andygoodliff

evangelical and evangelicism

What does it mean to be an evangelical? Does it mean signing up to the doctrinal basis of the Evangelical Alliance? Can you still be an evangelical if other evangelicals don't recognise you as such? The whole language of evangelical has for a long while begun to worry me. Part of me wants to identify myself as an evangelical, but I am uneasy with what many evangelicals seems to believe and stand for. Their theology appears narrow, often dull and exclusive.  What with the debacle over Steve Chalke and penal substitution, not to mention their entrenched views on homosexuality, evangelicalicsm has become something I don't want to be associated with. At the church meeting tonight Bunyan will discuss whether we should amend our constitution to include the new revised version of the Evangelical Alliance's statement of faith. In my opinion we should have no doctrinal basis apart from that which joins us with other Baptist churches. I prefer the label baptist Christian to evangelical Christian, although I'm aware that many Christians, now see any qualifier as unnecessary. To which I agree if it establishes a 'us and them' way of thinking, but I do think it is helpful to use a term like 'baptist' as means of identifying what is distinctive about my understanding of the church and what it means to follow Jesus. The term 'evangelical' I think has become a 'us and them' qualifier, which indicates a particular theological stance rather than anything to do with churchmanship and increasingly a theological stance with which I'm uncomfortable with.

Douglas A. Campbell: A Bibliography

Douglas Campbell is Professor of New Testament at Duke University (2014-). Before coming to Duke in 2003, he was formerly lecturer in New Testament at King's College London (1996-2003). His doctorate was supervised by Richard Longenecker and published as The Rhetoric of Righteousness. 

Campbell’s main research interests comprise the life and thought (i.e. theology and its development) of Paul with particular reference to soteriological models rooted in apocalyptic as against justification or salvation-history. 

See his website.

 

