Article Archive Sorted by: Issue Author Title Sorted by Issue Total Articles Online: 200 Volume 7 Number 2: April - June 2005 article name author A Spirituality of Obedience: Equal in God's Eyes Only? Obedience has always been a central feature of most religions. It is usually understood as being compliant to an external authority or set of norms. In this brief article obedience is presented as a compliant characteristic with the structure of human consciousness. The question of women’s ordination will be briefly explored revealing both the norms of obedience as well as the unintelligence of conformity without exercising the acts of intelligence. Henman, Robert Defending von Balthasar's Apology of Holiness Balthasar argues that it is impossible to have any knowledge of God or verify the truth of revelation apart from actually living within a Christian faith-stance. The individual outside of this faith-stance (the non-believer) is unable to come to the Christian faith of his or her own accord. In order to perceive revelation, “eyes are needed that are able to perceive the spiritual form.” Van Steenwyk, Mark Beyond Plantinga and Improper Function: Inexcusability for Unbelief In the following Plantinga's position will be described and then considered in light of the above questions. The assertion here is that Plantinga's position does not make sense of sin, or the need for redemption through the death of Christ. This is because on Plantinga’s view the unbeliever has an excuse for their unbelief, it is not clear that God exists, and human rationality is defective/not properly functioning. For the purposes of this paper it can be granted that Plantinga has established that theists are within their epistemic rights. Anderson, Owen The Metaphysical Road to God This paper examines the metaphysical nature of silence. Since the silence is the dwelling place of the Lord, it must be other than the absence of sound. If the risen dead see God’s face, they must be in that place of silence. The metaphysical structure of being places the dead in the nothing surrounding being’s unconcealment and in the intelligence of the nothing before creation. This suggests that death as such takes place as a reversal in the metaphysical ground of being’s unconcealment. Bryson, Kenneth Praxis and the Content of Theology in Gustavo Gutiérrez’s Theological Methodology: A Comparative Critique. Latin American theology has prioritised the place of praxis in its theological method, which is the distinguishing feature of liberation theology. Gustavo Gutiérrez is, because of both his integral role in liberation theology’s early history and because of the lucidity of his exposition, one of the key spokespersons of the movement. After delineating the place of praxis in Gutiérrez’s theological method the author will examine whether the specific method is as innovative as Gutiérrez himself claims. Secondly, the author will examine another key critique of liberation theology’s methodology, namely that of John Milbank and the associated Radical Orthodox movement. Gillingham, Richard Metaphorical Theology: An Evangelical Appropriation Traditionally, evangelicalism has looked upon feminist and ecological theologians with a great deal of suspicion, but this paper will examine and appropriate elements from McFague’s theology in an attempt to incorporate them into an evangelical theological perspective that takes into account the environmental and nuclear challenges facing the world today. With this purpose in mind, critique will be accompanied by evaluation with the intent to draw out methodology and insights that could be used within an evangelical theological context. Klassen, Ryan Supernaturalism and Historical Study: An Account of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead Historical studies need not defer to current scientific theory, for the question of the supernatural will never be fully answered by science. Therefore, the supernatural falls within the realm of probability as an explanation for the Resurrection. An argument is provided which proves that a supernatural explanation is the most probable explanation for the Resurrection based on the evidence provided in the canonical and extra-canonical books, and living tradition of the Church. Klein, Franz Religious Film Fears 3: Being Sacrilegious, Criticising or Devaluing the Faith Using textually-based, humanist film criticism as the analytical lens, the critical film and religion literature was reviewed and the additional fears of being sacrilegious, criticising or devaluing the faith was copiously explicated and documented herein. It was concluded that popular films are a worthwhile and exciting pedagogic tool, but they require constant monitoring, vigilance and control by faith communities for integrity, protection and quality assurance reasons. Biblically-based counter-proposals and other anti-film defences were proffered to address this tangible concern. Further research into the exciting interdisciplinary field of religion-and-film was recommended. Kozlovic, Anton Kierkegaard on ‘Upbuilding’, Grace and “the God Whom Gives Every Good and Perfect Gift” What I shall argue, in this paper, is that even in the simple, straightforward, and yet extremely important essay: “Strengthening the Inner Being” in Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses, the tension between the individual, freedom and God’s grace is never resolved. Lightbody, Brian The Futility of Philosophic Inquiry This questioning of the value of philosophy has probably been engendered by the constant controversy with all the differing theories and viewpoints employed in philosophy. People who find philosophy nugatory might say the following: Why should we even consider this viewpoint or that viewpoint? It is not as if we are going to arrive at some conclusive answers. Everything is subjective. Mock, Michael Gender Sensitivity In Igbo Culture: A Philosophical Re-Appraisal Our concern here is on gender sensitivity in the Igbo culture. We tried to examine the levels of gender sensitivity in the traditional Igbo society and in the contemporary Igbo society. Our startling discovery is that we had a higher level of sensitivity in the traditional setting than we now have in this contemporary period. The reason is that the irrational approach to the gender question is fast obliterating the differentiation that should exist between the male and the female. Ozumba, Goddy The Homoousios Doctrine and Non-Reductive Models of Consciousness: An Orthodox Christian Look at the Mind/Body Problem This article will attempt to evaluate [the metaphysics of consciousness] in light of the homoousios doctrine of the orthodox Christian faith. In particular it will explore whether a model other than substance dualism may be consistent with the truth about the nature of God revealed in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and thus a reasonable model to explore in consciousness studies. Perkins, Steven Lacan, Kierkegaard, and Repetition This paper explores the role of Kierkegaard in Lacan’s semiotic mediation of Freudian repetition. I argue that while Lacan explicitly draws upon Kierkegaard’s distinction between recollection and repetition, he misreads repetition. This has the effect of closing down what could be a potentially beneficial dialogue between theology and psychoanalysis. Pound, Marcus Philosophical Objections to the Knowability of Truth: Answering Postmodernism Contrary to postmodernist argument that objective truth is unknowable, the paper argues persuasively that we can and do have objective knowledge of truth. It is the contention of this paper that though human knowledge is partial/imperfect, it is not a sufficient condition to assume that we cannot have objective knowledge. Uduigwomen, Andrew Eternal Selves and the Problem of Evil My point is merely that a theist who can make the case for a Platonic, Augustinian, Cartesian, or otherwise transcendent account of the “true self” has, thereby, a potentially potent response to the traditional problem of evil. If persons are properly identified with something like disembodied (or resurrected) eternal selves that transcend the material world, then the apparently gratuitous suffering of the better part of humanity may be neatly reconciled with the existence of the theistic God. If our suffering is merely apparent, or afflicts only a minuscule portion of our total existence, then theism (on this score, at least) may be salvageable. Ferraiolo, William Volume 6 Number 4: October - December 2004 article name author An Augustinian Understanding of Love in an Ecological Context "Augustine’s analysis of fundamental human loves provides insight into some of the anthropological determinants of ecological degradation. This discussion is framed by Augustine’s distinction between caritas, as seeking one’s final end in God, and cupiditas, as seeking one’s final end in that which is other than God." Benzoni, Francisco Becoming a Living Witness: The Oxford Group Way of Life "The Oxford Groups of the early 20th century attempted to recreate First Century Christianity and discipleship.  From the New Testament texts, they developed a way of life based on changing one’s life and helping others have deep and effective spiritual experiences that would in turn change their lives.  Each member bore witness throughout their daily affairs to the transformation Christ made in their lives.  It is an approach based not on eventual rewards in heaven, but in finding a more fulfilling and exciting life in service to God here and now." Patton, David Moral Technology "Moral Technology appears to be our sole shelter that will help us to reach our human goals without leaving behind our human nature. It aims that every scientist puts in his mind the good of the whole people as well as all ethical and moral norms before his own gain or benefit." El-adaway, Islam Hassan The Antinomian Controversy and the Puritan Vision: A Historical Perspective on Christian Leadership "the Puritan elders of New England primarily proceeded against Hutchinson not for theological reasons but for the very practical purpose of maintaining the implementation of their vision.  In this sense I do not vilify the Puritan leadership as others might.  For while they might not be viewed as "fair" or "tolerant" by modern standards, I do believe that their actions were justifiable given the nature of their task and the realities of the situation." Kahl, Jeffrey M. A Reassessment of the Meaning of the Abrahamic Covenant for Evangelical Theology "Most modern evangelicals classify the Abrahamic covenant as unconditional.  But the label is ambiguous.  A review of the covenant passages strongly suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham were conditioned on his obedience – making the covenant, in this sense, conditional.  On the other hand, once Abraham obeyed God’s commands, the covenant became prophetically guaranteed – and is, in this sense, unconditional." Lee, Daniel The Christian Neoplatonism of St. Maximus the Confessor "[This paper] will examine an aspect of Maximus’ doctrine where the Neoplatonic influence is most evident, namely, eschatology.  First, I will focus on his cosmology, specifically the eschatological implications of the doctrine of the creation of the cosmos in time.  Secondly, I will examine some key aspects of Maximus’ eschatology, particularly asceticism.  Finally, this discussion will allow me to demonstrate Maximus’ role in the development of Neoplatonic philosophy, and to address the major difficulty that his speculative theology introduced into Eastern Christian thought." Moore, Edward Paul Tillich and the Ontological Argument "Paul Tillich’s name is not ordinarily included in a list of thinkers who have made a significant contribution to the ontological argument.  Those who find affinity with Tillich’s thought have tended to overlook what he says about the arguments for God’s existence, influenced perhaps by Tillich’s sometime statements about the improper nature of such arguments." Olson, Duane What is it to Put One’s Faith in God? "Even within the Christian tradition, one finds a host of different accounts of what faith is. Some Christian writers have sought to define faith in terms of belief—or, at least, belief formed in love—while other writers have emphasized the notion of trust. Still other writers have been concerned to stress the roles of obedience, confession, or hope." Kinghorn, The Link between Spirituality and Health: Holistic Outcomes and Religious Practice in Clinical Health Care "Anthropologists tell us that in all cultures spiritual practices (religious rituals) are mediated in some way through a recognized agent, that is, priest, shaman, seer, prophet, medium, etc. This paper supports the premise that there exists an interface between spirituality and health in all cultures. Further, there is a need to increase the understanding among the participants in the interface between spirituality and health and show evidence through outcomes." Savage, Allan As The Image: A Functional Understanding of the Imago Dei "The doctrine of the imago dei is foundational for Christian anthropology. It informs the nature of humanity as individuals and as a corporate entity. It is the basis of the Christian valuation of human life. And it defines the purpose of humans both now and in the world to come. Unfortunately, what it means to be the imago dei is often not clearly defined." Klassen, Ryan Paul, the Law, Grace and … ‘Cheap Grace’ "The task of the present paper is to seek answers to following questions: Was Paul accused of teaching an antinomian doctrine that might be called ‘cheap grace’? What happened in the 1st century AD that gave rise to accusation of teaching so-called ‘cheap grace’? If yes, what answers, both direct and implied, did Paul give? And, finally, what pattern of though could the apostle Paul equip us with today in order for us to properly respond to extremes that are unfortunately tied to the genuine biblical teaching on grace?" Lebedev, God Beats Up on People Who Ask Useless Questions "Peter L. Berger, the most eminent sociologist of religion in the world today... By questioning the theology produced by professional theologians Berger realizes that theological bureaucrats will hold any activity of “free enterprise,” such as his book, with suspicion. Taking the role of an open-minded skeptic, Berger asks probative questions about religion without being bound by tradition, church, scripture, or personal experience." Lusvardi, Wayne C. The Christian Perspective on Capital Punishment: An Evaluation of Rehabilitation "Regarding the Christian perspective on capital punishment, there are three basic views, namely Rehabilitationism, Reconstructionism and Retributionism. ...This paper focuses on rehabilitationism. Proponents of this view comprise those who appeal to the Bible for justification and those who do not. The paper presents the arguments of those in the former group. Contrary to the view of the rehabilitationalists that the aim of punishment is reformatory or remedial, the paper argues that the aim of capital punishment is justice and a good society." Uduigwomen, Andrew F. African Traditional Metaphysics "A cultural philosophy must have certain underlying logic and understanding. However, it will be a mark of intellectual philistinism to continue to hold that all Africans conceive reality woof and weft from exactly the same perspective. What we have are similar out-looks which enjoy a higher semblance than with views outside the African sub-region." Ozumba, G. O. Do Objective Moral Standards Exist in the World Today? "Many people believe in a relativistic view of morality because they do not believe in any objective moral values or in an absolute standard of right and wrong. There is sufficient justification for the belief that objective moral values exist, and whether or not one holds this view or an opposing view will affect him in all areas of his life." Johnson, Volume 6 Number 1: January - March 2004 article name author Towards a Phenomenologically Grounded Understanding of Christian Spirituality in Theology "Given the contemporary posture with respect to religion and the disquieting resonance associated with that term, it is beneficial for academic purposes to detach the wholesome and life-giving aspects of spirituality from the garments that have historically clothed it. Spirituality, as an acknowledged human phenomena, needs to begin to develop its’ own contemporary methodologies in order to explicate this phenomena and contribute to the body of knowledge in a scientific or academic milieu." Drazenovich, George The Failure of Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud’s Objection to Thomistic (Objective) “Truth” and “Right” "In proposing a single and objective standard of truth and right, Aquinas draws upon the Realist tradition after the manner of Aristotle. Though Aquinas does not assert that complete truth is divulged through reason alone, he does argue that human beings can discover the eternal, natural law through “speculative and practical reason.”" Steineger, Joseph E. The Need For and The Use Of Doxological Language in Theology "What can be said concerning God? In other words, can language describe God in God's being? The debate surrounding this question inspired Gregory of Nyssa to write his response to Eunomius' Second Book." Gresser, Robert John Knox: Preacher of the Scottish Reformation "Through his dynamic preaching and powerful influence, John Knox helped bring the Reformation to Scotland and helped bring Scotland back to the pure Gospel. Whereas many other Reformers preached and expounded on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, Knox emphasized the ‘idolatry of the Mass’ in most of his sermons, in his many encounters with Roman Councils and before Mary Queen of Scots." Perry, Matt V. Il 1270: Tommaso d’Aquino e la polemica sull’unità dell’intelletto "This paper is about Thomas Aquinas and Siger of Brabant, and the problems of the noetic and intellect. The paper is in Italian with several notes in latin." Trizio, Michele The Protestant Reformers’ Readings of Romans 9-11, with Modern Critical Response "Although the Protestant Reformers’ exegetical principle of sola scriptura assumed that the meaning of scripture never changes, their approach to scripture in lectures and commentaries owed much to the innovative interpretive methods of humanism. ... humanist method and Augustinian theology were the poles between which early Protestant readings of Romans 9-11 moved, with different commentators leaning by various degrees to one pole or the other." Johnson, Galen K. Suffering the Patient Victory of God: Shusaku Endo and the Lessons of a Japanese Catholic "This paper seeks to link the theological imagination of Henri de Lubac with the literary imagination of Shusaku Endo, with special concern for understanding Endo’s robust Catholicism. In addition, this paper seeks to understand the way Endo’s Japanese culture shaped his Catholicism and vision of Jesus Christ’s meaning for the world." Dewey, Brett R. Biblical Interpretation "In biblical exegesis, the interpreter is faced with a number of challenges. Discerning meaning from ancient texts is not such a straightforward task—there are many factors that must be taken into account. This essay is a brief survey of the factors involved." Odendaal, John Patience, Carefulness and Hopefulness: Three Loving, Compassionate Tactics for Interreligious Dialoguing "Interreligious dialogue can be interpreted as a relative of labour-management negotiations. While ignoring this business model’s obvious adversarial excesses, there are at least three loving, compassionate tactics that can be profitably employed in the dialogue context." Kozlovic, Anton Karl Practical Apologetics "These are obviously not definitive answers but simply suggestions of comments that Christians might make in response to questions faced during street/ campus evangelism. Our interest in theology must not divorce us from the main task in hand – the sharing of the good news of salvation in Christ." Murdoch, James Buddhism, Christianity, Quantum Mechanics and Dinosuar "The work suggests a model allowing to explain many religious outlooks, such as expiatory sacrifice, karma, etc., as well as certain paradoxes of modern physics. Besides, this model pretends to play a role of a new ideology." Shvets, Andrey Our Christian Exile "The post-exilic context of Judaism has many similarities to the place of Christianity in today's secular world. Bishop Spong has encouraged Christianity to move beyond attachment to forms of worship to embrace the experience of God, the spirit of God. But the struggle has yet to begin- it requires a second Reformation that goes beyond theory and dogma, and politics posing as theological debate." Kidd, Michael What on Earth is the Trinity? The Trinity in Everyday Life "The end of the second millennium after the birth of Jesus rings to Christians of the western world a new crisis of faith. No longer do we seem to have the assurance, at least in retrospect, which seems to us to have characterized previous generations, whether in fact they had this assurance, or not." Ive, Jeremy The Dominion Factor "The question I pose is this: why do people continue to be in conflict, when it seems most people want to have peace. I suggest it is an ancient problem deep within human nature I call “the Dominion Factor,” which is an aberration of a Biblical mandate occasioned by the Fall." Bohn, James G. God, Time