Wilhelm Bousset, a leading member of the religionsgeschichtliche school and author of a seminal work on early Christology, Kyrios Christos, is typically regarded by reviewers of his work as a classic nineteenth-century liberal who sought a secure foundation for faith in the historical Jesus. However, this view of Bousset fails to appreciate the significant development of his theological perspective on the relationship between faith and history, a perspective that underwent a profound shift due to the influence of the English (...) historian Thomas Carlyle and the Kantian philosopher Jakob Friedrich Fries. It is the influence of these two figures that enables Bousset to justify a full-scale flight from history and to seek faith's foundation elsewhere, in the poetic symbol of Jesus Christ. The resulting solution to the problem of faith and history represents a unique and compelling alternative to the solutions of the leading theologians and New Testament scholars of the early twentieth century. (shrink)

The various versions of salvation in the New Testament have a prior unity in the event of the cross of Jesus Christ.

Dans cet article, je compare les perspectives de Bonhoeffer et de Tillich sur la souffrance divine et suggère que Bonhoeffer et, dans une moindre mesure, Tillich, par leur concept d’une souffrance vicariale à la fois humaine et divine, reformulent la théorie anselmienne de l’expiation «légale», selon laquelle le Christ assume la condamnation de l’humanité déchue et meurt à notre place pour satisfaire la justice divine.

A leader in the Confessing Church, an outspoken opponent of Anti-Semitism, and, late in life, a committed supporter of the state of Israel, Karl Barth was nevertheless a firm and unflinching anti-Judaic theologian. _That Jesus Was Born a Jew _devotes itself to an analysis and description of these two sides of Barth's thought, from the period of the _Römerbrief_ through the Church Dogmatics and later postwar addresses. It places Barth's thought against the backdrop of his contemporaries and the developments (...) in German academic theology Barth at once repudiated and called his own. Though no claim is made to set out Judaic self-understanding, Barth's conception of the people of Israel is understood, in contrast, as specifically Christian: Barth's is a fully dogmatic interpretation of the Jews. Katherine Sonderegger traces the development of Barth's commitment to the integrity of Christian self-description. In the process, she explores the conservation of the Church's theological past that gives Barth's thought its anti-Judaic character and his Christological concentration that makes Jesus the Jew the foundation for Christian opposition to anti-Semitism and Nazism. She analyzes Church Dogmatics as well as the second edition of Romans, focusing on Barth's exegesis of the types of prophet and pharisee; and she provides an evaluation of Barth's work, with constructive proposals for the contemporary reassessment of Judaism. (shrink)

Drawing on modern physics and ancient metaphysics, Stephen H. Webb constructs a philosophy of Christian materialism based on the unity of matter and spirit in the incarnation.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Gordon Kaufman InterviewGordon Kaufman, emeritus professor of theology at Harvard Divinity School, has been a member of the Cobb-Abe Buddhist-Christian dialogue since its inception in 1987. As he mentions below, that experience has profoundly affected his work as a theologian and his conviction that theology is an activity of “the imaginative construction of a comprehensive and coherent picture of humanity in the world under God.” This perspective has characterized (...) his work from Systematic Theology (1968) through his more recent In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology (1993). Rita Gross and Terry Muck, coeditors of Buddhist-Christian Studies, explored with Gordon the important role Buddhism has played in his theological construction.Buddhist-Christian Studies: Does religious pluralism present Christian theologians with a unique task?Gordon Kaufman: Yes. Through most of Christian history theologians have argued that God revealed Godself to the Christian church in a way unlike any other religious group. Christians had the truth about human beings, their nature, their deepest problems, and solutions to those problems. Now, especially since World War II, a much greater consciousness of the significance of other religious traditions has grown among Christians. The unique challenge to Christian theologians is: What do we as theologians say to believers about what to do with this old tradition of uniqueness and infallible truth?Are Buddhist ‘theologians’ faced with a similar challenge in their communities?Yes.Are there specific features of either Christian theology or Buddhist theology that make either one of these religions more able or less able to step up to the challenge? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these two religions when it comes to the issues religious pluralism raises?I don’t want to speak for the Buddhist tradition in this respect. But I will say that both traditions have adapted to many different cultures around the world and there is a kind of flexibility in these traditions that gives hope. Christian monotheism, for example, is sometimes seen as contributing to exclusivism. But monotheism can be seen as including the notion of one source and ordering principle working in all of life, and that means we are all equal within the world and all related within the world to each other. And that leads to a central teaching of the Christian message: what God requires of us is that we be reconciled with those brothers and sisters from whom we are alienated. The simple Christian demand that we love not only our [End Page 43] neighbors but also our enemies now becomes a very powerful mandate if connected up with that one high monotheistic principle.Is there a certain commensurability between the way Buddhist and Christian theologians do their work?Let’s start by defining the terms. I don’t use the phrase ‘Buddhist theology’ but ‘Buddhist reflective thinking.’ This is less loaded than ‘theology,’ the study of God, but I have no objection if others want to call it Buddhist theology. Now, regarding ‘commensurability.’ I don’t regard myself as a good enough scholar of the history of religion to use that phrase. I’m a little suspicious of it because I am deeply impressed with the difference in lifestyles and commitments and value orientations that different symbols in various religious traditions promote. Thus I don’t want to assume there is a basic commensurability. The basic requirement for the Christian theologian is that we be open to all human beings. Then we’ll see what commensurability there is.So it’s not so much a cognitive category as an attitude or an approach—a common, human desire?Not necessarily a common human desire. I suspect there are strong motivations in all human beings, at least in many, not to be ‘open’ to all other persons. Many simply identify with the groups they are in and are not concerned much about others. I do say that there is a strong Christian imperative to enter into loving relationship with strangers, and whether that is true or not on the other side is for me to find out.How important is it to find out?Very important. It may have been that in earlier times we could continue to live in... (shrink)

