1. Christ And The Powers Hendrikus Berkhof Pdf Free Download Programs For Music And Videos

'We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers.against spiritual wickedness in high places.' —Ephesians 6:12This small but important book by Hendrik Berkhof ushered in a wave of studies on 'the powers' spoken of in the New Testament, profoundly influencing William Stringfellow, Jacques Ellul, Marva Dawn, Walter Wink, and many others. 'We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers.against spiritual wickedness in high places.' —Ephesians 6:12This small but important book by Hendrik Berkhof ushered in a wave of studies on 'the powers' spoken of in the New Testament, profoundly influencing William Stringfellow, Jacques Ellul, Marva Dawn, Walter Wink, and many others. John Howard Yoder brought it to an English-speaking audience for the first time in this translation, and drew from it in his own famous work, The Politics of Jesus. Don't let this slender volume fool you; it is anything but slight.

First published in 1953 and later translated to English from the Dutch by John Howard Yoder, this is a seminal work of theology on the New Testament concept of the 'principalities and powers.' Writing in the wake of the Second World War, Berkhof began to re-think the statements the Apostle Paul made on the Powers.

Theologians had long assumed the Powers to be correlated with those found in Jewish apocalyptic literature: personaliz Don't let this slender volume fool you; it is anything but slight. First published in 1953 and later translated to English from the Dutch by John Howard Yoder, this is a seminal work of theology on the New Testament concept of the 'principalities and powers.' Writing in the wake of the Second World War, Berkhof began to re-think the statements the Apostle Paul made on the Powers. Theologians had long assumed the Powers to be correlated with those found in Jewish apocalyptic literature: personalized beings associated with angelic and demonic forces. Modern theologians in a world increasingly interested in the scientific and moving away from the supernatural had little use for them. But Berkhof posits that Paul actually meant to broaden the Powers category to include not just personalized supernatural beings but a variety of mediating forces in the world - social structures and systems, political institutions, ideologies, etc.

These mediating influences have their place in our lives, but when they become objects of worship, we experience idolatry and bad things occur. You can see that Berkhof was looking squarely in to the dark abyss of Nazism as he wrote this.

Berkhof's ultimate takeaway is that the Powers have a role to play but that they must be 'Christianized' or brought under the Lordship of Christ once more.This book paved the way for John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, Walter Wink and others. Having read those later theologians, I can see Berkhof's influence all over their work. This is an important foundational work, especially for those interested in liberation theology, institutional sin and so forth. It was a bit of a hassle to get this very short book (I used NYU interlibrary loan) but I'm glad I did.

I got interested in it from reading Yoder's 'The Politics of Jesus', which draws on it quite extensively. (Yoder translated this book, which is really more like a pamphlet, from the Dutch.)In one sense I didn't get a whole lot out of reading this book, since Yoder goes over Berkhof's conclusions in some detail in PoJ.

But I find Berkhof's argument so interesting and compelling that I am givin It was a bit of a hassle to get this very short book (I used NYU interlibrary loan) but I'm glad I did. I got interested in it from reading Yoder's 'The Politics of Jesus', which draws on it quite extensively. (Yoder translated this book, which is really more like a pamphlet, from the Dutch.)In one sense I didn't get a whole lot out of reading this book, since Yoder goes over Berkhof's conclusions in some detail in PoJ. But I find Berkhof's argument so interesting and compelling that I am giving it five stars anyway. In this book, Berkhof analyzes the apostle Paul's use of terms such as 'Powers', 'Thrones', and 'Principalities'. These are things that the modern reader tends to skip over because we don't really believe in angels or demons. But Berkhof insists on looking at them carefully and shows quite convincingly that there is no consistent way of interpreting them in a completely traditional way, for example as used in other contemporary Jewish apocalyptic literature.

Rather, he argues that Paul is employing this familiar language to talk about something much more subtle, namely, the structures and practices of human life that are necessary to give some shape to our lives, but that are also 'fallen' to the extent that they demand fealty as ultimate values (which they in truth are not).I really appreciate this balanced way of looking at human social structures, which neither completely embraces nor completely rejects society-as-it-is, but remains critical of it. Also, as someone who grew up playing computer RPGs such as Diablo II, I think that the language of 'powers and principalities' is a cool way of depicting the issue. Berkhof provides a unique perspective on the 'powers' Paul mentions in several places in his writings.

The conclusion is that they are not 'angels,' or even personal beings, per se, but rather systems of power and ideology. He does not rule out the possible involvement of some sort of spiritual beings, but his emphasis is more on the role the powers play. Christ has dethroned these powers and it is the church that stands as witness to this. The church is primarily tasked with resisting the force Berkhof provides a unique perspective on the 'powers' Paul mentions in several places in his writings.

Christ And The Powers Hendrikus Berkhof Pdf Free Download Programs For Music And Videos

The conclusion is that they are not 'angels,' or even personal beings, per se, but rather systems of power and ideology. He does not rule out the possible involvement of some sort of spiritual beings, but his emphasis is more on the role the powers play. Christ has dethroned these powers and it is the church that stands as witness to this. The church is primarily tasked with resisting the forces that would reinstate the old powers, and Christ is the one to enforce His sovereignty.

Hendrikus Berkhof was a professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Leiden.Berkhof's work-titled 'Science and the Biblical World-View'-appears as a chapter in part I (Introduction) of Science and Religion: New Perspectives on the Dialogue (1968), pages 43-53, ed. Ian BarbourChristian Faith: An Introduction to the Study of the Faith, Hendrikus Berkhof (Translated by Sierd Woudstra), 20 Hendrikus Berkhof was a professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Leiden.Berkhof's work-titled 'Science and the Biblical World-View'-appears as a chapter in part I (Introduction) of Science and Religion: New Perspectives on the Dialogue (1968), pages 43-53, ed. Ian BarbourChristian Faith: An Introduction to the Study of the Faith, Hendrikus Berkhof (Translated by Sierd Woudstra), 2002, Wm.

Eerdmans, ISBN 0-8028-0548-5Two Hundred Years of Theology: Report of a Personal Journey, Hendrikus Berkhof (Translated by John Vriend), 1989, Books on Demand, ISBN 0-7837-7945-3Christ and the Powers, Hendrikus Berkhof, (Translated by John Howard Yoder), 1977, Herald Press, 80 pages, ISBN 0-8361-1820-0Christ the Meaning of History, Hendrikus Berkhof, 2004, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 224 pages, ISBN 1-5924-4638-8.