scholarly journals Christianity and Indigenisation in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
M. A. Masoga ◽  
A. Nicolaides
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Spiritual Consciousness ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

In a quest for greater coherence between parochial identities, culture and Christianity, there exists an African consciousness which seeks to indigenise and decolonise Christianity. Africans are profoundly religious people who view their faith as part of their way of life, as strengthening their cultures and providing a moral compass for daily living. In efforts to transform society, the Christian religion has played a significant role in the path to African development. Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. Africans consequently played a crucial role in establishing the doctrines and theology of the early church. While African Traditional religion (ATR) is paramount, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that the Christian faith has and continuous to play a significant role on the African continent in its development. While there are many indigenous African beliefs, these have been to a large extent supported by Christianity in a quest to systematize novel knowledge and promote peace and tolerance across the continent. Many Africans have sought facets of Christianity that are similar to their religious and personal practices and continue to do so. Thus, while there exist numerous similarities and also differences between Christianity and ATR, it is imperative to preserve old-style regional distinctiveness and Christianity as the unifying rudiments in nation building endeavours and in efforts to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Africans can and should come to comprehend the Triune Godhead as being consistent with their own spiritual consciousness and existential veracities. Indigenization of Christianity requires enculturation and essentially an understanding that it is indeed ecumenical and also embraces diversity and fundamentally requires viewing Holy Scriptures and the truths they propound as being applicable to any context and cultural milieu across the ages. Christians after all espouse a faith in the Ekklesia or body of Christ for all its people who are the Laos of God.

The Christian View of Man: An Examination of Karl Barth's Doctrine

1949 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Whitehouse ◽  
J. B. Souček
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Christian View ◽  
Contemporary Christian ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

Volume III of the Dogmatik is concerned with creation, and the first part dealt with the act of creation, elucidating from a specifically Christian point of view the relation of creation and covenant. In this second part, it is the creature which is studied. For a theology bound to the Word of God, the questions at issue concern the nature of man, and the enquiry is controlled by the fact of God having become man. The material which is handled in this vast volume is a selection from man's varied attempts to speak about himself. The aim is to illuminate and to correct the speech of the contemporary Christian Church on this subject, and to do so by proper theological method and criteria. The resultant doctrine may not be very different from what is said in section I (A) of the Lambeth Report Part II, but one cannot help asking whether the statements made there have been reached by the searching discipline of dogmatic theology, practised with the seriousness found in Barth's work. His declared purpose is to seek “comprehensive clarifications in theology, and about theology itself”, which will give the Church strength to offer “clarifications in the broad field of politics”, a strength which is not strikingly obvious in the Lambeth conclusions about “The Church and the Modern World” and “The Christian Way of Life”.

Die kerk in die Nuwe Testament

1995 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M.M. Pelser
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Church

The church in the New Testament The article explores the documents of the New Testament in search of the concept church' and finds that,  in a nutshell, the answers are as follows: the  Spirit-controlled, charismatic togetherness of people 'in Christ' (Paul); cross-bearing followers of Jesus (Mk); the people of God on their way through history (Lk-Ac); the faithful locked in battle with Satanic powers, but with the expectation of occupying the heavenly Jerusalem (Rv); the  community with which Christ became solidary, and which is heading for its heavenly place of rest (Reb); the poor but pious community, putting their faith into practice (Ja); the body of Christ in which his universal reign can be experienced (Col); the sphere in which salvation is  realized (Eph); disciples following Jesus as God-with us, experiencing the  rift between synagogue and church (Mt); friends and confidants of Christ, living at loggerheads with the synagogue (In); the household of God, governed by householders (Pastorals); and the socia-ly ostracized elect of God whose way of life should be a demonstration of their otherness as Christians (1 Pt).

scholarly journals Church-Based Research: Challenges and Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Robert Dunaetz
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Great Commission ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
God's Love ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Disciple Making ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

Because the church is the body of Christ, research focused on the Great Commission and Jesus’ concern for evangelism and disciple-making needs to be church-based. The goal of such research is to better share God’s love to a world who does not know him by building up a collection of knowledge that will enable us to do so. This research may be both theological (focusing on what the Bible and other theologians have said) and scientific (focusing on collecting new data and interpreting it, especially in light of theology). Church-based scientific research may be either qualitative (exploring broad ideas and phenomena in a relatively subjective way) or quantitative (testing specific ideas by collecting data measuring the variables of interest as objectively as possible). The Great Commission Research Journal is an especially appropriate outlet for publishing such research.

