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Transylvanian Sabbatarianism emerged from the aspirations of the Reformation, without direct contact with the Jews. Although the most frequently asked question about them concerns their identity were they Christians or Jews the answers of the literature are superficial, biased, and take only an external point of view. The aim of this book, therefore, is to move closer to the 1617th century Sabbatarian manuscripts and to examine how much they were still connected to Christianity in their biblical interpretations, doctrines and religious practices, how they adapted to Judaism, and how they saw themselves in relation to the two world religions. The analysis of Reka Timea Ujlaki-Nagy shows that although they still held some Christian beliefs, these were considered to be incidental and unnecessary to salvation. Sabbatarians followed the ideal of an age preceding Christ, consequently the Reformation effort to restitute apostolic Christianity disappeared from their religious thought.

This book gives attention to the language and style of the letter of James, with a hypothesis about its rhetorical purpose in mind. It focuses on what we can learn about the author of James, by reading the text in light of a guiding research question: How does the author establish and assert authority? The letter builds literary authority for a number of purposes, one of which is to address socioeconomic disparity, a major concern for the author.The author of James presents a speech-in-character in the shape of a letter to establish his ethos (Ch. 2), employing vocabulary and style to signal his education implicitly (Ch. 3 & 4) and includes himself in the categories of sage, teacher and exegete explicitly (Ch. 5). From this standpoint, the author can address the rich as equals, rebuke them and admonish both rich and poor to receive Gods wisdom (Ch. 6).The comparison with ancient literary criticism shows that the categories at play are the same. The insight that language and ethos are inseparable categories in antiquity provides us with renewed ways to interpret the literary production of early Christianity. Both James and the Classicists present a competing epic in the context of the early imperium, the former with an Israelite piety that is superior to contemporary economic and moral categories and the latter with the supremacy of Greek culture as a foundation for Rome.The letter of James emerges as a document that builds educational ethos as a balance against the rich and powerful, a strategy that calls for a revision of both its rhetoric and socio-economic situation.

The book presents many aspects of the phenomenon of translation and commentary work of the Bible in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th and 17th centuries. It contains studies of eminent scholars as well as of some young adepts, coming mainly from Poland, but also from Lithuania and Czech Republic. The texts present various aspects of the researches conducted on this phenomenon nowadays. As it was an exceptional movement, extremely varied and long-time lasting, it would be difficult to offer its complete synthesis in one volume. Though, the exhaustive presentation of the historical and linguistic contexts allows the reader to understand the phenomenon. Intensified interest in translations of the Bible is closely connected with the interest in the Polish language, its literary expression as well as its grammatical and orthographic standardisation that occurred just in the same time. The intellectual activity related to the Bible contributed simultaneously to the development of the Polish literary language and even inspired the translations of the sacred texts of other religions present in the country. Moreover, contacts between different languages of Central and Eastern European area, where many attempts of new translations appeared, are very important. A quick rise of the different Reformation movements contributed to a natural need for new translations and commentaries to be used by community members. These new currents, first easily accepted and spread in the country, even when suppressed, could not stop this activity, and later new Catholic translations and commentaries of the post-Trident period, both in Polish and Lithuanian, proved it. Big part of study is also dedicated to particular typographical realizations of this activity and an interesting example of the musical expression directly inspired by the biblical translation, is also provided.

This present volume aims to stimulate Bucer-research as it brings together a selection of the best of De Kroons and Vant Spijkers articles some of which appear for the first time in English translation. In the first section Bucer is described as taking his independent stand in the patristic and scholastic tradition. The next five articles go into the close personal and theological relation between Bucer and John Calvin and make clear how much of Bucer works through in Calvin and Calvinism. Bucers efforts to bridge theological and ecclesiastical gaps brought him often in discussion with catholic as well as protestant theologians. How he dealt with this is the topic of the third section in this volume. The two following articles deal with his view on discipline and on the right of resistance. The next articles deal with Bucers doctrinal legacy and the last section focuses on sanctification as one of the most important characteristics of his theology.The most important issues of contemporary Bucer-research and the outlines of his theology are convincingly presented in this volume by known experts for this topic.