Publications

___ The Rhetoric of Righteousness in Romans 3:21-26 (JSOT Press, 1992)
___ 'The Meaning of PISTIS and NOMOS in Paul: A Linguistic and Structural Investigation'. Journal of Biblical Literature 111 (1992) 85-97.
___ 'Reconciliation "in Christ" according to Ephesians', in H. Regan and A. J. Torrance (eds.) Christ and Context (T & T Clark, 1993) pp.160-177.
___ ‘Rom. 1:17 – A Crux Interpretum for the Pistis Christou debate’. Journal of Biblical Literature 113 (1994) 265-85.
___ 'Determining the Gospel through Rhetorical Analysis in Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians’. In Gospel in Paul: Studies on Corinthians, Galatians and Romans for Richard N. Longenecker, JSNTS 108. Eds. G. P. Richardson and L. Ann Jervis (Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 315-36.
___ 'The Atonement in Paul'. The Anvil 11 (1994), 237-50.
___  ‘A Rhetorical Suggestion Concerning Romans 2’.  In Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers edited by E. Lovering. (Scholars Press, 1995), 140-64.
___ ‘The fractured witness’ in Trebilco, P. J (ed.), Considering Orthodoxy: Foundations for Faith Today, (Colcom Press, 1996), 63-68.
___ 'Unravelling Colossians 3:11b', New Testament Studies 42 (1996) 120-132.
___ (ed.) The Call to Serve: Essays on Ministry in Honour of Bishop Penny Jamieson, (Sheffield Academic Press, 1996)
___ 'Introduction: The Call to Serve Dunedin: An Account of the Appointment of Bishop Penny Jamieson', 15-31 and 'A Reformational Slogan on Ministry and Paul's Gospel of Grace', 51-72 in Douglas Campbell (ed.), The Call to Serve (Sheffield Academic Press, 1996)
___ 'False Presuppositions in the PISTIS CHRISTOU Debate (A Response to Brian Dodd)', Journal of Biblical Literature116 (1997) 713-719.
___ 'The Scythian Perspective in Col 3.11: a response to Troy Martin'. Novum Testamentum 39.1 (1997) 81-84.
___ ‘The DIATHKH from Durham: Professor Dunn’s The Theology of Paul the Apostle’, in Journal for the Study of the New Testament 72 (1998) 91-111.
___ ‘Natural Theology in Paul? Reading Romans 1:19-20’ in International Journal of Systematic Theology 1:3 (1999) 231-252.
___ 'Paul in Pamphylia (Acts 13.13-14a, 14.24b-26): A Critical Note', New Testament Studies 46 (2000) 1-8.
___ 'Some thoughts on the apostle Paul and ethics.' In Murray Rae and Graham Redding (eds.), More Than a Single Issue: theological considerations concerning the ordination of practising homosexuals(Openbook, 2000) 77-94.
___ 'An Anchor for Pauline Chronology: Paul's flight from "The Ethnarch of King Aretas" (2 Cor 11:32-33)', Journal of Biblical Literature 121.2 (2002) 279-302.
___ 'The Story of Jesus in Romans and Galatians’ in Bruce W. Longenecker (ed.), Narrative Dynamics in Paul: A Critical Assessment (Westminster John Knox, 2002) 97-124.
___ ‘Towards a New, Rhetorically Assisted Reading of Romans 3:27-4:25’ in Stanley E. Porter and Dennis L. Stamp (eds.), Rhetorical Criticism and the Bible (JSOT Press, 2002), 355-402
___ 'Review: Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Paul and the Stoics', International Journal of Systematic Theology 4.3 (2002) 338-346.
___ 'Apostolic Competition at Corinth?': A Review Essay of Michael Goulder's Paul and the Competing Mission at Corinth', Journal of Beliefs and Values, 23.2 (2002) 229-231.
___ ‘Reconciliation in Paul: The Gospel of Negation and Transcendence in Galatians 3:28’ in Colin Gunton (ed.), The Theology of Reconciliation (T & T Clark, 2003) pp. 39-66.
___ (ed.) Gospel and Gender: A Trinitarian Engagement with being Male and Female in Christ (T & T Clark, 2003)
___ 'The Logic of Eschatology: The Implications of Paul's Gospel for Gender as Suggested by Galatians 3.28a in Context' in Douglas Campbell (ed.), Gospel and Gender (T & T Clark, 2003) pp. 58-83.
___ 'Review: Markus Bockmuehl, Jewish Law in Gentile Churches: Halakhah and the Beginning of Christian Public Ethics', International Journal of Systematic Theology 5.1 (March 2003), 110-14
___ 'Response: "Quasi-Lutheran" Considerations' in Khiok-Khng Yeo (ed.), Navigating Romans through cultures (Continuum, 2004)
___ The Quest for Paul's Gospel: A Suggested Strategy (T & T Clark, 2005)
___ 'Inscriptional attestation to Sergius Paullus (Acts 13.6-12) and the implications for Pauline chronology' Journal of Theological Studies 56 (2005) 1-29.
___ 'An Evangelical Paul: A Response to Francis Watson's Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith', Journal for the Study of the New Testament 28.3 (2006) 337-51.
