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Calvin’S Doctrine Of Divine Accommodation And Its Correspondence With The Methodist Triumvirate, J. Russell Frazier Jan 2023

Calvin’S Doctrine Of Divine Accommodation And Its Correspondence With The Methodist Triumvirate, J. Russell Frazier

The Asbury Journal

The doctrine of accommodation is the idea that God has, out of love, accommodated divine revelation to human frailty and sinfulness. This article summarizes the contributions of secondary resources on the doctrine of divine accommodation in John Calvin’s thought. These sources provide a paradigm for examining the doctrine of accommodation in the thought of the Methodist triumvirate, i.e., John and Charles Wesley and John William Fletcher. The author emphasizes that the Methodist triumvirate adopted and adapted the doctrine of accommodation and suggests that it provided a theological underpinning for the early Methodists’ accommodative practice of ministry.


Redeeming The Time: Sabbath Observance For The Christian Minister, Chase Franklin Jan 2023

Redeeming The Time: Sabbath Observance For The Christian Minister, Chase Franklin

The Asbury Journal

In a world impacted by COVID-19, Christian clergy have reevaluated how their time is spent in response to new challenges. Rabbi Abraham Heschel, augmented by the work of Walter Brueggemann and Marva Dawn, provided guidance to focus more on the realm of the spirit and less on the physical world. This is achieved through a renewed dedication to Sabbath observance. The Sabbath is the consecrated day where both God and people find rest from their labors. Because clergy work to help others observe the Sabbath, they must be willing to think outside the box to observe their own.


Dr. David Reese And The Three Errors Of Phrenology: Religion, Anatomy, And Moral Insanity, Philip Hardt Jan 2023

Dr. David Reese And The Three Errors Of Phrenology: Religion, Anatomy, And Moral Insanity, Philip Hardt

The Asbury Journal

Today, phrenology is a mostly-forgotten and thoroughly medically disgraced theory of human behavior. Yet, in its mid-nineteenth century heyday, it not only claimed to explain one’s personality based on the size of the bumps on one’s head but also (scarily) attempted to push prison reform in a less punitive direction. Somewhat surprisingly, as phrenology crossed the Atlantic in the 1820s, a number of doctors, professors, and ordinary citizens accepted and promoted its rather startling claims. At the same time, traditionalists response is exemplifies by Dr. David M. Reese, a highly regarded physician in Manhattan who opposed its attack on (mainly …


Sidney W. Edwards: Early Holiness/Methodist Missionary Pioneer In Cuba, Puerto Rico, And Costa Rica, Robert A. Danielson Jan 2023

Sidney W. Edwards: Early Holiness/Methodist Missionary Pioneer In Cuba, Puerto Rico, And Costa Rica, Robert A. Danielson

The Asbury Journal

Holiness missions is an area of mission history that is often understudied, yet it can provide insight into the growth of the Church in various parts of the world. This article examines the life of Sidney W. Edwards, a Holiness missionary who was a key part of H. C. Morrison’s missionary efforts. He served as the missionary of a mission H. C. Morrison founded in Cuba, as one of the first Holiness missions in the Caribbean. He then went on to serve in Puerto Rico with the Methodist Episcopal Church in planting churches in some of the mountainous regions of …


Psalm 1a–B (1:1–2:12 As Combined And A Chiasm): What Yhwh Knows About People’S Paths And Plans That Will Perish, W. Creighton Marlowe Jan 2023

Psalm 1a–B (1:1–2:12 As Combined And A Chiasm): What Yhwh Knows About People’S Paths And Plans That Will Perish, W. Creighton Marlowe

The Asbury Journal

This article seeks to explore whether a division really exists between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. The author argues that the presence of a chiasm which extends throughout the two psalms gives potential further evidence for the argument that the two psalms where once part of one continuous literary creation. The themes involve the laws of YHWH and the consequences of breaking these laws both for individuals and for nations.


Journal In Entirety Jan 2023

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


Cruciform Teaching: Reflections On The Way Of Jesus The Challenge Of The Cross, And Teaching, Ruth Anne Reese Jan 2023

Cruciform Teaching: Reflections On The Way Of Jesus The Challenge Of The Cross, And Teaching, Ruth Anne Reese

The Asbury Journal

Jesus’s way of life was one of humility and utter reliance upon God. This way of life ultimately led to the cross and to God’s raising of Jesus from the dead. Similarly, Christian teachers are also called to a way of humility and dependance upon God as they pursue the vocation of teaching.


