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Bruce McCormack to give the SJT Lectures

The Barthian theologian, Professor Bruce McCormack (Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeusar Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary) is giving 4 Scottish Journal of Theology lectures next week at St. Andrews.

The Humility of the Eternal Son:  A Reformed Version of Kenotic Christology

Lecture 1: Immutable in Impassibility: The Role Played by Classical Theism in Creating the Unresolved Problems in Chalcedonian Orthodoxy (Tuesday 4 December)

Lecture 2: Passibility in Mutability: The Failure of the Older Kenoticism  (Wednesday 5 December)

Lecture 3: Immutable in Passibility: The Contribution of Karl Barth (Thursday 6 December)

Lecture 4: The Humility of the Eternal Son: Reformed Kenoticism, Trinity and Election (Friday 7 December)

NT Wright is taking applications for research assistant

In a wide ranging interview with NT Wright he ends by saying the big Paul book (the fourth volume in the Christian Origins and the Question of God series) is next on his plate, but he needs a research assistant to help him catch up on his reading:

But what I need (and if anyone out there is listening and wants to come and apply), I need a research assistant who will actually help me line up the key things I need to work with, because otherwise I could spend all four months of the sabbatical, simply sitting in the library reading the stuff I haven’t yet caught up with, and then the sabbatical will be over just when I was ready to start writing. I can’t afford that time, otherwise, it will be another six years.

So give him a bell.

Should Baptists do away with Elders?

This post arises out of conversations amongst ministerial students here at Regent's as we discussed the Pastoral Epistles. (The views reflect are my own and cannot not be attributed to others). It takes us back to the discussion at the beginning of the term about church leadership. As Paul Fiddes points out in Tracks and Traces, 'the appointment of multiple elders by the local congregation is a relatively recent phenomenon' (2003, 92).  Traditionally Baptists have operated with a minister/s and deacons. It seems to me that more and more that the role of elders is supplanting that of deacon. Deacons have become more marginalized and limited to specific tasks (secretary, treasurer, fabric, health & safety, and so on), while eldership teams are growing bigger and bigger and becoming authoriative.  The concern here is that we are moving further away from our baptist tradition which believes 'that authority finally lies with the rule of the risen Jesus Christ, who is present in the local congregation (Fiddes, 2003, 85). Fiddes goes on to say, 'This rule is not shared in the sense of being delegated to other individuals from above. There is no chain of command, no pyramid of power. Christ alone rules, and the task of the local church gathered in covenant community together is to find the mind of Christ. It must find his purpose for it as it comes together in church meeting' (85-86). Leadership emerges from the church as it gathers together, not from an individual or individuals. Elsewhere I put it like this:

For Baptist Christians we practice a non-hierarchal view of church. The ministry and mission of the church belongs to each local church. Baptists recognise that some are called to leadership and ministry, but power and privilege is given not to them, but to the church as a whole as it meets together. I like that. What makes me a Baptist is partly the conviction that as a whole church, as the priesthood of believers in this place, we discern together the mission and ministry of the church.

I remained convinced that language remains something that needs to be used and defined carefully. We must prize the language of 'deacon' and 'minister' with its roots in the Greek word for 'servant'. We should avoid if at all possible language of 'leader' unless we use it reference to Christ or the Spirit. We should rediscover and embrace our baptist history. 'Baptist history and principles' is vital to the future of baptist life and not something we disregard or treat indifferently. We should value the church meeting highly and be expectant that Christ will be present in our gathered conversations and deliberations.

Journal of Theological Interpretation, Fall 2007

The next edition of the new JTI is out.

ARTICLES

P. T. Forsyth, Scripture, and the Crisis of the Gospel by Angus Paddison

"Although/Because He Was in the Form of God": The Theological Significance of Paul's Master Story (Phil 2:6–11) by Michael J. Gorman

The "New Creation," the Crucified and Risen Christ, and the Temple: A Pauline Audience for Mark by Andy Johnson

Apocalypticizing Dogmatics: Karl Barth's Reading of the Book of Revelation by Joseph L. Mangina

The Hermeneutical Circle of Christian Community: Biblical, Theological, and Practical Dimensions of the Unity of Scripture by Charles J. Scalise

REVIEW ARTICLES

Reading with the Subject: A Conversation with Angus Paddison by Beverly Roberts Gaventa

Seeking Comment: The Commentary and the Bible as Christian Scripture by Steven J. Koskie

 

New blogs

I've been working on two new blogs.

First for Alan Spence (author of Incarnation and Inspiration) and Terry Wright (doctoral student, Spurgeon's College) who are organising a conference next summer on the theology of John Owen

And second for Suke Wolton (tutor in politics, Regent's Park College) and Myra Blyth (chaplain and fellow in pastoral studies, Regent's Park College) on ASPIRE, the new project being partnered by CTBI Racial Justice network, Regent's Park College and Canterbury Christ Church to encourage black people to aspire to higher education, especially to places like Oxford. This was the main reason Jesse Jackson was in Oxford this week.

They are receiving some finishing touches, but I'll let you know the blog addresses soon.

Dan Hardy (1930-2007)

I discovered this morning that Dan Hardy died yesterday. Rev Professor Dan Hardy was an outstanding Anglican theologian, who taught at Birmingham, Durham (where he was Van Mildert Professor), the Centre for Theological Inquiry (where he was the Director) and most recently, although retired, at Cambridge. He was editor of the excellent Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine (jointly with Colin Gunton until he died). He was the author of Jubilate (1984, reprinted recently as Living in Praise, 2005), God's Ways with World (1996), Finding the Church (1999) and co-editor with Colin Gunton of On Being the Church (1989). In more recent years he was at the forefront of the scriptural reasoning movement with his son-in-law Professor David Ford and Peter Ochs. He will be sadly missed.

