On African Theology

1984 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Hastings
Keyword(s):  
Christian Theology ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Contemporary Culture ◽  
African Theology ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The World ◽  
Edward Schillebeeckx ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Doctrine

Edward Schillebeeckx in The Understanding of Faith (1974, 154) defined or described theology as ‘the critical self-consciousness of Christian praxis in the world and the church’. Others may prefer another definition, but it can be agreed that Christian theology is not revelation and it is not church doctrine; both of these while inevitably formulated within time yet lay claim to, and acquire, a certain degree of timelessness which is neither possible nor desirable for ‘theology’. Theology rather requires a continuous contemporaneity. It is a ‘critical self consciousness’ — an extended intelligent response of men of faith both to the word of God and to their own world. At times it may appear to concentrate more upon that word, as found in the Scriptures, while interpreting and applying it aptly and acutely in the light of contemporary culture; at other times theology will appear to concentrate more upon the contemporary world, or upon some part of it decisively significant for this theologian or the group of christians of which he or she forms part, interpreting it and judging it in the light of scripture. Behind appearances theology, to be true to itself, has always to do both.

William of Auvergne and the Manichees

Traditio ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland J. Teske
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Latin West ◽  
The World ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Universe ◽  
The Church ◽  
Scholarly Attention

William of Auvergne became a master of theology in the University of Paris in 1223 and was appointed bishop of Paris by Gregory IX in 1228. William governed the church of Paris until his death in 1249, while continuing to write the works which constitute his immense Magisterium divinale et sapientiale. Despite the fact that he was the first of the thirteenth-century theologians to appreciate the value of the Aristotelian philosophy that poured into the Latin West during the last half of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century, his writings have not received the scholarly attention they deserve. Étienne Gilson has sketched well the impact of the influx of Greek and Arabian philosophical works into the Christian West: Up to the last years of the twelfth century, when the Christian world unexpectedly discovered the existence of non-Christian interpretations of the universe, Christian theology never had to concern itself with the fact that a non-Christian interpretation of the world as a whole, including man and his destiny, was still an open possibility.

scholarly journals Religious liberty as concept and reality. Two perspectives from Schillebeeckx and Nolan’s anthropologies

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramona Simuţ
Keyword(s):  
Western Culture ◽  
Religious Liberty ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
African Society ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Liberal Theology ◽  
World Today ◽  
The World ◽  
Edward Schillebeeckx ◽  
The Church

SummaryThis paper is an analysis of two influential theologians who advocate the need for the Church as an institution to break with its tradition and set out on a journey of accommodation with the new realities of the world today. This journey proposed by Edward Schillebeeckx and Albert Nolan is panoramic since it investigates the possibility and necessity for the church to engage in a fair dialogue with society. At the end of this irregular trip into cohesion, this study will present the outcome of both Schillebeeckx and Nolan’ positions toward liberal theology as an alternative to dogmatism and political crisis. Therefore, the main objective of this study will be to facilitate a better understanding of the church and its tenets in its relationship with the oppressed and marginalized of the present times. The context in which Schillebeeckx and Nolan develop their respective theologies will be approached as two separate social realities of our present time, namely the Western culture and the African society. The aim is to determine the degree in which the liberty they both search for is taken into account by these two thinkers and how illustrative and relevant their perspective on church, God, history and suffering is for men and women living in nowadays eventful history.

scholarly journals Trinitology towards Challenges of Pluralistic Theology of Religion Systematical, Moral and Theological Reflection

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2(16)) ◽  
pp. 167-181
Author(s):  
Ignacy Bokwa
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Far East ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
The World ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

Nowadays pluralistic theology of religion is rightly regarded as one of the greatest threats to Christianity. It specifically concerns Christology. A threat to the Christian belief in the Trinity, which is created by pluralistic theology of religion, is seen more rarely. Many scholars consider pluralistic theology of religion as a further step of the modern fight against Christianity and the Church. The increasing spread of religions of the Far East plays a significant role. Pluralistic theology of religion refers to the basic ideas of Buddhism, trying to create a universal religion of the world. Pluralist theology of religion treats every religion of the world with affection- with the exception of Christianity. It is Christianity that is supposed to be tolerant and to adapt to other religions by means of losing its own identity. Pluralistic theology of religion relativizes the Person of Jesus Christ, undermining the uniqueness of the incarnation of God. Jesus of Nazareth was only a prominent man standing near Reality itself (God). Since Jesus Christ was not an ontological Son of God, the doctrine of the Trinity is being undermined. Representatives of pluralistic theology of religion reject the idea of a personal God, at the same time hitting in all monotheistic religions. From their point of view, God is for the human mind unattainable reality which no revelation is able to bring. Various religions are only stages of searching for the final Reality itself. Father, Son and Spirit are nothing more than a projection of human yearnings and religious pursuits. Faced with such claims, Christian theology cannot remain silent. One should be reminded of development of faith in the Triune God in the life of the Church. This is a theoretical- scientific dimension of the problem. It also has its practical and existential meaning. Although Immanuel Kant claimed that the doctrine of the Trinity has no practical importance, contemporary theological reflection presents a new aspect of this problem. Communio- theology comprehends the mystery of the Trinity as an event of constant communication in which Father gives Himself to the Son and so they create the Holy Spirit. The mystery of diversity reconciled in the unity stands at the beginning of every reality. The mystery of the Holy Trinity has its significance not only inside (life of the Church) but also outside (life of the secular, political and economic community). Nowadays the latter has a special meaning in particular. It is a theological and moral surface of the reflection, showing that one should not be afraid of multiplicity and diversity but treat them as an opportunity. In the era of new conflicts and divisions that are increasing and the renewal of the old traumas, it turns out that appeals of the representatives of pluralist theology of religion are fake and are supposed to challenge the principles of Christianity, whereas Christian theology offers modern societies interesting proposals acceptable not only for those who believe.

