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Grave Preaching: Homiletical Violence in the Face of Grief Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Carlton D. Johnson
The myth of the African American's ability to separate ourselves from our pain was born amidst the unprecedented violence and innumerable deaths of the Transatlantic Slave trade. It continued throughout the three centuries of enslavement of people of African descent in America. In America, there is still a societal, as well as medical, expectation, that African Americans avoid deep acknowledgment of
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Book Review: American Martyr in Persia by Reza Aslan Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Christian T. Iosso
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Book Review: Deliver Us from Evil: A Call for Christians to Take Evil Seriously by John Swinton Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Lahronda Little
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The Soul of Black Preaching Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Wayne E. Croft
This article explores the richness of African American preaching. It contends that preaching is central in African American worship and interweaves aspects of African traditional religion. It reviews certain theological and rhetorical characteristics of Black preaching, such as poetic storytelling, call and response, rhythm, and musical sound. This article further contends that the soul of Black preaching
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Have We Lost the “Soul” of the Black Church: Returning to Our Roots Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Charles E. Goodman
This article critically analyzes the distinctive role and evolution of the Black church, with an emphasis on its preaching traditions and its impact on social and political activism within the Black community. The focus is on the shift from collectivism to individualism within the Black church, exploring its implications for community activism and the perpetuation of structural inequities. By delving
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An Exploration into Written Orality Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Frank A. Thomas
This article grapples with the quest for “written orality,” that is, the orality of the preacher's voice in writing and developing the written text of the sermon that more easily translates into the oral voice in the delivery of the sermon. In close discussion with Carl Hoefler in his classic work, Creative Preaching and Oral Writing, I develop five characteristics of written orality in sermons: imagination
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Who's Searching for the Soul of Black Preaching? History Proves It's Never Been Lost Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Jonathan C. Augustine
The 2023 Black Theology and Leadership Initiative convened around the theme, “Searching for the Soul of Black Preaching.” Rather than focusing on the performative aspects of Black preaching, as an art form, the convening looked substantively at the soul of Black preaching, that is, its very essence. What does it mean to provide hope to a people who have historically been marginalized, as part of the
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2023 Black Theology and Leadership Institute: The Neoliberal Homiletic Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 David G. Latimore
This article delves into the intersection of race, economic ideology, and Christian identity formation within the context of Black preaching to articulate what is referred to as the “neoliberal homiletic.” The neoliberal homiletic refers to the uncritical adoption of economic, ideological concepts within preaching practices, leading to a reshaping of theological goals and individual identity as examined
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Book Review: A Postfoundationalist Comparative Christology by David Muthukumar Sivasubramanian Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Brian Macallan
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Reflection on the “Soul of Black Preaching” Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Cornell Alfred Edmonds
The reflection seeks to offer alternative thoughts on a “search for the soul of Black preaching.” Casual allusion is made to experience, music, Scripture, literature, scholarship, context, and jurisprudence, for clues as to how and where the soul of Black preaching might be found. A central suggestion is that “Black preaching” is not simply a contemporary racial or ethnic construct, but a timeless
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Book Review: A Christian Theology of Science by Paul Tyson Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 Bradley L. Sickler
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Search for the Soul of Black Preaching Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-10 David G. Latimore
This article examines Black preaching as a vital force in African American communities, offering a powerful testament to resilience, spiritual enlightenment, and social transformation. Black preaching emerges as a beacon of hope and resistance amidst oppressive conditions, weaving together theological insight, cultural richness, and communal resilience. Through a rich historical lens, the article explores
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Book Review: Calvin’s Ecclesiology: A Study in the History of Doctrine by Tadataka Maruyama Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-04-01 Franklin Tanner Capps
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John Witherspoon and Slavery Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Kevin DeYoung
Like many of the American Founders, Witherspoon was influential and successful in several different pursuits. We are right to remember him as an important Christian pastor, as an American patriot, and as Princeton's first great president. The question we must ask, then, is whether this man and his accomplishments are rendered suspect, or at least made moot, because of one issue: slavery. On the one
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John Witherspoon and Slavery: Ideology versus Praxis Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Lesa Redmond
This article reassesses the life and legacy of John Knox Witherspoon on the basis of his relationship to slavery. It argues that Witherspoon's ideological commitment to Presbyterianism came into constant tension with the realities of slavery both in his native Scotland and in the burgeoning American colony he eventually called home. Three snapshots in Witherspoon's life encapsulate this tension: his
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John Witherspoon and the Abolitionist Travail Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Sean Wilentz
The historian Benjamin Quarles emphasized that comprehending American slavery's history requires recognizing the concurrent rise of the antislavery movement. This connection between John Witherspoon and slavery necessitates examining his involvement in the broader context of the transformative antislavery revolution during the era of Atlantic democratic revolutions.
