Incarnation of Christ

A colleague brought this challenge to me. We looked at the evidence together, and I compiled the evidence. It explores Ellen White's use of thought gems from John Harris in a personal letter to J. S. Washburn, answering the question: "Was she trying to impress Washburn with her prose or was she trying to communicate a great truth?"

Here’s a summary of the evidence presented in Washburn’s Wonderful Letter in the Handwriting of Mrs. E. G. White:

Background of the Letter

J. S. Washburn (1863–1955) treasured a handwritten 1890 letter from Ellen G. White.

He viewed it as proof that her writings were entirely inspired by the Holy Spirit, untouched by secretaries or human sources.

In the 1920s, he published facsimiles of the letter, insisting it showed “no degree whatever from any human source.”

Counterclaims & Evidence of Source Use

Critics (esp. Douglas Hackleman, 2006) noted that much of the letter closely parallels John Harris’ The Great Teacher (1836).

Hackleman claimed nearly all five devotional paragraphs were paraphrased from Harris.

Kevin Morgan tested this using WCopyfind software, producing annotated comparisons between Ellen White’s letter and Harris’ text.

Findings from Comparison

The letter does contain direct borrowings and paraphrases from Harris, including:

“Each person has a page in God’s providence… numbered hairs of his head” (cf. Harris, pp. 91–92).

Descriptions of God’s “infinite love,” “windows of heaven opened,” and “treasure of heaven poured out” (cf. Harris, pp. 93–94).

Ellen White integrated biblical references (in green text in the facsimile) and her own emphases into Harris’ framework.

Thus, her prose was not solely dictated from inspiration but a blend of borrowed phrasing, scripture, and her own expressions.

Assessment of Washburn’s Claim

Washburn’s assertion that the letter “forever demonstrates” independence from human sources is incorrect.

Ellen White herself admitted elsewhere to drawing on authors (even those she disagreed with) to present truth.

Morgan concludes that her writing did communicate “beauty, warmth, and tenderness,” but she achieved this partly by adapting others’ words.

In short:
The evidence shows Ellen White’s 1890 “Washburn letter” was not purely original inspiration as Washburn believed. It contains clear literary borrowing from John Harris’ The Great Teacher, though adapted with biblical language and her own application. Washburn’s defense of absolute originality was naïve, reflecting his ignorance of her literary practices.

Scholarly research into the theology of Thomas Forsyth Torrance (1913–2007) has increased significantly in the years since his death. Much of the research has focused on his intellectual output and scientific theology (see e.g. Hanna 2004; Munchin 2011; Yom 2013). To date, no significant research has been done to unite his theology and mission practice in spite of the warning by McGrath (1999:237) of the danger of concentrating on Torrance’s intellectual achievement to the detriment of the biography that shaped his theology. Colyer (2001:51) noted the significance of Torrance’s mission-shaped biography, but saw his mission experience in China as a child (1913–1927) and again in retirement (1984–1994) as ‘bookends’ to his life. However, if McGrath’s warning is to be taken seriously, Torrance’s missional biography needs to be considered not as distinct from, but integral to his theological output. To date, the missional nature of much of Torrance’s dogmatic and biblical theology has l...

The article raises the problems of creativity, co-creation and continuous creativity. I base my argument on the opinions of authoritative philosophers and theologians, starting from the connection between religion and science in the context of the modern research field. The essay presents different views on the problem of co-creation, creativity and continuous creativity, as well as my own interpretation of the statements of philosophers on these issues. In conclusion, I come to the idea that the correlation of science and religion occurs in the second and third hypostases of creativity: co-creativity and continuous creativity.

This undergrad Honors thesis proposes an expansion of genre form criticism within the Book of Psalms to include an additional category: Psalms of Awe. Building on scholarship that emphasizes the Psalms as expressions of religious experience, it draws from philosophical, theological, and critical scholarship to define the experience of awe as a distinct religious experience not fully captured by current form critical scholarship. The thesis argues that awe is reflected in the Psalms through the combination of three key Hebrew verbal forms, ירא, פחד, ופלא. This done by analyzing several psalms to explicate how each term captures a different dimension of awe. By framing awe as a legitimate and definable religious experience and showing its capture within the Psalms’ historical and literary context, this thesis offers a new lens for their interpretation.

