The Word to the World: Johannine Trinitarian Missiology (John 20.21–22)

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-85
Author(s):  
David Thang Moe

This paper will read Jn 20.21–22 as a missional text of Johannine Trinitarian Missiology. It will argue that mission is proper first to the being and the act of the Trinity, and secondarily a concept in the church—the witness of the Trinity. The aim of this paper is threefold. First, it will explore the nature of the Trinity as a missionary God who sent the Son/incarnate Word and the Spirit/the cosmic Breath into the world. Secondly, it will examine how Christ as the Word and witness of the Father moves from the sent to the caller and sender of apostles into the world through the power of the Spirit. Third, seeing the world as the scope of the mission of Christ and apostles, this paper will study Christ’s boundary-crossing mission of incarnation and reconciliation as a model of the Church’s boundary-crossing mission witness in a pluralistic and Spirit-present world.

Perichoresis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-98
Author(s):  
Bryan M. Litfin

Abstract Tertullian is often portrayed as a prescient figure who accurately anticipated the Nicene consensus about the Trinity. But when he is examined against the background of his immediate predecessors, he falls into place as a typical second-century Logos theologian. He drew especially from Theophilus of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons. At the same time, Tertullian did introduce some important innovations. His trinitarian language of ‘substance’ and ‘person’, rooted in Stoic metaphysics, offered the church a new way to be monotheistic while retaining the full deity and consubstantiality of the Word. Tertullian also significantly developed the concept of a divine oikonomia, God’s plan to create and redeem the world. The Son and Spirit are emissaries of the Father’s will—not ontologically inferior to him, yet ranked lower in the way that the sent are always subordinate to the sender. For this reason, Tertullian denied that a Father/Son relationship was eternal within the Trinity, seeing it rather as a new development emerging from God’s plan to make the world. Such temporal paternity and filiation distances Tertullian from the eventual Nicene consensus, which accepted instead the eternal generation theory of Origen. While Tertullian did propose some important terms that would gain traction among the Nicene fathers, he was also marked by a subordinationist tendency that had affinities with Arianism. Tertullian’s most accurate anticipation of Nicaea was his insistence on three co-eternal and consubstantial Persons. Historical theologians need to start admitting that Tertullian was a far cry from being fully Nicene. Rather, he offered a clever but still imperfect half-step toward what would become official orthodoxy..


Author(s):  
Adam DeVille

The chapter traces developments in ecclesiology through the twentieth century, as the ecumenical movement unfolded, and raises questions about the relationship between the church and the communion of the Persons of the Trinity, and about the nature of the Church as eucharistic and sacramental. Further more practical questions about authority, primacy, and synodality (or conciliarity) are also examined in light of the work of multilateral ecumenical dialogues (especially within the World Council of Churches), and bilateral dialogues, particularly the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the international Roman Catholic–Orthodox theological dialogue. Considerable progress has been made on all these questions, but new issues have recently arisen, and these are briefly treated, including questions of imperfect communion, of the ordination of women and of those in same-sex relationships, and questions of geographical scope relative to jurisdiction and canonical territory.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2(16)) ◽  
pp. 167-181
Author(s):  
Ignacy Bokwa

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-101
Author(s):  
Jack Barentsen

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGPete Ward präsentiert seine Vision für praktische Theologie als flüssige Ekklesiologie, die in der flüssigen Art verwurzelt ist, in der die Trinität in der Kirche und der Welt lebt und sich bewegt. Ihre Bewegungen lassen sich nur durch die Kombination von textueller und empirischer Forschung erkennen. In der Introduction bespricht Ward Hauptbereiche der praktischen Theologie in leicht verständlicher Sprache. Seine Liquid Ecclesiology präsentiert eine detaillierte theologische Darstellung sowie eine faszinierende Fallstudie der evangelischen Bewegung.SUMMARYPete Ward offers his vision for practical theology as liquid ecclesiology, rooted in the liquid ways in which the Trinity lives and moves within the Church and the world. Its movements can be discerned only by combing textual and empirical research. Ward’s Introduction reviews major areas of practical theological debate in accessible language; his Liquid Ecclesiology offers an in-depth theological account along with a fascinating case study of the evangelical movement.RÉSUMÉPete Ward présente sa vision de la théologie pratique comme une « ecclésiologie liquide », enracinée dans la manière liquide dont la Trinité vit et se meut au sein de l’Église et du monde. Ses mouvements ne peuvent être discernés qu’en combinant des recherches textuelles et empiriques. L’Introduction considère les principaux débats de théologie pratique dans un langage accessible. Son ouvrage intitulé Liquid Ecclesiology offre un récit théologique approfondi ainsi qu’une étude de cas fascinante du mouvement évangélique.


