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Annotated Bibliography: A Bible Study Reference Bookshelf, Jeannie Ferriss

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

"They Are Not Gods!" Jewish And Christian Idol Polemic And Greco-Roman Use Of Cult Statues, Nijay K. Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "One set of trademark convictions of early Judaism and Christianity includes their aniconic tradition, monotheistic commitment, and polemic against idols. In the late second or early third century c .e ., for example, Christian apologist Minucius Felix mocked pagan idol worship with these words: “When does the god come into being? The image is cast, hammered, or sculpted; it is not yet a god. It is soldered, put together, and erected; it is still not a god. It is adorned, consecrated, prayed to—and now, finally, it is a god once man has willed it so and dedicated it” (see …

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper, November 20, 2013, George Fox University Archives

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of George Fox University.

R3al Hope: Living With The End In Mind, Richard J. Callahan

Doctor of Ministry

Jesus offers Abundant Life yet so many Christians settle for less. Why? There are myriad theories as to what constitutes Abundant Life (AL). As the evidence of history and Scripture are integrated, AL is consistently experienced in three realities: relationship, responsibility and restoration (RE3). Relationship + Responsibility + Restoration = Abundant Life or R3AL. R3AL Life existed in Creation, was made accessible to Fallen Eikons1 through Jesus and will be central to New Creation. While many Christians are aware of why they were created and the transformational power of Jesus, R3AL life eludes them. They have a flawed eschatology that …

Reference Librarianship And The Bible: Are Researchers Following God's Methods To Understand God's Book?, Brian W. Holda

The Christian Librarian

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), Association of Christian Librarians (ACL), and other librarian associations strongly encourage the need to consult expert resources in reference transactions, and consistently rank scholarly publications as the most authoritative. This article applies and examines these reference principles in the context of biblical studies’ librarianship practices, and in light of the Bible’s own teachings. It concludes by encouraging Christian librarians to investigate the contents of recommended Bible resources, and challenges them to assess librarianship methodology using Scripture as a starting point.

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper, April 24, 2013, George Fox University Archives

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of George Fox University.

God And The Gaps, Ross W. Mccullough

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "Most often the story is told like this: There is some feature of the world that science is at a loss to explain. Christians rush to claim that this feature can only be explained by God. Science later produces probable non-theistic hypotheses, and the Christians must beat a hasty retreat. In the early nineteenth century, the feature was the complexity of life, the scientific explanation Darwinian evolution."

Ordinary Community: Missional Communities As A Helpful Ecclesial Response To The Problem Of Postmodernism And Consumerism For The American Evangelical Church, Christopher W. Marshall

Doctor of Ministry

There is a storm approaching the shores of the American evangelical church that is two-fold. First, there is a macro shift in cultural worldview from modernity, which was embedded in the tenets of the Enlightenment project to a new era called postmodernity. Postmodernity is characterized as a harsh reaction against the utopian ideals of the modern world. What is the appropriate ecclesial response of the American evangelical church to the postmodern world? Secondly, the dominant cultural challenge to Christianity in America is the organizing of life around the attachments of a consumer lifestyle. Consumerism dominates American life however it is …

Book Review: The Surprising Election And Confirmation Of King David, Roger S. Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "In this revised Th.D. dissertation (Harvard Divinity School, 2006), Randall Short challenges the interpretation of the History of David's Rise (1 Sam. 16-2 Sam. 5; hereafter = HDR) as political apology in the style of the "Hittite Apology of Hattusili." Instead, Short argues that both the wider literary context and individual elements support HDR as a testimony to the surprising and wondrous character of YHWH in the unlikely selection of David as his chosen one."

The Perfect Priest: An Examination Of Leviticus 21:17-23, Jared Wilson

Seminary Masters Theses

Leviticus 21:17-23 is a text that discriminates against priests who have one of the twelve blemishes listed, approaching the text with the intent to redeem the text for modern application. An exploration in the role of priests in the ancient Near East will show how the priests were human representations of the deity and many cultures and religions had physical restrictions for the priests similar to Lev 21:17-23. Examining the language of Lev 21:17-23 will show that the restrictions were not merely symbolic but intended to stop blemished priests from approaching the altar. However, they were not statements about the …

Power Relations In The Samaria Ostraca, Roger S. Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Whereas recent studies have correctly identified a clan-based social structure presumed in the place names of the Samaria Ostraca, an analysis of the power relations within these structures has not been sufficiently developed. Approaching the evidence from a consumption perspective of the commodities for yn yšn (‘aged wine’) and šmn r¬½ (‘washed oil’) suggests that the economic significance of these items is tied to complex social interactions. Specifically, both archaeological and ethnographic studies associate such prestige commodities with elite feasting and ceremonial displays. By gifting these items, the central power engaged in a form of ‘competitive feasting’ to secure political …

