scholarly journals ‘Wat jy ook op die aarde mag bind, sal in die hemel gebonde wees, en wat jy ook op die aarde mag ontbind, sal in die hemel ontbonde wees’ (Matt 16:19)

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theuns F.J. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
New Teacher ◽  
Good News ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
History Of ◽  
Final Interpretation ◽  
The Law ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
The Church

‘What you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven’ (Mt 16:19) This article has been a homiletic reflection on the well-known words in Matthew 16:19. The explication and application of these words have been theologically contextualised with respect to current debates amongst theologians in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk. The original meaning of this verse relates to the rabbinical tradition of interpretation of the Torah. Matthew pictures Jesus as the new teacher (like Moses), who gave a new interpretation of the law. In rabbinical language, his teachings are ‘binding’ and ‘loosening’, or, as translated in the Good News Bible (1933), they permit and prohibit. In the history of the reformed tradition, this verse was mostly interpreted from a judicial perspective as the authority to excommunicate or to include. To a great extent and especially in certain circles, the tradition of interpretation became static because of the authority of a ‘final’ interpretation attached to the creeds of the church. However, the original meaning of this verse is the authority, and commands us continuously to interpret the meaning of the gospel in the context of the present-day situation.

The Development of the Canon Law Since 1500 A. D.

1940 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivan A. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Canon Law ◽  
The Body ◽  
Moral Sense ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Ecclesiastical Authority ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Church ◽  
Straight Rod

The body of law dealing with discipline, polity, and sacramental administration which has grown up in the history of the church is ordinarily styled Canon Law (jus canonicum), because it is a collection of canons. Canon (derived from the Greek kanon) means a rule, in a material and moral sense. Its original meaning was a straight rod. In apostolic times it signified the truth of Christianity as an authoritative standard of life and a statement of doctrine in general. It is, therefore, easy to understand how the word kanon later came to mean the ecclesiastical legislation which governed the conduct of the faithful. The excellent definition given by Archbishop Cicognani. states that “The Canon Law may be denned as ‘the body of laws made by the lawful ecclesiastical authority for the government of the Church’.”

Luke's Understanding of Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Dialogues with the Reformed Tradition

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-101
Author(s):  
Robert P. Menzies
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Good News ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Spirit Baptism ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn this article, Menzies notes that Reformed theologians have tended to read Luke's writings in the light of Paul's epistles. As a result, their theological reflection on the Spirit has centered more on his work in the Word and sacraments, the 'inner witness' of the Spirit, and less on his mission to the world. Additionally, this methodology has encouraged Reformed scholars to associate the Pentecostal gift (i.e. Spirit baptism) with conversion and regeneration. However, through an examination of key passages in Luke-Acts, Menzies argues that Luke has a unique contribution to make to a holistic biblical theology of the Spirit. Luke's understanding of baptism in the Holy Spirit is different from that of Paul. It is missiological rather than soteriological in nature. The Spirit of Pentecost is, in reality, the Spirit for others - the Spirit that compels and empowers the church to bring the 'good news' of Jesus to a lost and dying world. It is this Lukan, missiological perspective that shapes a Pentecostal understanding of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Menzies concludes that the clarity and vigor of Luke's message is lost when his narrative is read through Pauline lenses. Luke has a distinctive voice and it is a voice the church needs to hear.

The Role of Godly Magistrates in the Church: Melanchthon as Luther's Interpreter and Collaborator

1998 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Estes
Keyword(s):  
Public Events ◽  
Intimate Connection ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church

Our knowledge of Melanchthon's thought on the role of godly magistrates in the church is surprisingly incomplete, despite the generally acknowledged importance of that thought. Most Reformation scholars are familiar with Melanchthon's argument that the Christian magistrate is, as custodian of both tables of the Law and as foremost member of the church, the incumbent of an office established for the sake of the church and thus burdened with responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of true religion. Most know too that this argument became the standard Lutheran justification for what is called the cura religionis of the magistrate. Few, however, are aware that it took Melanchthon a good decade to arrive at that doctrine, that he spent a further decade or so refining and developing it, and that during all that time there was an intimate connection between the content of his thought and the course of public events. The reason for this gap in our knowledge is that the history of the development of Melanchthon's thought on the religious duties of secular rulers has not yet been written.

scholarly journals Sprawiedliwość administracyjna w świetle Kodeksu prawa kanonicznego z 1983 r.

