Corporate Holiness

Bob Tennant presents a history of the missionary work, cultures, and rhetoric of the Church of England in 1760-1870, when it was the predominant organizer of Protestant overseas missions. Through close attention to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK, founded 1699), the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG, 1701), and the Church Missionary Society (CMS, 1799) Tennant offers a systematic exploration of the complex relationship between the Societies' policies, decision-making systems, and administration, as recorded in their unpublished minute books, and the rhetorical and theological activity of their sermon literature. Thus their 'corporate holiness' is shown to be a synthesis of theology, ministry, rhetoric, administration, and methods of building public support. In the process, Tennant also offers analyses of controversies within the Church of England about questions such as the relationship of Bible to liturgy, the nature and techniques of mass education, charitable behaviour, and the processes of decision-making. Supported by statistical evidence, he offers a revisionist account of the Church's relationship to the American Revolution, the Romantic movement, and the Indian 'Mutiny'. Besides offering a critical history of his subject, Tennant also suggests a methodology for approaching a general thesis of Christian missionary societies on their own terms, theoretically separable from and avoiding the distortions and imbalances which have been imposed by the secularist imperial historiography to which they have so often been subordinated.

In this book the author contends that communal holiness is the central theme of the vine metaphor in John 15:1-17. Illumination of the Johannine vine metaphor is illustrated by drawing on background information on the vine and its metaphorical usage in the Ancient Near East, Old Testament, and Second Temple Period and to suggest understanding in light of the communal holiness of the covenant people of God. Comparing the themes of holiness and corporateness pertinent to the covenant the book also reflects the covenant with Israel in relation to John’s understanding of the people of God. The notion of covenant, which embraces reference to the people of God as vine/vineyard in the Old Testament and Second Temple Period, underlies John’s vine metaphor. The book focuses research on ANE viticulture to determine the context(s) of when the vine was used to refer to Israel in a covenant relationship with God. In this historical context the Johannine vine metaphor receives fresh meaning and relevance for the people of God.

At one time there was a great deal of interest in the topic of holiness—but not so much anymore. Theological wrangling and impossible legalism has left many in the church frustrated and confused, with part of that confusion arising from idealism in the pulpit that rang hollow in the lives and experiences of ordinary believers. But what if there was significant help from God in the enterprise of living a morally triumphant life, where habitual sinning was not inevitable, and where the development of godly character was possible and found through a maturing relationship with God and growth in the Christian life? The apostle Paul certainly thought so. In Help for Holiness, author and senior pastor Paul F. Evans revisits the topic of holiness and explores Paul’s admonition that believers shouldn’t seek more rules (legalism) nor give in to moral pessimism that says we cannot help but sin every day in word, thought, and deed. Instead, through morally transformative justification and regeneration, followed by a commitment to the crucifixion of the old life in the death of Christ, we can be raised to new life, which, through ongoing surrender to the Spirit, can in fact produce the conduct and character God is looking for. In this postmodern world, we do not need to abandon an emphasis on righteous and holy living—God really has made a provision for us to succeed morally. Holiness was started by grace, and God will complete it in us by grace through the Spirit!

This book examines 2 Cor 6:14--7:1 and argues that its theological message is communal holiness. It culminates in an attempt to posit a Pauline theology of corporate sanctification in the Corinthian correspondence. Paul's view of sanctification, it is argued, should be seen as multifaceted: relational, communal, ethical, and mission-oriented. Thus, a coherent picture of Pauline teaching on holiness in the Corinthian correspondence emerges from this book. For Paul, the focus of God's redemptive activity is, primarily, the community and not the individual. Paul's view on holiness has to do with communal holiness within the people of God, the goal of which is to make God known to the wider society. In sum, this book argues that the teaching on holiness should not be, and cannot be, satisfactorily explained in terms of the individual, but only as the individual stands in relation to the community of faith. Thus, the conclusion offers a corrective to some strands of modern interpretation that emphasize the individualistic, experiential aspects of Christian holiness, thus tending to reduce Christian holiness to morality.

Derek Tidball surveys the Scriptures for a comprehensive biblical understanding of the elusive mandate from God to "be holy as I am holy." The triune God of glory, he contends, sets us on paths that lead us through encounters with God, ourselves, our enemies and our companions to our ultimate destination, where we discover that we have been reshaped by God into his own image.

No single word conjures up religion, spirituality, or the sacred more than holiness. Yet its meaning in Christian theology, and application in Christian practice, has been greatly misunderstood. Few Quakers today of any persuasion would recognize the mystical depth of meaning the concept had for Quakers down through the centuries. Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism recovers the essential place of holiness theology in three centuries of Quaker history. It explores how Quaker spirituality was shaped in its inception by the experience of union with God, otherwise known in the Christian tradition as perfection, and examines selected figures from Quaker history who represent different emphases of holiness in the context of their time and culture.

Joshua 1. The Leaders — The Land and its Boundaries — The Moral Qualifications for Entrance — Those who enter Joshua 2. Rahab Joshua 3. Jordan Joshua 4. The Twelve Stones at Gilgal — The Twelve Stones in the Midst of Jordan Joshua 5. Circumcision — Gilgal — Canaan's Food — The Captain of the Lord's Host Joshua 6. Jericho Joshua 7. Ai and the Accursed Thing Joshua 8. The Way of Recovery — The Recovery of Gibeah — Results of Discipline Joshua 9. The Snare of Gibeon Joshua 10. The Victory of Gibeon Joshua 11. The Conquest of Hazor — The Anakim Joshua 12. Enumeration of the Vanquished Kings Joshua 13. Division of the Land — The Portion of levi Joshua 14. Caleb's Purpose of Heart Joshua 20, 21. The Cities of Refuge Joshua 22. Altar of Ed Joshua 23. Instructions to Joshua Joshua 24. Grace in Contrast to Law

Leading scholars from the fields of biblical studies and ethics provide a one-stop reference book on the vital relationship between Scripture and ethics.