LITMIR.BIZ

This book focuses on redemptive historical hermeneutics and homiletics within New Testament theology. This is a valuable legacy of the Reformed tradition, despite differences in interpreting and preaching Bible texts that surfaced in Holland (1920s and 1930s) and the United States (1970s onwards) before influencing Korean Reformed churches. The background, origin, distinctiveness, and development of these theological debates is explored and evaluated before the features of redemptive history in Korea are identified. The influence of Western redemptive-historical scholars on the Korean debate are also analyzed.
Here is a major and contemporary contribution to reformed-historical hermeneutics and homiletics that is relevant for Korean Reformed churches, but also for all Reformed churches worldwide.

Подробнее

Luke-Acts contains many and diverse female characters, many of whom play significant roles in the unfolding drama of God's plan of salvation through Jesus and the early church. Women followers of Jesus are fully-fledged disciples who prove to be reliable and insightful, participating in God's mission at all levels. They act as interpreters of salvation history, God's prophetic mouthpieces, witnesses to the resurrection, proclaimers and teachers of the gospel, and patrons and leaders of the early church. At the heart of this narratival exposure lies a particular theology of women. This narratival presentation and theology is rich and quite remarkable given the socio-religious climate in which Luke wrote. An appreciation of this «narratival theology» is important not only for a well-rounded understanding of Luke-Acts, but as a vital part of the variegated witness of the New Testament regarding the role of women in God's new community.

Подробнее

American Christians, weary of decades of entrenched partisan feuding, are increasingly distancing themselves from politics. Some, however, continue to turn toward the state and public policy to find solutions to the world's problems. The problem is that both responses allow a narrow vision of politics to determine the church's mission and ministries, which often ends up separating its commitment to personal faith from the pursuit of social justice–the King from the kingdom. Christians too easily forget that the church is inherently political, a community defined by its allegiance to a King, its citizenship in a new world, and its call to work alongside others in pursuit of a new way of life. The church needs a political vision that is more than blind acceptance or mere rejection of past models. It needs a positive vision that takes its cues about politics not from the nation-state but from another political reality: the kingdom of God.
This book tells the stories of the visits of two researchers to five diverse congregations across the United States. From the megachurch energy of Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California, to a young Emergent community in Minneapolis, to the politically active home of Martin Luther King in Atlanta, these stories illuminate the vastly different ways congregations understand and approach politics–and offer a glimpse of a new political imagination for today's church.

Подробнее

What makes a priest of one religion become a preacher of another religion? How could a person embrace a religion suddenly that he or she had up to then opposed? Why would young women risk their reputation and endanger their lives for the sake of newfound faith? How could an alcoholic detest a sip of wine all of a sudden? What drives an atheist to become an ardent worshiper of God? How could an intelligent person relate to God as to an adult human being? Transformative Religious Experience answers these questions with fascinating narratives of conversion. These narratives together show how the transforming effects of conversion permeate the daily lives of converts in a multireligious context.
Joshua Iyadurai analyzes psychologically the mystical turning point in the conversion process and finds that the divine-human encounter entails a cognitive restructuring: a new set of beliefs, values, and desires replaces previously held religious beliefs, values, and desires. By drawing insights from the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and theology, Iyadurai develops an interdisciplinary step model from a phenomenological perspective to explain the conversion process that incorporates the religious practices and social-psychological factors while giving a central place to religious experience.

Подробнее

How does a Christian discern the will of God? While this question lies at the heart of the Christian moral life, religious communities struggle to articulate responses that balance simple faith and rational reflection. Some characterize discernment as simple obedience to the commandments in Scripture; others portray it as an exercise of human reason and conscience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, pastor, and political conspirator who embodied a life of discernment amidst difficult circumstances in WWII Germany, offers a compelling theological account of how to seek and respond to God's will. By tracing Bonhoeffer's understanding of moral discernment throughout his writings, and especially in his Ethics, Joshua Kaiser demonstrates the importance of discernment for Bonhoeffer's vision of Christian ethics and explores how his view combines elements of simple faith and rational reflection. While the results of the study will be significant for those interested in Bonhoeffer, they will also be relevant to all who struggle along the path of Christian discipleship.

