scholarly journals Competing with Christ? A critical Christological analysis of the reliance on Pentecostal prophets in Zimbabwe

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vhumani Magezi ◽  
Collium Banda
Keyword(s):  
Good Health ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Spiritual Power ◽  
Material Wealth ◽  
Integral Component ◽  
The Church ◽  
Power And Authority

How can we make Christological sense of the Zimbabwean Pentecostal prophets’ mediatory role? This article analyses the domineering and mediatory role of the Pentecostal prophets from a Christological perspective. The mediatory role of the Pentecostal prophets is riddled with competition against the mediatory role of Christ between God and humanity (1 Tm 2:5) as it tends to usurp Christ’s role over the church. Instead of being channels that lead people to depend only on Christ for their spiritual security, prosperity Pentecostal prophets present themselves as super spiritual authorities who must be relied upon by the believers in addition to Christ. Prosperity Pentecostalism, also known as the gospel of wealth and health, emphasises that prosperity in material wealth and good health is an integral component of the Christian faith. As super spiritual authorities, Pentecostal prophets project themselves as uniquely anointed by God. This places them closer to God than other people and, in turn, they receive spiritual power and authority over other believers. The prophets mediate their presence in the lives of their followers through anointed objects such as their personal pictures, anointed oil and armbands. This article analyses the distorted views about Christ created by the reliance on the prophets. The article concludes by proposing steps that should be taken to empower Christians to dissuade themselves from reliance on such prophets.

The Changing Role of Women in the Early Christian World

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-238
Author(s):  
Howard Clark Kee
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Protestant Reformation ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Sexual Boundaries ◽  
Changing Role ◽  
The Church

“[T]he vitality of the church is regained when it recovers the revolutionary insights of its founders, Jesus and Paul. In the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century and in the renewal movements that have taken place in both Roman Catholic and Protestant circles in the present century, it has been the fresh appropriation of the insights of Jesus and Paul about the inclusiveness of people across ethnic, racial, ritual, social, economic, and sexual boundaries that has restored the relevance and vitality of Christian faith and has lent to Christianity as a social and intellectual movement a positive, humane force in the wider society.”

Rediscovering the Formative Power of Scripture Reading for the Church

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Mark A. Maddix
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Modern Approach ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Bible Reading ◽  
The Church

Central to Christianity is the belief is that the Bible is inspired and authoritative for Christian faith and practice. Even though Christians affirm the authority of the Bible, there is a decline in Bible reading and Scripture usage in worship and discipleship. More recent biblical scholarship, built on a pre-modern approach to interpretation, moves to a reader-centered approach to biblical reading. The focus of this article is to explore a reader-centered approach to Bible reading that gives focus to the role of Scripture as means of formation. This rediscovery of the formative power of Scripture has implications for how the Bible is appropriated in worship and discipleship for the church.

scholarly journals „Następca św. Piotra, ale jeszcze z pełną świadomością następcy św. Stanisława”. O pielgrzymie i pielgrzymce Jana Pawła II do Polski A.D. 1979

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (1 Zeszyt specjalny) ◽  
pp. 421-438
Author(s):  
Beata K. Obsulewicz
Keyword(s):  
Home Country ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Holy See ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Special Character ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Church

The subject of this article is the first pilgrimage by John Paul II to Poland in 1979. An analysis of his speeches delivered during this pilgrimage and the historical circumstances of the pilgrimage itself (the first pilgrimage by a Pope to Poland, a country with a socialist system at that time which promoted atheism; a visit by a Polish Pope to his home country shortly after his election to the Holy See; a visit to a Pope’s homeland other than Italy – a phenomenon unknown in the history of the papacy for the previous 455 years) allows us to capture its special character in the history of Poland and in the life of Karol Wojtyła / John Paul II. The Pope was faced with a difficult pastoral and diplomatic task, which was to fulfil his religious mission (strengthening the Christian faith in Poland and in other Slavic nations; showing the path of development for the Church in Poland; showing gratitude to the Polish Church for her heroic perseverance in the People’s Republic of Poland; emphasising the cultural role of Christianity in the world) and also to change the image of Poland in the world (while carefully avoiding any escalation of tensions between the Church and the state authorities and the influence of the USSR in Poland). This was accompanied – from a sociopsychological perspective – by his taking up the role of leader of the universal Church, a role which he had to learn, and, at the same time, maintaining the style of communication with his countrymen which he had developed earlier while a church dignitary in Poland.

