Rauschenbusch: A Man Ahead of His Time
“Theology is the esoteric thought of the Church.” (WR 15) What is meant by this is that theology is a part of the Church that is very mysterious and confusing to most laymen. Rauschenbusch has introduced many new ideas into the theological point of view. Rauschenbusch tries to explain that the social gospel is here to help people pull more from theology than just jargon that they don’t understand. One of Rauschenbuch’s main points throughout his book A Theology for the Social Gospel is that man uses the thought of Adam being responsible for original sin and therefore everyone is born into sin. Jonathan Kozol, the author of Amazing Grace, went to the impoverished city of Mott Haven to observe the motivation of the citizens amidst a town where sin is around every street corner. He examined the meaning of life and the little opportunity the citizens of Mott Haven had to escape their unfortunate circumstances. Through Walter Rauschenbusch’s A Theology for the Social Gospel one can find the answers to the questions of sin and the heavy presence of sin. The excuse of using Adam as a reason to rid men of their responsibilities is one of the biggest mistakes theologians make, but Rauschenbusch has tried to set things straight by pointing out that those sinful behaviors are learned through your lifestyle and surroundings.
Rauschenbusch has introduced many new ideas into the theological point of view. He still uses many of the same ideas of the “old theology”, but has just made some important changes to add his own thoughts on what theology should be about and how it should be used to influence people’s daily lives throughout the world. Rauschenbusch says,
“Theology is not superior to the gospel. It exists to aid the preaching of salvation. Its business is to make the essential facts and principles of Christianity so simple and clear…that all who preach or teach the gospel…can draw on its stores and deliver a complete and unclouded Christian message. When the progress of humanity creates new tasks…or new problems…theology must connect these old fundamentals of our faith and make them Christian tasks and problems.” (WR 6)
He is saying that basically the social gospel is an aid to help people understand what their salvation is and how to achieve salvation, but while doing this not using complicated jargon to confuse the laymen.
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
Walter Rauschenbusch is widely regarded are a great American theological leader who is regarded as the founder of the social gospel movement in America, that transformed the church and the society in general . His main belief was that religion was not an individual activity or a phenomenon that affected only a single person. Instead, he believed that religion affected the entire society and therefore, the impetus for social reform and raising one’s voice against any sort of social evils or injustice should also come under the ambit of religion and church1. In this write-up an attempt is made to understand the religious philosophies of Walter Rauschenbusch and elaborate his principles of the social gospel movement. The Social Gospel movement also had a significant impact on the Protestant stream of thought prevalent in America .
Lucretia B. Yaghjian’s book, “Writing Theology Well: A Rhetoric for Theological and Biblical Writers” consists of three parts. The first part contains four chapters, the second part has two chapters and the third part has four chapters. I will summarize in this paper the first part of the first chapter, entitled as “Writing Theology Well in Its Own Context.” Yaghjian begins every chapter with “a starting point” and concludes the chapter with “a concluding reflection” which helps the readers to understand where is the chapter heading to. This chapter focuses on “the sociorhetorical Context of Writing Theology,” this gives “a summary of theological writing” and surveys of well-known theological study approach.
Peterson, Michael - Hasker, Reichenbach and Basinger. Philosophy of Religion - Selected Readings, Fourth Edition. 2010. Oxford University Press, NY.
Theological objections, treated at length in the current volume, cut to the heart of the
And so in answering How does Brueggemann build bridges between form criticism of the Psalms, theology and spirituality?' I shall be addressing spirituality in a Christian transformative understanding and from a secular formative spirituality understanding.
When looking at the common theme that Barth develops in God Here and Now, it becomes apparent for the need of congregation to justify, ratify, and promote the Bible as the living word of God. When and where the Bible constitutes its own authority and significance, it mediates the very presence of God through the congregation. Encountering this presence in the Church, among those whose lives presume living through the Bible’s power and meaning. Barth states that the Bible must become God's Word and this occurs only when God wills to address us in and through it. The Christ-event is God's definitive self-disclosure, while Scripture and preaching are made to correspond to him as a faithful witness becomes the perfect statement according to Barth (Barth, 2003, p. 61).
Wesley leaned on Eastern Orthodox traditions by stressing that we are "liable for own sins, not the sins of our parents."
There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.
With this in mind, the objective of this essay is to focus on the main ideas of each theologian, and discuss how each theologian’s ideas are compensatory to the other. This is important because even though each theologian’s writings were inspired by the harsh realities of the societies, and also by the effect each writer experienced in their moment in history, their critiques specifically of Christian institutions remain a consistent amongst all three writings. Furthermore, not only are their critiques consistent, but their goals for providing new frameworks for the future of the Church and Christian discipleship are consistent as well.
...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.
Is the language in the New Testament problematic for the modern world view? Rudolf Bultmann’s argument in the article, “The Task of Demythologizing,” in Philosophy and Faith: A Philosophy and Religion Reader, believes it is. He challenges the theologian to strip away the elements in the language of the mythical world image and the event of redemption, and then, suggests theology needs to examine the truths in the New Testament. Theology must discover whether the New Testament offers people a better understanding of themselves leading them to a genuine existential decision. Keeping in mind, the New Testament was written for humankind’s comprehension of the world view during the pre-scientific age, Bultmann stipulates theologians may want to
“Salvation is evident in the human response in faith, love, and a certain gallantry to the challenges of the world – discrimination, death, poverty, disease, handicaps. It is the unexpected response, unexplained save through the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the work of God’s grace.”(Bullock, James R. Whatever Became of Salvation? Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1979. Print.) I really like this short statement, it explains how salvation is a way to deal with the evil of the world, by simply recognizing that God is truly the only way to live a fulfill life, with a sense of purpose. But the first question we ask ourselves when we decide to get saved is, how, the correct question we should be asking is “what does it mean to get saved? Too often we describe being saved as “getting” or “having” Jesus Christ as our “personal” Lord and Savior. I am part of that population who thought that “getting” or “having” Jesus Christ as our “personal” Lord and Savior was giving you the authority to say “I am saved” or “I am a believer/ Christian.” But like the saying goes “Actions speak louder than words”, to truly be a believer of Jesus Christ, it is not only accepting Him as your Lord and Savior but to also show His love through you. “Salvation is...
I feel my work is a resemblance of Robert Rauschenberg in a sense of innovation and expanding the use of material and mediums. Rauschenberg was well known for his ability to combined nontraditional material and objects creating a single - unified piece. Much of Rauschenberg 's work consisted of employing innovative combinations. Though, Rauschenberg was both a painter and a sculptor and implemented a combination of both, he also worked with photography, printmaking, papermaking, and performance -allowing him to expand his ideas and innovations. Like Rauschenberg, much of my work is based on combining different elements and media to create singular bold works. With my recent work, it manifests into a composite of sculpting and painting leading
Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.