Hartford Seminary

Christian doctrine focuses upon God and the way in which God grants not just life but also meaning to all other things. To turn to the doctrine of God, therefore, is to consider both a particular item of concern (namely, God or theos) and a specific way of considering all things (a theological view of all reality). Here we must remember that Christian theology should have both a contemplative and an active element. Contemplative reason considers God for his own sake, seeking to know and to intelligently perceive God as fully and faithfully as possible. This one is worthy of praise and honor and, no less, of our intellectual efforts. Active reason also looks to God, now not simply as a discrete object of study but as the horizon of all studies, casting light on our study of topics ranging from nature itself to human being in particular.

Journal Article Analyzing Doctrine: Toward a Systematic Theology. By Oliver D. Crisp Get access Analyzing Doctrine: Toward a Systematic Theology. By Oliver D. Crisp. Pp. 280. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2019. Isbn 978 1 4813 0986 8. Hardback $39.95. James N Anderson James N Anderson Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, USA janderson@rts.edu Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Journal of Theological Studies, Volume 73, Issue 2, October 2022, Pages 890–892, https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/flac132 Published: 19 October 2022

ABSTRACT Working from the insights of a chaplaincy encounter around death and burial rites, this essay argues for the education of Muslim chaplains that is grounded in Muslim pastoral theology. Muslim chaplains must be prepared to face intersecting sociological, psychological, racial, and cultural issues that arise in spiritual ministry. Lived theological education helps Muslim chaplains root and integrate spiritual care in one’s faith tradition and a theory of professional practice. Theological schools need to ensure that they are actively educating Muslim chaplains in ways that develop multidimensional cultural sensitivity and interpersonal skills that assist in navigating intersectional care experiences.

This article explores several dimensions of the current realities of size in US congregations. Drawing on the Faith Communities Today 2020 national research effort, the differences between various size groupings of congregations are explored. For each of the five size groupings, from under 50 attendees to over 1,500 worshippers, the article highlights survey results showing the benefits and challenges associated with each size cluster and implications for congregational flourishing. The article further examines the twofold dynamic of the rapid decline in smaller congregations and the increased consolidation of a majority of attendees in larger congregations. Using survey data, the article argues that this trend has resulted in considerable growth of the larger communities and rapid decline of the smaller ones.

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In this chapter, I will discuss the importance of interfaith dialogue as it relates to the Church’s commission of evangelization and interaction with a changing global landscape. Using Newbigin’s Trinitarian justification for interfaith dialogue, I will discuss how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are catalysts for interacting with those who do not claim Jesus as Lord and what this means for the church universal. My goal is to demonstrate both the importance of dialogue and to offer a method from within a Protestant framework in the ever-changing ecumenical landscape.

Informed as it is by her ‘French–Tunisian perspective’ (p. 7), Nadia Marzouki acknowledges that Islam: An American Religion, written originally in French, could be perceived as ‘situated in the tradition of ‘French’ observers of American political life’ (p. 9). However, she insists, it is not per se a comparative study of anti-Islamic behaviour in France (Marzouki’s present context) and the United States (where she has spent considerable time and through which she has travelled widely—first as a student; later as a professional researcher). Rather, as an exercise in ‘problematization of the relations between identity, religion, and politics’ (p. 9). the book is an enterprise that takes full advantage of multiple opportunities for astute observations in both arenas. That stipulated, Islam: An American Religion will be of interest to readers in the US precisely because it provides a means to see how they are seen from a French vantage-point. Credit is due to translator C. Jon Delogu for his role in making Marzouki’s compelling narrative accessible to a broad English-speaking readership.

In this 2018 Presidential Address to the Religious Research Association, I explore the applied religious identity of the Association. This address also addresses the manner in which individual basic research efforts could benefit from key practices of an applied research mindset. This applied identity is central to the Religious Research Association as I show from a sketch of its history and through references to previous Presidential addresses. I then discuss three questions that an applied orientation raises for individual research, for dissemination of research findings, and for the future of the Association. I propose answers to this final question that suggest out possible directions forward for the Association to strengthen its distinctive identity characteristic while also addressing the current needs of the broader religious community.