This treatise explores the profound connections between ancient spiritual traditions and modern scientific thought, arguing for a singular, universal revelation that has been fragmented and reinterpreted across cultures and ages. It posits that the deepest truths of existence, from the nature of God to the ultimate destiny of humanity, find their convergence in a holistic understanding that transcends sectarian divides. "The Ideological Roots of Global Conflict: A Theory of Theological Separatism and Semantic Confusion" I. CORE THESIS Religious separatism-the belief that one's conception of God is exclusively true while others are false-is a primary root of global conflict. This separatism arises not from genuine metaphysical differences, but from linguistic variance, scriptural misinterpretation, moral inversion, and dualistic thinking.

The phrase "Emptying Himself," by the apostle Paul addressed to the Lord Jesus in Philippians 2:7 can be interpreted in various ways. The phrase can be interpreted that when Jesus was born into the world he was like a human being in general, not divine. It can also be interpreted that Jesus was actually a human being in general who was born with a special mission like the prophets who lived in the Old Testament. The text research on "emptying oneself" is currently one of the important verses in Christian theology regarding Christology, because it describes the action of Jesus Christ who was willing to 'empty himself' or what is known as kenosis. The research on the text of Philippians 2:7 will be carried out by analyzing the Greek word kenosis using the literal interpretation method, namely looking for the meaning of the original language of writing, namely Greek. To support the literal interpretation, the researcher will also conduct a contextual, grammatical and historical interpretation study. The research on this text produces meanings including: Jesus gave up His divine attributes without losing the essence of His divinity, in order to become a limited human being and take on the form of a servant. This action not only shows the love and humility of Jesus, who is an example for Christians in everyday life, but also the understanding of the essence of Christ's theology.

If Jesus’s story ended with the crucifixion, it would be an abject tragedy: hate would have defeated love, suffering would have defeated joy, cruelty would have defeated mercy. All the powers of darkness would reign victorious on earth. Instead, God announces the divine decision for life over death through the resurrection.

Theological anthropology remains one of the most contested loci in modern theology. Questions of what it means to be human, how body and soul are related, and in what sense the Spirit of God is present in constituting or perfecting human life, cut to the very heart of doctrine. In recent scholarship, Martine C. L. Oldhoff's essay The Spirit as Foundation of the Human Being? Karl Barth's Theological Anthropology in §46 makes a significant contribution to this field by bringing clarity to Karl Barth's difficult treatment of the human being in the Church Dogmatics. Her study is to be praised not only for its lucidity but for its determination to highlight the pneumatological dimensions of Barth's thought.

The year 2025 offers the church an opportunity to reflect on the Nicene Creed in dialogue with Mark 10:17-22. This Bible study-based dialogue invites us all-particularly those who have been marginalized by political, economic, and ecclesial systems of oppression-to be instructed by Jesus on the mechanisms of systemic economic oppression. Even the Nicene Creed can learn from Jesus if we incorporate into each of its four sections the voices of the marginalized who have, through contextual Bible study work, offered the church revised forms of the Nicene Creed.

The Christian doctrine of the hypostatic union asserts that Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully divine. Yet when analyzed with the tools of logic, this doctrine collapses into contradiction. Humanity entails peccability, ignorance, and passibility; divinity entails impeccability, omniscience, and impassibility. To affirm that these mutually exclusive properties co-exist in one person violates the law of non-contradiction. This paper argues that common defenses of the doctrine—whether appeals to sinlessness, \textit{qua} distinctions, kenotic theories, or the invocation of mystery—fail to resolve the contradiction. Instead, they redefine the relevant natures, fracture Christ’s unity, or implicitly abandon logic. The analysis culminates in an epistemic audit, showing how endorsing the hypostatic union corrodes rational standards by conflating actuality with modality, masking paraconsistency under the language of mystery, and closing off the epistemic humility demanded by reason.

