Evangelical Review of Theology

The World Evangelical Alliance’s Journal The World Evangelical Alliance’s Journal of Theology and Contemporary Application of Theology and Contemporary Application EVANGELICAL REVIEW OF THEOLOGY Volume OF THEOLOGY EVANGELICAL No.1, REVIEW 44, Jan 2020 EVANGELICAL Table of Contents Editor’s Introduction Caring about the Persecuted Church: Balancing REVIEW OF page 3 the Lessons of Romans 13 and Revelation 13 Thomas K. Johnson Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical page 62 Theological Education Seth J. Nelson The WEA’s 2019 General Assembly: Energy and THEOLOGY page 4 Urgency Bruce Barron Making Bible Translation a Core Mission of the page 72 Church Ralph Siebert The State of the Evangelical Movement page 23 Efraim Tendero page 75 The Role of Reconciliation Theology in Socio-Political Healing and Development An Astonishing and Completely Normal Book Muhati Allan Isiaho from Turkey page 33 Thomas K. Johnson page 81 Are We Free to Pray? On the Freedom Necessary for Petitionary Prayer Book Reviews Christopher Woznicki page 88 page 49

Volume 44 No. 1 January 2020

ERT 44_1 cover Draft1.indd 1 28/11/2019 14:07:46 Evangelical Review of Theology A Global Forum

Volume 44 • Number 1 • January 2020

Published by

General Editor Dr Thomas Schirrmacher, Germany

Executive Editor Dr Bruce Barron, USA

Assistant Editor Dr Thomas K. Johnson, Czech Republic

Book Review Editor Dr Peirong Lin, Singapore

Committee Executive Committee of the WEA Theological Commission Dr Rosalee V. Ewell, Brazil, Executive Director Dr Thomas Schirrmacher, Germany, Executive Chair Dr James O. Nkansah, Kenya, Vice-Chair

Editorial Policy The articles in the Evangelical Review of Theology (ERT) of the authors and reviewers and do not necessarily represent those of the reflect the opinions Editors or the Publisher.

The Editors welcome both unsolicited submissions and recommendations of original or previously published articles or book reviews for inclusion in ERT. Manuscripts, reviews, queries and other communications may be addressed to the Executive Editor at [email protected].

Printed and bound in Great Britain for Paternoster Periodicals by AlphaGraphics, 8-9 Vanguard Court, Preston Farm, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3TR ERT (2020) 44:1, 3 Editor's Introduction: Holistic Mission

As I write this introduction, I am new- all people in their own language. ly returned from an inspiring week at Muhati Allan Isiaho, a theological the World Evangelical Alliance’s 2019 programme director in Burundi, re- years), held on November 7–12, 2019 plaguing that country and many oth- Generalin Bogor, Assembly Indonesia, (its an firsthour in south eleven of flectsers and on masterfully the problems derives of ethnic a theolo strife- Jakarta. This issue of the Evangeli- gy of reconciliation, with clear practical Review of Theology contains (on cal application, from the implications pages 72–87) a two-page overview of of Christ’s atonement. the General Assembly, WEA Secretary Christopher Woznicki’s article General Efraim Tendero’s ‘State of the Movement’ speech, and a message de- more analytical philosophy than the- livered by Thomas K. Johnson of the mayology. look Don’t strange be scared at first, off. becauseHe carefully it is WEA Theological Commission. addresses a very common spiritual The main emphasis of the General problem: people struggle to pray be- Assembly was on holistic, intergener- cause they think God has already de- ational disciple making. Suitably, the cided what he is going to do anyhow. - As Woznicki explains colourfully, he has often heard people in Reformed other five articles in this issue insight churches (which tend to strongly em- fullyholistic cover manner: five important theological aspects educa of- phasize God’s sovereignty) encourage fulfillingtion, Bible the translation, Great Commission social recon in a- others to pray as though Reformed ciliation, the effect of prayer, and sup- theology was not true! Woznicki’s ar- porting the suffering church. ticle aims to solve this problem. Seth Nelson probes what it would Thomas K. Johnson discusses the take for theological education to pre- difference between the experience of pare pastors with a thoroughly mis- Christians dealing with friendly (‘Ro- sion-focused mindset, rather than a mans 13’) and unfriendly (‘Revelation primary preoccupation with serving 13’) governments and highlights the those already in the church. He de- responsibility of all Christians to pray rives seven principles of ‘missional’ for and aid the persecuted church. education and assesses how we are - doing on each item. cles, along with the messages from Ralph Siebert of Wycliffe Associ- theI WEA hope General you will Assembly, read all and five share arti ates, who has been involved in Bible them widely. Each article presented translation efforts for nearly thirty here could have a transforming im- years, describes the recent revolution pact on how Christians think about in Bible translation methods and calls and carry out holistic mission. on local churches, with support from Happy reading! national evangelical alliances, to take —Bruce Barron, Editor a greater role in providing the Bible to ERT (2020) 44:1, 4-22 Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education

Seth J. Nelson

I. Introduction pel-centred, missional theology could In 1989, the renowned missiologist serve as both the integrating point and churchman Bishop J. E. Lesslie and motivation for evangelical theo- 3 Newbigin lamented, ‘It seems clear logical education around the world. that ministerial training as currently conceived is still far too much train- evangelical, missional theology with- ing for pastoral care of the existing Iin will the firstcontext discuss of the the larger contours missio of Dei an congregation, and far too little ori- movement that emerged in the twen- ented towards the missionary calling tieth century. Then, to establish the to claim the whole of public life for current need for missionally integrat- Christ and his kingdom.’1 To what ex- ed theological education, I will pre- tent is Newbigin’s lamentation true of sent two related historical surveys. theological education globally thirty years later? How have evangelical church in the West has conceived of seminaries responded to the call to Inpastoral the first leadership survey, Iin discuss different how para the- recover a biblical, missional theol- digms and suggest what a missional ogy over the last twenty years?2 Have pastoral paradigm might look like to- they reconceived their institutional day. In the second, I interact with the missions and practices for training ongoing debate in the West over the leaders to participate actively in the unity, fragmentation and purposes of missio Dei? theological education. On this basis, I In this article, I explore how a gos- propose an integrated model, adapt- ing from Darren Cronshaw’s work,4

1 The Gospel in a Plural- ist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 3 - 231. Lesslie Newbigin, cation can encompass all formal, non-formal, 2 Missional and Although informal I recognizestudy of God,that theologicalin this article edu I Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church use the term to refer to formal, post-bacca- in For North example, America Darrell (Grand Guder, Rapids: ed., Eerd- laureate education in seminaries and divin- mans, 1998) became the seminal work that ity schools. sparked the emergence and development 4 - of the ‘missional church movement’ in the logical Education and Missional Spirituality’, United States. Journal Darren of Adult Cronshaw, Theological ‘Reenvisioning Education Theo9, no.

Seth J. Nelson (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, USA) is an adjunct instructor in Educational Ministries and a PhD student in Educational Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, USA. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and previously pastored two missional congregations for ten years. Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 5 for evangelical, missional theological missional conversation by applying education. Based on this model and the seminal work of theologians and the review of the missional literature, missiologists Karl Barth, Lesslie New- I suggest seven commitments and bigin and David Bosch. Bosch’s oft- practices which a theological school quoted statement about the emerg- could employ to become more mis- ing ecumenical consensus on mission sionally integrative. I conclude by summarizes the situation well: offering my perspective on the state Mission was understood as being of evangelical theological education derived from the very nature of concerning mission, as a way to en- God. It was thus put in the context courage schools towards deeper mis- of the doctrine of the Trinity, not sional impact. of ecclesiology or soteriology. The classical doctrine of the missio Dei as God the Father sending the Son, II. The Contours of an and God the Father and the Son Evangelical, Missional sending the Spirit was expanded Theology to include yet another ‘movement’: If a gospel-centred, missional theol- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit send- ogy could serve as both the integrating the church into the world.6 ing point and motivation for evangeli- This understanding of the missio Dei cal theological education, what might represented an important develop- be the contours of such a theology? ment within the larger Protestant Before answering this question, I will missions movement in the mid-twentieth century because it provided a larger missional conversation and firstsituate sketch it within the mainwhat contourshas become of the rooted in the Trinitarian nature of consensus view of the missio Dei. God.justification7 Providing for worlda robust missions foundation, work Barth, Newbigin and Bosch confessed 1. Missio Dei and Missional that God is a missionary God and that Theology at Large the church is missionary by its very nature. Thus, in the oft-quoted words In 1998 Darrell Guder and his col- of Jürgen Moltmann, ‘It is not the leagues, in Missional Church: A Vi- church that has a mission of salvation sion for the Sending Church in North 5 America, coined the term ‘missional’ of the Son and the Spirit through the to express the integration between Fatherto fulfil that in the includes world; the it is church’. the mission8 missiology and ecclesiology and af- church’s very being, not something 6 Transforming Mission: Para- firmthe church that mission does. is essential to the digm Shifts in Theology of Mission, 20th anni- Guder and his colleagues ignited a versary David edition Bosch, (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2011), 399. 7 Missio Dei: God’s 1 (2012): 9–27. Missional Nature, ed. Thomas Johnson, trans. 5 Called to Witness: Doing Richard Thomas McClary Schirrmacher, (Bonn: Verlag für Kultur Missional Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerd- und Wissenschaft, 2017). mans, Darrell 2015), Guder, 11. 8 The Church in the Pow-

Jürgen Moltmann, 6 Seth J. Nelson

Since the World Missionary Con- is sent, therefore, not only to proclaim ference held in Willigen in 1952, Prot- the kingdom but to bear in its own life estant Christianity (both mainline the presence of the kingdom.’12 Thus, and evangelical), Roman Catholic, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and Eastern Orthodox have embraced (e.g. Mk 1:14–15) and demonstrat- the understanding of mission as mis- ing Christ’s healing presence, through sio Dei.9 Evangelical Protestants, with deeds of mercy and acts of justice in their high view of scriptural authori- the world, become equal priorities for ty, recognized and were persuaded by the church’s mission. the overwhelming biblical evidence Newbigin went farther by apply- for God’s singular mission.10 From ing this kingdom-oriented theology creation to new creation, God is on a to the state of the West in the late mission to ‘unite all things in him [i.e. twentieth century. He asked, ‘What Christ], things in heaven and things would be involved in a missionary en- on earth’ (Eph 1:10) and ‘through counter between the gospel and this him to reconcile to himself all things, whole way of perceiving, thinking, whether on earth or in heaven, mak- and living that we call “modern West- ing peace by the blood of the cross’ ern culture”?’13 Behind his question (Col 1:21). The church partners with resides his perception that due to En- God in his mission by the commission - of Jesus Christ and in the power of the ture had become increasingly post- Holy Spirit (Jn 20:21–23). lightenmentChristian. The influences, era of ChristendomWestern cul Within the missional movement, was over. The church could no longer the church partners with God in mis- assume that Christianity, much less sion by proclaiming and demonstrat- the gospel of Christ, was part of the ing the kingdom of Christ to the world. main cultural narrative. Therefore, God’s reign, begun in Jesus Christ’s in a post-Christian West, the church life, death, resurrection and ascen- found itself in a similar situation as it sion (and which will be complete at Christ’s return), bears upon all as- the church before Constantine: it was pects of human life and calls all things dida missionary, during the counter-cultural, first three centuries messi- of towards reconciliation in Christ Jesus anic community once again. Further, (Col 1:21). Newbigin repeatedly em- this movement has also exposed and phasized that ‘the church is the sign, critiqued the ways Western culture, a instrument, and foretaste of the reign Christendom mentality and modern- 11 of God.’ He argued, ‘The church is a istic thinking have co-opted theology, movement launched into the life of especially ecclesiology.14 the world to bear in its own life God’s gift of peace for the life of the world. It 12 The Open Secret, 49. 13 Foolishness to the er of the Spirit: A Contribution to Messianic Greeks: Newbigin, The Gospel and Western Culture Ecclesiology (London: SCM Press, 1977), 64. (Grand Lesslie Rapids: Newbigin, Eerdmans, 1986), 1. 9 Transforming Mission, 400. 14 Called to Witness; Michael 10 Missio Dei. Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things 11 Bosch, The Open Secret: An In- to Come: E.g. Guder,Innovation and Mission for the 21st- troduction Schirrmacher, to the Theology of Mission, rev. ed. Century Church, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Bak- (Grand Lesslie Rapids: Newbigin, Eerdmans, 1995). er, 2013). Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 7

2. An Evangelical, Gospel- church.’16 Cyprian: ‘No one can have Centred Missional Theology God as Father who does not have the church as Mother’.17 Since the missional conversation Second, an evangelical missional driven by the consen- missio Dei theology is both trinitarian and Chris- sus encompasses a wide swath of tocentric. A thoroughgoing trinitarian Christian traditions, what additional theology remains central to the missio contours especially characterize an Dei. Essential to God’s very being is a evangelical missional theology? The sentness in love—the Son is eternally evangelical stream of the missional generated by the Father and the Spirit conversation includes all the con- eternally proceeds from the Father tours I have described above and also and Son. The love within the trini- - ments, to the primacy of the church’s acts of creation and redemption. In roleaffirms in God’s at least mission, three Christocentric other commit- tarianredemption, persons the overflowsFather sends into the God’s Son, ity, and the logical priority of gospel and together they send the Spirit. proclamation. However, an evangelical missional First, an evangelical missional theology will always seek to hold theology values the church as the trinitarianism and Christocentricity primary vehicle for God’s mission in together, for the Father can be known the world. The missional movement only through faith in the Son (Mt has rightly recognized that God’s mission to redeem the world through Christ remains prior to the church. 11:27;Son (Jn Jn16:13–15). 1:18), and Therefore, the Holy theSpirit’s mis- Further, missional authors call the siorole Dei always remains points fully to and trinitarian glorifies butthe local church to join in God’s mission focused in and through Jesus Christ, by discerning what God is doing in requires the proclamation of Jesus as the world around them and what he Lord over all, and calls all people to wants to do (through that church) personal repentance and faith in Je- for local mission.15 However, while sus Christ as Saviour and Lord. appreciating these commitments, an Third, consistent with Christo- evangelical missional theology also centricity, an evangelical missional theology both proclaims in word and demonstrates in deed the kingdom of Christ to the world, but it logically Colaffirms 1:18–20). the church Thus, as theevangelicals primary prioritizes the proclamation of the holdvehicle together for God’s both mission Moltmann (Mt and 16:18; St. gospel (Lk 4:42–43).18 This convic- Cyprian (d. 258 AD). Moltmann: ‘It is not the church that has a mission of 16 The Church in the Power of the the mission of the Son and the Spirit Spirit, 64. throughsalvation the to fulfillFather in that the includes world; itthe is 17 Moltmann,On the Unity of the Church, in Philip Schaff, ed., The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Cyprian, Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal 15 The Ministry of the Library, 1885), vol. 5, https://www.ccel.org/ Missional Church: A Community Led by the ccel/schaff/anf05.html, 979–95. Spirit E.g. Craig Van Gelder, 18 Gospel Witness: Evange- Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come. lism in Word and Deed (Grand Rapids: Eerd- (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007); Frost and David Gustafson, 8 Seth J. Nelson tion does not mean that evangelism evangelical, missional theology that has a temporal priority over social could serve as both the integrating point and motivation for evangelical - theological education, I will now take tionresponsibility. only through Rather, personal it affirms faith that in a step back and explore the history Jesusindividuals Christ, canwhile find at the eternal same salva time of pastoral paradigms in the West- - ern Protestant church. Because theo- cial responsibility to the gospel.19 The logical schools educate towards some Lausanneaffirming theMovement’s integral relation ‘Cape ofTown so paradigm of the ideal pastor, this his- Commitment’ expresses this well, us- torical investigation will help to situ- ing the language of ‘integral mission’: ate the present state of pastoral edu- Integral mission is the proclamation and demonstration of the gos- the previous paradigms and demon- pel. It is not simply that evangelism stratingcation, while the need exposing for a newdeficiencies missional in and social involvement are to be pastoral paradigm. 21 done alongside each other. Rather, Alan Roxburgh suggests an his- in integral mission our proclama- torical sequence of four pastoral tion has social consequences as we paradigms informed by the cultural call people to love and repentance and social location of the church in in all areas of life. And our social in- the West, calling them apostle, priest, volvement has evangelistic conse- pedagogue and professional. Accord- quences as we bear witness to the ing to Roxburgh, in the early church, transforming grace of Jesus Christ. pastoral leaders operated from an If we ignore the world, we betray apostolic identity, and their goal was the Word of God which sends us to ‘enable the church to carry out its out to serve the world. If we ignore fundamentally missiological purpose the Word of God, we have nothing in the world: to announce and dem- to bring to the world.20 onstrate the new creation in Jesus Christ’.22 Pastoral leaders sought to equip the people of God to live as a communal witness to Jesus Christ in III. Pastoral Paradigms in word and deed. Therefore, in the ap- Historical and Cultural Context ostolic paradigm, pastors served the Having outlined the contours of an church for the salvation of the world. In the era of Western Christendom, from Constantine to the Reformation, mans, 2019). an apostolic paradigm gave way to a 19 - priestly paradigm. After the Edict of lization and World Evangelical Fellowship, ‘Evangelism Lausanne and Committee Social Responsibility:for World Evange An Milan (313 AD), which decriminalized Evangelical Commitment’, Lausanne Occa- Christianity and led to the ‘Christiani- sional Paper 21 (1982), https://www.laus- zation’ of the Roman Empire under anne.org/content/lop/lop-21. 20 The Cape Town Commitment: A Declaration of Belief and a 21 Call Lausanne to Action Movement,(2011), https://www.laus - Equipping God’s People for Mission’, in anne.org/content/ctc/ctcommitment#p2-6, Guder, Alan Missional Roxburgh, Church ‘Missional, 183–220. Leadership: 1.10.B. 22

Roxburgh, ‘Missional Leadership’, 185. Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 9

Constantine, the church and state being and preaching, oversight of right came intermingled so that to be a citi- doctrine, and proper administration zen was to be a Christian. ‘Member- of the sacraments became the norma- ship in the church through baptism tive forms of Protestant leadership.’26 was concomitant with citizenship in In sum, in the pedagogical paradigm the state.’23 Thus, pastoral leadership pastors taught the church for the sal- became focused solely on shepherd- vation of the church. This paradigm ing and dispensing the means of grace reigned in Western Protestantism to a static people of God in a particu- from the Reformation period through lar locale within the empire. In this the nineteenth century and implicitly historical-cultural context, priests did directed how theological education not need to serve apostolically and prepared pastors for ministry. missionally. Mission concerned only In the West by the end of the nine- the ‘pagans’ yet to be converted out- teenth century, this third paradigm side the Roman Empire. Thus, in the would give way to a fourth: the pas- priestly paradigm, pastors tended the tor as professional.27 Enlightenment church for the salvation of the church. rationalism challenged Christian With the emergence of Protestant- belief and the church’s relation to ism in the Reformation, the priestly society. ‘Theologians like Friedrich paradigm shifted to a pedagogical Schleiermacher attempted to sus- 24 model. The magisterial Reformers tain theology’s place in the academy - by proposing a new model based on forms related to ‘pure doctrine, pure tooksacramental up significant administration, ecclesiastical and pure re in culture.’28 So, for example, as the discipline’, but they never questioned the scientific study of religion’s role or challenged the Christendom as- born in the United States in the early sumptions of ‘the church as static tofirst mid-1800s, denominational they responded seminaries to were En- server of religious grace and [its] lightenment thought by increasing power within a Christian society’.25 Al- disciplinary specialization (e.g. the though the Reformers’ doctrine of the fourfold theological encyclopaedia priesthood of all believers dissolved of Bible, theology, church history in some ways the sacred-secular divide and the priest-laity distinction, and pastoral theology) and profes- a separate clergy class still contin- sionalization, akin to similar devel- ued. Roxburgh suggests that within opments in medicine and law. ‘This Protestantism the pastoral paradigm shift essentially placed the training shifted from Roman priests to Re- and functioning of church leadership formed ‘pedagogues’, in which ‘Teach- in a new setting organized or controlled by Enlightenment categories of competency’, such that ‘seminary 23 24 25 Roxburgh, ‘Missional Leadership’, 192. training remains firmly committed to contrast Roxburgh, to the ‘Missional magisterial Leadership’, Reformers, 193. radi- 26 cal Roxburgh, Reformers ‘Missionalcreated alternative Leadership’, ecclesio 193. In- 27 Piety and Profession: Ameri- logical conceptions of the church in relation can Roxburgh, Protestant ‘MissionalTheological Leadership’, Education, 193.1870– to the state, but their views were never in the 1970 Glenn (Grand Miller, Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007). majority. 28

Roxburgh, ‘Missional Leadership’, 194. 10 Seth J. Nelson the model of preparing a professional and tend to a static people of God, clergy for a set of tasks considered to but to equip an active people to be be “ministry”.’29 While Protestantism sent out into the world as a communal witness to Jesus Christ’s reign. A believers, the professional paradigm missional pastor is not just a pastor- continuedmaintained to aaffirm Christendom the priesthood mental of- teacher but also exercises apostolic, ity and continued the bifurcation be- prophetic and evangelistic functions tween ordained clergy and laity. Pro- (Eph 4:11).31 As Newbigin puts it, the fessional clergy did ministry to gather pastor is ‘to lead the congregation as a their people and grow their churches. whole in a mission to the community More recently, as Roxburgh argues, as a whole, to claim its whole public professionalism can be observed in life, as well as the lives of all its peo- how pastors are trained as counsel- ple, for God’s rule’.32 lors, managers and technicians ‘fo- But how can theological schools cused on the provisioning of personal, train such ministers? What kind of individual needs and technical man- missionally integrated model could agement of growth, market, and suc- 30 seminaries embrace to form such cess so admired in modern culture’. leaders? Thus, in the professional paradigm, pastors lead and manage the church for the salvation of the church. However, with the demise of Chris- IV. Towards an Evangelical, tendom in the West and the transi- Missionally Integrative Model tion from modernity to late or post- for Theological Education I contend that a missional model of professional model of pastoral lead- theological education has progres- modernity,ership, along the with deficiencies those of the of pre the- sively emerged from within theologi- vious two paradigms, can be clearly cal institutions themselves and can seen. The church and the world need provide unity and purpose for such a new missional paradigm for pasto- institutions. Although many impor- ral leadership that is thoroughly bibli- tant voices could be considered in the cal, returns to its apostolic roots, but development of a missional model, I also respects aspects of the pedagogi- - cal and professional paradigms which vid Kelsey, Robert Banks, Brian Edgar resonate with biblical teaching about andwill Darrendraw on Cronshaw. five: Edward33 Farley, Da pastoral ministry. In a missional paradigm, pastors equip the church to deploy the church 31 - for the salvation of the world. A mis- ercise apostolic and prophetic functions, I do sional pastor teaches, leads and man- not In intend suggesting to imply that a position missional regarding pastors theex ages a congregation not to gather continuing use of the miraculous sign gifts of the Holy Spirit. 32 The Gospel in a Pluralist Soci- 29 ety, 234. Cf. Edward Farley, Theologia: The Fragmen- 33 Newbigin,Theologia; David Kelsey, Between tation Roxburgh, and Unity ‘Missional of Theological Leadership’, Education 195. Athens and Berlin: The Theological Education (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001). Debate Farley, 30 Robert Banks, Reenvisioning Theological (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993); Roxburgh, ‘Missional Leadership’, 196. Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 11

The publication in 1983 of Farley’s of the soul, a knowledge of God and Theologia: The Fragmentation and what God reveals’.36 As a discipline, it Unity of Theological Education inau- is not ‘one technical and specialized gurated the contemporary debate undertaking among others’ (e.g. only over the unity, fragmentation and systematic theology),37 but a disci- purposes of theological education. - Farley wrote at a time when the pro- prise. fessional clergy paradigm had reigned plinedFarley’s and proposal reflective, provoked unitary a enter lively for about one hundred years and its debate over the next ten years, with scholars articulating several views Farley opined that theological educa- including ‘character or moral forma- tiondeficiencies in the twentieth were becoming century apparent. had lost tion, vocational identity, or liberation all sense of unity, except for a func- and perspectival theologies’.38 But tionalist, externally imposed unity, in with Kelsey’s Between Athens and what he called ‘the clerical paradigm’. Berlin: The Theological Education De- He observed, ‘The only thing which bate, a turning point was reached. In studies of Scripture, theology, history, an intentional allusion to Tertullian’s and pastoral care have in common famous quote, ‘What has Athens to is their contribution to the prepara- do with Jerusalem … or the Academy tion of the clergy for its tasks.’34 In re- with the church?’ Kelsey proposed sponse, Farley proposed that the aim that theological education in North of theological education should be to America could be generally grouped restore theologia, or ‘the personal, sa- into two models represented by ‘Ath- piential knowledge (understanding) ens’ and ‘Berlin’ (see Figure 1). Athens which can occur when faith opens it- represented a more ecclesial, classical 35 model, following the ancient Greek ‘academy’ and focused on personal holdself to together reflection the and two inquiry’. original aspects formation or paideia, or theologia in of Intheologia this definition: theology Farley as a personal seeks to Farley’s language. Kelsey ‘argues that quality and as a discipline. As a per- the early church adopted and adapt- sonal quality, theology is a ‘habitus, a ed this model’.39 In contrast, Berlin cognitive disposition and orientation represented a more professional or

Education: Exploring a Missional Alternative 36 Theologia, 35. to Current Models (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 37 Theologia, 39. - 38 Farley, logical Education’, Evangelical Review of The- Schools Farley, of Theology: Re-Engaging the Ques- ology1999); Brian Edgar, ‘The Theology of Theo tion Kyle “What Small, Is Theological ‘Missional about Theology a Theo for- ‘Reenvisioning Theological Education and logical School?”’, in Craig Van Gelder, ed. The Missional 29, no.Spirituality’. 3 (2005): My 208–17; model-building Cronshaw, Missional Church and Leadership Formation: - Helping Congregations Develop Leadership enced by Perry Shaw, ‘Holistic and Trans- Capacity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), formative:endeavour Beyondhas also abeen Typological significantly Approach influ 45. For a helpful overview, evaluation and to Theological Education’, Evangelical Review critique of these various views, see Banks, of Theology 40, no. 3 (2016), 205–16. Reenvisioning Theological Education, 17–45. 34 Theologia, 114. 39 - 35 Theologia, 156. cation’, 209. Farley, Edgar, ‘The Theology of Theological Edu Farley, 12 Seth J. Nelson

scholarly model, following the uni- a more integrally and distinctively versity approach inherited from the Christian approach to theological University of Berlin (and as especially education … opens upon the most promulgated by Schleiermacher), fo- fruitful, as yet largely unexplored, di- cused on theological science (scien- rection for the theological education tia) or Wissenschaft, and seeking to debate’.41 prepare an educated clergy. Banks goes on to develop his al- Kelsey recognizes the limitations ternative view of missional theologi- of his bipolar analysis and in a pass- cal education by directly interacting ing comment points to the possibil- with Scripture. He surveys how the ity of a third model of education: people of God were formed in the Old ‘Jerusalem’.40 In doing so, he opens a Testament, how Christ formed his dis- way for the emergence of a missional ciples, and how the early church was model of theological education that is formed by the apostles through the biblically rooted and more represent- Spirit (according to Acts and the epis- ative of evangelical education. tles). From this biblical analysis, he Both Farley and Kelsey’s analyses concludes that missional education is consider the whole of Western theo- undertaken with a view to what logical education, but from a mainline God is doing in the world, consid- Protestant perspective. Additionally, ered in a global perspective. … I’m absent from their account is any language of mission or ideas associated and formation for work on the mis- with the missio Dei. Banks moves the thinking … of reflection, training, debate forward by taking up Kelsey’s place overseas or locally, … and comment about ‘Jerusalem’ and pro- thatsion [it]field, involves whether some the lattermeasure takes of posing an evangelical and missional doing what is being studied.42 model. Banks writes, ‘What [Kelsey] terms “Jerusalem” and I describe as a “missional” alternative—that is, 41 Reenvisioning Theological Educa- tion, 70. 42 Banks, Reenvisioning Theological Educa- 40 Between Athens and Berlin, 5–6. tion, 142. Banks, Kelsey, Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 13

