Digital Commons Network^™

Toward A Supernatural Biblical Hermeneutic, Alberto I. Bonilla-Giovanetti

The Asbury Journal

Many people who live and learn in the west, including Christian laity and scholars, inadvertently accept a materialistic cosmology in which the material world is all that exists, with the exception of God. This perspective is contrary to how the majority of ancient and modern people view the world. This essay seeks to analyze how this materialistic worldview is seen in biblical studies, and then proposes that biblical scholars should presuppose a supernatural worldview as a key aspect of their hermeneutics.

An Evangelical Theology Of Religions, Timothy C. Tennent

The Asbury Journal

This is a reprint of chapter seven of Dr. Tennent’s book Invitation to World Missions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications 2010) published with permission from Kregel Publications and Dr. Tennent. It provides an evangelical response to the issue of a theology of world religions, especially as a critique and corrective of the classical paradigm of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism as initially developed by Alan Race and later refined by Paul Knitter. Tennent argues that the paradigm itself is problematic and needs to be nuanced to include a broader theological framework beyond issues of soteriology as well as a recognition of …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 63, No. 1

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 63, No. 1.

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.

“The Plain, Old Faith”: Theological Foundations For A Scientifically Informed Constructive Doctrine Of Original Sin In The Wesleyan Tradition, Logan Patriquin

The Asbury Journal

How should Wesleyans integrate modern understandings of science with theological commitments to the idea of original sin? After offering some historical context for Wesley’s engagement with the doctrine of original sin, this article aims to put contemporary socio- scientific discussions. The authority of scripture is engaged in light of Wesley’s “analogy of faith” and James K. A. Smith’s “Narrative-Arc” theological method. Insights of evolutionary psychology and sociobiology are then combined with Wesley’s understanding of universal human sinfulness and regenerating grace. The article explores Wesley’s holistic theological anthropology and contemporary emergence theory in their respective attempts to understand sin’s nefarious substance …

From The Editor, Robert Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

In/Voluntary Surrogacy In Genesis, David J. Zucker

The Asbury Journal

This article re-examines the issue of surrogacy in Genesis. It proposes some different factors, and questions some previous conclusions raised by other scholars, and especially examining feminist scholars approaches to the issue in the cases of Hagar/Abraham (and Sarah), and Bilhah-Zilpah/Jacob (and Rachel, Leah). The author examines these cases in the light of scriptural evidence and the original Hebrew to seek to understand the nature of the relationship of these complex characters. How much say did the surrogates have with regard to the relationship? What was their status within the situation of the text, and how should we reflect on …

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of The Major Religions In Japan And Korea During The Colonial Period, Greg S. Whyte

The Asbury Journal

To understand why the Christian gospel has success amid one culture, while seeming to fail in similar, neighboring cultures, one must look to additional factors than those often cited by missionary sources. Some of these factors would include the socio -political and religious context of each of those cultures in question, in addition to the prior encounters with Christianity and the reactions to the gospel by the receiving cultures. To illustrate this need, this paper analyzes the contexts of Japan and Korea during the period of Japanese expansion and wartime (1894 – 1945), and looks specifically at what was happening …

Women Church Planters In The Early Work Of The Church Of God In Christ: The Case Of The Singing Twins, Reatha And Leatha Morris, Robert A. Danielson

The Asbury Journal

While church planting is often seen as a recent topic, it has been in existence as long as the church itself. One interesting historical example of church planting is revealed in the methods practiced by the women of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the largest African-American Pentecostal denomination in the United States. In the early days of the denomination, Mother Lizzie Robinson was put in charge of the ministry done by women. While she did not approve of women preaching and leading churches, she did approve and commission women evangelists who would “dig out” churches and then turn …

Book Reviews And Books Received

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

From The Archives: The Poetry Of Sterling M. Means- The Pentecostal Publishing Company Collection

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

From The Editor, Robert Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Drunk In The Spirit: Eschatology, Soteriology, And Ecclesiology, Matt Ayars

The Asbury Journal

There are a number of New Testament passages that associate the concepts of the new age of the Spirit, believer unity, covenant membership, and indwelling of the Holy Spirit with the symbols of the temple, Christ’s body, the Eucharist, table fellowship, and drinking wine. This article explores these associations and their theological implications with particular attention lent to the metaphor of drinking the Holy Spirit and its implications for soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatology.

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

John Wesley On The Book Of Revelation, Külli Tõniste

The Asbury Journal

This article focuses on how John Wesley interpreted the Book of Revelation, especially within his Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, published in late 1755. In particular, the central concern here is the interpretation of the middle of the book, especially chapter 12 of Revelation. Wesley does not approach the task of interpreting the Apocalypse lightly. He states that while the beginning and end of the book of Revelation are rather evident, he had for years been “utterly despairing” of understanding its intermediate parts. As a result, he relied heavily on the works of the German Lutheran Pietist theologian and …

Going Deeper: Cognitive Anthropology’S Contributions To Moving Beyond Cultural Competency In Mental Health Practices, Michael Bennett

The Asbury Journal

Modern mental health counseling aims to highlight a number of values, including multiculturalism and social justice. Such values are very important when dealing with counseling in many areas, but in this article, they are applied to counseling in the area of “trauma.” Cognitive anthropology provides a set of tools for understanding a client’s expectations and constructs of meaning, which are rooted in their lived experiences and cultural worldview. This paper will also introduce two areas of application where a cognitive anthropological approach can be applied to multicultural counseling in the areas of communication and treatment, which can help further improve …

Lincoln Among The Methodists, Samuel J. Rogal

The Asbury Journal

While not a professed member of any religious denomination, the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and the Methodist Episcopal Church of his time is important, both in terms of their views on the abolition of slavery and the political rise of the number of Methodists in the United States. This article charts the course of that relationship from before Lincoln’s Presidency, his election campaign against Peter Cartwright ... this was when the rise of Methodism was to have serious implications politically because of thebrapid size, growth, and moral views of the church.