Love, Faith, and Reason: On Academic Life as a Vocation" 1. A Statement on the Contemporary Situation of Faith and Reason: "…what for Patristic and Medieval thought was in both theory and practice a profound unity, producing knowledge capable of reaching the highest forms of speculation, was destroyed by systems which espoused the cause of rational knowledge sundered from faith and meant to take the place of faith," (John Paul II, Fides et ratio, #45, p. 69). A. Commentary: John Paul II's summary observation registers a large-scale truth though he earlier noted a small-scale exception when Tertullian exclaimed, "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? The Academy with the Church?" (De Praescriptione Haereticorum, VII,9: SC 46, 98; Fides et Ratio, 41, p. 61) Ironically, destruction of a 'profound unity' of faith and reason began in those late medieval, philosophical currents associated with William of Ockham and conveyed to Luther by his teacher Gabriel Biel. Luther reacted vehemently against Ockham's claim that reason could guide sterling behavior that merited God's grace. Yet behind readings of Aquinas by 15 th c. theologians Cajetan, Capreolus and Biel lay Aquinas's original thought that supports Luther or anyone against Pelagian tendencies to exaggerate and thereby falsify human nature's sufficiency in relation to God and salvation. Later, certain lines of thought in the French Enlightenment, contrary to both Aquinas and Luther, sought to exalt reason as a replacement for individual and societal faith.

The theme of the Cosmic Man is one of the most esoteric and mystical subjects concerning creation. There are indeed many more important details that will have to be left out. This essay serves only as an introduction to a vast and intrinsic world that requires initiation and accompaniment. There are indeed facets that can only be transmitted in person, such as secret oral traditions or the gematria surrounding these initial chapters of Genesis. One cannot expound Ma'aseh Berishit and the secrets of the beginning of the world before two or more individuals; nor can one expound for oneself the Design of the Divine Chariot [Ma'aseh Merkavah], the mystical teaching concerning the ways in which God conducts the world, unless one is wise and understands most of the matters on one's own.” (Mishnah, Chagigah 2.1)

This paper compares the theories of causation developed by the 17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and the 2nd-century Indian Buddhist thinker Nāgārjuna. Despite their vast temporal, cultural, and conceptual distances, both philosophers critically reject substance-based ontologies and reconstruct causality upon non-substantialist foundations. Spinoza redefines causation through his modal ontology, denying the real distinction among substances and positing all individual things as modes of a single infinite substance. His concept of immanent causality eliminates transitive causal relations between independently existing entities. Nāgārjuna, in the first chapter of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, deconstructs all possible definitions of causation using the tetralemma framework, showing that true causal relations are only possible when entities are devoid of intrinsic essence (svabhāva). Through the concept of śūnyatā (emptiness), he presents causation as arising from interdependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda). This comparative study demonstrates how both traditions provide critical resources for challenging essentialist metaphysics and contribute to contemporary philosophical discourses such as ecological thought, posthumanism, and inter-cultural philosophy.

„Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet, Vetus Testamentum in Novo patet“. Sofia 11.-13.10.2018 International Conference of the Bibliotheca Biblica of Sofia (20th Anniversary): Die Perikope Joh 1,35-39 weckt das Interesse der Zuhörer des geistigen Evangeliums, denn nach einem umfangreichen poetischen Präludium mit vielfältigen Zeugnissen in Bezug auf die Identität und die kosmische Wirkung des Logos wird hier zum ersten Mal die Stimme des Logos-das Wort des inkarnierten Wortes-gehört. Jesus wendet sich an zwei Jüngerkandidaten mit der Frage: τί ζητεῖτε; (wonach sucht ihr?), und mit der Aufforderung:

In Chapter 21 of Volume 4 I explore the Image of the Shroud of Turin, and this chapter completes the exegeses of Volume 4, The Passion of the Image. Throughout these exegeses both from the Tanakh (Old Testament) and the New Testament, I have been in dialogue with my Jewish brothers.  These discussions have been invaluable and precious to me. In them I have been enriched, challenged, learnt a great deal, had my own thinking affirmed and expanded, and rejoiced in what we have in common. The spirituality of my Jewish brothers is of immense importance to me even when working on Johannine and Pauline texts. I quote from a reader/response:

“The idea that the image on the Shroud of Turin may be a miraculous manifestation of the divine, a "transphysical cause" as Fr. Spitzer puts it, resonates with my own thoughts on the nature of prophecy and the relationship between the divine and human realms. In my view, the prophets of Israel were able to perceive the divine will and communicate it to humanity through a process of intellectual and spiritual intuition, which allowed them to transcend the limitations of the physical world.

In a similar way, the image on the Shroud of Turin may be seen as a kind of "prophecy" or revelation, a tangible manifestation of the transcendent and eternal that speaks to us across the centuries. As an artist and a contemplative, you bring a unique perspective to this topic, one that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal.