For Banks, theological education is models and adding ‘Geneva’, which he not only for those preparing for pas- describes as ‘a confessional approach toral ministry, but for the broader to theological education [in which] people of God as well as they seek the goal is to know God through the to integrate mission into their whole use of creeds and the confessions, the lives as family members, friends, citi- means of grace and the general tradi- zens and workers, not just members tions that are utilised by a particular of a church. He seeks a thoroughgoing faith community.’43 The proper con- missiological expression of Christian text for such an education is the semi- faith in the world for the conversion nary. The goal is to know God through of the world to Christ. Further, study a particular confession of the Chris- with a community of disciples and tian faith for the purpose of doxology. action in the world with that com- In this synthetic approach, Edgar munity become central to theological agrees with Banks that missionality is education. Finally, Banks develops his a vital component of theological edu- missional model (see Figure 2) as an cation. But unlike Banks, he recog- alternative to the previous approach- nizes that Athens and Berlin can and es rather than a synthesis. should be meaningfully integrated Also coming from an evangelical with a missional approach. He further perspective, Edgar proposes another does justice to the Genevan tradition, model (see Figure 3) for the theologi- which Farley and Kelsey ignored. This cal education geography. Using a more synthetic rather than a bipolar or an- tithetical approach, he builds upon 43 - Kelsey and Banks by taking up their cation’, 212–13. Edgar, ‘The Theology of Theological Edu 14 Seth J. Nelson

tradition has been a key component What could this missional model of evangelical theological education look like? In Figure 4, I have adapted in the United States, especially within Cronshaw’s recent model, which he the evangelical streams of Presbyteri- in turn built upon Edgar’s. To Edgar’s anism, Episcopalianism, Methodism model, Cronshaw adds two more di- and Lutheranism. However, Edgar’s mensions: ‘Auburn’ (which I have re- model still does not do full justice to named ‘Greenville’ since that is where a missionally integrated theological I currently live) and ‘New Delhi’. He education, one in which the missio Dei relocates mission (‘Jerusalem’) to the provides both the integration point centre, making it the integrative point and motivation for the whole educa- for theological education. God’s mis- tional endeavour. sion to redeem the world through Since Banks, a growing number of Jesus Christ and the church’s role in theological educators have called for theological education to begin with the missionary character of God.44 Joshva Raja, eds., Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity: Theological Perspectives, Ecumenical Trends, Regional 44 Theological Education Surveys (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2010), Matters: Leadership Education for the Church (Newburgh, Linda Cannell, IN: BookSurge Publishing, Theological Curriculum as If the Missio Dei - Mattered’,42–50; J. AndrewCommon Kirk, Ground ‘Re-Envisioning Journal 3, theno. visioning of Theological Education: In Step with2008); the Darren Spirit?’ Cronshaw, Australian ‘AustralianE-Journal of Reen The- Missional Ecclesiology in Theological Edu- ology cation’,1 (2005): International 23–40; Mark Review Laing, of ‘Recovering Mission 98, de Gruchy, 18, no. ‘Theological 3 (2011): Education 223–35; Cronshaw, and Mis- and Theological Education’, Transformation sional‘Reenvisioning Practice: Theological A Vital Dialogue’, Education’; in Dietrich Steve no. 1 (2009): 11–24; Bernard Ott, ‘Mission Werner, David Esterline, Namsoon Kang and Transformative’. 18, no. 2 (2001): 87–98; Shaw, ‘Holistic and Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 15

that mission—to collectively witness yet Christians, becomes a vital com- to the reign of Christ over all things— ponent of student formation. become the organizing centre for the- As the centre of world Christianity ological education. Thus, all the other has shifted away from the West, ‘New vital aspects of theological education Delhi’ describes another important revolve around the hub of the missio aspect of a missionally integrated Dei. theological education. It represents Cronshaw’s additions of ‘Auburn’ the need for biblical Christianity to (my ‘Greenville’ in Figure 4) and ‘New interact with other spiritualities, re- Delhi’ add important dimensions to a ligions and worldviews. Relying on missional model of theological educa- Klaudt,45 Cronshaw suggests that tion. ‘Greenville’ represents the mis- Indian ashrams display helpful characteristics that theological education and locality. It pays attention to the could adopt. They ‘are located “in the physicalsional affirmation neighbourhood of contextuality (‘parish’) and city of its students, as it seeks - to apply the gospel faithfully to the world” without fences; are open to sociocultural context where God has all; offer community living that is en planted them. Learning how to cul- 45 tivate koinonia among Christians, Theological Education’, Theological Educa- which welcomes those who are not tion Kraig 34, no. Klaudt, 1 (1997): ‘The 25–40. Ashram as a Model for 16 Seth J. Nelson

- conclude by suggesting a series of commitments and practices that an gagedcurriculum in service; of intellectual, emphasise …spiritual, spiritu evangelical school could employ to alpolitical, maturity; aesthetic … [and] andprovide relationship a holistic development’.46 In other words, the- become more missionally integrative. ological education must equip stu- The relevant literature47 is replete dents to respectfully, intelligently and apologetically live out their faith in the public square (agora), conversant 47 with the world’s spiritualities, so as education A growing and body missional of literature theology, since along1999 to bring Christ’s redemption to the withseeks offering to specifically practical integrate suggestions theological and world. key curricular commitments for such an In short, a missionally integrated education. Along with sources cited previ- evangelical theological education ously, this literature includes Orlando Cos- tas, ‘Theological Education and Mission’, in mission of God in Christ. Using the pro- New Alternatives in Theological Education findsposed its model, centre theological and motivation schools in canthe - more adequately prepare missional topher Duraisingh, ‘Ministerial Formation for(Oxford, Mission: UK: Regnum,Implications 1988), for 5–24;Theological Chris pastors—that is, as noted above, pas- Education’, International Review of Mission tors who seek to equip the church to deploy the church for the salvation of ‘Theological Formation for Missional Faith- the world. This missional model seeks fulness81, no. After 321 (1992):Christendom: 33–45; A Darrell Response Guder, to not only to be anchored scripturally Steven de Gruchy’, in Werner et al., Handbook in the missio Dei, but to respect the of Theological Education in World Christian- historical development of theologi- ity cal education and the contemporary Formation at the Evangelical Seminary of need for contextualization in a post- Theology, 51–55; in CarlosMatanzas, Emilio Cuba’, Ham, International ‘Missional Christian West. Thus, an evangelical, Review of Mission Christopher James, ‘Education That Is Mis- missionally integrated theological sional: Towards a Pedagogy106, no. 1 for (2017): the Missional 80–88; education is a holistic model, moti- Church’, in Social Engagement: The Challenge vated by love for God and his mission. of the Social in Missional Education (Wilmore, Jesus Christ sends students out from ‘Jerusalem’, as pilgrims journeying of- The Mission of Theology and Theology as Mis- ten through ‘Athens’, ‘Geneva’, ‘Berlin’, sionKY: First (Valley Fruits Forge, Press, PA: 2013); Trinity J. Andrew Press Inter Kirk,- ‘New Delhi’ and ‘Greenville’. Frost, ‘Theological Education for Missional Leadership’,national, 1997); in Theological Karina Kreminski Education: and Foun Alan- dations, Practices, and Future Directions, ed. V. Criteria for an Evangelical, Andrew M. Bain and Ian Hussey (Eugene, Missionally Integrative Laing, ‘Recovering Missional Ecclesiology in Theological School TheologicalOR: Wipf and Education’, Stock, 2018), International 175–86; Review Mark Having discussed a missional pas- of Mission toral paradigm and a model for the Ott, Beyond Fragmentation: Integrating Mis- missional theological school, I will sion and Theological98, no. 1 (2009): Education: 11–24; A BernardCritical Assessment of Some Recent Developments in Evangelical Theological Education (Eugene, 46 Education’, 12. Theological Education’, Transformation 18, Cronshaw, ‘Reenvisioning Theological OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011); Ott, ‘Mission and Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 17 with helpful and practical sugges- rything it does. Further, all assess- tions, but I will limit my list to seven ment activities centre on whether the criteria, which are recommended by multiple sources or which I consider it can do so more effectively in the fu- particularly important for a mission- ture.school Therefore, is fulfilling institutional its mission andmission how al education. I offer these following must be explicitly linked to the missio principles in the spirit of the Laus- Dei. As Shaw states, if the anne Movement’s guidance, ‘We urge ‘Vision Statement’ is focused that institutions and programmes on our students or even on the of theological education conduct a church, then something is funda- “missional audit” of their curricula, mentally missing. Yes, we want our structures and ethos, to ensure that students to learn and grow and we they truly serve the needs and op- want strong churches, but these portunities facing the Church in their are merely a means to an end— cultures’.48 which is the acknowledgement of the Triune God and his Kingdom.49 1. Mission and Vision Statement Thus, missional theological schools First, an evangelical, missionally inte- before God how their school with its grative theological school will clearly particularhave done history,reflective context work toand discern con- express its role in serving the mission stituencies supports God’s mission of God in the world in its institutional to redeem the world in Jesus Christ. mission and/or vision statements. A school’s understanding and articula- clearly articulated institutional mis- tion of its mission should drive eve- sionThis andreflection vision isstatements. then translated into

2. Theological Education for All Theological Education: Moving Beyond Tra- ditionalno. 2 (2001): Models 87–98; of Theological Ott, ‘Mission Education’, Oriented the People of God Transformation Second, when God’s mission for the Gerald Pillay, ‘Theological Education and world drives a theological school’s Missional Formation 18, no.in the 2 (2001): South African 74–86; mission, the resulting student body Context’, Transformation 35, no. 3 (2018): is inclusive of all the people of God, not just those training for pastoral Baptist Seminary’s Missional Vision’, Trans- 50 formation179–91; Ian Randall, ‘“A Mode of Training”: A ministry in the church. As the Laus- ‘Missional Imaginations for Theological Edu- anne Movement’s Cape Town Commit- cation: Mixed 24, no. Model, 1 (2007): Exploratory, 2–13; Kyle Action- Small, ment states, ‘Theological education Oriented Research Mapping the Theological Identity and Organizational Readiness for Change of Five Theological School Systems 49 in the United States Originating after 1945’ 211–12. 50 Shaw, ‘HolisticReenvisioning and Transformative’, Theological Ed- W. Michael Smith, ‘Missional Faithfulness: An ucation; Cronshaw, ‘Australian Reenvisioning Expanded(PhD dissertation, Agenda for Luther Theological Seminary, Field 2009); Edu- See Banks, - cation’, Encounter 61, no. 2 (2000), 167–86. 48 The Cape Town Commitment, andof Theological Frost, ‘Theological Education’; Education Cronshaw, for ‘Reen Mis- IIF4C. sionalvisioning Leadership’. Theological Education’; Kreminski Lausanne, 18 Seth J. Nelson serves first to train those who lead mission through the ‘World Christian the Church as pastor-teachers, equip- Movement’ and pay attention to how ping them to teach the truth of God’s the sociocultural dynamics of pagan- Word with faithfulness, relevance ism, Christendom, the Enlightenment, second, to equip all and late and post-modernism have God’s people for the missional task andof understanding clarity; and and relevantly Theology courses develop from a communicating God’s truth in every influencedtrinitarian thetheology church’s of thedevelopment. missio Dei cultural context.’51 Missional theo- and debate the contours of a mis- logical education provides avenues, sionary ecclesiology. Thus, Ott urges, ‘Every programme aim, every course and informal educational opportuni- objective, every assignment, every programmes,ties for Christians degrees, in any and certificates all voca- research paper, every test must be tions to learn how to integrate their developed in view of the church in work with their faith and conduct mission’.54 their work in a way that is aimed towards kingdom fruitfulness.52 Even if a theological school continues to 4. A Missional Hermeneutic prioritize clergy preparation, it will Fourth, if missionality permeates the do so in a way that emphasizes the whole curriculum, then a missional minister’s missional equipping role hermeneutic55 for the whole people of God. taught in biblical studies classes and utilized in pastoral must studies be specifically courses for teaching and preaching. In The 3. Theological Reflection and Mission of God, evangelical scholar Curriculum Christopher Wright describes a mis- Third, a missional theological educa- sional hermeneutic as follows: tion infuses mission-related theologi- Mission could provide the framework both for our hermeneuti- 53 curriculum. Missiology or missions cal approach to reading the Bible arecal reflectionno longer throughoutrelegated just its to entire the and for organizing our account of ‘school of intercultural studies’ or to biblical theology. … A missional the practical theology department. hermeneutic proceeds from the Rather, missional theology perme- assumption that the whole Bible ates all departments and all courses. renders to us the story of God’s Biblical courses apply ‘missional mission through God’s people in hermeneutics’ (discussed further in their engagement in God’s world the next criterion). Church history courses are also histories of God’s 54 91. 51 The Cape Town Commitment, 55 Ott, ‘Mission and Theological Education’,- IIF4. sional Hermeneutic: Mapping a Conversa- 52 Lausanne, Fruitfulness on the Front- tion’, George Missiology Hunsberger, ‘Proposals for a Mis line: Making a Difference Where You Are (Not- Christopher Wright, The Mission of God: Un- tingham, Mark England: Greene, IVP, 2014). locking the Bible’s 39, Grand no. Narrative 3 (2011), (Downers 309–21; 53 Called Guder, Called to Witness. to Witness. Ott, ‘Mission and Theological Education’; Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006); Guder, Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 19

for the sake of the whole of God’s those who are not yet Christians. creation.56 Thus, theological students should 6. A Praxis Approach to Learning learn how to read Scripture as a co- Sixth, if the content of the theologi- hesive, single drama of God’s mission cal school’s curriculum is perme- to redeem the world through Jesus ated with a missional emphasis, then Christ and to locate their place, time and context in God’s ongoing dramat- the process of learning should also ic mission. Guder extends this idea by be missional—a cycle of action and arguing that the whole thrust of the - New Testament is to collectively form brace a praxis approach. The educa- God’s people for witness. He asks, reflection.tional process ‘Missional is therefore educators imagined em ‘How did this particular text continue as a continuous cycle of action and re- the formation of witnessing commu- 59 nities then, and how does it do that Students today?’57 Theological schools ought to flection,remain engagedrather than and linear active movement in their provide the exegetical tools that stu- fromministry reflection contexts to action.’throughout the dents will need to answer this ques- duration of theological study. They tion in their contexts. are not only preparing for ministry, but actually doing ministry.60 Their actions for Christ in the world are 5. Cultural Exegesis and brought into the classroom for theo- Contextualization Fifth, corresponding to a missional - hermeneutic in biblical studies, a mis- logicalsults in reflectionthoughtful and and furtherprayerful action. con- sionally integrated theological school Theologicaltextualization reflection of action in in classes students’ re should train students in cultural ex- various contexts. egesis and contextualization.58 Stu- dents should learn how to disentangle 7. Mission-Compatible the church’s gospel from Christendom and modern distortions. They should Pedagogies learn how to confront society’s idols and offer the grace of the only true approach to learning, evangelical and God, Jesus Christ. In this way they can Seventhmissionally and finally,integrated beyond theological a praxis be prepared to equip the church to schools employ diverse missionally speak and act into the world in ways compatible pedagogies.61 that make the gospel distinct, under- years ago, Paulo Freire exposed the standable, tangible and attractive to Nearly fifty- ing’ concept of education,62 but this dangers and deficiencies of the ‘bank 56 The Mission of God, 104, 122. 57 Called to Witness, 109. 59 58 Wright, - 60 Reenvisioning Theological Educa- Guder, tion. James, ‘Education That Is Missional’, 150. Ott, ‘Mission and Theological Educa- 61 Banks, Reenvisioning Theological tion’; Kirk, ‘Re-Envisioning the Theological Education; Ott, ‘Mission Oriented Theologi- Frost,Curriculum’; ‘Theological de Gruchy, Education ‘Theological for Missional Educa cal E.g. Education’. Banks, Leadership’.tion and Missional Practice’; Kreminski and 62 Pedagogy of the Oppressed,

Paulo Freire, 20 Seth J. Nelson approach still remains widely used for ministerial training. Thus, I have in theological schools. Instead, Freire proposed a new missional model, proposed an approach that included based on Cronshaw’s prior work, ac- ‘the posing of problems of human cording to which schools seek to form beings and their relations with the pastors who can equip the church to world’63 and collaborative dialogue deploy the church for the salvation between teachers and students and of the world. The question thus re- between students themselves, with mains: How are evangelical theologi- the goal of raising consciousness to- cal schools around the world doing wards transformative freedom. If in this regard? How do they compare God’s reign in Christ brings the ulti- to the criteria I have proposed? I will - conclude by offering my thoughts on ing to the world, then theological this question, which may help to pro- educatorsmate kind should of freedom use pedagogies and flourish that vide a practical way forward for evan- align with that vision. Missionally attuned theological schools recognize kingdom mission. gelicalFrom schools my anecdotal seeking toand fulfil limited their that their students do not need more 65 theological or biblical knowledge perspective, it seems to me that evangelical schools around the world, by and large, have made good progress with regard to criteria 1 and 5 anddeposited practice, in theirapplying heads; their they biblical need (mission and vision statement, cul- knowledgemore active, in collaborativeservice to God’s reflection mis- tural exegesis) and are beginning to sion in the world. make progress on criteria 2 through 4 (educating all the people of God, - VI. Conclusion meneutic) but have made little pro- Certainly, the world needs theological theologicalgress on the reflection, last two criteria missional (praxis her schools that form Christian leaders ‘to approach, mission-compatible peda- lead the congregation as a whole in a gogies). mission to the community as a whole, First, theological schools have to claim its whole public life, as well made substantial progress in refocus- as the lives of all its people, for God’s ing their institutional mission, vision rule’.64 To aim at this kingdom vi- and purpose statements on God’s sion, as I have suggested, evangelical kingdom mission. For example, my schools must intentionally prioritize a denomination’s seminary, Covenant gospel-centred, missional theology at the nexus of their education endeavours. The must serve as missio Dei 65 the integration point and motivation contact In my with current educators roles at and Trinity students Evangelical from aroundDivinity the School world, in representingDeerfield, IL, the USA, beautiful I have trans. Myra Bergman Ramos, 30th anniver- breadth of worldwide evangelical theology. sary edition (New York: Bloomsbury Aca- Thus, while I cannot speak about individual demic, 2000). schools outside the United States, I do have 63 Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 79. a general sense that my concluding observa- 64 The Gospel in a Pluralist Soci- tions may also be generally representative of ety, Freire, 234. international contexts. Newbigin, Towards a Missionally Integrative, Evangelical Theological Education 21 in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), added their programme and degree offer- the words ‘All for God’s mission’ to ings accordingly. Additionally, as the its long-standing purpose statement ‘Faith at Work Movement’68 expands in 2010 after a year-long discussion around the world, seminaries such among the faculty, administration and as Gordon Conwell Theological Semi- board.66 Further, evangelical schools nary, with its Mockler Center for Faith appear to have also progressed in and Ethics in the Workplace, have teaching students how to exegete begun to purposely apply missional their cultures and how to contextual- Christian faith to people’s everyday ize the gospel (criterion 5). At the in- ‘secular’ work. stitution where I currently study and Furthermore, schools appear to teach, in every class session we dis- be taking more seriously the task of cuss the learners’ ministry contexts training students in missional theo- and how to apply pastoral learning in - ways that are culturally sensitive and meneutics (criteria 3 and 4). Through contextually appropriate. logical reflection and missional her- Evangelical theological schools gelical seminaries in the United States have more recently begun to make andmy direct in conversations experiences withwith fivemy interevan- some missional progress in three oth- national colleagues, I sense a deepen- er categories. First, they have begun ing commitment to a missional and to embrace the belief that theological kingdom-wide expression of the gos- education exists for all the people of pel. They recognize that Jesus Christ God (criterion 2), not just those pre- did not die just for the salvation of paring for pastoral or congregational ministry. For example, seminaries in broader mission to ‘make all things the United States have noted the most newindividual in Christ’ sinners; (Rev rather, 21:5). God However, has a recent statistics from the Associa- my impression is that this missional tion of Theological Schools (ATS) in the United States and Canada, which concentrated in the biblical studies show that nearly 39 percent of grad- andcommitment practical and theology reflection departments. tend to be uating seminary students expect to Substantial work is still needed to work or are working in a non-congre- achieve missional integration across gational setting,67 and have expanded the seminary curriculum and between the theological disciplines. Although missional theology has 66 grown and permeated evangelical Theological Seminary, ‘Systematic Theology theological education in some impor- Mark Dalbey and the Faculty of Covenant at Covenant Seminary Is Biblical and “Mis- tant ways, in other ways it has hardly sional”’, n.d., https://www.covenantsemi- nary.edu/systematic-theology-covenant- been realized. From my perspective, seminary-biblical-missional-2/. evangelical schools must do far bet- 67 ter with regard to a praxis approach the United States and Canada, ‘Total School Association of Theological Schools in pdf. https://www.ats.edu/uploads/resources/Profile: Graduating Student Questionnaire 68 God at Work: The History student-data/documents/total-school-pro2017–2018 Profile of Participants’ (2018),- and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement (New Cf. York: David Oxford Miller, University Press, 2006). files/gsq-total-school-profiles-2017-2018. 22 Seth J. Nelson to learning and mission-compatible attached to Freire’s ‘banking’ model) pedagogies (criteria 6 and 7). For ex- - ample, when interviewing a recent logical perspective, incongruent with MDiv graduate from a well-known US but,kingdom more mission. significantly from a theo seminary, I asked the graduate to de- The world does not need more sem- scribe the types of pedagogies and as- inary graduates with heads stuffed sessments that the faculty employed. With the exception of a handful of fully formed graduates who love Jesus practical theology classes and the fullChrist, of theological his kingdom data; and it needshis church. more pastoral practicum, which employed interactive pedagogies, most of this graduates who can immediately ap- student’s professors lectured for the Itply needstheir theological more self-reflective, learning to their wise entire class period, devoting only a local contexts and ministries in a col- short time to clarifying questions. laborative way while working with all Most classes required a midterm and kinds of people. In a word, the world needs missional seminary graduates paper, with no other graded assign- who can equip the church to deploy finalments examination or assessments and onegiven. research Such the church for the salvation of the world and for the glory of God. from an educational perspective (still practice remains not only deficient ERT (2019) 43:4, 23-32 Making Bible Translation a Core Mission of the Church

Ralph Siebert

The church upholds the Bible as its lection of writings which, beginning ultimate source of authority, but Bible in the third century, came to be de- translation and revision, as well as the whole Bible publication process, document. It was established in 350 are largely controlled by other bodies. finedAD as as the an specially unchangeable inspired and basis binding and In this article, I introduce an emerg- guideline for the fellowship of believing paradigm by which the church is ers, the church. empowered to take full ownership of Although different churches have Bible translation and revision, with- come to accept somewhat divergent out infringing on existing copyrights. canons over the course of time, all This new translation approach, called Christian churches acknowledge the Church-Centric Bible Translation Bible as their foundation for faith and (CCBT), is gaining momentum pre- belief. From the early days, interpre- dominantly among rather small eth- tation and exegesis of the Scriptures no-linguistic communities in Africa, received heavy emphasis, since the Bible has consistently been viewed as Before introducing the CCBT ap- God’s direction for life. God entrusted Asiaproach, and I thewill Pacific review region. historic and cur- the Bible to the church and mandated rent approaches to Bible translation the church to use it, live by it and as- and argue that this activity is a crucial sume full responsibility for it. Thus, task for the church and should not be Bible translation is a task that the left to others. church needs to reclaim. All spiritual Rethinking the process of Bible gifts necessary for this task have been translation is imperative and prudent given to and are present in the church. in light of the ever-declining Western Translation of the Scriptures has workforce involved in global missions. Accordingly, I hope to challenge of the Torah were made into Aramaic the worldwide church to adopt and aand long later history. into Greek, The firstLatin translations and Gothic. take ownership of Bible translation as During the Renaissance and the Ref- part of its indispensable core mission. ormation, the Bible was translated into vernacular tongues. Our focus in this article, however, is the nine- I. History of Bible Translation teenth century, when the beginning The biblical canon represents a col- of modern missions featured people

Ralph Siebert (MA, Hamburg University) is Language Research Coordinator for Wycliffe Associates USA. He has been active in Bible translation since 1991, including 17 years of language survey, translation and administrative work for SIL Ethiopia. 24 Ralph Siebert like William Carey, who translated - the Bible into a number of languag- ies served mainly in Latin America. es spoken in India, or Cornelius Van During its first years, the missionar Alen Van Dyck who translated the Bi- ble into Arabic. The purpose of these today,The first the number Wycliffe-supported of full Bible trans Bible- translations was to evangelize more lationstranslation is approaching was completed 700, inwith 1951; an effectively and to make biblical con- additional 1,550 New Testament tent clear to believers. translations, plus translation of se- During the nineteenth century, the lected passages and stories into 1,150 - more languages. cluding the British and Foreign Bible firstSociety Bible (founded societies in were 1804), founded, the Bible in balanced against the number of liv- Society of India (1811) and the Bible ingThese languages impressive worldwide, figures which must beis Society of Australia (1817). Interest a moving target. Living languages in oversees mission and evangelism can die if they are very small. On the rose sharply. Later mission societies other hand, one language can become such as OMF International (founded split into two or more, if the various in 1865) and SIM (1893) also empha- dialects of that language turn out to sized Bible translation. be too diverse for one translation to In 1942, Wycliffe Bible Transla- serve all of them well. In these cases, tors, the best-known of such en- separate translations are of course deavours, was founded by William warranted. Cameron Townsend. Years earlier, SIL International is keeping track Townsend had travelled to Guatemala of all these developments in Bible to sell Spanish bibles, but he had lit- translation, and updates are pub- tle success, because most people lished regularly. As of October 2019, where he went did not understand SIL indicated that there were about 7,353 living languages worldwide, Townsend’s interest in Bible transla- including sign languages, and the Spanish.tion: he metA specific a man incident who questioned triggered Wycliffe Global Alliance estimated God’s sovereignty because, the man that ‘171 million people, speaking said, God was unable to speak the 2,115 languages, still need translation man’s native tongue. work to begin.’1 Townsend started offering sum- For decades, Bible translation has mer linguistic training during the been viewed as an expert preserve, 1930s, which led to the founding of an activity reserved only for highly the Summer Institute of Linguistics trained specialists. Fastidious pro- (SIL). During these training camps, duction standards have been main- Townsend taught principles of how to tained. Thorough training in the vari- analyse a language, thus laying a good foundation with regard to how to pro- and phonology, morphology, syntax, duce a clear, natural and acceptable andous fieldsdiscourse of linguistics—phoneticsanalysis, to name a Bible translation. few—has therefore been considered Wycliffe Bible Translators sought initially to recruit additional mission- aries and to serve as a link between 1 www. wycliffe.net/en/statistics. “2019 Bible Translation Statistics’, the mission field and home churches. Making Bible Translation a Core Mission of the Church 25 essential. Other subjects such as ac- new perspective, adding a whole new quisition of practical approaches dimension to the issue of the remain- to language learning, ethnology, or ing Bible translation need. Watters special information technology skills related the number of Bible-less lan- have contributed further to making guages to factors like the active num- the practice of Bible translation high- ber of expatriate translation advisors, taking growth and attrition rates into For a long time, ethno-linguistic account. He also looked at the average lycommunities scientific in have nature. not had the capac- number of years required to success- ity to do Bible translation themselves, even if they wished to. Therefore, a The result he presented was both a sound and systematic approach by fullyshock finish and aa wake-uptranslation call project. for Wycliffe and SIL, leading them to adopt a plan However, much has changed over re- called Vision 2025. This plan con- Westerncent years. Christians Mass media was and justified.commu- tained an extremely ambitious goal, nication platforms now enable dra- far too large to accomplish by that matic inroads into previously isolated date or merely by human means. people groups. Options and facilities Wycliffe USA summarizes the main for higher training have increased in conference outcome as follows: many countries. And the picture in In 1999, our leaders realized that Bible translation is more diverse than at the speed we were going, it ever before, with an increasing num- would be at least 2150 before a Bi- ber of stakeholders coming from the ble translation could be started for growing churches of the global south every language that needed one. and east. As they thought about the people perishing around the world every day without receiving the Good II. The Wake-Up Call News of the gospel, they felt God In 1999, Wycliffe International and calling them to adopt a new goal SIL International jointly hosted their for accomplishing this mission. tri-annual conference. (Conference Our leaders committed to do eve- modalities have changed since then.) rything we could to see a Bible Wycliffe International is the predeces- translation program in progress in sor of today’s Wycliffe Global Alliance, every language still needing one by which describes itself as composed of 2025.2 more than a hundred organizations The delegates developed and adopted involved in Bible translation move- Vision 2025 without really knowing ments and language communities where they were going, and without worldwide. answers to the many emerging and During this conference, the del- burning questions it raised. egates set the direction for a major The Vision 2025 statement reads, course change regarding how to ap- ‘Motivated by the pressing need for all proach the remaining Bible transla- peoples to have access to the Word of tion task. Why did they do this? John Watters, executive director of Wycliffe International at that time, presented 2 https://www. wycliffe.org/about. ‘The History of Wycliffe’, the delegates with new figures and a 26 Ralph Siebert

