Media: Jurnal Filsafat dan Teologi

Minahasa Local Wisdom Mapalus: A Contextual Interpretation of Pope Leo XIV's Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study examines the dialogue between Mapalus, a Minahasan tradition of mutual cooperation, and Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te to develop a contextual understanding of Christian love and its pastoral implications for the Diocese of Manado. It employs qualitative library research through a critical interpretive review and contextual hermeneutics, encompassing conceptual mapping of Mapalus literature, textual analysis of Dilexi Te, and reflexive synthesis of cultural and theological perspectives. The analysis identifies convergences in solidarity, equality, justice, respect for human dignity, and shared responsibility. Mapalus provides a cultural framework for expressing the Church’s preferential option for the poor through communal cooperation, while Dilexi Te deepens the theological interpretation of these practices as participation in God’s saving love. However, strict reciprocity and financial obligations in contemporary adaptations of Mapalus may burden economically disadvantaged households and risk their exclusion. The study concludes that critically engaging Mapalus in the light of Dilexi Te enriches contextual theology and offers a culturally rooted resource for pastoral renewal, directing the Diocese of Manado toward inclusive communal responsibility and concrete solidarity with the poor and marginalized.

Prejudice Reconsidered: From Psychological Bias to Hermeneutical Horizon

Dennis Tion, Danilo Saguilabon Alterado — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This essay revisits Hans-Georg Gadamer’s notion of prejudice (Vorurteil) as a legitimate condition of understanding, offering a complementary perspective to psychology’s prevailing treatment of prejudice as bias or distortion. Psychological approaches have illuminated the harmful effects of entrenched prejudice in perpetuating exclusion and injustice, yet they often emphasize its negative dimensions. Gadamer, by contrast, situates prejudice within the hermeneutical process as historically inherited orientations that shape interpretation. This article uses philosophical hermeneutics as an approach, drawing on Bildung (formation), tradition, and historically effected consciousness. The analysis highlights how prejudices function as initial frameworks that open the way for dialogue and meaning-making. Legitimate prejudice is marked by openness, receptivity, and the capacity for transformation through encounter, while illegitimate prejudice manifests as rigidity or ideological closure. The aim is to clarify and further articulate what constitutes legitimate prejudice that can be constitutive to the horizon of human understanding, one that calls for ongoing engagement with history, tradition, and difference. The article concludes that prejudices can be legitimate. Rather than advocating for the eradication of all prejudices, Gadamer’s framework encourages critical discernment and ethical humility, recognizing prejudice as both inevitable and potentially productive.

Otoritas Epistemologis Kashf dalam Tasawuf Kontemporer: Telaah Pemikiran Seyyed Hossein Nasr dan William C. Chittick

Tantriatus Sholehah — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study analyzes the epistemological authority of kashf in contemporary Sufism by bringing Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s concept of scientia sacra into dialogue with William C. Chittick’s interpretation of ‘alam al-khayal. It employs qualitative philosophical library research using philosophical hermeneutics and dialectical analysis of the thinkers’ primary works and relevant secondary literature. The analysis shows that Nasr provides a metaphysical foundation for spiritual knowledge by relating knowing to the Absolute, while Chittick explains the ontological possibility of spiritual unveiling through the imaginal realm as an intermediary between material and spiritual realities. Their complementary perspectives frame kashf as al-‘ilm al-hudhuri, or knowledge by presence, involving the subject’s existential participation in the reality known. Within this framework, its authority rests on the coherence of ontological structure, spiritual preparedness, and revelation as a normative horizon. Revelation, unveiling, and self-transformation constitute interconnected dimensions of Sufi epistemology rather than successive verification procedures. The study concludes that kashf possesses a conceptual foundation within the Islamic intellectual tradition, grounded in the unity of revelation, intellect, and self-purification. This synthesis enriches Islamic epistemology and broadens philosophical discussion of spiritual knowledge beyond empirical verification.

Kosmologi Kontekstual: Dalam Dialog antara Kosmologi dalam Perspektif Sains Modern dan Religiusitas Jawa

Eliezer Mei Kriswanto — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study examines how modern scientific cosmology and Javanese religiosity understand cosmic order and harmony and explores the possibility of constructive dialogue between their distinct epistemological frameworks. It employs qualitative philosophical library research, combining Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics with descriptive analysis, comparative analysis, and dialogical synthesis. Selected texts are interpreted through distanciation, appropriation, and refiguration, then compared in terms of epistemology, ontology, and conceptions of cosmic order. The analysis shows that scientific cosmology explains cosmic structures and processes through empirical observation, mathematical modeling, and theoretical coherence, whereas Javanese religiosity interprets cosmic harmony through symbolic meaning, spiritual experience, and ethical relations among humans, nature, and the divine. Both recognize order and interconnectedness, while cosmic beauty provides a point of dialogue through scientific appreciation of structural coherence and Javanese understandings of ethical and spiritual balance. The study concludes that Javanese cosmology constitutes a distinct epistemological framework capable of enriching scientific accounts with existential and ethical interpretations. It proposes a contextual and dialogical cosmology that preserves epistemological differences while fostering complementary understandings of the universe without subordinating either tradition to the other.

