Digital Commons Network^™

The Stromata Vol. 53, No. 1, Calvin Theological Seminary

Stromata (1956-2020)

Inside This Issue

5- Here I Am by Scott De Young

7- A Brief Breviary of Sin by Dylan O’Brien Pahman

15- The Prohibition of Sorcery in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Law by Daniel J. Vos

43- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in a ‘Sea of Gospels’: An Apologetic for the Four Canonical Gospels by Mark VanderWerf

57- John Calvin and the Authority of the Fathers: An Interaction with A. N. S. Lane’s Ancillary View by Joshua C. Smith

77- The Hardening of the Heart in the Conquest Narrative: Reconsidering the Identity of הצרעה in Joshua 24:12 by Samyung …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 2 - November 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: "A Benefit No Mind Can Fully Comprehend": Bavinck's Doctrine of Justification by Dane C. Ortlund - 249 / I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All People: A Pastoral Reading of Joel 2:28-30 from Latin America by Norberto Saracco - 268 / Reading the Bible and Reading Life: Everyday Life Approaches to Wisdom Literature from Latin America by Leopoldo Cervantes-Ortiz - 278 / The Book of Revelation: A Latin American Interpretation by Juan Stam - 289 / The Redemptive-Historical Dynamics of the Salvation of "All Israel" (Rom. 11:26a) by P. H. R. (Rob) van Houwelingen - 301 / …

Chimes: October 21, 2011, Calvin College

Chimes

Volleyball sweeps Midwest Invitational by Josh Yonker

Spend summer stateside by Grace Ruiter

Fair evinces student research by Hayley Cox

Registeration mandated by Amanda Elliot

Ancient paint discovered by Allison Schepers

Televised debates popular by Nathan Slauer

Rough week for Michigan sports by Maxwell Harden

Chimes: October 14, 2011, Calvin College

Chimes

Youth Lagoon plays a synth set by Michelle Ratering

Occupy Together descends upon Grand Rapids by Libby Stille

Steve Jobs had eye for greatness by Jon Hielkema

Three women awarded Nobel Peace Prize by Josh Delacy

Bjork's latest album innovative, interactive by Samatha Wade

Women's golf qualifies for tourney by Mark Zylstra

The Banner - V. 146, No. 10 - (October 2011), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

6 - Editorial: So What Do You Say? by Bob De Moor / 7 - Catch Your Breath: The Mud Derby by John Lee / 8 - IMHO: Slavery in My City by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema / 8 - Letters to the Editor / 10 - News: Intentional diversity in the CRC / 19 - Frequently Asked Questions / 20 - Trick or Treat? by Robert Evan VandePolder / 22 - 20 Years of Freeing Families from Poverty by Kristen deRoo VanderBerg / 27 - The View from Here: ‘Whatever You Did . . .’ by Joel Boot / 30 …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 1 - April 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: A Break with Anti-Judaic Exegesis: John Calvin and the Unity of the Testaments by G. Sujin Pak - 7 / Metaphysics and Justification in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Reformed Theology by John V. Fesko - 29 / A Brief History of Heaven in the Writings of Jonathan Edwards by Robert Caldwell - 48 / The Glory of Spiders and Politics by John Bolt - 72 / Experience, Expression, Understanding: Gerardus van der Leeuw's Phenomenological Method by Richard J. Plantinga - 81 / The Seven Days of Creation by James W. Skillen - 111 / Lost Keys: The Absolution in …

Worship And Mission After Christendom, Alan Kreider, Eleanor Kreider

Symposium on Worship Archive

As Christendom wanes, worship and mission can be integrated anew. Worship glorifies God and forms the worshippers to participate in the missio Dei. This session examines worship practices that embody God’s mission, forming intriguing Christians and hospitably receiving inquirers whom the Christians attract.

Program Book, Calvin Institute Of Christian Worship

Symposium on Worship Archive

Program and Worship Book for the 2011 Calvin Symposium on Worship

As Good As It Gets: A Review And Consideration Of "Healing Prayer", Its Theological And Ministry Implications, And The Hope For Change It Evokes., Henry Kranenburg

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

If healing is possible, and Christian prayer is a means to achieve it, how do Christians 'make it happen'? The answer to this question has had renewed and increasing interest for Christians in Reformed circles (Chapter I). While different healing 'ministries' have claimed to unlock (some aspect) of healing, there has been limited assessment of these ministries in both their methodologies and their claims. This paper reviews four of these ministries, first looking at aspects of their teaching and methodology (Chapter 2). It then reflects on these from a behavioural-psychological perspective by asking a number of questions (Chapter 3) before …

