This essay explores the apologetic value of arguments for faith that are built upon premises accepted by the skeptic—the kind of argument originally denoted by the term ad hominem. I illustrate the apologetic efficacy of ad hominem argument by working with the premise of ‘factuality.’ The skeptic supposes that facts may lead to scientific inferences but not to metaphysical ones compatible with religious faith. But, by examining the meaning of factual knowledge more closely, I undertake to show that it necessarily leads to conclusions about moral truth and freewill that lie outside the limits presupposed by skeptics. I conclude by considering how this argument type enables apologists to circumvent what Eric Voegelin has called modernity’s “prohibition of questions,” its tendency to rule out arguments for faith on procedural grounds.

Today, increasingly more Indonesian young women wear the hijab. This trend continues in Indonesia with the booming of pop culture – including fashion, film, and music – featuring Islamic themes. This article analyzes how the hijab shapes identity. In-depth interviews with 10 hijab-wearing university students were conducted, and results were analyzed using the perspectives of Social Identity and Identity Negotiation theories. The hijab is an important cultural symbol of social identity. The social categorization is evident in the respondents’ perception of non-hijab-wearing Muslim women; and their social identification is reinforced by the media’s portrayal of women in hijab. Fashion also plays a crucial part in identity negotiation.

While many individuals identify as Catholic and feminist, these two identities are often seen as incompatible because of stark differences in origin, beliefs, and political orientation. To understand this potential conflict better, this study uses a structuration view of identification to explore how individuals who identify as Catholic and feminist navigate tensions associated with these seemingly irreconcilable identities. Analysis reveals two strategies by which participants discursively navigate Catholicism and feminism: (1) highlighting endurance; and (2) minimizing difference. These strategies support and extend theory by revealing the tenuous, but enduring nature of involuntary identities, and showcasing transcendent possibilities.

The Catholic Church in Nigeria is vibrant. The presence of two emeriti Cardinals and a serving one in Abuja plus its array of human capital in terms of priests, religious and laity, as well as rich cultural dynamics, tells the story more. Despite this seeming flamboyance, the Church in the West African country has not reached its potentials. This qualitative paper, “Communication and Culture as Catalysts for Rewriting the African Narrative in the Nigerian Church” used the Cross-Culture theory as theoretical framework to ascertain the matter. It argued that lack of a unified theology of inculturation and implementing same, reliance on handouts from Europe and America, ethnicity and mediocrity are responsible for the backwardness. The study suggested developing an inculturated language of faith through creating a nexus between African communication and culture as ways of rewriting the African narrative in the Nigerian pastoral context. It concluded that effective communication and culture can create a new template not only in telling the Nigerian version of the narrative but in enabling the Church in Nigeria reach its full potentials.

Communication played a central role in the development of the early Christian Church. This paper will examine public relations practices in the ministry of the Apostle Paul, examining the accuracy of describing his communication activities as a form of public relations. Furthermore, we will examine claims by public historians about Paul’s missionary work as a “public relations campaign.” This paper will argue that although the modern practice of public relations navigates an increasingly complex environment, there are manifestations of what can be considered early forms of public relations in Paul’s campaign to spread the gospel.

This study claims the Mormon ideograph of <intelligence> limited church members’ capacity to conceptualize mental illness as a disease process and encouraged members to perceive prolonged mental illness as a failure of personal agency. I examine how two church insiders used culturetypal rhetoric to create a new emancipatory discourse that sanctioned medical intervention without requiring Mormons to surrender ideological commitments. Scholars have shown that altering ideographic control over a society is usually accomplished by those outside the power structure using counter-cultural rhetoric. Mormonism’s mental illness discourse demonstrates that insiders can introduce ideological reform without deconstructing a religious organization’s fundamental principles.