I must say that I am heartened to see that, even in this modern age, there are still those who are willing to engage with the great questions of existence, and to seek out the deeper meanings and connections that underlie our experience of the world. Your passion and conviction are a testament to the enduring power of faith and reason to inspire and uplift us, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to engage with your thoughts on this fascinating topic.”

The contents of this book may be freely used for the glory of the Holy Trinity; however, I would humbly caution those who would do otherwise because, '…for those who have blasphemed the Godhead itself, condemnation is inevitable, and the punishment eternal both in this world and in that which is to come.' 1 1 Cyril of Alexandria. (1859). A Commentary upon the Gospel according to S. Luke. (R. P. Smith, Trans.) (p. 407). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 'I wrote this… though I am scarcely capable of such a thing;' 6 consequently, 'If it should happen that we fail to explain the more appropriate matters through the weakness of our understanding or the presence of much obscurity, then it befits those who will read it to be forebearing,' 7 because, 'the interpretation of the divine mysteries is extremely difficult.' 8 'I therefore ask… those who hear, to take my letter [writing] in good part, and if anything is lacking in it in respect of piety, to set that right, and inform me. But if it is written, as from one unpracticed in speech, below the subject and imperfectly, let all allow for my feebleness in speaking.' 9 2

3 rd Edition D I dedicate this work to You, O Holy, Glorious and Fearsome Trinity. May this work be for the glory of Your Holy Name and may You forgive and absolve Your lazy and disobedient servant. I also dedicate this work to you, the reader, whoever you may be. I love you very much and pray that this work be an aid in initiating and/or maintaining your own personal relationship with the Glorious and Amazing Holy Trinity. Never give up. Ó 2019 The contents of this book may be freely used for the glory of the Holy Trinity; however, I would humbly caution those who would do otherwise because, '…for those who have blasphemed the Godhead itself, condemnation is inevitable, and the punishment eternal both in this world and in that which is to come.' 1 1 Cyril of Alexandria. (1859). A Commentary upon the Gospel according to S. Luke. (R. P. Smith, Trans.) (p. 407). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Holy,' proves that the Three Subsistences 15 are perfect, just as in saying 'Lord,' they declare the One Essence.' 16 b. 'Since there is one essence of the true and natural divinity understood in three hypostases (I mean in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit)' 17 Synonyms for latter definition of the term 'hypostasis' 1. Person 18 a. 'lest he of Samosata should find an excuse to call Him man, as distinct in person from God the Word.' 19 b. 'For whole the Holy Trinity opens out, as it were, into three distinct subsistences, or separate Persons, it is as though it contracts into the one nature of Deity.' 20 c. 'For while the holy and adored Trinity is of the same substance, one would not for that reason ascribe the Incarnation to whatever Person one chose. For only the Son become man, and not the Father, nor the Holy Spirit.' 21 d. 'For our part, we say that he [the Son] is distinct not from the essence but from the person of the Father.' 22 e. 'The nature of the divinity is, and so is believed to be, one. Even though it is expanded into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, it does not have an absolute and complete gap, I mean between each of the persons indicated… The divine nature is one, in the person and hypostasis of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' 23 2. Subsistence a. 'For whole the Holy Trinity opens out, as it were, into three distinct subsistences, or separate Persons, it is as though it contracts into the one nature of Deity.' 24 b. '… when we consider the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, though we do truly assign them their own distinct subsistences, it is our habit to adorn them with a unity of nature. It is as though by means of this identity of essence we were raising up together 25 the length, the width, and the height by that one cubit, so completing the ark.' 26 c. 'he genuinely depicts in himself the one who begat him, the one from whom he exists. However, he will not for that reason lose his own subsistence, nor will the Father lose his. Neither will their complete likeness cause any confusion of the hypostases so that we understand the Father who 15 τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις. This expression is a link between this tract and the Expositio ( § 2), and is one of the indications it bears of an early date. At this time we see that Athanasius speaks of Three 'Hypostases,' but qualifies his language by the caveat (Expos. 2) that they are not μεμερισμέναι. In this he follows his Origenist predecessor Dionysius, and the language of the present passage is that of Basil or the Gregories. But it is not the language of Athan. himself in his later years. See above, Prolegg. ch. ii. § 3 (2) b, and Introd. to Tom. ad Ant. and to Ad Afr.

