Pittsburgh Theological Journal Publishes Research Articles, Dissertation Abstracts, Book Reviews, Sermons, and Reflections on Pastoral and Educational Ministry
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PITTSBURGH THEOLOGICAL J O U R N A L AUTUMN 2018 • VOLUME 9 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF . Jon Chillinsky MANAGING EDITOR . Felix Rivera-Merced EDITORS . Ciera James Michael Ondrick Anthony Rivera Corey Rugh Brandon Shaw The Pittsburgh Theological Journal publishes research articles, dissertation abstracts, book reviews, sermons, and reflections on pastoral and educational ministry . It exists for the benefit of the extended community of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to encourage academic and theological rigor and growth . All correspondence should be addressed to: Pittsburgh Theological Seminary 616 North Highland Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Phone: 412-362-5610 The views expressed are those of the individual authors; they do not necessarily represent the opinion of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary students, faculty, administration, or Board of Directors . ISSN 1949-9079 TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Editor Jon Chillinsky. 5 Letter from the President Dr. David Esterline . 7 RESEARCH The Missio Spiritus in a Pluralistic World: A Pentecost Approach to Dialogue, Hospitality, and Sanctuary Amos Yong . 11 Beloved Community and Justice: The Holiness of God as the Foundation for Social Justice Anthony Rivera . 49 The Ministry of Transcendence in 21st Century Post-Christian America Benito Stallings . 71 Paul’s Great Exclamation (Romans 11:12): The National Conversion of Ethnic Israel for the Gospel Enlivenment of the Nations unto the GLobal Fame of Jesus Christ Brandon Shaw . 85 A Practical Theology of Migration: South Africa and the Intra-African Diaspora Gary Glasser . 97 Sabbath-Keeping is Child’s Play: Exploring The Symbiosis of Play and the Sabbath G.D. Jones, Jr. 111 A Century after the Bolshevik Revolution: What Kind of Kingdom? John P. Burgess . 137 Suffering: What is the Church Doing? Jon Chillinsky . 153 You Must Resist: Theologically-Grounded Political Resistance in Barth and Bonhoeffer Michael Ondrick . 181 Lemuel Haynes: An Early Critic of American Racial Ideology Samuel McCann . 205 SERMONS The Lost Sons and the Prodigal God Jordan Rimmer . 227 Show Invisibles Steven Tuell . 237 POEM Frozen Pizza Jill Croushore . 243 BOOK REVIEW The Going: A Meditation on Jewish Law by Leon Wiener Dow Jerome Creach . 249 Letter from the Editor Dear Reader, I sincerely hope you enjoy reading the 2018 Pittsburgh Theological Journal . Each year, the journal seeks to benefit the extended community of the seminary by encouraging academic rigor and growth . This year, specifically, each submission contains applicable pastoral insight for the reader alongside the academic depth . It has been my honor to serve as the Editor-in-Chief for the past two years . This edition would not have been possible without the many hours worked by the diligent editorial staff . Thank you for your efforts . Through many conversations with the PTS administration, I gratefully and humbly announce that the journal will no longer continue . I pray that the words published, pages read, and effort exhausted will bear fruit in the lives of those involved . May these works continue to help transform the minds of many individuals in the future by bringing insight, wisdom, and growth . Blessings, Jon Chillinsky Editor-in-Chief Letter from the President Dear Reader, Since the spring of 2009, the Pittsburgh Theological Journal has published essays, sermons, poetry, and meditations on ministry . On the occasion of this, the Journal’s final issue, I am grateful to the advisors, editors, contributors, and readers past and present—and offer particular appreciation for the work of editor-in-chief, Jon Chillinsky . The Pittsburgh Theological Journal has invited us as a community to reflect more deeply, think more critically, and know one another more profoundly . Though the Journal is being published for the last time, the invitations it has extended to us remain as significant as ever . I invite you to read this final issue in that spirit of deep reflection, critical thinking, and profound knowing—and to consider how that spirit animates your life of faith as well . David Esterline President PITTSBURGH THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL RESEARCH AUTUMN 2018 • VOLUME 9 The Missio Spiritus in a Pluralistic World: A Pentecost Approach to Dialogue, Hospitality, and Sanctuary Amos Yong ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr . Yong is currently the Director of the Center for Missiological Research and Professor of Theology & Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary . Dr . Yong is also a distinguished speaker and author of many works . ABSTRACT This two-part essay originated from my being invited to give the annual Don McClure Lectures at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 24- 25 September 2017 . PART I: A PENTECOST APPROACH TO TRANSFORMATIONAL DIALOGUE In this article, we will be navigating around four large topics: the Holy Spirit, mission, hospitality, and pluralism . Each