Following Gerardo Marti’s line of reasoning, I can argue that ethnic identity is an asset in the church or in chaplaincy, where ethnic identity is a means to find points of encounter between people. In order to do that, it is important to focus on the sociocultural and racial dynamics in those settings. The question I ask is whether pastoral care is independent of the context where it happens. People have different worldviews in our society, but sometimes those views are frequently downplayed. I wonder how we will offer appropriate pastoral care if those issues are ignored or if we …

In this post, I will summarize the content of Jewish scholar Wolfson’s discussion regarding patristic and medieval anthropology. His essay is titled “Immortality and Resurrection in the Philosophy of the Church Fathers,” originally published in the Harvard Divinity School Bulletin in 1956, and reprinted in Harry A. Wolfson, Religious Philosophy: A Group of Essays (Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 1961): 69-83. After discussing Wolfson’s ideas, I will then be providing a brief conclusion regarding his exposition of the topic. After giving some brief examples concerning how Socrates (a dualist Greek philosopher), Jesus (a dualist first-century Jew), and Rabban Johanan, the son of …

One way to deal with the vice of envy in the church is by serving others. By helping others, God may allow those dealing with this vice to understand how he works in their lives and cares about all his people. If we would like to be healthy individuals, it is vital to understand first that God created humankind to live in a healthy community where there is no space for envy and competition. We ought to rejoice in the wellness and success of others, not fill ourselves with bitterness because God has given us different gifts and abilities for …

When the Scriptures speak of the church as an assembly, one should remember that the church is not a human project, but a God’s project that He has given to us so that every Christian can participate in communion with Him. This makes morality of high significance in the church. In this short post, I will offer three reasons the church must firmly engage in morality. The Church Is Called to be a Community of Saints. Even though the visible church is not made of morally perfect persons, the church is called to be a community of saints — of …

All Christians who have believed in God and His message constitute the Body of Christ, the Church (from the Greek ekklesia, which means assembly), which is universal and invisible. However, although believers are united in Christ with one faith, the members of this Body also share different sociocultural backgrounds and have diverse thought about how the Christian life should be, among other aspects. This is the visible church. Thus, while one can find a particular congregation that emphasizes the role of worship in the community of faith, one also finds another congregation that believes that a social gospel is what …

Justification and sanctification are two concepts that are related and inseparable; however, they represent two different or distinct notions. Justification and sanctification are indeed two benefits given by God through Jesus Christ. In virtue of the assertion above, one may say that justification and sanctification are God’s gifts because “Christ was given to us by God’s generosity.” (Calvin, Institutes, III.11.1.) The problem arises when one merges both terms into one and uses them as they were interchangeable. This error should be avoided in order to understand better and coherently the doctrine of salvation and union with Christ in light of the Scriptures. …