Evangelical Review of Theology 45, 3 (August 2021)

The latest Evangelical Review of Theology, published by The World Evangelical Alliance, is now online and available in its entirety as a pdf here.

Thomas Schirrmacher

John Stott: The Greatest Modern Model of Evangelical Theology

Aiah Dorkuh Foday-Khabenje

Byang Kato: Africa’s Foremost Twentieth-Century Evangelical Theological Leader

In the mid-twentieth century, Byang Kato swam against the tide of accommodating traditional African religious ideas within African Christianity. His energetic articulation and defence of historic Christian truth remain influential today. In this article, one of his successors describes Kato’s personal story, theological work and ongoing importance.

Daniel Eguiluz

‘Many Shepherds, One Flock’: An Evangelical Retrieval of Cyprian’s Model of Church Unity

Evangelicals express Christian unity through global and parachurch organizations, but evangelical denominations and congregations often remain isolated from each other. This article seeks a way out of that box by going back to a time 18 centuries ago when achieving unity was difficult but essential for Christians.

Thomas K. Johnson

Christian Proclamation and God’s Universal Grace

Tell a Muslim or Hindu that they need to accept the Trinity, and you probably won’t get very far. But if you start from shared assumptions about the blessings we receive from our creator and then explain how Christian theology helps to make sense of those blessings, you might be more successful. This article details, in Pauline fashion, ways to develop such themes.

Frank Hinkelmann

The Evangelical Alliance’s Commitment to Religious Liberty in Austria during the Second Half of the 19th Century

Even in the late 19th century, being an evangelical Protestant in some parts of western Europe was dangerous. Drawing extensively on original documents, this article describes global evangelicals’ determined efforts to secure religious freedom for their compatriots in Austria.

Thomas Schirrmacher

Catholics and Evangelicals and Their Future Relations

Today, Catholics and evangelicals have friendly relationships of mutual respect and cooperation in many parts of the world, but some criticize this friendliness on theological grounds. What forms should their relationship take, given the continuing differences between these two streams of Christianity? In this carefully considered message, the WEA’s leader gives his view.

Martina Kessler and Volker Kessler

How the Evangelical Alliance in Germany Is Addressing Abuse of Religious Power

In 2015, the Evangelical Alliance in Germany established a mediation centre to deal with power abuse in religious contexts. After a short background discussion of religious power abuse, the paper explains the history, procedures and guidelines of this mediation centre, along with its potential and limitations.

Fritz Gerald M. Melodi

Virgilio Enriquez and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Dialogue: Discerning a Theology of Solidarity in Philippine Kapwa-Culture

Christians should be collectivist (in the sense of caring about their community) but not to the extent of abandoning Christian truth to peer pressure or popular opinion. How do we find a balance? This article approaches the question by comparing a Philippine psychologist to the ‘Christ-for-us’ theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Lausanne Global Analysis 10, 4 (July 2021)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is available online from here, including pdfs of individual articles as below.

Kirsteen Kim

Beyond Edinburgh 2010

Kirst Rievan

Are Foreigners Still Needed in the Age of Indigenous Mission?

Chad and Leslie Neal Segraves

Five Biblical Commands for Men and Women Partnering in the Gospel

Analía Saracco

Gender-Based Violence and the Church

Refuge Reimagined

Brothers Mark and Luke Glanville, one an expert in biblical studies and the other in international relations, have teamed up to write the recently-published Refuge Reimagined: Biblical Kinship in Global Politics (Downers Grove: IVP, 2021).

According to the publisher, they ‘offer a new approach to compassion for displaced people: a biblical ethic of kinship’, in which ‘God’s people… are consistently called to extend kinship – a mutual responsibility and solidarity – to those who are marginalized and without a home’.

They spoke about the book on a recent OnScript podcast (here), and were also interviewed (here) by Justine Toh of the Centre for Public Christianity ‘about how the plight of the Tamil family from Biloela is making Australians rethink the kind of welcome we might offer to vulnerable people’.

Jonathan Ebsworth, Samuel Johns, and Michael Dodson on Surveillance Capitalism

The latest Cambridge Paper from the Jubilee Centre is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here), this one by Jonathan Ebsworth, Samuel Johns, and Michael Dodson:

Jonathan Ebsworth, Samuel Johns, and Michael Dodson, ‘Surveillance Capitalism: the hidden costs of the digital revolution’, Cambridge Papers 30, 2 (June 2021).

Here is the summary:

‘We are in the midst of a digitally-enabled industrial revolution. As with previous revolutions, this one is attended by both benefits and perils. In this paper we examine a business model called ‘surveillance capitalism” that funds the free services of this digital revolution. We describe the model itself; demonstrate the intrinsic dependence on deception, addiction, and exploitation; and suggest practical responses that individuals and communities can take to face these challenges with hope and assurance.’

Mission Frontiers 43, 4 (July-August 2021)

The July-August 2021 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by the U.S. Center for World Mission, contains a number of articles on the topic of ‘Innovation in Missions’.

Here is the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘From big business to the laboratory to tech companies, everyone is talking about innovation and how to make the next incredible new thing. And we think about the amazing innovators of the past like Madam Curie (who discovered radioactivity and won Nobel Peace prizes in two fields), Thomas Edison and his light bulb, the Wright Brothers (who gave us flight), and Dr. Shirley Jackson (who completed research that led to solar cells, fiber optic cables, portable fax machines, touch-tone telephones and caller ID.) These are amazing people and quite honestly, we are grateful to God for the innovations that they discovered, but we are not talking about that kind of thing in this edition of Mission Frontiers.

‘We are talking about innovation that brings about the breakthrough of Jesus’ kingdom. You will see articles that discuss innovation in multi-cultural settings, innovation related to alongsiders and how Jesus-centered innovation can bring change to ministries and even social contexts. This is part of kingdom transformation.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Gary Millar on 2 Corinthians

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (July 2021) it’s 2 Corinthians For You, by Gary Millar, available in exchange for an email address here.