T. F. Torrance As Missional Theologian by Joseph H
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Stewart Sbts 0207D 10169.Pdf
Copyright © 2013 Joe Randell Stewart All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE INFLUENCE OF NEWBIGIN’S MISSIOLOGY ON SELECTED INNOVATORS AND EARLY ADOPTERS OF THE EMERGING CHURCH PARADIGM ___________________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ___________________ In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements of the Degree Doctor of Education ___________________ by Joe Randell Stewart December 2013 APPROVAL SHEET THE INFLUENCE OF NEWBIGIN’S MISSIOLOGY ON SELECTED INNOVATORS AND EARLY ADOPTERS OF THE EMERGING CHURCH PARADIGM Joe Randell Stewart Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Hal K. Pettegrew (Chair) __________________________________________ Timothy P. Jones Date ______________________________ I dedicate this dissertation to my loving wife, Nancy. I will always love you. Thanks for your constant encouragement. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES . x LIST OF FIGURES . xi PREFACE . xii Chapter 1. RESEARCH CONCERN Introduction to the Research Problem . Newbigin’s Influence on the Innovators and Early Adopters Newbigin’s Influence on the Missiology of the Emerging Church The Scope of Newbigin’s Influence Selected Concepts of the Innovators and Early Adopters of the Emerging Church Paradigm . 22 The Pervasive Impact of Christendom . 24 Communal Dimensions of Witness: The Church as a Hermeneutic of the Gospel . .. 30 The Church as Sign, Instrument, and Foretaste . 33 Research Thesis . 40 Focus Statements . 40 Delimitations of the Study . 41 Terminology . 41 iv Chapter Page Research Assumptions . 51 Procedural Overview . 52 2. -
Listening to God and the Missio Dei
Listening to God and the missio Dei By Murray Harold Olson B.Sc, B.Theol A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts University of Divinity Date 12 February, 2016 1 ABSTRACT The early church was a church of mission; incarnational mission. This changed when the church entered into the Christendom era and church membership grew by birth, rather than by conversion, so there was no need for mission. The decline of numbers attending church services in recent years forced the church to look at mission and a number of church-centred models have developed. But in recent years there has been an awareness that mission is not the mission of the church. It is the missio Dei, the mission of God. In this thesis I have outlined the evolution of the concept of the missio Dei and its importance to the church. I have also given some examples of the way that the missio Dei has been put into action and the importance of listening to God when you are involved in it. This listening to God involves listening, individually and as a church, to God using prayer and Scripture. It also involves listening to God in the lives of the people in our neighbourhoods. This is because God is active in our neighbourhoods and we can join in this activity of God. 2 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any degree or diploma in any university or other institution and affirm to the best of my knowledge, that this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference in made in the text of the thesis. -
St Basil's Contribution to the Trinitarian Doctrine: A
ST BASIL’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRINITARIAN DOCTRINE: A SYNTHESIS OF GREEK PAIDEIA AND THE SCRIPTURAL WORLDVIEW Philip Kariatlis Abstract: St Basil’s contribution to the formulation of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity has long been acknowledged in the Christian tradition. Indeed, he was responsible for articulating the ‘orthodox’ vision of God with theological and philosophical originality that truly laid the foundations upon which the way of pondering the Trinitarian mystery in the East was established. His achievement lay in his remarkable ability to ennoble the culture of the day with the Christian message without in any way compromising the latter. This paper explores the Trinitarian theology of St Basil with a view towards highlighting the harmonious synthesis of Greek paideia and the scriptural worldview. ndeniably, the Church’s teaching on the mystery of the Holy Trinity stands at the very heart of Christian belief. Indeed, Uit has rightly been recognised as Christianity’s differentia specifica, namely that specific teaching which clearly distinguishes the 1 Christian faith from all other forms of monotheism. Notwithstanding the importance of this teaching and the fact that it is firmly rooted in the Scriptures, it nevertheless took the early Church many years to acquire a clearly articulated theology of the Trinitarian mystery. The need for precise terminology particularly emerged when the Church had to define with accuracy in what way the one God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – namely, the Father almighty – was related to Jesus Christ – who was professed to be God’s only begotten Son, his eternal Word and Image – PHRONEMA, VOL. -
The Catholic Church, Being Committed to the View That Christ Provided For