Kees Van Til Als Nederlandse-Amerikaanse, Neo-Calvinistisch-Presbyteriaan Apologeticus: An Analysis Of Cornelius Van Til's Presupposition Of Reformed Dogmatics With Special Reference To Herman Bavinck's Gereformeerde Dogmatiek., Laurence R. O'Donnell Iii

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that Cornelius Van Til’s (1895–1987) presupposition of Reformed dogmatics is largely a presupposition of Herman Bavinck’s (1854–1921) Gereformeerde Dogmatiek. The argument proceeds in three steps. First, by situating Van Til’s life and work in the neo-Calvinist intellectual milieu within which he operated throughout his career, the prevailing Copernican interpretation of Van Til’s thought is challenged on the grounds of historical abstraction. Second, his formal, material, and polemical appropriations of Bavinck’s Dogmatiek are analyzed in order to show not only that Van Til appropriates Bavinck’s thought pervasively, but also that his apologetics cannot …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 45 No 2 - November 2010), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: From Zurich or From Wittenberg? An Examination of Calvin's Early Eucharistic Thought by Richard A. Muller - 243 / The Exegetical Context of Calvin's Loci on the Christian Life by David S. Sytsma - 256 / Charles Finney and John Nevin on Selfhood and Sin: Reformed Anthropologies in Nineteenth-Century Religion by Derek R. Nelson - 280 / Preaching the Old Testament from a Christian Pulpit by S. D. (Fanie) Snyman - 304 / Reading Paul's kai outos pas Israel sothesetai (Rom. 11:26a) in the Context of Romans by Dongsu Kim - 317 / Facing Cancer: The Spiritual Dangers …

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: October 2010, Mariano Avila, Lyle D. Bierma, John Bolt, John W. Cooper

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Reflections on Belhar Confession
3 - Confession of Belhar
5 - Making Shalom: The Belhar Confession by Mariano Avila
6 - Adopting the Belhar: Confession or Testimony? by Lyle D. Bierma
8 - Necessary Testimony—Flawed Confession? by John Bolt
10 - Context and Confusion: What Does the Belhar Confess? by John Cooper
12 - The Belhar Speaks Today by Ronald J. Feenstra

Departments
14 - Formation for Ministry

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: April 2010, John W. Cooper, Scott Hoezee, Calvin Van Reken, Ronald J. Nydam

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Reflections on Death and Dying
3 - What Happens When We Die? by John W. Cooper
5 - “As in Adam …” by Scott Hoezee
7 - A Hard Waiting for the Lord by Calvin Van Reken
9 - The Fear of Facing Death by Ron Nydam
11 - Growing Through Grief An interview with Robert C. DeVries and Susan J. Zonnebelt-Smeenge

Departments
14 - Formation for Ministry
15 - News

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 45 No 1 - April 2010), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Editorial - 7 / Articles: Herman Bavinck, "Foreword" to the First Edition (Volume I) of the Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, translated by John Bolt - 9 / The Bavinck Recipe for Theological Cake by John Bolt - 11 / Herman Bavinck and Geerhardus Vos by George Harinck - 18 / Herman Bavinck and Benjamin B. Warfield on Apologetics and the Autopistia of Scripture by Henk van den Belt - 32 / Bavinck's Philosophy of Revelation by Gordon Graham - 44 / Bavinck's Organic Motif: Questions Seeking Answers by James Eglinton - 51 / Herman Bavinck and Karl Barth on Christian …

"You Alone Are God" A Canonical Reading Of Psalm 86., Elizabeth Kao Holmlund

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

Canonical readings of the biblical psalms have become increasingly popular of late and represent a positive trend away from fragmentation of the Psalter into its "original" and component parts and towards greater recognition of the value of the Psalter's final form and its theology. However, the methods and parameters of a canonical approach to the psalms require further definition. An exegetical methodology incorporating a wide variety of methodological tools alongside a canonical approach was thus proposed and subsequently tested on Psalm 86. The unique features of Psalm 86—its attribution to David (in a book of the Psalter with no other …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 44 No 2 - November 2009), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: A Tale of Two Wills? Calvin and Amyraut on Ezekiel 18:23 by Richard A. Muller - 211 / Calvin's Understanding of Adam's Relationship to His Posterity: Recent Assertions of the Reformer's "Federalism" Evaluated by Aaron Denlinger - 226 / "It Varies from Canton to Canton": Zurich, Basel, and the Swiss Reformation by Amy Nelson Burnett - 251 / Destined to Disobey? Isaiah 6:10 in John 12:37-41 by Donald E. Hartley - 263 / The Missional Approach: Reconsidering Elenctics (Part 2) by Cornelis J. Haak - 288 / "Greatest Strategic Significance": The Story of the CRC's Selection of China …

