scholarly journals ON SOME FEATURES OF THE MIAPHYSITE AND DIAPHYSITE CHRISTOLOGICAL CONCEPTIONS

2019 ◽  
pp. 104-131
Author(s):  
ARTHUR MATEVOSYAN
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Son Of God ◽  
Cyril Of Alexandria ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

The problem of the relationship between divine and human natures in the person of Christ began to interest the Church as early as the 4th century, but Christological problems became particularly relevant in the next, 5th century due to the emergence of Nestorian and Arian heresies, which were rejected and condemned by the Church. The Council of Chalcedon had an essential role in the approval of Christological dogma and its decisions were not adopted by the majority of the Eastern Churches, and among them the Armenian Church. During the long struggle against Chalcedonian Christology, the Armenian Church developed its own Christological conception, which is distinguished by consistency and convincingness. According to this onception, Christ is the Logos, who adopted the perfect human nature. After incarnation, the divine and human natures in Christ formed unspeakable and unmixed unity, as a result of which all attempts to explain this great mystery of faith are doomed to failure, because the mind is unable to understand the inseparable unity of ontological opposites, each of which retains its qualitative definition. The Logos became incarnate of St. Virgin, whose nature the Holy Spirit had previously purified from original sin, so that the Son of God would be free from its consequences. The divine nature of the Logos was initially inextricably linked with the human nature of Jesus, so that the fact that St. Cyril of Alexandria called "the one nature of God the Word incarnate."

scholarly journals MAN AND HIS QUALITY AS AN IMAGE OF GOD IN PATRISTIC THINKING

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
Edvica POPA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Patristic Literature ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The One ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
The Church

The notion of divine image is generously described by the patristic literature, each of the authors trying to identify the content of this special characteristic of human being, considered (in different positions) the defining element of the created rational being, indicating the possibility of opening to God not through something external, but from the inside of the human being. Since when they speak of God, the Church Fathers do not consider the reality of the one being, but that of the three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as when the question of the image of God is raised, they emphasize that this the image by which human nature is conformed is the image of the Son, or the image of the Word. In this article I set out to draw some points on this patristic feature of the Eastern Fathers.

The Relationship between Christ and the Spirit in a Christian Theology of Religions

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-280
Author(s):  
Benno Van Den Toren
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Theology Of Religions ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Triune God ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This article explores the recent turn in the theology of religions, visible in diverse quarters, to pneumatology as a way to foster a greater openness to the work of God the Holy Spirit in non-Christian religions. It gives particular attention to the work of Jacques Dupuis (Roman Catholic), George Khodr (Orthodox) and Clark Pinnock (Evangelical Protestant). It argues that recognition of the work of the Holy Spirit allows for an exploration of a variegated activity of God outside the boundaries of the church that cannot be reduced to his presence as Creator or as non-incarnate Word. It, therefore, also allows for dialogue in which commitment to God's supreme revelation in Christ can be combined with an openness to learn from other religious traditions. It does at the same time point to the need to frame the attention for the wider work of the Spirit in the context of the one plan of salvation of the triune God such as not to separate the “two hands of God.” It argues that the work of the Spirit outside the boundaries of the church remains directed to the eschatological salvation inaugurated by Christ and, therefore, also to the church as the “first fruits” of the eschaton and as the community where this salvation is proclaimed and embraced.

scholarly journals Perichoresis and Ubuntu within the African Christian context

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jele S. Manganyi ◽  
Johan Buitendag
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Cappadocian Fathers ◽  
Spiritual Perspectives ◽  
The Many ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

This article is about the juxtaposition of the notion of perichoresis in the work and theology of the Cappadocian Fathers and the notion of Ubuntu in the African Traditional Religion (ATR). Perichoresis was a result of an attempt to understand and to resolve the relationships within the Trinity. The issue at hand was how to make sense between the one and the many at the same time. The Cappadocian Fathers understood the oneness of God as unity in plurality, not a singularity. One Ousia and three hypostases were based on the understanding of the relationships within the trinity. The question of three yet one God (the church in Jerusalem continued worship of God the Father and Jesus Christ in the Power of the Holy Spirit), the apostles according to the information we have never question nor try to resolve the position and status of Jesus within the oneness. It appears as though they celebrated the tension rather than resolving it. They heard from Jesus, who said to them ‘you believe in God believe also in me’ and ‘if you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him … whoever has seen me has seen the Father’. They also heard him when he said ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’. The article is going to investigate and analyse the two notions, Perichoresis and Ubuntu, within the African Christian context. Yet there is a tension between Jesus and the ancestors. Can this tension be resolved? The notion of Ubuntu is based upon the understanding that a person becomes fully a person in the presence of other persons. It is a notion that deals with the relationships from an individual to the community and from physical to spiritual perspectives. The article shall also attempt to analyse any categories of thinking that are within the ATR that may better explain the relationship within the Trinity.

