scholarly journals The Cruelty of Supersessionism: The Case of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Religions ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
John E. Phelan

The impact of the Shoah on Christian biblical and theological studies has been significant. The Christian doctrine of supersessionism, the replacement of the Jews and Judaism by the Christian church, has come in for particular criticism. Some more traditional scholars have either ignored these critiques or suggested that they were shaped not by critical study of the biblical text but by Christian guilt. It is also argued that the supersessionist argument is so thoroughly woven into the Christian story that extracting it would destroy the story itself. For some, it appears that there is no Christianity without supersessionism. This paper argues not only that this challenge to supersessionism was indeed the result of post-Shoah reflection, but that such challenges were appropriate and necessary. It does this in part by considering the case of German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer whose early citations of the “teachings of contempt” were challenged by the violence of Nazis and the clarity of their intent to destroy both the Jews and, eventually, the church. A non-supersessionist Christianity is both possible and necessary, not simply to preserve the relationship between Christians and Jews, but to enable both communities to engage in the work of “consummation” and “redemption” that God has entrusted to them.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
Rotimi Williams Omotoye

Pentecostalism as a new wave of Christianity became more pronounced in 1970's and beyond in Nigeria. Since then scholars of Religion, History, Sociology and Political Science have shown keen interest in the study of the Churches known as Pentecostals because of the impact they have made on the society. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was established by Pastor Josiah Akindayomi in Lagos,Nigeria in 1952. After his demise, he was succeeded by Pastor Adeboye Adejare Enock. The problem of study of this research was an examination of the expansion of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to North America, Caribbean and Canada. The missionary activities of the church could be regarded as a reversed mission in the propagation of Christianity by Africans in the Diaspora. The methodology adopted was historical. The primary and secondary sources of information were also germane in the research. The findings of the research indicated that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in North America by Immigrants from Nigeria. Pastor Adeboye Enock Adejare had much influence on the Church within and outside the country because of his charisma. The Church has become a place of refuge for many immigrants. They are also contributing to the economy of the United States of America. However, the members of the Church were faced with some challenges, such as security scrutiny by the security agencies. In conclusion, the RCCGNA was a denomination that had been accepted and embraced by Nigerians and African immigrants in the United States of America.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-49
Author(s):  
Wimpie Tanojo

The ministries of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia are the foundation of a church, meaning that a church that is aware of its duty and calling on this earth must rely on these three ministries. It can be said that the true main duty of the church is reflected in the ministry of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia. Based on this main task, the church must be able to demonstrate and impart the life of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia with the aim of impacting and changing human life. This is what the Ressud Sudirman Surabaya Indonesian Christian Church is aware of in the context of its duties and vocation as a church that has been present in the midst of the Surabaya community, of course its presence is required to fulfill God's plan to become salt and light, a blessing for the surrounding community in general and the congregation in particular. through Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia's ministry. This research uses a descriptive method. The author directly conducts research, both literature and field research. Bibliography that contains various theoretical data related to topic material from various sources of information which contains important statements to support the accuracy of the research. In addition, this research is also complemented by field research either through questionnaires or direct interviews with several trusted sources including congregants, church activists, servants, sympathizers so that the results of the research present a strong and accurate combination because they are supported by strong theoretical aspects but are also followed by field research evidence. The purpose of this study: first to realize how important the services of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia are for the growth of the Indonesian Christian Church in Ressud Surabaya in particular and to the Lord's church in general. Second, the Church is aware of her duty and calling on this earth which has been mandated by God to be her witness so that the impact is evident in church growth both in quality and quantity. Third, the Church of God has the correct concept of the impact of the ministry of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia on church growth from the perspective of Missiology, Theology and Ecclesiology. Based on the research conducted by the author, the results obtained are how the extraordinary impact of the services of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia on the growth of the Indonesian Christian Church Ressud Surabaya.   This is evidenced by the increasing number of church members from year to year and the increasing quality of the congregation's faith. By having a correct understanding of the ministry of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia, the congregation will be more active and diligent in carrying out the duties and responsibilities that have been mandated by God to become a blessing, to become salt and light in this world, in various forms of diaconial services such as selling rice. cheap for the congregation and partly distributed by the surrounding community, cheap medical treatment and even free for the congregation and the poor by establishing a polyclinic "Waluyojati", scholarships for underprivileged congregations ranging from elementary, junior high and even vocational levels, house renovation program held 1 a year one to two times for the congregation. In the form of Koinonia, it can be seen from the congregation that is divided into several sectors or regions, the congregation will continue to grow and increase even out of the city, namely Lamongan, Denpasar and even to Batam, the Denpasar congregation was institutionalized in 2003, while in the city of Surabaya the Indonesian Christian Church Lebak Jaya was matured in 1994 and the Kutisari area in 1998 was instituted simultaneously in 1998 the Batam Indonesian Christian Church was also institutionalized where the Batam Indonesia Christian Church is the fruit of the ministry of several Indonesian Christian Churches including the Indonesian Christian Church Ressud in it. The goal is to be a witness through this service, but the most important of this research is that the Indonesian Christian Church congregation in Ressud is a congregation that has marturia diaconiality, while the implementation of Marturia directly or verbally is not optimal, this is also acknowledged by the council is a local church based on interviews and research based on a questionnaire.


