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monologuerhead · 2 years ago

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Christian Discourses of Identity Formation

Although ancient Christianity was theologically diverse and sociologically multiform, participating actively in ancient urban pluralism, the fourth and fifth centuries witnessed the formation and consolidation of a more uniform Christianity, under the guiding eyes of Christian emperors. A church headed by bishops, defined by creed and canon, and unified by increasingly standardized liturgical practices won out and for a time claimed the title of orthodoxy for itself. Although powerful controversies continued to mark the period and uniformity was never truly achieved, Christianity nonetheless attained a kind of stable and monolithic unity under episcopal authority and imperial patronage that had not existed before Constantine’s conversion in the early fourth century.

Chief among its theological, political, and rhetorical tools was the capacity to brand opponents as heretics. Le Boulluec has suggested that the ecclesiastical capacity to enforce penitential discipline and excommunication, to define ritual purity and morality, and to defend the integrity and authenticity of doctrine against dissent progressively worked to consolidate ecclesiastical unity. The representation of heresy as a general and timeless notion became such a powerful tool in this cause that merely invoking it was sufficient to produce reprobation and exclusion.

A second powerful, largely unrecognized tool was the rhetorical consolidation of manifold ancient religious practices into three mutually exclusive groups: Jews, Christians, and pagans. These categories became further reified in later centuries and continue to operate almost automatically in contemporary historiography, reinscribing and naturalizing the rhetoric of fourth- and fifth-century orthodoxy into a seemingly common-sense division of ancient religious life. Their tenacity demonstrates the success of Christian rhetoric in dominating the politics of religious identity up to our own day. Rather than assume that such categories represent historical givens, we need to ask how they were formed, what work they did, in whose interests they operated, and what was at stake.

The primary challenge for Christian self-definition was sameness, whether distinguishing the orthodox from heretics or Christians from non-Christians. Although the goal was to minimize actual differences within the group while maximizing the differences with outsiders, ironically the strategies were more or less the same, because in order to exclude Christian views the polemicists opposed, they needed to make their competitors look like outsiders, not insiders. Real differences had to be fully exploited and even exaggerated, while similarities were best overlooked altogether or portrayed as malicious or superficial imitation. The polemicists succeeded so well that for us the terms “orthodoxy” and “heresy” imply only difference, not similarity.

Someone will rightly point out that the problems of internal Christian dispute were in fact matters of difference, True, but for distinguishing heretics from the orthodox, the pressing problem was that early Christians were all basing their theological positions on revelation from Jesus Christ. When they read Scripture and reproduced various streams of the ancient intellectual tradition, they used very similar hermeneutical methods, such as allegory, typology, and midrashic retelling. It was not that the theologies were the same, but that the intellectual bases and discursive strategies for making truth claims were remarkable similar. Given that there was no universally recognized episcopal hierarchy, common creed, or New Testament canon in the first centuries, it was not easy to adjudicate whose Christology or whose reading of scripture was right. It was this problem that the early polemicists took on. They developed a few distinctive and powerful rhetorical strategies to argue that they, and they alone, understood the revelation of Christ and interpreted Scripture correctly.

What Is Gnosticism?

Karen L King

#gnosticism #gnostic #christianity #ancient christianity #religion

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faithfulnews · 5 years ago

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Historical theology informs and educates present-day Bible readers

Lebanon (MNN) – Historical theology. It is a topic that seeps into every theology class an undergraduate Bible major or seminary student takes. It is the long list of questions various believers and non-believers have posed over the centuries, which led to multiple creeds for the Church to collectively understand and explain the Scriptures. Historical theology is the study of what people have said about God and God’s works through history. For Christian theology, historical theology is closely tied to the study of how Christians have understood the Word of God over the centuries. (Read more on good theology from The Gospel Coalition here.)

