Ephesians

1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Barth

Encompassing the body of Pauline theology, Ephesians (volumes 34 and 34A of the acclaimed Anchor Bible series) has been called “the crown of St. Paul's writings,” yet both its authorship and addressees are the subject of continuing dispute. Through line-by-line examination of its vocabulary, its difficult style, its Qumran and Gnostic affinities, its parallels with and distinctions from the undisputed Pauline corpus, its use of the Old Testament, and its dialogue with orthodox and heretical Judaism, Markus Barth demonstrates that Paul was almost certainly the author. And, after exploring previous explications of this hymnic and admonitory epistle in detail, he concludes that it was intended for Gentile Christians converted after Paul's visits to Ephesus. On this basis, Barth reexamines the relationship between Israel and the church, discounting the thesis that Ephesians suggests an “early Catholic,” or high-ecclesiastic or sacramental doctrine. Instead, he finds in this letter a statement of the social reconciliation which conditions the salvation of the individual. And reevaluating the section describing the relation between husband and wife, he offers an alternative to the traditional notion that Paul degrades women or belittles their rights and their dignity. In these two volumes Barth has followed the structure of Ephesians: upon the praise of God (chapters 1-3) are based the admonitions (chapters 4-6). But just as the epistle is an integral whole, so is the author's commentary. Through his special understanding and love of the apostle Paul, Markus Barth reopens to modern man the ancient message of love, worship and joy.

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-182
Author(s):  
Marika Rose

This conclusion draws together the themes of the book, exploring what a theology of failure looks like in relation to four overarching themes: freedom, materiality, hierarchy, and universalism. This account of ontology, desire, and Christian theology suggests not only that completeness is impossible but also that purity is impossible. The internal rupture that both constitutes and disrupts every individual economic identity is also the rupture between the social economy of the relationship between the individual and others, language and the body, theology and philosophy, God and the created order. Theology can no more remain immune from its others than it can completely encompass them. Once there was no secular; and yet the genealogy of the church, of Christian theology, is constantly interrupted, contaminated, and enriched by the profane, the abject, and the horrific. Theology is failure; the task, then, is to fail better, to liberate our others in order to begin the difficult work of learning how to love them.


1997 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Provan

It is well known that the seeds from which the modern discipline of OT theology grew are already found in 17th and 18th century discussion of the relationship between Bible and Church, which tended to drive a wedge between the two, regarding canon in historical rather than theological terms; stressing the difference between what is transient and particular in the Bible and what is universal and of abiding significance; and placing the task of deciding which is which upon the shoulders of the individual reader rather than upon the church. Free investigation of the Bible, unfettered by church tradition and theology, was to be the way ahead. OT theology finds its roots more particularly in the 18th century discussion of the nature of and the relationship between Biblical Theology and Dogmatic Theology, and in particular in Gabler's classic theoreticalstatementof their nature and relationship. The first book which may strictly be called an OT theology appeared in 1796: an historical discussion of the ideas to be found in the OT, with an emphasis on their probable origin and the stages through which Hebrew religious thought had passed, compared and contrasted with the beliefs of other ancient peoples, and evaluated from the point of view of rationalistic religion. Here we find the unreserved acceptance of Gabler's principle that OT theology must in the first instance be a descriptive and historical discipline, freed from dogmatic constraints and resistant to the premature merging of OT and NT — a principle which in the succeeding century was accepted by writers across the whole theological spectrum, including those of orthodox and conservative inclination.


1974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Barth

Encompassing the body of Pauline theology, Ephesians (volumes 34 and 34A of the acclaimed Anchor Bible series) has been called "the crown of St. Paul's writings," yet both its authorship and addressees are the subject of continuing dispute. Through line-by-line examination of its vocabulary, its difficult style, its Qumran and Gnostic affinities, its parallels with and distinctions from the undisputed Pauline corpus, its use of the Old Testament, and its dialogue with orthodox and heretical Judaism, Markus Barth demonstrates that Paul was almost certainly the author. And, after exploring previous explications of this hymnic and admonitory epistle in detail, he concludes that it was intended for Gentile Christians converted after Paul's visits to Ephesus.


