Christian Scriptures Research Articles

Making sense of the COVID-19 pandemic from the Bible – Some perspectives

In this article, a brief survey of some of the ways in which biblical scholars try to make sense of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is offered. The views of the following scholars are discussed: Walter Brueggemann, Ying Zhang, John Goldingay and Kathleen Scott Goldingay, N.T. Wright, Philemon M. Chamburuka and Ishanesu S. Gusha, and Peter Lampe. This is followed by the reflections of a biblical scholar and a systematic theologian. From the perspective of a biblical scholar, the following issues are raised: the richness of biblical traditions, the influence of social location on the interpretation of the pandemic in the light of the Bible, the importance of the emphasis on lament, the reluctance to interpret the pandemic as a punishment from God, the importance of the interpreter’s view of God and the emphasis on the way in which the ‘new normal’ should be approached. From the perspective of a systematic theologian the following issues are discussed: The nature of doing theology, the role of the symbol of the Divine, performativity of sense-making, the Trinitarian confession, an emerging new self and the importance of an ethic of responsibility.Contribution: The article is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasises the critical importance of engaging the Christian scripture. The role accorded to hermeneutics and to an explicit interdisciplinary conversation makes a particular contribution to the emerging crisis discourse.

Persistent Pain and Promised Perfection:The Significance of an Embodied Eschatologyof Disability

People with disabilities experience different kinds of pain. That said, they are told in the Jewish and Christian scriptures that, in Heaven, their experiences of suffering will be relieved, and their disabilities normalized. Is that true, or will suffering (as distinct from pain) be allowed to persist in the afterlife? In order to explore this question, this paper will perform three tasks using biblical reflection, scholarly discourse, and autoethnographic narrative. First, it will define disability both as a physiological phenomenon and as a social construct, and similarly identify ableism, pain, and perfection; its definitions of pain will depend on Sarah Coakley’s polyvalent 2007 description. Second, having affirmed Jesus’ definition of perfection from Matthew 5:43–48, the essay will use scholarly reflections on pain and disability, Kathy Black’s explorations of a Gospel healing-narrative, and some of the author’s life-experiences, to demonstrate that kind of perfection. Third and finally, it will expand on that definition of perfection by drawing on both Amos Yong’s Christian meditations on resurrection, and Sharon Betcher’s postcolonial paradigm of illness as a creative matrix that promotes wholeness.

Christian interpretation of Esther before the Reformation

This contribution to Review & Expositor’ s issue on “Esther as Christian Scripture” surveys Esther scholarship before the Reformation with a view to identifying trends and with particular interest in the degree of any continuity that may bridge the Reformation as a point of demarcation. Contrary to what might be expected, this brief survey of the history of Christian Esther interpretation before the Reformation demonstrates that many of the issues confronting contemporary Esther scholarship surfaced in some form prior to the rise of modern critical scholarship (historicity, genre, gender relations, theological significance, etc.). A focus on the hebraica veritas after Jerome influenced Christian interpretation of the book down the path of allegory. Apparently pioneered by Aphrahat, Rhabanus Maurus gave the allegorical reading of Esther a form that became virtually standard in the half-millennium prior to the Reformation. In it, the allegorical significance of Ahasuerus (Jesus), Vashti (Jewry), Esther (the Church, Mary), and a number of details remained constant. The following two features of Esther interpretation surveyed here stand out negatively: the entire absence of concern for the book’s violence and the perverse but persistent interpretation of a book celebrating the deliverance of Jews in a supersessionist, even anti-Semitic, fashion.

Editorial introduction: Esther as Christian scripture

Editorial introduction: Esther as Christian scripture

Same-Sex Marriage in Ghana: Scripture, Health Law and Bioethics

Same-sex relationship is not a recent phenomenon. In the Christian scripture (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13) are traces of sexual prohibitions which have guided the morality of Christian marriage for years. Also, early colonial regulations in the Gold Coast (and perhaps other British colonies) contained strict prohibitions against homosexuality. In Ghana today, same-sex marriage is an illegal and ethical subject attracting diverse opinions. Whilst some Western countries recognize same-sex marriage and provide free movement as well as residency permits for same-sex couple, the marriage is repressed, criminalized and forbidden in most parts of Africa (if not entirely). The paper is to examine same-sex marriage and the extent to which scripture, health law and bioethics have shaped and informed attitudes toward homosexual activities in Ghana today. The paper examines Christian scriptural and bioethical responses which can serve as a means for co-existence. Keywords: Same-sex marriage, Scripture, Health law, Bioethics, Co-existence DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-4-04 Publication date: April 30 th 2021

