Mission in Britain today: some modest reflections and proposals

Holiness ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-176
Author(s):  
Stephen Bevans
Keyword(s):  
Technical Change ◽  
Adaptive Change ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Images Of God ◽  
Positive Image ◽  
The Church

AbstractWhile ‘Mission in Britain today’ includes many aspects, this article focuses on the witness of the Church within Britain’s contemporary highly secularized culture. Rather than ‘technical change’, the Church is called to work at ‘adaptive change’, and so to concentrate less on strategies and more on internal renewal. Such adaptive change involves freeing people’s imagination from simplistic and abusive images of God, offering a positive image of God that is inspiring and truly challenging, recognizing the kenotic nature of the Church, and realizing that mission is carried out in a world of grace where God is already present and working

scholarly journals ’n Kritiese evaluasie van die Godsbeeld van Sally McFague

1993 ◽  
Vol 49 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Steyn ◽  
J. H. Koekemoer
Keyword(s):  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Images Of God ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
The Church

Sally McFague’s image of God: A critical evaluation In the past decade, many feminist publications on the image of God have seen the light of day. This article concentrates on the viewpoint of Sally McFague in addressing the problem of God-language. It attempts to poin t ou t the positive and negative aspects of McFague’s images of God-as-Mother, God-as-Lover and God-as-Friend. Finally, it aims to pinpoint the value of the feminist viewpoint for theological discussion in general and the proclamation of the church today in particular.

scholarly journals God en armoede in die Karoo – ’n Besinning oor ’n teologie van transformasie

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
PI Van Niekerk
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Arid Area ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Social Involvement ◽  
Christian Humanism ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Church

<strong>God and poverty in the Karoo – A reflection on a theology of transformation</strong> <br /> The Karoo is an outstretched arid area characterised by poverty and underdevelopment. This article focuses on the poverty of the Karoo people and the effect of their faith in God on social development and transformation. The future of the Karoo is vested in its people and religious communities. Previous research indicated that believers’ image of God had an effect on their attitude towards social development and transformation. A small sample of women in a Karoo town experienced God as loving, but not as a God that inspired people towards transformation. The test for the church lies in her social involvement in the world as its salvation is God’s concern. In Christian humanism the integrity of creation in a world filled with injustice and poverty is emphasised. Churches in the Karoo are encouraged to utilise a theology of transformation that is developmentally driven and inspired by a transforming image of God.

scholarly journals The mercy of God as the foundation of charity of the Church

Diacovensia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-651
Author(s):  
Wiesław Przygoda
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Pope Francis ◽  
Pope Benedict Xvi ◽  
Benedict Xvi ◽  
The Bible ◽  
1 John ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
The Church

Charity diaconia of the Church is not an accidental involvement but belongs to its fundamental missions. This thesis can be supported in many ways. The author of this article finds the source of the obligation of Christians and the whole Church community to charity service in the nature of God. For Christians God is Love (1 John 4, 8.16). Even though some other names can be found, (Jahwe , Elohim, Adonai), his principal name that encapsulates all other ones is Love. Simultaneously, God which is Love showed his merciful nature (misericordiae vultus) in the course of salvation. He did it in a historical, visible and optimal way through his Son, Jesus Christ through the embodied God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who loved the mankind so much that he sacrificed his life for us, being tortured and killed at the cross. This selfless love laid the foundations for the Church, which, in essence, is a community of loving human and God’s beings. Those who do not love, even though they joined the Church through baptism, technically speaking, do not belong to the Church since love is a real not a formal sign of belonging to Christ’s disciples (cf. John 13, 35). Therefore, charitable activity is a significant dimension of the Church’s mission as it is through charity that the Church shows the merciful nature of its Saviour. A question that needs to be addressed may be expressed as follows: in what way the image of God, who is love, implies an involvement in charity of an individual and the Church? An answer may be found in the Bible, writings of the Church Fathers of and the documents of Magisterium Ecclesiae and especially the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

scholarly journals The use of Imago Dei as a pastoral healing vision against women killings in the South African context

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elijah M. Baloyi
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Images Of God ◽  
The Status ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Government ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
The Image Of God