God in a language that speaks to their As a result of these efforts, the number of languages needing trans- values and our trust in God to accom- - plishhearts, the and impossible, reaffirming we embrace our historic the ly. As noted above, however, latest vision that by the year 2025 a Bible lation has been reduced significant translation project will be in progress over two thousand. for every people group that needs it.’3 counts still indicate that the figure is The adoption of Vision 2025 led III. Grappling with ‘Translation and a focus on training nationals. The Need’ resultsto intensified were impressive. prayer, greater The urgencynumber ‘And this gospel of the kingdom will of nationals with a formal degree in be preached in the whole world as a translation studies has increased sig- testimony to all nations, and then the end will come’ (Mk 13:10, NIV). This has never in history been higher, es- is a key verse in the realm of Bible peciallynificantly. in Theminority output languages. of Scriptures The translation activity, since people need urgency to make the word of God to clearly understand the Gospel be- known to everyone in a language he fore they can decide how to respond or she understands best has contributed to the formation of new alliances starting from that premise, so efforts such as ETEN (Every Tribe, Every Na- towere it. The made translation early to task catalogue was defined the tion). Many new translation organiza- world’s languages. tions have come into being, especially SIL International had a natural in South America, Africa and Asia. En- interest in doing this, having been tities like Wycliffe Associates, which Wycliffe’s main partner organization historically supported Bible transla- since its foundation. As the leading tion through construction work and organization in language research technical support services, decided and documentation, SIL has pub- to become directly involved in Bible lished since 1951 the Ethnologue, a translation. In October 2019, Wycliffe reference publication on the world’s Associates published a set of free and living languages. The Ethnologue is open-licenced Bible translation tools published periodically in print and is for the global church to support oral progressively being updated online. and written translation (see https:// The goal in Bible translation is to bibletranslationtools.org/). Another organization, called unfoldingWord, needed translations. For many years, has developed translationStudio, an closethe gap the exceeded gap between three thousand finished lan and- open-source platform to make Bible translation accessible to the global between 6,800 and 7,100 languages. church. TranslationCore, another free guagesDuring outthe 1980s, of a fluctuating Scripture totaloutput of tool, has been developed for checking translations. number of needed translations did figures started to pick up, but the- eral reasons. As language survey and 3 notassessment come down progressed, significantly, new for sevlan- website, http://www.wycliffe.net/about-us/ guages were discovered or identi- more?id=7988. ‘Vision 2025’, Wycliffe Global Alliance -

fied. More sophisticated survey tech Making Bible Translation a Core Mission of the Church 27 niques and tools evolved in the wake - of improvements in language survey cult’ countries with no or only small methods. Languages and their set- translationchurches. needs are located in ‘diffi tings were sometimes re-evaluated, On a positive note, one could say leading to more differentiated lan- that the 171 million people whose guage assessments that in turn re- languages have no current or com- sulted in additional translation needs. pleted Bible translation work repre- Furthermore, the advancement of sent just over 2 percent of the world socio-linguistics relativized the per- population, and that almost 98 perception that only linguistic factors cent of the world population has ac- constitute a translation need. Experts cess to the Gospel, at least theoretical- concluded that for certain subsets of ly. One could say that we are almost language groups, separate transla- there, but we know that Jesus cares tions were warranted because of dif- even for the last percent (Mt 18:12). ferent religious beliefs from those of We also know that the Holy Spirit the majority, or because of cultural or uses different parts of Scripture to historical allegiances to other groups draw people to Christ: it could be a in the area. It became evident in many gospel, a psalm, Genesis or Isaiah. cases that a single translation would Translating all or most of the Bible not suitably serve a whole people is desirable, I would think, because group. God speaks through all his words. I The number of languages need- even remember reading an account ing translation eventually decreased. of a man for whom the genealogical The Wycliffe Global Alliance, which passage in Mt 1:2–16 was instrumen- has generated and published Scrip- tal in enabling him to trust the Bible, ture access statistics for many years, because the record of who fathered indicated in 2017 that the number whom was the key evidence for had dropped to around 1,860—only him. God is sovereign and can work to increase by about three hundred through many or few passages of in 2018, because sign-language needs Scripture, just as he likes. Therefore, were now included. This change rein- the question of how much of the Bible forces the degree to which translation should be translated into a given lan- need has been a moving target. guage cannot be answered in general. Since Vision 2025 was adopted Whether we provide a Bible, mini-Bi- twenty years ago, many (including ble, New Testament, or only Scripture myself) have been riveted by ‘re- portions is a question I believe the lo- maining translation need’, because cal church must answer. Although we are still striving to translation project was to be started achieve the goal set by Vision 2025, I ain deadline every language had been that defined: needed a Bibleit by believe we need to widen our focus to 2025. The so-called low-hanging fruit look beyond that year. SIL has created Progress.Bible, a large languages with many speakers database and information hub on the wasand oftenharvested well-established first: translations churches, into status of Bible translation in each liv- providing motivated and well-trained ing language. It is kept up to date by translators. Making headway has be- constantly drawing data from multi- come harder now that the remaining ple sources, such as Wycliffe organi- 28 Ralph Siebert zations from around the world, mis- eighteenth century, learned to speak sion societies, and the United Bible the Tamil language and translated the Societies. Progress.Bible welcomes NT and parts of the OT into it. updates on translation projects from A second paradigm uses speakers anywhere, but information output is of the source tongue (normally a ma- graded and limited, partly because of jor language in the area, such as Swa- the sensitive nature of some informa- hili in Africa) as the main translators. tion. Interested individuals can sub- They master the target language well scribe to monthly ‘snapshots’, which and do most or all of the translation. - Project coordination and assistance tions or numbers of living languages are often provided from outside the provideat global figures and continental on completed levels. transla target geographic area, involving ex- Revision is another growing aspect perts on topics like literacy or Scrip- of translation need. Revisions of ex- ture use. Translation quality control isting New Testaments are often done comes from consultants separate after the Old Testament translation from the translation team. into a language is completed. The idea This is still the prevailing model, is to give the church a complete Bible that is current and communicates leadership roles in translation pro- well. So to invest another two to three althoughjects. The nationals time investment increasingly under fill years to revamp the New Testament is paradigm 2 averages about twelve time well spent. years, but projects have lasted as long If a New Testament translation has - existed for 25 years, many people, in- stances like health or visa issues, lack cluding those behind Progress.Bible, asof suitablethirty years staff, under or civil difficult unrest. circum Finan- consider that translation to be ag- cially, these projects have normally ing. I do not believe that this thresh- been covered by donations from a old can be applied universally, but a home constituency that cover staff translation published in 1995 should members’ needs. be tagged as possibly starting to be- A new, third paradigm is emerg- come outdated in terms of vocabulary ing in which local churches take and other categories. The compelling full ownership of Bible translation. question is evident: who will tackle This method, which some refer to as the ongoing task of revising the ever- church-centric Bible translation or growing number of New Testaments CCBT, began only a few years ago. Tim in the years to come? The only logical Jore, author of a white paper titled answer is the church. ‘Bible Translation 3.0’, described the direction this translation approach is taking: IV. A New Paradigm in Bible We are in the midst of a historic Translation shift in Bible translation, as the Various approaches to Bible transla- global Church reclaims her rightful tion have been applied over the past ownership of and authority for the task. As biblical content, training - resources, and technology tools threearies like centuries. Bartholomäus The first Ziegenbalg, common are increasingly made available paradigmwho travelled was to typified India in by the mission early without restriction, the Church Making Bible Translation a Core Mission of the Church 29

will be able to take advantage of topic provides a good overview.4 It every opportunity for the advance- describes the Gateway Languages ment of Bible translation into eve- Strategy, or the basis for preparing ry language. Scriptures published under a Crea- tive Commons license. The Gateway To that end, the ‘unfoldingWord’ Languages concept has become the project is an end-to-end digital centrepiece for multiple entities in- publishing platform that is at- cluding Wycliffe Associates, unfold- tempting to facilitate this out- ingWord, and church networks in come. It models the concept of an Asia or Africa to promote and foster unrestricted ‘commons’ of open- Bible translation carried out under licensed biblical content, transla- the auspices of the local church. tion training resources, and open- The main characteristics of CCBT source tools that enable the global are as follows: Church to do whatever is needed Driven at the grassroots level to accelerate the task of translating Generally, use of copyright- the Bible into every language. • free Bibles Wycliffe Associates USA is using the • Quick use of draft print-outs paradigm 3 approach to empower for feedback local churches for translation. Open • Many translators in large collaboration is encouraged, to take workshop settings, not few advantage of the access provided by • translators investing great amounts of time our computer age and enable many Use of an array of electronic people to work simultaneously on a translation helps and tools, Bible translation project. • such as translation notes, Under paradigm 3, local churches translation questions, a re- and church networks take the pro- viewers guide, Greek and He- ject lead, and the translation scope is brew Bibles, grammars and lexicons5 desires of the church. This method is Gateway languages (GLs) are very cost-effectivedefined according relative to to the previous needs andap- dominant languages. They gain that proaches. An NT translation may take status because they are used interna- only two to four years, and revisions tionally, as with English, or because can be done frequently because all very many people across different printed and audio materials are pub- countries use it as their second lan- lished under a Creative Commons li- guage (L2), as with French in Central cense, as further explained below. and West Africa. A GL can be relatively small, like Bislama, the national language of Vanuatu. Only 10,000 V. Church-Centric Bible people speak Bislama as their L1, but Translation The main characteristic of CCBT is 4 - that a part of the global church takes tion: A Visual Overview’, https://www.ccbt. full control of all necessary aspects bible. Tim Jore, ‘Church-Centric Bible Transla of translating the Bible into its own 5 https://www.unfolding- language. Tim Jore’s book on the word.org/resources. See ‘Resources’, 30 Ralph Siebert another 200,000 people speak it as a On the other hand, legal owner- second language. In Vanuatu, 110 dif- ship of a translation project rests, in ferent living languages are spoken, a sense, with a national church. If one which explains why Bislama can be or more expatriates are involved, the considered a GL. national government could be seen as As Jore explains, ‘The Gateway Lan- legally owning that project by spon- guages Strategy provides biblical con- soring work permits through one of tent that is irrevocably open-licensed their ministries. Often, translation or- so that the entire global Church can ganizations like Wycliffe or a partner use and build on it equally.’ It was organization control project-related originally developed by the non-prof- funds. Finally, the resulting product it organization Distant Shores Media is in most cases legally owned by (now ‘unfoldingWord’). This organi- the respective national Bible Society. zation’s stated mission is ‘Equipping Scripture translation can thus be a the global church with unrestricted very complex and complicated legal 6 biblical resources’. process. Wycliffe Associates USA adopted The question ‘Who owns the Bi- the GL concept several years ago. ble?’ can be answered in different Worldwide, around 42 GLs have been ways, but to me the paramount stance is the one the church takes. What is the concept or counting the number the status of the Bible for the church? named,of GLs has although not been precisely a priority. definingThe im- Is it simply a book that church ac- portant step is for a church in a certain tivities traditionally revolve around? Does the Bible really belong to the from which a translation into a local national Bible Society, which sells it areavernacular to define can best the sourcebe produced. language GL and holds the copyright—despite the translations are the avenues that the fact that the lion’s share of resources local church can use to produce its to produce a new translation came own Scriptures. from abroad? Or is the Bible the living word of God, entrusted to the church Ownership to be used for evangelism and disci- The introduction of CCBT is also help- pleship, church planting and building to solve historical problems with ing people up? These questions could regard to who ‘owns’ a Bible trans- bring very divergent answers from Christians around the world., but the legal or moral terms. People groups baseline remains true for all: ‘From lation.who do Ownership not have the can Bible be defined in their in Apostolic days the church pioneered mother tongue may be described as translation and the uses of mother the moral owners of an active trans- tongues, vernaculars, and lingua fran- lation project into their language, be- cas in the proclamation and spread of cause they are the ones who will ben- the gospel.’7 I believe that community owner- efit directly from the project. 6 7 Strategy’, https://unfoldingword.org/gate- World Christian Database (Leiden and Bos- way/. See Tim Jore, ‘The Gateway Languages ton: Todd Brill, M. 2019), Johnson 245. and Gina A. Zurlo, eds., Making Bible Translation a Core Mission of the Church 31 ship is central to achieving the pur- of global data on both people groups pose of any Bible translation effort, and language to facilitate launching which is to bring more people to un- this process. derstand and obey the Gospel. When Guidelines to help national, region- communities own their projects, they al and or local translation steering are more likely to use the Scriptures committees would have to be worked after translation and to apply the out. Here, much can be gleaned from Bible's teachings. agencies that have been active in the translation business for a long time. The most important potential inno- VI. Getting the Church to vation at the alliance level would be Translate the Bible to set up national translation and in- In many places, the church is eager formation hubs where central ques- to become involved in translation. In tions can be handled. These ques- some cases, however, the church may tions might include whether to offer want to translate but is lacking funds, translation assistance to local groups, knowhow or logistics. In other situa- when to revise previously translated tions, the church uses the Bible in the Scriptures, questions of translation national language but a local transla- style and format, matters of distribution would serve the church better. tion and access, and training of con- The Great Commission calls the sultants. church to preach the good news eve- These kinds of questions are too rywhere, and unless people clearly manifold for outside agencies to re- understand the message, they are spond to, but could be handled by unable to respond to it in a meaningful way. That is why Bible translation WEA. Guidelines to assist regional is a necessity for the church. For the nationaland/or allianceslocal translation affiliated withsteering the last twenty years, Western Christians committees would need to be devel- have initiated translations, counted oped and implemented. WEA bodies languages and measured progress on the district and area levels are in towards accomplishing Vision 2025, the best position to make reasonable but increasingly they are passing the and substantiated judgements about torch to churches and organizations translation need because of their in- from the global south and east. They sight into the linguistic and socio-lin- are recognizing that without more guistic dynamics of the area they live training of nationals to take responsi- in or near. bility for their own Bible translations, It would be a great step forward if the vision will not be reached. national alliances could take on form- It is my hope that the World Evan- ative responsibilities to coordinate - and steer Bible translation activities nize Bible translation and revision in their respective countries, with gelicalas key tasks Alliance of the will global officially church. recog The policy and procedural guidance from WEA could further help by develop- the international level. Strategizing ing a roadmap and a framework for Bible translation in this way, though Bible translation activity that is fully desirable, will not be realizable eve- controlled by the church. The World rywhere, as the situations facing the Christian Database provides a wealth church and the available options for 32 Ralph Siebert action vary widely across the globe. the goal of Vision 2025, it is high time But this should not stop the WEA for the worldwide church to assume from setting the Bible translation formal and practical responsibility for agenda and streamlining procedures Bible translation, especially because as much as possible. the local church cannot be substi- National alliances are also in the tuted by any other body. CCBT helps best position to keep a healthy bal- the local church to recognize that Bi- ance between supporting needed ble translation and revision truly be- translations and discouraging tiny long to the church, and it encourages dialect groups from producing non- the church to assume responsibility essential translations in cases when for this task in a viable way. This ap- Scriptures in a neighbour dialect al- - ready serve that group well. mentum at the local level but could Hundreds of translation projects proachbe further has enhanced gained significant with support mo have been initiated at the local level and helpful guidance from national and international levels of the body CCBT approach. Since very many of Christ. during the past five years using the translations are still needed to fulfil ERT (2019) 43:4, 33-48 The Role of Reconciliation Theology in Socio-Political Healing and Development

Muhati Allan Isiaho

Although most countries in the world ever since Burundi’s formation. today enjoy peace and security, about Burundi’s political situation is 1.5 billion people live in areas affect- bleak, delicate, deeply worrying and, as such, unacceptable to those who large-scale criminal violence. These yearn for a positive change in the edcountries by government typically fragility, have the conflict highest or country’s socio-political landscape. poverty rates and many are seem- Social strife has produced dire con- ingly trapped in endless cycles of vio- - 1 Burundi, a small land-locked na- sequences: extensive loss of life; de tionlence in and east conflict. Africa, has been one of structionof investing of property;in business children development left as those countries. Independent since orphans; single-parent families; fear 1962, after sixty-six years of coloni- zation by Germany and Belgium, Bu- and the infrastructure; inability of social physical, institutions social, rundi has three main ethnic groups: psychologicalto deliver essential and spiritual services wounds; to citi- Hutus (about 85 percent, generally zens. cultivators), Tutsis (14 percent, most- For example, during the contro- ly cattle herders) and Twas (about 1 versial 2015 presidential election percent). Even though the Hutus and that resulted in a failed coup d’état, Tutsis share many things in common, at least 1,200 people reportedly lost including language, a number of cul- their lives and more than 425,000 tural practices, traditional religious were displaced and had to seek ref- rites, history and territory,2 they have uge in neighbouring Tanzania, Rwan- engaged in heated power struggles da, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.3 The government estimated that the insurrection cost the country 1 at least US $32.7 million in property Building Peace Global Strategy’ (2016), www.christianaid.ie/Images/TVBP_RE Christian Aid, ‘Tackling Violence and- PORT_tcm19-89720.pdf. 3 - 2 Unlock- tional” Third Term’, France 24, 25 April 2015, ing Horns: Forgiveness and Reconciliation in www.france24.com/en/20150425-burundi- ‘Burundi’s President Seeks “Unconstitu Burundi David (Newberg, Niyonzima OR: and Barclay Lon Fendall, Press, 2001). president-nkurunziza-seeks-third-term.

Muhati Allan Isiaho (MA, Hope Africa University, Burundi) is a lecturer and assistant director of the Master of Theological Studies Program at Hope Africa University. He is currently a PhD candidate at African International University in Kenya. 34 Muhati Allan Isiaho damage. and reconstruction through negotia- The government has made many attempts to restore peace, security resolution. and social order. These have included tion,Addressing mediation, Burundi’s dialogue andunderlying conflict Ubushingantahe, a traditional insti- and long-standing issues that hinder the process of realizing genuine and long-term social reconciliation tutionamending of reconciliation;the constitution the in 2005 Arusha to is the key to a future of sustainable Peaceenshrine Mediation an ethnically Process based of power- 2000; peace, forgiveness and development. sharing arrangement between the In this paper, I attempt to present a Hutu majority (60 percent) and Tutsi pathway towards this goal. The trou- bled situation in Burundi has driven me to pursue this question: How can minorityand establishment (40 percent; of athe National amendment Com- the evangelical church provide a new ismission silent of regarding Truth and the Reconciliation. Twa people); future of renewed hope for a victim- Nevertheless, Burundi is still prone ized people living in desperate situ- to political violence in every electoral ations of civil strife, extreme poverty cycle, with the worst violence occur- and underdevelopment through pro- ring around the 2015 presidential claiming the Christian gospel, which elections. is practically rooted in the doctrine The lack of a sustainable model of of atonement? Can the doctrine that reconciliation has helped to nurture Jesus yielded himself on the cross as the conditions of mistrust, insecurity, a way of mending human beings’ bro- impoverishment, powerlessness and ken relationships with God, each oth- underdevelopment in Burundi. More- er and our natural world be relevant over, the church, in my judgement, to the socio-political tensions that are has been under-involved in peace- destabilizing individuals, families and communities in Burundi? Like many other countries, Burun- In the next section I will explain buildingdi’s people and need conflict a sustainable resolution. model the concepts of reconciliation theol- of peace-making and genuine forgive- ogy, healing and development as they ness. I believe that the only truly vi- relate to the situation of social strife. able model of reconciliation is based Then I will present four ways in which on Jesus Christ, who is our conciliator, truths derived from Christ’s atone- Prince of Peace and the embodiment ment can be practically applied to of love, truth, forgiveness and justice. social reconciliation. My observations It is God’s concern for the human fam- are equally applicable to any location ily to live in deep shalom. Accordingly, where social strife poses a barrier to the church should be a leader in addressing social evils such as ethnic human flourishing. and other behaviours that impair I. Conceptualizing hatred,the harmonious strife, retaliation, functioning selfishness of social institutions. However, the evangeli- Reconciliation Theology, cal church in Burundi appears to be Healing and Development making little progress in advancing Reconciliation is a central theme in a viable path towards social healing the Bible and the central concept of The Role of Reconciliation Theology 35 our Christian faith. The word is de- etal process that involves mutual ac- rived from the Greek katallassō, a knowledgment of past suffering and composite term consisting of the pre- the changing of destructive attitudes kata (to or for) and the verb allassō and behaviour into constructive rela- (transform, change or exchange). In tionships toward sustainable peace’.7 fixthis regard, reconciliation involves a The need for reconciliation is given transformation or change in a rela- in the fact of alienation or estrange- tionship between God and humans, ment. Humans must be put right with or between people.4 God because they have a broken rela- The Greek katallassō is equivalent tionship with him.8 to the Hebrew kaphar, which is trans- Although the theological concept lated into English as ‘atonement’.5 of reconciliation derives from Jesus Thus, in the New Testament, atone- Christ (e.g. Mt 5:24) and the apostle ment is essentially an act of reconcili- Paul, the idea is present wherever es- ation that takes place through Christ’s trangement or enmity is overcome by death. This conception is explicit in the restoration of true love, forgive- two notable Pauline passages, Ro- ness, justice, social unity and peace. mans 5:10–11 and 2 Corinthians Building right relationships is at the 5:18–20. The root idea is a change of heart of all religions. However, rec- attitude or relationship. onciliation as the central concept in From a practical perspective, rec- Christianity seeks to restore socio- onciliation can be conceptualized as a spiritual harmony by making accept- process in which relations are rebuilt ance, forgiveness and fellowship pos- to restore a state of harmonious exist- sible for all, as a result of exchange of ence, peaceful living, solidarity and enmity for friendship, in both vertical mutual cooperation. African scholar and horizontal relationships.9 Sin, Lutiniko Pedro describes reconcilia- the ultimate root of our broken verti- tion as ‘a state in which two separated cal and horizontal relationships, has individuals, tribes, communities, nations and/or religions come together resulted in enmity in our relationship and accept each other, in order to withfar-reaching God as well ramifications as with ourselves, and has work together, and to endeavour to with one another and with the envi- solve their differences, bound togeth- ronment.10 Vertical reconciliation is er by a common motive and by mutually accepted principles’.6 In a similar vein, Brounéus con- 7 Reconciliation: Theory ceptualizes reconciliation as ‘a soci- and Practice for Development Cooperation (Stockholm: Karen Brounéus, Swedish International Develop- ment Cooperation Agency, 2003), 13. 4 - 8 The Christian Doctrine of onciliation’, Journal of Theology for Southern Reconciliation (Shropshire, England: Quinta Africa Itumeleng 59 (June J. Mosala,1987): 23. ‘The Meaning of Rec Press, James 2012), Denney, 12. 5 9 6 - Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theol- onciliation: Mosala, ‘Meaning A Comparative of Reconciliation’, Study of the 24. Role ogy R. (Grand E. O. White, Rapids: ‘Reconciliation’, Baker, 1984), in917. Walter A. of Lutiniko the Churches L. M. inPedro, Promoting ‘The Ministry Reconciliation of Rec 10 Know the Truth: A Hand- in South Africa and Angola’ (PhD disserta- book of Christian Belief (Leicester, England: tion, University of Pretoria, 2007), 5. Inter-Varsity, Bruce Milne, 1982), 106–8. 36 Muhati Allan Isiaho viewed as the recipe for horizontal reconciliation. deeds and ensure people’s quick re- The church has a unique role to tunities and services; redress wrong play in public reconciliation, and that human solidarity and mutual cooper- role is urgently needed in Burundi. covery and restoration; consolidate From 1993 to 2005, the country went through a tumultuous period of social ation;create strengthenan environment the bonds of free of interac social- and political unrest that culminated unity,tion, dialogue, love, sharing forgiveness, and fellowship;friendship in civil war and genocide. The after- math of this tragic history has includ- all, enhance social transformation. ed perennial cycles of ethno-political andIn good this neighbourliness; reconciliation and,theology, above confrontation at every election peri- ‘healing’ means restoring conditions of social, economic, political, cultural, for the conditions of poverty and un- environmental and spiritual health as od.derdevelopment Such conflict isobserved partly responsible in Burun- a means of promoting the full devel- dian society. Thus, reconciliation is opment of individuals, families and an imperative task for the evangelical communities. It involves restoring church in Burundi. wounded bodies, minds and souls to An effective theology of reconcilia- their original physical, emotional and tion could enable the church to realize spiritual health as intended by God its mediatorial, moral and spiritual at the time of creation. In a nutshell, mandate in all its fulness. Therefore, therefore, reconciliation should be reconciliation theology provides an viewed as a long-term program for avenue for the church to re-evaluate social, economic, political, judicial, itself with regard to its mission as cultural and spiritual healing. God’s custodian for genuine reconcili- The term ‘development’ refers ation, peace, social order and sustain- to the process of coming to realize able development. Through the bibli- the full potential of human life in a cal vision of reconciliation, there is a context of a peaceful, loving, forgiv- possibility of new hope of social unity, ing, just and truth-telling society. As healing of a wounded and victimized such, reconciliation is development population, freedom and solidarity in the sense that it endeavours to res- with all those who are struggling to cue, liberate and restore individuals, overcome their despair. families and communities to their By ‘reconciliation theology’ I mean original identity by removing all that degrades, enslaves, dehumanizes and robs them of their inherent humani- political realities surrounding cy- 11 Christian reflection on the socio- ty. purpose of designing an alternative Evangelical Christians recognize clesresponse of conflict rooted and in violence,a biblical forvision the that social and political violence is and capable of enhancing the process pervasive, brutalizing and corrupting of peace-making, forgiveness, justice and, as such, impedes the process of distribution, healing and development. Basically, this is a corrective 11 Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational promote fairness in distribution of Development Bryant L. (Maryknoll,Myers, NY: Orbis, 2011), discoursematerial goods, that human seeks torights, create oppor life;- 177, 180. The Role of Reconciliation Theology 37 development. Therefore, the evan- cy on behalf of the victims of oppres- gelical church can never ignore the sion such as the alien (a minority), the challenges posed by socio-political poor, the fatherless and the widows tensions if it is going to be faithful to its roots. The doctrine of atonement is 8:4–8). central to the process of searching for (AmosDaniel 2:6–7; Groody 3:9–10; writes, 4:1–3; ‘God 5:7–12; pays a renewed life and restoring broken particular attention to those in the relationships. community whose dignity is dimin- Consequently, reconciliation theol- ished, denied, or damaged or those - who, when they are no longer deemed tions by changing the structures and useful, are rejected and discarded or institutionsogy seeks to thattransform keep injustice,conflict situa self- those who are dehumanized and dep- ishness, hatred, resentment and mis- ersonalized in their society.’12 By the trust entrenched in a society, thereby power of God’s Spirit, the prophets preventing the achievement of sus- provided an expanded understanding tainable peace, healing and just shar- of God’s intention to save and recon- ing of the country’s resources. This is cile people for himself from among all an endeavour to create and nurture the nations of the earth through the a conducive and viable environment work of the coming Messiah (Is 9:7). where all citizens can live in peace This implies that the quest for active and harmony with their neighbours compassion, acceptance, tolerance, love, fellowship, forgiveness and rec- arising from fair distribution of mate- onciliation in the midst of a wounded rialand goods, enjoy tohuman the fullest rights, the opportuni benefits- and victimized population should al- ties and other essential services. The ways remain a priority for the evan- concept of reconciliation is central to gelical church. any human development initiative. Both the Old and New Testaments teach that in his eternal plan, God designed atonement as the only means by which sinful humankind would be II. Principles of Atonement reconciled to him. Therefore, reconcil- and Their Application to iation theology, which is central in the Socio-Political Conflict teachings of the apostle Paul, is root- Throughout the Old Testament, God ed in the OT concept of covenant and has demonstrated concern for his atonement. The shedding of covenant ultimate purpose of salvation, which - is to reconcile all people of the earth, cial rituals of the OT are embodied in irrespective of their social, ethnic, bloodthe incarnation, and the reconciliatory life, work, death sacrifi and racial or geographic backgrounds. resurrection of Christ for the recon- 13 The prophetic literature contains ex- ciliation of sinful humanity. Romans tensive promises of reconciliation of the nations to God and each other (Is 12 Globalization, Spiritu- - ality, and Justice: Navigating a Path to Peace nounced the social, economic, politi- (Maryknoll, Daniel G. NY: Groody, Orbis. 2007). cal2:1–54; and religiousMic 4:1–3). elites The who prophets failed de to 13 Reconciliation in Af- live up the demands of the covenant rican Context (Nairobi: Uzima Publishing, and failed to practice justice and mer- 2008), Joseph 8–11. O. Omolo, 38 Muhati Allan Isiaho