Book Review: The Yehud Stamp Impressions: A Corpus Of Inscribed Impressions From The Persian And Hellenistic Periods In Judah, Roger S. Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "In the world of archaeology, excavators often parade their discoveries of grand architectural structures in hopes of attracting favorable publicity, volunteers, and, ultimately funding to support continued fieldwork. But what happens when, alongside these dramatic discoveries, excavation produces more mundane findings such as impressions on jars, often containing merely three letters: Hebrew yod, he, and dalet? In The Yehud Stamp Impressions: A Corpus of lnscribed Impressions from the Persian and Hellenistic Periods in Judah, Oded Lipschits and David s. Vanderhooft attempt to highlight the seemingly mundane as an opportune window to the social world of …

Exhortation To Persevere And Grow In Holiness, Love, And Integrity (1 Thess 4:1-12) (Chapter In 1 & 2 Thessalonians), Nijay K. Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "In the first three chapters of 1 Thessalonians, Paul's primary concern involved extending compassion and comfort to a suffering and troubled church. There is a gracious, warm, generous tone. He reminds them of how special they are, and how attentive God is to their plight. He reminds them of how God has worked among them in power in the past, he is at work in the present, and he will act again on their behalf through Messiah Jesus at his return. He confesses to them his longing to have close fellowship with them-they are loved and missed.

But Paul's …

The Community That Raymond Brown Left Behind: Reflections On The Johannine Dialectical Situation, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Among the paradigm-making contributions in Johannine studies over the last half century, one of the most significant is the sketching of “the community of the Beloved Disciple” by Raymond E. Brown (Brown 1979). Extending beyond Johannine studies, Brown’s work on the history of early Christianity and “the churches the apostles left behind” (Brown 1984) is also among the most practical and interesting of his 47 books.1 Here, Brown’s analyses of the unity and diversity of early Christians’ approaches to leadership and community organization2 have extensive implications, not only to historical and sociological understandings of the first-century Christian movement, but also …

Ugarit, Melissa Ramos

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

In 1928 a Syrian peasant farmer stumbled by chance onto a funerary vault of ancient provenance about half a mile from the Mediterranean coastline of Syria and about six miles north of the modern-day city of Latakia. This unforeseen discovery led to an archaeological excavation ofTell Ras Shamra (Cape Fennel) by the eminent French excavator Claude Schaeffer. What Schaeffer's team unearthed was not merely an ancient tomb, but a city complete with palaces, private homes, temples, and streets paved with stone.

Philip: A Connective Figure In Polyvalent Perspective (Chapter In Character Studies In The Fourth Gospel), Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

While Philip plays no special role in the Synoptics, he plays more of a central role in the Fourth Gospel. Aside from references to Peter and the Beloved Disciple, Philip is mentioned in John more often (a dozen times) than any of the other followers of Jesus - either male or female. Interestingly, he plays a connective role in the narrative, and in several ways. At the outset of the Gospel, during the calling narrative, Philip plays the role of an intermediary, connecting Nathanael with Jesus (John 1:43-48). At the beginning of the feeding narrative, Philip is asked by Jesus …

Incidents Dispersed In The Synoptics And Cohering In John: Dodd, Brown, And Johannine Historicity (Chapter Ten Of Engaging With C. H. Dodd On The Gospel Of John: Sixty Years Of Tradition And Interpretation), Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "Between C. H. Dodd’s two landmark magna opera on John, addressing the religious background behind and the historical tradition within the Fourth Gospel (1953; 1963), Raymond Brown published several essays in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, later appearing in his New Testament Essays.1 In doing so, Brown picks up where the appendix to Dodd’s first major work left off – the central subject that Dodd expanded in his second volume. Both Dodd and Brown challenged inferences that similarities between John and the Synoptics suggest John’s literary dependence upon one or more of the Synoptics, inferring instead John’s essential autonomy as …

Matthew 25:1-13 Exegetical Perspective, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "The Gospel of Matthew presents a lucid and compelling portrait of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah for third-generation Christians. Having shown Jesus to be descended from David and Abraham (1:1), and fulfilling all righteousness (3:15), Matthew addresses followers of Jesus with such issues as the way of the kingdom (5:2- 16), the order of the church (18: 15-20), and the Great Commission (28:18-20). Along with John, Matthew was the great teaching Gospel of the early church, and it continues to be a favorite for discerning Christian living in every generation."

