Sunday, April 19, 2009

GKSBS di Yogyakarta?

Apakah benar ada GKSBS di Yogyakarta? Jelas saja jawabannya tidak ada. Yoyakarta yang dikenal sebagai kota pelajar, menjadikan kota ini sebagai kota tujuan bagi orang-orang yang ingin menuntut ilmu, dan pada kenyataannya tidak sedikit warga GKSBS dan Sumatera bagian selatan khususnya yang juga datang ke Yogyakarta untuk bersekolah atau kuliah, dan sebagaian kecil dari orang-orang tersebut adalah “kami”.

Berita dari mulut ke mulut membawa kami akhirnya bisa bertemu dalam suatu wadah yang bernama Persekutuan Mahasiswa Gereja Kristen Sumatera Bagian Selatan, yang kemudian disingkat PM GKSBS. Entah dari berapa tahun yang lalu PM ini sudah terbentuk, namun kini kami ada bersama, bersekutu dan saling membangun dalam kasih.

Senang sekali rasanya, pada saat di perantauan bisa bertemu dengan saudari-saudara yang pada dasarnya memiliki latar belakang yang sama dengan diri kita. Hingga saat ini yang aktif mengikuti PM kurang lebih 15 orang, dan secara resminya di tahun 2009 ini, kami sudah berhasil merencanakan dan menjalakan 3 kali pertemuan yang menyenangkan, tapi jelas bahwa ada juga pertemuan yang kami lakukan secara pribadi satu dengan lainnya yang tidak terdata karena bersifat secret and confidential.

Sekelompok kecil orang dalam sebuah organisasi yang juga kecil dan melakukan kegiatan-kegiatan yang kecil namun memiliki makna yang besar bagi setiap anggotanya, itulah yang selama ini coba kami lakukan. Menurut saya (penulis), sekalipun belum mendapakan “suntikan” baik itu yang berkaitan dengan dana atau yang lainnya dari pihak manapun yang bisa membuat kami menjadi organisasi yang mapan secara financial maupun structural, namun kami bukanlah ada/berada di dalam suatu organisasi yang kecil (atau bahkan hampir “mati”). Bagi saya organisasi ini memang membutuhkan “suntikan” dari pihak lain, namun bukan berarti selama suntikan itu belum ada kita menjadi “ciut”. PM GKSBS adalah organisasi yang besar karena di dalamnya terdapat orang-orang yang besar yang mau dan mampu membuktikan keberadaannya kepada pihak lain, dan juga sehat secara jasmani maupun spiritual.

Dari tulisan ini sekiranya dapat membesarkan hati para Kakak-kakak kami yag juga dulu pernah ikut berperan untuk membesarkan dan meperkenalkan PM ini kepada kami, dan juga sekiranya melalui tulisan ini bisa membuktikan kepada Sinode GKSBS bahwa para Pelayan di GKSBS telah mampu mendidik kami menjadi anak yang mengenal Tuhan Yesus Kristus dan setia kepadaNya.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

MENELUSURI PERAN YUDAS

Oleh Pdt. Dr. Ioanes Rakhmat

Tulisan ini ingin menelusuri peran yang dimainkan Yudas Iskariot dalam hubungannya dengan penyerahan diri Yesus kepada para pemimpin Yahudi untuk ditangkap dan diadili, dan yang akhirnya dieksekusi oleh penguasa Romawidengan menyalibkannya. Pertama-tama akan ditelusuri bagaimana Injil-injil intrakanonik (= di dalam kanon Perjanjian Baru), Markus, Matius, Lukas (plus Kisah Para Rasul) dan Injil Yohanes, menampilkan figur Yudas. Sesudah itu, akan diangkat gambaran Injil gnostik Injil Yudas (abad kedua) tentang Yudas sendiri dan perannya dalam (aliran Setian) rangka penyerahan diri Yesus kepada para pemuka Yahudi. Akhirnya, akan dicoba dicari dan ditemukan bagaimana sebetulnya diri Yudas itu dalam sejarah. Teks-teks yang diberi garis bawah merupakan bagian-bagian teks yang penting dan karena itu harus diberi perhatian lebih untuk mendapatkan gambaran-gambaran tentang diri Yudas. download artikel selengkapnya

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Teology Of The Book Of Jeremiah

Walter Brueggemann

Critical Access to the Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Jeremiah, who was the second of the three major
prophets, is situated betweenIsaiah and Ezekiel and is animmensely
complex book. Indeed, it is so complex that some informed readers
have concluded that it is impossible to read the book as a coherent
whole and have declared it “unreadable.” Although it is possible
to see how different subsections of the book function and
what they mean, it is not readily apparent how the subsections
meaningfully fit together. This is but the first of several critical
issues confronting any interpretation of the theology of the Book of
Jeremiah.

