scholarly journals Paul’s method of influence in 1 Thessalonians

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bruce Button
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Good News ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Social Scientific

Although the field of leadership in the New Testament and in the Pauline Letters has receiveda great deal of attention, there are still many issues over which scholars disagree. It is proposedin this article that the ongoing use of insights from social-scientific models can help to clarifysome of these issues. Those models should not be used in such a way as to impose themselveson the biblical text or the historical data, but to clarify concepts, create analytical categoriesand sensitise the New Testament scholar to new questions which can be asked of the text in itshistorical context. The article seeks insights from the power/interaction model of French andRaven, and analyses 1 Thessalonians in terms of some categories and concepts coming fromthe model. It is found that the primary way in which Paul sought to influence the Thessaloniancommunity was by preaching the gospel and living a life that conformed to its values. Thegospel as the good news of God’s salvation in Christ is God’s means of creating faith in andtransforming the lives of those whom he calls.

Soteria

1953 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-416
Author(s):  
R. McL. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Good News ◽  
Early Church ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Love Of God ◽  
Wrath Of God

In the Gospel according to St. John it is written that ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ In these familiar words is summed up the message of the Bible as a whole, and of the New Testament in particular. In spite of all that may be said of sin and depravity, of judgment and the wrath of God, the last word is one not of doom but of salvation. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a Gospel of salvation, of deliverance and redemption. The news that was carried into all the world by the early Church was the Good News of the grace and love of God, revealed and made known in Jesus Christ His Son. In the words of Paul, it is that ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself’.

scholarly journals ’n Verruimde invalshoek tot die verlede? Die sosiaal-wetenskaplike benadering tot die Nuwe Testament

1991 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Joubert
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scientific Approach ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Social Scientific

A broadened perspective to the past? The social scientific approach to the New Testament This paper focuses on the possibilities that the social scientific approach holds out for the understanding of the New Testament. A review of the contributions of the sociological and the cultural anthropological approaches to the New Testament is undertaken before the social-scientific approach as a whole is evaluated. The use of social-scientific models, in particular, in the construction of the possible social contexts of the New Testament documents, is evaluated in terms of the ability of these contexts to establish ‘new’ systems of meaning.

The Biblical World of Limited Good in Cultural, Social, and Technological Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Douglas E. Oakman
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Economic Production ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Social Scientific

Forty years ago, Bruce Malina led the way in applying social-scientific models and concepts to the study of the New Testament. He especially argued that respectful reading scenarios could be drawn from the cultural anthropology of the Mediterranean world, which offered the nearest contemporary analogy to biblical societies. His early work on limited good beliefs in biblical cultures is here extended to investigate links between cultural beliefs and conditions of agrarian economic production and to test several corollaries in the cases of the Jesus group in Palestine and Christ-followers in the Roman cities. It is argued that limited good beliefs in the New Testament are related to the actual conditions of the low-productive societies and social-stratification realities in which the Bible was inscribed.

Mary Magdalene

2019 ◽  
pp. 427-447
Author(s):  
Ann Graham Brock
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Good News ◽  
Mary Magdalene ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Visionary Leader

The New Testament gospels and numerous extracanonical texts portray Mary Magdalene as one of the most significant of Jesus’s disciples, present at Jesus’s crucifixion and primary among the resurrection witnesses. Moreover, many of these ancient sources portray Jesus or heavenly messengers or both commissioning her to tell the other disciples the good news. As a result, many claim apostolic authority for her, and some even call her “apostle of the apostles.” Among key texts that feature her are the Gospel of Philip, Pistis Sophia, and the Manichaean Psalms. She may also be the protagonist in the Gospel of Mary, although a few suppose her to be Mary the Mother or Mary of Bethany. The portrayals of Mary Magdalene often feature her as an especially prominent, outspoken, visionary leader, who, in postresurrection dialogues with Jesus, frequently demonstrates insights beyond other disciples, including Peter, who often challenges her.

scholarly journals Piety and devotion before God in pastoral counselling work relating to the persons touched by crime

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-85
Author(s):  
Martin Kruklis
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Personal Qualities ◽  
Pastoral Counselling ◽  
In Christ