___ 'Review: Jouette M. Bassler, Navigating Paul: An Introduction to Key Theological Concepts', Theology Today 65.2 (July 2008)
___ 'An Echo of Scripture in Paul, and Its Implications' in J. Ross Wagner et al (eds.), The Word Leaps the Gap: Essays on Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B. Hays, , (Eerdmans, 2008)
___'The Meaning of dikaiosne Theou in Romans: An Intertextual Suggestion' in S. Porter and C. D. Stanley (eds.), As It is Written: Studying Paul's Use of Scripture (Brill, 2008)
___ 'Review: Simon J. Gathercole, Where Is Boasting? Early Jewish Soteriology and Paul's Response in Romans 1-5', Scottish Journal of Theology 62 (2009), 100-104
___ '2 Corinthians 4:13: Evidence in Paul That Christ Believes', Journal of Biblical Literature 128.2 (2009), pp.337-56
___ The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul (Eerdmans, 2009)
___ 'The Faithfulness of Jesus Christ in Romans 3.22' in Michael Bird and Preston Sprinkle (eds.), The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical and Theological Studies (Paternoster, 2009)
___ 'Galatians 5.11: Evidence of an Early Law-observant Mission by Paul?', New Testament Studies 57.3 (2011), 325-47
___ 'What Is at Stake in the Reading of Romans 1–3? An Elliptical Response to the Concerns of Gorman and Tilling', Journal for the Study of Paul and his Letters 1.1 (Spring 2011)
___ 'An Attempt to be Understood: A Response to the Concerns of Matlock and Macaskill with The Deliverance of God', Journal for the Study of the New Testament 34.2 (December 2011)
___ 'Beyond Justification in Paul: The Thesis of The Deliverance of God', Scottish Journal of Theology 65.1 (February 2012)
___ 'An Apocalyptic Rereading of “Justification” in Paul: Or, an overview of the argument of Douglas Campbell’s The Deliverance of God', Expository Times 123.8 (May 2012)
___ 'Is Tom Right? An Extended Review of N. T. Wright's Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision', Scottish Journal of Theology 65.3 (2012)
___ 'Christ and the Church in Paul: A "Post-New Perspective" Account' in Michael Bird (ed.), Four Views on the Apostle Paul (Zondervan, 2012)
___ 'Paul's Apocalyptic Politics', Pro Ecclesia 22.2 (2013)
___ Framing Paul: An Epistolary Biography (Eerdmans, 2014).
___ 'The Current Crisis: The Capture of Paul's Gospel by Methodological Arianism' in Chris Tilling (ed.), Beyond Old and New Perspectives on Paul (Cascade, 2014)
___ 'Participation and Faith in Paul' in Michael J. Thate, Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Constantine R. Campbell (eds.), “In Christ” in Paul: Explorations in Paul's Theology of Union and Participation (Mohr Siebeck, 2014 / Eerdmans, 2018)
___ 'N. T. Wright and the Lutheran-ness of Paul', Marginalia: LA Review of Books (2015)
___ 'Apocalyptic Epistemology' in Ben Blackwell et al (eds.), Paul and the Apocalyptic Imagination (Fortress, 2016)
___ 'Panoramic Lutheranism and apocalyptic ambivalence: an appreciative critique of N. T. Wright's Paul and the Faithfulness of God', Scottish Journal of Theology 69.4 (2016)
___ Paul: An Apostle's Journey (Eerdmans, 2018)
___ 'Mass Incarceration: Pauline Problems and Pauline Solutions', Interpretation 72.3 (2018)
___ 'Paul the Peacemaker and the Ministry of Restorative Justice' in Presian R. Burroughs (ed.), Practicing with Paul: Reflections on Paul and the Practices of Ministry in Honor of Susan G. Eastman (Cascade, 2018)
___ 'Romans and the Apocalyptic Reading of Paul' in Scot McKnight and Joseph B. Modica (eds.), Preaching Romans: Four Perspectives (Eerdmans, 2019)
___ Pauline Dogmatics: The Triumph of God's Love (Eerdmans, 2020)
___ 'Philippians and Philemon' in Bruce Longenecker (ed.), The New Cambridge Companion to St. Paul (Cambridge, 2020)
___ 'Paul's Future Eschtology: His Notion of Resurrection' in Talking God in Society: Multidisciplinary (Re)Constructions of Ancient (Con)texts. Festschrift for Peter Lampe (2021)
___ 'The Future of New Testament Theology, or, What Should Devout Modern Bible Scholarship Look Like?', Religions (2021)
___ 'The Provenance of Philippians: A Response to the Analyses of Michael Flexsenhar, Heike Omerzu, Angela Standhartinger and Cédric Brélaz', Journal for the Study of the New Testament 43.4 (2021)
___ 'Chronology' in T & T Clark Handbook to the Historical Paul (T & T Clark, 2022)