CONTEMPORARY UNDERSTANDING OF THE IRREFORMABILITY OF DOGMA The Catholic Church, being committed to the view that Christ provided for an abiding living magisterium to herald in an authori- tative way the revelation fully communicated in apostolic times, has throughout its history been obliged to defend its position against two sets of adversaries. On one flank are the archaists, who maintain that the apostolic faith, as set forth in the Bible, admits of no further dogmatic development. On the other flank are the rationalists and modernists who contend that the native ability of the human intelli- gence to achieve progress in all fields demands that the Church should not commit itself to any past revelation as permanently normative for the present and the future. In the time of Pius IX the Roman magisterium had to address itself to both these sets of adversaries. In several authoritative documents the Holy See made use of the phrase of Vincent of Lerins that the Church's teaching evolves homogeneously in eodetn scilicet dogmate, eodern sensu, eademque sententia (DS 3020; cf. DS 3802, 3043). This formula, like the Chalcedonian definition regarding the two natures of Christ, is not so much a solution as an effort to ward off simplistic solutions that would suppress one aspect or the other of the question. Further probing is necessary in order to discern how dogma remains self-identical while evolving. The term "irreformability," to which I have been asked to address myself, has been familiar to all Catholic theologians since Vatican Council I. In its Constitution on the Church, Pastor Aeternus, the Council declared that the definitions of the Roman pontiff are irre- formable, not by reason of the consent of the Church, but ex sese (DS 3074). -
Interpreting Short Term Mission for Long Term Discipleship Creating a Standardized Short Term Mission Experience Training Manual for Hales Corners Lutheran Church
Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project Concordia Seminary Scholarship 5-1-2018 Interpreting Short Term Mission for Long Term Discipleship Creating a Standardized Short Term Mission Experience Training Manual for Hales Corners Lutheran Church Chrisitan Wood Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Wood, Chrisitan, "Interpreting Short Term Mission for Long Term Discipleship Creating a Standardized Short Term Mission Experience Training Manual for Hales Corners Lutheran Church" (2018). Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project. 127. https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/127 This Major Applied Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INTERPRETING SHORT TERM MISSION FOR LONG TERM DISCIPLESHIP “CREATING A STANDARDIZED SHORT TERM MISSION EXPERIENCE TRAINING MANUAL FOR HALES CORNERS LUTHERAN CHURCH” A Major Applied Project Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Practical Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Ministry By Christian Richard Wood May 2018 Approved by Dr. Victor Raj Advisor Dr. Robert Kolb Reader Dr. David Peter Reader © 2018 by Christian Richard Wood. All rights reserved. ii To by beautiful bride, April, and our sons, Elijah, Ezra, and Caleb. You have blessed me beyond words, and I am honored to be a family on mission for the Lord. -
Alexander of Alexandria and the Homoousion
Vigiliae Christianae Vigiliae Christianae 66 (2012) 482-502 brill.com/vc Alexander of Alexandria and the Homoousion Mark Edwards Christ Church, Oxford, OX1 1DP, United Kingdom: [email protected] Abstract This paper responds to recent publications which play down the role of Bishop Alex- ander of Alexandria in securing the adoption of the term homoousion at the Nicene Council of 325. It argues that, while the term is not employed in any surviving work from his hand, there is some reason to believe that he sanctioned the use of it by his colleagues. There is no doubt that before the Council he had already declared the Son to be “from the Father’s essence”, and it is all but certain that when this phrase was challenged, together with the homoousion at Nicaea, it was he who produced a concil- iatory exegesis of both innovations, relying on the theology that had already been expounded in his letters Philostorgius’ story that he and Hosius of Cordoba had con- certed a plan to introduce the homoousion is not implausible, and it should not be assumed that the author of an anonymous life of Constantine, which corroborates this narrative, is merely paraphrasing Philostorgius. Their testimony is consistent with that of Ambrose of Milan, who can be shown to have been acquainted both with docu- ments and with witnesses of the proceedings at the Council. Keywords Nicaea, Alexander of Alexandria, homoousion, creed, Trinity, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Arius To whom do we owe the presence in the Nicene Creed of the adjective homoousios? There was a time when everyone would have held the opinion, lately endorsed again by Henry Chadwick, that “anti-Arian leaders” had already resolved to press it upon the Council of 325 before its opening.1 The parties to this compact were always assumed to have been Alexander 1) H. -
Trinity Handouts.Xlsx
