"It is the Spirit that Gives Life"

Author: Gitte Buch-Hansen

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 521

ISBN-13: 3110225972

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Since Origen and Chrysostom, John's Gospel has been valued as the most spiritual among the New Testament writings. Although Origen recognizes the Stoic character of John's statement that "God is pneuma" (4:24), an examination of the gospel in light of Stoic physics has not yet been carried out. Combining her insight into Stoic physics and ancient physiology, the author situates her thesis in the major discussions of modern Johannine scholarship- e.g. the role of the Baptist and the function of the Johannine signs- and demonstrates new solutions to well-known problems. The Stoic study of the Fourth Gospel reveals a coherent narrative tied together by the spirit. The problem with which John's Gospel wrestles is not the identity of Jesus, but the transition from the Son of God to the next generation of divinely begotten children: how did it come about? A reading carried out from a Stoic perspective points to the translation of the risen body of Jesus into spirit as the decisive event. The provision of the spirit is a precondition of the divine generation of believers. Both events are explained by Stoic theory which allows of a transformation of fleshly elements into pneuma and of multiple fatherhood. In fact, in his Commentary on John, Origen described Jesus' ascension as an event of anastoixei sis, which is the Stoic term for the transformation of heavily elements into lighter and pneumatic ones.


The Purpose and Power of Praise and Worship

The Purpose and Power of Praise and Worship

Author: Myles Munroe

Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers

Published: 2000-07-28

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 0768498929

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In this engaging and authoriative work you will learn the key to maximizing your full life on earth, why God placed man in the garden of Eden, The purpose and priority of the presence of God, the seven dimensions of praise, the purpose and power of personal and corporate worship, how to practice and protect the presence of God in your life, and much much more. This amazing book will equip and prepare you to move from ritual to a dynamic relationship, from form to fullness, and will ignite your passion for God's presence.


Aristotle on God's Life-Generating Power and on Pneuma as Its Vehicle

Aristotle on God's Life-Generating Power and on Pneuma as Its Vehicle

Author: Abraham P. Bos

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2018-02-01

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 1438468296

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Proposes an innovative rethinking of Aristotle’s work as a system that integrates his theology with his doctrine of reproduction and life. In this deep rethinking of Aristotle’s work, Abraham P. Bos argues that scholarship on Aristotle’s philosophy has erred since antiquity in denying the connection between his theology and his doctrine of reproduction and life in the earthly sphere. Beginning with an analysis of God’s role in the Aristotelian system, Bos explores how this relates to other elements of his philosophy, especially to his theory of reproduction. The argument he develops is that in talking about the cosmos, Aristotle rejected Plato’s metaphor of artisanal production by a divine Demiurge in favor of a biotic metaphor based on the transmission of life in reproduction, in which pneuma—not breath as it is often interpreted but the life-bearing spirit in animals and plants—plays a key and sustaining role as the vital principle in all that lives. In making this case, he defends the authenticity of the treatises De Mundo and De Spiritu as Aristotle’s, and demonstrates Aristotle’s works as a unified system that sharply and comprehensively refutes Plato’s, and in particular replaces Plato’s doctrine of the soul with a theory in which the soul is clearly distinguished from the intellect. “Bos offers a fresh, interesting, and important perspective. His interpretation will be very controversial, but if he is right, the standard Anglo-American interpretation of Aristotle will have to change radically.” — Malcolm Wilson, author of Structure and Method in Aristotle’s Meteorologica: A More Disorderly Nature


Mental Health and Spirituality in Later Life

Mental Health and Spirituality in Later Life

Author: Elizabeth MacKinlay

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780789021236

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Explore pastoral strategies for dealing with mental health problems! Mental health is increasingly being recognized as an important issue in later life. This valuable book will help you examine this dimension of aging in the context of pastoral, spiritual, and cultural issues. It explores the relationship between mental health, spirituality, and religion in later life, including the search for meaning, cultural issues, spiritual issues, depression, dementia, and issues of suicide in older people. The first part of Mental Health and Spirituality in Later Life focuses on theology, ethics, and cultural issues in mental health and aging. The second part addresses issues of multidisciplinary practice, including a challenging chapter written by a woman with early onset dementia (Alzheimer's) and other chapters that present perspectives on the uses and meanings of ritual and symbolism in mental health and pastoral approaches to care. Part one of Mental Health and Spirituality in Later Life deals with issues of theology, culture, and mental health in later life, focusing on: the importance of a richly textured understanding of personhood as a prerequisite for constructing a picture of late-life mental health in the context of theology the relationship between culture, spirituality, and meaning for older immigrantsand their effects on mental health the adverse effects of a mental health system that reflects only the dominant culture of a society, leaving minority cultures vulnerable to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatments that can do more harm than good a wholistic picture of aging that moves beyond the biomedical paradigm and demonstrates the power and potential of the human spirit in adjusting to and moving beyond suffering Part two of this valuable book addresses issues of concern to practitioners in mental health and spirituality for the aging, including: disruptive behavior among nursing home residents and common practices that fail to identify its causes or address the problem how some staff/resident interactions can produce suffering for all concernedwith case study outlines that illustrate the point memory loss and its effect on spirituality, self-worth, and the faith community pastoral care for people suffering with dementiawith practical information on helping them to make use of the power of prayer and to deal with loneliness, fear, and disempowerment an insightful look at a recent major study of residents in aged care facilities in Australia that explores the link between depression and spirituality risk and protective factors associated with suicide in later life and the treatment of depression pastoral interventions for depression and dementia


Life-study of Matthew

Life-study of Matthew

Author: Witness Lee

Publisher: Living Stream Ministry

Published: 2023-09-26

Total Pages: 815

ISBN-13: 1536031771

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The Gospel of Matthew reveals that Christ is God incarnated to be the King-Savior who came to establish the kingdom of the heavens by saving His people from sin through His death and resurrection. Christ, as the son of David according to the flesh, came as the proper heir to the throne of David; as God incarnate, He came as the first God-man. God named Him Jesus, yet He was called Emmanuel (“God with us”) by men. As the new King, Christ was recommended by John, anointed by the Spirit, and tested by the devil. Having defeated the devil, He began His ministry to establish the kingdom of the heavens. Matthew presents the kingdom of the heavens in three aspects, the reality of the kingdom of the heavens (5:1—7:29), the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens (13:1-52), and the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens (24:1—25:46). Author Witness Lee reveals that the reality of the kingdom is simply the King Himself, sown into humanity as the seed of the kingdom. This kingdom seed, containing the kingdom life and nature, will grow and develop in the believers, constituting them the reality of the kingdom, until it is brought to full maturity as the manifestation of the kingdom. In particular, it explains the crucial difference between the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God, and presents a clear understanding of the Lord’s prophecies concerning Israel, the church, and the nations at the consummation of the age.