A Professional Reading Course on Significant Movements in Recent Theological Thought. I

Arguments for God's existence, it has often been argued in the secondary academic literature, form an essential part of classical Islamic theology (ʿilm al-kalām) and philosophy (falsafa). In the past decades, numerous scholars have dealt with what could be termed the Islamic discourse on arguments for God's existence, and have commonly analysed these arguments making recourse to Immanuel Kant's (1724–1804) categorisation of such arguments as cosmological, teleological, or ontological. The great Ashʿarī theologian Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210) is, unsurprisingly, seen as no exception to this: he, too, has been regarded as a participant in the aforementioned discourse, and in several of his major kalām works he introduces four methods to ‘prove the existence of the creator’. In this article, I will, however, argue that al-Rāzī had no concern for proving God's existence; the arguments in his kalām works, which, in the secondary academic literature, have been described as seeking to prove that God exists, it shall be suggested, serve a different purpose. This shall become clear when al-Rāzī’s commentary on the Qur'an, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, is taken into account. Previous studies of al-Rāzī’s (alleged) arguments for God's existence have only focused on his kalām works proper, however, in the Tafsīr al-Rāzī not only presents the very same four kalām methods to ‘prove the existence of the creator’ and stresses that they originate in Qur'anic forms of argumentation, but he also places them in a thematic context which, in his theological works, is oftentimes lacking. This article therefore clarifies the objective underlying al-Rāzī’s arguments for the existence of the creator and explains their significance in his broader theological thought.

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Messianic ideas in Jewish mysticism

Nordisk Judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies ◽

10.30752/nj.69487 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 93-99

Author(s):

Karl Erich Grözinger

Keyword(s):

Jewish Mysticism ◽

King David ◽

The Core ◽

Theological Thought

The Jewish belief in a final redemption brought about by a kingly messiah, the descendant of the dynasty of King David, emerged in biblical times under specific historical and ideological circumstances which are gone long ago. Nevertheless, the core of the messianic idea remained within Judaism and became even stronger and stimulated Jewish yearnings and thought. Around this core of messianic belief grew, in the course of time, a garland of interpretations which sought to accommodate the persisting messianic hope to the new historical situations and even more to the changing philosophical and theological thought. Regarding all the messianic testimonies handed down to us, we might find three major types of interpretation depicting the messianic events: There is the more traditional apocalyptic view, then a somewhat distinct philosophical-rationalistic one and finally a mystical approach to messianism.

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THE CONCEPT OF KENOSIS IN THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT OF V. N. LOSSKY AND ARCHPRIEST SERGII BULGAKOV: A COMPARATIVE CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Educational Discourse a collection of scientific papers ◽

10.33930/ed.2019.5007.23(5)-9 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 101-108

Author(s):

Eduard A. Sablon Leiva

Keyword(s):

Critical Analysis ◽

Divine Will ◽

Theological Thought ◽

Different Sources ◽

Human Problem

It has been found that the discrepancies between V. N. Lossky’s and archpriest Sergii Bulgakov’s views on kenosis are explained by the fact that these thinkers built their teachings on different methodological foundations, using different sources and tools. For Lossky, kenosis was temporal in nature and was limited to the histological dimension, while for Bulgakov kenosis meant an eternal intrathroic metaphysical reality that manifested itself much earlier and on a much larger scale. If Bulgakov insisted that the Incarnation was determined by ontological necessity (ontological altruism), then Lossky, by contrast, was of the opinion that it was caused by the need to solve the human problem of sin and became possible only due to the free act of the Divine will.

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Kekhasan Eskatologi Paulus

Fidei: Jurnal Teologi Sistematika dan Praktika ◽

10.34081/fidei.v1i1.2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 21-41

Author(s):

E. Chrisna Wijaya

Keyword(s):