Creation

2019 ◽  
pp. 178-195
Author(s):  
Matthew Puffer
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Limited Role ◽  
The World ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Access To Knowledge ◽  
Good And Evil ◽  
The Church

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theology of creation is rooted in the confession that Jesus Christ is the mediator. Apart from Christ’s mediation human beings cannot perceive God’s creation, because our postlapsarian world manifests only a fallen creation in which good and evil are confused and intermixed. Whereas Bonhoeffer in his student years affirmed a limited role for the orders of creation, his subsequent writings on the theology of creation can be read as a response to and reaction against the orders of creation. Although human beings have no unmediated access to knowledge of God’s creation, and know the world as fallen creation only through Christ’s redemption, in Christ they are empowered by the Spirit, incorporated into Christ’s body the church, and made a new creation. Only in light of the hoped-for eschatological fulfilment of the new creation may Christian theology speak of the beginning of God’s ways as Creator.

The Church of the Introverts. Why there are no longer such figures as John of Krondtadt among us

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 729-739
Author(s):  
Svetlana V. Lourie
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Natural Man ◽  
The Church ◽  
Psychological Disposition ◽  
New Time ◽  
Secular Life ◽  
Church Doctrine

The article is devoted to the issue of contemporary church, perhaps the church of the recent times, to the issue of its parishioners and the characteristics of their psychological disposition, scope of reading, thought and ideas. Where is the marking line that divides them from the “secular life”, from “good laypeople” who also aspire to be moral? We see this marking line in the realization (awareness) of the conception of the sin and the use of this realization in everyday life. The root of difference between the “ecclesiastical traditionalists” and “ecclesiastical liberals”, that are connected with two diverse theologies and two diverse anthropologies, lies in the different attitude to the conception of sin. The traditionalists support the ascetic church doctrine that now more and more penetrates the parishioners’ life, and the liberals, voluntary or involuntary, absorbed the idea of the Man of the New Time, natural man, who due to the newest tendencies is gradually turning into an “unnatural man”. The disappearance of the concept of sin from the public conscience makes it impossible to deliver such sermons as the Saint Holy John of Kronstadt. The church and the laypeople tend more and more to talk past each other, the ecclesiasts turn more introvertive, unsociable and misunderstood by the world. Jesus Christ also spoke about this phenomenon: “If you were from the world, the world would love its own, but I chose you from the world, so the world hates you”. The tragic aspect of this saying becomes more evident in our time that has certain apocalyptic traits.

scholarly journals Inter-religious and inter-Christian Dialogue – a Contemporary Ecclesial Educational Priority

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Ionut GHIBANU
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
The Road ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Religious Dialogue ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Church ◽  
Made In

The contemporary world is dominated by communication and dialogue despite conflicts and wars of all kinds. Dialogue is an actual existential need and a responsibility that the current generation has for the future. From this perspective, inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogue is a life necessity and a pledge of genuine faith in God, because, beyond everything that separates us, He is the Creator of all of us, the source of life, and we are all part of the same human family.If inter-Christian dialogue seeks to achieve the unity of the Church of Christ by concrete actions, theological dialogue and philanthropic gestures, inter-religious dialogue aims at establishing communication bridges in order to give common testimony as regards matters of wide interest, such as the ecological issue, defence of unborn life, peace, justice or social equity.   Modern inter-Christian or ecumenical movement arose about a century ago and although the road to full unity seems long, many steps have been made in this direction. The inter-religious movement especially focuses on the dialogue among the major monotheistic religions of the world and today it gives us many hopes.Our study aims to show that ecumenical and inter-religious education is a necessity of our times that may lead to defusing many conflicts and preventing future tensions based on religion. Here, we have in mind the education within the Romanian Orthodoxy received during the religion classes in school and also with the help of the media.