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: April 2009, John W. Cooper, Ronald J. Nydam, John Rottman, Mary Hulst

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Reflections on Prayer
3 - Can Prayer Really Change Things? by John W. Cooper
5 - God Hears the Prayers of Many by Ron Nydam
6 - A School of Love and Prayer by John Rottman
8 - “Amen!” by Mary Hulst
10 - Praying Around the World Roundtable Discussion

Departments
14 - Making Connections
15 - Continuing Education

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 44 No 1 - April 2009), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Editor’s Notes - 7 / Articles / Religion in Biblical and Reformed Perspective by Paul J. Visser - 9 / The Missional Approach: Reconsidering Elenctics (Part 1) by Cornelis J. Haak - 37 / The Evangelistic Trialogue: Gospel Communication with the Holy Spirit by Brian A. De Vries - 49 / The Gospel in Word and Deed: Johan Herman Bavinck's Missiology and Its Application for Today by Pieter C. Tuit - 74 / Missiology: Some Reflections from Asian Contexts by Hidalgo B. Garcia - 94 / A Reformed Missional Perspective on Secularism and Pluralism in Africa: Their Impact on African …

Grace To You And Peace: An Analysis Of The Pauline Letter Openings., João Paulo Thomaz De Aquino

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

This thesis argues that the Pauline letter opening has an anticipatory function alongside its relational role. This anticipatory function is a development of the epistolary features found in the ancient Greek letter openings. After the introductory chapter, is provided an analysis of form and function of ancient (III BCE to III CE) Greek letter prescripts. Chapters 3 and 4 provide a formal and functional analysis of the Pauline letter prescripts. The conclusion is that the anticipatory function works in two ways in the Pauline letters. First, Paul encapsulates his theology in the expression ‘grace to you and peace’ and uses …

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: January 2009, Duane Kelderman, David Rylaarsdam, John D. Witvliet

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Reflections on Renewing Teaching and Learning
3 - The Circle of Ministry by Duane Kelderman
5 - Formation for Ministry Isn’t Just for Seminarians by David Rylaarsdam
7 - Exciting Changes at CTS — Roundtable Discussion
10 - The Self-Reflective Teacher in Christian Ministry by John D. Witvliet
13 - The New Master of Divinity Curriculum

Departments
14 - Making Connections
15 - Continuing Education

"The Limitless Horizons Of Prolixity": The Contemporary Relevance Of Kierkegaard's Critique Of Biblical Exegetical Method And Practice, Bruce P. Baugus

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate that Soren Kierkegaard's critique of biblical exegetical methods and practices, and corresponding proposal, offers an interesting and relevant contribution to the current debate on biblical exegetical methods and practices taking place within the contemporary theological turn in biblical interpretation. The contemporary theological turn in biblical interpretation is represented in this dissertation by Timothy H. Polk, an important interpreter of Kierkegaard's exegetical method within the post-liberal tradition, and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, a leading contributor to the theological turn in contemporary biblical exegesis. Despite significant advances in understanding Kierkegaard as an explicitly Christian thinker there remains a …

Old Testament Contributions To Ecclesiology: Engaging And Extending The Insights Of John Howard Yoder, John C. Nugent

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

Conspicuously absent from ecclesiological literature is a volume dedicated exclusively to assessing the Old Testament‘s relevance to ecclesiology. With only a few exceptions, scant use is made of the Old Testament in ecclesiological primers and that use tends to be highly selective and often decontextualized. This dissertation argues that indepth engagement of the Old Testament furnishes a helpful context for ecclesiological reflection and that John Howard Yoder‘s canonical-directional approach to Scripture exemplifies such engagement. Though Yoder did not dedicate a treatise exclusively to the Old Testament‘s ecclesiological relevance, his numerous scattered essays on this topic evince a rich and coherent …

What The Korean Presbyterian Church Can Learn From Contemporary Debates About Infant Communion Among Reformed Christians In North America., Hwa Rang Moon

