In depicting an apocalyptic expectation of the revelation of God's children (Rom 8.19–23), Paul personifies 'creation': awaiting the revelation of these children, she 'groans and suffers pains of childbirth.' While Paul's vision is framed... more
In depicting an apocalyptic expectation of the revelation of God's children (Rom 8.19–23), Paul personifies 'creation': awaiting the revelation of these children, she 'groans and suffers pains of childbirth.' While Paul's vision is framed with scriptural allusions, Greek and Roman images of Earth Mother also provide a relevant juxtaposition. This study recovers such a context by surveying sources ranging from Hesiod's Gaia to the Roman Terra Mater. Philo provides an especially relevant comparative model, as he relates biblical cosmology to Greek mythological sources and asserts that earth's role as mother is also attested in Genesis. In light of these comparisons, fresh insights emerge: maternal creation gives birth to a new divine era, yet for Paul this remains a future hope rather than a past (mythological) or present (political) occurrence.
(from the Introduction) Being the final product of his doctoral studies, Paul Wilkinson’s book, For Zion’s Sake, intends to reveal how John Nelson Darby’s detractors have distorted Christian Zionism while directly challenging academics... more
(from the Introduction) Being the final product of his doctoral studies, Paul Wilkinson’s book, For Zion’s Sake, intends to reveal how John Nelson Darby’s detractors have distorted Christian Zionism while directly challenging academics who believe dispensationalism has little theological or historical value. The purpose of this review is not to critique dispensationalism directly but to summarize and evaluate Wilkinson’s research and conclusions. In the end, Wilkinson’s ideological agenda and prejudicial research presents a thoroughly one-sided and indefensible case for Christian Zionism. In addition to his shameful demonization tactics against anyone who disagrees, Wilkinson’s research capabilities demonstrate a deliberate bias with little intention of conducting a fair and honest assessment of the subject. His style of writing amounts to nothing more than inflammatory claptrap, engaging in a puerile smear campaign against nondispensationalists that panders to the rhetoric of pseudo-intellectual prophecy pundits and apocalyptic hysteria. His research and conclusions are elementary at best, if not outright disgraceful.
The default translation of the phrase δι’ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας in Heb 1:2c is spatial: “through whom he made the worlds/universe.” The typical explanation for why this temporal term should have a spatial meaning is that αἰών can... more
The default translation of the phrase δι’ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας in Heb 1:2c is spatial: “through whom he made the worlds/universe.” The typical explanation for why this temporal term should have a spatial meaning is that αἰών can have the sense of “the ages and everything in them,” so that it is roughly equivalent to the universe of space and time. In contrast, this paper demonstrates on the bases of lexical-historical, broad contextual, and immediate contextual evidence that a temporal translation (“ages” as in history) is preferable and that this temporal sense is more specifically salvation-historical in meaning.
A little over a decade after Edward Fudge invited critical readers of The Fire That Consumes to "Measure this work by every proper standard," Robert A. Peterson responded in a paper presented at the 1994 ETS Convention entitled "The... more
A little over a decade after Edward Fudge invited critical readers of The Fire That Consumes to "Measure this work by every proper standard," Robert A. Peterson responded in a paper presented at the 1994 ETS Convention entitled "The Hermeneutics of Annihilationism: The Theological Method of Edward Fudge." In his paper Peterson alleges to "have pointed out deficiencies in [Fudge's] methodological approach" and concludes that "evaluated in terms of hermeneutics and theological method, [Fudge's] case appears to be weak." This paper presents a case for conditional immortality and the annihilation of the finally impenitent, arguing that they—and not the traditional view—result from exegesis done according to accepted hermeneutical principles, responding to Peterson's critique along the way.
Élian Cuvillier shows that the classical ways of asking about the authenticity of the Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians prevents from understanding the theological function of its fictional dimension. Through the device of... more
Élian Cuvillier shows that the classical ways of asking about the authenticity of the Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians prevents from understanding the theological function of its fictional dimension. Through the device of pseudepigraphy, the author of the Epistle provides to all the communities founded by the apostle an updated version of his eschatology. While seeking to remain faithful to Paul’s message, he ensures its reception in a new context. His Epistle thereby exemplifies the truth of literary fiction as theorized – in different though compatible ways – by Paul Ricœur and Jacques Lacan.
Par le truchement de la pseudépigraphie, l’auteur de la seconde aux Thessaloniciens actualise l’eschatologie paulinienne à destination de l’ensemble des communautés fondées par l’apôtre ; il s’agit pour lui d’être fidèle au message de Paul tout en assurant sa réception dans un contexte nouveau. Pour étayer cette thèse, Élian Cuvillier examine les conditions d’émergence et les raisons de la pseudépigraphie paulinienne, les principaux arguments relatifs à l’hypothèse pseudépigraphique de 2 Th, l’impasse de l’interprétation de 2 Th comme pseudépigraphe dès lors que sa dimension fictionnelle n’est pas assumée, la possibilité de lire de 2 Th comme traité d’eschatologie deutéropaulinien reposant précisément sur la nature fictionnelle du propos. L’article se conclut par une réflexion sur la vérité de la fiction littéraire que constitue la seconde aux Thessaloniciens.
