Dealing with “Murky Monsters and Dastardly Demons”: A Response to Underwager and Wakefield

1992 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clinton E. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Personal Relationship ◽  
The World ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
The Devil ◽  
Society Today

The author responds to Underwager and Wakefield (1992) with a critique of what he regards as their cavalier and counterproductive approach to the nature and extent of Satanic influence on either persons or society today. With Underwager and Wakefield, the author doubts the existence of a widespread satanic conspiracy and urges guarding against a “devil behind every bush” syndrome. He appeals instead to a New Testament-rooted theological understanding which locates the source of evil in the reality of three interrelated forces, i.e., “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” His solution for the reality of the existence and hostile activity of satanic forces is that of a dynamic personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Soteria

1953 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-416
Author(s):  
R. McL. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Good News ◽  
Early Church ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Love Of God ◽  
Wrath Of God

In the Gospel according to St. John it is written that ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ In these familiar words is summed up the message of the Bible as a whole, and of the New Testament in particular. In spite of all that may be said of sin and depravity, of judgment and the wrath of God, the last word is one not of doom but of salvation. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a Gospel of salvation, of deliverance and redemption. The news that was carried into all the world by the early Church was the Good News of the grace and love of God, revealed and made known in Jesus Christ His Son. In the words of Paul, it is that ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself’.

scholarly journals St Augustine’s interpretation of 1 Cor 7:1–6: An expository study

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-176
Author(s):  
Jude Chiedo Ukaga ◽  
Valentine A. Inagbor ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Society Today

The various aspects of Christian Liberty and of the life of the Christian in the world are linked in a singular way in Paul’s pronouncements on marriage, as is found in 1 Cor 7:1–7 ff. Our choice of St. Augustine in the numerous contemporary scholarly attempted hermeneutics of 1 Cor 7:1–7 is that he adopts and elaborated an already existing tradition on sex and marriage. Moreover, this text in the New Testament is the only one that speaks explicitly of the significance of conjugal intercourse. The interpretation of this text or passage has to an extent determined the development of the church’s tradition. Thus, the importance of the passage has to be considered. In Cor 7:1, Paul starts answering the questions the Corinthians put to him. Verse 1 reads: “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote”. The first of these questions concerns marriage. According to the superscription of this work, Augustine’s interpretation of 1 Cor 7:1–7 has implications for Christians in the contemporary world. In as much as it raises numerous problems to our contemporary understanding of marriage and sexuality, the problem of sexuality characterized our society today.

The Modern Paradox of Christ's Lordship

1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-372
Author(s):  
Alexander Czégledy
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Epistle To The Hebrews ◽  
The World ◽  
Original Sense ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Contradictory Statement

To proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord over the world is to make a paradoxical statement. First, in the original sense of the word ‘paradox’, His lordship over the world is contrary to doxa, that is, received opinion, reason and experience. His sovereignty seems to the ordinary mind not less paradoxical than His mighty wonder of healing the man of the palsy which called forth the amazed exclamation: ‘We have seen strange things [paradoxa] today.’ We cannot see, neither can we prove the reality of His kingship. This is meant by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. … But now we see not yet all things put under him.’ Then another sense of the word is suggested—though probably to non—Greeks only—by the New Testament meaning of the word doxa, glory—‘paradoxical’ being something that is contrary to glory—not simply devoid of it, but appearing as the very opposite of royal splendour and might, as weakness, helplessness, shame and mortality. Also in this second sense the lordship of Christ is highly paradoxical. The visions of the Apocalypse assign power and glory to the Lamb that was slain. And thirdly, in modern usage, the word ‘paradox’ means an apparently self-contradictory statement in which the truth is expressed by two contradictory but necessary propositions. In this sharpened sense of the paradox one would express the lordship of Christ only in terms of those features which indicate His lowly service, weakness, humiliation and shame.