Journal In Entirety Jan 2023

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


Breaking The Siege: Examining The נַעֲרֵי֙ שָׂרֵ֣י הַמְּדִינֹ֔ות In 1 Kgs 20, David B. Schreiner Jan 2022

Breaking The Siege: Examining The נַעֲרֵי֙ שָׂרֵ֣י הַמְּדִינֹ֔ות In 1 Kgs 20, David B. Schreiner

The Asbury Journal

This article examines the identity of the נַעֲרֵי֙ שָׂרֵ֣י הַמְּדִינֹ֔ות who dramatically break the siege of Samaria in 1 Kgs 20. Beginning with a grammatical and semantic analysis of the extended construct chain, this essay also considers ancient translations and evidence from Neo–Assyrian administrative texts. I consider how the Neo–Assyrian administrative apparatus, which included The King’s Magnates, may offer a conceptual model for understanding the identity and function of theנַעֲרֵי֙ שָׂרֵ֣י הַמְּדִינֹ֔ות. I propose that this group is best understood as “junior governors of the provinces,” and their presence in the narrative appears linked to a larger historiographic agenda.


The Integration Of Black Students At Asbury Theological Seminary, Thomas Hampton Jan 2022

The Integration Of Black Students At Asbury Theological Seminary, Thomas Hampton

The Asbury Journal

This article explores the process of racial integration at Asbury Theological Seminary, especially through the lens of its African American students, who began taking classes in 1958. Of particular importance is the response of the local community in Wilmore and Jessamine County, Kentucky, which was strongly opposed to the move and led to a shooting incident at the Seminary’s administration building which made national news at the time. With material drawn from an interview with Rev. Douglass Fitch, one of the first two students to a tuned the seminary, it notes how the support of some administrators, Free Methodist students, …


The Missional Colonization Of Phoebe And Walter Palmer: Poetry, Letters, And The Young Men’S Missionary Society, Philip F. Hardt Jan 2022

The Missional Colonization Of Phoebe And Walter Palmer: Poetry, Letters, And The Young Men’S Missionary Society, Philip F. Hardt

The Asbury Journal

Recent studies of Phoebe and Walter Palmer have focused on their efforts to spread “holiness” while criticizing their apparent disdain of abolitionism. The Palmers, however, believed that colonization was the better approach to both assist free African-Americans and recently emancipated slaves and also to help evangelize the continent of Africa. This article will show their support for both colonization and evangelization through Phoebe’s poems, correspondence from Methodist missionaries to Liberia (some of whom were from Manhattan), and Dr. Palmer’s active role in the Young Men’s Missionary Society.


Snake Iconography, Mythology, And The Meaning Of The Bronze Snake Image In Numbers 21:4–9 And 2 Kings 18:4, Mark A. Awabdy Jan 2022

Snake Iconography, Mythology, And The Meaning Of The Bronze Snake Image In Numbers 21:4–9 And 2 Kings 18:4, Mark A. Awabdy

The Asbury Journal

This study pursues the question of why Yhwh, who in the Decalogue prohibits the creation and worship of divine images, would order Moses to create a snake image as the mode of healing snake bites in the desert (Num 21:4–9). This question is legitimated as the Judahites subsequently burn incense to Moses’ bronze snake, which Hezekiah destroys as an act of loyalty to Yhwh. Adopting a definition of meaning from symbolic action theory in cultural psychology, this essay explores what the bronze snake image would have meant for the earliest audiences of these stories. In the core of the essay, …


The Shema As Total Meaning Of Reality: Tradition, Freedom, And Verification In The Pedagogy Of Deuteronomy, Paavo Tucker Jan 2022

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 …


Why Bother With Historical Criticism?: Lessons For Biblical Studies From The Philosophy Of History, Drew S. Holland Jan 2022

Why Bother With Historical Criticism?: Lessons For Biblical Studies From The Philosophy Of History, Drew S. Holland

The Asbury Journal

This article seeks to integrate insights from the philosophy of history to support the continued use of the historical-critical method in biblical studies. Though the historical-critical method has been muchmaligned within biblical criticism over the past seventy years, this essay attempts to demonstrate the value of investigating ancient Israel’s past as part of a full fledged biblical criticism


Sbms: A Visual Exploration Of Liberian Identity, Gabriel B. Tait Jan 2022

Sbms: A Visual Exploration Of Liberian Identity, Gabriel B. Tait

The Asbury Journal

This article explores the use of visuals by missionaries and social scientists to communicate their encounters in sub-Saharan Africa. It offers an alternative perspective by incorporating the Sight Beyond My Sight (SBMS) visual research methodology created by Gabriel Tait. SBMS is a participant research method that employs photography as a way to understand culture and identity. The implications of this body of work, and the method it provides, presents a much-needed contextual lens for missionaries, visual ethnographers, and general persons who are interested in communicating their contexts in partnership with the cultures they are encountering and impacting. The implication of …


