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By What Law: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Romans 8:1–4, Jason A. Myers

The Asbury Journal

Traditional interpretation of Rom 8:1-4 has failed to adequately understand Rom 8:1-4. This paper proposes a unifying reading of "law" and supports an unfolding theme within Romans, that of obedience. The rhetorical features of amplification present in 8:1-4 highlight the need for a consistent use of the term νομος. This allows a proper understanding of δικαιωμα in v. 4 that refers to the realm of moral behavior as described in the law and shows how Paul sees the Spirit guiding his communities to fulfill the "just requirement" of Mosaic law.

The Shema As Total Meaning Of Reality: Tradition, Freedom, And Verification In The Pedagogy Of Deuteronomy, Paavo Tucker

The Asbury Journal

This paper will analyze the pedagogy of Deuteronomy in conversation with the educational theory of the Catholic scholar Luigi Giussani. Giussani argues that tradition – as the total meaning of reality, which from a Christian perspective is rooted in the living presence of Christ- should be taught by a process of verification that guides the student, through the exercise of freedom and inquiry, into personal conviction that the tradition coherently accounts for reality. Reading the pedagogy of Deuteronomy through the lens of Giussani’s theory of education will highlight ways in which the instruction of Moses in Deuteronomy initiates the next …

Bringing Evidence To The “Anti-Magic” View: A Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation Of Acts 19:11-20, Joy Vaughan

The Asbury Journal

In Acts 19:11-20 two main events are set beside one another. The first event tells of the miracles performed by God through the hands of Paul. The second event is the story of the failed exorcism attempt by the sons of Sceva. This article argues that Luke’s purpose in the juxtaposition of the two events is to clarify for the audience the difference between magic and miracle. Key evidence for this interpretation is found in the intertextual relationship between Luke’s terminology and ancient magical literature. Additionally, the rhetorical feature of synkrisis (encomium/invective) further supports the thesis. Luke does not just …

From The Archives: H.C. Morrison- A Man Of Mission?

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Books Received

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Theologia: Quaker Youth Ministry And Theopraxis In A Multicultural Context, Joel Mayward, Roger Nam, Leah Payne, Steve Sherwood, Hannah Souter, Trisha Welstad

Quaker Religious Thought

"I am convinced by my own life and by wide observation of children that mystical experience is much more common than is usually supposed. Children are not so absorbed as we are with things and with problems. They are not so completely organized for dealing with the outside world as we older persons are. They do not live by cut-and-dried theories. They have more room for surprise and wonder. They are more sensitive to intimations, flashes, openings. The invisible impinges on their souls and they feel its reality as something quite natural.” —Rufus M. Jones,

“Finding the Trail of Life”1 …

Review Of C. Wess Daniels, Resisting Empire: The Book Of Revelation (Barclay Press, 2019), Mark Condo

Quaker Religious Thought

If you’re a student, teacher, or leader in your faith community and take the discipline of biblical studies and hermeneutics seriously, Wess Daniels’ commentary, Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation, is a must-read. Knowing how to responsibly answer earnest questions about apocalyptic New Testament literature can be a daunting task, particularly when it comes to the Revelation of John of Patmos. Questions such as, “What is the book of Revelation actually about?” or, “What relevance does Revelation have for today?” need to be handled in an informed manner and not merely dismissed. However, knowing where to begin can itself be …

Contributors - Quaker Religious Thought, No. 138, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Gospel Impact And Stewardship Tool (Gist): Visual Mapping To Discover Gospel Imperatives For Strategic Ministry Decisions, Martin Edward Lee

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Lee, Martin Edward “Gospel Impact and Stewardship Tool: Visual Mapping to Discover Gospel Imperatives for Strategic Ministry Decisions.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2021. 260 pp.

This research project and the resulting Gospel Impact and Stewardship Tool (“GIST”) addresses congregational stewardship deficits from a systems perspective, with a shared-stewardship imperative for all leaders and members of a congregation, instead of focusing stewardship on the individual. The GIST Ministry Map provides a visual picture of how individual ministries are interconnected. This project illustrates how a learning environment, and the GIST visual ministry mapping process, help improve strategic decision-making …

Equipping Lay Elders With The Spiritual Care Skills Of Active Listening, Sharing Scripture, Offering Prayer, And Providing Follow Up At St. Paul Lutheran Church In Wood River, Il, David Martin Arthur Schultz

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Schultz, David, MA. “Equipping lay elders with the spiritual care skills of active listening, sharing scripture, offering prayer, and providing follow up at St. Paul Lutheran Church Wood River, IL.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 122 pp.

