything. Then the respondents are still undecided about the delivery status of the dead among the Batak Toba tribe and how the Batak Toba traditional procession of death can not be loose of Gondang and Ulos.
Keywords: Sari Matua, Saur Matua, Mauli Bulung, Dalihan Natolu, Tor-tor, Gondang, and Ulos.

Biblical Origin of Communication in the Context of Synergistic Communication Theory: Basis for Creating the 21st Century Communication Model

Romeo Barrios — 2016-01-01

For many years Adventist denominational schools have been embracing the popular worldview of communication process described as Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver-Feedback model. Then in the last decade this model was challenged by a new metaparadigm called Synergistic Communication Theory (Barrios, 2003) by adding spiritual dimensions and extending the process beyond the communicator’s lifetime because communication is considered as “gift from God.” As a Church with eternal hope, it is imperative to view and teach communication based on Adventist standard. This study aimed at creating Christian communication model with the inputs of selected University theologians, educators, and Bible authorities from Adventist University of the Philippines.
This qualitative study asserts the idea of a paradigm shift. Because it is about time to change the old view of communication model presented as human-centered, static, one-dimensional, two-people-at-a-time process, and technology-driven! Using the armchair research, the open-ended questionnaire/opinionnaire methods, a brand new illustrated communication model was created, fitted for 21st Century Christians. With the Holy Bible as the major source of facts and data, the new communication model has been scholarly presented as God-controlled, continuous, and relationship-driven. Furthermore, the study confirms that spiritual salvation is man’s ultimate goal forcommunication.

Formational And Informational Reading: A Challenge In Biblical Research

Blasius Abin — 2016-01-01

The need for God is not just a wish to know about Him, but rather a quest to encounter Him, where people can experience and feel the divine. Prayer is one way to encounter God, and studying His words is another part of encountering Him. Both lie at the heart of spiritual formation. Most especially, those who study theology, tend to connote the study of God’s words with scholarly examination of a text. To this analytical method, the rational and cognitive dynamics of human being go into full operation to analyze, critique, reorganize, synthesize, and digest the text they find appropriate to human agenda. In this sense many students, teachers, and church members delve into what they call exegesis. They perceive the text as an object of research and do not allow God to speak to the researchers out of the text. Exegesis is the process of discerning the meaning of the text by examining the words, context, and historical background. Although this process is not the whole, intellectual curiosity has nothing inherently wrong with it. The problem is, by being overbalanced in the cognitive direction, the readers shift everything through the cognitive process of researcher’s mind while thinking that this is proper. This mood of method is called informative study of the Bible.
The study of God’s words must move far beyond mere curiosity and intellectual knowledge. Had more people fixed in their minds a desire to know God and His will in their lives, the more spiritually productive and formative their study would have become. To this general mode of reading, readers allow the passage to open to human being in its deeper dimensions. It means the text itself becomes the subject of reading and human being serve as the object shaped by the text. This method is known as a formative study of the Bible. In summary, readers have a certain level of information about biblical passage such as original context of the text or historical data of a text. There must be a constant interplay between the informational and formational modes of reading. Transformation by God’s words is the ultimate goal of scriptural reading.

DID GOD INSPIRE THE BIBLE? : AN INTERPRETATION

Bartholomeus Diaz — 2016-01-01

What Paul meant when he says that the Scripture is “inspired by God”? (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul wrote in a Greek language, using a word that literally means “breathed by God.” Therefore, Paul is saying that God through the Holy Spirit guided the writers of the Bible to write the things that God wanted to say. These Bible writers wrote the things “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit” (1 Pet. 1:2). Thus, Apostle Paul also mentions that the books of the Bible are “sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim. 3:15.

Theological View Of Bringing Corpses Of Members Of Seventhday Adventist Church Into Church

Milton Pardosi — 2016-01-01

Bringing corpses of members of Seventh-day Adventist Church to church before funeral service has been a long discussion among members of Seventh-day Adventist Church itself particularly in Indonesia. Some agree but others not. Each group has its own argument. But, the group that agrees, unfortunately, is divided into two groups which are based on criteria that have been set up by each congregation. The main aim of this research was to find out whether there is a theological view in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy regarding bringing a corpse into the church. The other one is to give some guidelines for Seventh-day Adventist churches regarding this issue. The research itself used two methodologies. First, the writer did observations in some churches during his experience as a church pastor. The observation itself was related to the regulations that have been set up by each church. The other one is library research. Here, Old and New Testaments became the main sources as well as Spirit of Prophecy (The writings of Ellen G. White). The results of the study are: first, bringing corpses to church before the funeral service does not have a theological basis in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. Moreover, the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy also do not provide provisions relating to it as well as its positive or negative impacts whether a corpse is brought or not into church. Second, the organization of Seventh-day Adventist Church should give a clear guidance about the criteria that will be implemented by all churches under it to occur alignment in addressing this issue. Third, if it turns out that decision being handed out to each congregation, then, let these three important things need to be considered, namely: (1) The person who died must be a faithful member of Seventh-day Adventist Church; (2) The person died in a reasonable state (not suicide, drug addicts, etc.); (3) It is not just limited to an ordained pastor or young pastor, church elders, church pioneers, old people, but to the younger age group the church should give the same opportunity.
1. Church. It is a building that has been dedicated to God and is used only for worship and religious activities.
2. Unclean. A term for a state in which the body or soul or one's life is not holy anymore.
3. Corpse. A term for the body of a dead person.

Theological Analysis Of The Interpretation Of Sons Of God Based On Genesis 6:5

Ludwig Beethoven Noya — 2016-01-01

In this research, the author examined the interpretation of sons of God based on Genesis 6:4. This research is based on three understandings of the phrase sons of God in Genesis 6:4 which are, sons of God as the angels, the inhabitants of a planet other than Earth and Heaven, and the posterity of Seth. These understandings are often misinterpreted by some people, and giving rise to theories that are contrary to the Biblical teachings. God wants His people to completely understand the Biblical teachings, so they cannot be misled by contradictory teachings. The results of the research on the interpretation of thesons of God in Genesis 6:4 found out that the intermarriage in Genesis 6 is between the sons of God who are the posterity of Seth with the daughters of men who are the posterity of Cain. This research also found that the meaning of sons in the Bible is an embodiment of nature, character, and disposition. Therefore, the terms and conditions to be called sons of God is to realize the nature, character, and disposition of God.