PART I : THE GOD-QUESTION TODAY -- God as a problem -- The denial of God in modern atheism -- The predicament of theology in the face of atheism -- Experience of God and knowledge of God -- Knowledge of God in faith. PART II : THE MESSAGE ABOUT THE GOD OF JESUS CHRIST -- God, the father almighty -- Jesus Christ, son of God -- The Holy Spirit, Lord, and giver of life. PART III : (...) THE TRINITARIAN MYSTERY OF GOD -- Establishment of the doctrine of the Trinity -- Exposition of the doctrine of the Trinity. (shrink)

What is phenomenology? That is precisely the question this book seeks to answer. In an age of information overload, complex topics must be simplified to make them accessible to a wider audience. Phenomenology: A Basic Introduction in the Light of Jesus Christ not only presents the basic building blocks of phenomenology, it also gives body to voice by putting abstract ideas in contact with the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth. In five manageable chapters, Donald Wallenfang introduces (...) major themes such as the natural attitude, givenness, interpretation, paradox, and ethics. Each subject is considered in how it applies to daily life and relates to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Several biblical scenes are tapped to harvest their sweet nectars of meaning through phenomenology. At its limit, philosophy gives way to the revelatory rationality of theology as expressed by Jesus the phenomenologist. (shrink)

Sovereign Order of Royal El Roman Intro-angeles (polygyny) Family Sub-mission of the Jesus Christ' Holy See Teachings on His Kingdoms Mission, called the SOVEREIGN ORDER OF ROYAL EL-ROMANIA, The SO°RER†‡ Mission is a Bible scriptures studies, research, publications and teachings oriented sovereign polygyny family household basis mission order whereas Council of the Queens is the major organ and Queens are the principal research associates of the mission organization, Sovereign Order of Royal El-Romania, which aim to print a book (...) entitled "Christ Ministries Words: A Book of Bible Explanatory Testimonial of His Kingdom'', as Gen Hari Seldon's co-authors. Furthermore, the scope of the mission is to studies of the Holy Bible scriptures analysis to understand the doctrines of sacred theology of God's plan towards continuing development of humanity. (shrink)

In the article, I demonstrate how realistic philosophy of religion can be employed in order to obtain a preliminary verification of the truthfulness of the doctrine proclaimed by a particular religious community. The first element of a religious doctrine that qualifies for philosophical evaluation is its non-contradictory character. For this reason I endeavour to reconstruct one such doctrine and show how it is possible to demonstrate, through philosophical analyses, that such a doctrine does not meet the aforementioned criterion. For the (...) object of my studies I chose the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (called the Mormon Church for short), as I find it particularly interesting among the religious movements alternative to Christianity. Among new religious movements currently in existence the Mormon Church stands out in several respects. First, this religious community utilises a variety of sources of revelation. Furthermore, although their sacred story, that spanning a dozen or so centuries, begins in Israel it mostly takes place on American soil. Finally, the Mormon Church sets forth a vision of a future ‘holy land,’ and the concept of salvation that is essentially different from those of other Bible-based religious movements. The Mormon concept of salvation, referred to as the plan of eternal progress shows both unique goal and unique means to achieve it. People are to become gods and populate multiple worlds. According to Mormons there will be different levels of salvation associated with what life a person lived on earth. Reconstruction and philosophical analysis of the main elements of the Mormon doctrine shows its weak points, inconsistencies, and oversimplifications. From this perspective, the Mormon ‘sacred story’ hardly could be regarded as something more than a colourful and interesting myth. But the question of reasons why Mormons still put their faith in such an inconsistent doctrine lies outside the scope of these considerations. (shrink)

