Oh {delta}{iota}{alpha with oxia}! How is Romans 4:25 to be Understood?

How are we to understand the difficult expression ‘raisedfor our justification’ (Romans 4:25b)? The clue lies intaking seriously the two + accusatives in Romans 4:23. Therethey express a parallel between the promise of righteousness‘for him (Abraham)’ and the same kind of promise,still valid ‘for us’. This same emphasis shouldbe taken into 4:25, ‘for us ... for us.’ Such areading is not only backed up by the Isaiah 53 echo and thecontents of Romans 5, it also serves to explain the meaningof Romans 4:25b. Abraham was given an opportunity for ‘righteousness-producingfaith’ through a tension between ‘under-realizedreality’ and God's faithfulness (vv.18–22). Throughthe resurrection of Jesus Christ, the same opportunity is nowafforded to ‘us’.     

Did the Interpreters Get it Right? Genesis 2-3 Reconsidered

A response to James Barr on the issue of how to depict God'swords in Genesis 2:17 if the warning of death as a consequenceof disobedience appears unrealized in the subsequent narrative.Barr's point that ‘lie’ is an inappropriate depictionis accepted, but the issue is recast in terms of whether God'swords would be sheqer, unreliable. An interpretation of theoverall narrative, congruous with the decision about the natureof God's words, is offered.     

The Meaning of syriacalaphsyriaclamadhsyriacshin in Theodore of Mopsuestia's Sixteenth Catechetical Lecture and the Silent Recitation of the Eucharistic Prayer

Georg Kretschmar cited Theodore of Mopsuestia, Catechesis 16in support of his thesis that part of the eucharistic prayercould be recited silently by the end of the fourth century.This note points out that the use of the Syriac verb , to ‘desist’or to ‘be silent’, in this text does not supportKretschmar's interpretation.     

'At that Time the Group Around Maximian was Enjoying Imperial Power': an Interpolation in Gregory of Nyssa's Homily in Praise of Theodore

The sentence ‘For at that time the group around Maximianwas enjoying imperial power’, the only chronological indicatorin Gregory of Nyssa's In Theodorum, may be identified on literarygrounds as a scribal interpolation. When this is recognized,the Passio Theodori (BHG 1761) becomes the oldest evidence forthe dating of Theodore's martyrdom.     

Symbols of Wisdom in James 1:17

Although scholars have often recognized that wisdom is the ‘gift’mentioned in Jas. 1:17, they have not given much attention tohow the giving of wisdom answers the problem of persecutionas discussed in the preceding verses. The best solution to thispuzzle is to adopt the understanding of wisdom's role that wefind in 4 Maccabees: wisdom is a sort of direct antidote topersecution. An investigation of the religious background ofthe language of Jas. 1:17 supports this interpretation. Philospeaks of divine wisdom as a shadowless light, in terms verysimilar to James, while the Qumran scrolls evince a fully developedtheology of the priestly oracles (Urim and Thummim) as symbolsof divine wisdom. Not only does the Qumranic profile of theUrim and Thummim answer to the theme of wisdom and to James'spleonastic use of ‘lights’ and ‘perfect’,but the Qumran scrolls also enlist the operation of the urimand thummim as a sort of bulwark or antidote against persecution,similarly to how wisdom functions for James.     

'Under Law' in Galatians: A Pauline Theological Abbreviation

This essay explores the meaning of the expression ‘underlaw’ in Galatians (3:23; 4:4, 5, 21; 5:18). It is arguedthat the expression serves as rhetorical shorthand for ‘underthe curse of the law’ (3:10, 13). After a brief discussionof criteria with which to identify the use of rhetorical shorthand,several reasons are offered as to why Paul may have chosen touse ‘under law’ as shorthand for ‘under thecurse of the law’. The bulk of the essay is devoted toa close exegetical study of the five uses of the expressionin Galatians. The essay concludes by responding to a few possibleobjections to this thesis and drawing out some implications.     

'The Doers of the Law Will Be Justified': The Exegetical Origins of Martin Bucer's Triplex Iustificatio

This essay seeks to sketch the profile of Martin Bucer's viewson the doctrine of justification as developed in his 1536 commentaryon Romans, focusing in particular on his idiosyncratic languageof ‘threefold justification’ in his comments onRom. 2:13. This text is taken as a vantage point from whichto survey the history of interpretation of the Pauline conceptof justification within the Augustinian tradition, giving extendedconsideration to exegesis by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Bucer'sinitial discussion of the Pauline usage of o in the praefatato his commentary is examined next, and it is concluded thathis understanding of justification falls more or less withinthe trajectory charted by previous medieval interpreters. Turningthen to Bucer's comments on Rom. 2:13, it is argued that thenotion of ‘threefold justification’ arises as anattempt to integrate the early evangelical appropriation ofthe Scotist language of ‘divine acceptation’ withina traditional Augustinian account of justification as both eventand process. The resulting formula collapses predestinationinto justification, making the latter the unifying concept inBucer's soteriology. It is hoped that this essay will contributeto deepening our understanding of an oft-neglected reformerwhile at the same time broadening our understanding of earlyevangelical teaching on a central doctrinal locus.     

