scholarly journals Scripture, Mishnah, and Confessions

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
PAUL R. GILCHRIST
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
History Of ◽  
Law Of Moses ◽  
The Church

Abstract: “Scripture, Mishnah, and the Confessions” examines the rabbinic sayings of the Pharisees at the time of Christ, the “oral law of Moses” that ultimately was written down in A.D. 200. These Mishnaic interpretations thought to apply the Old Testament to their new culture. The author notes that church leaders, wittingly or unwittingly, elevate their formal documents to the same level of authority in seeking to adjust to changing cultures. This tendency is observed in the history of the church, whether Romanism or liberalism, fundamentalism or evangelicalism, and sometimes in confessional church circles.

Die koninkryk van God in die Ou Testament: ’n Kort oorsig

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel F. O'Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Real Difference ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
The Past ◽  
To Come ◽  
Psalm 22 ◽  
The Church ◽  
Technical Terms

The kingdom of God in the Old Testament: A brief survey. The kingdom of God is a central concept in the teaching of Jesus, but the question posed by this article is the following: What does the Old Testament say about the kingdom of God? Several Old Testament terms convey the concept of kingdom, kingship and rule of God. This article focuses on the Hebrew and Aramaic ‘technical’ terms for kingdom: mamlākâ, malkût, mělûkâ and malkû. One finds only a few Old Testament references where these terms are directly connected to God, most of them in the post-exilic literature: 1 Chronicles 17:14; 28:5; 29:11; 2 Chronicles 13:8; Psalm 22:29; 103:19; 145:11–13; Daniel 2:44; 3:33 (4:3); 4:31 (4:34); 6:27; 7:14, 18, 27; Obadiah 21. A brief study of these specific references leads to a few preliminary conclusions: The kingdom of God refers to a realm and the reign of God, the God of the kingdom is depicted in different ways, God’s kingdom is eternal and incomparable with earthly kingdoms, the scope of the kingdom is particularistic and universalistic, the Old Testament testifies about a kingdom that is and one that is yet to come, et cetera. It seems that there is no real difference when comparing the ‘kingdom of God’ with the ‘God is King’ passages. One cannot unequivocally declare that ‘kingdom of God’ is the central concept in the Old Testament. However, we must acknowledge that Jesus’s teaching about the kingdom of God did not evolve in a vacuum. His followers probably knew about the Old Testament perspective on the kingdom of God.Contribution: The concept ‘kingdom of God’ is relevant for the church in South Africa, especially congregations who strive to be missional. Unfortunately, the Old Testament perspective was neglected in the past. The purpose of this brief survey is to stimulate academics and church leaders in their further reflection on the kingdom of God.

scholarly journals “Varii errores qui ab origine mundi emerserunt”. The semantic scope of the term “heresy” in Philastrius’ of Brescia Diversarum hereseon liber

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 315-325
Author(s):  
Mariusz Szram
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Rule Of Faith ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Semantic Scope

The bishop of Brescia, Philastrius, author of the first Latin catalogue of he­resies, written between 380 and 388, presented in his treaty an extremely large number of heterodox movements: 28 within Judaism and 128 in early Christianity. This comes as a result of a wide understanding of the term heresis. For Philastrius this term was synonymous with the term error, recognized as any deviation from the universal truth in the history of the world, inspired by Satan as “the father of lies”, ocurring primarily in Judaism and Christianity. Among the early Christian views defined by the bishop of Brescia as heresy five groups can be distinguished. The first group includes mainly the erroneous views on fundamental theological questions contained in the rule of faith, such as the concept of a creator God and saviour Jesus Christ. The second set of he­resies, closely related with the previous one, contains the erroneous doctrines of anthropology, such as questioning the resurrection of the human body or the view of the materiality of the human soul. The third group includes the views related to the misinterpretation of Scripture, especially exaggerated literal interpretations of the texts of the Old Testament, as well as the cosmological views which do not agree with descriptions contained within the Bible. The fourth group contains the moral issues related to the based on laxism or rigorism way of life, as well as to the attitude of lack of deference to the laws of the Church, but non-threatening the primary truths of the Christian faith. The fifth group of heresies includes the movements defined by the authors of the late patristic period as a schizm, while the term schisma is not at all used by the bishop of Brescia in his work. The semantic scope of the term heresis in Philastrius’ treaty went beyond the noncompliance with the regula fidei. According to the bishop of Brescia each offense – whether in doctrinal teaching or practice of life, as well as with regard to the understanding of the text of Scripture – is a heresy because it offends God and the Church. Therefore, in Philastrius opinion one should not differentiate between superior and minor error, but equally condemn them as attitudes directed against God as the Father of Truth.

The Church of the Reigning Lord

1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
R. Stuart Louden
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Pauline Epistles ◽  
History Of ◽  
Four Square ◽  
The Church

We can trace a revival of theology in the Reformed Churches in the last quarter of a century. The new theological interest merits being called a revival of theology, for there has been a fresh and more thorough attention given to certain realities, either ignored or treated with scant notice for a considerable time previously.First among such realities now receiving more of the attention which their relevance and authority deserve, is the Bible, the record of the Word of God. There is an invigorating and convincing quality about theology which is Biblical throughout, being based on the witness of the Scriptures as a whole. The valuable results of careful Biblical scholarship had had an adverse effect on theology in so far as theologians had completely separated the Old Testament from the New in their treatment of Biblical doctrine, or in expanding Christian doctrine, had spoken of the theological teaching of the Synoptic Gospels, the Pauline Epistles, the Johannine writings, and so on, as if there were no such thing as one common New Testament witness. It is being seen anew that the Holy Scriptures contain a complete history of God's saving action. The presence of the complete Bible open at the heart of the Church, recalls each succeeding Christian generation to that one history of God's saving action, to which the Church is the living witness. The New Testament is one, for its Lord is one, and Christian theology must stand four-square on the foundation of its whole teaching.

scholarly journals Kerk, volk en owerheid in die 1858-grondwet van die Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek

1995 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
South African ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
The South ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of The South ◽  
The Church

Church, people and government in the  1858 constitution of the South African Republic During the years 1855 to 1858 the South African Republic in the Transvaal created a new constitution. In this constitution a unique relation-ship between church, people and government was visible. This relationship was influenced by the Calvinist confessions of the sixteenth century, the theology of W ά Brakel and orthodox Calvinism, the federal concepts of the Old Testament and republican ideas of the Netherlands and Cape Patriots. It becomes clear that the history of the church in the Transvaal was directly influenced by the general history of the South African Republic.

