Message Of Jesus Research Articles

UNAMUNO ve “ÇAĞDAŞ HIRİSTİYANLIK”

“This article/research that I translated from Hasan Hanefi examines, in terms of Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, the ancient Christianity throughout the history. While Hasan Hanefi, here, researched Christianity beliefs in the presence of Ancient Christians, on the one hand, he criticizes of it, on the other hand, from own viewpoint, aims for explanation of it. Hasan Hanefi, also here, compares the Christianity beliefs established by the institution of papacy with philosophies of his age in which includes schools like communism, socialism and existentialism. According to what Hasan Hanef said, Unamuno follow such a conclusion: the contemporary Christianity has lost that noble ore and effect arising from jesus son of mary, who is prominent with/stamped with the life, the dynamism and regeneration and the spritual ressurrection; whether individually or socially, it has become such a thing that loses it’s effect and power on spirits. We also may said: Our author Hasan Hanefi, in terms of essence and nature of Christianity, make comparisons between the philosophies and trends of his age and philosophies that will come later and have an impact on humanity, especially on Europeans… After all this, definitely, he concludes such a result: Some philosophies is closer to, in it’s essence and nature, the Christianity religion and the message of jesus, than the Christianity religion institutionalized throughout the history! and he maintains his explanations: that Christianity religion has lost, especially throughout scholastic ages, it’s nature and divine character and, no matter where and when one lives, except a blind devotion, has become a mechanic belief ineffective on human sprit!.”

Is Knowing Jesus Personally Essential to the Faith? Quaestio Disputata

Is Knowing Jesus Personally Essential to the Faith?Quaestio Disputata Brian Pedraza, PH.D. (bio) One of the greatest notes of correspondence and continuity among the postconciliar popes is their repeated call for Christians and all people of good will to encounter or know Jesus Christ personally. Despite the origin of phrases such as "personal relationship with Jesus" in evangelical circles and its use largely in pastoral contexts, a Catholic scholar such as Joseph Ratzinger, whose erudition is universally respected by admirers and critics alike, could write in the preface to his last scholarly works that it was his intention to "present the figure and message of Jesus" and so "foster the growth of a living relationship with him."1 So, too, could one easily argue that the first major teachings of the papacies of John Paul II, Benedict, and Francis all coalesce around this central idea.2 This idea extends beyond the papal magisterium to other guiding ecclesial documents on evangelization and catechesis. Take, for instance, the closing remarks from the 2012 Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, in which the Final Propositions mention a personal relationship or encounter with the risen Lord at least eight different times.3 From the same Synod, in the bishops' Message to the People of God, they write: "Before saying anything about the forms that this new evangelization must assume, we feel the need to tell you with profound conviction that the faith [is entirely decided] in [End Page 109] the relationship that we [establish] with the person of Jesus who takes the initiative to encounter us."4 Finally, one of the most recent examples of this theme comes from the newest Directory for Catechesis which explains Christian faith as a welcoming of God's love in Jesus Christ and a "sincere adherence to his person."5 Using the language of Lumen Fidei, the directory describes faith as both a believing that what Jesus reveals is true, but also a believing in him, which is to say that faith is a "personal relationship" or "trustful abandonment" to the one who reveals.6 The reasons for this resurgence in personalism are as varied as there are advocates for it, but among the great figures of twentieth-century theology there are common threads. First, is certainly the shared experience of the world wars. Despite the rationalist hopes for a better tomorrow built with the towers of reason, the most devastating conflicts in history proved, yet again, that humanity had not escaped its inclination to evil. This was especially poignant in the face of totalitarian regimes that seemed to minimize the importance of the person and his or her role vis-à-vis the State. Wojtyla, reflecting upon the Soviet invasion of his homeland, wrote, The present age is such a moment. It is a time of great controversy about the human being, controversy about the very meaning of human existence, and thus about the nature and significance of the human being. . . . This aptly describes the situation in Poland today with respect to the whole political reality that has arisen out of Marxism, out of dialectical materialism, and strives to win minds over to this ideology.7 [End Page 110] In the second place, we can mention a scholarly current of personalism (or, perhaps, personalisms) from sources as varied as Kant and Newman. Wojtyla, for instance, mentions Levinas, Buber, and Rosenzweig as influential,8 and his acceptance of the second formulation of Kant's categorical imperative—that humans should be treated as ends and never merely as means—is well-known.9 Ratzinger, too, in his personal memoirs, mentions Buber as well as Theodor Steinbüchel and claims that, upon encountering their personalism, he immediately likened it to Augustine.10 In a speech commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Newman's death, he also affirms the English scholar's influence upon him, noting that it became an important foundation for "theological personalism, which was drawing us all in its sway."11 Third, and perhaps most important for the Church's work of evangelization, scholars of the twentieth century all seemed to signal the last dying breath of a medieval or...

