The Concept of Radical Orthodoxy - Assignment Example

? SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY Task Introduction Religion is a contentious in the society. Individuals have different views on the meaning of religion. The imagery body of Christ plays a crucial role in composition of pious beliefs. Religious scholars have wholly discussed the field and come up with a variety of hypothesis regarding the religion and the figure of Christ. This unit reviews Christ in Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology, Handbook of process theology, and Matters of Life and Death and their connections, resemblance and distinctions. Summaries of; Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology by John Milbank, Catherine Pickstock & Graham Ward Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology depicts Christ as a revolution through the study of religion. The book examines the influence of Christ figure in accordance to pious truths, and knowledge. Chapter two of the book debates on the subject of identifying Christ theological doctrines1. The chapter opposes the idea of Christ being identified with any form of doctrines basing its points on the creative transformation of theology that breaks the affiliation between individuals. An example of creative transformation theory is the reductionism. This theory advocates for the notion of comprehending the universe by closely studying all the aspects leading to living and non-living things2. The transformation has emerged to be a key issue in the daily experiences of Christians in the universe. Religion has transformed to accommodate to the perception that Christ is associated with the creative transformation theology. Religious beliefs differ globally, and individuals have currently adopted the affirmation of principles and individuals beliefs in the scriptures. Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology is a period when Christians lose meaning as a church because of the worldly materials and perceptions3. Handbook of process theology by McDaniel Jay & Bowman Donna Individuals have misunderstood salvation to mean various things. The assorted perceptions of individuals regarding salvation are that salvation is a total experience of Gods love, whereas, other believes that salvation is a deliverance from a terrorist group or an incurable ailment. Theologians describe salvation in three main processes4. The first process shows the capability and the physical attributes of the salvation process. Secondly, the second procedure shows the experiential course of salvation. This process studies individuals behavior of salvation, yet they do not clearly reflect on the idea5. Lastly, the third procedure is the theological explanation of salvation. This stage takes into consideration the various experiences found in salvation. The need for salvation has propelled theologians to research on the nature and importance of salvation. Various issues have led to the urge of salvation. Destruction of one’s freedom results to the desire of freedom, since the subjugated person, depicts the image of the dominator. Freedom plays a fundamental task in the development of demolition. Individuals who fail to understand the concept of control results to committing sin, as a result, of the surrender or complete lack of knowledge. Christians comprehend that the feeling of God is associated to peace and divine, human activities. They believe that the fulfillment of salvation is the promises of everlasting life6. Matters of Life and Death by Cobb, John Christ is discussed to be God and human, since He performed Godly deeds and passed through human’s rites of passages. Theological aspect of the displaced body of Christ bases on the traditional aspect of the scriptures traditions and the church as an aspect of the risen Christ. Theologians have discussed constitutes of Christ body7. One school of thought states that Christ’s body is amalgamation spiritual and Angels flesh, whereas, another school of thought argues that the body is composed of human flesh. Christ incarnation and circumcision emphasizes the gendered character of Christ. It disputes that Christ was a mortal, since He was conceived through natural conception. Matters of Life and Death majors in understanding the gendered nature of Christ. Cobb in the chapter questions the instability of Christ gender, since various religious scholars have come up with their meaning of Christ identity8. Existing Biblical theory affirms that Jesus was a promise concern, instead of the biological copulation. Technologically Christ is perceived to come from David’s’ lineage. David’s lineage was from a human descent, yet Christ characters like walking on top of the water raise a question to the practicality of some of the activities performed by Him. Cobb states that the body of Christ is constantly undergoing transfiguration, and this is witnessed by the numerous expressions He utters. The ascension marks the final disarticulation of the ‘body of Christ’. The ascension disobeyed the theories put across by the church, since the event was turned into a birthing event causing alienation amid the celestial and the human connections9. Discussion The three readings are connected, since both touches on the identity and nature of Christ. Christ in a pluralistic age is closely related to the displaced body of Jesus Christ, since both touches on religious truths regarding the identity of Christ. Arguments have been raised that the identity of Christ is an amalgamation of the different personalities of the body. Coming to salvation relates to the readings, since it also debates on the nature of Christ as both a spiritual and a being. Both the summaries have no substantial proof regarding the real identity of Christ but instead rely on the arguments of theologians of the probable meaning of the identity. Secondly, the concept of divinity is given solemn contemplation in the readings, since both books stresses on the nature and the superhuman acts performed by Christ. Thirdly, the passages passed by individuals are discussed, and the process of the passages is similar across all the readings. Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology is a book that examines the nature and influence of Christ with regard to religious truths and knowledge, whereas, Matters of Life and Death puts emphasis in understanding the gendered nature of Christ. The two summaries dwell on a different aspect of the personality of Christ. One concentrates entirely on Christ personality, whereas, the other debates on the gender of Christ. Lastly, Matters of Life and Death is a totally different book, since it deals with matters concerning religions. It vividly explains the conception of salvation and how it is viewed by various persons like theologians. Conclusion Conclusively, debates carried out on religious fields are constant viewed and criticized by concerned parties in the field. Christ in a pluralistic age propels individuals to debate religious knowledge to prove whether the information provided about Christ is substantial. Secondly, coming to salvation discusses the various issues that are subject to the understanding of the nature personality of Christ. The displaced body of Christ adds to the confusion of the uncertainty of the nature of Christ. Bibliography Cobb, John. Matters of Life and Death. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991. Print. Mc Daniel, Jay, and Bowman, Donna. Handbook of process theology. St Louis: Chalice Press, 2006. Milbank, John, Pickstock, Catherine, and Ward, Graham. Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology. London: Routledge, 2002. Read More