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Elenctics
Elenctics, in Christianity, is a division of practical theology concerned with persuading people of other faiths (or no faith) of the truth of the Gospel message, with an end to producing in them an awareness of, and sense of guilt for, their sins, a recognition of their need for God's forgiveness, repentance (''i.e.'' the disposition to turn away from their sin) and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Johan Herman Bavinck (1964:221) explains that: The term "elenctic" is derived from the Greek verb ''elengchein''. In Homer the verb has the meaning of "to bring to shame." it is connected with the word ''elengchos'' that signifies shame. In later Attic Greek the significance of the term underwent a certain change so that the emphasis fell more upon the conviction of guilt, the demonstration of guilt. It is this latter significance that it has in the New Testament. Its meaning is entirely ethical and religious. Perhaps the most famous example of specifically elenctic literatur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testament. Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the 1st century Hellenistic Judaism in the Roman province of Judea. Jesus' apostles and their followers spread around the Levant, Europe, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the South Caucasus, Ancient Carthage, Egypt, and Ethiopia, despite significant initial persecution. It soon attracted gentile God-fearers, which led to a departure from Jewish customs, and, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Practical Theology
Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more fully aligned, changed, or improved. Practical theology has often sought to address a perceived disconnection between dogmatics or theology as an academic discipline on the one hand, and the life and practice of the church on the other. As articulated by Richard Osmer, the four key tasks or questions to be asked by practical theology are: # What is going on? (the descriptive-empirical task) # Why is this going on? (the interpretative task) # What ought to be going on? (the normative task) # How might we respond? (the pragmatic task) Definition Gerben Heitink defines practical theology as “the empirically oriented theological theory of the mediation of the Christian faith in the praxis of modern society.” Practical theology consists of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus, culminating in his trial and death and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances. Modern scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically, but nevertheless, they provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus, and critical study can attempt to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of the later authors. The four canonical gospels were probably written between AD 66 and 110. All four were anonymous (with the modern names added in the 2nd century), almost certainly none were by eyewitnesses, and all are the end-products of long oral and written transmission. Mark was the first to be written, using a variety of sources. The authors of Matthew and Luke both independently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johan Herman Bavinck
Johan Herman Bavinck (22 November 1895 – 23 June 1964) was a Dutch pastor, missionary and theologian. Family Bavinck was born in Rotterdam as the second son of Reverend Coenraad Bernardus Bavinck. He attended the Marnix Gymnasium there. Both his father and his grandfather Jan Bavinck were pastors. His uncle was Herman Bavinck, pastor and Professor of Dogmatics at the theological school in Kampen and at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. In 1922 Bavinck married Tine Robers. Their children were Koert, Ben and Ineke. Study and Ministry After his secondary education he went to study theology at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. After this study he moved to Germany to continue his study in Gießen and Erlangen. In 1919 he graduated from Erlangen having completed a dissertation on psychology and mysticism in the work of Heinrich von Suso. In 1920, he began his work as pastor of a church in the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland. He became pastor in Medan and the next year in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summa Contra Gentiles
The ''Summa contra Gentiles'' (also known as ', "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers") is one of the best-known treatises by St Thomas Aquinas, written as four books between 1259 and 1265. Whereas the '' Summa Theologiæ'' was written to explain the Christian faith to theology students, the ''Summa contra Gentiles'' is more apologetic in tone. While the last book deals with topics of revealed theology such as trinity, incarnation, and the sacraments, the remaining three books limit themselves to Natural Theology: Arguments on the basis of reason, Thomas believes, will be understood also by those who do not believe in Christian revelation. Title The conventional title ''Summa contra Gentiles'', found in some of the earliest manuscripts, is sometimes given in the variant ''Summa contra Gentes''. The title is taken from chapter I.2, where Thomas states his intention as the work's author: I have set myself the task of making known, as far a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Turretin
Francis Turretin (17 October 1623 – 28 September 1687; also known as François Turrettini) was a Genevan-Italian Reformed scholastic theologian.Turrettini, François in the . Turretin is especially known as a zealous opponent of the moderate Calvinist of the (embodied by [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Practical Theology
Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more fully aligned, changed, or improved. Practical theology has often sought to address a perceived disconnection between dogmatics or theology as an academic discipline on the one hand, and the life and practice of the church on the other. As articulated by Richard Osmer, the four key tasks or questions to be asked by practical theology are: # What is going on? (the descriptive-empirical task) # Why is this going on? (the interpretative task) # What ought to be going on? (the normative task) # How might we respond? (the pragmatic task) Definition Gerben Heitink defines practical theology as “the empirically oriented theological theory of the mediation of the Christian faith in the praxis of modern society.” Practical theology consists of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
