Luther's Trinitarian Hermeneutic and the Old Testament

In this study, the author shows that Luther's trinitarian understanding is shaped by the royal Psalms' dialogical model as well as informed by a hermeneutics that moors a trinitarian semantics in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. The analysis concentrates on Luther's translation into German of two Hebrew names for God and of passages classically associated with the trinitarian doctrine (Psalm 110:1; Psalm 2:2.12). The result is a trinitarian structure of transparency. The text's syntax, narrative and direct speech mirror literally the transparency of the divine essence through the distinguishing characteristics of each trinitarian person.     

Old Testament and Church Ministries in Two Ecumenical Dialogues

Abstract: To understand any church institution as founded by Jesus, one must take account of its relationship to his work of bringing the Old Testament revelation and its institutions to their eschatological realization. A sample of the work of recent ecumenical dialogues (BEM and the international Lutheran– Roman Catholic document on church and justification) shows that their discussions of church institutions have failed to do this adequately. This failure has complicated the efforts at unity to which these dialogues intend to contribute. Attention to the Old Testament roots of church institutions can help ecumenical ecclesiology to focus better on some important issues.     

Signs and Symbols of Sacred Reality in Old Testament Religion

In this paper, I propose to deal with various sacred realities that helped the people of Israel deepen their relationship with God over the years: die Ark of the Covenant, die desert Tabernacle, die Temple, die Sabbath and other feasts, die synagogue, religious meals and creation itself.     

Luther’s Trinitarian Hermeneutic and the Old Testament

In this study, the author shows that Luther’s trinitarian understanding is shaped by the royal Psalms’ dialogical model as well as informed by a hermeneutics that moors a trinitarian semantics in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. The analysis concentrates on Luther’s translation into German of two Hebrew names for God and of passages classically associated with the trinitarian doctrine (Psalm 110:1; Psalm 2:2.12). The result is a trinitarian structure of transparency. The text’s syntax, narrative and direct speech mirror literally the transparency of the divine essence through the distinguishing characteristics of each trinitarian person.     

读《旧约》两则

一、上帝的悔恨 上帝是全知全能的吗?上帝的悔恨使我发生了疑问. 首先,上帝未曾料到自己所造的蛇会诱惑夏娃偷吃智慧果,使人类生起恶念,因而后悔造人于地.其次,以色列人从埃及返回巴勒斯坦迦南地,摩西的继承人约书亚死后,经过一段士师时期,以色列民众要求建立国王以共同对敌.先知撒母耳和上帝勉强立扫罗为国王,但是内心极不愿意.因为他们深知,立起国王,必然减弱民众对上帝的信奉.因此,他们刁难他.由于扫罗"违背命令",上帝对撒母耳说:"我立扫罗为王,我后悔了".上帝又一次追悔了.第三,经过王国时期,分国时期,北国以色列灭亡后,南国犹大进入晚期.由于犹大人不听警教,上帝便召北方兴起的巴比伦王将犹大国王约雅敬推翻.不久,上帝又"后悔"了.他劝犹大民众不要怕巴比伦王,并声明"要拯救你们脱离他的手".但是,上帝的诺言没有实现,犹大国到底被巴比伦灭亡了.耶路撒冷彻底被毁.     

Ulster,God's People,and the Interplay between Old Testament and Calvinistic Conceptions of Covenant

This article addresses the theological realities behind the relationship between the Reverend Ian Paisley and the Ulster Protestant people. In his capacity as both moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Paisley has been vocal in his defence of the Protestant constitution. He has also opposed any development which he believed amounted to a Protestant state softening its attitude towards Roman Catholicism. His behaviour in these areas can be understood in terms of an Old Testament-type covenantal understanding of a community's relationship with God. However, as a Calvinist, Paisley firmly adheres to the idea of ‘the elect’ who consist of those individuals whom God has chosen to be saved. This spiritual covenant between God and those predestined to receive salvation is not the preserve of any particular ethnic community and as such does not lend itself to the idea that Ulster Protestants have a special relationship with God, irrespective of Paisley's rhetoric.     

Traces of the Trinity in the Old Testament: From Individual Texts to the Nature of Revelation

This article uncovers traces of the Trinity in the Old Testament. Different from traditional exegesis, it is argued that alleged allusions to God's plurality in specific texts, and examples of personified agents such as the Angel of the Lord, are less important and often inconclusive. The nature of Old Testament ‘monotheism’, however, supports trinitarian logic, and important traces of the Trinity are demonstrated in in‐depth structures of Old Testament theology: the anthropomorphic character of revelation, the second commandment, God's name as narrative self‐identification and the tendency of God's coming to his people.