Eternal Functional Subordination and the Problem of the Divine Will
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God and Moral Humans in Leviathan, Book
God and the moral beings –A contextual study of Thomas Hobbes’s third book in Leviathan Samuel Andersson Extended Essay C, Spring Term 2007 Department of History of Science and Ideas Uppsala University Abstract Samuel Andersson, God and the moral beings –A contextual study of Thomas Hobbes’s third book in Leviathan. Uppsala University: Department of History of Science and Ideas, Extended Essay C, Spring Term, 2007. The question this essay sets out to answer is what role God plays in Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan, in the book “Of a Christian Common-wealth”, in relationship to humans as moral beings. The question is relevant as the religious aspects of Hobbes’s thinking cannot be ignored, although Hobbes most likely had rather secular and sceptical philosophical views. In order to answer the research question Leviathan’s “Of a Christian Common-wealth” will be compared and contrasted with two contextual works: the canonical theological document of the Anglican Church, the Thirty-Nine Articles (1571), and Presbyterian-Anglican document the Westminster Confession (1648). Also, recent scholarly works on Hobbes and more general reference works will be employed and discussed. Hobbes’s views provide a seemingly unsolvable paradox. On the one hand, God is either portrayed, or becomes by consequence of his sceptical and secular state thinking, a distant God in relationship to moral humans in “Of a Christian Common-wealth”. Also, the freedom humans seem to have in making their own moral decisions, whether based on natural and divine, or positive laws, appears to obscure God’s almightiness. On the other hand, when placing Hobbes in context, Hobbes appears to have espoused Calvinist views, with beliefs in predestination and that God is the cause of everything. -
Apologetics Study Guide Week 5 Week 5: WHAT to DO with HELL?
Apologetics Study Guide Week 5 Week 5: WHAT TO DO WITH HELL? Opening Question: What have you heard about hell from sermons, if anything? What are some depictions of hell that you are familiar with (e.g. art, pop culture, etc.?) What questions come up in your mind when you think about hell? We will engage the topic of hell by asking a few questions: 1. Is hell real? 2. Why is there a hell? Who goes there? 3. What is all this about predestination? Oftentimes, we think of hell like this: God gives humans time to choose God, but if they do not, then he casts them into hell; and even if those people beg for mercy, God says, “Nope! You had your chance!” Thankfully, that is not the biblical depiction of hell or of how God relates to people.1 Every human has a sinful, fallen nature. No one is free from sin, and we cannot freely turn back to God on our own. We are all deserving of death, of hell, eternal separation from God. If we were left to ourselves, we would never choose God—we would not know to choose God, because we are so mired in self and sin. It is only by the work of the Holy Spirit that we are drawn to God in Jesus Christ where we find salvation and restoration of our relationship to God. God makes the first move and chooses and saves people.2 God chooses people so that they may tell others about God and God’s grace. -
Christian Theologians Views on the Doctrine of Trinity in the Islamic Philosophical Criticism
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 2017, Vol. 7, Special Issue – Islam and Contemporary Issues) ISSN: 2222-6990 Christian Theologians Views on the Doctrine of Trinity in the Islamic Philosophical Criticism Mohammad Nashief S. Disomimbaa, Kalsom Alib, Abdussalam s. Disomimbac a Akidah and Religion Program, Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. bDa῾wah and Islamic Management Program, Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. cKing Faisal Center for Asian and Arabic Studies, Mindanao State University, Philippines DOI: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i13/3195 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i13/3195 ABSTRACT This article discusses the views of Christian theologians on the doctrine of trinity in the light of Islamic philosophical criticism. It focuses the oneness of God through Islamic philosophical criticism, understanding the proofs and evidences of Christian theologians based on their Holy Bible, Athanasius Creed and Nicene Creed. The tendency of giving priority of this study is to show the views of Christian theologians on the doctrine of trinity with Islamic philosophical criticism in order to justify and confirm the oneness of God. The objectives of the study is to identify and trace the historical background of the oneness of God as Creator, to confirm that Jesus Christ is not God and creator, to confirm that God is not three persons and the three persons is not same substance and nature of the Son and Holy Spirit, to analyze and summarize the views of the Christian theologians on the doctrine of Trinity with Islamic philosophical criticism. -
Predestination – a Christian’S Hope Or God’S Unfairness?
