scholarly journals Is New Testament Theology Still Having an Identity Crisis? A Review of Five Recent Contributions

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 636
Author(s):  
Joshua Strahan
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Identity Crisis ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Narrative Theology ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Contested Terrain ◽  
The Way ◽  
Ancient Texts

This article reviews five recent contributions to the field of New Testament theology. More accurately, three NT theologies will be examined alongside two biblical theologies, given that some regard NT theology as inherently deficient apart from OT theology. These five works are notable not only for their diversity of methodology but also their diversity of cultural perspective—one book by a Finn (Timo Eskola’s A Narrative Theology of the New Testament), one by two Germans (Reinhard Feldmeier’s and Hermann Spieckermann’s God of the Living: A Biblical Theology), one by a Canadian (Thomas R. Hatina’s New Testament Theology and its Quest for Relevance: Ancient Texts and Modern Readers), one by an American (Craig L. Blomberg’s A New Testament Theology), and one by a native Briton (John Goldingay’s Biblical Theology). Along the way, this review article will consider how these works navigate the tricky and contested terrain of NT (or biblical) theology, particularly vis-à-vis matters of history, canon, synthesis and diversity, and contemporary relevance.

Charismata: Gifts, Enablements, or Ministries?

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Benny Aker
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Spiritual Gifts ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Church Culture ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn the midst of a growing awareness of spiritual gifts in contemporary church culture and in the academy, much confusion exists. The use of the term 'charismata' promotes this confusion and is not an appropriate label for the biblical evidence of such activity. The problem lies in a deficient linguistic and exegetical handling of this term—a problem identified by James Barr long ago and brought to the fore by Kenneth Berding. Proper exegesis overcomes this prevalent exegetical and linguistic fallacy and suggests another term, diakonia. However, a more foundational conception of both the church and ministry is lacking. By analyzing Pauline anthropol ogy in Romans, an enduring and foundational model for gifts and ministries emerges. This model is the Pauline conception of the church as God's tem ple. People who are delivered from sin's power through identifying with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection and who have the Spirit are free to give themselves both as sacrifice and temple servants in spiritual ministries. One other caution is raised and discussed. One must avoid the charge in practice and theology of Spirit-monism. Basic structures of the New Testament always place Jesus as the One through whom the Spirit comes. Conse quently, all Spirit activity must in some way be christological and sote riological in nature. Some contemporary applications are derived from this biblical theology of Church and ministry.

A Neglected Feature of the Christology of the Fourth Gospel

1975 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Mastin
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Way

Because the term θεóς is used so infrequently of Jesus in the New Testament, it is not surprising to find that there are relatively few discussions of it as a christological title. However, it may be of value to investigate the way in which the Fourth Gospel speaks of Jesus as ‘God’ since its usage differs somewhat from that of the rest of the New Testament. First, the extent to which the New Testament describes Jesus as God will be surveyed, and this will be contrasted in general terms with the approach of the Fourth Evangelist. Then the passages in the Fourth Gospel which may call Jesus ‘God’ will be examined in more detail, and an attempt will be made to establish the way in which this designation is used by the evangelist. Next it will be asked how the distinctive usage of the Fourth Gospel came to be adopted. Finally the view that the word θεóς expresses a functional christology will be considered.

scholarly journals Die godsdienshistoriese agtergrond van die Nuwe Testament: Kommentaar op 'n onlangse publikasie

2001 ◽  
Vol 57 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan C. Thom
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Recent Introduction ◽  
General Orientation ◽  
Close Interaction ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Historic Background ◽  
Ancient Texts

The religio-historic background of the New Testament: Commentary on a recent publication. The religiohistoric background of the NT is of cardinal importance for its interpretation; however, it is far from easy for New Testament scholars to attain a thorough knowledge of this background. What is needed is not only a broad, general orientation, but also first-hand interaction with texts in which Graeco-Roman religious traditions themselves appear and are expressed. But available introductions are either too general or do not offer a satisfactory theoretical framework for understanding textual materials within context. Hans-Josef Klauck's recent introduction to the religio-historical context of the  NT, by presenting not only an "external", theoretical but also an "intemal" perspective emanating from close interaction with the ancient texts themselves, satisfies to an exceptional degree the requirements mentioned above.