The oft-quoted "men behind the gun" emphasizes the autonomy and independence of human agency from human-fashioned instruments. The alienation of the instrument from "authentic" humanity might have come from the fifth century BCE when the Greek philosophers separated logos (discourse) and tekhne (instrument) in human affairs. Logos is considered closer to humanity, while tekhne derives or, at most, an effect of human activities. Such thought might be at stake in the growing digitalization of human lives and the ever-ubiquitous presence of artificial intelligence. It is the context that envelops the presence of the church in such a digital society. I argue the importance of considering logos and tekhne in a continuum to develop networked, non-linear construction of theology. I borrow the term from the Javanese mystical tradition to problematize the link between logos and tekhne to base our discussion on constructing digital theology. Manunggaling kawula lan gusti (lit., the union between the creature and the creator), the Javanese version of unio mystica, is a model of spiritual interaction and human aspiration to be included in the divine realm. Manunggaling kawula lan mayantara, lit., the union between humanity and the internet, is a catchword for understanding the immersive power of digital technology in human lives. It appeals to a more critical construction of digital theology, such as e-cclesiology, the digital ecclesiology, through which the meaning of ecclesia and its embracing of digital technology in the ministry should be critically addressed.

This article explores how language-far from being a neutral tool-is a sacred, living reality that shapes the Church's identity, mission, and communion. In our age of synodality, language takes on renewed importance as the Church seeks to strengthen participation, communion and mission. Beginning with the Pentecost event-when the Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to speak in every language-the study traces a theological and pastoral journey through the poetic witness of the Syriac Fathers, the philosophical insights of Russian theologians like Florenskij and Berdjaev, and the liturgical vision of thinkers such as Alexander Schmemann and Jean Corbon. Special attention is given to the Middle Eastern context, where the continued use of classical Arabic in the liturgy presents both historical richness and pastoral challenges, particularly for younger generations. The article proposes that embracing vernacular and spoken dialects can renew participation and deepen spiritual understanding without abandoning tradition. Ultimately, the Church is invited to rediscover the sacredness of language-not just to communicate better, but to live the mystery of the Incarnation more fully. True synodality requires not just walking together, but speaking and listening together-in every language under heaven.

“Nothing is more perilous than truth in a world that lies,” writes Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian political activist imprisoned for her work. Jesus disturbed the economic, political, and religious power that had aligned in occupied Judea. The Galilean carpenter became a revolutionary agitator—and undesirable citizen. Given the appearance of love in a world of hate, crucifixion was inevitable. In the end, the rejection of Christ by humankind symbolizes the rejection of God by humankind. We prefer the miserable and familiar to the promising and new. And so, very soon after Jesus’s visit to the temple, disturbed power conspired to put down its disturbance.

The purpose of this research work is: (1) to provide a modern person with the opportunity to rise to a higher level in cognizing the nature of the universe and understanding the meaning of his life, and (2) to help religious associations that profess world religions to realize the need to develop world religions in accordance with the modern level of knowledge about the nature of the universe and the increased level of development of thinking, intellect and consciousness of the followers of world religions.
The research work consists of two parts: «The Nature of the Universe» and «Religion and Its Future».
The first part of the work is the author's theory of the nature of the universe, based on modern achievements of physical science in understanding the laws of the Universe, and provides the first scientific explanation and logical justification for the origin of the Universe, how material matter appeared, when and how the Supreme Mind, souls, the immaterial world of the Universe appeared and what they are, provides evidence of the existence of the soul, what is the meaning of the life of the soul, why the Supreme Mind created and develops the material world of the Universe, why and how the soul interacts with a human, who is a human, what is the meaning of human life, why the Supreme Mind is interested in humanity and its development, why and how the Supreme Mind helps a human, why and how the Supreme Mind manages the development of a human and predetermines his fate, what are the functions of the human brain, what is the information field and how a human interacts with it, what future awaits the Earth, humanity and human civilization, why human civilization has a limit to its development, what is the meaning of the existence of the Universe.
The above theory of the nature of the universe allowed the author to logically substantiate in the second part of the work the reasons for the emergence of religions, what is the development of religion, how and why religions develop, which religions and confessions are more developed, what risks are posed by the lag of religion in its development, why information about the nature of the universe and the meaning of human life is becoming more complicated, what is the mission of religion, which religious association is correct from the point of view of the nature of the universe and the meaning of human life, what are the reasons for the differences in religions, why in the next 10-20 years a new teaching on the nature of the universe and the meaning of human life will appear, the followers of which in the foreseeable future may become about 10% of humanity, what future awaits world religions.

