Engaging Ecclesiology

Engaging Ecclesiology presents eight challenging and thought-provoking essays from the 2021 Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference (EDC), which is a biennial event led by the Rutherford Centre for Reformed Theology. Considering the pressing reality of the decline of the church, particularly in Europe, the essays question the nature and purpose of the church in society today. Using rigorous biblical and theological examination, the contributors provide solutions and clarity to the ecclesiastical quandaries that have arisen over recent times. The EDC creates a positive forum for the constructive discussion of Reformed Theology. The essays represent a unified front in the face of the growing disunity and schisms found in the church.

The Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference (EDC) takes place every second year. The Rutherford Centre for Reformed Theology, which runs the conference, has a present interest in studying the doctrine of the church (ecclesiology). After two years of pandemic, when most churches began to take new forms or develop new ways of meeting, many questions are being asked: What is the church, and what is it for? Is it a core element of Christianity, or is it an optional extra? Does the doctrine of the church flow out of our understanding of God and the gospel, or is it to be viewed socially and pragmatically? Are the historic marks of the church still relevant to today’s discussions? This volume contains the papers given at the 2021 EDC. Here we have eight significant theologians exploring the nature and function of the church in ways that are challenging and thought-provoking. Continuing the study of ecclesiology, the 2023 EDC will address the subject of the Holy Spirit and the church, and in 2025 the subject will be creeds, confessions, and the church.

Engaging Ecclesiology presents eight challenging and thought-provoking essays from the 2021 Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference (EDC), which is a biennial event led by the Rutherford Centre for Reformed Theology. Considering the pressing reality of the decline of the church, particularly in Europe, the essays question the nature and purpose of the church in society today. Using rigorous biblical and theological examination, the contributors provide solutions and clarity to the ecclesiastical quandaries that have arisen over recent times. The EDC creates a positive forum for the constructive discussion of Reformed Theology. The essays represent a unified front in the face of the growing disunity and schisms found in the church.

This ecclesiological study argues that Reformed ecclesiology cannot be separated from Reformed Christology. The christological foundation of Reformed doctrine of the church will be examined as Reformed theology portrays the important ecclesiological topics in the light of its christological thoughts. This book offers potential for the future of the church with her pastoral concern. It will serve as a stimulus against the erroneous paths of ecclesiocentrism on the one hand and church-forgetfulness on the other. Even though the chapters of the book deal with classical topics in ecclesiology, the work will try to analyze and answer contemporary challenges the church faces. This book is not a systematic treatment in the sense of an examination of the whole developed in terms of one principle (that is, Christology). Rather, the concern of this book is to expound the Holy Scripture realistically and to engage with the contemporary church in her concrete existence. The study will weave together insights from biblical, historical, confessional, philosophical, and contemporary studies in a fruitful way.

Within the disciplines of religious studies, systematic theology, and practical theology there exists a divide between empirical and theological analyses of the church. Each volume in the cross-disciplinary series Studies in Ecclesiology and Ethnography attempts to address this gap by exploring the methodological and substantive issues that arise from both theological and empirical studies of the church's practices and social reality. Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography, the inaugural volume in the series, proposes that if theology is to regain its relevance to the church today, theologians must utilize ethnographical tools in order to provide more accurate, disciplined research that is situated in real contexts. Using "ethnography" in its broadest sense -- encompassing any form of qualitative research -- this volume proposes that the church is both theological and social/cultural, which implies the need for a methodological shift for researchers in theology. Contributions from twelve scholar-practitioners lead the way forward. Contributors Luke Bretherton Paul S. Fiddes Nicholas M. Healy Mary McClintock Fulkerson Alister E. McGrath Richard R. Osmer Elizabeth Phillips Christian Scharen John Swinton Pete Ward Clare Watkins John Webster

Evangelical churches are widely known for their commitment to mission locally and to the ends of the earth. However, in the last century, there have been profound theological and sociological changes that have impacted mission practice. Church and mission leaders have encouraged Christians to respond to the need for mission locally, especially as church decline accelerates in much of the Western world. Yet others are concerned that global mission involvement is being neglected in many local churches. This study explores the factors influencing local church participation in mission both locally and around the world. Through an in-depth analysis of the practices and perspectives among evangelical churches in Australia, the author identifies a range of theological, missiological, and organizational influences on mission practice. Though beliefs about the church, the world, and mission are important, understanding organizational principles, social capital, and the power of relational networks provides invaluable insights into church-mission practice. This book is for those who long to see local churches committed to engaging both their neighbors and the nations in mission, growing our understanding of how to encourage helpful church practices for the sake of Christ.

This book is the next volume in Levering's Engaging Doctrine series. The prior volume of the series examined the doctrine of creation. The present volume examines the purpose of creation: the marriage of God and humans. God created the cosmos for the purpose of the marriage of God and his people--and through his people, the marriage of God and the entire creation. Given that the central meaning or "prime analogate" of marriage is the marriage of God and humankind, the study of human marriage needs to be shaped by this eschatological goal and foregrounded as a dogmatic theme. After a first chapter defending and explaining the biblical witness to the marriage of God and his people, the book explores various themes: marriage as an image of God, original sin as the fall of the primordial marriage, the cross of Jesus Christ and marital self-sacrificial love, the procreative and unitive ends of marriage, marriage as a sacrament, and marriage's importance for social justice and for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. Along the way, the book provides an introduction to the key biblical, patristic, medieval, modern, and contemporary thinkers and controversies regarding the doctrine of marriage.

This evangelical and ecumenical ecclesiology survey text provides a comprehensive biblical, historical, and cultural perspective and addresses contemporary issues in church life.