Melanesian Journal of Theology 11-1&2 (1995) PREDESTINATION – A CHRISTIAN’S HOPE OR GOD’S UNFAIRNESS? Gabriel Keni Introduction This is God’s eternal purpose of deliverance of those He has chosen through Jesus Christ. The doctrine of predestination is one that brings several questions to the minds of Christians. These questions sometimes affect our whole attitude to life and salvation, and towards our trust and joy in God. But the doctrine of predestination is simple to state. It is eternity. God has chosen some for salvation through Christ, but has left others to their own choice of rebellion against Him. On some, He has mercy, drawing them to Christ; others He has hardened, and blinded by Satan, whose plans they willingly fulfil. The basic concept of Christian faith is that God is gracious, as clearly revealed in the Old Testament (Ex 34:6-7). The love of God is the motive for salvation, since God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). The Bible teaches clearly, and common sense confirms, that God is sovereign over all aspects of His creation and their characteristics. He is also sovereign over death, so that He can bring back from death to life. We are, by nature, children of wrath, under God’s eternal condemnation of death. The dead cannot save themselves, but a way is open through Jesus Christ, so we must be born by God’s power of His Spirit. The doctrine of predestination is simply the consequence of man’s nature (death in trespasses and sins), and of God’s nature (His goodness and mercy). -
REFLECTIONS on the DOCTRINE of the TRINITY Faith in the Living
REFLECTIONS ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY RAOUL DEDEREN Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan Faith in the living God has been rejected time and again by the ignorant and the indifferent, as well as by many of the learned and the thoughtful. It has been especially chal- lenged today. Such theologians as Bishop John A. T. Robinson of Woolwich, honestly seeking to be Honest to God, urge Christians to abandon most of the phrasing which historically has been used to convey Christian thought. Similarly, the late Bishop James A. Pike of California dismisses many traditional doctrines as old bottles which will inevitably burst and whose bursting should occasion no regrets. In this kind of context many men, even ministers, feel uneasy when they think about the Trinity. The question before us is whether it is time to renounce a doctrine which, by affirming that there are three persons in God, seems to have produced confusion rather than clarification, or whether it was designed to embody values that are a vital and necessary part of the Christian faith. From the days of Arius it has been a chosen scheme with his disciples to represent the doctrine of the Trinity as an artificial theological construct, and consequently unimportant. To a large number of Christians, however, it is a doctrine fundament4 to Christianity since it deals with a correct knowledge of God. Related to the divine Being, his nature and mode of being, this knowledge affects every man's understanding of God as the object of his worship, whether he regards him as one in essence and one in person, or admits that in the unity of the Deity there are three equally divine persons. -
A Complete Course
A Complete Course Forum Theological Midwest Author: Rev.© Peter V. Armenio Publisher:www.theologicalforum.org Rev. James Socias Copyright MIDWEST THEOLOGICAL FORUM Downers Grove, Illinois iii CONTENTS xiv Abbreviations Used for 43 Sidebar: The Sanhedrin the Books of the Bible 44 St. Paul xiv Abbreviations Used for 44 The Conversion of St. Paul Documents of the Magisterium 46 An Interlude—the Conversion of Cornelius and the Commencement of the Mission xv Foreword by Francis Cardinal George, to the Gentiles Archbishop of Chicago 47 St. Paul, “Apostle of the Gentiles” xvi Introduction 48 Sidebar and Maps: The Travels of St. Paul 50 The Council of Jerusalem (A.D. 49– 50) 1 Background to Church History: 51 Missionary Activities of the Apostles The Roman World 54 Sidebar: Magicians and Imposter Apostles 3 Part I: The Hellenistic Worldview 54 Conclusion 4 Map: Alexander’s Empire 55 Study Guide 5 Part II: The Romans 6 Map: The Roman Empire 59 Chapter 2: The Early Christians 8 Roman Expansion and the Rise of the Empire 62 Part I: Beliefs and Practices: The Spiritual 9 Sidebar: Spartacus, Leader of a Slave Revolt Life of the Early Christians 10 The Roman Empire: The Reign of Augustus 63 Baptism 11 Sidebar: All Roads Lead to Rome 65 Agape and the Eucharist 12 Cultural Impact of the Romans 66 Churches 13 Religion in the Roman Republic and 67 Sidebar: The Catacombs Roman Empire 68 Maps: The Early Growth of Christianity 14 Foreign Cults 70 Holy Days 15 Stoicism 70 Sidebar: Christian Symbols 15 Economic and Social Stratification of 71 The Papacy Roman -
Gnomic Will’ (Θέλημα Γνωμικόν, Or Just Γνώμη)
OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Tue Nov 11 2014, NEWGEN chapter 26 The Theology of the Will ian A. mcfarland There are few things more valued in the modern world than freedom. Political dis- course is shaped by it, as shown by the degree to which political campaigns and pub- lic policy are framed in terms of the need to counter threats to freedom on both the national and international levels. Economic theory is also defined by it, as seen both in the resources devoted to securing ‘free trade’ agreements among nations and in the way that advertisements appeal to the consumer to exercise—and thereby confirm—her freedom in selecting one product over another. Within this increasingly globalized cul- tural matrix, to be a person is to be free, and to be free is to be able to choose—whether among actual items visible on a shelf or possible futures envisioned in the mind. Freedom is understood as a matter of radical self-determination, and on every side we are encouraged to think that exercising such freedom is our most fundamental calling— the proper fulfilment of our humanity. Freedom was also very important for early Christians. The Graeco-Roman cul- tural context within which Christianity emerged was deeply shaped by different types of fatalism. Human life was understood to be subject to an array of forces beyond the individual’s control, and a variety of means were used to cope with them, ranging from the popular use of amulets and spells to philosophers’ efforts to secure a spirit of indif- ference in the face of fortune’s slings and arrows. -
JOSEPH SMITH SABELLIANISM and MORMON BELIEF
JOSEPH SMITH SABELLIANISM and MORMON BELIEF R. L. Pratt 2012 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express particular gratitude to the following, whose insights and original research have contributed to my understanding of these matters. Ronald V. Huggins Boyd Kirkland Clyde D. Ford Grant Palmer David Persuitte Thomas G. Alexander I would also like to thank Richard Packham for his encouragement and helpful advice. (See Bibliography for details) 2 FOREWORD "Sabellianism" is a big word for a simple concept. It refers to the theological proposition that God the Father and Jesus Christ are identical in person. In other words, that Jesus Christ is the Father incarnate. This particular concept has deep roots in the history of Christianity. (I explain this briefly on pp.8-9 of this paper.) Much evidence proves that Joseph Smith believed in a Sabellian-type theology throughout the early years of his career, and that this Sabellian belief system permeates the Book of Mormon. Mormons refuse to recognize this fact. They will dispute this point and refute the allegation. Today they believe that Father and Son are distinctly separate individuals.....what most Mormons don’t realize is; this was not always the case. The avowed purpose of this paper is to show "How Joseph Smith's early theological beliefs as expressed in the Book of Mormon contradict and undermine the credibility of his First-Vision story." In order for me to do that, I must first prove to a skeptical Mormon audience that Joseph Smith's early beliefs were in fact.... and without any question..... Sabellian in nature. -
Monenergism Monothelitism Versus Dyenergism
CHAPTER THREE ‘IMPERIAL’ MONENERGISMMONOTHELITISM VERSUS DYENERGISMDYOTHELITISM In this section, I shall explore simultaneously (to the degree that existing sources allow) the ‘imperial’ or ‘Chalcedonian’ Monenergism- Monothelitism and Dyenergism-Dyothelitism, with the objective of clarifying the similarities and diff erences between the two oposing doctrines. 3.1. Key notions 3.1.1. Th e oneness of Christ Owing to a common neo-Chalcedonian background, adherents of both Monenergite-Monothelite and Dyenergite-Dyothelite doctrines accepted the oneness of Christ as a fundamental starting point. Monenergists- Monothelites, however, placed more emphasis on this oneness. In the relatively brief Alexandrian pact, for example, the oneness of Christ is referred to more than twenty times. All statements about the single energeia and will were normally preceded by a confession of Christ’s oneness.1 Dyenergists-Dyothelites also began their commentaries on energeia and will by postulating the oneness, though not as frequently or as insistently as their opponents. In one of the earliest Dyenergist- Dyothelite texts, the encyclical of Sophronius, a statement of faith on the two energeiai and wills begins with a reference to Christ’s oneness .2 In these and many other ways, both parties demonstrated their adherence to the Christological language of Cyril of Alexandria. 1 2 5–6 See the Pact of the Alexandrian union (ACO2 II 598 ), Sergius ’ letter to Pope 2 6–7 29–31 Honorius (ACO2 II 542 ), Ecthesis (ACO2 I 158 ). 2 1 17–18 ACO2 II 440 . 104 chapter three 3.1.2. One hypostasis and two natures Th e followers of the Monenergist-Monothelite doctrine as it emerged in the seventh century, were Chalcedonians who felt it necessary to make a clear distinction between Christ’s hypostasis and his nature. -
