The kenosis ethics of Philippians 2:5–11 as spirituality and a code of professional ethics for Christian religious education teachers An ethical-pedagogical construction
Abstract
The professional code of ethics for Christian Religious Education (CRE) teachers in Indonesia has generally been built on the administrative framework of Law Number 14 of 2005 and the deontological Indonesian Teachers’ Code of Ethics, with biblical clauses serving as a spiritual supplement rather than a constitutive foundation. Consequently, the code has lost its theological depth and rarely functions as a professional spirituality that forms the teacher’s inner life. This article reconstructs the CRE teachers’ code of ethics by establishing the kenotic ethics of Philippians 2:5–11 as its systematic foundation. Employing theological-narrative exegesis and constructive theology, the article develops a four-stage argument: first, an exegesis of the Carmen Christi as an ethical-participatory locus in dialogue with Gorman, Fee, and Wright; second, a critical diagnosis of the prevailing CRE code of ethics paradigm; third, the elaboration of five kenotic movements—ouch harpagmon, ekenōsen, morphēn doulou, hypēkoos, and hyperupsōsen—as the ethical architecture of the profession; and fourth, a pedagogical construction with contextual implications for Indonesian CRE. The article contributes by shifting the paradigm from a code of ethics as an instrument of administrative compliance to a kenotic spirituality that shapes CRE teachers' professional identity and pedagogical ethos.
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