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The curse of the bronze sky and the curse of the iron ground in Deuteronomy 28:23 are widely considered to be the strongest freestanding parallels between EST (Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaties) and Deuteronomy 28. Indeed, this parallel was so striking that in 1961, three years after EST was first published, the well-known Assyriologist Rykle Borger concluded … Read more
Around 394 or 395, Augustine and Paulinus of Nola engaged in a correspondence in which they appealed to Augustine’s former student Licentius, calling on him to commit himself fully to the Christian faith. This “Licentius Correspondence” (Letters 26, 27, 31, and 32) provides a window into the nature of the liminal space between Christianity and … Read more
The church uses the doctrine of the Trinity for many things that we might call internal to the church: catechesis, systematics, worship, spiritual formation, and hermeneutics. But the doctrine also has a function toward those outside the Christian faith, especially in apologetics. This paper is a high-level survey of the aspects of trinitarian doctrine that … Read more
In the first-century Greco-Roman world, perfume played a diverse role in social life, encompassing hygiene, cosmetics, medicine, and religious rituals. The significance of smell was revitalized in the 1980s as anthropologists, including Anthony Synnott, shed light on its often unnoticed yet crucial societal functions. Studies in socio-anthropology emphasize smell as a socially constructed phenomenon laden … Read more
Hymns play a significant role in Christian worship, serving as a medium through which congregations express their faith and engage with theological concepts. This research seeks to delve into the theological depth embedded within hymn lyrics and its impact on congregational faith expression. By examining the intersection of scripture, doctrinal truths, and personal experiences in … Read more
While the predominant understanding of classical incomprehensibility requires Trinitarian persons who are absolutely non-personalist (see, for example, in Stephen Holmes), this paper will argue for a classical incomprehensibility that allows for a paradox: persons who are non-personalist, in one sense, and personalist, in another. This understanding of “paradoxical incomprehensibility” is theologically preferable to “absolute incomprehensibility” … Read more
The Evangelical revival of the eighteenth-century had a variety of soteriological emphases but initially had one point in common: Salvation occurs by a work of the Spirit. The Reformed wing of the movement was firmly planted in the Augustinian perspective through its Calvinistic participants. The Arminian wing began in the Semi-Augustinian position as a reflection … Read more
In the introduction to his magisterial commentary on John’s letters, Robert Yarbrough devotes two paragraphs to what these letters contribute to our understanding of pastoral ministry. I have not found any similar attention to examining what we see of John as a pastor in his letters in other commentaries. However, John invites us to see … Read more
This paper draws from the ethical insights of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in order to present a restructured evangelical ethic of responsibility, especially but not exclusively for Filipino evangelical Christians Such restructuring is important in light of the ethic of responsibility promoted by the “War on Drugs” led by former Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, which a … Read more
This paper aims to show the development of African Christology out of particular lived-realities of African Christians. These lived-realities necessitated, according to Victor Ezigbo, a re-imagining of the person and works of Christ specifically for African people. The fundamental Christological questions go all the way back to John Taylor’s widely quoted inquiry which reads: “But … Read more