The Genesis Of Doctrine

Alister E. McGrath begins his book by critically engaging the views of George Lindbeck on doctrine before moving on to present a fresh understanding of the nature and function of Christian doctrine within the church. Particular attention is paid to the way in which doctrine acts as a demarcator between communities of faith, providing important insights into contemporary ecumenical debates. McGrath also explores the crucial issue of the authority of the past in Christian theology, focusing especially on how doctrine serves to maintain continuity within the Christian tradition. The Genesis of Doctrine represents an exploration of a "middle way" in relation to the significance of Christian doctrine, rejecting both those approaches that insist on the uncritical repetition of the doctrinal heritage of the past and those that disallow the authority of past doctrinal formulations. The book concludes by considering whether doctrine has a future within the church, answering this question in the affirmative on the basis of a number of important theological and cultural considerations. Product Description: Explores the crucial issue of the authority of the past in Christian theology, focusing especially on how doctrine serves to maintain continuity within the Christian tradition.

How did we get from Scripture to creed? Historical criticism has revealed a gap between Scripture and the mainstream doctrines that define Christianity today. Not the least of these are the Trinity and two natures of Christ—widely accepted since the fifth century, but unfounded in historical readings of Scripture. How did these dogmas become so integral to the faith in the first place? Frances M. Young tackles this monumental question in a culmination of decades of biblical and patristic research. The first of two volumes exploring the emergence of doctrine in the early church, Scripture, the Genesis of Doctrine reframes the relationship between Scripture and doctrine according to the intellectual context of the first few centuries CE. Young situates the early Christians’ biblical hermeneutic within the context of Greco-Roman learning without espousing historical relativism. Ultimately, Young argues that the scriptural canon and the Rule of Faith emerged concurrently in the early Church, and both were received as apostolic. The perceived gap between the two may in fact be the product of our modern assumptions rather than an ancient reality. Nuanced and ecumenical, Scripture, the Genesis of Doctrine explores early Christians’ biblical hermeneutic, with an eye toward how we interpret the bible today. Young’s magisterial study holds widespread implications for not only patristics but also exegesis and systematic theology.

For centuries, the Garden of Eden story has been a cornerstone for the Christian doctrine of the Fall and original sin. In recent years, many scholars have disputed this understanding of Genesis 3 because it has no words for sin, transgression, disobedience, or punishment. Instead, it is about how the human condition came about. Yet the picture is not so simple. The Genesis of Good and Evil examines how the idea of the Fall developed in Jewish tradition on the eve of Christianity. In the end, the Garden of Eden is a rich study of humans in relation to God that leaves open many questions. One such question is, Does Genesis 3, 4, and 6, taken together, support the Christian doctrine of original sin? Smiths well-informed, close reading of these chapters concludes that it does. In this book, he addresses the many mysterious matters of the Garden story and invites readers to explore questions of their own.

As a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, my sworn duty was to guide, teach, and protect those who served in subordinate positions. In this role, it was critical to provide clear and concise information so that those who trusted my leadership would not be ignorant of the mission or threats. The Apostle Paul gives an explicit command to believers to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The reader should be forewarned this written work takes an unwavering confrontational approach with the sword of doctrine to pierce and cut away the customs, traditions, political correctness, spiritualism, and ignorance that has infiltrated and infected the body of Christ that is yielding illiterate believers that are unable to prove and defend the faith. Lastly, not all doctrine is sound. Sound doctrine is truth that has been established in Genesis and echoes throughout eternity without changing with the seasons of moral relativism, humanism, and ecumenicalism. Genesis: Let There Be Sound Doctrine is a book written to fulfill Paul's command to educate and encourage the Christian believer in the undeniable truths of God's creation, His identity, and plan of salvation. In this pursuit, physical evidence is accompanied by Holy Ghost revelation expressed in a palatable way so the reader can harmonize their beliefs with the sound spoken from heaven.

Subtitle: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis is foundational reading for the Christian, concerned as it is with the origins of our race and the beginnings of salvation history. Its opening pages provide the theological suppositions of the entire biblical story: Creation, especially that of man in God's image, the structure of time, man's relationship to God, the entrance of sin into the world, and God's selection of a specific line of revelation that will give structure to history. Early Christian writers such as St. Paul saw no dichotomy between the writings of the Law, of which Genesis is the beginning, and the Gospel. Rather, the Gospel is the key to understanding the Law. In "Creation and the Patriarchal Histories," Fr. Reardon shows clearly how the proper understanding of Creation and the Fall informs all of Christian doctrine, and how the narratives of the patriarchs from Noah to Joseph pave the way for the salvation history that continues in Exodus.

How might premodern exegesis of Genesis inform Christian debates about creation today? Imagine a table with three people in dialogue: a young-earth creationist, an old-earth creationist, and an evolutionary creationist. Into the room walks Augustine of Hippo, one of the most significant theologians in the history of the church. In what ways will his reading of Scripture and his doctrine of creation inform, deepen, and shape the conversation? Pastor and theologian Gavin Ortlund explores just such a scenario by retrieving Augustine's reading of Genesis 1-3 and considering how his premodern understanding of creation can help Christians today. Ortlund contends that while Augustine's hermeneutical approach and theological questions might differ from those of today, this church father's humility before Scripture and his theological conclusions can shed light on matters such as evolution, animal death, and the historical Adam and Eve. Have a seat. Join the conversation.