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John Witherspoon, the Scottish Common Sense School, and American Political Philosophy Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Peter Wirzbicki
This article thus argues that we should interpret Witherspoon's relationship to slavery through the lens of his philosophical commitments. Perhaps John Witherspoon's most lasting contribution to American political culture was his introduction of Scottish Common Sense philosophy into American life. This body of philosophical thought that Witherspoon brought over from Scotland soon became dominant in
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John Witherspoon and the Rhetoric of Reputation Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Emmanuel C. Bourbouhakis
The controversy surrounding the statue of John Witherspoon on Princeton's campus has revolved largely around his contentious stance on the gradual abolition of slavery and his presumed ownership of at least two slaves for some indeterminate period. This article is intended to shift the focus to Witherspoon's pedagogical legacy as the more appropriate measure of his place on campus.
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Partial Iconoclasm: John Witherspoon's Presbyterian (Political) Theology and Slavery Theology Today Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Gordon S. Mikoski
The Reformed and Presbyterian traditions, characterized by their iconoclasm and anti-idolatry, stress the importance of rejecting false gods and idolatry, with a political theology that allows for critique of unjust authorities. Yet, there's a dichotomy in how leaders like Witherspoon applied these principles, as they criticized oppressive systems while simultaneously benefiting from the oppression
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The Great Ecological Transformation Theology Today Pub Date : 2023-03-28 Jürgen Moltmann, Steffen Lösel (Translator)
This article offers a theological rationale for engaging in a great ecological transformation. The author argues that this transformation cannot be achieved solely with technological means. Rather,...
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“Forcing Every Thought and Action into Responsibility”: An Unpublished Curriculum Vitae from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Fiancé Maria von Wedemeyer. Edited with an Introduction and Commentary by Jutta Koslowski Theology Today Pub Date : 2023-03-28 Jutta Koslowski
This is the first publication of the Curriculum Vitae of Maria von Wedemeyer, fiancé of the famous theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who has been executed by the Nazis just a few days before the end o...
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How Then Shall We Live as a People of Faith in a World in Crisis? Theology Today Pub Date : 2023-03-28 Duncan Ferguson
This article addresses the question of how the community of faith (the church, etc.) should respond to the world in crisis. It provides a spiritual perspective on this crisis rather than a full des...
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"Please Love Our Asian American Neighbors": Christian Responses to Anti-Asian Racism during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Theology Today Pub Date : 2023-01-01 Melissa May Borja,Kayla Zhang
How have American religious groups engaged in the issue of contemporary anti-Asian racism? This article examines statements issued by Christian denominations in the United States to understand how American Christians have responded to the recent rise in racist and violent attacks on Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that while all of the statements condemned anti-Asian racism,
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Living in the Promised Land: The Impact of the Black Lives Matter Movement on Indian American Christians Living in the NYC Metropolitan Areas Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-12-26 Geomon George
Often called a “model community,” Indian Americans have taken root in American society. Indian American Christians have seen the United States of America as their “promised land.” However, living i...
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Centering Asian Americans in Social Scientific Research on Religious Communities Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-12-26 Jerry Z. Park, Joyce C. Chang
Social scientific research on American Christianity typically centers the experiences and practices of White American Christians and predominantly white Christian communities or churches. Asian Ame...
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Living/Listening as If the Gospel Is True Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Michael Mather
The Missing Voices Project could be named the Missing Listeners Project. The voices of the very young are present, but there aren’t practices that pay attention to their voices. How will the adults...
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Who Is My Mother? (This Is My Family, Broken for You) Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Megan DeWald
This article explores emerging research in youth ministry that finds mothers to be some of the most vocal and active advocates of young people who identify as LGBTQ. Drawing a link between mothers ...
