Author: John P. Keenan
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498221319
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 360
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Book Description
Before the Gospels were written, long before the creeds of the Church were hammered out, Christ followers in Philippi sang a hymn of the Christ who, "although he was in the form of God . . . emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born as are all humans." But this emptied Christ never fit neatly into later theologies of the church, shaped by Greek thought, concerned with being and essence. In Philippians, Paul struggles, stumbling over his own awkward words to express his hope, his eschatological faith, that he might "gain Christ and be found in him . . . and participate in his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if in some way I may reach to what goes beyond the resurrection from the dead." Might we better comprehend Paul's inchoate, even mystical, faith in Jesus Christ with aid from a less empirical world of thought than our western heritage offers? Might the thinking of Mahā[set macron over a]yā[set macron over a]na Buddhism guide us toward an awareness of a truth in the Christian faith that is more profound than anything reducible to historical "facts," or even to human language?
Author: Brandan J. Robertson
Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corp
ISBN: 1646982320
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 158
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Book Description
"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself . . ." (Philippians 2:5–7a) These ancient words offer a guide for modern Christians wrestling with their privileged place in an unequal and unjust world. The Kenosis Hymn (as this passage quoted by the apostle Paul is known) celebrates Jesus for his willingness to forego the divine glory that he is due, instead humbling himself to serve the oppressed and outcast of his society. Through a combination of in-depth Bible study and social analysis, Filled to Be Emptied invites readers to explore the hymn verse by verse and see Jesus' self-emptying example as a model for privileged people to see their advantages not “as something to be exploited” but as something to be laid aside to seek the good of others. Brandan J. Robertson walks readers through a step-by-step process of identifying their privilege, exploring their privilege, and ultimately leveraging their privilege as a tool for the liberation and redemption of the world. Filled to Be Emptied is an essential book for all followers of Christ who are seeking to live lives of justice.
Author: C. Stephen Evans
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780199283224
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 378
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Book Description
This collection of essays, by a team of Christian philosophers, theologians, and biblical scholars, explores the viability of a kenotic account of the incarnation. Such an account is inspired by Paul's lyrical claims in Philippians 2:6-11 that Christ Jesus, though God in nature, 'emptied himself' or 'made himself nothing' by becoming human. The biblical support for such a view can be found throughout the four gospels and the book of Hebrews, as well as in other places. A kenotic account takes seriously the possibility that Christ, in becoming incarnate, temporarily divested himself of such properties as omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Several of the contributors argue that this view is fully orthodox, and that it has great strengths in giving us a picture of a God who is willing to become completely vulnerable for the sake of human beings, and one that is completely consistent with the very human portrait of Jesus in the New Testament. The proponents of kenotic Christology argue that the philosophical accounts of God's nature that have led to rejection of this theory ought themselves to be subjected to criticism in light of the biblical data. Some essays test the theory by raising critical questions and arguing that traditional accounts of the incarnation can achieve the goals of kenotic theories as well as kenotic theories can. The book also explores the implications of a kenotic view of the incarnation for philosophical theology in general and the doctrine of the Trinity in particular, and it concludes with essays that examine the validity of the ideal of kenosis for women, and a challenge to traditional Christology to take a kenotic theory seriously. Book jacket.
Author: G. Walter Hansen
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 0802837379
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 390
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Book Description
In this clear, concise exegetical commentary, G. Walter Hansen offers rich exposition of the text of Philippians as well as wisdom and maturity in its application. In so doing he emphasizes partnership the social and corporate dimensions of community in the progress of the gospel. / After a moderately sized bibliography, the introduction takes up the historical setting of the city of Philippi, the nature of the letter, the occasion of the letter, and a preview of two key themes, the gospel of Christ and the community in Christ. The commentary itself considers Philippians in light of these themes, considering the greetings, reports of Gospel ministry, recommendations of two Christ-like servants, and other emphases on the gospel and on partners or servants.
