In recent political theology of the Evangelical right, there has been a growing conversation about the sin of empathy, the toxicity of empathy, and the general weakness of empathy as a human capacity. This paper will not be a line by line rebuttal of recent arguments – partly because there is not sufficient space and … Read more
There has been a good deal of helpful conversation over the past decade about the relationship between spiritual formation/sanctification and the nature or psychology of virtue development in Aristotle, Aquinas, and Positive Psychology. This has been a very needed conversation, for it has helped provide an anthropological/psychological model for a developed and rigorous approach to … Read more
Authorship: Don Love is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Liberty University & Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and is the Founder and CEO of Pray Through It Ministries. In addition to collegiate teaching, Don and his prayer counseling team work to develop prayer communities and teams that “remind the World to Listen & Pray Expectantly, … Read more
“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress” (1 Tim 4:15). Writing to his ministry partner and son in the faith, Paul envisions that Timothy’s ongoing pastoral development will occur within the context of practiced ministry leadership while remaining under his mentorship—as well as ongoing discipleship to Jesus Christ. … Read more
Full Title: “‘All Human Ḥesed Is as the Flowers of the Field’: The Marriage Metaphor and the Rhetoric of Secure (Re)attachment in Isaiah 40–55.” This paper examines the rhetoric of Isaiah 40–55 through the metaphor of marriage reconciliation, healing, and attachment. The relationship of YHWH and Zion is figured as a marriage in well-known texts … Read more
Hebrews is a theologically rich book which contains deep doctrinal truths and pointed moral exhortations that encourage believers to stay faithful to Christ. It has received considerable attention from scholars who study the saving work of Christ, the relationship between the old and new covenants, and the doctrine of perseverance. Scholars have also turned to … Read more
The paper will examine the Puritan understanding of Christian contentment and way anything else is a wickedness against God. Attention will be given to the practical arguments for contentment and the steps to achieving it from Burroughs and Watson. The Puritans produced a body of literature to rival any in church history. Much of what … Read more
This paper seeks to further advance the growing discussions on Christian Spiritual Formation (essentially) as “transformation of the human will” (Dallas Willard, 2008) by a substantial retrieval of the (neo-)Chalcedonian Dyothelite Christology of the greatest seventh-century theologian, Maximus the Confessor. Maximus’ simultaneously philosophical-biblical-theological argument in defense of the Chalcedonian orthodoxy on the “one person, two … Read more
Works of mercy (i.e., compassionate ministry) are an essential component of discipleship development if one takes seriously the example of Jesus in training His disciples. But in the contemporary church, it is a “missing link” for a reason: it isn’t as efficient or as comfortable as the mere sermon or Bible study. Still, if training … Read more
This paper explores the contribution that the book of Hebrews makes concerning the place of the Christian community as a resource for suffering Christians. It argues that the community of faith in Hebrews is the context in which struggling Christians are encouraged and supported to remain faithful, and where threats to perseverance are resisted. Bryan … Read more