The New Testament and Intellectual Humility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Sacrificial Love ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

This book examines how the New Testament scriptures might form and foster intellectual humility within Christian communities. It is informed by recent interdisciplinary interest in intellectual humility, and concerned to appreciate the distinctive representations of the virtue offered by the New Testament writers on their own terms. It argues that the intellectual virtue is cast as a particular expression of the broader Christian virtue of humility, which proceeds from the believer’s union with Christ, through which personal identity is reconstituted by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we speak of ‘virtue’ in ways determined by the acting presence of Jesus Christ, overcoming sin and evil in human lives and in the world. The Christian account of the virtue is framed by this conflict, as believers within the Christian community struggle with natural arrogance and selfishness, and come to share in the mind of Christ. The new identity that emerges creates a fresh openness to truth, as the capacity of the sinful mind to distort truth is exposed and challenged. This affects knowledge and perception, but also volition: for these ancient writers, a humble mind makes good decisions that reflect judgments decisively shaped by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By presenting ‘humility of mind’ as a characteristic of the One who is worshipped—Jesus Christ—the New Testament writers insist that we acknowledge the virtue not just as an admission of human deficiency or limitation, but as a positive affirmation of our rightful place within the divine economy.

scholarly journals John Calvin on the gifts of the Holy Spirit in his commentary on Acts

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik van Alten
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Human Error ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
General Sense ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Book Of Acts ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

John Calvin is often considered to have taught the cessation of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. This certainly does not give the complete picture of how Calvin wrestled with those passages from Scripture which deal with the extraordinary gifts. In his commentary on the book of Acts Calvin makes a conscious effort to show that in most of the cases where the gifts of the Spirit are mentioned, the focus is not on the gifts in a general sense, but in an extraordinary sense. These extraordinary gifts had been limited to the initial phase of the church. The reasons that Calvin provides for this cessation is somewhat ambiguous. On the one hand Calvin indicates a very specific, divine purpose for the gifts, which limits its usefulness and existence until the point when the purpose had been achieved. However, there are also passages where one gets the impression that the cessation of the gifts was not necessarily divinely intended, but was due to human error. Of great importance is the way Calvin subsequently applies these texts to the readers of his own day. Johannes Calvyn oor die gawes van die Heilige Gees in sy kommentaar op Handelinge Dikwels word aangeneem dat Johannes Calvyn die beëindiging van die buitengewone gawes van die Heilige Gees voorgestaan het. Dit gee egter nie die volle prentjie van hoe Calvyn met daardie Skrifgedeeltes, waarin die buitengewone gawes behandel word, geworstel het nie. In sy kommentaar op die boek Handelinge wys Calvyn bewustelik daarop dat in die meeste gevalle waar die gawes van die Gees genoem word, die fokus nie op die gawes in ’n algemene sin is nie, maar eerder op die gawes in ’n buitengewone sin. Hierdie buitengewone gawes is beperk tot die beginfase van die kerk. Die redes wat Calvyn vir hierdie beëindiging aanvoer, is egter dubbelsinnig. Aan die eenkant wys Calvyn op ’n baie spesifieke, Goddelike doel met die gawes, waardeur hulle bruikbaarheid en voortbestaan beperk word tot die tyd toe die doel bereik is. Aan die anderkant, egter, is daar ook gedeeltes wat die indruk skep dat die beëindiging van die gawes nie noodwendig Goddelik bepaal is nie, maar ’n gevolg was van menslike sonde. Van groot belang is hoe Calvyn hierdie tekste vervolgens toepas op die lesers van sy eie tyd.

scholarly journals Problematika Nomos Dan Hubungannya Dengan Kasih Karunia Dalam Surat Roma

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-93
Author(s):  
Prabowo Prabowo
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
God's Will ◽  
Grammatical Analysis ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Law ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Church

