Download biblical anthropology – 1

Dana & Pavel Hanes, Slovakia
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Where we are today (problems described)
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Biblical anthropology in Christian practice
(suggested solution)
May 2010
ELF2010 EGER
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The surrounding Zeitgeist in Christian theory and practice
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Undercurrent assumptions: monism, scientism, subjectivism
(selfism) smuggled into the Christian work as a contraband
through attitudes, methods and aims of education/counselling
Monism – reality is a seamless fabric
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‘Monism’ – doctrine that either that there is ultimately only one thing, or
only one kind of thing; There is no gulf dividing reality (created/uncreated;
spiritual/physical)
Key-word: knowability
Consequences: loss of worship; critique of God
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Fact/Value dichotomy  values chosen arbitrarily (voluntarism)
Psycho-theology (Jung)  “God” is product of human consciousness
Scientism – “inordinate trust in scientific methods”
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determinism (Laplace) All you need is to discover the right method. (
“How to” Christian literature)
key-word: control
consequences: depersonalization; manipulation
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no responsibility for one’s problems (blaming society, parents )
belief in fate
Subjectivism – Setting goals according to individual desires
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“selfism”: metaphysical rebellion (Camus); self-determination ideal
(“define or be defined” – Szasz); absolute autonomy (Lipovetsky)
key-word: image (visual culture Life the Movie Gabler)
consequences: identity loss; god-complex
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no sense of belonging (everyone is in a class of his own)
loss of significance/meaning in proportion to self-evaluation
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The emphasis not on the development of the learning
subject, but on the relationship of the learning subject
as a member of a bigger „unit“, getting free from the
dichotomy between object and subject: the aim is to
reach this „unity“
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Transcendence of the subject, relationship to mystical
reality, intuitive experience of this unity („pure
subjectivity“) – with the centre in cosmic conscience
(New Age)
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Robert Coles: The Spiritual Life of children (1990)
 in conversation with Anna Freud:
“Each child becomes an authority, and all the
meetings become occassions for a teacher–the child –
to offer, gradually, a lesson.”
• humanism: C. Rogers (Self Concept Theory) client-student
- centred (‘turn to human being’ – a new person who would
not want to control the whole world, but to improve oneself
and one’s own relationships toward other people (values of
the whole humanhood), managing own life, individualized
approach, self-development, development of the child
personality, verbal assessment...
• constructivism: freedom, critical thinking
“includes the description of man, in his original
condition before the fall, in his fall, and as fallen.
 It begins with the creation of man, discusses his
essential parts, his fall, and especially treats of the
doctrines of sin and free will.
 Christian anthropology shows that human beings
are both:
part of creation (eg. we are largely – not entirely –
determined by nature) and: image of God (eg. we
are largely – not entirely – free to choose our
worldview)
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Biblical view of man (human being) takes into account
1.
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Biblical ontology (Eternal Spirit ↔ creation) → worship
Biblical cosmology (spiritual and physical reality) → J 4; 1Cor 2
Biblical anthropology (imago dei; man&woman; dicho-trichotomy)
Christian (ontological) dualism
1.
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an existence in “two worlds”
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binding time and eternity
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separation means death
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the unity of being – always deal
with the whole person
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values derived from ontology
Matthias Bel (1684 – 1749)
“You, Jesus, are the source of my teaching.”
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Larry Crabb The Pressure is Off!
The new way! The Bible calls it
the new way of the Spirit. In the
New Way, the pressure’s off.