Buswell Bulletin: Journal Articles – December 2022

Buswell Bulletin

Dec 15

Covenant’s librarians keep an eye on the new journal issues coming into the library and then each issue we highlight recent articles and reviews that strike us as interesting and/or important to the scholarly conversation. (Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement.)

Linked items marked “Open Access” are accessible to anyone. Otherwise, a Covenant library account may be required for access. Alumni may access items marked “Alumni Access Available” by visiting the Alumni Portal and selecting the identified resource on the library resources page.

Enthroned and Coming to Reign: Jesus’s Eschatological Use of Psalm 110:1 in Mark 14:62

Murray J. Smith and Ian J. Vaillancourt
Journal of Biblical Literature 141, no. 3 (September 2022): 513–31.

Abstract:

Many interpreters hold that Jesus’s response to the high priest (Mark 14:62), combining Ps 110:1 and Dan 7:13, refers to his imminent heavenly enthronement and says nothing of his future return. Many others recognize a reference to Jesus’s parousia but see this solely in the allusion to Dan 7:13 (“coming with the clouds”), rather than in anything drawn from Ps 110. In contrast to these views, we argue that Ps 110 provides a key to understanding Jesus’s eschatological vision in Mark. The psalm envisages a chronological distinction between the enthronement of David’s lord “at the right hand” and his eschatological victory in the world. Mark’s Jesus also, in his response to the high priest, envisages his future career in two distinct stages that mirror those set forth in the psalm: first, his enthronement at God’s “right hand,” and then his final advent from heaven as the glorious Son of Man. This reading is consistent with Jesus’s teaching elsewhere in Mark, which envisages a period of bodily absence before his final return. It is supported by other early Christian texts in which the chronological progression in the psalm provides scriptural warrant for a distinction between Jesus’s present heavenly enthronement and future return.

Paul’s Use of Συναπάγω in Romans 12:16

Rodney Kilgore
Journal of Biblical Literature 141, no. 3 (September 2022): 575–92.

Abstract:

Commentators on Rom 12:16 have widely translated Paul’s use of συναπάγω as “associate with” or a closely related phrase. Yet, despite the appearance of this definition in prominent Greek lexicons (e.g., BDAG, LSJ), no evidence exists in the broader corpus of Greek literature for the word to possess such a semantic range. I propose, rather, that the phrase “be carried away with” as a translation of συναπάγω more accurately captures Paul’s use of the word by both reflecting the word’s connotations and more closely aligning with Paul’s context, ethic, and theology.

“I Will Also Ask You a Question” (Luke 20:3): The Social and Rhetorical Function of Opposing-Turn Questions in the Gospel of Luke

Joshua Paul Smith
Biblical Theology Bulletin 52, no. 3 (August 2022): 172–81.

Alumni Access Available: SAGE Journals

Abstract:

In this essay, I argue that Jesus’s mastery of the use of questions as a method of public argumentation is a key component of his characterization in the Gospel of Luke. As Douglas Estes has argued convincingly, a bias against questions exists within the Western intellectual tradition, which tends to favor declarative propositions for the negotiation of truth claims. This bias has resulted in the general neglect of the logical, rhetorical, literary, and philosophical role that interrogatives play in agonistic discourse (Estes, 2–9). Reading the questions of Jesus in Luke through a socio-rhetorical lens, I argue that a proper understanding of the social function of questions in the first century reveals a key insight underlying Luke’s theology of the crucifixion, suffering, and death of Jesus that has until recently gone unnoticed: namely, that within an honor/shame social matrix, Jesus’s failure to respond to the questions of his interrogators constitutes a willful submission to the violent principalities and powers of this world.

Re-Picturing the Reception of the Spirit with Ritual Experience: The Role of Baptism in 1 Corinthians 12:13

Kai Hsuan Chang
Biblical Theology Bulletin 52, no. 3 (August 2022): 182–95.

Alumni Access Available: SAGE Journals

Abstract:

In this article, I argue that the ritual experience of water-baptism plays an essential role in Paul's metaphorical expression and rhetorical purpose in 1 Corinthians 12:13. To explore the role of baptism, I use conceptual blending theory from cognitive linguistics to define and demonstrate the metaphorical ways in which ritual functions in the human mind. In so doing, I emphasize the performance of a ritual itself and the contextual perception of its performance, arguing for a metaphorical relationship between the two. I apply conceptual blending analysis to interpret the complex interplay of three metaphors in 1 Corinthians 12:13. I argue that Paul forms a conceptual blend of three metaphors in this verse, and that baptism, the water-rite, plays a pivotal role in this blend by providing the physical pattern of immersion and the cultural understanding of this immersion as a new belonging. Using baptism, Paul achieves his purpose of re-picturing the reception of the Spirit and appealing for social union. This verse thus presents an excellent case of the role of ritual in the emergence of early Christianity and the explanatory power of ritual studies to the New Testament texts.

