Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 27.2
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SCOTTISH BULLETIN OF EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY The scope of the Bulletin is broadly defined as theology, especially Scottish and Reformed, whether biblical, systematic-dogmatic, historical or practical, and Scottish church history. Articles submitted for publication should be sent to the Editor, books for review to the review editor (see below). Contributors are free to express their own views within the broad parameters of historic evangelicalism. The opinions of contributors may not be assumed to be those of Rutherford House or the Scottish Evangelical Theology Society. EDITOR: THE REVD DR ALISTAIR I. WILSON, Dumisani Theological Institute, P.O. Box 681, King William's Town, 5600 Eastern Cape, South Africa AssoCIATE EDITOR: DR JASON M CURTIS, Rutherford House, 1 Hill Street, Edinburgh EH2 3JP. Email: [email protected] REVIEW EDITOR: REvD JAMES R A MERRICK, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy King's College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UB. Email: [email protected] The Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology is published twice annually by Rutherford House in association with the Scottish Evangelical Theology Society, whose officers are: President: Professor I. Howard Marshall, University of Aberdeen Chairman: The Revd Dr Fergus Macdonald, 113 St Alban's Road, Edinburgh, EH92PQ Secretary: The Revd David Easton, Rowanbank, Cormiston Road, Quothquan, Biggar, ML12 6ND. Tel. 01899 308459. Email: [email protected] The Scottish Bulletin ofEvangelical Theology is indexed in Elenchus, Cerdic, IZBG, ATLA and Relig. Theo!. Abstr. Subscriptions should be addressed to: Rutherford House, 1 Hill Street, Edinburgh, EDINBURGH, EH2 3JP. e-mail: [email protected]. Rates from 2009: £14.00; Students £7.00. Overseas Surface Mail £16 00· Airmail £19.00. ISSN 0265-4539 . ' Single issue £8.00 EDITORIAL 'There is a time for everything.' (So we might paraphrase Ecclesiastes 3: 1.) When I first browsed ('read' would, I think, be too strong a word!) a copy of the Scottish Bulletin ofEvangelical Theology, probably sometime during my first year of undergraduate studies at New College, Edinburgh, it never entered my head that there would come a time when I would serve as editor of the journal. It was a huge honour to be asked to take on this responsibility (particularly as the request came from my esteemed teacher and friend, Alasdair I. Macleod, who then served as editor) and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to serve both the church and the academy in this way. But now the time has c·ome to pass on the baton and this will be the final number of SBET for which I take responsibility as editor. Before I introduce my successor, I hope readers will bear with me as I thank several people. Firstly, I wish to thank the members of the relevant committees of Rutherford House and the Scottish Evangelical Theology Society for entrusting me with this significant task and for their continued confidence in me even when I relocated to South Africa. Sec ondly, thanks are due to all those who have worked to support the produc tion of SBET, and particularly to the new Director of Rutherford House, Dr Jason Curtis, who has provided such dedicated support since he took up his post. Thirdly, I would like to thank the numerous authors who have submitted articles for inclusion in SBET (even if not all submissions were finally published). It has been greatly encouraging to have a range of ar ticles submitted from both established scholars and writers nearer the be ginning of their careers; from men and women; from writers working in Scotland, England, France, Germany, the USA, Australia, South Africa. I hope that all readers have found something to stimulate, to educate, to challenge them in the articles which have been published. Finally, I would like to thank the readers of SBET for taking theological writing seriously and for demanding that theology has something significant to say for the good of the church. Now, I am pleased to be able to tell you that the new editor of the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology is Dr David Reimer, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at New College, the University of Edinburgh. I am particularly pleased that David represents, firstly, the ongoing connection between SBET and the institution in which I first read it. Many readers of SBETwill have strong memories of the late Professor David Wright's contribution to the journal, as editor, author and enthusi astic advocate and I am glad that another David from New College will carry the work on. I'm sure it will be a positive move to have an editor of SBET who is actually in Scotland! And secondly, I am pleased that the SCOTTISH BULLETIN OF EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY new editor is again a specialist in biblical studies and I trust that this will continue to encourage a healthy mutual respect among biblical theolo gians, systematicians and historians for