Reconstructing Biblical Authority in Christian Religious Education Amid Global Cultural Fragmentation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61132/icreccu.v2i1.54Keywords:
Biblical Authority, Christian Religious Education, epistemological disruption, post-truth, Transformation of faith.Abstract
The development of globalization and digital culture has given rise to an epistemological crisis that shifts the authority of truth from revelation to social construction, so that the authority of the Bible in Christian education is increasingly marginalized. This condition has an impact on the low internalization of the value of faith, where students understand the Bible cognitively but do not live it in daily practice. This research aims to reconstruct the authority of the Bible in Christian education through an integrative and contextual approach in the midst of global cultural fragmentation. This research uses a qualitative approach with a library research method that integrates theological, pedagogical, and digital cultural contexts. Data were obtained from theological literature, educational theory, and relevant journal articles, which were analyzed using content analysis techniques and theological-constructive reflection. The results show that the crisis of biblical authority is influenced by epistemic shifts, the dominance of post-truth culture, low internalization of values, and non-contextual pedagogical approaches. This research creates a model of reconstruction of biblical authority that integrates the epistemological, pedagogical, and bruxistic dimensions in a transformational manner. In conclusion, this reconstruction does not change the theological substance of the Bible but updates the approach to learning to be more dialogical, reflective, and contextual, so that the authority of the Bible remains relevant in shaping the faith and character of learners in the global era.
References
Asrinia Susanti Riu and Rounauly Marbun, “Alkitab Sebagai Dasar Utama Guru PAK Dalam Mengajar,” Sepakat J. Pastor. Kateketik, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 61–72, 2023, doi: 10.58374/sepakat.v9i1.134.
J. Farkas and J. Schou, “Post-Truth Discourses and their Limits: A Democratic Crisis?,” in Disinformation and Digital Media as a Challenge for Democracy, Intersentia, 2020, pp. 103–126. doi: 10.1017/9781839700422.008.
S. Lewandowsky, U. K. H. Ecker, and J. Cook, “Beyond Misinformation: Understanding and Coping with the ‘Post-Truth’ Era,” J. Appl. Res. Mem. Cogn., vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 353–369, Dec. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.07.008.
J.-F. Lyotard, La condition postmoderne. Paris: Les Éditions de Minui, 2017. doi: 10.2307/j.ctt1w1vnp8.5.
K. Barth, Church Dogmatics. Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010.
N. T. Wright, Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. San Francisco/New York, AS: HarperOne, 2013.
L. J. Moleong, Metode Penelitian Kualitatif-Edisi Revisi. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya, 2006.
E. Colì, M. Paciello, E. Lamponi, R. Calella, and R. Falcone, “Adolescents and Trust in Online Social Interactions: A Qualitative Exploratory Study,” Children, vol. 10, no. 8, p. 1408, Aug. 2023, doi: 10.3390/children10081408.
A. S. Ghalib and M. Ardiansyah, “The Role of Instagram Influencers in Affecting Purchase Decision of Generation Z,” J. Business, Manag. Soc. Stud., vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 117–129, Jan. 2023, doi: 10.53748/jbms.v2i3.44.
Rizkiyah Hasanah and Zohaib Hassan Sain Baharun, “Faithfluencers and Digital Piety: Redefining Religious Authority Among Generation Z,” Indones. J. Islam. Relig. Educ., vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 125–136, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.63243/injire.v3i2.01.
D. F. Kholisari, “Dakwah Stylish di Era Digital dan Kontestasi Otoritas Keagamaan: Studi Kasus Hanan Attaki dan Ustadz Selebritas Indonesia,” El-Hikmah J. Ilmu Dakwah dan Komun., vol. 22, no. 13, pp. 101–119, 2025, [Online]. Available: https://jurnal.alhikmah.ac.id/index.php/elhikmah/article/view/477
T. A. B. Purba, G. Wahyuningsih, S. P. Damanik, N. Synta, Ramadani, and H. L. Siregar, “The Influence of Social Media To Religious Student Generation Z at Medan State University,” J. Multidisiplin Sahombu, vol. 4, no. 02, pp. 487–496, 2024, doi: 10.58471/jms.v4i02.
R. Humairoh, F. Augustinah, and D. Ferriswara, “The Influence of Social Media Influencers and Institutional Trust on Gen Z Students’ Decisions in Choosing Educational Institutions on Instagram,” J. Educ. Manag. Res., vol. 05, no. 01, pp. 460–475, Jan. 2026, doi: 10.61987/jemr.v5i1.1688.
A. Hassoun, I. Beacock, S. Consolvo, B. Goldberg, P. G. Kelley, and D. M. Russell, “Practicing Information Sensibility: How Gen Z Engages with Online Information,” in Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, Association for Computing Machinery, 2023, pp. 1–17. doi: 10.1145/3544548.3581328.
L. N. Ujiyanti and M. Hanif, “Evaluasi Aspek Afektif, Kognitif, Psikomotorik dalam Pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam: di SMP Negeri 3 Kedungbanteng,” IQRO J. Islam. Educ., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 319–331, 2025, doi: 10.24256/iqro.v8i1.7026.
Yakobus Adi Saingo, “Internalisasi Nilai-Nilai Karakter Religius Melalui PembelajaranPendidikan Agama Kristen di SD Inpres Lili,” Apostolos J. Theol. Christ. Educ., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1–14, 2023.