Spiritual care is vitally important for all people. Unfortunately, too often those who are commissioned to provide spiritual care lack the necessary skills to help others. This MAP explores how a lay elder seminar might equip the lay elders of a congregation with the spiritual care skills of active listening, sharing scripture, offering prayer, and providing follow up. This …

Theological Practices For Sustaining Community Renewal At Speedway Church Of Christ, Kent A. Ellett

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project assembled a group of potential small-group facilitators for the purpose of drafting a small-group discussion guide to be used at the Speedway (Indiana) Church of Christ. The guide was intended to aid the discernment of missional practices which sustain the renewal of the wider community. Focusing on the Gospel of John, the intervention attempted to recover a temple Christology, construing the incarnation, ministry, death, and the lifting up of Jesus within the larger story of the temple’s ongoing re-creation of the world. In bestowing his glory upon the church, Jesus sends the church into all the world, as …

Park And Armisteads' "Nevertheless She Leads: Postcolonial Women's Leadership For The Church" (Book Review), Roderick T. Leupp

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

The Contemporary Situation Of Elderly People In Ethiopia And The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, Tsigewengel B. Uddo

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Uddo Tsigewengel B. “The Contemporary Situation of Elderly People in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus.” MA Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 100pp.

The Church is God’s agent to serve God’s people in the church and society at large. The scope of the Church’s ministry comprises all ages: young, adult, and elderly. Culturally, in Ethiopia, children and close family members are responsible for caring for the elderly, therefore, the church has not given satisfactory attention to holistic elderly care. Moreover, current societal change and globalization have negatively affected the indigenous family-support system for the elderly. As a result, many …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 56 No 2 - November 2021), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

From the Editor: Karin Maag - 229 / Articles: Wholehearted Commitment to Sound Pastoral Theology and Care: What Martin Bucer and John Calvin Can Teach Today’s Pastors by Stéphan van der Watt - 231 / A Variety of Voices: Reformed Theologians on the Theory of Evolution by Gijsbert van den Brink and Harry Cook - 265 /  Short Studies: The English-language Reception of K. H. Miskotte by Collin Cornell - 293 / The Scandal of Sheer Grace: When Mercy Offends by James K. A. Smith - 309 / Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Look Back after Thirty Years …

Reviews, Robert D. Mcbain

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Reviews Wonsuk Ma and Kathaleen Reid-Martinez. Human Sexuality & the Holy Spirit: Spirit-Empowered Perspectives.

Robert D. McBain ................................................................................................333

Robert D. McBain. Depression, Where is Your Sting?

Cletus L. Hull, III .................................................................................................335

John R. Levison. The Holy Spirit Before Christianity.

William Lyons ......................................................................................................337

Andrew Ray Williams. Washed in the Spirit: Toward a Pentecostal Theology of Water Baptism.

Christopher J. King ..............................................................................................341

Makoto Fujimura. Art and Faith: A Theology of Making.

Martin Mittelstadt ................................................................................................343

Hannah R. K. Mather. Spirit, Scripture, and Interpretation in the Renewal Tradition.

Rick Wadholm, Jr. ................................................................................................345

Frank D. Macchia. The Spirit-Baptized Church: A Dogmatic Inquiry …

Spiritual Struggle And Spiritual Growth Of Bereft College Students In A Christian Evangelical University, Melinda G. Rhodes, Andrea C. Walker Ph.D.

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article examines spiritual struggle in bereft Christian evangelical students and how struggle might potentiate spiritual growth. The death loss of a close person can result in shattered assumptions about the world that trigger spiritual questions and struggle (Chen, 1997; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2006; Pargament et al., 1998), and spiritual struggle can be a catalyst for growth (Lord & Gramling, 2014; Magyar-Russell et al., 2014; Pargament et al., 1998; Pargament et al., 2011). To our knowledge, spiritual growth has not been measured utilizing the actual voices of those struggling with the loss, nor has it been measured in Christian evangelical …

The Holy Spirit The Ultimate Counselor And Transformer For Healing And Wholeness: A Nepalese Perspective, Karuna Sharma

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Nepal is a country with cultural and religious diversity. This country has gone through much turmoil and many crises. Since the time of the Maoist insurgency up to the recent pandemic situation, people have faced various emotions, feelings, and thoughts. These sudden devastating moments have not only affected their physical wellbeing, but has in turn affected the whole being of a person. These experiences of accusation, suffering, violence, and pain have led many to sadness, worry, anger, and fear resulting in various mental disorders. Therefore, the ministry of counseling is very important in order to help people get connected to …

Breaking Depression’S Silence Within The Church Through Friendships, Robert D. Mcbain

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article explores the silent nature of depression in the local church and suggests that developing Jesus-style friendships can break the silence. It adapts the author’s Doctor of Ministry (DMin) research project, which explored the silent nature of depression in the local church and Christianity’s interpretive healing qualities. This article argues that the church has a rich history of helping sufferers interpret their experiences of depression, but changing worldviews, the growth of the modern medical model, and the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals monopolized health and shoved the church to the periphery of the conversation. Silence became the church’s typical response, which …