and Eternity "Christians have always advocated that God is eternal. But just what does it mean to say that God is eternal?" Bishop, Steve Should a Christian Bear Arms? "Should a Christian bear arms? Consulting any basic history of the church shows that the vast majority of the early church did not think so. Many reasons have been cited for this refusal to bear arms. Some propose that it was due to the idolatry of the Roman army. Others have suggested that, at least when it came to the army, it interfered with the Sabbath-keeping of the earliest Christians. These are not the reasons given by the early apologists such as Origen, Justin and others." Alexander, James C. On the Gospel Accounts of Peter's Denials of Christ "The prediction and outplaying of [Peter's] denials, as recorded in the four Gospels, is a powerful reflection of a condition of our relationship with Christ—that our faith is more vulnerable than we care to admit. But a small thorny issue surrounds the Gospel accounts of this event, one that is a nagging distraction to serious hermeneutic exposition. The issue has to do with Mark quoting Jesus as saying that a rooster will crow twice after Peter denies Him three times. The problem is that all the other three Gospels quote Jesus as saying, apparently, that the rooster will only crow once" Chong, Edwin K. P. Fraud and Economic Dishonesty: A Curse on Our Society "This paper will focus on economic dishonesty, or fraud. The Old Testament records several passages that state God’s displeasure at economic fraud and His respect for those who are honest." Skeen, James W. Jacob and Esau "If those texts, including the story of Jacob and Esau, disclose anything to our modern/postmodern understanding, it is that lawlessness is contrary to the will of the gods, and is punished, because such texts themselves are the product of the law-giving Jacobs of long past, i.e. the products of human culture and civilization. Further, what do we learn by deconstructing those texts in an attempt to discover the narrative of the suppressed Esau?" Inbinder, Gary Volume 5 Number 4: October - December 2003 article name author Demon Semen: Traditional and Metaphysical Assumptions in Early Lutheran and Reformed Treatments of Genesis 6:1-4 "In seeking to understand the reasons behind magisterial Protestant interpretations [of Gen 6:1-4], one finds that, though they affirmed the doctrine of sola Scriptura, they did not ignore tradition or metaphysical assumptions altogether. This essay will examine the various reasons why the early evangelicals chose their particular interpretations." Mallinson, Jeffrey Atonement and Violence "The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the Christian doctrine of the atonement in relation to violence. That violence is very much a part of human beings is self-evident. From the murder of Abel to the present, human history is soaked in blood—so much so that we can say with Sigmund Freud that we are homo homini lupus, “Man is a wolf to man.”" Kuhns, Dennis R. Religious Film Fears 2: Cinematic Sinfulness "Feature films were the artform and lingua franca of the 20th century, and they will continue to be popular well into the 21st century. However, their very existence inspired much fear within religious communities, who were suspicious of films’ nature, purpose and suspected deleterious effects upon viewers." Kozlovic, Anton Karl Localizing the Problem of Evil: William Cowper and the Poetics of Perspectivalism "One challenge to any approach to the problem of evil involves the phenomenological distance- the distance between encountering evil at a safe cognitive and emotional remove and confronting evil when it invades the individualized space of personal experience. This essay examines how the narrative approach adopted by the poet William Cowper provides the discursive framework for a more authentic theodicy by bridging that phenomenological distance and thereby localizing the problem of evil." Joeckel, Samuel Calvin's Doctrine of Our Union with Christ "Calvin scholars have argued that the notion of unio mystica is “a more comprehensive way” of approaching the theology of the Institutes. Others support this thesis by contending that Calvin’s spirituality is centered on unio mystica. The significance of this theological motif in Calvin’s theology and piety, therefore, justifies a preliminary exploration into his doctrine of our union with Christ." Tan, Seng-Kong History, Authority, and Interpretation: A Theology of Scripture "[According to Frei,] there can be no going back to the days when the realistic narrative and the history were unified. The many insights of historical-critical investigation cannot be ignored, and this presents us with several problems not addressed in The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative." Hollon, Bryan C. Hegel, Kierkegaard, and the Structure of a Spirit-full Self "It is the intent of this essay to sketch a comparison between the thought of Hegel and Kierkegaard. I will argue that their respective understanding of the logic of identity and difference, taken together, offers a dialectically holistic analysis of authentic spirit-full selfhood." Marsh Jr., Jack E. An Economic Approach to Theology of the Lord’s Prayer "Jesus’ early teachings, as embodied in the Lord’s Prayer, are partly formulated by way of two requests that – whatever their deeper meaning - are undeniably economic in their content: (i) “Give us today our daily bread” and (ii) “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” I propose to explore Jesus’ meaning by taking seriously, almost literally, these two requests and comparing them with related requests that we nowadays would be more inclined to make." Costa, Giacomo Theology "As the systematic study of Christianity, theology deals with a number of issues. It attempts to speak coherently of God, as the fundamental subject matter. As Hans Küng puts it, “Man’s ‘demonstration’ of God’s reality is always based on God’s self-demonstration in reality for man”... In theological discourse, therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to Man’s role in receiving such revelation, thus factors such as tradition, context and hermeneutics must be taken into account." Odendaal, John Preface to Totality and Infinity "Throughout his works Emmanuel Levinas has used various terminologies to refer to God. In every case God is described as infinite unknowable, unsayable and unsignifyable... Levinas’ God is not a divinity that interacts with the human world, rather this God is that which lies beyond the limits of what humans can ever experience or know... In this sense, Levinas’ terms for God secularize divinity and relegate God to a concept acceptable even to atheists." Petridis, Val Between Church and Society: (Re)Identifying the Role of the Holy Spirit in Protestant Higher Education "Pragmatism, as an American embodiment of the aspirations of modernity, was initiated by a sense of separation between subject and object. Over time, the place of God as subject and humanity as object was reversed. This reversal led to the replacement of the economy of salvation initiated by God with the pragmatic economy initiated by humanity. These economies are not wholly indifferent to the ones Augustine described in relation to what he called the city of this world and the city of God." Ream, Todd C. What Is Faith?: An Analysis of Tillich’s ‘Ultimate Concern’ "Paul’s Tillich’s formal definition of faith constituted a brilliantly creative attempt to clarify the meaning of a word that tradition heavily burdened with theological baggage. The question of course concerns the extent, if any, to which his definition of the term was compelling and helpful." Smith, L. Scott Christian Education Without the Problem of Indoctrination "Can Christian teachers and parents teach Christian beliefs without indoctrinating their students and children? The topic of indoctrination has long been associated with religious beliefs, due primarily to the historical association of indoctrination with religious instruction. This link between indoctrination and religious education is strengthened by the recent call from some educators to support religious indoctrination in schools." Tan, Charlene H. P. Reflections on Ecology, Theology and Ethics "Over the past half century much has been made of the responsibility of Christian theology and ethics for the current environmental crisis... Christian interpretation of the Biblical stories of creation has contributed to the understanding of the natural world as lacking in divine presence... Within this worldview human beings were seen as just slightly “below” the angels, but clearly “above” and hence removed from material nature and even other living things " Michaud, Derek Connaturality in Aquinas: The Ground of Wisdom "Part one of the essay [looks] to Aquinas’s definition of wisdom, finding in his mention of connaturality a clue for a proper understanding of wisdom; part two argues that connaturality is a necessary a priori condition for all intellectual operations and thus also for Aquinas’s definition of wisdom as right judgment concerning the Divine; part three argues that connaturality is not only an a priori condition but is itself a virtue allowing for right action." Snell, R. J. Volume 5 Numbers 2-3: April - September 2003 article name author Sanctity of Life & the Death Penalty: Flip sides of the same “Divine” coin "In the past half century, the church has been retreating from society at large, becoming more and more of an segregated appendage to modern living, rather than the paragon of real life Jesus intended it to be. " Gunby, Richard Eric Niche Congregations and the Problem of Institutional Isomorphism: A Study of the Church as Institution "Every institution combines structure and culture in order to maintain and disseminate its peculiar purpose. Churches do this as much as corporations, schools or voluntary associations do." Mardis, Matthew J Economic terrorism and the foundation of Israelite origins "The purpose of this discussion of history relating to the origins of Israel will be to focus on two issues central to the historiography of biblical literature. The first is the nature and date of Israelite exodus/Canaanite conquest, and the second is the natural corollary, the evolution of Israel as a nation." Soggie, Neil Nudging John Polkinghorne "John Polkinghorne proposes that God interacts with the world by feeding information into chaotic systems. This influences the course of these systems and, since they underlie what goes on in the world, enables God to influence the world." Sharpe, Kevin Religious Film Fears 1: Satanic Infusion, Graven Images and Iconographic Perversion "At some point or another, one or more faiths have been suspicious of cinemas’ nature, purpose and suspected deleterious effects upon the spiritual, socio-economic and physical aspects of humanity. In fact, these fears still haunt religious communities today, albeit, sometimes suppressed, transmuted or distorted behind rationalistic rhetoric and unthinking God-talk." Kozlovic, Anton Karl Jesus and James: A Short Reconciliation of the Sermon on the Mount and the Epistle of James "Of all the texts in the New Testament canon, perhaps no two have been dealt with more divergently than "the sermon on the mount" and the Epistle of James. While the sermon on the mount has been received as "a perfect standard of the Christian life" and treated with the utmost respect, the Epistle of James has been called "a right strawy epistle" and has at various times throughout church history been viewed with deep skepticism." Kissel, Justin Discovering Human Happiness: Choice Theory Psychology, Aristotelian Contemplation, and Traherne’s Felicity "We need something beyond human relationships. Human friendships and service to others is important. But they are not enough. We need to exercise our intellectual-spiritual capacities toward God and the universe around us that our happiness might be perfected." Skeen, James W Athanasius and his Influence at the Council of Nicaea "Athanasius made it clear that he would defend the full deity of Christ against great odds — to such an extent that an expression arose: “Athanasius contra mundum” - 'Athanasius against the world.’ " Perry, Matt Christianity, Space and Aliens "Some Christians have believed that humans are the only embodied creatures in creation to be made in God’s image, and some atheists love to suggest that “if and when one ever detects evidence of an extraterrestrial intelligent. . . that evidence will be inconsistent with the existence of God or at least organized religion." Williams, Peter S Coming Home: Adoption in Ephesians and Galatians "In his epistles to the Roman colonies of Ephesus and Galatia, Paul makes reference to the Roman Law and Culture in which slaves had an inferior standing, sons had an honored standing, and adoption had a redemptive purpose. A good understanding of these laws and cultures is necessary in order to grasp the total implications of Paul’s metaphorical instruction in these epistles..." Julien, Sarah Brother Sun, Sister Moon: A Neo-Thomist Personalistic explication of the metaphysical grounds for St. Francis’ Canticle "Beyond the brutes, we are the only (rational) animals equipped for seeing and loving one another in this way, and so to have a kind of personalistic solidarity which is more noble than utilitarian kinds: a solidarity binding a citizenship of persons." Meng, Jude Chua Soo Is Barth’s Theology Necessarily Exclusivist? "Given Barth’s non-foundationalism and doctrine of election one can construct a Barthian theology of religions that is thoroughly inclusivist in the mould of a Trinitarian inclusivism in contrast to the traditional reading of Barth." Gillingham, Richard The Problem of Conversion in Augustine and Jonathan Edwards "Conversion represents an overwhelming possibility for the intersection of human good and divine grace, a good that relates to persons seeking and finding a change of character and disposition." Ward, Roger Septem Sermones ad Mortuos: Jung's Challenge to Christianity "By using religious perceptions and insights Jung has managed to bring a potential harmony between modern and ancient thought; his ideas can be used by psychiatrists and mystics alike." Brabazon, Michael J Through a glass, darkly: Ethical Intuition and Cultural Relativity "At the root of the demand for a pan-cultural global ethic lays the question of origin. Are ethics created or discovered? Do men and women in response to their world forge moral and ethical demands, or are they to be apprehended, as it were, in the mind of God, received and subsequently mediated by and related to the cultural conditions of the day? " Greenfield, Trevor On Truth As Subjectivity In Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript "One of the most controversial proclamations made by Kierkegaard in the Postscript is that in order to truly become a Christian, one must first become subjective. This claim is controversial because it seems to go against the generally accepted meaning of scriptures that state simply what one must do in order to be saved." Johnson Jr, Daniel B Do Family Values Lead to Family Violence?: A consideration of the idea of family. "It is clear that Jesus was leading us away from a structure that served to enforce unjust power dynamics which subjugated one gender to another, and which, in turn, indoctrinated children to continue these social injustices. The message of Jesus is clearly a liberation from this discrimination, from this limitation, and from the injustices that arise from their enforcement..." Herbst, Matthew T Re-visioning Jesus: The Quest to Universalize Christ "While the contemporary Jesus of so-called radical theologians speaks to trans-cultural concerns such as gender and international relations and the environmental crisis, the orthodox view of Jesus speaks through legends and myths that have been historicized and teachings of eternal judgment and prophecies such as the Second Coming that have been institutionalized." Dunbar, Dirk How Shall They Believe In Him Of Whom They Have Not Heard? : An Investigation Into the Question of Salvation Outside Formal Christianity "Today, more than ever, we are aware that huge numbers of people live beyond the reach of the Christian message, even if as some predict the task of reaching all people is at least on the distant horizon." Butcher, Julian Gender In Judeo-Christian Tradition: A Critique on Christian Feminist Philosophies and a Presentation of the Loyalist View "The Bible does not teach the inequality of men and women. Each person, man or woman, stands before God as an individual created in the image of God, and at the same time as a sinner in need of salvation." Yen, Rhoda Volume 5 Number 1: January - March 2003 article name author Popular Films and the Avoidance of Cinematic Separatism: Eight Justifications for Celluloid Religion "The popular cinema is the language of the youth of today while the religion-and-film genre is becoming an ever-burgeoning academic industry. Yet, both religionists and educationalists frequently eschew this most accessible of pop culture resources for their congregations and classrooms." Kozlovic, Anton Karl The Many Millenniums "The belief in a millennial promise is controversial within Christianity. While some mainstream faiths, Catholicism and Lutheranism for example, are amillennial and have no doctrine of a literal thousand-year period as important in Christianity, many other traditions, large and small, make the millennium a central point of faith. Though only one chapter in the New Testament, Revelation 20, has specific reference to the promise of a millennium, the concept has fascinated theologians and the laity for more than 1900 years." Callbeck, Keith L Toward an Arminian Universalist Theology "Being inclined to Arminianism, I am not at all ready to abandon free will. We can and do make choices and our choices have consequences. They are not always in accord with some vast, eternal plan. Say God permits evil, if you will. But never that God creates or commits evil. I am not at all ready to accept that." Alexander, James A Comparison of St. Paul's Texts on Marriage and His Modus Operandi Argumentum: An Analytic Approach "This paper will primarily be a topical expository analysis ultimately reducing the study to a focus on the relevant Ephesians and Corinthian texts concerned with marriage. In doing this, we will be better able to bring out what can be explicitly said about Paul's position on marriage." King, Bill Popular Apologetics: Promising More Than It Should? "The majority of popular apologetic approaches appeal to some form of evidentialist theory, which says that if enough evidence is presented in favor of Christianity the unbeliever and the skeptic would be required by the dictates of rationality to accept it as true. Many well-known authors make remarkable claims concerning the veracity of human reason, empirical verification, and the supposed obvious objective truth of Christianity. Is it necessary to provide arguments and amass evidence in favor of Christian theism in order for the unbeliever to be saved? Can the Christian be considered rational even in the absence of reasons and proofs?" Colling, Kerry Aristotle's Theory of the Good Life: A Consideration of the Role of Luck in the Good Life and the Concept of Self-Sufficiency "What is the good life? Aristotle acknowledges that luck has a role to play in the good life, but to what extent does luck effect the good life? If the good life is dependent on external factors, then it would appear that it could not be considered self-sufficient. However, Aristotle argues that the good life is self-sufficient, but communally self-sufficient. It is my contention that luck's effect on the good life was much greater than Aristotle was prepared to acknowledge and that as a result of the good life being dependent on luck, the good life cannot be considered self-sufficient." Haslip, Susan Overcoming Omnipotence: The Crisis of Divine Freedom in Ockham and Descartes "Rene Descartes is often considered the father of modernity in that he begins with the self as the source of certainty rather than beginning with the certainty of the cosmos or of God. Descartes' self-foundation is considered an "epochal turning point" in the western consciousness for 'basic certainty is no longer centered on God, but on man'... This essay argues that William of Ockham's radical defense of the omnipotence and absolute freedom of God unintentionally destroys the certainty once provided by God and nature, and this collapse explains Descartes' turn to the self as the new source of certainty." Snell, R J John Philoponus, Sixth Century Alexandrian Grammarian, Christian Theologian and Scientific Philosopher "John Philoponus took seriously with the Church of Jesus Christ the Light of the Word of God not only as the source of the Gospel's proclamation to the world but also as the source for the rationality of the physics of the Cosmos. The Person of the Lord Jesus Christ shone in the Creation as the 'Light of the World', and as such provided the personal reality by which both the universe and its mankind might be realized for what they ought to be in God." McKenna, John Origen of Alexandria and apokatastasis: Some Notes on the Development of a Noble Notion "Origen held a firm conviction that not a single rational being will be lost to the darkness of ignorance and sin. Even the most recalcitrant sinner, he argued, will eventually attain