scholarly journals Mission And God’s Mercy In The Bible (Mission and Grace of God According to the Book of Jonah)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky BGD Paat

In the Old Testament there is a debate between two related topics, namely themission and grace of God. Specifically seen in the Book of Jonah, this bookcontains several dialogues which perfectly support the motion of the story and thethemes it carries. Its structure provides a contrasting picture of Yahweh and Jonah.To answer this debate, by looking at the relationship between mission and God'sgrace in the Book of Jonah. We can find in it Jonah's disobedience in carrying outthe mission that God gave him and the rewards he experienced by God's grace tohim. Likewise the Ninevites received the grace of God which the prophet of Goddid not want. Then the question arises what is the mission and mercy of God inuniversal relationships. Thus this paper seeks to elaborate on these two topics.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susilo Susanto

In the Old Testament there is a debate between two related topics, namely the mission and grace of God. Specifically seen in the Book of Jonah, this book contains several dialogues which perfectly support the motion of the story and the themes it carries. Its structure provides a contrasting picture of Yahweh and Jonah. To answer this debate, by looking at the relationship between mission and God's grace in the Book of Jonah. We can find in it Jonah's disobedience in carrying out the mission that God gave him and the rewards he experienced by God's grace to him. Likewise the Ninevites received the grace of God which the prophet of God did not want. Then the question arises what is the mission and mercy of God in universal relationships. Thus this paper seeks to elaborate on these two topics.



1997 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Provan

It is well known that the seeds from which the modern discipline of OT theology grew are already found in 17th and 18th century discussion of the relationship between Bible and Church, which tended to drive a wedge between the two, regarding canon in historical rather than theological terms; stressing the difference between what is transient and particular in the Bible and what is universal and of abiding significance; and placing the task of deciding which is which upon the shoulders of the individual reader rather than upon the church. Free investigation of the Bible, unfettered by church tradition and theology, was to be the way ahead. OT theology finds its roots more particularly in the 18th century discussion of the nature of and the relationship between Biblical Theology and Dogmatic Theology, and in particular in Gabler's classic theoreticalstatementof their nature and relationship. The first book which may strictly be called an OT theology appeared in 1796: an historical discussion of the ideas to be found in the OT, with an emphasis on their probable origin and the stages through which Hebrew religious thought had passed, compared and contrasted with the beliefs of other ancient peoples, and evaluated from the point of view of rationalistic religion. Here we find the unreserved acceptance of Gabler's principle that OT theology must in the first instance be a descriptive and historical discipline, freed from dogmatic constraints and resistant to the premature merging of OT and NT — a principle which in the succeeding century was accepted by writers across the whole theological spectrum, including those of orthodox and conservative inclination.



2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Adamo

Since the 1980s, many Jeremianic scholars have spent much time on the study of the various contentious issues in order to resolve them. However, there has been no unanimous agreement yet. One of these contentious issues is the relationship of the prophet Jeremiah to ancient Africa and Africans which is the main focus of this article. The author of the book Jeremiah made references to Ancient Africa and Africans about 53 times in the Septuagint, and 67 times in the Masoretic Text. This indicates that the prophet Jeremiah is very familiar with ancient Africa and Africans. Using a historical–biographical and theological method of reading Jeremiah, this article examines the portrayal of ancient Africa and Africans in the book of Jeremiah. It is also part of an investigation of the African presence in the Old Testament which, to Africans, is an important moral and self–lifting scholarly exercise. It is also gratifying information in itself to know that Africa and Africans have participated in the drama of redemption which has not been recognised as such by either Eurocentric scholars or by the majority of Africentric scholars themselves. While in the Pentateuch references to Africa and Africans appear more than 577 times, in the Major Prophets there are about 180 references. What this means is that not only the author of the book of Jeremiah, but biblical authors in general are very familiar with ancient Africa and Africans, and deliberately took time to identify them. The continued recognition by scholars and non–scholars of Africa and African presence in the Bible has great implications for Christianity in Africa.