This is a working research summary and draft. It is composed of mostly notes, definitions and a indepth working summary of Orthodox metaphysics mostly attempting to condense St. Maximus’s metaphysical system. The focus is the conceptual distinction between ‘ousia’ and ‘physis’ or essence and nature but has developed into a summary and will eventually become a paper. The top portion of the work is definitions and exploring the distinction and possible presumptions I will have as it moves into a summary of the metaphysics at work.

John Webster commends a theological style rooted in commentary, citation, and exposition rather than mere critical analysis. Rowan Williams, similarly, worries academia encourages criticism at the expense of celebratory and communicative styles of theology. Johnson, after publishing widely on atonement theology in a more critical vein, takes up this invitation in this volume. Indeed, Atonement and the Life of Faith abounds in rich citations of classical sources, including doxological 'interludes' involving poetic and aesthetically decadent reflections by George Herbert, Thomas Traherne, John Donne and even John Calvin and Karl Barth (Barth is noteworthily central to the book's argument). While the book serves as an introduction to the atonement, Johnson does not offer an encyclopaedic survey. Instead, he sets forth a doxological, contemplative account of doctrine, accenting points of interest to the author. The introduction highlights the, supposedly, under-appreciated theme of atonement as 'healing'. The first chapter offers an analysis of the apostle's creed, unearthing its ubiquitous interest in reconciliation. The second chapter focuses on the unfolding of the doctrine of the atonement in scripture with particular attention to its fulfilment of Old Testament themes. The third chapter critiques a 'historicist' approach inaugurated by Friedrich Schleiermacher and Ferdinand Christian Baur which-Johnson alleges-unhelpful disaggregates the doctrine. While previously, the atonement was described in a multifaceted but unified way, pre-modern perspectives are misinterpreted by these modern figures as propounding rival 'atonement theories'. For Johnson, there is far more continuity between Patristic, Medieval, and Reformation approaches to the atonement than is often assumed. The third chapter, adapting an essay co-authored with Tessa Hayashida, accents the centrality of the Spirit in atonement by demonstrating the way scripture presents the Spirit as present in Christ in the mode of wrath at the cross and blessing in the resurrection and ascension. This is all in the context of a thoroughgoing affirmation of the Augustinian claim that the triune God's external works are undivided and each triune person is present in all external divine acts, even if appropriated to a particular divine person. The final chapter summarises and extends the contention of the volume that the doctrine's rationale is not increasing our repository of abstract knowledge but facilitating the contemplation of the richness of divine reconciliation in Christ. Those who critique celebratory or proclamatory modes of theology, appropriately, worry they tend towards assertion rather than demonstration. Yet at their best, proponents of these styles of theology aim to demonstrate by 'out-narrating' opposing views. While at moments one wishes Johnson had done more to assuage the worries of potential objectors, this is a very rich, exegetically dense, and genuinely learned account of the atonement for the Christian life, ranging confidently various periods of the Christian tradition. Johnson unearths the beauty intrinsic to the doctrine into which he inquires, not merely teaching us about the atonement but leading us to join him in contemplative wonder.

This paper is a theological synthesis written as a final requirement for the first cycle in theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. This was presented and defended as part of the Comprehensive Exam in S.Y. 2020.  The author used the theme “Halad” (both as a verb and as a noun), a Visayan term (a Filipino dialect) for the English word “Offer,”  as a theme for his theological synthesis. For him, the theme captures what Christian theology is all about.

As one second century Church Father, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, bemoaned, what was particularly troubling about the false doctrines being constructed by heretics such as the Gnostics of this time, was that they “often appealed to the same traditions and scriptural authorities but arrived at dramatically different theological conclusions.”  In the New Testament writings, the rudimentary yet essential ideas about Jesus’ revelation and person were naturally already forming as early Christians pondered the Christ event and continued to respond to the question Jesus himself posed to his apostles: “Who do people say I am?” The answer to Jesus’ question was not always clear cut. Irenaeus’ contribution to ontological Christology (on the Person of Christ), soteriological Christology (on Christ’s salvific role) and his functional Christology (on the general work of Christ) related to his central salvific mission, is interesting given his chronological proximity to the New Testament writings. The outcome of this study will be a keener appreciation of the richness of Irenaeus’ study of the person and work of Christ and the nature of development in theology.