2019 ◽  
pp. 161-178
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Leszczyński
Keyword(s):  
Administrative Law ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church

Taking up the value of administration in the law of Church, the author begins his reflections with a look at the history of administration of the Church. Then, he describes the different forms of administrative acts to defne the fundamental forms of administrative recourses. The last part of the author’s reflections is devoted to the conclusions and the future of the administrative law in the Church.

Priests of the Law

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. McSweeney
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
Roman Law ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Legal Professionals ◽  
The Status ◽  
Royal Courts ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law ◽  
New Interpretation

Priests of the Law tells the story of the first people in the history of the common law to think of themselves as legal professionals: the group of justices who wrote the celebrated treatise known as Bracton. It offers a new interpretation of Bracton and its authors. Bracton was not so much an attempt to explain or reform the early common law as it was an attempt to establish the status and authority of the king’s justices. The justices who wrote it were some of the first people to work full-time in England’s royal courts, at a time when they had no obvious model for the legal professional. They found one in an unexpected place: the Roman-law tradition that was sweeping across Europe in the thirteenth century. They modeled themselves on the jurists of Roman law who were teaching in Italy and France. In Bracton and other texts they produced, the justices of the royal courts worked hard to establish that the nascent common-law tradition was just one constituent part of the Roman-law tradition. Through their writing, this small group of people, working in the courts of an island realm, imagined themselves to be part of a broader European legal culture. They made the case that they were not merely servants of the king. They were priests of the law.

scholarly journals Ekumenisiteit as ’n Skrifgefundeerde raamwerk vir kerklike eenheid – ook op die gebied van sendingwerk

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Smit
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Missionary Work ◽  
The Core ◽  
History Of ◽  
Core Characteristics ◽  
The Church

Ecumenicism as a Scripturally-founded framework for ecclesiastical unity – also in missionary work In this article the foundations of a Scripturally-based ecumenicism utilised as a framework within which the dilemma of church division, also in missionary work, can be approached are investigated. The article identifies these foundations as the attributa ecclesiae (the core characteristics of the church), namely unity, catholicity, apostolicity and holiness. The conclusion arrived at is that the purpose of ecumenicism is the unity of the church, because of the catholicity of the church, based on the apostolicity of the church and aimed at the holiness of the church. Within this framework, missionary work should rather focus on cooperation than on emphasising ecclesiastical differences. The concluding issue concerns the boundaries of ecclesiastical cooperation, also in missionary work. Is it possible that different churches within the Reformed tradition can cooperate in missionary fields? Is it furthermore possible that the boundaries can be extended to encompass more than the approach of the Reformed tradition? In which way can churches from the Reformed tradition also cooperate with, for instance, churches from the Lutheran tradition, or with churches from the charismatic or even Roman Catholic traditions? The conclusions arrived at point to the notae ecclesiae (the core marks of the church) as the widest boundary for ecclesiastical cooperation. This approach accommodates the diversity of culture and ethos within the boundaries of the core marks of the church which determine what the church should be like in order to be church of the Lord. In the currently rising ecumenical phase of the history of Christianity the emphasis will increasingly fall on unifying rather than on dividing aspects of the church. The conclusion indicates that the unity of the church, also in missionary work, can only be attained and maintained within the framework of the core characteristics of the church (the attributa ecclesiae) – and that ecumenicism is no longer possible if a church is not recognisable as church of Christ and does not function within the core marks set for the church (the notae ecclesiae).

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