The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles.
Editorial
J.V. Fesko
The Goal of Theological Scholarship: Academy or the Church
Strange Times
Daniel Strange
Selfish Preachers?
Robert A. J. Gagnon
The Deepening of God’s Mercy through Repentance: A Critical Review Essay of The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality within the Biblical Story
Richard B. Hays and Christopher B. Hays’ recent book The Widening of God’s Mercy has generated significant interest but suffers from critical hermeneutical, exegetical, and scholarly deficiencies. The authors argue that “a deeper logic” in the Bible reveals God changing his mind to expand the scope of his mercy. This purportedly allows interpreters today to “trace a trajectory of mercy that leads us to welcome sexual minorities” and override the biblical texts that establish the male-female foundation of Christian sexual ethics and speak against homosexual practice. The authors do not meaningful engage relevant scholarship from the past thirty years and fail to adequately explain the biblical texts that present problems for their revisionist position.
Colin Smothers
The Image of God and the Plight of Man
The doctrine of the image of God is fundamental to Christian theology and ethics, and it forms the foundation for justice and human flourishing in society. Yet this doctrine is under assault today by anti-Christian forces. This article explores the biblical meaning and implications of the imago Dei, including God’s design for sexuality, marriage, and the family, in order to reassert this doctrine’s prominence in the unfolding debates about anthropology, what it means to be human, and the identification and promotion of what is good.
M. Jeff Brannon
Resurrection and Reign: The Inseparable Bond Between Resurrection Life and the Kingdom of God in All of Scripture
In biblical theology, the kingdom of God and the hope of resurrection are major themes. As the biblical story unfolds, from the creation account in Genesis 1–2, to the fall in Genesis 3, to God’s election of the nation of Israel, and finally to the fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus Christ, these doctrines are closely linked in striking ways. Although much attention has been given to these twin themes, the inseparable link between them in all of Scripture has often been overlooked or neglected. Therefore the purpose of this article is to trace the kingdom of God and the hope of resurrection throughout Scripture to demonstrate how and why they are inseparably linked. At the conclusion of the article, I offer some thoughts on why this relationship matters and what difference it makes in the lives of Christians
Joshua Pittman
Misunderstanding the Gaps: A Critique of Bryan Bibb’s Interpretation of the Nadab and Abihu Episode
This article critiques Bryan Bibb’s charitable interpretation of Nadab and Abihu’s cultic offering in Leviticus 10. Bibb proposes that Nadab and Abihu committed no sin, exposing the “gaps in the ritual legislation” of YHWH’s sacrificial system. Conversely, I argue that Nadab and Abihu committed an act of disobedience because (1) Moses describes the brothers’ offering as profane; (2) the brothers most likely presumed the role of the High Priest by transgressing the bi-daily incense offering outlined in Exodus 30:7–9 that was not their responsibility; (3) YHWH consumed the brothers with fire; and (4) YHWH cites his own character to explain his act of judgment.
David M. Howard Jr.
Destruction and Dispossession of the, Canaanites in the Book of Joshua
The supposed “genocide” of the Canaanites is one of the most vexing questions in the entire Old Testament and a leading reason that many people dismiss the Old Testament as hopelessly barbaric, so an examination of the issues here is in order. We discuss this in five discrete sections: (1) the idea of setting people or things apart to the Lord for destruction; (2) the idea of driving out the Canaanites from the land; (3) the concept of “Yahweh war” (also known as “holy war”); (4) the ethics of Yahweh war; and (5) the New Testament and violence. We conclude that there is no genocide in the book of Joshua, despite arguments to the contrary.
S.D. Ellison
Reading the Psalter as a Book
The canonical shape of the Psalter has enjoyed concentrated attention in the academe for more than four decades. While scholars have agreed on the effort, they have not always agreed on the results. The message of the Psalter, when considered canonically, remains debated. This article distils some of the key pieces of evidence that the Psalter bears traces of editorial activity – thus suggesting it is a purposefully ordered collection – and then proposes a reading of the Psalter that fits this evidence. Some theological implications connected to such a reading are noted throughout. The hope is that this article might elicit renewed vigour in the task of reading the Psalter as a book.
Joel White
Who Was Philemon, What Did Paul Want from Him, and Why?