Melanchthon and Calvin were late medieval people, stemming from a world of order and unity, and at the same time they fully lived in the early modern world, in which everything was changing. In this new world they committedly, enthusiastically, and restlessly sought to introduce some order, in theory as well as practice. The sixteenth-century church was governed by multiple coercive constructions and systems. Did the two Reformers really succeed in disconnecting themselves from them, and to what extent did they connect to, for example, the existing forms of eucharistic piety?The established church had come under serious criticism, and people were massively turning their backs on the less than attractive ecclesiastical practicessomething connecting that era to ours. In these highly turbulent and suspenseful 1520s, when it was not yet clear whether the ten-year-old evangelical movement in Germany was still viable, Melanchthon tried to introduce at least some order into the chaos by means of a confession accompanied by a church order. As it turned out, the new doctrine on Christian freedom and justification by faith alone was easily interpreted in a one-sided manner. Through a careful analysis of the sources, Herman A. Speelman examines Melanchthons church visitations in 1527 and Calvins five attempts to shape the modernisation of ecclesiastical life. In addition to the gospel, also penance and the preaching of the law received a place in the Protestant liturgy and spirituality.Melanchthons and Calvins contributions were not only to have an enormous impact on the theological evolutions in the evangelical movement in Europe, but they also proved to be of eminent importance for the way in which the new doctrine was given meaning in practice. Their instructions continue to be highly influential in large parts of Europe today.

In the last decades, many countries in Latin America underwent a transition from dictatorship to democracy. Truth commissions were an essential instrument of uncovering politically motivated crimes and serious human rights violations. However, in many cases truth came without justice, perpetrators were not held accountable, and the reparations policy was rather restrictive. The authors of this volume address the issue from a transdisciplinary perspective. On the one hand, they focus on a past that is shaped by fierce conflicts but also by attempts of fostering reconciliation in the middle of conflict. On the other hand, they address a reconciliation that still lies in the future and has to do with justice.Their first part offers a collection of case studies that approach the topics of reconciliation and conflict resolution during and in the aftermath of dictatorship and civil war from different perspectives and academic disciplines. Their second part is dedicated to experiences with reconciliation, conflict resolution and migration from a global and comparative perspective.Several contributors reflect the Holderlin perspective of "reconciliation in the middle of dispute". Other contributions aim to deepen our theoretical understanding of reconciliation by exploring the diversity of interpretations of the concept itself and elaborating the specific benefit of reconciliatory approaches for a sustainable peace. Two authors offer an in-depth analysis of particular conflicts, and one article deals with the influence of religion and culture on the social role of Brazilian migrants in Japan.

While in the 16-17th centuries about the two thirds of the Hungarians belonged to the Reformed Church, the presence of the "spirit of capitalism" and the "protestant ethic" is rather questionable. The Calvinists did not play a different or decisive role in the capitalization process of Hungary at the end of the 19th century. The historical analysis focuses on the puritan doctrines can be found in the religiosity of Hungarian puritans and Reformed people in the 17th century. The "Hungarian Protestant ethic" differs from Webers ideal-type in two respects: the Hungarian version is more pietistic, less activist; and it seems to have less practical influence in everyday life because of the weak religiosity. The Hungarian case does not refute Webers thesis, but it call the attention to two important parts of historical analysis: the reinterpreting, selecting procedure in social context; and the intensity of religiosity.

Jonathan Edwards engaged in notable ways with the church in Germany through his writings on spirituality, theology and missiology, but this contribution has rarely been acknowledged in academic publications. In this book scholars who have an interest in both Edwards and the church in Europe offer contributions to a significant worldwide conversation on Edwardss texts and teachings. He found an ally in Martin Luther, sought out encouragement from German Pietists, and engaged with Western traditions of philosophy which proved useful in sharpening subsequent reflection on Gods work in the world. Edwards was not just a remote colonial American pastor, but an active participant in the transatlantic republic of letters and contributed to the birth of the global missions movement, for which the church in Germany was itself a significant base.

In her Epilogue entitled "What Is His Greatness?", Ola Elizabeth Winslow stated in the first serious modern biography of Jonathan Edwards: "In a word, it is the greatness of one who had a determining art of initiating and directing a popular movement of far-reaching consequence, and who in addition, laid the foundations for a new system of religious thought, also of far-reaching consequence." After two and a half centuries since Edwardss death, Winslows statement is undoubtedly true, and perhaps, more so now than ever. The recovery of Edwards pioneered by Perry Miller, Ola Winslow, and Thomas Schafer, among others, has become what is often referred to as an "Edwards renaissance," and has been made even more popular among lay people by John Piper, Stephen Nichols, and the like. Since the free online access of The Works of Jonathan Edwards by Yale University, dozens of books, and articles, as well as numerous dissertations, each year are written to seek a facet of Edwardss "greatness," and thus as an exemplar of his continued "far-reaching consequence."Jonathan Edwards, more than any other pre-revolutionary colonial thinker, grappled with the promises and perils of the Enlightenment. Organized by John T. Lowe and Daniel N. Gullotta, Jonathan Edwards within the Enlightenment brings together a group of young and early career scholars to present their propping the life, times, and theology of one of Americas greatest minds. Many of these subjects have been seldom explored by scholars while others offer new and exciting avenues into well covered territory. Some of these topics include Edwards interaction with and involvement in slavery, colonialism, racism, as well as musings on gender, populism, violence, pain, and witchcraft.