THE CANONICAL FUNCTION OF 2 PETER

2001 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wall
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Status ◽  
2 Peter

AbstractDuring the modern period, the authority of 2 Peter for Christian theological formation has been challenged by the reconstructions of historical criticism. The verdict of biblical scholarship has been largely negative: the theological conception of 2 Peter comes from a person and for a setting that does not easily cohere with the rest of the New Testament writings. The present essay seeks to rehabilitate the status of 2 Peter for use in biblical theology, independent of the historical problem it poses for the interpreter, by approaching its theological subject matter within the setting of the New Testament canon, where its theological perspective functions as complementary to and integral with 1 Peter in forming Scripture's Petrine witness to the faith.

Biblical Theology of Life in the New Testament

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bruce Button ◽  
◽  
Elma M. Cornelius ◽  
Jan A. du Rand ◽  
Philip La Grange du Toit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
The New Testament

Greatness of Soul Across the Ages

2019 ◽  
pp. 292-318
Author(s):  
Robert C. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Mutual Exclusion ◽  
Abraham Lincoln ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
The Other ◽  
Scottish Enlightenment ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Greatness Of Soul ◽  
The Way ◽  
Strength And Toughness

That a virtue should be called magnanimity suggests that souls come in sizes. But what makes for this sizing? This chapter is framed between the Homeric heroic ideal embodied in the megalêtôr and the gentle but resolute American hero, the magnanimous Abraham Lincoln, interacting along the way with the other chapters in the volume. This chapter compares conceptions of greatness of soul (heart, spirit, mind), touching on Socrates, Aristotle, the New Testament, Stoicism, Yaḥyā ibn ‘Adī and al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, the Scottish Enlightenment, Kant, and Nietzsche. The story is one of diversity, indeed in some cases mutual exclusion, with overlap and continuities. But in the end the chapter suggests a certain evolution of our conception of human greatness in which the virtues of strength and toughness are integrated with those of generosity and compassion.

Toward a Biblical Theology of Marriage and Family Part 4: Epistles and Revelation

1977 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-331
Author(s):  
Kenneth O. Gangel
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Family Roles ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Marriage And Family ◽  
New Covenant ◽  
The Family ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Impact

The New Testament Epistles explain and apply the impact of the New Covenant in the life of the family, and that family of families we call church. Monogamy, fidelity, chastity — all part of God's original design are reaffirmed as the didactic pen of a brilliant Rabbi-turned-missionary interprets God's plan for the churches. Of dominance is the weight of symbolic application of truth as no fewer than 22 similes and metaphors teach church truth through family analogies. Family roles and relations for believers are clarified by both Paul and Peter.

Kenneth E. Bailey: An Ambassador Serving the Middle East and the West

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-159
Author(s):  
Gary M. Burge
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
The West ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

Kenneth E. Bailey (1930–2016) was an internationally acclaimed New Testament scholar who grew up in Egypt and devoted his life to the church of the Middle East. He also was an ambassador of Arab culture to the West, explaining through his many books on the New Testament how the context of the Middle East shapes the world of the New Testament. He wed cultural anthropology to biblical exegesis and shaped the way scholars view the Gospels today.

The Meaning of Wisdom in James: Examination of a Hypothesis

1969 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Kirk
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Epistle Of James ◽  
The Way

The following essay is an attempt to examine the manner in which the writer of the Epistle of James uses the concept of Wisdom; and to study the suggestion that the way in which he uses it is more or less interchangeable with that in which other writers of the New Testament use the concept of the Holy Spirit.

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