The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles.
Editorial
J.V. Fesko
On Scholarship, Swords, and Scalpels
Strange Times
Daniel Strange
On (Not) Considering Theological Training
Kevin DeYoung
Does the American Revision of the Westminster Confession Contradict the Original Version on the Doctrine of the Civil Magistrate?
This essay reflects on how Presbyterians changed their views on the civil magistrate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. My contention is that Reformed political thought has not been static, and, in fact, that American Presbyterianism saw itself as correcting elements of the earlier tradition.
Jared Garcia
Was David Overreacting? Analyzing 1 Samuel 25 in Light of the Ancient Hospitality Code
Was Nabal’s refusal to give food for six hundred people such a terrible wrong that David in 1 Samuel 25 would have been justified in seeking vengeance by killing Nabal’s entire household? Did David simply overreact? This paper demonstrates that an acquaintance with the hospitality code of the Ancient Near East aids in the understanding of the events in 1 Samuel 25. First, part 1 analyzes the ancient hospitality code, examining typical scenes of hospitality along with observations from social anthropologists who study Mediterranean culture. Part 2 exhibits how the hospitality code answers the questions raised from the narrative in 1 Samuel 25.
G.K. Beale
Contextualizing the Controversial Instructions in 1 Timothy 2:11–15: A Response to Sandra L. Glahn, Nobody’s Mother
This article critically engages Sandra L. Glahn’s book, Nobody’s Mother, which attempts to offer further evidence from the ancient Greek world that supports the arguments that Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 2:11–15 are temporary restrictions and statements addressed only to a very specific occasion in first-century Ephesus. The author concludes that Glahn does not convincingly prove her argument and that 1 Timothy 2:11–15 still has ongoing validity for understanding the role of women in the church of the present day.
Todd R. Chipman
Fighting to the Finish: Five Roles for Endurance in Revelation
This essay is the second of a two-part analysis of John’s use of the articular substantival participle. John uses this grammatical form in various ways across his diverse literary contributions to the New Testament. One common use portrays roles humans might embrace or reject. In a previous essay, I investigated nine of the nineteen uses of πιστεύω as an articular substantival participle in the Gospel of John. In those places, John collocates this role-portraying grammatical form of πιστεύω with eternal life (3:15, 16, 36; 5:24; 6:35, 40, 47; 11:25, 26). Here, I use five headings to describe John’s use of the articular substantival participle, noting roles humans might embrace or reject in Revelation: [1] The One Who Reads and Hears God’s Word (1:3; 22:17, 18); [2] The One Who Conquers (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 15:2; 21:7); [3] The One Who Is Oriented Toward God or the World (2:7, 11, 17, 2:29; 3:6, 13, 22; 13:18; 17:9; 18:19; 20:6); [4] The One Who Is Slaughtered for The Testimony of Jesus (6:9; 18:24; 20:4); [5] The One Who Thirsts for God (21:6; 22:17). These roles identify the many practical ways that Jesus’s followers demonstrate their allegiance to Jesus, serving as a corrective to fatalism or passivity in the last days.
Kenneth J. Stewart
Hardier than Supposed: The Resurgence of Calvinism Across the 20th Century
The past quarter-century’s upsurge of interest in Calvinism has shown a strong tendency to under-value movements from the first half of the twentieth century. These earlier movements provided resources which in fact undergird what we have witnessed in our own lifetimes. These earlier efforts were international, transatlantic, and trans-denominational. They were not dominated by marginalized groups or isolated individuals on the fringes of Protestantism but included thinkers and writers drawn from both doctrinally comprehensive and self-consciously conservative churches.
Joshua M. Sims
The Church as Sacrament of Salvation in Roman Catholic Theology
This article examines the Roman Catholic doctrine of the church as “sacrament of salvation” first formally introduced in Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium (1964). Starting with the pre-Vatican II exclusivist position, the article traces how this doctrine developed from the Church-Incarnation idea, where the church continues Christ’s incarnational presence. The analysis reveals diverse Catholic interpretations ranging from conservative to inclusivist-universalist approaches. The article concludes with a reformed theological critique challenging three key aspects of the Roman doctrine: its universalist tendencies, its ontological rather than ethical understanding of salvation, and its diminishment of Christ’s ascension. The article advocates instead for a covenantal ecclesiology that maintains clear boundaries and emphasizes Christ’s completed work.
Roland Weisbrot
The Role of the Regula Fidei in the Twenty-First- Century Religious Landscape: How the “Rule of Faith” Can Help Address the Existential Issues of the Postmodern Christian Community
This article offers a historical-systematic analysis of the role of the rule of faith in establishing and maintaining the Christian metanarrative and orthodox scriptural interpretation. It seeks to answer who is truly following the historic Christian faith in the contemporary postmodern milieu. The modern relevance of the rule is established in light of the work of two twentieth-century theologians, Paul M. Blowers and Robert W. Jenson, who respectively posit a narrative and linguistic function for the rule. Therefore, the rule provides insights for contemporary theological questions by supplying a framework of faithful guidelines through which to engage them fruitfully.
Gavin Ortlund
Angelic Fall Theodicy in Dialogue with Tolkien, Augustine, and Aquinas
This article explores the relationship between Tolkien’s angelology, as reflected in his fictional writings, and classical angelology, particularly as represented by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Two aspects of classical angelology are examined: (1) the relation of angels to material creation and (2) the role of stewardship over material creation that God entrusted to angels. Particular attention is given to Augustine’s discussion of whether the angels “inhabit” or merely direct the stars, as well as to Aquinas’s teaching that all corporeal creatures are ruled by angels. It is suggested that classical theological reflection on angels in these areas can resource current articulations of angelic fall theodicy, especially those drawing from Tolkien. Specifically, classical angelology encourages ways of construing the relation of angels and material creation that may blunt the common charge of arbitrariness against the mechanism of angelic fall theodicy.
Anthony V. Costello
Philosophical Foundations of a Transgender Worldview: Nominalism, Utilitarianism, and Pragmatism
Every social and political phenomenon has some prior, underlying philosophical basis. The phenomenon of transgender ideology is no different. To many, transgenderism seemed to explode on the scene, as if from nothing. But transgenderism is not an ideology created ex nihilo. Its radical ideas and aggressive activism are grounded in foundations laid by other philosophical views – three in particular – which have long been taken for granted in western culture. Recently, Christian philosopher Abigail Favale has identified major shifts in the transgender movement and given a biblical answer to transgenderism’s claims. However, the underlying philosophical foundations of transgender ideology persist. Until these are addressed, we will find ourselves confronted by even more radical movements than transgenderism.
Jonathan D. Worthington
Empathy and Its Counterfeits: Navigating The Sin of Empathy and a Way Forward
In our families, churches, or neighborhoods; in political discussions, situations of accused abuse, or racially charged conversations; in polarizing times, compassion must be wed with relational exegesis, the well-established name for which is empathy. Empathy involves three primary components: understand, resonate, self-differentiate. When we dismiss or silo empathy research in favor of a popular but bastardized form of “empathy,” which Joe Rigney has done in his recent book The Sin of Empathy, a hamstringing of pastoral insight runs rampant. Rigney, swallowing a pop-culture definition of “empathy” against good research practices, has provided a counterfeit to empathy that leaves pastoral counsel about practical and cultural issues mostly impotent. This review article provides sound research on empathy, a helpful perspective on research itself, and therefore a responsible way forward in such polarized times.
Book Reviews
