The Church in the Public Square:

2017 ◽  
pp. 221-242
Keyword(s):  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
The Church

The Orthodox Preference for Democracy: An American Response to “The Church in the Public Square” (Section II), in For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-430
Author(s):  
Jonathan Tobias
Keyword(s):  
Orthodox Church ◽  
The Public ◽  
Clear Preference ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
The World ◽  
The Church ◽  
Social Ethos

In For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church, there is a clear preference for the “democratic genius of the modern age.” This preference for democracy is due, in part, to the long experience of the Orthodox Church with other governmental forms, especially autocratic and authoritarian states.

The Church and the Development of Doctrine

2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Chan
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Living Body ◽  
Living Tradition ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Church

AbstractDoctrines are the authoritative teachings of the Church, yet the modern church is hampered by its inability to speak authoritatively even to its own members on matters of doctrine. One reason is that doctrines are widely perceived as archaic and fixed formulations with little significance for the present day. True doctrines, in fact, are constantly developing as the Church moves towards eschatological fulfillment. Yet for doctrines to develop properly there needs to be a proper ecclesiology. The Church is not an entity that God brought into being to return creation to its original purpose after the Fall; rather, the Church is prior to creation, chosen in Christ before the creation of the world (Eph. 1.4). It is a divine-humanity, ontologically linked to Christ the Head. It is the living Body of Christ, the totus Christus.Within the continuing life of prayer and worship, the Church’s doctrines are re-enacted, renewed and developed. These acts constitute the ecclesial experience or the living tradition. The living tradition is the transmission and development of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the on-going practices of the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost is not just to enable the Church to preach the gospel but to constitute the Church as part of the gospel itself. That is to say, the gospel story includes the story of the Spirit in the Church. The third person of the Godhead is revealed as such in his special relation to the Church. The Church, therefore, could be called the ‘polity of the Spirit’, that is, the public square in which the Spirit is especially at work to bring God’s ultimate purpose to fulfillment. There is, therefore, no separation between ecclesiology and pneumatology. They are necessary for maintaining the living tradition and ensuring the healthy development of doctrine until the Church attains unity of the faith. Pentecostals who see the Pentecost event as the distinctive mark of their identity have a special role to play: by becoming more truly catholic in their ecclesiology, they become more truly Pentecostal. This accords well with their early ecumenical instinct.

scholarly journals An enquiry on poverty discourses in public theology for the calling of the church to respond to poverty: A case for the Africa Inland Church in Kenya

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah K. Tenai
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Africa Inland Church ◽  
Poverty Levels ◽  
The Church

As an emergent and rapidly growing international field of study, public theology has its focus on how Christian faith and practice impact on ordinary life. Its principle concern is thewell-being of society. In Africa, and in Kenya in particular, where poverty levels are still high, there is a need to enquire into the value and efficacy of the poverty discourses in publictheology, for the calling of the church to respond to poverty. One of the main and fast growingchurches in Kenya, the Africa Inland Church (AIC), has vast resources used for, amongst otherthings, various on-going work amidst the poor and the vulnerable in remote and poor areas. Due to the unrelenting nature of poverty in Kenya, the AIC needs a theological perspective, which is sufficiently sensitive to poverty and can enable it to respond to poverty moreeffectively. Public theology’s emphasis on gaining an entrée into the public square andadopting the agenda of communities, including public theology’s calling on churches toactively participate in rational and plausible public discourses, can assist the AIC to respondeffectively to the challenge of poverty in Kenya.

Common Grace, Like Sense, Certainly Not as Common as It Should Be

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Tom Skelton
Keyword(s):  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Common Grace ◽  
Political Right ◽  
The Church

This paper was written to discuss whether or not to agree with the claim that ‘The question is not whether the church has a political right to speak politically, but whether it has a theological duty’ and to provide an appropriate rational. In answering this I use one of the supporting lectures for the unit which suggests that preaching, as understood by the Second Helvetic Confession (SHC), provides the method for engaging with the public square. I offer a particularly Pentecostal critique of this approach with a view to effectively and fruitfully engaging the public square

scholarly journals Reimagining mission in the public square: Engaging hills and valleys in the African City of Tshwane

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thinandavha D. Mashau
Keyword(s):  
African City ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
The Public ◽  
African Cities ◽  
Contested Space ◽  
Public Square ◽  
New Frontier ◽  
The Future ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

