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5.0 out of 5 stars
Nicene Christian Identity ; Contra Simulacra of Postmodern Arianism, July 1, 2005
This review is from: Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism (Paperback)
Nicene Christianity:
'Nicene Christianity' is all about the relationship between contemporary churches and the ecumenical benchmark, with reference to the Nicene Creed of the early Christian church. For an AmeriCoptic catechetical teacher, Nicene Orthodoxy was formulated and defended in Alexandria by Athanasius and Cyril, when the Church was ecumenical, Catholic and Apostolic.
This is a fine, systematic and thematic book, written by 'Church-Class' Doctrinal theologues for in depth explorers of the core of Orthodox Christian faith, in today's postmodern world, viewed from an ecumenical perspective.
Essays; Soteriology to theology:
Here, the essay's Evangelical theology stresses the continuity with the New Testament, the creeds, and Protestant reformation. But rather than its emphasizes on the infallibility of Scripture, salvation, the cross, and, conversion, Nicene Christianity, is represented as the task for the Christian faithful and Ecumenical Church to witnesses and actively engage with the 'Good News', the Father's revelation in the Gospel of Jesus. The ideal (& Christian) way to affect the message is ecumenically, in humility and modesty. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox proclaim much the same spirit which is in strong support to the 2001 conference, and the essays.
Contribution & Editorship;
Christopher R. Seitz, with other fifteen fine theologians present in this volume, a creative re-exposition of the Nicene Creed by many leading doctrinal and systematic theologians, who contributed to the Charleston conference. Every essay is a thoughtful expression of the theological mind of a unity of Church creed, within the creative diversity of personal and denominational perspectives.
If there is some tension in the general theme of few essays, it is rooted Barth's thesis of Evangelical Theology. The Bible and the creeds, look sometimes controversial and with competing claims to truthfulness (Take the Chaledonian Diophysite nature of Christ, without any true or apparent allusion to scripture).
'Credo Catenata' Sampler:
After an interesting first chapter by editor Seitz, on 'Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth,' the next four chapters have a central focus on the inquiry on Christological mystery.
Alan Torrance highlights the incoherence of Arianism; if Christ is not "of one substance with the Father," then humanity's encounter with the Son is not actually an encounter with God. Gunton underlines, meanwhile, that only God has the power over sin and consequently victory over death, to the disadvantage of the wanting Arian christology. Gunton claims it as a recurrent and contemporary revisited heresy, not merely an ancient schismatic history.
Jenson presents his view, on pre-foudation christology, in which the eternal Son has always been in fellowship with the Father prior to the incarnation. Athanasius has always declared: "There could not be a Father without His only begotten, eternal Son." The essays appeal to Scripture as much as to ecclesiastic history and Church tradition.
The Nicene Church:
Wm. Abraham spells it (I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and apostolic church) in a short paragraph; "I began this way for two reasons. First, it illustrates a useful and long established way to focus our thinking about the church. It is very fitting and relatively easy to think in terms of images of the church. ... Second, the images employed here are intended to correct what is endemic in much thinking about the church, namely a tendency to idealize."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Moderate Case for Unity Utilizing the Nicene Creed, January 20, 2010
This review is from: Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism (Paperback)
In "Nicene Christianity: The Future For A New Ecumenism," Christopher R. Seitz (Professor at University of St. Andrews), editor, offers a selection of moderate academic articles by numerous non-conservative scholars discussing the outline of the Nicene Creed in relation to ecumenical endeavors of modern churches with a strong focus on mainline churches (called old-line and sideline by an essayist: p. 233). Most of the contributors are from mainline Protestant churches with an appreciative reflection of the Roman Catholic Church. This very readable volume surveys the ecumenical, theological, and pragmatic issues that the contemporary church should apply utilizing the Nicene Creed as the theological framework in its aims.
"NC presents some of the world's premier theologians in an exploration and exposition of the Nicene Creed ... in today's postmodern context" (back cover).
Chapters consist of compositions on:
- The person and nature of Christ
- Creation by God
- The truth of the Resurrection of Jesus
- The need for church unity
- And many more interesting chapters.
Scholars cite Barth, recent Popes, Ogden, Pannenberg, and Mooney to bolster their temperate theological case for Christian unity.
Seitz gives the readers fine scholarship including a marvelous essay on homoousian Christology (p.p. 49-62) as it advocates current scientific orthodoxy and theistic evolution (p.p. 63-73). Moreover this is not a book for conservative Evangelical apologists who covet information to refute aberrant theology or anti-Trinitarian cults such as the Jehovah Witnesses and the LDS church. 239 pages.
The Necessary Existence of God: The Proof of Christianity Through Presuppositional Apologetics
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