The Finality of Christ

The Finality of Christ PDF

Author: Lesslie Newbigin

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2009-04-10

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 1606085816

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Modern man finds the concept of finality alien to his whole way of thinking. Science teaches him that human history is only a moment in the life of an infinite universe. His study of world religions calls into question the uniqueness of Christianity. Western man's uneasy conscience--due to the excesses of colonialism--makes him hesitant to press his own faith on others. By taking the issues of finality out of the classroom, Lesslie Newbigin demonstrates its importance to Christians with loyalties both to the community of the church and to the community of man. He asserts that conversion does not involve either a denial of the value of a person's previous faith or a blanket acceptance of the church's way of doing things. Bishop Newbigin examines the various Christian interpretations of finality, giving special attention to the views of Dutch theologian Hendrik Kraemer about the relationship of Christianity to world religions. The author advances the debate by showing that the way to move beyond Kraemer's position is to look for the place of the gospel in secular history. The gospel is the announcement of an event which demands that all men make a decision for or against. It is the clue to history--the history of mankind and of the individual.

Historical Dictionary of Ecumenical Christianity

Historical Dictionary of Ecumenical Christianity PDF

Author: Ans Joachim van der Bent

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 1994-12-01

Total Pages: 627

ISBN-13: 1461659221

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This historical dictionary covers the major trends in the 20th century ecumenical movement until today. It deals with developments in the realms of church unity, mission and evangelism, laity, women in church and society, and many other ecumenical subjects. It also covers many programs and activities of the World Council of Churches since its inception in 1948. The longer articles survey important theological themes while short articles provide quick reference on a precise question. The bibliography is not exhaustive-some 50,000 titles have been published since the beginning of this century-but very helpful for major bibliographical information. The dictionary is particularly strong in American subjects and includes a great number of ecuminical personalities which cannot be found in other reference works. This publication is not only an indispensible tool of research for university and seminary libraries but also for individual persons belonging to whatever Christian church who are interested in knowing more about reflections, relations, and activities in the several regions of the ecumenical world. A helpful description of the most important ecumenical assemblies and conferences is provided. To take stock of the past, to interpret the present, and to look forward into the third millenium of Christian existence are exciting and challenging enterprises.

Religious Propaganda and Missionary Competition in the New Testament World

Religious Propaganda and Missionary Competition in the New Testament World PDF

Author: Lukas Bormann

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2014-04-09

Total Pages: 589

ISBN-13: 9004267085

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Religious Propaganda is a pivotal concept for the Hellenistic and Roman epochs in the History of Religions. The term refers to the various competing religious and philosophical movements and currents during those periods. Renowned scholars (H. Attridge, K. Baltzer, J. Collins, A. Dewey, H. Koester, A.T. Kraabel, D. Lührmann, J. Robinson, W. Schottroff, E. Schüssler Fiorenza, A. Yarbro Collins and others) interpret Pagan, Jewish, and Christian sources with a view toward elucidating the confrontation of Jewish and Christian groups with their respective social, economic, religious, and political contexts. The authors seek to demonstrate the significance of missionary and propagandistic themes as well as strategies for the self-understanding of Jews and Christians at the turn of the eras. The articles, 25 in all, draw upon the broad expanse of scholarly work in the History of Religions pertaining to this period: the authors discuss methodology and the state of research, and they forge ahead in the exploration of the intertestamental and New Testament writings.

The Gagging of God

The Gagging of God PDF

Author: D. A. Carson

Publisher: Zondervan Academic

Published: 2009-09-01

Total Pages: 641

ISBN-13: 0310830680

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The Gold Medallion Award-winning book that presents a persuasive case for Christ as the only way to God in light of contemporary religious pluralism. A great majority of social commentators attempting to define modern Western culture land on a common characteristic: pluralism. This isn't unique to secular culture. Many modern approaches to Christian hermeneutics, or biblical interpretation, have given credence to contemporary pluralism. What began as a refreshing restraint and humility in modern theology has fallen more and more into irresoluteness. It's no secret that the contemporary challenges to Christianity are complex and serious. Yet, far from simple fear-mongering, or cultural warmongering, The Gagging of God takes a hard look at the background and intricacy—of pluralism, postmodernity, and hermeneutics—and equips thoughtful Christians to have intelligent, culturally sensitive, and passionate fidelity to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In his contemplative, even-handed approach, Carson provides a structure of Christian thought capable of facing the philosophies of today and piercing their surface. It invites Christians to grapple responsibly with urgent questions of biblically-grounded theology, spirituality, and the defining lines of Christianity, along with its range of challenges from without and within. The Gagging of God offers an in-depth look at the big picture, shows how the many ramifications of pluralism are all parts of a whole, and provides a systematic Christian response.

Jesus Through the Centuries

Jesus Through the Centuries PDF

Author: Jaroslav Pelikan

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780300079876

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Describes Jesus Christ's changing image throughout history, from rabbi in the first century to liberator in the twentieth, and explains how each version has shaped its era socially, politically, economically, and culturally.

Divining History

Divining History PDF

Author: Jayne Svenungsson

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2016-08-01

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1785331744

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For millennia, messianic visions of redemption have inspired men and women to turn against unjust and oppressive orders. Yet these very same traditions are regularly decried as antecedents to the violent and authoritarian ideologies of modernity. Informed in equal parts by theology and historical theory, this book offers a provocative exploration of this double-edged legacy. Author Jayne Svenungsson rigorously pursues a middle path between utopian arrogance and an enervated postmodernism, assessing the impact of Jewish and Christian theologies of history on subsequent thinkers, and in the process identifying a web of spiritual and intellectual motifs extending from ancient Jewish prophets to contemporary radicals such as Giorgio Agamben and Slavoj Zizek.

A History of the Ecumenical Movement, Volume 2

A History of the Ecumenical Movement, Volume 2 PDF

Author: Harold C. Fey

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2009-12-01

Total Pages: 593

ISBN-13: 1606089102

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Volume 2 (1948-1968) first appeared in 1970. It covers the history of the World Council of Churches from its first assembly at Amsterdam to its fourth assembly at Uppsala, Sweden; analyzes the development of regional ecumenical organizations; and recounts the impact of the Second Vatican Council on the ecumenical witness of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Myth of Christian Beginnings

The Myth of Christian Beginnings PDF

Author: Robert L. Wilken

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2009-05-04

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1725225883

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In this challenging and vividly written book Dr. Wilken shows that there never was a golden age in the Christian past. Christian hope did not come to fulfillment in the age of apostles, nor in the time of Constantine, nor in the Middle Ages, nor during the Reformation, nor in the revivals of the 19th century, nor in the movements of renewal in our own time. The history of Christianity is a story of imperfection and fragmentation, but also a history of hoping and striving for an end that cannot be seen yet bears on the present. With lively examples from the Christian past Wilken shows that change has been an abiding feature of Christian tradition. Often those who proposed new ways of thinking and acted in unexpected ways turned out to be more faithful than those who repeated the old formulas. As much as the past may give specificity and concreteness to renewal in the present Christian hope is set on things that are yet to be.