Over the centuries, the Protestant church has been severed into two major positions in regard to predestination and reprobation. On one side, the Arminians largely reject these doctrines, while the reformed readily embrace them as biblical truth. Although much has been written either rejecting or defending the doctrine of reprobation, little attention has been given to the historical development of the reformed position on the nature of reprobation and Gods use of secondary causality in the hardening of the wicked. By means of historical analysis, Peter Sammons traces the development of the doctrine of reprobation from Augustine to the Synod of Dort. In this book, Sammons gives special attention to views on reprobation and its various parts, preterition and predamnation, along with how, historically, theologians have attempted to articulate its execution. Perhaps one of the greatest paradoxes in all of Scripture, theology, and philosophy is here addressed: "How does an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God predetermine and interact with sin in the world?" Answering the question proves vital, not merely to reconcile theological and philosophical concerns, but to answer the all-important question of life, "Who is God?" This volume is intended to provide a balanced analysis of the historical and intellectual development within reformed theology as to how God is simultaneously holy and sovereign by examining how reprobation and its parts have historically been defined. Reformed understanding on this doctrine was not done in a vacuum, nor was it concluded in the 180 meetings of the Synod of Dort; rather, it has a history within the church of thoughtful development.

This book is an exposition of Jonathan Edwards argumentation in his dissertation Concerning the End for Which God Created the World. In addition to stating Edwards theses regarding Gods end and motivation in creation, this book identifies and discusses the assumptions of his argumentation, analyses and explains its crucial components, and explores its philosophical implications. These implications include a version of exemplarism (i.e., the nature of Gods ideas for creation), dispositionalism (i.e., the characteristics of God which explain Gods motivation), and emanationism (i.e., what God shares of himself with persons who have a living faith in Christ). These entail a view of idealism (i.e., a view of the ultimate ontological ground of the universe), Gods temporal nature, continuous creationism (i.e., how God sustains creation), a version of panentheism (i.e., how God, who is infinite, is related to creation, from which God is absolutely distinct), and occasionalism (i.e., the nature of causation of physical events or states of creation). These concepts and what they entail constitute a complete metaphysical system, providing a thoroughgoing divine action understanding of the foundation of reality. For Jonathan Edwards, Gods acting according to his plans for his purposes in Christ is fundamental to all things. Were we to have an understanding of how the fundamental concepts of science, mathematics, and ordinary experience are related in reality to the God who acts for his original ultimate end in creation, sustaining the universe, while providentially guiding its affairs, and working redemption, we would have the opportunity to develop these as he had hoped, he pointed the way for others to follow.

The doctrines of covenant, faith, and the order of salvation are crucial components of early modern Reformed soteriology. In seventeenth-century England, these three major doctrines of Reformed theology, which had been taken over undeveloped from the Reformers, took a mature shape, but aroused controversies among diverse Protestant groups. Modern historical scholarship on Reformed orthodoxy has produced little significant research that deals with these doctrines synthetically. This examination explores the broader role of faith in relation to these two significant doctrines for salvation in the early modern Reformed theology, with specific reference to the thought of Thomas Goodwin.To this end, Hyo-Nam Kim examines Goodwins life to review his religious experience and to understand his socio-theological context. Goodwins soteriology was sharpened by his battles on two fronts: The first is the threat of Arminian, Neonomian, and Socinian soteriologies that tended to place meritorious value on faith and on human acts. The second is the Antinomian errors that undervalued faith and human responsibility.Goodwin regarded faith as a key concept for his soteriology. Faith plays a central role in the covenant theology not only because a lack of faith was the immediate cause of breaking the covenant of works, but because saving faith was ordained in the covenant of redemption, and actually functions in the covenant of grace, as the instrument and a condition for the recovery of the relationship of mankind with God.Examination of Goodwins ordo salutis provides specific insight into the place and function of faith in the covenant of grace since each element of an ordo salutis refers to the blessings prepared for the elect to be finally saved. Together with the role of faith in Goodwins covenant theology, therefore, the reconstruction of Goodwins ordo salutis and the close examination of the role of faith in each blessing confirm that although faith may be said to be both an instrument and a condition for salvation, faith is the perfect instrument both for making salvation totally Gods gracious work, and for showing that the elect are not passive objects in the covenant.