1994 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-294
Author(s):  
Patricia Fox

The article explores the Trinity as a transforming symbol for the twenty—first century. It focuses on the recent work of Catherine Mowy LaCugna and Elizabeth Johnson who offer analyses for the “defeat” of the doctrine of the Trinity and also seek to retrieve core understandings of the mystery from Scripture and Christian tradition. The article suggests that the Church today is being challenged to reform itself in the image of the trinitarian God, to become a community for the world.


1964 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Fred Kirschenmann

In 1848 Horace Bushnell delivered a lecture at Yale College entitled “The Divinity of Christ,” in which he set forth, for the first time, his views on the doctrine of the Trinity. A year later, this lecture and two others (“The Atonement” and “Dogma and Spirit”) appeared in a book entitled God in Christ. The book was prefaced with a preliminary dissertation on language. Almost immediately the critics assailed Bushnell for his Sabellian views on the Trinity. The Christian Observatory charged him with rejecting the “… commonly received doctrine of a proper Trinity in the Godhead, substituting for it a Pantheistic form of Sabellianism.” The Bible Repertory and Princeton Review, concurring in this judgment, indicated that “This, true enough, is the Sabellianism of Schleiermacher—a threefold revelation of God in the world, in Christ, and in the church.”


Exchange ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Léon Nguapitshi Kayongo

AbstractAlthough the present publication does completely meet the requirements for an academic article, we have decided to publish it because of the insights it provides into the latest developments within the Kimbanguist Church in Congo. The author is a theologian who was Dean of the Kimbanguist Faculty of Theology in Lutendele near Kinshasa until mid 2003. He was deeply involved in the problems that arose in the beginning of the 21st century. He is also a person who is able to explain diligently the views of the different parties in the Kimbanguist Church. However, due to his own involvement in these developments the article has rather the character of a document written by a well-educated participant observer, who is very familiar with his subject, than that of a publication authored by a scholar who does his utmost to remain neutral.The document explains the theological, religious and contextual backdrops of the doctrine of the Trinity developed in the Kimbanguist Church, for in this church the persons of the Trinity are narrowly connected with the founder of the church and his family. Since 2001 these connections were even made more intense. Interestingly there are some Biblical reasons for it as well, but nonetheless the church seems to loose doctrinal familiarity with the other churches in the world through these new evolutions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 744-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Gort

This essay deals with the relationship between Christianity and other religions. Part one looks briefly at the matter of religion itself. Part two provides a condensed historical survey of the attitude of Christianity toward the world outside itself: the approach of the church to other religions changed from initial appreciation through a long phase of rejection to an increasingly affirmative posture in recent times. This shift is explained by a number of causal factors that gave rise to new understandings regarding God’s work in the world and Christian mission, which in turn led to the emergence of various theologies of religion. The question confronting religious people today is how to foster the removal of interhuman divisions and the promotion of justice and peace. One potential means of achieving this goal is interreligious dialogue. In part three, the author delineates his concept of the four facets of dialogue: that of histories, of theologies, of spiritualities, and of life. Dialogue at all four of these levels is key to the establishment of interreligious convivance, which in our present world is prerequisite to the security and well-being of humanity.


2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. De Klerk

The external image of the church – a few biblical perspectives What does the Bible teach about the image of the church and does it provide certain guidelines on how the church should promote itself? What does God do with perceptions about His church and what does He expect of the church in this regard? The church has a certain identity as the image/representative of God and has to emanate the image of the Trinity. This identity gives the church the responsibility to administer perceptions about God, the church itself and its environment. To transmit the character, values and convictions of the church, the church should be involved constructively in the world. The church should mainly project the image of the Bridegroom, but in the process should also reflect its own image as being the bride. God administers the perceptions about Himself and His people, but in this regard also gives responsibilities to the church. The church should administer perceptions about God and His people by performing good deeds and by reflecting the idea of hope. The church, as the bride, can only do this if she has a passion for God and her Bridegroom, Christ, but also a burning passion for the church itself.


Author(s):  
Kevin W. Irwin

The chapter surveys the statements and initiatives on ecology developed within and issued by the World Council of Churches, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Roman Catholic Church. It finds care for creation to be a concern to which churches have responded both through individual initiatives and by ecumenical dialogue. It identifies 1989–1990 as a watershed when statements and initiatives began to develop ecological teachings centred on the creative activity of the Trinity, the responsibility of members of the church as stewards and priests of creation, and the centrality of prayer and liturgy—especially the Eucharist—in care for creation. Finally, it indicates avenues for further ecumenical dialogue and offers suggestions for action, focusing in particular on sacramentality and a sacramental view of the world, and highlighting the ecclesiological importance of contributions, initiatives, and statements from local churches.


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