This issue of The Mediator explores the theme of communicating the gospel of hope in ways that are relevant to our world. We are confronted with this question: What hope can the gospel communicate to a world that is increasingly secular and pluralistic? The emptiness of post-modernism confronts not only North America and Europe but also many countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The creedal answers from the Church's great confessions of faith are not always sufficient to convince skeptical people that there is an almighty God who cares for them. To many, God is increasingly becoming irrelevant and old-fashioned; God (capital "G") has become a god (lower case "g"). For some, God is either so transcendent as to be unapproachable or so immanent as to be ineffective. For others, the idea of a personal "God" is naive and even offensive. Hope has become like truth, an elusive abstract that no one can grasp. The daily news does little to help grow hope but instead creates fear and uncertainty. How does the gospel answer an atmosphere of hopelessness? The 2001-05 quadrennial theme for the Church of the Nazarene is "Jesus the Hope ." As theologians of the church, what message of hope can we offer that will make a difference in a dying world? Hope cannot be found in anything in this world. Our hope as believers is anchored beyond this world—in Jesus Christ. Our hope is not placed in dogmatic claims of the church or theological suppositions about a transcendent God, but our hope is placed in a person who lived among us. Our hope is in a person who lived in this fallen world but who also proclaimed freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release to the oppressed (Luke 4:18). Our optimism in grace is tempered by a genuine concern for the world. Yet we find hope difficult because hope has a degree of uncertainty about it. Hope involves being dependent upon another, and we want to be independent We want the source of our hope to be within our control. Hope must be expressed in tangible ways. Our hope is not simply for a blessed afterlife but leads us to live a certain way in the present. It gives us joy in the midst of sorrow. It gives us victory in seeming defeat It gives us peace in the heat of battle.
René Girard's theories on the mimetic relationship between violence and religion and the genesis and maintenance of culture have had a profound impact on many disciplines. The Colloquium on
Part One - Indicatives of Identity and Blessing
Chapter 1 - Resident Aliens (1:1; 2:11)
Chapter 2 - God's Chosen People (1:2)
Chapter 3 - Salvation Benefits (1:3-5)
Chapter 4 - The New Temple (2:4-8)
Chapter 5 - The New Israel (2:9-10)
The purpose of this essay is to suggest that Revelation could be interpreted as a series of images and sounds, rather than as a text, full of words. I have not done a full content analysis, but a quick review yields a number of clues to sensory images: “Revelation” itself is a visual term. The book itself was meant to be read aloud “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it.” Rev. 1:3. One problem with a purely linguistic interpretation is the details.
examines the Bible's amazing message and story of faith in a way that will captivate readers and impel them to learn more. Thorough, sound biblical scholarship combined with an eye-catching format and easy-to-understand writing style make this textbook a must-have for every Christian's library.
Discovering the New Testament combines all the elements you're looking for in a survey of the New Testament - thorough, sound biblical scholarship, combined with an eye-catching format and a writing style that's easy to understand.
IN DISCOVERING THE NEW TESTAMENT, YOU'LL FIND:
Objectives defined for each lesson
Personal questions to help you relate the Bible to your life
The thesis of this study is that the function of the lamb metaphor in Revelation 5 serves to reveal the nature of God and the way God achieves victory over evil. Through John’s use of the lamb metaphor, the way of the Roman Empire is revealed as a false ideology, true victory is revealed, and the way of the lamb is made known to his followers. John wrote this document in a particular time period and cultural context.
This thesis explores the understanding and meaning of hospitality from a biblical perspective utilizing the hospitality language found in the Gospel of John. It is acknowledged that although the word hospitality is not present in the Gospel of John, the notion of hospitality is found throughout the Gospel. The idea that the Gospel of John demonstrates how the incarnate God came into the world as both guest (stranger) and welcoming host is also explored.