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The Role of Religious Poetry in Enhancing Children’s Spiritual Intelligence (SI) Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Maryam Jalali, Mansooreh Nikoogoftar
The nature and quality of presenting religious literature to children have engaged the minds of many scholars of children’s literature, sometimes posing remarkable challenges. Today’s knowledge declares that children brim with a variety of intelligences and modes of interpretation. A great portion of their competence, dubbed “spiritual intelligence,” may be created and reinforced by dint of religious
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Seriously Seeking a Christian Theology to Resist White Supremacy Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Alison M. Benders
This brief exploratory essay considers the gap between Christian theologians’ call for anti-black theological reflection and the full theological renovation that this work would entail. “Unlearning Eurocentrism” by taking the experiences of oppressed people as a serious challenge to the meaning of Christianity is a formidable but essential project. After exploring factors that explain the gap between
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Hopeful Dissent Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Gordon S. Mikoski
“I have no hope; but I care.” That's what I heard a visiting scholar say in response to a question after a lecture on the bleak contemporary world situation. I appreciated the frankness of the statement; yet, I was also deeply troubled by it. It is not often that one hears a theologian saying that there simply is no reason for hope. At least, he left the listeners with a call to care for one another
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Theology in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Revisiting Bonhoeffer and the Jews Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Mark Braverman
The scholarship on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Jews has focused on two questions: (1) To what extent did the persecution of the Jews drive Bonhoeffer's actions with respect to the Third Reich, and ...
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Dallas Willard, Philosopher of Ministry, Teacher of Christlikeness Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Michael Stewart Robb
In the profession of ministry what do we intend to do and how do we do it? Dallas Willard’s conviction was that the ministry’s aim is the transformation of persons. In the last 30 years of his life...
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The Use of Lukan Hyperbole in the Acts of the Apostles Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Deok Hee Jung
Luke constructs the world through a geographic description and invites his audience into a spatial image through the textual world. Here hyperbole plays an important role as an impressionistic way ...
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Whiteness and the So-Called Problem of Preaching the Old Testament Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 David M. Stark
This article explores the long-lamented problem of preaching the Old Testament in light of recent conversations about Whiteness in the Academy of Homiletics. Through an overview of the way the prob...
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Revisiting the Healing Narrative of the Gospel in the COVID-19 Pandemic Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Yahya Wijaya
In terms of health issues, Christians often refer to the stories of Jesus’ healings in the Gospels as an important spiritual resource. However, theological interpretations vary, depending on the he...
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Grounded Hope in God: Epiphany and Promise Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Paul K. Moser
Various New Testament writings assume an important role for hope in God. The role of eschatology in those writings stems from a role for hope regarding what God will accomplish by way of redemption...
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Imago Dei and Human Rights: A North Korean Case Study Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 I Sil Yoon
In this article, I examine the significance of the theological concept of Imago Dei for shaping social structures to protect the human rights of trafficked stateless women. My case study will consi...
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Horace H. Underwood and the Shinto Shrine Rites Controversy in Colonial Korea Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Dae Young Ryu
For the western missionaries the Shinto shrine rites controversy in colonial Korea was a theological crucible. As the Japanese government began forcing mission schools to attend the Shinto shrine c...
