Pro-Nicene prosopology and the church in Augustine's preaching on John 3:13

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-264
Author(s):  
Adam Ployd
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Grammatical Subject ◽  
Central Tenet ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church ◽  
Complex Subject

AbstractJohn 3:13 presents a grammatical and theological problem for Augustine. If the only one who ascends to heaven is the one who descended, namely Christ, then what becomes of the Christian life of ascent? To unpack Augustine's solution to this problem, this article explores his use of John 3:13 in his anti-Donatist sermons of 406–7. Here Augustine uses the grammatical method of prosopological exegesis both to identify and to solve the problem of Christ's solo ascent. Prosopology asks of a text, ‘Who is speaking? To whom is he speaking? And about whom is he speaking?’ in order to parse the sometimes ambiguous personae within a dramatic scene. Through this method, Augustine affirms that Christ is indeed speaking about himself alone, but the reflexive subject of Christ includes the church who is his body. The Christian life of ascent to God requires that we become participants in the subject of Christ's ‘I’. Building on the work of ‘New Canon’ Augustine scholarship, I argue that this use of John 3:13 to espouse the unity of the church in the body of Christ is founded upon a pro-Nicene understanding of the revelatory and epistemological role of the Son. The ability of Christ fully to reveal the Father is a central tenet of Latin pro-Nicene refutations of homoian christologies, and this revelation of the Father's Word through Christ's incarnation is accomplished in our union with that Word through his body. Based on this pro-Nicene affirmation of epistemological salvation through Christ, Augustine then uses John 3:13 to condemn the Donatists for damning themselves by separating from the body of Christ. The oneness of the ecclesial body of Christ is predicated upon the oneness of Christ himself because it is into his complex subject that we are incorporated. Separation from that unity is separation from the singular grammatical subject who ascends as Christ to the Father. Thus, Augustine's grammatical practice of prosopological exegesis to solve the problem of John 3:13 connects the pro-Nicene affirmation of Christ's revelation of the Father to an anti-Donatist defence of the necessary unity of the church. This should encourage us to consider further the ways in which pro-Nicene principles help to shape Augustine's vision of the church.

Wolfhart Pannenberg

2018 ◽  
pp. 486-504
Author(s):  
Friedericke Nuessel
Keyword(s):  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
The Body ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Systematic Theology ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Civil State ◽  
Wolfhart Pannenberg ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

This chapter describes the development of Wolfhart Pannenberg’s ecclesiology in his early work and explores his fully developed ecclesiology in the Systematic Theology of 1993. It analyses the fundamental role of the church to be a sign and foretaste of the kingdom of God. This involves a constitutive self-distinction of the church from any political order or civil state on the one hand and from the future kingdom of God on the other. Moreover, the chapter emphasizes the simultaneity of individual salvation and incorporation into the church as the body of Christ in Pannenberg, and demonstrates the ecclesiological task to overcome the divisions between churches in order to witness to the unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity of the church.

Conscientia, Capax Dei y Salvación en Agustín. ¿Qué hubiera dicho Agustín del «vacío explicativo» (‘explanatory gap’)?

Augustinus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-448
Author(s):  
Diana Stanciu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Explanatory Gap ◽  
The West ◽  
Augustine Of Hippo ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Scriptural Exegesis ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Church

How to characterize the scriptural exegesis that Augustine of Hippo develops in the Sermons on Scripture? The interpretations of the pericope of the act of faith of the centurion (Matth. 8:5-13) allow, by comparison, to provide elements of answer to this question. Only two continuous commentaries of it are preserved in the works of Augustine: the Sermon 62 (Carthage, 399) and the Sermon Morin 6 (409). It is, however, the subject of some sixty mentions, covering all genres (letters, exegetical treatises, polemics) and almost all chronological and polemical contexts (Manicheism, Donatism, Pelagianism). With this pericope, Augustine reminds both the Manicheans that Scripture must be received with faith, and the Donatists that members of the Church come from the east and the west. The accents are very different in the two sermons: the clearly theological perspective in the Sermo Morin 6 is colored in the Sermo 62 of a discrete and complex rhetorical use which aims to prepare the exhortation not to go to the banquets of the idols that form the second part of this sermon. Augustine’s homiletic exegesis enters into full consonance with the double inscription of the sermon in its liturgical and historical contexts: the first involves developing the faith of the faithful to unify the Body of Christ and the second to lead them to put into practice the requirements of this faith in the concrete circumstances of their lives. The themes of homiletic exegesis then con- tribute to making the sermon one of the mediations of grace in the work in the liturgy.