Alexander of Alexandria (d.326) Ossius of Cordova (c.256-357) Apollinarius (d.390) Arius of Alexandria (256-336) Hillary of Potiers (c.310-367) Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390) Irenaeus Constantine (272-337) Athanasius (296-373) Eunomius (d.393) (130-202) Eusebius of Caesarea (263-339) Basil of Caesarea (330-379) Gregory of Nyssa (335-395) AD 200 AD 300 AD 400 AD 500 Constantine died (337) Tertullian (165-225) Constantine became Council of Origen (185-254) Emporer (312) His sons, Constantine II, Ephesus Constantius II, and (431) Council of Edict of Milan Constans succeed him as Chalcedon (313) co-emporers (451) COUNCIL OF NICAEA COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE May 19 - June 20, 325 May - July 9, 381 318 Fathers in Attendance 150 Fathers in Attendance We believe in one God the Father all powerful, We believe in one God the Father all-powerful, maker of maker of heaven and of earth, all things both seen and unseen. and of all things both seen and unseen. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, the only-begotten begotten from the Father, begotten from the Father that is from the substance [Gr. ousias, Lat. substantia ] before all the ages, of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten [Gr. gennethenta , Lat. natum ] begotten not made [Gr. poethenta , Lat. factum ], not made, CONSUBSTANTIAL [Gr. homoousion , Lat. unius substantiae consubstantial (quod Graeci dicunt homousion) ] with the Father, with the Father, -
The Trinitarian Ecclesiology of Thomas F. Torrance
The Trinitarian Ecclesiology of Thomas F. Torrance Kate Helen Dugdale Submitted to fulfil the requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Otago, November 2016. 1 2 ABSTRACT This thesis argues that rather than focusing on the Church as an institution, social grouping, or volunteer society, the study of ecclesiology must begin with a robust investigation of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Utilising the work of Thomas F. Torrance, it proposes that the Church is to be understood as an empirical community in space and time that is primarily shaped by the perichoretic communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, revealed by the economic work of the Son and the Spirit. The Church’s historical existence is thus subordinate to the Church’s relation to the Triune God, which is why the doctrine of the Trinity is assigned a regulative influence in Torrance’s work. This does not exclude the essential nature of other doctrines, but gives pre-eminence to the doctrine of the Trinity as the foundational article for ecclesiology. The methodology of this thesis is one of constructive analysis, involving a critical and constructive appreciation of Torrance’s work, and then exploring how further dialogue with Torrance’s work can be fruitfully undertaken. Part A (Chapters 1-5) focuses on the theological architectonics of Torrance’s ecclesiology, emphasising that the doctrine of the Trinity has precedence over ecclesiology. While the doctrine of the Church is the immediate object of our consideration, we cannot begin by considering the Church as a spatiotemporal institution, but rather must look ‘through the Church’ to find its dimension of depth, which is the Holy Trinity. -
“As the Father Has Sent Me, Even So I Am Sending You”: the Divine Missions and the Mission of the Church
JETS 63.3 (2020): 535–58 “AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, EVEN SO I AM SENDING YOU”: THE DIVINE MISSIONS AND THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH TOREY TEER* Abstract: Presentations advancing an ecclesiology that favors the church’s ontology before its function have become more common in recent years. Further, mission models employing a Trini- tarian framework (viz., the missio Dei) have likewise become popular in contemporary conver- sation. This project explores the implications of the divine missions—of the Son and of the Spirit—upon the mission of the church while also drawing out some pneumatological emphases vis-à-vis ecclesiology. Specifically, I present a biblical-theological synthesis of the divine missions grounded upon Johannine language of “sending,” framed by Thomas Aquinas’s conception of the divine missions, and augmented by John Calvin’s notion of the “double grace” conferred via union with Christ. I then apply this synthesis to the mission of the church, showing that the church participates—analogically—in the Trinitarian agency carried out in the missio Dei. In so doing, I offer a unique line of reasoning that further supports the church’s ontology before its function as well as a Trinitarian framework for missions. Key words: pneumatology, ecclesiology, missio Dei, Trinitarianism, Johannine theology, Thomistic theology When the concept of “missions” comes up in biblical, theological, or ecclesial discourse, it typically takes one of two forms: the Great Commission (Matt 28:18– 20) or the missio Dei—though thE two arE not mutually ExclusivE. ThE formEr typi- cally refers to the work of the church to bring the gospel to unreached people groups around the world (often called “church missions”), while the latter rEfers to the triunE God’s redemptive mission to the world in which hE graciously allows the church to participate. -
Missio Dei and the Corrosion of Christian Missions
