Both Barth and Moltmann claim that the resurrection is at the heart of the Christian message. Yet, both theologians are not prepared to place the resurrection in the same category as history, either in an attempt to avoid the lifelessness of relegating it to a past event, or due to claims of its the lack of admissibility as evidence in the court of science. This denial of the objectivity leads to deeper misunderstandings of the resurrection. Moltmann claims that the resurrection is a process not a fact, and thus is the means by which God works through history to liberate his fallen world from the effects of sin. Barth claims that the resurrection adds nothing to our reconciliation, but rather is the means by which God revealed his finished work to the first disciples. Both positions fail to sufficiently emphasise the objective revivification of Jesus Christ that was necessary for him to succeed in his mission by conquering death and the devil, being exalted from his humiliation.
Category: Thinking
For nearly the entire history of Christendom it has been held that God does not have feelings. Yet, how is it that this could be maintained despite the frequent references in Scripture to his emotions? And for what reason was it so emphatically held? The suffering of the 20th century has led to a dramatic reversal of this monolithic doctrine. Yet, is this simply a modern reaction, or is there validity in accepting a radical revision to this view of the character of God?
A Prayer Book For Australia is an important step forward in Anglican liturgical revision. It provides many helpful improvements in ease of use and simplicity. However, this revision has also made unhelpful changes in direction and emphasis from the original benchmark of the Book of Common Prayer. It is our intention to evaluate the Holy Baptism service in terms of methodology and theology. We will draw attention to both helpful changes and areas where amendments have been made that represent an unacceptable shift from the theology of BCP.
One of the funniest television commercials to appear for some time is the so-called Toyota ‘bugger’ ad, receiving almost universal praise for its humour. In this assignment, I intend to analyse this ad, and try to discern what makes it so funny. Then, I will try to establish what this tells us of Australian culture, and consider the implications of this reflection upon the ministry of teaching God’s word.
This case study considers the adaptation of a three-talk sermon series on the book of Leviticus from 25-minute monologues to one-hour teaching sessions. Despite positive comments on the sermons in their original format, I decided to implement some adult-education teaching techniques for the weekend houseparty context to enhance their delivery. The resources available included an overhead projector, a whiteboard, plus flexible seating.