Biblical versus Greek Narratives for Suicide Prevention and Life Promotion: Releasing Hope from Pandora’s Urn

Although suicide has been unfortunately stigmatized unfairly through the ages, we should not make the mistake of going to the opposite extreme and valorizing it. We should not forget that the major role of health care professionals is to prevent suicide when possible and to invigorate the underlying life force in the person. Suicide is often the ultimate outcome of a tragic and pessimistic view of life. It was prevalent in ancient Greek writing. Indeed, over 16 suicides and self-mutilations can be found in the 26 surviving tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides. In contrast, only six suicides can be found in the Hebrew Scriptures, and only one suicide in the Christian Scriptures. In addition, the Hebrew Scriptures present numerous suicide-prevention narratives that effectively provide a psychological instruction for people in despair which seems unavailable to figures in the writings of the great Greek tragedians. Unfortunately, some religious traditions tended to go to the opposite extreme in stigmatizing suicide rather than understanding it and trying to prevent it. This paper examines evidence regarding seven evidence-based risk factors for suicide: (1) Feeling depressed and isolated; (2) Feeling one’s life is without purpose; (3) Being a refugee from one’s homeland; (4) Feeling unable to express oneself with others; (5) Being adopted; (6) Feeling abandoned by one’s child leaving the family nest; and (7) Feeling doomed by a dysfunctional (indeed incestuous) family of origin We contrast biblical and Greek narratives regarding each of these factors, respectively: (1) Elijah against Ajax, (2) Job against Zeno, (3) David against Coriolanus, (4) Jonah against Narcissus, (5) Moses against Oedipus, (6) Rebecca against Phaedra, and finally, (7) Ruth against Antigone. These biblical figures thrive across risk factors while their Greek and Roman counterparts kill or mutilate themselves or provoke others to do the job. All these contrasts should demonstrate to psychotherapists, counselors, and clergy alike as to how Greek narratives lead to self-destructive behaviors while biblical narratives provide a hopeful positive psychology, and a constructive way out these dilemmas. My colleagues (Paul Cantz, Matthew Schwartz, and Moriah Markus-Kaplan) and I call for a biblical psychotherapy for positive psychology, suicide prevention, and indeed life promotion. Where hope is locked up in Pandora’s urn after she has released all the evils unto the world, the biblical God places hope into the sky as a bow after Noah and his family and all the creatures on the ark disembark to land after the receding of the flood.

Sexting and Sexual Injustices against Women in Ghana: A Case of Biblical Narratives of Dinah And Tamar

This paper evaluates the place of justice in sexual interactions between males and females in Ghana in particular and in Africa in general. It discusses the unfairness inherent in cases of rape, adultery and divorce and sexting in Ghana in light of African Biblical Hermeneutics. The study has discovered that issues of sexual injustices date back to ancient times with sexting being its latest dimension, especially in Ghana. Sexual injustices in any form have both cultural as well as religious connotations. Employing Narrative Criticism on the sexual stories of Dinah and Tamar in Genesis 34 and 2 Samuel 13 respectively, the study has established that the culture from which the Christian scripture originated was chauvinistic. Undoubtedly, one of the most integral causes is inherent in interpretation. The authors have therefore advocated for a reconstruction of those texts and worldviews by incorporating hermeneutics of inclusiveness and equality before God, using Jesus as the standard. Keywords: Sexting, Sexual injustices, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Narratives, Ethical.

Scriptural Relations: Colonial Formations of Anishinaabemowin Bibles in Nineteenth-Century Canada

In 1829 Anishinaabe chief and Methodist minister Kahkewaquonaby, or Peter Jones, published his first translation of the Christian bible into Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), an edition of the first seven chapters of the Gospel of Matthew printed in Toronto by the colonial government in Canada. This publication was soon followed by Anishinaabemowin translations of other Christian scriptures including the Gospel of John published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in London, England (1831) and Genesis published by the Toronto Auxiliary Bible Society in Toronto (1835). Despite deep imbrications in Indigenous, religious, political, and print histories of the country—and by contrast to vibrant scholarship produced on Indigenous-language bibles published in the United States—scholars have paid relatively little critical attention to Indigenous-language bible translation in colonial Canada. This article examines the materiality of Jones’s bible translations to argue that Indigenous-language bible translations mediated a range of relations between and among Indigenous peoples, missionaries, and colonial agents. In so doing, this paper shows how books can serve as useful archival objects to construct histories of religion and colonialism in North America, and how Indigenous-language bibles can reveal Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.