5:6–10 states this clearly: ‘When we old nature with his new nature on the were still powerless, Christ died for inside, or our condemnation and iniq- the ungodly. … God demonstrates his uities with his righteousness, we are own love in this: While we were still forgiven and are not accountable for sinners Christ died for us. … When we our sins at all. Through the forgive- were God’s enemies, we were recon- ness of our sins, our debt has been ciled to him through the death of his paid by the atoning blood of Christ. Son. … Having been reconciled, we Once sin has been forgiven, it shall be saved through his life.’ should be remembered no more (Heb Clearly, reconciliation has its bib- - lical foundation in the atonement of old Kushner’s description of forgive- Christ. Jesus’ death is the supreme act ness8:12; is10:16–18). worth noting: In this ‘To regard, be forgiven Har by which men have been reconciled is to feel the weight of the past lifted to God, with the view to help humans from our shoulders, to feel the stain restore a peaceful relationship with of past wrongdoing washed away. To God, each other, their community and be forgiven is to feel free to step into the future unburdened by the prec- edent of who we have been and what theirIn environmenthis atoning work(Rom 5:10–11;of reconcili Col- we have done in previous times.’14 ation,1:20–22; Jesus Eph suffered 2:16). violence on the Those who put their trust and con- cross. If our faith has the story of a the church must face up to violence fidence in Christ’s atoning work are andviolent look crucifixion for ways atto itsunderstand heart, then it, thenot eternalvictims life of eternalmade possible condemnation; through confront it and transform it, not just theinstead, power they of arethe the atoning beneficiaries blood (Jn of into the absence of violence but into 3:17–18). a healing and redeeming of it. By rely- Through atonement, God is reaching on the meaning of the atonement, ing out to every human being in his the evangelical church has the tools fulness. He sent his only begotten Son to transform situations of socio-political tension with a view to restoring peace, promoting healing of wounded sinnersso that the of judgement. sinners would This be acquitting justified. victims and enhancing development tookThrough place justification, not because Godhuman acquitted beings initiatives. Below, I discuss four bibli- were innocent, but because when cal principles of atonement and their they were still sinners, the truly in- application. nocent Jesus Christ was himself made sin for the sake of redeeming sinners 1. Substitution (2 Cor 5:21). By an act of love, Christ died for sin- The principle of substitution is an- ners (Rom 5:8). Love is a strong tool chored in the fact that the death of for transforming a society enmeshed Christ sought to exchange our sin- in socio-political strife. Paulo Freire ful nature for Christ’s righteousness. described what true love entails and Christ changed our state of enmity with God to that of friendship and fel- 14 Heb 9:28). Since he has replaced our and Fendall, Unlocking Horns, 121. lowship with him (Is 53:5; 1 Pet 2:24; Harold S. Kushner, cited in Niyonzima The Role of Reconciliation Theology 39 what it can do for individuals, fami- Jesus has given us power and abil- lies, communities and societies: ity to live for him who died for us. As Because love is an act of courage, the mediator, he has reunited us with not fear, love is commitment to our creator, God the Father. Moreover, others. No matter where the op- through the atonement believers have pressed are found, the act of love received the gift of the Holy Spirit, a is commitment to their cause— spiritual power that can effect trans- the cause of liberation. And this formation in believers’ lives. commitment, because it is loving, The doctrine of atonement trans- is dialogical. As an act of bravery, forms those without merit into beings of tremendous value in God’s eyes. act of freedom, it must not serve It expresses victory over the forces aslove a cannotpretext befor sentimental; manipulation. as anIt must generate other acts of free- Heb 9:12). Through Jesus’ vicarious death,of sin andall theevil forces(Mt 20:28; of darkness Mk 10:45; in- by abolishing the situation of op- cluding ethnicity, hatred, bitterness, pressiondom; otherwise, is it possible it is not tolove. restore Only - the love which that situation made tility, greed, oppression, injustice, dis- impossible. If I do not love the crimination,selfishness, enmity, retaliation, resentment, intolerance, hos world—if I do not love life—if I do carnality, unforgiving hearts and any not love people—I cannot enter other form of malice have all been blotted out by an act of divine mercy into dialogue.15 In a similar manner, Jaccaci and Gault The Holy Spirit and the doctrine view love as ‘the unitive power and of(2 Coratonement 5:21; Gal 3:13;empower Rom 5:8).believers presence common to all religious and to overcome evil with good, defeat spiritual beliefs that gives them their negative thoughts and resist the devil deepest potential to heal, nurture, before he causes us to commit social and to glorify with joy the human soul sin. In this case, Christ has provided and spirit’.16 Indeed, God is love (1 Jn an effective example of how to tackle 4:8, 11, 16) and as such every beauty conditions of civil strife. Rather than taking revenge against their offend- is shaped by it, everything is directed ers, offended believers should take a towardshas its origin it. Love in God’s is God’s love; greatest everything gift bold step of exchanging the physical, hope.17 on them for unconditional forgive- to humanity; it is his promise and our nessemotional and love. and Likewise,spiritual painthese inflicted believers should attempt to dissuade non- 15 Pedagogy of the Oppressed believers from becoming involved in (New York: Continuum, 1993), 70–71. 16 Paulo Freire, - ed by Richard J. Spady and Richard S. Kirby, justice to be served should seek ret- The August Leadership T. Jaccaci of Civilization and Susan Building: B. Gault, Adcit- ributionacts of retaliation;in a court of those law. Forgiveness who want ministrative and Civilization Theory, Symbolic as an act and a process is the foun- Dialogue, and Citizen Skills for the 21st Cen- dation of the doctrine of atonement. tury (Seattle, WA: Forum Foundation, 2002). 17 Caritas in Veritate, Papal Encyclical on Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth (Vatican, 2009). Benedict XVI, 40 Muhati Allan Isiaho

Forgiveness, love, truth and justice wants us to represent him. are the fundamental pillars of genu- The doctrine of atonement is the ine reconciliation and peace-making. foundation of social and spiritual For believers, forgiveness is not an unity. Through baptism, all believers option but a necessary action regard- form one garment and one pilgrim less of the cost. people on a journey, the end of which Someone has said that ‘bitter- is the eschaton. Creation in all its di- ness is like swallowing poison and mensions is held within the sphere of expecting your enemy to die’. Conse- God’s pervasive love, a love character- quently, those who hold to bitterness ized by relationship and expressed in die a slow death while making their the vision of the Trinity as a model of enemies happy. Thus, forgiveness is intimate interaction, mutual respect and sharing without domination, dis- it does us a favour rather than just crimination or inequality. The atone- anminimizing act and aour process physical, of self-healing; emotional ment demonstrates God’s universal or spiritual pain.18 Through the act of love for all humankind regardless of forgiveness, we are able to release our their ethnic, political, racial and so- pain into the Lord’s capable and lov- - ing hands. cal origin. Paul Tillich writes that ‘genuine cio-economicThe Trinity affiliation provides or geographithe basis forgiveness is participation, reunion, for consolidating the bonds of social overcoming the powers of estrange- unity, solidarity and collaboration ment. And only because this is so, among individuals, families and com- does forgiveness make love possible. munities. The reconciliation pillars of We cannot love unless we have ac- forgiveness, love, justice and truth- cepted forgiveness, and the deeper telling provide the framework for our experience of forgiveness is, the promoting peace and harmonious liv- 19 greater is our love.’ Even though for- ing through social values of renewed giveness is an act of loss, it liberates fellowship, communal sharing and the victim from his or her condition of holistic relationships. Thus, in Christ 20 physical, emotional or spiritual pain. there is no Hutu, Tutsi, Twa or social Moreover, genuine forgiveness can of- - ten cause the offender to repent and ated things are reconciled and united abandon his or her sin permanently. classes; all human races including cre It seeks to restore the offenders into wants to see sustainable peace and the fellowship of society. As such, to genuinein Christ reconciliation (Rom 10:12; Colachieved 3:11). in God all the same extent that a forgiving Jesus his creation and in particular strife- represented us on the cross, he now ridden societies.

18 When You Have Been 2. Participation (Chicago: Moody Press, 2007), 130. Wronged Although God is the author of rec- 19 Erwin W. Lutzer, - dall, Unlocking Horns, 89. onciliation, Christ is the conciliator 20 Paul Tillich, citedNo in FutureNiyonzima Without and FenFor- and the church is God’s ambassador giveness (New York: Doubleday, 1999), cited for reconciliation and peace-making. in Niyonzima Desmond and Tutu, Fendall, Unlocking Horns, Consequently, the atonement gives xix. Christians a spiritual platform that The Role of Reconciliation Theology 41 allows for their participation in the through Jesus, the Prince of Peace and death and resurrection of Christ. the embodiment of forgiveness, love, Here, participation means that the justice and truth. As a result, only sinner has to die before he or she can through God’s grace can the church regain new life as a new person in - Christ (1 Pet 2:24). cal, emotional and spiritual wounds Whereas the giving of life is God’s fulfil God’s work of healing the physi accomplish this task of reconcilia- Sam 2:6), in the NT Jesus claimed to inflictedtion and peace-making on victims of effectively, violence. the To prerogative in the OT (Gen 2:7; 1 church needs to be deeply immersed proved it by rising from the dead (1 in Christ from whom it has received be the life-giver (Jn 5:21; 11:25), and- the ministry of reconciliation (Gal rection makes our salvation possible 3:28–29). Corand 15:45;paves way Rom for 1:4). the Christ’scoming resurof the Genuine reconciliation begins Holy Spirit. - Through faithful administration tian community, where believers are of the sacraments of communion and withempowered God and to flowsinfuse intothe theprinciples Chris baptism, the believers in Burundi and values of reconciliation into so- demonstrate their participation in the cial structures and systems. This process recognizes the two dimensions 11:25) and they die and live again in of reconciliation, vertically with God atoninghim (Rom blood 6:4, of11). Christ Consequently, (1 Cor 10:16; this and horizontally with fellow human implies their participation in the mis- beings. Vertical reconciliation is the sion of reconciliation and peace-mak- recipe for horizontal reconciliation. ing. Baptism unites a believer with Consequently, the evangelical church Jesus Christ in his or her death to sin cannot be indifferent and isolated in and resurrection to new life. the face of glaring socio-political ten- Within a context of social and po- sions enveloping a country. Reconcili- - resurrection of Christ must not be tivities. True agents of reconciliation liticallimited violence, to personal the joy, benefits peace, of wor the- ationhave ishad at thetheir heart worldviews, of God’s salvific beliefs, ac attitudes, values and character transformed by the power of atonement so ship, hope and victory (1 Pet 1:8; as to conform to God’s will, purpose Romchurch 4:24; resides Jn 20:28; in its comingLk 24:52; together 1 Cor and Kingdom vision. 15:20;to tackle Mt all28:18). forces The of strengthdarkness of that the Through atonement, the dividing hinder individuals, families and com- walls of hostility, be they ethnic, so- munities from attaining the condition cial, judicial, economic, political, cul- of shalom intended by God at the be- tural or spiritual barriers, have been ginning. destroyed by Christ (Eph 2:14–16). God has tasked the universal - church in general, and the evangelical denominations representing him in Thisas such, is anno affirmationethnic, social of or God’s political soli a country like Burundi in particular, darity with us and with all creation; with the responsibility of rebuilding not even death itself can break God’s relationships among those in con- conflict,bond of nothingunity with done us by(Eph us or1:9–10). to us, Reconciliation theology should guide flict. Reconciliation is all God’s work 42 Muhati Allan Isiaho the church to point out the social sins principles into the lives of individuals, and evils that have contributed to families, communities and societal in- the destabilization of peace, security stitutions. and socio-political stability, to show Practical ways by which the church how these detrimental factors have can participate in peace-making, rec- caused wounds in society by damag- onciliation and social reconstruction ing the common good, and to propose include the following: a proper way to address such social Strengthening the ministry sins and evils. When we embrace the biblical • vision of reconciliation, broken re- of prayer (Ps 140:1–3; 1 Sam- lationships are restored in all the 30:6;cal bonds, 2 Kings and 19:14–16;believers’ par Jam- dimensions distorted by sin. Walter 5:16; 1 Tim 2:1–2), ecumeni Brueggemann writes, ‘The gospel is the news that distorted patterns of ticipationembrace the in the ideals sacraments; of media- - • Influencing the government to tion of the gospel is the embrace of transformation and to design powerradically have transformed been broken; patterns the recepof so- 21 tion,contextually negotiation relevant and methods conflict cial relationships.’ and strategies of transitional Above all, the church must recover its prophetic voice by speaking on be- Creating a platform where half of the helpless victims of violence justice;the offender and the offended • come together to exchange moral and spiritual conscience of so- - andciety. conflict Believers and need, by functioning without fear as the or ness, love and abandonment seeking favour, to function as spokes- apologies and affirm forgive persons exposing and condemning the perpetrators of social, economic, ofStr revengeengthening (Mt 5:43–44;the valuable Rom political and judicial crimes that in- 12:17–21;ministry of 2 pastoralCor 2:5–11); counsel- • ling, as this empowers vic- pain on others should be told what tims and speeds up the pro- citeGod unrest.expects Suchof them, people which who includes inflict cess of healing from the inner making them understand their need to repent so that they are reconciled Creating and nurturing a cul- with God. In its function as salt and woundsture of inflictedcommunication by trauma; and light in society, the church should be • honest dialogue around the bold in persuading others to live in real drivers of the vicious cy- accordance with the ethical, moral cles of socio-political unrest in and spiritual standards outlined in Responding promptly and de- of the Great Commission, the church society;cisively to early warning signs Scripture.will infuse Bythese fulfilling biblical the and demands divine • of an impending social, politi-

21 Biblical Perspec- hesitating or ignoring those tives on Evangelism: Living in a Three-Storied cal or ethnic conflict without Universe Walter (Nashville, Brueggemann, TN: Abingdon, 1993), Engaging in deep evangeli- 34. signs;zation by preaching holistic • The Role of Reconciliation Theology 43

sermons attuned to the actual time of need. Indeed, a dehumaniz- ing situation of social strife calls for Encouraging church members Christians’ participation in social rec- socio-culturalto participate context; in promoting onciliation. Christians should imitate • a culture of democratic prin- Christ by alleviating human suffering ciples and values in societal and advocating for the restoration of human dignity. Thus, believers share Strengthening the church’s co- in Christ’s death and resurrection not structures;operation with other agents of just as individuals but as a communi- • reconciliation, peace-making, ty. In this respect, the church is called and social reconstruction, including other religious groups, death, which brings forth the love of civil society organizations and toresurrection participate and in new Christ’s life. sacrificial individuals with specialized

Providing holistic education 3. Social Transformation skillsto church or roles; leaders. and Besides This principle is grounded in a holis- • studying Bible and theology, tic view of the doctrine of atonement. they should be equipped with Jesus, as the life-giver, is the source knowledge and skills in such of abundant life. Jesus came so that areas as development, entre- believers may have life and have it in preneurship, peace-building, abundance here on earth (Jn 10:10). - Atonement is the foundation of holis- mation, mediation, negotia- tic or social transformation, because tion,counselling, communication, conflict transforand edu- it includes the cultivation of princi- cation on good citizenship and ples and values that can bring forth patriotism. positive change in society. Christians agree broadly with the Fredrick Amolo states, ‘Social principles highlighted above. Every transformation embraces the act and Christian desires to live in a just, process of improving society’s material condition as well as restoring However, Christians will not always broken relationships within social peacefulagree on how and practically flourishing to address society. structures in a bid to promote peace- 22 situations of social strife. Hence, it is ful co-existence.’ Bryant Myers re- necessary for believers to engage in minds us that ‘God’s goal is to restore open and candid conversations from a us and God’s creation to our original biblical-theological perspective, with identity and purpose, as children re- the goal of reaching consensus where - possible on how to tackle socio-polit- nal vocation as productive stewards, ical challenges. Above all, Christians flectingliving together God’s image, in just and and to ourpeaceful origi should strive to create and nurture a society grounded in the principles, 22 - values and ideals taught and exempli- sential African Christian Theological Recon- - ciliation Fredrick Schema Amolo, in Peace-Building’, ‘The Impact of in an Rod Es- ligion from socio-political life. ney L. Reed, ed., African Contextual Realities fiedThroughout by Jesus, who history, did not the separate common re (Carlisle and Cumbria, UK: Langham Global people have turned to the church in Library, 2018), 119. 44 Muhati Allan Isiaho relationships.’23 had great concern for those suffer- Reconciliation theology endeav- ing from various forms of bondage ours to respond to societal needs, and oppression, including economic both materially and non-materially. oppression (poverty), physical op- It should aim at liberating people pression (diseases and disabilities), from all forms of captivity, including political oppression (injustice and physical, social, mental, emotional oppressive rule) and demonic op- and spiritual enslavement. This way pression (various forms of occult of understanding reconciliation is af- practices). Clearly, reconciliation is

(Lk 4:18–19, quoted from Is 61:1–2): ‘Thefirmed Spirit in Jesus’ of the statement Lord is onof missionme, be- morehealth, thanwholeness the absence and well-being of conflict in cause he has anointed me to preach andall relationships. violence; it embraces harmony, good news to the poor. He has sent me The idea of liberation reminds to proclaim freedom for the prisoners us that through Jesus’ atoning work, and recovery of sight for the blind, to God the Father suffered in solidarity release the oppressed, to proclaim with suffering humanity. As such, God the year of the Lord’s favour.’ understands our suffering and de- In a similar vein, Leonardo Boff ac- knowledges the liberative task of the 1 Jn 2:6). Through Jesus’ experience gospel: lightsof a violent in seeing death, it ended the human (1 Pet family 2:21; has been healed: ‘He was pierced for The gospel is nothing less but the our transgressions and crushed for proclamation of the reign of God: the full and total liberation of all brought us peace was upon him, and creation, cosmic and human, from ourby his iniquities; wounds we the have punishment been healed’ that all its iniquities, and the integral (Is 53:5). accomplishment of God’s design in Christ’s atoning work seeks to ad- the insertion of all things into His dress our social problems as they own divine life. Concretely, then, emerge in our lives and in different the reign of God translates into - community of life with the Father, lence, destructive competition, in- the Son and the Holy Spirit in a contexts.compatible When interests wars, and conflicts, ecological vio universal communion of brothers disasters rob people of the freedom and sisters in solidarity with one to pursue their ordered ends, we be- another in the use of the ‘fruit of come unable to satisfy our fundamen- the earth and the work of the hu- tal human needs. These detrimental 24 man hands’. factors cause disharmony, suffering At the heart of Jesus’ ministry, he and pain.25 Development cannot take

23 Walking with the Poor: 25 The Church and Develop- Principles and Practices of Transformational ment in Africa: Aid and Development from the Development Bryant L. (Maryknoll,Myers, NY: Orbis, 2011), Perspective Stan Chu of Catholic Ilo, Social Ethics (Nairobi: 82. 24 When Theology Listens to eds., The Role of Christianity in Development the Poor, trans. Robert R. Barr (San Francis- PeacePaulines, and 2011), Reconstruction 119–20; Isabel (Nairobi: Phiri AACC, et al., co: Leonardo Harper & Row, Boff, 1988), 36. 1996). The Role of Reconciliation Theology 45 place if people cannot work together A condition of socio-political con- because of ethnic differences, intolerance, ancient prejudices, and inter- addressing demands for the respect ethnic and intra-ethnic differences.26 flictof fair cannot distribution be transformed of material without goods, Political, economic, religious and opportunities, services and human cultural divisions can stymie sustain- rights and the quest for equality, jus- able development. For that reason, tice and the common good. Reconcili- the evangelical church should con- ation denotes the holistic rebuilding front truthfully and honestly the disa- of relationships.28 It is a multidimen- greements among individuals, fami- sional concept that involves liberating lies, communities and parishioners. victims from physical as well as emo- Learning to live and work together tional and spiritual pain.29 demands a new way of seeing each The power and promises resident other and understanding human rein the atonement, when fully em- lationships. braced, permeate all societal insti- Peace is not the mere absence or tutions to effect positive change in them. Through the atonement every the positive realization of the dignity chain of darkness has been broken, ofavoidance the whole of human war and family. conflict, Peace but is including social, economic, political, wholeness, integrity, and tranquil- cultural and judicial maladies. Rec- lity of order, the effect of love and onciliation is inevitably bound up righteousness. The vision of peace- with social empowerment.30 There- building and reconciliation is to cre- fore, the evangelical church should ate a more humane society, promote rely on the doctrine of atonement as equality and justice, preserve human it endeavours to transform these so- rights, foster solidarity and unity cial systems and structures with the of human community, and create a goal of creating and nurturing a more non-violent and orderly society, all of humane society that is committed to which culminate in authentic human the principles and values of human development.27 At the heart of peace- development. making and reconciliation is the intentional rebuilding of relationships 4. Inspiration for New Life at every level of society, dedicated to The atonement is a source of inspira- non-violent transformation of con- tion for the church, as believers are empowered morally and spiritually to the creation of cultures of sustainable create a new society that lives in ac- peace.flict, the Reconciliation pursuit of social is not justice complete and cordance with the life of Christ, and in without restitution. In the Burundian context, this includes restoring seized land and other properties to their 28 Christian Theology rightful owners. and Social Reconstruction (Nairobi: Acton, 2003). Jesse N. K. Mugambi, 29 26 The Church and Development in Af- of Life for the World’, Verbum et Ecclesia 26, rica, 257. no. Maake 1 (2005): Masango, 134. ‘Reconciliation: A Way 27 Ilo, The Church and Development in Af- 30 Christian Theology and Social rica, 118. Reconstruction. Ilo, Mugambi, 46 Muhati Allan Isiaho a new life with him (Rom 6:4). Atone- new role, head in a new direction and ment therefore makes it possible for have the new way of thinking that the new life to spring forth. Christ’s death Holy Spirit gives. Because they live inspires the believers to live a life with for Jesus who gives new meaning to God—a life characterized by changes their lives, they should express love in in attitudes and relationships (Phil the face of enmity, forgiveness in the 2:5–8). face of resentment, dialogue in the When believers have received the face of discord, justice in the face of injustice, hope in the face of despair, new should be seen in their lives, healing in the face of pain, respect for benefitsbecause theof Christ’s old is gone death, and something they are law in the face of a culture of impu- re-created to be like God in true right- nity, walking in the light in the face of darkness, and truth-telling in the face Eph 4:23). Believers are called to ‘not of falsehood. This new order was in- eousnessconform any and longer holiness to the (2 patterns Cor 5:17; of troduced by God, who reconciled us this world’ with its behaviours and to himself through Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:18). The biblical concept of eternal often corrupting. God wants believ- life excludes a person’s former mis- customsers to be thattransformed are usually by the selfish renewal and of their minds so that they can live to eternal life is God’s life embodied in honour and obey him (Rom 12:2). erable,Christ, given mortal to all and believers disorderly now as life; a Through deep evangelization and guarantee that they will live forever. It contextualization of the gospel mes- calls us towards a perfect relationship sage, people are more likely to be con- between God, human beings and the fronted by the life-changing nature of rest of the creation. 31 the gospel, thereby allowing Christ New life is characterized by a fo- to transform their attitudes and be- cus not only on eternal life with all its haviour so that they can live in loving, treasures, but also on here-and-now kindly, compassionate and merciful right living in society. As children of ways towards those around them. the light, believers should act in such On the basis of living a renewed life, believers should joyfully give them- allegiance to Jesus the Lord. Their aposition way as toin reflectGod’s theirKingdom true faithrequires and service (Rom 12:1–2). The Holy Spirit them to live above reproach morally, selvesprovides as the living power sacrifices to renew, for re-edu God’s- and in so doing they exhibit God’s cate and redirect believers’ minds so goodness to others. True reconcilia- as to enable them to pursue fruitful tion and peace-building presuppose methods and strategies of rebuilding righteousness in the sight of God and relationships and healing those vic- the right living of the Christian faith. tims whose minds and spirits have This right living is displayed in such been broken (Rom 8:5). actions as making peace with every- Believers are required to put on a -

31 one; being considerate towards oth The Theory, the Gap, the Challenge’, Interna- ers; showing true humility; obeying- tional Darrel Bulletin D. Whiteman,of Missionary ‘Contextualization: Research 21, no. the civil law; freedom from deceitful- 1 (1997): 3. personaling God by interests loving and and forgiving desires; each con tinuous renewal of the heart; imitat The Role of Reconciliation Theology 47

Atonement should never be con- - ceived as an abstract concept, but as a other; being kind and compassionate real and transformative practical con- toall onebitterness, another; rage, living anger, under brawling,the guid cept capable of bringing about recon- ance of the Holy Spirit; getting rid of ciliation, healing and development in praying and interceding for authori- human society. Peace is what the gos- slander and every form of malice;- - guage, especially derogatory or incit- makers therefore distinguishes us as ties;ing statements and desisting (Eph from 4:29–32). improper lan pel of Jesus is all about; being peace In this way, the church can become a new zone where people can seek recipientsBurundians of are that Christians, Good News they (Mt have 5:9; - 2already Thess been 3:16; washed Col 3:15). by the Since blood most of freshing reality of solidarity, hear and Jesus. As such, they should be work- andfollow find the fresh evangelical hope, experience call for change the re ing to put an end to the shedding of in their conduct, and receive the fresh innocent human blood in their coun- and boundless historical possibilities try. of abundant life, even in the midst of The vicious cycles of social and po- uncertainties and brokenness. At the grass-roots level, the church can in- the power of the atonement to mend spire the living out of this new, trans- liticalbroken unrest vertical find and their horizontal real solution rela informed and non-violent Christian life tionships. There is no need for end- in the family, which is the most basic less violence when the Lamb of peace institution of society. has shed his blood for our forgive- Through the doctrine of atone- ness, reconciliation, righteous living ment, a new future is possible for and oneness. Indeed, the love of God Burundi or any nation plagued by the Father covers us all and it cleans- - es us from all unrighteousness. In him onstrated his great love and forgive- there are no poor, no non-poor, no socio-politicalness by restoring conflict. just and God peaceful has dem re- Hutus, no Tutsis, no Twas, no white, lationships through the atoning work no black, no vulnerable, no invulner- accomplished by Jesus Christ. able. We are one. The ministry that God has given to believers encompasses peace- III. Conclusion building and peace-making through Evangelical believers have a divine the spiritual model of reconciliation. mandate to respond positively to Since God has offered forgiveness to God’s call by becoming partners with us, those victimized by violence need him in restoring peace and order in to forgive those who have hurt them. their society. Reconciliation, peace, God has reconciled with us, and he healing and development are es- expects these victims of violence to sential components that should be reconcile with their enemies. Chris- secured for all victims of violence, tians can lead the way in enabling as all are among the family of ‘God- members of society to consolidate imagers’. Tackling the state of despair their spiritual, intellectual and physi- and pain for the purpose of creating a cal resources so as to solve their dif- new and better society is an integral ferences and social problems. part of God’s will for believers. Despite the challenges of socio- 48 Muhati Allan Isiaho political tensions, optimism and hope are possible when the church begins to take the path of dialogue to assume its moral and spiritual • influencingtowards individuals the government or groups mandate of functioning as a renewed having dissenting political community of forgiven people of God. The church in Burundi continues to providing guidance in issues demonstrate that there is life beyond ideologies;of ethical, moral and spiritual a social strife. This church is rekin- • dling people’s hopes in numerous encouraging Christians to in- ways, including the following: concern; and • government so as to exemplify develop a policy framework filtrateChristian into principles, key positions values in • influencingfor enhancing the peace, government security, to and practices in their service and fairness in distribution as a way of minimizing the of opportunities and develop- possibility of breeding social strife. providing social assistance When the church becomes faith- mentto orphans, outcomes; widows, disabled ful to its mission of reconciliation • and internally displaced peo- and peace-making, its people and the surrounding society will be poised promoting the principles and to experience God’s abundant bless- ple;practices of social unity, cohe- ings—economically, politically, psy- • sion, mutuality, stewardship, chologically and spiritually. True inclusivity, solidarity, collabo- children of God are committed to ration, cooperation, good gov- the process of tackling violence and ernance and spiritual healing building peace (Mt 5:9). The church through Christian education urgently needs to deepen its understanding of the key drivers of vicious creating and nurturing of cycles of socio-political unrest so andkingdom evangelism; principles, values that it can take appropriate actions • and ideals in the life of indi- in solidarity with and in support of viduals, families, society and peace-building efforts in Burundi and around the world.

the nation at large; ERT (2019) 43:4, 49-61 Are We Free to Pray? On the Freedom Necessary for Petitionary Prayer

Christopher Woznicki

Among Christian spiritual disciplines, compatibilism and libertarianism. few are more fundamental than the Compatibilism claims that the fol- practice of petitionary prayer. In the lowing two premises are both true Sermon on the Mount, Jesus himself and can exist simultaneously: (1) bears witness to the essential nature events are determined by a sover- of this practice (Mt 6:5–15). Here Je- eign God and (2) agents can possess sus assumes that his disciples will the kind of freedom necessary for offer petitionary prayers, and accord- moral responsibility. Libertarianism, ingly he teaches them how to pray on the other hand, contends that the in view of the fact that they have a freedom necessary for moral respon- Father who ‘knows what you need sibility is incompatible with divine before you ask him’ (Mt 6:8). The sig- determinism (i.e. the second prem- - ise is impossible if one assumes the derscored by the widespread Chris- nificancetian practice of petitionary of repeating prayer this is very un freedom necessary for moral respon- prayer as believers ask God to hallow firstsibility premise). is one inMoreover, which an the agent kind can of his name, bring his kingdom to pass, choose between alternative courses provide daily bread, forgive debts and of action, e.g. to vote or not to vote.1 deliver us from temptation. If petitionary prayer is fundamental to Christian living, then freedom 1 must be equally so. Lay Christians do types of compatibilist and libertarian posi- not spend much time thinking about tions, For see a helpful J. P. Moreland introductions and William to different Lane whether we have free will to pray as Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Chris- we wish, but philosophers and theo- tian Worldview, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, logians have expended much effort Timpe, Free Will in Philosophical Theology analysing the nature of human free- IL: IVP Academic, 2017), 300–315; Kevin dom. As a result, a number of theo- Kevin Timpe and Daniel Speak, eds., Free ries have arisen, the most popular of Will(New and York: Theism: Bloomsbury Connections, Academic, Contingencies, 2014); which—very broadly construed—are and Concerns (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).

