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For Jesus and the apostles, Christianity was already universal: the reign of God being omnipresent, from “within,” and not dependent on external social or political structures (Lohfink, 2012, p. 50). Known as the entos hymon, the Lutheran translation of Luke 17:21 suggests that the Church is universal, timeless, and independent of geographic or temporal considerations. God embraces all under the rubric of the Church.Practically speaking, though, Jesus understood that the disciples created the first real, tangible Christian community. That community blossomed rapidly, albeit not without problems, dissent, and conflict. Luke frames the formation of the Church more dramatically, as an “act of God,” (Boring, 2012, p. 1). Disciples are more than followers of Christ, they are enacting God’s will. The early church built itself upon solid theological foundations of universality, inclusivity, and omnipresence. The conflicts between the followers of Jesus and the Jews, on the one hand, coincided with the conflicts between the Hellenic and the Hebrew worlds, on the other. The Church is the spiritual response for resolving these conflicts. “This community lives by the divine call to justice and compassion and by the teaching and example of Jesus, at the same time realizing the...
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Earliest sermons were not as much about the life of Jesus but about the Christian principles of community and inclusivity (Boring, 2012). The Church was to embrace “every nation under heaven,” (Luke 2:5). As such, the Church was the solution to fragmentation, strife, and sectarianism. The Church is the answer to the social and political problems Jesus identified, for Jesus was interested primarily in societal transformation as a spiritual need: “Jesus was not just concerned with souls. He wanted a changed society,” (Lohfink, 2012, p. 52). The Pentecost represented the return of Jesus, which would offer second chances to those who had initially rejected him. Jesus also represented the fulfillment of Old Testament promises and prophecy related to a reversal of the chaos of Babel (Boring, 2012). Whereas Babel symbolizes the frustrating fragmentation of humanity, the Christian Church reunifies human beings via God’s grace.
The messages of both the entos hymon and the universality of the original Church has immediate and ongoing implications for contemporary parishes. The parish is a place of worship, but also an extension of the entire body of Christ on Earth.…
As Spong has closed his career as a formal minister, retiring from the bishop position in 2000 have has become even more controversial than ever before: Spong believes in a transcending reality at "the very heart of life" that presses toward life and wholeness. He describes God as the "Ground of Being" and "universal presence" that undergirds all life and is present in all that is. He regards heaven as
" It caused missionaries to deal with peoples of other cultures and even Christian traditions -- including the Orthodox -- as inferior. God's mission was understood to have depended upon human efforts, and this is why we came to hold unrealistic universalistic assumptions. Christians became so optimistic that they believed to be able to correct all the ills of the world." (Vassiliadis, 2010) Missiology has been undergoing changes in recent years
Conservative Jews use a different prayer book and have somewhat shorter services. Some of the prayers are in English, while in the Orthodox synagogue the entire service is in Hebrew. Reform Jews take a radical approach and declare that revelation is not central to belief and that even the commandments in the Torah can be discarded if they conflict with the demands of modern living. Reformed Jews agree that God
Gospel of Mark 1:29-39 The first chapter of Mark's Gospel places Christ in the city of Galilee, where he visits a synagogue and heals a man with an unclean spirit by casting the demons out of him with the power of his speech. Mark proceeds to narrate of Christ's healing of a sick woman, followed by the healing of many citizens of Galilee in 1:29-39. The message that this passage
Christian Worship The History and Development of Contemporary Worship Biblical Foundations of Christian Worship The New Testament is, in many ways, the ultimate expression of Christian worship because the Gospels detail the life and teachings of Jesus Christ within the context and community of individuals who believed in Christ even in the midst of persecution. However, to understand the biblical foundations of Christian worship, it is important to first examine the Old Testament.
Jesus the Only Savior? Part I Pluralism It must first be noted that the author, Ronald H. Nash, was a Calvinist/Baptist philosopher and apologist and a professor on theology and history for more than four decades. He earned many more honors and occupied more positions than will open him to questioning as to his vast knowledge of the theological discipline. His book introduces the philosophies surrounding salvation, i.e., exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism.