Perichoresis 10.1

 

 

The Use and Abuse of John Calvin in Richard Hooker’s Defence of the English Church

David Neelands

ABSTRACT

At times Richard Hooker (1554-1600), as an apologist for the Church of England, has been treated as “on the Calvinist side”, at others as an “anti-Calvinist”. In fact, Hooker and his Church were dependent on John Calvin in some ways and independent in others. Hooker used recognized sources to paint a picture of Calvin and his reforms in Geneva that would negatively characterize the proposals and behaviour of those he opposed in the Church of England, and yet he adopted Calvinist positions on several topics. A judicious treatment of Hooker’s attitude to John Calvin requires careful reading, and an understanding of the polemical use of the portrait of Calvin. Calvin was indeed grave and learned, but he was human and, as an authority, inferior to the Church Fathers, who were formally recognized as authorities in the Church of England. PDF

Confrontational Apologetics versus Grace-filled Persuasion

Glenn G. Scorgie

ABSTRACT

Too often Christian apologetics has been conducted in a confrontational manner that alienates people and undermines apologetic effectiveness. Christian apologists must be attentive to both their message and how they communicate it. Grace-filled persuasion can flourish as Christian apologists recognize the growing contemporary suspicion of aggressive styles of behavior. The apologetic enterprise involves ideas, but it is also profoundly relational. The great challenge before Christian apologists is to speak and live in ways that combine uncompromising faithfulness to revealed truth with a generous spirit of loving service and civility. Grace-filled persuasion always trumps smash-mouth apologetics. PDF

Christian Theological Interpretations of God’s Grace in the Binding of Isaac

Carey Ellen Walsh

ABSTRACT

Typological exegesis, practiced by the early church fathers, enables us to catch spiritual meanings in the promise to Abraham, namely, that through him “all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). Christian interpreters caught a divine truth when they discerned an ecclesial meaning. God had just revealed to Abraham that he was not alone, that a church was in the future. His typological interpretation accounts for the seeming repetition of the promise in Scripture: it contains new revelation. The promise to Abraham has always involved a multitude of descendants through Isaac. But after his near sacrifice as a Christ figure, the multitude is the church which emerged after Christ’s death and resurrection. PDF

The Theophoric Element Ba’Al in Ancient Phoenician Inscriptions

Aurelian Botica

ABSTRACT

The following study analyzes the usage of the name Baıal in ancient Phoenician inscriptions. The analysis starts with the premise that the deity named Baıal played a major role in Canaanite religion, including the religion of the people of Israel. First of all, in order to understand correctly this phenomenon, our study sketches in broad lines the historical and religious context of the ancient Near East. Second, the study takes into account a series of corollary issues, like the concepts of “fertility” and the “Sacred Marriage”, in order to obtain as clear a picture as possible of the identity and character of the god Baıal. Third, the study focuses on a number of inscriptions from Phoenicia. A number of scholars have argued that these inscriptions represent our best evidence from Phoenicia to reconstructing the identity of Baıal. PDF

The Royal Components of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7

Dae-I Kang

ABSTRACT

The royal component of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 has often been disregarded. This study investigates the royal component of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 through the research of the divine kingship in the Ancient Near East and the royal components of Melchizedek in Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and the Second Temple writings. The images of divine kingship in the Ancient Near East continue in Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7. There is not only the priestly but also the royal image of Melchizedek in Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and the Second Temple writings. Based on the research, the royal components of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 can be drawn. It is evident that the author of Hebrews focused on the superior priesthood of Christ by using Melchizedek as a model for Christ in Hebrews 7. As the priesthood of Melchizedek is a royal priesthood, the priesthood of Christ is also a royal priesthood. Therefore, the royal priesthood should not be neglected in Hebrews 7. PDF

Tolerance and Intolerance. Contemporary Attitudes withing Religious, Racial, National, and Political Sphere

Sebastian M. Chirimbu

ABSTRACT

Tolerance is an often debated topic in the contemporary global village. It is permanently invoked and accusations of intolerance are equaly frequent. It is said that when a word is too much used it loses its deep meaning, its essence, its initial purpose, so that it becomes nothnig ore than a meaningless word among other meaningless words making up a discourse. The word tolerance is not an exception. We hear it every day in the street, at school, in debates, and especially on television. We might ask ourselves what tolerance stil means in the contemporay world. Is it a virtue or just a convention used at international level? These questions start, on the one hand, from Fethullan Gulen’s words who says that tolerance is forgiveness, forgiveness of all sins, compassion and mercy for the whole Creation, the hiding of people’s shame and mistakes, and on the other hand from the realities of the 21st century, the global world ordered by laws, rules, conventions. The present paper is an attempt to define and to comment on the concepts of tolerance and intolerance. PDF