The “What” of Historical Theology

(Photo by Valentin Rechitean on Unsplash)

Caleb Hutcherson, faculty development lead and lecturer in historical theology at Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, is passionate about teaching historical theology to Arab evangelical students. This love for historical theology started during his studies at Dallas Theological Seminary when his class on historical theology opened up his understanding of the rich diversity of thought and practice in the history of Christianity. The course gave Hutcherson a new perspective and fresh insight into his faith. “Historical theology [demonstrates how theology] is always contextual. Part of the beauty of studying historical theology is that it really exposes how contextual and perspectival doing theology is. So, when we look at history and listen to others who have done theology in history, context is there, and their experiences are there. The use of reason is there in all kinds of different ways. [You see the] different ways of weighing reason alongside tradition in relationship to the Bible,” Hutcherson says.

Finding a Path Through History

As students of historical theology take a step back and look at the topic from a wide-angle, a traceable continuity of the beliefs and practices of Christian believers spanning the history of the Church reveals itself. At the same time, the discontinuity of beliefs and practices through history introduces students to the diversity within the Christian tradition. “We often have a tendency to think [favorably] of our own [personal] sufficiency [when reading the Bible]. So, me and my Bible, and the Holy Spirit is all that I need in order to know what to do and how to believe. That sort of rugged individualism, this...hyper-individualistic belief, that really all I need is me and the Bible, and because I’m indwelled by the Holy Spirit, then I’m set to go,” Hutcherson explains.

(Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash)

This mindset feeds the mentality in ourselves that we do not need to listen to what other people have to say about God’s Word. A belief in self means the mistakes of Christians from the past are easier to repeat. This mentality can also create a divide in the Church and isolate people from the body of Christ. Studying historical theology helps believers avoid clinging too tightly to traditions for the sake of tradition or distorting the past to hold onto concepts or practices that are unbiblical. The study of historical theology “provides us wisdom for the present and for the future.” Studying historical theology also helps believers experiment with new ideas and think carefully about new questions. One of the new ideas Hutcherson provides as an example is the Bible app. The innovation of the app offers a new way to access scripture through a new medium. This same app also raises questions of how people relate to the physical scriptures. Reading God’s Word through an app impacts how readers consume scripture as a collection of individual verses instead of a linked narrative. In this scenario, historical perspectives help the present-day Church recognize how past innovations produced both positive and negative impacts.

Historical Theology and You

(Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash)

Studying historical theology exposes an essential distinction between theology and revelation. Revelation is what God has said and done, while theology is what people say about God’s Word. Hutcherson explains historical theology helps the Church grapple with this tension. It helps untangle knots of “confusing revelation (what God says) with theology (which is what we say).” Theology is our commentary, and each person has their unique lens through which he or she views the world, God, and the Bible. “Historical theology informs our understanding of God in that it helps us recognize who’s doing theology,” Hutcherson says. Historical theology aids in distinguishing what we say God says from actual revelation. “Recognizing those subjectivities all throughout history, I think, exposes our own subjectivities towards the text and towards God’s revelation,” Hutcherson notes. But, if theology is what “we” say about what God says, then how can anyone trust any theology? Excellent question. The answer is a previously mentioned ten letter word beginning with the letter “c”— continuity.

(Photo by Anuja Mary Tilj on Unsplash)

Historical theology brings the researcher to a place of confronting his or her biases towards the text. These biases are a result of someone’s education, family, the context of their childhood, personal sin nature, cultural background, economic background, nationality, sex, race, and much more. “We’re all reading...[the] Bible, this text that’s authoritative in our lives, from these contextual perspectives...historical theology provides us is a sense of [where our reading and understanding is in] continuity with the past. It offers us a resource to compare what we’ve understood with not just those who are different from us in the present, and that’s incredibly important...but it offers us a chance to think about the continuity with those who have different perspectives or come from different perspectives in the past,” Hutcherson says. “We can never escape from our bias to the present unless we go back and pay attention to what other people said in the past. Historical theology offers us perspective outside of ourselves from the past about how to understand what God has said in scripture.”

Authority of Scripture

Historical theology exposes believers to the "presence of different perspectives." This exposure has the potential to guide Christians away from beliefs thought essential to the Christian faith, but are dogmatic and not biblically supported.