Author(s):  
Christopher Hays

The relationship between Egypt and ancient Israel and Judah was far more complex than is often recognized. Egypt figures prominently in their national myths of origin as a way station for the patriarchs and as the “house of slaves” and starting point of the Exodus. Although no Exodus event can be confirmed from extrabiblical sources, its significance in the Bible suggests an historical kernel. The diverse existing traditions about Egypt in the texts of the Pentateuch and other early biblical writings, combined and written down at a later date, seem to reflect different experiences on the part of the groups that coalesced into Israel By the time of the monarchy, there is more direct evidence for Egyptian influence on Israelite culture, particularly in administrative affairs. It is also clear that Egyptian religion was practiced in the Levant at this time and would have been known in Israel and Judah. By the time of the divided monarchy, the historical picture comes into better focus. Relations between Egypt, Israel, and Judah were quite variable. Although Egypt’s New Kingdom empire in the Levant had ended, the region continued to be a useful trading outlet, and the pharaohs were not above raiding to assert their power. However, there are numerous examples of fugitives from the Levant finding refuge from their enemies in Egypt. In the interest of maintaining a buffer zone against the northern empires that encroached, Egypt and Kush gave military aid to Israel and Judah at times, through both direct action and supplies. The prophets had not forgotten Egypt’s role as an oppressor and frequently condemned it, as well as the tendency of Israelite and Judahite rulers to seek its help. But at times the prophets also envisioned peace with Egypt. There are a number of specific Egyptian texts that supply mutually illuminating points of comparison with biblical texts, including wisdom instructions, prayers, hymns, creation accounts, and autobiographies. These are indications of the extensive, ongoing, cultural interactions between Egypt and the cultures that produced the Old Testament.



2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-92
Author(s):  
Iulian DINULESCU

On January 6, 2021, an angry mob attacked security forces and stormed the United States Congress, a significant portion of which carried placards containing Christian symbols and manifested ultra-religious conduct. The crowd chanted religious slogans and songs mixed with extremist ideological-political landmarks, QAnon conspiracy theories and racist attitudes. The protesters also followed a ritual found in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in the book of Joshua Navi, an Israelite leader to whom God indicated how he would conquer the City of Jericho, full of corrupt and fornicating people if he obeyed the divine command. The participants in the assault followed the same ritual to “conquer” the fortress of the Capitol a month before and repeated it starting with January 5, 2021. Since religion is the belief in God and represents the relationship between the faithful man and divinity, the acquisition of elements of political ideology by ultra-religious people was considered natural and mandatory in shaping a society to develop on Christian principles in the form of a “Christian city”. In this article, by analyzing the attitude of the Christian community in two distinct phases, before and during and after the assault on the US Congress, the result of the manifestation of the phenomenon of ultrareligiosity combined with an extremist political ideology will be revealed.



2007 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter M. Venter

Marriage as identity marker in the Old Testament The formularies used for consecrating marriages in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Church reflect this church’s view on matrimony. As the biblical bases of the formularies are deficient, new ways of exploring biblical information on this subject should be followed. This article proposes that data on marriage in the Bible always be used in conjunction with other concepts to form theological constructs to outline who God is and who his people are. It is always intended to be an identity marker to the members of the church. In the three Genesis cycles of Genesis 11:10-25:11; 25:12-35:29 and 36:1-50:26 heirship, marriage and land are used in an integrated construct to indicate the identity of the post-exilic community in Yehud. In the penitential prayers of Ezra 9:6-15 and Nehemia 9:5b-37 the concepts law, land and marriage are jointly used to depict the identity of the “real” Israel. The conclusion drawn from this investigation is that the Bible does not present models for marriage, but rather theological constructs to understand the relationship with the Lord in metaphorical terms and to reflect on the meaning of everyday life of that relationship including matrimony under ever changing social circumstances.