salvation. The fire of punishment is not an instrument of eternal torment, but of divine instruction and correction. The word used to describe this universal salvation was apokatastasis, "restoration of all things." Moore, Edward The Metaphysical and Social Context of Meister Eckhart "In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. " Drazenovich, George The Tree and The Serpent: hieros gamos of the Self "A common archetypal representation of the Self is the tree, demonstrated most forceably in the Teutonic myth of the world tree Yggdrasil, from which emerges the ancestors of the human race. After much study of such mythological tales and the numerous paintings and mandalas of his patients Jung summarizes his conclusions thus: 'If a mandala may be described as a symbol of the self seen in cross section, then the tree would respresent a profile view of it: the self depicted as a process of growth'." Brabazon, Michael J Volume 4 Number 4: October - December 2002 article name author Is the Trinity a True Contradiction? "...There is something very deep within us that resonates intuitively with the impossibility of contradictions. But what made the notion of a true contradiction especially odious was not simply the contradiction itself, but also that classical forms of logic were explosive. It is thus not surprising that both philosophers and even theologians at their dialectical extremes, have been unwilling to affirm true contradictions." Rauser, Randal Supervised Pastoral Education: A Theologian's Assessment "There is an ethical requirement for Catholics to listen and to take into account the human experience of other traditions in articulating their own understanding of full pastoral care in light of the church's teaching." Savage, Allan A Meaning Worthy of God: Origen and Biblical Integrity in a Pre-Constantinian Age "The “inner meaning” of Scripture, then, is what the Spirit intends to communicate in the words of the Bible, and it is the job of the interpreter to seek this “spiritual” meaning. The “method” employed by Origen is the same used by philosophers “to find symbolic meaning in the texts of Homer and the other poets” - the allegorical method." Gray, Patrick Terrell The Death Of Christ: Fulfillment of the Old Testament Sacrifices "Through the scriptures and the Apostle Paul’s words, it is evident that Christianity is not a new religion, but that the Old Testament sacrifices are types pointing to the ultimate sacrifice and atonement that was accomplished through the death of Christ." Hall, Shawn M Knowledge of God and Alvin Plantinga's Reformed Epistemology "Whatever the merits of Plantinga's arguments against metaphysical naturalism, his account of warrant is compatible with a wide range of theistic and non-theistic belief systems. Plantinga mentions Judaism, Islam, some forms of Hinduism, some forms of Buddhism and some forms of American Indian religion in addition to Christianity. Adherents of these belief-systems could claim that the metaphysical/ontological presuppositions of these systems are prima facie/deontologically justified." Roche, Patrick J Love for Love: Conceptual Unity and Idiomatic Difference in the Johannine Tradition "The purpose of this essay is to discuss the theme of Johannine love as it occurs in three writers: the proto-Reformer, Gabriel Biel (1445-1495); the Cappadocian theologian, Gregory of Nyssa (335-395); and the anonymous Syrian monk known to scholarship as Pseudo-Dionysius ("The Aereopagite": d. ca. 500)." Hoffmann, R J Inerrancy and its Implications for Authority: Textual Critical Considerations in Formulating an Evangelical Doctrine of Scripture "Inerrancy’s biggest struggle, comes in the very foundation of its premise that the Bible is inerrant “only in the original manuscripts.” This premise raises several textual critical issues as well as questions of authority." Weil, Darin M From Anthropos to Albion: Gnosticism and the theology of Thomas Altizer "The shattering of the ontological divide between the holy and the quotidian is the establishment of ‘God-in-the-world’ in the very purest of senses because the transformation effected is that of spirit into flesh." Greenfield, Trevor Exodus 3:14 and the Divine Name: Textual and Historical Considerations "Characteristic of certain contemporary or 'postmodern' approaches to theology is the questioning of the traditional role played by philosophic or metaphysic presumptions regarding the nature and attributes of God. Frequently appearing within such discussion is Exodus 3:14 and the Divine name "I am that I am' (Ehye aser ehye)." Foutz, Scott David God’s Communications Design of the Bible "The Bible may be viewed as a message or communication from God to man. Can communications technology teach us anything about God’s communication? In fact, a number of intriguing parallels may be found between practical and spiritual communication." Thron, Chris Volume 4 Number 2-3: April - September 2002 article name author Why Naturalists Should Mind about Physicalism, and Vice Versa "Metaphysical naturalism, also called materialism, holds that everything can be explained in natural, material terms and that these are the only explanations necessary or possible. The belief that humans are identical with their physical bodies, that mental states just are physical brain states, is called physicalism." Williams, Peter Enfleshing a Phantom Figure: Timothy Gorringe’s Contextualised Barth "What is important about Gorringe's reading is that it suggests that failing to read a thinker such as Barth contextually not only misses what he is up to, but also too readily anaesthetises the radicality of his message." McDowell, John C Beyond the fire of Prometheus: The capacity for human speech: Empirical evidence of the Image of God "The theological concept of the Imago Dei should delineate a radical difference between human beings and all other creatures on earth. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether some aspect of the Image of God is empirically observable. Specifically, is the capacity for speech evidence of the Image of God in human beings?" Bohn, James G Ancient Desert Sojourns: Environmental Implications at the National Level "Through the physical experience of wandering in the wilderness, the Hebrews learned a spiritual lesson of faith and saw how their corporate faith affected the quality of the natural environment for the entire nation. This timeless lesson, if applied today would result in significant environmental improvement worldwide." Johnson, William Theodore Rationalism and the Historical Mind/Body Controversy "Critics of dualism appeal to those passages that equate soul with body and spirit with wind such that human beings appear to be simply natural agents. But epistemological rationalists have offered additional material for naturalists to consider. They suppose that there are philosophical considerations to warrant the belief in mind-body dualism." Guthrie, Shandon L The Pneumatological Ekklesia: A Comparative and Constructive Work in Contemporary Ecclesiology "The specific task of this paper is to address one aspect of the church: the role of the Holy Spirit. It is an attempt to present a more pneumatological ecclesiology, over against models that have centered on the establishment of the church solely around the person of Christ, especially when this is seen as an historical event." Mills, Gene Theosophy: A Historical Analysis and Refutation "These [Masters of Wisdom] are characterized as men who were perfected in former periods of evolution through special training and education and thus serve as models of human development. And they have developed many unseen, hidden powers and attained spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will eventually acquire after passing through a series of reincarnations during the present process of evolution." Skeen, James Taking Part in the Dance: Humanity, Holiness, and a Trinitarian Theology of Pray "Prayer is participation in the Trinity. In this participation is societal redemption and not merely a spiritual agenda. Prayer as participation in the God who breaks forth is also the essence of what a holy life means. It is this holy habituation in which humanity truly becomes human." Viou, Jerry Three Tactics for Encouraging Newer Faiths to Participate in Interreligious Dialoguing "What better way to show personal support for your own faith than to officially represent it to religious Others in an official public context? It is akin to representing your country at the Olympic Games, ...and sometimes it can be nearly as exciting and tension-packed." Kozlovi, Anton Karl Carl Jung and the Trinitarian Self "The development of the doctrine of the Christian Trinity is explained by many historians of religious thought as the need to retain monotheism but also to afford divine status to the Son and Paraclete. However, from a psychological perspective it is the other way round, viz. that the unconscious psychological disposition was already trinitarian, which required an ontological theological explanation." Brabazon, Michael J Volume 4 Number 1: January - March 2002 article name author Kierkegaard's Stages Toward Authentic Religious Experience And The Bodhisattva Path To Enlightenment "The effort to attain the last stage of existence is one of intense personal conflict. It requires honesty, devotion, and deep probing into one's own psyche. There is an emphasis on "becoming"; one progresses, becomes, and moves into the future." Johnson, Dan George Tyrrell: Modernist Theologian (1861 - 1909): What he said he said "Tyrrell probed into religious experience and with the aid of scientific thinking desired to express intellectual meditative understanding in a new frame of reference. " Savage, Allan Camellias and Happiness: An Integration of Science and Religion "Different belief systems understand the same event in different ways. Consider the emergence of the universe, for example. Radically different world views all acknowledge that the universe exists. Yet they share much more than this." Sharpe, Kevin Thomas Aquinas on The Metaphysical Problem of Evil "If evil is not a substance, and all that is, is good, then the only material cause for evil is a good substance. So, the material cause for evil must be, at least accidentally, a good substance." King, Bill Mira Ceti and the Star of Bethlehem "We give a complete panorama of the behavior of [the star named] Mira as arises from the last four centuries. If we assume the same behavior two millennia ago we have statistical arguments to add to our hypothesis on the identification of Mira as the Bethlehem Star." Sigismondi, Costantino De-Mything the Logos: Anaximander's Apeiron and the Possibility of a Post-Metaphysical Understanding of the Incarnation "A careful look at