Feasts of Memory: Collective Remembering, Liturgical Time Travel and the Actualisation of the Past

AbstractHow does religious liturgy connect participants to each other and to those that went before them thereby creating a living tradition that can span millennia? By drawing together insights from theology, psychology, and the philosophy of mind, we seek to explore the nature of communal remembering in religious rites. We begin by showing that the sense of memory used in Jewish and Christian Scriptures is much richer than mere fact recollection; to remember is to participate in the events of the past, to experience them as part of the narrative of a community’s present, and to fuel the community’s imagination about its future. Crucial to this corporate religious sense of memory is the concept of actualisation, in which some ritual or narrative allows the community to relive events of the past. We then argue that contemporary work on the psychology and philosophy of memory can help us to think about the application of these biblical senses of memory to contemporary practice.

Exploring the Christian Teachings on Immigration in the Social Studies Classroom

Discussions on immigration in the social studies classroom have often focused on the political ideologies that frame the debate. Often, the religious and ethical frameworks surrounding immigration are often overlooked. This article provides a rationale for exploring the teachings of the Christian scriptures in relation to immigration, particularly in the U.S. social studies classroom. Though there is a relevance for all denominations of Christianity, there is particular focus on Protestantism. The reason behind this approach is based in Christianity’s strong influence on the United States’ society. However, it is also a religion where there is often little depth of knowledge and thus a source that can easily be manipulated by those in power. This article examines how teachers can help lead students into an exploration of Christian teachings on the importance of having a stance of compassion toward immigrants and ensuring they receive equal justice. This focus on the Christian teachings of immigration can be relevant for both Christian students, those of other faith traditions, and those who have no faith tradition. Ideally, the students will more thoroughly and accurately understand this crucial intersection of faith and immigration and move toward a just and inclusionary perspective on immigrant rights.

What Is That To You?

What Is That To You?

Slavery

Slavery Frederick Douglass In view of the recent1 existence of slavery in the United States and its recent voluminous discussion by the ablest scholars and statesmen of our country, it may hardly seem necessary at first sight that much should be said in this volume upon that subject. But this impression will in some measure disappear when the object of this book is considered and when it is remembered that while slavery is a thing of only a few years ago and that even the descendants of those who suffered its evils and now know little or noth-ing about it either in theory or in practice,2 and further, that the American people from their prepossessions are more likely to for-get too soon than to remember either slavery or its discussions too long, no apology will be needed for giving the subject a somewhat thorough discussion here and now. On general principles too, it seems proper to make this subject a permanent (prominent) starting point in this volume. Events crowd upon each other so rapidly and the flight of time wings its way so swiftly, and memory is generally so defective that the deepest impression made upon it by passing events are soon (def)faced and forgotten; besides this book is to illustrate the progress of the negro in the United States, and there can be no proper sense of such progress which does not take into account the nature of the conditions from which the negro started in the race of civilized life. Plainly enough he is not to be measured from the heights attained by others, but from the depths from which he has risen and is still rising. The reader will, therefore, see at a glance, the fitness of the prominence here given of (to) the subject of slavery. They will also see, perhaps, the wisdom of the publishers in committing to my hands this feature of their contemplated volume, I having experienced slavery in my own person. To deal intelligently and philosophically3 with the origin existence and history of slavery, and with its decline and fall in the United States, [End Page 371] it is necessary that a word should be said of its origin and decline in the world generally. For it is important to notice that the enslavement of the negro on this continent and in the adjacent islands is not an isolated fact but one connected with the whole volume of human history. Like other ideas and systems, evil as well as good, (Which have come down to us) slavery was evolved from pre-existing conditions. It is the testimony of scholars and historians that a system of servitude in one form or another, each form involving principles (more or less) analogous to those of American slavery, has existed in the world from the earliest ages of mankind. So that is age, custom and universality of endorsement and (practical) adoption could confer a valid title to respect and veneration, these exalted sentiments might be properly claimed for the institution of slavery not only in the United States, but (for slavery) everywhere else. It has certainly come down to us with all the prestige and authority of antiquity and (of) ancient greatness. It certainly (is known to have) existed and flourished amid the regal and architectural splendors of Egypt; it was a part of Hebrew, Grecian and Roman Civilization, and was recognized as a legitimate institution in all the countries of Western Europe. It could and did exist as safely in a Republic as in a Monarchy. It is older by a thousand years than the Christian Era. We have the authority of the eminent Doctor Paley4 for saying that slavery was a part of the civil constitution of most countries when Christianity appeared.5 The same learned authority informs us that no passage is found in the Christian Scriptures in which slavery is condemned or prohibited. In the argument for slavery the antiquity of the system has often been employed and has played an important part(.) as a means of (It was used to) dulling the (sharp) edge of the reproofs of (a reproving) conscience and (to...