Expanding God’s Redemptive Fractal: Spirit-Centered Counseling and the Transformative Wisdom of Jesus

Using the image of a fractal, a Spirit-centered approach to counseling is proposed that conceptualizes the Spirit’s activity as seeking to replicate the patterns of God’s redemptive story throughout creation by facilitating deep second-order change. Involving an epistemological shift from ways of knowing shaped by the conventional wisdom of culture to a renewed mind grounded in the transformative wisdom of Jesus, this deep change is explored from the perspectives of science and Scripture. Integrating findings from systems theory with the ministry and message of Jesus, this approach to counseling emphasizes relational premises and values believed to be characteristic of the mind of the Spirit. Defined as the capacity to know and see in ways that are consistent with the passion and purposes of God, cultivating the mind of the Spirit is viewed as the essence of Spirit-centered counseling. Presumed to be seen most clearly in the life of Jesus, this model focuses on his distinctive way of knowing and seeing by examining what can be learned about the epistemological facets of perception and meaning-making when comparing his Way with the patterns of this world. It is proposed that Spirit-centered counseling is guided by the premises and patterns contained in Jesus’ transformative wisdom.

Expanding God's Redemptive Fractal: Spirit-centered Counseling and the Transformative Wisdom of Jesus

Using the image of a fractal, a Spirit-centered approach to counseling is proposed that conceptualizes the Spirit’s activity as seeking to replicate the patterns of God’s redemptive story throughout creation by facilitating deep second-order change. Involving an epistemological shift from ways of knowing shaped by the conventional wisdom of culture to a renewed mind grounded in the transformative wisdom of Jesus, this deep change is explored from the perspectives of science and Scripture. Integrating findings from systems theory with the ministry and message of Jesus, this approach to counseling emphasizes relational premises and values believed to be characteristic of the mind of the Spirit. Defined as the capacity to know and see in ways that are consistent with the passion and purposes of God, cultivating the mind of the Spirit is viewed as the essence of Spirit-centered counseling. Presumed to be seen most clearly in the life of Jesus, this model focuses on his distinctive way of knowing and seeing by examining what can be learned about the epistemological facets of perception and meaning-making when comparing his Way with the patterns of this world. It is proposed that Spirit-centered counseling is guided by the premises and patterns contained in Jesus’ transformative wisdom.

The First One Hundred Years of Christianity: An Introduction to Its History, Literature, and Development by Udo Schnelle

