Advertisement
First, there is a brand new series from Wipf and Stock -- Cascade Books -- edited by Michael Bird and Craig Keener, with an impressive list of assigned authors. The series is called the New Covenant Commentary Series. The first one I've seen and read is by Michael Bird: Colossians and Philemon (New Covenant Commentary)
The central portion of Harvey Cox's new book The Future of Faith lays out the New Perspective on The Church - which is no longer new. It is broad brush summarized as follows:
Jesus taught and enacted a kingdom vision.
His immediate followers were committed to this vision
Paul's disavowal of the necessity to submit to Jerusalem demonstrates that it was Spirit driven
At its core the movement was a rebellion against human, particularly Roman, empire in favor of what could be - Kingdom of God
The diversity of texts found at Nag Hammadi among others demonstrate that belief in the early church was not uniform
The Gospel of Thomas is as old and as faithful as any of the four in the NT
Luke in Luke-Acts was setting forth a Christian epic to compete with the Aeneid and other epics
This community (ekklesia = gathering with political undertones) became distorted into a hierarchical church emphasizing beliefs and authority
→ The distortion is apparent as early as the first epistle of Clement (ca. 92 AD)
→ The distortion develops through Tertullian and Origin and Cyprian
→ The distortion crystallized with Roman favor and Constantine
The council at Nicaea, far from being a sober and Spirit led occasion marked the end of the beginning. The transition was complete.
Meanwhile the Christian bishops went on debating the fine points of theology, Now they argued over what homoousious really meant and the nature of Mary's relationship to God and Christ. They composed more creeds and excommunicated more people. After the fall of Rome in 476, the ensuing centuries toll a dismal story if the repeated failure of using creeds and excommunications to achieve any result, except for further rancor. (p. 108)
So here is a question to ponder:
Which parts of Cox's perspective on the Church ring true - and which parts don't? How would you tell the story?
Hello, my name is Rachel, and I'm a recovering Bible snob.
Manfred Brauch, now retired from many years of teaching at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer), calls us to a more serious approach to Scripture in order to end the all-too-common abuse of Scripture. Scot McKnight is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago, Illinois). A popular and witty speaker, Dr. McKnight has given interviews on radios across the nation, has appeared on television, and is regularly asked to speak in local churches and educational events. Dr. McKnight obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham (1986). Click to continue reading Scot McKnight's Bio...
Daily Prayers:
Emerging Movement:
Other sites I frequent:
Recommended Online Readings:
Scholarly Books I've written:
Scholarship Online:
Stuff online: