scholarly journals Rediscovering a Biblical and Early Patristic View of Atonement through Orthodox–Evangelical Dialogue

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 543
Author(s):  
Petro Kovaliv
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
The Past ◽  
Biblical Study ◽  
Holistic Concept ◽  
Orthodox Theology ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Gospel Message

One of the most effective ways to discover (or rediscover) truth is through dialogue. I believe that both Orthodox and Evangelicals have something important to offer for a reconstruction of a holistic biblical concept of atonement. Orthodox theology has an important perspective to offer, which is not well-known in Western theology—an ontological perspective on atonement. However, Orthodox theologians have lacked assertiveness, clarity, and comprehensiveness in their presentation of this view, especially in connection with biblical texts. In Protestant theology, we can find many critiques of inadequate existing views as well as in-depth biblical study of separate atonement ideas, but what is lacking is a holistic concept of atonement that would be able to harmoniously integrate various biblical atonement metaphors and also faithfully reflect the early patristic view. I believe that an ontological perspective on atonement combined with the integration of key biblical atonement ideas and metaphors can bring us back to the heart of the apostolic and early church gospel message. Several issues have hindered accomplishing such a project in the past. I will point to these problems and show some possible solutions. Finally, I will present the ontological perspective and show how it can integrate various biblical atonement metaphors.

Biblical History in the Thought of R. Ḥaim David Halevy

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Idan Breier
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Conduct ◽  
The State ◽  
Active Part ◽  
Military Force ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
The Past ◽  
Prophetic Literature ◽  
Biblical History ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Temple

Abstract R. Ḥaim David Halevy was an exceptional voice in the Religious-Zionist camp in Israel. While espousing faithfulness to the halakhah, he recognized the importance of changing circumstances with respect both to halakhic rulings and philosophical issues arising in Hebrew law. He viewed the study of history as a practical imperative, necessary to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Frequently adducing biblical texts, he argued that Israel must learn from the patriarchs and maintain a strong military force. In particular, the events leading to the destruction of the Temple and exile prompted him to posit that the State should remain neutral and not take an active part in international affairs. On the basis of the historiographical and prophetic literature, he maintained that fidelity to the divine covenant – i.e., ethical conduct – would safeguard Israel’s existence.

Toward a Theology of Hope

1967 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-226
Author(s):  
Carl E. Braaten
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Question

“The debates that have gone on between Schweitzer, Cullmann, Bultmann, Dodd, Jeremias, etc., have … only [yielded] answers to the historical question: What did Jesus or the early church happen to hope? They have not taken up the question of what it means for man to hope at all, whether to be human is to have hope, and therefore in what way eschatologies from the past may be addressed to man today, offering him the ground, guidelines, and goal of his inevitable hoping.”

Church Historians of the Early Twentieth Century: Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930)

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. C. FREND
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Principal Factor ◽  
Early History ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Great Complexity

As in every other branch of learning, the study of the early history of Christianity has undergone massive changes during the last century. This has been due not only to the vast accumulation of knowledge through new discoveries, but to new approaches to the subject, together with the rise of archaeology as a principal factor in providing fresh information. The study of the early Church has as a result moved steadily from dogma to history, from attempts to interpret divine revelation through the development of doctrinal orthodoxy down the ages, to research into the historical development of an earthly institution of great complexity and of great significance in the history of mankind over the past two thousand years.

Martyrdom in East and West: The Saga of St George of Nobatia and England

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 47-56
Author(s):  
William H. C. Frend
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complete Rejection ◽  
East And West ◽  
The Military ◽  
Benedictine Monasticism

Martyrs were the heroes of the Early Church. For a long period after the reign of Constantine until Benedictine monasticism took over their mantle, their lives and exploits provided a focus for the idealism of Christians in Western Europe. They represented the victory of human steadfastness and loyalty in defence of the faith triumphing over irreligious tyranny and the powers of evil. In the East, however, where Constantine had emphasized as early as 324 his complete rejection of the persecutions of his pagan predecessors, it was not long before memories of the past were transformed to meet other pressing needs of the day. Threatened first by Germanic and Slav invaders and then by the armies of Islam, Byzantine cities sought the protection of martyrs and the heavenly hierarchy that led from them through the Archangel Michael to the Virgin herself. In Nobatia, the northernmost of the three Nubian kingdoms that straddled the Nile valley between Aswan and a point south of Khartoum, the military martyrs, George, Mercurius, Theodore, and Demetrius seconded the endeavours of Michael and the Virgin to preserve the kingdoms and their Christian religion.

Julian of Norwich, the Bible, and creative, orthodox theology: always novel, never new

2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-325
Author(s):  
Thomas Andrew Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Julian Of Norwich ◽  
The State ◽  
Considerable Time ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Orthodox Theology ◽  
Biblical Language ◽  
Biblical Texts

AbstractScholars have spent considerable time attempting to characterise Julian of Norwich's relationship to biblical texts. This article will first survey the state of scholarship with respect to Julian and the Bible, defending a minimalist thesis: that Julian thinks theologically in the rhythms of scripture, rendering suggestions that she haphazardly borrows from biblical language demonstrably false. Subsequently, literary-critical readings of biblical texts echoed in the parable of the lord and servant will be deployed to show how Julian echoes not only the language of the Bible, but also its themes, narratives and theology. By highlighting a particular kind of imaginative theology that is nevertheless deeply biblical, the article argues that Julian is at once creative and orthodox: always novel, but never new.

scholarly journals God’s Omnipotence: A Literary Investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prof. Dr. Godfrey Harold
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Open Theism ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Divine Omnipotence ◽  
The World ◽  
Orthodox Theology

