Abraham's Silence

Abraham's Silence
Author: J. Richard Middleton
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2021-11-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493430882

It is traditional to think we should praise Abraham for his willingness to sacrifice his son as proof of his love for God. But have we misread the point of the story? Is it possible that a careful reading of Genesis 22 could reveal that God was not pleased with Abraham's silent obedience? Widely respected biblical theologian, creative thinker, and public speaker J. Richard Middleton suggests we have misread and misapplied the story of the binding of Isaac and shows that God desires something other than silent obedience in difficult times. Middleton focuses on the ethical and theological problem of Abraham's silence and explores the rich biblical tradition of vigorous prayer, including the lament psalms, as a resource for faith. Middleton also examines the book of Job in terms of God validating Job's lament as "right speech," showing how the vocal Job provides an alternative to the silent Abraham. This book provides a fresh interpretation of Genesis 22 and reinforces the church's resurgent interest in lament as an appropriate response to God.

Four Views on Heaven

Four Views on Heaven
Author: Zondervan,
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2022-01-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310093899

Discover and understand the different Christian views of what heaven will be like. Christians from a variety of denominations and traditions are in middle of an important conversation about the final destiny of the saved. Scholars such as N. T. Wright and J. Richard Middleton have pushed back against the traditional view of heaven, and now some Christians are pushing back against them for fear that talk about the earthiness of our final hope distracts our attention from Jesus. In the familiar Counterpoints format, Four Views on Heaven brings together a well-rounded discussion and highlights similarities and differences of the current views on heaven. Each author presents their strongest biblical case for their position, followed by responses and a rejoinder that model a respectful tone. Positions and contributors include: Traditional Heaven - our destiny is to leave earth and live forever in heaven where we will rest, worship, and serve God (John S. Feinberg) Restored Earth - emphasizes that the saved will live forever with Jesus on this restored planet, enjoying ordinary human activities in our redeemed state. (J. Richard Middleton) Heavenly Earth - a balanced view that seeks to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the heavenly and earthly views (Michael Allen). Roman Catholic Beatific Vision - stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face-to-face (Peter Kreeft). The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.

Yahweh's Elegant Speeches of the Abrahamic Narratives

Yahweh's Elegant Speeches of the Abrahamic Narratives
Author: Matthew Michael
Publisher: Langham Publishing
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1783689749

This work is a study in the attribution, aesthetics and representations of Yahweh’s speeches in the Hebrew Bible. It describes the literary elegance and beauty of the speeches of Yahweh in the Abrahamic narratives. Employing a synchronic reading of the Abrahamic cycle, it underscores the presence of various literary devices in the divine speeches (12:1-9, 13:1-18, 15:1-21, 17:1-27, 18:1-33, and 22: 1-19). Specifically, it engages the high concentration, literary effects and use of metaphors/metaphoric language, similes, alliterations, wordplays, euphemisms, hyperboles, repetitions, allusions and other distinctive literary features in the speeches of Yahweh which are deliberately denied, and glaringly absent in the speeches of the other main characters of the Abrahamic narratives (e.g. Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar). Similarly, it demonstrates the importance of these elevated speeches in the narrative world of Abrahamic epic. Most importantly, it also highlights the ideological significance of these decorated speeches of Yahweh to the original audience of the narrator who presumably identified with their excessive optimism and rhetoric. Consequently, this book is a pioneering work in the contemporary study of stylistics, characterizations and functions of attributed speeches in the Hebrew narratives.

Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom

Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom
Author: William Lane Craig
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 390
Release: 1991
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9789004092501

The ancient problem of fatalism, more particularly theological fatalism, has resurfaced with surprising vigour in the second half of the twentieth century. Two questions predominate in the debate: (1) Is divine foreknowledge compatible with human freedom and (2) How can God foreknow future free acts? Having surveyed the historical background of this debate in "The Problem of Divine Foreknowledge" and "Future Contingents from Aristotle to Suarez" (Brill: 1988), William Lane Craig now attempts to address these issues critically. His wide-ranging discussion brings together a thought- provoking array of related topics such as logical fatalism, multivalent logic, backward causation, precognition, time travel, counterfactual logic, temporal necessity, Newcomb's Problem, middle knowledge, and relativity theory. The present work serves both as a useful survey of the extensive literature on theological fatalism and related fields and as a stimulating assessment of the possibility of divine foreknowledge of future free acts.

Great Prayers of the Bible

Great Prayers of the Bible
Author: Ralph F. Wilson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2011-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780983231097

Eleven profound prayers teach you the essence of faith and petition. If you're like many believers, you long to pray better, to shake off your dullness of spirit and encounter God more intimately. You want to pray with the courage of Abraham, to beseech God with the courage Moses, but.... There are many examples in the Bible of men and women who prayed fervent, effective prayers that God answered. That's the question: What kinds of prayers does God answer? What kind of faith does God respond to? This book examines in considerable depth eleven amazing prayers. Some are short, others lengthy, but each has something important to teach us. You'll study key prayers of Jesus, Paul, Moses, Abraham, David, Hezekiah, Daniel, and Nehemiah. The aim of this study is to help you develop in prayer, increase your faith, and move you into a new plane of communication with your Father in heaven. However, this is not a course in learning to manipulate God to get your way. It is a study of who God is and how He responds to his children's petitions. Thus it will help you adopt His own heart as you petition your Father. As you model your prayers and your faith after the exemplars put before you in God's holy Word, you'll gradually learn to take your place as one of Jesus' disciples whose prayers move heaven and earth. The book contains 11 lessons that can be used for personal enrichment and by small groups and classes. Preachers and teachers will also find a lot of their word study research done for them, with a number of illustrations and insights for lessons and sermons.

Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus

Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus
Author: William L. Craig
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 427
Release: 2024-02-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666772690

This volume is the sequel to its companion volume The Historical Argument for the Resurrection of Jesus during the Deist Controversy. It comprises a thorough examination of the New Testament materials undergirding the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection, focusing on Jesus’ empty tomb, his post-mortem appearances, and the origin of his disciples’ belief in Jesus’ resurrection. This revised edition includes Appendices in response to the competing views of J. Robinson, J. D. Crossan, G. Lüdemann, and D. Allison.

The Great Angel

The Great Angel
Author:
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1992-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780664253950

In this groundbreaking book, Barker claims that pre-Christian Judaism was not monotheistic and that the roots of Christian Trinitarian theology lie in a pre-Christian Palestinian belief about angels derived from the ancient religion of Israel. Barker's beliefs are based on canonical and deutero-canonical works and literature from Qumran and rabbinic sources.

The New Creation

The New Creation
Author: Charles Taze Russell
Publisher: Oakland Co. Bible Students
Total Pages:
Release: 1998
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780972824354

Paul’s Negotiation of Abraham in Galatians 3 in the Jewish Context

Paul’s Negotiation of Abraham in Galatians 3 in the Jewish Context
Author: Per Jarle Bekken
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2021-07-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110722178

This work offers a fresh reading of Paul’s appropriation of Abraham in Gal 3:6–29 against the background of Jewish data, especially drawn from the writings of Philo of Alexandria. Philo’s negotiation on Abraham as the model proselyte and the founder of the Jewish nation based on his trust in God's promise relative to the Law of Moses provides a Jewish context for a corresponding debate reflected in Galatians, and suggests that there were Jewish antecedents that came close to Paul’s reasoning in his own time. This volume incorporates a number of new arguments in the context of scholarly discussion of both Galatian 3 and some of the Philonic texts, and demonstrates how the works of Philo can be applied responsibly in New Testament scholarship.