scholarly journals Struggling with christology: Apolinarius of Laodicea and st Gregory of Nyssa

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 243-251
Author(s):  
Robin Orton
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Adequate Account ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Gregory Of Nyssa ◽  
Significant Step ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Trinity

The argument in the 380s between Gregory and Apolinarius, as set out Gregory’s Antirrheticus adversus Apolinarium, can be seen as a significant step in the development of the Church’s Christological teaching. Apolinarius’s no­tion that the eternal Logos took the place of Jesus Christ’s human mind is de­signed to establish the unity of his person, by providing a basis for the ontic con­tinuity between the Second Person of the Trinity and Christ in his two natures. Commendably, he wants to counter any suggestion of separation between the hu­man and divine natures (“two Christs”), which he sees as inevitably leading to an “adoptionist” view of Christ as a “God-filled man”; that would put Christ on the same level as the Old Testament prophets and could not form the basis of an adequate soteriology. Gregory argues convincingly however that Apolinarius’s “enfleshed mind” Christology would mean that Jesus Christ was not fully hu­man and could not therefore save humankind. But in the face of Apolinarius’s challenge he cannot give an adequate account of Christ’s unity during his earthly career. He remains open to Apolinarius’s charge of a “divisive” Christology by in effect postponing the complete unity until after Christ’s glorification, when his divinity overwhelmed his humanity and removed all his human characteristics, in the same way as the water of the sea overwhelms a drop of vinegar dropped into it. On this basis he has, anachronistically but not unreasonably, been accused of taking a Nestorian view of Christ before his glorification and a monophysite one after it. Both Apolinarius’s stress on the unity of Christ and Gregory’s on the no­tion that ‘what is not assumed is not healed’ (Nazianzen’s phrase) were essential elements in what emerged seventy years later in the Chalcedonian definition.

The Incarnation: divine embodiment and the divided mind

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 269-285
Author(s):  
Robin Le Poidevin
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Virgin Mary ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Holy Ghost ◽  
Finite Period ◽  
Nicene Creed ◽  
The Trinity

The central doctrine of traditional Christianity, the doctrine of the Incarnation, is that the Second Person of the Trinity lived a human existence on Earth as Jesus Christ for a finite period. In the words of the Nicene Creed, the Son is himwho for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

Immutability, (Im)passibility and Suffering: Steps towards a “Psychological” Ontology of God

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Alexandra Pârvan ◽  
Bruce L. McCormack
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Human Relation ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Individual Life ◽  
Concept Of God ◽  
Doctrine Of Election ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Trinity ◽  
The Way

SummaryWe call psychological ontology the attempt to think the being of God starting from his self-revelation in the individual life of Jesus Christ. We consider the ontological identity of Jesus Christ and the way the unity of his person is conceived crucial for understanding who this Christian God is, an understanding we take as the entry point into thinking what God is. We start from Augustine’s exegesis of the two names of God and Barth’s doctrine of election, and point out internal tensions in their respective views on divine immutability and (im)passibility, and how these connect with their concept of God and their understanding of the person of Christ. The unresolved problems in both thinkers lead us beyond their ontologies to argue that the divine-human relation that ontologically accounts for Jesus Christ’s unity is from eternity that which gives identity to the second person of the Trinity. Based on this claim we propose a reconceptualization of God’s immutability which is shown to be compatible with divine suffering and passibility.

scholarly journals Seeing the Face of Christ

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-169
Author(s):  
Derek S King
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Gregory Of Nyssa ◽  
Divine Hiddenness ◽  
The Face ◽  
Hiddenness Of God ◽  
The Church

The problem of the hiddenness of God has at least two kinds: an experiential and an intellectual problem. Despite differences, a solution to either would require some account of how God is personally known. Yet for the Christian tradition, God is known in the man Jesus Christ. I suggest, then, a Christological reformulation of the hiddenness argument, and proceed to offer an account of how Christ is known. With special attention to the ecclesiology of Gregory of Nyssa, I offer an account of knowing Christ in the church. I then explore this as a response to the problems of divine hiddenness, and anticipate a considerable objection to my response.