Historical and Canonical Aspects of a New Testament Theology

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-639
Author(s):  
Robert Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
Authorial Intention ◽  
Historical Methods ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn nineteenth-century discussions of the scope and methods of New Testament theology more attention was paid to the new historical methods than to the reasons for this discipline. Its independence from dogmatics was new, but it was the role of Scripture in the life of the Church which made it important in educating clergy. Theological interpretation of any passage of Scripture might serve as a source of Christian faith and theology, but for Scripture to be a norm, a survey of the whole New Testament is needed. New Testament theologies using historical exegesis and attending to all the canonical writings can offer (or imply) proposals about the identity of Christianity, and in the conversation between such proposals a measure of consensus can be expected where there is agreement to respect textual intention. Most Christian reading of Scripture to nourish and communicate faith is done through translations and without asking about authorial intention, but theologians making proposals about the identity of Christianity which accord with the witness of Scripture are subject to more constraints for the sake of consensus. They need to survey the whole New Testament using critical historical exegesis and background knowledge of the ancient world to inform a perspective derived from their contemporary understandings of Christianity. Such theologically interested surveys are properly called New Testament theologies.

scholarly journals The rediscovery of the role of the laity in the mission of the Church � with reference to the Baptist Union of Southern Africa (BUSA)

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Christofides ◽  
Piet G.J. Meiring
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Christian Missions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Missional Churches ◽  
The Church

The role of the laity is at the cutting edge of Christian missions today. The author conducted a number of interviews and questionnaires to determine the status of the laity across denominations of the Christian faith in South Africa. His findings are in a number of instances startling: The picture of the laity, and what lay Christians in South Africa believe, run against general expectations. Some suggestions and proposals on how to empower the laity in general, and the churches of the Baptist Union in Southern Africa (BUSA) in particular, are made. The underlining motive for the research is to encourage the BUSA churches to become truly missional churches that make a difference in the world in which we live.

The Mohammetan and Idolatry

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Bray
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Anglo Norman ◽  
The Church

The anachronistic ascription of membership of the Moslem faith to the persecutors of Christians in the period before the Peace of the Church appears in Anglo-Norman hagiography in the late twelfth century, or early thirteenth, and in English lives later in the thirteenth century. It may be, at least in part, the result of the corruption in meaning of a derivative of the word Mahomet, found in Anglo-Norman as mahumez in the early twelfth century and in English by the end of the same century in the form of maumez, idols. The confusion in identification was made possible by the attribution of the rôle of the Roman officials to the Moslems—both groups martyred Christians in large numbers—and by an association of practices and qualities based on the opposition, real or alleged, of both Romans and Moslems to the Christian faith.

scholarly journals Unintended Meanings In Christian Faith-Based Discourse

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-102
Author(s):  
Oluwakemi Titilola Olayemi
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Religious Language ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Language Usage ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Utmost Care ◽  
The Church

Language, in different facets of human life, has always enjoyed the attention of scholars over the years. There have been works on Christian faith-based discourse, some of which are termed ‘the language of religion’, ‘religious language’, ‘Christian religious language’, ‘language of worship’, etc. most of these works focus on register or vocabulary. With the proliferation of churches in Nigeria today, certain linguistic trends have emerged in Christian faith-based discourse. This paper investigates these linguistic trends in Christian assemblies with the aim of highlighting the meanings they could convey. Fifteen speech samples produced by a set of purposively sampled participants who occupy certain leadership positions in their assemblies are used in this study. Some of the speech samples were transcribed from existing audio-tapes and interaction with church leaders while others were recorded through note-taking during church activities. The findings reveal that the trend of language usage under study projectsunpleasant and unintended meanings which may inhibit the successful practice of the Christian faith by adherents, and hinder intending or prospective members. Unintended expressions tend to underrate God and magnify Satan (the archenemy of the Christians), or they mock the Christian faith and exaggerate life’s problems. Words are powerful and as such, must be employed in Christian faith-based discourses with utmost care. The role of language in the progress of the church, physically or spiritually, should not be underestimated.