Scholars are divided on whether Paul wrote the letter to Philemon with the aim of securing Onesimus’s manumission or not. Often, discussion centers on Paul’s rhetoric or on the nature of slavery in the ancient world and his attitude toward it. In this article I seek to complement those approaches. First, I situate Philemon within the two social networks in which he enjoyed status and esteem – the Christ association on the one hand and the wealthier landowners/slaveowners in Colossae on the other – and posit what their expectations would have been regarding Philemon’s response to Onesimus’s return. Second, I examine the theological presuppositions that inform Paul’s rhetoric to see if they can help us determine the nature of his request. I conclude that Paul did, in fact, want Philemon to free Onesimus in order to strengthen the bonds between the three of them and the church in Colossae.
Jared Compton
“Made Lower than Angels”: A Fresh Look at Hebrews 2:5–9
How does the author of Hebrews understand Psalm 8? It is a question scholars and other careful readers continue to ask. A lot of the discussion turns on whether Hebrews thinks Psalm 8 applies to Jesus alone or to Jesus and other humans. An equally important question, however, is often overlooked. If Hebrews applies the psalm to Jesus and other humans, does Hebrews think the psalm describes humanity before or after the fall? It is a question full of implications for Hebrews’ Christology, which everywhere asserts both Jesus’s blamelessness and his close identity with those (post-fall humans) he represents. The following essay takes up this latter question and argues that Hebrews reads Psalm 8 as a description of what humanity lost in the fall – an original superiority to angels, glory, and dominion. Only by reading Hebrews in this way can we do justice to Hebrews’ argument and, at the same time, fully appreciate Hebrews’ extraordinary Christology.
Christopher Green
Baptist Catholicity in the Ecclesiology of John Gill (1697–1771)
Throughout his writings, but especially in the presentation of his ecclesiology, John Gill exhibits a steadfast commitment to a theological sensibility today referred to as Baptist catholicity. Gill’s ecclesiological writings are thoroughly catholic in their method and content, as evidenced by a robust engagement with patristic sources, creative and positive use of Reformation and post-Reformation era paedobaptist theologians, and a refusal to resort to Baptist authors even in support of Baptist distinctives. As such, Gill provides a model for contemporary proponents of Evangelical Baptist catholicity and ought to be retrieved to strengthen a distinctively Baptist theology in the twenty-first century
T. Michael Christ
Why a Purely Natural Theology Could Lead Us Astray: Karl Barth’s Response to the Theology of Gender and Marriage Sponsored by the Nazi Party
In response to the erosion of the biblical paradigm of gender and marriage in modern Western society, some believers are inclined to support any promotion of heterosexual monogamous marriage as a positive moral force. However, this impulse can be dangerous, as certain conservative ideologies, while outwardly compatible with biblical values, are fundamentally incompatible with Christian teachings. One example is the National Socialist view of gender and marriage in 1930s and 1940s Germany. Despite superficial similarities with Christian values on gender and marriage, Nazi ideology rooted these values in nationalism and racial purity, distorting them for nefarious purposes. The German Christian Church initially embraced National Socialism. Theologian Karl Barth, however, recognized these dangers and opposed the Nazi regime’s redefinition of marriage and gender, warning that any version of marriage not rooted in Christology leads to destruction. This article examines Barth’s critique and explores its relevance in guarding contemporary Christian ethics from similar distortions.
Scott D. MacDonald
Making the Lion Lie Down Hungry: Forgiveness as Preventative Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 2:5–11
While Christians should understand and practice forgiveness, many of them have not experienced forgiveness from others within the church. This situation leaves the church vulnerable to the schemes of Satan. After a brief introduction to the rampant problem of unforgiveness, this article stakes out prevention as a category of spiritual warfare, with forgiveness as an essential action of spiritual warfare to limit Satan’s work. To demonstrate forgiveness as preventative spiritual warfare, 2 Corinthians 2:5–11 is analyzed, outlining the occasion that required the Corinthians’ forgiveness and revealing how forgiveness countered the scheme of Satan in the Corinthian church. Thus, the present church must avoid a mere façade of forgiveness and publicly exercise the forgiveness she has received in Christ, thereby preventing demonic schemes against God’s people.
Robert Golding
The Devil Is Not a Christian: Critiquing Christian Universalism as Presented by David Bentley Hart
David Bentley Hart’s book entitled That All Shall Be Saved is a powerful argument at first glance for the doctrine of Christian universalism, which is the view that those in hell all eventually enter heaven. However, upon a closer examination, it will be seen to be untenable. This paper will seek to refute Hart’s thesis by appealing to Scripture, critiquing the inner logic of his argument, and proffering an understanding of sin that willfully rejects God. The latter opposes Hart’s hamartiology, which has no category for the willful refusal of God, since, according to him, humans must always desire God.
Book Reviews
