scholarly journals ’n Toets vir Gereformeerde Ekumene

1991 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Helberg
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Present Situation ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Personal Relation ◽  
Personal Character ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Church ◽  
Made In

While there is a universal interest for ecumenical involvement, the Reformed Churches in South Africa (GKSA) suspended relations with the Reformed Ecumenical Council, the only ecumenical movement in which the GKSA has ever been involved. Criticism has been directed at the GKSA for isolating itself and for not being concerned in the relevant problematics of the day. This article indicates what the official relations of the GKSA are, how the GKSA approaches the ecumenical calling in the present situation, what problems exist in this regard, and with what test the GKSA is confronted. In order to do this an attempt is made in this article to determine what the norms for ecumenicity according to the Scriptures are. This approach will be undertaken by examining the central revelation-historical lines which occur in the Old Testament and extend to the New Testament, and by outlining the resulting data about the character and the organisation of the church. It will be demonstrated that the church is essentially concerned with the proclamation of the word and the embodiment of the requirements of the Word: not with impersonal, organisational, technical or other structures but with the personal relation with God, the Creator, Ruler and Saviour of mankind as embodied in his (covenant) people. This is a relation with God in Christ and with the neighbour, in an existential, local context and in universal perspective The test for the GKSA will be whether justice is done to the universal character as well as the confessional character and the personal character of its calling. This threefold relation will especially become clear in the GKSA's handling o f the ecclesiastical set-up in the relation with the other National Synods, from the local level up to the synodical level, because it is especially on the level of these National Synods that a lack in the personal relations or the character of these relations is apparent.

scholarly journals Incense in the space between Heaven and Earth – the inscriptions and images on the Gozbert Censer in the cathedral trasury of Trier

1970 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 227-242
Author(s):  
Hiltrud Westermann-Angerhausen
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Temporal Relationship ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
Ground Plan ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Church Building ◽  
Functional Part ◽  
Heaven And Earth ◽  
The Church ◽  
Made In

The Gozbert Censer in the Cathedral Treasury of Trier, made in Cologne towards the end of the twelfth century, is one of the most conceptually rich medieval works ever cast in bronze. This article offers a close reading of the micro-architecture of the censer and its numerous inscriptions. The miniature building comprises topical elements relative to the representation of the Heavenly Jerusalem, including cosmological allusions. The architecture, built on a cruciform ground plan, is crowded with Old Testament characters and scenes presaging the coming of the Messiah and prefiguring the Eucharist. The chain holder shows Christ sitting on a throne; thus, this functional part of the vessel becomes the ultimate summit of the composition. The censer’s inscriptions in leonine hexameters refer to and interpret the figural representations. They thereby link the different pictorial levels of the complex organism, while creating their own spatial and temporal relationship between the Old and the New Testament, as well as within the miniature architecture, which is in itself a symbolical space. The inscription on the lowest rim of the censer invokes the onlookers' prayers for the eternal life of the donor, Gozbertus, and epitomises the function of the liturgical vessel: incense rising as prayer before the Deity – within the liturgical space of the liturgy, as well as inside the church building.

scholarly journals Teologia kapłaństwa i urzędu kapłańskiego w I wieku chrześcijaństwa

2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Dariusz Kasprzak
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Good News ◽  
New Covenant ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry.In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.

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.

The Vocabulary of the Septuagint and the Church Fathers

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
Gilles Dorival
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
Hapax Legomenon ◽  
Creation Of Matter ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

The role of the Septuagint in the building of the Christian identity during the first Christian centuries is more important than it is generally said. The word ‘testament’ or ‘covenant’, for example, comes from the Septuagint, via the New Testament. The Greek and Latin liturgies are filled with references to the Septuagint. The same is true in the case of the Christian spirituality: for instance, the concept of the Christian life as a migration comes from the Septuagint. The Christian hermeneutics is indebted to the Greek Bible: even if knowledge of the allegorical method comes from the Greek philosophers (and Philo), support could be found for it in the verses of the Greek Bible. Finally, the theological vocabulary of the Christians was founded upon the Greek Bible. For instance, in the case of the doctrine of the Trinity, the word ‘person’ comes from the Septuagint. Furthermore, some passages of the Greek translation gave rise to theological interpretations which are not possible on the grounds of the Hebrew text. In Gen 1:2, the Septuagint reads ‘the earth was invisible and unorganized’ and this came to be quoted both in support of the creation of matter ex nihilo. In Exod 17:16, where the Hebrew has a difficult hapax legomenon, the Greek speaks about the ‘hidden hand’ with which the Lord makes war against Amalek; this ‘hidden hand’ played a role in the Christian doctrine of the Logos, which is hidden in the Old Testament.

