The Pambelum Theology Journal is a blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research findings in the field of theology. All publications in the Pambelum Theology Journal are open access, allowing articles to be freely available online without any subscription requirements. Based on the Decree of the Director General of Research and Development of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Number: 0173/C3/DT.05.00/2025 dated March 21, 2025, the Pambelum Theology Journal has been accredited by SINTA with a ranking of 4 (Sinta 4). The Pambelum Theology Journal is managed professionally and published by the Evangelical Church of Kalimantan Theology College (STT GKE) to support academics, researchers, and practitioners in disseminating their thoughts and research findings. This journal focuses on the field of theological research. The Pambelum Theology Journal is published biannually, in February and August.
Unit Penerbitan Informasi dan Teknologi Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Gereja Kalimantan Evangelis (STT GKE)
The Messianic Figure of Harry Potter in the Film The Order of the Phoenix in the Light of N. T. Wright’s Thought
This study aims to analyze the depiction of Harry Potter as the messianic figure “the chosen one” in the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix using N. T. Wright’s framework. A qualitative content analysis method was employed, examining scenes that portray Harry’s inner struggles, moral responsibility, social pressures, and leadership. The findings indicate that Harry’s status as the chosen one is not solely determined by his abilities or bravery, but also through suffering, rejection, and the support of his community, including his friends and members of Dumbledore’s Army. Trelawney’s prophecy and Voldemort’s recognition reinforce Harry’s role in carrying a significant mission. The film emphasizes that the success of a messianic figure involves personal sacrifice, moral responsibility, and social interaction, demonstrating how fantasy narratives can serve as a medium for moral and spiritual reflection for audiences.
Copyright (c) 2026 Graciella Angela Tore, Roy D. Tamaweol https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Love-Based Ministry in 2 Corinthians 9:6–15 as the Foundation for the GMIM Financial Centralization Management
This study examines how the principle of loving service in 2 Corinthians 9:6–15 can serve as a theological foundation for the centralized financial management system of the Gereja Masehi Injili di Minahasa (GMIM). The research focuses on the application of biblical values such as joyful, willing, and sincere giving within a church financial structure that requires accountability and transparency. A qualitative approach is employed through library research using a historical-critical hermeneutical method to explore the context and theological message of the text. The novelty of this study lies in its integration of Paul’s teaching on loving service with the administrative practice of centralized church finance. The findings indicate that sincere and voluntary giving can function as an ethical foundation for financial management, strengthening congregational solidarity, fostering trust, and supporting accountable use of funds for sustainable church ministry.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ontario Dafraim Petra Kamea, Mieke Nova Sendow https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Students Perspectives on the Use of Artificial Intelligence at the Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Gereja Kalimantan Evangelis
Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) present both opportunities and challenges for theological education. This study aims to describe students’ perspectives on the use of AI at the Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Gereja Kalimantan Evangelis (STT GKE), including its benefits, risks, and ethical and theological implications. The study employed a qualitative approach using a case study design involving seven students selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected via a Google Form containing open-ended questions, observations, and document analysis, and were then analyzed using the interactive model developed by Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The results indicate that students view AI as a tool that can assist with learning, information retrieval, assignment evaluation, research, and academic work. However, the implementation of AI at STT GKE has not yet been fully integrated, as many of the services currently in use are limited to information technology and multimedia. This study recommends the development of guidelines for AI use and the promotion of AI literacy that integrates academic, ethical, and theological aspects.
Copyright (c) 2026 Rena Berkatni https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Pastors' Experiences of Burnout and Resilience: A Phenomenological Study of Local and Diaspora Ministry
This study aims to understand the experience of burnout and the development of resilience among pastors within local and diaspora ministry contexts, and to formulate a preliminary conceptual framework integrating Pastoral Theology and psychology. A qualitative approach utilizing a phenomenological-hermeneutic design was employed, involving three pastors serving in Ende, Singapore, and Hong Kong, alongside a Catholic priest as a comparative informant. Data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed via comprehensive reading, identification of meaning units, coding, theme development for each case, cross-case analysis, and hermeneutic interpretation linking experience, ministry context, and theological meaning. The findings reveal that burnout is a multidimensional pastoral issue affecting physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being, as well as the quality of pastoral presence. The manifestations of burnout vary according to the ministry context, while resilience develops through the interplay of theological, psychological, relational, and organizational resources. The study’s novelty lies in its comparative analysis of Indonesian pastors' experiences across local and diaspora settings and the formulation of a preliminary conceptual framework for contextual pastoral resilience. It contributes to the development of Pastoral Theology in Indonesia by framing burnout recovery as a process of restoring identity, relationships, the meaning of one's calling, and sustainable patterns of ministry.
Copyright (c) 2026 Aina Liana L, Gilbert Brandon Foek, Nelci Taferi Sunbanu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploring the Famatö Harimao Tradition and John Calvin's Thought in Psalm 51 on the Practice of Confession: An Alternative for Contextual Mission Dialogue
This article investigates the understanding of confession based on John Calvin's perspective in Psalm 51 and the Famatö Harimao Culture of the Nias Tribe. The purpose of this research is to find the ideas of Calvin especially in the context of confession, the use of sacrifice can be interacted and discussed with the tradition of Famatö Harimao which is believed to be a place to confess sins so as to find the value of understanding that can enrich both ideas and determine the attitude towards the practice of Famatö Harimao. Using a comparative and contextual approach, this research will identify similarities and differences between the two ideas. Such as the concept of a transcendent person, the concept of love from confession, the concept of salvation, and the concept of ritual become the means to enrich each idea. The differences arising from the conceptual framework, emphasis on means, emphasis on goals, and aspects of community can be an alternative for a logical and meaningful dialogue. The contribution of this research is to provide a contextual dialogue for the Nias Tribe, especially the Famatö Harimao tradition which has a high religious value. Furthermore, Calvin's thoughts will not eliminate local culture but provide a new transformation of understanding about the purpose and direction of confession.