Christopher Woznicki (MA, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a PhD candidate in theology at Fuller Semi- nary, USA. His research articles have appeared in various journals including the Calvin Theological Jour- nal, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Journal of Reformed Theology, Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, and Philosophia Christi. He currently serves with Young Life in Los Angeles and is an adjunct instructor at Fuller Seminary and Eternity Bible College. 50 Christopher Woznicki

As a Christian philosopher or theo- In this paper, I rebut these philosophers, arguing that libertarian petitionary prayer and freedom—the freedom is not necessary for a robust logianquestion reflects arises upon as to these what subjects— theory of account of petitionary prayer.5 Spe- freedom best comports with our in- - tuitions about petitionary prayer.2 Re- terminism is in fact compatible with cently, some Christian philosophers cifically,an account I claim of petitionary that theological prayer that de have claimed that genuine petitionary aligns with several important intui- prayer is impossible under accounts tions regarding our freedom to pray. of freedom that deny libertarian free In making this argument, I draw upon will. This claim puts Christians who, the philosophical theology of the six- for biblical or confessional reasons, teenth-century Italian Reformer Pe- are committed to compatibilistic the- ter Martyr Vermigli. - I will begin by reviewing recent sition.3 For if these philosophers are claims concerning the necessity of ologicalcorrect, determinismthen such Christians in a difficult would po libertarian freedom for genuine peti- have to either abandon theological tionary prayer. I then turn to Vermig- determinism or admit that petition- li’s account of petitionary prayer as it ary prayer is not possible.4 is articulated in his Loci Communes. I conclude by showing how Vermigli’s account is consistent with three com- 2 mon intuitions many Christians have communication directed towards God that about freedom and prayer: (1) God takes I define the form petitionary of presenting prayer a as request an act for of does some things precisely because some state of affairs x - we have prayed for them, (2) we tion, I believe, refrains from taking a stance to God. This defini freely desire the things we pray for, exactly how our doctrine of God’s providence and (3) we are the cause of our own framesregarding our the understanding efficacy of those of how requests God acts or on in prayers. light of those requests. 3 - terminism because it is also possible to be a I. Libertarian Freedom and complete I refer determinist to ‘compatibilistic’ and deny theological that humans de have any moral responsibility. This form of Petitionary Prayer fatalism is, of course, unacceptable for ortho- In a recent book on petitionary prayer, dox Christians. Hereafter I will refer simply Scott Davison catalogues a number to ‘theological determinism’. of ‘divinity-based challenges’ to pe- 4 Thomas Aquinas’ understanding of petitionary There prayer is some leads question to a combination as to whether of a I will not take sides on this particular issue. ‘no-risk’ view of providence with human lib- See Terrence Tiessen, Providence and Prayer: ertarian freedom. Terrance Tiessen argues How Does God Work in the World? (Downers that in Thomas’ model ‘The timelessness of - God enables him to “foreknow” and to deter- onore Stump, ‘Petitionary Prayer’, American mine creaturely acts without robbing them PhilosophicalGrove, IL: InterVarsity Quarterly Press, 16 (1979): 2000), 86. 190; Ele of libertarianly free agency.’ On the other 5 - hand, Eleonore Stump seems to indicate dis- satisfaction with Thomas’ understanding of am Note merely that arguing I am not that arguing a libertarian that a libertar account prayer because ‘it is hard to see how such a ofian freedom account isof not freedom necessary is incorrect; for a robust rather, ac -I belief is compatible with freedom of the will’. count of petitionary prayer. Are We Free to Pray? 51 titionary prayer. These challenges, S. If the person does not have alterna- based on some characteristic of God, tive possibilities concerning prayer amount to arguments concerning the for S, then that person has not made pointlessness of such prayer. Among an independent contribution to the these challenges he lists omniscience, world. Theological determinism—the impassibility, freedom and provi- view that God’s providence is so com- dence. The last two are especially im- plete and detailed that everything portant for our purposes. When Davi- that happens in the world is uncon- son addresses the issues of freedom ditionally decreed by God—claims and providence, he casually dismisses that once God issues such a decree, - alternative possibilities no longer ex- minism in a matter of one paragraph. theDavison significance begins ofhis theologicaldismissal of deter the that a person praying for S has alter- compatibility between theological nativeist. Specifically, possibilities then, concerning one cannot prayer say determinism and petitionary prayer for S. So, according to Davison’s logic, by quoting John Calvin’s belief that petitionary prayer is impossible given ‘providence is so complete and de- theological determinism. tailed that everything that happens Much like Davison, Eleonore in the world is not just known with Stump also casually dismisses the certainty but also determined from possibility that genuine petitionary eternity.’6 Davison explains that such prayer can be compatible with theo- a view poses a challenge to petition- logical determinism. In her landmark ary prayer because ‘God’s ruling from essay ‘Petitionary Prayer’, Stump ex- eternity is doing all the work in deter- presses an understanding of prayer mining what happens, without any in- that makes petitions consistent with dependent contribution on the part of the belief in an omniscient, omnipo- the petitioners.’7 Furthermore, such a tent and perfectly good God. She does view poses a serious challenge to the this by arguing for a relational model common intuition that our petition- of prayer. ary prayers make an ‘independent Prior to advancing her own posi- contribution to the character of the tion, Stump catalogues several ways world’.8 to provide a consistent account of The assumption underlying Davi- prayer. These include D. Z. Philipps’s son’s view—an assumption that he view that ‘all real petitionary prayer does not articulate explicitly—is that is reducible to the petition, “Thy will for petitionary prayer to make an in- be done” ’, and Keith Ward’s view that dependent contribution to the charac- God is ‘the unknowable, non-denu- ter of the world, then the person pray- merable, ultimate reality, which is not ing must have genuine options as to an entity at all’.9 The problem with whether to pray for a particular thing, these views, Stump correctly notes, is that they no longer operate with the assumptions of ordinary, ortho- 6 Petitionary Prayer: A Philo- dox and traditional views of God and sophical Investigation (New York: Oxford prayer. These revisionist accounts are University Scott Davison, Press, 2017), 19. 7 Petitionary Prayer, 19. 8 Petitionary Prayer, 19. 9 Davison, Davison, Stump, ‘Petitionary Prayer’, 81. 52 Christopher Woznicki of no interest to her because they are lism does. not views according to which some- Davison and Stump are not alone one offers ‘a petitionary prayer freely in treating theological determinism (at least in his own view) of an om- as incompatible with petitionary niscient, omnipotent good God, con- prayer. In describing his ‘Two-Way ceived of in the traditional orthodox Contingency’ account of prayer, Vin- way’. She explains that she wants to cent Brümmer begins by observing that in cases of petitions between are offered freely (in the libertarian human beings, ‘requests are aimed understandingfocus specifically of uponfreedom) prayers because that at persuading the addressee and not ‘if all things are predetermined—and merely expressing the attitude of the worse, if they are all predetermined petitioner.’12 That is, the petitioner by the omnipotent and omniscient aims at persuading the addressee to God to whom one is praying—it is do something other than what the much harder to conceive of a satis- addressee originally intended to do. 10 This Brümmer then applies this observa- decision leads Stump to dismiss the tion about petitions between human factorycontributions justification of Calvin of prayer.’ and Luther to our understanding of prayer be- offered to God, which, he concludes, cause ‘while they may be thoughtful, beingswork in to the his samereflections way. Thaton petitions is, our interesting accounts, they assume God’s complete determination of what we have asked for.13 everything.’11 petitionsDaniel ‘seekand to Francesmove God’ Howard- to fulfil In some sense, Stump’s approach is Snyder make a similar move, arguing more charitable to theological deter- from petitions between human beings minists who want to preserve the sig- to those offered to God. Thus, concerning human petitions they state, Davison’s. Whereas Davison dismiss- ‘In general, our words do not consti- esnificance the compatibility of petitionary of prayerpetitionary than tute the speech act of petitioning if prayer and theological determinism we think that our words won’t make because in such a situation the prayer a difference to whether the petitioned ‘makes no independent contribution does what we ask.’14 Like Brümmer, to the world’, Stump at least recogniz- they conclude that prayer is only gen- es (1) the important contribution of uinely petitionary if it makes a differ- theological determinists to the theol- ence in what God wills to do.15 ogy of petitionary prayer and (2) that it is harder but not necessarily impos- 12 What Are We Doing When We Pray? A Philosophical Inquiry (Lon- petitionary prayer while holding to don: Vincent SCM Press, Brummer, 1984), 29. theologicalsible to conceive determinism. of a justification Neverthe for- 13 What Are We Doing When We less, she also concludes that libertar- Pray? 29. ian freedom makes better sense of 14 Brummer, petitionary prayer than compatibi- Puzzle of Petitionary Prayer’, European Jour- nal Daniel for Philosophy and Frances of Religion Howard-Snyder, 2 (2010): 46. ‘The 15 - 10 tingency Account’ see Christopher Woznicki, 11 ‘What On Are the Weprevalence Doing When of this We ‘Two-Way Pray? Rekin Con- Stump, ‘Petitionary Prayer’, 81. Stump, ‘Petitionary Prayer’, 81. Are We Free to Pray? 53

Clearly, Brümmer’s and the How- Prayer (LAP): ard-Snyders’ views are incompat- LAP: Petitionary prayers are genu- ible with theological determinism. If ine petitionary prayers only if the theological determinism is true, then agent praying and the agent receiv- God has unconditionally decreed eve- ing the prayer possess libertarian rything that will happen in the world. freedom. According to their account of peti- One strength of LAP is that it ful- tionary prayer, however, such prayer is effective only if it persuades God to that many Christians have concern- act in ways other than how he would ingfils petitionary several important prayer. Davison intuitions de- have acted had the prayer not been scribes one of these intuitions when offered. And if God is in fact persuad- he claims that meaningful petitionary ed to act in response to some prayer, prayers must make an ‘independent then it would seem to no longer be contribution to the character of the the case that God acts merely from his world’16—which I take to mean caus- unconditional decree. Rather, God’s ing events to occur that would not actions would be conditioned upon have happened if we had not offered human actions. Thus, theological de- that prayer. Peter Geach makes a simi- terminism seems incompatible with lar assumption when he states that ‘if the view of petitionary prayer advo- X had not prayed, or had prayed oth- cated by several prominent philoso- erwise, God would not have brought phers who have addressed the topic. about situation S.’ 17 This assumption To summarize what we have cov- should not be surprising, since Scrip- ered thus far: some philosophers ture seems to indicate that ‘the sover- of religion assume that petitionary eign Lord does some things precisely prayers are meaningful only if both because we pray for them.’18 God and human beings possess free- A second intuition many Christians have regarding petitionary prayer is petitionary prayer would not meet that we freely desire the things we thedom condition in a libertarian necessary way; for otherwise genuine pray for. To use the language of the petitions, namely that the person pe- Psalms, people bring ‘the desires of titioned can genuinely respond to or their heart’ to God in prayer, hoping be persuaded by prayers. Both par- that God will answer those prayers. ties involved in petitionary prayer, this line of argument contends, must be indeterministically free, and this The things prayed for by person X are ability to choose between alternative X’sA own third desires, intuition not held desires by a number forced courses of action in light of another upon X. person’s course of action is a necessary condition for the meaningful- 16 Petitionary Prayer, 19. ness of petitionary prayer. Let us call 17 God and the Soul (London: this view the Libertarian Account of Routledge Davison, and Kegan, 1969), 88–89. 18 Peter Geach, Knocking on Heaven’s Door: A New Testament Theology of Petition- dling a Reformation Theology of Petitionary ary David Prayer (Grand Crump, Rapids: Baker, 2006), 290 Prayer’, Calvin Theological Journal 53 (2018): (emphasis in the original). Consider for ex- 319–43. ample 2 Kings 20:1–11 and Luke 18:1–8. 54 Christopher Woznicki of Christians is that we are the cause play a role in bringing about what - God has decreed would come about self to pray. LAP easily accords with by those prayers. He appears to be at- thisof our intuition, own prayers; since that LAP is, is I causegrounded my tempting to show how theological dein an indeterministic account of freedom. Can theological determinism also satisfy these three intuitions that terminismbasis in Scripture. fits with the ‘independent easily comport with LAP? contribution’Wolfgang intuitionMusculus that also has sought a firm to address objections to petitionary prayer that arise from theological II. Peter Martyr Vermigli’s determinism. Like Bullinger, Mus- Account of Petitionary Prayer culus realized that, for some people, The question of whether important their understanding of the implica- intuitions about petitionary prayer, tions of God’s sovereignty presented a stumbling block to offering peti- co-exist with a view of providence tions to God. He wrote, ‘We must arm suchaccording as those to which identified God has above, decreed can our minds against the wickedness of all that comes to pass has received them, which do fondly imagine that much attention within the Reformed prayer which is made unto God is tradition. In his Common Places of no purpose, because all things which Christian Religion (1572), Heinrich Bullinger responds to several objec- unprofitable,have been given ineffectual, us of him yea have and been to tions against petitionary prayer. Even already predestined before, and would be given also, though we ask 20 prayer, Bullinger treats an objection not.’ beforethat arises defining from the theological act of petitionary deter- In this statement, Musculus indi- minism: cates his conviction that believers should offer petitionary prayers even There are some that do gather though God has already decreed all that those things must necessarily that can come to pass. Thus, Muscu- come to pass which are decreed by lus denies the claims of LAP. Where, God’s eternal and infallible predes- tination. And therefore, that God, if of prayer? He says that petitionary he has determined anything, can- then,prayer does is an Musculus opportunity find theto exerciseefficacy not by prayer be removed from it. faith. He states that God could ‘lib- … For as much as all things which erally give us all things unasked for God has once decreed must of ne- … but his will is to be called upon of 19 cessity come to pass. his children, to the intent that they Bullinger responds to this objection should practice the assured trust of by claiming that our prayers are ac- their hearts towards him, and be the counted for in God’s decrees and thus more out of doubts of his goodness,

19 Common Places of 20 Common Places of Christian Religion, trans. John Stockwood Christian Religion, trans. John Man (London: (London: Heinrich Thoshaft Bullinger, & H. Middleton, 1572), Henry Wolfgang Bynneman, Musculus, 1578), 1168. Spelling and 163. Spelling and punctuation in all citations punctuation in all citations from this transla- from this translation have been modernized. tion have been modernized. Are We Free to Pray? 55 when they do obtain that, which they mon Places).24 do desire.’21 One issue of pastoral concern that Thus, for Musculus, petitionary Vermigli addresses in the Common prayers are mainly for the sake of Places is that some Christians fail to the person offering the prayer. Calvin pray as often they should because states similarly that God ‘ordained ‘they determine to themselves: Al- [prayer] not so much for his own though I desire not these things, yet sake as for ours’.22 Prayer, says Cal- God will do that, which shall seem vin, leads us to ‘embrace with greater good unto him: neither can his will delight those things we acknowledge be altered by my prayers.’25 This hy- to have been obtained by prayer’ and pothetical scepticism concerning the to ‘meditate upon his kindness more meaningfulness of petitionary prayer ardently’.23 seems to assume LAP. Vermigli is ad- Although various Reformers at- dressing the objection that if God tempted the pastoral task of explain- has already decreed what will come ing how petitionary prayer comports to pass, then prayer is redundant with theological determinism by ap- because (1) God has ordained that pealing to theological principles, the I would pray and (2) God will bring most robust philosophical explana- about what he desires regardless of my prayers. together belongs to Peter Martyr Ver- Vermigli provides two responses to migli.tion of This how Italian these Reformer two concepts is not fitas this sixteenth-century version of LAP. well-known as the other Reformers, First, he says that God calls his peo- - ple to prayer for ‘honour sake, [that] tion was substantial. Fleeing Roman he might attribute the fame unto their Catholicbut his influenceItaly, he made on the his Reforma way to prayers’. How do prayers for things Zurich and eventually to Strasbourg God has determined anyhow bring and Oxford. He held important aca- God honour and fame? It is because demic posts in each of these cities before God responds to prayers he and played a central role in shaping ‘kindles their minds with a desire the Church of England and the con- to obtain those things’ that God has tinental Reformed churches. Despite determined to grant.26 Thus, when a attaining academic prominence, he - never strayed far from his ministerial roots, remaining acutely con- person’s prayer is fulfilled, God is glo cerned with the spiritual well-being 24 The Common Places, trans. Anthonie Marten (London: of growing Christians. This concern Denham Peter and Martyr Middleton, Vermigli, 1574). Spelling and is especially evident in his discussion punctuation in all citations from this trans- of prayer in the Loci Communes (Com- lation have been modernized. The Loci Com- munes are actually a collection of scholia that were collected posthumously into one work. 21 Common Places, 1140. Various authors have noted that Vermigli’s 22 Institutes of the Christian Re- Loci were among one of the most read and ligion Musculus,, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis quoted works of theology in Elizabethan Battles, John 2 Calvin, vols. (Louisville, KY: Westminster England. John Knox, 1960), 3.20.3. 25 Common Places, 300. 23 Institutes 3.20.3. 26 Common Places, 301. Vermigli, Calvin, Vermigli, 56 Christopher Woznicki

Prayer, according to Vermigli, is his or her desire. like these two illustrations. The thing rifiedSince because Vermigli God haswas brought himself about a preacher, it is no surprise that his sec- and a person’s petitionary prayers ond response to the line of thought that God wills to do is the final cause represented by LAP consists of a pair argues, has unconditionally decreed of illustrations from ordinary life. The thatare the the efficientthing prayed cause. for, God, S, will Vermigli come about, and God has also uncondition- who wants to swim in a nearby river. ally decreed the means, X’s prayers, Tofirst get illustration to the river, describes the person a person must by which S will come about. Let us call travel on whatever path leads to the river. The path, Vermigli explains, Causal account of petitionary prayer is not the cause of the person going (VEP).this Vermigli’s Determinist Efficient- VEP: Petitionary prayers are God’s lack powers of mind and strength of unconditionally decreed means by body,to the you river; go afterthere all, in vain.’he says,27 His ‘if secyou- which God brings about his uncon- ond illustration is a schoolmaster ditionally decreed state of affairs. who, to reach a school, must climb a Previously, I observed that LAP easily set of stairs. The stairs, Vermigli ex- comports with three important in- plains, are not the cause of his going tuitions many Christians have about to school. Using Aristotelian causes prayer. Thus, we should now ask to analyse the action, he explains that whether VEP comports with these intuitions as well, for otherwise VEP might not appear to be a viable alter- of‘the the final mind cause and is thehis strengthgoing to ofteach; the native to LAP. body.’and the28 efficient cause is the powers

27 Common Places, 301. III. Vermigli’s Efficient-Causal 28 Common Places, 301. That Ver- Account and Common migli Vermigli, makes use of Aristotelian concepts to Intuitions about Prayer analyze Vermigli, the causes underlying these actions should not be surprising, given his education First, many Christians believe that in the Aristotelian hotbed of Padua. On Ver- God does some things precisely be- migli’s relationship to Aristotelianism, see cause we have prayed for them. This especially Joseph McLelland, ‘Peter Martyr intuition is often born out of the ob- Vermigli: Scholastic or Humanist?’ in Peter Martyr Vermigli and Italian Reform, ed. Jo- seph McLelland (Waterloo, Canada: Wilfrid Emidio Campi and Frank James III (Leiden: Laurier University Press, 1980), 141–51. McClelland explains: ‘More to the point is Martyr Vermigli on Free Will: The Aristote- Martyr’s reliance on Aristotelian categories lianBrill, Heritage 2009), 133–59;of Reformed Luca Theology’, Baschera, Calvin ‘Peter of both ontology and logic. Most obvious is Theological Journal 42 (2007): 325–40. For his use of syllogism and of the fourfold cau- more on Vermigli’s use of an Aristotelian ac- sality and teleology of Aristotle. … Here is a count of causation in relation to the writing free use of Aristotelian and Thomistic form of Scripture, see Jason Zuidema, Peter Martyr and content.’ See also Luca Baschera, ‘Aris- Vermigli (1499–1562) and the Outward In- totle and Scholasticism’, in A Companion to struments of Divine Grace (Gottingen, Germa- Peter Martyr Vermigli, ed. Torrance Kirby, ny: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015), 42–44. Are We Free to Pray? 57 servation that our prayers are some- Helm’s description of what prayer how related to God’s actions that accomplishes in a theologically deter- follow our prayers. This intuition, minist account of freedom can make however, is not only born from our ex- sense of people’s intuition that God does things because we have prayed warranted scripturally. Biblical theo- for them. ‘Because’ here means that logianperience David of prayer; Crump it alsonotes seems that to ‘we be the prayer is an ordained part of the may not be able to twist God’s arm, sequence necessary for the ordained but we can catch his eye and prompt a event to occur. Here Davison might reply.’29 Crump’s observation is based object that in such a situation our on his extensive study of petitionary prayers do not make an ‘independent prayer in the New Testament. contribution to the world’. This may Does VEP comport with this intui- - tion, which has both experiential and cant assumptions about the nature of scriptural backing? Paul Helm thinks providencebe so, but Davison and freedom is making and then signifi dic- tating what sort of account of prayer are convinced that God brings about is necessary to meet those assump- certainso. He firstevents observes because that people Christians ask tions. If one does not accept Davison’s him. Helm then proceeds to examine assumptions about providence and more rigorously what ‘because’ might - mean. He suggests that the word in- tural teaching on God’s sovereignty dicates the possibility of cases where andfreedom, what oneour canintuitions affirm seem both to scrip say about prayer by holding to VEP. indicated that certain events will take A second intuition many Chris- placeprayer only can if bepeople efficacious pray.30 if God has tians hold about prayer is that things Helm uses an example of pray- we pray for are born out of our own ing for rain to show how such an account might work. He asks the reader problematic for Vermigli’s account to assume the ‘all-decreeing’ view of ofdesires. prayer. This Vermigli intuition indicates at first that seems be- God’s providence (what I have called fore granting people what they have theological determinism). He then prayed for, ‘God exceedingly kindles says, ‘In the case of the prayer for rain their minds with a desire to obtain one would have to say that God did those things.’32 not only ordain “from the beginning” feature of VEP seems to undercut the the meteorological sequence that in- notion that we freely At first desire glance, the things this cluded rain on Thursday, but that he for which we pray. also ordained at least one phase of the Consider the following scenario. sequence (the “rain on Thursday”) Shiloh enters the ice cream shop with phase was to follow prayer for rain on her mother, Amelia, hoping her moth- Thursday, and that he also ordained er will buy her a vanilla ice cream the rain because of the prayers.’31 cone. Amelia knows that vanilla is a

ought to order chocolate chip if she is 29 Knocking on Heaven’s Door, 289. terribly plain flavour and that Shiloh 30 Themelios 12, no. 1 (1986): Crump, 23. original). 31 Paul Helm, ‘Asking God’, 32 Common Places, 301.

Helm, ‘Asking God’, 24 (emphasis in the Vermigli, 58 Christopher Woznicki to experience maximal pleasure from With that background, we can ask eating ice cream. Amelia, knowing again: according to VEP, are prayers what is best for Shiloh, decides that born freely from our own desires, or she will give her chocolate chip even are they more like Shiloh ordering ice though Shiloh desires vanilla. How- cream at her mother’s direction? The ever, Amelia wants Shiloh to know answer is that they are not like the that she is a good mother who loves ice cream case. In the case of the ice her, and she wants Shiloh to praise cream, Shiloh’s petition was not spon- her for being a good mother. Accord- ingly, Amelia asks Shiloh to order was not in line with her own desires. chocolate chip. Shiloh does not want Intaneous; our prayers, the desire however, she expressedVermigli would say that our desires are spon- mother, orders it anyhow. taneous. Even though God kindles our thatIn flavour this but,scenario, out of respectmost forpeople her desires for what he himself desires to would conclude that Shiloh did not give us, the petitions we offer to God freely desire chocolate chip ice cream. are in line with our own desires, and Is Vermigli’s insistence that God kin- thus they are spontaneous, making dles or stirs our minds to desire to them voluntary as well. So it appears pray for what he would have given that VEP can meet our second intui- us anyway a comparable scenario? It tion about petitionary prayer. is not, because Vermigli believes that What about our third intuition, freedom is a matter of voluntariness namely that we are the cause of our and that voluntariness is a matter of own petitionary prayers? VEP might spontaneity. run into a problem here since even Vermigli has a broadly Aristotelian our prayers have been uncondition- account of freedom. In his commen- ally decreed. Such a view is problem- tary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Eth- atic if it is interpreted as a version of ics, he interprets Aristotle’s use of the fatalism, which would say that since Greek word hekousion, which is used God determines all things that hap- to describe a particular type of in- pen, God is the sole cause of those tentional action, to mean ‘voluntary’. things. Vermigli’s own understanding Further, Vermigli believes that ‘vol- of God’s providence, however, is not untary’ reduces to a notion of sponta- fatalistic. Vermigli holds that God is 33 An action is spontaneous if its neity. the primary cause of all our actions principle resides in the agent.34 This but that we are secondary causes of means that Vermigli would recognize those actions. an action as voluntary only if that ac- In ‘Whether God Is the Author of tion comes forth from the agent’s own Sin’, Vermigli states that even though principles. ‘nothing happens in the world, not even sins themselves, outside of God’s 33 will and choice or providence’, God is Will’, 329. ‘not by himself and properly the cause 34 Baschera, ‘PeterNicomachean Martyr Vermigli Ethics on, Free3.1. of sin’ (per se et proprie).35 How does There Aristotle explains that ‘counter-voluntary’ See applies Aristotle, to what comes about by external force or because of ignorance. However, that 35 which is voluntary has its origin in oneself. the Author of Sin: Commentary on 2 Samuel Peter Martyr Vermigli, ‘Whether God Is Are We Free to Pray? 59

Vermigli defend this position? First, make sense of the Christian practice he assumes that ‘God is the cause of of petitionary prayer. We saw that LAP all things: inferior things receive the is consistent with several important - intuitions that many Christians have ing to their nature.’36 Second, he rea- about prayer. To be compelling and impulse of the first cause accord persuasive, an alternative account of cause, this does not mean that God prayer should also satisfy these basic sonsremoves that theeven creature’s though God causal is the agen first- intuitions. cy. This is because creatures still act Here I have shown that VEP, an within ‘their own proper motions’, i.e. account of petitionary prayer that there is an element of spontaneity in creatures' actions. In the case of any Peter Martyr Vermigli, can in fact creaturely action, including sin, ‘Our meetfinds these its origin intuitions. in the However, philosophy in the of will does all, God does all, but one course of comparing VEP to our intuitions about prayer we have added an secondary.’37 Furthermore, Vermigli extra feature to the account, namely isbelieves the first that cause since and we theare otherthe sec the- the feature of secondary causation. ondary cause of our actions, they are Therefore, instead of VEP, I propose wilfully performed (because they are the following as an alternative to LAP: spontaneous), and that an action is to Secondary-Causal Account of be evaluated by its proximate cause.38 Given this understanding of pri- Prayer (SCA): Petitionary prayers, mary and secondary causes, Vermigli offered to God spontaneously by would contend that we are the genu- agents who are secondary causes, ine cause of our petitionary prayers, are an unconditionally decreed since we are acting freely and are means by which God enacts his responsible for the prayers offered. unconditionally decreed state of affairs. are the cause of our own prayers. If the argument presented here is cor- Thus, VEP fulfils our intuition that we rect, then libertarian freedom is not necessary to offer genuine petition- IV. Conclusion ary prayers to God. Rather, petitionary I began the analysis in this essay by prayer is compatible with theological observing that according to some determinism. (I am not so bold as to philosophers of religion, a libertarian - account of freedom is necessary to lutely correct account of petitionary prayer,insist that but SCA it isis theboth definitive, plausible abso and consistent with important, scriptur- 16’, in Philosophical Works: On the Relation of ally grounded intuitions about what Philosophy to Theology, ed. and trans. Joseph we are doing when we pray and why McLelland (Kirksville, MO: Truman State our prayers are meaningful.) University Press, 1996), 224. 36 Sin’, 239. 37 Vermigli, ‘Whether God Is the Author of V. Coda: Pastoral Implications Sin’, 240. The work of pastors indisputably 38 Vermigli, ‘Whether God Is the Author of involves praying for their congrega- Sin’, 228. tion, due to pastors’ responsibility to Vermigli, ‘Whether God Is the Author of 60 Christopher Woznicki

will not hear our prayers, or (3) the and due to their love for the people belief that our prayers will not make a beseechentrusted God to their on behalf care. ofThis their pastoral flock difference anyhow, because God’s de- responsibility includes both public crees are unconditional and nothing and private occasions of prayer, such as worship services, personal inter- A pastor cannot generate spiritual cession, and prayer as part of pastoral we say will influence him. visitations. However, in addition to ofthis is the Holy Spirit’s job. But a pas- fering their own prayers, pastors are fervourtor can incertainly the life ofaddress a congregation; incorrect responsible for teaching and exhort- beliefs that prevent fervent practices of prayer, such as believing that our In his classic treatment of pastoral prayers do not make a difference. As ingministry, the flock Richard to pray. Baxter writes: we have seen in this essay, a number Go occasionally among them, when of Reformers were concerned with they are likely to be most at leisure, addressing Christians who struggled and ask the master of the family, to pray because they believed that whether he prays with them, and God’s unconditional decrees invali- reads the Scripture, or what he doth? Labour to convince such as prayer. dated the significance of petitionary have the opportunity, pray with neglectthem before this of you their go, sin; and and set ifthem you eternalWhy areand Christians unconditional tempted decrees? to find an example of what you would prayerI would superfluous suggest that in one light reason of God’s has have them do.39 to do with an implicit belief in LAP. Some Christians might reason that if At times, Baxter says, the pastor the only meaningful kind of petitionary prayer is LAP, then the incompat- practice of prayer and study because ibility between LAP and theological willof ignorance find that familiesor ‘want will of neglect practice’. this determinism would render their When this happens, the pastor ought prayers ineffective. Furthermore, to help them ‘learn to do better as 40 some Christians might assent to a speedily as possible’. doctrine of theological determin- The duty to teach Christians to ism and yet at the same time operate pray is an often-neglected aspect of with a notion of prayer that is more pastoral practice. Christians across - all times and places know that prayer influencedglance LAP byseems LAP to than make by petitionary their doc with Christ, yet they still struggle to trine of providence, because at first ispray. crucial There to aare flourishing several common relationship rea- the evidence is anecdotal, I have often prayersheard people more in efficacious. Reformed Althoughchurches of spiritual fervour, (2) fear that God encourage others to pray as though sons for this difficulty, such as (1) lack - 39 The Reformed Pastor, ological determinism—was not true. or the Duty of Personal Labors for the Souls ReformedIf what theology—specificallyI have argued for in thethis of Men Richard (New Baxter,York: American Tract Society, essay is correct, then prayer in the 1829), 157. Reformed tradition is still meaning- 40 The Reformed Pastor, 157, 158. ful even though this tradition does

