<p> This dissertation is an attempt to apply the motif of exile to the church in Canada today
and employ biblical resources to guide the church in its engagement with Canadian culture. At
one time the church held a place at the centre of Canadian life and contributed to the formation of national culture. As the nation has evolved, the role of the church has shifted significantly. The advent of secularization and a post-Christian, postmodern culture has moved the church from the centre to the margins of Canadian society. The proposal offered here is that this move can be understood as a form of exile. Exile is a rich motif in the history of the Christian faith. Our ancestors in the faith, the nation of Israel, were exiled by foreign nations. The Old Testament is, in many respects, a witness to that experience. Second Temple Jews continued to live under the authority of foreign powers and they also produced literature that testifies to their own sense of remaining in and responding to exile. The early church also understood itself as living in theological exile. The literature of the New Testament demonstrates how the first Christians sought to live faithfully while yet separated from their true, eschatological home. An understanding of exile in these texts and the theological approach that they offer can inform the church in Canada today as it also seeks to live faithfully in its particular contemporary context. This study seeks to engage the biblical materials with a view to applying their exilic wisdom to the life of the Canadian Church today. While the sociological demise of the church in Canada is now part of its historic narrative, exile can offer the contemporary church a paradigm for theological re-orientation, even as it did for Israel and the early church. Thus, adopting an exilic outlook and various aspects of a practical theology of exile can equip the Church in Canada with hope as it faces the challenges of its current circumstances.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/19354 |
| Date | 12 April 2010 |
| Creators | Beach, Lee |
| Contributors | Knowles, Michael P., Boda, Mark J., Christian Theology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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