The Anglican Doctrine of the Visible Church

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-49
Author(s):  
Lee Gatiss
Keyword(s):  
16Th Century ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church ◽  
Significant Attention

This article examines what the Church of England’s historic Thirty-nine Articles of Religion actually mean in context when they define the visible church as ‘a congregation of faithful men in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.’ The article clarifies the meaning of the words ‘a congregation’ here in their historical and polemical context during the Reformation, giving this significant attention for the first time in print, in order to correct common evangelical mis-readings and misappropriations of Article 19. It also unpacks the Anglican view of the marks of the church against the confessional divides of the 16th century, to locate this Article in its Reformed Protestant context against Rome. It outlines ten challenges which a properly understood Anglican ecclesiology presents for evangelicals today.

scholarly journals The School Culture Heritage of the Reformation

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-121
Author(s):  
László Trencsényi
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Church Reform ◽  
College Culture ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Culture Heritage ◽  
History Of ◽  
Contemporary Education ◽  
The Church

Abstract On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, this essay analyses those educational innovations in the history of central European education that were introduced by the Church reform in the 16th century, following these modernizations and their further developments through the spreading of the universal school systems in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Drawing examples from the innovations in the college culture of the period, the author emphasises that those pedagogical values established in the 16th century are not only valid today, but are exemplary from the point of view of contemporary education. From these the author highlights: pupils’ autonomy (in the form of various communities), cooperation with the teachers and school management and the relative pluralism of values.

scholarly journals Inleiding in die grondslag van die gereformeerde teologie

1995 ◽  
Vol 29 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. F. Schulze
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Theory ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Theology And Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

Theology is not a neutral science but should be embedded in the ser­vice of the Church. A close relation between theology and the church is clearly visible in the history of the early church until the era of the Reformation. The disintegration of religion and culture (church and world) during the Renaissance received new impetus from the En­lightenment. Consequently, the tie between church and theology was to a large extent dissolved and theology progressively became a ‘wordly ’ rationalistic enterprise, as a concomitant to what happened in the arts (l'art pour l'art). In this context the problems of defining theology and science are discussed and the popularity of modern scientific theory is uncovered. Finally it is argued that the basis (grondslag) and object for Reformed theology can only be the Word of God

scholarly journals John Calvin as ‘public theologian’ in view of his ‘Commentary on Seneca’s de Clementia’

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim A. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Vast Amount ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Church ◽  
Legal Training

During the 16th century, Europe underwent fundamental sociopolitical changes, which challenged theologians and the church to respond theologically. In light of the celebration of the Reformation (1517–2017) and the theme of this conference, this contribution presents Calvin as a ‘public theologian’. To this purpose it is necessary to define ‘public theology’, describe the sociopolitical changes which challenged theologians during the 16th century, and lastly to focus on Calvin’s contribution to the discourse. Because of the vast amount of material that is available, this contribution is limited to Calvin’s first publication, his ‘Commentary on Seneca’s De Clementia’. Calvin’s fundamental understanding of law and justice, as well as his theological engagement with sociopolitical issues, made him a public theologian par excellence. Calvin’s legal training surfaced whenever he addressed the authorities, for instance, when pleading the case of persecuted Protestants. He had a fundamental understanding of issues such as justice and freedom. The rights, responsibilities and obligations of government and people should always remain in balance. Sociopolitical transformation, as experienced in South Africa during the last three decades, requires of theologians to engage theologically with relevant issues. In this, Calvin set a remarkable example.

Sola Scriptura in Africa: Missions and the Reformation Literacy Tradition

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-87
Author(s):  
Steven van Dyck
Keyword(s):  
Print Culture ◽  
Church History ◽  
First Century ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Print Communication ◽  
Mission Movement ◽  
The Church

This theoretical reflection addresses issues arising in the history of world Christianity, in particular regarding mission churches in Africa since the nineteenth century. The article first evaluates the development of oral, manuscript and print communication cultures in western culture, and their influence since the first century in the Church. Modernity could only develop in a print culture, creating the cultural environment for the Reformation. Sola Scriptura theology, as in Calvin and Luther, considered the written Word of God essential for the Church’s life. The role of literacy throughout Church history is reviewed, in particular in the modern mission movement in Africa and the growing African church, to show the importance of literacy in developing a strong church. In conclusion, spiritual growth of churches in the Reformation tradition requires recognition of the primacy of print culture over orality, and the importance of a culture of reading and study.

