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L.W. Barnard

Bio: L.W. Barnard is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Apostolic Fathers & Schism. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 5 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the seven genuine Ignatian Epistles, written or dictated while on his last journey to Rome, there is revealed a person passionately devoted to his faith-one who strongly desires martyrdom-yet one who is concerned with the practical details of Church life and order and especially with the problem of heresy and schism as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Ignatius of Antioch is one of the key figures of the Church of the early second century. Unlike the other Apostolic Fathers he lays bare his innermost thoughts and feelings. In the seven genuine Ignatian Epistles, written or dictated while on his last journey to Rome, there is revealed a person passionately devoted to his faith-one who strongly desires martyrdom-yet one who is concerned with the practical details of Church life and order and especially with the problem of heresy and schism. Ignatius cannot wholly be explained in terms of modern psychology although his language sometimes betrays an exuberance and wildness which could be interpreted as neurotic. However we must never forget that Ignatius was a condemned prisoner who was being transported across Asia Minor in the custody of Roman soldiers whom he calls "ten leopards" 1-"who become worse for kind treatment" (ad Rom. v. 1). Letters quickly dictated 2 in such circumstances are likely to deal with a few main topice and to lack a developed presentation of ideas. The fact that the Ignatian letters strongly resemble one another in subject matter should cause no surprise. Ignatius was not writing in the leisurely manner of the academic scholar. This fact accounts for the re-iteration of his views on episcopacy and his horror of separation from the Church. The saint already lives in the supernatural world in his desire to be with Christ and everywhere he sees indications of this world impinging on the everyday world of space and time. The Bishops, presbyters and deacons on earth not only resemble-they are God and Jesus Christ. Such mysticism, which seems so lofty and exalted in comparison with the struggling conditions of the Church in the early second century, cannot but move us to admiration.

5 citations


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Dissertation
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: Thesis as mentioned in this paper, M.A. (Church and Dogma history), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011, New York City, USA.
Abstract: Thesis (M.A. (Church and Dogma history))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that 2 Peter is not alluded to at all in the corpus of the Apostolic Fathers, which is contrary to the claim of some that it is the case up to the time of Clement of Alexandria.
Abstract: I began this study to see whether anything in the Apostolic Fathers might shed any light on the interpretation of 2 Peter. Other motivations have been added along the way. I soon ran into the claims of some that 2 Peter is not alluded to at all in the corpus of the Apostolic Fathers. Edwin Abbott provides an outstanding example of this. Of 2 Peter he said: ’Up to the time of Clement of Alexandria (i.e.

6 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the integration of high Christology with ethics is explored, and the specific vein of the integration is explored by integrating the high christology with the ethics of Ignatius of Antioch.
Abstract: Abstract Scholars have long noted Ignatius of Antioch’s statements of high christology. Jesus, who as God appeared in human form (Eph. 19.3), is ‘God in man’ (Eph. 7.2) and is ‘our God’ (Eph. inscr.; 15.3; 18.2; Rom. inscr.; 3.3; Polyc. 8.3). Jesus Christ is included in such ‘nas-cent trinitarian’ passages as Eph. 9.1 and Magn. 13.1-2. Yet further treasures remain to be mined, and the specific vein I will explore is the integration of Ignatius’ high christology with his ethics. His paraenesis is rooted in ‘the mind of God’, also described as ‘the mind of Christ’ (Eph. 3.2; Phld. inscr.), who is ‘the God who made you so wise’ (Smyrn. 1.1; cf. Eph. 17.2). Ignatian moral instruction combines ‘the will of God and Jesus Christ’ (Trall. 1.1), ‘the honor of the Father and the honor of Jesus Christ’ (Trall. 12.2), and ‘the love of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Phld. 1.1). Believers are to be ‘imitators of God’ (Trall. 1.2) as well as ‘imitators of Jesus Christ’ (Phld. 7.2). Ignatius even prayed that he would be ‘an imitator of the suffering of my God’ (Rom. 6.3; cf. Eph. 10.3). Ignatian exhortation thus merges an imitatio Christi with an imitatio Dei. Arising from his particular experiences and specific circumstances, Ignatius’ contextualized paraenesis elevates the Son to an authoritative status parallel to that of the Father. The interplay of christology and ethics also underscores a multi-leveled understanding of ‘unity’ and a multivalent use of ‘flesh and spirit’.

5 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
26 Feb 2021
TL;DR: The Jewish community of Antioch was not monolithic. Communities of different currents tended to gather separately as mentioned in this paper, and some of them, having received the news of the coming of the Messiah from the apostles, became the first centers of Christianity in Antioch.
Abstract: The Jewish community of Antioch was not monolithic. Communities of different currents tended to gather separately. Apparently, some of them, having received the news of the coming of the Messiah from the apostles, became the first centers of Christianity in Antioch, providing the basis for the future theological school. Such Semitic features of Antiochian patristics as literalism, historicism, and a kind of mystical materialism provoked criticism from other schools. On the other hand, Aramaic-speaking Christians could rightly call the Hebrew-Aramaic Bible "our Scriptures." As heirs to Old Testament prophets and legislators, Syrian apologists addressed the "Greeks" in a paternal tone. Theophilus of Antioch and Theodore of Mopsuestia even show a direct dependence on the rabbinic tradition of interpretation.