Theos Report on Productivity

A new report from Theos has been published:

Nick Spencer, Hannah Rich and Nathan Mladin, More: The Problem with Productivity (London: Theos, 2024).

According to the blurb:

‘There is a relentless emphasis on improving productivity today – and with good reason. Productivity is, economically speaking, extremely important. But productivity is an unexamined idea, one of those words that “think for us”.

‘The challenge posed at the heart of this report is: Productivity of what? What are we trying to produce more of, and why?

‘Productivity at its deepest and most profound level is not a matter of creating more stuff but of forming better “persons”. Improving productivity levels can enable that, but it may not. In particular, when it comes to activities in which the human dimension is central, improving productivity can be counterproductive.

‘As developed economies become ever more service-based, this can become a serious issue. Encouraging people to become productive in such service interactions can undermine the personal, human good inherent in the activity itself.

‘And although AI can boost productivity in many sectors, including the service sector, it is not a solution to the problem of productivity outlined in this report and poses risks to essential human goods and values.

‘Ultimately, as we seek to solve our “productivity problem”, we need to avoid idolising productivity or allowing it to corrode what is most precious to us.’

A pdf of the full report is available here.

Mission Catalyst 1 (2024) on Theologies of Space and Exclusion

The current issue of Mission Catalyst, published by BMS World Mission, is now available.

This issue is devoted to ‘Theologies of Space and Exclusion’.

Here’s the blurb:

‘This issue of Mission Catalyst celebrates 75 years of the International Baptist Theological Seminary. Mike Pears addresses questions of space and exclusion, David Burau, Kieryn Wurts and Matt Norman think about why we need theology, and Marion Carson shares a story of grounded theology in a pastoral context. There’s shelf awareness from Ingeborg te Loo and Natalia-Nana’s regular column examines othering, while Malky Currie’s page designs expand your exploration of all these themes.’

Mission Catalyst is available as a free subscription, or this issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Christopher J.H. Wright

Chris Wright – noted biblical scholar, author, and speaker – now has a dedicated website, containing many resources: information about publications, links to sermons, videos, articles, and more besides.

Check it out here.

Adam Mabry on When God Seems Gone

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (September 2024) it’s When God Seems Gone: Finding Hope When Nothing Makes Sense by Adam Mabry, which is available in exchange for an email address here.

Mission Frontiers 46, 5 (September–October 2024)

The September–October 2024 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by Frontier Ventures, contains a number of articles devoted to the topic of ‘People Group Theory’.

Here’s part of the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘The commands to take the gospel to all the nations – and the ultimate result among all peoples – are familiar. But what exactly do we mean by “the nations”? Scripture couldn’t have had in mind today's nation-states, which didn’t exist in New Testament times. But neither did our modern concept of ethnolinguistic groups. So what does it really mean to take the gospel to all peoples?’

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

Themelios 49, 2 (August 2024)

The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles.

Editorial

Brian J. Tabb

What Makes a ‘Good’ Theological Article?

Drawing on his years of experience as Themelios’s editor, Tabb explains in detail what a quality theological essay involves. An article must be aligned with the journal’s aims and marked by fidelity, freshness, fitness, focus, rigor, readability, and relevance.

Strange Times

Daniel Strange

The Tightrope of Teaching Typology

Strange reflects on the nature of two typologies – Alan Race’s threefold typology of religion and H. Richard Niebuhr’s fivefold typology of culture– and how they relate to theological education. By classifying and organizing religions and cultures, believers function in the image of God.

Kevin DeYoung

A Tale of Two Texts: How the Westminster Confession of Faith Was Changed by American Presbyterians to Reflect a New Understanding of the Civil Magistrate

DeYoung juxtaposes the American Presbyterians’ revision of the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1788 with the original 1646 version. He highlights how the American Presbyterians rejected the European model of the relationship between church and state, preferring to keep the two generally separate.

Nathan Cantu

“Do Not Think It Is Impossible for Anyone to Please God While Engaged in Active Military Service”: An Augustinian Critique of the Narrative of the American Military

Cantu applies Augustine’s insights in Confessions and The City of God. According to Augustine, Christians don’t participate in military service for the glory and expansion of the state but to preserve peace, restrain evil, and facilitate the church’s work.

Joshua Bremerman

Wisdom Is Vindicated by Her Deeds: Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 in Matthew 11:16–19

This article proposes an Old Testament allusion to Ecclesiastes 3 in Matthew 11:16–19. Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 is the “wisdom” that Jesus has in mind, and Bremerman argues that the context of Ecclesiastes 3 sheds light on Jesus’s biting critique of his audience.