WAJAH KERAHIMAN ALLAH DALAM PERJANJIAN LAMA

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 74-81
Author(s):  
Agustinus Supriyadi
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The People ◽  
God's Love ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe

The theme is taken for this Jubilee is "Compassionate like God - Like the Merciful Father" (Lk 6:36).God is essentially show mercy, even declared himself the Almighty through His mercy. We must realize that God's mercy was not a sign of weakness, but a sign of power. Since the Old Testament, God invites each individual to reflect on his mercy, as proclaimed by the prophet Zephaniah. God has to get rid of the punishment that fell upon His people (Zephaniah 3:15). God is also present in the midst of His people (Zephaniah 3:17) expressed his compassion and solidarity. Moreover, God refurbish the people with His love (Zephaniah 3:17). God's mercy is transformed and entered into the history of mankind, in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the perfect face of God's mercy. Finally, everyone is called to show the face of the compassion of God through everyday life. God's love is so great that it revealed first of the works of creation. His love for man revealed in action by creating the universe and it is all provided for humans. Because after all there (the earth and its contents) God created man in the image of Himself.

scholarly journals Orygenes o kapłaństwie i Eucharystii w "Homiliach o Księdze Kapłańskiej"

Vox Patrum ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 99-117
Author(s):  
Jan Słomka
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Moral Obligation ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Ability ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Mind

Origen's reflections on priesthood, as well as his interpretation of the Book of Leviticus, arc based on the assumption that there exists inner priesthood which is inherent in human nature. Such priesthood means human ability to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Origen points to the human mind as the priest in man. It is the mind that is capable of turning to God. The spiritual priesthood imposes a moral obligation on every human being. Only against this background does Origenes consider priesthood in the Old and the New Testament. The Old Testamental priesthood was established by Moses and involved the ability to make both material! and spiritual offerings. That priesthood was an anticipation of the priesthood Jesus Christ. Jesus is, at the same time, a priest and a sacrifice, thus he fulfills all the promises of the Old Testament in himself.

scholarly journals Demonologie in die Nuwe-Testamentiese tydvak

1986 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Van Aarde
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Face ◽  
Direct Contrast ◽  
The Devil

Demonology in New Testament times Modem demonology has become a cult just as it had been in mediaeval times. But there is a difference. Then people opposed the Devil; now people believe in the Devil. This paper argues that modem demonology is an escapism of reality and in direct contrast to the New Testament's message. The thesis is debated against the background of a discussion of demonology in New Testament times. In this discussion it is indicated how the face of evil has changed from Old Testament times up to the New Testament period. Evil has become an extraterrestrial figure, symbol and power. As the personification of the prince of evil, the Devil is inter alia identified with the mythological serpent in a lost paradise and is defeated at the realization of God's messianic kingdom in Jesus Christ, the prince of light. The New Testament proclaims that salvation means that man determines to exist as man of God before evil made man his slave.

scholarly journals Allah Yang Esa Menurut Ajaran Kristen

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-93
Author(s):  
Sperry Velmer Terok
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Bible ◽  
God The Father ◽  
The One ◽  
The Trinity

The Bible states that God is difficult and even impossible to understand (Job. 11:7; Isa. 40:18), but He can be recognized. Jesus The Lord once confirmed this important truth to His disciples: “If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know Him and have seen Him. (Joh. 14:7).” Why God seems difficult to understand? It is because of the sin’s problem; the limitation of the human mind and understanding, but it does not mean that humans cannot recognize God. An understanding of the One God in Christianity is challenging. In order to describe and understand the One God in Christianity, the author uses descriptive methods. The intention is to be able to describe a system of thought in order to further interpret it precisely. As a result of the study of this paper, that the existence of One God in Christianity is clearly reported in the Bible; furthermore, the One God who has introduced Himself as a Trinity God is very clear both in Old Testament as well as in New Testament. The Trinity God: God the Father, God the Son, Holy Spirit, all three is one and equal. Finally, everyone can understand and recognize Him as far as the Bible says. The key to understand and recognize the One God is to believe the Bible is the Word of God in the first place. Then presume the understanding that every believer has can give meaning personally to others, and at last above these two interests, glory and honor to God, Himself.Alkitab menyatakan bahwa Allah sukar bahkan mustahil untuk dipahami (Ayb 11:7; Yes. 40:18), namun Dia dapat dikenal. Tuhan Yesus pernah menegaskan kebenaran penting tesebut kepada murid-murid-Nya: “Sekiranya kamu mengenal Aku, pasti kamu menganal Bapa-Ku. Sekarang ini kamu mengenal Dia dan kamu telah melihat Dia (Yoh. 14:7).” Mengapa Allah yang Esa itu sukar dipahami? Karena masalah dosa, pikiran pengetahuan dan bahasa manusia, namun bukan berarti manusia tidak dapat mengenal Allah. Pemahaman tentang Allah yang Esa dalam ajaran Kristen merupakan hal yang menantang. Supaya dapat menguraikan dan memahami Allah yang Esa dalam ajaran Kristen penulis menggunakan metode Deskriptif. Maksudnya untuk dapat mendeskripsikan suatu sistem pemikiran selanjutnya menginterpretasikan secara tepat. Adapun hasil kajian tulisan ini, bahwa eksistensi Allah yang esa dalam ajaran Kristen sangat jelas dilaporkan Alkitab; selanjutnya bahwa Allah yang Esa yang telah memperkenalkan diri sebagai Allah Tritunggal sangat jelas berdasarkan PL maupun PB. Allah Tritunggal yakni: Bapa, Anak (Yesus Kristus) serta Roh Kudus, ketiga-Nya sehakekat sekaligus setara. Akhirnya, bahwa setiap orang pasti dapat memahami dan mengenal-Nya, sejauh yang dikatakan Alkitab. Kunci memahami dan mengenal Allah yang Esa yakni terlebih dahulu meyakini Alkitab adalah Firman Allah. Kiranya pemahaman yang dimiliki setiap orang percaya dapat memberi makna secara pribadi, bagi orang lain, dan akhirnya di atas kedua kepentingan tersebut kemuliaan dan hormat bagi Allah sendiri.

