Articles
-
Can you do theology on TikTok?
As theologians, we are used to being on established social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook and many of us will have featured on a webinar or lecture series uploaded to YouTube. Why then are so few of us practising theology on TikTok – the world’s most popular social network? Given that the church is desperate to reach a younger demographic and will often criticise the decline in religious literacy, why are we not alongside the people we so desperately want to reach? In this article I argue that theologians need to see TikTok as more than a place for ethnographic study but rather as a legitimate space in…
-
When Christian Fasting Turns into Child Abuse
Introduction In late April and until end of May 2023, national and international media reported at least two hundred and twenty-seven bodies of children and adults discovered in shallow graves in a forest near Shakahola village of Magarini Constituency, Kenya.[1] The victims died from the religious directions given by Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a taxi driver-turned-founder of the Good News International Church, that they must fast to death in order to meet Jesus. Those rescued were beyond recognition because of their emaciated conditions. Fundamental questions remain regarding the classification of religious movements. The issue now arises whether Makenzie’s organisation is a Neo-Pentecostal church or cult group, as it has now…
-
The Practical Reality of Practical Theology
This paper was written collaboratively by postgraduate students and staff at the University of Aberdeen during a research seminar in Practical Theology. Contributors are listed at the end of the piece with a brief summary of their research. Click here for details on studying Divinity at Aberdeen. Introduction The field of Practical Theology (PT) is thriving at the University of Aberdeen. During the postgraduate Practical Theology research seminar in the Autumn term (September to December) of 2022, we, a group of postgraduate students and academic staff, carried out a collaborative writing exercise, seeking to define and understand Practical Theology. This was inspired by our shared reading of Collaborative Practical Theology…
-
The Lord’s Supper and Eating Disorders
Introduction and Definitions Taking the Lord’s Supper is a duty of all Christians. However, many Christians have eating disorders which inhibit them. This raises vital pastoral issues which are considered a little here. I am a pastor who has had to work through this with a few Christians. Before a pastor, I was a hospital pharmacist on gastro-intestinal surgical wards. This providence has given me additional perspectives. By ‘eating disorders’ I do not limit the discussion to the psychological conditions which may first spring to mind. Anorexia, orthorexia, bulimia and others are included but what follows applies more pertinently to physical conditions.[1] Birth defects, disease, surgery and degrees of disability…
-
Take Off Your Shoes – Hospitality and Practical Theology: BIAPT 2023 Annual Conference
The BIAPT 2023 Annual Conference, Take Off Your Shoes – Hospitality and Practical Theology, allows us to explore a theme that has come under increasing theological scrutiny in recent years. Hospitality is a universal virtue, one that is claimed by every culture, but what does it mean to welcome another into our country, home, space or personal narrative? “Take off your shoes” was chosen as the title for this conference because it communicates very well the ambiguities, complexities and contradictions of the act of hospitality. On the one hand, it does not hide the power imbalance of the relationship between host and guest that will surely be explored during the…
-
Welcoming the Stranger: Aligning Hospitality, Justice and Charity with Righteousness
This article explores hospitality, the theme of BIAPT’s 2023 annual conference to be held on 11th to 13th July 2023. If you want to explore these sort of themes further, please consider joining us for the conference. For details visit the conference website here. In the Tanakh (the Bible) there are many instances where we are commanded to treat the stranger with charity, justice and righteousness. Why? Perhaps it is based on the idea of reciprocity, a payback for having been guests, presumably quite good guests: “Because you were strangers in a strange land” (Exodus 22:20) This seems reasonable; the good guest becomes, hopefully, the good host. After all, every…