(Photo courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

“Through the process of studying theology historically, we come to recognize what is essential to Christian faith, as well as what is not. This challenges us to walk in humility, with a healthy sense of openness and willingness to grow and learn,” Hutcherson notes in an email. Historical theology helps broaden the Church’s understanding of God’s Word and remove blinders, which would otherwise inhibit our ability to understand the Bible. “The diversity that makes up the body of Christ is an incredible resource for us. It’s the testimony of the Holy Spirit through the diverse community of the Spirit. We desperately need to gain humility in order to learn from others within the body of Christ. Historical theology contributes that perspective from a historical perspective,” Hutcherson says.

(Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash)

“The authority of scripture is not something that we deny. We acknowledge that, and all are subject to and submit to the text of scripture. That’s a part of what constitutes this community of the Holy Spirit that interprets that scripture. “The other side of that...is that that the presence of the Holy Spirit in all of us actually challenges us to humility towards each other to recognize our own subjectivities. So, in some way, the authority of the text is held up and maintained, [while] our authority as interpreters becomes something that we [can] question, that we wrestle with, that we certainly take seriously but that we’re very cautious and careful about.”

Historical Theology on the Personal Level

(Photo by Ramy Kabalan on Unsplash)

Since Hutcherson is an American teaching in Lebanon, he has the opportunity to dialogue with Arabic-speaking followers of Christ daily about theology. These relationships provide a unique opportunity to listen to theology in the context of interfaith dialogue in a country where Christians are a minority. Historical theology is not just a topic taught in a classroom, but a way of engaging with the global body of Christ and remaining true to God’s Word. “Being in this context and wanting to do historical theology that is particularly meaningful to students in my classroom has meant pushing further into Arab Christian history and trying to understand [their engagement] with Islam [and] with Muslims,” Hutcherson says.

(Photo courtesy of ABTS)

Hutcherson comments the body of Christ has a lot to learn from the history of Arabic-speaking followers of Christ, “from both the points [of] vitality and the points of weakness and mistakes”. Learning from the diverse body of Christ helps believers “recognize attitudes and approaches that continue to shape our engagement with each other today”. Want to dig deeper into historical theology for yourself? Seminaries are always a great place to learn. A quick search through podcasts will also turn up valuable resources. However, these podcasts are ultimately based on texts, books. Hutcherson recommends the book “On The Incarnation” by Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373). Or for a quick reference to read on a train commute, check out this list of Arab theologians for a different theological perspective. Explore studying through ABTS here! Click here to support ABTS's work and the education of its students. Header photo by Jonny Swales on Unsplash.

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#abts #arab #baptist #believers #bible

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ascbh13 · 6 years ago

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READY FOR HIS COMING 9th December 2018, 9.30 and 11 a.m Mt. 24. 36-44 & Malachi 3. 1-4 Kay Morison

INTRO: Before we retired to Poole, we lived for many years in secluded vicarages, often with a graveyard right next door, yet not a single attempt to burgle us had taken place. We may have mentioned this before, but when we moved into a block of flats here in Poole, we thought we were really safe.

Actually we never gave it much thought. We had residents just the other side of the wall to protect us, to see and hear what was happening, and of course, houses all round us. How wrong we were! We were away for only 24 hours and yet someone broke in by smashing the double glazed living room window. All my inherited jewellery from my Mother and Mother in law, plus our passports all stolen!

When we got back we installed a burglar alarm, but by then it was too late! The fact is, we hadn’t been ready for a burglar. We weren’t organised. We were not prepared. We never gave even the possibility of a thief a thought. We were simply Not Ready.

Not Ready….That’s exactly what Jesus said in today’s Gospel about his second coming: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this, If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch, and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”vv 42-44

Jesus said He is coming again “at an hour when you do not expect him” so there’s a need to be ready for Him!

This need to “Get ready” is exactly why the Christian church has the season of Advent. It is a special four week season. It used to be marked in a similar way to Lent, with fasting, prayers and spiritual discipline. But it’s Very different today! Secular Christmas preparations seem to start even before October is upon us! I was asked five weeks ago “Are you ready for Christmas?” No one asks “Are you ready for Jesus’ second coming?”!

