The voices of Messianic rabbis and believers have been collected in this volume to share concerns about the gap that remains between Jews and the church. For the past fifteen centuries, the church has been predominantly Gentile. Jews of faith were not considered Jews, but as «converted.» Today, as Messianic congregations multiply and church denominations try to find their way back to the original principles of the early church, the church is cha ...
Martin Luther's theological revolution depended in a significant part upon the distinction between law and gospel. Within the last hundred years, several authors have reevaluated the reformer's understanding of this paradigm in light of its development within the Lutheran orthodox tradition. Some authors have argued that the Lutheran scholastic view of God's law departs from that of Luther. Specifically, it is contended that the L ...
If only we could do a better job of helping students at «connecting the dots,» theological educators commonly lament. Integration, often proposed as a solution to the woes of professional education for ministry, would help students integrate knowledge, skills, spirituality, and integrity. When these remain disconnected, incompetence ensues, and the cost runs high for churches, denominations, and ministers themselves. However, we fail in thi ...
The Book of Job has been a rich source of truth and comfort for its readers throughout the ages, but the crowning glory of this book is the prophetic testimony it bears to the sufferings that Jesus Christ would endure as the savior of his people. The Shadow of Christ in the Book of Job examines the historical character of Job as a typological figure, whose experience of suffering leading to glory was meant to portray the work of Christ, and prov ...
Does God sovereignly elect some individuals for salvation while passing others by? Do human beings possess free will to embrace or reject the gospel? Did Christ die equally for all people or only for some? These questions have long been debated in the history of the Christian church. Answers typically fall into one of two main categories, popularly known as Calvinism and Arminianism. The focus of this book is to establish how one nineteenth-cen ...
The idea of a state religion is seldom connected to religious freedom and liberal, modern, and democratic states. However, such a situation existed in Norway until 2012, when the Lutheran Church was the state church of Norway. A large majority of the population belonged to the church, even though the percentage in 2013 had fallen to well over seventy-five. The relationship between the church and minority religious movements demanded adaptation a ...
Angels and Beasts looks into the interplay between the angelic figures in the vision of the seven seals. John creates a relationship between the four living creatures and the four riders in Revelation 6:1-8 that must not be overlooked. This connection works between the two groups as a whole and at the one-to-one level. The blending of symbols and the communication between these symbolic figures reveal exegetical, theological, and spiritual lesso ...
Is «political reconciliation» a new tool for peace-building and justice–in peace processes and other complex social reconstruction efforts-after dictatorship or civil wars? Or is it just another term for established practices like negotiation, conflict resolution, and cooperation? Reconciliation processes after conflict and war can be very different in form and content. Kjell-Ake Nordquist analyzes the concept of reconciliation from a politi ...
The Gospel of Matthew encourages and inspires its audience to practice the true, authentic, and holistic worship required for believers in Jesus to live in the kingdom of heaven. In accordance with all that Jesus taught and exemplified regarding authentic worship, believers are invited to complement their worship of God by worshiping and praying to Jesus as God's beloved Son, who represents «God with us.» They are also invited to complement ...
