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Introduction to Ecclesiology

Introduction to Ecclesiology. Problems Facing the Church. Excessive Individualism Privatization of faith Accommodation to culture E.g. prosperity Christianity Marketing Joel Osteen and Horatio Spafford ( It is Well ) Discrepancy between ideal and the real Disappointment E.g. RC church.

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Introduction to Ecclesiology

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  1. Introduction to Ecclesiology

  2. Problems Facing the Church • Excessive Individualism • Privatization of faith • Accommodation to culture • E.g. prosperity Christianity • Marketing • Joel Osteen and Horatio Spafford (It is Well) • Discrepancy between ideal and the real • Disappointment • E.g. RC church

  3. Church often seen as problem, not the solution Necessity for church to recapture its true identity and calling

  4. Problems: Modernity • Influence of Modernity • Stress on independent reason • Excessive Individualism • E.g. tendency to individualize our reading of the Bible • Effect on the Church • VoluntaryContractualism • Social contract • Church as a voluntary association of individuals • Identity constituted before coming together as church

  5. Problems: Postmodernism • Postmodern Mentality • Skeptical about primacy of reason • Suspicion of metanarratives • Stress on the Subjective • Contributions • Value of community and relationships • But does it provide true community? • How can the Church speak into this?

  6. The Church as Community • What is community? According to sociologists: • Share a similar frame of reference • Group identity • Forms its participants • Grenz warns against beginning with idea of generic reality and fit church into this idea

  7. Community • Concepts of community and relation foundational to biblical narrative. • Theme of community unfolds • Moving towards ultimate consummation • Communal destiny • Gen. 1- solitariness not good for Adam • God’s response- to create community • Adam and Eve together reflect the imago dei • Tower of Babel and Pentecost • Gen. 12

  8. State of Church Today • Major shift in the Global Church from “North” to “South” • Statistical make-up of the Church • Roman Catholics 50% • Pentecostal-Charismatics 25% • E.g. French church • Eastern Orthodox and Protestants 25% • Of which E.O. are approximately 1/2

  9. State of the Church Today • Implications • Traditional/conservative mindset growing with move from “North” to “South” • E.g. Uganda • “Pentecostalization” of the Christian Church • Growing influence of Free Church ecclsiology • Diversification of the Global Church

  10. Ecclesiology and Evangelicalism Evangelicals have not worked out a thoroughgoing ecclesiology Tendency in Protestantism to assert spiritual independence of individual over Church Church regarded often as a voluntary society Denominationalism Invisible Church transcends the visible forms

  11. Key Ecclesiological Issues in Contemporary Theology • Question of ecclesiality: what makes the church, church? • Communion ecclesiology • Charismatic structure of the Church • Balance between Christology and pneumatology • Nicene and Apostles Creed • Missional ecclesiology • Mission is not a task given to the Church, the Church exists as a mission • Ecumenism and the search for unity • Christian church and other religions • New forms of ecclesiality

  12. Developments in Ecclesiology • Twentieth Century ecclesiological renaissance • Rise of communion ecclesiology • Church in relation to salvation • Eg. Pannenberg • Feminist ecclesiologies • Liberationist ecclesiologies (in addition to feminist) • Ecclesiologies form parts of the world such as Africa, Asia and Latin America

  13. See Grenz, Cambridge, 253

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