Aldersgate And Athens

""Arminianism" was the subject of important theological controversies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and it remains an important position within Protestant thought. What became known as "Arminian" theology was held by people across a swath of geographical and ecclesial positions; it developed in European, British, and American contexts, and it engaged with a wide range of intellectual challenges. While standing together in their common rejection of several key planks of Reformed theology, proponents of Arminianism took various positions on other matters. Some were broadly committed to catholic and creedal theology; others were more open to theological revision. Some were concerned primarily with practical concerns; others were engaged in system-building as they sought to articulate and defend an over-arching vision of God and the world. The story of this development is both complex and important for a proper understanding of the history of Protestant theology. However, this historical development of Arminian theology is not well known. In this book, Thomas H. McCall and Keith D. Stanglin offer a historical introduction to Arminian theology as it developed in modern thought, providing an account that is based upon important primary sources and recent secondary research that will be helpful to scholars of ecclesial history and modern thought as well as comprehensible and relevant for students"--

David Trementozzi contends that conservative-traditional Christianity has uncritically adopted an intellectualist (i.e., rationally-driven) view of faith in its understanding and practice of salvation. Throughout, he maintains that an intellectualist soteriology should be rejected because it prioritizes the rational over other behavioral and affective aspects of faith. An intellectualist rendering of salvation is incomplete because human experience is neither abstract nor gnostic--it is embodied and experientially relevant. An intellectualist soteriology simply cannot account for the dynamic and transforming possibilities of saving grace. Salvation in the Flesh offers an innovative perspective on the embodied nature of faith and the centrality of the Holy Spirit in the Christian doctrine of salvation. Drawing from the cognitive neurosciences and psychology, Trementozzi argues for a holistic awareness of cognition to better inform an embodied understanding of faith. In dialogue with the cognitive sciences, he appropriates Jonathan Edwards' theology of religious affections, early church practices, and pentecostal spirituality to highlight the soteriological significance of orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy for a renewal soteriology of embodiment. In doing so, Trementozzi offers a vision of salvation that more thoroughly accounts for the multifarious ways God's saving grace interacts with human flesh and blood.

For many Christians, personal experiences of God provide an important ground or justification for accepting the truth of the gospel. But we are sometimes mistaken about our experiences, and followers of other religions also provide impressive testimonies to support their religious beliefs. This book explores from a philosophical and theological perspective the viability of divine encounters as support for belief in God, arguing that some religious experiences can be accepted as genuine experiences of God and can provide evidence for Christian beliefs.

In this groundbreaking book exploring Christianity and contemporary culture, internationally-renowned scholars (including David Martin, Alister McGrath, Billy Abraham, Billy Kay and Pete Ward), interface with the legacy of Andrew Walker’s work and look forward in their own predictions of trends. Following Walker’s special interests in house churches, charismatic renewal, culture and faith, this book picks up on these themes and also looks more broadly at topics such as Pentecostalism, Alpha and post-Evangelicalism.

Theology needs to engage what recent developments in the study of evolution mean for how we understand moral behavior. How does the theological concept of holiness connect to contemporary understandings of evolution? In this groundbreaking work, Matthew Hill uses the lens of Wesleyan ethics to offer a fresh assessment of the intersection of evolution and theology.

Sanctification is not merely a “practical” and isolated doctrine but should permeate the whole horizon of theology: dogmatics, ethics, practics, as well as the sciences and the arts. The essays are collected under the twin convictions that theology can be sanctified and sanctifying. The whole of theology is inflected by holiness, and so theology should aim to share in God’s sanctifying work. Sanctifying Theology contributes new possibilities in Wesleyan-holiness theology and explores their contribution to various Christian doctrines and contemporary issues. Written in honor of the work of Thomas Arthur Noble, the essays in this book are attentive to the streams of theology that have most influenced him: the fathers, the Wesleys, and the Torrances. Both constructive and exploratory, the topic of the essays cover, among other things, (1) consideration of how Wesleyan-holiness theologies contribute to ecumenical theological discussions, (2) readings of Wesleyan-holiness theology through the lens of the church fathers and the Torrances, and (3) explorations of how these conversations and sources might shape contemporary practical and ethical concerns. The essays work both for the Wesleyan tradition and from the Wesleyan tradition for the church catholic, showing how recent trajectories in Wesleyan-holiness theology might contribute to broader discussions.