The exploitation and killings of women in South Africa are a concern not only for the government, but also for pastoral caregivers as well. Although the government has introduced institutions like the Commission for Gender Equality with responsibilities to ensure that there is equality between genders, it seems that the supposed patriarchal masculine superiority continues to demonstrate its dominance through the abuse, as well as the killings of women. Assigning women to the status of secondary citizens who are tortured and exposed to gender-based violence is not only unconstitutional, but also biblically wrong, as we can see from the biblical message of the creation of human beings. The goal of this article is to use the premise of �the image of God� to argue that women also are created in the image of God and hence they are worthy to be treated as such, from sexual harassment, sexual abuse and violence to murder. This is my personal observation as women of this country are being killed by their husbands and boyfriends. This article will use case studies to argue that women (just like men) deserve, as images of God, to live freely without fear of being killed by their husbands and boyfriends for whatever wrongdoing.

scholarly journals Gender Ideology and Religion: Does a Masculine Image of God Matter?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew L Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Gender Ideology ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Images Of God ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Random Survey

A number of recent studies explore predictors of gender ideology due to its consistent influence on a range of outcomes. Another growing body of research investigates the effects of images of God on an assortment of attitudes. This study unites these two strands of research to provide an account of the association between religious belief and gender ideology. Using data from a national random survey and multivariate analysis, I examine whether a masculine image of God is significantly associated with a more conservative gender ideology. The results demonstrate that viewing God as a “he” is robustly associated with a more traditional gender ideology.

scholarly journals Finding the Image of God: Searching the ‘Sublime’ through works of Rene Descartes and H.P Lovecraft

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 90-100
Author(s):  
Sayan Chattopadhyay
Keyword(s):  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Ontological Argument ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Images Of God ◽  
The Sublime ◽  
The World ◽  
Comparative Methodology ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Image Of God

This study explores the “Sublime” and aims at clarifying the very ‘understood’ as well as ‘misunderstood’ figure or image of God(s) and showing how the established and vivid definitions of the Almighty can be discarded with the help of certain ‘Infinist’ concepts and the ‘De-Humanization’ of God. It also aims at presenting a new perspective towards the understanding of the ‘humanization’ that happened and shows the loop-holes in its definition i.e. given to date all around the world. This paper focuses upon searching the acceptability and validity of Rene Descartes’ Ontological Argument, through which I examine the image of God as I find the image of God being repeated  and, therefore, I would also raise the understandings from the Ontological Argument which is later debated through the concept of “theodicy” by Leibniz and which is altered and given an altered definition by H.P Lovecraft in the era of modernization. There has been a repeatation in the understanding of God and it’s Image. Infinism supports my statement, as it speaks of this Literature loop which is present and misunderstood very commonly as something new. A comparative methodology has been used in order to study the various theories upon God or Sublime from different ages, in order to study the changing images of God and the reasons behind it. The article presents my unique understanding of God that is different from the romantic understanding and the concept propogated in Monotheism.

scholarly journals MAN AND HIS QUALITY AS AN IMAGE OF GOD IN PATRISTIC THINKING

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
Edvica POPA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Patristic Literature ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The One ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
The Church

The notion of divine image is generously described by the patristic literature, each of the authors trying to identify the content of this special characteristic of human being, considered (in different positions) the defining element of the created rational being, indicating the possibility of opening to God not through something external, but from the inside of the human being. Since when they speak of God, the Church Fathers do not consider the reality of the one being, but that of the three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as when the question of the image of God is raised, they emphasize that this the image by which human nature is conformed is the image of the Son, or the image of the Word. In this article I set out to draw some points on this patristic feature of the Eastern Fathers.

scholarly journals Herezje wczesnochrześcijańskie – zagadnienia wprowadzające

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Bogdan Czyżewski
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Times ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Church

In the times of the Church Fathers the notion of heresy was related to the false doctrine what became the cause of derogations from the unity of the Church. It was a false tenet about God, hence the Fathers of the Church tried to define not only mistakes created within the Church, but also to develop orthodox doctrine. Due to the vastness of the this subject authors and texts defining heresies were se­lected. Firstly, attention was drawn on the Greek term a†resij contained in pagan literature and the writings of the New Testament, which allowed to see what was the impact, especially the biblical definition of heresy, on the understanding of the early Christian writers, especially before the first Council of Nice in 325. It was also necessary to ask about the origin of heresy and its characteristics. Fathers af­firmed unequivocally that their creation were associated mainly with making the wrong choices. The result of this were incorrect relations of heretics to the truth and to the Church, wrong image of God and abiding in stubbornness. Fathers also attempted to define more precisely the scope of meaning of schism and heresy, which are concepts often used as synonyms.