their various contributions to a common task of doing theology for the church. Please continue to read, support and pray for the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology. IN THIS ISSUE I am grateful to the various contributors who have provided an interesting selection of papers for this issue. The opening article is a theological-historical study of the notion of 'uniformity' in the church, jointly written by Rev. James Eglinton (cur rently completing his PhD on an aspect of the thought of Herman Bavinck at the University of Edinburgh) and my colleague here at Dumisani Theo logical Institute, Dr John Ross. The second article is by Rev. Mark Batluck, currently a research stu dent at the University of Edinburgh. His comparison of the writings of one ancient author (Irenaeus) and one modern author (Bart Ehrman) on the Ebionites, provides an interesting study of what we can learn about the author as well as the subject when we read a text. In the following article, Rev Michael Braeutigam, a pastor in St Wen del, Germany, provides a Trinitarian perspective on the doctrine of adop tion which, although doubtless a relatively neglected doctrine, has none theless received a more appropriate amount of attention in the pages of SBET in recent years. Next, Michael Brown, a pastor in Santee, California, contributes a study of Samuel Petto, a little-known 'Puritan Pastor-Theologian', high lighting his theological contribution for the sake of the church. Finally, Dr Fergus Macdonald, also of Edinburgh, builds on an earlier article published in the Autumn 2008 issue of SBETwith a study of how a variety of different readers (many not participants in church life) engage with the Bible, and specifically with the Psalms. This is the published form of a lecture given in his capacity as a Fellow of the Spencer Center for Global Engagement at Taylor University, IN., in February 2009. I express my thanks to all our contributors and I trust that readers will be spurred to thought and reflection - and indeed to prayer and worship - as they engage with these papers. Alistair I. Wilson 130 UNITY AND UNIFORMITY: TOWARDS A TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP IAMES EGLINTON PHO CANDIDATE, NEW COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. loHN S Ross OUMISANI THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, KING WILLIAM'S TOWN. INTRODUCTION Locating this paper in one theological discipline is a somewhat difficult task. This is perhaps so as the paper attempts to use its co-authors' back grounds in systematic theology and church history to probe what is, if anything, a niche within a sub-discipline: applied ecclesiology. The immediate backdrop to this paper is the current debate on worship in the Free Church of Scotland, which focuses on whether all congrega tions within the denomination must observe strict uniformity of worship (in this case, inspired materials of praise without instrumental accompa niment). Central to this discussion is whether a Christian church should prize uniformity as its highest ideal. The general position with which the authors engage is one typical of conservative Scottish Presbyterian ecclesiology: the claim that catholicity within a denomination necessitates a strict level of uniformity regarding the elements, content and style of cultic worship among its member con gregations. Due to this, whether one attends a Free Church service in an Island village, a Glasgwegian council estate, central Edinburgh, the Doric North East or cosmopolitan London, it is expected that the service will, in terms of liturgical elements and style, be substantially the same. Although this work is framed within the debate of a particular de nomination, the issues raised are of the utmost relevance to all who with the Apostles' Creed believe in the catholicity of Christ's church and the Triune reality of God. Indeed, the principle of uniformity is not the unique creation of Scottish Presbyterians. It is also the norm within Ro man Catholicism: whether one attends Mass in Rome, Brazil or India, the liturgical elements, aesthetic and until n,latively recently language have SCOTTISH BULLETIN OF EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY historically been uniform.1 The same can be said of the Greek Orthodox Church: orthodox worship in Athens, Greece will be markedly similar to that in its Georgia namesake. 2 Indeed, this trait has also become a major feature within mainstream evangelicalism, where a bland, uniform Hill songsesque style exerts an international dominance. Thus, while this article finds its immediate context within the life of a small Scottish Presbyterian denomination, the issues it handles are of far wider significance. From the vantage point of systematic theology, it will be argued that the ideal of uniformity (in this case as applied to contextualised ecclesiol ogy) is wholly inconsistent for those who confess the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as one God in eternal co-existence. If the church's God is the Trinity, it will be put forward, its highest ideal should be unity-in diversity.