What is Catholic Theology?

2016 ◽  
pp. 4-41
Author(s):  
Lewis Ayres
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The World ◽  
The Church ◽  
Theological Thinking

This chapter argues that theological thinking should be considered as intrinsic to the activity of proclamation and as a form of speculation called forth as part of God’s salvific economy. God’s Word not only became flesh and revealed the Father, but Christ and his Spirit also act in his body, the Church, to reform and elevate human reason, to shape our understanding and celebration of revelation. This is so, even as theological thinking is also a human activity that may go astray. Theological thinking contains at its heart a dynamic relationship between attentive interpretation to Scripture and attention to the radical newness brought about by the continuing activity of Christ and the Spirit in the world. At the same time, in attention to the Church’s tradition, the theologian finds a school for the speculative imagination. The final section focuses on the unity and diversity of different theological acts and subdisciplines.

The Role of the Christian Church in Combating 21st Century Racism

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-231
Author(s):  
Clara M. Austin Iwuoha ◽  
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The World ◽  
Racial Harmony ◽  
Race And Religion ◽  
The Church

The demons of racism, bigotry, and prejudice found in society at large are also found in the Christian Church. Despite the very nature of Christianity that calls on Christians to be a counter voice in the world against evil, many have capitulated to various strains of racism. Some Christian denominations have begun to explore racism in the Church and have developed responses to addressing the issues in both the Church and the world. This article examines the historical context of race and religion in the Christian Church, and addresses the current efforts of some Christian denominations to become proactive in the struggle against racism. Jesus, in His Word, calls believers to pursue peace and oneness. The paper holds that racial harmony and racial unity are possible, but there are many false, old and d beliefs that will have to be crushed under the hammer of God's Word in order to get to a place of real peace.

scholarly journals Why Catholic Theology Needs Metapshysics: A Christological Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-62
Author(s):  
Thomas Joseph White
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Divine Nature ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
Son Of God ◽  
The One ◽  
Human Intellect ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The Church

The Chalcedonian confession of faith asserts that Christ is one person, the Son of God, subsisting in two natures, divine and human. The doctrine of the communication of idioms is essential to the life and practices of the Church insofar as we affirm there to be properties of deity and humanity present in the one subject, the Word made flesh. Such affirmations are made without a confusion of the two natures or their mutually distinct attributes. The affirmation that there is a divine and human nature in Christ is possible, however, only if it is also possible for human beings to think coherently about the divine nature, analogically, and human nature, univocally. Otherwise it is not feasible to receive understanding of the divine nature of Christ into the human intellect intrinsically and the revelation must remain wholly alien to natural human thought, even under the presumption that such understanding originates in grace. Likewise we can only think coherently of the eternal Son’s solidarity with us in human nature if we can conceive of a common human nature present in all human individuals. Consequently, it is only possible for the Church to confess some form of Chalcedonian doctrine if there is also a perennial metaphysical philosophy capable of thinking coherently about the divine and human natures from within the ambit of natural human reason. This also implies that the Church maintains a “metaphysical apostolate” in her public teaching, in her philosophical traditions, as well as in her scriptural and doctrinal enunciations.

The Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Initial Section ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Moral Teaching ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Triune God ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Theological Thinking

This book provides a one-volume introduction to Catholic theology. Part I includes chapters on the major themes of Catholic theology. Topics covered include the nature of theological thinking, the Triune God, the Creation, and the mission of the Incarnate Word. Part I also covers the character of the Christian sacramental life and the major themes of Catholic moral teaching. The treatments in this first part of the book offer personal syntheses and perspectives, but each chapter is intended to be in accord with Catholic theology as it is expressed in the Second Vatican Council and the magisterial tradition. Part II focuses on the historical development of modern Catholic theology. An initial section offers chapters on some of Catholic theology’s most important sources between AD200 and 1870, and the final section of the book considers all the main movements and developments in Catholic theology since 1870.The writers include some of the best-known names in current Catholic theology from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and all of the most vibrant schools in current Catholic theology are represented. The book should be of help to students of Catholic theology at all levels.

scholarly journals Korupsi dalam Sorotan Etika Kristen dan Implikasinya Bagi Pendidikan Anti Korupsi

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Sostenis Nggebu
Keyword(s):  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Christian Morality ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The World ◽  
Material Things ◽  
The Church