1 & 2 Chronicles by Paul L. Redditt

Reviewed by: 1 & 2 Chroniclesby Paul L. Redditt Shuichi Hasegawa paul l. redditt, 1 & 2 Chronicles( Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary; Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2020). Pp. xxiv + 492 CD. $65. This new addition to the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary series features abundant visual materials and a CD-ROM that includes text and images in searchable PDF format. This series is aimed at "bridging the gap between the insights of biblical scholars and the needs of students of God's written word" and bringing "insightful commentary to bear on the lives of contemporary Christians" (p. xvii). Indeed, the core of the book is centered on these goals, most conspicuously in the sections titled "Connections." The editors of this series summarized the methodology employed in the series as follows: "The basic focus is the biblical text itself, and considerable attention is given to the wording and structure of texts. Each particular text, however, is also considered in the light of the entire canon of Christian Scriptures" (p. xviii). Moreover, the editors write, "Information from archaeology, ancient history, geography, comparative literature, history of religions, politics, sociology, and even economics is used to illuminate the culture of the people who produced the Bible" (p. xviii). [End Page 683] Paul L. Redditt, the author of the book under review and an editor for this series, states, "It is the task of modern, believing readers to read Chronicles in the context of its background, to see how it spoke to its intended audience, what there might be of enduring value in that interchange, and then to see how that might apply to modern lives" (p. 27). Hence, the author's task is to carry out such a reading. To achieve this task, R. frequently refers to a variety of primarily English-language scholarly works. In "The Purposes of Chronicles" in the introduction, R. tackles the important question of why Chronicles was written (esp. 14–18). In his explanation, R. highlights the socio-historical and theological milieu of Yehud, which he describes as a postexilic community located in and around Jerusalem in the fourth century b.c.e., the period during which Chronicles was composed. Redditt briefly expresses his opinion regarding the historical authenticity of Chronicles in the section entitled "The Historical Reliability of Chronicles" in the introduction, writing, "[S]aying that an event or act is not historically provable does not mean that a narrative of such an event is wrong, only that it is not 'historical' in a historian's sense of the term" (p. 27). According to R., therefore, "[t]he reader is left to determine the account's accuracy, meaning, and purpose without recourse to an appeal to its historicity" (p. 27). In the subsequent commentary, R. demonstrates such a method when accounting for the discrepancies between Chronicles and its main source, Genesis through Kings. For example, when dealing with the question of the historical authenticity of the account of Manasseh garrisoning in the fortified cities in Judah (2 Chr 33:14), R. states that "moderns rarely can prove that something did not happen in ancient times, so the reader can only note what the Chronicler said" (p. 418). In this way, the author seems content to forgo investigating the historical accuracy of the information missing in Kings. Surprisingly, the author neglects to discuss the issue from an archaeological perspective. This is all the more surprising considering that he sometimes consults archaeological research to support his textual analyses (e.g., p. 425). Manasseh's exile to Assyria and subsequent return are another such example. This event is mentioned exclusively in Chronicles (2 Chr 33:11–13). While recognizing the lack of historical evidence regarding this event, the author notes that "there is nothing inherently impossible about [it]" (p. 418). In other places, however, the author explains discrepancies between Chronicles and the source material as artifacts of the "retelling" or modification of the source by the Chronicler. For example, Chronicles lacks the negative episodes of David narrated in Samuel–Kings. Redditt does not specify his criteria for determining historicity. When discrepancies between Chronicles and the source material are discovered, readers will intuitively ask themselves which account is historically more accurate and why the...

A Study of the Poetic Foundations of Three Prominent Contemporary Poets Mehdi Akhavan Sales, Ahmad Shamloo and Hamid Mossadegh with an Approach to European Literature