Baxter, Are We Free to Pray? 61

- - tify with a Reformed understanding cant, the denial of LAP and the accept- not affirm LAP. If pastors who iden- thatance prayer of SCA resultis in some in a recognition sense insignifi that prayer matters immensely. Prayer is of double-mindednessprovidence want to whenfulfil theirit comes re the way in which God involves us in tosponsibility petitionary to prayer—i.e. disabuse their assenting flocks his work of ruling over creation. intellectually to theological determin- What this means, practically speak- ism but praying as though LAP were ing, is that God has ordained prayer to looking back to the theology of Re- the cultural mandate of Genesis 1. formerstrue—then like they Peter would Martyr benefit Vermigli. from beAccording one way to in thewhich opening Christians chapters fulfil Doing so would not only help to ad- of Genesis, God himself is king and dress objections that commonly arise human beings serve as God’s repre- because of an implicit belief in LAP sentatives and agents in the world. but would also provide strong jus- Richard Middleton explains: ‘The imago Dei SCA. My Secondary-Causal Account or calling of human beings as God’s tification for accepting a view like representatives designates and theagents royal in office the world, granted authorized power to role that our prayers play in God’s share in God’s rule or administration accomplishmentof Prayer emphasizes of his thewise significant and sov- of earth’s resources and creatures.’42 ereign plans. In fact, SCA tells us that When we pray, we participate in God’s God views our prayers as an essential rule on earth. If congregations were component of bringing about his will to understand the weightiness of this in this world. concept—one that aligns precisely Bruce Ware states this point well: with SCA—then perhaps they would ‘Although God is fully capable of “do- no longer fail to pray because of igno- ing it on his own”, nonetheless, he rance or want of practice. enlists people to join him in the work that alone is his. And one of the chief means that he employs for our par- of God’, in For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays ticipation with him in this work is in Honor of John Piper, ed. Sam Storms and prayer.’41 Instead of leading to a belief Justin Taylor (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 139. 42 The Liberating Image 41 (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005), 27–28. Richard Middleton, Bruce Ware, ‘Prayer and the Sovereignty ERT (2020) 44:1, 62-71 Caring about the Persecuted Church: Balancing the Lessons of Romans 13 and Revelation 13

Thomas K. Johnson

In 2007 a young Turkish man, the fa- I. Two New Testament ther of two children, was planning to take a theology class that I was sched- Passages about Governments uled to teach when he was brutally The New Testament has much to say martyred. Two other Christians, one about these issues. In the New Testa- Turkish and one German, were also views of the state or of government, their Bible printing shop in Turkey. mentand we we must can find keep two both complementary of them al- murderedAll three were with cut him up with in the knives. office of ways in mind as we practice Chris- Shocked and angry, I became deep- tian discipleship and seek to aid our ly involved in reporting on and draw- - ing attention to this terrible incident. cult and dangerous situations. Afterwards, I felt compelled (by God, brothersOn one and hand, sisters Romans who live13:1–7 in diffi describes what a state should be and do: how Christians continue to experi- Let everyone be subject to the gov- Ience think) discrimination, to reflect morepersecution deeply and on erning authorities, for there is no sometimes even martyrdom in many authority except that which God countries around the world. This re- has established. The authorities that exist have been established different types of governments that by God. Consequently, whoever re- flectionexist around included the world, thinking since about govern the- bels against the authority is rebel- ments usually have some important ling against what God has institut- role in relation to discrimination and ed, and those who do so will bring persecution and are often the direct judgment on themselves. For rul- perpetrators. I also contemplated our ers hold no terror for those who do international duties within the body right, but for those who do wrong. of Christ, since we live in a globalized Do you want to be free from fear of world in which we can learn almost the one in authority? Then do what instantly about—and also try to in- is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s places. servant for your good. But if you do fluence—events happening in distant wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They

Thomas K. Johnson is Senior Advisor to the WEA Theological Commission and the WEA’s Special Envoy to the Vatican. Engaging with Friendly and Unfriendly States 63

are God’s servants, agents of wrath and they also worshiped the beast to bring punishment on the wrong- and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? doer. Therefore, it is necessary to Who can wage war against it?’ The submit to the authorities, not only beast was given a mouth to utter because of possible punishment proud words and blasphemies and but also as a matter of conscience. to exercise its authority for forty- This is also why you pay taxes, for two months. It opened its mouth to the authorities are God’s servants, blaspheme God, and to slander his who give their full time to govern- name and his dwelling place and ing. Give to everyone what you owe those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; ifthem. And it was given authority our.revenue, then revenue; if respect, over every tribe, people, language In thenthis passage,respect; Paulif honour, instructs then Chris hon- and nation. All inhabitants of the tians that they should generally obey earth will worship the beast—all the law and pay our taxes. His mes- whose names have not been writ- sage might have been somewhat dis- ten in the Lamb’s book of life, the concerting amidst the unstable and Lamb who was slain from the crea- often capricious governance of the tion of the world. Whoever has Roman Empire, but it is usually not ears, let them hear. ‘If anyone is to hard to obey for those who live in go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed protection of human rights and where with the sword, with the sword freethe rule countries, of law prevails.where we have official they will be killed.’ This calls for On the other hand, Revelation patient endurance and faithfulness 13:1–10 depicts what a state or a on the part of God’s people. government can become when every- Revelation tells us that a state can be- thing goes wrong: come a devouring beast, destroying The dragon stood on the shore of everything in its path and attacking the sea. And I saw a beast coming Christians with especially demonic out of the sea. It had ten horns and hatred. This was not only the experi- seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blas- under the persecutions by Nero in the phemous name. The beast I saw ence of the church in the first century, resembled a leopard, but had feet is also the experience of tens of mil- like those of a bear and a mouth sixtieslions of and Christians Domitian today. in the eighties; it like that of a lion. The dragon In 2015, I was actively involved in gave the beast his power and his the preparations for, and I then at- throne and great authority. One tended, the historic global consulta- of the heads of the beast seemed tion in Tirana, Albania on the perse- to have had a fatal wound, but the cution of Christians. When someone fatal wound had been healed. The at the consultation claimed that the - slaughter of Christians then taking der and followed the beast. People place in Syria and Iraq should be wholeworshiped world the was dragon filled because with won he called genocide, no one disagreed. On had given authority to the beast, the contrary, Christians from other 64 Thomas K. Johnson countries responded by saying that honestly love fellow Christians who what was happening in their nations live under a variety of beasts. We have should be considered genocide too! a lot to learn. As recently as 2015, multiple Chris- We should also contemplate what tian genocides were occurring at the learning to love Christians who live hands of beastly governments. under the beast will do for us. I sup- Today, Christians in many coun- pose that many of us who do not tries are under direct attack, or fac- encounter persecution on a regular ing the imminent threat of attack, by basis are a bit lukewarm about the either oppressive governments or un- gospel. We take the gospel and the restrained religious extremists. The church for granted, as if they are not beast of Revelation 13 is not just a - the beast gaging with persecuted Christians is is with us! sothat special. it may One break benefit us out of honestlyof our spir en- realityIn this from light, ancient those history; of us who are itual lethargy. How can one remain not under threat—those who live in unmoved when hearing or reading nations where the government gen- stories of martyrdom, or of tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters 13—need to carefully consider the challengingerally fulfils words Paul’s visionof Jesus in Romansin John actually responding to their plight by 13:34–35: ‘A new command I give inseeking Christ to fleeing change for the their situation lives? Andfor you: Love one another. As I have loved persecuted believers could have an you, so you must love one another. By even greater effect on us! this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ engagement with persecuted Chris- A generation ago, the great Chris- tiansAn may additional prepare benefit us to is deal that more such tian philosopher Francis Schaeffer effectively with emerging problems taught us that visible love is the mark in our own countries. In stable de- of a Christian, basing his teaching on mocracies, we do not have thousands these words of Jesus in John 13.1 Jesus has given our unbelieving neighbours, we do sometimes face real and seri- ofous people discrimination fleeing for on theiraccount lives, of our but called ‘everyone’ here, the astonish- 2 ing right to evaluate our claim to be faith. disciples of Jesus. They are to make And none of us know what the this evaluation on the basis of our future may hold for those who en- love for fellow Christians. Therefore, joy freedom of religion today. Many this love must be more than a feel- Christians now facing severe persecution did not expect it in their coun- ining; need. it must In our become globalized visible society, through we 2 needsacrificial to consider action forvery fellow deeply Christians what it gay rights movement has challenged the legal means for Christians everywhere to status An example of some Christianwould be institutions the way the because radical they teach traditional values. Discrimination against Christians in the free world is usually 1 The Mark of the because of the application of Christian ethics Christian (L’Abri Fellowship, 1970), now to public questions, not because of attending available See Francis from InterVarsity Schaeffer, Press. a worship service. Engaging with Friendly and Unfriendly States 65 tries just a short time ago. In some protections, I believe we can see a gen- parts of the world, discrimination has evolved into persecution, which leads biblical themes that were assumed in to martyrdom. So getting involved eral pattern. I see the influence of the with Christians who face persecution the cultures and education systems of may equip us for future uncomforta- Romansthese countries, 13 as upstream helping influences to produce in ble events in our own settings. More- the current experience of freedom over, this love in action, demonstrated and human rights protection. It is not by Christians for their brothers and by accident that some countries enjoy sisters in other lands, will be noticed freedom and other countries do not. by a watching world, leading some In the countries where the people to consider Jesus whose disciples we enjoy freedom, even if the populace have proved to be. does not widely acknowledge Jesus as their Saviour, there has usually been II. Analysing the Biblical Texts key ideas from the Bible within the In Romans 13, Paul presents a very somelast few significant hundred influenceyears. This of is a fewthe compressed version of a political theory that merits extensive explana- felt in the political sphere. tion beyond what I can give here. Let culturalI refer influence to this part of theof the Bible world being as me note simply that Paul assumed ‘the Romans 13 world’. People in these several other themes and texts in lands believe that there is a realm of the Bible. For example, he assumed life that does not belong to Caesar. what Jesus said in Matthew 22:21: They may believe that those who gov- ‘So give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, ern them—the modern equivalents and to God what is God’s.’ Paul also of Pontius Pilate—are accountable assumed what Jesus said to Pilate in to God for their actions. They may John 19:11: ‘You would have no pow- believe that people have a special dig- er over me if it were not given to you nity, even if they do not know where from above.’ And Paul clearly thought this dignity comes from. They believe that most people serving in govern- 3 ment can distinguish between good should obey written laws. and evil, so that usually states can that even top government officials punish the evil and reward the good 3 - in a meaningful, reliable fashion, even rmacher for the WEA’s Religious Liberty if very imperfectly. Still other biblical Commission, In a report I read prepared a fascinating by Thomas account Schir of assumptions underpin what both Je- sus and Paul said about government: heard that Christians prayed the communists the fact that we are created in God’s outan officialof power from in CommunistEast Germany China in the who 1980. had image, the fallen nature of each human being, the existence of an objec- also pray the Chinese communists out of tive moral law, and the authority of This official was afraid that Christians would- written documents. ence of a biblical theme, the direct account- abilitypower! of I seeall people this as toan God, example even ofamong the influ peo- When we consider where in the ple who do not yet acknowledge that they world today Christians and others believe in God—in this case, a Chinese com- religion and other basic human rights to profess atheism. enjoy a significant level of freedom of munist official who was probably obligated 66 Thomas K. Johnson

As for Revelation 13, there have rienced, but presented in such a man- been so many wildly speculative ner as to prepare future Christians for theories about the beast, the dragon, what would happen again. and the antichrist that responsible John also mentions a false prophet theologians may hesitate to address these themes at all. That would be a to the redevelopment of emperor mistake. I cannot offer a complete in- worshiplater in Revelation; at his time I inthink history. this refersSome terpretation of the book of Revelation people within the Roman Empire here, but I think that the apostle John were afraid that the empire would was giving us a pictorial interpreta- completely fall apart, leading to chaos tion of the events of his time, with the and poverty. They thought that the goal of helping believers throughout religion of emperor worship, along history to respond to similar events. with a very powerful emperor, would In the 30 years before John wrote this text around 95 AD, as already unify and save their society. The re- noted, Christians had endured two ligion of emperor worship served as waves of persecution, under the em- perors Nero and Domitian.4 Though an all-powerful emperor. Those who there were probably differences be- covetedan ideological social stabilityjustification hoped for that having the tween the two, in both cases the Ro- Roman Empire would take control of man Empire became beast-like. The everything external in society while the religion of emperor worship Nero, probably lasted about forty-two would get inside people’s hearts and months,first period until ofhis persecution,death and a change under minds, leaving no place that belonged of government. Tradition claims that only to God and not to Caesar. In this both Peter and Paul were martyred way, the false prophet, representing under Nero, making it an especially false religion, gave spiritual support painful time for Christians. I think the to a beastly government. apostle John lost trusted friends dur- In this context, the central creed ing Nero’s persecution. John viewed of the early Christians, their profes- both persecutions as ultimately insti- sion that ‘Jesus is Lord’, was precisely gated by Satan, who is represented by the opposite of and an explicit denial the dragon. The beasts of Revelation of the central creed of emperor wor- were not part of the author’s prophetic vision of some mysterious time in claimed to be lord of everything in ship, ‘Caesar is lord’. Both figures- what the churches had already expe- plete worldview and approach to life. the future; they were his depiction of Whenlife; both the were combination foundations of the of Romana com 4 Empire and emperor worship became book of Revelation not around AD 95 but in totalitarian, claiming the people’s about Some AD have 68, beforeproposed the thatdestruction John wrote of Jeru the- whole heart, mind, and life, it came salem. Following what I take to be the view of into complete spiritual and moral Irenaeus (AD 132–202), I think that the later - date is more likely, but this question has little effect on the theme of this message, except cal message. that John would not yet have experienced conflict with Christians and the bibli Domitian’s persecution. Engaging with Friendly and Unfriendly States 67

III. Contemporary Examples freedom research in Istanbul, Turkey. At the 2015 Tirana consultation, I Many had perceived that the persecu- heard a Christian woman from Syria, tion of Christians in many countries Rosangela Jarjour, describe what - she had undergone and observed in searchers and activists gathered to the preceding few years. Her heart- wasdiscuss getting the worse,problems. so about We fiftyquickly re wrenching message on the horrors realized that Christians from around she had experienced there reminds us the world and across traditions with- that the beast of Revelation 13 is not in Christendom needed to cooperate much more extensively in respond- (or supposed state) acting like a de- ing to growing persecution. So the onlyvouring ancient beast history;is the daily rather, experience a state World Evangelical Alliance, working of many Christians today. with the Vatican, the World Coun- As I listened to Rosangela, I wished cil of Churches, and the Pentecostal I could tell her that the persecution World Fellowship, called for a meet- of her group of Christians would last ing of representatives of persecuted only another few months, because churches, which became the 2015 it would not exceed the forty-two- Tirana consultation. Because we were month period referred to in the book concerned about an ISIS attack, we held this meeting secretly in Albania. Revelation a promise that all severe About seventy representatives from ofpersecutions Revelation. will But end I do in not forty-two find in countries where the church is under months. Maybe John was referring to - the length of the period of intense per- resentatives of churches in the free secution that occurred under Nero in strainworld attended. and about seventy-five rep In preparation for Tirana, I ed- is symbolic (perhaps recalling similar ited materials for distribution to the thelanguage first century; in the book maybe of Daniel).the reference But I delegates. As part of this effort, we don’t think we can promise any spe- combed through information and analysis from evangelical and Roman their time of tribulation will end after Catholic researchers (primarily the cificthree group and a of half suffering years. Christians that evangelical organization Open Doors What I am sure of is that today mil- and the Catholic agency Aid to the lions of Christians are living under Church in Need) on the status and the beast, in a Revelation 13 world causes of persecution in countries that is overtly hostile to Christian- around the world. Some of the stories ity, while others live in a Romans 13 I read made me sick. One day I quickly world, enjoying freedoms that are reminded myself of where my waste- - basket was, in case I began vomiting ence. And Jesus has told us that the at my desk. But I also became much partlywatching the world result will of know the Bible’s that we influ are more deeply aware of important pat- disciples of Jesus by the way in which terns in global persecution. At that we Christians—including those two time, in thirty-nine of the countries groups of Christians with very differ- on the Open Doors World Watch List ent life experiences—love each other. In 2013, I participated in an in- it is most dangerous to be a Chris- ternational consultation on religious (whichtian), some ranks type the of fifty Islamic nations extremism where 68 Thomas K. Johnson was one of the main sources of per- not know much about their theol- secution. In several other countries, ogy, ethics, and worship, we can pray the leading cause was some type of for them. Praying for them—and let- Hindu or Buddhist nationalism. In a ting them know, where possible, that few places, organized crime or sim- we are praying for them—responds ple corruption was the primary prob- to the two requests that persecuted lem. The country rated as engaging in Christians communicated most pas- the worst persecution of Christians sionately and consistently at the Ti- at that time was a communist state, North Korea. themes is the fear that they will be In the past few years, I have met ranaforgotten conference. or abandoned The first by of other these representatives of persecuted Chris- Christians. They do not want to die for tians from some surprising places— their faith without other Christians surprising in the sense that I did not knowing about their martyrdom. The expect those people to be able to second theme is their prayer request travel so freely: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Ne- for boldness in witness and proclama- pal, Kurdistan, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, tion while many of their members are Cambodia and China. But I have never being killed. I have heard people say, met a Christian from North Korea. ‘Pray that we would be bold till we Not many Christians from North Ko- die, so that there will still be a church rea are able to travel to tell their story, in our country to bring the gospel to but the reports I have heard suggest our neighbors after this time of per- that the combination of communism secution is past.’ I think it is appropri- with a personality cult makes a fero- ate to include prayer for persecuted cious beast. Christians in private, in our families, What should we do about these and in our regular congregational situations? What is the duty of love prayers, as well as to have special that Christians in the Romans 13 Lord’s days dedicated to prayer for world owe to Christians in the Reve- the persecuted churches. lation 13 world? One of the purposes The second matter of urgency that of the meeting in Albania was to en- confronted us in Tirana was to ad- able leaders of the persecuted church dress our tragic Christian history of to address Christians from the rest of internal intra-Christian persecution. the world directly, helping them to All too often, we Christians have been develop better to-do lists and express not just the persecuted but the per- their love and concern in visible, secutors as well! At the suggestion of practical, effective ways. Pope Francis, our Roman Catholic col- The Tirana conferees eventually leagues took the lead in asking us to developed two to-do lists, one oriented towards churches and the other persecuted each other and other re- towards the world. I think these lists affirm,ligious ‘Wecommunities repent of havingin history, at times and are extremely valuable and must be ask forgiveness from each other and implemented in our circles. But two pray for new ways of following Christ matters seemed to be of preeminent together.’ importance. The evangelicals and Protestants present at Tirana readily accepted persecuted churches. Even if we do this repentance while also confess- Our first duty is to pray for the Engaging with Friendly and Unfriendly States 69 ing their own failings. I see this as a tries. The consultation called on: result of the work of the Holy Spirit. All persecutors who discriminate This achievement was of extreme against and oppress Christians and value, and by itself it made the time violate human rights to cease their and treasure invested in the meetings worthwhile. The message may not yet human beings to life and dignity. have reached every local community abuse, and to affirm the right of all yet, but in principle, internal Chris- All governments to respect and protect the freedom of religion and Some other themes in our Tirana belief of all people as a fundamen- to-dotian persecution lists are important should be finished!and must tal human right. We also appeal to be implemented. With regard to our governments and international or- relationships with fellow Christians, ganisations to respect and protect we said: Christians and all other people of In communion with Christ we com- goodwill from threats and violence mit ourselves: committed in the name of religion. In addition, we ask them to work a) To listen more to the experi- for peace and reconciliation, to ences of Christians, Churches, and seek the settlement of on-going of all those who are discriminated against and persecuted, and deep- arms, especially to violators of hu- en our engagement with suffering manconflicts, rights. andAll tomedia stop to the report flow in of communities. an appropriate and unbiased way b) To pray more for Churches, on violations of religious freedom, Christians, and for all those suf- including the discrimination and fering discrimination and persecu- persecution of Christians as well tion, as well as for the transforma- as of other faith communities. tion of those who discriminate and All educational institutions to de- persecute. velop opportunities and tools to c) To speak up more with re- teach young people in particular spect and dignity, with a clear and about human rights, religious tol- strong voice together, on behalf of erance, healing of memories and those who are suffering. hostilities of the past, and peaceful d) To do more in mutual under- reconciliation. solidarity and support for healing, means of conflict resolution and reconciliation,standing to find and effective for the religious ways of Representatives of almost all the freedom of all oppressed and per- organizationsThese words in arethe veryworld significant. that call secuted people. themselves Christian churches were Our second to-do list emerging from calling on the other main institutions the Tirana consultation was oriented in society, government, media, and towards the world, calling for the education to take up their proper types of actions that should, in my roles to reduce the persecution of opinion, help gradually—over the Christians and related human rights very long term—to change Revelation abuses. This is not something we can 13 countries into Romans 13 coun-

do in five minutes after church. This 70 Thomas K. Johnson requires serious long-term efforts by and longer reports about the people responsible for our churches, countries where religious per- government, media and educational secution is extreme. Also, the institutions. And, I believe, these du- International Institute for Re- ties fall especially on those Christians ligious Freedom (http://iirf. and church groups who have a rich eu) contains a substantial and intellectual and educational history growing body of serious lit- on which they can draw to strategize erature that addresses many how to express effective love for per- dimensions of the problem. - 3. Learn more about human ernment, media and education. rights documents and princi- secutedAs I said Christians earlier, in the the governments fields of gov ples and what they say about in the Romans 13 world usually have religious freedom. At least since the United Nations en- - dorsed the Universal Declara- someence what important they decide moral to influencesdo today. tion of Human Rights (1948), upstreamIn many or that most continue countries towith influ re- freedom of religion has been ligious freedom, somewhere in the regarded as an important hu- last 200 years, biblical themes made man right, even if many nations ignore it. It would be a human dignity or of freedom of con- worthwhile step if all Chris- ascience. significant We haveimpact to useon discussions the realms of tians knew something about church, government, media and edu- human rights. cation to try to make that happen for 4. Find out what your govern- Christians in the Revelation 13 world. ment says and does with re- Many researchers think that the per- gard to religious freedom secution of Christians around the and persecution. Do not be world has become worse than at any surprised if your government time in recent history. Multiple beasts is not completely consistent are rearing their heads. We must use with its own principles. Ask all legitimate means to respond. implementing their own prin- yourciples public in both officials domestic if they and are IV. You Can Do Something foreign policy. The global persecution of Christians 5. If you are associated with a feels like such a big problem that one school or university, encour- may wonder how to make a meaning- age your institution to hold ful impact. Just what can you or your an educational event and/or church do? Let me give some sugges- encourage advocacy activities tions: on behalf of human rights and 1. Pray! religious freedom. 2. Start to read about the prob- 6. Ask your church to develop a lem. My favourite source for partnership with a particular reliable information is the persecuted church. World Watch List (accessible The very location of our 2015 Ti- via www.opendoorsusa.org), rana consultation on discrimination, which provides both shorter persecution, and martyrdom should Engaging with Friendly and Unfriendly States 71 be a source of encouragement to changed with the end of communism, everyone who thinks the plight of and now Albania enjoys a good level persecuted Christians is beyond our of freedom of religion. Severe perse- ability to have an impact. We came to cution eventually comes to an end, Albania partly for security reasons, and freedom often returns. but also to celebrate the wonderful Please take a moment now to pray change that has occurred there. Un- for the persecuted church and ask der its former communist regime, God what he would have you do about Albania would have been near the top this issue, which should be a high of the list of persecuting countries. priority for any Christian who is con- For many years during that country’s cerned for the welfare of the whole totalitarian period, it was essentially body of Christ. illegal not to be an atheist. But this ERT (2020) 44:1, 72-73 The WEA’s 2019 General Assembly: Energy and Urgency

Bruce Barron, ERT editor

During preparations for the World percent of the church unmobilized. Evangelical Alliance’s General As- (For the WEA’s toolkit of resources sembly (GA) on November 7–12 near to encourage discipling, see https:// Jakarta, Indonesia, some leaders pro- tpsweb.site/wea/.) posed calling for a ‘decade of disciple Programme developers under- making’. Others questioned the wis- scored the need to share evangelical dom of declaring that for the next ten truths effectively with the next gener- years we will do something that we ation by giving ninety minutes of ple- should be doing all the time. (When nary presentation time to Tan Seow we reach 2030, will we stop making How, pastor of a Singapore church disciples and move on to something whose 4,000 attenders have an aver- else?) age age of twenty-two. How detailed I was one of the skeptics, but the his approach to youth empowerment, conference won me over. The pro- contending that many churches are gramme team, with its thoughtful led by ‘alphas’ who prefer to main- approach to holistic, intergenera- tain control and ‘will not allow spir- tional disciple making, demonstrated itual children to grow up and come that the idea of a decade of empha- to maturity’. Few congregations can sis would be useful. After all, there implement all of How’s creative is ample evidence that most Chris- youth-focused methodology, but any tians don’t take discipling seriously congregation can encourage all its enough. members to reach out intentionally to Indonesian leader Bambang Budi- youth and can more fully incorporate janto highlighted the need. After ten youths’ voice. years in the United States as Com- Those present in Indonesia includ- passion’s regional vice president for Asia, Budijanto returned to Indonesia to discover that no one had reliable edobserver: the first Msgr Catholic Juan ever Usma-Gómez, to attend a data on how the Indonesian church WEA General Assembly as an official- was doing. So he helped to found the cal Council for Promoting Christian Bilangan Research Center, a sort of bureauUnity. ‘I chief yearn for for the the Vatican’s day when Pontifi all Indonesian equivalent to the Barna Catholics will be evangelical and all Research Group in the US. evangelicals will be catholic’, Usma- Barna has reported that only 20 Gómez said. (See the January Theo- percent of US Christians are involved logical News on the WEA website for in discipling. Budijanto found a more an interview with Usma-Gómez.) encouraging result—40 percent— The WEA introduced a four-point in Indonesia. But that still leaves 60 pledge to uphold evangelical essen- Influence of the Bible on Care for Creation 73 tials, be authentic followers of Jesus, WEA International Council’s superbly nurture intergenerational leadership, equipped leader—Goodwill Shana, a and link the organization’s global Zimbabwean lawyer and megapastor focus with national-level impact by who has played a major role in consti- tutional development in his country— That last point is especially stra- to the 8,000 Indonesian Christians strengtheningtegic. Beyond theits nationalcall to discipleship, affiliates. who inserted a spirit of celebration the most pervasive theme at the Gen- into the opening session. Meanwhile, eral Assembly was the need for unity WEA global ambassador Brian Stiller and mutual support. On one hand, indefatigably reminded people that delegates from around the world the recent numbers look promising, recognized the WEA’s value in giving despite our struggles in the West. By a global identity to evangelicals, es- his count, in 1960 there were about pecially in countries where they are beleaguered and small in number. the world and now there are 600 mil- As Nik Nedelchek, who went from lion.90 million (For an identifiable explanation evangelicals of how that in smuggling Bibles in Bulgaria under growth happened, see his 2018 book Soviet control to heading the Euro- From Jerusalem to Timbuktu.) pean Evangelical Alliance and is now The WEA is a highly energized un- the WEA’s ambassador to Orthodox dertaking, so massive in scope and so churches, put it: ‘Diplomatic recog- decentralized that it’s hard for any nition is important for a group that individual to keep up with. Tendero, used to be seen as a sect.’ who displayed a map showing that he On the other hand, the WEA could had visited forty-two countries since do more practically to support na- 2016, believes that the appointment tional alliances. Tendero vowed that this situation will change, citing sev- of two deputy secretaries general— eral planned initiatives. The most Godfrey Yogarajah for ministries and substantial among them is the WEA’s Ray Swatkowski for operations—has new Global Institute of Leadership, been very helpful. In any case, despite developed in conjunction with Bakke its relatively limited resources, the Graduate University, which will help WEA is doing amazing work on behalf national alliances self-assess and of the world’s estimated 600 million then grow through training in board evangelicals. governance, leadership skills, com- You can learn more about what the WEA does by reading Tendero’s State sustainability and public service en- of the Movement message, starting munication,gagement. The vision WEA casting, also hopes financial that on the next page. After that comes its stronger national alliances will Thomas K. Johnson’s presentation on mentor weaker ones, or even help to Christianity: Fun- start evangelical alliances in many of damental Teachings, the book on the the sixty-two countries that don’t cur- essentialsthe significance of Christianity of published rently have one. last year with participation by all ma- For Westerners experiencing a jor Christian groups in Turkey. (See church in decline, it was inspiring the July 2018 ERT for Thomas Schir- to see such vibrancy of faith emerg- rmacher’s message upon the initial ing across the Global South, from the release of this book.) ERT (2020) 44:1, 74-80 The State of the Evangelical Movement

