‘Beautiful in Calling to Life’

2020 ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Gerald O’Collins, S.J.
Keyword(s):  
Slow Learner ◽  
The Creation ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Samaritan Woman

Through encountering the beautiful Jesus, Nicodemus grew slowly in his faith. Eventually, grace won him over completely, and he joined Joseph of Arimathea in giving the crucified Jesus a burial worthy of a king. Far from being a slow learner, the Samaritan woman at once let herself be changed by Jesus and, in the space of a few hours, became a missionary for him. In what seemed like a perfectly chance meeting, his grace and beauty worked on her very quickly. The encounter with the royal official in chapter 4 of John’s Gospel reports someone whose faith in the word of Jesus led not only to the healing at a distance of his beloved son but also to the creation of a community of believers.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. xx-17
Author(s):  
Chris Maunder
Keyword(s):  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Gender Analysis ◽  
Historical Figure ◽  
Cosmic Space ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Popular Devotion ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
The Relationship

Mary is important in Christianity and Islam. Orthodox and Catholic Christianity can be argued to be intrinsically Marian. Theological reflection on Mary draws its logic primarily from the bringing together of the Prologue of John’s Gospel, as a Christian restatement of the creation in Genesis, with the first two chapters of Luke. Then Mary as an historical figure in the heritage of Israel is taken up into an eternal and cosmic space in which she participates in the events of redemption as the new Eve. The relationship between Christ and Mary leads to important debates in Christian traditions, and there are of course issues that arise for a modern gender analysis. The introduction moves on to doctrines of Mary, relationships between the denominations, and both ecclesiastical and popular devotion/veneration. It refers to each of the contributors of the book and shows how they interrelate in the volume as a whole.

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10): An Ecological Reading of John’s Gospel

2012 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-71
Author(s):  
Susan Miller
Keyword(s):  
Natural World ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Presence Of God ◽  
The Gift ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Samaritan Woman

In the synoptic gospels Jesus proclaims the imminence of the Kingdom of God but in John’s Gospel Jesus is concerned with the gift of eternal life. Interpretations of John’s Gospel have emphasised the relationship between salvation and an individual’s faith in Jesus. Several passages feature accounts of the meeting of Jesus and characters who come to faith in him such as the Samaritan woman, the blind man, Martha, and Thomas. The focus on the faith of individuals and their desire for eternal life has downplayed the importance of the natural world. An ecological strategy of identification, however, illustrates the ways in which Jesus is aligned with Earth. He offers the Samaritan woman living water, and he identifies himself as the bread of life (6:35), the light of the world (8:12), and the true vine (15:1). This strategy of identification highlights images of fruitfulness and abundant harvests. This approach, moreover, emphasises the presence of God in the processes of nature, and the gift of eternal life is described in terms of the abundance of the natural world. An ecological interpretation of John’s Gospel challenges the view that salvation may be defined purely in terms of the gift of eternal life to an individual, and points to an understanding of salvation as the restoration of the relationship of God, humanity, and Earth.

Is Lesslie Newbigin's Model of Contextualization Anticultural?

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Goheen
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Theoretical Expression ◽  
The Creation ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Doctrine Of Creation ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
The Church

AbstractNewbigin's understanding of contextualization has been criticized as being countercultural, even anticultural. Is this a fair criticism? There are a number of reasons that this critique has been made: Newbigin's theoretical expression of contextualization stresses the judging character of the gospel; at certain points he lacks a well-articulated doctrine of creation; and his missionary experience in India and in Britain led to the emphasis on the antithetical side of the cultural task. However, Newbigin's understanding of contextualization affirms the two sides of the cultural task: solidarity in cultivating creation in cultural development and opposition to the sinful twisting of that development. This is rooted in Christ's relation to the creation as Creator and Redeemer and revealed most clearly in the death and resurrection of Jesus. These two sides of the cultural task are formulated in Newbigin's notions of "missionary encounter" and "challenging relevance." The latter notion is borrowed from Alfred Hogg and is further shaped by Hendrik Kraemer's notion of "subversive fulfillment" and by Willem Visser "t Hooft"s notion of "subversive accommodation." Newbigin's understanding is quite similar also to J. H. Bavinck's notion of "possessio" and Sander Griffioen's concept of "inner reformation." Newbigin utilizes the missionary communication of John's gospel as a model of challenging relevance. An analysis of these varying concepts uncovers an inner connection between affirmation and rejection, solidarity and opposition, development and antithesis in the church's responsibility to its cultural context. Newbigin's model of contextualization is not anticultural; it may be termed "countercultural" if it is recognized that the church's opposition to the distortion of culture that comes from its formative idolatrous core is for the sake of healthy cultural development. The church only takes a countercultural stance as it is engaged in cultural development and for the sake of obedient cultural unfolding.

The role of affect in feelings of obligation

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefen Beeler-Duden ◽  
Meltem Yucel ◽  
Amrisha Vaish
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Sense Of Obligation

Abstract Tomasello offers a compelling account of the emergence of humans’ sense of obligation. We suggest that more needs to be said about the role of affect in the creation of obligations. We also argue that positive emotions such as gratitude evolved to encourage individuals to fulfill cooperative obligations without the negative quality that Tomasello proposes is inherent in obligations.

Haydn: The Creation

1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Temperley
Keyword(s):  
The Creation
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