Trinitarian Doctrine for Today's Mission


Book Description

Trinitarian Doctrine for Today's Mission This stimulating little book introduces some of the issues involved in mission in the twentieth century. Newbigin discusses missions from an ecumenical perspective before considering the limits of ecumenicity and the need for truth. He considers that the present situation of the missionary movement has brought the question of the uniqueness and finality of Christ into sharp focus. This question, he argues, and the question of the relation of what God is doing in the mission of the Church and in the secular events of history will only be answered correctly in the framework of a fully and explicitly trinitarian doctrine of God. With and introduction by Eleanor Jackson.




Christian Theology


Book Description

Alister McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction is one of the most internationally-acclaimed and popular Christian theology textbooks in use today. This 5th edition has been completely revised, and now features new and extended material, numerous additional illustrations, and companion resources, ensuring it retains its reputation as the ideal introduction to Christian theology. Fully updated 5th edition of the bestselling textbook, incorporating expanded material, numerous student features and new illustrations Features new sections on Copernicanism and Darwinism Includes extended discussions of Augustine’s doctrine of creation, Trinitarian theologies of religion, and the relation of Christianity to other faiths May be used as a stand-alone volume, or alongside the Christian Theology Reader, 4th edition for a complete overview of the subject Retains the chapter structure of the 4th edition, ensuring comparability with earlier editions and courses based on these Accompanied by a revised instructor’s website featuring expanded resources including study questions and answers; visit www.wiley.com/go/mcgrath for more details and to register for access







Advancing Trinitarian Theology


Book Description

An Exploration of Different Issues in the Doctrine of the Trinity. Throughout the last century, theologians gave great attention to the doctrine of the Trinity, and they largely succeeded in restoring it to a central place in Christian thought. But as they highlighted the novelty of the revolutionary new trinitarianism, a number of generalizations crept into the discussion that requires a careful reevaluation of the classical tradition. Trinitarian Theology—the subject of the second annual Los Angeles Theology Conference—sought to make constructive progress in the doctrine of the Trinity by aligning the trinitarian revival with the ongoing task of retrieving the classical doctrine of the Trinity. The nine diverse essays in this collection include discussions on: Ways to clarify the doctrine of the Trinity without sacrificing its essential mystery. The ways in which trinitarian theology applies practically to the Christian life and mission. Highlighting the counter-revolutionary trends in the most recent trinitarian thought. Discourse on the role Karl Barth played in advancing trinitarian thought. Each of the essays collected in this volume engage with Scripture as well as with others in the field—theologians both past and present, from different confessions—in order to provide constructive resources for contemporary systematic theology and to forge a theology for the future.




Trinitarian Faith and Today's Mission


Book Description

"Trinitarian Doctrine for Today's Mission This stimulating little book introduces some of the issues involved in mission in the twentieth century. Newbigin discusses missions from an ecumenical perspective before considering the limits of ecumenicity and the need for truth. He considers that the present situation of the missionary movement has brought the question of the uniqueness and finality of Christ into sharp focus. This question, he argues, and the question of the relation of what God is doing in the mission of the Church and in the secular events of history will only be answered correctly in the framework of a fully and explicitly trinitarian doctrine of God. With and introduction by Eleanor Jackson." --




The God Who Is with Us


Book Description

Contemporary theologies of mission rely on the central concept of the missio Dei, which states that mission properly belongs to the triune God over the church. However, present accounts fail to establish any corresponding link between God’s trinitarian economy and ontology. In other words, the problem of the missio Dei is the problem of the break between the act and being of God. Benjamin H. Kim argues that a repair is needed for missio Dei theology, and this repair is found in reexamining Barth’s doctrine of revelation. In doing so, the locus of mission moves from God’s trinitarian sending to his trinitarian revealing. The repair is further advanced by Dietrich Bonhoeffer through his concept of person, which functions as the unity of act and being. This account returns mission to its original definition, which was intended to describe the inner-trinitarian being of God in relation to humanity. The concept of person recovers this meaning of mission by locating it first in the person of Christ and second, in the collective person of the church existing as the Christ community. Thus, Bonhoeffer’s description of revelation in terms of personhood provides and account that is more faithful to the missio Dei’s core insights.




