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1. NT 1.1. Term The word “congregation” has become established alongside “church” as English translations of the central NT word “ecclesia” (Gk. ekklēsia, originally meaning “assembly, gathering”). In mod…

Overview Theological anthropology is systematic reflection on human nature and destiny ( Human and Civil Rights) in the light of the biblical witness. As a classic theological discipline (Dogmatics), anthropology holds an important plac…

1. Ideas of God in the Religions Ideas are phenomena. We may interpret them in broader social and intellectual contexts, but they also speak for themselves in images, words, names, and texts. Even when deity is their content, they can display only themselves, not show whether revelation or merely human imagination underlies them, though this observation does not mean that we can rule out divine revelation. To speak of an idea of God tacitly presupposes horizontal comparison between societies and cultures. We set different ideas of God on different levels, though not necessarily on an evolutionary ladder. Using terms taken from Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, we do so in a way that is to some degree Eurocentric. In reality we have no reason to use such terms indiscriminately for the beings worshiped in the ancient Germanic or Egyptian re…

Overview One may rightly ask whether Jews and Christians really have an ethics per se. For them the law of the Lord is perfect, “reviving the soul” and “making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7; see also Psalm 119). The Jews carefully expound and specify this law in the Talmud, while Christians see it fulfilled in the risen Lord and find in it an offer of comprehensive freedom and direction. Theologians have made this point, especially when criticizing systems of ethics. Yet believers in every age have theorized about their conduct and fo…