The Provenance of John Milton's Christian Doctrine
SEL 34 (1994) ISSN 0039-3657 Forum II: Milton's Christian Doctrine The Provenance ofJohn Milton's Christian Doctrine: A Reply to William B. Hunter MAURICE KELLEY As scholars have determined it during the past century and a half, the provenance of the Christian Doctrine should invite no suspicion of Milton's authorship. Instead it confirms it. The treatise originated in Milton's youthful collection of proof texts and his perusal of certain shorter systems of theology.' By the 1640s, Edward Phillips reports, his uncle was dictating to him and his fellow students portions of a "Tractate which he thought fit to collect from the ablest of Divines, who had written of that subject: Arnesius, Wollebius. &c. viz. A perfect System of Divinity, of which more hereafter."2 Phillips, however, failed to keep his promise of more information about "A perfect System," but the Anonymous Biographer (Cyriack Skinner) reports that about 1655 Milton began "the framing a Body of Divinity out of the Bible . which . hee finished after the Restoration."3 Our manuscript of the Christian Doctrine confirms Cyriack's rough dating, for the primary hand in it is that ofJeremie Picard, who served as witness or scribe in Milton documents dating from January 1658 to May 1660;4 and Cyriack's mention of Milton's heterodoxies5 indicates Maurice Kelley is Emeritus Professor of English, Princeton University. 154 REPLY TO HUNT E R that he is writing of the Christian Doctrine that we have today. Parallels between the treatise and Paradise Lost as well as between it and Milton's Art of Logic, not published until 1672,6 confirm Milton's authorship of the systematic theology. -
Saint Maximus the Confessor and His Defense of Papal Primacy
Love that unites and vanishes: Saint Maximus the Confessor and his defense of papal primacy Author: Jason C. LaLonde Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108614 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2019 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Love that Unites and Vanishes: Saint Maximus the Confessor and his Defense of Papal Primacy Thesis for the Completion of the Licentiate in Sacred Theology Boston College School of Theology and Ministry Fr. Jason C. LaLonde, S.J. Readers: Fr. Brian Dunkle, S.J., BC-STM Dr. Adrian Walker, Catholic University of America May 3, 2019 2 Introduction 3 Chapter One: Maximus’s Palestinian Provenance: Overcoming the Myth of the Greek Life 10 Chapter Two: From Monoenergism to Monotheletism: The Role of Honorius 32 Chapter Three: Maximus on Roman Primacy and his Defense of Honorius 48 Conclusion 80 Appendix – Translation of Opusculum 20 85 Bibliography 100 3 Introduction The current research project stems from my work in the course “Latin West, Greek East,” taught by Fr. Brian Dunkle, S.J., at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in the fall semester of 2016. For that course, I translated a letter of Saint Maximus the Confessor (580- 662) that is found among his works known collectively as the Opuscula theologica et polemica.1 My immediate interest in the text was Maximus’s treatment of the twin heresies of monoenergism and monotheletism. As I made progress -
What Do We Owe to the Reformation?’ J C Ryle ‘Why Protestant Truth Still Matters’ Garry Williams
PROTESTANT TRUTH September–October 2017 • Vol 23, No 5 What we owe to the Is the Son of God eternally subordinate Would we invite Luther to Reformation Page 81 to the Father? Page 87 our church? Page A96 Head Office 184 Fleet Street London EC4A 2HJ Tel: 020 7405 4960 [email protected] www.protestanttruth.com All subscriptions, changes of address and circulation queries should be addressed to the Head Office Honorary Editor Edward Malcolm 96 Price Martin Luther £1.75 per copy (bi-monthly) Subscription (per annum including postage) UK £14.00 81 What we owe to the Reformation Non-UK (Air) £18.00 83 In the News Non-UK (Surface) £15.00 85 Comfort in Christ’s leaving Advertising 87 Is the Son of God eternally subordinate to Approved advertisements welcomed the Father? Full page £80.00 91 Wickliffe Preacher engagements Half page £55.00 Quarter page £40.00 92 Children’s Page 94 Thomas Cranmer and the Bankers Bank of Scotland authority of Scripture London Chief Office 96 Protestant Perspectives PO Box 1000 BX2 1LB 97 Book Review Sort Code 12–01–03 Account Number 00652676 Registered Charity Number 248505 Cover photograph © 2011 Roland Fischer What we owe to the Reformation The Editor ow important is the Protestant Refor- John. Even these parts are not complete, due to mation to you? Five hundred years have the ravages of age. Beza gave the manuscript be- H passed since Martin Luther published cause religious wars in Europe posed a real dan- his 95 Theses. Our modern age considers events ger to the survival of much of the source material that old to be of no relevance; we have a very for the Reformation.