Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Pedagogical Refinement Of Covid-19, Ekaterina Lomperis

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

In the history of Christian thought, suffering has frequently been conceptualized as a process of “refinement.” Suffering “refined” believers and religious communities by (painfully) stripping away the unnecessary, as well as by revealing and perfecting the core dimensions of religious practice.

Evangelicals And Roman Catholic Spirituality, Daniel L. Brunner

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

After almost twenty-five years of teaching at an evangelical seminary in the Pacific Northwest I am seeing an emerging interest in and hunger for Catholic spirituality and mysticism among many of our students, both at the master’s and doctor of ministry levels. It is exciting to see spirituality as a conduit for Roman Catholic – Evangelical ecumenism and dialogue.

Reimagining The Imago Dei, Roger Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Here’s an extremely simple exercise:

1. Go to any CCCU school website.

2. Type the word “diversity” into the search window.

You will undoubtedly get scores of different options and activities designed to reflect an institution’s commitment to racially inclusive diversity. A deeper dive into the institution’s social media accounts will reveal a more extensive portrayal of a commitment to diversity. This can be as simple as posting a meaningful quote from Howard Thurman on Twitter or sharing a lovely picture of Korean fried chicken on Instagram. But why do institutions do this?

Introduction To The State Of New Testament Studies, Nijay K. Gupta, Scot Mcknight

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "I (Nijay) first encountered the book The Face of New Testament Studies, this book's predecessor, when I was in graduate school. I went to seminary primarily because I wanted to learn how to study the Bible in depth for personal and ministry formation. I had not studied the Bible in an academic setting prior to that. The "world" of biblical studies for this neophyte seminary student was intriguing but mystifying-so many technical terms, multiple differing perspectives, views, and ideas proposed and presented, and all of this was in flux as scholarship moved forward decade after decade. Thankfully, The Face …

“I Don’T Want To Hear Your Language!” White Social Imagination And The Demography Of Roman Corinth, Ekaputra Tupamahu

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This article aims to deconstruct the hidden pervasive whiteness in biblical scholarship and to propose another way to reimagine the linguistic dynamic of Roman Corinth from an Asian American perspective. It highlights the legal and historical interconnectedness of whiteness and the dominance of English. English is a critical marker of whiteness in the United States. In this context, immigrants are expected to conform to and assimilate themselves with whiteness by performing English. This particular racialized context has influenced and resulted in a scholarly historical reconstruction of immigrants in Roman Corinth as “Greek speaking im/migrants.” Immigrants can come from many different …

Luther’S Mysticism, Pietism, And Contemplative Spirituality, Daniel L. Brunner

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

To ask, “Why church?” certainly stirs multilayered theological, missional, ecclesial, and pastoral reflection. The question also has spiritual ramifications. To explore some of them, we will trace a thread of the Lutheran spiritual tradition from Martin Luther’s own “faith mysticism” through particular aspects of German pietism. That overview will provide a foundation for engaging the contemporary contemplative movement, in order to discern how its concepts and practices might provide insight for the practice of spirituality. Our conviction is that deepening the interior journey through a living, active faith leads not to withdrawal but to an awareness—even a vulnerability—that welcomes a …

The Art Of Balancing: Teaching A Mixed-Level Seminary Classroom, Ekaterina Lomperis

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Disparate, mixed-level classrooms are composed of students of acutely diverse levels of academic preparedness, background, and knowledge of the subject matter. I was confronted with the challenge of managing such classrooms when I first began teaching at a denominational seminary. I continue to regularly engage such classrooms while teaching seminary students at my current institution.

The Synoptic Problem (Introduction And Chapter One Of A Beginner's Guide To New Testament Studies: Understanding Key Debates), Nijay K. Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "When I first entered theological education as a seminary student, I found myself completely lost in the world of biblical scholarship. Not only were there so many technical terms I couldn’t define and histories of interpretation with which I was not acquainted, but it seemed like there were two, or three, or ten views on various debated issues, and I had trouble keeping them straight. Oh, how I wished I had a map that could help me find my way through the maze of scholarship, or a guide to clue me into this view and that view!"

Israelite And Judean Society And Economy, Roger Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This article examines the economic worlds that correspond to the timeline of the histori­cal books of the Hebrew Bible from the conquest to the return from exile. During this pe­riod, Israel and Judah transformed from small subsistence-based tribal economies to more centralized organization, at least partially due to external military threats. Both the north­ern kingdom and eventually the southern kingdom fell to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires respectively, and the forced migrations instigated socially dis-embedded economies in the exile and repatriation. Even though these ancient economic modalities are largely assumed and unstated, critical analysis of the historical books requires a …