God Spoke Research Articles

THE CALLING OF ABRAHAM. A RABBINIC MIDRASHIC INTERPRETATION OF THE STORY OF ABRAHAM

In the following article we will analyze the episode of the call of Abraham as it was imagined by the authors of the Genesis Rabbah 39. We will deal with the various aspects of literary devices and structure, and then we will look at the theological worldview that emerges out of Genesis Rabbah. The literary genre of Midrashic Literature employs a number of devices which set this type of literature apart from the others. The formula lech lecha (go yourself) functions as the key expression in Genesis Rabbah 39. We will also ask questions about the historical and social background that may have influenced the rabbis in their exposition of the life of Abraham. We will notice that the world in which Abraham lived resembled a palace that was set on fire, an allusion to the world that God created and that, apparently, seems at the mercy of wickedness and evil. It was this context in which God called Abraham, a righteous man whom God spoke to, and used more than any other people of his generations.

"No Wonder That on This Spot God Spoke to Us": Intersection of Anglican Tourist-Pilgrims and Archaeology in British Mandate Palestine

For British Anglican tourists, archaeological tourism in Palestine marked an expansion of a broader British cultural and religious relationship to Palestine as a land made familiar by a childhood of bible stories and nativity scenes, and one which played a role in the biblification of Palestine and the appropriation of its past to validate and strengthen a connection to Britain and the Mandate. Archaeology offered a direct link to the materiality of the biblical past, experienced via a “kairotic moment” in which the past meets the present. By examining reports of British travelers to Palestine, this article considers how materially embodied religious experiences not only drove tourist movement to Palestine but also functioned as a keystone in Britain’s relationship with Palestine during the Mandate period. Behind this growth in archeological tourism, however, is a story of tension, most notably between Mandate Palestine’s first director of antiquities, John Garstang, and the Mandate and Westminster governments. From his optimism in a report on the future of archaeology in Palestine in 1919 to his bitter resignation in 1926, Garstang’s story represents the Mandate’s failures with regard to archaeology. These tensions and Garstang’s unease foreshadowed the development of archaeology as a tool of settler colonialism in occupied Palestine today.

The Use of Smartphones to Communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ

There have been many changes in the organisational structure, leadership style, and divisional groups of the Christian Church that form their own identity and brand. For each group, sect and denomination, the methods used differ widely. Musical instruments were also introduced into church worship over time. While many of these organisations have maintained the foundational message of Christ, many have begun to adopt newer technology to communicate both internally and externally about their ministry. Smartphones are ubiquitous, and they are an advancement in new media technology, particularly with the introduction of the Internet. The internet and WEB 2.0 applications made it possible for smartphones to emerge. As internet speeds increased, the experience of accessing information became more seamless. Making the gospel message visual and sharing it over social media through the use of smartphones allows the gospel message to reach a wider audience in a shorter period of time. When God spoke to Moses, he communicated with him visually. Through his prophets like Hosea 12:10, Numbers 12:6 and Isaiah 1:1 he also used visions, dreams, and the spoken word. The Bible also mentions an increase in knowledge, and new media innovations are part of that process. As a result, this paper investigated the use of smartphones to share messages during church services and whether such usage is a digital distraction. This paper employed a qualitative secondary data analysis as well as focus groups with pastors and congregational members. This paper was conceptualised using the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) which is essentially an audience-centered approach to understanding mass communication. According to the findings, appropriate smartphone use can be a very effective communication device; however, not everyone uses them correctly. It is clear that new media is constantly evolving, and it would be advantageous for the local church to intentionally use smartphones to engage in ministry and share the gospel message. As a further study, it would be interesting to conduct comparative research on the use of smartphones and social media among other religious groups.

