For two millennia Christian tradition has maintained a consistent voice opposing suicide. Though theological divergence between Roman Catholics and Protestants is essentially soteriological—e.g., mortal sin as unpardonable—theologians agreed that a human being was morally responsible and gravely wrong in killing him or herself. For a variety of philosophical reasons contemporary discussion on suicide has shifted … Read more
The study of the Hebrew Bible, a cornerstone of religious and literary scholarship, demands constant reevaluation in light of linguistic advances. This presentation aims to bridge the gap between the evolving fields of linguistics, specifically pragmatics and generative linguistics, and Biblical Hebrew studies. Recent decades have unveiled the nuanced role of complementizers, such as the … Read more
“What gain is to man?” constitutes the programmatic question in the book of Ecclesiastes. In his relentless quest for meaning and purpose, Qohelet repeatedly wrestles with the lasting value of everything—from pleasure to toil to love. Yet in his search for “gain,” he often refers to “reward,” especially in the context of the enjoyment passages: … Read more
In the twentieth century, conservative Protestantism got a new start in California as hundreds of thousands of Americans from Oklahoma, Texas, and surrounding states settled there beginning in the 1930s and 1940s. Darren Dochuk’s From Bible Belt to Sunbelt has well demonstrated the significant role that Southern California played in the advancement of evangelical Christianity … Read more
This paper is concerned with showing the biblical, pedagogical principles Jonathan Edwards was instructed in and utilized in advancing theology through sermons in light of his perception of his audience’s biblical literacy, as evidenced by the format and delivery of his sermons that changed due to the transition in the audience of his sermons (from … Read more
Baptists are committed to local church autonomy, which flourishes in contexts free of governmental oversight or state-church structures. America was founded on such religious liberty, and Baptists in America have historically fought to preserve it. Yet, what happens when one person’s religious liberty infringes on another’s civil liberties? George W. Truett specifically warned against the … Read more
How does the angelology of Jonathan Edwards relate to his Reformed forebears? For many contemporary theologians and church historians, Edwards is an aberration from the Reformed tradition. Others counter that he was no aberration, but rather was simply trying to take what the Reformed were doing and articulate that vision in a new context. The … Read more