The Confession ‘Jesus is God’ in the New Testament

1957 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-299
Author(s):  
A. W. Wainwright
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
World Council Of Churches ◽  
Rudolf Bultmann ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
World Council

In a chapter of his book Glaube und Verstehen, recently translated into English under the title Essays Philosophical and Theological, Professor Rudolf Bultmann has discussed, by no means favourably, the Christological Confession of the World Council of Churches. The words of the Confession are: ‘The World Council of Churches is composed of Churches which acknowledge Jesus Christ as God and Saviour.’ Bultmann directs his attention chiefly to the confession that Jesus is God. In the New Testament he finds only one verse in which Jesus is un-doubtedly called God. That is John 20.28, in which Thomas addresses Jesus as ‘My Lord and my God!’ In contrast with this single example, there is in Bultmaann's opinion a great amount of evidence that the writers of the New Testament believed that Jesus was subordinate to His Father.

scholarly journals The Philosophical Subtext of a Scandal (Viacheslav Ivanov, Eduard von Hartman, and ‘Universal Co-crucifixion’)

Literary Fact ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 286-296
Author(s):  
Michael Wachtel
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Potential Application ◽  
Personal Relationship ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Religious Convictions ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Direct Reflection

The essay examines the notorious sacrificial rite that took place in Nikolay Minsky’s apartment in May of 1905. The event is viewed as a direct reflection of the philosophical and religious convictions of Viacheslav Ivanov. Ivanov’s “scandalous” behavior, which so shocked and repulsed his contemporaries, fits in neatly with his general understanding of the world, which is clearly expressed in his essays, scholarly work, and poetry of that time. Special attention is given to the concept of “universal co-crucifixion,” which is derived from the New Testament through the mediation of the philosopher Eduard von Hartman. At the end of the essay the question is raised about the potential application of the same concept to the personal relationship of Ivanov and his wife, Lidia Dmitrievna Zinov’eva-Annibal.

Creation

2019 ◽  
pp. 511-524
Author(s):  
Paul M. Blowers
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Wisdom Literature ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Many ◽  
Sacred History

Early Christian interpretation of Scripture on the theme of creation not surprisingly gave considerable attention to the Genesis account of the origins of the world, in part to counter the claims of Graeco-Roman cosmology, but more importantly to expound the latent theological meaning of the many details of the biblical cosmogony. But patristic exegetes were also keen on the fact that ‘creation’ in the Bible implied far more than beginnings; indeed, it designated the whole economy (oikonomia) of the Creator’s ongoing relation to the creation as set forth in sacred history and as requiring the further interpretative lenses of Christology, soteriology, and eschatology. Early Christian interpreters plumbed a wide variety of Old Testament texts beyond Genesis (especially the Psalms, Deutero-Isaiah, and the Wisdom literature). In their New Testament commentary they focused on such motifs as the subjection of creation to ‘vanity’, the work of Jesus Christ in recapitulating God’s creative purposes, and the eschatological renewal and transformation of the created universe in its relation to human salvation.

Forgetting the power of leaven: The historical method in recent New Testament theology

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-104
Author(s):  
Seth Heringer
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Ernst Troeltsch ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
Synthetic Work ◽  
At Will

AbstractErnst Troeltsch and Heikki Räisänen have raised significant challenges to the way New Testament theology handles the relation of history and theology. Troeltsch pushed Christian scholars to apply the historical method's three principles of criticism, analogy and correlation consistently to their work and thus embrace empiricism. Räisänen continues this trajectory by splitting New Testament theology into its descriptive and reflective tasks, resulting in a programme which questions the unity of the canon, the appropriateness of prescription and the role of church authority in New Testament theology. With these challenges in mind, this article examines four recent New Testament theologies to see how they use the historical method. It finds that these works exhibit different ad hoc ways of using the historical method, picking it up and setting it down at will. Peter Balla accepts New Testament theology as descriptive and historical while claiming it can also be theological by studying the content in the New Testament. Despite this embrace of the historical method, Balla remains uncomfortable with bare empiricism and pushes back on its naturalism. Georg Strecker splits the world into two: one part which can be investigated by the historical method and another part which lies outside its normal subject matter. The result is that he uses the historical method everywhere except where his main theological concern lies – Jesus’ resurrection. I. Howard Marshall similarly holds the historical method to be necessary for New Testament theology but largely ignores it in light of narrative-theological concerns. Frank Matera takes a purposefully literary approach to New Testament theology and generally ignores the historical method. He does invoke it, however, when the text becomes difficult and alternative readings must be found. The methodological inconsistency demonstrated by these New Testament theologies leads the article to conclude that this type of historical New Testament theology is a failed enterprise. A theological understanding of history based on work by Murray Rae is then proposed as an alternative which allows for methodological consistency in synthetic work on the New Testament.