Подробнее

In nineteenth-century Britain, a large number of prominent Anglican and Presbyterian Evangelicals rejected the idea that salvation meant «going to heaven when you die.» Instead, they proposed that God would establish his kingdom on earth, renewing the creation and reanimating embodied humans to live in a world of science and progress. This book introduces the writings and activities of these women and men, among whom were counted the ardent social reformer Lord Shaftesbury, the highly-respected clergyman Edward Bickersteth, the popular author Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, and the General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance, Thomas Rawson Birks. The book shows that the catalyst for such theological revisionism was the end-times doctrine known as «premillennialism.» While commonly characterized as a gloomy and sectarian belief, the book argues that premillennialism in Victorian Britain was actually an optimistic and often liberalizing creed. It dissolved older Evangelical assumptions about the dissimilarities between time and eternity, body and soul, heaven and earth. The book demonstrates that, far from being eccentric pessimists, premillennialists were actually pioneers of trends in nineteenth-century Christian theology that stressed the importance of the incarnation, prioritized social justice, and even entertained the idea of universal salvation.

Подробнее

Ernst Kasemann famously claimed that apocalyptic is the mother of Christian theology. J. Louis Martyn's radical interpretation of the overarching significance of apocalyptic in Paul's theology has pushed Kasemann's claim further and deeper. Still, despite the recognition that apocalyptic is at the core of New Testament and Pauline theology, modern theology has often dismissed, domesticated, or demythologized early Christian apocalyptic. A renewed interest in taking apocalyptic seriously is one of the most exciting developments in recent theology. The essays in this volume, taking their point of departure from the work of Martyn (and Kasemann), wrestle critically with the promise (and possible peril) of the apocalyptic transformation of Christian theology. With original contributions from established scholars (including Beverly Gaventa, Stanley Hauerwas, Robert Jenson, Walter Lowe, Joseph Mangina, Christopher Morse, and Fleming Rutledge) as well as younger voices, this volume makes a substantial contribution to the discussion of apocalyptic and theology today. A unique feature of the book is a personal reflection on Ernst Kasemann by J. Louis Martyn himself.

Подробнее

As the twentieth century passed its midpoint and was rushing toward its end, a growing number of Majority World theologians came to realize that they could in fact do theology in their own contexts for the benefit of their own people. Thus, from the 1960s onward, theologians in the global South have embarked on a form of theological construction that has sometimes been described as «contextual» reflection or «contextualized theology.» This volume is motivated by the conviction that these efforts have resulted in theological work that is also beneficial for Christians in other parts of the world. The editors have invited Majority World theologians to share their reflections on several themes of Christian faith from their own sociohistorical perspectives but with an unswerving commitment to the authority of Scripture. It is hoped that these fresh reflections will help Christians in the West engage and benefit from the perspectives of fellow believers in the global South.

Подробнее

Jurgen Moltmann is now regarded as one of the most influential theologians since Karl Barth. However, evangelical engagement with Moltmann has been hesitant and deficient. This book fills the gap. Ten respected evangelical theologians engage with Moltmann's theology in a mature, dynamic, and critical manner, seeking to appropriate from it in a discerning manner. The contributors include Sung Wook Chung, Kurt Anders Richardson, Veli-Matti Karkainen, Stephen N. Williams, and Timothy Bradshaw. This book is an excellent demonstration of intellectual confidence and respectability of robust evangelical theology.

Подробнее

In this book, Matthew Aernie argues that Paul intentionally used forensic language, allusions, and idioms throughout 2 Thessalonians 1 in order to encourage the persecuted church to remain steadfast as they waited for their vindication at the final assize. To support this thesis, Aernie suggests that such judicial language and allusions are intertextual parallels originating primarily from the Day of the Lord motif found throughout the Old Testament, and maintains that the Day of the Lord concept was understood by the author of the Thessalonian correspondence as a reference to the day when the Lord would render righteous verdicts upon those who had both obeyed and disobeyed him. Furthermore, Aernie argues that the author of 2 Thessalonians likely understood the Day of the Lord to be consummated at the Parousia of Christ, when the final court would convene. Therefore, borrowing from the judicial concept apparent in the Day of the Lord motif, Aernie concludes that the author utilized forensic language throughout 2 Thessalonians 1 to exhort the church to remain faithful amidst great opposition as they awaited their ultimate justification at God's eschatological tribunal.

Подробнее