scholarly journals Op pad na ’n nuwe bedieningstruktuur: ’n Analise van die gemeente as deel van hierdie proses

1993 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Van der Walt ◽  
M. J. Du P Beukes
Keyword(s):  
Church Growth ◽  
Local Church ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Situation Analysis ◽  
Local Congregation ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Corinthians 3 ◽  
The Church

Heading toward new ministerial structures: A situationanalysis of the local congregation According to 2 Corinthians 3:18 the church has the instruction to be transformed so to become part of the body of Christ more and more. But it does happen that the church stagnate in its ministry. The purpose of the subject Church Growth is to adress this problem. One phase of this subject is the analysis of the situation in the local church. The purpose of the analysis is to systematically look at the situation in a congregation of the church and then to identify problems that stand in the way of fulfilling of the Biblical command. The situation- analysis can not be done at random, but must be planned carefully. This study gives attention to a planned situation-analysis of the local church.

scholarly journals Exegesis Integrative Review of Salvation Because The Love Of God Is The Basic of The Church As The Unity of The Body of Christ (Ephesians 2:11-22)

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-29
Author(s):  
Tonny Andrian
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Church History ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Shed Blood ◽  
Major Subject ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Church

The subject of the unity of the church has appeared several times during the period of church history as a major subject. Even in the 20th century, differences of opinion on the subject of unity led to divisions. This point cannot be ignored. That is why the researcher conducted an integrated exegessa study on the meaning of the Church as the unity of the body of Christ Ephesians 2: 11-22. Ephesians 2: 11-22 is not a separate passage, but integrative, with other passages in the book of Ephesians. (this would be integrative both with Ephesians 2: 1-10 and Ephesians 4: 1-6) The conjunction "therefore" in Ephesians 2.11, describes the preceding verses that speak of grace. The suffering of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, and His shed blood, are manifestations of grace that saves sinners. A demonstration of grace, which is free gift. It is the grace that saves people from sin. Thus Ephesians 2: 11-22 must be seen as a context that comes from grace. The saving or salvation based on the grace of God, as a building body of Christ, which is a union, which was previously "distant", ie those who are without Christ, not belonging to the citizens of Israel, become one body of Christ as intended by God. Ephesians 2: 11-22 explains that the unification of the body of Christ is a reflection of the journey of a Christian individual who has been saved by the grace of Christ God, is united or united with other Christian individuals to move towards the unity of building the body of Christ, as the Temple of God. the church as the unified Body of Christ, is built on the teachings of the Apostles and Prophets. Thus, the church, which has a government, a doctrine that may not be the same as one another, but the church is a unity in the bonds of the Spirit of peace, one faith, one Baptism, one god, one GOD the FATHER of all God, as salt and The light of the world, brings transformation and restoration for the world, through the carrying out of the task of the grace of Christ, namely the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, so that all knees will kneel and all tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the heavenly Father.

scholarly journals Die karakter van die kerk in perspektief van huidige teologiese besinning

1990 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-208
Author(s):  
P. C. Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Community Of Faith ◽  
Ecclesiastical Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Theological Thought ◽  
The Church ◽  
Apostolic Community

The character of the church - a perspective on current theological thought The role of the church in society is currently much focused upon in theological thought. The author analyses various characteristics of the church with reference to views of well known theologians. As community of faith it is the body of Christ revealed very visibly in the world representing the kingdom of God. For that very reason the idea of a national church is unacceptable. The church is one, catholic and apostolic community, even particularly in its visible form. Though Scripture gives no clear guidelines on the structure of the church, there are many general biblical norms to be considered in ecclesiastical law and government.