THE SEXUAL LIFE OF JESUS

THE SEXUAL LIFE OF JESUS

The public fascination with Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, a story that begins with the premise that Jesus was married and fathered children, has been a surprise. The Da Vinci Code is roperly classified as fiction, but the beginning premise of this fancifull tale is actually more than plausible. It is in fact the most likely conjecture among the various possibilities regarding Jesus’ marital status. Now here do the biblical texts disclose any clear data on the subject. One of the noncanonical (extrabiblical) texts suggests that Jesus was paired with Mary Magdalene in a special way, a claim that cannot be dismissed out of hand as nonhistorical.

SEXUAL DISARRAY IN THE CHURCHES

The Scandal of Christendom

The Episcopal Diocese of New York has been one of the most liberal Episcopal dioceses of a fairly liberal denomination. For example, it was the first diocese to declare publicly, as early as the 1970s, under the leadership of Bishop Paul Moore, that it would ordain practicing homosexuals. Moore’s action was not tokenism; he ordained homosexuals in large numbers.
Yet by the 1990s, Moore’s diocese had also succumbed to the widespread frenzy over alleged sexual abuse, which was directed almost entirely against heterosexual men. Under pressure from the counterrevolution, in 1994, this diocese put in place a peculiar document, entitled Policies and Procedures for Responding to Sexual Misconduct in the Episcopal Church.
The committee that created this document consisted, curiously, of nine women and fi ve men—this in a diocese where the ministers were mostly men. In the leadership’s attempt to halt what was alleged to be widespread sexual exploitation by male ministers, the committee created a monstrous set of definitions and rules. These rules resulted in conditions that effectively outlawed, as far as the male minister’s behavior was concerned, almost any manifestation of sexuality.

The gospel Hoax

Stephen C. Carlson

The Gospel Hoax

I first heard of the Secret Gospel of Mark as a teenager in the
mid 1980s when I read an extract of it quoted in the Holy
Blood, Holy Grail series—a sensationalistic exposition of the
supposed bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, which
has just resurfaced in the public’s imagination as the background
for the fictional thriller, The Da Vinci Code. Even
though I was not very familiar with the New Testament back
then, the extract from Secret Mark, with its sentences beginning
with “and straightaway,” appeared to me exactly like I
expected the author of the Gospel of Mark to have written.
Secret Mark did not make much of an impression on me, however,
and I missed the homoerotic intimation at the end of the
passage. Perhaps I was a bit too young to notice it, but the
authors of the Holy Blood, Holy Grail series did not call attention
to it presumably because it would have contradicted their
central premise. Rather, they focused on what Clement of
Alexandria
, the person who supposedly quoted Secret Mark,
had to say about suppressing heretical gospels.

SEXUAL OUTLIERS

PAUL TILLICH AND KARL BARTH

SEXUAL OUTLIERS

By almost any assessment, the most influential Christian thinkers and
theorists of the twentieth century were Karl Barth (1886–1968) and Paul
Tillich (1886–1965). The marks these two men made on theological and ethical
thinking crossed generational, national, and religious boundaries. Even
Pope Pius XII characterized Barth, a Protestant, as “the greatest theologian
since Thomas Aquinas.” 1 He should probably have added that if Barth was
the greatest, Tillich was the most influential, not only among Protestants
but among Roman Catholics, Jews and even the nonreligious.

Each of these influential theologians demonstrated, by behavior especially,
and to some extent by his teaching, his rejection of the established sexual
ethics of both the Christian Church and the middle class, which (the established
ethics of church and class) were about the same thing. The personal
lives of these two men speak more loudly than their words. Each reached
his prime in the 1920s and 1930s in Germany; each was influenced, to some
extent, by European libertinism of the early twentieth century.

ROMANS 9–11 ; THE PURPOSE OF PAUL IN ROMANS 9–11

ROMANS 9–11 ; THE PURPOSE OF PAUL IN ROMANS 9–11

That is, Midrash
represents a synthesis of written text and rabbinic sensibility, in which
both are accorded the status of revelation.
Jacob Neusner has written the most compelling, systematic
account of the development and character of the Midrashim.
Among other things, he shows that a given Midrash may be
composed of four distinct orders of interpretation:
1. close exegesis, or discussion by each word or phrase of Scripture;
2. amplification of the meaning of a passage;
3. illustration of a particular theme by various passages;
4. anthological collection around a general topic.
The result of the compilations of varying readings, involving different
categories of interpretation, was the eleven distinct Midrashim (on
various books of the Bible) which emerged by the end of the sixth
century.

Why Pyrrhonism is Not Scepticism?

Why Pyrrhonism is Not Scepticism?

We know that Pyrrho journeyed to India, along with Alexander the
Great, in the fourth century BCE. According to Diogenes Laertius, it
was there, in conversation with Indian sages, that he worked out the
rudiments of his “most noble philosophy.” Kuzminski carefully examines
the historical evidence supporting this tradition. And so it happens
that, in reading this book, we stand to gain a more nuanced understanding
not only of Pyrrhonism, but of Buddhism as well.

