After Our Likeness: The Church As the Image of the Trinity (Sacra Doctrina)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 314 pages
• Published by: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company October 30, 1997
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0802844405
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0802844408
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

Product Description
In After Our Likeness, Miroslav Volf explores the relationship between persons and community in Christian theology. He seeks to counter the tendencies toward individualism in Protestant ecclesiology and give community its due.

Reader Reviews
It is always a distinct pleasure when one comes across an author which one has not read before. Although I have perused articles by Dr. Volf before, this was the first occasion in which I really read his text. The fact that upon finishing this book I began to seek out more of his books is a sign that something he wrote really caught my attention. Maybe it is the fact that as one raised in what can be called the free-church tradition (Baptist, Pentecostal, etc.), it is always delightful when I find a well thought out theologian who shares those same convictions. Or indeed it could be that the intention of the series to provide a Christian Theology for a postmodern age resonated within me. After Our Likeness begins with the discussion of two very different ecclesiologies. The first is the great Catholic theologian, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. The second is the Orthodox theologian John Zizioulas. Both are esteemed within their respective Church and they are quite able representatives of their traditions. In doing this, Volf seeks to first establish the foundations of these distinct understandings of what it means to be a church, which more or less represent broadly Western and Eastern thinking as a whole. It is because of his real intent that he feels this is necessary. The primary goal of Miroslav Volf in this text is to, "contribute toward making the Free churches and their ecclesiology (or ecclesiologies) presentable, Free Churches that are dogmatically orthodox and that are numerically becoming increasingly significant." He is essentially seeking to provide a theologically developed ecclesiology which could be in dialogue with the older, and rather now defensive, ecclesiologies of the traditional churches. An example of why this is needed is found in the Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry document which was published by the World Council of Churches. Here one from a Baptist tradition feels completely left out of the so-called dialogue. Having briefly discussed the traditional ecclesiologies, Volf then proceeds to develop one which takes into account the ancient and the modern, seeking to provide a theological model which will be useful for this century, understanding that the global church will increasingly reflect a Free Church form with or without the approval of the World Council of Churches. He begins by looking at the foundations of what the Church is, seeking to show what is at the roots and core of the creation and continuation of the Church in this world. Understanding that the Church is essentially part of ?God?s eschatological new creation?, Volf develops how a church can be identified as such. The core idea is that the Church is an assembly, an assembly which gathers in the name of Christ, committed as individuals to allow their lives to be determined by Jesus Christ. Volf then develops what this means, dealing with the issues of faith, God?s being, the specific structures which result from this core idea, and the question of how differing perspectives can still be united into one whole catholic church. In many ways, what Volf is offering is more of a starting point than a completely thorough treatment, but a starting point which demands to be included in global ecumenical discussions as representing the fastest growing understanding of what being the Church means.