This book examines the development of institutionalized prayer in ancient Israel at a crucial time in the history of Western civilization: from the period of the Qumran writings, in the last three centuries BCE, through to the rabbinic period, after 70 CE. It explores the shift from sacrificial worship by priests to abstract, unmediated, direct approaches to the deity by laypeople. It demonstrates the transition from voluntary, freely composed prayers to obligatory prayers with fixed texts. The study shows how Qumran and Samaritan prayer contrast with rabbinic prayer, shedding light on Jewish customs before the rabbinic reform.Posthumously edited by Bernard M. Levinson.

This study traces the emergence of the concept of the body as a sanctuary from its biblical roots to its expressions in late Second Temple Judaism. Harringtons hypothesis is that the destruction of the first Jerusalem temple was a catalyst for a new reality vis-a-vis the temple and the emergence of increased emphasis on the holiness of the people along with concomitant standards of purity in a certain stream of Judaism. The study brings into relief elements of this attitude from exilic texts, e.g. Ezekiel, to Ezra-Nehemiah, the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Second Temple Jewish texts, including early Jesus and Pauline traditions. The goal is to provide a history of the concept of the body-cum-temple metaphor which comes to its fullest expression in the letters of Paul to the Corinthians.The concept of the body as a sanctuary as it comes to fruition in late second temple Judaism must be understood within the conceptual world of Jewish holiness of the time. The metaphor of the temple provides a frame of reference but only a close analysis of the concepts of holiness, purity, and impurity and the dynamics between them can provide depth and distinction. Of particular importance, critical to proper understanding of the temple metaphor, are the notions of the elect, holy status of Israel and its possible desecration by wrongful sexual relations, the loss of the temple and the ripple effect of creating at least temporary substitutes for processes of the cult, the widespread concern in Second Temple Judaism for ritual purity in support of greater holiness, and a desire among Jews for the residence and agency of the spirit of holiness.

Antonio Gerace dealt with the development of biblical scholarship in Louvain by analysing with seven authors who worked in the first part of the Sixteenth century and who are strictly linked to the Louvain milieu. In chronological order, they include Nicholas Tacitus Zegers (c.14951559), John Henten (14991566), Cornelius Jansenius of Ghent, Adam Sasbout, John Hessels (15221566), Thomas Stapleton, and Francis Lucas of Bruges. Each author offered key-contributions that can effectively show the development of Catholic biblical scholarship in that period. This can be divided into three main thematic areas: 1) Text-criticism of the Latin Vulgate; 2) Exegesis of the Scriptures; and 3) Preaching of the Bible. Somehow, these three areas represent the study flow of the Scriptures: the emendation of the Vulgate, aimed at restoring the text to a hypothetical original, and the philological approach to the Greek and Hebrew sources allowing for a better comprehension of the Bible. Such comprehension becomes the basis of commentaries made with the intention of explaining the meaning of the Scriptures to the faithful in the light of the Tradition. Furthermore, the Church needed to preach the Scriptures and their contents to the Catholic flock in order to safeguard them from any heretical influence. Therefore, several homiletic works appeared so that priests could prepare their sermons appropriately. Therefore, Gerace divided his work into three parts, each devoted to one of the three research areas, following the study-flow of the Scriptures.

Darren M. Pollock examines the 1611 Romans hexapla commentary by the prolific Church of England preacher and controversialist Andrew Willet. While some have considered Willets later biblical commentaries to have been a retreat from his earlier engagement in religious controversy, the author argues that his exegetical work maintained a significant element of anti-Catholic polemics, only expressed in a different genre. This polemical hermeneutic served as an organizing principle and as a means by which to clarify the presentation of traditional Reformed readings in relief against a body of Roman Catholic theology that Willet believed threatened the gospel of grace. Paulos letter provided ample opportunity for Willet to identify what is distinctive about Reformed theology or rather, as Willet would have it, the particular ways in which papist dogma had diverged from the true line of Christian belief running from the Fathers through to the (truly catholic) Reformed church of the seventeenth century.Willets exegesis highlights many of the polemical issues that had long been contended between Protestants and Catholics, including the authentic versions of the bible, Scriptures attributes, and principles of interpretation, as well as doctrines like justification, predestination, the assurance of salvation, and the place of good works. A close investigation into Willets exegetical method also helps to see how an identifiable hermeneutical lens is consistent with a disciplined reading that is faithful to the text. His polemical focus does not corrupt his exegesis or force upon it meanings that are alien to the text itself; rather, his polemical hermeneutic serves to focus his attention and frame positive doctrinal statements against the sharp contrast of alternate readings.

