Biblical Studies Commons^™

Are We Wrong: The Symbolic Identity Of The Goat For Azazel (The Scapegoat), D. Houston Beckworth

Campus Research Day

This paper argues that a distinction needs to be made between the goat and the scapegoat (Azazel), and thus the goat’s symbolic identity should also be separate from Azazel. Seventh-Day Adventists and evangelical Christians hold two different views regarding the antitypical identity of the goat for Azazel within Leviticus 16’s account of the Day of Atonement. Adventists focus on the features of Azael to conclude that the scapegoat is Satan. Evangelicals commonly argue that the goat is characteristic of Jesus. Each of them has problematically taught these while merging the goat and scapegoat. However, separating the goat and Azazel resolves …

Under The Sun: Songs From Ecclesiastes, Emma Kay Smith

Honors Theses

Historically, artists in all spaces have gleaned inspiration from the text of the Bible in order to communicate meaningful stories. The book of Ecclesiastes is particularly rich in its images and themes, and it warrants profound creative contemplation. This project documents the process of crafting 1960s-style folk songs based on this often confounding and ever-beautiful text. This process included close, meditative listening to the works of great songwriters from the 1960s folk era such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and culminated in the live recording of four folk songs, compiled in the demo-EP Under the Sun: Songs from Ecclesiastes. …

Orpheus And The Harrowing Of Hell In The Tale Of Beren And Lúthien, Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Critics have observed that Beren and Lúthien’s tale is a Christian retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The “Harrowing of Hell” tradition is widespread in Italy as attested by the mosaic of San Marco among others, but it is in France that the Ovid Moralized reconnects it to Orpheus who descended into the Underworld to save Eurydice (an already late antique parallel) and therefore attests a happy ending version of the story that can be found in medieval England and also in various classical sources, perhaps even in the original legend of Orpheus. The apocryphal Harrowing is also …

Simplicity And The Sermon On The Mount, Falon Opsahl Barton

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Jesus lived a life of simplicity in his possessions and his purpose. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invites his disciples, then and now, into a similar life of simplicity that is fully focused on God alone in order to make whole our relationships with God, ourselves, each other, and creation. This article claims that simplicity is a primary theme of Jesus’ longest discourse, and that Jesus’ simplicity is not self-focused, but rather benefits all humanity and all creation. This article exegetes Matthew 6:25-34 specifically, and draws out some of the theological and missional implications of Jesus's model of …

Mary Magdalene On Film In Twenty-First Century: A Feminist Theological Critique, Mary Ann Beavis

Journal of Religion & Film

Since the turn of the millennium, several films (and one popular TV series) featuring Mary Magdalene as a significant character, or even as the central character, have been produced. A few, specifically Son of God (2104), The Chosen (2017-), and Mary Magdalene (2019), gained a wide audience through some combination of theatrical release, television, and streaming services. Unlike earlier productions that unfailingly portrayed her conventionally as a penitent prostitute, these and other, less well-known films of recent decades have departed from this traditional Magdalene. This is no doubt due, among other things, to the influence of feminist theology and biblical …

Ephesians 2:11-22, Unity In Christ: A Biblical Theological Analysis, Kaeley Sells

Biblical Studies Student Projects

Often, in large group settings there can be a tendency to stick to one’s own in-group. This tendency then leads to the diminishing and exclusion of those outside of that particular group. In the early church, this was the story of the Gentile believers who, despite receiving the same life through the sacrifice of Christ were subject to discrimination, cultivating an inferiority complex in many of the early believers. Paul attempts to critique this trend by highlighting not only the grace extended to all but the intentional life, death, and resurrection of Christ that enables all believers to be citizens …

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One’S Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

ELAIA

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

Review Of Know. Be. Live., Cory T. Branham

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Born between 1995 – 2012, America’s young and emerging adults are known as “Generation Z.” As with nearly everything they are involved in, a shorter version of that label is available as simply Gen Z, or Gen Z’ers. Generally speaking, Gen Z’ers were raised by Millennials but have had life and social interactions going as far back as the Baby Boomer Generation (those born near the end of World War II and into the mid-sixties). In “Know. Be. Live.,” the combination of what has been handed down to them by previous generations, and the current state of cultural, …

The Practical Application Of Biblical Theology To Christian Apologetics, Matthew T. Johnson

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Many Christians are skeptical regarding the practical relevance of theology for the common believer. Exploring how the subdiscipline of biblical theology can be applied can effectively dispel this misconception. In particular, the apologetic applications of biblical theology’s primary deliverances underscore the relevance theology has to the average Christian. Given the growing need for effective Christian apologetics, it would be wise for the Church to further explore biblical theology and to incorporate it into the defense of Christianity. Existing scholarship has largely overlooked biblical theology’s apologetic potential. Thus, there is a need to explore this relationship for the benefit of the …

An Appeal To Mystery Without "Punting": Revisiting Molinism’S Biblical Problem In Light Of Ephesians 1:4–11 And Romans 11:33–36, Jeffrey S. Kennedy

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Molinists maintain that middle knowledge is the best candidate for settling the historical debate on God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. The philosophical sophistication of the view can be alluring, and the efforts of Molinists to rationally defend it against criticisms have been impressive. But does Molinism still have a biblical problem? Proponents argue that the doctrine is compatible with the Bible's teaching on God's knowledge of counterfactuals, though admittedly, it is not explicitly taught in Scripture. But this claim is more problematic than advocates for the theory have alleged. The present study maintains that in the absence of a …

Extending חָ֑סֶד (Hesed) To The Poor As An Obligation In The Psalter And Matthew 25, Clement Chen

