Theology beacon dictionary of theology
For Further Reading: Bonhoeffer
Download 6.66 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- SACRAMENTS, COMMUNION (HOLY). For Further Reading: Battenson, ed., The Early Church Fathers; Richardson, ed.
- For Further Reading: Dedek, Human Life: Some Moral Issues; Heifetz, The Right to Die, 99-117; Koop, The Right to Live, The Right to Die
- For Further Reading: Latourette, A History of Christianity, 164-72; Wiley, CT, 2:160-84.
- For Further Reading: Bloesch, The Evangelical Renais- sance; Quebedeaux, The Young Evangelicals; Ramm, The Evangelical Heritage;
- For Further
- EVANGELISM, SOUL WINNING, MISSION (MISSIONS, MISSIOLOGY), CLERGY. For Further Reading: Bakers Dictionary of Practical Theology, 148-89; Purkiser
- Old Testament Theology
- History, Criticism, and Faith;
- SUFFER (SUFFERING), GOD, ATTRIBUTES (DIVINE), MORAL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, PROVIDENCE.
For Further Reading: Bonhoeffer, Ethics; Titus and Keeton, Ethics for Today; Lehmann, Ethics in a Christian Context; Freedman, "a Meta-Ethic for Professional Mo- rality," Effcics 1978, 8ff; Dyck, On Human Care; DeWolf, Responsible Freedom. oscar F. reed EUCHARIST. The Greek term eucharistia means "thanksgiving as an act of worship." Eucharist is a traditional name for the sacrament more commonly known as Communion, Lord's Supper, Agape, and Mass (R.C.). The Early Church seems to have observed the "breaking of bread" at every service (Acts 2:42). Historically the Roman Catholic church has taught that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Martin Luther taught that Christ's body and blood coexist with the bread and wine. Zwingli believed that the Eucharist was only a symbolic commemoration of Christ's death. Christians today hold to one of these three or some variations of them. The Eucharist is one of the two Protestant sacraments along with water baptism. The Eucharist is a celebration of Christ's atoning sacrifice, and its repetition serves to keep us aware of the enduring nature of the work of Christ, so that we can say, "He is born, He is crucified, He is resurrected." Whatever one's theology of this sacrament, Christ's presence is a mystery of faith—and who would dare to say that He is not present at His own table? The bread and wine are symbolic, not only of His "body broken and blood poured out," but also of the Bread of Life that nourishes and the Blood that cleanses. The implications of the various periods of the Christian calendar, such as Advent, Christmas, Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost, find expression in the celebration of the Eucharist. Its observance is our dedicated, thankful, expectant response to the salvation wrought by Christ's atoning sacrifice. It is also our acceptance by faith of God's grace for pardon and purity, fellowship and service. See SACRAMENTS, COMMUNION (HOLY).
Euthanasia is sometimes considered as being either passive or active. Passive euthanasia would be simply deliberate failure to use the means available to prolong life. (Most authorities deny this meaning to the concept.) Active euthanasia is the positive and intended use of means to end life painlessly. Euthanasia is also classified as either voluntary or compulsory. Voluntary euthanasia presupposes the rational request for and consent of the person to be killed, whereas compulsory euthanasia presupposes neither request nor consent of the person to be killed. Those who advocate the practice of euthanasia tend to do so on the utilitarian ground of the good of society. Nineteenth-century utilitarians held euthanasia to be a sensible means of disposing of persons who are a burden or embarrassment to society. The Nazis even included those who are economically, politically, or racially an embarrassment. Those who oppose euthanasia base their argument on the dignity of the individual and the sa-credness of human life. The Christian church, both Catholic and Protestant, has consistently condemned euthanasia. Its position is that life is the gift of God and only God has the right to terminate it. The right of life is natural and inalienable and is a part of man's stewardship responsibility. "Mercy killing" assumes the right of others to make decisions for which they have insufficient knowledge. Human motives are too complex, and euthanasia offers the possibility for concealment of selfish and criminal motives. It also fails to understand the Christian concept of suffering as having positive and redemptive value, both for the sufferer and those around him. Theologians such as Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Emil Brunner have condemned euthanasia as being a usurpation of God's sovereign right over life and death (John Dedek, Human Life: Some Moral Issues, 122-23). See LIFE. MURDER, ABORTION, SUFFER (SUFFERING).