Biblische Frauen spielen eine bedeutende Rolle in verschiedenen Genres patristischen Schrifttums und in rabbinischen Texten: Etwa als Vorbilder fur Frauen, manchmal auch fur Manner, als Reprasentantinnen bestimmter Tugenden oder Laster, als Autoritaten in Streitfragen, als Ausgangspunkt fur bestimmte Praktiken. Die Bilder, die die (fast immer mannlichen) Autoren von den biblischen Frauen zeichnen, spiegeln stets den zeitgenossischen sozialen, kulturellen und religiosen Kontext wider, besonders im Hinblick auf weit verbreitete antike Vorstellungen uber Frauen und uber das Verhaltnis der Geschlechter zueinander. Der Sammelband fragt nach der Prasenz und Sichtbarkeit bzw. Horbarkeit und nach dem Bild biblischer Frauen in den spatantiken Texten. Er enthalt Beitrage zu Rahab, zur agyptischen Frau des Salomo, zur Geliebten des Hoheliedes, zu Judit, den vier Tochtern des Philippus und den Myrophoren der Evangelien, die Salben zu Jesu Grab bringen, und untersucht die Rezeption dieser biblischen Frauen in verschiedenen patristischen und rabbinischen Texten.

Stephen J. Hamilton attempts to create a "portrait" of "born-again" Christianity by providing a general introduction to the doctrine of regeneration, including its development in modernity, as well as short exegeses of relevant scriptural texts, followed by a close reading of four theologians Philipp Jakob Spener, Jonathan Edwards, Friedrich D.E. Schleiermacher, and Charles G. Finney who all associate the doctrine of regeneration with an experience of presence in the individual believer.In light of these analyses, he then traces a general theological structure of the "born-again" understanding of regeneration, including a catalogue of theological issues over which there is significant disagreement, in order to create a topography of "born-again" theologies. In the final section, he applies these results to contemporary conversion narratives of non-theologians. It is in such conversion narratives, the author argues, that theologians can discover an implicit, "lived" theology that reveals how doctrines are perceived and put into practice among Christians. Accordingly, this is to be understood as the result of the creative reciprocity between (often tacit) theological convictions and the experiences of the Christian life. The final chapter, as a coda to the entire work, offers some concluding reflections on the present cultural and political situation in the USA pertaining to "born-again" Christianity and argues against any oversimplifications of the relationship between "born-again" theologies, culture, and politics.

Although many of Edmund Schlinks writings have been available in English for several decades, the publication of the new German edition offered a significant impetus for providing a fresh and more accurate translation of them. Matthew L. Becker translated key terms that occur in all five volumes consistently. Also, he corrected infelicitous and misleading renderings of Schlinks language into English, which more or less happened in all of the earlier editions. In this first volume, Becker presents a completely reworked translation of Schlinks popular work "Der kommende Christus und die kirchlichen Traditionen.

Campegius Vitringa (16591722) of Franeker University was a biblical scholar of considerable influence for the first half of the 18th century. Similar to that of Calvin, his exegetical methodology attempts to walk a via media between the historicism of Grotius (1583-1645) and the Christocentrism of Cocceius (16031669). His magnum opus was a widely-acclaimed commentary on Isaiah (1720). Vitringa scholars have charted his influence along a historical-critical trajectory (including Schultens, Venema, Alberti, Manger, Delitzsch, and Gesenius) and along a Pietistic trajectory (including Franke, Lange, and Bengel, leading toward Lessing, Herder and German Idealism). The book includes the first biography in English and compares his hermeneneutical theoria with his praxis. It analyzes Vitringas exegetical presuppositions, his remarkably high view of the Bible, and his canones hermeneuticos (highly valued by J.J. Rambach [16931735]). It shows Vitringas contextual sensitivity at every level of exegesis, commitment to New Testament normativity in the reading of Isaiah (in which redemptive history is the ultimate hermeneutical horizon), nuanced views on the historical fulfillment of prophecy, and concern for pastoral application. A scholars scholar, widely admired for his mastery of the languages and his intense historical focus in exegesis, Vitringa was also appreciated for his orthodox views, warm-hearted piety, and love for the church.