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Book Review: The Same God Who Works All Things: Inseparable Operations in Trinitarian Theology by Adonis Vidu Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Christopher M. Hadley
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Book Review: The Holy Spirit and Moral Action in Thomas Aquinas by SJ Jack Mahoney Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 John Meinert
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Book Review: Just Tell the Truth: A Call to Faith, Hope, and Courage by Richard Lischer Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Lisa Washington Lamb
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Book Review: God and Community Organizing: A Covenantal Approach by Hak Joon Lee Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Yara González-Justiniano
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Book Review: Bonhoeffer and the Racialized Church by Ross E. Halbach Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Mark Ellingsen
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Book Review: The Breadth of Salvation: Rediscovering the Fullness of God's Saving Work by Tom Greggs Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Tim Hartman
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Book Review: Between Hearing and Silence: A Study in Old Testament Theology by John Kessler Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Andrew Davis
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(Re)Turning to the Listener: Karl Barth's Theo-Anthropology and Preaching to Political Others Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Angela Dienhart Hancock
This article explores how Karl Barth’s theo-anthropology might serve as a resource for the practice of preaching in politically polarized congregational contexts. The article briefly reviews current research on mass polarization in the United States, particularly in relation to social identity, and considers how this dynamic problematizes preaching on political and social issues in politically diverse
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A Call for a More Robust Word in Word and Sacrament Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 David Davis
The relationship of word and sacrament rests at the very core of a Reformed theology of worship. However, the fundamental inseparability of the two has struggled to find balance within the practice of worship and preaching in congregational life. The last 50 years has seen a significant increase in sacrament practice within the Presbyterian Church. The effort has largely been sparked by the desire
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Sacramental Homiletic Formation: Blessing and Breaking the Practices of Preaching Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Jerusha Matsen Neal
This article uses three touchstones of Calvin's understanding of the Spirit in sacramental practice to reflect on homiletic pedagogy. It describes practices of hospitality, dependence and discernment in an exegetical “field journal” for the purpose of forming preachers in postures of Spirit-empowered faith. The field journal on which this article reflects can be accessed at: https://www.academia.e
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Deworlded within the World: Bultmann's Paradoxical Politics in an Age of Polarization Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 David W. Congdon
Rudolf Bultmann has long been criticized for failing to reflect theologically on political life, and even for developing an apolitical theology that many consider to be supportive of the political status quo. This article challenges that reading by examining Bultmann's account of eschatological existence as a form of social identity set in contrast to what he regarded as the gnostic form of identity:
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Homiletical Peonage: The Pedagogical Dilemma Whiteness Creates Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Kenyatta R. Gilbert
This article revisits a key theme in retired Princeton Seminary homiletics professor James F. Kay’s work, preaching as a promissory-kerygmatic saving event. Kay calls for a disciplinary turn in theoretical focus in homiletics, lamenting homiletics’ over-reliance on theories of rhetoric to account for its distinctiveness and argues that theological analysis of preaching leads us to a better understanding
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James F. Kay, Theologian for Pulpit and Pew Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27 Sally A. Brown, Angela Dienhart Hancock
It has been our honor to gather this collection of essays celebrating the scholarship and leadership of James F. Kay. At his retirement from the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary, James Kay was both Dean of Academic Affairs and the Joe R. Engle Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics, regularly teaching PhD seminars required in the seminary’s doctoral program in homiletics. His influential 30-year
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Erratum to “Life in This World and For the Life of the World: Natural Science and the Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church” Theology Today Pub Date : 2022-03-27
Life in This World and For the Life of the World: Natural Science and the Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church. Theology Today 78(4); 2022: 385–395. DOI: 10.1177/00405736211048794
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Book Review: Paul and the Good Life: Transformation and Citizenship in the Commonwealth of God by Julien C.H. Smith Theology Today Pub Date : 2021-12-22 B. J. Oropeza
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Book Review: Dynamis of Healing: Patristic Theology and the Psyche by Pia Sophia Chaudhari Theology Today Pub Date : 2021-12-22 Samantha L. Miller
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Book Review: What Did the Cross Accomplish? A Conversation about the Atonement by N.T. Wright, Simon Gathercole, and Robert B. Stewart Theology Today Pub Date : 2021-12-22 Adam J. Johnson
sion that the things “which Orthodoxy declares as ontological, inherent to the structures of our being, show up as integral to healing from a depth-psychological perspective” (149) shows how deep the healing of salvation goes. Chaudhari’s project explores modern science as partner with theology, the queen of the sciences, and deepens our understanding of theological truth. One difficulty with the book
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Book Review: Church in Color: Youth Ministry, Race, and the Theology of Martin Luther King Jr. by Montague R. Williams Theology Today Pub Date : 2021-12-22 Rachelle R. Green
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Book Review: The Practices of Christian Preaching: Essentials for Effective Proclamation by Jared E. Alcántara Theology Today Pub Date : 2021-12-22 Catherine E. Williams
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Book Review: Sunday's Sermon for Monday's World: Preaching to Shape Daring Witness by Sally A. Brown Theology Today Pub Date : 2021-12-22 Joni Sancken
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Book Review: The Lord's Prayer by C. Clifton Black Theology Today Pub Date : 2021-12-22 R. Alan Culpepper
Machiavelli, and especially Aristotle, whose Nicomachean Ethics and Politics play a prominent role in this work. Smith’s handling of Greco-Roman sources is impressive, a quality that is too often neglected in Pauline studies. His comparative approach is thoughtful, sensitive to ancient rhetoric, and helps shed light on Paul’s own use of shared terms. His fourfold framework of citizenship, character