Grasping Truth and Reality


Book Description

When Lesslie Newbigin returned to Britain in 1974 after years of missionary service, he observed that his homeland was as much a mission field as India, where he had spent the majority of his missionary career. He concluded that the Western world needed a missionary confrontation. Instead of the traditional approach to missions, however, Newbigin realized that the Western world needed to be confronted theologically. From his earliest days at Cambridge University, Newbigin developed the theological convictions that shaped his understanding of the Christian faith, and he used these theological convictions as criteria to evaluate the belief system of Western culture and to provide an answer to its dilemma. The Enlightenment reintroduced humanism and dualisminto Western culture, which resulted on the loss of purpose and the rise of scepticism. This book discusses Newbigin's theological convictions and how they factored into both his critique of and his solution to Western culture's spiritual and worldview problems. Donald Le Roy cleverly explains Newbigin's solution to reintroduce the Christian belief system into Western culture in order to restore purpose and truth to Westerners and put them back in contact with true reality through Jesus Christ.




The Distinctive Identity of the Church


Book Description

An increasing number of theologians believe that the Western world has moved from an era of Christendom to an era of post-Christendom. This book goes to the heart of the debate related to this shift, asking, How are we to understand the distinctive identity of the church with special reference to its role in a post-Christendom society? It then presents an analysis of the work of the English Reformed theologian Lesslie Newbigin and the American Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder, both of whom reflect on how we should understand this important question. At the end of The Distinctive Identity of the Church, the charge of sectarianism is discussed. It is argued that a missionary God sends the church to the world and, consequently, this sending should fundamentally determine its existence in the world. The book argues that the task that lies before the church in the Western world is not to bypass its distinctiveness with accusations of sectarianism, but to recapitulate an understanding of its own distinctiveness that should be seen as a precondition for its engagement in society. Such an ecclesiological position holds important potential for an understanding of the role of the church in pluralistic Western cultures.




A Missiology of the Road


Book Description

David Bosch (1929-1992) was one of the foremost mission theologians of the twentieth century, at once a prolific scholar, committed church leader, and active participant in the global conciliar and evangelical mission movements. Less well known is Bosch's distinctive role in the South African church's struggle against apartheid. After reviewing Bosch's background and exploring key themes in his understanding of mission and evangelism, Livingston explores Bosch's legacy from the perspective of the missionary nature of the church. The church is God's kingdom community, acting as a witness to and instrument of the coming reign of God. The church is God's alternative community, simultaneously set apart from the world but also for the sake of the world, exemplifying the radical implications of Christ's new community. The church is God's reconciled and reconciling community, serving as a sign and embodiment of God's love in Christ. For those acquainted with Bosch only as the author of his magisterial Transforming Mission, Livingston shows how Bosch integrated his theology and practice in a faithful, contextually relevant way within South Africa and the global church.




From Crisis to Creation


Book Description

Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) was one of the seminal theologians of mission in the twentieth century, and perhaps the most important in the English-speaking world. His thinking was anchored in the practice of mission: he was a missionary in India, a bishop of the Indian church, and a leader in emerging international mission structures. In his late years, he pioneered research on how the gospel could engage with Western culture. For many he is the founding father of the missional church movement. This book is the first to address the crucial role Newbigin played in shaping ecumenical thinking on mission during the twentieth century, filling an important gap in our knowledge of the development of twentieth-century missional theology. It does so by seeking to answer a central question in Newbigin's thinking: How does "mission" relate to "church"? Taking the integration of the International Missionary Council with the World Council of Churches as its central focus, this book provides a unique history of crucial events in the ecumenical movement. But more importantly, through a study of Newbigin's role in the theological debate, this book demonstrates how missional theology evolved during the postwar period when there was a "sea change" in understandings both of mission and church.