It’s long time, churches debate on the application of the law to believers today. Some of the figures found grace is no longer relevant in the church. But some Christian leaders argue otherwise, saying that the law is still relevant and should be done. But, now a days many interpretations that are not right about Paul's theology on the application of the law in a period of grace. False interpretations of verses taken from Paul's letters caused God's people to be confused. Therefore, there is a need for proper interpretation through the process of exegesis of the Book of Romans 2-8, resulting in the existence of the correct interpretation of the law in a period of grace.From the background and the problems, this research focused to sharpen understanding of the problems related to the application of grace in the church today. Researchers used descriptive method to describe it. Then the authors conducted a study exegesis consisting of an observational analysis, textual analysis, structural analysis, grammatical analysis, lexical analysis, historical analysis or conceptual, analytical theological and exegetical analysis of Romans 2-8. The purpose of this study is the first, to understand the interrelationships of the law and grace; second, to understand the uniqueness of Paul's theology in describing the application of the law in a period of grace; Third, investigate exegesis mean passages from Paul's Letter to the Romans chapters 2-8 which discusses the relevance of the law and grace. The results of the discussion found several things: First, the assumption that Paul abolishes the law is not correct. Paul did not abolish the Law in a period of grace. Second, the law still relevant in the church today. Jesus fulfill the law for believers, so that believers can do the latter by the power of the Holy Spirit. And keep in mind that God has put His laws are no longer in tablets of stone dead, but in the mind of his people. Third, the law has a unique role and functions in the day of grace. The Law was God's will for believers because it still remains a self-revelation of God.Recommended for ministers, pastors, and teachers of theology seriously investigate the truth about the existence of the law in the church today, so that people are not confused by every falseteaching. Abstrak Indonesia  Sudah lama sekali, gereja berdebat tentang penerapan hukum kepada orang percaya hari ini. Beberapa tokoh menemukan kasih karunia tidak lagi relevan di gereja. Tetapi beberapa pemimpin Kristen berpendapat sebaliknya, dengan mengatakan bahwa hukum masih relevan dan harus dilakukan. Namun, sekarang ini banyak tafsir yang tidak benar tentang teologi Paulus tentang penerapan hukum dalam masa kasih karunia. Penafsiran yang salah dari ayat-ayat yang diambil dari surat-surat Paulus menyebabkan umat Tuhan menjadi bingung. Oleh karena itu, diperlukan penafsiran yang tepat melalui proses penafsiran Kitab Roma 2-8, sehingga terjadi penafsiran hukum yang benar dalam masa rahmat.Dari latar belakang dan permasalahan tersebut, penelitian ini difokuskan untuk mempertajam pemahaman tentang permasalahan terkait penerapan anugerah di gereja saat ini. Peneliti menggunakan metode deskriptif untuk mendeskripsikannya. Kemudian penulis melakukan studi tafsir yang terdiri dari analisis observasional, analisis tekstual, analisis struktural, analisis gramatikal, analisis leksikal, analisis historis atau konseptual, analisis teologis dan analisis eksegetik Roma 2-8. Tujuan dari studi ini adalah yang pertama, untuk memahami keterkaitan antara hukum dan rahmat; kedua, memahami keunikan teologi Paulus dalam menjelaskan penerapan hukum dalam masa kasih karunia; Ketiga, menyelidiki eksegesis yang berarti bagian-bagian dari Surat Paulus kepada Roma pasal 2-8 yang membahas relevansi hukum dan kasih karunia.Hasil diskusi menemukan beberapa hal: Pertama, anggapan bahwa Paulus menghapus hukum adalah tidak tepat. Paulus tidak menghapus Hukum dalam masa kasih karunia. Kedua, hukum masih relevan di gereja saat ini. Yesus menggenapi hukum untuk orang percaya, sehingga orang percaya dapat melakukan yang terakhir dengan kuasa Roh Kudus. Dan perlu diingat bahwa Tuhan telah meletakkan hukum-hukum-Nya tidak lagi di loh batu mati, tetapi di benak umat-Nya. Ketiga, hukum memiliki peran dan fungsi yang unik di hari kasih karunia. Hukum adalah kehendak Tuhan bagi orang percaya karena itu tetap merupakan wahyu Tuhan. Dianjurkan agar pendeta, pendeta, dan guru teologi menyelidiki dengan serius kebenaran tentang keberadaan hukum di gereja saat ini, agar masyarakat tidak dibingungkan oleh setiap kesalahan pengajaran.

scholarly journals Why Catholic Theology Needs Metapshysics: A Christological Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-62
Author(s):  
Thomas Joseph White
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Divine Nature ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
Son Of God ◽  
The One ◽  
Human Intellect ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The Church