Kenikmatan, Asimilasi, dan Rumah: Titik Tolak Fenomenologis Etika Levinas

Thomas Hidya Tjaya — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Levinas’s ethics of responsibility is often placed and discussed in comparison with other ethical theories such as Immanuel Kant’s deontological ethics and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism. Unlike Kant who emphasizes the fulfillment of moral duty and Mill who employs the greatest happiness principle, Levinas is said to focus on responsibility toward the Other. On this view, the difference between Levinas’s ethics and traditional ethical theories concerns merely a particular ethical principle. This comparison overlooks Levinas’s phenomenological background, which analyzes primordial experience and the concrete meaning of human relations. The present article seeks to demonstrate that Levinas’s ethics must be understood within the context of a phenomenological analysis of the fundamental and natural movement of human beings in relation to the world and its objects. It employs the phenomenological method that involves the textual analysis of his works, particularly Totality and Infinity, through the concepts of enjoyment, assimilation, and dwelling. The resistance of the face of the Other emphasized in Levinas’s ethics constitutes a response to this fundamental movement expressed in activities of mastery and domination. This study offers a new perspective on Levinas’s ethics by showing its phenomenological point of departure.

Makna Teologis Gerakan Membungkuk dalam Tata Perayaan Ekaristi (TPE) 2020 dengan Perspektif Etika Jawa

Atanasius Deimen Wahana Utama , Deandra Pangestu — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study examines the theological meaning of bowing in the 2020 Order of the Eucharistic Celebration (TPE) through Javanese ethics, identifying cultural values, lived experiences, and convergences between liturgical and cultural meanings. It employs a qualitative interpretative phenomenological approach involving semistructured interviews with four purposively selected Javanese Catholics aged 40–65 in Surakarta. Data were examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Anscar J. Chupungco’s creative assimilation framework. The findings show that unggah-ungguh (respectful conduct) and andhap asor (humility), internalized through family upbringing, shape participants’ bodily expressions of reverence toward Christ’s sacramental presence. Bowing is experienced as embodied faith, although adaptation varies and one participant emphasizes kneeling as facilitating intimacy with God. The designation of Christ as Sampeyan Dalem expresses culturally mediated reverence without identifying Christ ontologically with a Javanese king. The study concludes that liturgical inculturation operates through bodily habitus and intangible cultural values. These findings enrich theological understanding of embodied participation in the Eucharist and support contextual liturgical catechesis attentive to local cultural dispositions.

Celibacy as Charism and Vocation in the Life of Capuchin Friars

Ricardo Gowasa, Triman Sihura — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study examines how perpetually professed Capuchin friars understand and live celibacy as a charism and vocation, identifying challenges and practices that sustain their commitment. It employs a qualitative approach combining a review of Church documents, Capuchin Constitutions, theological writings, and relevant literature with in-depth interviews with Capuchin friars in the Nias Islands. Interview responses were categorized and analyzed in relation to the theological and spiritual foundations of celibacy. The findings present celibacy as a freely embraced divine gift expressed through union with Christ, service to others, and prophetic witness to the Kingdom of God. Prayer, sacramental participation, healthy friendships, and constructive activities support fidelity and the responsible integration of sexuality. However, the study identifies limitations in understanding constitutional guidance on managing sexual urges, alongside personal initiatives such as gardening, exercise, music, reading, and writing. It concludes that sustaining celibacy requires ongoing spiritual and affective formation, deeper appropriation of the Capuchin Constitutions, and contextual, humane accompaniment that integrates personal responsibility with service and fraternity.

Sepuluh Doa Hening Imam (dan Diakon) dalam Ordo Missae dari Missale Romanum (2008): Kajian Historis dan Hermeneutis

Christianus Watu — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study analyzes the silent prayer formulas of the priest (and deacon) in the Ordo Missae of the Missale Romanum (2008). It aims to uncover the origins, historical evolution, and liturgical meaning and function of these texts. Through this investigation, the processes of formulation, preservation, and contextual adaptation of the texts throughout history are illuminated, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of their embedded liturgical message. As a literature-based study employing historical and hermeneutical approaches, this research reveals that these silent prayers share a uniform character, serving as a means of personal purification from sin to worthily celebrate the Eucharist. Originally, these prayers were not official ecclesiastical formulations but arose spontaneously as the priest's personal prayers to nurture his interior devotion. The evolution of their usage to the present day demonstrates that the development of a liturgical text is never detached from its historical dimension. Therefore, a comprehensive historical analysis is of paramount importance, given that the meaning of a liturgical text cannot be properly constructed without tracing its history. Within this framework, the hermeneutical approach serves to reinforce and deepen the discovery of that liturgical meaning.

Argumen Kosmologis dan Teleologis sebagai Bukti Keberadaan Allah: Perspektif Teologi dan Filsafat Kontemporer

Denyka Munthe, Didit Yuliantono Adi, Andre Nehemia Lahama — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The question of God's existence has always been a central issue in philosophy and theology, even amidst the development of science and contemporary secularism. This article examines the relevance of cosmological and teleological arguments as rational foundations for belief in God's existence. This paper employs qualitative research using a literature review approach and descriptive analysis. The cosmological argument emphasizes that the existence of the universe requires a first cause beyond itself, while the teleological argument highlights the order and purpose inherent in the cosmos that cannot be explained by mere chance. Both have classical roots in the thought of Thomas Aquinas and William Paley, but have found actualization in modern discourse through figures such as William Lane Craig and Richard Swinburne. While criticism from skeptical thinkers, such as David Hume and Richard Dawkins, has questioned their validity, both arguments nevertheless offer important contributions to the dialogue between faith, philosophy, and science. This study argues that, despite not providing absolute proof, the cosmological and teleological arguments provide a strong intellectual foundation for belief in God's existence and demonstrates their relevance for reflection on Christian faith in the contemporary era.