Efraim Tendero Greetings! It is a great joy to be here Paul defended the Gospel before gov- with you. We are especially grateful to ernors of the Roman Empire, we rep- the Indonesian Evangelical Alliance resent the gospel before national gov- and Pastor Niko Njotorahardjo for ernments and at the United Nations. their exceptional generosity in host- We pray diligently for the church ing our General Assembly. around the world and feel an espe- In my role as Secretary General, cially great burden for the churches I think often about the apostle Paul that are remaining faithful to God in and his ministry as recorded in his dangerous circumstances. And just as New Testament letters and the book Paul’s work was meaningless unless of Acts. Paul traveled throughout the Christian world of his day, enduring WEA can do nothing unless we have great hardships to encourage believ- thestrong local national churches alliances. flourished, so the ers. This is especially true because we Paul knew that all his efforts would are not a top-down organization. We be in vain if the local churches did not have no hierarchical leadership. The prosper. He referred to the churches WEA is respected and treated as an important voice at the global level Thess 2:19). He prayed earnestly for only because of the cumulative voice as his ‘joy and crown’ (Phil 4:1; 1 and effectiveness of evangelical alli- felt a deep, daily emotional burden ances in countries around the world. themfor the (Eph churches 1:16–19; (2 Cor 3:14–19). 11:28). And He Our vision as the WEA is to unite he was especially concerned to see evangelicals globally for Gospel trans- the church function together in unity. formation. This is a collective effort. This theme is very prominent in 1 The WEA works only because all of us Corinthians and Ephesians and per- are committed to active participation vades even his personal communica- in a global network of evangelicals tions, such as when he begs Euodia that produces unity, Gospel witness, and Syntyche to quit squabbling in and discipleship. Philippians 4:2. In our global organization, nearly The World Evangelical Alliance everyone raises his or her own sup- today is a lot like Paul. We travel all port or serves on a volunteer basis. over the world, seeking to support, Nevertheless, the commitment level unite, and empower believers. Just as of our global, regional, and national

Efraim Tendero is Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance and Bishop Emeritus of the Alliance Bible Christian Churches of the Philippines. He delivered this address on November 8, 2019 at the WEA General Assembly in Bogor, Indonesia. Bishop Tendero also wishes to thank the many other leaders and entities within the WEA whose work, due to time limitations, he could not mention by name in his message. The State of the Evangelical Movement 75 leaders is extraordinary. I want to erations. We are now stronger, more thank all of you for your generous, effective, and better positioned for a dedicated contributions without smooth leadership succession. which we could not exist, let alone Our Senior Leadership Team also thrive. includes our Associate Secretary Gen- The World Evangelical Alliance’s eral for Theological Concerns and the role is to unite and empower evan- directors of the four other Ministry gelicals globally, giving them identity, Departments we have created: mis- voice, and platform in every nation. sions and evangelism, church in com- That mission drives everything we do. munity, communications and public In this message I will summarize how engagement. All our commissions, we are doing it and what we need to task forces, and initiatives (to which do better in the upcoming years, as we refer collectively as ‘networks’) God enables us. I hope you will sense have been placed under one of these how our efforts consistently aim at Ministry Departments for improved supporting our networks and espe- coordination. For all our departments cially our regional and national alli- and networks, achieving increased ances. engagement with our regional and national alliances is a high priority. We communicate regularly with I. What We Have Done the seven regional general secretaries—covering Asia, Africa, Latin 1. Improving the Organization America, North America, Europe, the - Assembly in eleven years. When I was gion. We meet monthly by teleconfer- electedAs you know,Secretary this General, is our first we Generalhad not enceCaribbean, to update and each the other South and Pacific coordi re- elected our governing body, the Inter- nate our work. national Council or IC, for seven years. To make our entire organization Over the course of seven years, in- accessible and responsive to the evitably some people’s commitments needs of our member alliances, we and activities change. So electing a have decentralized our operations, new IC was very important in build- creating six global hubs so that we ing our organizational strength. I am can be closer to the regional and na- grateful for our active IC. They are tional alliances and readily available deeply engaged in ensuring good gov- throughout the entire world. ernance and accountability, providing We harnessed the partnership oversight, and giving wise guidance to of our members who provided the the WEA staff. hospitality for the annual meetings We also revised our bylaws to of global leaders in Seoul, Korea in streamline our organizational struc- ture, membership categories, and 2016; Bad Blankenburg, Germany in General. Instead of just one person, 2017;We Forthave Lauderdale,created a Task Florida, Force USA on weupgrade now have the Office three ofpeople the Secretarycarrying inDevelopment 2018; and Nairobi, to enable Kenya the in WEA 2019. to - expand its efforts while remaining frey Yogarajah for programs and min- istriesout the and office’s Ray work,Swatkowski including for God op- for our Global Ambassador, Brian financially sustainable. We thank God 76 Efraim Tendero

Stiller, who has agreed to assist us matter of principle, support religious with short-term leadership in the freedom for all people, not just Chris- tians. In doing so, we gain respect and partners for our efforts. area of financial development. We are one of many voices on the 2. Strengthening National and topic of religious freedom, so we do Regional Alliances not try to claim credit for any particu- To assist believers around the world, lar successes, but our work on this especially those in countries where front has been substantial. We did Christians are frequently under much of the background work and strain, we seek to establish national preparation that enabled the Global and regional alliances where none Christian Forum’s December 2015 have existed. We have formed two conference on religious persecution new regional alliances, one for the to be so effective. We also continue Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to sponsor the International Day of and one in Central Asia, along with Prayer for the Persecuted Church twelve new national alliances. each November. Our Religious Liberty Since every national alliance is Commission does extensive research autonomous, each one must be able to function effectively on its own countries. We are on the board of the in terms of board governance, staff andReligious analysis Liberty on situations Partnership, in specific a col- leadership, and addressing promi- laboration of agencies involved in nent issues. The WEA has responded ministry to the persecuted church. to those needs by offering trainings The International Institute for - Religious Freedom, which is part of gagement, advocacy, theology of per- our Department of Theological Con- secutionon five topics: and suffering, leadership, and public making en use of available mechanisms through government conferences on religious the United Nations. Furthermore, we cerns,freedom has andparticipated twenty indiscussions about fifty have just launched a Global Institute in national parliaments. It has also of Leadership, which will offer peer sponsored or been involved in the mentoring by regional coaches and program for eleven United Nations experienced leaders of national alli- conferences. The most recent of these ances, along with online resources. was the Second World Summit on Re- We believe that these new training ligious Violence and Religious Free- and mentoring resources will bear dom, held at the UN headquarters in great fruit in the form of peer learning Geneva six months ago. The IIRF has and replication of successful work. - zil to serve Latin America. also opened an office in Brasilia, Bra 3. Global Advocacy for Religious cases from an average of twenty na- Freedom tionalOur evangelicalGeneva Liaison alliances Office per takes year. up Advocacy for religious freedom is one Based on careful research, it submits of our most important activities. This reports and appeals to United Nations advocacy is essential to our goal of bodies and to the embassies of the enabling the gospel to be preached governments we are lobbying, usually throughout the world. We also, as a on matters of religious freedom. Our The State of the Evangelical Movement 77

in Algeria is appealing for support an important bridging role between and prayers. GenevaWEA member office isalliances increasingly on one playing hand On the other hand, we just enjoyed and global human rights institutions a wonderful success this week when and governments on the other hand. the Palestinian National Authority When Pastor Andrew Brunson granted full recognition to our evan- was imprisoned in Turkey, we spoke gelical alliance in Palestine, which directly with the Turkish ambassa- they have been seeking for twelve dor to the United States regarding his years. case. We believe that our conversa- When Pope Francis visited the tion, along with many others, helped United Arab Emirates last February to secure Pastor Brunson’s release. for a conference on human fraternity, When Bulgaria proposed legisla- I was there too representing the WEA. tion that would have curtailed the In my message, I gently urged my rights of religious minorities, our hosts to move toward religious toler- national alliance in Bulgaria and ance. I reminded them that forced re- our global advocacy team in Geneva ligious belief is no belief at all. worked together to communicate our Christians all over the world are concerns. We were successful in get- suffering for their faith. It is gratifying ting the undesirable provisions removed from the legislation before it in standing up for them and encour- was passed. toaging know them. that we play a significant role When Kosovo was considering a similar bill, our national alliance arranged for me to meet personally 4. Building Our Commissions and with the country’s President and the Networks Speaker of the Parliament. Again, the We thank God for our many commis- bill did not pass. sions and networks that are address- When two Sudanese pastors and a ing particular issues. For example, our third person from the Czech Repub- Peace and Reconciliation Network lic were sentenced to twelve years in has spearheaded advocacy on behalf prison for allegedly spying against the of peacemaking in various countries. state, we called on the Sudanese gov- Our Mission Commission is strong- ernment to grant them clemency. The ly advancing the idea of polycentric Czech national was released within mission—that is, the idea that mis- twenty-four days and the two pastors sion should be from everywhere to were freed three months later. everywhere, not just from the West to Our efforts to protect religious the rest—by publishing books, mobi- freedom in Algeria, where churches lizing mission organizations and or- have recently been shut down by ganizing mission consultations. government authorities, are ongo- Our Women’s Commission has ing. Some churches were reopened held a global consultation that con- in 2018 after we encouraged the US nected female leaders from around State Department to look into the the world, and our Youth Commission situation. However, in recent months, has been similarly bringing youth Algerian authorities have closed six leaders together for meaningful col- more churches. Our member alliance laboration. 78 Efraim Tendero

With our support, our national religious organizations in the world. alliance in the Philippines held the Some have expressed understand- - able concerns that our evangelical ganized by Generation Next, in Ma- message could be compromised as nilafirst-ever last August. Jesus Global Fifty thousand Youth Day, youth or we build friendships and collabora- tions with people of other faiths. But came together for this event, and we we have found that we can relate gra- alsoleaders had fromvirtual about participation fifty countries from ciously with other faith groups while 83,000 local sites around the world. clearly maintaining our commitment One outcome of this event was a chal- to Jesus Christ as our ‘calling card’ in lenge to churches to lower the aver- every encounter. age age of their membership to twen- We have changed the designation ty-three during the next decade. Our Sustainability Center, located - in Bonn opposite the entrance to the offaith the Relations.Office of Ecumenical The International Relations United Nations facilities there, has toCouncil the Office approved of Intrafaith earlier this and year Inter a organized several side events at UN detailed statement of principles de- conferences and has established sta- - ble relationships with the UN climate trafaith and interfaith interactions. secretariat and other UN bodies. In finingOn the how intrafaith we will side, carry which out our refers in fact, the Center has become co-chair to our dealings with other groups that of a working group within the UN’s identify as Christian, we have estab- International Partnership on Religion lished friendly, ongoing institutional and Sustainable Development, a net- relationships with all major Chris- work of 180 global institutions of all tian confessions. As part of this work, faiths. Our Department of Theological knowledgeable individuals such as Concerns has helped to launch the weour haveambassadors appointed to the specific, Vatican, highly the Society of Christian Scholars, a global Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Ortho- network of Christians seeking to ef- dox Churches, and the Russian Ortho- fectively represent and communicate dox Churches. the gospel in academic settings. We also meet frequently with the This department has also devel- heads or general secretaries of all oped ‘Re-Forma’, a global basic train- non-evangelical and evangelical glob- ing program that we hope will reach al denominations. one million untrained pastors. We have carefully structured our relationship with the World Council of Churches so that we can cooper- 5. Interfaith and Intrafaith ate well where possible and can listen Relations and have mutually respectful discus- Our interfaith and intrafaith work is sions in areas of disagreement. We some of our most exciting activity, collaborate with the WCC and the Vat- though also perhaps where we are ican within the Global Christian Fo- most often misunderstood. It is excit- rum, again sometimes joining hands ing because the WEA, as a voice for as partners and sometimes respect- evangelical Christians globally, is rec- fully discussing differences. ognized as among the most important Our intrafaith work also involves The State of the Evangelical Movement 79 reaching out to evangelical friends possible today than ever before. Our like the Lausanne Movement, Trans- challenge is to use the means avail- form World, Empowered 21, and the able to us not only to share informa- World Pentecostal Fellowship. We tion and create networks where peo- initiated several conversations with ple with like passions can encourage their leaders so we can avoid dupli- and strengthen each other toward cation and instead collaborate effectively. us. On the interfaith side, we have es- fulfillingNot only the dovision we thatneed God to sharehas given our tablished an ambitious dialogue pro- success stories more broadly, but we gram with Muslim leaders. In these also need to communicate our suc- meetings we work toward peace and cesses and best practices, gather reconciliation, give a clear witness to information, and facilitate cross- the salvation that Jesus Christ offers, national sharing of ideas. Accordingly, and advocate for our brothers and sis- we are upgrading our communication ters living in Muslim-governed lands. systems by integrating universally We have paid visits to every grand available technologies. We will in- mufti and every Muslim minister of crease our use of social media to tell religion. We have also participated stories, share ideas, and interact on in every major Muslim-Christian important issues that will strength- global dialogue conference as well as en our collective ministries. We are broader conferences like Religions for grateful that God has provided fund- Peace, on an average of once a month. ing for additional communications Beyond this, we are preparing to staff to support this work. enter a global dialogue with Jewish Second, we need to increase our representatives and have started to capacity to raise funds. We are ex- engage with global or national lead- panding our development efforts to ers of other world religions. connect with people who share our In our pluralistic world, as we ministry passion across the US and relate to other groups we must con- around the globe. stantly keep in mind what we as evan- We are grateful that many people gelicals are best known for: boldly engaged in WEA ministries have been and graciously proclaiming and dem- able to raise funds to support their onstrating the Gospel. ministry. We also want to equip leaders of regional and national alliances to expand their own fundraising ca- II. What We Need to Do pacity. We are currently searching for We thank God for what has done and skilled people who can mentor and continues to do throughout our net- train national alliance leaders in rais- work of alliances. But we realize that ing funds. Third, we are not yet a truly global First, we need to strengthen our organization. We have national alli- significantcommunications challenges systems remain. and net- ances in 131 nations, at various levels works so that leaders in all parts of of organizational maturity. But there the world are aware of and can access are about sixty-two more countries available resources. Global communi- where we have no representation. cation, even to remote areas, is more We will be aggressive and focused 80 Efraim Tendero in establishing new alliances and pecially in places where Christians strengthening the current ones to ma- are a minority. I believe that our most turity. We want to have a national alli- promising way to enhance our advo- ance in every country. Our main strat- cacy is by creating a culture of healthy egy will be to ask stronger alliances and interdependent partnership to ‘adopt’ other countries and either among our national and regional al- mentor sister alliances there or help liances, commissions, and networks. to create one if none exists. We will do We also want to strengthen our this in partnership with the respec- relationships with other faith groups tive regional evangelical alliances. as well as with the United Nations Our national alliances will, of and other global networks so that our course, retain their autonomy, but voice can be clearly heard. we want to assist them to do their Finally, we must constantly be work with consistently high quality. looking for more effective ways We have developed a self-assessment tool that national alliances can use to partnership with the International examine their own performance and toEvangelism fulfill the Association Great Commission. and the Billy In capacity. Working through our Global Graham Training Center, we have in- Institute of Leadership, we intend to troduced disciple-making ministry in help our national alliances apply this thirty-eight countries. In this General tool and then improve in their areas Assembly, our primary focus is inten- of need. tional, intergenerational and holis- Externally, our relevance and im- tic disciple making. During the next pact are observed most strongly in decade, we want to accelerate high- our advocacy on global issues such quality disciple-making efforts that as religious freedom, creation care, will usher in global spiritual renewal and awakening, so that we can see and refugee populations. We want to the kingdoms of this world become peacemaking,build on the gains human we have trafficking, achieved the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in our global advocacy. In particular, forever. we must amplify the evangelical voice Together, let us advance the King- on behalf of freedom of religion, es- dom of God. Maranatha! ERT (2019) 43:4, 81-87 An Astonishing and Completely Normal Book from Turkey

Thomas K. Johnson A year ago, in late 2018, a book ap- time by so publicly and dramatically peared that was simultaneously most displaying the new paradigm in intra- astonishing while also completely normal. As a student I read some as- follow-up on the decisive role of the tonishing books, texts that changed Christianchurches of relations; Asia Minor, this today’s is suitable Tur- the course of history, whether Plato’s key, in the formulation of the classi- Republic, Augustine’s Confessions, cal Christian creeds in the fourth and Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, or Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto. In such books, it is the usually the con- fifthlives of centuries. hundreds As of millions, in any paradigm it is wise shiftto assess that the potentially nature of influencesthe shift. I will the but in the recent astonishing book, do so by placing this book in the un- tentthe content of the book is a whichroutine is presentation astonishing; folding recent history of documents of basic Christian teaching. regarding intrafaith relations. What is astonishing is the author- - tives of all four branches of Christiani- I. The Previous Pattern of shipty, each of ofthe which book: has official highly representa competent Intrafaith Relations senior spokespeople in Turkey. I am Looking at intra-Christian relations speaking of the book Christianity: since the 1970s, one sees a pattern Fundamental Teachings, written by of getting to know each other by Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and means of talking about each other, Oriental Orthodox leaders, published with a strong emphasis on getting to by the Joint Commission of Churches know the truth claims of the other in Turkey, now readily available in branches of Christianity. For example, Kindle. In response to the century of in the preamble to the joint Vatican/ pressure on Christians in the Middle WEA statement on meetings from East, at times reaching genocidal lev- 1993 to 2002, ‘Church, Evangeliza- els, all branches of Christianity have tion, and the Bonds of Koinonia’, one joined forces to confess and explain reads, ‘The purpose of these consultations has been to overcome misun- now in English for the international derstandings, to seek better mutual theircommunity. shared faith, first in Turkish, understanding of each other’s Chris- The churches in Turkey have once tian life and heritage, and to promote again taken global leadership, this better relations between Evangelicals

Thomas K. Johnson is Senior Advisor to the World Evangelical Alliance’s Theological Commission and the WEA’s special envoy to the Vatican. He delivered this message at a workshop during the WEA General Assembly in Indonesia on November 8, 2019. 82 Thomas K. Johnson and Catholics.’ The writers of the text statement, they very carefully recom- labored to understand each other’s mended that ‘Orthodox and Catholic understanding of the Christian mes- theologians distinguish more clearly sage and life. This required compar- between the divinity and hypostatic ing truth claims in great detail. identity of the Holy Spirit, which is a While this was only the explicitly received dogma of our Churches, and stated purpose of that decade of in- the manner of the Spirit’s origin.’1 The teraction, one sees a similar character manner of the discussion again illus- in the other two primary documents trates the focus on respective truth of that era. These documents are ‘The claims within intrafaith interactions. Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue on Mission, 1977–1984’, published in 1985, and ‘“Scripture and Tradition” II. The New Pattern of and “The Church in Salvation”: Catho- lics and Evangelicals Explore Chal- Intrafaith Relations lenges and Opportunities’, published Beginning around 2010, one sees a thirty-two years later in 2017, the renew type of interaction among the sult of intensive discussion from 2009 multiple branches of Christianity, to 2016. A review of these texts, or while the older type of interaction even perusing the tables of contents also continued. This is a transition of these texts, reveals an extraordi- from dialogue to cooperation, a tran- narily precise examination of what sition from talking with each other Catholics and Evangelicals believe towards jointly addressing common about themes such as the Bible and problems. The document that sig- its interpretation, spiritual authority, nalled the new pattern was ‘Christian tradition, Christ, the gospel, salvation Witness in a Multi-Religious World’, and the church. A study of the three jointly issued in 2011 by the Vatican, documents provides a distinct intro- the World Council of Churches, and duction to Evangelical and Roman the World Evangelical Alliance.2 Catholic theology and ethics. To re- peat, the focus of the interaction was on the truth claims of the respective 1 branches of Christianity, which were K. Johnson, The Trinity in the Bible and Select- ed For Creeds the oftext the and Church background, (Bonn: Martin see Thomas Bucer examined in precise detail. Seminary, 2013), 19–20, available at https:// This focus was also seen in other www.academia.edu/36948453/The_Trini- intra-Christian discussions, not only ty_in_the_Bible_and_Selected_Creeds_of_the_ in Evangelical-Catholic interactions. Church_Resources_for_Study. For example, the North American 2 Orthodox-Catholic Consultation of of History Is Written’, Bonner Querschnitte, 2003 invested tremendous energy 29 See June the WEA2011, press https://www.bucer.de/ release ‘A New Page into the ‘Filioque’ question. Does the ressource/details/bonner-querschnitte- Holy Spirit proceed ‘from the Father’ 182011-ausgabe-172-eng.html. For com- or ‘from the Father and the Son’ (Fil- mentary on the need for this text, see Thom- as K. Johnson, ‘In Context: Christian Witness ioque), as the Orthodox and Catholic in a Multi-Religious World’, World Reformed Churches, respectively, had confessed Fellowship, 2011, available at https://www. in slightly differing versions of the academia.edu/40718713/In_Context_Chris- tian_Witness_in_a_Multi-Religious_World.

Christian creeds? In their official An Astonishing and Completely Normal Book from Turkey 83

This code of ethics was a response guided by ethical principles built into to opposition to Christian proclama- creation, which might even be shared tion in several countries, sometimes by people who do not yet believe in in the form of anti-conversion or so- Jesus. Without denying that some called anti-proselytism laws, some- Christians may have sinned, the solu- times in the form of prejudicial claims tion was to establish a public code of that Christians had used inappropri- ethics by which religious proclama- ate means to entice people to become tion (by Christians or by adherents of Christians. We were accused of using any belief system) may be evaluated. humanitarian aid, medical care or ed- For our purposes of the present mes- ucation as a bribe to manipulate peo- sage, namely perceiving the genera- ple into pseudo-conversions to Chris- tional patterns within intrafaith rela- tianity. And therefore, opponents of tions, one must notice the transition Christianity thought, Christian proc- from discussing our respective un- lamation should be forced to a halt. derstandings of Christian truth claims One must admire the holy bold- towards also jointly solving problems ness displayed in the opening line of arising for all Christians. this response by representatives of This same paradigm development some 95 percent of all people who was displayed in the Tirana consul- are called Christians: ‘Mission be- tation ‘Discrimination, Persecution, longs to the very being of the church. and Martyrdom: Following Christ Proclaiming the word of God and Together’ of 2015. Organized by the witnessing to the world is essential Global Christian Forum on behalf of for every Christian.’3 Then comes the complementary principle: ‘At the Christian Unity (Vatican), the World same time, it is necessary to do so ac- theCouncil Pontifical of Churches, Council forthe PromotingPentecos- cording to gospel principles, with full tal World Fellowship, and the World respect and love for all human beings.’ Evangelical Alliance, the consultation To be noted is the way in which brought 150 church leaders together. proclamation of the gospel is set - within ethical principles arising from ers from churches and countries that the creation of all people in the im- ‘Seventy-fiveknow “Discrimination, Christian churchPersecution, lead age of God. Rather than being lim- Martyrdom” were listened to by sev- ited by complaints coming from the 4 world, Christian proclamation is to be leaders from other countries.’ enty-fiveAt the topend global of the Christian meetings, church those gathered issued a surprising state- See also Thomas Schirrmacher and Thomas ment. Among other things they said, K. Johnson, ‘Why Evangelicals Need a Code of ‘We repent of having at times perse- Ethics for Mission’, International Journal for Religious Freedom 3, no. 1 (2010), available at https://www.academia.edu/37017831/ 4 - Why_Evangelicals_need_a_Code_of_Ethics_ ering of Global Christian Leaders to Discuss for_Mission. a SeeCommon the WEA Reaction press to release “Discrimination, ‘Historic Gath Per- 3 https:// secution, Martyrdom”’, Bonner Querschnitte, - 17 November 2015, https://www.bucer.de/ mente/BQs/zu_BQ100-199/zuBQ172/ The whole text is available at ressource/details/bonner-querschnitte- ChristianWitness_recommendations.pdf.www.bucer.de/fileadmin/dateien/Doku 492015-ausgabe-385-eng.html. 84 Thomas K. Johnson cuted each other and other religious recently as 1914. Starting in 1915, communities in history, and ask for- some three million Christians died giveness from each other and pray for in a series of genocides, followed by new ways of following Christ togeth- a century of repression and discrimi- er’, a clear reference to intra-Christian nation, initiating a long-term exodus persecution. Then the delegates isof believers. Christians are now less sued a tremendously serious ‘to do’ than half of one percent of the popu- list related to supporting and protect- lation in Turkey. Recent prominent ing Christians from all churches fac- martyrs add to the severe pressure ing discrimination, persecution and felt by Christians in Turkey. martyrdom.5 Rather than splinter or retreat, In contrast with the documents on Christians of the most diverse herit- intra-Christian relations from the pre- ages and ethnicities are clearly re- vious generation, the Tirana consen- surgent, amidst reports of spiritual sus message contained no compara- renewal in the churches. Prompted tive truth claims. The text is openly partly by requests from the Turkish Trinitarian and gospel-centred, yet - there was no mention of the differ- nition of what Christianity is, Chris- ences among Catholic, Protestant and governmenttians in Turkey and are schools confessing for a their defi Orthodox views. Shoulder to shoul- faith together. One is reminded of the der, senior representatives of almost all Christians gathered to respond to centuries confessed ‘Jesus is Lord’ to the oppression of Christians. waycounter in whichthe confession the church of ofthe the Roman first imperial religion that ‘Caesar is Lord’. Going beyond the great Christian III. The Initiative from Turkey creeds, their efforts to author a book Christians in Turkey are heirs to a together must have taken countless most distinguished history. Much of the mission work described in the representatives could evaluate every hoursword to in be committee, sure it was soconsistent their official with the best convictions of each of the ChristiansNew Testament in Antioch, was today’s in Asia Antakya Minor; churches. We should receive this book as a gift to the entire body of Christ. followers of Jesus were first called- Under the old paradigm, Christian ternational councils of the ancient groups met to get to know each other churchin southern were Turkey; held in and the the regions great wein better and clarify their similarities now call western Turkey. and differences. Building on that pre- Though the Christians in Turkey vious work, within the new paradigm, repeatedly suffered devastating wars and persecutions in the medieval and shared faith and proclaiming that early modern eras, they represented Christians are jointly affirming their 20 to 25 percent of the population as - faithserving to closethe world examination. in unified fashion. 5 - ThatThe is abook significant begins developmentwith a brief dein- able at troduction which discusses mono- dateien/Dokumente/BQs/BQ300ff/BQ385/ The full consultation message is avail theism, the Bible, Jesus Christ (in- DPM_Message__English_.pdf.https://www.bucer.de/fileadmin/ cluding his death and resurrection), An Astonishing and Completely Normal Book from Turkey 85 and salvation by faith (quoting John normal but astonishing because it is 3:1–16), with a few paragraphs about - the churches and their practices, in- resentatives of all four branches of cluding worship, rituals and holidays. Christianity.in unity from the pens of official rep There follows a chapter on the ‘Exist- The explanation of salvation places ence and Oneness of God’, which ex- the work of Christ into God’s eternal plains the four ways in which humans plan from before the creation of the get to know God: through reason, world to have a people among whom through revelation, through Christ, he would dwell. Humanity was cre- and through the Holy Spirit. These ated as the pinnacle of creation, in the four ways are not separate from each very image of God, to care for God’s - world. The human race was given listic way we know God and his salva- freedom but used this freedom to other;tion. they are components of the ho revolt against God. God did not give The desire for a holistic presentation continues into the description of redemption to be implemented over God as Trinity. Starting with the unity manyup on centuries, mankind; starting he began some a plan 4,000 of and complexity seen in creation, they years ago with Abraham, while the describe the unity and complexity of world was buried in idolatry. Through God: ‘Just as creation’s oneness derives from the oneness of God, so also to the people of Israel, God showed creation’s multiplicity has its source thatthe sacrificial sin and guilt system must taught be paidby Moses by a in the principle of God’s plurality.’6 But knowing God as Trinity is not the that Jesus is ‘the Lamb of God who takessacrifice. away John the the sins Baptist of the declared world!’ an explanation of revelation. ‘God (Jn 1:29). The death of Jesus on the resulthas communicated of reason; this themeto humankind prompts the most correct knowledge concern- for sins, bringing an end to the era of ing Himself in His own written Word, cross was the true sacrifice that paid- the Bible, and in His incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The knowl- tians participate and share in this physical sacrifices. ‘By faith, we Chris edge communicated to us through 8 this divine self-disclosure that we history.’ call Revelation is certain to contain uniqueWe couldSacrifice, summarize offered once the in entire all of propositions, especially concerning book, but that is not necessary. Some the identity of the Creator, that are might look for a strongly worded beyond the mind and understanding statement on sola scriptura, fearing of man.’7 What follows is a brief ex- such a book could betray an excessive planation of Christian teaching about dependence on the authority of one the Trinity, such as one would expect from any competent pastor, entirely Christian debate here. Rather one church. We will not find such intra-- side of the Holy Bible there is no book 6 findspresenting statements a historical such project as this: estab ‘Out- Turkey, Christianity: Fundamental Teachings (Kindle The edition), Joint Commission Location 153. of Churches in 7 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- 8 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- cation 160. cation 421.

