The new August 2023 issue of Themelios has 227 pages of editorials, articles, and book reviews. It is freely available in three formats: (1) PDF, (2) web version, and (3) Logos Bible Software.
1. Brian J. Tabb | On Disagreements in Ministry
Acts 15:36–41 recounts the end of the early church’s most important and fruitful missionary partnership between Barnabas and Paul. Tabb reflects on the history of their partnership, the nature of their “sharp disagreement,” and their reasons for separating, in order to glean lessons for leaders today who face challenging conflicts in ministry.
2. Daniel Strange | It’s Not Rocket Science . . . Even If It Is
Strange explores how a four-part framework for cultural apologetics (entering, exploring, exposing, evangelizing) applies across a range of academic disciplines in the modern university. He urges readers to disciple and evangelize holistically in all this world’s profundity and mundanity.
3. Ian J. Vaillancourt | Reading Psalm Superscriptions Through the Centuries
This article seeks to retrieve from the past in order to gain perspective for the present. Vaillancourt surveys how five key questions about superscriptions have been answered by prominent interpreters in the patristic, medieval, Reformation, higher critical, and more recent periods, and he concludes with lessons drawn from this survey of history as a vehicle for suggesting a way forward for the present day.
4. T. F. Leong | Ecclesiastes in Context: Reclaiming Qoheleth’s Canonical Authority
The profound message of Ecclesiastes is needed today more than ever. Yet much recent evangelical scholarship has accepted and assumed critical views of Qoheleth the speaker and his speech, rendering almost the entire book practically useless to Bible teachers and preachers. Leong presents the teaching of Ecclesiastes on the meaning of life in the contexts of its ancient and the modern world, explaining that the book’s uncanny superiority over its ancient and modern counterparts corroborates its own claim that Qoheleth’s speech is inspired by God and thus canonically authoritative for teaching and preaching.
5. Charles Cleworth | The Characterization of Peter and the Message of Acts
The growing trend of utilizing narrative criticism to interpret the New Testament, including the tools of character studies, has led to an increased focus on the way Luke develops Peter’s character in Acts. Less attention, however, has been given to understanding how different accounts of the characterization of Peter in Acts impinge upon and contribute to the overall message of the book. This more recent focus on Peter’s development has led to a skewed analysis of his presentation in Acts, and, as a corollary, has obscured the way Peter’s characterization contributes to the message of Acts, which is ultimately about the movement of the gospel to the ends of the earth.
6. William B. Bowes | Uprisings and Mob Violence in Acts and in the First Century
Acts reports several uprisings and instances of mob violence that occurred across Asia Minor, caused by or related to the evangelistic and missionary endeavors of Paul and his companions in the middle of the first century. Bowes begins with an analysis of extrabiblical records of mob violence and uprisings in the first-century Roman Empire and then moves to an analysis of five episodes of mob violence recorded in Acts, for the purpose of comparing the way uprisings during the early imperial period were recorded. He argues that Acts reports these events in a manner consistent with how other uprisings during this time were reported, and the details in Acts match the social and cultural context of the areas described. As a result, readers should consider the accounts in Acts to have a higher degree of historical reliability.
7. Scott D. MacDonald | Modern Healing Cloths and Acts 19:11–12
Christian groups and leaders around the world commission cloths to heal the sick, often claiming Acts 19:11–12 as a foundational text for the practice. After an overview of some examples, MacDonald analyzes the unusual events of Ephesus in Acts and reflects on the identity of the cloths. This investigation reveals the stark contrast between Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and the modern practice of healing cloths. Instead of inaugurating a normal healing device for Christianity, God uses the miracles and Paul’s public ministry to lead the Ephesians away from magical practices. While God can do as he sees fit, Christian groups and leaders should avoid seeking to manipulate and control the power of God like the sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13–20).
8. Andreas-Christian Heidel | The Agonistic Imagery of the New Testament and the Paradox of the Cross
Early Christians had to develop and negotiate their (new) identity within a society where their beliefs and ethical convictions were largely alien. These beliefs were rooted in the Christ event, especially in the understanding of Jesus’s death on the cross as an event of salvation, both individually and collectively. However, the cross contradicted the values of their Greco-Roman environment, and New Testament authors used various imagery to express this tension. Heidel traces this relationship by looking at the usage of agonistic imagery in New Testament writings: sports metaphors are used by taking up their triumphalist character, but at the same time they’re transformed by a contradicting ethos of defeat that expresses a new kind of paradox identity, both individually and collectively.