The Gospel of John

2019 ◽  
pp. 601-613
Author(s):  
C. E. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Future Research ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Academic Controversy ◽  
The Church

This chapter reviews the significant role played by the Gospel according to John in the early Church, and recent scholarship surrounding this issue. John’s importance in the Christological and Trinitarian debates of the fourth and fifth centuries is widely recognized, but controversy has surrounded the question of John’s use in the Church prior to Irenaeus. This chapter reviews that academic controversy, particularly the longstanding argument that John won its place in the ‘great Church’ only after a long battle with heresy (docetism; Gnosticism; Valentinianism) about its true nature and meaning. It then surveys some of the ways in which John’s influence was felt in the early period, in the areas of biblical interpretation, in mission, in Christology, and in artistic expression, all of which offer promise for future research.

scholarly journals Gnosticism, church unity and the Nicene Creed

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F.C. Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Church History ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Nag Hammadi ◽  
Church Unity ◽  
Nicene Creed ◽  
Age Of Aquarius ◽  
The Church

Gnosticism (derived from the Greek word “gnosis; knowledge”) is the well-known phenomenon or movement which dates from the first centuries of church history. The teaching of Gnosticism questioned and/or contradicted the teaching of the church on some of the fundamental truths of Scripture. Apart from Gnosticism, the Early Church also had to deal with the heresy of Arianism. In the Nicene Creed, formulated by the councils of Nicea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD) the universal or catholic church responded officially to the heresies of both Gnosticism and Arianism. In the final edition of the Nicene Creed we also find an article on the unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity of the church. Both Gnosticism and Arianism posed a serious threat to the unity of the church.   In our times we experience a revival of ancient Gnosticism, both pagan and “Christian”. This revival is also called the New Age or the Age of Aquarius. Within the framework of this new worldview, we are witnessing a rediscovery of gnosis. The discovery and publication of certain ancient gnostic texts like the Nag Hammadi Codices, play a significant role in this revival. Consequently the canon of Scripture is questioned or openly rejected and also the creeds based on that Scripture.   The Nicene Creed played a major and decisive role in preserving and maintaining the unity of the church on the basis of the truth of Scripture. This age-old creed is today just as relevant and important in proclaiming and confessing the true faith and preserving the true unity of the church.

scholarly journals A Baptismal Theology of Accountability

2021 ◽  
pp. 095394682110097
Author(s):  
Andrew Torrance
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

This article addresses the question of what it means to be accountable to God based on a baptismal theology that we find in the New Testament. It argues that various passages in the New Testament lead us to the view that we are accountable to God in Christ. Such a view is not straightforward, and so much of this article will be spent unpacking what this could mean. To do so, I elaborate on what it means for God to create humanity to find fulfilment in and through Christ. This leads me to argue that humans experience fulfilment in and through the body of Christ into which baptism initiates a person. It is by participating and finding belonging in the life of the Church that humans can begin to discover what it means to be accountable to God in Christ, and, in so doing, form the virtue of accountability.

scholarly journals Sinergi Pelayan dan Jemaat Tuhan Menurut 1 Korintus 3:4-9

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-60
Author(s):  
Desti Ratna Sari Halawa
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
God's Will ◽  
The World ◽  
Corinthians 3 ◽  
Service To Others ◽  
The Church