This article addresses the problem of corruption in Christian ethics based on the reference of God's word. Christians involved in corruption show that carrying out governmental duties is outside the control of God's word. To examine this topic more deeply, the author uses descriptive methods and literature studies. The results and conclusions of this study show that the corruptors prioritize the works of the flesh, worship material things, give in to worldly temptations, violate Christian morality, and do not glorify God in their lives. Those corrupt Christian bureaucrats who are dominated by greed and greed are not the characters expected by God, and by doing so, they lose the opportunity to be witnesses of Christ in the world. Corruption is bad behavior, so there is an opportunity for the church to pay attention to anti-corruption education for the congregation so that those who sit in government can carry out their duties and responsibilities by the demands of the Christian faith.AbstrakArtikel ini menyoroti permasalahan korupsi secara etika Kristen berdasarkan acuan firman Tuhan. Untuk mengkaji topik ini lebih mendalam, penulis menggunakan metode deskriptif dan studi literatur. Hasil dan kesimpulan dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa para koruptor mengutamakan perbuatan daging, mendewakan materi, menyerah pada godaan keduniawian, melanggar moralitas Kristen dan tidak memuliakan Allah di dalam hidup mereka. Para birokrat Kristen yang korup itu dikuasai oleh sifat serakah dan tamak bukanlah karakter yang diharapkan oleh Tuhan dan dengan berbuat seperti itu mereka kehilangan kesempatan menjadi saksi Kristus di tengah dunia. Korupsi itu sebagai perilaku yang buruk maka terbuka peluang bagi gereja untuk memperhatikan pendidikan anti korupsi bagi jemaat agar mereka yang duduk dalam pemerintahan dapat menjalankan tugas dan tanggung jawabnya sesuai dengan tuntutan iman Kristen.

Church

2019 ◽  
pp. 433-450
Author(s):  
Paul T. Nimmo
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
The World ◽  
Doctrine Of The Church ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church ◽  
Ultimate Purpose ◽  
Human Institution

This chapter exposits and analyses the central contours of Barth’s mature doctrine of the church, in which the church is innovatively characterized by a twofold ec-centricity—a double decentring of its life and work. In a first section, it considers Barth’s radical understanding of the being of the church in relation to Jesus Christ and the Spirit, and the way in which the church has its originating centre outwith itself, in its being from God. In a second section, it attends to the creative way in which Barth conceives of the church as a divine event, and thereby relativizes the church as human institution. In a third section, it focuses on the significance and content of the human activity of the church, and the provocative way in which Barth locates the ultimate purpose of the church outwith itself, in its being for the world. In a fourth section, the chapter explores in outline some of the critical responses to Barth’s groundbreaking doctrine of the church. Finally, by way of conclusion, the chapter considers the relationship of Barth’s ecclesiology to ecumenical conversation.

Samuel Lamb's Exhortation Regarding Eternal Rewards: A Socio-Political Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-83
Author(s):  
Daniel Qin
Keyword(s):  
Political Context ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Political Group ◽  
Political Perspective ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Approach ◽  
The Church ◽  
Theological Thinking ◽  
Changing Society

This paper explores and discusses the socio-political approach in the theological thinking of the Chinese Protestant pastor Samuel Lamb. Lamb does not appear interested in changing society or politics, as he considers the Christian life to be in distinct contrast with the ways of the world. Nevertheless, both his emphasis on a pious Christian life and his exhortation regarding eternal rewards encourage deliberate efforts to witness to Christ in the world, therefore leading the church to become a socio-political group in socialist China. Lamb thus in effect proposes a radical Christian response to the Communist socio-political context.

scholarly journals Sastra Satire Kitab Yunus: Analisis Naratif Prolog dan Epilog Kitab Yunus

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-118
Author(s):  
Muryati Muryati ◽  
Gernaida Pakpahan ◽  
Junifrius Gultom
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Modified Method ◽  
New Findings ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The World ◽  
God's Call ◽  
The Church

