From Agent to Witness: Reading Stanley Hauerwas in the Korean Context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heejun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Theological Anthropology ◽  
Distinctive Character ◽  
Stanley Hauerwas ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Church

I seek to introduce Stanley Hauerwas’s understanding of the church as a communal agent, in order to strengthen Angella Son’s concept of the Christian as an agent of joy. After briefly demonstrating the shortcomings inherent in Son’s concept of an agent of joy, which is based on Karl Barth’s theological anthropology, I show that Son’s notion of agency lacks the sense that it is the community that bears the stories of God in Christ. Individual Christians are called through and to the church, where the distinctive character and story of God, as revealed in Christ, are embodied through the life of both church and Christians.

Bonhoeffer’s Theological Anthropology and the Greater Tradition, Part II

2019 ◽  
pp. 79-112
Author(s):  
Jens Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Theological Anthropology ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Relational Understanding ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Christian Humanism ◽  
The World ◽  
In Christ ◽  
God's Image ◽  
The Church ◽  
Ethical View

Chapter 3 continues to outline parallels in patristic and Bonhoeffer’s theology. The first two segments focus on the humanist significance of the church as Christ’s body. Bonhoeffer’s relational understanding of God’s image disallows an individualistic understanding of salvation. His view of the church as “Christ existing as community,” with its transformative ethical implications mirrors Irenaeus’ and Augustine’s ecclesiology. In Bonhoeffer’s deeply sacramental understanding of the church as God’s presence in the world his theology of Stellvertretung, the eucharist, and his ethics converge into a depiction of Christianity as transformative humanism. The chapter then elucidates the biblical roots of “being in Christ,” along with the often overlooked, deeply Trinitarian structure of this participatory ontology in Bonhoeffer. The remainder of the chapter compares his anthropology to the teaching of deification that defines patristic theology. Once deification is properly understood as becoming Christlike, Bonhoeffer’s Christian humanism aligns most clearly with the synergistic, ethical view of the Cappadocian fathers of the Christian life as becoming truly human in conformity to Christ.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Mason
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Communal Experience ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Church ◽  
Francis Of Assisi

This chapter locates Rossetti in the context of the book’s ecotheological argument, which traces an ecological love command in her writing through her engagement with Tractarianism, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the Church Fathers, and Francis of Assisi. It establishes her Anglo-Catholic imagining of the cosmos as a fabric of participation and communal experience embodied in Christ. The first section reads Rossetti in the context of current Victorian ecocriticism, which underplays the role of Christianity in the development of nineteenth-century environmentalism. The next sections question critical readings of Rossetti as a reclusive thinker and argue instead for an educated and politicized Christian for whom indifference to the spiritual is complicit with an environmental crisis in which the weak and vulnerable suffer most. This introduction also refers to the wider field of Rossetti studies and introduces her reading of grace and apocalypse as a major contribution to the intradiscipline of Christianity and ecology.

scholarly journals Die NHKA op reis na inklusiwiteit I: Die anatomie van ’n gefragmenteerde/eskatologiese ekklesiologie

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Buitendag ◽  
Tanya Van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
Theological Anthropology ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Growing Pains ◽  
The Church

The NRCA en route to inclusivity I: The anatomy of a fragmented/eschatological ecclesiology This is the first in a two-part series that aims to examine the growing pains the Netherdutch Reformed Church is experiencing in its journey towards Christian inclusivity. This first article examines the fragmentation in the Church’s understanding of ecclesiology, which becomes apparent in the debates concerning the meaning and range of inclusivity in ecclesiology. The roots of this fragmentation are examined. It is concluded that the root of the fragmentation is an eschatological understanding of the essence of the church, which is, in turn, due to a fragmented view of humanity. In order for the Church to continue its journey towards inclusivity it should revisit its understanding of humanity and theological anthropology. The second article will focus on the content and implications of a revisited theological anthroplogy.

Mengkaji Bahaya Sinkretisme dalam Konteks Gereja

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54
Author(s):  
Yesri E. Talan
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Spiritual Growth ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Absolute Truth ◽  
In Christ ◽  
True Knowledge ◽  
The Church

