Heretical Baptism in Debate

It is generally stated that acceptance of heretics in the Catholic Church without baptism has always been normal use in the church and has been confirmed by general councils. The only exceptions would be some groups in North Africa in the third through the fifth century. This opinion is mainly based on Au- gustine’s “De baptismo”. The author of this article argues that Augustine is historically incorrect and systematically weak in this respect. Baptism of converted heretics was normal, except from Rome, and even the council of Nicea confirms that normal use. The bishop of Rome in the fifties of the third century, Stephan, had his own reasons for refusing to rebaptise heretics. Augustine’s view that the baptismal rite and its salutary effect by faith can be received separately is a break with early Christian ecclesiology and its impact on the Western Church has been enormous

Voorzienigheid en verantwoordelijkheid

Providence and responsibility Providence is usually regarded as a theological concept that sets human hearts at rest. God rules our lives, and in particular those of Christians. Modern people often have problems with this idea. How can a good God rule a world with diseases and disasters? And can we actually imagine such an all-controlling power? Nevertheless, these are not the real issues concerning the concept of providence. The existential problem is that providence in the Bible has to do with responsibility: God takes responsibility for his world. This responsibility is total; it even implies responsibility and punishment for sin. Thus providence and atonement are not two separated fields of theology, but coincide. The chapter in the Bible to which the concept is originally related makes this plain: Genesis 22, and verse 8 in particular, states, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son”. (The Vulgate reads: “the victim for the holocaust”.) In Genesis 16-22 the word “to provide”, literally “to see” (r’h), turns out to be a key concept. Who sees? The Lord sees, Abraham sees and Hagar sees – and it is always in a situation of life and death in which they are called to responsibility to save lives. But actually these are lives that have already been sacrificed. Thus providence demands the ultimate from human beings, as it asks the ultimate from their God. Noordmans highlights this in a meditation on Matthew 6:34: “Jesus does not say this in order to lay worries to rest but in order to raise worries”. If you search for the kingship of God, all things that are needed will be given to you – such as feet to walk the second mile

Mission among the Jews

The author discusses whether the issue of mission among the Jews deals with the basic question of mission or whether it is the core of the Christian faith. Although both Jews and Christians reject the idea and (more so) mission among the Jews, the author strongly argues for its need, for mission is not the expansion of ideas or cultures, but the telling of the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection. Religion is not based on a doctrine but on an event that must be communicated to all and, first, to the people of God. The first people to do so were Jewish Christians. When Gentile Christians are called to proclaim the gospel to the Jews, they can do so only on the common ground of the Scriptures: the Old Testament. This requires knowledge of the Old Testament that is compatible with the Jewish knowledge of the Scriptures, which must be living letters of Christ as a result of the fullness of the gospel in their lives

Waren Judas en Thomas gnostici? Het evangelie naar Johannes met gnostische ogen gelezen

Jude and Thomas, were they Gnostics? Reading the Gospel according to John from a Gnostic perspective: The discoveries of Gnostic texts since the mid of the twentieth century challenge biblical scholarship to read New Testament texts from new points of view. It is remarkable that Jesus' disciples who are prominently present in Gnostic texts, especially Jude, Thomas and Philip are also more conspicuous characters in the Gospel of John than in the Synoptics. This challenges scholars to read these sections in relation to Gnosticism. The article aims at reading the scenes dealing with Jude and Thomas in John's gospel with a Gnostic framework in mind. These texts gain more profile than by a traditional reading which is often based on a psychological understanding of Jude and Thomas. The article demonstrates that the author of John's gospel uses these passages in an anti-Gnostic discourse. Thomas is a Gnostic who could fully understand Jesus' words in a Gnostic way until he encounters the bodily risen Lord. Jude does not make such a conversion and disappears in the night. These are the option for Gnostics: either convert to the type of Christianity the Gospel of John teaches or being lost in darkness. HTS Theological Studies Vol. 64 (1) 2008: pp. 395-41