one of those can take up two or more articles, so I am going to combine all four of them here . This first half, “A Pentecost approach to Transformational Dialogue,” will be followed later with a joint look at the themes of 12 | Amos Yong hospitality, and sanctuary in the Spirit . I have divided them in this way to focus a bit more on theological underpinnings in this first part, before we turn later to look at practice-oriented reflections more relevant for our contemporary time . However, as one trained in systematic theology, I am always theologizing, so theology will be prominent in both parts . Although a theologian, I have been working also as a missiologist since joining Fuller Theological Seminary and teaching in the School of Intercultural Studies (where I also direct the PhD and ThM programs in intercultural studies, which used to be called PhD in missiology) . So, I have been thinking quite a bit more about theology and mission, and of course, thinking about it in the multicultural Los Angeles area . Increasingly also, no matter where you live in North America, we are in times in which people are moving in all kinds of different directions and many major cities, Pittsburgh included, are increasingly diverse . These articles reflect some of my thoughts on these matters at the present moment . MISSIOLOGY IN A PLURALISTIC WORLD: TYPES OF ENGAGEMENT When we think about engaging with religious others, there are usually a few models that come to mind . One historic approach is what some call evangelism, and what others call interreligious apologetics . An, if not the, important goal in these modes of interacting with people of other faiths is to evangelize, to share the gospel or the good news of Christ, and to invite others to experience this evangel in their own lives . If such persons who are being evangelized put up any kind of reasoned argument in response, then it is appropriate or incumbent to shift to what is called interreligious apologetics,1 meaning that we listen to the other’s account and then attempt to respond to that account . Such could involve a version of the Christian faith that responds further to the other’s perspective so that a kind of back-and-forth of rational defenses of and for faith ensues . One can imagine various scenarios for such exchanges, for instance, on the one hand, a more interpersonal and 1 A sophisticated but exemplary articulation of such is Paul J . Griffiths, An Apology for Apologetics: A Study in the Logic of Interreligious Dialogue (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991) . Pittsburgh Theological Journal 2018 | 13 impromptu interaction in an evangelistic context or, on the other hand, in more organized perhaps debate events where speakers come ready to present their views and engage those invited to represent other faiths . A variation of the above that foregrounds more the conversational dimension and subordinates the apologetic thrust might be an interreligious dialogical forum where people of different faiths sit around and share perspectives on a common topic . In urban environments, for example, people of various religions might convene to address matters related to life together in the public sphere . Increasingly, these public contexts in North America bring together people of a variety of cultural and faith backgrounds . On some if not increasingly many of these occasions, then, faith perspectives come to the forum within the context of discussing this or that aspect of city, regional, state, national, or even international life .2 More and more, people across faith traditions have found common cause to work for, i .e ., the common good of our situation, our location, our region, and so on . For some, then, evangelism and interreligious apologetics are quite distinct and very different from interreligious dialogue, particularly conversations of the latter sort directed toward addressing social challenges . While these activities are not necessarily opposed to one another, some will emphasize or more vigorously participate in one and neglect the other as if they were two quite distinctive modes of engaging with religious others . Let us not minimize their differences . There are many who are of the mind that yes, evangelism is a good thing and we ought to be focused on doing that . Others might be more inclined to have more open-ended discussions with people of various faiths, oriented to getting to know who they are instead, and consider that to be an appropriate and sufficient good . Should we be able and even encouraged to do both? What might it that look like for us to do both? And how might these approaches come together in the current cultural context? 2 E .g ., Michael Ipgrave, Building a Better Bridge: Muslims, Christians, and the Common Good (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2008); and Francis Arinze, Building Bridges: Interreligious Dialogue on the Path to World Peace (New York: New City Press, 2004) . 14 | Amos Yong A PENTECOSTAL MISSIOLOGY? I grew up in a Pentecostal home . My parents are Assemblies of God ministers and my father still preaches to this day . I was born in the country of Malaysia . At the age of ten, my parents moved our family to Northern California to work among Chinese-speaking immigrants .