Significant Influence ◽

Systematic Theology ◽

Apostle Paul ◽

Greek Thought ◽

End Times ◽

Theological Thought ◽

Second Coming

"The peculiarity of Paul's eschatology," is an explanatory study of Paul's theological thought, specifically relating to the ideas or teachings of the end-time (eschatology). It is remembered that eschatology is one of the doctrines in systematic theology that has not yet been fulfilled so it often leads to debate and often becomes a neglected doctrine because of the difficulty or error in interpreting the teaching. in this connection, this study intends to provide clarification and affirmation that Paul's belief in the events of the end times contained in his eschatological discussion is a fact that will really happen. In addition, this study also intends to convey the uniqueness or uniqueness of the end-time doctrine from the perspective of the apostle Paul. To realize that understanding, the author conducts a study of several Bible verses and the views of the experts in approaching the passages of Paul's eschatology. From this approach, there is some understanding of the peculiarities of Paul's eschatology whose impure theological thought is derived from himself, but his thoughts have had a significant influence, among them his background as a genuine Jew, his background of life stained by Greek thought, and that is primarily the influence of Paul's own Christian experience. Second, the peculiarity of Paul's eschatology is apparent through the notion of parousia, which refers to the notion of the second coming of Christ, the persistent perspective and hope of Paul in the second coming of Christ, and the deeply christological nuance found in his eschatological thought.Keywords: peculiarities, eschatology, Paul, end times, parousia, the second coming of the Lord.Abstrak“Kekhasan Eskatologi Paulus,” merupakan penelitian yang memberikan eksplanatori mengenai pemikiran-pemikiran teologis Paulus, secara khusus berkaitan dengan pemikiran-pemikiran atau pengajaran mengenai akhir zaman (eskatologi). Hal tersebut mengingat bahwa eskatologi merupakah salah satu doktrin dalam teologi sistematika yang belum tergenapi sehingga seringkali menimbulkan perdebatan dan tidak jarang menjadi doktrin yang diabaikan karena kesulitan atau kekeliruan dalam menafsirkan ajaran tersebut. sehubungan dengan hal tersebut, maka penelitian ini bermaksud untuk memberikan klarifikasi dan afirmasi bahwa keyakinan Paulus akan peristiwa-peristiwa akhir zaman yang terdapat dalam pembahasan eskatologinya merupakan fakta yang benar-benar akan terjadi. Di samping itu, penelitian ini juga bermaksud untuk menyampaikan keunikan atau kekhasan doktrin akhir zaman tersebut dari perspektif rasul Paulus. Untuk mewujudkan pemahaman tersebut, maka penulis melaksanakan kajian terhadap beberapa ayat Alkitab dan pandangan para pakar dalam mengadakan pendekatan terhadap ayat-ayat eskatologi Paulus. Dari pendekatan tersebut, diperoleh beberapa pemahaman mengenai kekhasan daripada eskatologi Paulus yang pemikiran teologis yang tidak murni berasal dari dirinya sendiri, namun pemikirannya mendapat pengaruh yang cukup signifikan, di antaranya adalah latar belakangnya sebagai orang Yahudi asli, latar belakang kehidupannya yang diwarnai oleh pemikiran Yunani, dan yang terutama adalah pengaruh pengalaman kekristenan Paulus sendiri. Kedua, kekhasan eskatologi Paulus nampak melalui pengertian parousia, yang merujuk pada pengertian kedatangan Kristus yang kedua kali, perspektif dan pengharapan Paulus yang pasti akan kedatangan Kristus yang kedua kali, serta nuansa kristologi yang sangat kental yang ditemukan dalam pemikiran eskatologinya.Kata-kata kunci: kekhasan, eskatologi, Paulus, akhir zaman, parousia, kedatangan Tuhan kedua kali.

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Reviewing and Responding to the Thought of Choan-Seng Song

Occasional Bulletin of Missionary Research ◽

10.1177/239693937700100302 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 9-15

Keyword(s):

Biblical Studies ◽

Recent Book ◽

Theological Seminary ◽

World Council Of Churches ◽

Christian Mission ◽

World Council ◽

Christian Literature ◽

Princeton Theological Seminary ◽

Theological Thought ◽

Academic Year

Choan-Seng Song, formerly Professor of Theology and Principal of Tainan Theological College in Taiwan and now Associate Director of the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, is among the most stimulating of present-day Asian theologians. Dr. Song has become increasingly well known to missiological circles in North America through his service as a visiting professor at Princeton Theological Seminary during the academic year 1976–77. His book Christian Mission In Reconstruction: An Asian Attempt was first published in Madras by the Christian Literature Society of India in 1976. Orbis Books has scheduled an American edition to appear in the fall of 1977. The Occasional Bulletin of Missionary Research invited D. Preman Niles, Professor in the field of Biblical Studies at the Theological College in Pilimatalawa, Sri Lanka, and Charles C. West, the Stephen Colwell Professor of Christian Ethics at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey to write brief articles on “Reviewing and Responding to the Thought of Choan-Seng Song.” Although Dr. Song's recent book is intended to be a particular focus of those two reflections, they go beyond it to a wider consideration of his theological thought. In turn, Dr. Song was invited to submit a “reaction-to-the-reactions.” The three articles follow in that order.

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