Happy Reading: Textual Self-Consciousness and Human Flourishing in the Macarisms of Lk 11.28, Gos. Thom. 79.2, and Rev. 1.3

Scholars are rediscovering how early Christian texts addressed questions of human flourishing and exploring how textualization may have affected interpretation. These two trends intersect in the beatitudes or macarisms of Lk 11.28, Gos. Thom. 79.2, and Rev. 1.3, which attribute “flourishing” to obedient hearers of a divine word mediated by Jesus. I argue that early Christ followers may have understood these macarisms to promise flourishing to those who receive Luke, Thomas, or Revelation as a written divine word from Jesus. Many early “readers” would have encountered these texts aurally, creating a link between “hearing the word of God” and hearing the written text read aloud. Moreover, these works exhibit “textual self-consciousness” in which they acknowledge their own existence as written documents, present themselves as messages from or about Jesus, and suggest that they should carry authority. Because the “word(s)” extolled in the macarisms are Jesus’s words, and the works are presented as Jesus’s words, hearers could have connected the works themselves with the divine word(s) that enable flourishing. Such a connection may have reinforced the practice of reading and hearing these texts, encouraged further textual transmission of the works, and affected how Christ followers perceived God spoke to them through written works.

“In All Ages and All Churches”: Anti-Mormonism and the Making of Antebellum Evangelicalism

“In All Ages and All Churches”: Anti-Mormonism and the Making of Antebellum Evangelicalism

Is the Study of Hebrew Useless for Orthodox Theologians? A Response to Some Recent Assertions Put Forward by Jean-Claude Larchet

In one of his recent books, Jean-Claude Larchet argued that the study of Hebrew is useless for those doing research in the field of Orthodox theology, since the Church fathers used the Greek version of the Old Testament (Septuagint). There are at least two reasons that might be advanced in order to prove the invalidity of Larchet’s thesis. First, fostering an attitude of ignorance as regards the Hebrew Bible might nurture anti-Judaic beliefs among Orthodox students, considering that such attitudes could be noticed in Romania during the interwar period. Second, the Fathers of the Church had a favorable attitude towards Hebrew, despite the fact that few of them actually knew that language. They held the belief that Hebrew was the primordial language through which God spoke to mankind in the beginning and through which the Old Testament was revealed. Both the Hebrew language and the Hebrew alphabet played a significant role in their theoretical considerations on the canon of the Holy Scripture. Since Larchet published his work in Romanian, his theses and their implications are discussed from the perspective and in the context of Romanian Orthodox theology.

Alison G. Salvesen and Timothy Michael Law, eds. The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint

Alison G. Salvesen and Timothy Michael Law, eds. <i>The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint</i>

Review Article

Review Article

“At Many Times and in Various Ways”: Hebrews and the Hermeneutics of Exposition

ABSTRACT A crucial hermeneutical issue for expository preaching is the relationship between the responsibility to teach the text (giving due acknowledgment to the “many” and “various” ways in which God spoke through the authors of Scripture) and the commission to preach Christ (who is “the same yesterday and today and forever”). In this article I explore the dynamics of that relationship through a series of case studies in the hermeneutical practices of the writer to the Hebrews. Within the larger hermeneutical framework established by the letter’s opening verses, I examine the various ways in which Scripture is quoted, echoed, explained, and applied in Hebrews 2:5–3:6, 3:7–4:13, and 12:1–13. What emerges from the study is not a single, inflexible rule but a warrant for the kind of expository preaching that is sensitive to the particularities of the biblical text (in both its content and its illocutionary force), cognisant of the circumstances of the hearers, and directed toward the goal of encouraging God’s people to hear and respond to the unchanging word spoken by God in his Son.

Wiara kształtowana przez Objawienie. Refleksja nad wiarą jako „adekwatną odpowiedzią”

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Faith is not man’s own project, but his adequate response to Revelation, the personal self-giving of God in history. Because the initiative of Revelation is an absolute condition for the possibil- ity of faith, it gives faith a concrete shape — the specific features of Revelation shape the way faith is formed. The first feature of Revelation is the fact that the Word of God spoke in the human word, that is why faith is not a direct view of the Divine, but it is carried out by reception of what is immanent. The next feature of Revelation is the dialectic of the self-revealing and self-veiling of God. Faith in a natural way is thus stirred with questions, it cannot be manipulated and possessed. The third feature of Revelation, the one that most affects the specific shape of faith, is the fact that it was ultimately accomplished by the Divine Person of the Logos who accepted human nature. Historically becoming the person of Jesus Christ, who is the “universale concretum”, and living in a specific time and space, he embodies in himself the ultimate saving will of God for every human being. The bond with the saving God is accomplished through a bond with Jesus Christ, present today in his Body, which is the Church.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

“God Spoke to Me”: Subjective Paranormal Experience and the Homeostatic Response to Early Trauma

