Volume 28, Issue 2

This article provides a brief overview of Christian practical theology and the main Islamic theological disciplines: Sharia, kalām and Sufism. It illustrates some of the intersections of the Christian and Islamic disciplines, but also the profound differences in the conceptualization and classification of practical religious knowledge. It argues that, for Muslims, practical theology provides avenues for developing the emerging specialization of Islamic spiritual care and counselling among other things. For Christians, the article highlights Sufism and Sharia that may provide useful insights into the lived experience of spirituality and case-based ethical or moral reasoning.

This article challenges the prevalent Asia-West binarism within Asian contextual theology, advocating for a “disidentification” approach to constructing Asian practical theology. The author argues that defining Asian identity solely in opposition to the West limits the scope and vision of the field. Instead, drawing on lessons learned from decades of engagement with Asian contextual theologies, the author proposes a more nuanced approach that is mindful of the hybridity and plurality of Asian experiences. The article critiques the essentialist understanding of “Asia” which homogenizes the diverse cultures and contexts within the continent. As an alternative, the author proposes “disidentification,” a concept borrowed from Michel Pêcheux, which encourages a critical and selective engagement with both local and global resources. This approach allows for fluid and open-ended constructions of identity that resist simplistic binaries. To facilitate this approach, the author identifies five globally relevant discourses as potential dialogical partners for Asian practical theology: Relationality, The Divine Nature of Humanity, Critical Ecclesiology, Diasporicity, and Decoloniality/ Postcolonialism. These five discourses, interconnected and relevant across various Asian contexts, offer a starting point for developing a globally engaged Asian practical theology. The author emphasizes that this list is not exhaustive, encouraging further exploration of other globally constructed discourses. By moving beyond the Asia-West binarism, Asian practical theology can foster a more inclusive and dynamic engagement with lived faith in all its complexities.

Academic leaders instinctively replicate their own historical best practices or those that their peer institutions have adopted in response to a crisis. And here are some of the reasons why. Many of us, faculty and administrators alike, have not embraced the habitus of reflective practice. To effectively lead in times of crisis, we must (a) strive for better practices; (b) reimagine leadership as a shared and differentiated vocation; and (c) reframe systems that hinder us from becoming reflective communities for transformation. As practical theologians, our core mandate is to practice what we teach within and beyond our institutions.

The term “body” refers to the biological concept that the physical structure consists of cells, tissues, and organs. Meanwhile, the integration of the body in the social sphere describes social relations. The concept of body in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians refers to social diversity in Christ’s unity that upholds a sense of mutual life and complementarity within a Christian context. The body concept in the Lermatang community refers to kinship or family relationships based on mutual respect, appreciation, and love in indigenous communities. Based on the cross-cultural method of both perspectives, the body’s meaning in social relations refers to “turning each other on” within a group.

This practical theological paper investigates how Philippine left-behind fathers manage family life and provides theological views on how the Christian faith may be a source of encouragement and constructive criticism. An analysis of data drawn from qualitative interviews with men whose children’s mothers work abroad suggests that fathers “enshrine family,” where they evaluate migration based on their familial ideals and concepts. Enshrining family involves strategies that fathers employ in response to the obstacles and possibilities brought by the transnational setup of their families. These strategies are theologically interpreted to give suggestions for how fathers might find significance in their Christian faith while doing family.

Drawing from ethnography in six faith-based community food banks located in urban Finland, this paper explores the dynamics of social inclusion and exclusion as manifested in everyday life in food assistance. The findings propose that different framings, social distances and power hierarchies affect both promoting and experiencing social inclusion and exclusion that appear situational and relational through the everyday discourse and praxis. By reflecting on these dynamics from a theological perspective and employing the concept of ‘lived koinonia’, the discussion shows that the food banks are still hesitant to imagine themselves as a source of liberation that would challenge structural, epistemic inequalities.

The Church can be a powerful supportive resource for Christian women in their arduous journey recovering from sexual violence trauma. However, these survivors are often found to be habitually re-traumatised by responses encountered in the aftermath leading to further wounding. Amongst the myriads of responses commonly experienced by the victims was the pressure to forgive. In this paper, I will explore the Christian practices of interpersonal forgiveness with a particular focus towards its application in the context of gender justice. The paper seeks to contribute to the growing efforts in developing theologically-robust and trauma-informed care for those struggling along the complex and challenging journey towards hope and healing.

This article explores the relationship between large language models (LLMs) and humans as well as its impact on practical theology, more specifically on ritual-liturgical studies. We show how LLMs question human exceptionalism in the realms of language, creativity, grounding, and meta-representation. Subsequently, we discuss the assumed role of language in understanding who we are as humans. LLMs call for a reappraisal of Saussure’s structuralism. We demonstrate how in LLMs, structuralism converges with hermeneutic approaches to language. We speculate on the immanent interpenetration of LLMs and liturgical practices from the perspective of a revisiting of structuralism. Finally, we offer some perspectives on the future of LLMs and liturgy.

With growing use of generative AI in sermon preparation this article develops the conversation regarding its usage. It begins by discussing some of the ethical issues related to generative AI in preaching. It then suggests that the missiological practice of contextualization also serves as a theological framework for preaching which generates a hermeneutic to locate the ethical and skillful use of AI within the sermon preparation process. It then moves to explore some skills in utilizing generative AI that can be used in sermon preparation in a way that is consistent with this framework.

This empirical-quantitative study systematically examines lifecycle ritual choices, including the reluctance to celebrate the rituals offered by the church. Observations of the reasons for ritual choices in the German Protestant context illustrate important shifts in ritual culture. These are also occurring in other contexts around the world marked by religious individualization and cultural singularization. This study finds that religious fit, family constellation and biography, conventionality, and institutional attachment determine affinity to church lifecycle rituals. Thus, the interest in infant baptism, church wedding, and funeral can be conceptualized as a four-dimensional value-rational action. In addition, personal contact with pastors and other church personnel builds trust and creates opportunities for ritual requests. The study thus deepens our understanding of contemporary decision-making processes in a changing ritual culture. The empirical findings offer implications for professionals to adapt their ritual practices in both ritual design and marketing.

This study investigates the sociocultural constructs of secular time and labor as perceived by Christian farmers in rural Tigray, Ethiopia. The central objective is to uncover the factors that influence these farmers’ heritage value orientations and attitudes towards secular time and labor. A combination of structured and unstructured interviews, focus group discussions, and observational methods were employed to collect data. The data were systematically analyzed through both qualitative and quantitative lenses. The findings indicate that Christian farmers in the study area hold a modest esteem for labor and the judicious use of time for secular ends. Furthermore, it is evident that their secular outlook is deeply intertwined with their broader heritage life philosophy. These farmers prioritize “the afterlife” over the present, leading to a diminished existential significance of the “here and now” within their socio-economic framework of time. The research identifies several key factors contributing to the knowledge gap among Christian farmers: the dominant authority of the church, the lack of a robust secular authority, insufficient dissemination of accurate information about the physical world and human capabilities, and a limited understanding of the constraints imposed by ancient heritage myths. Consequently, it is evident that the prevailing sociocultural constructs of time adversely affect the economic productivity and overall livelihoods of the Christian farmers.