Mark Makowiecki

Irenaeus and the Adam-Christ Typology in the Gospel of John

Some scholars propose that Adam Christology is only found in Pauline literature. Makowiecki, however, argues it can be discerned in Irenaeus’s reading of John’s Gospel. The Fourth Gospel is a treasure trove of insights into the relationship between Adam and Christ.

Timothy E. Miller

Unbelieving Child and Qualified Elder: A Case for “Faithful” Children in Titus 1:6

Commentators and English translations have leaned toward the “believing” position on Titus 1:6: elders must have Christian children to remain qualified for ministry. Miller argues, though, that the Greek word πιστά is best rendered “faithful” in accordance with lexical, contextual, theological, and practical considerations.

Jacob Boyd

John Owen’s Theology of Public Worship

Boyd presents the case that John Owen pushed back against imposed liturgies, such as the Book of Common Prayer, because their enforcement crippled a congregation’s ability to worship God freely. Owen’s theology of public worship is established on the triune God and beholding him by faith now. A church’s worship should be characterized by actively being in communion with Christ and by looking at him through the prescribed ordinances of worship found in God’s Word.

Leland Brown

An All-Out Ministry: Strain and Suffering in Spurgeon’s Pastoral Theology

While C.H. Spurgeon’s sufferings and pastoral ministry have often been explored separately, Brown recognizes that Spurgeon viewed his suffering and ministry as going hand-in-hand. Pastors must suffer because they’re Christ’s servants, conduits of his grace to others. Spurgeon’s outlook is also a model for pastors today.

J. Brittain Brewer

Atonement by Union: Probing Crisp’s Union Account with John Owen

Oliver Crisp has recently suggested a novel “union account” that takes into consideration many of the classic atonement views while arguing for a basic coherence in terms of realistic solidarity with Christ. Brewer’s article appraises the strengths and weaknesses of Crisp’s account, suggesting the Reformed tradition, especially John Owen, provides a stronger atonement model that incorporates union and doesn’t fall prey to the problems of a realist solidarity.

Dennis M. Sullivan

Contraception and the Church: Making Sense of the Debate and Some Pastoral Advice

Sullivan reviews the ethical and theological issues surrounding birth control, with an emphasis on hormonal methods. He evaluates emergency contraception, intrauterine devices, natural family planning, and sterilization. The article concludes with practical implications for local-church ministry.

Robert P. Menzies

Simultaneous Prayer: A Pentecostal Perspective

Menzies responds to Scott D. MacDonald’s Themelios article that questions the practice of simultaneous prayer in Acts 4:23–31. Menzies argues that this passage describes the corporate practice of praying different prayers at the same time. The Acts 4 prayer, when viewed against the backdrop of Luke’s literary style and his emphasis on prayer, is neither preplanned nor liturgical.

J. David Willoughby

The Spirit of God and the Religions of the World: A Response to Amos Yong’s Claims

Amos Yong, an acclaimed Pentecostal scholar, argues for what he calls a pneumatological theology of religions. Such a viewpoint allows him to “bracket the soteriological question” and bypass the constraints of a narrow Christology, opening the possibility of salvation to those outside the Christian faith. Yong goes on to suggest the Holy Spirit sustains non-Christian religions and that they are, in fact, his instruments in the world today. Willoughby surveys Yong’s view on the Spirit and world religions, evaluates it in light of biblical data, and then proposes a more biblical way of speaking of the Spirit’s interaction among those of other faiths.

Cody Wilbanks

“We Do Not Lose Heart”: Theological Encouragement for Endurance and Opportunities for Reflection from 2 Corinthians 4:1–16

Pastors often experience great hardship in ministry and are prone to burnout and discouragement. Wilbanks explores Paul’s theological encouragement for endurance in 2 Corinthians 4:1–16 and offers opportunities for personal reflection for those in the throes of gospel ministry.

Book Reviews

Christian History Magazine on Christianity and Theatre

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to ‘Christianity and Theater’.

From the blurb:

‘What does a Christian relationship with theater look like? Throughout the years, Christians have approached this question in numerous ways. Some in the early church, like Tertullian, rejected theater, identifying anti-Christian and idolatrous roots that made participation a problem. But others embraced theater, redeemed it, and created it.

‘Learn more about not only the most famous playwrights, but also about the abbesses, noblewomen, Mexican and African American dramatists, and contemporary actors who have brought the greatest Story ever told to new audiences through theater. Join us in this issue of Christian History as we explore the relationship between Christianity and theater, from critique to creative participation, starting in the early church and into the twentieth century.’

The whole magazine is available as a 11.9 MB pdf here.