Diakonia

Re-Interpreting the Ancient Sources
Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-0-19-539602-7
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 388 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 588 g

This is the first comprehensive study of the Greek word ''diakonia,'' from which the word ''deacon'' is derived. Diakonia and its cognates appear frequently throughout the New Testament, but its precise meaning has long been disputed. Today, it is usually translated ''service'' or ''ministry.'' As Collins shows, this understanding of diakonia has been important to the development of a modern consensus about the nature of Christian ministry. Based on the understanding that
diakonia is ''service'' and that the diakonos (deacon) is a ''servant,'' nearly all Christian bodies today agree that the central idea of ministry is that of helping the needy, and that the ''servant'' church should be humbly devoted to helping the world, after the model of Jesus. Collins conducts an
exhaustive study of diakonia in Christian and non-Christian sources from about 200 BCE to 200 CE. He finds that in all such sources the word is used to mean ''messenger'' or ''emissary,'' and has no implications of humility or of helping the needy. This discovery undermines much of the theological discussion of ministry that has taken place over the past fifty years.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Collins, John N.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Bibelwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein Organisation & Institutionen von Kirchen und Gemeinden
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Praktische Theologie

Über Autor(innen)

John Collins is the Professor of Biblical Studies (retired) at Loreto Mandeville Hall, Melbourne