Ecclesial ontology treats the origin, nature, existence, and destiny of the church. In the thought of T. F. Torrance, ecclesiology is derived from the doctrine of divine perfection. The church is given to participate in the fullness of God through the person of Jesus Christ. By framing his account in this way, Torrance issues a correction to the ecclesiological reductionism commonplace in the modern ecumenical movement. However, Torrance's particular construal of the Christ-church relation must be challenged. In his account, Christology is materially disproportioned in such a way that it threatens to absorb ecclesiological categories. Furthermore, Torrance undermines his ecumenical project, in which ecclesial unity is grounded in the mystery of the incarnation, by suggesting that the “mystery of iniquity” can prevent the actualization of this unity in space and time. Torrance's ecclesiology provides a rich resource for future constructive accounts to draw on, provided these accounts refine and revise said ecclesiology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:690577 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Shepherd, Albert L. |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=230058 |
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