scholarly journals Faith as a Proper Answer in Crisis

Kairos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Mihai Handaric

This article addresses the problem of preserving the faith in God while discouraging circumstances, based on the first part of Habakkuk’s prophecy. The message of the book teaches us how to benefit from our faith by presenting the process through which the prophet overcomes the confusion around him, even in God’s acting for his people. In the introduction, it is argued that faith is a basic principle of life, which can be questioned because of difficult circumstances. The first part of the article discusses why Habakkuk’s prophecy can be understood as a “burden,” and the second part presents the historical context of the book of Habakkuk. The third section discusses the internal and external crisis in Judah and the fourth section analyses the prophet’s reaction against the Babylonian crisis. The fifth section described the faith as a proper response to the crisis (2:1-4) while the final section discusses implications of Habakkuk 2:4 for the teaching of the New Testament. In general, we can see that in the first part of Habakkuk (1:1-2:4) the prophet questions the validity of his faith in God, because of the apparent long divine silence about injustice in Judah (1:2-4). Then, he was unhappy with God’s answer, who decided to send a new crisis to solve the first crisis (1:5-6). After the prophet’s complaint (1:7-2:1), God advises him and his people to trust His solution in overcoming the crisis (2:2-4). The insights from the message of Habakkuk analyzed in this article, may help the reader to preserve authentic faith in a time of crisis. Also, that pattern of living by faith from this Old Testament book is taken over by the New Testament authors so that Habakkuk’s expression “the righteous live by their faith” (2:4), is quoted as a key statement for the Gospel message of salvation (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). But not only that, this statement defines the proper behavior of people in expecting the divine solution of salvation in the time of crisis.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
MATTHEW D. JENSEN

Abstract: This article seeks to redress the imbalance of seeing John’s theology as distinctive and dissimilar to the other Gospels and New Testament documents by observing the essential consistency between the theology of the Fourth Gospel and the apostolic mission described by Paul in Galatians 2:1–10. First, it considers the origin of the New Testament documents in the mission of the apostles described in Galatians 2:1–10 and locates the apostles’ commonly agreed-on gospel message in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5. Second, the article examines the Fourth Gospel, paying close attention to the intrusive narrator’s comments about the purpose (John 20:30–31) and explicit use of the Old Testament (12:38, 39–40; 19:24, 28, 36–37) to demonstrate that John’s theology and epistemology was fundamentally the same as that of the other apostles.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Gregorius Tri Wardoyo

<p><em>Violent texts in the bible</em><em> both in the Old Testament or in the New Testament</em><em>, especially in the Old Testament, arise a problem</em><em> for a potential reader</em><em> on how to read </em><em>and understand their message and the theology of the author of the Book.</em><em> </em><em>For this reason, b</em><em>iblical scholars try to read it and they propose the way to read such texts</em><em>, such as to read them in the historical context of the Book itself, and interpret them as a reflection of the author and their experience</em><em>. This article tries to propose another way to read violent texts, in particularly that involve God as author of violent deeds. The methode of this discussion is exegetical analysis on the texts of the Old Testament</em><em>, especially on those which narrate the violent deeds of God </em><em>. The result of the study is the violent deeds of God aim to recreate the creation; that is why such violent texts might be read in the frame of the new creation.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words</em></strong><em>: </em>Alkitab, Keluaran, Kekerasan, Allah, Penciptaan (Baru)</p>


2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-55
Author(s):  
J.R. Harrison

AbstractIt is an irony of history that by late antiquity Paul had become the authority figure he never was during his lifetime. However, by the subapostolic and patristic periods Paul's apostolic authority was no longer considered quite so controversial. From 200 AD onwards Paul's letters were regularly cited alongside the Gospels and the Old Testament as 'Scripture'. It is therefore no surprise that the premier apocalyptic theologian of the New Testament would spawn several apocalyptic imitators. Two 'Apocalypses of Paul' have come down to us from antiquity, one gnostic, the other Christian. After discussing each work, the article asks to what extent the historical Paul would have agreed with these later works written in his name. The article will demonstrate how differing ecclesiastical traditions appropriated Paul for their own theological and social agendas instead of allowing the apostle to the Gentiles to speak to his first-century context