Matthew 25:31-46 Exegetical Perspective, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "The parable of the Sheep and the Goats is one of the most moving, yet most vexing among the teachings of Jesus. Found only in Matthew, this parable concludes its final collection of Jesus' sayings in ways striking and disturbing. Over and against earlier emphases about being prepared for the unannounced coming of Christ, here the Son of Man sits as the heavenly judge of the gathered nations, along with his angels, dividing humanity between the sheep and the goats. The sheep, at his honoring right hand, will receive a heavenly welcome; the goats, at his dishonoring left, will …

The Fate And Power Of Heroic Bones And The Politics Of Bone Transfer In Ancient Israel And Greece, Brian R. Doak

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Ezekiel’S Topography Of The (Un-)Heroic Dead In Ezekiel 32:17–32, Brian R. Doak

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

This essay is an attempt to address several interpretive problems in Ezek 32:17–32 in light of religious ideas prominent in ancient Mediterranean expressions of hero cult. Previous studies have not adequately dealt with the richness of Ezekiel’s striking and unusual imagery in this passage, and I contend that a reading that more fully develops the meaning of Ezekiel’s presentation vis-à-vis the history of religious ideas regarding the power of the heroic dead is the most appropriate one in terms of Ezekiel’s overarching message in this chapter. I argue that Ezekiel’s invocation of ancient Israelite heroic traditions involving the Gibborim and …

Wahlde's "The Gospel And Letters Of John" - Book Review, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

This revised dissertation (Catholic Theology Faculty, Tübingen) was written in conscious dialogue with the Vatican II documents on Jewish and Christian relations. Still, the volume has value for all scholars seeking more clearly to understand the Lukan and Pauline perspectives on the future of Israel. Schafer argues that both Paul and Luke, like most Jewish writers of their time, were deeply influenced by Deuteronomistic theology on the abiding, but conditional, nature of God’s covenant with Israel. According to Schafer, both Luke and Paul regarded the initial presence of a core group of Jewish believers within early Christianity as essential for …

Matthew 25:14-30 Exegetical Perspective, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "The parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 provides continued instruction for believers living in the interim between first and second comings of the Son of Man (chaps. 24- 25). As one of several parables Matthew adds to Mark's apocalyptic discourse (Mark 13 ), the second of three parables in Matthew 25 bears the closest parallels with Luke (Luke 19:11-27). It also coheres with the master-servant parables and references elsewhere in Matthew: pray to the lord of the harvest so send forth laborers, 9:37-38; a servant will suffer as did his master, 10:25; laborers need not uproot the tares, …

Outcome Evaluation Of A Time Management Smartphone Application: A Pilot Study, Michael J. D. Irvine

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Twenty-Five percent of college students receiving disability services are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Psycho-stimulants are often the treatment of choice because these medications have a quick and specific effect on attention and concentration. However, they have limited impact on skills related to executive functioning including organization, planning and project management. The potential for abuse is another problem associated with stimulant use in the college population. Beyond what is known about psychostimulants, little research has been done to develop effective, non-pharmacological interventions for young adults with ADHD. Behavior Therapy has been shown to be one promising adjunctive treatment …

One Size Fits All? Uncovering Multiple Conversion Avenues For Effective Evangelism, Tim Buechsel

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought, No. 121, Howard R. Macy

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Wesleyan-Holiness Digital Library Becomes A Reality, Rodney Birch, Jane Scott

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Bruce's "A Life, By Tim Grass" (Book Review), Craighton Hippenhammer

The Christian Librarian

A Review of

F.F. Bruce: A Life, by Tim Grass. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2011. 283 pp. $22.00; ISBN: 978-0-8028- 6723-0.

Resource Reviews, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

Reviews of

Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible, by James Vanderkam. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. 188 pp. $17.00; ISBN 0-8028-6679-0. Reviewed by Robert Burgess, Head, Acquisitions, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri.

Jerusalem Testament Palestinian Christians Speak, 1988-2008, by Melanie A. May. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2010. 180 pp. $16.00; ISBN 0-8028-6485-7. Reviewed by Robert Burgess, Head, Acquisitions, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri.

Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, by Mark A. Noll. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2011. 180 pp. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8028-6637-0. Reviewed by Jane Scott, Public Services Librarian, George …

New Life In Christ: Household Relationships Reoriented Under The Lordship Of Christ (Chapter In Colossians, Smyth & Helwys Biblical Commentary), Nijay Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "As noted above, Paul focuses on the implications of new life in Christ beginning in chapter 3. The first seventeen verses deal more broadly with what it means to be "raised with Christ" and to "seek the things that are above" (3: 1). That first section ends with emphasis falling on a communal life of generosity, love, and thanksgiving, as all activities and conversations are carried out under the lordship of Jesus Christ (3: 17)."