Copyright (c) 2026 Aprianus Lawolo, Yaudi Santos Santoso, Monica Santosa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Pastoral Care for Vulnerable Elderly: Multidimensional Vulnerability and Life Strengthening
This study aims to examine the multidimensional vulnerability of the elderly in the GKE Panenga Congregation and to formulate relevant pastoral care practices to strengthen their lives. The study employs a qualitative approach using a case study design focused on two vulnerable elderly individuals, JH and MG. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations of the elderly, as well as interviews with family members and church ministers. The results indicate that the vulnerabilities of JH and MG are multidimensional, varying in form and intensity. These include physical limitations, functional dependence, economic conditions, limited social relationships and access to church life, as well as spiritual struggles in making sense of illness, dependence, and old age. Family support serves as an important source of strength, but it does not always replace the need for the presence of a faith community. The study also found that ministry to the elderly that relies on church-based activities and depends on the initiative of specific individuals has not fully reached elderly individuals with limited mobility. This study affirms that pastoral compassion must be realized through relational and sustained presence, a dialogical process of meaning-making, and the formation of a communal habitus that is accountable to vulnerable elderly people. The recommended pastoral practices include relational home visits, worship services and sacraments for the elderly who are unable to attend, reframing conversations, family counseling, and the formation of visiting teams and a culture of prayer for the elderly. Thus, strengthening the lives of the elderly is not understood as the elimination of frailty, but rather as the preservation of dignity, the meaning of life, relationships, and connectedness with the faith community amid the limitations of old age.
Copyright (c) 2026 Retni Mulyani, Ika Simarmata https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Role of Pastoral Counseling in Restoring Self-Love After Experiences of Rejection and Relationship Failure
The role of pastoral counseling in restoring self-love after experiences of rejection and failed relationships is very important in the midst of today's identity crises and mental health problems. The experience of being rejected, betrayed, or experiencing separation often causes emotional wounds that have an impact on self-esteem, self-image, and the quality of a person's relationships with God and others. This research aims to examine the contribution of pastoral counseling in rebuilding wounded self-understanding through a theological-anthropological approach that affirms human dignity as imago Dei. Using a qualitative-descriptive method based on literature studies, this paper emphasizes that the recovery of self-love takes place through the integration of reflection on faith, unconditional acceptance, and empathetic assistance which opens up space for inner and spiritual reconciliation, so that experiences of failure are no longer interpreted as a loss of self-worth, but as part of a process of existential growth that leads to personal wholeness and healthier relationships. The analysis was carried out through a thematic synthesis of the literature on pastoral theology, psychology and theological anthropology using Howard Clinebell's pastoral function framework which includes healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling. Through a process of critical comparison and interpretation, research shows that the recovery of self-love is formed in an integrative manner through pastoral care that is centered on human dignity as imago Dei.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ambarwaty Pratiwi I.P. Taturu, Julio Eleazer Nendissa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Philosophy of Huma Betang as The Foundation of Transcultural Pastoral Counseling Implementation in Kalimantan Evangelical Church
Members of the Kalimantan Evangelical Church (GKE) frequently face identity tensions between their formally professed Christian religion and Kaharingan beliefs that remain deeply rooted in their cultural and indigenous communal life. Rigid, Western-oriented pastoral approaches have proven inadequate in addressing this complexity. This study employs a critical analytical library research method to explore recorded documents about the huma betang philosophy (the indigenous wisdom of the Dayak people) that later can be integrated as a foundation for transcultural pastoral counseling within GKE. Drawing on David W. Augsburger’s concept of interpathy and Emmanuel Y. Lartey’s tripartite model, this study identifies an organic continuity between the values of huma betang (particularly sapantar, hapahari, and belom bahadat) and the principles of transcultural pastoral care. The value of sapantar grounds interpathy practice by dismantling pastoral hierarchies; hapahari fosters a mutually supportive community; and huma betang as a whole functions as a safe space that gives contextual expression to Lartey’s tripartite model in GKE’s pastoral setting. Result of this study concludes that GKE needs to explicitly integrate the huma betang philosophy into its transcultural pastoral counseling framework through locally grounded training modules and the enrichment of the GKE Synod’s institutional.
Copyright (c) 2026 Deo Mesakh Jarau Matudi Nyambat https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Creator-Creation Distinction in the Thought of Cornelius Van Til as an Apologetic Critique of Dataism
Dataism, as popularized by Yuval Noah Harari, views all of reality - including human beings - as a data-processing system, thereby elevating the flow of data to the highest value that determines meaning, decisions, and truth, and thus emerges as an alternative religion in the contemporary era. This article examines the ontological and epistemological claims of Dataism through the framework of Cornelius Van Til’s Creator-creation distinction. This study employs a qualitative-descriptive literature review design with thematic text analysis, mapping Dataism into four hierarchical layers of claims: empirical (the capacity of algorithms to process data), anthropological (the reduction of humans to biochemical algorithms), epistemological (data as the authority of knowledge), and axiological (the flow of data as the highest value). The results show that Van Til’s distinction affirms the empirical reliability of algorithms but reveals a fundamental error in the subsequent three layers, as Dataism repeats an ancient rebellion—namely, the creation’s desire to usurp the Creator’s throne, now with data as its crown. This study concludes that the Creator-creation distinction serves as a powerful yet focused presuppositional critique, affirming the status of data as a derivative and dependent creation, not an absolute source of truth.
Copyright (c) 2026 Novallick Justin Sundamen Elungan, Henny William Booth Sumakul https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0