The Crypto Story

Matt Levine
Bloomberg Businessweek, October 25, 2022

Soft Paywall / Business Source Premier

An entire issue dedicated to a multi-part article providing a primer on cryptocurrency, blockchain, Web3, and other related buzzword technologies that may just make a surprise appearance in the discussions on the floor of GA. If you’re curious about what any of this means or where it’s heading, this could be a good place to start. Be prepared to spend some time, as it is a long read. Levine aims to keep it mostly accessible, but he is writing for a finance audience so some parts may get a bit too far into the weeds for those not in finance sector. He is not an overly optimistic cheerleader, nor an apocalyptic prophet, but tries to take a make a realistic analysis of the promise and the peril.

‘Many Are Called but Few Are Chosen’ (Matt 22:14): A Well Populated Hell?

Gerald O’Collins
The Expository Times 134, no. 2 (November 2022): 64–70.

Alumni Access Available: SAGE Journals

Abstract:

Does the warning that closes Matthew’s version of the great banquet (Matt 22:1–14) indicate that the population of hell exceeds, even far exceeds, that of heaven? This article sets out the allegorizing account of a royal banquet found in Matthew. The second set of guests stands for members of the Church, warned in most serious, apocalyptic terms to produce good works which are worthy of their calling and which will be recognized at final judgment. Taken with similar parables in Matthew, that of the king’s banquet invites an appropriate response rather than offers information, still less, precise information about the final state of all Christians and other human beings.

Association of Religion Data Archives Provides Free Access to Data, Resources

Andrew Whitehead and Deborah H. C. Gin
Colloquy Online, November 2022

Open Access

Abstract:

The Association of Religion Data Archives is committed to providing free access to trustworthy data and resources that will allow you to find answers to the tough but essential questions you are asking about your congregation and community. COVID-19 fundamentally reshaped the organization of American religion and there really is no going back. Leaders need good information to continue adjusting and making decisions.

Ecclesiastes, Wisdom, and the Question of God

David J. H. Beldman
Journal of Theological Interpretation 16, no. 2 (2022): 201-222.

Beldman is professor of biblical studies at the Missional Training Institute in Phoenix and has published books on Joshua, Ecclesiastes, and various book chapters on biblical hermeneutics.

Abstract:

This essay explores the question of the role and character of God in the book of Ecclesiastes. The essay identifies the places in Ecclesiastes (especially in Qoheleth’s discourse) where God appears as a topic of discussion, attempts to classify these passages, and analyzes them in light of the whole. The essay also explores and evaluates the surprising absence of God in Qoheleth’s discourse.

The Clergy Resilience Model: A Tool for Supporting Clergy Well-being

Margaret Allison Clarke
Journal of Psychology and Theology (November 27, 2022).

Alumni Access Available: SAGE Journals

Abstract:

The Clergy Resilience Model is a theoretical framework with a systemic perspective that is useful to denominations, individual clerics, and therapists in supporting clergy resilience and well-being. This article describes the development of this framework specific to clergy. As there is limited literature on the nature of clergy resilience or the specific variables that enable clergy to positively adapt to the challenges and adversity they face, the Clergy Resilience Model provides a useful framework to begin to understand clergy resilience as a dynamic process. The Clergy Resilience Model highlights the balance between adversity clergy encounter and supportive resources they have access to, as well as the overarching influence of key spiritual factors on clergy resilience. The Clergy Resilience Model was developed as a tool that may help clergy resilience both on an individual and systemic level by creating awareness of critical factors.

Apologetics: Intellectually Bearing Testimony to the Christian Faith

Ron Kubsch and Thomas Schirrmacher
Evangelical Review of Theology 46, no. 4 (November 202): 296-306.

Open Access

Abstract:

Every Christian should be an apologist, or a defender of the faith. But how? This article provides a sweeping historical overview of ways in which Christians have defended the gospel, along with key considerations affecting how we explain what we believe to others today.