scholarly journals Calvin’s view on church discipline and unity: a South African perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
P.J. Strauss
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Church Members ◽  
Church Discipline ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Church Unity ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
The Church

The reformer John Calvin, born in 1509, considers discipline and unity as two essential aspects of the Christian church. According to him, the bond of church discipline is a way to unite church members in the truth of the Word and the Christian faith based thereupon. If discipline is exercised with exaggerated strictness and without compassion, tolerance and love, it can break the unity. Because church unity is essentially a unity of faith, or a unity in the truth of the Word, discipline can sever adulterated elements that threaten the unity from the church. Discipline, if correctly ap- plied, builds the unity of the church as a unity in religious truths.

Tracing the Theological Development of the South African Baptismal Rites: The Journey to An Anglican Prayer Book 1989 and Beyond

2017 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-64
Author(s):  
Andrew-John Bethke
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Church Membership ◽  
The South ◽  
Valuable Source ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
Church Unity ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

This essay analyzes the theological changes which are reflected in successive revisions of Southern Africa's Anglican liturgy from 1900 to 1989. The following liturgies are examined: A Book of Common Prayer—South Africa (1954); Proposals for the Revision of the Rites of Baptism and Confirmation (1967); the Church Unity Commission's ecumenical liturgies in the 1970s; Birth and Growth in Christ (1984); and An Anglican Prayer Book 1989. The article also includes valuable source material which influenced the revised liturgies, including two official reports on the theology of baptism and confirmation. The author finds that theological uncertainty surrounding the underpinning of current rites brings into question whether full church membership is actually granted during baptism.

scholarly journals The Relevance of Theology and Legal policy in South African society in connection with violence against women

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doniwen Pietersen
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
South African ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Well Being ◽  
African Society ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Care Approach ◽  
The Church

The theological question raised in this article violence against women theologically, drawing and incorporating the South African government’s response to it in terms of legislation and policing strategies and the need for greater participation of communities to combat gender-related crimes. The caretaker approach of the church as the custodian of the Hebrew Bible was also highlighted. Even though a church-based care approach may be limited, it still has the potential to support the efforts of law-enforcement agencies. When women in communities do not feel safe and fear violence at the hands of men, they are forced to resort to the state to provide protection. Crime, including crime against women, draws on insecurities about the level of safety and well-being in communities. It cannot be prevented or eliminated by the police alone but by the concerted collaboration of the private sector, NGOs, faith-based organisations such as churches and the community itself.

The Church as an Ecological Community: Practising Eco-Ecclesiology in the Ecological Crisis of Indonesia

Ecclesiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-107
Author(s):  
Yusak Budi Setyawan
Keyword(s):  
Public Policies ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Ecological Community ◽  
Church Members ◽  
Ecological Awareness ◽  
Faith Tradition ◽  
Triune God ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Church

Abstract Given the ecological crisis in Indonesia, the churches must implement an ecclesiological reconstruction based on the church as an ecological community and on the understanding that the churches are an inseparable part of Indonesian society and cultures which emphasise respect for nature, while at the same time reconstructing their identity in the Christian faith tradition rooted in the Triune God, faith in Christ as Saviour, and an eschatological dimension. Ecclesial praxis will promote ecological awareness among church members, involvement in conservation efforts and in making public policies related to ecological issues.

The Ecclesiology of the Oxford Movement

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Rowell
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Oxford Movement ◽  
Significant Challenge ◽  
Church Unity ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
The Church

Ecclesiology is fundamental to an understanding of the Oxford Movement. The catalyst of the Movement was the political modification of the Anglican confessional state, which was a significant challenge to earlier Anglican understandings of the Church. In response, a distinctive Tractarian ecclesiology was developed in Christopher Wordsworth’s Theophilus Anglicanus, John Henry Newman’s via media ecclesiology, particularly in his Lectures on the Prophetical Office of the Church, William Palmer’s exposition of the ‘Branch Theory’ of the Church, W. G. Ward’s Ideal of a Christian Church, John Keble’s ‘Anglican theory of Church Unity’ and Robert Isaac Wilberforce’s theological understanding of the Church as the ‘extension of the Incarnation’.

scholarly journals Church discipline – semper reformanda in Reformation perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham A. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Pastoral Care ◽  
Christian Education ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Church Discipline ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Spiritual Nurture ◽  
Punitive Discipline ◽  
The Reformation

Church discipline – is semper reformanda in a time and space warp? Church discipline has become an anachronism in the life of the Christian faith community. In part, this results from a misunderstanding of the fundamental meaning of the term. Its early emphasis was on spiritual nurture, discipling people into the faith and into a relationship with one another and God. By the time of the Reformation, it took on a legalistic and rigid form that militated against its earlier approach. This resulted from a misunderstanding of key reformers from the Reforming tradition such as John Calvin and John Knox, who were concerned to build up individuals within the Christian community to become responsible members of society. In this way, discipline is transformative of individuals and society. The work of discipline was closely related both to pastoral care and Christian education and offered a corrective to Medieval discipline, where the concept of discipline was distorted when the use of punitive discipline as a last resort was elevated to become the norm. This situation was replicated in the post-Reformation period. Consequently, it now needs to be rehabilitated in the form of discipling or mentorship in order to restore its usefulness as an educative tool in the process of the pilgrimage towards the kingdom of God.