A. W. Syakhrani, “Internalisasi Nilai-Nilai Agama Dalam Pembentukan,” JUTEQ J. Teol. Tafsir, vol. 2, no. 8, pp. 1374–1385, 2025.
J. Nainggolan and P. A. Kristen, “Peran Pendidikan Agama Kristen Dalam Menumbuhkan Karakter Religius Bagi Jemaat Gereja di Tanjung Morawa Complex : Jurnal Multidisiplin Ilmu Nasional,” Complex J. Multidisiplin Ilmu Nas., vol. 2, no. 55, pp. 124–131, 2025.
B. S. Bloom, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. New York: Longmans, Green, 1956.
J. W. Fowler, Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
S. Yanto and P. Irmala Sari, “Analisis Dampak Media Sosial terhadap Literasi Politik dan Partisipasi Demokratis Generasi Z di Era Post-Truth,” Civ. Educ. Perspect. J., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 67–76, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.22437/cepj.v5i2.41641.
N. Fitriani, A. A. Aqham, K. Wahid, and A. Muin, “Digital Natives, Critical Strangers: The Challenge of Student Critical Literacy in Indonesia’s Post-Truth Era,” Educ. J. Sos. Hum. dan Pendidik., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 122–136, 2025, doi: 10.51903/k4h62185.
F. Nurjaman, “News Consumption Behaviour of Generation Z in The Reading Community Via Instagram,” Edunity Kaji. Ilmu Sos. dan Pendidik., vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 64–80, 2025, doi: 10.57096/edunity.v4i2.371.
M. Triantoro, “Revitalising Moral Education In The Digital Age: Strategies For Character Building Among Generation Z Amidst The Tide Of Disinformation And The Decline Of Ethical Social Media Use,” Indones. J. Educ., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 424–438, 2026, [Online]. Available: https://www.preventionweb.net/news/preliminary-report-february-6-2023-earthquakes-turkiye
L. McIntyre, Post-Truth. London, England: MA: MIT Press, 2018.
K. Bouway and N. Mbelanggedo, “Pendekatan Holistik Pada Kompetensi Guru Pak: Menyeimbangkan Aspek Teologis, Pedagogis, dan Sosial,” IMitatio Christo J. Teol. dan Pendidik. Agama Kristen, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 174–192, 2025, doi: 10.63536/imitatiochri.
Y. Tanasyah and B. K. Putrawan, “Pembelajaran Kontekstual Dalam Peningkatan Hasil Belajar Pendidikan Agama Kristen,” Areopagus J. Pendidik. Dan Teol. Kristen, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 1–14, Sep. 2022, doi: 10.46965/ja.v20i2.1622.
N. Nurfidiya, D. Ismaimuza, and I. Hadjar, “Penerapan Pendekatan Contextual Teaching and Learning (Ctl) Untuk Meningkatkan Hasil Belajar Siswa Pada Materi Perbandingan Di Kelas Vii Smp Negeri 22 Palu,” Aksioma, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 84–96, Mar. 2019, doi: 10.22487/aksioma.v8i1.206.
Marsianus Reresi, Vinsensius Bawa Toron, and Paula Rawul, “Strategi Pengembangan Bahan Ajar Pendidikan Agama Katolik Pada Kondisi Pendidikan Di Daerah Tertinggal,” J. Reinha, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 60–69, Aug. 2023, doi: 10.56358/ejr.v14i1.227.
B. Sitompul, L. M. Pasaribu, H. A. R. Rambe, J. Pakpahan, and J. B. Pane, “Peran Pendidikan Agama Kristen Kontekstual : Membangun Toleransi Beragama Di Tengah Masyarakat Pluralisme,” Pediaqu J. Pendidik. Sos. dan Humanioria, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1623–1629, 2024.
E. L. Tumangger and M. M. Nainggolan, “Transformasi Strategi Pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Kristen: Integrasi Deep Learning dan Pendekatan Restoratif Di Era Digital,” J. Pendidik. Masy. Indones. Harapan, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1–6, 2026.
P. Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 1970. doi: 10.4135/9781483346229.n144.
S. B. Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology. Maryknoll, New York, USA: Orbis Books, 2002.
F. van Oorschot, “Scripture as Interface. A Hermeneutical Reflection on a Concept based in Media Theory,” Cursor_ Zeitschrift für Explor. Theol., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1–19, Nov. 2019, doi: 10.21428/fb61f6aa.be520569.
S. Weinberg, “Locke’s natural and religious epistemology,” J. Hist. Philos., vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 241–266, 2020, doi: 10.1353/HPH.2020.0038.
A. Skerrett, “Religious Literacies in a Secular Literacy Classroom,” Read. Res. Q., vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 233–250, Apr. 2014, doi: 10.1002/rrq.65.
P. Strategi and P. Kristen, “Pengembangan strategi pendidikan Kristen abad ke-21 dalam konteks perubahan sosial dan digital,” Incuclo J. Christ. Educ., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 21–41, 2026.
E. Sitanggang and A. E. Lande, “Model Pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Kristen yang Relevan bagi Generasi Z dan Alpha Relevant Christian Religious Education Learning Models for Generation Z and Alpha,” JICN J. Intelek dan Cendikiwan Nusant., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 225–233, 2026.
