Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Ite, Missa Est! A Missional Liturgical Ecclesiology, Eugene Richard Schlesinger

Dissertations (1934 -)

Since the latter half of the twentieth-century, a great many churches and ecclesial communities have agreed that the basic contours of what is called an ecclesiology of communion represents their own self-understanding. Communion ecclesiology centers upon a vision of the church as sharing together in the life of God, with ecclesiastical apparatus such as office, liturgy, and sacraments seen as facilitating this communion. Understood in this light, communion ecclesiology represents a movement away from overly juridical accounts of the church and toward a more organic conception of the church. For nearly the same time frame, a parallel missiological consensus has …

The Unsettled Church: The Search For Identity And Relevance In The Ecclesiologies Of Nicholas Healy, Ephraim Radner, And Darrell Guder, Emanuel D. Naydenov

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation examines the efforts of three contemporary theologians whose work is a part of the search for a new methodology for doing ecclesiology located on the continuum between the Church's identity and relevance. They are the Catholic theologian Nicholas Healy, Anglican theologian Ephraim Radner, and Presbyterian theologian Darrell Guder. They come to the subject matter from different ecclesiological backgrounds, and, as such, their work can be taken as representative in as much as it stands for their unique efforts to theologize within their own traditions and contexts. By critiquing and analyzing their proposals I will bring them into dialog …

The Church As Symbolic Mediation: Revelation Ecclesiology In The Theology Of Avery Dulles, S.J., Abraham B. Fisher

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation examines closely the theology of Avery Dulles, S.J., arguing that when Dulles' symbolic-mediation theology of revelation is viewed through the lens of his sacramental ecclesiology, there emerges an ecclesiology that recognizes and emphasizes the revelatory nature of the church. This study constructs this "revelation ecclesiology" by bringing Dulles' signature theologies of the church and revelation into conversation.

At the intersection of those two theologies stands the reality of symbol - a defining characteristic for both the theology of the church as a sacramental reality and the theology of revelation as an event of divine self-communication. The study begins, …

The Church And The Mediation Of Grace: A Reformed Perspective On Ordained Ministry And The Threefold Office Of Christ, Michael Joe Matossian

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation explores the relationship between grace, the church, ordained church offices, and the threefold office of Christ (munus triplex). The goal is to discern, in what ways and in what senses, we can speak of the mediation of grace through the church while maintaining a Reformed theological commitment to the principle that Christ alone is Mediator. Chapter one seeks to establish that Reformed doctrine regards the church both as locus and instrument of grace including the fact that the ordained offices are instruments of grace. Chapter two offers a definition of the concept of mediator, introduces categories of mediation, …

Continuity And Development In Roman Catholic Ecclesiology, Susan K. Wood

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

An overview of the conceptualizations of the Catholic Church from the theology of Bellarmine to contemporary understanding of the church as communion shows both continuity and development from one concept to the next rather than an abrupt change to a new model that discards the model preceding it. This essay examines the church as perfect society, church as mystical body, church as sacrament, church as people of God, and church as communion, demonstrating that the various conceptualizations represent development, balance, correction, and a deeper penetration in the understanding and articulation of the prior conceptualizations. The church as body of Christ …

Missional Churches In Secular Societies: Theology Consults Sociology, Thomas Hughson

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

The church is missionary by nature. But what about public church mission in secular societies? Furious religion mobilizing against rebarbative secularity? Withdrawal to seek exemplary perfection? To the contrary, theologically principled consultation with the sociology of J. Casanova on deprivatized religion leads to public witness in modern societies. Public theology can interpret deprivatized religion as an expression of prophetic and kingly elements in church mission. However, sociology leaves the priestly element as if private. What might ecclesiology, missiology, and public theology say about a public aspect of the priestly element in the church’s witness in modern societies?

Chosen Nation: Biblical Theopolitics And The Problem Of American Christian Nationalism, Braden P. Anderson

Dissertations (1934 -)

Christian theopolitics presupposes that every salvation narrative entails a politics, and that every politics presumes a story of salvation. This means that the church faces a host of theopolitical structures contending with the Christian story for the allegiance, formation, and identity of Christians. However, theopolitical scholarship has largely overlooked or misunderstood one of the church's major challenges today: nationalism. Moreover, this scholarship is unable to properly address the challenge of nationalism due to an inadequate engagement with biblical theopolitics--particularly that of Old Testament Israel--which, in distorted form, is central to nationalism emanating from within the church.

In order to supplement …

The Church's Unity And Authority: Augustine's Effort To Convert The Donatists, Gavril Andreicut

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation is about Augustine's views on Church unity and authority and is primarily based on the letters that he wrote against the Donatists. Although Augustine is one of the Fathers most enthusiastically and thoroughly researched, his letters are less studied than his other works. As a significant number of Augustine's letters were written as part of his effort to unite the Donatists with the Church, they are especially relevant sources for his views on the unity and authority of the Church.

While no single work of Augustine covers the entire period of his dealing with the Donatists, the letters …