Judeo-Christian Scriptures Research Articles

Building welcoming and inclusive congregations: Biblical hospitality as a theological paradigm

This article addresses the question, ‘how can congregations that exhibit prejudice toward LGBTQQIA+ persons (different expressions of nonheterosexuality), overcome bias and discriminatory practices to become missionally holistic, hospitably welcoming, and inclusive of these individuals?’. The answer can be found in engaging an alternative biblical hermeneutic that emphasises the socio-historical context of a given narrative, thus creating a broader and deeper understanding of the principle of biblical hospitality as a fundamental theological premise inherent within the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Accomplishing transformative change demands intentionality by clergy equipped to engage the issues effectively. Pastoral ministers must cultivate the exegetical skills needed to guide local missional churches towards greater inclusivity, with the goal of creating more hospitably welcoming and inclusive faith communities.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article engages a dialogue between biblical and practical theology as missional praxis supporting congregational development as ecclesial reformational transformation to enable local churches to become hospitably welcoming and inclusive.

Exploring Theological and Biblical perspectives on wealth and poverty

The subject of wealth and poverty is one of the major themes in the JudeoChristian Scriptures. The continent of Africa is one of the regions hugely affected by poverty. As such, there is an ongoing discourse about the biblical view of wealth and how it may be used in tackling the canker of poverty. At one breath, our contemporary materialistic culture is seducing Christians to accept the idea that poverty is a curse from God, whilst on the other extreme, wealth is viewed as an impediment to entering the kingdom of God. While a complete eradication of poverty remains a formidable challenge, particularly in vulnerable contexts, there exists an opportunity for more concerted efforts to alleviate the plight of the impoverished. As a contribution to the scholarly discourse, this paper examined what the Bible reveals about wealth and poverty and made relevant theological deductions for African church in dealing with wealth and poverty. This is timely against the backdrop that the “centre of gravity” of Christianity is in Africa which makes it befitting to address the menace of poverty from the biblical standpoint. The paper conducted a theological study of relevant biblical passages. The fact that one’s wealth does not necessarily indicate their acceptance by God and the need to share material resources were emphasized. Though the authors had the African continent in mind, the paper also applies to other contexts which share Africa’s socio-economic realities.

Climate Emergency as Revelation: The Tragedy and Illusion of Sovereignty in Christian Political Theologies

In this article, the realities of the climate emergency reveal that human beings, especially those of us in the grips of capitalism, imperialism, and nationalism, have little control over nature and we are inextricably a part of nature. This revelation further exposes the tragedy and illusions of sovereignty, which is produced and maintained, in part, by Judeo-Christian scriptures and political theologies. While this revelatory event is disruptive, it also invites us to reimagine political theologies without the belief that sovereignty is existentially or ontologically necessary for political belonging. This includes embracing the revelation of the infinite, non-privileging care of a non-sovereign God for all creation.

کتب مقدسہ میں بشارات نبوی کا بیان اور اردو سیرت نگاروں کا اخذ و استفادہ: تحلیل و تجزیہ

It can safely be said that the colonial period ushered a new era of Sīrah-writing in the Indian subcontinent. A number of biographies of the Prophet (PBUH) were written in response to the works of Orientalists on Sīrah. In this wake, many Urdu biographers employed traditional and innovative methodologies in their biographies of the Prophet (PBUH). One such innovation was the usage of sacred scriptures of other religions in their biographies. This article studies the prophecies about the Prophet (PBUH) in Judeo-Christian scriptures and the ways in which Urdu biographers of the Prophet (PBUH) utilized them in their works.

The Problem of Contextualizing a Prestigious Yet Non-Divine Jesus of Islamic Tradition: Theorizing a Radical Transition in the Course of Christology from the New Testament to the Qur’an

This article addresses the question of the messianic motif of Christianity making its way into the Qur’an without wearing a badge of high New Testament Christology. It attempts to explore and understand a potentially underlying connection among the Islamic ‘Isā, the New Testament Jesus, and the Jewish messiah in a quest for the configuration of a historical Christ through the ideological and historical minefields that exist between the Islamic and the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. The person of Jesus is, therefore, understood to be historical in the article without positing a response to the fundamental questions raised by the historical Jesus skepticism. What I will try to avoid in the following pages, on the contrary, is to treat and brand the Qur’anic portrayal of Jesus as a “stand-alone” concept—indifferent to the historical context of the Bible—hanging in a theological balance, as some critics would be inclined to call it. The article is linearly structured according to the major Qur’anic precepts and concepts developed around the person of Jesus through its text, which originally do not follow a particular sequence. A comparative study of Islamic Jesus against a two-pronged history of the concept is carried out for a critical analysis of the characterization of Islamic Jesus and the received concept of messiah. Such an analysis is important particularly on two fronts: comparison with the Judeo-Christian Bible and comparison with the orthodox Islamic position in certain aspects that fall outside the Qur’anic provenance. The life and ministry of Jesus pictured in the present article is, for the most part, a reconstruction of the important notion of Christology from within the Qur’an without breaking it down to a form of reductionism capitalizing on rudimentary borrowing from an external source.

Message of Biblical Apocalyptic Literature and its Relevance for Contemporary Christianity in Ghana

Undoubtedly, apocalyptic literature is among the difficult literature to understand and to interpret due to its literary genre and mode of communication which is often in the form of visions. Though weird symbols and images shrouded in secrets and coded language are the content of these visions, the literature [those in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures] has been both an inspiration and a mystery to Christians in particular and Ghanaian Christians in general. Apart from serving as a motivational tool for Christians to know that true authority and power belongs to God, and among others, the literature also offers hope to Ghanaian Christians of the impending judgment at the end of this age. Though the literature has not been rightly handled by some Ghanaian pastors and Christians, the unending effect has made people hope in the Lord. This paper, therefore, contributes to the general knowledge of apocalyptic literature and accentuates how its message in the Judeo-Christian scriptures have greatly influenced the beliefs, lifestyle, and thought pattern of Ghanaians in general, and contemporary Christianity in Ghana, in particular; making them live in consonance with the message of the biblical apocalyptic literature which encourage them to develop a certain kind of belief, thought pattern, and lifestyles different from an ordinary individual, and not otherwise. Keywords: Apocalyptic literature, apocalypse, apocalypticism, apocalyptic eschatology, Ghanaian Christianity

ROLE OF CULTURE IN BIBLE INTERPRETATION: A REFERENCE TO ASANTE-TWI BIBLE READING COMMUNITY

Bible interpretation plays a major role in helping the local indigenes to understand the gospel message in their mother-tongue. Since the Bible was written in the cultural settings of the original audience, which is different from the culture of the present reader, Bible interpreters try to import the culture of the original readers in the process of interpreting the Bible; making it difficult for present readers to understand some of the concepts of the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Using Paul Hiebert’s suggestion for Bible interpreters and missiologists to make the gospel have a proper meaning to the local indigenes through proper interpretation, this article argues that Bible interpreters should interpret the Bible into the Asante-Twi reading community considering their culture, as Bible readers cannot be separable from their culture. It also proposes that proper Bible interpretation should meet the cognitive, affective, and evaluative dimension of the new environment such as the Asante, Ghanaian, or African culture to help the Asante-Twi (Ghanaian or African) reading community to understand God’s word in their environment. Article visualizations:

The Bible and Akan Traditional Religious Values: A Search For Dialogue

In their quest to bring Christianity to Africa in general, and Ghana in particular, the missionaries downplayed and discarded the African traditional religious values. This separated Ghanaians, including Akans from their traditional religious values for the biblical values of the Judeo-Christian scriptures; making them Christians who are cut off from their traditional religious values. After engaging in a dialogue with the biblical values and Akan traditional religious values on a common platform, it was identified that there are basic concepts of commonalities that exist between them, which include common belief in God, family systems, sacrifices, naming ceremonies, prayers, belief in ancestors, etc. and areas of differences which must be refined using the Bible which is seen as the hermeneutics of culture and tradition. This helps to curtail the hypocrisy of many Christians and churches who practise these traditional religious values and provide them with a searchlight to rediscover and modify the elements in their traditional and religious values. In addition, it helps to dispel illusion, remove suspicion and minimise conflict, and to enable the Akans, Ghanaians, or Africans while maintaining their traditional religious values adhere to the teachings of the Bible.