The anomaly of Jonah's attitude in rejecting God's call (Jonah 1) and his anger at Nineveh's conversion caused various opinions on the genre of his book. This encourages the need to produce new findings to narrow the view of experts by placing the book of Jonah as satire literature. The purpose of this research is to describe the satire elements contained in the prologue and epilogue of the book of Jonah. The method used in this research is a narrative approach using a modified method that departs from the four narrative elements namely the narrator, character (characterization), point of view, and storyline then combined with some elements of general interpretation in it. through the narrative analysis method, the researcher sees the text as a "mirror" that projects a certain picture, namely the world of narratives that provides benefits to explore the forms and elements of the prologue and epilogical satire texts of the book of Jonah. The results showed that Irony underlies all elements of satire spread in articles 1 and 4. Researchers classify the elements of irony as personification, repetition, hyperbole, sarcasm, paronomasia, and parody. These characteristics indicate Jonah 1 and 4 are narratives containing satire. The implication of the teaching of the church by referring to the didactic values in the satire of the story of Satire Jonah can be used as a reference for learning the truth of God's Word. Abstrak Anomali sikap Yunus dalam menolak panggilan Tuhan (Yunus 1) dan kemarahannya pada pertobatan Niniwe menimbulkan beragam pendapat pada genre kitabnya. Hal ini mendorong adanya kebutuhan untuk menghasilkan temuan baru guna mempersempit pandangan para pakar dengan menempatkan kitab Yunus sebagai sastra satire. Tujuan dilakukan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan unsur satire yang terdapat dalam prolog dan epilog kitab Yunus. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan naratif menggunakan modifikasi metode yang berangkat dari empat unsur narasi yaitu narator, karakter (penokohan), sudut pandang, dan alur cerita lalu dikombinasikan dengan beberapa elemen penafsiran umum di dalamnya. melalui metode analisis naratif peneliti melihat teks sebagai sebuah “cermin” yang memproyeksikan gambaran tertentu, yaitu dunia narasi yang memberikan manfaat untuk mengeksplorasi bentuk dan unsur satire teks prolog dan epilog dari kitab Yunus. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Ironi mendasari semua unsur satire yang tersebar di pasal 1 dan 4. Peneliti mengelompokkan unsur ironi adalah personifikasi, repetisi, hiperbola, sarkasme, paronomosia dan parodi. Karakteristik ini mengindikasikan Yunus 1 dan 4 adalah narasi yang mengandung satire. Implikasinya terhadap pengajaran gereja dengan merujuk pada nilai-nilai didaktis dalam satire kisah Satire Yunus dapat dijadikan rujukan untuk mempelajari kebenaran Firman Tuhan.

Ekklesia as enterprise: Discovering the Church at work

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-377
Author(s):  
Daniel Pryfogle
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Theology Of Work ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Institutional Church ◽  
The Church

A growing number of leaders around the world believe that business can be a force for good: for justice and equity, for meaning-making, and for human flourishing. Yet the Church has very little to say about engagement in the marketplace beyond the tradition’s negative injunctions (i.e., do not abuse people). This lack of theological address to the marketplace leaves the Church with a partial witness amid empire, with a critique but without creativity. This gap is not problematic for the “powers that be,” which let the Church preach and have its protests so long as the status quo is protected – which is what happens unless there is a new creation. The new creation provokes the “powers” and the institutional Church by concretizing hope in God’s economy and evoking the gifts God gives for human flourishing. Reimagined as ekklesia in enterprise, the Church will undertake the construction of a new theology of work. It accomplishes this first by the creative discovery of divine movement in the world that began at creation with God’s word that work is good, then by the appropriation of ekklesia’s cultural orientation for the common good, which leads to the marketplace, the heart of the empire and the locus of human flourishing, the place for the Church to make its revolutionary witness to the way of Jesus.

On Power and Time

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 640-652
Author(s):  
Filip Kovacevic
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
The World ◽  
Human Reality ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

In this article, the author examines the relationship between power, time, and human reality. Using a novel by the Bosnian writer Meša Selimović as a case study, the author tests two metaphysical claims: power submits to power only, and the passage of time empties the significance of each and every human activity. The author finds that Selimović’s novel confirms both. The conclusion is profoundly pessimistic. The lives of human beings are doubly unhappy: they are spent in protracted struggles for resources and recognition that yield power, and also even the accomplishments of the victorious in these struggles will be erased by the passage of time. However, the understanding of the second claim might retroactively ameliorate the conditions of human life. Yet as evidenced by Selimović’s novel, in the world dominated by power, this does not happen. The case of Šehaga Sočo shows that even the one whose personal experience convinced him of the meaninglessness of it all is unable to break out of the cycle of rivalry and revenge. At his deathbed, he orders the death of his rivals, though he knows that to him dying, it makes no difference whether they live or die. Why not opt for forgiveness? Because, as Selimović emphasizes, power’s insistence on self-perpetuation is illogical, and it is logic that tells us not to engage in meaningless tasks. In other words, human reason is powerless to provide us with a more tolerant world.

scholarly journals De liefde van Christus dringt ons - missionaire ecclesiologie bij Dietrich Bonhoeffer

1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Maris
Keyword(s):  
Karl Barth ◽  
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ◽  
The World ◽  
Church In The World ◽  
The Church ◽  
Theological Thinking

This article focuses on Bonhoeffer's thoughts on the missionary presence of the church in the world. In the discussion two books by Bonhoeffer are mainly referred to: his Nachfolge (1937) and his Ethik (1943). Although features in his theological thinking remind us of a universalism like that of Karl Barth, the biblical content of his writings is of such quality that we are compelled to take him very seriously.

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