Journal: Southeastern Theological Review
Volume: STR 11:1 (Spring 2020)
Article: Introduction
Author: Benjamin L. Merkle

STR 11:1 (Spring 2020) p. 1

Introduction

Benjamin L. Merkle

Editor

This un-themed issue of STR includes essays from a variety of fields (including Old Testament, New Testament, church history, theology, and missiology). The first essay is by Tracy McKenzie, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, with the help of Jonathan Shelton. Their essay, “From Proverbs to Prophecy: Textual Production and Theology in Proverbs 30:1–6, ” demonstrates that the author of Prov 30:1–6 is not creating his words ex nihilo but is drawing upon earlier tradition in the Hebrew Bible, especially 2 Samuel 7 and the promise of a Davidic son of God.

In the second essay, Paul Himes, Instructor of Ancient Languages and Bible at Baptist College of Ministry, considers the possibility (and likelihood, he argues) that Jesus’s reference to “no other burden” in Rev 2:24 is an allusion to the decision made at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. If such is the case, then Jesus cites the apostles in Rev 2:24 and is thus speaking in continuity with what the apostles had declared earlier (but was not being heeded by the church at Thyatira).

In the third essay, Peter Dubbelman, Senior Adults Pastor at Apex Baptist Church and Ph.D. Candidate at Southeastern, enters into the debate between Protestants and Catholics regarding Augustine’s view of justification. Specifically, he maintains that a correct understanding of Augustine’s position must integrate his sanative theology with his doctrine of justification. Consequently, Dubbelman insists that Augustine affirmed a justification that heals. That is, a justification that is both an event and a process.

The fourth essay is by Daniel Hill, Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. This essay considers the significance of how the Spirit informs our understanding of the human person. The Spirit not only played a critical role in constituting the church, but the Spirit also plays a crucial role in grounding a coherent account of human identity. More specifically, the Spirit is the one who grounds our conception of the good life, reorients our perspective of our pasts, and enables our proper worship in the present.

The final essay, “Christ in the Scripture of Islam: Remnantal Revelation

STR 11:1 (Spring 2020) p. 2

or Irredeemable Imposter,” is by Matthew Bennett, Assistant Professor ...