Discerning a Theological Orientation for Pastoral Psychologies of Care: Theologies of Subjugation and Theologies of Vulnerability

This article addresses the psychologies of care associated with theologies of subjugation/subordination and theologies of vulnerability. It is argued that a pastoral psychology of care necessarily emerges in relation to and is dependent on theologies of vulnerability. These theologies, in other words, provide the reasons, beliefs, motivations, and values associated with caring dispositions and actions. I contend further that one finds support for these theologies in the life, ministry, and death of Jesus. By contrast, theologies of subjugation, evident and pervasive in Judeo-Christian scriptures, foster psychologies that undermine care for Others.

ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου: Interpreting the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:10a) in the light of Ewe-Ghanaian eschatological vision

This article examines the phrase ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου in Matthew and Luke’s versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the light of Ewe-Ghanaian eschatological vision. Theoretically, it uses a combination of the historical–critical and indigenous Mother Tongue Biblical Hermeneutical approaches to explore the implication of βασιλεία for the Ewe-Ghanaian Christian. The article discusses the diversity in the interpretations of the text from the early church to the modern and postmodern periods in Christian history and argues that this diversity has occurred as a result of the fluidity of the eschatological visions in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and that the linear eschatological vision described by the church is inconsistent with the cyclical vision in Ewe cosmology. This dual eschatological vision creates a dilemma in the Ewe-Ghanaian Christian’s understanding of the eternal states. Finally, it is argued that to resolve this eschatological dilemma is to clearly define the place of Ewe eschatological vision in Christian eschatology and interpreting the former as replica of the latter.

The Biblical Concept of Sacrifice and The Ghanaian Worldview: Relevance For The Modern Ghanaian Christianity.

Sacrifice is the ingredient that creates a lasting bridge in the deityhuman intercourse. The Ghanaian culture holds such belief and is also equally a key theological concept in the JudeoChristian Scriptures. This paper sought to explore the Biblical and the Ghanaian worldview on sacrifice, the role it plays in their religious life and its relevance for the modern Ghanaian Christianity.

Sources, formation and socio-historical context of the Joseph Narrative: Re-examined under the documentary hypothesis

The historical-critical method has given birth to many approaches to the study of the Bible. As a consequence, many scholars have come up with solutions to some of the exegetical problems in the Judeo-Christian scriptures. One of the most popular proposed solutions to the problems in the Pentateuch is the Documentary Hypothesis. With time, the findings of the hypothesis have been challenged in reference to some texts in the Pentateuch. This paper seeks to re-examine the sources, formation and the socio-historical context of the Joseph narrative under the Documentary Hypothesis. It evaluates the Joseph narrative under the hypothesis in the light of its critique by later scholars. The essay argues that the narrative is composed of already-existing materials from the Ancient Near East, Egypt and the traditions from Israel to reflect some aspects of the history of Israel in retrospect. Weighing the sources according to the hypothesis as against the views of its critics, who accept the narrative as a unity, one discovers that some traces of source criticism are apparent in the views of the critics of the Documentary Hypothesis. They were solving similar problems within the narrative but from different perspectives.

To burn or to save? The opposing functions of reading scripture on environmental intentions

In a controversial Science article published in 1967, Lynn White blamed Judeo-Christian scriptures for the planet’s ecological crisis. White claimed that scriptural dogmas of human domination have too easily justified environmental exploitation. White’s critics responded that the Bible commends ecological stewardship, which potentially restrains otherwise ruinous human tendencies to exploit. Previous studies empirically assessing these apparently conflicting claims show mixed results. We propose that the effects of religious fundamentalism and attention to scripture must be distinguished. A key novelty of our paper is the use of reported frequency of scriptural reading to measure the salience of scripture in an individual’s life. White’s hypothesis predicts that reading scripture will be associated with (1) increased fundamentalism, and (2) lower pro-environmental intentions. In contrast, the counterarguments of White’s critics predict that (3) higher frequency of scripture reading will be associated with higher pro-environmental intentions. We tested these predictions with a Bayesian Structural Equation Model that estimated the direct and indirect (mediated) effects of scripture reading on pro-environmental intentions. Our data were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of self-identified Christian participants (N = 1012) in the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. Supporting White, we found clear evidence for a positive link between frequency of scripture reading and religious fundamentalism, and between religious fundamentalism and lower pro-environmental intentions. However, in line with White’s critics, we also found evidence for a positive direct effect of reading scripture on pro-environmental intentions. Although the positive (direct) and negative (indirect) effects of scripture reading were similar in magnitude, the negative effect, which is mediated by religious fundamentalism, appears to be slightly more probable. Collectively, our findings indicate that attention to scripture might be associated with moral ambivalence about pro-environmental intentions.

