A practical theology, that wants to face the complexity, plurality and differentiation of situations and contexts of religious practices from a global point of view, needs to refer to the discourses ...that shape them. The contributions can be divided into the sections ‘concepts of religion’, ‘religious practices’, and ‘discourses’, their aim is to identify the respective religious-cultural context and the related framework of interpretation.
This is an opinion article, based on a lifelong syncretic study of the dialogical paths taken by Eastern theologians, Greeks and Arabs. At the crossroads of three continents, in direct relation with ...the Byzantine and Syriac traditions, with the Mediterranean and its Greco-Roman culture, but also with the Asian and African hinterland, Arab and Arabic-speaking Christian theologians have formed a culture of dialogue. They managed to engage with Islam in shapes and forms that are of very great interest and could point the way to a different approach to Islam today. The article, written by a Greek author, proposes a better integration of Arabic Orthodox theology as an enrichment to Orthodox theology as a whole, serving at the same time a broader connection between the Greek and Arab worlds. The article also proposes that discovering the heritage of the Orthodox East is interesting for Christian theology on a global scale. In primarily Christian/Western academia, one should be open to a genuine encounter with the Islamic world beyond geopolitics and other concerns extrinsic to religion; this is an encounter that would open up paths beyond the “clash of civilisations” impasse and allow for the rediscovery of the humanizing factor of religion. This is of interest to Christian and Muslim theologians as well as serving humanity and creation as a whole.
Preaching or service of the Word represents a significant part of every liturgy or worship which is why this liturgical context is worth closer examination. In this paper, this issue is addressed ...through an overview of other contexts that, together with liturgy, shape the dynamics of preaching: historical, pastoral, and theological contexts. What follows is an analysis of four models of worship structure that differ in the way preaching relates to other elements of worship – Word and table as complementary (Roman Catholic perspective), Word and table as complementary (Protestant perspective), Word as the center of worship, and Word as a catalyst. The account of each model presents the key arguments used to support this particular understanding of preaching, the crucial features of the proclamation of the Word, its most significant hallmarks, as well as its main advantages and disadvantages. Toward the end of the paper, the author suggests an additional model, partly endorsed by the findings of his empirical research. According to this model, preaching can be perceived as a space of freedom, surprise, deliverance, and change within the wider liturgical environment as a space of security, stability, order, and identity affirmation. In conclusion, it is suggested that our understanding of preaching is enriched every time we manage to lift our eyes above the limitations of our church traditions and personal experiences, and that study of the liturgical context serves as a good choice for the beginning of such research.
A collection of essays on the nature of contextual theology, criteria for orthodoxy, prophetic dialogue, conversion, culture and other relevant topics as Christian faith and particular contexts ...encounter one another.
Christianity proclaims Christ and the incarnate word of God; the Bible is described as the Word of God in both Jewish and Christian tradition. Are these usages merely homonymous, or would the ...ancients have recognized a more intimate relation between the word incarnate and the word proclaimed? This book investigates the concept of logos in pagan, Jewish and Christian thought, with a view to elucidating the polyphonic functions which the word acquired when used in theological discourse. Edwards presents a survey of theological applications of the term Logos in Greek, Jewish and Christian thought from Plato to Augustine and Proclus. Special focus is placed on: the relation of words to images in representation of divine realm, the relation between the logos within (reason) and the logos without (speech) both in linguistics and in Christology, the relation between the incarnate Word and the written text, and the place of reason in the interpretation of revelation. Bringing together materials which are rarely synthesized in modern study, this book shows how Greek and biblical thought part company in their appraisal of the capacity of reason to grasp the nature of God, and how in consequence verbal revelation plays a more significant role in biblical teaching. Edwards shows how this entailed the rejection of images in Jewish and Christian thought, and how the manifestation in flesh of Christ as the living word of God compelled the church to reconsider both the relation of word to image and the interplay between the logos within and the written logos in the formulation of Christian doctrine.
This original and ambitious book considers the terms of engagement between Christian theology and other religious traditions, beginning with criticism of Christian theology of religions as entangled ...with European colonial modernity. Jenny Daggers covers recent efforts to disentangle Eurocentrism from the meeting of the religions, and investigates new constructive possibilities arising in the postcolonial context. In dialogue with Asian and feminist theologies, she reflects on ways forward for relations between the religions and offers a particularist model for theology of religions, standing within a classical Trinitarian framework.
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