The Potential of Ecclesial Metaphors in Systematic Ecclesiology
In recent decades, the use of metaphor in ecclesiology has been broadly critiqued on the ground that metaphors are too abstract and idealized to advance our understanding of the concrete church in history; consequently, ecclesiology has embraced an "empirical turn," incorporating fields li...
| Published in: | Horizons |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
2022
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| In: |
Horizons
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| IxTheo Classification: | KDB Roman Catholic Church NBN Ecclesiology |
| Further subjects: | B
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
B Pope Francis B Ecclesiology B Catholic Church B body of Christ B Method B Metaphor |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In recent decades, the use of metaphor in ecclesiology has been broadly critiqued on the ground that metaphors are too abstract and idealized to advance our understanding of the concrete church in history; consequently, ecclesiology has embraced an "empirical turn," incorporating fields like ethnography and social sciences. In this article, the author argues for a positive function of metaphor in ecclesiology drawing from the work of Janet Martin Soskice. Metaphors link various associative networks of meaning and in doing so open up new imaginative horizons. This theory allows ecclesial metaphors to be examined for their adequacy in light of other empirical or nontheological fields of knowledge. In turn, this invites the theologian to explore other associative networks of meaning such that a metaphor leads to new insights into the nature and mission of the church. The metaphor of the church as the body of Christ serves as a test case. |
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| ISSN: | 2050-8557 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Horizons
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/hor.2022.41 |