scholarly journals DESOCIDENTALIZAR O CRISTIANISMO

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (110) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Víctor Codina
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Local Churches ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Church

Em toda a Igreja surgem vozes pedindo que o cristianismo não continue a identificar-se com a cultura ocidental, mas se abra às diferentes culturas e nelas se inculture, dando continuidade ao dinamismo missionário da Igreja primitiva que o Vaticano II retomou. A ocidentalização do cristianismo, embora tenha produzido frutos positivos, também produziu uma série de efeitos negativos na vivência e expressão da fé cristã, que é necessário corrigir: intelectualismo racionalista, dualismo, imagem de Deus mais ligada ao poder que ao amor e compaixão. Temse a impressão que Atenas predomina sobre Jerusalém. Algumas crises em diversos setores da Igreja podem ser debitadas a esta identificação da fé com a cultura ocidental. Tanto a existência da Igreja cristã Oriental quanto a da Igreja Latino americana mostram que a desocidentalização e a inculturação não são impossíveis. As diferentes configurações das Igrejas locais não podem ser consideradas suspeitas, mas uma exigência da catolicidade da Igreja universal.ABSTRACT: From the entire Church several voices are demanding that Christianity does not continue to identify itself with Western culture, but it welcomes different cultures and incultures in them, moving forth the primitive church’s missionary dynamism that the Second Vatican council has reestablished. Despite some positive fruits, Christianity’s Westernizing has produced several negative effects in Christian life and faith expression which are necessary to correct: rationalist intellectualism, dualism, an image of God more connected to power than to love and compassion. It seems that Athens triumphs over Jerusalem. Some crises in several dimensions of the church are results of the identification faith-Western culture. Both the existence of the Eastern and Latin American Church shows that the de-westernizing and inculturation is not impossible. Different configurations of local churches cannot be considered with suspicion, but they are a fair demand of the church’s universal catholicity.

Religious Coping Among Rural Clergy: Measuring Ways in Which Rural Clergy Draw on Coping Strategies Informed by Their Theological Beliefs

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102
Author(s):  
Christine Brewster
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Religious Coping ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Gain Control ◽  
Rural Churches ◽  
Images Of God ◽  
Work Related ◽  
The Church

Following the recent decline in stipendiary clergy numbers in the Church of England and the consequent amalgamation of numerous rural benefices, enormous demands have been placed on many rural clergy. Potential stressors include ‘overextension’ and ‘inadequate resources’, which can cause poor work-related psychological health. Folkman and Lazarus (1988), whose work is firmly rooted in the ‘secular’ psychological tradition, contend that in order to survive in times of stress, people need to employ coping practices whereby they can ‘manage’ the personal and/or environmental stressors which ‘tax’ or ‘exceed’ their personal resources. Pargament (1997), however, believes that religious beliefs and religious experience are also important, and he suggests that the psychology of religion and coping ‘bridges a deep psychological tradition of helping people take care of what they can in times of stress with a rich religious tradition of helping people accept their limitations and look beyond themselves for assistance in troubling times’ (p. 9). The present study examines the coping strategies of a sample of 722 Church of England rural clergy who are responsible for three or more rural churches, following their completion of the ‘RCOPE Measure of Religious Coping’ (Pargament, Koenig and Perez, 2000). The data produced suggest that the religious coping strategies most frequently used by rural clergy in multi-church benefices, are ‘benevolent religious reappraisal’ (to find ‘meaning’), ‘collaborative religious coping’ and ‘active religious surrender’ (to gain ‘control’), ‘religious purification/forgiveness’, ‘spiritual connection’ and ‘marking religious boundaries’ (to gain comfort and closeness to God) and ‘seeking support from clergy and church members’ and ‘religious helping’ (to gain ‘intimacy with others and closeness to God’). The data demonstrate that rural clergy certainly draw on images of God that may promote healthy responses to significant stressors, but that they also employ those that may be detrimental to effective coping, and it is suggested that the provision by the church, of educational programmes focusing on religious coping strategies, might lead to the enhancement of work-related psychological health among rural clergy.

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