Experiencing ecumenical kinship through scholastic theological pursuits, ecosystem and culture
One of my mentor, graduate biblical course sponsor and friend, Jessica Layantara, Th.M., had just successfully completed her dissertation proposal. Amongst the board of examiner, there's no surprise for me to see her almamater former president, Rev. Prof. Joas Adiprasetya, what actually came as a shock and amazement was the sight of Simon Lili Tjahjadi in this venue which belongs to STFT Jakarta, a theological seminary founded in affiliattion with reformed tradition, Tjahjadi who often claimed in his sermons and public addressed as an ex calvinist, this man who often mistaken as a Buddhist monk is also a lecturer, theologian, currently the president of STF Driyarkara, and, a Diocesan Catholic Priest.
During my time "embedded" in IES Northwest 8 yrs ago, during post service fellowship lunch, the guest preacher then, (PhD candidate at Regent University at the time), Ps. Florian "Oyan" MP. Simatupang, a Pentecostal M.Div pastor, a rather privileged ex "party animal", with HKBP (Norther Sumatra Traditional Lutheran Church) heritage, was asked about his dissertation topic, to which (to my surprise) he responded, "The Eucharist" (understanding the Lord's Supper thought the Pentecostal theology of Search-Encounter-Transformation) .. thus the long winding road of my formal theological pursuit was laid out.
Again, without the intention to sound elitist nor distant, I both choose and advocate the distinct side of my spiritual journey which is "theology" over mere "faith" or "belief" for the lack of precision those latter two words often entail, represent and associated with. Theology - like our human experiences - is open to growth, discovery, even corrections and rethinking, something that better translate the root Greek word "μετάνοια" metanoia often found in our New Testament texts and mostly translated into "repentance".
It's also something that's grounded and intimate to our daily faith expressions, our liturgy if you will, it bleeds into the doctrinal choices we subconsciously made of what God is like, into how we pray and the kind of "church songs" we prefer over others. Theology is the inescapable oceans we swim in, the spiritual air we breathe in and with while on this side of eternity.
The discovery of the rich multifocality and spaces maintained toward more diverse, wholesome and life flourishing faith expressions, through "languages" given by critical and scholastic discourses and discussions has been the way I navigate through life's chaos & absurdity. While being vulnerable in living out the faith, I know that the holy text we consider "God breathed" is written and compiled through the hands and traditions that acknowledge God who redeems the world through the sharing in its sufferings rather than the rejection or denial of it.
Through the "language" given in addressing experiences, realizations, disillusionment, cognitive dissonances of pondering paradoxes and witnessing ethical problems confronted with certain meta-narrative claiming to be "biblical", absolute, even divine and eternally consequential, this pursuit has led me to believe that such things have instead always been open for renegotiations.
To rethink what it means to be "God's people" or "believers" in such time & place like this, that has been, not simply dreams or ambition. And while some can compartmentalize tensions between present reality and their beliefs of "what faith is or what the Bible says or what to believe" without questioning or scrutinizing things that don't add up (I've seen countless of those btw), this pursuit of theologically questioning, criticizing (auto criticism included), and rethinking Christianity, for some, myself included, is the last resort of making faith honestly and feasibly possible and doable.
Here's one of Ps Oyan's latest presentation at Harris' Institute Cambridge Colloquy ..
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYHcPafRCoz/?igsh=MXEwanQ3bXZud3A5aw==
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