Peran Perempuan dalam Ibadah: Dialektika Politik dan Teologi Tubuh

This paper presents an analysis of the text of 1 Timothy 2: 8-12 in relation to the role of women in worship. Where will be studied in the dialectic of body politics and body theology. The study in this paper uses a qualitative descriptive method. Data were collected using literature study techniques. The results of the study illustrate that the text of 1 Timothy 2: 8-12 presents the role of women in ministry in the Ephesian church. This condition implies that the role of women in church service has the same obligations as men and has the same value before God. Tulisan ini menyajikan analisis teks 1 Timotius 2:8-12 dalam kaitannya dengan peran perempuan dalam ibadah. Dimana akan dikaji dalam dialektika politik tubuh dan teologi tubuh. Kajian dalam tulisan ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Data dikumpulkan dengan teknik studi pustaka. Hasil penelitian memberikan gambaran bahwa teks1 Timotius 2:8-12 menyajikan peran perempuan dalam pelayanan di jemaat Efesus. Kondisi ini berimplikasi bahwa peran perempuan dalam pelayanan jemaat memiliki kewajiban yang sama dengan laki-laki, serta memiliki nilai yang sama di hadapan Allah.

Pentecostals, LGBTIQ+ people and the Bible

The Bible seemingly confronts the issue of LGBTIQ+ people and/as believers. However, these texts can be interpreted at least in two ways, in terms of temporal orientation or of temporary orientation. The question whether LGBTIQ+ people should be allowed as members of the faith community and serve in ministry can be answered by viewing the relevant biblical texts as culturally and temporary determined ethical pronouncements that are valid only for the original readers of (or listeners to) the texts or as permanent, everlasting and perpetual principles valid for believers of all ages and normative for contemporary times across cultural divides. It is argued that Pentecostal hermeneutics establishes a third way to read the texts, by reversing the movement from text to situation and to allow the faith community’s experience of their encounters with God through the Spirit to determine their tolerance or non-tolerance of LGBTIQ+ people. The principle is demonstrated at the hand of the issue of women in ministry before being applied to the faith community and LGBTIQ+ people.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s white moderates and moderate Baptists: Moderateness as betrayal of the gospel

In his 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. criticizes “the white moderate,” identifying them as empathizing with the Civil Rights Movement, but not acting upon it. King’s “white moderate” compares to contemporary white Baptists who embody King’s definition. Putting “white moderate” in conversation with “moderate Baptists” demonstrates how moderate actions betray the Gospel. Exploring the identity of the clergy whom King addresses in his letter aids in drawing out a fuller definition of “moderate.” This article applies three aspects of King’s critique to contemporary Baptist concerns, such as women in ministry and inclusion of LGBTQIA persons in all areas of ministry: (1) an avoidance of tension through silence, what King calls “negative peace;” (2) a sympathetic view without sustained change in social structure or policy, identified by King as “lukewarm acceptance;” and (3) using generalized statements to avoid speaking of “hot-topic” issues, which King phrases as “sanctimonious trivialities.” White Baptists can fight against the trend of “moderateness” through being transformed by and participating in what King calls “direct action.” In doing so, Baptists may become, to use King’s term, “extremists for love.”

“Your one wild and precious life”: Women on the Road of Ministry

While women continue to engage in ministry in increasing numbers, their presence and activity is an unresolved issue in terms of ecclesial structure and meaning. In the past the effects of the Second Vatican Council and the twentieth-century women’s movement combined to open the door to women’s active engagement. The ongoing foundation of women’s vocation to ministry lies, in the present as always, in the significance of baptism; its theology and ritual are the same for women as for men. In the face of current impasse, the dangerous memory of biblical women in ministry at the origins of the church offers inspiration and hope for the future.