Humanity & the Church
Introduction Humanity and the Church or, to cast them in more theological terms, theological anthropology and ecclesiology, are highly related doctrines that often get overlooked in the Christian theological community. First providing a brief history to setup a framework for theological discourse, I seek to better understand what humanity is in the eyes of and relationship to God and to define what the Church is and is called to be in the world. Read more...
One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
Introduction The church universal and especially the unique, individual congregations of the church have had many meanings in the history of humankind and the history of the church. Many have seen the church as an arm of oppressive government; baptizing war, causing destruction, and stifling academic and scientific progress. For others, the church in its global and local form is a tool for political and social agendas; an agent of governmental and societal “progress”. Read more...
The Christology and Ecclesiological Vision of Paul in Philippians and Colossians with a Practical Application for the Modern Church
Introduction Both the epistles to the Philippians and Colossians pivot on hymns seeped in Paul’s Christology. The hymn in Phil 2:6-11 focuses on the unexpected nature of the Messiah who fulfills the prophesies of the prophets while the hymn in Col 1:15-23 focuses on the divinity of Christ and his preeminent status before all things in heaven and earth. Surrounding the two hymns, Paul’s exhortations for new patterns of life and he and his fellow servants’ Christ-template narratives call the “faithful brothers and sisters in Christ”1 in both Philippi and Colossae to a new way life. Read more...
