| In modern theological studies, ecclesiology has became a very important concern in Western academic circle. However, it has not caught the attention of many theologians in Chinese academic circle. This thesis will use the Ideal Type method to construct a set of three typologies of ecclesiology in Modern Protestant Theology, named as Liberal, Confessional, and Subversive. Each type will pick two or three important modern Protestant theologians as the representative, Friedrich Schleiermacher and Paul Tillich represent the Liberal, Karl Barth, Jurgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas represent the Confessional, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Graham Ward represent the Subversive. By this research, we can have a more comprehensive framework to understand the development of ecclesiological studies, and to compare the strength and weakness of each typology. After analyzing the typologies, the later part of this thesis will use them to analyze the contemporary Chinese context. It aims at pointing out the meaning and the relevance of these typologies of ecclesiology to Chinese Theology and Hong Kong Churches. |