With a crown of thorns on his head, nails in his hands and feet, and a spear wound in his chest, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was hanging on the Cross, has occupied Christians for hundreds of years and continues to do so. All Christian faith centres around Jesus, who sacrificed himself on the crucifix for this symbolized event, or "salvation of sinful mankind." In this framework, Christians believe that every human being should imitate the life of (...) Christ as a "model savior", and especially experience the same wounds and passion on the crucifix. Paul was the first to say that he had the scars of Christ on his body. Francis of Assisi and others followed him, and they were considered stigmatics/stigmata bearers. In our country, although there have been many studies on Jesus, no study on the subject of stigmata has been found. Therefore, in this article, the emergence of the understanding of stigmata in the context of bearing the wounds of Jesus Christ on the cross on the body of believers, its historical development, the perceptions of the Middle Ages and the stigmata of Paul and Francis of Assisi will be discussed. Thus, the development of the understanding of stigmata in the Christian world and how effective it is will be tried to be revealed. (shrink)

Prima facie, Christian ethics will be centred on Jesus Christ, but to what extent can and should textbooks for academic study of the field have this focus? Perhaps the two most influential Anglophone Christian ethicists of recent decades are Stanley Hauerwas and Oliver O’Donovan. Their introductory (if demanding) volumes (The Peaceable Kingdom, 1983, and Resurrection and Moral Order, 1986) were both very Christocentric although in different ways. Yet recent textbooks in the discipline generally do not manifest such a (...) strong focus on Jesus Christ. This generates one criterion by which we might assess such books. This article reviews six textbooks, four by UK and two by US authors. It suggests that other criteria for assessment include whether they give appropriate prominence to the Pauline vision of ‘life by the Spirit’, whether they manifest such pastoral responsibility as Christian ethicists have for students, and whether they are alert to overlapping concerns in Christian ethics and missiology. (shrink)

Prima facie, Christian ethics will be centred on Jesus Christ, but to what extent can and should textbooks for academic study of the field have this focus? Perhaps the two most influential Anglophone Christian ethicists of recent decades are Stanley Hauerwas and Oliver O’Donovan. Their introductory volumes were both very Christocentric although in different ways. Yet recent textbooks in the discipline generally do not manifest such a strong focus on Jesus Christ. This generates one criterion by (...) which we might assess such books. This article reviews six textbooks, four by UK and two by US authors. It suggests that other criteria for assessment include whether they give appropriate prominence to the Pauline vision of ‘life by the Spirit’, whether they manifest such pastoral responsibility as Christian ethicists have for students, and whether they are alert to overlapping concerns in Christian ethics and missiology. (shrink)

The postmodern emphasis on human finitude encourages the reconsideration of religious traditions, and more particularly of Christianity. The doctrine of a vulnerable God dying on a cross speaks to postmodern civilization. Jesus Christ infuses transcendence into the realm of immanence by assuming the human predicament to its bitter end. The present essay critiques the recent attempts of deconstructionist philosopher John D. Caputo and systematic theologian Roger Haight to provide postmodern expositions for the Christian doctrine on the person of (...) Jesus Christ. With the help of the fundamental notion of agapeic love, we demonstrate that in Jesus Christ, Caputo's philosophy of the event and Haight's theology of the symbol can be meaningfully integrated and human finitude responsibly overcome. (shrink)

The postmodern emphasis on human finitude encourages the reconsideration of religious traditions, and more particularly of Christianity. The doctrine of a vulnerable God dying on a cross speaks to postmodern civilization. Jesus Christ infuses transcendence into the realm of immanence by assuming the human predicament to its bitter end. The present essay critiques the recent attempts of deconstructionist philosopher John D. Caputo and systematic theologian Roger Haight to provide postmodern expositions for the Christian doctrine on the person of (...) Jesus Christ. With the help of the fundamental notion of agapeic love, we demonstrate that in Jesus Christ, Caputo's philosophy of the event and Haight's theology of the symbol can be meaningfully integrated and human finitude responsibly overcome. (shrink)

This article surveys traditional and modern interpretations of Jesus ' teaching on violence in the Sermon on the Mount, showing that from Augustine onwards and for a wide variety of reasons Christians have taken the view that the teaching and example of Christ about violence cannot be squared with the necessity of being violent in the context in which they find themselves. Against this position, the article makes the modest proposal that the Church will decide best about the (...) ethics of violence when it recognizes that the teaching and example of Jesus Christ are relevant to the question. (shrink)