Discerning the Meaning of Human Suffering Through the Discourse of Judeo-Christian Scriptures and Other Faith Teachings

When confronted with the meaning of human suffering, many experts from a variety of professional disciplines admit to being incapable of formulating, on the basis of scientific method, a coherent explanation or rationale. Within that perspective, this article proposes another approach to the dilemma—that of reflection rooted in faith. The author examines the discourse of the Judeo-Christian scriptures and the comprehensive and cohesive doctrine developed by Pope John Paul II to find and track an evolving theology on the meaning of human suffering—one that includes understanding of this phenomenon as a “punishment for sin or evil,” a test for fidelity, an occasion for God to show mercy and love, and a redemptive act by which Jesus took on all human suffering through his own death on the Cross and gave a salvific meaning to suffering through his resurrection from the dead. Further scriptural reflection and later Christian doctrines acknowledged that the suffering of other believers has its own redemptive value and that human suffering presents an occasion for all believers to respond with compassion and care to the pain of others.

Ancient Laws and New Canadian Refugee Legislation: Evaluating Bill C-31 in Light of the Book of Deuteronomy

Some important innovations within Bill C-31, Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, run contrary to the biblical ethics espoused in the book of Deuteronomy, from the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Components of Bill C-31—such as mandatory detention, no right of appeal, and a five-year delay for application for permanent residence (all these apply to only certain groups of claimants)—are challenged by the ethics, system of justice, and polity of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy, the Hebrew word “ger” (“stranger”) occurs twenty-one times, indicating the importance of ethics concerning the stranger for this book. Townships and families in Israel have the responsibility to include the stranger in their agricultural, ritual, and cultural lives. Deuteronomy’s ethic towards the stranger is embedded in Israel’s own history of being a “stranger” or “refugee.”

The Poet as Translator: Mary Wortley Montagu Approaches the Turkish Lyric

The Poet as Translator: Mary Wortley Montagu Approaches the Turkish Lyric

Judeo-Christian concepts related to psychiatry

The behavioral manifestations of psychotic disorders that are attributed to evil spirits in the Judeo-Christian scriptures as demonstrated by Jesus Christ have been narrated. The descriptions of false beliefs and the perceptual experiences that are consistent with the psychiatric terminologies “delusions and hallucinations” are briefly discussed. Attempt has been made to analyze the patterns of suicidal behaviors, guilt feelings, and, expressions of depressive symptoms in the Jewish culture. Of interest is the mass suicide by the Jews in the 1st century AD at the Fort Masada, perhaps the first of its kind recorded in the history. Noteworthy are alcohol and related mental health problems prevalent in the Jewish culture. While highlighting the descriptions of dreams and their revelations recorded in the Bible, it is suggested that such concepts about dreams might have influenced Sigmund Freud's classical works on dreams. The biblical messages and teachings that could be applied for psychotherapy and behavior modification strategies have been outlined. The mental concepts of Jewish culture and their relevance to Indian culture have also been discussed from a cross-cultural perspective.

The religious foundations of Francis Bacon's thought

In this important study, Stephen A McKnight investigates the relation of Francis Bacon's religious views to his instauration, or program for reforming and advancing learning in order to bring relief to man's estate. McKnight provides close textual analyses of eight of Bacon's texts in order to establish the religious themes and motifs that pervade his writings from 1603 to 1626. McKnight begins with the Atlantis because it offers the fullest articulation of Bacon's vision of instauration and because the principal religious themes in Bacon's writings are all contained within it. Next, he turns to The Great Instauration and The New Organon to show the centrality of religious concepts in two of Bacon's major philosophical works. He then examines five of Bacon's early published and unpublished works, including The Advancement of Learning and Wisdom of the Ancients, to demonstrate that religious imagery and biblical themes permeate Bacon's program of reform from the outset. McKnight maintains that Bacon's vision of reform is drawn from the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, particularly the Genesis account of the Creation and the Fall; from apocalyptic expectation of renewal in the Old Testament; and from salvation themes of the New Testament. He also demonstrates that Bacon's Christian ideas are augmented and transmuted by related themes and imagery found in the prisca theologia, a mixture of Neoplatonic, Hermetic, alchemica, magic, and Jewish esoteric traditions. According to McKnight, Bacon believed that scholastic error and ecclesiastical dogma obscured religious truth and required a search for a truer, deeper level of understanding of the Scriptures and of God's saving acts in history.