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

Can children participate in the Lord’s Supper? This practice was prohibited at the fourth Lateran Council; however, at the end of the 20th century, among Reformed churches in North America and some Europe Churches, debated the validity of infant communion or children’s communion. Is, then, infant communion or children’s communion biblical? What was the practice of the early New Testament church? Can infants or children have faith and enough cognitive ability to discern the body of Christ? Many biblical scholars, systematic theologians, church historians and local church pastors participate in this debate. Both the Christian Reformed Church and Reformed Church …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 43 No 2 - November 2008), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: Discerning the Voices in the Psalms: A Discussion of Two Problems in Psalmic Interpretation (Part 1) by Carl J. Bosma - 183 / Holy God, Holy People, Holy Worship by Arie C. Leder - 213 / Christians in This World: Pilgrims or Settlers? by Calvin P. Van Reken - 234 / Adam, Moses, and Jesus: A Reading of Romans 5:12–14 by Peter J. Leithart - 257 / Caring for God’s Household: A Leadership Paradigm Among New Testament Christians and Its Relevance for Church and Mission Today by David J. Feddes - 274 / Short Studies: The Heavenly …

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: October 2008, Mary S. Hulst, Wilbert M. Van Dyk, Lyle D. Bierma

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Reflections on Baptism
3 - Remembering Baptism by Mary S. Hulst
6 - Grace Abounding: A Conversation on Baptism
10 - The Baptism of Babies: What Does the Bible Say? by Wilbert M. Van Dyk
12 - Infant Baptism in Our Reformed Confessions by Lyle D. Bierma
14 - Interview with David Gifford: Challenges of Baptism in a Missionary Setting

Departments
15 - Continuing Education

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: April 2008, Lyle D. Bierma, Henry De Moor, Kathy Smith

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Reflections on Being a Confessional Church
3 - Why Be a Confessional Church? by Lyle D. Bierma
5 - Theology That Sings: A Discussion on the Confessions Today
9 - With Integrity of Heart and Spirit by Henry De Moor
11 - Is It Time for a New Confession? by Kathy Smith

Departments
13 - Formation for Ministry
15 - News

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 43 No 1 - April 2008), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Foreword: CTS's Fourth Bible and Ministry Conference (June 7-9, 2007) by Arie C. Leder - 7 / Conference Presentations: Lies, Lies, I Tell You! The Deceptions of Genesis by Michael J. Williams - 9 / The God of the Flood Story and Natural Disasters by Terence E. Fretheim - 21 / Reading the Bible with the Church by Russell R. Reno - 35 / Creation in Genesis 1:1-2:3 and the Ancient Near East: Order out of Disorder after Chaoskampf by John H. Walton - 48 / Detecting Plot Lines: The Key to Preaching the Genesis Narratives by Sidney …

A Helper Of Thy Faith And Joy: Elnathan Parr As A Pastoral Teacher Of Predestination In Early Stuart England., David H. Kranendonk

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

This thesis demonstrates that Elnathan Parr‟s (1577-1622) treatment of divine predestination in his homiletical commentary on Romans and in his catechism entitled Grounds of Divinity evidences a pastoral approach in which the scholastic precision characteristic of the era does not lead to speculative aridity but serves positive spiritual purposes. Parr was neither afraid of nor obsessed by this part of the “whole counsel of God.” While his popular teaching incorporated detailed theological argumentation, including an extended examination of the supralapsarian-infralapsarian issue, his concern was to apply this doctrine through multiple types of “uses” to his spiritually diverse readership with the …

Christ's Atonement: The Hope Of Creation, Mary L. Vanden Berg

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

The rich history of research in atonement theology has focused its energy primarily on explanations of how the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ leads to the forgiveness of human sin and the restoration of a right relationship between God and humanity. While the biblical text does describe the work of Jesus Christ in those terms, it also makes clear that God's people look forward with hope to the restoration of all creation. Lacking in atonement scholarship is a clear explanation of how the work of Jesus Christ might be connected to and bring about this restoration, described in …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 42 No 2 - November 2007), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: Preliminary Observations on an Incarnational Model of Scripture: Its Viability and Usefulness by Peter Enns - 219 / On Baking Pumpkin Pie: Kevin Vanhoozer and Yves Congar on Tradition by Hans Boersma - 237 / The Origin of the Form of Subscription in the Dutch Reformed Tradition by Donald Sinnema - 256 / Abraham Kuyper and the Reformed Natural Law and Two Kingdoms Traditions by David VanDrunen - 283 / The Great Reunion: The Meaning and Significance of the "Word of the Lord" in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 by P. H. R. van Houwelingen - 308 / Peter Martyr …