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.” — John Wesley, 1786 “Church renewal” is widely discussed across Methodism today, and yet such renewal will not happen apart from serious engagement with and from the margins of society. Through a series of new and previously published essays, this book looks to the experiences of Methodists in Latin American pueblos and Hispanic barrios to open new scholarly conversations about doctrine, worship, and mission for the sake of social renewal. The flames of renewal do not confine themselves to Methodism. But from the people called metodista they can spread, sharing in the Wesleyan movement’s fundamental calling to revitalize the church universal in its mission to the world. Praise for The People Called Metodista “What is the future of Methodism? Colón-Emeric offers a deep meditation on this difficult question and suggests an answer: we find its future in the margins of the church. Nashville and London must learn to sing together with Seoul, Latin America, and Africa.” —Pablo R. Andiñach, PhD, Instituto Teológico Santo Domingo “The Wesleyan tradition—as a piety, a community in mission, and a theology—took rise within and has found repeated renewal through engagement with those on the fringes of the reigning ‘powers.’ At its best, it has nurtured deep respect for its foundation in Scripture and earlier Christian witness, while cultivating openness to new understandings and expressions of ‘faith working by love.’ Colón-Emeric’s study exemplifies Wesleyanism at its best, probing the witness of Hispanic streams of Methodism for insights addressing the entire movement, much of which suffers from malaise and morbidity. Highly recommended.” —Randy L. Maddox, PhD, William Kellon Quick Emeritus Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies, Duke Divinity School “In The People Called Metodista, Edgardo Colón-Emeric has mined treasures that have been hidden to many of us, particular in the North American and European expressions of Methodism. If Methodism is a renewal movement, voices speaking to us from the margins will lead us to new insight and to holy living. Through the translation of doctrine, worship and mission into a language that surfaces new accents and engages a wider community of conversation partners, Colón-Emeric has broken new ground that will hopefully enlarge our vision for who we are in the present moment.” —Ken Carter, Bishop, Florida and Western North Carolina Conferences, The United Methodist Church “The Holy Spirit, who blows wherever it wishes, continues to give life around the world. Across this book, Dr. Colón-Emeric helps us open our eyes to see and enjoy God’s new creation in and through the people called metodista. He reminds us of how the Spirit continues to create something new amid chaos. This book will renew your hope and inspire you to join God’s move!” —Eric A. Hernández López, DMin, Chair of the Board of Directors, Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico “Gratitude to God for this winsome, faithful, encouraging resource for the people of God in every place. Edgardo Colón-Emeric refreshes and deepens the powerful gospel summons to attentiveness at the margins. Let us go with him to the edge, where our strangely warmed hearts become hearts afire, corazones ardientes.” —Hope Morgan Ward, Retired Bishop, North Carolina Conference, The United Methodist Church

This book not only articulates a tradition-specific Pentecostal rationality of Biblical Pragmatism, but also provides the first intellectual history of a major British classical Pentecostal denomination: the Elim Pentecostal Church. Pentecostal theologians increasingly acknowledge that their theological methodology should be informed by a Pentecostal rationality, epistemology and theological hermeneutics. Simo Frestadius offers such a Pentecostal rationality from a Foursquare perspective. Frestadius first analyses and evaluates some of the main contemporary Pentecostal rationalities and epistemologies to date, with a particular emphasis on the works of Amos Yong and James K.A. Smith and L. William Oliverio Jr., before proposing that Alasdair MacIntyre's tradition-focused and historically-minded narrative approach is conducive in providing a more tradition-constituted Pentecostal rationality. Utilising the methodological insights of MacIntyre, the book then provides a philosophically informed historical narrative of a major British Pentecostal tradition, namely, the Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance, by exploring its underlying context and roots as a classical Pentecostal movement, its emergence as a religious tradition, and its two major 'epistemological crises'. Based on this historical narration and analysis, it is argued that Elim's tacit Pentecostal rationality is best defined as Pentecostal Biblical Pragmatism in a Foursquare Gospel framework. This form of rationality is then developed vis-à-vis Elim's Pentecostal concept of truth, biblical hermeneutics, and pragmatic epistemic justification in dialogue with William P. Alston. In doing the above, the book not only articulates a tradition-specific Pentecostal rationality of Biblical Pragmatism but also provides the first intellectual history of a major British classical Pentecostal denomination.