2000 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Nicholas H Taylor

AbstractThis study examines such data as are available regarding the impact of the crisis which confronted Jewish communities in many parts of the Roman Empire during the reign ofGaius Caligula (3 7-41 CE). Particular attention is given to Antioch on the Orontes, and to the Christian community which emerged there and was to become a major force both in the spread of Christianity and in the conversion of Gentiles to a hitherto Jewish movement. It is argued that the crisis was a major catalyst in changing the character of the Christian church in Antioch, so that it acquired an identity distinct from that of the Jewish community. The reappraisal of eschatological expectations occasioned by the crisis led to the conviction that Gentiles must be included in the Church before the parousia of Christ.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Freedom Nanuru ◽  
Lomas Beatris Limpong

Background of this study is the church statement that empowerment is essential to deal with the impact of globalization on the welfare of the people but in reality is not implemented properly. The Church has the financial resources but very few are used for empowerment programs. This fact indicates that the finances for the church is a “sacred thing”, so it can’t be used to financeempowerment programs, especially business programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between negative outlook of GMIH Service Area Tobelo about the business world with the actions that do not want to get involved in it. This study usesquantitative and qualitative methods. Data collection techniques used were questionnaires, indepth interviews, and observation. Data analysis technique is a combination of quantitative analysis (Pearson Product Moment) and qualitative analysis (triangulation of data, methodology, and theory). The results of this study indicate that there is a relationship between a negative view of the church (members GMIH) about the business world with their actions that do not want to get involved in it. Values obtained from the analysis is 0.79 were categorized as high relationships.


Kairos ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-90
Author(s):  
Ervin Budiselić

Presuming that within Evangelical Christianity there is a crisis of biblical interpretation, this article seeks to address the issue, especially since Evangelicals view the existence of the church as closely connected to the proclamation of the Truth. Starting with a position that Evangelical hermeneutics is not born in a vacuum, but is the result of a historical process, the first part of the article introduces the problem of sola and solo scriptura, pointing out some problematic issues that need to be addressed. In the second part, the article discusses patristic hermeneutics, especially: a) the relationship between Scripture and tradition embodied in regula fidei and; b) theological presuppositions which gave birth to allegorical and literal interpretations of Scripture in Alexandria and Antioch. In the last part of the article, based on lessons from the patristic era, certain revisions of the Evangelical practice of the interpretation of Scripture are suggested. Particularly, Evangelicals may continue to hold the Bible as the single infallible source for Christian doctrine, continue to develop the historical-grammatical method particularly in respect to the issue of the analogy of faith in exegetical process, but also must recognize that the Bible cannot in toto play the role of the rule of faith or the analogy of faith. Something else must also come into play, and that “something” would definitely be the recovery of the patristic period “as a kind of doctrinal canon.”


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Rouse

AbstractDisabled individuals form a constituency often marginalized in society. The Christian Church must realize that participation in the missio dei, requires the redemption of individual identity. Thus, societal structures which produce stigmatizing labels must be challenged appropriately. Pentecostals also face unique challenges in regards to the relationship between 'healing' and 'disability'. Focusing upon the story of Mephibosheth, one can construct a 'redemptive reading' which allows for the voice of the disabled to be redeemed. A Foucaultan lens is employed to account for issues of power, structure and society applicable to the plight of individuals with disabilities. Attention is also given to the place of the disabled in Israelite culture, as further illustrated from other Jewish sources. Finally, Mephibosheth's voice is conceived as a 'sign' for the Sitz-im-Leben of the disabled universally. Approaching the text from this particular hermeneutic can ultimately empower the Church (and particularly Pentecostals) to redeem the identity of the disabled in community.


