Holiness and Ministry: A Biblical Theology of Ordination
Thomas B Dozeman
Abstract
This book is an initial response to the call of the World Council of Churches for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue. It is grounded in the assumption that the vocation of ordination requires an understanding of holiness and how it functions in human religious experience. The goal is to construct a biblical theology of ordination, embedded in broad reflection on the nature of holiness. The study of holiness and ministry interweaves three methodologies. First, ... More
This book is an initial response to the call of the World Council of Churches for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue. It is grounded in the assumption that the vocation of ordination requires an understanding of holiness and how it functions in human religious experience. The goal is to construct a biblical theology of ordination, embedded in broad reflection on the nature of holiness. The study of holiness and ministry interweaves three methodologies. First, the history of religions describes two theories of holiness in the study of religion — as a dynamic force and as a ritual resource — which play a central role in biblical literature and establish the paradigm of ordination to Word and Sacrament in Christian tradition. Second, the study of the Moses in the Pentateuch and the formation of the Mosaic office illustrate the ways in which the two views of holiness model ordination to the prophetic word and to the priestly ritual. And, third, canonical criticism provides the lens to explore the ongoing influence of the Mosaic office in the New Testament literature.
Keywords:
holiness,
ordination,
the sacred,
biblical theology,
Mosaic office,
charisma,
ritual,
Hebrew Bible,
New Testament,
history of religions,
Pentateuch,
canonical criticism,
World Council of Churches,
ecumenical
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2008 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780195367331 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2008 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367331.001.0001 |