Counseling In The Already, Not Yet: Reflections On The Work Of The Christian Counselor Through An Eschatological Lens, Haley Rae French

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this article reflects on the work of the Christian counselor through an eschatological lens, specifically exploring the notion of what it means to counsel in the “already, not yet.” The counseling process is presented as a place in which the dialectics of this eschatological tension are present and outworked. Pain and suffering are encountered and explored as the counselor stands in solidarity with the sufferer, and yet the Christian counselor also anticipates hope and the power of change in the present, particularly as ushered in by the eschatological Spirit of God. To this end, …

How Jesus Communicates #Metoo: A Perspective On Intergenerational Trauma And Healing In The Atonement, Pamela F. Engelbert

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article offers a practical theological praxis of how the church may participate in Christ’s atoning ministry of healing towards persons who have experienced sexual violence. Drawing from the theory of intergenerational trauma, it uses the mentioning of “the wife of Uriah” in Matthew’s genealogy to convey how Jesus identifies with survivors of sexual violence. The article then focuses on the hypostatic union to establish how Jesus provides ontological healing in the atonement for said survivors. It concludes by demonstrating how Matthew’s Gospel calls radical disciples to a healing praxis of listening to stories of the disenfranchised, thereby pointing towards …

Expanding God's Redemptive Fractal: Spirit-Centered Counseling And The Transformative Wisdom Of Jesus, Bill Buker

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Using the image of a fractal, a Spirit-centered approach to counseling is proposed that conceptualizes the Spirit’s activity as seeking to replicate the patterns of God’s redemptive story throughout creation by facilitating deep second-order change. Involving an epistemological shift from ways of knowing shaped by the conventional wisdom of culture to a renewed mind grounded in the transformative wisdom of Jesus, this deep change is explored from the perspectives of science and Scripture. Integrating findings from systems theory with the ministry and message of Jesus, this approach to counseling emphasizes relational premises and values believed to be characteristic of the …

The Spirit, Change, And Healing: Toward A Spirit-Centered Model Of Healing, Edward E. Decker Jr., Bill Buker, Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Spirit-centered counseling is an approach to counseling that makes full use of Spirit-centered spirituality as well as techniques and interventions used within Spirit-centered faith groups. An emphasis is always on the importance of being aware of, and experiencing, the Spirit and utilizing this awareness within the counseling endeavor. Three orienting assumptions are delineated to provide direction for the specific practices and methods of Spirit-centered counseling that prepare the way for Spirit-directed changes. Of special importance are the pneumatological imagination, Holy Spirit empowerment, and the development of a trialogical encounter, within which the counselor and the person seeking counseling experience the …

Editorial: A Special Issue And A New Venture!, Andrea C. Walker Ph.D., Edward E. Decker Jr., Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Special editorial by Dr. Andrea C. Walker and Dr. Edward E. Decker, Jr. introducing the special issue dedicated to the subject of "Counseling and the Spirit."

Front Matter: Spiritus 6.2 (Fall 2021), [email protected]

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Counseling And The Spirit: Spiritus 6.2 (Fall 2021), [email protected]

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A special issue of Spiritus dedicated to exploring the role of the Holy Spirit in the Counseling profession. Guest editors, Dr. Andrea C. Walker and Dr. Edward Decker, collected essays on the subject of the Spirit and counseling in anticipation of the launch of the new ORU Counseling Journal.

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 63, No. 4

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 63, No. 4.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear: Exploring The Effectiveness Of A Person-Centered Disability Awareness Seminar In A Congregational Setting, Joshua H. Jones

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

People with disabilities and their families frequently experience barriers toward inclusion and belonging in multiple spheres of life. These barriers are also present in Christian congregations. However, many congregations express a godly desire to love people with disabilities and their families without these obstacles.

The Old and New Testaments provide examples of how God’s people sought to love people with disabilities in their midst creatively and intentionally in response to God’s gracious actions, invitation, and command. Recent research in disability studies routinely highlight the necessity of being attentive to the uniqueness of each person with disabilities and his or her …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 63, No. 3

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 63, No. 3.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

Palestinian Evangelical Christian Music In Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine, Abby Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Often the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is portrayed as Jewish vs. Muslim, Hebrew vs. Arab. There is little room in the international dialogue for minorities such as Arab Christians. Though Palestinians have a rich culture of Arabic musical and poetic heritage, they are unable to produce their own new songs. In this study I interviewed three members of Immanuel Evangelical Church on their experiences and opinions on local Christian worship. The findings show that Palestinian Christians may feel unable to write worship music because of a prevalent feeling of inadequacy and a lack of musical training. I propose several …