journal article
LitStream Collection
Home
doi: 10.1177/004057360906500402pmid: N/A
The rapid growth of “emerging” churches worldwide provides a new opportunity for reflection on the nature and task of the church. This article briefly outlines some of the tensions this movement raises in relation to the traditional “marks” of the church (one, holy, catholic, and apostolic). It identifies some ways toward a reconstructive and reformative ecclesiology that also recognizes that followers of the way of Christ are multiple, embedded, particular, and hospitable.
doi: 10.1177/004057360906500403pmid: N/A
The problematic aspects of bishops in contemporary Catholicism are addressed sympathetically but critically under four themes: (1) reassessing the lay trustee system, (2) renewing the process for selecting bishops, (3) financial disclosure, and (4) aspects of protocol and lifestyle. The scholarship supporting such initiatives is shared, and the case is made for more communal bishops as a need for the future of Catholicism. The article aims to inform an ecumenical readership.
doi: 10.1177/004057360906500404pmid: N/A
What theological resources do mainline churches have to counter ecclesialdivision and strife? Recent American discussions have invoked the idea ofa “covenant” as the basis for the unity of the church. Strikingly,these discussions conceive of covenant as being of human making. This essayinstead recommends the idea of a divine covenant as the basis for the church.This is supported by an analysis of the idea of divine covenant in theecclesiology of the former Netherlands Reformed Church.
doi: 10.1177/004057360906500405pmid: N/A
In recent forms of postmodern theology, especially in what has become known as “radical orthodoxy,” there has been a concerted effort deliberately to reject liberalism, both in its modern secular and in its theological manifestations. In the historical and theological genealogies they construct, liberalism is portrayed as the enemy of true theology, the Trojan horse through which theology secures its own demise. This essay questions these assumptions and argues that postmodern theology and modern liberalism are not as antithetical as has often been claimed; rather, the relationship between them should be seen as fluid, dynamic, and perhaps dialectical. Furthermore, postmodern theology has something positive to learn from modern liberalism.
doi: 10.1177/004057360906500406pmid: N/A
John Updike's Rabbit tetralogy in the field of literature and Alan Ayck-bourn's Norman Conquests trilogy in the field of drama represent two of the most likely-to-endure artistic works of our time. The one writer is American, the other British; the one is a confessing Christian, the other not. Their respective protagonists, however, illumine the mysteries of life, love, and death in ways that not only complement each other but manifest profound theological insight into the human condition.John Updike may be America's finest novelist and his newest novel is … likely to be scrutinized a generation or two or three from now as runic clues to the times we live in.William McPhersonIf, in a hundred years, anyone wants to know what it was like to live in the second half of the 20th century, I am quite sure they will turn to the plays of Alan Ayckbourn before they look at historians or sociologists.Peter Hall
doi: 10.1177/004057360906500407pmid: N/A
Any attempt to reclaim Orthodox aspects of the “great tradition” for contemporary theology is to be applauded. In this light, Gannon Murphy has done the church a real service in stimulating discussion surrounding the compatibility of an Orthodox notion of theosis with contemporary Reformed theology.1 Having argued the same thing previously, I stand beside Murphy as a brother in arms.2 There are, however, differing views on how best to incorporate theosis and Reformed thought. In this essay, I point out areas of agreement between Murphy and myself, discuss a number of areas in which I disagree with Murphy's proposal, and finally offer a brief reflection on how I think Reformed theology and a doctrine of theosis are compatible. At the outset I wish to affirm my agreement with Murphy and make it clear that we share much in common despite our disagreements.3
Showing 1 to 10 of 25 Articles