Ratramn’s Eucharistic Doctrine and its Influence in Sixteenth-Century England

1965 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 54-77
Author(s):  
J. N. Bakhuizen Van Den Brink
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
Reliable Interpretation ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

In the two ninth-century treatises on the Eucharist written by Paschasius Radbertus and Ratramnus two opinions are expressed which seem to be in complete contradiction with each other. Both, however, are founded in the liturgy of the Church and spring from the same orthodox root. Their doctrines, therefore, do not differ from each other in every detail of the argumentation. The one may be characterised as the realistic-metabolic doctrine, the other as the symbolic doctrine. J. R. Geiselmann in his penetrating studies of the eucharistic doctrine in the early Middle Ages prefers to distinguish between three tendencies: (1) the metabolism of St Ambrose and the Gallican liturgies; (2) the realism of the Roman liturgy; (3) the dynamism of St Augustine’s more spiritual doctrine. The most diverse answers were inspired by closer inquiries into the realisation of the sacrament, i.e. the question firstly how the conversion of the elements should be understood and, secondly, how the relation should be seen between the consecrated elements and the body of Christ ascended to heaven. In these answers the terminology used is not always the same, so that a reliable interpretation offers great difficulties.

scholarly journals Communio und Eucharistie. Ekklesiologische Parallelen bei Dumitru Stăniloae und Joseph Ratzinger

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-101
Author(s):  
Constantin Prihoancă
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Critical Engagement ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Communion Ecclesiology ◽  
Catholic Churches ◽  
The Church

Abstract This article is a critical engagement with D. Stăniloae’s and J. Ratzinger’s ecclesiological thought as shaped by the description of church as the body of Christ and the Trinitarian roots of this ecclesiology. Starting from practical problems of prayer and living a Christian life, the authors argue that God’s relationship to the Christian community has primacy over God’s relationship to individual believers. When one conceives of the Christian community as being the body of Christ, one can uphold the elevated Christian ideal of Eucharist Communio without making it unattainable. The authors show that the being of the church is given to the Christian community not as a possession or property, but as a task to be fulfilled through the power of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. One can discover that in becoming the church, the Christian community is elevated to the Trinitarian life in communion. Communion ecclesiology has the potential to bridge the divide between the Orthodox and Catholic churches.

scholarly journals The Challenge of the Unity of Christ Based on the Letters of 1 Corinthians 3:3-9 Its Relevance in Local Church Ministry

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Enny Irawati
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Church Ministry ◽  
The Core ◽  
God's People ◽  
Differences Of Opinion ◽  
Corinthians 3 ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

The research objective that the author means is to find out how the unity of the body of Christ in the church can be carried out properly according to 1 Corinthians 3: 3-9. moving on from the core written in the text above, the author wants the whole congregation to understand the unity of the body of Christ correctly today, given the importance of the unity of the body of Christ in the church, so that some of the more mature congregations in the faith must support the congregation that is not yet mature faith. This writing is intended so that all God's people understand well that the unity of the body of Christ is not to become divided because of disagreements, divisions and differences of opinion. but the body of Christ is the one that brings God's people better together. Some of the things that concern the author in this study are how the congregation can understand the unity of the body of Christ correctly.

Ideas and Reality: Some Attempts to Control and Defuse War in the Twelfth Century

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 59-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Holdsworth
Keyword(s):  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Hundred Years War ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
The Military ◽  
Working Out ◽  
The Church

The track to be explored in this paper was laid down when I realised how relatively unexamined the actual working out of Christian ideas about war within the medieval period is. Recent years have seen appear a notable book about the development of ideas on the Just War, and a great deal of work on the role of the military aristocracy and on its ideals, but upon the coming together of Christianity and actual events there seemed to me very little, at least in the period which interests me most. The one series of events which has attracted attention within what one can call loosely the twelfth century is, of course, the Crusades, but I decided to put them rather at the edge of my focus since they raised special questions, and to invite a scholar who has devoted much time to their elucidation to give a paper upon a crusading theme later in the conference. Yet when one turns for guidance for the history of western Europe there is only one book which stands out, La Guerre au Moyen Age by Philippe Contamine which appeared in the Nouvelle Clio series as recently as 1980, and it, as one would expect from its author’s earlier achievement, is strongest when it deals with the period of the Hundred Years War. Nonetheless it is a remarkable achievement, and one to which I am deeply indebted. But given the fact that the subject is still so unmapped, only two approaches seemed feasible to me, one where I would try to look at a series of specific wars and see what the Church did about them, or one where I would look at a source or group of sources, and see what it, or they, had to say about war and the Church.

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