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A Critical Study of Hans Kung’s EcclesiologyThe Scripture of the Church

A Critical Study of Hans Kung’s Ecclesiology: The Scripture of the Church [Küng’s analysis of the church in 1974 is drastically changed if compared to his 1962 convictions. In his On Being a Christian, üng’s starting point for his description of the church is a Christological pretext that seems to be aimed at this subsequent treatment of Scripture.1 Thus he writes that Jesus of Nazareth is still alive for humanity even if almost 2,000 years have passed since his activity. It is important to notice here that, if in 1962, Küng’s image of Jesus is still traditional in the sense that he may be regarded as being ontologically divine (although Küng is never undoubtedly clear about this), in 1974 Küng describes Jesus as being alive for mankind while, in fact, he is dead.2 Something, however, managed to keep Jesus alive for humanity and this something is not a book (probably a hint at Scripture). Jesus remained alive in the minds and hearts of millions of human beings because of his word and his spirit. For Küng, Jesus is evidently dead but what he said and did still makes him live for the entire humanity. This conviction about Jesus produces a dramatic shift in Küng’s ecclesiology. The church is primarily not the people of God3 who are strongly anchored in the ontological reality of God’s existence, as described in 1962, but a community of faith4 made up of all those who share the same convictions about Jesus.5 This community of faith believes in the words and in the spirit of Jesus.6] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Critical Study of Hans Kung’s EcclesiologyThe Scripture of the Church

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/lp/springer-journals/a-critical-study-of-hans-kung-s-ecclesiology-the-scripture-of-the-V332Y0nKC8
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan US
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Nature America Inc. 2008
ISBN
978-1-349-37288-1
Pages
53 –63
DOI
10.1057/9780230613393_5
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Küng’s analysis of the church in 1974 is drastically changed if compared to his 1962 convictions. In his On Being a Christian, üng’s starting point for his description of the church is a Christological pretext that seems to be aimed at this subsequent treatment of Scripture.1 Thus he writes that Jesus of Nazareth is still alive for humanity even if almost 2,000 years have passed since his activity. It is important to notice here that, if in 1962, Küng’s image of Jesus is still traditional in the sense that he may be regarded as being ontologically divine (although Küng is never undoubtedly clear about this), in 1974 Küng describes Jesus as being alive for mankind while, in fact, he is dead.2 Something, however, managed to keep Jesus alive for humanity and this something is not a book (probably a hint at Scripture). Jesus remained alive in the minds and hearts of millions of human beings because of his word and his spirit. For Küng, Jesus is evidently dead but what he said and did still makes him live for the entire humanity. This conviction about Jesus produces a dramatic shift in Küng’s ecclesiology. The church is primarily not the people of God3 who are strongly anchored in the ontological reality of God’s existence, as described in 1962, but a community of faith4 made up of all those who share the same convictions about Jesus.5 This community of faith believes in the words and in the spirit of Jesus.6]

Published: Nov 4, 2015

Keywords: Critical Study; Ontological Reality; Historical Criticism; Divine Revelation; Human Frailty

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