Anabaptism and the Reformation: Another Look

1960 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans J. Hillerbrand
Keyword(s):  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Radical Reformation ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Church

It has by and large been characteristic of the current resurgence of Anabaptist studies to understand the Anabaptist movement as an integral part of the Reformation. Thus the two terms presently used to designate the framework of the radical dissent of the 16th century— Roland H. Bainton's now classic “Left Wing” and, more recently, George H. Williams' “Radical Reformation”—suggest a positive relationship with the mainstream Reformation. There is widespread consensus among scholars, particularly in America, that Anabaptism concurred with the Reformation on the major points of Protestant doctrine and dissented merely on secondary issues, such as baptism, the church, or political authority, around which centered indeed most of the theological polemics between the Anabaptists and the Reformers.

scholarly journals Comfort through ‘the lively Word of God’: Katherine Willoughby and the Protestant Funeral Monument

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Lauenstein
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Spatial Presence ◽  
Protestant Church ◽  
Medieval Church ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Church Building ◽  
Visual Impact ◽  
The Church

What does the use of biblical scripture, viewed through the funeral monument’s material and spatial presence in the church building disclose about the role of the places for the dead in establishing and maintaining church practices and ritual during the formative years of the Reformation? Taking the lead from the tomb of early evangelical reformer Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk at Spilsby in Lincolnshire, this article examines the relationship between text, space and materiality in the formulation of a protestant rhetoric of congregational equality with its epicentre in the church nave. Tracing the texts and placements of commemorative structures, and their relationship to official as well as more radical protestant texts, including the Elizabethan Injunctions (1559), as well as the writing of John Dod (1615), this preliminary investigation explores the fertile relationship between object and text in the development of Protestant identities.By applying recent archaeological scholarship into the role of ‘presencing’ mechanisms (Graves 2000, & Roffey, 2008) in the medieval and post-medieval church interior to the Willoughby monument in Spilsby’s north chancel, as well as two further examples of the tombs of protestant reformers, the notion of a protestant dismissal of the visual as a tool in devotion will be challenged. By introducing the central role of placement, the approach will destabilize the view that in the protestant church ‘the greatest visual impact came from words’ (MacCulloch, 1999, p. 159), and instead, place language into the wider architectural and spatial narratives of the church interior.

4. Early modern sainthood

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Yarrow
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church ◽  
Intellectual Creativity

‘Early modern sainthood’ describes the impact of the 16th-century Reformation on the image of the Christian saint. The Reformation, triggered by Augustinian friar Martin Luther, was a struggle for the highest stakes between fierce adversaries over the relationship between church and state, the authority and mission of the Church, the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, and the conscience of every soul in Christendom. It spurred immense intellectual creativity, fuelled iconoclasm and bitter polemic, and brought protracted war and martyrdom. It ultimately divided Europe into the Catholic states of southern Europe and those states of northern Europe whose princes embraced various kinds of Protestantism.

How New is the New Hermeneutic?

1965 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-235
Author(s):  
Carl E. Braaten
Keyword(s):  
Word Of God ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church

“The claim that there is a new hermeneutic is bound up with the judgment that Fuchs and Ebeling have, with the aid of Heidegger, rediscovered the hermeneutical import of language— perhaps for the first time since Jesus and Luther. In my opinion it is possible to call this insight ‘new’ to the extent that one forgets that, despite frequent aberrations in homiletical practice, the church has always regarded proclamation in the mode of witness as a kind of ‘primal speech’ which serves as the hermeneutics of the Word of God.”

scholarly journals Theosis in die Oosters-Ortodokse en Westers-Protestantse teologiese debat

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barend J. Van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Orthodox ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Church Father ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Questions And Answers ◽  
Good Relation ◽  
Theological Debate ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Historic Background

Theosis in the Eastern-Orthodox and Western-Protestant theological debate: All major religions agree on one theme, namely they strive to provide an answer regarding the relation with their God. A good relation to God is the way of salvation, because the question about God is an acknowledgement that a human being needs to be in union with God. Some questions and answers are only possible in the relation between God and humankind. The well-known saying from the letter to the Romans (1:17), is typical of such a relation formulated in the Western Protestant debate in forensic style. From the Eastern orthodox theological debate, theosis is used in accordance to what the church father Irenaeus meant: ‘God became human that we might become divine’. This article gives a definition of theosis, sketch the historic background of the concept, discuss salvation in the Western theological tradition, and pays attention to a theosis scriptural basis. Furthermore, attention is also given to Martin Luther and theosis as an indication that his view of salvation was much closer to theosis as was readily accepted in the Western theological debate since the Reformation of the 16th century.

scholarly journals Five hundred years on: Some traces of the Reformation in the Church Orders of two South African Reformed Churches – Seen as temporary expressions of the Church Order of the Reformed Synod of Dordrecht in 1619

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet Strauss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
African Churches ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

This article examines the influence of the Reformation of the 16th century on the Church Orders of two South African Reformed Churches, namely the Dutch Reformed Church and the Reformed Churches in South Africa. The five so-called solas, namely sola gratia [by grace alone], sola scriptura [by Scripture alone], sola fidei [by faith alone], solus christus [Christ alone] and soli Deo gloria [glory to God alone], are widely accepted as key expressions of the convictions of the Reformation. Although not necessarily in the same terms, the content of the solas are also found in the thought of Calvin. These matters influenced the Synod of Dordrecht (1618–1619) in its acceptance of the Three Formulas of Unity as reformed confessions of faith and its affirmation of the Dordt Church Order. The said South African churches accept the Three Formulas of Unity as confessions of faith and view their church orders as a modern version of the Dordt Church Order – adapted to the demands of the time. This article mainly examines the consequences of sola scriptura and sola fidei on the church orders of the two churches. In terms of these two solas, both have traces of the Reformation after 500 years.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document