The traditional word for the special season we have arrived at, is “ADVENT”. A word basically meaning “COMING”,

In Advent we actually prepare for two “comings”. The first is of course the coming of Jesus as a baby. Sadly, for much of the world outside the Christian community, Advent is quite simply a secular and commercial festival. Preparing for Father Christmas and family feasting. Nothing to do with the birth of Jesus unless you happen to notice a Christmas Crib in a shop window. In fact, most people don’t even think about the real meaning of Christmas. However, it is good to know that Cathedrals see more worshippers at this time of year, as do many parish churches. Perhaps more people than we realise do remember the meaning of Christmas Day.

But the lack of knowledge about the real meaning of Christmas should be for us a wake-up call as regards the majority of youngsters. For example: The Scripture Union, which was one of All SS Mission charities for years, wrote recently telling us two or three worrying statistics. Sources were given for these statistics. One such comment was “Thousands of children think that Rudolf the red-nose reindeer was in the stable at Jesus’ birth!”

And the second statistic given by Scripture Union: “30% of 1000 children surveyed, believe that the wise men heard about the birthday of Jesus….. through Facebook!”

Scripture Union has produced a small booklet for children, called “The First Christmas”. It tells the real story of Christmas. No Rudolf, No Facebook. Scripture Union are giving it out for free in places like Food Banks & Hospitals. In faith S.U. has printed 120,000. They cost a pound to produce. A great resource. Ask me if you want to know more.

Perhaps if you think back to the sort of Advent Calendar you first had, maybe it was just a matter of opening a door each day and seeing a picture to do with the Christmas story. But now many Advent calendars are just yet another commercial item. You can, I actually saw, have an Advent Calendar with a little bottle of gin behind each door. Wow!!

So Advent has lost much of its meaning. The meaning of being ready for the arrival of Jesus as the special Baby of Bethlehem. But that’s only half of the story. As I said there is a second meaning of Advent. There’s more to come!

Advent speaks also of the return of Christ to this earth as King of All. Christ’s second coming. Are we really prepared for that? So…

ADVENT IS A CALL TO BE READY: That’s my One Basic Point…. but Why should that be so??

Jesus tells us: “because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him! (Mt. 24. 44b)

And my first question is – and I address it as much to myself as anyone else - if the Lord returned today, am I confident I would be ready and waiting to welcome him? Is my life such a transparent book that there is nothing I would want to hide from the King of Kings?

And of course, that includes my thoughts, not just my actions…. Not just what people see outwardly, but what you and I are really like inwardly. A huge challenge isn’t it?

So what am I going to do about the things that are less than the best in my life? Christmas lights in the porch are not sufficient! Tinsel is not enough! Advent is about having a very early spiritual Spring Clean –

The Matthew passage we heard read, emphasises this need to be ready, and that, several times. We are told to keep watch. This doesn’t mean trying to work out exactly when Jesus will return.

Remember also that Jesus himself said he did not know the time of his return. So why try and work it out? In Mark 13. V. 32 Jesus says “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

But the King of Kings is certainly coming! So we need to be ready for Him, have a spiritual spring clean, get rid of some of the rubbish which clutters our lives. Rubbish which detracts from our living our Christian lives better.

After our burglary the Crime Prevention Officer came to see us. She suggested three ways to improve our flat’s security - to help us be ready if another burglar did try to gain access. We followed her advice and did all those three things.

So today I’d like to suggest three positive ways we can make sure we are ready for Jesus’ return. The Church describes it as His “Second Coming”.

1. ADVENT IS A TIME TO FIND FAITH To really make faith our own. The challenge of Advent is to be ready for the coming of our King – Jesus! And that means willing to welcome Him personally.

It’s much more than having a merely academic belief in fact of Jesus’ Death and Rising Again. In picture language, it means having the door to our hearts, our innermost personality, wide open to receive Him. And a sign saying “Welcome Lord Jesus” clearly displayed.

For Jesus will come in to share His life with you – no doubt at all! He promises to - And to any who doubt this, The very same risen Christ clearly says: “here I am, standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me…” You can read that yourself in Revelation chapter 3 verse 14.