Reviewed by: The First One Hundred Years of Christianity: An Introduction to Its History, Literature, and Development by Udo Schnelle Florence Morgan Gillman udo schnelle, The First One Hundred Years of Christianity: An Introduction to Its History, Literature, and Development (trans. James W. Thompson; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020). Pp. xxiii + 662. $60. Udo Schnelle, Professor of New Testament at the University of Halle-Wittenberg, originally published this large tome as Die ersten 100 Jahre des Christentums: Die Entstehungsgeschichte einer Weltreligion (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015; 3rd rev. ed., 2019). He states that there is one major question upon which the study is focused: "How did the insignificant Jesus movement in Galilee and Jerusalem become a powerful religious community and spread in a brief period throughout the Roman Empire?" (p. xiii). In his view three crucial factors were determinative: (1) the diversity of the movement enabled survival, since the demise of one stream did not result in ending the entire movement; (2) a conceptual unity combining the history of events and ideas was formed at the beginning, which gave rise to theological interpretation, and those ideas made history; and (3) the new movement was characterized by a high literary production, which S. holds must be regarded as an educational phenomenon. According to S., "[V]ery early an independent identity emerged, and the developing Christianity possessed a charismatic, social, and intellectual power of attraction" (p. xiii). Following a brief introductory chapter on historical method, in chap. 2, S. sets forth his preference for referring to the epoch he is focused on as "early Christianity" (Frühchristentum) vs. "primitive Christianity" (Urchristentum), holding that the former is the more neutral terminus technicus. In the next chapter, S. surveys presuppositions and contexts, such as the world culture of Hellenism, Greco-Roman culture, Greek religion, Roman and mystery religions, philosophical movements, Judaism, and the political and economic situation in the Roman Empire. In chap. 4, S. launches into his treatment of Jesus and the Jesus movement by discussing the Easter events and the emergence therefrom of nascent christology. In his view, the early Christians founded a new religious discourse that drew from both Jewish theological foundations (e.g., God as one, as creator) and Greek concepts (God becoming human in Jesus). He observes that, from the very beginning, Christian discourse was not actually compatible with either set of views. "The affirmation that a crucified man was the messiah was perceived as blasphemy" from the Jewish perspective as well as "a theological offense," while to the Greco-Roman world worshiping a crucified man appeared "as lunacy" (p. 91). S. thus affirms that "at the beginning of the new movement stood a thoroughly creative process … by which the Christ-believers introduced nothing less than the founder of a new discourse into the existing religious world and ascribed to him an unlimited soteriological power" (p. 92). He comments that it should not therefore be surprising that the church in Jerusalem came into conflict with official Judaism from the beginning. In chap. 5, S. deals with the Jerusalem church in terms of, for example, its structure, leadership, conflicts, and theological institutions. A notable position he espouses is that, in contrast to Lucan traditions, Paul's admitted persecution of Christ-believers could not have taken place in Jerusalem since he stated in Gal 1:22: "I was unknown by sight to the churches in Judea." S. locates Paul's anti-Christ-believers activity rather in Damascus "before or at his conversion" and suggests that "there where he acts against the message of Jesus, he is won over to it" (p. 117). Schnelle envisions baptism and the Lord's Supper as among the first basic elements [End Page 709] of institutionalization of the Christ-believers in Jerusalem. He finds the deepest reason for adopting the practice of baptism to be that "the announcements of the Baptist were unexpectedly fulfilled" with the Easter events around Jesus (p. 119). He holds that in continuity with John's baptism "the baptism among Christians was a once-for-all act" (p. 119) and thus was distinguished from ritual washings in Judaism. In his sixth chapter, S. identifies three great currents at the beginning of Christianity...

The son of man: “Is it constructive theology and history of Jesus for the New Testament writing?”

Many scholars and lay people try to figure out the reasons why the Lord JesusChrist uses the title of the son of man to designate Himself. He uses the title ofthe son of man throughout the Gospels, but there are some incidents only appear outside of the Gospels. This appearance is impressing to find out the reasons why the term occurrences in the Gospel. However, the term also appears in few passages outside the Gospels. Therefore, using the method of critical analysis through the library research as the qualitative methodology in order to seek the development of the argument from beginning up today and to see how the New Testament scholars clear up the message of Jesus in using that title. Few scholars comment that term has significant for the Christological development of the New Testament due to the messianic proclamation as thesaviour of the world. Furthermore, the idea of representative between man andGod apparently introduces the idea of the high priest in the New Testamentwriting for Jesus’ Christology. This idea will bring the consumption for BiblicalTheology when scholars seek this terminology in the New Testament writing.

The Bible and gender equality in church leadership in Tanzania

Since the arrival of Christianity in Africa, the Bible has been received well by Africans. It has become the canon in most spheres of life. For women, especially, the Bible was and still is the book of hope and courage. It is the source of hope and courage to whatever situations women experience. Women find the message of Jesus appealing because it provides them equal status with men and new avenues of religious service. They sense that the gospel grants both women and men the opportunity to participate fully in the community of God’s new people. Since the Bible carries the good news, it is expected to transform cultures of believers and enhance gender equality in church leadership as well as other spheres of life. Therefore, this paper uses the liberal feminist theory to discuss gender equality in leadership in Tanzania by examining biblical, cultural, social and ecclesiastical perspectives.

The Widening Circle: Honour, Shame, and Collectivism in the Parable of the Prodigal Son

This study presents a reading of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son through the context of collectivism. After a brief survey of how honour and shame function in a collectivistic society, the essay examines the parable using Luke’s expressed occasion of the story as a starting point. The three characters are examined, as each display behaviour that is outside the accepted norms of Jewish and Greco-Roman society. The study reveals that a major element of the message of Jesus lies in the re-definition of boundaries. The Lukan Jesus remarkably does not abolish the community-first value of the Pharisees and scribes, but upholds the priority of the collective through expanding the boundaries of those who are honoured. The parable is then situated into the grand Lukan narrative, showing how the Jesus movement as described in Luke-Acts widens the circle of the collective.