A Model Of Mission By And For The Marginalized: Cezms Missions To The Deaf, Thomas Hampton

The Asbury Journal

This paper shares the untold stories of three missions to the deaf and mute in India and Sri Lanka. Prior to Indian independence, three of the first schools in the country focused in the deaf were founded by the women of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society (CEZMS). Their locations were Palamcottah, in Tirunelveli, India, Mylapore, in Chennai, India, and Kaitadi, near Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Each of these schools has adapted over time and continues to serve deaf students today with local leadership. there is a wider interest in the factors which allowed missionary institutions to transition to local …

Listening To Other Voices: Moving Beyond Traditional Mission Histories- A Case Study From El Salvador, Robert A. Danielson, Kelly J. Godoy De Danielson

The Asbury Journal

For the most part, mission history has focused on the work and effort of missionaries and not as much on the missionized, those people and communities they assisted. this is a flaw in the field which needs to be corrected, but how do we accomplish this? This article proposes a two-step process. First, by closely reading the traditional histories and the primary documents, we can emphasize and highlight the roles and voices of the missionized. Second, by using oral history interviews we can capture essential thoughts and attitudes of missionized people and communities about their mission experience. This dual approach …

Book Reviews

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Exegetical Assistance To Enhance Sermon Preparation By Fulltime Church Of God Pastors In Buenos Aires, VeróNica Elizabeth Aguilar

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The African Church In The 21st Century Global Mission: A Case Study Of The Eecmy Global Mission Venture And Economic Mindset, Wondimu M. Game

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Jesus Christ inaugurated and commissioned his church to be a missionary until the end of the world. Thus, the church is missionary by her very nature. The modern mission paradigm was from the West to the rest. But, in this 21^st century, the mission has shifted from the global North to the global South; this massive shift has anchored the global South as the heartland of Christianity and the force of mission. This mission shift also demands the paradigm shift of both global north and south. Although the African church has played a pivotal role in the church history, …

“I Said, You Are Gods”: Pastoral Motives Manifest In Patristic Citations Of Psalm 82:6, Charles Schulz

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The early church fathers frequently cited Ps. 82:6 (LXX 81:6), “I said, You are gods and all sons of the Most High,” a passage Jesus himself quoted (John 10:34) to defend his own title as the Son of God. Scholars agree that the patristic use of verse underwrote the developing doctrine of deification, which promised that Christians would become “gods” in some sense by bearing God’s image and likeness and participating in Christ and his saving work. In order to deepen and focus our understanding of the significance and role of this passage for patristic theology—and particularly for pastoral practice—this …

George Dallas Smith Papers, 1895-1921, George Dallas Smith

Center for Restoration Studies Archives, Manuscripts and Personal Papers Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Reviews, Spiritus Journal

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Reviews

Charles Stanley’S Pentecostal Roots, Vinson Synan

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

(editor's note: This article was published posthumosly in honor of Dr. Vinson Synan's passing in March 2020 from a paper delivered at Society for Pentecostal Studies in 2019. This issue is dedicated to Dr. Synan)

Charles Stanley, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, is probably best known for his television program In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley. Yet few know about Stanley’s early formation in Pentecostal circles. This article examines Stanley’s early formation in these circles and the role these Pentecostal roots have played in his ministry as a Southern Baptist minister.

Bulgarian Pentecostal Leadership In The Crucible Of Change, John Paul Thompson

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Bulgarian Pentecostal leaders have navigated the waters of turbulent cultural change over the last thirty years in the wake of the fall of Communism in Bulgaria. From May to July 2020, eighteen Bulgarian Pentecostal leaders were interviewed to explore their leadership characteristics and how their leadership behavior and values changed over time amid a rapidly evolving society. Three generational groups of present-day Pentecostal leaders were identified, and their characteristics described. The study concludes with the leadership development needs of young emerging leaders given the continuously changing cultural environment.

Spirit-Empowered Leadership: Exploring Three Dimensions, Jay Gary

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

How should colleges and universities within the Spirit-empowered Movement develop Spirit-empowered leadership among their students, staff, or faculty? To spur on thinking by those who frame university learning outcomes, this case study from Oral Roberts University defines Spirit-empowered leadership in terms of three dimensions: personal development, interpersonal influence, and generational emergence. It concludes with a call to create the frameworks of leadership needed for the future of the church and society, in light of A.D. 2033, the 2,000th anniversary of Pentecost.

The Prophetic Servant: The Ideology Of Spirit-Empowered Leaders, Wonsuk Ma

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

The study examines two groups of Spirit-empowered leaders, David in his final words, and the Servant figures, to develop the ideal of the Spirit-empowered leader as understood by the Old Testament. One of the findings is the “prophetic” feature emerging as the most significant characteristic of the ideal leader.

Toward Spirit-Empowered Leadership Distinctives: A Literature Review, Daniel D. Isgrigg

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This essay is a literature review that seeks to chart the landscape of leadership from a distinctively Spirit-empowered perspective. The topic of Spirit-empowered leadership distinctives is still in its infancy as few in the Spirit-empowered Movement have reflected deeply on the distinctive characteristics or competencies reflective of Pentecostal-Charismatic spirituality. This essay reviews the existing academic works related to definitions of Spirit-empowered leadership as a way of beginning the conversation among scholars.