Effective Preaching: A Cluster of Conditions

1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-241
Author(s):  
J. Stewart Miller
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholic ◽  
General Character ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
High Point ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
Effective Preaching ◽  
Bible Reading ◽  
The Church ◽  
Christian History

It has often been alleged that the liturgically-minded incline to indifference toward preaching and it must be confessed that Christian history has demonstrated that this is a plaint not wholly without foundation. The church has had its enthusiasts whose ardour for correctness in worship both in general character and in minute detail has left them somewhat short of concern for what has traditionally been deemed a high point in the Reformed cultus, the preaching of the Word. There has been a school of thought — now virtually it is to be hoped extinct — which was apt to exalt ‘worship’ above ‘mere preaching’. It developed partly no doubt in welcome reaction to another school of thought equally reprehensible in its lack of balance which relegated all of the service that preceded the sermon to the category of ‘preliminaries’. Any polarisation of worship and preaching, however, must be deprecated, for every part of the Christian cult is ‘worship’, and the sermon is an integral part of the cult. ‘The Word of God’, says the Roman Catholic scholar, Ambrosius Verheul, ‘read in the Epistle and Gospel must become a real message from God to us, men of the present, in the concrete circumstances of the world in which we live. Therefore Bible-reading demands an explanation. The Bible-reading evokes preaching, the homily, connecting with the content of what has been read.’

The Integration of Development and Evangelism

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-142
Author(s):  
James W. Gustafson
Keyword(s):  
Word Of God ◽  
Organizational System ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
World Community ◽  
The Past ◽  
Crisis Of Faith ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
World Mission ◽  
The Church

Although the rhetoric relating to the importance of both evangelism and development in the world mission of the church has been rich over the past few decades, little has been actually done by the evangelical world community to implement the implications of this discussion. Obstacles that have prevented the integration of evangelism and development have been numerous: A narrow understanding of evangelism; a secular definition of development; a crisis of faith (focus on law versus grace); and a cultural insensitivity, to mention a few. There are some efforts being made, however, to integrate both evangelism and development in the work of the church. A case in point is the work of the Issaan Development Foundation, the Institute for Sustainable Development and the Thailand Covenant Church in Thailand over the past few decades. Some basic principles held by this integrated ministry are the authority of the Word of God, a focus on integrating all of life by the grace of God, a flexible organizational system, contextualization of all areas of ministry, power encounter between the values of the gospel and those of society, a focus on the local church, and a process/broker approach to ministry.

Joseph Ratzinger

2018 ◽  
pp. 448-466
Author(s):  
Theodor Dieter
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Local Churches ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Joseph Ratzinger ◽  
The Church ◽  
Point Of Reference

Ratzinger’s ecclesiology is a Eucharistic ecclesiology: the church is the people of God existing from the sacramental Body of Christ and thus becoming the ecclesial Body of Christ. Therefore the church is communio: the communion at the table with Christ and among the believers, and also a communion of local churches (communio ecclesiarum) that is the basis for the collegiality of the bishops. The spiritual and institutional dimensions of the Body of Christ are mutually interwoven. In every particular church the universal church is present; its representation and the point of reference in doctrinal matters for all is the pope. The church serves the presence of the Word of God in the world in such a way that the Word as it is witnessed to in Holy Scripture is communicated to all by authorized witnesses. Witness (content) and witnesses are inseparable, as succession and tradition are mutually interrelated as form and content.

Nazifying Christian Theology: Walter Grundmann and the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Church Life

1994 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susannah Heschel
Keyword(s):  
National Socialism ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Protestant Church ◽  
The Third ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
Confessing Church ◽  
Church Life ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Doctrine

The Third Reich's Kirchenkampf (church struggle) is sometimes mistakenly understood as referring to the Protestant churches' resistance to National Socialism. In fact, the term refers to an internal dispute between members of the Bekennende Kirche [Confessing Church (hereafter BK)] and members of the Deutsche Christen [German Christians (hereafter DC)] over control of the Protestant church. While not all members of the BK opposed Hitler's policies, the movement called for an autonomy of the church from National Socialist legal measures, particularly the racial laws, motivated both by theological and political considerations. The DC, by contrast, sought to introduce National Socialist policies and ideology into the church, especially Nazi racial laws, and modify church doctrine in accord with National Socialist ideology. Yet the antisemitism at the heart of the DC has been either ignored or marginalized by most historians. Indeed, some historians have incorrectly suggested that the DC underwent a dissolution at the end of 1933, from which it never recovered, or have presented the DC as a political creation of National Socialism, ignoring its theological roots.

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