Voicing God: Theological Injunction to economic issues

Taking a socio-historical approach, this chapter traces history from World War II (WWII) and illustrates the various instances in which economics and politics intersect with theological themes. After WWII the dominant paradigm in theology tilted towards a moral economy by focusing on issues of fairness, justice and peace. This chapter argues that, in view of the triumph of global capitalism since 1989, the future and relevance of theology is located within spaces that provide ethical and moral influence towards fairness and justice, thus agreeing with the central message of Jesus of Nazareth.

Faith in the Hearing: Gospel Recordings and the World Mission of Joy Ridderhof (1903–84)

In the mid-1930s Joy Ridderhof, a Quaker missionary, returned from her missionary work in Honduras a physically broken woman. In the process of recovering from malaria and the other illnesses that had not allowed her to remain on the mission field she began a new project that would transform how the gospel message was disseminated around the world. Ridderhof imagined the possibilities associated with proclaiming the message of Jesus through the use of phonograph records for Spanish listeners. The benefit of making sound recordings was quickly recognized by missionaries who were trying to reach largely illiterate and, in some cases, pre-literate populations. Ridderhof was soon asked to expand from her initial foray into Spanish language records to make recordings in other North American indigenous languages and, eventually, languages from around the world. This article analyses how Ridderhof managed this endeavour while embracing new media technologies to bring the sound of the gospel to the people of the world in their native tongue.

On the Quest for Authentic Christianity: Protestant Tradition and the Mission of Jesus

Barth’s dream of a Spirit-centered theology hints at the great disconnect between the New Testament portrayal of the mission and message of Jesus and the ‘gospel’ of traditional Protestantism. This disconnect appeared as a result of the Reformers’ adoption of cessationism to undercut Papal authority, which rested, in part, on the idea of continuing revelation and miracle. The failure of both sides to understand the purpose of charismatic revelation and power as the central characteristic of the New Covenant, resulted in a misunderstanding of the mission of Jesus, the purpose of the cross, and the continuing commission of Christian disciples. In this, traditional theology significantly distorted the Christian message away from that of Jesus and the New Testament witness—a gospel about Jesus rather than from Jesus.

The Christian Deist Writings of Benjamin Franklin

The solution to characterizing Benjamin Franklin's religious beliefs is realizing there were English deists who labeled themselves deists. Christian deists believed in miracles and thought Jesus was a deist: he taught only piety and morality. They claimed Jesus's message had been corrupted by priests who wanted money and power. By 1735, Franklin had given up his unorthodox deism and, in essays defending Reverend Samuel Hemphill, espoused Christian deist ideas. Franklin was possibly converted to Christian deism by James Pitt, a popular English writer whose essays Franklin frequently reprinted. Franklin also espoused Christian deist ideas at the end of his life.

“They have Moses and the Prophets”: The enduring demand of the Law and Prophets in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

The scholarly consensus has long been that Luke’s is the most gentile and, therefore, “universalistic” of the Gospel accounts in terms of its focus. Luke is concerned to show that the message of Jesus is not limited to the Jews, but is a message for all humanity. This scholarly consensus has not, of course, been without its critics, which is evident in the discussion of Luke’s posture towards the Torah. Although this article will not directly enter into the larger debate of Luke’s view of the Torah, it will instead focus on Luke’s parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus as an example of Luke’s concern for the enduring demand of the Law and the Prophets.

Vrede en oordeel in het evangelie volgens Lucas

Peace and judgement in the gospel according to Luke. Quite rightly Luke is called an evangelist of peace and non-violence. It is recognised in several studies that peace, nonviolence and love for the enemy are integral parts of the message of the Lucan Jesus. Yet this statement cannot be made without criticism. In the gospel of Luke there are many texts in which violence is present, which is incongruent with the message of peace and non-violence. Sometimes there is even violence that is excessive. In many of these texts violence has to do with vengeance in the judgement. In some recent studies the relation of the peace-message of Jesus and the retribution in the judgement is discussed. In this article we first examine the problem of violence in Luke’s gospel with the help of Luke 19:9–27. In the vision of Luke the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE is a consequence of the refusal to accept the message of Jesus. To understand this it is necessary to place the fall of Jerusalem in the eschatological timetable of Luke. We see here a certain equivalence between the situation of the contemporaries of Jesus within the gospel and the situation of the intended readers in the last quarter of the first century CE. Moreover we propose to reverse the way the question is put. We do not have to enlighten how it is possible that after the peace-message of Jesus there will be vengeance in the judgement. First there is the announcement of the judgement. After that a delay is announced for the contemporaries of Jesus as well as for the intended readers of Luke’s gospel: a year of the Lord’s favour. This delay gives room for repentance.(Full text article to follow)

