Several review articles about megachurch studies have been published recently concentrating their work on USA, Europe, and other parts of the world, with just a few references about Latin American megachurches. For that reason, this article aims to identify some of the characteristics of Latin American Evangelical megachurches by looking at relevant literature, especially that produced in the region, in Spanish and Portuguese, which is usually overlooked by researchers in Global North. Since this research field is still limited in Latin America, areas, where further work is necessary, are identified. Three general catalysts for the emergence of megachurches in the region, church growth methodologies, Pentecostalization, and theologies of growth, serve as guides to organize the review process. The discussion shows several potential areas of research in a variety of fields such as theology, ecclesiology, organizational theory, leadership, gender studies, and ethics, are proposed from the review.

The relationship between religion and politics is a constant in the history of humanity. In the specific case of Western culture, it is possible to trace an archeology of the political as an effect of theological-political devices (essentially Christian-inspired). If we add to this the evolution of politics, in modern times, towards biopolitics, then the relationship focuses on very concrete topics. This is the case of the immunological process – from a personal, social, and philosophical perspective – thoroughly analyzed by Italian philosopher Roberto Esposito. In the context of his philosophical immunology, the place of religion is mainly archaeological and is interpreted critically. This article also aims to critically analyze his position, proposing a reading close to his thought but which is, at the same time, somewhat different.

We suggest that the 14^th century scholar Nicholas of Autrecourt can be regarded as a precursor of the paraconsistent logics developed around 1950. We show how the Sorbonne licentiatus in theology provided in his few extant writings a refutation of both the principle of explosion and the law of non-contradiction, in accordance with the tenets of paraconsistent logics. This paves the way to the most advanced theories of truth in natural language and quantum dynamics.

The book of Job presents a unique and detailed contrastive study of two fundamental and fundamentally opposed religious personae: Job, on the one hand, and the collective image of his friends on the other. It is a normative dispute about the religion’s most basic norm of disposition. How is one to respond to inexplicable disaster when one believes one is blameless? What is the religiously appropriate response to catastrophe? To confront God’s judgment as did Job, or to submissively surrender to it, as his four friends insist he should? Is one supposed to question divine justice when deemed to be wanting, as did Job, or to suppress any thought to the contrary and deem it to be just, come what may? Rather than expound (once again) upon the theological implications of the Job dispute, this paper focuses on its theological-political dimensions, and its looming and vivid, yet largely overlooked presence in the Hebrew Bible’s master narrative; and more specifically, on the marked, if inevitable antinomian nature of the Jobian side to the divide.

The article mounts an argument for public theology as an appropriate if not vital adjunct to contemporary education’s addressing of security issues in light of current world events with indisputable religious and arguably quasi-theological foundations. It will briefly expound on the history of thought that has marginalized theology as a public discipline and then move to justify the counter view that the discipline, at least in the form of public theology, has potential to address matters of such public concern in a unique and helpful way. The article will culminate with an exploration of Global Jihadism as a case study that illustrates the usefulness of public theology in understanding it better and so allowing for a response with potential to be more informed and security-assured than is commonly effected.

The article mounts an argument for public theology as an appropriate if not vital adjunct to contemporary education’s addressing of security issues in light of current world events with indisputable religious and arguably quasi-theological foundations. It will briefly expound on the history of thought that has marginalized theology as a public discipline and then move to justify the counter view that the discipline, at least in the form of public theology, has potential to address matters of such public concern in a unique and helpful way. The article will culminate with an exploration of Global Jihadism as a case study that illustrates the usefulness of public theology in understanding it better and so allowing for a response with potential to be more informed and security-assured than is commonly effected.

Understanding creation as divine kenosis, which has become rather widespread since the last century, may emphasize the strong connection between the theology of creation and the key Christian doctrine of the Incarnation while contributing to the dialogue between theology and science. At the same time, this theological project requires a thorough rethinking of divine action in order to avoid representing divine agency and natural causality as competitive factors and to affirm divine kenosis as the definitive trait of God without compromising divine freedom. To this end, the concept of “divine kenotic creativity” is suggested and discussed in this paper.

Drawing on contextualization literature, this paper seeks to evaluate the impact of contextual theology from a Latin American perspective. Bevans' (2002) Praxis Model of contextual theology sets the conceptual framework used to evaluate the evangelical response to the sociopolitical crisis in Nicaragua. The case study provides an example of how Bevans’ Praxis Model can be applied by looking at the manner with which the evangelical and the catholic church have responded to the sociopolitical upheaval in Nicaragua. The literature on contextualization highlights how theologizing is inextricably tied to culture, that contextual theology is necessary to effectively communicate the truth of the Gospel in varying cultural contexts, and that the issues of syncretism and the plurality of theologies can be effectively addressed.

