The Christian Proclamation as Gospel
SABOU, Sorin. “The Christian Proclamation as Gospel, The Polemics, Politics and Praxis of euangelion in the Graeco-Roman World of the First Century.” Jurnal teologic 11.1 (2012): 72-81.
Abstract: The lexical choice made by the first Christians to present the Christian message as euangelion is a stark one. This is so because euangelion is used in Ancient Greek literature almost always as a technical term for the news of victory, a term used by those in power. This choice made by the first Christians leads to polemics with those in power. The politics and praxis of victory are affected too in this incursion of early Christianity in the area of power language. Thus, euangelion is captured and restructured as being the 'euangelion of the kingdom' and 'of Christ.' This leads to a different understanding of the way a citizen should live in the world.
Abstract: The lexical choice made by the first Christians to present the Christian message as euangelion is a stark one. This is so because euangelion is used in Ancient Greek literature almost always as a technical term for the news of victory, a term used by those in power. This choice made by the first Christians leads to polemics with those in power. The politics and praxis of victory are affected too in this incursion of early Christianity in the area of power language. Thus, euangelion is captured and restructured as being the 'euangelion of the kingdom' and 'of Christ.' This leads to a different understanding of the way a citizen should live in the world.
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Leibniz on God
The main outlook on God, by Leibniz, in his Discourse on Metaphysics, is given towards the end of his argument when he says that ‘we must think of God not only as the root cause of all substances and of all beings, but also as the leader of all persons or thinking substances, or as the absolute monarch of the most perfect city or republic - which is what the universe composed of the assembled totality of mind is’ (Leibniz 1686, 35). To this I have to add what he says at the beginning of his argument that ‘God is absolutely perfect being’ (Leibniz 1686, 1). The perfection of God applies to his power, knowledge, wisdom, and actions; they are of highest degree, he has them in ‘unlimited form’ (Leibniz 1686, 1). These three metaphors of ‘root cause’, ‘leader,’ and ‘absolute monarch’ give me the structure of the answer to the question ‘What is God?’ and the related terms of ‘all substances,’ ‘thinking substances,’ and ‘the most perfect city’ give me the elements of the answer to the second question of this assignment 'What philosophical problems is Leibniz working through his contemplation of God?'