The Chalcedonian confession of faith asserts that Christ is one person, the Son of God, subsisting in two natures, divine and human. The doctrine of the communication of idioms is essential to the life and practices of the Church insofar as we affirm there to be properties of deity and humanity present in the one subject, the Word made flesh. Such affirmations are made without a confusion of the two natures or their mutually distinct attributes. The affirmation that there is a divine and human nature in Christ is possible, however, only if it is also possible for human beings to think coherently about the divine nature, analogically, and human nature, univocally. Otherwise it is not feasible to receive understanding of the divine nature of Christ into the human intellect intrinsically and the revelation must remain wholly alien to natural human thought, even under the presumption that such understanding originates in grace. Likewise we can only think coherently of the eternal Son’s solidarity with us in human nature if we can conceive of a common human nature present in all human individuals. Consequently, it is only possible for the Church to confess some form of Chalcedonian doctrine if there is also a perennial metaphysical philosophy capable of thinking coherently about the divine and human natures from within the ambit of natural human reason. This also implies that the Church maintains a “metaphysical apostolate” in her public teaching, in her philosophical traditions, as well as in her scriptural and doctrinal enunciations.

The Sacrament of Confession as a Spiritual Event in the Lives of Children and Youth

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 366-376
Author(s):  
Leontin Popescu
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Personal Connection ◽  
Pastoral Identity ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
God's Grace ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

The Holy Sacraments are works seen, established by Christ the Saviour and entrusted to the Church, by means of which they bestow the grace of the Holy Spirit upon the believer. The sacrament is Christ through His ministers: bishops and priests. The necessity of the Holy Sacraments is undeniable, as they communicate God’s grace, which is the compulsory condition for redemption. The Sacrament of Confession is required by the condition of our life in this world, subject to sin and error of all sorts. We particularly tackle the Sacrament of Confession (of Confession or of Penitence), because it represents the most efficient way of individual catechization, being the Sacrament through which man re-news himself, as it serves to practically re-build the connection between God’s grace and man. Rightfully so, this Holy Sacrament has always been considered as “a good opportunity for individual pastoral identity”. Sitting in the confession chair, the priest or the bishop is not only a sacramental manager, but also “a teacher, an educator and a guide in the lives of the believers” of all ages. Beside its sacramental-therapeutical value, the educational-catechized and formative value of confession is indisputable. That is why confession has been regarded as anefficient means and a good opportunity for individual catechization, which is part of the priest’s activity, providing the chance for a real and honest dialogue, from man to man, between confessor and believer of any age. With children, confession will not be a substitute for the advice of professors or parents, or for school education, but it will have its well-defined role in the child’s life as a beginning of self-awareness. The child’s individual confession is a unique opportunity to cement a lasting personal connection, from man to man, from man to God, where the child can open up spiritually with all his problems, without the stress caused by the relationship professor-student, parent-son.

John Zizioulas

2018 ◽  
pp. 466-486
Author(s):  
Paul McPartlan
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Further Development ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

The chapter explores three deeply interlinked aspects of John Zizioulas’s highly influential ecclesiology: the relationship between the church and the Trinity; the relationship between the church and the Eucharist; and finally the consequences of those relationships for the structure of the church. The church is a communion through its participation in the life of the Trinity. In Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, it receives and re-receives the gift of communion in every Eucharist, and communion has a shape that reflects the life of God. The Trinity is centred on the Father, and so in the church at various levels the communion of the many is centred on one who is the head. This is the purely theological reason why the synodality of the church requires primacy at the local, regional, and universal levels. The chapter concludes that, while prompting many questions and needing further development, Zizioulas’s proposal has great ecumenical value.

Pentecostal Worship and Hermeneutics: Engagement with the Spirit

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-124
Author(s):  
R. Jerome Boone
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Faith Tradition ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Book Of Acts ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This article focuses on two key aspects of the Pentecostal faith tradition: worship and biblical interpretation. It illuminates distinctive differences in these two important activities of the Christian community between Pentecostals and the broader Evangelical faith tradition. It addresses the question of the relationship of the book of Acts narrative to a contemporary model for a normative ministry of the church. Pentecostals and Evangelicals recognize the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit in both worship and hermeneutics. Yet, they differ in how they expect the Spirit to engage with members of the Christian community in worship and biblical interpretation. The differences define, in part, the distinctive identity of the Pentecostal faith tradition.

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