In the 2011 issue of Vigiliae Christianae, Mark DelCogliano challenged my attribution of the Homoiousian response to the Dated Creed of summer 359 to Basil of Ancyra. In this article, I confirm Basil’s authorship with new philological and stylistic evidence and compare Basil’s role with that of George of Laodicea, the other main figure of the Homoiousian party, which md considered as the primary author of the document.

Jesus reveals that Abba is a personal God who loves us. For Jesus, Abba (our Creator and Sustainer) is a person who cares about us as persons, and this love is what really matters. God offers no promise that life will be easy, but an absolute promise that God will be with us in all things. Hence, there is nothing to fear, for nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:31–39).

This paper examines how the concept of the image of the invisible God was understood in Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions. It explores Jewish theological ideas rooted in Hebrew Scriptures and later Jewish writings, which emphasize a transcendent yet immanent God. In contrast, Greco-Roman thought, shaped by Platonic and Stoic philosophies, conceptualized the divine through reason, logos, and cosmic order, often expressed through anthropomorphic deities or philosophical ideals. The study highlights how these differing views intersected, particularly during the Second Temple period, influencing early Christian theology-especially the idea of Jesus as the visible expression of the invisible God. By analyzing religious texts and philosophical works, the paper sheds light on ancient understandings of divinity and their lasting impact on conceptions of the divine-human relationship. By analyzing these diverse perspectives, the paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the image of the invisible God was perceived and represented across different cultures and epochs. This exploration not only enriches our knowledge of ancient religious thought but also offers insights into the enduring questions about the nature of divinity and humanity's relationship to the divine.

A celebrated movie is usually well-cast and requires the director to select the actors who are most suitable for the screenplay. It is not just the lead role, the actor who rates the first line in the credits, often it is the combination, the chemistry of two actors, which create a successful film. For Origen, casting his Christology was more complex. He must cast two actors -one leading and one supporting -but for only one role. In the case of Origen's Christology, the Son, the Word, has been cast as the lead actor and a human soul has been cast, shall we say, as a supporting actor. However, the screenplay of salvation calls for a single actor. This essay will consider how Origen, as casting director, seeks to assimilate the soul into this onerole, two-actor script. In considering the soul's role in Origen's Christology, this essay will look at 1) who was this supporting actor, 2) how was this soul paired with the principle actor, and 3) what role did the soul play simultaneously with the Son. Aloys Grillmeier viewed Origen as 'above all, the theologian of the soul of Christ.' 1 Tom Greggs likewise observes, 'Origen's Christology seems to center on the soul of Christ.' 2 However, as Origen himself admitted, 'The subject of the soul is a wide one, and hard to be unraveled, and it has to be picked out of scattered expressions of Scripture.' 3 Consequently, the study of the soul in

The divine community is centrifugal, not centripetal. Because they abhor exclusion, they could never be satisfied with love curved in on itself, with love of like for like, of Parent for Son and Daughter. The divine community seeks out, by its chosen nature, love of other. According to medieval theologian John Duns Scotus, the creation of the world is the inevitable act of a divinity who loves yet always desires to love more. Participation in creation, vulnerability to it, is the inevitable expression of creative love. It was planned from the beginning, without reference to the history of the world, even as it makes that history sacred.

Traditional accounts of the incarnation, accounts which maintain the true divinity and true humanity of Christ, have faced numerous criticisms across the history of the church, criticisms that have never entirely been resolved. What if the problem is not the claim of dual "natures" but rather the philosophical paradigm within which "nature" has been interpreted? In this article, it is argued that significant issues caused by the traditional dual-nature paradigm can be resolved through a conceptualist account of "nature." It is proposed that two things are said to share a nature, to be ontologically identical (the same sort of thing), when they share enough similarity that members of a sociolinguistic community will recognize them as the same sort of thing, that is, when the same mental act (signified by a universal term) will supposit for them both. After introducing the classic paradigm and the problems associated with it, conceptualism is proposed as a plausible solution to the problems of natural and personal identity and, as a result, a strong framework within which to tackle the classic problems associated with the incarnation. At the very least, the plausibility of conceptualism as an answer to pressing issues in the doctrine of the incarnation suggests that the problems are found not in the God-man claim but in a particular construal of the meaning of that claim.