M. Estes Haney EUTYCHIANISM. In the fifth century the church was formulating a doctrinal statement concerning the relationship of the human and the divine in Christ. Monophysites (Gr. one nature) affirmed a belief that Christ had only one nature. Eu-tyches, a monk from Constantinople (d. 454), gave his name to the doctrine which affirmed that after the Incarnation, Christ's nature was only divine, not human. Eutychianism now includes modifications of the original doctrine. The Council of Chalcedon (451) adopted the statement of the oneness of Person without denying either the complete divine nature or the complete human nature of the incarnate Christ. See APOLLINARIANISM, CHRISTOLOGY, HYPOSTATIC UNION, CHRIST.
The term was given more specific content when the Evangelical Alliance was formed in London in 1846. The Alliance adopted a set of nine doctrines as representative of the meaning of evangelical: (1) the inspiration of the Bible; (2) the Trinity; (3) the depravity of man; (4) the me- EVANGELISM 197
diation of the divine Christ; (5) justification by faith; (6) conversion and sanctification by the Holy Spirit; (7) the return of Christ and judgment; (8) the ministry of the Word; (9) the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Since that time the word evangelical, both in Europe and America, has taken on broader and narrower definitions. The term is often used to refer to neoorthodoxy on one end of the spectrum and to fundamentalism on the other end. Broadness and narrowness are determined mainly by the theological stance of the definer. The hallmarks of evangelicalism, as delineated by Donald Bloesch, are 10 in number: (1) the sovereignty of God; (2) the divine authority of Scripture; (3) total depravity; (4) the substitutionary Atonement; (5) salvation by grace; (6) by faith alone; (7) primacy of proclamation; (8) scriptural holiness; (9) the Church's spiritual mission; (10) the personal return of Christ. See orthodoxy. fundamentalism, christianity, evangelism, neoevangelicalism.
Everything the church does which aims at conversions is a form of evangelism. Even the Sunday School, while primarily an educating and nurturing agency, has been widely effective as a tool of outreach and evangelism. All other auxiliaries and activities should also be geared to evangelism, and evaluated in terms of their evangelism potential. While missions and evangelism are generally disconnected in the local church, they are essentially the same. In the broader sense, missions constitute a subdivision of evangelism, i.e., evangelism carried out by missionaries serving elsewhere, whereas evangelism as popularly conceived is soul-winning activity locally.
The pulpit type of evangelism places the emphasis on congregational participation in spiritual activities which generates an atmosphere in which the unsaved have a confrontation with the Holy Spirit. In such a setting the worshippers are blended into a spirit of collective obedience that makes it normal for individuals to be obedient to the Lord. This is often referred to as "mass evangelism," though the term is of doubtful accuracy, since the ultimate decisions are personal and individual. Evangelism is not crowd psychology or mob hysteria. Personal evangelism involves one-to-one, person-to-person contacts for the Lord. Every Christian will have a means to make a living, but he will also have a meaning for living, and the latter is related to his concern about winning another to the Lord. Total mobilization of the laity for winning men to Christ is the greatest challenge confronting the Church world today. Only as Christians turn the casual contacts that come on the job, in the office, and in the neighborhood into occasions for witnessing will the Church have an impact on contemporary society. Theologically, evangelism is the Church's primary task, as it is a fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). It presupposes the lostness of men, their universal salvability in Christ, and the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit in working through witnessing and preaching to bring about awakening and conversion. Evangelism is in one sense a human work, involving intentional activity, and requiring training, skill, planning, strategy, and generally some degree of organization. Yet the Church's efforts, while they may win adherents, will fail in bringing about NT conversion unless guided by the Spirit and endued with His power. See soul winning, evangelist, mission (missions,