Literary schools in the West are influenced by the social and political conditions prevailing in those societies; This means that each school in line with the political and social developments of its time has undergone structural and content changes and gives way to a school with a different perspective. In the second half of the sixteenth century, medieval civilization collapsed and underwent many social, political, and religious changes. The group of many high-ranking landowners and feudal lords who had been forced to pay large sums of money as a result of the successive defeats of France in the Hundred Years' War were gradually forced to sell their lands and properties with all legal rights. The tribal kings belonged to it. This caused the landowners to lose their influence and power, and the government to change from a form of sectarian monarchy to an absolute monarchy. The king, like the ancient Romans, was considered to have absolute authority in the administration of the affairs of the country, and the lords of all lands served the king. By order of the Shah, ministries, the army, the Court of Accounts and the judiciary were formed; The bourgeoisie, meanwhile, entered government positions because of the prosperity of the commercial and industrial market, the wealthy and influential. Other important events, such as new inventions, new naval discoveries, as well as wars known as the Italian Wars, all went hand in hand and completely changed the way of life and the situation of French society. With the advent of Luther and Calvin and fundamental religious reforms, popular belief in the teachings of the clergy waned, and since then Christianity has been limited to a set of rites and ceremonies held by Catholic priests. In addition, Christian theologians gradually found themselves without the need for direct reference to Christian scriptures and recklessly discussed religious issues. On the other hand, in literary works, the desire for great ideas disappeared and literature, which was based on spiritual favors, became frozen. Religious plays lost their religious and heavenly appeal and took on the color of hypocrisy and trade; In this way, almost all the systems and laws that ruled France for centuries were questioned at the beginning of this century, and fundamental changes took place in Europe at that time; But it was not long before the great scientific and maritime discoveries showed him the power of human thought and greatness, and showed him that human endeavors must expand without borders, and that in a world full of contradictions and contradictions, he is free to go his own way. Choose. From then on, people liked what they thought was beautiful and charming; Therefore, not only the manifestations of the world of sensations and the world of nature were in the center of attention, but also the literary works of ancient writers and poets, especially ancient Greece, were doubly valued by them. This gradually led to the formation of a new attitude.

Does the Spirit Have a Story? A Narrative Theology of the Holy Spirit

ABSTRACT Narrative theology has brought a renewed focus to the nature of the Christian faith as a storied one. A helpful way to understand the unity of the biblical texts is through seeing an overarching metanarrative to the Bible. While this has been applied to various dimensions of Christian theology, it seems little narrative attention yet has been given to the Holy Spirit. This article will offer an initial construction of a narrative pneumatology through the application of narrative theology. The essay will examine the major movements of the Spirit of God through the Christian Scriptures to construct a narrative of the Spirit that can aid in understanding both the doctrine of pneumatology as well as the biblical story as a whole. After a discussion of narrative theology and other interpretive and methodological considerations, the article will offer the following narrative framework: (1) Spirit Vivifies Creation, (2) Spirit Departs Humanity, (3) Spirit Empowers Israel, (4) Spirit Departs Israel, (5) Spirit Returns through Messiah, (6) Spirit Revivifies Creation. The contribution will conclude with possible implications of such an approach for pneumatology as well as other avenues needing further research.

Edmond Halley's Contributions to Hydrogeology.

Edmond Halley's Contributions to Hydrogeology.

Reseña de Isaac Kalimi (ed.), Bridging between Sister Religions – Studies of Jewish and Christian Scriptures Offered in Honor of Prof. John T. Townsend

Reseña de Isaac Kalimi (ed.), Bridging between Sister Religions – Studies of Jewish and Christian Scriptures Offered in Honor of Prof. John T. Townsend

Loving the Immigrant as the Premier Jewish and Christian Ethic

The modern term “immigrant” does not appear in the original Jewish and Christian scriptures. While concepts of nations, borders, and formal immigration did not develop until long after Biblical times, several Hebrew words existed for foreigners. An analysis of the words gēr, nēkār, rēa, zār, and tôšāb reveals how foreign strangers were regarded by the Jewish people. The established covenant commanded Jewish people to “love your neighbor (rēa) as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). This commandment, located in the middle of Leviticus and the middle of the Holiness Code, is considered by many to be the highest development of ethics in scripture. Still, a concentrated debate about passages in both Testaments continues among academics and religious leaders, especially about the Christian obligation to follow the laws of the land, but dissent if the laws are unjust. An examination of Jewish and Christian texts, world views, and contemporary scholarship is needed to determine how, if at all, believers should respond to the present immigration crisis in the United States. This paper shares some of the many stories in scripture about migration, concluding that the story of Jewish and Christian scripture, and indeed, the story of mankind, is one of migration.

Micah: An International Theological Commentary

Micah: An International Theological Commentary

The Minor Prophets as Christian Scripture in the Commentaries of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Cyril of Alexandria. By Hauna T. Ondrey

<i>The Minor Prophets as Christian Scripture in the Commentaries of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Cyril of Alexandria</i>. By <scp>Hauna</scp> T. <scp>Ondrey</scp>