The prevalence of reported subjective paranormal experience (SPE) is at high levels in all populations investigated to date. This article presents a new integrative theory of SPE in light of the brain’s homeostatic response to early trauma. I hold that developmental factors in the brain’s responses to trauma predispose victimized individuals towards SPE and paranormal beliefs. I examine the reported associations between childhood abuse, dissociation, depersonalization, compartmentalization, fantasy generation, homeostasis and SPE. A new integrative theory of psychological homeostasis draws upon the mechanisms of dissociation and fantasy generation to explain the origins of SPE. Twelve hypotheses from the Homeostasis Theory are found to be consistent with the findings of multiple studies and falsifying evidence has yet to be identified. Freezing and associated releases of fantasy, which may take the form of SPE, serve as a survival strategy in the homeostatic regaining of safety and control following childhood abuse. Prospective research is necessary to deepen our understanding of the brain mechanisms required by the system described here.

"In ancient times, God spoke in different ways to our ancestors and through the prophets": Existential and Ontological Possible Parallels between Yoruba Traditional Religion and the Christ Event

According to Paul, grace is a giftto all through the vicarious suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 5:15–16), grace that was extended to all even when humanity was dead in sin. This provides a framework for a theological reexamination of black Africa's religious traditions. Borrowing from traditional Yoruba religious cosmology, it is argued that pre-missionary religious practices are preparatio evangelium, sacred spaces mediating grace and the birthing of communitarian virtues. With parallels from within this tradition, examined with the Christ event, it is argued further that Christian missionary efforts often demonized traditional religions due to ignorance. The colonial assumption that cultural and religious rituals of Africa are "pagan and uncivilized" animism will be debunked. Parallels can be drawn between the story of Jesus and the religious narratives within and beyond Yoruba traditional cosmogony. This essay concludes that traditional religions of ethnic peoples were already sacred spaces mediating Christ's grace before the advent of the slave raiders, colonialists, or white missionaries. It challenges Euro-American perception and understanding of the religious traditions of Africa as sacred places of Christ's grace, thereby creating grounds for an ecumenical handshake between Christianity and various African traditional religious belief systems.

The Christological Aspects of Hebrew Ideograms

Abstract: The linguistic form of the Hebrew Old Testament retained its ancient ideogram values included in the mystical directions and meanings originating from the divine way of addressing people. As such, the Old Hebrew alphabet has remained a true lexical treasure of the God-established mysteries of the ecclesiological way of existence. The ideographic meanings of the Old Hebrew language represent the form of a mystagogy through which God spoke to the Old Testament fathers about the mysteries of the divine creation, maintenance, and future re-creation of the world. Thus, the importance of the ideogram is reflected not only in the recognition of the Christological elements embedded in the very structure of the Old Testament narrative, but also in the ever-present working structure of the existence of the world initiated by the divine economy of salvation. In this way both the Old Testament and the New Testament Israelites testify to the historicizing character of the divine will by which the world was

The earliest portrait of St Columba: Cod Sang 555, p 166

The portrait of St Columba was made on the last page of a version of The Life of St Columba by Adomnán. The book, Cod Sang 555, was written at the monastery of St Gallen in the later 9th century and the drawing possibly added shortly afterwards. The image shows Columba both on a mountain and inside a church, both alive with hands raised in prayer and dead, represented by his adjacent reliquary. The shape of the reliquary is matched by an illustration of the Ark of the Covenant, made at St Gallen at about the same time. This reveals the meaning of the picture: as God spoke to his people from the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant, Columba speaks directly to his reader and devotees through his relics in the shrine. It is proposed that the smaller container beside the reliquary is a satchel, possibly for containing this book itself. Typological exegesis relating the Old Testament to Columba explains Columba’s mystical appearance simultaneously on the mountain and in a church; and his ability to appear in person after his death. The concept of praesentia accounts for his active role as intercessor for his followers. The picture was composed at a time when illustrated saints’ lives were beginning to develop with detailed narrative sequences. This image stands apart because it does not illustrate events from the accompanying text. The text of Cod Sang 555 had already excised details of Columba’s Irish/ Scottish background on Iona to make it more relevant to a continental audience. Likewise, this image places Columba, through the power of his relics, no longer on Iona but directly before his followers in St Gallen Abbey.

