Ecclesial Solidarity in the Pauline Corpus


Book Description

Over the years there have been many treatments of Paul’s theology that have focused on what the churches he wrote to were like, and what that might mean for today. However, what Paul says about relationships between churches has been frequently neglected, or only briefly considered. This book analyzes Paul’s use of the word “church” as well as family imagery, holiness language, body imagery, and Paul’s understanding of imitation and apostleship to demonstrate the breadth of his understanding of relationships between churches, of inter-church solidarity. Inter-church solidarity is shown to be integral to Paul’s understanding of church from the earliest letters, and the book exposes a rich tapestry of relationships that should challenge and encourage the church in the twenty-first century.




When the Towers Fall


Book Description

The Book of Revelation describes natural disasters that we have only recently come to know about: coronal mass ejections, global wildfires, asteroid impacts. Could it be that they lie not far in the future? The vision of the four horsemen came to pass in 1870–1945. Nineteen centuries after the Romans drove the Jews from their land, Israel in 1948 was restored to statehood, and Jesus foretold that there would be people alive then who would still be alive when he returned. Revelation refers to the Arab-Israeli wars that in 1967 and 1973 threatened to destroy the new state; also to a time, still in the future, when the country will be conquered. Like the picture on a jigsaw box, John’s prophecy enables us, the last generation, to fit the scattered pieces of Old Testament prophecy together (much of it unfulfilled) and look back on what God has been doing through all history, from Creation to the present day. The present age climaxes with the resurrection of Israel’s dead and a global earthquake that destroys civilization—our civilization. Unprecedented suffering lies ahead, and we need to be prepared for it. After these things the kingdom will come.




Intercommunal Ecclesiology


Book Description

What do Christian communities imagine when they think of themselves as "church"? And how do these ecclesiological imaginations inform Christianity's past and present entanglements with violence and injustice? Intercommunal Ecclesiology addresses these questions by examining the distinctive role intergroup dynamics play in shaping Christian collective behaviors against the "other" that are incongruent with Christian theological principles, such as love of neighbor. Through interdisciplinary engagement with social psychology, systems theory, biblical criticism, and studies in the early history of Christianity, this book makes a case for a theological re-envisioning of the church at the three-way intersection of an anthropology of intergroup dynamics, a soteriology adequately rooted in God's historical salvation plan, and a Christology sensitive to Christ's collective embodiment. The book argues that within God's plan of historical salvation, the church is supposed to function as God's communal response to intercommunal disunity, a role it fulfills with integrity only when and where it enacts itself as a counterperformance to aggression, conflict, and indifference between human communities.







"Modus Et Forma"


Book Description

Modus et forma. Studio di Christopher T. Baglow sulle dimensioni bibliche della teologia di San Tommaso d'Aquino. Questa analisi offre la prova che un approccio ai commentari biblici di san Tommaso che rispetti il loro status in quanto tale e il migliore per lo studio del pensiero di Tommaso stesso e per ritrovare l'unita tra esegesi e teologia. Inquiry into the biblical dimensions of the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas is an area of theological scholarship that has seen tremendous development in the past century. The argument of this study is that this development has been limited by an approach that has often isolated Thomas' exegetical principles and even techniques from the in-depth exploration of Thomas' actual exegetical practice. Consequently, much of the unique value of Thomas' biblical commentaries has yet to be appreciated. Part I focuses on Thomas as an exegete and interpreter of Sacred Scripture. Chapter I is a consideration of Thomas' understanding of both the Bible and the art of interpretation in an attempt to discover how Thomas' presuppositions affect his exegesis. In the second chapter criticisms of Thomas as exegete are examined. Part II consists of an application of this approach to Thomas' Ephesians Lectura. Chapter IV-VI are an analysis of this commentary from the standpoint of the theme Thomas detects in the Epistle - the origination of ecclesial unity. This analysis offers evidence that an approach to Thomas' biblical commentaries which respects their status as such has much to demostrate regarding contemporary access to Thomas' thought and the unity of exegesis and theology. The final chapter contains a summary and an exploration of the implications of the Lectura for contemporary scholarship.




Philippians


Book Description

A case-study in modelling the social make-up of an early Christian community.




The Understanding of Family in Ghana as a Challenge for a Contextual Ecclesiology


Book Description

The life and nature of the Church are better understood in terms of a self-identity that relies on the language and cultural framework of the stakeholders. Since theological reflections do not take place in a vacuum, the socio-cultural context gains importance. The question is: How much culture can the Church, as a whole, accommodate without losing its universal character? With a focus on the West African country of Ghana, this book analyzes the potential trade-offs and conflicts between the Church and culture in a pluri-religious and multi-cultural society. Further, it shows the dangers of exclusion within the Church and offers possible solutions. (Series: Studien zur systematischen Theologie und Ethik - Vol. 64)




Postmissionary Messianic Judaism


Book Description

In recent years, a new form of Messianic Judaism has emerged that has the potential to serve as a bridge between Jews and Christians. Giving voice to this movement, Mark Kinzer makes a case for nonsupersessionist Christianity. He argues that the election of Israel is irrevocable, that Messianic Jews should honor the covenantal obligations of Israel, and that rabbinic Judaism should be viewed as a movement employed by God to preserve the distinctive calling of the Jewish people. Though this book will be of interest to Jewish readers, it is written primarily for Christians who recognize the need for a constructive relationship to the Jewish people that neither denies the role of Jesus the Messiah nor diminishes the importance of God's covenant with the Jews.




Ecclesiology in Reformed Perspective


Book Description

This ecclesiological study argues that Reformed ecclesiology cannot be separated from Reformed Christology. The christological foundation of Reformed doctrine of the church will be examined as Reformed theology portrays the important ecclesiological topics in the light of its christological thoughts. This book offers potential for the future of the church with her pastoral concern. It will serve as a stimulus against the erroneous paths of ecclesiocentrism on the one hand and church-forgetfulness on the other. Even though the chapters of the book deal with classical topics in ecclesiology, the work will try to analyze and answer contemporary challenges the church faces. This book is not a systematic treatment in the sense of an examination of the whole developed in terms of one principle (that is, Christology). Rather, the concern of this book is to expound the Holy Scripture realistically and to engage with the contemporary church in her concrete existence. The study will weave together insights from biblical, historical, confessional, philosophical, and contemporary studies in a fruitful way.




The Politics of Peace


Book Description

Although scholarship has noted the thematic importance of peace in Ephesians, few have examined its political character in a sustained manner throughout the entire letter. This book addresses this lacuna, comparing Ephesians with Colossians, Greek political texts, Dio Chrysostom’s Orations, and the Confucian Four Books in order to ascertain the rhetorical and political nature of its topos of peace. Through comparison with analogous documents both within and without its cultural milieu, this study shows that Ephesians can be read as a politico-religious letter “concerning peace” within the church. Its vision of peace contains common political elements (such as moral education, household management, communal stability, a universal humanity, and war) that are subsumed under the controlling rubric of the unity and cosmic summing up of all things in Christ.