Author(s):  
Peter Mack

Philipp Melanchthon was one of Luther’s closest associates, helping to systematize Lutheran theology, and his Loci communes (Commonplaces) (1521) was one of the most influential early works of Protestant theology. He was often a moderating influence in theological debates between Catholics and Protestants. Melanchthon was also involved in controversy over the relationship between human will and God’s grace in the achievement of salvation. He was responsible for the reform of Protestant German education in the sixteenth century, through the large number of textbooks which he composed, and through his revisions of the statutes of universities (notably Wittenberg) and schools. As a scholar and reformer of education, he was a staunch follower of the humanism of Agricola and Erasmus, committed to teaching the best Latin authors and the Greek language. Many of his works are textbooks (often produced in different versions), frequently based on lecture notes, summarizing or commenting on classical authors or scripture. Although more important as a summarizer and popularizer than as a source of new ideas, Melanchthon nevertheless made important contributions to the development of logic, rhetoric, ethics and psychology, as well as to aspects of Reformation theology. In logic he contributed to the growth of interest in method. In ethics he established a place for classical moral teaching alongside but subordinate to the teaching of the Bible. His favourite philosopher was Aristotle, and he tended to pour scorn on rival ancient schools of philosophy. In psychology he favoured a simplified Aristotelianism, close to medieval faculty psychology, with strong emphasis on links with biology. He opposed scepticism wherever he encountered it.



2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-181
Author(s):  
James Gordon McConville

The article considers the relationship between the metaphorical language for God used in the poetry of the Old Testament, especially female metaphors, and the Old Testament’s portrayal of the nature of God. It considers two opposing views: first, that female imagery, such as birth imagery, suggests that Yahweh has a ‘female aspect’, and, second, that such language notwithstanding, Yahweh is indefeasibly male. The argument employs cognitive linguistic theory and suggests that male and female metaphors for Yahweh do not bespeak either maleness or femaleness in the deity, but rather Yahweh’s identification with human experience broadly. While the Old Testament emerged in a world dominated by masculine perspectives, it also transforms received concepts, especially in relation to God. This transformative character of the Old Testament can become a model for contemporary readings of the Bible in relation to the contentious area of gender and language for God.



2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. F. Herrie Van Rooy

Messianic expectation and preaching from the Old Testament In the recent past the issue of the Messiah in the Old Testament received a considerable amount of attention in South Africa, especially in the circles of the Gereformeerde Kerke van Suid-Afrika (the Reformed Churches of South Africa). The debate focused on the question regarding the Messiah in the Psalms, due to the new version of the Psalter in Afrikaans, published in 2001. Similar questions were asked concerning the New Afrikaans translation of the Bible (1983). This matter is related to the whole issue regarding the relationship between the Old and the New Testament. This article deals with a related matter, viz. the matter of Christological preaching from the Old Testament. Once it has described the background of the problem, it formulates some important principles and illustrates the application of the principles through the discussion of four examples from the book of Haggai.



2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-352
Author(s):  
W. G. Thirion

A practical theological model for the relationship Old Testament/New TestamentFor all Christians the Bible consists of the Old and New Testament. The relationship, however, between these two parts is a hermeneutic-theological problem which confronts the communicative praxis of the Christian faith. Therefore it is necessary to develop a hermeneutic-theological theory for Christians which can serve as a paradigm within which the texts of the Old as well as that of the New Testament may regard as equal authoritative Word of God. As far as this study is concerned, there is but one approach only which can achieve this and that is a theocentric approach to both Testaments. A theocentric approach to the relationship Old Testament/New Testament, a) is capable of treating both Testaments as equal authoritative Word of God, b) prevents the practice of "two-sermons-in-one-sermon" in an attempt to make the message of the Old Testament more Christian like, c) is especially capable of communicating the message of the Old Testament in the communicative praxis of the Christian community and the modern society without reading by force Christ into the Old Testament.



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