The Interplay between Forms of Revelation: Implications for Theological Methodology

The interplay between forms of revelation has been a matter of much discussion in theological discourse for many centuries. While this paper is not particularly concerned with the final say on the doctrine of revelation it is concerned with revelation and its relation to theological method. In other words, what is the significance of the various modes or forms that revelation takes in connection with the way theology is approached and done? The thesis of this paper is that God is not limited to one form of revelation, but rather that each revelatory form can and does inform the others in some way. The paper will attempt to determine, through the example of Paul, how forms of revelation work together in various cultural contexts to reveal God. The implications of this thesis as they relate to theological method will also be explored

Constructing a Theology of Relational Life Through the Themes of Creation, Incarnation, and Re-Creation as an Alternative to Current Categories of Religions

This dissertation argues that current categories of religions are overly reliant on Western Enlightenment-based presuppositions and academic thinking that creates barriers in understanding God’s desire for all people to have abundant life. Many theologians and missiologists utilize these inherited categories without first subjecting them to the biblical canon. As a result, the theological and missiological discourse on religions is often grounded in extra-biblical presuppositions rooted primarily in an overly high view of human reason that do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. These presuppositions do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. I, therefore, compared and contrasted categories of religions as they have been developed with the description of relational life found in the biblical passages of Genesis 1-3, John 1:1-18, and Revelation 20-22, which I argue are theologically central to the biblical canon. The purpose of this dissertation is to deconstruct the categories of religions that have been inherited and used by theologians and missiologists. The categories of religions are meant to be wide ranging and include terms or terminology that scholars have used to describe large groups of people or ideologies such as: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Christianity, animism, folk religions, tribal religions, atheism, Marxism, etc. In the space created by deconstructing the categories of religions a constructive theology of relational life rooted in the biblical themes of creation, Incarnation, and re-creation is developed. Relational life is terminology meant to be used in place of the terms culture and religion and signifies relationships between God and humanity and humanity with each other. This project utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to research. It involved surveying and critically engaging with current literature in a number of fields including historical studies of religion, anthropology, sociology, biblical studies, systematic theology, and missiology. This follows Veli-Matti Kärkäinnen and Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s methodological arguments in favor of an interdisciplinary approach to theology. By deconstructing the categories of religions three major implications for missiology and theology were discovered. The first implication is that in the development of the categories of religions, people were turned into objects and classified based on vague abstract concepts. The second implication is that the categories often were developed with racialized understandings of humanity. The third implication is that the development of the categories often was done in tandem with the development of the false teleological hope in the progress of human reason, with the categories serving to clarify where certain people fit on the scale of progress. While many philosophy of religion and history of religion scholars have recognized these problems they have struggled to develop meaningful solutions to the problems. This dissertation suggests that a solution for the implications is found in the Bible by contrasting the categories of religions with relational life as portrayed in the biblical canon themes of creation, Incarnation, and re-creation found in Genesis 1-3, John 1:1-18, and Revelation 20-22. From the study of these biblical passages it is then argued that a biblical understanding of relational life includes at least the following elements: work and rest, food and eating, language, human relationships and marriage, and clothing. These elements are rooted in the universal concepts that humanity is created in the Image of God, that God incarnated as Jesus to save humanity from sin and rebellion, and that God will re-create this Earth and live with humanity. These elements are, at the same time, more particular descriptors of humanity than the categories of religions and thus more reliable for understanding relational life. Therefore, it is better for theologians and missiologists to focus on the localized particularities of humanity in their diverse relational life as found in the biblical passages, rather than rely on categories of religions to develop meaningful theological and missiological concepts and engagements with relational life. It is then recommended that theologians and missiologists intentionally build relationships with people who live relationally in ways that are different from their own. As they do this they should intentionally turn to the Bible as the final arbitrating authority on ways of living, rather than categories of religions, in order to guide them in their relationships as well as their theological and missiological output

Grassroots Transnationalism(s): Franco-German Opposition to Nuclear Energy in the 1970s

This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.During the 1970s opposition to nuclear energy was present in countries around the world and thus eminently ‘transnational’. But what did it mean to participate at the grassroots of such a transnational movement and (how) did cross-border connections change protest? This article answers these questions by differentiating three categories of transnational engagement that were accessible to grassroots activists. ‘Thinking transnationally’ involved extrapolating from, decontextualising and recontextualising limited information in order to rethink one's own situation. ‘Acting transnationally’ entailed accessing transnational spaces; it therefore required more mobility, but could be useful as a means of challenging and deconstructing state power. Intermediaries at the grassroots engaged in ‘being transnational’, which affected their personal and political identities as well as life histories. These examples of transnational agency illustrate how grassroots activists, including some without vast wealth or institutional resources, participated in transnational processes in ways that enriched, but also complicated protest.Peer Reviewe

Ellen G. White’s Statements in Their Original Context on the Heathen Being Saved

This article is a study of a number of statements found in the writings of Ellen G. White on the experience of the heathen who have not heard about Jesus or God’s law. A brief section on the historical theological setting during the lifetime of Ellen White, specifically as it relates to the question of the eternal destiny of the heathen, will preface the primary portion of the study. The question of the eternal destiny became a major discussion issue, in the wider Protestant world, during the lifetime of Ellen White. It was also an issue that John Wesley addressed on a few different occasions in his sermons. The Wesleyan approach to the issue is mirrored in many ways in the writings of Ellen White. This article seeks to highlight some of these. The main sections of the study contain analysis of three chapters in White’s writings, one from each of the following: The Desire of Ages, Christ’s Object Lessons, and Prophets and Kings with a few additional notes on some other passages she wrote. The goal is to place the statements of Ellen White on the heathen within their literary context in order to have a more complete understanding of these statements. Part of the reason this is needed is because these quotations are often quoted without reference to their wider setting, and sometimes in contradictory ways. For Seventh-day Adventists the question of the unevangelized has not always been clearly answered either from Scripture or the writings of Ellen White. This article seeks to shed some light on Ellen White’s understanding in order to create a balanced view of Ellen White’s statements on the eternal destiny of the heathen

Adventist Use of the Qur’an: An Old Debate

In recent decades, Seventh-day Adventists have had several interactions discussing the use of the Qur’an for mission. Some Adventist ministers and workers have used the Qur’an as a tool to draw people into a discussion of faith and to guide people into an understanding of God that fits with the biblical portrayal. This has not been without controversy, and debate has taken place in formal and informal ways. This issue is often described as though it was a new form of mission Adventists are utilizing on the cutting edge of mission (Diop 2005; Maberly 2006). What this article demonstrates is that there have been Adventists who used the Qur’an in their discussions of faith with Muslims for nearly 100 years, if not more. The debate may feel fresh, but it is not a new debate. This article focuses on several examples from the 1920s through 1963

Lay Latitude: Latter-day Saint Women\u27s Agency in Northwest Arkansas

The question of women’s agency in gender-traditional religions has been the subject of much scholarly attention over the past four decades, but little research has been done focusing specifically on Latter-day Saint women and their identities and roles within the structure and practice of the Church. In popular media representations, Latter-Day Saint women are often depicted as submissive or surviving, either powerless pawns or resistant warriors. However, many Latter-day Saint women find fulfillment and empowerment within and because of, rather than outside or in spite of, the institutional Church. In this thesis, I explore women’s agency in Northwest Arkansas’ Greendale First Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, analyzing women’s expressions of faith in both ward and temple contexts. By qualifying and participating righteously, taking up lay leadership roles, engaging in theologizing discussions, and interpreting experiences through the Church’s key symbols, women in the Church find a multitude of agential modes through which to exercise power and authority