The Ethics Of The Enactment And Reception Of Cruciform Love

Back cover: In this book, John Frederick critiques the view that Paul was operating from a Hellenistic understanding of moral formation. Rather, the ethics of Colossians were derived from the Jewish Two Ways tradition reinterpreted through a theology of Christ-like transformation through the enactment and reception of cruciform love.

The letter to the Colossians contains a series of moral instructions in Colossians 3:12-17 and includes the admonition to "sing" among them. This study considers how music-making (specifically singing) supports moral formation according to the letter to the Colossians. Studies in ethnomusicology, anthropology of the voice, and music psychology offer useful frameworks for conceptualizing how a social practice like music-making forms participants into a community and shapes how they know themselves, their community, and the world. With the aid of these frameworks, we find that the singing in Colossians 3:16, as a corporate, vocal practice of music-making, enables the members of the church community to inhabit the story of reconciliation found in the Christ Hymn (Col 1:15-20).

This study examines how the New Testament scriptures might form and foster intellectual humility within Christian communities. It is informed by recent interdisciplinary interest in intellectual humility, and concerned to appreciate the distinctive representations of the virtue offered by the New Testament writers on their own terms. It argues that the intellectual virtue is cast as a particular expression of the broader Christian virtue of humility, something which itself proceeds from the believer's union with Christ, through which personal identity is reconstituted by the operation of the Holy Spirit. This demands that we speak of 'virtue' in ways determined by the acting presence of Jesus Christ that overcomes sin and evil in human lives and in the world. The Christian account of the intellectual virtue of humility is framed by this conflict, as the minds of believers who live together within the Christian community struggle with natural arrogance and selfishness, and come to share in the mind of Christ. The new identity that emerges creates a fresh openness to truth, as the capacity of the sinful mind to distort truth is exposed and challenged. This affects not just knowledge and perception, but also volition: for these ancient writers, a humble mind makes good decisions that reflect judgements decisively shaped by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By presenting 'humility of mind' as a characteristic of the One who is worshipped—Jesus Christ—the New Testament writers insist that we acknowledge the virtue not just as an admission of human deficiency or limitation, but as a positive affirmation of our rightful place within the divine economy.

The Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies (JBTS) is an academic journal focused on the fields of Bible and Theology from an inter-denominational point of view. The journal is comprised of an editorial board of scholars that represent several academic institutions throughout the world. JBTS is concerned with presenting high-level original scholarship in an approachable way. Academic journals are often written by scholars for other scholars. They are technical in nature, assuming a robust knowledge of the field. There are fewer journals that seek to introduce biblical and theological scholarship that is also accessible to students. JBTS seeks to provide high-level scholarship and research to both scholars and students, which results in original scholarship that is readable and accessible. As an inter-denominational journal JBTS is broadly evangelical. We accept contributions in all theological disciplines from any evangelical perspective. In particular, we encourage articles and book reviews within the fields of Old Testament, New Testament, Biblical Theology, Church History, Systematic Theology, Practical Theology, Philosophical Theology, Philosophy, and Ethics.

Ecclesia and Ethics considers the subject of Ecclesial Ethics within its theological, theoretical and exegetical contexts. Part one presents the biblical-theological foundations of an ecclesial ethic – examining issues such as creation, and Paul's theology of the Cross. Part two moves on to examine issues of character formation and community. Finally, part three presents a range of exegetical applications, which examine scripture and ethics in praxis. These essays look at hot-button issues such as the 'virtual self' in the digital age, economics, and attitudes to war. The collection includes luminaries such as N.T. Wright, Michael J. Gorman, Stanley Hauerwas and Dennis Hollinger, as well as giving space to new theological and exegetical voices. As such Ecclesia and Ethics provides a challenging and contemporary examination of modern ethical debates in the light of up-to-date theology and exegesis.

The church is called to grow in Christ. Yet too often, it ignores the practical dimensions of the faith. The church is one in Christ. Yet too often, it is divided by national, denominational, theological, and racial or ethnic boundaries. The church is a global body of believers. Yet too often, it privileges a few voices and fails to recognize its own diversity. In response, this volume offers a multi-denominational, multi-ethnic vision in which biblical scholars, theologians, and practitioners from around the world join together to pursue a cohesive yet diverse theology and praxis of spiritual formation for the global church. Be fed in your faith by brothers and sisters from around the world.

When it was first published in 2001, Cruciformity broke new ground with a vision of Pauline spirituality that illuminated what it meant to be a person or community in Christ. Beginning with Paul’s express desire to “know nothing but Christ crucified,” Gorman showed how true spirituality is telling the story, in both life and words, of God’s self-revelation in Jesus, so that we might practice “cruciformity”—the impossible possibility of conformity to the crucified Christ. Two decades later, Gorman’s seminal work is still a powerful model for combining biblical studies and theological reflection to make Paul’s letters more immediately relevant to contemporary Christian life. This twentieth-anniversary edition includes a new foreword by Nijay Gupta—a next-generation Pauline scholar heavily influenced by Gorman—as well as an afterword by the author, in which he reflects on the legacy of Cruciformity in the church and the academy, including his own subsequent work in Pauline theology.