Joseph Ratzinger nasceu em 16 de abril de 1927, em Marktl am Inn, na Baviera (Alemanha). Ordenado sacerdote em 1951, destacou-se precocemente como teólogo brilhante, tendo sido professor em várias universidades alemãs, como Bonn, Münster, Tübingen e Regensburg.

      Foi uma voz ativa no Concílio Vaticano II (1962–1965), colaborando como perito teológico (peritus), inicialmente associado a correntes reformistas. Com o tempo, adotou uma postura mais crítica diante das interpretações radicais da modernização eclesial.  Em 1981, foi nomeado por João Paulo II como Prefeito da Congregação para a Doutrina da Fé, cargo que exerceu por 24 anos, tornando-se um dos maiores guardiões da ortodoxia católica no final do século XX.

      Em 2005, após a morte de João Paulo II, foi eleito Papa com o nome de Bento XVI, exercendo o pontificado até sua renúncia histórica em 2013 — a primeira de um Papa em séculos. Faleceu em 31 de dezembro de 2022, em Roma.

      Einführung in das Christentum -  Introdução ao Cristianismo (1968)  publicada em 1968 e traduzida como Introdução ao Cristianismo, é uma de suas obras mais importantes e influentes. Trata-se de uma explicação profunda e atualizada do Credo cristão, voltada para o mundo moderno, especialmente para intelectuais, universitários e pessoas em crise de fé. Ratzinger oferece uma interpretação do cristianismo que responde às dúvidas e desafios da modernidade, sem perder a profundidade teológica. O livro percorre os artigos do Credo, mas não como um manual dogmático. Ratzinger interpreta cada ponto à luz das questões existenciais, filosóficas e culturais contemporâneas. Reflete sobre temas como: a existência de Deus (Deus dos filósofos e Deus da Bíblia), a natureza da fé, o mistério de Cristo, a ressurreição, a Igreja e a esperança escatológica. Dialoga com Heidegger, Marx, Nietzsche e Freud, mas reafirma a racionalidade da fé cristã, com forte influência de Santo Agostinho e Santo Tomás de Aquino. Tornou-se um clássico moderno da teologia, adotado em cursos e seminários ao redor do mundo e marca a maturidade de Ratzinger como teólogo do encontro entre fé e razão, tradição e contemporaneidade, tendo influenciado diretamente o desenvolvimento do pensamento teológico pós-conciliar e a atuação do próprio Ratzinger como Papa.

This is a monumental task, and it could indeed take a significant amount of time, potentially years, to thoroughly reexamine all the key phrases using standard Hebrew Gematria, in addition to continuing our analysis with the English and Simple systems on gematrix.org.

The attempt of this article is to efficiently and concisely show that the Incarnation is necessary for the redemption of human nature. Here, Aristotelian logic is utilized to demonstrate the need for a God-man composite. This argument is analogical and teleological.

This book is a study of the life and thought of the Polish Jew Solomon Yom Tov Bennett (1767-1838), who immigrated to London where he spent the last forty years of his life. In focusing on Bennett’s learned life, it underscores the significance of this singular writer, artist, and public figure, especially his remarkable dual interests in art and thought, his biblical scholarship, his social and intellectual connections with some of the most famous and accomplished Christian intellectuals of London, and his self-determination to complete his life-long ambition of serving Western civilization by correcting and rewriting the entire standard edition of the English Old Testament.

Bennett’s Christian associates respected his learning and were willing to accept him as a Jew in their ranks. His integration into the upper echelons of the Christian literary establishment—dukes, jurists, theologians, and other scholars—did not impede his loyalty to his faith. On the contrary, Bennett’s Christian friends made him more Jewish, more convinced of Judaism’s moral force, and more secure in his own skin as a member of a proud minority among Christian elites supposedly liberated, so he hoped, from the dark hostility of the Christian past. His supreme act of translating the Bible constituted the ultimate payback he could offer the altruistic Christians he had met, open to welcoming him not despite his Jewishness but because of it. Bennett’s transformation from a Polish Jewish immigrant to a proud Anglo-Jew exemplifies a unique path of modern Jewish life and self-reflection, one ultimately shaped by the particular ambiance of his newly adopted country.

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