The Greek Ideas of Immortality: The Ingersoll Lecture For 1958

1959 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Jaeger
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Western World ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Life After Death ◽  
Rational Reflection ◽  
Immortality Of The Soul ◽  
The Church

The Immortality of Man was one of the fundamental creeds of the philosophical religion of Platonism that was in part adopted by the Christian church and that thus became one of the foundations of the Christian civilization of the Eastern and Western world. Ever since Paul in the 15th chapter of I Corinthians made resurrection the cornerstone of the Christian faith the Church has had a profound interest in the ancient philosophers who taught that man's soul is immortal and does not perish along with its mortal companion the body. Although this belief in the immortality of the soul, the ψυχή, is not the same as the Christian idea of man's resurrection in the flesh or in a transfigured body, both religious ideas have a natural affinity with each other; and it is therefore easy to understand that the Platonic belief in immortality was regarded as an anticipation of the Christian resurrection and helpful to the faithful who might wish to check their emotional expectations of a future life after death by rational reflection. Thus we find attempts to compare both things or to look for natural phenomena that could be interpreted as analogies of resurrection in nature.

Being a Christian Without a Christ? Exploring John Shelby Spong's Concept of 'Christians in Exile'

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 298-326
Author(s):  
Jacques R. Kriel
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Science And Religion ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Church Members ◽  
The Church

AbstractThere is a clear disjunction between the paradigms and theories in contemporary theological and biblical research and the theories and paradigms underlying the church's conventional liturgy and preaching. There is greater tension between theological science and traditional Christian faith than between 'science' and 'religion'. The science-faith conflict thus goes deeper than the science-religion debate. But while the science-religion debate gets a lot of attention, there seems to be no attempt by the church universal to integrate theological science in its exegesis, preaching and teaching. The books of Marcus J Borg, John Shelby Spong and others have brought the results of theological research to the attention of church members. This article contains my attempt to relate my understanding of scientific research in the natural and social sciences, theology and biblical sciences to my Christian faith. Using John Shelby Spong's concept of 'Christians in exile' and Stephen Patterson's proposal of an 'existential Christology', the possibility of being a Christian without a Christ is suggested.

The Influence of Mother Wisdom on Augustine

Open Theology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-247
Author(s):  
Kitty Bouwman
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Wisdom Literature ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Ben Sira ◽  
Church Father ◽  
Wisdom Theology ◽  
Divine Mother ◽  
The Church

Abstract The Book of Ben Sira was popular in the early Christian church and influenced the Church Father Augustine (354–430). He adopts the person of Wisdom as a divine mother and adapts her within the context of the early Christian church. He links to Mother Wisdom a wisdom theology, in which Jesus is her envoy. Augustine describes Mother Wisdom as an eternal nourishing divine mother. She has a permanent revelatory status by continuously giving life-giving power, which she mediates through Jesus of Nazareth. He presents her grace which she has prepared for the competentes (the candidates for Baptism), who are working towards initiation into Christian Faith. Mother Wisdom serves as hostess in biblical Wisdom literature. For Augustine, Jesus Christ has taken this place. Mother Wisdom serves instead the angels and the spiritual persons as a representative of divine nourishment.

scholarly journals Preaching the Trinity today

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes P Deetlefs
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity ◽  
Practical Implications

While the twentieth century has witnessed renewed interest in the doctrine of the Trinity, in their daily lives Christians are mostly unaffected by it. The reason for this lack of knowledge and the negligence of this vital Christian doctrine could be blamed partly on a lack of preaching the doctrine of the Trinity. Considering the fact that the doctrine of the Trinity is the distinguishing doctrine of the Christian faith, such neglect in the homiletical ministry of the church is truly lamentable. This article is aimed at discussing some of the possible reasons for this regrettable situation and offering some guidelines for preaching the Trinity. Considering the practical implications of this foundational Christian doctrine for the ecclesial community, as well as for society at large, the church can no longer afford the neglect of the preaching of the Trinity. While I am writing from within the South African context, the issues raised here are relevant to the church internationally.

scholarly journals Joseph Smith’s plain and precious truths restored: A Christian apologetic response

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik G. Stoker ◽  
Paul Derengowski
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Brigham Young University ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Church

It has been the claim of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that ‘many plain and precious truths’ have been removed from the Bible, although Smith did not explicitly or concisely elaborate on what those missing truths were. Later, Dr Clyde J. Williams of Mormon-owned Brigham Young University provided that concise list. Writing for Ensign magazine in October 2006, Williams argued for at least eight specific doctrines that were ‘restored’. Upon examination and rebuttal, it is demonstrated that the Bible remains sufficient for all matters pertaining to Christian faith and practice, as John Calvin and the Reformers concluded years ago, and is emphasised in their stance on Sola Scriptura.

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