• A Biblical Examination of an Ontological Reading of Theology in Trinity, in the Believer and in Church

    Author(s):
    Erwin Samuel Henderson (see profile)
    Date:
    2019
    Group(s):
    Philosophy of Religion, Theology
    Subject(s):
    Bible, Theology, Ontology, Christology, Church, Spirit
    Item Type:
    Thesis
    Institution:
    Atlantic Coast Theological Seminary
    Tag(s):
    Ontological theology, Trinity, Apostolicity, Biblical anthropology, Biblical exegesis, Biblical theology, Ecclesiology, Pneumatology
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/g8jy-ds77
    Abstract:
    My thesis rationale formulates the unique contribution that ontological thinking brings to understanding God in Trinity: in substance, in relationship and in function. The proposal advocates recovery of ontological truths on the grounds of the interrelationship and interaction of Trinity. The subordination-authority-submission and egalitarian debate are critiqued in the light of the ontological reading of Scripture. The recovery of apostolicity as an ontological attribute of Godhead provides cohesion to the ontological construct. It builds a vision of the Christian believer redefined in relationship with the Trinity; of how God produces existentially His life within humanity. Biblical and extra-biblical religious practices are examined to understand the extent of the paradigmatic shift that occurs in the person of Jesus Christ. This proposal develops understanding of the composition of a human being in the image of God, in contrast to the orthodoxy’s dichotomist, trichotomist assertions. Insight into the states of human existence, identify the ‘πνευματικός’ believer as the sole form of legitimate existence, biblically normalized and warranted. The construct rediscovers the ontological significance to be restored to the Church of Christ, widely reforming structures and functions redefined according to the nature of Godhead. This argumentation reconnects Church to the Trinity ontologically and demonstrats that she utterly depends upon Trinitarian substance and operation to exist according to divine intentions - she has no life of her own. Emerging from this exegesis is a model of church: ontological and apostolic, originated, [re]sourced, and incarnate from the nature of Trinity, because her origins, means, and object are of Godhead’s nature, intra-relationship, and operation; whether microcosm or macrocosm, her ontological existence in apostolic Godhead is the defining criterion.
    Notes:
    https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7180-3108
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

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