Listen to John Webster deliver the Kantzer Lectures

John Webster's recent Kantzer Lectures have been made available - so if you have the time to listen, click here.

Jesse Jackson at Regent's

The photo is of Jesse Jackson preaching at New Road Baptist Church on Tuesday evening, after having earlier spoken with ministerial, graduate and undergraduate students at Regent's. On Wednesday he returned to Regent's for more meetings with students and a lecture called 'Freedom and Education'. It was a great couple of days. I thought he preached really well (loud and rhetorical) and it was a great service. The question and answer sessions with students showed his political skills as he keep re-iterating his message for more a level playing field for black and other ethnic groups, which means more access to universities like Oxford and Cambridge. He showed a good grasp of the Iraq situation, suggesting that America has lost its moral authority (in my view they lost that a long time ago, if they ever really had any).

Best commentary series?

New commentary series are popping up all over the place, to join the fast becoming classics. Do you buy a series or is best to pick and choose?

The Two Horizons New Testament Commentary
Series Editors: Joel B. Green, Max Turner

Seeking to bridge the existing gap between biblical studies and systematic theology, this distinctive series offers section-by-section exegesis of the New Testament texts in close conversation with theological concerns. Written by respected scholars, the THNTC volumes aim to help pastors, teachers, and students engage in deliberately theological interpretation of Scripture.

The New International Greek Testament Commentary
Series Editors: I. Howard Marshall, Donald A. Hagner

This commentary series is established on the presupposition that the theological character of the New Testament documents calls for exegesis that is sensitive to theological themes as well as to the details of the historical, linguistic, and textual context. Such thorough exegetical work lies at the heart of these volumes, which contain detailed verse-by-verse commentary preceded by general comments on each section and subsection of the text.

Hermeneia

The series is designed to be a critical and historical commentary to the Bible without arbitrary limits in size or scope. It will utilize the full range of philological and historical tools, including textual criticism (often slighted in modern commentaries), the methods of the history of tradition (including genre and prosodic analysis), and the history of religion.

Hermeneia is designed for the serious student of the Bible. It will make full use of ancient Semitic and classical languages; at the same time, English translations of all comparative materials—Greek, Latin, Canaanite, or Akkadian—will be supplied alongside the citation of the source in its original language. Insofar as possible, the aim is to provide the student or scholar with full critical discussion of each problem of interpretation and with the primary data upon which the discussion is based.

Interpretation
Series Editors: James L. Mays, Patrick D. miller, P. J. Achtemeier

Interpretation is a set of full-length, practical, and clearly written commentaries that helps teachers and preachers in their educational and homiletic work and lay persons in their study of the Bible. It bridges the gap between critical and expository commentaries and combines exciting biblical scholarship with illuminating textual expositions. Critically acclaimed and widely used in classrooms and for teaching and preaching in the church, Interpretation commentaries are written by recognized scholars with experience as teachers and/or preachers.

The Anchor Bible Commentary
General Editor: William Foxwell Albright (1891–1971), David Noel Freedman

THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE is a fresh approach to the world's greatest classic. Its object is to make the Bible accessible to the modern reader; its method is to arrive at the meaning of biblical literature through exact translation and extended exposition, and to reconstruct the ancient setting of the biblical story, as well as the circumstances of its transcription and the characteristics of its transcribers.

It is a project of international and interfaith scope: Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars from many countries contribute individual volumes. The project is not sponsored by any ecclesiastical organization and is not intended to reflect any particular theological doctrine. Prepared under our joint supervision, The Anchor Yale Bible commentaries are an effort to make available all the significant historical and linguistic knowledge which bears on the interpretation of the biblical record.

The Anchor Yale Bible commentaries are aimed at the general reader with no special formal training in biblical studies; yet these books are written with the most exacting standards of scholarship, reflecting the highest technical accomplishment. This project marks the beginning of a new era of co-operation among scholars in biblical research, thus forming a common body of knowledge to be shared by all.

Brazos Theological Commentary
General Editor: R. R. Reno

The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible is designed to serve the church--through aid in preaching, teaching, study groups, and so forth--and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

New Cambridge Biblical Commentary
Editors: Bill T. Arnold, James D. G. Dunn, Michael V. Fox, Robert P. Gordon, Judith Gundry-Volf, Ben Witherington III

The NCBC aims to elucidate the Hebrew and Christian scriptures for a wide range of intellectually curious individuals. Commentaries in the NCBC thus will be academically rigorous but will not assume the reader has a great deal of specialized theological knowledge or an impressive command of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or biblical Greek. Unlike the earlier CBC, however, the new series will take advantage of many of the rewards provided by scholarly research over the last three decades. While not mistaking trendiness for truth, volumes in the NCBC will make accessible and build upon many of the advances in theory and theology produced in universities and seminaries during the last thirty years. Utilizing recent gains in rhetorical criticism, social scientific study of the scriptures, narrative criticism and other developing disciplines, this series intends to provide a fresh look at biblical texts, taking advantage of the growing edges in Biblical Studies.

Word Biblical Commentary
General Editor: Bruce Metzger

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Advent Explorations coming soon