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This collection of essays by British Baptists honors the work of John Colwell amongst the Baptist community, recognizing in particular the contribution he has made to Christian doctrine and ethics and more recently his involvement in the formation of The Order for Baptist Ministry (OBM). The book explores what we are doing in morning prayer and what it is to allow the seasons and festivals of the Christian year to shape our lives.
John Colwell presents a robust sacramental theology for Protestant churches. He maintains that a doctrine of the Trinity leads us to conceive of God's gracious engagement with his creation as one that is mediated through that creation. And this lies at the foundation for an understanding of the sacraments. Colwell further argues that the Church and Scripture confer context, definition, and validity on all other sacramental events. The final section reconsiders the seven Sacraments of the Catholic tradition in the light of the understanding of sacramentality developed earlier in the book: baptism, confirmation, the Lord's Supper, cleansing, healing, ministry, and marriage. Colwell discusses the Sacraments from an evangelical perspective but with a committed ecumenical intent.
In this powerful book on the experience of desolation John Colwell focuses on Psalm 22, read in the light of his own struggle with bi-polar disorder and the Christian belief that God the Son suffered in his humanity, to offer existential-theological reflections on the experience of God-forsakenness. 'My concern in writing this book and reading this psalm is to reflect on the felt experience of God-forsakenness, my own and that of Christ in the light of this psalm; to explore the theological and spiritual significance of this felt experience for myself, for Christ, for Christians generally. If this exploration proves to be helpful to me or to others then obviously I am glad, but I am not writing this book to be helpful but rather to be truthful (and perhaps hopeful). This is a personal journey of reflection with a psalm which I invite you, the reader, to share if you will.'
Who should be baptized? Should a person who has not been baptized be allowed to become a member of a church? What happens when a person is baptized? There are a number of important questions about baptism that call for biblical and theological reflection on a more fundamental question—what is baptism? Perhaps no one in the twentieth century addressed that question more thoroughly than British New Testament scholar George Beasley-Murray. While touching on a range of issues related to baptism, this book explores the influence that Beasley-Murray’s work has had on the debate about the meaning of baptism, and shows why his work was referred to as “a bombshell in the baptistery.”
It has been the fate of many books on John to be left unfinished, for its interpretation naturally forms the crowning of a lifetime. I have myself been intending to write a book on the Fourth Gospel since the 'fifties, before I broke off (reluctantly) to be Bishop of Woolwich, though I am grateful now that I did not produce it prematurely at that time. It means however that I shall be compelled to refer to and often recapitulate material directly or indirectly related to the Johannine literature, which I have written over the years (some of it indeed while I was bishop). Many scholars in fact, if not most now, think that the author of the Gospel himself never lived to finish it and have seen...
Traditionally systematic theology is structured around the Creed’s articles. While this approach has its benefits it is not without flaws. One weakness is that the roots of theology in Christian worship can be lost sight of and discussions become abstract. But there is another way to structure systematic theology, an approach explicitly rooted in the rhythm of the pattern of liturgy. John Colwell provides a short, inspiring introduction to a systematic theology that is built around the worshipful rhythms of the Christian Year. Chapters include the one who comes (Advent); the One who takes our humanity (Christmas); the one who is revealed (Epiphany); the one who journeys to the cross (Lent); the one who lives and reigns (Easter); the one who indwells and transforms (Pentecost); and the one who invites us into communion ('All Saints Day'). In this ancient-future way Christian worship, theology and discipleship are woven into a seamless garment.
In January 2009, an international group of Baptist theologians met in Cardiff, UK, for a colloquium to explore the theory and practice of Baptist hermeneutics. Drawing primarily from the British Baptist community, the groupâ¿¿s work was enhanced by insights from participants from the USA and Eastern Europe. Participants brought a diversity of scholarly and pastoral interests to the colloquium, and through presentation and discussion explored together the nature of Baptist hermeneutics. The resulting volume addresses five core thematic areas. The first section surveys the way in which Baptists have engaged with the Bible both in their early history and more recent past. Section two analyse...
In Ordained Ministry in Free Church Perspective Jan Martijn Abrahamse presents a constructive theology of ordained ministry by returning to the life and thought of the English Separatist Robert Browne (c. 1550-1633). This study makes a substantial contribution not only by solving one of the most thorny problems in congregational ecclesiology, but also by recovering the legacy of this ecclesial pioneer. Through an in-depth analysis of Browne’s literature, the author provides a covenantal theology of ordained ministry in conversation with present-day authors Stanley Hauerwas and Kevin Vanhoozer. Inspired by the emerging trend of ‘theology of retrieval’ Abrahamse offers a methodologically innovative way of doing systematic theology in a manner in which voices from the past can be made fruitful for today.