Exchange ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fortune Sibanda ◽  
Tompson Makahamadze ◽  
Richard Shadreck Maposa

AbstractThe paper discusses the socio-economic and religious impact of Operation Murambatsvina on Johane Marange Apostolic Church in Masvingo, a city and Zvishavane, a mining town. It adopts a comparative approach in order to demonstrate the extent to which this phenomenon impacted on the religious and socio-economic activities of this movement in the two urban centres. While the majority of the church members were negatively affected, there are some who unintentionally benefited from this operation. The church was threatened numerically and theologically as some members were forced to translocate to rural areas. It is argued that in spite of the continued disruptions by the government and municipal authorities, the Vapositori of Marange continue to operate their informal business and missionary activities without necessarily compromising their traditions. The paper uses the 'hawks and doves' metaphor to demonstrate the relationship between the marauding government and municipal police and the vulnerable Vapositori during and in the post-Murambatsvina era.


2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 717-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
DMITRI LEVITIN

ABSTRACTMatthew Tindal's Rights of the Christian church (1706), which elicited more than thirty contemporary replies, was a major interjection in the ongoing debates about the relationship between church and state in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century England. Historians have usually seen Tindal's work as an exemplar of the ‘republican civil religion’ that had its roots in Hobbes and Harrington, and putatively formed the essence of radical whig thought in the wake of the Glorious Revolution. But this is to misunderstand theRights. To comprehend what Tindal perceived himself as doing we need to move away from the history of putatively ‘political’ issues to the histories of ecclesiastical jurisprudence, patristic scholarship, and biblical exegesis. The contemporary significance of Tindal's work was twofold: methodologically, it challenged Anglican patristic scholarship as a means of reaching consensus on modern ecclesiological issues; positively, it offered a powerful argument for ecclesiastical supremacy lying in crown-in-parliament, drawing on a legal tradition stretching back to Christopher St Germain (1460–1540) and on Tindal's own legal background. Tindal's text provides a case study for the tentative proposition that ‘republicanism’, whether as a programme or a ‘language’, had far less impact on English anticlericalism and contemporary debates over the church–state relationship than the current historiography suggests.


Ceļš ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 87-102
Author(s):  
Linards Rozentāls ◽  
◽  
Ieva Salmane-Kuļikovska ◽  
Ilze Ūdre

The article “Do We Put a Full Stop?” describes the development of digitalization within the Christian church, which was significantly accelerated by the impact of the crisis caused by Covid-19, based on several surveys conducted in Europe, including Latvia. The Covid-19 crisis has necessitated the rapid development of various digital formats of proclaiming the Gospel. They attracted more people than the previous analogue worship services. However, a distinction should be made between streaming analogue formats and creating a specific digital offer characterized by digital belonging, participation, and interactive relationships. It is not clear at this moment whether these formats have a sustainable character or whether they are a transitory phenomenon. The digitalization of church work has also raised issues such as digital Holy Communion, the advantages of a network of small, horizontally structured communities versus large, hierarchically formed congregations and churches with a large analogue infrastructure. The development of the digital church alongside the proclamation in analogue formats is inevitable. The future of the church is hybrid – analogue and digital. Digital formats will develop alongside analogue without replacing them, while the analogue church will be enriched by the influence of public digital church platforms. The digital church is not an adjunct, but an important and essential part of the work of the congregation and the church.


Author(s):  
Simon Yarrow

‘Early modern sainthood’ describes the impact of the 16th-century Reformation on the image of the Christian saint. The Reformation, triggered by Augustinian friar Martin Luther, was a struggle for the highest stakes between fierce adversaries over the relationship between church and state, the authority and mission of the Church, the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, and the conscience of every soul in Christendom. It spurred immense intellectual creativity, fuelled iconoclasm and bitter polemic, and brought protracted war and martyrdom. It ultimately divided Europe into the Catholic states of southern Europe and those states of northern Europe whose princes embraced various kinds of Protestantism.


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