The Origins of the Anaphoral Benedictus

This paper presents evidence for the Benedictus following theSanctus having been introduced first in Jerusalem in the Liturgyof St James. The structure and variety of the Benedictus areexamined, along with theories of Jewish and Antiochene originin relation to the Apostolic Constitutions. A fifth-centuryJerusalem homily provides the first evidence for the Mattheanform, subsequently contained in all versions of the Liturgyof St James and which becomes normative for nearly all eucharistictraditions. The conclusion distinguishes between the originsof the idea of the anaphoral Benedictus and the origins of itsform. The idea of a ‘blessed be’ acclamation afterthe Sanctus may well lie in Jewish traditions, but the originsof its form lie in the Palm Sunday acclamation of fourth-centuryJerusalem.     

Post-Baptismal Chrismation in Second-Century Syria: A Reconsideration of the Evidence

Alastair Logan has argued for the existence of a post-baptismalanointing with ointment in parts of the ‘great church’of second-century Syria and Asia Minor. He has proposed thatthis rite fell into desuetude but found new life in the fourthcentury. Logan's arguments depend especially on Ignatius’Letter to the Ephesians 17.1, the blessing at the end of theCoptic Didache 10.7, and the version of this prayer in ApostolicConstitutions 7.27. However, Logan's evidence lacks convincingcompleteness for three reasons. First, Ignatius’ Letterto the Ephesians says too little about the anointing practisedin communities he judged orthodox to serve as a witness fora post-baptismal ointment rite in these churches. Second, Logan'sargument that the prayer at the end of the Coptic Didache 10.7refers to ointment and is an original part of this documentfails to answer sufficiently too many questions and counter-argumentsfound in the literature. Third, his argument for supposing thatApostolic Constitutions 7.27 proposes a ritual innovation consideredessential by the redactor depends on the misreading of somepassages and on the assertion of divergent interpretations ofthe baptismal ointment in this work which comparison with otherAntiochene sources shows to be unjustified.     

Richard Hooker and the Principle of Sola Scriptura

The traditional view that Richard Hooker argued for the religiousauthority of Scripture, reason, and tradition, in that order,has come under sustained criticism in recent years, especiallyfrom those scholars who assert that Hooker was in fact an orthodoxReformed theologian. Although Hooker placed a distinctivelyhigh value on the role of reason in authenticating Holy Scripture,it is claimed that this is fully compatible with the Protestantprinciple of sola Scriptura, and reflects wider developmentsin the Reformed tradition on the role of reason in proving thatScripture is divine revelation. This article seeks to refutethese claims by examining Reformed thought on the religiousauthority of Scripture and reason in matters of Christian doctrine,looking at representatives from the Reformers, early orthodoxy,and high orthodoxy. This is then compared with Hooker's work,where, it is argued, the Reformed doctrine that Scripture isthe principium cognoscendi theologiae, with reason merely anancillary ‘handmaid’, is replaced by the radicalposition that Scripture and demonstrative reasoning are bothprincipial authorities in matters of Christian doctrine. Inpropounding his triple-source theory of religious authority,therefore, Hooker is concluded to have broken fundamentallywith the principle of sola Scriptura.     

An Apocalyptic and Magical Interpretation of Paul's 'Beast Fight' in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32)

This article argues that Paul's mention of a fight with ‘wildanimals’ during his time in Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:32) shouldbe understood as a reference to the evil spirits, or ‘beasts’,at work in the demon-possessed, sorcerers, and idolaters ofthe city. Two major arguments are given. First, in Jewish apocalypticcircles, o was commonly used in reference to evil spirits andsupernatural monsters. This connects with the magical tendencyof referring to daimones as wild animals, a practice that Paulmay well have encountered in Ephesus. Secondly, the book ofActs remembers Paul's time in Ephesus as characterized by exorcisms,magical rivalries, and conflict with idolatry—an accountthat fits with other historical information. The early receptionof the verse is also discussed, with particular attention beingpaid to the interpretation of Origen.     

The Importance of Begging Earnestly

The author focuses on the potential for many healthcare institutionscurrently called ‘Catholic’ to lose their genuineRoman Catholic identity, and he offers suggestions for the futureof the Catholic identity of Catholic healthcare institutions.The author then considers one particular task of the Catholichospital, that of showing a preferential option for the poor.Some of the threats to this task are highlighted. The authorconcludes with some suggestions for the renewal of Catholicidentity in Catholic healthcare institutions.     

Luke 2:2: Making Sense of the Date of Jesus' Birth

The suggestion made in this note is that in Luke 2:2 we shouldread ‘Quintilius’ instead of ‘Quirinius’.The evidence is primarily that of Tertullian, and the conclusionis that Luke 2:2 as emended confirms that the evangelist orhis source held that Jesus was born not in AD 6, but in 7 or6 BC, in line with other evidence in Luke himself and in Matthew.Further textual suggestions as to how we could make sense ofthe census are appended.