Nirmana ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-120
Author(s):  
Natalia Widiasari

Advertising plays an important role in narrating the social side of a company which is often referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Corporate social campaigns are often seen as dubious, however, audiences as individuals interpret advertisements based on their values and experiences. TBSI (The Body Shop Indonesia) advertisements were conceptualized and analyzed using narrative transportation. Interviews are conducted with nine informants from various backgrounds. The results of the study are described in themes, namely (1) insight, (2) the relationship between CSR messages and the participant's value system, and (3) narrative responses to CSR advertisements. The result of the study states that advertising does not necessarily make the value from a social issue to be embedded or instilled in someone. Narrative and commitment to these values depend on the individual, person by person.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
Mariusz Szram

The article systematises the metaphors ascribed by Origen (185-253/254) to the well-known female characters of the Old Testament utilising the method of allegorical exegesis of the text of Scripture. Females appearing on the pages of the historical books of Bible are – according to the Alexandrian – allegories of hu­man virtues or defects. They embody the spiritual warfare between the spirit and the body, between the mind and the feelings. In the collective sense they symbo­lize the synagogue or the church chosen from the Gentiles, and in the individual sense – the human soul in its relation to God. Origen refers to the telling names of women, translating them and embedding into the spiritual context often giving the several different allegorical meanings to the same biblical person. Despite the often-quoted in his writings beliefs characteristic to the ancient world, procla­iming that the woman is a symbol of bodily feelings and the man – a symbol of the intellectual abilities, majority of allegorical interpretations relating to the Old Testament women indicates a personification of the virtues worthy of imitation. This phenomenon is conditioned with the meaning of the names of those persons and the role attributed to them by the biblical authors, but Origen’s interpretations are original and based on his own concept of spiritual life. They deny opinions of misogyny of Origen and the early Christian writers in general.


2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 443-462
Author(s):  
Waldemar Rakocy

The Author of the paper looks for a key to the theological thought of the Apostle Paul. The fact that it lacks a clear definition results in authors radically differing in their perception, for instance, regarding the relationship between the Old and the New Testament, and as a result, whether or not the Old Testament has a decisive influence on the Pauline thought, continuing along this line: whether the Apostle in his view always remained a Jew, or whether he distanced himself from Judaism. The fact that we do not have a category clearly defining the relationship between the Old and New Testament salvific reality results in an abundance of contradictory opinions. That is also transferred to other areas of the Pauline theology. The interpretation of Paul’s theology tends to be determined by preconceptions, built upon various ways of understanding the significance of the Old Testament, or various relationship to Judaism and its thought. The author of the paper indicates a concept, treated as marginal by scholars, of a new creation in Christ as the key to understanding the Pauline thought. It lays in the background of all themes treated by Paul and connects them into a single, coherent entity.


Author(s):  
Joseph Mensah Onumah ◽  
Angelo Nicolaides

A discourse of human rights applies to the relations between individuals and relations between them and the state. However, from an Eastern Orthodox perspective, Biblical law diverges, and applies to even the responsibilities of entities towards themselves and their responsibilities towards God the Creator. There is a seemingly increasing declaration that human rights standards are being kept, but it is also apparent that the issue has been wavering globally for numerous years. It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the destruction of the democratic fabric of the social order on which the defence of human rights is finally contingent. The question this article seeks to answer is what is the understanding of the Eastern Orthodox faith when it comes to human rights issues and what is the Church in general doing to assist in mitigating these? What is the relationship between Orthodoxy and human rights and what part does it play in the advancement of human rights? How can Orthodox teachings contribute to the protection of the dignity of the individual? The concept of ethics and human rights are positive formulations, the two seen as quality features of the Universal Creator, with ethics being the relevant catalyst to human rights and relations. Human rights are therefore expected to shape the living of man as ethics motivates human performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (S2) ◽  
pp. 831-847
Author(s):  
Nguyen Anh Quoc ◽  
Nguyen Minh Tri ◽  
Nguyen Trinh Nghieu ◽  
Pham Thi Dinh ◽  
Dinh Van Chien ◽  
...  

Liberty, and necessity are the premise for the perception of the relationship between man and nature. When objects exist in nature, individuals exist in people. Nature and man are a unity between the body and the individual in behavior. The successive act of liberty to fill the temporal gaps in the exercise of the right to life and the pursuit of happiness is the object of human science. Liberty is in itself, due to it, but depending on historical circumstances and conditions, liberty depends on different objects, knowledge, and needs of individuals, making behavior about necessity become liberty about responsibility. Individuals are acts of knowledge, with a will, and liberty is acts of intelligence and reason. When private ownership comes into being, liberty about the property becomes liberty about norms. Organizations become a means of subsistence that makes standards false. To submit to falsehoods in the course of living is a slave. The abolition of slaves is the subject of liberty. In the condition that there is no more antagonistic division of labor, diversity of occupations, an abundance of sexual orientation, and false standards are fully discovered, work and gender are equally noble and equal. 