86 Thomas K. Johnson lished by God to save humankind.’9 especially the Ten Commandments, can be used to determine ethical to develop, practice and defend hu- measurements, standards and values ‘Whichman rights book and has values, influenced gender societies equali- of human behaviour. According to ty and democracy, freedom of thought Christian tradition, the common start- and expression?’10 ‘The message of ing point of all of these laws is love.’13 the Holy Bible has reached us without They continue, ‘Christians have at- change or corruption. Even in transla- tempted to implement their faith by tion, its light is so powerful that the building schools, hospitals and soup literature and intellectual life of eve- kitchens in addition to houses of wor- ry Christian nation has experienced ship. Every church has an active aid revolutionary, sweeping change after program that tries to help its local acquiring a translation of the Holy poor. Various foundations contrib- Bible.’11 Even the discussion of rea- ute to the education of poor students son as a way to know God is designed through scholarships.’14 In relation to to support biblical beliefs, a normal civil law, they write, ‘Everything pro- apologetic method. hibited by secular law may not be a Some will look for a paragraph on sin, while not every sin may be pro- hibited by secular law. If this situation disappoint a careless reader. That forces us to make a choice, Christians justificationexact terminology by faith mayalone. be This lacking. could should listen to God’s Law and their conscience.’15 Continuing their em- ‘According to the Christian faith, hu- phasis on God-given human dignity Oneman findssalvation such from statements sin is a asfree these: gift they add, ‘Abortion is the greatest asof grace. A person cannot bring about sault on human life and, therefore, his own salvation.’12 This is joined also to Almighty God. Our Holy Bible with a careful presentation of the for- clearly shows that God’s great love giveness of sins. We may wish to add and care for a person begins from the a sentence when we are teaching on moment of conception.’16 this subject, but that will be an explanation of what is written, not a denial of what is in this book. IV. Conclusion The discussion of the Bible and Our brothers and sisters in Turkey faith leads to ethics. Our Turkish brothers and sisters do not disap- though normal in Christian teaching, point. As is common for Christians, have written an astonishing book;- they connect love and law. ‘Many of lamation of basic Christianity to the the religious laws given in the Bible, itwhole is overwhelming world. Even ifas it a is unified hard for proc us,

9 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- 13 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- cation 682. cation 740. 10 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- 14 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- cation 693. cation 770. 11 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- 15 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- cation 694. cation 778. 12 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- 16 Christianity: Fundamental Teachings, Lo- cation 589. cation 781.

An Astonishing and Completely Normal Book from Turkey 87 the rest of the body of Christ should, the early church and addressed in the once again, accept the leadership of creeds, though those problems con- the churches in Asia Minor. Not all our stantly recur. The Turkish context is fathers and mothers in the faith im- a history of violence, genocide and mediately accepted the creeds of Ni- oppression, now facing a Muslim- caea and Constantinople in the fourth majority culture mixed with global century, but history shows it would secularism. There are serious analo- have been better for our churches gies to the situations faced (or soon if we had accepted their leadership to be faced) by Christians around the more quickly. The same is true today. world. We should humbly accept the leader- The method used in this book can- ship coming from Turkey. Not only in- not be imagined without the recent history of intra-Christian relations, of all the churches in Turkey have both the process of getting to know dividualsimplemented but 1 official Peter 3:15, representatives ‘Always be each other by talking about each oth- prepared to give an answer to every- er’s truth claims and also the process one who asks you to give the reason of joint responses to opposition. The for the hope that you have. But do churches from the four branches of this with gentleness and respect.’ We Christianity in Turkey have presented should go and do likewise, in public apologia, and cooperation with the other branches ethics in response to opposition and of Christianity. apersecution. unified proclamation, The global body of Christ Our context today is not exactly the Gnosticism or Arianism faced by needs to find courage to follow. ERT (2020) 44:1, 88-96 Books Reviewed Dion Forster Brian Brock and Bernd Wannen- The (Im)possibility of Forgiveness? An wetsch Empirical Intercultural Bible Reading The Malady of the Christian Body: A of Matthew 18:15–35 Theological Exposition of Paul’s First Reviewed by Peirong Lin Letter to the Corinthians, vol. 1 The Therapy of the Christian Body: A Juan María Tellería Larrañaga Theological Exposition of Paul’s First Teología del Antiguo Testamento: El Letter to the Corinthians, vol. 2 mensaje divino contenido en la ley, los Reviewed by H. Drake Williams III profetas y los escritos Reviewed by Andrew Messmer Stanley K. Fowler More Than a Symbol: The British Michael S. Lundy and J. I. Packer Baptist Recovery of Baptismal Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Sacramentalism Life: Practical Wisdom from Richard Reviewed by Andrew Messmer Baxter Reviewed by Dallas B. Pitts Book Reviews ERT (2020) 44:1, 88-89 of forgiveness along racial lines in South Africa, a lasting legacy of apartheid. The (Im)possibility of Forgiveness? Forster describes his project as seek- An Empirical Intercultural Bible ing to answer a particular concern for Reading of Matthew 18:15–35 ‘a lack of forgiveness and community Dion Forster harmony within the church’. Although South Africa is quite religious, its church Stellenbosch, South Africa: African remains deeply segregated along racial Sun Media, 2018 and economic lines. Through positive Electronic copy, 262 pp., bibliog., intergroup contact, Forster analysed index, illus. how the hermeneutics of forgiveness Reviewed by Peirong Lin, Human can change through positive intergroup Resources Director and Research engagement. Coordinator, Theological Concerns The project was interdisciplinary in Department, World Evangelical Alliance nature, combining biblical studies and and Affiliated Researcher at Evangelische empirical theology. Matthew 18:15–35 Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium throughout. Forster focused on his This book is the second dissertation denomination,was used as the the ‘reflective Methodist surface’ Church of of Dion Forster, director of the Bey- Southern Africa, Heidelberg circuit. ers Naudé centre at the University of Chapter 1 introduces the overall project, Stellenbosch, South Africa. This centre offering insights into the research problem. Chapter 2 provides a detailed ex- publics and environments of academic plication of Ken Wilber’s integral AQAL life,‘reflects churches upon andthe rolebroader of theology society’. in The the theory, which maps meaning construc- book displays the centre’s aims as For- tion and identity onto four ontological ster reflects theologically on the issue Book Reviews 89 and existential quadrants of existence. that theological hermeneutical shifts are The third chapter details the next achievable through positive intergroup important theoretical component of the engagement. project, intergroup contact theory. Argu- Although this issue was not within ing that mere contact between different Forster’s research scope, matters of racial groups that have deeply ingrained group dynamics would be essential to the implementation of Forster’s method in detail the necessary conditions to en- in other church contexts. In addition, biases is insufficient, Forster describes able positive intergroup contact that can personality factors of both the facilitator lessen anxiety and facilitate empathy and individual group members do not between the groups. Chapter 4 delivers a comprehensive - exegesis of Matthew 18:15–35. Forster allreceive process. much attention; these factors begins by describing the importance of However,will almost the certainly book documents influence anthe effec- over this passage for the project. His exegesis tive response to an on-going public issue focuses on social implications, and he within the South African context. It links concludes the chapter with an AQAL theory and praxis successfully, showing reading of the text. how the church’s practical work can be In chapter 5, Forster brings together the meaningfully informed by theological different theoretical concepts, showing how they will be used empirically. He describes the focus group meetings he reflection. arranged in an effort to facilitate posi- ERT (2020) 44:1, 89-91 tive interaction among two groups—a white and a black congregation within Teología del Antiguo Testamento: his denomination. Two intergroup El mensaje divino contenido en la meetings were held, and each group ley, los profetas y los escritos convened separately before and after the two intergroup sessions. Juan María Tellería Larrañaga Barcelona, Spain: Editorial CLIE, 2018 Pb., 730 pp., succinct bibliography ForChapter the black 6 presents community, the findings, the need which for Reviewed by Andrew Messmer, Adjunct alargely shared confirmed experience Forster’s of shared hypotheses. harmony Professor, Facultad Internacional de and identity was an important aspect of Teología, IBSTE, Barcelona, Spain and forgiveness, whereas the white com- affiliated researcher, Evangelische munity understood forgiveness mainly Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium as a spiritual experience between the individual and God. However, there were Whereas the English- and German- indications that intergroup interaction speaking worlds have had a plethora led each group to broaden its perspec- of books published on Old Testament tive so as to encompass the meanings theology (hereafter OTT) over the past important to the other group. The two centuries, the Spanish-speaking positive intergroup engagement helped world has not. In fact, Tellería Lar- to facilitate this hermeneutical shift by rañaga’s Theology of the Old Testament increasing empathy, reducing anxiety is just the third book published on the and thus opening the way to deeper dia- a non-Catholic perspective (199). Thus, topic by a Spaniard, and the first from logue. The final chapter thus concludes 90 Book Reviews this publication is not only historically as containing eight topics that Paul would have treated had he been given evaluate the current state of theological the chance. Larrañaga then advances significant but also serves to help us beyond von Rad in stating that these eight topics form four sets of ‘thematic sections.reflection In in an Spain. introductory chapter, binaries’ that ‘maintain a close dialecti- LarrañagaThe book is addresses divided into issues five that major broadly cal relationship amongst themselves’ touch on the relationship between the and ‘constitute a harmonious whole’ OT and history (Historie). He is heavily (221). These sets form the titles and indebted to historical criticism and has topics for the remaining four chapters of this section and constitute Larrañaga’s and therefore he assesses large portions unique methodology: ‘Adoption and thebeen OT influenced as historically by minimalism unreliable (31),(e.g. Glory’, ‘Covenants and Law’, ‘Worship Genesis 1 to Exodus 14 are ‘myths’ and and Promises’, and ‘Patriarchs and Mes- ‘legendary compositions’ and not his- siah’. Using the categories provided by - Gerhard Hasel’s famous work on issues cludes that the OT is not to be treated as in OTT, I would suggest that Larrañaga’s atorical; history 15–16, book, 25–27).but rather Larrañaga as a theology con methodology is an expansion of the ‘Thematic-Dialectical’ method, thereby God’s mighty acts in history (25–26). implying that he does not advocate a Mitte to OTT. Thebook second that is section,born out or of ‘First reflection Part’, ofon the work is a nearly 190-page Forschungs- Although Larrañaga’s methodology is geschichte interesting, it does not hold up to closer sections: Patristic, Medieval, Reformed, scrutiny. None of the major critical and Contemporaryon OTT, broken World 1up and into 2. five commentaries on Romans that I have However, this section functions more as examined (e.g. Moo, Dunn, Longenecker) an extended collection of biographical argue that the topics mentioned in vignettes of various Christian writers, Romans 9:3–5 are to be interpreted with a brief summary of their respective as ‘thematic binaries’, although some - do argue for a different organization tive OTTs are never really treated. Many and relationship between the topics. readershermeneutical could skip principles; this section their without respec Additionally, von Rad’s comments on much loss. the Romans text are limited to just one sentence, which makes for shaky ground The third section, or ‘Second Part’, upon which to base one’s methodol- subtitled ‘The Nucleus of OT Thought’, ogy. Unfortunately, Larrañaga does not is the most important. It spans nearly defend his methodology. The fourth part, entitled ‘Apocryphal focusesfive hundred primarily pages upon and theis broken character up into Literature’, addresses in some twenty offive God chapters. (especially After through the ‘Preamble’, his divine which pages how various OT theological issues names) and other celestial beings, Lar- were interpreted during the inter-tes- rañaga works through his OTT based tamental period. Finally, in a four-page on a unique methodology otherwise conclusion Larrañaga insists that the OT unknown to the reviewer. Following must be read in the light of Jesus Christ, a comment made by Gerhard von Rad and that the God of Israel must be the (an oft-cited authority for Larrañaga) in God of all. his OTT, he understands Romans 9:3–5

Although Larrañaga identifies himself Book Reviews 91 as coming from a ‘completely reformed ERT (2020) 44:1, 91-92 and conservative’ perspective (222), his work will serve pastors and students Depression, Anxiety, and the within the broadly liberal camp. Those Christian Life: Practical Wisdom with more conservative views will from Richard Baxter at times be more frustrated with the author’s condescending tone than chal- Michael S. Lundy and J. I. Packer lenged by his arguments, and his habit Wheaton, IL: Zondervan, 2018 of referring to them as ‘ultraconserva- Pb., 175 pp., index tive’, ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘radical’, with- Reviewed by Dallas B. Pitts, Assistant out interacting with their arguments, Professor of Religion, Baptist College of will not be appreciated. Nevertheless, Health Sciences, Memphis, Tennessee, the book is pedagogically sensitive, and USA from his many helpful insights into the I have always wanted to review a work OT.Christians of all persuasions can benefit written by a Puritan, but since we are a few centuries apart, I thought I may with the work: it contains no index never have the chance. Now my wish (topical,There are authorial two significant or scriptural) deficiencies and has come true, thanks to this updated only a ‘succinct bibliography’ of sixty- work containing selections from Richard one works (in Romance languages and Baxter’s A Christian Directory, particu- English). larly on the subjects of depression and anxiety. Baxter supplied the church with Although this work is not on par with such a magnitude of pastoral works that those of von Rad, Bruggemann or Waltke on the same topic, it does serve to il- us this small but potent dose of Baxter’s lustrate the growing interest in theology pastoralit is fitting wisdom for Lundy to us and to contemplate.Packer to give among Spaniards, as well as their grow- As our society continues to press ing ability to meet the challenges of the forward, ever busier but also in need of task. What remains is for a Spaniard to rest and peace of mind, the wise words write an OTT that will serve the larger from Baxter plus the contributions group of conservative Protestants within of Lundy (a physician) and Packer (a the country. theologian) are invaluable for Christians. The authors assert that as many as two- thirds of North Americans will receive treatment for depression and anxiety in their lifetimes. This is hardly astound- ing, as fewer and fewer people rely on soul care practices and turn instead to pharmaceuticals. I certainly do not oppose medicines that can help restore chemical balance in our brains, but we should not rely solely on medicating symptoms without getting to the root of the problem. Packer and Lundy seek to help us rediscover the soul care that Baxter so clearly offered. 92 Book Reviews

The book has two main sections: an all true knowledge and wisdom comes introduction to Richard Baxter and his from God, no matter what the earthly counsel on depression. Each section source may be. contains chapters on Baxter as a ‘spir- In the second section, Lundy presents itual physician’ and his place in our time, an updated and abridged version of along with two chapters in the second Baxter’s pastoral advice for Christians section on his advice for Christians suffering from depression, anxiety and regarding anxiety and depression. An grief. Although it is easy to get lost in the appendix covers Baxter’s understanding archaic vocabulary, Baxter’s diagnosis of of the duty of physicians. certain problems has striking simi- Chapter 1, written by Packer, describes larities with our modern diagnosis of Baxter’s life, his entry into ministry anxiety and depression, especially with and his written pastoral contributions, regard to the observation of symptoms. mostly notably A Christian Directory. Much of what Baxter has to say about Packer effectively reveals some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression major premises of the Directory and the (which he called ‘melancholy’) resem- work’s value for depressed Christians bles what can be found in the current today. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of In chapter 2, Lundy explains the Mental Disorders or DSM-5. importance of Baxter’s approach for After introducing symptoms, Baxter the medical community and how the gives twenty-one ‘directions’ to treat physical realm is profoundly impacted melancholy, from resetting the mind by the emotional and spiritual. Lundy towards God to medicinal treatment by illustrates his understanding of this emotional–physical connection by Puritans’ readiness to use every tool at recounting stories from his own medi- theira physician. disposal In to doing help so, the he souls reflects of those the cal training at Tulane University. His they pastored. primary aim is to offer a defence of The last chapter of section two exam- Baxter’s method of soul care as a means ines Baxter’s original work ‘The Cure of of diagnosing depression or anxiety Melancholy and Overmuch Sorrow, by Faith’. It discusses the causes of sorrow, readers to appreciate Baxter as a man of ranging from physical pain to deliberate hiswhile own also time. offering a filter for modern Lundy also explains terms that could contains Baxter’s directions to physi- confuse readers not familiar with cianssin, and as thento what its cures.God requires A final appendixof them. seventeenth-century parlance. These It is valuable to make the Puritans’ wis- explanations are important in prepar- dom more accessible to modern readers ing readers for the second section of the through updated and abridged versions. book, which looks at Baxter’s wisdom in These teachings in smaller installments the Directory in greater detail. give a good grasp of God’s work in our forebears for the good of the church. The several pages on Baxter’s pastoral book is less a commentary of Baxter’s wisdomLundy concludes and its sources. the first As section we might with work than an updated presentation of it. expect, God was the ultimate source. But I consider it a strength of the book that Puritans like Baxter were willing to ap- it allows Baxter to speak for himself as ply knowledge from the medical world much as possible, while providing nec- and moral philosophy, recognizing that essary explanation of archaic terms. Book Reviews 93

ERT (2020) 44:1, 92-95 by reading it in English and in German translations as well as in the Greek. In The Malady of the Christian Body: their meetings together, they even had A Theological Exposition of Paul’s full texts of the epistle hung on the wall, First Letter to the Corinthians, to push them to focus directly on what vol. 1 Paul had written. The authors aimed to The Therapy of the Christian Body: withdraw from their backgrounds and come with an ‘empty hands’ approach A Theological Exposition of Paul’s to the text, namely one that is spiritual, First Letter to the Corinthians, prayerful and ‘quasi-monastic.’ They vol. 2 described the resulting encounter with 1 Brian Brock and Bernd Corinthians as powerful. Wannenwetsch As Brock and Wannenwetsch focused Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2016 on the German and English translations, Vol. 1: xxvi + 253 pp.; vol. 2: xii + 283 they found that the differences in trans- pp. lation sparked much conversation for their commentary. Following their ex- Reviewed by H. H. Drake Williams III, ploration of the text, they then consulted Associate Professor of New Testament, other commentaries from ancient, Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, medieval and modern times. Frequently, Leuven, Belgium they found that their exposure to the text provided fresh insight that others We are fortunate to have many high- quality commentaries on 1 Corinthians. had overlooked. Several of these address the letter The authors are Reformed in perspec- from the perspective of Greco-Roman tive, with a dual emphasis on both letter backgrounds at Corinth or Paul’s Jewish and spirit. They also aimed to analyse background. Expositions of 1 Corinthi- the text before them before progressing ans also exist, but few have provided a to others within the canon, following theological exposition of Paul’s letter. Hans Ulrich’s words, ‘Every word of In these two volumes, Brock and Wan- Scripture deserves its own hermeneutic.’ nenwetsch accomplish a fresh exposi- In short, they aimed for a ‘hermeneutic tion of 1 Corinthians that crosses the of discovery’. As theologians, they also disciplines of biblical studies, systematic chose not to embroil themselves in theology and theological ethics. They discussions about textual or historical also provide a unique look at the ideas puzzles. in 1 Corinthians in relation to many Brock and Wannenwetsch chose three distinct lines for their exposition: modern society. reading the apostle Paul over against Thetheological stance byideas which that the are authors influencing choose ourselves, reading him as fellow travel- to examine 1 Corinthians is a distinctive lers, and reading him dramatically. They feature of their work. They acknowledge let Paul’s expressions of his argument that interpreters come to the text with take priority over modern understand- many different presuppositions and ings. Instead of constructing roadblocks recognize that some bias will come with to the interpretation of the text due to their exposition. Nevertheless, they aim modern concerns, they placed apostolic to be text-driven. They aimed to receive authority over modern objections. the greatest direct exposure to the text As fellow travellers reading Paul’s 94 Book Reviews writing, Brock and Wannenwetsch to the importance of disciplining the discovered that they could encourage man caught in incest. In 1 Corinthians each other by reading 1 Corinthians 11, they rightly point out the duplic- together. Also, they experienced how ity in modern church life of dismissing their two distinct church traditions— 11:2–16 as culturally mediated while mainline German Lutheran and Holiness nearly universally employing 11:23–26 in the administration of the Lord’s - Supper. They are especially effective in tation.influenced In reading by US Congregationalism,Paul dramatically, they addressing issues of abstinence, sexual- focusedrespectively—influenced on Paul’s progressive, their linearinterpre and ity, prostitution, celibacy, marriage and almost homiletical treatment of each divorce in 1 Corinthians 5–7. issue. They also considered the overall Another strength is the insightful use drama of Paul’s apostolic and fatherly of church history. Brock and Wannen- dealings with the Corinthians. wetsch frequently draw on perceptive Most of the time, the books address each interpretive insights from a wide array chapter of 1 Corinthians in order. Brock and Wannenwetsch provide a well- Clement of Alexandria, Chrysostom, Au- written and easy-to-read explanation gustine,of figures, Aquinas, including Barth Ignatius and Bonhoeffer. of Antioch, of each chapter, frequently beginning At times they cite modern theologians with a core idea and then referring back such as Käsemann. to it as they conclude their exposition. Chapters of their book are divided into Although Brock and Wannenwetsch sections to make reading easier. Eleven state that they will not focus primarily excursuses are interspersed throughout on the Greek text, they do employ it on their expositional essays. Many of these several occasions, and their comments are thought-provoking, such as ‘Moral on the Greek text are valuable as they re- Dimensions of Characterization and - Scripture’s Plain Sense’, ‘Familial Lan- cal constructions. Further comments guage as Political’, ‘Sex and the Apostle’, onflect the on Greek particular language words would and grammatihave ‘Paul’s Formation of the Self’, ‘Bodies strengthened these volumes. and Their Communicative Surfaces’, and On some occasions, however, the au- ‘Theology and God Talk’. thors do not show awareness of conclu- The authors make many valuable points. For example, in discussing Paul’s desire studies. They refer to Gnosticism or that the Corinthian church seek unity sions reached within the field of biblical in 1 Corinthians 1:10, they realize that the Corinthians—a view held by few Paul does not provide a simple com- withinproto-Gnosticism biblical studies. as having They influenced assume that the wisdom in chapter 1 is Greco-Roman of simply appealing to unity, they rightly rhetoric, although scholarly discus- note,mandment Paul wishes such as to ‘Be work unified.’ with theInstead Cor- sion is discussing several options. Also, inthians through the ‘messy material- the division of their two volumes into Malady of the Christian Body (1 Corin- places, they speak of emotion in the thians 1–9) and Therapy of the Christian text,ity of an their aspect manifold that is conflicts’. frequently In over-other Body (10–16) seems odd. Few divide looked in exegetical commentaries. For the epistle in this way. Their exposition example, they not only point out but also - develop the feelings of mourning and ence in the epistle, which emerges from boasting in 1 Corinthians 5:2 in relation Paul’sfrequently background underplays and thecan Jewish be seen influ in Book Reviews 95 various citations, allusions, echoes and the twentieth-century shift towards a themes within 1 Corinthians. sacramental understanding of baptism Evangelicals will like several aspects of amongst some British Baptist scholars these books. They will be encouraged by the authors’ statement that an inescap- 1609 to 1966 (5–7, 12). He states that able discussion of exegesis, theology and his(3). major Specifically, contribution he analyses is the works conclu- from the application of ethics must arise from sion that traditional assumptions about the reading of 1 Corinthians. Evangeli- Baptist baptismal theology are often cals will also appreciate the authors’ inaccurate (3). focus on the plain and literal sense of 1 In chapter 1, Fowler discusses the per- Corinthians. tinent sections from eleven confessions These books are written so that a lay- and seventeen individual authors from person as well as a pastor can use them. the seventeenth to the nineteenth cen- Students of theology and ethics will tury. He concludes that the ‘dominant appreciate them. Scholars looking at 1 view’ of baptism in the seventeenth century was as an ‘instrumental function in fresh insights not often seen in exegeti- the application of redemption’, thereby calCorinthians commentaries. will benefit from the many making it very much like the Puritan- Calvinistic theology of the time (31, cf. 248–49). However, in the eighteenth and ERT (2020) 44:1, 95-96 nineteenth centuries baptism was seen strictly as an ordinance rather than a More Than a Symbol: The British sacrament, and as an act of human obe- Baptist Recovery of Baptismal dience as opposed to a means of grace Sacramentalism (87, cf. 249). Stanley K. Fowler In chapter 2, Fowler discusses the pertinent sections from eleven authors Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock and documents of the twentieth century. Publishers (arrangement with Beginning with H. Wheeler Robinson Paternoster), 2002 in the 1920s and culminating with G. Pb., 276 pp., bibliog., index R. Beasley-Murray in the 1960s, some Reviewed by Andrew Messmer (described British Baptist scholars began arguing on page 89) for baptismal sacramentalism. However, Although Fowler’s work was originally this advocacy occurred without recourse published in 2002, reviews of it have to the supposed seventeenth-century appeared in only two American-based journals. I believe that the importance of based on a fresh exegesis of Scripture this work has not received the attention carried‘dominant’ out Baptistwithin anview; ecumenical rather, it cli-was it deserved, especially as it relates to mate (154–55, 249). Baptist self-understanding and broader Chapter 3 presents Fowler’s interaction ecumenical issues, thereby justifying with New Testament exegesis in three renewed attention to it. primary ways. First, he provides brief Fowler’s work focuses on baptismal interpretations of seventeen New Testa- sacramentalism amongst British Bap- ment texts that potentially or actually tists and is divided into an introduction relate to baptismal sacramentalism: he states that his purpose is to analyse and five chapters. In the introduction, John’s baptism; Jesus baptism; Matthew 28:19; John 3:5; Acts 2:38; 8:14–17; 96 Book Reviews

the normative means of the experience of personal salvation, as opposed to the 10:44–48; 19:1–7; 22:16; Romans 6:3–4; necessary means of the same, is very 1 Corinthians 6:11; 12:13; Galatians compelling (e.g. 170). he3:27; responds Ephesians to three 5:25-27; criticisms Colossians against However, chapter 1, which is dedicated baptismal2:12; Titus sacramentalism 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21. that Second, arise to defending the Baptistic roots of bap- from Matthew 28:19–20 and Acts 2:36, tismal sacramentalism and is arguably as well as from texts that treat water the major contribution of the work, is and the Spirit. Third, he summarizes less convincing, for two reasons. First, and responds to Karl Barth’s critiques of as Fowler himself confesses, twentieth- baptismal sacramentalism as they relate century British Baptist scholars do not to ten New Testament texts. consciously depend on Baptist baptis- In chapter 4, Fowler discusses the rela- mal theology from the preceding three tionship between baptismal sacramen- centuries (97, 129, 155, 249). Thus, talism and six theological and systematic the modern British Baptist movement perspectives: faith, grace, the Holy Spirit, is not a ‘recovery’ of previous beliefs, the Church, the necessity of baptism, but rather a ‘discovery’ in its own right. and other sacramental traditions. The Second and more importantly, Fowler summary chapter draws attention to has not convinced me that baptismal the fact that non-British Baptists have sacramentalism was the dominant not seriously interacted with British view amongst seventeenth-century baptismal theology and encourages Baptists (he concedes that it was not so them to do so. amongst eighteenth- and nineteenth- century Baptists). The texts that he cites Fowler is to be commended for his sev- frequently use ordinance language such eral lucid explanations of texts (biblical as ‘ordinance’, ‘sign’, ‘signify’ and ‘token’, and otherwise), his succinct summaries and only rarely do they use sacramental of complex ideas, and his perceptive- language such as ‘means’ (e.g. Keach’s ness and clarity of expression. Although Catechism, question 93). Moreover, I found no spelling errors, the Greek Fowler himself recognizes that baptis- font is irregular at times. A glossary of mal sacramentalism of the seventeenth century ‘consistently asserted’ that bap- helpful, as would a review of post-1966 significant terminology would have been discussion of baptismal sacramentalism. could refer either to salvation itself or The overall argument is convincing at totism post-salvation ‘bestows spiritual blessings benefit’, such which as ena- some points, but not at others. Chap- bling, assurance, and the like (31–32). ters 3 and 4, along with part of chapter 2, are dedicated to defending Baptist Fowler has ably demonstrated, however, baptismal sacramentalism exegetically that seventeenth- to nineteenth-century and theologically. Although this is not Baptist baptismal theology was not the primary focus of the work, it is the universally of the nudum signum order, but rather was much more varied and most important for sola Scriptura Bap- diverse. Many, indeed, believed that tists, and it is also the most compelling. baptism was ‘more than a symbol’. Fowler’s repeated claim that baptism is