9. Jared Compton | The Function of Divine Christology in Hebrews: Critical Reflections on a Recent Proposal
The recent “theological turn” in biblical studies sparked fresh, creative interest in the Christology of the book of Hebrews. The latest entry in the field, Nick Brennan’s carefully argued Divine Christology in the Epistle to the Hebrews, advances the conversation and, at the same time, illustrates a danger attending the larger project of theological retrieval. Compton explores Brennan’s thesis, commending his theological instincts while cautioning against his specific conclusions. Readers must account for the theology of Hebrews but never at the expense of the letter’s explicit argument.
10. David Haines | Thomas Aquinas on Total Depravity and the Noetic Effects of Sin
One of the most common critiques of Thomas Aquinas to be found in contemporary Protestant theology and apologetics is that Aquinas either outright denies the noetic effects of sin or, at the very least, minimizes them. Examples can be found in the writings of Dooyeweerd, Schaeffer, and Oliphint. Haines corrects these all-too-common and perpetually promoted misinterpretations of Aquinas by showing that Aquinas thinks human nature in its entirety (both intellect and will) is affected by sin. Protestant theologians can adopt his approach without sacrificing Protestant particulars.
11. Ed Wright | Live and Let Spy? Thomas Aquinas and the Basis for Christian Engagement in Intelligence Work
This article presents a framework for Christian engagement in government intelligence work, evaluating how the theology of Thomas Aquinas can inform such involvement. Wright explores how to retrieve medieval theological resources for a distinctively modern issue. Four central pillars of Aquinas’s thought build a basis for Christian engagement in this field, and Aquinas’s understanding of both just war and deception are examined because of their importance to the complexities of intelligence operations. Wright concludes by adumbrating a seven-point model for use by pastors and churches where its members may be employed by government intelligence agencies.
12. Melvin L. Otey | What Christians Need to Know About “Legalized” Marijuana
As states continue to decriminalize marijuana and usage escalates in American culture, Christians must increasingly navigate their associations with the drug. The various implications of marijuana use are much discussed, but the true legal landscape is often misunderstood. Despite recent changes in individual state laws, it’s still a federal crime to possess, use, or sell the drug anywhere in the United States. Otey argues that—aside from unrelated social, medical, ethical, and spiritual considerations—Christians must abstain from either medical or recreational marijuana use because they’re obliged as a matter of faith to obey federal authorities.
13. Josh Rothschild | Technology and Its Fruits: Digital Technology’s Imago Dei Deformation and Sabbath as Re-Formation
The serpent promised that the fruit in the garden would make Adam and Eve more like God. While the fruit reduced the capability gap between God and humanity, it widened the character gap. Rothschild aims to demonstrate that digital technology parallels the fruit in its promise to grant us God-like abilities while also deforming God’s character in us. Drawing on current psychological and sociological research, he demonstrates that high digital technology use steadily deforms God’s character in humanity. Rothschild concludes that weekly Sabbath practice counters this deforming technological pressure and creates space for God to re-form his image in us.
Featured Book Reviews:
- Brian J. Tabb and Andrew M. King (eds.), Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament: Genre, Authorial Intent, and the Nature of Scripture. Reviewed by S. D. Ellison.
- Brandon D. Smith, The Trinity in the Book of Revelation: Seeing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in John’s Apocalypse. Reviewed by Brian J. Tabb.
- Cory C. Brock and N. Gray Sutanto, Neo-Calvinism: A Theological Introduction. Reviewed by Josh Blount.
- William G. Witt and Joel Scandrett, Mapping Atonement: The Doctrine of Reconciliation in Christian History and Theology. Reviewed by Nathan A. Finn.
- Marvin Olasky and Leah Savas, The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level History 1652–2022, Review by Emily J. Maurits.
- Nancy R. Pearcey, The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes. Reviewed by Andrew Spencer.
- Vern Poythress, The Mystery of the Trinity: A Trinitarian Approach to the Attributes of God. Reviewed by Joe M. Allen III.
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