Praxis 2009

First issue – Women, Peace and Reconciliation

The first issue was on, Women, Peace and Reconciliation (Praxis No. 1 January to April 2009), the second issue was on Identity, Diversity and Dialogue (Praxis 2 May to August 2009), and the third is on Climate Justice (Praxis 3 September to December 2009).

“Healing and Reconciliation, A Challenging Quest for its Meaning in East Timor “is the title of the main article in the section on Perspective, written by Nina Nayoan. Nina is a young woman from SCM Indonesia who is doing her internship in East Timor on peace and reconciliation. In her article, Nina, shares her experience and the stories of other Indonesian women living in East Timor. She talks about their common experience of living in anxiety because of their nationality as Indonesians. Her journey enabled her to “see the other side of the story”, the experience of violence and suffering experienced by the Timorese during the Indonesian occupation. The biblical reflections entitled, “Today’s Sarah and Hagar in Dialogue,” is a reflection of the situation of the women migrant workers and their relationship between with their women employers. She emphasizes the need for dialogue between the Saras and the Hagars of today.

Second issue – Identity, Diversity and Dialogue

In this 2nd issue of PRAXIS, we explore some of the critical issues related to this theme of Identity, Diversity and Dialogue. In the section on Perspective, we featured an article by Chandra Muzzafar, a leading Muslim scholar, entitled, “Religion and Identity in a Globalized World.” Chandra explores the historical roots and contemporary justification of the rise religious identity in the Asian context from a Muslim perspective. He begins his presentation by stating that identity itself is complex and religious identity is just but one among a variety of attributes than an individual or group identifies. He links the global resurgence of religious identity consciousness to failure of good governance, globalization, global hegemony of US and its allies, and reaction against the secularization of societies. The section on Biblical Perspective written by Kim Hye Rann‐Cragg entitled, “An Asian Focus on the Socio Cultural and Political Implication of Sexuality,” brings to fore an Asian feminist perspective on sexual identities. In her paper, she explains the problematic Judeo‐Christian dualistic understanding of sexuality, dividing the spirit (divine) and the body (secular), associating the former to men and later to women that of which is sexual and inferior.

Furthermore, she examines that despite negative biblical interpretations of female sexuality, the etymological understanding of sexuality in the bible is holistic and non‐dualistic. In comparison with Hindu and Islamic traditions, there are positive references to homosexuality and sexual minorities than that of the Judeo‐Christian traditions. She therefore advocates for overcoming the dualistic view of sexuality to holistic and holy.

Third issue – Ecological Justice

This 3rd issue of PRAXIS focuses on the theme of “Ecological Justices,” taking into account the perspective of justice in the ecological debate. We feature an article written by Athena Peralta on Wealth, Poverty and Ecology to introduce the basic concepts of ecology and its relationship to wealth and poverty. She argues that neoliberal globalization has intensified the ecological crisis through the unrestrained exploitation and extraction of natural resources. Furthermore, she explains that Northern Industrialized countries have accumulated Ecological Debt from the South “on account of historical and current resource plundering, environmental degradation and the disproportionate appropriation of ecological space to dump greenhouse gases (GHGs) and toxic wastes.” In the Biblico‐theological reflection section, we feature a bible study on Romans 8 entitle The Holy Spirit Cries Among the Groaning of Creation. Our author invites us to reflect on the ecological crisis as an issue of our Christian faith. He challenges us to reflect upon God’s Spirit as it manifest itself in the groaning of creation and to awaken our spirit and find hope in the midst of suffering.