The omnipotence of God can be defined as the perfect ability of God to do all things that are consistent with the divine character. Open theists see God as one who is influenced as God interacts with human beings in time and space (temporally). Thus, for Open Theists, God is affected and influenced by the world. This paper revisits the historical, biblical and theological grounds for the doctrine of omnipotence with the aim of re-establishing the relevance of divine omnipotence. Using a literary investigation this article traces the developments of the doctrine of God’s power from the Early Church Fathers to the Reformers to establish whether the articulation of God’s power within Open Theism resonates with Orthodox Theology and Evangelicalism.

scholarly journals Fulfillment in Continuity: The Orthodox Christian Theology of Biblical Israel

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-236
Author(s):  
Demetrios E. Tonias
Keyword(s):  
Christian Theology ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Orthodox Christian ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Orthodox Theology ◽  
The Church

Abstract Concentrating on the Orthodox theology of biblical Israel within the context of fulfillment theology, the argument is that the early Church envisioned itself as the continuation of Israel of the Jewish Bible rather than its replacement. In the author’s view, the current understanding of the distinction between replacement and fulfillment theology, the early Christian theological conception of the Church as Israel, and the ways in which both contemporaneous pagans and Jews viewed the nascent Christian faith support this assertion.

ΠΕΙΡΑΣΜΟΣ, The Lord's Prayer, and the Massah Tradition

1966 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelius B. Houk
Keyword(s):  
Reference Material ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Lord's Prayer ◽  
Biblical Study ◽  
The Church

Ch. Dodd in According to the Scriptures argues that the early Church had a distinctive method of biblical study. Quotations and citations of the OT were employed in oral tradition, and by some NT writers, as pointers indicating larger contexts or whole sections of scripture. That such sections of the OT were in common use is demonstrated by two or more NT authors independently referring to the same passage, although perhaps to different verses. Furthermore Dodd holds that the early Church used these longer passages to provide witness to ‘the determinate counsel of God which was fulfilled in the gospel facts’. This body of OT reference material, and its application to the NT events, underlies the theological expositions of the Church, especially that of Paul, the fourth evangelist, and the author of Hebrews.

Missiological Dimensions of Philosophy

Philotheos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-75
Author(s):  
Bogdan Lubardić ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Cultural Model ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Significant Function ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Contact Points ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Gospel Message

This study demonstrates how and with what aim philosophy is received into the missionary activities of the apostles Paul and Luke as regards the Areopagitica in Acts 17. By an ingenious utilization of Greco-Roman learning and paideia, generally, and philosophy, particularly, Lukan Paul offers a context oriented cross-cultural model of preaching the kerygmatic word as of evangelization. A model for the inculturation of the power and meanings of the Gospel message is offered. In this a significant function is allocated to disciplined mindful reasoning, viz. philosophy. The author demonstrates the special ways in which contact-points are made, and common ground established, between the apostle Paul and Athenian philosophers. This allows him to observe that philosophy is endorsed by the primordial Church: both (a) as a dialectical (critical analytical) and rhetorical (per­suasive oratorical) science-skill of addressing significant intellectual others and (b) as a faith-friendly mode of the Christian’s practice of philosophy. The author infers a number of conclusions regarding the substantial role that philosophy acquires within the early Church. Moreover, the Christian endorsement of philosophy as a missionary tool has its grounding in the apostolic Church and, consequentially, it has its grounding in the New Testament. In this way philosophy, utilized and re-functionalized by the apostles Paul and Luke themselves, in its special way, participates in the “authoritative establishment of tradition by means of apostolic origin”. The missionary model laid-out in Acts 17:16-34 has lasting value and needs to be continuously re-actualized: the same follows suit for a faith-conducive practice of philosophy.

scholarly journals Hukum Utama Dalam Mempersiapkan Khotbah

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-34
Author(s):  
Hasanema Wau
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Past ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The One ◽  
Academic Degrees

A sermon today (here) is built from a text written thousands of years ago and addressed to a specific person or community. Serious efforts are needed to bridge the cultural gap between today's readers and first readers. Two temptations to watch out for: first, focus on exploring and describing various historical arguments. The sermon focuses on patterns of interpretation of the biblical texts relating to the past in the area of ​​Israel and beyond. Second, the focus is to be relevant, so that it ignores what the author intends, what is understood by the recipient of the letter. The Scriptures are not a letter that is only able to be solved by an expert in a line of academic degrees. On the one hand it must find out the meaning of the text (for writers and readers), on the other hand it must find principles that can be applied now and here. Balance is a demand! The Word of God speaks to all generations, so it is not enough to rediscover the original meaning of a passage without describing the significance of the passage for today. Abstrak Indonesia Sebuah khotbah hari ini (di sini) dibangun dari teks yang ditulis ribuan tahun yang lalu dan ditujukan kepada orang atau komunitas tertentu. Upaya serius diperlukan untuk menjembatani kesenjangan budaya antara pembaca saat ini dan pembaca pertama. Dua godaan yang harus diwaspadai: pertama, fokus mengeksplorasi dan mendeskripsikan berbagai argumen sejarah. Khotbah berfokus pada pola penafsiran teks-teks alkitabiah yang berkaitan dengan masa lalu di wilayah Israel dan sekitarnya. Kedua, fokusnya harus relevan, sehingga mengabaikan maksud penulis, apa yang dipahami penerima surat. Kitab Suci bukanlah surat yang hanya bisa diselesaikan oleh seorang ahli di bidang akademis. Di satu sisi harus mencari tahu makna teks (bagi penulis dan pembaca), di sisi lain harus menemukan prinsip-prinsip yang bisa diterapkan sekarang dan di sini. Keseimbangan adalah permintaan Firman Tuhan berbicara kepada semua generasi, jadi tidaklah cukup untuk menemukan kembali arti asli dari suatu bagian tanpa menjelaskan pentingnya bagian tersebut untuk hari ini.  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document