EVANGELIST. The evangelist (euangelistes) is a messenger or proclaimer of good news. The "good news" (gospel, euangelion) is clearly delineated in the NT (1 Cor. 15:1-5; 1 Tim. 1:15; 2 Tim. 1:8-11). All Christians are evangelists, since regeneration creates a spontaneous impulse to share the Good News (Acts 8:1-4). However, it is evident from Eph. 4:11 that some are called "evangelists" in a specialized and official sense. This function and office is one of God's gifts to the Church for its equipping; therefore the Church suffers when and if this particular form of ministry is depreciated. The implication of Ephesians is that not only are evangelists called to spend their time in taking the gospel to those who have not yet heard, but they must have a function in teaching evangelizing to the Church. Only Philip is called "the evangelist" (Acts 21:8); yet he was elected to "serve tables" and was ordained as a deacon (Acts 6:1-6). But that he was first of all an evangelist at heart was demonstrated in the first persecution, when his elective position was dissolved and he went to Samaria. Apparently thereafter the Church recognized that God through providence and inner urge had promoted him. Since there is no hint of a subsequent special ordination, we may conclude that the evangelist represents a function and at times an office but not necessarily an order of ministry. Not only the apostles but ordained deacons and ordained elders could serve as evangelists. While some are called to specialize as evangelists, and the office is distinct from the "pastors and teachers" (Eph. 4:11), we are not to conclude that nonspecialists may remain aloof from evangelizing activities and interests. Timothy was primarily a pastor-administrator, yet he is commanded to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim. 4:5). Only thus could he "fulfill" his ministry (NASB). The "work" of an evangelist would be repeated proclamation of the essential message and a systematic seeking out of those who had not yet heard or at least were not yet won. See EVANGELISM, SOUL WINNING, MISSION (MISSIONS, MISSIOLOGY), CLERGY. For Further Reading: Baker's Dictionary of Practical Theology, 148-89; Purkiser, The New Testament Image of the Ministry, 79-84. RICHARD S. TAYLOR EVE. The name, mentioned only twice in the OT (Gen. 3:20; 4:1), is given by Adam to his female companion and wife in the Garden of Eden. He first calls her "Woman" (ishah, 2:23). The significance of the name ishah is highlighted in the Samaritan Pentateuch and LXX rendering "out of her man," which contrasts the woman with the beasts which are taken "out of the ground" (v. 19). The name Eve is first applied at the mention of childbearing in the curse of 3:14-19. The significance of the name is explained in the text as denoting that the woman is "the mother of all living" (v. 20). Yet in the biblical account it is not clear whether she is yet a mother at all. And even when she becomes a mother, she is not literally "mother of all living" (for example, of animals). The problem is that though the name appears to be related to the Hebrew verb meaning "to be," its form is not Hebrew. Thus alternate explanations have been offered as to the origin of the name. For example, the suggestion has been made that the name is actually built upon a Semitic root translated "clan." Thus Eve is understood to mean "mother of every human clan." Another approach has been to relate the name Eve to the Aramaic word for serpent and suggest that Eve is so named because she had done the serpent's work in tempting Adam. Neither explanation adduces any better evidence for itself than the simple biblical explanation that the name Eve appears to be related to the Hebrew verb "to be," and thus Eve is "the mother of all living." The creation of Eve is justified in Genesis 2 as God's provision for a man in his lonely solitude (v. 18). The solitude was not alleviated by the presence of the beasts. But the woman is immediately recognized as "bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh" (v. 23). This unity of flesh is symbolized and sealed in the singular commitments of marriage (v. 24) which include the separation from family and bearing of children. Thus the origin of human sexuality is assigned to the commonality shared by man and woman rather than to the reflection of some erotic nature in the creating Deity. This point heightens the contrast between the worship of the Israelites and the worship of their Canaanite neighbors who understood the nature and function of their deities in chiefly sexual terms. New Testament references to Eve occur in 2 Cor. 11:3 and 1 Tim. 2:13. In both passages the susceptibility of Eve to the solicitations of the tempter is the important element. In the Timothy passage it is used to support an understanding of the subordination of women to men in the Church assumed from the account in Genesis 3 in which Eve sinned first, then Adam. In Corinthians it serves as a warning by example of how easily one may be led astray. Eve was the mother of Cain, Abel, and Seth.
199
She was also the mother of numerous unnamed children. See woman, sex (sexuality), family, parents and children. For Further Reading: Von Rad, Old Testament Theology, 1:149; Thielicke, How the World Began.