scholarly journals Demonologie in die Nuwe-Testamentiese tydvak

1986 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Van Aarde
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Face ◽  
Direct Contrast ◽  
The Devil

Demonology in New Testament times Modem demonology has become a cult just as it had been in mediaeval times. But there is a difference. Then people opposed the Devil; now people believe in the Devil. This paper argues that modem demonology is an escapism of reality and in direct contrast to the New Testament's message. The thesis is debated against the background of a discussion of demonology in New Testament times. In this discussion it is indicated how the face of evil has changed from Old Testament times up to the New Testament period. Evil has become an extraterrestrial figure, symbol and power. As the personification of the prince of evil, the Devil is inter alia identified with the mythological serpent in a lost paradise and is defeated at the realization of God's messianic kingdom in Jesus Christ, the prince of light. The New Testament proclaims that salvation means that man determines to exist as man of God before evil made man his slave.

scholarly journals Indikatief en paraklese in Romeine

1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Kruger
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Main Section ◽  
Missionary Work ◽  
The Third ◽  
Valid Method ◽  
The World ◽  
Introductory Part ◽  
Greek New Testament ◽  
Diverse Groups

The introductory part of this article presents an explanation of what is meant by the Greek New Testament word παράκλησις: and an indication of what is accepted by the author of this article as a valid method of studying Romans. The main indicative of Romans lies in the first part, 1:16 - 4:25. Special attention should thus be given to the introductory part before this main section. In deviations from the formal introduction to the letter Paul beforehand indicates what is to follow later in the letter The traditional exegesis of Romans 1:18 is not considered as correct in all aspects and reformed dogmatics built on Romans 1 should be reconsidered as far as sufficiency of revelation is concemed The second main section, Romans 5-8 is a consolation and an exhortation to Christians to persevere in faith. The third part, Romans 9-11, is an appeal to Jews to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. This part also contains an urgent warning to Christians from the Gentiles not to fall into covenant-automatism. The παράκλησις; of Romans 12:1 -15:13 is directed in first instance to the congregation in Rome. Though this paraclesis primarily concerns the congregation in Rome, it also touches upon the relation to the world and to authority, and it culminates in Romans 15:7 with an appeal that the diverse groups in the congregation in Rome should accept each other as Christ had accepted them. In the concluding part of the letter Paul’s main issues are to get the Romans involved in his planned missionary work in Spain and the appeal that they should bring forth the fruit of their faith. The article concludes with some suggestions for sermons from Romans.

Ultimate Triumph

1961 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles S. Duthie
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Community Or ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Image Of God

It is a matter of agreement among Christians that there shines throughout the New Testament writings the bright hope, the clear assurance that in the long run, however long the run, God will triumph. He will achieve the fulfilment of the purpose disclosed in Jesus Christ. In that consummation God Himself, in the phrase of Paul, will be ‘all in all’. But as soon as we affirm our belief in this final victory, an inevitable question raises itself in our minds. Will that triumph be complete? Will all who have been fashioned in the image of God be united with Him within the redeemed community? Or will some persist obstinately for ever in the repudiation of His grace, self-excluded from Heaven? If God wills that all men shall be saved, if He was truly in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, if it is His purpose to gather up all things in Christ, are we not driven towards the expectation, perhaps even the certainty, that at the last all shall have found their way, or been led, to God ‘who is our home’?

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