Missio Dei and the Corrosion of Christian Missions Peter Pikkert D.th., Cornerstone Bible College for Mission Training, Beugen, Holland [email protected] Introduction This article argues that missio Dei, a theology of missions embraced much of evangelical Christendom today, is corroding the evangelical missionary enterprise from within. It first presents a brief – and, due to space constraints, somewhat simplistic – review of Missio Dei for the sake of the uninitiated, and then list a number of reasons for this dire assessment. 1. Missio Dei in a nutshell The concept of Missio Dei has led two lives. It was first embraced by the mainline churches. When it had virtually run its course there some theologically conservative missiologists embraced the basic idea, reconceptualized aspects of it, and saw it become the most popular theological basis for missions. This article focuses on the contemporary, “evangelical” model setting the tone today. 1.1. Christian Mission is the all-encompassing work of the Triune God Missio Dei’s fundamental idea is that Christian mission is rooted in the all-encompassing work of the Triune God. This led to a shift in focus from missions as something the church does to something which God does through various ways and means. To say that the church is essentially missionary does not mean that mission is church- centered. It is Missio Dei. It is Trinitarian. It is mediating the love of God the Father who is the Parent of all people, whoever and wherever they may be (Bosch 1991:505). 3 (2018) 1.2. God’s mission flows from His loving and compassionate nature God’s love is perceived as his defining characteristic. -
Wagner Kyle 202005 Dmin Th
Politics and Religion: The Faith of God’s People, The Gospel, and Anglican Interpretation by Kyle Michael Bradley Wagner A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Trinity College and the Toronto School of Theology. In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry awarded by Trinity College and The University of Toronto. © Copyright by Kyle Michael Bradley Wagner 2020 Politics and Religion: The Faith of God’s People, The Gospel, and Anglican Interpretation Kyle Michael Bradley Wagner Doctor of Ministry Trinity College and the University of Toronto 2020 Abstract This thesis examines the nature of religion and politics in the lives of Canadian Anglicans. As a phenomenological study, the collective voices of Anglicans in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia were gathered and analyzed. The research identifies how some Anglicans engage the world and their understanding of the scripture. The scope of this study included interviews and a questionnaire with twelve anonymous Anglicans and provided essential insight into the lives of Anglicans in Canada at a local level and therefore is something that the broader church should consider. ii Autobiographical Statement Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and raised in Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, the Rev. Kyle Wagner is an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI. From a young age, Rev. Wagner had an interest in politics, serving as a page in the Prince Edward Island Legislature. He also worked as an assistant to former island Premier and Senator Catherine Callbeck. Rev. Wagner is an advocate of social justice and encourages the church to speak publicly on issues of social justice. -
Analysis of the Interpretive Framework of David Bosch's Missional
The Biblical Narrative of the Missio Dei: Analysis of the Interpretive Framework of David Bosch’s Missional Hermeneutic Girma Bekele his article examines David Bosch’s missional herme- ment. The life and agenda of Jesus of Nazareth is the standard Tneutic, using it as an entry point into his understand- for authentic Christian mission. The task of the church in every ing of the biblical foundation of mission. Until his tragic death generation and in every sociopolitical and historical context, in 1992 in a car accident, Bosch was chair of the Department of then, is “to test continually whether its understanding of Christ Missiology at the University of South Africa. He studied New corresponds with that of the first witnesses.”4 Testament under Oscar Cullman at the University of Basel. The In formulating his case for the emerging postmodern mission development of his theological thought was also shaped by his paradigm, Bosch presents a missiological reading of Jesus and experience as an Afrikaner, as an ordained minister of the Dutch his followers as an absolutely necessary hermeneutical key to Reformed Church (DRC), and as a missionary in the Transkei. comprehensively unlocking the biblical foundation of mission. The sociopolitical and theological setting of South Africa during A variety of missions can be found in the New Testament, but apartheid was, as it were, the anvil against which he hammered the authors spoke about the same Jesus to people within the out his ideas of the vocation of the church within the world. His specific contexts of their own communities. Likewise, our task, vision of missionary self-understanding and of the church as the within our context, is to speak about Jesus—but not in just any “alternative community” is rooted in a strong conviction that the way we might choose.