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The Porvoo Common Statement (in the following: “Porvoo”) is a theological text that serves as a foundation of church unity between the British and Irish Anglican churches, on the one hand, and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches, on the other. The text was completed in Porvoo, Finland, an old diocesan town near Helsinki, and was published in 1993. The participating churches approved it in their synods between 1994 and 1995. The Lutheran churches of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Lithu…

[English Version] I. Fundamentaltheologisch Sowohl die antike Kosmologie als auch der ntl. Gebrauch des Begriffspaares himmlisch–irdisch (z.B. 1Kor 15,46–49; Eph 4,9–10) haben dazu beigetragen, daß viele Kirchenväter die über die N. hinausgehende Wirklichkeit mit den Wendungen υ῾πε`ρ τη˜n̆ ϕυ´σιn̆/hype´r tē´n phy´sin bzw. supra naturam bezeichneten. Für die lat. Scholastik waren supernaturaliter bzw. supernaturalis schon aus den Schriften von (Ps.-) Dionysius Areopagita und Johannes Scotus Eriugena bekannt. In der Scholastik bez. Thomas von…

[German Version] In Catholic theology, “extrinsicism” refers to those definitions of the relationship between nature and grace that emphasize its external features ( extrinsece) and thus neglect the experience of grace. M. Blondel criticized the extrinsic elements of the Catholic natura pura concept; K. Rahner developed his fundamental theology in reaction to extrinsicism. In a theoretical sense, extrinsic can also characterize the relationship between the enterprise of fundamental theology and the content of faith (Intrinsic). Risto Saarinen Bibliography M. Seckler, “Zu den Begriffen ‘Extrinsezismus’ und ‘Intrinsezismus’,” HFTh IV, 1988, 511–514 (bibl.).

[German Version] I. History of the Problem – II. Systematic Theology I. History of the Problem Augustine's battle against the Pelagians (Pelagius) shaped the doctrine of grace for West…

[German Version] The Latin word causa is usually understood to denote the causal element of a cause and effect relationship (Causality: I). The Aristotelian system of four causes ( causa efficiens, causa finalis, causa formalis, and causa materialis; Arist. Metaph. I, 3; Phys. II, 3) profoundly influenced theological thought in Scholasticism and Lutheran orthodoxy (II, 2.a). …

[German Version] I. Fundamental Theology As a result of classical cosmology and New Testament usage of the terms heavenly and earthly (e.g. 1 Cor 15:46–49; Eph 4:9–10), many early Christian writers used the expressions ὑπὲρ τὴν ϕύσιν/ hypér tḗn phýsin or super naturam to denote a reality transcending nature. Latin Scholasticism was familiar with the words supernaturaliter and supernaturalis from the works of (Pseudo-) Dionysius Areopagita and John Scotus Eriugena. In the Scholastic tradition,…

[German Version] I. Definition – II. Catholic Theology – III. Protestant Theology I. Definition The term original sin generally denotes the sinfulness or fault inherent in human beings prior to anything they do. In the Christian tradition, original sin can be understood as the source of all morally evil actions; it can also mean inherited guilt per se. As an inherent force, original sin differs from sinful acts. The distinction remains debatable, however, because w…

[English Version] I. Fundamentaltheologisch Mit dem Begriffspaar Natur und G. erläutert v.a. die kath. Theol. das Verhältnis zw. der philos. Anthropologie (: I.) und der theol. zu denkenden Heilswirklichkeit Gottes. Normalerweise wird in dieser abendländischen Diskussion nur die N. des Menschen behandelt, nicht das Wesen anderer Seiender. Der Sprachgebrauch des ma. Aristotelismus, insbes. bei Thomas von Aquin, hat die fundamentaltheol. Diskussion maßgebend geprägt. Nach Thomas hebt die G. die N. ni…

[German Version] I. Fundamental Theology The words nature and grace are used (primarily in Catholic theology) to explain the relationship between philosophical anthropology (I) and the reality of God’s salvation, conceived theologically. This discussion, peculiar to the West, normally involves only the nature of human beings, not that of other beings. The language of medieval Aristotelianism, especially that of Thomas Aquinas, decisively shaped the treatment of this topic by fundamental theology. According to Thomas, grace does not abolish nature but perfects it ( Summa theolo…

[English Version] I. Dänemark Mit der Reformation 1536 gewann die Universität Kopenhagen, bereits 1479 gegründet, einen neuen akademischen Status. P. Palladius gehört zu den ersten von vielen dänischen Theologen, die in Wittenberg promoviert wurden. In seiner Doppelrolle als Bischof von Seeland und Prof der Theol. (diese Ordnung gab es bis 1830) war er sich sowohl seines Amtes als Superintendent wie auch als königlicher Beamter bewußt. Energisch setzte sich Palladius dafür ein, die Reformation zu v…

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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Church History – V. Systematic Theology – VI. Law – VII. Judaism …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Examination of repentance from the perspective of religious studies must confront the problem that the term itself has no culturally neutral meaning. Many of the phenomena in other religions that Christians tend to call repentance appear in a different light when viewed in the context of different anthropological presuppositions, ¶ so that due weight must be given to the religious anthropology in question. Generally speaking, it is true to say that in almost all non-Christian religions the notion of repentance c…