Anaximander's statement will show us that his was not a call for thinking, nor even a step toward thinking; rather, it was an interpretative attempt to answer the boldest and most profound question that has ever been asked..." Moore, Edward On the Possibility of an Immediate of Experience of God "Is immediate, prereflective experience of God possible? There is no question that humanity possesses a religious impulse that goes to the very heart of what it is to be human. But what is it that motivates our belief in a realm of reality beyond that available to sense perception?" Stein, Ross L The Reconciliation of Self with Society in Hegelian and Mahayana Buddhist Thought "Liberation for the individual should rather be viewed as stemming from, and perhaps within, social constraints and duties... How one finds freedom in doing one's duty, albeit in a specific context, is essentially the same process for both Hegel and Mahayana." Brooks, Thom New Testament Criticism and Jesus the Exorcist "An historical event and its metaphysical interpretation are often separate issues, but they are not unrelated. If one accepts that Jesus and his contemporaries thought that he performed successful exorcisms, one can go on to ask how best to interpret this data, metaphysically speaking; and the data itself must play a role in this process." Williams, Peter S Volume 3 Number 4: October - December 2001 article name author Valuing and the Environment "Culture proceeds from the cultivation of nature. ...The interaction between humans and nature is such that humans shape nature and, in turn, nature influences humans." Cajes, Alan S Dissolving the Inerrancy Debate: How Modern Philosophy Shaped the Evangelical View of Scripture "For some conservatives [absolute inerrancy] eventually became a test of orthodoxy; that theologians such as Martin Luther and John Calvin did not share this view reveals the force of modernity's influence. Looking beyond the current evangelical view of Scripture, a postmodern world provides room for an even stronger commitment to the Bible's authority, though one that does challenge certain evangelical assumptions." Perry, John Thomas Altizer: Christianity in Historical Perspective "The death of God has heralded nothing more than a crisis in language and communication between church and an increasingly secular society and nothing less than the literal annihilation of transcendent deity." Greenfield, Trevor Hermeneutical Issues in the Dispensational Understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant "Apparently among many contemporary dispensationalists there is agreement that 'the city of God is the common destiny of all the redeemed'. However, the question remains, if ultimately both share a common destiny, then wherein lies the 'distinguishing factor,' namely, the distinction between Israel and the Church?" Davis, John P The Concept of the Person and the Future of Virtue Theory: MacMurray and MacIntyre "Philosophically, the criteria of personal identity continue to be debated, while, for theology, any meaningful conception of a personal God must be underpinned by an adequate description of the nature of the human person. McIntosh, Esther Bishop Barnes, Science and Religion "I wish to make it quite clear that many beliefs, associated with religious faith in the past, must be abandoned. They have had to meet the direct challenge of science: and I believe it is true to say that, in every such direct battle since the Renaissance, science has been the victor." Bishop, Steve Too Many Children? The Ethics of Population Control "Scholars instead tend to concentrate on the economic and ecological implications of population control. The literature seems more focused on avoiding poverty and protecting the earth rather than concern for the lives of children that may be rejected in the name of population control." Cook, Thomas Meta-Paradigms in Theological Thought "Theology, the science of God, reflects the trend toward greater intellectual divergence, especially in the post-Barth era. ... In this respect theology presents a picture similar to that which obtains in the social sciences, including philosophy itself, which, as with all intellectual undertakings, undoubtedly also reflects its broader historical and social context." Pietersen, Herman J Volume 3 Number 3: July - September 2001 article name author Artificial Intelligence and Thomistic Angelology: a Rejoinder "For those intent on improving the human race and its evolutionary trail, it would seem today that hope is in the chips." Meng, Jude Chua Soo A Modest Proposal: A Religious Definition of Happiness "When we feel unfulfilled by earthly experiences of happiness, these glimpses of incomplete happiness are signs of a greater happiness to come. The happiness we now experience in part will be more fully known beyond this life." Owen, Craig Pastoral Theology/Practice and Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology "Pastoral theology, being a theology of the church's practice rather than a theology of the church's doctrine, is set within the context of self-reflection as an existential philosophy. Pastoral theology is unlike the theoretical theology of interpretation of the church's beliefs." Savage, Allan The Baptism of Tears: The Two Baptisms of St. Symeon the New Theologian "One of the distinctives of the contemporary Pentecostal movement has been the understanding that there are two distinct baptisms. Many do not realize that this is not original." Mills, Gene The Orthodox Christology of St Severus of Antioch "...In this time of ecumenical dialogue it seems that most of the Oriental Orthodox Christology that Eastern Orthodox learn is derived from second-hand and erroneous accounts that twist and distort what Oriental Orthodox have always believed. The teachings of St Severus, answering many of the same objections as are heard today, are an antidote to such misinformation and promote the dialogue between the Churches." Farrington, Peter Aesthetic Arguments for the Existence of God "Maybe it is due to a misplaced generalization of the scientific method, looking at the natural world rather than along it, that more people do not experience the world as a natural sign." Williams, Peter S The Enlightenment at the Margins: Giving Place to William Blake and Giambattista Vico "The religious language of fables and myths were the original language of poetry. Religion is humanity's immediate nature by its proximity to human origins. Religion, like poetry, is formed by the passions and comes before philosophical reflection." Robbins, Jeff Knowledge Falsely So-called: The Theological Case Against Scientific Realism "The Christian can be confident in a discussion on the nature and use of science, precisely because the Christian theistic worldview can provide the necessary preconditions for the intelligibility of scientific inquiry." Holcomb, Justin S Volume 3 Number 2: April - June 2001 article name author Concerning the Will: An historical and analytical essay examining Martin Luther's treatise 'The Bondage of the Will' "The belief that humanity is enslaved to sin and that it is only by sovereign election that God saves a person formed the basis for Luther's conviction of justification by grace through faith." Ristau, Ken Care For The Dying: The Church and Hospice "Scripture's affirmation of the sanctity of all life and its prohibition against doing injury or harm to ourselves or to others compels a different approach to helping people die in comfort and with control and dignity than the misguided proposals of euthanasia or assisted suicide." Otto, Randall E Spiritual Growth Through Worship "How often our assessment of acts of worship is just a critical analysis of what was said, how long it lasted, who led, whether or not the music was to our liking, debates about the building and seating arrangements." Murdoch, Jim For What It's Worth: Theatre and Church "The essence of any creative event, be it ...going to the theatre or attending a church service is communication: something must pass from the event to the audience." Magorrian, Brian G The Great I-AM of the Lord God in Covenant with His People in the New Testament "Outside of this Great I-AM, the human race remains captive in the darkness that lies outside of the Light that He is for us." McKenna, John The Theory of Evolution Revisited "The real question then is not whether or not evolution is possible but whether or not it is probable." Johnson, William L To Close a Generation Gap: Thomists and the New Natural Law Theory "To talk about principles of natural law is to talk about a set of objective ethical principles which are somehow fixed. If they are fixed, then it implies there must necessarily be an essence in man, a stable "what-ness" in man, so that it may give rise to this fixed set of ethical principles called natural law." Meng, Jude Chua Soo In What Sense a Saviour? The nature and function of Jesus in Radical Theology "While for centuries goodness and profundity were expressed in terms of height and elevation, now man thinks of profundity in terms of the depth of experience." Greenfield, Trevor Milestones In The Search For Meaning: Process Thought in Hegel to Baltazar and Beyond "[A] static worldview prevailed until well into the Scientific revolution. It is still the most widely-held general view of the world. But the world is not static. The universe has a time dimension. It moves on, in process." Kelly, Anthony B Volume 3 Number 3: January - March 2001 article name author He Shall Rule Over You "If we persist in perpetuating these distorted types of relationships which are the result of the Fall, it is a clear message that we want to avoid allowing the gospel to teach us the proper Christian relationship between men and women." Parker, Steve Neo-platonic Infinity and Aristotelian Unity: a critique of W. Norris Clarke SJ’s reconstruction of Aquinas’ metaphysical development "Perfect Being for Greeks meant limitation and finitude; for the Christians, the perfect Being is infinite. Limitation for the Christians denote imperfection; while for the Greeks, imperfection was implied by infinity." Meng, Jude Chua Soo Matthew’s Christian-Jewish Mission "Matthew wrote his Gospel in the hopes that it would inspire a new kind of Christian-Judaism for future generations, in which the Jewish tradition would serve as a foundation to the truth and teachings of Jesus." Pierce, Brooke Arguing for the Existence of God in the Age of Quantum Indeterminacy "As much as the quantum theories from the early part of this century have sparked trouble for the design argument by introducing fundamental randomness into creation, so also have the theories from the same era provided much fuel for the teleologist by introducing large-scale order and ultimately