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Macpherson

Michael Prior raised the issue of Bible texts apparently morally unacceptable and at odds with the “core Gospel message” of the liberating love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. He pointed to Old Testament texts invoked to justify colonialism and, in particular, the colonial oppression of the Palestinians. Others have underlined texts in the New Testament used to justify anti-Semitism. Opinion divides between blaming the interpreters and blaming the texts themselves, usually by questioning their historicity. Both issues impact upon the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict and raise mirror-image questions concerning biblical inspiration demanding the liberationist hermeneutic implicit in Prior's work.


Kairos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Ervin Budiselić

The Church in the New Testament is described with various images, and this article argues that one image that is implicitly present in the New Testament is the Church as a “court” or a “community of trial.” First, this can be argued because the God of the Bible – YHWH - is Creator, King, and Judge. That means that YHWH’s community is responsible, per YHWH’s revelation, to maintain the purity of its members in all aspects of life. Second, in the New Testament, we find examples where the Church functions as a court. However, the question is, does the biblical requirement for “two or three witnesses” also support the claim that the Church should function as a court? The purpose of this article is to identify places where the biblical command about “two or three witnesses appear,” to trace its development and to see what role and place it plays in the Church. By doing so, we would demonstrate that the presence of this stipulation in the New Testament is additional proof that we should sometimes view the Church as a “court.” The first part of the article explains that the context for the concept of witness is the Mosaic covenant and underlying assumption that governs the command about “two and three witnesses.” The second part analyzes the appearance of “two or three witnesses” in the Old Testament. In the third part, we will argue that the Church is truly a community of trial. We will so argue by observing selected examples from the New Testament where the Church functions as a court, and by tracking the development of the requirement about “two or three witnesses” in the New Testament. Based on this research, we will end by offering a reflection and a conclusion.


Author(s):  
S.D. Snyman

Malachi 4:4−6 (Heb 3:22−24) occupies a special place in the canon of Scriptures. In Malachi 4:4−6 (Heb 3:22−24) not only the book of Malachi comes to a close but the whole of the Prophets (Nebi’im), and the second part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Christian Bible the book of Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament, which is concluded with this passage, before one turns to the New Testament. In this article it was argued the these three verses serve not only as the conclusion to the book of Malachi but also as a fitting close to the second part of the Hebrew Bible. It also serves as a link to both the Pentateuch as the first part, and the Psalms as the third part, of the Hebrew canon of Scriptures. In this sense Malachi 4:4−6 (Heb 3:22−24) can be viewed as a point of convergence in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible.


Author(s):  
Дмитрий Евгеньевич Афиногенов

Трактат 1 из сборника «Амфилохии» св. патр. Фотия на примере истолкования конкретных мест из Библии объясняет методологию библейской экзегезы вообще. Во внимание должен приниматься не только богословский или исторический контекст, но также чисто филологические аспекты: семантика, интонация, языковой узус Нового Завета и Септуагинты, возможные разночтения и т. д. Патриарх убеждён, что при правильном пользовании этим инструментарием можно объяснить все кажущиеся противоречащими высказывания Св. Писания таким образом, что они окажутся в полном согласии друг с другом. The first treatise from «Amphilochia» by the St. Patriarch Photios expounds the general principles of the biblical exegesis on a specific example of certain passages from the Bible. It is not just the theological or historical context that has to be taken into consideration, but also purely philological aspects, such as semantics, intonation, the language usage of the New Testament and Septuagint, possible variant readings etc. The Patriarch is convinced, that the correct application of these tools makes it possible to perfectly harmonize all seemingly contradictory statements of the Scriptures.


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