Vox Patrum ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 677-698
Author(s):  
Mariusz Terka

Christian reflection of God’s Revelation, given especially in Jesus Christ, from the very beginning has developed with a personal tension between the continuing message of the Old Testament and the newness brought on by the New Covenant. The Christian attitude towards the traditions of Judaism have held a special place in this field. Many of the early Christian writers engaged in this attitude, proclaim­ing the superiority of the Gospel to the Law of Moses, meanwhile also underlining the idea of continuity, which occurred between the Church and Israel. These same views found their way into the teachings of St. Augustine, among others, in his Enarrationes in Psalmos. The main perspective from which he looks at this prob­lem always remains the mystery of Christ and the Church. That is why his views are theological in nature, and not socio-political. The Synagogue, which symbolizes the Jewish people, is described by St. Augustine as a mother figure. Christ leaving her behind was due to the rejection by the Synagogue, which is – according to St. Augustine – based on a misunder­standing of the mystery of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery. Which is also why, Christ is left crucified for synagogue, which does not see his beauty, but only his scandal. Another metaphor, which Augustine uses to try and describe the Church and its relationship to the people of the Old Covenant, is the image of God and the physical Church building. It is based on the foundation, which is not only Christ, but also the apostles and prophets. Therefore, what determines the belonging to the Church of the Jews, as well as the Gentiles, is their regard to Christ and the prophetic-apostolic tradition. The Church – the building of God is not something newly created, but in determining its identity refers to the tradition of Israel as the chosen people and because, like him, can be called God’s heritage. His rejection by part of Israel, expressed in the crucifixion of Christ, led the di­vision in himself. The primary legacy of Abraham has been split. Some remained the wall of the church, others turned to dust. Thus, St. Augustine teaches two types of Israel: the corporeal, which rejects Christ and the spiritual, which is the true Church. What determines the division within the chosen people, and what is the cause of this rupture, which occurs in it, is a phenomenon referred to by Augustine as the term „physicality” (meaning of the body), consisting of directing the heart towards temporal and earthly values. The physicality and the related closure to God, involves not only the opposi­tion of the Jews against Christ himself, but also of the Church and this is expressed in the various forms of persecution of Christians. This enmity, however, does not mean their complete separation, as Augustine points out that the thread binding the Jewish people to the Church, is their common origin. Although Jews, like Esau, have lost their heritage and their place was taken by Jacob – the true Israel, or the Church, after all, he also comes from Abraham, and belongs to the chosen people. This makes the reciprocal relationship of Jews and Christians not a simple ratio of the persecutor and the persecuted, but has a deeper dimension, which takes place between the dynamics of communication and conflicts, struggles and relationships. It is because of this that, even though Jews do not recognize Christ at the time of his coming, they may still believe in Him if they have already ac­complished the work of salvation, for it is He alone who restores their vision of faith. Therefore, their fate, whose image is the figure of Cain – the persecutor, turns out to be not so much intended as a providential event. The possibility of faith was open not only to the individual repenting (returning from the wrong path) Jews, but also to the whole nation.


Author(s):  
Matthew Croasmun

This book aims to solve an age-old problem in New Testament scholarship: namely, how to understand the relationship between “sins” as human misdeeds, and “Sin/Hamartia, ” the cosmic tyrant, in Romans. It appropriates the critical framework of emergence in philosophy of science to describe the emergence of cognition and agency at the individual, social, and mythological levels. The cosmic tyrant Sin is described as a real person, emergent from a complex system of human transgressions. The work argues that this emergence is analogous to the emergence of mind from the complex neurological system that is the brain. The dominion of Sin is described as downward causation exercised on Sin’s supervenience base (individual sinners), in dialog with liberationist accounts of social sin. This interdisciplinary engagement sets the table for placing Paul’s discourse of the “Body of Sin” within the context of various ancient discourses regarding the social body. The Roma cult in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire serves as an instance of an ancient collective “person” emergent from a complex social system to compare with Paul’s description of Sin/Hamartia. This comparison allows for a discussion of Sin/Hamartia in Paul in terms of ancient political and gender ideology.


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