Praying the Lord' Prayer

Praying the Lord' Prayer

Question : What desirest thou of God in this prayer?

Answer: I desire my Lord God our heavenly Father, who is the
giver of all goodness, to send his grace unto me, and to all people,
that we may worship him, serve him, and obey him, as we ought
to do. And I pray unto God, that he will send us all things that be
needful both for our souls and bodies; and that he will be merciful
unto us, and forgive us our sins; and that it will please him to save
and defend us in all dangers ghostly [i.e., spiritual] and bodily;
and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our
ghostly enemy, and from everlasting death. And this I trust he will
do of his mercy and goodness, through our Lord Jesus Christ. And
therefore I say, Amen. So be it.

ORTHOPRAXY OR A JUDAISM?

ORTHOPRAXY OR A JUDAISM?

The middle divisions, the third and fourth, on Women and
Damages, finally, take their place in the structure of the whole by
showing the congruence, within the larger framework of regularity
and order, of human concerns of family and farm, politics and
work a day transactions among ordinary people. For without
attending to these matters, the Mishnah’s system would not
encompass what, at its foundations, it is meant to comprehend
and order. So what is at issue is fully cogent with the rest. In the
case of Women, attention focuses upon the point of disorder marked
by the transfer of that disordering anomaly, woman, from the
regular status provided by one man, to the equally trustworthy
status provided by another. That is the point at which the Mishnah’s
interests are aroused: once more, predictably, the moment of
disorder. In the case of Damages, there are two important concerns.
First, there is the paramount interest in preventing, so far as
possible, the disorderly rise of one person and fall of another, and
in sustaining the status quo of the economy of Israel, the holy
society in stasis. Second, there is the necessary concomitant in the
provision of a system of political institutions to carry out the laws
which preserve the balance and steady state of persons. So the
systemic statement comes to expression in law, but it is hardly a
system of orthopraxy, not at all

JESUS AND THE TORAH

JESUS AND THE TORAH

The Judaism represented by the Mishnah and later writings offers
knowledge of God through the Torah and instruction on the right
conduct of life through learning in the Torah. God enters the world
through the Torah, and the way of life of that Judaism finds its
definition in thoughtful study of the Torah and the practice of its
teachings. For Christians, Jesus Christ the Incarnation of God accords
that same knowledge and instruction, the record of his days on earth
in the Gospels forming a narrative of what happens when God is
made flesh. The way of life set forth by both Judaisms found its
definition in imitating God. Humanity has been made “in our image,
after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26; 9:6). The task of Israel is to show
what it means, then, to be “like God.” The individual and “Israel”
serve as examples of the same thing, namely, God’s love, which is all
the greater because the person and the social entity are informed of
that love.

Genesis Rabbah XLIV:XVIII

Genesis Rabbah XLIV:XVIII

1. A “Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘Know of a surety [that
your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not
theirs, and they will be slaves there, and they will be
oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment
on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall
come out with great possessions’]” (Genesis 15:13–14):
B “Know” that I shall scatter them.
C “Of a certainty” that I shall bring them back together
again.
D “Know” that I shall put them out as a pledge [in expiation
of their sins].
E “Of a certainty” that I shall redeem them.
F “Know” that I shall make them slaves.
G “Of a certainty” that I shall free them.

Number 1 parses the cited verse and joins within its simple formula
the entire history of Israel, punishment and forgiveness alike. Not
only the patriarchs, but also the matriarchs, so acted as to shape the
future life of the family, Israel. One extended statement of the matter
suffices.

HERMENEUTIKA PERJANJIAN BARU

HERMENEUTIKA PERJANJIAN BARU

Pengertian Hermeneutika

Kata hermeneutika berasal dari kata kerja bahasa Yunani hermeneuo (ermeneuw) yang berarti
menjelaskan, menginterpretasikan, atau menterjemahkan. Selanjutnya oleh Plato,
kata hermeneutika dipakai untuk pertamakalinya sebagai istilah terhnis yang berarti
ilmu yang mengajar prinsip-prinsip, aturan-aturan dan metode interpretasi (menafsir).
Di samping kata kerja hermeneuo kita juga menemukan kata exegeisthai (exhgeisqai) yang
berarti menafsir, dan dari sini kita peroleh kata exegese (exegesis, Ingg).

Biasanya hermeneutika dipelajari dengan maksud untuk menginterpretasikan tulisan-tulisan
masa lampau. Tugas utamanya ialah menemukan jalan yang dapat menjembatani jarak waktu dan
perbedaan situasi yang ada antara penulis masa lampau dengan para pembaca masa kini.
Ini dilakukan dengan cara di mana para pembaca saat ini berupaya menempatkan diri dalam
waktu dan suasana yang dialami oleh penulis masa lampau. Dengan kata lain tugas
hermeneutika dapat dicapai dengan cara di mana para pembaca saat ini menempatkan diri
dalam konteks penulis masa lampau.