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 The Iconography of the Sarcophagus in S. Ambrogio. Hope for Salvation through the Word of Christ

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 283-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Steen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
City Gates ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

The sarcophagus in the church of S. Ambrogio in Milan is dated to about 390. The lid of the sarcophagus shows scenes and symbols connected to the New Testament. On the front and rear sides, we find Christ represented among the Apostles. Figures from the Old Testament are shown on the two short sides. In this way, the narrative scenes are well arranged, and the arrangement differs from other early Christian sarcophagi in which scenes from the Old and New Testament are places together without any apparent connection between the scenes. Rows of city-gates run around all four sides, forming the background for the reliefs. The city-gates invite the beholder to read the images not as isolated scenes, but as parts of a connected whole. In this paper, I will argue that the iconography of the sarcophagus can be interpreted as a complete programme. The programme emphasizes the teaching of Christ and the Apostles’ teaching-mission given by Christ. Taking into consideration the monument’s funerary context, the programme of the sarcophagus focuses on the Word or the teaching of Christ as the way to salvation.

Economic Justice

2014 ◽  
pp. 532-548
Author(s):  
Albino Barrera
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Collective Action Problems ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Christian Thought ◽  
The Church

Christianity has had a long-standing interest in economic justice, rooted in its Scriptures, especially Old Testament prophets and the New Testament Gospels. It was taken up by the Church Fathers and the Scholastics, in their concern for the poor, just prices, and usury. Taking this concern to modern market economies is complicated but important. After all, globalization has resulted in rampant problems of materialism, consumerism, and individualism. It has led to the commodification of the human person who is viewed only as a consumer or as a factor of production. Collective-action problems have become even more severe, as in the cases of global warming and the depletion of fish stocks. Christian thought and practice have unique contributions to offer on these challenges. In particular, its linkage of justice and charity as an inseparable pair, its notion of the common good, and its theological anthropology are well suited to addressing these issues in a rational fashion.

scholarly journals Missional branding: A case study of the Church of Pentecost

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter White
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Church

Branding is a strategy designed by companies to help patrons or consumers quickly identify their products or organisations and give them a reason to choose their products or organisations over other competitors. In the Old Testament, God identified the Israelites as a unique brand. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ branded the church with the power of the Holy Spirit, miracles, signs and wonders. Reading the Acts of the Apostles, the church developed a brand of being Spirit-filled, communal-living and mission-minded. It was out of this that early believers in Antioch were called ‘Christians’. The name ‘Christian’ therefore became a brand name for believers and followers of Jesus Christ. In view of this, one would expect that the concept of branding would be a major tool for modern-day churches. Although there are several publications on branding from the perspective of marketing and management, there is no such academic research on missional branding, hence this research. This article contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse on branding, with specific reference to the missional branding of the Church of Pentecost.

scholarly journals Alttestamentliche Voraussetzungen fur das Ver-standnis des Bundesmotivs im Neuen Testament Teil 1: Fragestellung und Bedeutung des Wortes בְדִית*

1997 ◽  
Vol 53 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petrus J. Grabe
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Semantic Field ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

The Old Testament background for understanding the covenant motif in the New Testament - Part 1: Description of the question and analysis of the meaning of the word בְדִית* The concept of the covenant has once again become extremely relevant within the context of the debate on the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, as well as within the context, of the quest for determining the relationship between the Church and Israel. In this article the meaning of the word בְדִית* is discussed. It is argued that this concept has to be understood within the context of the semantic field in which it is used in the Old Testament. Certain facets of meaning in specific contexts in which בְדִית* occurs, are accentuated and discussed.  The Septuagint's translation of בְדִית*, as well as the translation of בְדִית* in the Vulgate and in some modem translations, is also discussed briefly.

Learning to Pray by Singing

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
Stefan Klöckner
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Gregory The Great ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Christian Perspective ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Canonical Order ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Church

Gregorian chants are mostly based on Old Testament texts, predominantly from the Psalms. Decisive for their interpretation in the light of the New Testament are texts of the Church Fathers (Augustine, Gregory the Great, etc.). The texts often do not follow their canonical order in the Bible, but were primarily compiled on the basis of broader associations. Hence, it is not uncommon for new content references to emerge that are committed to a Christian perspective, emotionally and theologically very bold. This article describes an imaginary ‘Gregorian Composition Workshop’: the individual ‘chambers’ include compiling texts, the choice of a suitable mode and melody, as well as the most refined rhythmic differentiations. The final piece, through its unique quality as the ‘sounding word of Holy Scripture’ permits an intensive view of the spirituality of the ninth and tenth centuries, and a realistic understanding of the Psalms as the basis of Christian existence.

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