Let’s look at this truth in another way:

There is a very apt saying that, “God has no grandchildren” . God has Children, YES!.......But Grandchildren, NO! You cannot inherit your faith from someone else. There’s no such thing as second-hand Faith.

Each person’s faith – trust and openness to Jesus - must be their very own. We each need to make our own commitment to Jesus, asking him into our lives.

So we can’t rely on the faith of our parents, or our Godparents, or the Bishop who maybe confirmed us.

For the Christian, faith is individual, personal. When faced with Jesus’ promised return we need our own faith. A trust in Him which is part of our very being, not just an external creed we recite Sunday by Sunday…… Advent is a time to Find Faith.

2. ADVENT IS A TIME TO SAY SORRY – A time to say sorry – AND MEAN IT! There’s another very vivid saying which goes like this: “Keep short accounts with God” This means quite simply, when we do something wrong, tell a lie, blow our tops, display the wrong sort of anger, etc. etc, - the list is endless - Don’t wait to ask forgiveness – do it at once! Clear the decks – say SORRY!

For unforgiven sin sadly acts as a barrier between us and the Lord. Cuts us off from God. So don’t just shrug your mistakes off! Don’t even wait until the next time you are here at All SS to ask God for His forgiveness. Ask God immediately you realise you have let Him down, and at the same time realise that you have let your “best” self down too.

It’s not that God doesn’t want to forgive you, but if you are hiding yourself and your sin away in a cupboard, you’re not allowing Him to lift you up out of the darkness of your sorrow and forgive you.

Keep short accounts with God. Very short ones. Advent is a Time to Say Sorry!

3. ADVENT IS A TIME TO ACT We need to get up out of our comfortable arm chairs and start working for the Lord who loves us so much and delights when we use the talents He has given us.

John and I listened to the advice given after our burglary and did the three simple things as advised. We did what we were told to do. Similarly, if you are truly a child of God, He will be asking and expecting you to do something special for Him. Only you and He know precisely what that is.

Maybe something very simple starting with the Christmas Season….

Could you deliver some of the Christmas cards? Look on the porch table for any left-overs.

Could you join in the carol singing in various care homes? There is a list in the porch. And a leaflet here. It gives you a chance to wear something bright and cheerful and brings cheer into the lives of the people in those nursing homes. Their faces often light up when they see us coming.

It used to be a great thing each New Year to make a Good Year Resolution – usually about giving something up! I wonder how long such resolutions actually last? Much better to find out something practical TO DO! Something positive to do for our Lord in the coming year.

How about joining the Alpha course starting on January 16th. Details are on the back of the Christmas leaflet. I really can recommend this course: I’ve participated in it, in Cornwall, Derby and here. Advent is a time to Act. Why not Act by deciding to come to Alpha in the New Year?

Another Idea: Recent Statistical Research has discovered that in our parish/ward we have one of the very highest proportions of single or bereaved and elderly people in the whole area. Many of whom are lonely, who long for a chat, even a smile could light up their day! You almost certainly know someone like that…. How about resolving to visit them, say once a fortnight? Taking a little bit of light into a lonely person’s life? Isn’t that precisely one of the things our Friend and Saviour did while he was with us here on earth? So take time to talk with Jesus in prayer about what He is wanting you to do for Him…..and then DO IT!

CONCLUSION:

The fact is that JESUS IS COMING! What are you and I going to do about it?

Four straightforward things to put into action:

Advent is a time to be ready Advent is a time to find faith Advent is a time to say sorry Advent is a time to act.

Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, You’ve promised to come back to your followers, we don’t know when it’s going to be, but we want to be ready for you:

Help each one of us to truly open our lives to your love and your guidance. Help us to keep short accounts with you and promptly ask your forgiveness, immediately we go wrong. Help us not to be just passive pew sitters, but rather, active disciples, seeking practical ways in which we can show your love to others. For your name’s sake, AMEN

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faithfulnews · 5 years ago

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Historical theology informs and educates present-day Bible readers

The “What” of Historical Theology