a very delicate balance between order and chaos." Cockshaw, Evan Biblical Faith and the Mindset of the Physicist "Christian assumptions should be continually re-examined in the light of new discoveries in physical science. We should not fail to learn from the Church’s wrong-headed opposition to Galileo and Copernicus." Thron, Chris Fools in Aquinas's Analysis "Compared with God, man is slow of intellect and in order to learn, must have recourse to metaphors. A person of powerful intellect gleans much from little, whereas the slow of intellect need many examples to understand." Lauand, Luiz Jean More Recovered: A Review of Recent Historical Literature on Evangelicalism in the Late Victorian Era "With a recognition of the relative legitimacy of narrative world views, evangelicalism, and other conservative movements, are no less worthy of study than liberal, progressive social movements." Stephens, Randall J Volume 2 Number 4: October - December 2000 article name author The Bible on Environmental Conservation: A 21st Century Prescription It may come as a surprise to some, but the Bible has a great deal to say about the environment and its conservation some 20 centuries since it was written. Johnson, William T Rootlessness and Simulacra: The Loss and Recovery of Cultural Foundations The key for sustaining a social order in which contact with the good is possible is by reading culture not through the self or through a collectivity, but by reading it in light of the good. ...Culture should not point to itself as an end in itself, but to God. Tatusko, Andrew M Satisfaction and Chalcedonian Christology In dealing with... heresy the Council of Chalcedon set forth a new creed in which all the Christological heresies were addressed. Peterson, Mark J Le mystère de la parole dans l'espace spirituel roumain This paper... reinforce[s] the concept of romanian christianity; that is in the sense of a christianity (doctrine and tradition) of original, special type. This originality is given by a century-old process in the specific historical conditions and proves that the romanian cultural phenomenon is marked by the synthesis of the folkloric universe with christian spirituality. Grigoras, C Impaled by the Two Horns of Logic: The Paradox of Omnipotence and Free Will The theologian, by trying to avoid both the Paradox of Omnipotence and Mackie's objection to our existing free will being the highest good, believes an inconsistent belief set... Horner, Gabriel Theodicy for a World in Process: God and the Existence of Evil in an Evolving Universe A coherent theology must be true to both the evolutionary origins of humanity as well as to humanity's ubiquitous religious experiences. Stein, Ross L Beginnings and Ends: Eucharist and Eschatology There has been a rediscovery of the importance of eschatological images for the Eucharist in the last thirty years. ...Reclaiming these images helps us to see the Eucharist as a foretaste of the messianic feast, an anticipation of the second advent of Christ, and the manifesting of the firstfruits of the Kingdom of God. Fout, Jason Three Reformed Worthies: Joseph Irons (1785-1852) , William Bengo Collyer (1782-1854) and C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) Our selected preachers are... illustrative of the increasing prosperity of non-conformist causes, which flourished despite the initial opposition of the established church. Powell, Edgar Volume 2 Number 3: July - September 2000 article name author God and The Nothingness When I first read Karl Barth's essay on 'God and Nothingness' (CD III. 3, pp. 289-368), I felt perhaps for the first time in my life that God truly loved me. I had been exposed very early in my teens to the writings of Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus and studied at Princeton University under Walter Kaufmann, a leading scholar in existential philosophy in the United States. The nothingness of the world and the nothingness of the poets of the Beat Generation and my own nothingness were very important in my experience. No one has ever easily expressed the torment that exists in one's life when we would think to articulate the existence of 'le néant' or 'das Nichtige' in the world. It is these exquisite kinds of torment most never try to explain. Who can blame them? McKenna, John E Some Remarks on Dobsonian Determinism: A Thomistic Analysis Dr. James Dobson needs no introduction. A psychologist and founder of Focus on the Family, he has done much to assist many pursue the integrity of a Christian existence. His books on gender relationship and parenting are found in almost every Christian bookstore, and his international radio broad cast "Focus on the family" is an item on more than two thousand stations worldwide. In this paper, however, I wish to make a few points on what he calls tough love, which is a recurring theme in many of his works. Meng, Jude Chua Soo What Becomes of the Colored Girl? Black Women, Autobiography and Womanist Theology In the course of this essay, I will consider the specific advantages of autobiography in extending woman-centered theological models. Therefore, will give attention to the foremothers of womanist theology: Katie Cannon (specifically Black Womanist Ethics) and Cheryl Sanders (Empowerment Ethics for a Liberated People). I am particularly interested in the question of moral agency, the unique moral agency of Black women, and how it has been memorialized in narrative form. Kerr, Audrey Justification as Healing: The Little-Known Luther The name of Martin Luther is inextricably linked with the doctrine of justification by faith. Reformed Protestantism's historic distinction between the passive or imputed righteousness of Christ given in justification, and the active or infused righteousness given in sanctification, has its genesis in Luther's thought. Prior to Luther justification had been tied to regeneration, so that the forgiveness of sins was viewed not merely as a forensic declaration of the believer's status as righteous before God, but as a process whereby the believer is actually made righteous. In this way, as Alister McGrath has pointed out, Luther introduced a theological novum into the Western church tradition 'which marks a complete break with the tradition up to this point.' Dorman, Ted M God is Love, God is Dead: Radical Theology as Wisdom Literature In this paper I intend to present an outline of a thesis that argues for the idea that Radical Theology is a modern form of Wisdom Literature and, as such, subverts the dominant view of Christianity as a prophetic tradition. Radical Theology can be seen as a constituent part of a 'Wisdom counter-culture' that has informed and reformed Christianity throughout history and is linked to Wisdom Literature through a common view that they claim authority from the human experience of the way the world is, not the way the cultic tradition requires it to be seen. This in turn makes both of them more questioning of God, than the credal cultic tradition and more likely to experience despair and the remoteness of God. Greenfield, Trevor Volume 2 Number 2: April - June 2000 article name author An Examination of Luther's Theology According to an Existentialist Interpretation Martin Luther's theology lends itself to certain key existential analyses, making it possible to view Luther in light of existential thought. Luther's theological formulations of justification by faith, the bondage of the will, God hidden and revealed, anfecthung (affliction), and the God - man dialectic invite existential interpretations. Hence, the existential turn of philosophy and theology in the first half of the twentieth century made Luther's theology apropos. From Soren Kierkegaard to Paul Tillich, Rudolf Bultmann, Lennart Pinomaa, Gerhard Ebeling, and to some extent Karl Barth, there has been an emphasis on the existential themes in Luther's theology. These existentialist interpreters of Luther have come under considerable pressure from critics. They have been accused of promulgating an anachronistic understandings of the Luther of the 16th century, whom they have understood in 20th century-existentialist categories. But almost any scholar would have to admit at some points that Luther's theology bears a remarkable similarity to the philosophy of Christian existentialism. Stephens, Randall Preterism and the Question of Heresy In a recent article in Quodlibet Online Journal, I concurred with R. C. Sproul's thesis that Jesus was a preterist. Sproul suggests in his book The Last Days According to Jesus (1998) that, while Jesus believed the parousia of which he spoke in the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in the Jewish war of 66-70 A.D., there remains another parousia yet future which is described by Paul. However, the question for partial preterists like Sproul remains: "if the eschatological scenario and parousia Jesus predicted in the Olivet discourse was fulfilled in AD 70, where did the apostles get the notion of another, yet future, coming? Are we back to the old liberal portrayal of Paul as the real founder of Christianity, and the perennial pitting of Jesus over against Paul (and the rest of the apostles)?" [1] I concluded that article by contending, "If 'the last days according to Jesus' were fulfilled in the judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70, then the Church must be reformed and always reforming according to the Word of its Lord so that its eschatology fits Jesus' teaching." Otto, Randall The Promise of Death: God's Self-Inscription of Lack In what follows, I will offer a theological response to the work of the radical orthodox theologian, Phillip Blond, from his essay entitled "Theology before Philosophy." Robbins, Jeffrey W What is a Pastor? Examining the Biblical Job Description of the "Poimenas" of Ephesians 4:11 It is well known that the title of "pastor" refers to a "shepherd" in both Greek and Hebrew. Many therefore endeavor to find the duties of a pastor by analogy to those of a literal shepherd, spiritualizing the physical duties involved, so that "feeding" may represent (for example) preaching the Word, leading sheep to new pasture represents leadership, and the overall caretaking responsibilities involve meeting people’s needs on an individual basis. The problem with this understanding is that there are no inherent controls on the analogy itself—those making the analogy may interpret any duty in any manner they choose. The usual understanding that emerges from this approach lays great emphasis on personal care for the congregation by the pastor, which may or may not be what was intended by the New Testament use of the term to describe a type of leader within the church. Schooley, Keith Volume 2 Number 1: January - March 2000 article name author Theology of