QUAERENS: Journal of Theology and Christianity Studies

INFERTILITY AND THE CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES TO ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES (ARTS) IN NIGERIA

David Oluwabukunmi Ogunbiyi — 2026-06-17

Infertility, defined as the inability to conceive after at least one year of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse, remains a major psychosocial and spiritual issue in Nigeria, particularly among Christian couples. This study investigates the psychological and religious dimensions of infertility and examines Christian attitudes toward Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and surrogacy. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 2,572 participants across various Christian denominations in Nigeria. Findings revealed that while awareness of ARTs is high, many Christians still struggle to reconcile their faith with the medical interventions these technologies represent. Anxiety, depression, and social stigma were common among infertile couples, particularly women, who often face cultural blame. Denominational doctrines significantly influence couples’ perceptions of ART morality and divine will. However, most respondents believe churches should support couples using ARTs. The study underscores the need for integrating psychological counselling and pastoral care into fertility treatment. It advocates a balanced approach that recognises ARTs as compatible with faith when pursued with informed conscience and emotional support. This integration enhances resilience, reduces stigma, and promotes holistic well-being for couples in faith-based communities.

CHURCH AND CHURCH BUILDING

Fransiskus Sule — 2026-06-24

This study investigates what the church building means for the Catholic faithful of Pinang Parish, Tangerang (Archdiocese of Jakarta). Using semi-structured interviews with seventeen parishioners and a phenomenological thematic analysis, it adopts a phenomenological–theological approach to interpret how the building is lived within everyday faith. Five themes emerged: identity, communion, stability, sacredness, and fulfillment. Participants describe the new church as making the community public and recognizable (“now we can point and say, this is our church”), gathering ministries into a stable locus for fellowship and service, and relieving the insecurity of rotating or provisional worship spaces. They also speak of an atmosphere that disposes reverence and of a sense of arrival after a long struggle for official permission to build. Wallenfang’s notion of paradox clarifies this experience: the church is held together as a concrete structure and as a sacramental sign—visible and fragile, yet experienced as mediating God’s dwelling that exceeds visibility. For a minority community, the building thus embodies perseverance and joy while reconfiguring how the faithful understand themselves as Church. The study advances ecclesiological reflection on sacred architecture by offering a bottom-up account of how lay experience and contested building processes shape ecclesial self-understanding, with relevance to wider debates on disputed worship spaces in minority contexts.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DORMITORY LIFESTYLE AND CHRISTIAN CHARACTER AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abednego Tri Gumono — 2026-06-24

In fostering Christian character, the Faculty of Education at Pelita Harapan University has established a dormitory system for students. Through this residential living arrangement, the Faculty of Education aims to produce graduates with a holistic profile, encompassing teaching competence, faith, and character. According to the results of a tracer study on student character in 2015, 60% of students fell into the “good” category, while in 2020, this figure rose to 61%. These data indicate that character development, particularly Christian character, remains an area that requires continuous improvement. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the dormitory lifestyle and the formation of Christian character among students. Christian character is measured across the dimensions of love, kindness, goodness, and gentleness. The boarding school lifestyle was measured in terms of spirituality, discipline, and social life. The research method used was a quantitative correlation method. The strength of the relationship was measured using the Morgan scale. The results showed a correlation coefficient for the dormitory lifestyle of 0.473 (moderate relationship) with a coefficient of determination/r² value of 0.2237 (22%). Thus, the dormitory lifestyle variable (independent variable) accounts for 22% of the variation in the formation of students’ Christian character (dependent variable). This moderate correlation between dormitory living patterns and Christian character indicates that the formation of Christian character is also influenced by other factors such as faculty members, the implementation of the Christian curriculum, and peers. Interviews conducted with 15 students revealed that 13 (86%) stated that faculty members have served as role models in character by behaving fairly, firmly, and appropriately time, and consistency. The integration of the Christian curriculum has been consistently implemented across curriculum subjects. Peers influence positive motivation in students’ completion of academic assignments and committee work. The next data point shows that 2 (14%) students stated that faculty members are already quite good at serving as role models of character and integrating the Christian curriculum, although this does not yet apply to all faculty members. The recommendation from this study is that Christian character development should be carried out in an integrated manner involving faculty professionalism, the implementation of a Christian curriculum, the student affairs department, the counseling department, and the dormitory management department/ Mission Youth for Christ.

VISIONARY PASTORAL LEADERSHIP AS A DRIVING FACTOR FOR CHURCH GROWTH

Yaterorogo Zebua — 2026-06-25

Leadership is a reflection of how a leader directs, convinces, organizes, and empowers the people he leads to understand and have a shared vision and mission. In the context of the church, a pastor is required to have a clear vision, because without a vision, ministry growth will not be achieved in real terms. This study aims to explore how the implementation of a pastor's visionary leadership affects the growth of the congregation at the Indonesian Sangkakala Christian Church (GKSI) Siloam Congregation. A visionary pastor is understood as a leader who is able to capture divine vision, inspire the congregation, make decisions based on values and wisdom, and be adaptive to the dynamics of the times. This study uses a quantitative approach through a survey method of 52 congregation respondents. The results of the study show that all indicators of visionary leadership have a significant and high correlation with church growth, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The highest correlation was found in decision making based on values and wisdom (r = 0.793), followed by inspiring and motivating the congregation (r = 0.700), having a clear vision from God (r = 0.679), and adaptive and responsive to changing times (r = 0.660). The overall correlation between visionary pastoral leadership and church growth was r = 0.769, indicating a very strong positive relationship. This finding confirms the importance of the character of visionary leadership in building a healthy, growing, and impactful church. This study also provides a practical contribution to local churches in developing leadership patterns that are in line with God's will and relevant to the needs of the times.

THE SPIRIT WITHOUT MEASURE

Oey Natanael Winanto — 2026-06-26

The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus has often been overshadowed by the church’s focus on Jesus’ divine nature, resulting in an underdeveloped pneumatological dimension in Christology. This article addresses this gap by examining Luke-Acts as a unified narrative that portrays Jesus as both the unique bearer of the Spirit “without measure” (John 3:34, a Johannine echo that Luke implicitly affirms) and the giver of the Spirit to the church. Through a narrative-theological and redaction-critical method, the study analyzes key Lukan passages—the annunciation, the baptism, the Nazareth sermon, the resurrection, and the ascension—to demonstrate that Luke intentionally presents Jesus’ anointing as the model for the church’s reception of the Spirit. The findings reveal that Jesus’ possession of the Spirit is not merely functional or temporary but constitutive of his messianic identity as the second Adam and the true Israel. Furthermore, the same Spirit who empowers Jesus for prophetic mission is poured out at Pentecost, establishing the church as a community of Spirit-anointed witnesses. The article contributes to Lukan pneumatology and Spirit Christology by arguing that the “measure” of the Spirit in Jesus’ life is the norm for Christian initiation, and that the church’s missional identity is a direct extension of Jesus’ own anointing. This integrative model challenges both the reduction of Spirit reception to conversion and the separation of Jesus’ anointing from the church’s empowerment.