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AN ANSELMIAN METHOD FOR CONTEMPORARY SOTERIOLOGICAL DEBATES Evans Winata; Jonathan Octavianus
Jurnal Penelitian Progresif Vol 5 No 1 (2026): SEPTEMBER 2025 - FEBRUARY 2026 (Call for Papers)
Publisher : CV Naskah Aceh

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.61992/jpp.v5i1.288

Abstract

Reformed Epistemology successfully defends the rationality of Christian belief against evidentialist objections. Plantinga demonstrates that belief in God can be properly basic and warranted without inferential justification. But this apologetic achievement leaves a methodological gap: believers know they are rational to believe, yet lack rigorous tools for adjudicating between competing doctrines. Both Calvinist and Arminian can claim warranted beliefs about salvation; Reformed Epistemology offers no criteria for choosing between them. This paper argues that Anselm's fides quaerens intellectum fills precisely this gap. Beginning with faith and deploying reason to explore internal coherence, Anselmian method provides constructive theological tools that complement Reformed Epistemology's defensive posture. Three case studies demonstrate the method's utility: the logical order of salvation, the relationship between justification and sanctification, and the grounds of assurance. In each case, Anselmian analysis clarifies underlying commitments, reveals logical structures, and enables more productive theological dialogue. The paper concludes that this medieval method addresses a critical need in contemporary evangelical thought—transforming apologetic defense into constructive systematic theology.
FROM MASS TO COMMUNITY: SMALL GROUP STRATEGY AS MITIGATION FOR SPIRITUAL ALIENATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE Evans Winata
Jurnal Penelitian Progresif Vol 5 No 1 (2026): SEPTEMBER 2025 - FEBRUARY 2026 (Call for Papers)
Publisher : CV Naskah Aceh

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.61992/jpp.v5i1.327

Abstract

The digital era presents a paradox: unprecedented connectivity coexists with profound spiritual alienation. Contemporary churches, particularly those exceeding 200 members, increasingly experience "crowds without community"—high attendance coupled with shallow relational engagement. This qualitative study analyzes the limitations of mass-oriented ministry models and proposes small group structures as strategic solutions. Drawing from theological foundations (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27), sociological theory (Dunbar's Number), and empirical research, this paper demonstrates that churches prioritizing secondary orientations (buildings, finances) over primary missions (spiritual formation, discipleship) risk organizational dysfunction and spiritual superficiality. Small groups (8-12 members) provide intensive spiritual formation through authentic fellowship and organic integrity monitoring through relational accountability, while addressing contemporary challenges including digital literacy deficits and civic responsibility formation. The study concludes with a paradigm shift from organizational mass structures to organic relational networks.
JOHANNINE DUALISM RECONSIDERED: BEYOND THE COSMOLOGICAL-EPISTEMOLOGICAL DIVIDE Evans Winata; Ricko Andhika; Adi Prasetyo Wibowo
Jurnal Penelitian Progresif Vol 5 No 2 (2026): MARCH 2026 - AUGUST 2026
Publisher : CV Naskah Aceh

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.61992/jpp.v5i2.349

Abstract

The persistent debate over the character of Johannine dualism has long been framed as a choice between two dominant positions: a cosmological reading that identifies two ontologically distinct realms (light/darkness, above/below), and an epistemological reading that reduces the dualism to contrasting human responses to divine revelation. This article argues that both positions, despite their genuine textual support, impose an anachronistic dichotomy onto the Johannine corpus. Drawing on close exegesis of John 1:1–18, 3:1–21, 8:23–47, 17:6–19, 1 John 4:7–8, and Revelation 12, and engaging the contributions of Jörg Frey, Jan van der Watt, and Catrin Williams alongside the classical scholarship of Bultmann, Dodd, Brown, and Lincoln, this article proposes a third framework: incarnational-relational dualism. This framework holds that the Johannine polarity is neither a metaphysical division between two realms nor a merely cognitive-ethical distinction, but rather a differentiation between two modes of existence constituted by one's participation in or rejection of the incarnate Logos. The proposed model is distinguished from the doctrine of perichoresis and from Chalcedonian categories, to which it is related but not reducible. Implications for Johannine hermeneutics and pastoral theology are considered.