Iconoclasm in the Old and New Testaments

ICONOCLASM in the OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS Peter Goldman Westminster State College ofSalt Lake City Acentral problem for any monotheistic religion is distinguishing worship of the one true God from idolatry in all its forms. René Girard's pioneering interpretation ofthe Judeo-Christian scriptures clarifies this distinction by recourse to an ethical conception ofthe sacrificial: False religion or idolatry is essentially sacrificial, while the Judeo-Christian tradition opposes the sacrificial in all its myriad forms. As Girard explains, the Passion narrative makes clear that the sacrificial or scapegoat victim, Christ, is innocent. The violence inflicted upon Christ is human, not divine. The Gospels thus reveal the violence that hides behind the sacred. Religious practices that further sacrificial violence are idolatrous, worshiping violence in the guise ofthe sacred.1 The ethical simplicity of the Girardian distinction between true faith and idolatry is complicated, however, by the issue of representation. According to the Old Testament, the one true God cannot be represented by images or figures of any kind, while idols typically take figurai form. From a biblical perspective, therefore, the question ofform is central to an understanding of idolatry. The Old Testament ban on images has never been investigated from a Girardian perspective. In this essay I apply Rene Girard's anthropological insights to the subject oficonoclasm in the Old and New Testaments. More specifically I address the second command-ment, the famous ban on "graven images," and the problem of representing God. From the per- ' For a fuller treatment ofGirard's interpretation ofChristianity in relation to the sacrificial, see his Things Hidden since the Foundation ofthe World 84Peter Goldman spective ofGirard's "fundamental anthropology" there are two basic issues in this regard. The first is the ethical function of the ban on images; how does the second commandment function ethically to preserve the human community in the Bible? Second, is the ban on images sacrificial as understood in Girardian terms? Or is it anti-sacrificial and therefore ethically progressive? The second commandment reads: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God" (KJV, Exod. 20.4-5). At first glance, this commandment might appear as an expression ofthe most primitive form ofreligious taboo. A specific cultural activity is arbitrarily forbidden under threat of punishment . The taboo on images, unlike the law against murder for example, has no obvious moral dimension. Images of any kind must be violently expelled —sacrificed, as it were—for no immediate reason. According to the second commandment, any attempt to represent God or his creation by images is a profane violation of his "jealous" nature; the second commandment therefore often finds expression in the violent destruction ofsocalled idolatrous images. Acts oficonoclasm directed againstthe images of foreign gods are quite common in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, I argue here thatthe second commandment is in practical terms ethically progressive and anti-sacrificial. It actually questions and underminesthe whole sacred-profane dichotomy. Indeed, the ban on images is ultimately a secularizing influence crucial for the development of modernity. I also address the Christian acceptance of divine images, which has often been understood as a reversal of the Judaic ban on figurai representations . In the interpretation of iconoclasm that I am proposing here, however, the image ofChrist on the cross can be seen as a logical development of the second commandment rather than its contradiction. I. The second commandment in context In the Old Testament, the giving of the second commandment is associated with the Exodus from Egypt and the Hebrew rejection of Egyptian religion and culture. In Herbert Schneidau's book Sacred Discontent, he argues persuasively that Hebrew monotheism is first of all a reaction against pagan polytheism. Schneidau writes, "The JudeoChristian tradition defines itselfas opposed to a pagan world which it sees Iconoclasm in the Old and New Testaments85 as essentialIy mythological"(12). Further, "TheHebrews habitually defined themselves negatively, by their differences from their neighbors" (51). Schneidau explains: We find...

Genesis Regained: Aboriginal Forms of Renunciation in Judeo-Christian Scriptures and Other Major Traditions David H. Turner Toronto Studies in Religion, 25 New York: Peter Lang, 1999. xxxvii + 265 p

Genesis Regained: Aboriginal Forms of Renunciation in Judeo-Christian Scriptures and Other Major Traditions David H. Turner Toronto Studies in Religion, 25 New York: Peter Lang, 1999. xxxvii + 265 p