The article focuses on an exegetical analysis of the piety and devotion before God as the main personal qualities of a pastoral counsellor. They are revealed as the basis for making a unity with God while performing the activities of a pastoral counsellor. The article deals with the importance of the piety before God in the development of respectful relationships with peers. The understanding of a new creature in Christ is linked with the ability to build a mutual dedicated relationship between pastoral counsellors and persons under their care. Charity is seen as a service to the least brothers, concluding that in the New Testament everything related to the words poverty and suffering reveals the presence of the Kingdom of God on earth, as well as the fact that any person in our lives can become the least brother of Jesus.   Keywords: Piety and devotion before God, pastoral counselling.

scholarly journals Teologia kapłaństwa i urzędu kapłańskiego w I wieku chrześcijaństwa

2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Dariusz Kasprzak
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Good News ◽  
New Covenant ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry.In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.

scholarly journals Armoedekultuur: Die leefwereld van die Nuwe Testament en die situasie in Suid-Afrika vandag

1996 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries Van Aarde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Culture Of Poverty ◽  
Economic Statistics ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Social Scientific

Culture of poverty: The world of the New Testament then and the situation in South Africa today. In this article poverty in the world of the New Testament is explained in the  light of the social dynamics of the first century Eastern Mediterranean. The focus is on the sub-culture of the disreputable poor. Features of a culture of poverty are reflected upon from a social-scientific perspective in order to try to understand why poverty is intensifying in South Africa today. The article aims at identifying guidelines for Christians in using the New Testament in a profound way to challenge the threat of poverty. The following aspects are discussed: the underdevelopment of third-world societies over against the technical evolution in first-world societies during the past two hundred years, economic statistics with regard to productivity and unemployment in South Africa, the social identity of the disreputable poor, poverty within the pre-print culture of the biblical period, and the church as the household of God where Christians should have compassion for others.

Poetics or Homiletics? Hearing and Feeling the New Testament in Erasmus’ Paraphrases

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-126
Author(s):  
Reinier Leushuis
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Affective Response ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
The Senses ◽  
Over Time

Abstract One of the unique homiletic challenges of the Erasmian paraphrase is the transmission of faith in divine matters from the page to the reader’s mind. By which form of imitation is the acquisition of faith by the disciples and their communities not only cognitively understood by, but also imitated in the reader’s mind? Constituting what can be called a poetics of Erasmus’ paraphrastic writing, questions of literary imitation and transmission are exemplified in his enrichment of the sensorial and emotional aspects of the biblical narrative. This essay examines instances where the biblical text highlights the disciples’ witnessing of Jesus both in earthly life and as a risen but living presence. Such instances lead to paraphrastic developments that exemplify reader-oriented imitation by instrumentalizing the senses, in particular hearing and touch, to steer the reader’s inner affective response, and thus to facilitate the acquisition of faith. Although sight is not neglected, I argue that in this process hearing and feeling (both as touch and emotion) are poetically and homiletically privileged to lodge the holy Word in the innermost affective sanctuary of a community of readers and listeners over time who, unlike the witnessing disciples, can no longer see, hear, and touch Christ.

scholarly journals Image (of God) as ethical injunction: A social-scientific perspective

1995 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Van Staden
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Religious Symbol ◽  
Metaphorical Language ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The Image Of God

Taking cognizance of the fact that language - especially metaphorical language - can be expressive of deeplying cultural or religious symbol sets in man, the study explores the  possible original content of the syntagma εἰΚὼν ΤΟῦ θεΟῦ in both the Old and the New Testament. It is argued that there is a definite shift in the symbol set of which the concept (metaphor) 'image of God' is expressive. Whilst the Old Testament usage of the term probably attests to the conviction that humankind is part of the genus God and may even resemble him physically, the New Testament substitutes Jesus Christ for man as the primary carrier of the 'image of God'. Humankind in general does not reflect that image any more. It is only to be found in those who through faith in Jesus Christ regain the image of God. Our thesis is that the concept of 'image' is to be regarded as much an ethical injunction as it is an ontological state-ment. The faith of adherents to the community of believers finds expres-sion in distinctive behavior - that is, in conduct that clearly identifies them as reflecting the image of God.

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