From The Archives: Gilbert James And The Fight For Interracial Justice- The Papers Of Gilbert James And The Shelhamer Family Papers, Robert Danielson Jan 2022

From The Archives: Gilbert James And The Fight For Interracial Justice- The Papers Of Gilbert James And The Shelhamer Family Papers, Robert Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


No Longer Strangers And Aliens, But Fellow Citizens: Ephesians 2:12, 19 In Conversation With Hellenistic Philosophy, Philip N. Richardson Jan 2022

No Longer Strangers And Aliens, But Fellow Citizens: Ephesians 2:12, 19 In Conversation With Hellenistic Philosophy, Philip N. Richardson

The Asbury Journal

This essay compares Paul’s use of aliens, strangers, and citizens language in Eph 2:12, 19 in the wider context of the epistle with its figurative use in select Hellenistic Philosophical writers. Whereas philosophers view all, or at least the virtuous, as citizens of the universe, Ephesians sees all as alienated from God, unless reconciled by Christ. Philosophy called the virtuous to live in accord with its path, disdaining the body. For Ephesians, Christ’s new humanity in Christ can live God’s way in the body by the mystery revealed and empowered by the Spirit.


Bringing Evidence To The “Anti-Magic” View: A Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation Of Acts 19:11-20, Joy Vaughan Jan 2022

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 …


Guest Co-Editors Preface, Jason A. Myers, David B. Schreiner Jan 2022

Guest Co-Editors Preface, Jason A. Myers, David B. Schreiner

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


By What Law: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Romans 8:1–4, Jason A. Myers Jan 2022

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.


Book Reviews Jan 2022

Book Reviews

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


Creating Community: Rhetorical Vision And Symbolic Convergence In The Book Of Hebrews, Judith Odor Jan 2022

Creating Community: Rhetorical Vision And Symbolic Convergence In The Book Of Hebrews, Judith Odor

The Asbury Journal

Since the introduction of social identity theory to the field of biblical studies, the Epistle to the Hebrews has become something of a proving ground for depicting the intergroup relations that are key to understanding relationally-oriented identity dynamics and community identification. However, while social identity theory is a valuable tool for describing how communities self-perceive as unique social entities through the use of in-group and out-group language, social identity theory does not describe the rhetorical process by which such language and communication develops or why this development is so key to creating a distinct community. Symbolic convergence theory, with its …


The “Black Experience” As Preparation For Participation In Global Partnerships, Cynthia A. Talley Jan 2022

The “Black Experience” As Preparation For Participation In Global Partnerships, Cynthia A. Talley

The Asbury Journal

The lived experiences of African Americans, along with their reliance on God, serve as preparation for participation in global mission partnerships. The “Black Experience,” characterized by suffering, dehumanization, violence, and survival has provided the African American community with a toolkit that can be used to teach others how to survive their own suffering as they too rely on God. Long-term African American missionaries have sent out a clarion call requesting that the African American church step up to the plate and join them in spreading the Gospel message “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends …


Journal In Entirety Jan 2022

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


Echoes Of Jesus’ Cross In Second Corinthians 12:7–10, Kei Hiramatsu Jan 2022

Echoes Of Jesus’ Cross In Second Corinthians 12:7–10, Kei Hiramatsu

The Asbury Journal

One of the thorniest exegetical questions in Pauline literature involves the apostle's story of a thorn in the flesh. Interpreters have often attempted to fathom the meaning of the passage by gleaning insights from historical backdrops. However, in doing so, they have overlooked clues that lie much closer at hand, namely, Jesus’ Passion tradition. Therefore, in this article, I attempt to show that Paul crafted the story of his thorn in light of Jesus’ Passion. Based on analyses of linguistics, intertextuality, and literary context, I explore three significant echoes of Jesus' cross in 2 Cor 12:7–10: thorn of the flesh, …


Books Received Jan 2022

Books Received

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


From The Editor, Robert Danielson Jan 2022

From The Editor, Robert Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


Social Identity In Crisis: Toward A Theology Of The Psalms Of Asaph, Ryan J. Cook Jan 2022

Social Identity In Crisis: Toward A Theology Of The Psalms Of Asaph, Ryan J. Cook

The Asbury Journal

The twelve Psalms attributed to Asaph reflect both elements of theological unity and diversity. Both their unified elements and divergent emphases have been explained in various ways. This paper argues that the Asaph psalms grew out of two contexts of crisis: the Assyrian invasion and Babylonian exile. With these contexts in mind, this paper utilizes a Social Identity Approach to analyze the function of the Asaphite psalms in shaping group identity in light of traumatic events.


From The Guest Co-Editor, Jason A. Myers Jan 2022

From The Guest Co-Editor, Jason A. Myers

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.


Book Reviews Jan 2022

Book Reviews

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.