theLAB is pleased to present this week’s listing of newly advertised academic posts in biblical studies and theology, including relevant jobs in philosophy and history. [Read more…]
“Medicines for the Soul:” Theology and Pastoral Compassion in Gender and Sexuality
The following post is by Edith M. Humphrey, William F. Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
The matter of marriage and ordered sexual relations is found throughout Scriptures, not only in the Old Testament but also in the New. Those who are interested in more foundational papers on the issue of marriage and same-sex temptation and erotic activity may consult the shorter articles reprinted on my webpage at edithhumphrey.net, or the more lengthy article, “Same-sex Eroticism and the Church: Classical Approaches and Responses,” in The Homosexuality Debate: Faith Seeking Understanding, Ed. Catherine Sider Hamilton, Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 2003, 37-94.
The following paper was presented at a recent Symposium that took place in the Netherlands. The purpose of the symposium was for academic clergy and laity in the Orthodox Church who have a special interest in sexuality to gather together to discuss their research and their concerns. Though we agreed to the “Chatham House Rule,” this rule does not prevent members from making our own views public, which I am happy to do in this time of questioning and concern. Our general topic in the conference was “Pastoral Care in an Age of Sexual Questioning,” and so this paper does not present the Biblical and Traditional foundation for faithful, heterosexual marriage, which I have written on extensively elsewhere, as detailed above. Instead, I make a plea here for sound teaching in the Church as an essential part of our compassion for those experiencing same-sex desire, or asking questions about sexuality and the Church’s stand on these matters. I also probe the shape of the questions that are being asked today, in order to help us think carefully about how we may answer those who are confused or conflicted. As an academic paper, it is lengthy, and contains citations not usually used in a blog: I hope that, despite its genre, it may be of interest to some of my readers.
Academic Jobs: Aug 7-11 2017
theLAB is pleased to present this week’s listing of newly advertised academic posts in biblical studies and theology, including relevant jobs in philosophy and history.
Note: Can you name which of this week’s institutions is featured in the image above? [Read more…]
Coming Back Together: Effectual Calling and Regeneration as Twin Realities
Coming Back Together: Effectual Calling and Regeneration as Twin Realities
As I discussed in Part 1, Reformed theologians such as Hodge and Berkhof articulated their doctrine of regeneration to guard the larger doctrine of salvation from the encroachment of any synergistic view of conversion. By placing the creative act of the Spirit in regeneration prior to (or, at least, distinct from) the effectual calling and the external Word of the gospel, these theologians could ensure that man could claim no part in his conversion to Christ. Regeneration, an act performed by God alone upon the soul of the sinner, enabled the individual to respond to the gospel by granting him a new disposition inclined to God and Christ. With this new disposition, the individual could now positively respond to the effectual call, thus leading to justification and the other blessings contained in the ordo. This view, however, is problematic. [Read more…]
Academic Jobs: July 31-Aug 4 2017
theLAB is pleased to present this week’s listing of newly advertised academic posts in biblical studies and theology, including relevant jobs in philosophy and history.
Note: Can you name which of this week’s institutions is featured in the image above? [Read more…]
Placement is Everything: Position and Meaning in Greek Conditional Clauses
Dependent adverbial clauses are a common feature of Koine Greek, generally categorized based on the kind of content conveyed (e.g., conditional, comparative, spatial, temporal, reason/result, etc.) While many spatial and temporal adverbial clauses are evenly distributed before and after the main clause on which they depend, the same cannot be said of conditional clauses introduced by ἐὰν and εἰ. Only rarely are they found following the main clause.
Why are they not more evenly distributed? [Read more…]
Academic Jobs: July 24-28 2017
theLAB is pleased to present this week’s listing of newly advertised academic posts in biblical studies and theology, including relevant jobs in philosophy and history.
Note: Can you name which of this week’s institutions is featured in the image above? [Read more…]
Twins, not Rivals: Regeneration and Effective Calling in the Ordo Salutis
With and Through the Word: Rethinking Regeneration and Effectual Calling in the Reformed Ordo Salutis, Part 1
In the introduction of his volume on the Puritans, The Quest for Godliness, J. I. Packer observes the natural connection that exists between theology and practical living. Since theology is never neutral but always has an effect—good or bad, positive or negative—it is the responsibility of theologians to consider their work and the kind of influence it will have. And this warning goes for professional and lay theologians alike. Packer writes, “So one who theologises in public, whether formally in the pulpit, the podium or in print, or informally in the armchair, must think hard about the effect his thoughts will have on people—God’s people and other people.”1
This multi-part essay is one attempt to take account of a particular doctrine—the ordo salutis (“the order of salvation”)—and the effect a Reformed articulation of this doctrine has had on both our theology and praxis. [Read more…]
Academic Jobs: July 17-21 2017
theLAB is pleased to present this week’s listing of newly advertised academic posts in biblical studies and theology.
Note: Each week’s cover image is from one of the schools below. Can you guess which one is featured above? [Read more…]
Breaking Barth: Five Tips from the Experts
Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics (CD) is arguably the most important product of twentieth-century theology. It is difficult to describe adequately its enduring influence on academic theology. What Barth called his opus imperfectum never came to completion, but concluded abruptly upon his death at a towering thirteen volumes and nearly 10,000 pages.
Originally published in German as Die kirchliche Dogmatik, the English translation is known for its long, winding sentences that lead the reader through a string of interconnected and circuitous thoughts. Barth’s CD is also known for its social, historical, political, ecclesial, and theological context that engages hundreds of named and unnamed interlocutors over the more than 30 years of its composition.
So how does one begin to “break” Barth (or at least break into CD)? [Read more…]