Carol Winkelmann, in her book ‘The Language of Battered Women’ describes not only the fact that domestic abuse is almost a daily occurrence in the lives of many women but that the language of religion and faith is often used by women in attempts to explain, understand and cope with such abuse . While religious belief and domestic violence may seem contradictory in terms of religious values of faith, virtue and love, research demonstrates that domestic violence in religious families and amidst religious congregations is prevalent. In fact, religious beliefs and practices are often embedded in cultural contexts and thus perpetuate patriarchal notions of dominance, power and submission. Abused Christian women, for example, are more likely to seek help from (male) ministers and others in positions of authority in their local church communities and are equally more likely to remain in or return to unsafe relationships, citing their religious beliefs to support their avoidance of ‘family break-ups’ because of abuse. What, then, is the response of ministers and church authorities to domestic abuse in their congregations? Despite recent calls for the training of pastors and other religious leaders in an understanding of domestic violence and in the recognition of appropriate, helpful responses, the language of some Christian churches can be seen to foster notions of submission so that women and pastors alike can appear confused concerning the experience of abuse. Religious congregations, while acting in love to help the poor and needy, for example, often fail to recognise domestic abuse amongst their own members and, indeed, such a topic can remain taboo in some church communities. Women, in turning to their pastors or other Christian leaders for help, can be silenced by the language of the religion itself, so that the role of wives and mothers may be seen to be submissive and the ‘keeper of the home’; to leave an abusive relationship may thus ‘break-up’ a home and imply failure of the woman to understand her role and fulfil her ‘maternal vocation’. On the other hand, religious beliefs offer victims of domestic violence both hope and comfort. Religious practices, such as prayer, liturgies and corporal (physical) works of mercy, can provide solace and practical assistance for women who suffer abuse. Domestic violence in religious congregations can be addressed within the context of the faith itself, with an emphasis on love and respect, helping women to understand their dignity with avenues of help so that the women can remove themselves and their children from abusive relationships, and the religious congregation and its leaders can call the partners to accountability. This paper seeks to outline a picture of domestic violence in religious congregations, specifically Christian church communities, by drawing on current research in the Western world. It then describes the language of some religious congregations that perpetuates domestic violence, with emphasis on contemporary studies in religious belief and domestic abuse. Finally, the paper makes some suggestions on how religious belief and practice can, in contrast to perpetuating abuse through norms, serve to assist women as victims of domestic violence, and how the connections between domestic violence and religious language or belief can be severed.

This article aims to analyze music from a philosophical and theological perspective, using the principles of multi- and transdisciplinary methodology. After a brief introduction, which presents the main moments in the history of the musical phenomenon, a first chapter addresses the metaphysical dimension of music in classical composers. The second chapter shows the position of philosophers towards music, starting with Pythagoras and ending with Schopenhauer. The third chapter focuses on music theology in general, but also on the theology and metaphysics of music to the French philosopher of Romanian origin, Emil Cioran, who, after Augustin and Schopenhauer, wrote probably the deepest pages on the ontology of music. The last chapter refers to to the archetypal character of music.

Nowadays, more than 180 million people believe that the Holy Qur'an was sent by the Almighty Allah through Prophet Muhammad in 610-632 A.D in Mecca and Medina. However, the word Mecca (Q: 48:24) is mentioned only once in the entire Holy Qur'an, which is not related to the birth of the Prophet or any worship. Conventional Islam is mostly based on the hearsay of some Islamic narrators published in the eighth and ninth centuries. To think deeply and conduct research on the verses of the Holy Quran has been mentioned (special urge) directly and indirectly by this Holy Scripture itself many times but it would not be wrong to say that there is no scholarship on the verses of the Quran based on the research method described in the Holy Quran until the present century. Therefore, this paper has been dared to carry out by combining the methods of research followed in the Holy Quran and the academically accepted research methodology. The analysis shows that the results of almost fourteen hundred years of mythological history of conventional Islamic narrators are opposites. First of all, the proper name of the Prophet revealed by the Holy Quran is Ahmed, but Muhammad is an adjective and there are many such names. Secondly, this prophet was not born in Mecca, KSA, nor in 570/571 A.D, but in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, between the third and fourth centuries. Thirdly, the Muslim Hajj (pilgrimage) of Mecca is celebrated entirely according to the Lahwal Hadith (idle tales) (Q: 31:6) in the language of the Holy Quran. Originally the place designated for pilgrimage was in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. This article will have a double influence on the Muslim world, that is, Islamic scholars will think again deeply and research new ways of scholarship of the Holy Quran, instead of based on the hearsay of idle tales (Lahwal Hadith). On the contrary, those who are stubborn Islamic narrators, since they have already rejected the Holy Quran, will not hesitate to violently attack the researchers and they will not be positively motivated by this paper. This article specifically urges Islamic scholars to conduct in-depth studies on the most important issues of Islam using the Holy Quranic research method.

The life and work of Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J. is of radical vision, and revolutionary change. His dynamic life and works accompanied El Salvador and the Universidad Centroamericana through perhaps the most tumultuous years of the country’s history, yet there has been limited work done to examine his contributions. This paper shows how Ellacuría viewed the role of a Christian intellectual, and a Christian university within his philosophical and theological framework. I argue that Ignacio Ellacuría held, similarly to his soteriological views, that the intellectual must also be willing to sacrifice all for the sake of his/her work in a pattern of discipleship/martyrdom prefigured by his exemplars Christ and Socrates. It was this dedication to praxis and theory that western theology and philosophy had respectfully lost since their foundations which he sought to restore to a central role. In conclusion, the Christian intellectual and institution, according to Ellacuría, must use its voice and life in service of the people even to the point of martyrdom; he would argue, the implicit reason for Christian martyrdom and the crucifixion of Christ himself.

Spiritual intelligence had an impact on different biblical leaders, and in this text, we see some cases to serve as a sample (Joseph, Bezalel, and Daniel). In the Bible, this impact is demonstrated in innovations introduced by Joseph in Egypt, Bezalel the manager of the macro project of building in crisis time, Daniel the politician. It is the supreme intelligence and leaders are invited to make a shift from rationality to spirituality. The more leaders of organizations will use spiritual intelligence, the more leaders and followers will experience satisfaction, joy, accomplishment.