Catching Up

It was my dad's birthday on Monday and my brother Steve has designed him a website.  The last few days I've been at BU council. Items on the agenda were a Baptist-Anglican report, whether the Baptist Times was allowed to let churches advertise for ministers (the answer was No!) and a finance review, which could shake up the way BUGB spends its money in the future. Also interweaved into sessions was time for council members to engage with the new cultural landscape we find ourselves in (the reason I was there). I'm not sure this went very far and I'm not sure how the journey will continue.  It was also David Coffey's last council as General Secretary. David has been in the job since 1991 and has been a brilliant leader and will be sorely missed. I've arrived back to Stevenage yesterday afternoon to prepare for the school OFSTED visit today and tomorrow. I didn't get observed, so I escaped, but I was still up until 1.30am lesson planning. I'm hoping to take Friday and Saturday fairly easy, before the last week of term. Hopefully I'll find some more time to blog soon.

Elements by Maggi Dawn

In the sleeve notes of Maggi Dawn's excellent 1996 album Elements, she writes

I have been exploring the use of abstract and natural images for God for two reasons. The first is a desire to contribute something to the languag eof gender equality without playing fast and loose with essential beliefs about God. Many women in the church struggle with a God who is always spoken of in male language, as if God was more real to men than to women - or that somehow women have less of a stake in God. But it would be too easy to substitute female language and reverse the problem. God is not woman or a man, God is God. How best to employ God-language is a debate that will run and run. The use of gender-free images is by no means the whole answer, but in the meantime gives some alternative ways of voicing our praise to God.

The second is that I am heartily tired of religious jargon. Contemporary worship writing seems to have a grat fear of the use of natural and abstract images for God, and stays within the risk-free and theologically explicit zone of such images as the blood of the lamb, or bowing before the throne of God ... these are valuable if we ever have the time to think about them. Too often, through, our minds get stuck in a rut because the familiarity of such phrases serves to hide their meaning, not reveal it.

We live with a choiuce - we may opt for the safety of spiritual certainties, limiting the risk factors and never having too much of a spiritual crisis. Or we may go closer to the edge, and let our faith be turned upside down for the sake of a clearer revelation of God. But the revelation, in my experience, is of a bigger, kinder, more liberating God than I ever imagined possible. This God is truly a rock in a storm, a warm breath on a frozen heart. So - Elements is my latest experiment in framing answers to the big questions: Who is God? What is God like?

God is like a rock, like water, like fire, like falling rain on dry earth. At the same time these metaphors imply their negative corollary - God is actually not like these things at all, God is God ...

So the journey goes on. Both in words and music - which can in itself express ideas which are beyond words - Elements is a fragment of my imperfect attempts at understanding God. i hope it sparks off some fresh inspiration for you in your own search.

What I like about this, is the intelligence of the theological reflection. Maggi's thinking and songs are shaped by her theology, which seems a cut above the usual worship songwriter, who's theology is so often hit and miss or simplistic. Buy the album, it's worth it. Here's hoping Maggi finds some more time to get into the recording studio.

LENT, day nine

The Lent blog over at hopefulimagination is continuing, with some good posts this week from Ash, Laurence, Jon, Brodie and Helen.

Fairtrade Fortnight

We're almost halfway through fairtrade fortnight. Here's my plug to go fairtrade, boycott Nestle (here's why) and try not to shop at tesco (here's why). Hannah and I are trying really hard these days to shop more ethically and cut our waste.

Young People and Spiritual Formation 1.1

In my previous post on this topic, someone in the comments recommended I read Practicing Passion by Kenda Creasy Dean. This is a book I'd seen and Jonny Baker had recommended it, but I'd not yet picked up. This morning a copy arrived in the post and doing my customary flick-through read, I came across this quote:

Now may be a good time to ask yourself: Does youth ministry as I know do these things? Does ministry with adolescents where I go to church resemble the faith community in Acts, or does it seem more like a moral club or a service organization? Is my canvas for ministry with young people stretched onto the beams of wholesome entertainment, content mastery, and good works - valuable services, but bereft of power to bestow identity because their transformational connection to Christ's life, death and resurrection has been lost? Immersing young people in practices of self-giving love in a self-fulfilling culture makes them subversive, dangerous, odd - much like the Christ they follow. How subversive, dangerous, or odd are the Christian youth I know? For that matter, how subversive, dangerous, or odd am I?
                                                                  (Practicing Passion, 2004, Eerdmans, pp156-157)

Good to know I'm asking the right sort of questions. I'm hoping the rest of the book will help me work on some answers.

LENT, day three

Big plans, big dreams
to see persons grow
take deeper root

Big fears, small strength
no end in sight
no break of day

Yet Yahweh my shepherd
good to me
my solid ground
...

Where is the time to be still
to not speak
to not rush ahead
to not cut you off with my words

LENT, day one

Some Lenten links -

Ash Wednesday by Maggi

The Art of Giving by Jason Clark on Free of Charge blog

First Week of Lent from utownchurch.com

We ask you to crreate space ... from hopefulimagination

What is Lent for? from Grace Lent Blog '06