scholarly journals In Terram Visionis

Scrinium ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-360
Author(s):  
Dmitry I. Makarov
Keyword(s):  
Second Century ◽  
Gregory Of Nyssa ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Face ◽  
Testament Of Abraham ◽  
The Trinity

In his Transfiguration homily (ca. 1315) Nicephorus Choumnus, a pre-Palamite thinker, put forward a theory that Abraham at the oak of Mamre was granted the vision of the Trinity. This is the third type of the exegesis of Genesis 18, according to Lars Thunberg. By comparison with: (a) Gregory of Nyssa and other patristic authors; (b) the early second-century Testament of Abraham (TA) we have put forward a hypothesis that Abraham, in Choumnus’ view, was granted the vision of the divine light and glory, most likely, in the form of a bright cloud very similar to that which later overshadowed the elected of the prophets and the Apostles on Mount Tabor. Thus, Nicephorus Choumnus mentioned Abraham together with such symbolic OT figures, as Moses and Elijah, who had also the honor of seeing the Face of God on Tabor.


Scripture, Prophecy, and Knowledge of Christ in Origen

2021 ◽  
pp. 170-191
Author(s):  
Claire Hall
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Knowledge Of God ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Knowledge Of Christ ◽  
Somatic Sense ◽  
The Trinity

This chapter examines why Origen focuses closely on Christ and what it means for understanding prophecy. It argues that Origen’s focus on Christ can be understood as a response to the challenges of Marcionism. Earlier chapters examined somatic prophecy: that is to say, predictions of the future. Early Christian writers interpreted Old Testament prophecies as predictions of Christ, and doing so was an important anti-Marcionite strategy. However, christological prophecies were not only read in a somatic sense, that is, as predictions of Christ’s incarnate life. Many verses in the Bible were also read as pneumatic prophecies of Christ not as an incarnate human in time, but as the second person of the Trinity, outside time. As Origen claims, prophecies of this kind can ‘teach much theology’, functioning as pneumatic revelations of Christ as Logos and of God’s triune being. In answering the Marcionites’ claims that Old Testament prophecies were unreliable, Origen had to formulate positions on scripture’s epistemological status and also on how scripture relates to knowledge of God. This chapter therefore examines both Origen’s explicit response to the Marcionites, but also his notions of time, inspiration, and revelation, and examines a case study of John the Baptist as a prophet who unites the three senses of prophecy. It concludes that Christ is at the centre of Origen’s thought about prophecy, as the ultimate content of all somatic, psychic, and pneumatic prophecy.

scholarly journals Medialność Jezusa Chrystusa

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 17-31
Author(s):  
Daria Kania ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
Adam And Eve ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Many

Media create the worldview, mentality and ethical attitudes. In the cultural perspectives it often intensifies as one of the many oppressive attitudes that culture applies to people. However, the theological perspective has a different approach. In the Holy Bible, we already find forms of broadly understood mediality, which - in the article - is understood not only as influences on people, but also as a form of communication, especially in the light of the relation Creator-Creation. At the same time, the concept of anthropology of the Eastern Church adopted in the thesis aims at the subject of reflection on anthropology and mysticism, leading man to the path of knowing God. This knowledge becomes possible only within the Church: a living organism with the head of the Savior, Jesus Christ. In an attempt to analyze mediality of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the article does not ignore any of the hypostases of the indissoluble Holy Trinity. The Old Testament God appears here from the beginning as a media. The New Testament Son of God, the Savior Jesus Christ, becomes a man, to give a man the opportunity to reunite with God, after centuries of lost communication, which is a consequence of the sin of the forefathers Adam and Eve. And the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, both in ecclesiological and individual dimensions, enables this unity. In the light of the issues addressed in the article, the mediality of Jesus Christ has been treated in many aspects.

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