This article seeks to map out the future of Christian mission in the city context. African cities like Tshwane are not only expanding, but also present the church with a new frontier that needs to be crossed without crossing geographical boundaries. This article indicates that life in the City of Tshwane is paradoxically placed. Whilst life in the valleys of Tshwane is like walking in the valley of the shadow of death, those on the high hills (the places of power) continue with their dominance and pretence as solution providers, whilst hiding the presence of those who are marginalised. This article proposes that the future of the Christian mission lies not only in identifying those powers, but also in engaging them in a transformative way so as to usher the justice and shalom of God into this highly contested space.

scholarly journals Pastoral Letters and the Church in the public square: An assessment of the role of Pastoral Letters in influencing democratic processes in Malawi

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qeko Jere ◽  
Vhumani Magezi
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Church History ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Pastoral Letters ◽  
The Voice ◽  
The Church

The contributory role Pastoral Letters play in Malawi’s democracy cannot be underestimated. Historically, Pastoral Letters have been the voice of the Malawian people, and these have forced authorities to accommodate social and political reforms. From colonialism, federations and independence to the birth and consolidation of democracy, Pastoral Letters have been issued by the Church to State authority demanding political change and improvement in governance issues. For instance, Pastoral Letters issued by the Church put pressure on the British to end colonialism in Malawi, and in 1992, Pastoral Letters hugely contributed to the dismantling of Dr Kamuzu Banda’s, and the Malawi Congress Party’s, three-decade autocratic rule. Even in the multiparty dispensation, which was ushered in during 1994, Pastoral Letters have provided checks and balances to government in the consolidation of democracy. Thus, Pastoral Letters represent the voice of the voiceless in every political dispensation. The article is informed by the Pauline Pastoral Letters’ conceptual framework. The main argument governing this article is that unless there is continuity in the issuing of Pastoral Letters by the Church in addressing specific challenges within a democracy, sustainability of democratic value will always be compromised and not realised.Interdisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This is an interdisciplinary article that touches on practical and public theology focusing on Church history and polity in assessing the role of Pastoral Letters in influencing the sustainability of democratic processes in a public square. The article contributes to a wider debate on the role the Church’s Pastoral Letters play in determining the sociopolitical landscape in Malawi. However, this is the only article written from a Pauline Pastoral Letters’ conceptual framework.

Public Bioethics

2021 ◽  
pp. 187-212
Author(s):  
Courtney S. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Moral Agency ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Elective Abortion ◽  
Lds Church ◽  
The Church ◽  
Policy Question

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) ecclesiastical policy on health, medical, and moral issues has seldom addressed itself to the healing professions or to questions of public policy, an ethical insularity coherent with the principles of respect for moral agency and trust in the healing vocation of the professions. However, some issues reveal limits to peaceful compromise between ecclesiastical policy with both professional morality and public policy of the secular state and have prompted the LDS Church to forgo ecclesiastical silence and present a public witness of its values and positions on a policy question to a broader civic audience. This chapter focuses on two such examples, elective abortion and medical marijuana. The public square of moral reasoning within LDS teaching is constructed by principles of engaged citizenship, separation, and the moral core.

Church and State in Ireland: Perspectives of Vatican II

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Patrick Hannon
Keyword(s):  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Charles Taylor ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
The Church

This paper argues that Irish Bishops’ Conference interventions in the public square since the Council have accorded well with the Declaration on Religious Freedom but have lacked an adequate awareness of key themes of the two Constitutions on the Church. It shows how attention to these themes may enrich the bishops’ future contributions to debate on socio-legal issues in the changed context in which Irish Catholicism now finds itself. It maintains that public discussion of secularization has been on the whole superficial and unhelpful, and in the light of observations by Owen Chadwick and a proposal by Charles Taylor it offers some suggestions for its improvement.

Not Set in Stone

2022 ◽  
pp. 154-178
Author(s):  
Barry W. Bussey
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

In recalling the Newfoundland school debate during the late 20th century, this chapter considers the use of a direct democracy initiative that purportedly sought public input on a matter of communal religious rights. It raises the question as to whether a referendum is an appropriate tool to abandon minority rights which form part of a country's constitution. First, there is a brief discussion on the importance of free and democratic societies to foster civil society, including religious communities engaging in the public square. Second, the history of the Newfoundland education system will lay the foundation for a review of the perceived problems with churches running government-funded schools. Third, a short synopsis of the political machinations that led to two referendums and how the referendums were used as a legitimization tool by a government apparently unwilling to work out a viable solution that allowed some residual accommodation of the church schools. Finally, a reflection on what lessons may be learned from the Newfoundland experience.

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