Editorial

Trinity Journal, Spring 2002 by Yarbrough, Robert W

Controversy. It probably isn't a word most readers associate with a primarily academic publication like Trinity Journal. And perhaps none of this issue's articles is highly incendiary in itself. But each speaks to matters of great importance and in some cases fierce disputation. Consider:

Keven Vanhoozer's sermon on worship takes on the head-heart dichotomy that dogs the steps of church and seminary alike these days. Should worship be "high church" or contemporary? Should "theology" or "worship" define the activity of the church when it gathers to praise and honor God? Vanhoozer's reflections on Jesus' chat with the woman at the well call all readers back to doxological-which is to say both theological and practical-- fundamentals.

Craig Blomberg revisits a hermeneutical issue that has elicited hot debate in the past: how do OT prophecies function, both in their own time and then later when taken up by NT writers? His proposal seeks to move beyond the classic model of simple direct prediction while at the same time rejecting a skeptical hermeneutic that is blind to possible messianic references on the part of OT seers.

Dan Doriani probes the importance, function, and appeal of what he calls doctrinal preaching-a kind of pulpiteering little heard today. Yet, as he shows, it was characteristic and effective in the hands of churchmen like Athanasius, Augustine, Bernard, Anselm, and Calvin. He concludes that preachers today would do well to emulate their homiletical tack despite the resistance they are likely to encounter. The long-term payoff will offset any short-term cost to making the adjustment.

Did Jonathan Edwards hold out hope for the salvation of those who never hear the gospel? Greg Gilbert thinks not, and his article seeks to speak definitively to this important question in current Edwards research. Demurring is Gerald McDermott. Their battle over the meaning of some lines from Edwards's Miscellanies will strike some as an apt illustration of OT wisdom: "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him" (Prov 18:17).

Paul Elbert gives a pro-Pentecostal assessment of global developments in the charismatic movement. In the course of his observations he defends Pentecostal hermeneutics, especially in reading Luke-Acts, and joins battle against the anti-Pentecostal bias (as he sees it) that has dominated exegesis in dispensational, Reformed, and evangelical circles generally over the last half century.

Whereas Elbert's polemic is secondary to his larger agenda of showcasing Pentecostal interpretation and theology, in this issue's final article polemic comes clearly to the fore. A. B. Caneday, impatient with an earlier Trinity Journal review that was only mildly critical of Gregory Boyd's God of the Possible, offers a thumbnail sketch-and gouge-of open theism.

These articles, taken with the array of reviews that conclude this issue, are a reminder that the outcome of theological scholarship goes well beyond the armchair. It inexorably shapes concrete life in the church and on the street. May the discussion in following pages assist readers in moving beyond controversies that could remain merely barren to grounded knowledge, informed decisions, and courageous living worthy of disciples of Jesus Christ.

Robert W. Yarbrough

Editor