Michael Timothy Law, When God Spoke Greek. The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible (Oxford – New York: Oxford University Press 2013)

Michael Timothy Law, When God Spoke Greek. The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible (Oxford – New York: Oxford University Press 2013)

Sacrifice as the Key to Understanding the Difference and Relationship Between the Priesthood of the Baptized and of the Ordained

Sacrifice as the Key to Understanding the Difference and Relationship Between the Priesthood of the Baptized and of the Ordained Matthew J. Albright (bio) I. Introduction A precise understanding of the common priesthood of the baptized, both in relationship to Jesus Christ and vis-à-vis the ministerial priesthood of the ordained, continues to elude us, as evidenced by the appearance of a modern clericalism and novel attempts at sharing the duties of ordained priest with the laity. The common priesthood and the hierarchical priesthood both descend from divine origin and are rooted in Scripture and Tradition. Yet, in response to the emphasis placed on the common priesthood by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council—in stark contrast to the historical experience in some places of a heavily cultic priesthood distant from the laity—there has been a frenzy of disparate interpretations. Some of these have stripped both ordained ministry and the universal call to holiness offered to all the baptized of their unique connotations. Rooted in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the life of the Church, the Priesthood of Jesus Christ himself becomes the source of the Christian understanding of priesthood and of the two manifestations of priesthood in the Church. The centrality of the life and ministry of Jesus, particularly his sacrifice on the Cross, is the core of the identity and experience of priesthood. Both in the sacred liturgy and in the life of costly discipleship, the sacrifice of Christ is manifest for the baptized and the ordained. The celebration of Christ’s sacrifice in the Eucharistic liturgy and the living out of the sacrificial dimension of discipleship is the key to understanding the priesthood of the baptized and of the [End Page 310] ordained. Properly understood, both priesthoods mutually support and nourish one another for the complete flourishing of the whole Body of Christ. In liturgy and in life, the disciple is defined by his sharing in the sacrifice of Christ. Pope Francis has been clearly emphasizing the importance of a personal encounter with Jesus as the foundation for all we are and do as a Church. To the members of the Society of Jesus gathered at the Church of the Gesù in Rome for the feast day of Saint Ignatius, Pope Francis delivered a homily using the emblem of the Society—the monogram IHS—to illustrate “the centrality of Christ for each one of us and for the whole Company, the Company that Saint Ignatius wanted to name ‘of Jesus’ to indicate the point of reference.”1 Jesus Christ is the point of reference for the life of the whole Church, for the life of every disciple and, in a particular way, for our understanding of priesthood. The Christian life is an encounter with Christ. Living the common and ministerial priesthoods is possible only when we understand the priesthood of Christ in which both find their origin. Pope St John Paul II spoke to the bishops of the northwest region of the United States on October 9, 1998 about the foundational role of the priesthood for understanding the proper role of the faithful in the sacred liturgy: “The sharing of all the baptized in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ is the key to understanding the Council’s call for ‘full, conscious and active participation’ in the liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14).”2 This is true not only for liturgical participation but for the whole Christian life. Our sharing in Christ’s life, in particular his priesthood, defines how we live out the call to discipleship and our own individual vocations. We will see how Jesus builds on the ancient priesthood and leaves behind a new participation in his eternal priesthood that is manifest in the life of the Church. II. Priesthood in the Old Covenant God spoke to his faithful people from ages past through the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Moses and the Judges; the [End Page 311] Kings David and Solomon; in various and sundry ways through the prophets. In the Old Testament, “we can distinguish two forms of the reality of the priesthood.”3 First, “the non-specialized exercise of priestly functions” is “carried out by the...

When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian BibleLawTimothy Michael When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible Oxford University PressNew York, 2013, 216, $24.95ISBN 978-0-19-978172-0

When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian BibleLawTimothy Michael <i>When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible</i> Oxford University PressNew York, 2013, 216, $24.95ISBN 978-0-19-978172-0

When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible. By TIMOTHY MICHAEL LAW.

When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible. By TIMOTHY MICHAEL LAW.

Visionary Hope

Visionary Hope

Book Review: When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible. By Timothy Michael Law

Book Review: When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible. By Timothy Michael Law