Justice and peace - a survey of issues

1994 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-64
Author(s):  
Klaus Nürnberger
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Biblical History ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social Critical ◽  
The Church

AbstractThis article offers a condensed survey of justice and peace issues in Christian ethics. It was originally written for an evangelical encyclopedia but was not accepted by the editors, possibly because of its historical critical and social critical stance. It begins with the historical origins of the concepts of law in the Old Testament, namely covenant law and cosmic order, their profound transformations in biblical history and their final form in the New Testament. Then we mention a few important developments in the history of the church from the Constantinian reversal, over the Reformation and the Enlightenment to the modern revolutionary spirit. Then we highlight a few aspects of the modern discussion, such as the accelerating development of science and technology, the emergence of a global, highly imbalanced economy, the rise and fall of Marxist socialism, a renewed upsurge of ethnic sentiments, and so on. Finally we offer a few directives for the contemporary debate, focusing on the relation between justice and peace.

scholarly journals From Scandinavian Missionary Activity to an African local Church: A History of the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (1955 to 2018)

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Muoki Joshua
Keyword(s):  
Local Church ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Oral Narratives ◽  
Financial Instability ◽  
National Institutions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

This article reconstructs the history of a Pentecostal denomination in Kenya that was established by Scandinavian missionaries from two missionary agencies, namely the Norwegian Pentecostal Mission (NPM) and Swedish Free Mission (SFM), during the early 1950s. It relies on oral narratives by early African clerics, missionaries and church leaders as well as archival materials such as minutes, correspondence and reports to argue that the 60-year history of the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK) may be periodised into three major epochs: the period of beginnings (1955–1984); the period of collaboration (1984–1996); and the period of nationalisation (1997–2018). It further contests that the present challenges for the church, such as the schism between Swedish and Norwegian sections, financial instability and the collapse of its national institutions, as well as an over emphasis on rural evangelism and a failure to penetrate the Kenyan urban life, are directly linked to its Scandinavian heritage.

Christological Exegesis and the Interpretation of Metaphors in Old Testament Prophecy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Sujin Pak
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Authorial Intention ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Sacred History

In identifying the history of Christ and the Gospel as the prime content of sacred history, Luther exhibited widespread Christological exegesis of the Old Testament prophets. Calvin read the original histories of the Old Testament prophets analogically to serve as a mirror of God’s providential activity with the church. Metaphor in particular functioned in distinctly different ways in their exegeses. While for Luther, Old Testament metaphors overwhelmingly pointed to the advent of Christ and the Gospel, for Calvin, metaphors—in direct distinction from allegorical reading—served as visual signposts of meaning precisely delimited by authorial intention, the prophet’s historical context, and the literary properties of the text. Such distinctions become consolidated along confessional lines in the next generation so that Christological exegesis and the interpretation of the Old Testament metaphors served as a prime site of Lutheran and Reformed confessional polemics.

Old Testament Prophecy and Protestant Conceptions of Sacred History

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Sujin Pak
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
Stark Contrast ◽  
The Church ◽  
Sacred History

Luther, Swiss Reformed leaders, and Calvin divergently identified the prime content of sacred history. Luther sharply contrasted the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and historical prophecies of Christ in Old Testament prophecy, the latter serving as the prime content. Swiss Reformed exegetes affirmed the history pertaining to the Old Testament prophets and its Christological fulfillment and did not draw a stark contrast between these. Calvin emphasized the histories pertaining to the Old Testament prophets’ time as a mirror for God’s providential activity with the church across time. Luther’s view of sacred history affirmed a clear apocalyptic element, characterized by the expected decline of the Last Days. Calvin’s view almost completely lacked any apocalyptic element, viewing sacred history as a continual march of progress toward the culmination of Christ’s kingdom. Swiss Reformed leaders retained a stronger apocalyptic element, while ultimately affirming a progressive sense of history.

People and Community in the Gospel of Matthew

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenzo Tagawa
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Present State ◽  
Gospel Of Matthew ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law Of Moses ◽  
Theological Thought ◽  
The Church

A number of recent works have attempted to deal with the theological thought of the evangelist Matthew using the method of ‘Redaktionsgeschichte’. But as yet Hans Conzelmann's Matthew has not appeared. Certainly the joint work of G. Bornkamm, G. Barth and H. J. Held, the works of R. Hummel, G. Strecker, K. Stendahl, W. Trilling and others have contributed considerably to this field of study. But at the present time there is no agreement among scholars on the fundamental problem of what is the essential concern of Matthean theology. It is true that the Law of Moses and accordingly the problem of the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies is one of the most important problems for Matthew, and that the present state of the church and the expectation of the eschaton, especially of the last judgement, are also elements indispensable for understanding the thoughts of the evangelist. But the fundamental problem is how to discover the basis of Matthew's theology, by means of which the interpreter can understand these individual elements as organically combined.

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