The question of events points to the larger issue of the relation of history, eternity, and time. Where does revelation occur on the line that connects the eternal acts of God and the temporal events of history? Some emphasize the supra-historical character of revelation (and its event-ness) in order to preserve the otherness of God and the uniqueness of the gospel. The event of revelation is located variously in "great acts of God" in the past or existential encounters, eschatological events, or language events in the present. Others accent the historical character of revelation (and events) in order to guarantee its verifiability and relevance. The inability to hold these concerns together is present where the supernatural and natural are seen as incompatible. Evangelical theology has sought to avoid this dilemma by accepting the biblical view of miracle and of creation as the point of contact between God the Creator and His world. Event is significant for revelation in several ways. First, event points to the external, objective dimension of the divine work in the world. Thus the Resurrection is not just an idea but an event that affects the real world (1 Cor. 15:3-19). Second, and as a consequence, event secures the ex-clusiveness of Christianity inasmuch as God has acted for the world's salvation in special, once-for-all events, e.g., the Exodus and the death and resurrection of Jesus. For biblical faith, event and word must be seen as complementary aspects of revelation—God speaks and acts. The divine word causes events; the divine word through a prophet interprets or foretells events. See heilsgeschichte, historical jesus (the), his-toricism, revelation (special). For Further Reading: Brown, History, Criticism, and
The Bible commonly uses "evil" as a synonym for sin, as "the fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Prov. 8:13). There follows a listing of some evils: "pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth." From these personal evils of spirit and conduct grow all the social evils which plague men. Far less serious are the nonmoral forms of evil such as disease, accident, natural calamities, and death. These evils are nonmoral in the sense that they do not imply immediate culpability in the one who experiences them. It is not a sin to be ill or to die, when such is not self-induced. Nonmoral evil is relative and temporary. Indeed it is often difficult to distinguish between real evil and that which merely seems to be. If God "causes all things to work together for good" in the life of a trusting believer (Rom 8:28, nasb), do the "evil" things remain evil, or are they transmuted by God's grace into good? Chastening also seems like evil ("grievous," Heb. 12:11) when being experienced, but with sons of God the evil is only apparent; it is really a blessing in disguise. We must conclude that unpleasant events and experiences will fall into their final category only when viewed from the vantage point not only of God but of eternity. The presence of evil in the world has long been a knotty problem to philosophy and theology. Particularly crucial is what some have called "surd" evil—that for which there is no compensating benefit or rationale, such as useless pain in children or the tooth and claw of nature. In some minds this problem has been so acute that they have despaired of reconciling absolute omnipotence in God with infinite goodness. To resolve the difficulty, they have postulated a "finite God," i.e., that surd evil reflects the limitations in God himself, against which He is struggling (Edgar S. Brightman). This of course is the self-made dilemma of rationalism which (1) rejects
200 EVOLUTION—EX CATHEDRA the biblical answer; (2) overevaluates pain in terms of this life; and (3) presumes that man is capable of determining what is and is not surd evil, or even proving that there is such a thing. The Bible traces the presence of evil in the universe to the fall of Satan, and the presence of evil on earth to the fall of man. In both cases non-moral evil is the consequence of moral evil. Christians are divided as to the extent this statement should include violence in nature such as windstorms and earthquakes. Are these irregularities which would not have been known in the world if man had not sinned? It seems certain at least that pain and hardship are decreed by God to be not only a consequence of sin but in some cases a direct judgment on sin. In this sense God does "create" evil as well as good (Isa. 45:7). The hold of sin is such that without evil in the natural order sufficient to prevent complacency, the possibility of winning man back to God would be small if not nil. Evil becomes an instrument of the Spirit in fostering that sense of dependence so basic to religion. Furthermore the Bible casts the light of redemption and eternity upon the apparent evils of life. In this light believers know no surd evils; they are surd solely for the unbeliever. The Christian perceives that the only absolute evil is unforgiven sin, since such evil alone is eternal and irremediable in its consequences. That branch of theology which seeks to justify God in permitting evil in the world is called theodicy. See SUFFER (SUFFERING), GOD, ATTRIBUTES (DIVINE), MORAL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, PROVIDENCE. For Further Reading: Henry, Answers for the Now Gen-
Directory: sites -> default -> files -> publications publications -> Table of Content forward introduction publications -> Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies Georgia Institute of Technology publications -> Housing Counseling Research in Chicago publications -> Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Audiences publications -> New Brunswick Info Sheet on First Nations Child Welfare publications -> Paap’s Electronic Newsletter 14 November 2008 Volume 11 Number 22 towards ‘smart’ subsidies in agriculture: lessons from recent experience in malawi publications -> Information support of pedagogical process for the children experiencing difficulties with acquisition of preschool educational programs publications -> Asus’ ZenFone ar has Google’s augmentted and virtual reality baked in — but not combined publications -> School Readiness and Early Grade Success Consultation Memo Atlanta, ga Download 6.66 Mb. Share with your friends:
|