Research Article
Spatial Variation and Change in Precipitation and Temperature: Mediating Science and Smallholder Farm Household Perspectives in North Eastern Ghana
Simon Kaba Kanlisi*
Issue:
Volume 14, Issue 5, October 2026
Pages:
384-398
Received:
22 July 2026
Accepted:
4 August 2026
Published:
2 September 2026
Abstract: This study analysed perspectives of smallholder farm households in the Kasena Nankana area on climate variability and change in comparison with meteorological data collected over a period of three decades. The study relied on descriptive and qualitative data that were collected through the administration of a household questionnaires, Focus Group Discussions, and Key Informant Interviews. The sample included 365 smallholder farmer household heads, 9 Key Informant Interviewees and 61 Focus Group Discussion Participants. The findings revealed that smallholder households viewed their climate to be one that has been very variable over the past three decades marked by a shift in the farming season in line with meteorological data analysed. It confirmed the view in previous studies that intense climate variability and change are causing major adverse impacts on smallholder farmers. Smallholder farm households concluded that variability of their climate is caused by cultural despondency by the youth who have been influenced by foreign cultures perceived as modern. The study recommends that policy formulators and development practitioners including Government and Non-Governmental Organisations need to seriously factor indigenous knowledge and culture into policy and interventions that seek to support smallholder farmers towards sustainable climate adaptation and resilience building.
Abstract: This study analysed perspectives of smallholder farm households in the Kasena Nankana area on climate variability and change in comparison with meteorological data collected over a period of three decades. The study relied on descriptive and qualitative data that were collected through the administration of a household questionnaires, Focus Group D...
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Research Article
Rut Björkman’s Spiritual Critique of the Church as an Impetus for a New Ecclesiology
Imre Koncsik*
Issue:
Volume 14, Issue 5, October 2026
Pages:
399-405
Received:
23 August 2026
Accepted:
2 September 2026
Published:
20 September 2026
Abstract: This text investigates the nature and concept of the Church through the dialectical tension between individual religious experience and institutional social structures, engaging critically with Rut Björkman’s spiritual critique. The analysis initially categorizes ecclesiological frameworks into two distinct foundational approaches. Bottom-Up Theories view the Church as an abstract, adaptable social entity emerging from the collective historical interactions of individual believers. Top-Down Theories emphasize primary divine agency, grounding the Church in a transcendent origin and an enduring, normative organizational structure. Furthermore, the text distinguishes factual diversity (plurality) from relativizing ideology (pluralism), as represented in the Pluralist Theology of Religions (PTR). PTR explicitly rejects the unique hypostatic union of Christ, level-setting doctrinal content to a non-binding universal religion. In contrast to exclusivist models, sacramental mediation envisions the Church as a participatory partner in Christ's work. At the center of the inquiry is Rut Björkman’s spiritual critique, which strongly targets institutionalized top-down ecclesiology and dogmatic restrictions. Björkman denies the unique incarnation and divine sonship of Jesus, viewing him instead as one exemplar among many who discovered the "Creator Spirit" in creation. She asserts that dogmas and doctrines obscure inner human access to the divine source, playing historical tradition against Jesus. In her view, redemptive power lies not in "faith in Jesus"-which she argues divides humanity-but in "believing like Jesus," thereby awakening the hidden divine power within every human being.
Abstract: This text investigates the nature and concept of the Church through the dialectical tension between individual religious experience and institutional social structures, engaging critically with Rut Björkman’s spiritual critique. The analysis initially categorizes ecclesiological frameworks into two distinct foundational approaches. Bottom-Up Theori...
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