Autor: GERALDO N OLIVEIRA | Publicado: 2013-12-29T11:53:00-08:00


JUSTIFYING THE BLOG
" COSMIC CHRIST : A WAY OF

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;RENEWAL
"



Christians always had
and always will have two specific functions , whatever the time when alive,
whatever the place where they live :

-&nbsp; to live according to the&nbsp; Gospel of Jesus Christ ;

- to disclose this
same&nbsp; Gospel, through their words
and&nbsp; behavior .



The messages in the
Gospel &nbsp;crossed 2013 years and were
introduced&nbsp; in almost all cultures that
succeeded&nbsp; along the time , at all times
.



Our age has been
considered a new era , because &nbsp;it has
clearly &nbsp;different characteristics and so
it deserves a new name . One call it " Post- Modernity" .



Considering the two
specific functions of the Christians &nbsp;and
the special characteristics of our age , these natural questions must be
considered:

1 – How to maintain
Christian identity &nbsp;in the environment of
Post- Modernity ?

2 – How should &nbsp;the Christians spread the Gospel in the
environment of Post-Modernity?



Despite the great
number of differences , it seems to me that we can take advantage in&nbsp; the &nbsp;analogy between our current situation and the
situation which Christians lived by the early Christianity : they, like us,
were facing the challenge of living and say&nbsp;
the Gospel in a different civilization ie live and tell the Gospel &nbsp;in the environment of Greco-Roman civilization
.

And what &nbsp;happened? Many of them , including an
evangelist (John ) and especially Paul , found ways to " translate"
the concepts of faith in words of the &nbsp;Greco- Roman culture .

An example that I
think as a typical one: a &nbsp;part of the
letter to the Colossians . Colosse was &nbsp;in a volcanic region of the Asia Minor , in
which the physical environment was marked by geological phenomena such as
earthquakes and thermal sources , and, therefore, a good field for growing beliefs
in spirits of the earth ,&nbsp; fire, air&nbsp; and &nbsp;water . There was formed, indeed, a mystical &nbsp;terminology to describe these things . St.
Paul " used " an essential part of this terminology&nbsp; to convey the Gospel.

Another example can
be saw in Jo 1,17, where he applied&nbsp; the &nbsp;Greek concept of “logos” for disclosing the
transcendence of Christ.



We have to understand
our time so that we too can continue to communicate the&nbsp; Gospel.

And , likewise, &nbsp;we want to live the gospel in this &nbsp;still poorly deciphered environment &nbsp;of Post-modernity .

So, it seems to us ,
therefore, that our age &nbsp;requires two
things :

- an effort to read
the present time ;

- an effort for
revising the Christian &nbsp;faith in order to
be able to experience it consistently with our time and in order to make it
more meaningful and acceptable at the present time .



These two efforts are
the focus of this blog .



And now , why "
Cosmic Christ " ?

Because it seems to
me that the full truth of our faith is realized in the fusion of historical
truth of Jesus of Nazareth with the truth to be contemplated in the Risen
Christ , the Cosmic Christ also announced by St. Paul .

This blog will be
watchful &nbsp;to what Jesus &nbsp;of Nazareth &nbsp;lived and taught &nbsp;and what has been revealed about the
Christ&nbsp; as the Logos of God.

In summary : Jesus
Christ &nbsp;will always remain as our
reference and our hope in relation to all and any new reality.



P.S.

I hope I have
justified the name of this blog .




Now, I wish &nbsp;only invite you &nbsp;to go with me through these unclear &nbsp;paths of the present and future. I am sure
that the " light of the nations " (Is 42,6) will be with us. This is
more than enough .