Journal: Ashland Theological Journal
Volume: ATJ 42:1 (NA 2010)
Article: Editorial Preface
Author: David W. Baker

Editorial Preface

David W. Baker

Habakkuk 3:17–18 reminds us: “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation” (NRSV). God is God, Creator and Provider, King of the Universe and worthy of all honor and praise because of who he is, not because of what he has done for us. The fact that he does for us is frosting on the cake, increasing existing praise to an even higher level.

These words are easy to hear when we suffer from plenty, but become more difficult, and necessary, when we benefit from lack: loss of work and income, failing health and relationships, falling enrollments and donations. At these times, individual Christians and institutions like Ashland Theological Seminary are forced to remember who we are and whom we serve, our perpetual necessity for God’s grace through which we live and move and have our being—not through any work or merit of our own. It drives us to prayer, for God’s assistance as well as for how we might be of assistance to others in God’s name. Please keep the Seminary and its needs in your prayers, as we seek to remember you in ours.

In this issue, we hope again to have a smorgasbord in which you will find material both nourishing and challenging. We present a wide array of items, from popular culture to pigs, from Romans to Reformed theology, with a touch of rhetoric and annotated bibliography thrown in for good measure. There are also numerous reviews to round off the meal. We wish you bon appétit or, in the language of heaven, בתאבון.

October 14, 2010