Ewangelia Zaratustry - pozytywne przesłanie negatywnej teologii Fryderyka Nietzschego

This is an attempt of reconstruction of the positive preaching of the Zarathustra’s negative theology. His message based on three pillars 1) overcoming an impulse of revenge, 2) virtue of gift-givining, 3) earthly dimension of the Kingdom of Heaven. This maieutic message resembles astonishingly the message of Jesus with the basic pillars of his way of life: 1) forgiveness qua an overcoming an impulse of revenge, 2) love qua a virtue of gift-givining, 3) earthly dimension of Kingdom of Heaven with a forgiveness as the key to it. The begin of the Kingdom of Heaven is, against to the Phariseec concept of The Kingdom, not in the end of time but here and now possible. The Nietzschean Zarathustra against to the massive critics addressed either to Apostle Paul or to the Evangelists seems to be more an adapt then an adversary of Jesus and the foundation of his critics lays according to Nietzsche in their rejection of Jesus’s intention. From this need arises “The Fifth Gospel” as Thus Spoke Zarathustra was called by Friedrich Nietzsche.

The Message of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and Ben Witherington III in Dialogue / Robert B Stewart, Ed

This enjoyable work is the product of the 2010 Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum in Faith and Culture. This annual forum aims have a respected Evangelical scholar dialogue with a respected non-Evangelical or non-Christian scholar on an important subject in religion or culture (xv). 2010 forum hosted a dialogue between John Dominic Crossan and Ben Witherington III on The Message of Jesus. Other scholars contributed papers related to the subject. These, along with additional related essays, follow a transcript of Crossan’s and Witherington’s dialogue (including a Question and Answer section) and are collected to produce this fine introduction to and exploration of the topic.

La prédication d’Albert Schweitzer, vicaire à la paroisse de Saint-Nicolas (1898-1912)

The standard biographies of Albert Schweitzer hardly speak of his preaching. However, the sermons he gave between 1898 and 1912 reveal a conscientious and enthusiastic preacher. Centred on the theme of the Kingdom of God, his preaching calls the believer to ethical action in the areas of overseas missions and of social (even political) action in Europe. Allying simplicity and profundity and rooted in the message of Jesus, his sermons are also characterised by their literary quality, as seen in his sermon of 8 March 1903 translated as an annex.

An Unanswered Question: Apocalyptic Expectation and Jesus' Basileia Proclamation

The several sayings from the Jesus tradition which explicitly deny an apocalyptic interpretation of the message of Jesus are surveyed, with the conclusion that this sentiment is to be found at every layer of the tradition, including its earliest. At the same time, it is acknowledged that apocalyptic materials are also to be found throughout the tradition. This conclusion is ventured: perhaps the tradition is authentically ambiguous about this issue because Jesus himself was undecided about this notion, which he inherited from John the Baptist.

Jesus in South Africa—Lost in Translation?

AbstractWithin South African circles, Jesus is seen, interpreted, and understood in diverse and complex ways. It is almost impossible to provide any representative overview of these many ways in which the message concerning his person and work has been and still is being appropriated and claimed in South African churches and communities. This paper briefly surveys four of the dominant discourses about Jesus in contemporary South African society; namely, Jesus in the popular news and newspaper debates, academic circles and scholarship, the worship and spirituality of congregations and believers, and public opinion concerning social and political life. In all cases, major trends are pointed out, which raises the question of whether these developments perhaps involve forms of betrayal, and ways in which the figure and message of Jesus may be lost in these diverse forms of translation.

Practicing Evangelism from the Belly of the Beast: Transcendence and Transgression in the Missiologies of M.R. Shaull and O.E. Costas

AbstractThis article uses the missiologies of Richard Shaull and Orlando Costas as correctives to evangelical methods of evangelism that tend to be a‐historical, a‐cultural and imperialistic. The article also criticizes North American civil religion as a phenomenon that legitimizes conservative politics and denigrates and dilutes Jesus's message of radical discipleship. First, Shaull is used as a missionary model of someone who throughout his career took the poor and oppressed as the starting point for missiological reflection. He challenged Christians to transcend and transgress those church structures that are counterproductive to the reign of God. Orlando Costas's contextual evangelism from the “periphery” is also used as a corrective to evangelical mission that tends to spiritualize Christ and lacks serious social engagement. The article concludes with a visionary strategy of confrontation against power structures and a new way of moving forward based on those at the margins.