Author: John B. Lounibos
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498273335
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 122
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Book Description
This collection wrestles with a profusion of questions about kenosis. What is the original meaning and purpose of the self-emptying of Jesus? How can today's Christians emulate it, replacing our own selfish designs with the mind of Christ? How is the current interest in "servant leadership," as a model in the modern church, related to the self-sacrificing servant of Philippians 2? Does this practice have any meaning in our present secular age? Does it imply deconstructing the content of Christian faith and morals in contemporary culture? Is it a possible bridge between Eastern and Western spiritual traditions? Using the key theme of Jesus' emptying of himself in the Philippians hymn, John Lounibos explores the mysteries of kenosis in three strikingly different essays. The first, using extensive exegesis of the text, opens up the poetic, theological, and spiritual depths of this Christian mystery. The second essay establishes a philosophical grounding for kenosis in the work of Paul Tillich on the estrangements of finite human freedom. The third enters into dialogue with the Buddhist tradition and its intriguing notions of "nothingness" and "no-self." The attentive reader will be rewarded with a wealth of information and insights for further reflection and personal application.
Author: Matt Chandler
Publisher: David C Cook
ISBN: 0781410886
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
Using Paul's radical letter to the Philippians as his road map, Matt Chandler forsakes the trendy to invite readers into authentic Christian maturity. The short book of Philippians is one of the most quoted in the Bible, yet Paul wrote it not for the popular sound bites, but to paint a picture of a mature Christian faith. While many give their lives to Jesus, few then go on to live a life of truly vibrant faith. In this disruptively inspiring book, Chandler offers tangible ways to develop a faith of pursuing, chasing, knowing, and loving Jesus. Because if we clean up our lives but don't get Jesus, we've lost! So let the goal be Him. To live is Christ, to die is gain—this is the message of the letter. Therefore, our lives should be lived to Him, through Him, for Him, with Him, about Him—everything should be about Jesus.
Author: John P. Keenan
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666708496
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 231
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Book Description
This is the introductory volume of a multivolume, verse-by-verse, interfaith rereading of the New Testament letter to the Ephesians. It looks to the Tiantai Buddhist master Zhiyi and his "threefold truth" to enhance our appreciation of nascent trinitarian themes in Ephesians. And it draws upon a broad array of scientific, theological, and philosophical thinkers in aid of rejecting the epistle's ancient, geocentric cosmology and its accommodations to the misogynistic, patriarchal, and slaveholding norms of its first-century surroundings. As a whole, the work constitutes a twenty-first century apologetic for doctrinal humility and for theologizing within a global theological commons.
Author: James D. G. Dunn
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 9780802842572
Category : Incarnation
Languages : en
Pages : 494
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Book Description
This excellent study of the origins and early development of Christology by James D. G. Dunn clarifies in rich detail the beginnings of the full Christian belief in Christ as the Son of God and incarnate Word. By employing the exegetical methods of "historical context of meaning" and "conceptuality in transition," Dunn illumines the first-century meaning of key titles and passages within the New Testament that bear directly on the development of the Christian understanding of Jesus.
Author: Stephen J. Wellum
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433517868
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 475
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Book Description
Nothing is more important than what a person believes about Jesus Christ. To understand Christ correctly is to understand the very heart of God, Scripture, and the gospel. To get to the core of this belief, this latest volume in the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series lays out a systematic summary of Christology from philosophical, biblical, and historical perspectives—concluding that Jesus Christ is God the Son incarnate, both fully divine and fully human. Readers will learn to better know, love, trust, and obey Christ—unashamed to proclaim him as the only Lord and Savior. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.
Author: John P. Keenan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 328
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Book Description
The Meaning of Christ reinterprets Christian tradition in the light of Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. Mahāyāna theology declares Christ to be "empty of essence," defined only in the "dependently co-arisen" course of his life, death, and resurrection. Kenan uses Buddhist thought to unveil "facets of meaning in Christ not focused on in western thinking," and to enable western Christians to reclaim their mystic tradition. Part I examines the meaning of Christ as developed in the early church. Through primary sources, Keenan brings to lifht the cumulative research, interpretations and historical understanding of a broad host of Christian scholars. He argues that the Christian West has failed to relate its own mystic thinkers to its doctrinal, theoretical thinking. Part II outlines Indian Buddhist thought from the early Nikāyas through the Abhidharma theorists, the Prajn̄āpāramitaā and Mādhyanuja thinkers, to the development of critical theory in Yogācāra. Keenan then develops the Yogācāra concept of consciousness, addresses some of the objections to the adoption of Mahāyāna philosophy in Christian theology, and applies the Mahāyāna approach to the doctrines of Incarnation and Trinity.