Syncretism is not just phenomenology in the church but is a real and serious problem. Syncretism is a mixture of Christian faith and culture that results in the congregation losing its identity as a believer, blurred beliefs and do not have absolute truth. Syncretism in the church is a real and serious problem in the life of the church because it negatively impacts spiritual growth.The church cannot grow in true knowledge about Jesus Christ because of the dualism of belief, so Jesus Christ is not the only way of truth and life. The method used in this paper is theological qualitative research. Qualitative is a research method that emphasizes an in-depth understanding of a problem with the process of observation and interview. Conducting literature review and exposition of verses related to the discussion material. This research is descriptive. The results obtained are found the danger of syncretism to the church, namely: the absence of absolute truth in Christ because of the dualism that affects the spiritual growth of the church. Abstrak Sinkretisme bukan hanya fenomenologi di gereja tetapi menjadi masalah nyata dan serius. Sinkretisme adalah percampuran antara iman Kristen dengan budaya yang mengakibatkan jemaat kehilangan identitasnya sebagai orang percaya, kepercayaannya kabur dan tidak memiliki kebenaran absolut. Sinkretisme adalah masalah serius dalam kehidupan gereja karena memiliki dampak negatif pada pertumbuhan rohani. Gereja tidak dapat bertumbuh dalam pengenalan yang benar akan Yesus Kristus karena dualisme kepercayaan, sehingga Yesus Kristus bukanlah satu-satunya jalan kebenaran dan kehidupan. Metode yang dipakai dalam peulisan ini adalah kualitatif teologi. Kualitatif adalah metode penelitian yang menekankan pada suatu pemahaman secara mendalam terhadap suatu masalah dengan proses observasi dan wawancara. Melakukan kajian pustaka dan eksposisi ayat-ayat yang berkaitan dengan materi pembahasan. Penelitian ini bersifat deskriptif. Hasil yang diperoleh adalah ditemukan adanya bahaya sinkretisme terhadap jemaat, yaitu: tidak adanya kebenaran mutlak di dalam Kritus karena adanya dualisme yang mempengaruhi pertumbuhan rohani jemaat.

Church and Christ in the Work of Stanley Hauerwas

Ecclesiology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-326
Author(s):  
Victoria Lorrimar
Keyword(s):  
Entire Life ◽  
Stanley Hauerwas ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The Church

Stanley Hauerwas has attracted much criticism for his ecclesiocentric approach to theology. As a result of his emphasis on the faithful practice of virtues in community for salvation, he has been accused of Pelagianism. He has also been charged with showing interest in Jesus primarily as an exemplar, rather than for himself. The adequacy of Hauerwas’ ecclesiology is tested here against its implications for Christology. Hauerwas conceives of Jesus primarily as the autobasileia, and emphasises the importance of his entire life and teachings in addition to his death and resurrection. Two questions concerning Hauerwas’ Christology are explored: (1) What did Christ achieve at the cross? (2) What constitutes salvation and how is it mediated to ensuing generations? This paper examines whether the church does indeed usurp the place of Christ in salvation in Hauerwas’ thought, as suggested by Healy.

scholarly journals The ethics of absolute relativity: An eschatological ontological model for interpreting the Sermon on the Mount

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Van Oudtshoorn
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction Of Reality ◽  
Sermon On The Mount ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The World ◽  
Everyday World ◽  
Ontological Model ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Church

Jesus� imperatives in the Sermon on the Mount continue to play a significant role in Christian ethical discussions. The tension between the radical demands of Jesus and the impossibility of living this out within the everyday world has been noted by many scholars. In this article, an eschatological-ontological model, based on the social construction of reality, is developed to show that this dialectic is not necessarily an embarrassment to the church but, instead, belongs to the essence of the church as the recipient of the Spirit of Christ and as called by him to exist now in terms of the coming new age that has already been realised in Christ. The absolute demands of Jesus� imperatives, it is argued, must relativise all other interpretations of reality whilst the world, in turn, relativises Jesus� own definition of what �is� and therefore also the injunctions to his disciples on how to live within this world. This process of radical relativisation provides a critical framework for Christian living. The church must expect, and do, the impossible within this world through her faith in Christ who recreates and redefines reality. The church�s ethical task, it is further argued, is to participate with the Spirit in the construction of signs of this new reality in Christ in this world through her actions marked by faith, hope and love.

scholarly journals Christ has Broken the Barrier Between Nations (Eph. 2:11-22): Challenge to Nigerian Christians As Peace Initiators

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Ikechukwu Ezeogamba ◽  
Francis Chuks Madukasi
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Difference ◽  
Library Research ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Church

The fundamental difference between the Jews and Gentiles is circumcision. This fact introduced a serious barrier between them. This is to the extent that they could not mingle or relate cordially. Thus, their relationship was like the one that exists between lepers and the healthy. Hence, Gentiles were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants of the fatherhood. Christ is the unifying force between the circumcised and the uncircumcised. With his blood, he absolved the Gentiles of all that used to distance them and made the circumcised to know that he is the end of the Law (Rom 10:4). Thus, through his blood he destroyed the hostility that used to be between them. Vv 19-22 expresses the value of this newly founded unity in Christ. Despite the above, there is still divisions in the Church today, hence, absence of peace in Christendom. This article therefore answers why it is so. It aims at showing that rivalry that exists among believers, exposes their insincerity and hypocrisy. It argues that if all Christians understand the mind of Christ in destroying the barrier that existed between nations (Gentiles and Jews), then the whole Christendom would have remained peaceful and truly under one head. Unless this happens, there will be no end to sectarianism, tribalism, and nepotism among Christian believers in Nigeria. The outcome of this article will be significant to all Christians. The method will be exegetical analysis of Ephesians 2:11-22 and Library research.

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