3. theology in the church - a theandric endeavour

8/7/2019 3. Theology in the Church - A Theandric Endeavour

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Theology:

A Theandric Endeavour

Α Ω

“The desire of all desires,

the grace of theology”

T o b e c o u n t e d w o r t h y o f

s p i r i t u a l k n o w l e d g e d o e s

n o t l i e w i t h i n o u r p o w e r

Theology as the knowledge of divine things is an exhalation,an outowing and an effulgence that comes from God Himself



What do we mean by‘theandric’?



Theology:

Gift of God’s Revelation

God s initiative consists in:

Creating the world out of nothing (Creation)

His continual care for the world in sustaining andproviding for it (Providence)

His bestowal of the natural laws

His gift of covenanting – διαθήκη - from διά - τίθημι

His incarnation Establishment of the Church

His gift of the sacraments



Theology as Gift

St Thalassius

“the desire of all desires, thegrace of theology”

Origen

“to be counted worthy ofspiritual knowledge does notlie within our power”

Theology as the knowledge of divine things isan exhalation ( atmis ), an outflowing ( aporroia )and an effulgence ( apaugasma ) that comes

from God Himself



Theology as Gift

St Ire na e us

jEdi vda xe n hJma '" oJ Kuvr i o" , o{t i Qe ovn

e i jdevna i ou jde i v" duvna t a i , mhv oujc i v Qe ou '

di da vxa nt o" t ou t e vs t in, a [ne u mhv

ginwvs k e s qa i t ovn Qe ovn.

The Lo rd h a s ta ug h t u s tha t no o ne

c a n k no w G o d un le ss G o d Him se lf is

the te a c he r; tha t is to sa y, w itho u t

G o d , G o d is no t to b e k no w n .”

Christ is the Teacher par excellence: He proclaims ,instructs and promises to send the Comforter



“Theology is that grace given from abovewhich bestows upon us the gift of trueknowledge, the grace to see God and all Hisworks which He has created”

Theology primarily a gift from above

HOWEVER, the importance of our desire is also stressed

Our desire giving birth to genuine knowledge

Theology is the means whereby our intellect [because wehave so desired] has been taught to see things theo-centrically



REFLECTION

A THEOLOGIAN

A theologian therefore is the onewho reads through the lines

of material thingsand sees reality

in all of its dimensions- that is as it really is.

A sensitive person thereforeseeing everything in life

as miraculous.

Surely a calling for ALLsince this experience of life

in all its fullnesscannot be taught.

We just have to open our eyesas His children

to acknowledgeHis all abiding presence

in ALL.



Theology as God’s Revelation

Revelation – central in Christian theology;inextricable link between theology andrevelation

“the mystery was made known to me byrevelation [" the mystery was made knownto me by revelation [ κατά ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνωρίσθη µ οι τό µ υστήριον ] .” [Eph 3:3]



Revelation

Sig n ifie s d isc lo su re , m a n ife sta tio n

Fro m the La tin – re v e la t io

Ἀ ποκάλυψις

G o d ’s se lf-re ve a ling a nd sa lvific a c tio n s in

the w o rld

God’s self-communicative action by whichHe freely makes known the hidden purposeof his divine will, disclosing himself to theworld and indeed inviting human beings intopersonal fellowship with him.



Personal Dimension ofRevelation

"...the Word became flesh and livedamong us, and we have seen his glory,the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth… The law indeed wasgiven through Moses; grace and truthcame through Jesus Christ. No one has

ever seen God. It is God the only Son,who is close to the Father’s heart, who hasmade him known. " (Jn 1:14, 17-18).



Personal Dimension ofRevelation

Karl Barth’s analogy of the sun

Transformative experience

God revealed through :a)

Nature

b)

the fact He created the person in Hisimage and likeness

c)

Jesus Christ



Through Nature Natural/ordinary revelation

" Lo o k a t t h e t h e b e a u t y o f t h e sk i e s, t he c o u r se o f t h e sun , t h e r o un d m o o n , t he m i l l i o n s o f st a r s, t he h a r m o n y a nd r hy t h m o f t h e w o r l d ( e .g . t h e r e c u r r i n g se a so ns, d a y a nd n i g h t ) t he f r u i t s o f t he e a r t h , t h e v a st n e ss o f t he a i r , t he c e a se l e ss m o t i o n o f t he w a v e s, t he h o r i z o n… t h e b e

a u t y o f e a c h un i q ue f a c e , t he g i f t s o f f r i e nd sh i p w i t h o u r f r i e n d s, t he v a r i e t y o f c o l o u r s, t he v a r i e t y o f d i f f e r e n t sm e l l s… t h i s g r e a t e nd l e ss f e st i v a l o f l i f e ….”



Through Nature "[God] said, “Go out and stand on the mountain beforethe LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now therewas a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountainsand breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but theLORD was not in the wind; and after the wind anearthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not inthe fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. WhenElijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and

went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Thenthere came a voice to him that said, “What are youdoing here, Elijah?” (1Kings 19:11-13)



Image and Likenessevery person is an epiphany of God



Revelation through Jesus Christ Matthew 11:27 – the Son reveals the

Father

Luke 10:21-22 – the Son reveals the Father

John 16:12-15 – the Holy Spirit reveals the

Son

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways bythe prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also

created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exactimprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerfulword. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at theright hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

(Heb. 1.1-4)



Jesus Christ

1. Reveals God

2. is the bearer of salvation 3. defines the shape of our reconciled life in God withrespect to our fellowhuman beings and indeedthe entire created realm

Ephesians 1: 3-14Revealer RevelationRevealedness

Father SonHoly Spirit



Theology as our HumanResponse



Our response in theformulation of God’s truths

δεῖ γὰρ καὶ αἱρέσεις ἐν ὑµῖν εἶναι,ἵνα[καὶ] οἱ δόκι µ οι φανεροὶ γένωνται ἐν ὑµῖν

Indeed, there have to be factionsamong you, for only so will itbecome clear who among youare genuine. (1Cor. 11:19 )

Language – a vehicle for the reception andtransmission of theological truths



Acts 2:42

“They devoted themselves to theapostles’ teaching and fellowship,to the breaking of bread and theprayers.”

Ἦσαν δὲ προσκαρτεροῦντες τῇ διδαχῇ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ, τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου καὶ ταῖς προσευχαῖς.

3. theology in the church - a theandric endeavour

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