AbstractThis paper examines the meaning of synergy in the ministry and life of believers according to 1 Corinthians 3: 4-9. Servants of God tend to leave the place of service because they are at odds with God or others. Among the Corinthians in the early church, there was strife among the members of the body of Christ. To deal with divisions, Paul talks about becoming partners with God (synergy). In the Orthodox  church this concept emphasizes how to achieve salvation but this concept is not emphasized in the world of ministry. Whereas in Protestant literature this concept is rarely even perhaps foreign to be discussed as something important, so that it is reflected in ministries within the church and outside the church which often cause divisions. The results show that only through synergy with God can humans synergize with one another (one with God and one with others remains strong). Synergize is to be partners with Allah who continue to exercise their free will according to God's will so that they are not easily tempted by the evil of sin. Remembering God dynamically produces union with God and gives the best service to others as Christ served. Of course, only synergy makes humans avoid fellowship and enmity between others. AbstrakTulisan ini meneliti makna sinergi dalam pelayanan dan kehidupan orang percaya menurut 1 Korintus 3:4-9. Pelayan Tuhan cenderung meninggalkan tempat pelayanan karena berselisih dengan Allah atau sesama. Di antara jemaat Korintus di masa gereja mula-mula perselisihan di antara anggota tubuh Kristus sudah terjadi. Untuk menghadapi perpecahan, Paulus berbicara bagaimana menjadi kawan sekerja Allah (sinergi). Dalam gereja Ortodoks konsep ini menekankan bagaimana mencapai keselamatan akan tetapi konsep ini tidak ditekankan dalam dunia pelayanan. Sedangkan dalam literatur Protestan konsep ini jarang bahkan mungkin asing dibahas sebagai sesuatu yang penting, sehingga tercermin dalam pelayanan-pelayanan dalam gereja maupun di luar gereja yang sering menimbulkan perpecahan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa hanya melalui sinergi dengan Allah manusia bisa bersinergi dengan sesamanya (menyatu dengan Allah dan persatuan dengan sesama tetap kokoh). Bersinergi adalah menjadi kawan sekerja Allah yang terus melatih kehendak bebasnya sesuai dengan kehendak Allah sehingga tidak mudah tergoda oleh kejahatan dosa. Mengingat Allah secara dinamis menghasilkan persatuan dengan Allah dan memberi pelayanan terbaik kepada sesama seperti Kristus melayani. Tentunya, hanya sinergilah yang membuat manusia terhindar dari persekutuan serta permusuhan di antara sesama.

The Episcopal Church, the Roman Empire and the Royal Supremacy in Restoration Scotland

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 176-189
Author(s):  
Andrew Carter
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
Episcopal Church ◽  
Church Courts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Royal Supremacy ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So ◽  
Three Phases

The churchmen who adhered to the established Church in Scotland during the years from 1661 to 1689, the last period in which it had bishops, have been overlooked by historians in favour of laymen and presbyterian dissenters. This article breaks new ground by examining the episcopalian clergy's attitude to the royal supremacy. To do so, it explores how Scottish episcopalians used the early Church under the Roman empire to illustrate their ideal relationship between Church and monarch. Three phases are evident in their approach. First, it was argued that conformists were, like early Christians, living in proper obedience, while presbyterians were seeking to create a separate jurisdiction in conflict with the king's. Later, Bishop Andrew Honeyman of Orkney tried to put some limitations on the royal supremacy over the Church, arguing that church courts had an independent power of discipline. This became politically unacceptable after the 1669 Act of Supremacy gave the king complete power over the Church, and, in the final phase, the history of the early Church was used to undermine the power of the church courts. The Church under the Roman empire, much like the royal supremacy itself, changed from an instrument to encourage conformity to a means of delegitimizing any clerical opposition to royal policy.

The Samarin Family and the Parish Question in the Russian Empire. 1860s–1910s

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 235-246
Author(s):  
Alexey L. Beglov
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Church Life ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

The article examines the contribution of the representatives of the Samarin family to the development of the Parish issue in the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The issue of expanding the rights of the laity in the sphere of parish self-government was one of the most debated problems of Church life in that period. The public discussion was initiated by D.F. Samarin (1827-1901). He formulated the “social concept” of the parish and parish reform, based on Slavophile views on society and the Church. In the beginning of the twentieth century his eldest son F.D. Samarin who was a member of the Special Council on the development the Orthodox parish project in 1907, and as such developed the Slavophile concept of the parish. In 1915, A.D. Samarin, who took up the position of the Chief Procurator of the Most Holy Synod, tried to make his contribution to the cause of the parish reforms, but he failed to do so due to his resignation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document