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Psalter has much to contribute to the biblical theology of missions and the biblical theology of socio-economic justice. Through an examination of Psalm 109 and the Psalter, this paper will demonstrate that the theological motif of Yahweh caring for the poor, specifically showing חָ֑סֶד (hesed) to the poor, is found in the Psalter; furthermore, it will be argued that the Psalter also features a missiological aspect, in harmony with the prophets and the rest of the Psalter, exhorting and obligating Israel to participate in practicing חָ֑סֶד (hesed) towards the poor with the consequence of not practicing …

A Scribal Fabrication? A Text-Critical Defense Of Mark 16:9-20 As Divinely Inspired And Canonically Authoritative, Justin R. Bamba

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

The variant endings of Mark 16 continue to capture the interest of scholars and readers alike. The two main contenders for the authentic ending to Mark’s Gospel are the Short Ending (16:1-8) and the Longer Ending (16:1-20). Although some struggle with whether vv. 9-20 should even be read and preached in church, it is the goal of this paper to put such confusion and doubts to rest. This paper contends that the overall text-critical evidence (both external and internal) points to the authenticity of Mark’s Longer Ending. It also explores how the other variant endings entered the manuscript record and …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 66, No. 1

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 66, 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.

Who Is The "Son Of Man"?, Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Many people, perhaps most, find Jesus’s use of this title confusing. It seems vague, even evasive. Not long before His death, a group of Jews implored Him “If You are the Christ [Messiah] tell us plainly [John 10:24].” Jesus responded, “I told you, but you do not believe.” As we shall see, Jesus spoke the truth as a brief study of both the Old and New Testaments makes clear. Indeed, many Old Testament writers use the title. That being the case, what does Jesus intend by describing Himself as the “Son of Man”? And why was He not well understood …

The Theology Of The Book Of Judges In The Second Generation: Giving Up Is Not An Option!, Juan Bosco Vanega Flores

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

The tension between the first and second generation of immigrants in our churches is increasing. The large gap that should be closing continues to open. The Bible contains important biblical principles that leaders of the Church can use to help close the gap between the generations in immigrant churches.

["At That Time"] In The Hebrew Bible And Its Role In Daniel 12:1: A Diachronic And Synchronic Study On Semantics Of Narrative And Prophetic Temporality, Roger David Ruiz Araica

Dissertations

Problem

The expression ["at that time"] in Dan 12:1 is the last temporal expression of the predictive discourse of Dan 11:2–12:3. There is no consensus about the temporality of this expression. Thus, this dissertation seeks to answer the following question: What is the temporal frame of the phrase ["at that time"] is in Dan 12:1 according to the temporal indicators provided in the context of the predictive discourse of Dan 11:40–12:3?

Methodology

The methodology of this dissertation combines diachronic and synchronic approaches. First, as a diachronic procedure, it analyzes ["at that time"] in the Hebrew Bible to determine its temporality …

Treating Traum(A): Examples In The Tanakh That Mirror Events During The Life Of Bonhoeffer And Crimes Of The Ian Rankin Novel Knots And Crosses, Geraldine Mitchell

Journal of Franco-Irish Studies

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) contains a wealth of stories reflecting life in the ancient world including struggles and wars that prove(d) traumatic. It is shown time and again that history repeats itself, and the stories of the Bible reappear in the modern world, both real and (crime) fictional. In this paper, traumatic experiences associated with the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer as well as the fictional character DI John Rebus created by the crime writer Ian Rankin, are linked with similar incidents recorded in the Tanakh. The first novel in the Rebus series, Knots and Crosses, also forms the basis …

Review Of "Is Social Justice Just?", Jonathan Lawler

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Reflections On The Names Of God: 180 Devotions To Know God More Fully", Cynthia Hammell

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Ecclesiastes: A Reflective Exposition", Jaclyn Lee Parrott

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Niv Heritage Bible, Passaggio Setting", Stephanie B. Leupp

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Divine Love Theory: How The Trinity Is The Source And Foundation Of Morality", Jaclyn Lee Parrott

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of "The Manifold Beauty Of Genesis One: A Multi-Layered Approach", Scott Lloyd

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Jeremiah And Lamentations: A Commentary For Biblical Preaching And Teaching", John Jaeger

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of "1 Peter: A Commentary For Biblical Preaching And Teaching", Francisco De Assis Nogueria Barros

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Review Of Pentecostal Hermeneutics In The Late Modern World: Essays On The Condition Of Our Interpretation. By L. William Oliverio, Jr., Rick Wadholm, Jr.

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Review of Pentecostal Hermeneutics in the Late Modern World: Essays on the Condition of Our Interpretation. By L. William Oliverio, Jr. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2022. 252 pp.

Review Of Deliver Us From Evil. By John Swinton., Robert D. Mcbain

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Review of Deliver Us from Evil. By John Swinton. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2022. 130 pp.

Review Of A Seminary Dean’S Experiment With Servant Leadership: Stories And Lessons From My Journey Through Ivy League To Whole Person Education. By Thomson K. Mathew., Wonsuk Ma

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Review of A Seminary Dean’s Experiment with Servant Leadership: Stories and Lessons from My Journey through Ivy League to Whole Person Education. By Thomson K. Mathew. Kottayam, Kerala, India: GoodNews Books, 2021. 233 pp.

Review Of Indigenous Theology And The Western Worldview. By Randy S. Woodley., David Osei-Nimoh

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A review of Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview. By Randy S. Woodley.

Review Of Towards A Pentecostal Theology Of Praxis: A Case Study. By John Mark Robeck, Rebekah Bled

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A review of Towards A Pentecostal Theology of Praxis: A Case Study. By John Mark Robeck. Lanham, MD: Fortress Academic, 2021. 174 pp.