Authors & Affiliations: Xia H., Department of Philosophy (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-Sen University, China

Pages: 7 - 41

Abstract: The image of sun and light is widely used to address the divinity in classical antiquity. The Cappadocian Father, Gregory of Nyssa, uses it frequently in his doctrinal works on Trinitarian theology. Unfortunately, this imagery has not received much studies in either historical studies on light imagery in classical antiquity or theoretical studies of Gregory's theology. This article investigates how Gregory uses the light imagery to defend the equal eternity of the Son and the Father in his Trinitarian theology. We focus on the three interrelated aspects of the light imagery in his doctrinal works: light as Christological title which signifies Christ's divinity, the Nicene formula 'Tight from Light" as highlighting the equal eternity of the Son with the Father, and the light imagery as a way to illustrate how the Son being both equal with and generated from the Father. Our investigation shows that the light imagery in Gregory's doctrinal works translates the mystical Trinitarian relation into internal and external dynamic activities that both the Father and the Son engage in together, and the dynamics between them gives a way to understand how God manifests himself as one and three simultaneously. © Chung Yuan Christian University.

Keywords: Generation; Gregory of nyssa; Light imager}'; Trinitarian theology; Ugjit from light

Authors & Affiliations: Ker T., School of History and Culture, Northeast Normal University, China

Pages: 43 - 71

Abstract: Newton's research on ancient religious history was very distinctive. He believed all nations were descendants of Noah, and their religions came from Noah's age, too, therefore gods of all nations came from the same origin. Newton expressed his ideal of the pure religion in his research on religious history, he believed all kinds of religions were simple and pure in their early ages, while added with the corrupted doctrines and doctrines in later ages. Newton's research on the religious history indicated tut) contradictory characteristics, on the one hand, it reveals the inclination of "euhemerism," which means he thought of the ancient mythologies, especially the Bible, as the credible realities. While, on the other hand, he attached much importance to the empirical historical materials, which often made him doubt on the Bible unconsciously. This kind of tension in Newton's idea of theology can be understood better by surveying of the general knowledge and faith in that times. © Chung Yuan Christian University.

Keywords: Bible; Euhemerism; Newton; Noah

Authors & Affiliations: Yi H., School of Marxism Studies, Xinyang Normal University, China

Pages: 73 - 98

Abstract: Although Schlciennacher argues the importance of individuality in his Monologen, he has not dealt with the problem of how to cultivate, to develope individality there. As we will see, this problem is solved in his Versuch einer Theorie des geselligen Betragens, where Schleiermacher has the view that a person develops his individuality only through free interaction with others. Schleiermacher argues the case for having a sphere of free sociality, independent of political control and the necessities of the economic world, where individuals could interact as equals and engage in free conversation. In Die Weihnachtsfeier, Schleiermacher shows in vivid, concrete form what his theory of free sociality could only depict in general terms. © Chung Yuan Christian University.

Keywords: Die weihnachtsfeier; Free sociality; Schleiermacher

Authors & Affiliations: Liang H., China Graduate School of Theology, China

Pages: 99 - 125

Abstract: This essay deals with Karl Barth's critical reflection on academic theology and theological education in his 1922 Epistle to the Romans. In this classic, Barth criticizes the biblical theology of his time that found its basis in historical-critical sciences, dogmatic theology that focused on modern values, and practical Theology that was preoccupied with strategies and technology. He believes that these three disciplines would lead Protestant theological education into a total crisis. As an alternative, he emphasizes a theological-encyclopedic restructuring of Protestant theology on the basis of the existential determination of the theologian before God, which immediately implies that the biblical account of the resurrection of Christ as the horizon of the meaning of life must be the ultimate goal of exegesis, the proper foundation of dogmatic theology and focus of practical theology. These critical reflections from Barth, especially with their polyphonic character, perspectivism, and eschatological orientation, are of profound significance for theological anthropology and eschatology in our age of digitalization. © Chung Yuan Christian University.

Keywords: Perspecthasm of life; Sache of the bible; Theological disciplines; Theological encyclopedia; Theology of crisis

Authors & Affiliations: Yujing W., School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology, China

Pages: 127 - 143

Abstract: The famous contemporary reformed theoogian, Jurgen Moltmann (1926-) published his book The Ethics of Hope (.Ethik der Hoffnung) in 2010, when he was eighty years old, a monograph which acts as a response to his Theology of Hope. The volume "faces the Christendom" and tries to "give suggestions for action with a new eschatological hope." The theme of the book is consistent with Moltmann's earlier work, while the ideas are his reflection on the contemporary challenges of a post-modern and secularized global worid. This paper will discuss Moltmann's ethics of hope from the following perspectives: ethics of eschatological hope, ethics of love for life, ethics of faithfulness to the earth and ethics of God's Justice and Peace. As it does so, the paper explores the origins of Moltmann's ethics of hope, to clarify how Moltmann has developed a Christian theology for this age out of his own background. © Chung Yuan Christian University.

Keywords: Christian theology; Eschatology; Ethics; Jurgen moltmann

Authors & Affiliations: Bingquan L., School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China, China

Pages: 145 - 172

Abstract: Departing from the perspective of the relationship between the doctrine of the Trinity and ontology in the context of the 20th- century revival of Trinitarian theology, this paper attempts to explore John Zizioulas' ontology of personhood with a focus on the idea of "person" and its implication for contemporary theology and philosophy. Accordingly, the paper first introduces the background of Zizioulas' Trinitarin theology, and then investigates how Zizioulas develops an ontology of personhood from Cappadocian fathers' Trinitarin theology and how he understands the being of humankind. Finally, the paper examines some controversy about his reading on Cappadocian fathers to see whether this reading and the following analogy between divine person and human person is justified, together with a critical reflection on the presuppositions and the method of Zizioulas' theology. © Chung Yuan Christian University.

Keywords: Hypostasis; Imago dei; Monorchia; Ontology of personhood; Trinity of communion