ERT cover 30-3 8/6/06 10:37 Page 1 CONTENTS E V Theme: With Heart and Mind A N G Editorial – With Heart and Mind E L I page 195 C A Universalism and Evangelical Theology L R DAVID HILBORN AND DON HORROCKS E V I page 196 E W Biotheology: Theology, Ethics and the New O Biotechnologies F T BRIAN EDGAR H E page 219 O L Glossolalia in Korean Christianity: An Historical Survey O G BONJOUR BAY Y page 237 V O Articles and book reviews reflecting L Contextualization and Discipleship U M global evangelical theology for the purpose MINHO SONG E page 249 3 of discerning the obedience of faith 0 , Farewell Gerasenes: A Bible Study on Mark 5:1-20 N JOHN LEWIS O 3 page 264 , J u l Book Reviews y 2 page 271 0 0 6 Volume 30 No. 3 July 2006 Evangelical Review of Theology EDITOR: DAVID PARKER Volume 30 • Number 3 • July 2006 Articles and book reviews reflecting global evangelical theology for the purpose of discerning the obedience of faith Published by for WORLD EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE Theological Commission ISSN: 0144-8153 Volume 30 No. 3 July 2006 Copyright © 2006 World Evangelical Alliance Theological Commission Editor David Parker Committee The Executive Committee of the WEA Theological Commission Dr Rolf Hille, Executive Chair Editorial Policy The articles in the Evangelical Review of Theology reflect the opinions of the authors and reviewers and do not necessarily represent those of the Editor or the Publisher. Manuscripts, reports and communications should be addressed to the Editor and sent to Dr David Parker, 17 Disraeli St, Indooroopilly, 4068, Qld, Australia The Editors welcome recommendations of original or published articles or book reviews that relate to forthcoming issues for inclusion in the Review. Please send clear copies of details to the above address. Email enquiries welcome: [email protected] http://www.worldevangelicalalliance.com/commissions/theological.htm Typeset by Toucan, Carnegie House, Western Way, Exeter EX1 2DB and Printed in Great Britain for Paternoster Periodicals, PO Box 300, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 0QS by Polestar Wheatons Ltd., Exeter, Devon. ERT (2006) 30:3, 195 Editorial: With Heart and Mind In this issue we have pleasure in pre- presses for new creative theological senting a second group of papers from thinking to reconcile official doctrinal the joint Theological Commission- positions on this matter with the reali- Korea Evangelical Theological Society ties of church practice—a process consultation held in Korea, Sept 30-Oct which has wider applicability than this 1, 2005. This Third International Con- particular topic. ference on Evangelical Theology fea- Then we have a paper by Dr Minho tured a large number of papers, some Song on discipleship. Although not of which appeared in our April 2006 presented at our Conference, it pro- issue. Our opening article is an impor- vides soundly based practical advice on tant presentation by Theological Com- an issue that faces Christians every- mission member, Dr David Hilborn and where. He argues that ‘Discipleship in his co-author David Horrocks, of a context calls for an astute examination topic of contemporary interest—uni- of the needs and issues of the context versalism, revealing the interesting in light of the timeless and unchanging history which this viewpoint has had in message of the Bible…. Discipleship in Evangelicalism. context is not an option, but an imper- In a rather different area, but just as ative.’ important, is the groundbreaking Concluding with this theme, our exploration by another TC member, Dr Bible study article by John Lewis Brian Edgar, of a new and comprehen- focuses on the need for mission and sive approach to bio-ethics. Dr Edgar witness to be related to our cultural takes account of the vastly increased context. So whether we look at views scope that this quite new discipline of the afterlife, the consequences of needs to cover due to the extremely adventurous science or issues of spiri- rapid growth of science recently in tuality and the call of discipleship, we areas such as gene manipulation and know that ‘What is needed is God’s stem cell research, rendering the older powerful love proclaimed and lived by parameters of bio-ethics far too lim- God’s people as they live their faith in ited. Accordingly he presents an dialogue with surrounding communi- expanded set of guidelines for deci- ties, as they proclaim the Word and sion-making. witnesses to the Spirit in prayer and We then follow with two articles ministry… We will only impact our focusing on the Korean situation—first communities so long as we proclaim an informative survey of the develop- and live the transformative, freeing ment of glossolalia in the Korean con- and renewing power of God, which is text by Dr Bonjour Bay, casting a fas- the love of God in Jesus Christ.’ cinating light on this phenomenon in his home country. In particular, he David Parker, Editor ERT (2006) 30:3, 196-218 Universalism and Evangelical Theology: An Historical Theological Perspective David Hilborn and Don Horrocks KEYWORDS: Missions, evangelism, vey of universalism published for the conversion, Pietism, Arminianism, British evangelical journal Themelios in Reformed Theology, Evangelical 1979, Richard Bauckham associated Alliance, Darwinism, election, salva- the doctrine with ‘less conservative’ tion, final restitution theologians, and barely mentioned anyone who could be classed as an evangelical.2 Likewise, while charting Introduction: Thomas the recent growth of more radical sote- Talbott and The Possibility of riologies among evangelicals, Daniel Strange has nevertheless concluded ‘Evangelical Universalism’ that ‘even those evangelicals who are THE traditional view of universalism and evangelicalism is that they are 1 mutually exclusive. In a historical sur- Donald R. Dunavant, ‘Universalism’ in A. Scott Moreau (ed.), Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1 Among numerous expressions of this tradi- 2000), pp. 988-89; James Davison Hunter, tional view, see Derek J. Tidball, Who Are the Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation Evangelicals? Tracing the Roots of Today’s (Chicago/London: University of Chicago Movements (London: Marshall Pickering, Press, 1987), p. 47. 1994), pp. 151-52;, Alister McGrath, A Passion 2 Richard J. Bauckham, ‘Universalism: A His- for Truth: The Intellectual Coherence of Evangel- torical Survey’, Themelios 4:2 (1979), pp. 48- icalism (Leicester: Apollos, 1996), pp. 236-40; 54. Dr David Hilborn (PhD Nottingham) is Theological Adviser to the UK Evangelical Alliance and an Associate Research Fellow of the London School of Theology. He has co-edited and co-authored several works, including One Body in Christ, Faith Hope and Homosexuality, ‘Toronto’ in Perspective and The Nature of Hell. He is an ordained Anglican minister and a member of the WEA Theological Commission. Don Horrocks, a former banker and management consultant, is Public Affairs Manager for the EA UK, and editor of Transsexuality and Modifying Creation. He holds a PhD in Historical Theology. This is a slightly edited version of a paper presented at the Third International Conference of Evangelical Theology, held at SungKyul University, Anyang, Korea, Sept 30-Oct 1, 2005 and was originally published in Universal Salvation: the Current Debate (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2003) edited by Robin A. Parry and Christopher H. Partridge (used here by permission of the publisher). Universalism and Evangelical Theology 197 very optimistic about the numbers of broadly Arminian emphasis on freewill people who will eventually be saved beyond the grave for those who do not still do not believe in universalism; for hear the gospel in this life, Talbott ‘it is not a matter of degree to move maintains a Reformed emphasis on the from the belief that the majority of fixed and eternal nature of God’s humanity will be saved to a belief that salvific decrees, but dismisses the idea all will be saved, but a matter of kind’. that these decrees entail a so-called In fact, Strange’s assessment of the ‘double predestination’—that is, the current scene leads him to declare that election of some to everlasting life and he knows ‘of no published evangelical others to hell. Talbott echoes familiar who holds to the doctrine of universal- Reformed thinking when he states that ism’.3 while our choices in respect of the Plainly, however, Strange’s assess- gospel ‘most assuredly can affect our ment begs the question whether there chances for happiness in the present are any conditions under which an and in the near term future’, they ‘can- evangelical who did embrace univer- not alter our final destiny’. But he salism could continue to be classed as starkly departs from Reformed under- ‘evangelical’—and if so, what those standing when he suggests that this conditions might be. One such case is ‘final destiny’ is the same for all— Thomas Talbott who teaches philoso- namely, a universally ‘glorious inheri- phy at Willamette University in Salem, tance’ of ‘union with God and reconcil- Oregon. Formed in a deeply conserva- iation with others’. As Talbott tive evangelical church community, he expresses it in his main treatise on this pursued graduate work at Fuller Semi- topic, The Inescapable Love of God, nary. Talbott’s years at Fuller saw him ‘when the Hound of Heaven has finally radically reject the Calvinism in which closed off every alternative to such a he had been schooled—a rejection union, we shall then, each of us, finally which led, in time, to the formulation of embrace the destiny that is ours’.5