Slavery: Western Theology's Role in the Development and Propogation of Slavery This is the second in a two-part series examining Western Europe's role in the development and facilitation of "racism". (For Part One, see "Ignorant Science: The Eighteenth Century's Development of a Scientific Racism", in Quodlibet vol 1, num 8, December 99.) This paper will attempt three things: [a] to provide an objective though limited account of the relation between slavery and Western theology; [b] to enforce the distinction between Scriptural theology and those contextual elements which may reside in theological formulations; and [c] to provide a case study of this distinction through a treatment and analysis of the Ham story. This subject matter covered will be limited to [a] longstanding traditions developed in the 3rd and 4th century Church which remained until changes occurring in 1965 with Vatican II, and [b] popular theology within the Antebellum (i.e., pre-Civil War) South. Foutz, Scott David Aristotle, Teilhard de Chardin, and the Explanation of the World Aristotle, some three hundred years before Christ, noted the fact that everything which existed in the world was contingent, that is, it depended on something else for its existence. From the contingent nature of everything in the world he argued that there had to be a non-contingent or self-existent entity, a God, to account for those contingent things. He also argued that God could not love man. He had analysed friendship and love and he concluded that the only true love or friendship was between beings who were similar and equally good. This ruled man out. God could only love another being, another entity, who was similar to God. Kelly, Anthony B The Nature and Origin of the Bible The Bible tells us that the Word of God is established eternally in heaven. However it is not the Christian claim that the Bible itself has existed eternally in heaven, or that the Bible will be needed once God's people leave this world and go to heaven. This contrasts with the Muslim claim about their book the Quran. Muslims believe that, although it was only finally revealed on earth through Mohammed approximately 1300 years ago, the Quran is a transcript of a tablet preserved in heaven. Taylor, Howard Volume 1 Number 8: December 1999 article name author Ignorant Science: The Eighteenth Century's Development of a Scientific Racism Western Europe's eighteenth century, the self-proclaimed age of Enlightenment, was an era in which men of learning or means advanced to new depths questions of society, religion, science and humanity. These men were the "philosophes", Lovers of Wisdom, whose writings characterize the era and hold the status of classics in contemporary libraries. This paper will examine in particluar the philosophes' treatment of what would become a nebulous topic which perhaps has impacted later history to a greater degree than any other from that era. Eighteenth century European science and philosophy regarding non-European/non-white peoples put procceses in motion which to this day remain influential and which directly contributed to the death or oppression of tens of millions of non-whites through slavery or conquest. Foutz, Scott David The Church in Scotland 1840-1940: An Overview The dates which mark the boundaries of this study have been chosen to make it roughly contemporaneous with the life of George Adam Smith [1] (1856-1942). Part of the significance of Smith's life is that he ministered in three denominations: the Free Church of Scotland (from 1882-1900), the United Free Church of Scotland (1900-1929) and the Church of Scotland (1929-1935 [2]). The changes that occurred during the century from 1840-1940 were momentous, and this paper will attempt to mark the significance of these changes on the Scottish ecclesiastical scene. Campbell, Iain The Great I-AM of God in Biblical Covenant Relationship with His People in the Old Testament World The consensus of modern scholars with reference to the interpretation of the significance of the Self-Naming God of the Old Testament can be indicated by quoting Professor Bernard Andersen's comment on Exodus 3:13-15 in the New Oxford Annotated Bible (Oxford, 1991). There he writes, "The Name does not indicate God's eternal being but God's action and presence in historical affairs" McKenna, John E Volume 1 Number 7: November 1999 article name author The Christian Sacred: Absence, Ambiguity and Paradox The sacred is what is, what is real, what is most real by virtue of it being the sacred. The sacred is the path and goal of all religious traditions which teach the wisdom of living in contact with the sacred while realized that the sacred can be a dangerous experience because it is like fire: it can give warmth and light, but it can also burn and destroy if approached without regard for its power and difference from the profane. Altany, Alan Universal Mysticism and the Christian Theistic Paradigm Regardless of the historical era or geographical location, mystical experiences have fascinated men and caused them to ponder their existence and universe. Not only did such experiences claim some kind of knowledge of the Divine or Absolute, but they also implied by their very existence that such experiences are available to humanity. Entire philosophical schools and religious sects grew up around the possibility of attaining some kind of insight or experience of Highest Reality. And those who claimed to have had an original mystical experience hitherto unknown soon found themselves with disciples searching for the same experience. Foutz, Scott David What Does God Want? One of the most contentious questions, and one of the most important ones, concerns the issue of what God seeks from us, and how we should be related to him. Does He seek those who will adhere to a sort of a religious structure, keeping a set of customs that have been deemed, rightly or not, in some manner holy? Or, does He seek those who have a heart that is His: They long to know God, even as they imperfectly put that into practice in daily life? What sort of relationship with God is a "normal" one, and is it the same as the "usual" one? Is the typical, "Christian" lifestyle and practice in fact the kind that God seeks? Or is there something else, something more? Baden, Larry Volume 1 Number 6: September-October 1999 article name author Jesus the Preterist: a review of R. C. Sproul's The Last Days According to Jesus In this atmosphere of increasing anxiety, potential violence and death, it is imperative that people calmly consider the specificity of biblical statements concerning the parousia, particularly the unequivocal imminency of that event in the minds of the NT writers. There is no question that Jesus and the apostles believed the parousia would occur within their own lifetimes. The supposition that this did not occur has caused among some a crisis of confidence in the authority of Scripture and the claims of Christ, as well it should. It is one of the great ironies in the rise of fundamentalism and subsequent evangelicalism that its distinctive emphases concerning the inerrancy of Scripture, grammatico-historical interpretation or biblical literalism, and the future second coming of Christ should in fact be so capable of being pitted against one another. Otto, Randall On Determinate Meaning in Texts: A comparison of the hermeneutic theories of Kevin Vanhoozer and Stephen Fowl This paper will attempt a brief interaction between the views outlined in Kevin Vanhoozer 's "Is There a Meaning in This Text?" (Zondervan Publishing House, 1988) and Stephen Fowl's "Engaging Scripture" (Blackwell Publishing, 1998). Conclusions will be drawn regarding their degrees of compatibility and whether or not one can coherently hold to both hermeneutics simultaneously. Foutz, Scott David Science and Religion at a Crossroads: An Educational Perspective This article's thesis is that religion and science are ultimately about the same thing, that they affect one another, and that people in the two fields therefore need to communicate. The authors begin by discussing the importance of ethical transformations to a life of love and character, arguing that the development of a technological society does not free us from ethical demands. They then move to advocating dialogue about the shared truths of science and religion. Wanting both, and positing that the former is a foundation for the latter, the authors state that Einstein's famous logian cannot be ignored: "The situation may be expressed by an image: Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" Johnson, William L Volume 1 Number 5: August 1999 article name author The Oxford Movement and the 19th-Century Episcopal Church: Anglo-Catholic Ecclesiology and the American Experience Few movements in church history have received as much attention--the accolades, the condemnation, or, indeed, the critical study--as the development in early and middle 19th-century English history of what is know variously as "Tractarianism," "the Oxford Movement" or "Puseyism." Crockett, Larry Forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew Because little has been written on Matthew's understanding of this concept, this paper will endeavor to examine the major passages in which the motif occurs, and offer a proposition based upon the exegesis of these passages. Lamerson, Samuel On the Christian Year and the Use of the Lectionary Observation of the Christian year and the use of a corresponding lectionary are two aspects of liturgy which many Protestant denominations have removed from their worship order. Their removal occurred during or immediately following the reformation, when many sought to distance themselves as far as possible from the Roman Church. But where some opted for complete removal, others sought reformation. This latter effort included the work of John Calvin, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, all of whom proposed their own versions of the lectionary and interpretations of the Christian calendar. Foutz, Scott David Volume 1 Number 4: July 1999 article name author Thomas Hobbes' Physical Philosophy and its Implications toward the Religious Language of Scripture This essay will examine Thomas Hobbes' (1588-1679) physical philosophy and epistemology with special attention given to their impact on biblical interpretation and authority. A central aim of this essay is an evaluation of Hobbes' central philosophical principles and their implications toward the communication of religious content. Foutz, Scott David Anselm's Proslogion: One, Simple Proof? Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God is, in one sense, quite simple; God is that-than-which-no-greater-can-be-thought, and he must, therefore, exist, for otherwise he would not be that-tha