scholarly journals The views of philosophers and Christian authors about the Church as a factor in shaping the sense of responsibility for the fate of society

2013 ◽  
pp. 33-39
Author(s):  
O. Saboduha
Keyword(s):  
Social Institution ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
The Church ◽  
Ukrainian Society

The Church at all times of human existence occupied an important place in the life of society. Under modern conditions, people often feel unprotected, uncertain, and therefore forced to seek support and faith in their happy future. One way of creating a sense of inner peace for a believer is to communicate with God, and the Church acts as an intermediary in this process. Therefore, in our opinion, the Church, as a social institution, is to a large extent responsible for the cultivation of those values ​​which it preaches and which consciously and subconsciously assimilates the citizens. Therefore, we believe that the Church should not be alienated from the problems of society, but, on the contrary, its activities should be oriented towards its modernization and, above all, in the spiritual aspect. For the Ukrainian society in its spiritual life Christian faith was and remains the leading one. In this article, we aim to justify the role of the Christian Churches in shaping the sense of responsibility of our believers.

‘God has come Amongst us Slowly and we didn’t Realise it!’ The Transformation of Anglican Missionary Heritage in Sudan

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
African State ◽  
South Sudan ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Anglican Church ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
South Sudanese ◽  
The Church

This chapter examines the missionary origins, through the agency of the Church Missionary Society, of the Anglican Church in Sudan (the Episcopal Church of the Sudan) and its transformation during its 100-year history, with special reference to the last fifty years. It is a study of the cultural transformation of missionary heritage in the cauldron of war and devastation. In particular the experience of the Dinka and Azande people is reflected upon. The emergence of a truly vernacular Anglicanism is described, distinctive but also faithful to Anglican principle. The significance of Bible translation, vernacular liturgy, and hymns is assessed, and the role of this new indigenous expression of Christian faith in the emergence of a distinctive South Sudanese identity that would eventually lead to independence and the setting up of a new African state, South Sudan.

scholarly journals Menguraikan Seksualitas Alkitabiah Pada Remaja Kristen: Sebuah Upaya Pembinaan Warga Gereja

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-62
Author(s):  
Novi Saria Harita ◽  
David Eko Setiawan ◽  
Daniel Irwanto Sinabariba ◽  
Karima Buulolo
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Period ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Premarital Sex ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
Physical Changes ◽  
The Church

The purpose of this research is to describe Biblical Sexuality in Christian Adolescents as an Effort to Form Church Citizens. This is because adolescence is a transitional period, namely the transition from childhood to adulthood. At this age they also have wants and needs that must be met, such as being greeted, valued as a complete person and invited to exchange ideas like adults and their physical changes also change. The closure of parents to children about sex can also make children take the initiative themselves to find out the answers to their peers and supported by a lack of understanding of sexuality in a biblical manner can encourage them to have premarital sex. The author will answer research problems using the literature method. And based on research results, biblical sexuality can only be done when blessed in a holy marriage. Therefore, the role of the church in coaching is very necessary and can be done through KTBK, Christian faith seminars and personal services.Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menguraikan Seksualitas Alkitabiah Pada Remaja Kristen Sebagai Upaya Pembinaan Warga Geraja. Hal ini dikarenakan masa remaja merupakan masa transisi, yaitu masa peralihan dari masa kanak-kanak menuju dewasa. Pada usia ini juga mereka memiliki keinginan dan kebutuhan yang harus dipenuhi, seperti disapa, dihargai sebagai pribadi yang utuh dan diajak bertukar pikir layaknya orang dewasa serta fisiknya juga mengalami perubahan. Ketertutupan orang tua terhadap anak mengenai seks juga dapat menjadikan anak berinisiatif sendiri untuk mencari tahu jawabannya kepada teman-teman sebayanya dan didukung dengan kurangnya pemahaman seksualitas secara Alkitabiah dapat mendorong mereka untuk melakukan hubungan seks pranikah. Penulis akan menjawab masalah penelitian dengan menggunakan metode kepustakaan. Dan berdasarkan hasil penelitian, seksualitas secara Alkitabiah hanya bisa dilakukan ketika diberkati dalam pernikahan suci. Oleh karena itu, peran gereja dalam pembinaan sangat diperlukan dan dapat dilakukan melalui KTBK, seminar iman Kristiani dan pelayanan personal.

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