Stanley J. Grenz's communitarian ecclesiology

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21847/1728-9343.2018.3(155).139493

Keywords:

Stanley J. Grenz, communitarian ecclesiology, ecclesiological theology, community, Church

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of Stanley J. Grenz's communitarian ecclesiology. Grenz sees the postmodern situation as a helpful perspective, which challenges contractual ecclesiology that is oriented to the individual. Grenz sees community as a foundation for one's personal identity formation. In Grenz's mind, personal identity is never a private reality, but has a communal element, for it is shaped by the community in which the person is a participant. Community, therefore, is integral to epistemology, to our identity formation, and to the sustaining of character, virtue, and values. Community forms the content of the Kingdom of God and is the more central motif in the Bible. Grenz concludes that Kingdom is a "sphere of existence" in which humanity is called to live. The church then "is a foretaste of the eschatological reality" that God will bring to existence one day and thus is "a sign of the kingdom". The church is the fundamental vehicle for mirroring divine image. Participation in the Christian community includes reforming one's personal narrative in accordance with the story of Jesus as well as accepting the story of this Christian community as one's own. ,"serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:RU;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA'>the Department of Cultural Studies

Author Biography

Yevgen Shatalov, National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, Kyiv

сompetitor of the Department of Cultural Studies

References

Erickson, Millard J. 1997. The Evangelical Left: Encountering Postconservative Evangelical Theology. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001; reprint, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books.

Grenz, Stanley J. (Winter 2000). Conversing in Christian Style: Toward a Baptist Theological Method for the Postmodern Context in Baptist History and He-ritage. 35/1: 82-10. Available at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-94160872.html.

Grenz, Stanley J. 2003. "Ecclesiology." In The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology. Ed. Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Cambridge,U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2004; reprint, 2003: 252-68.

Grenz, Stanley J. 2000. Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology in Post-Theological Era. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.

Grenz, Stanley J. 2001. Social God and the Relational Self: Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. London: Westminster John Knox Press.

Grenz, Stanley J. 1997. The Moral Quest: Foundations of Christian Ethics. - Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press.

Grenz, Stanley J. 1994. Theology for the Community of God. Carlisle, U.K.: The Paternoster Press.

Grenz, Stanley J. and Franke, John R. 2001. Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press.

Grenz, Stanley J. and Olson, Roger E. 1997. 20th Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Olson, Roger E. 1999. The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press

Webber, Robert E. 2002. Younger Evangelicals: Facing the Challenges of the New World. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books.

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Published

2018-07-29

How to Cite

Shatalov, Y. (2018). Stanley J. Grenz’s communitarian ecclesiology. Skhid, (3(155), 94–97. https://doi.org/10.21847/1728-9343.2018.3(155).139493

Issue

No. 3(155) (2018): PHILOSOPHICAL SCIENCES

Section

Philosophy

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Copyright (c) 2018 Yevgen Shatalov

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