Semanatorul (The Sower), Volume Two, Number One

Book excerpt: About the Theology Journal This present publication comprises Volume 2 No. 1 of Semănătorul (The Sower): The Emanuel Journal of Ministry and Biblical Research. It incorporates the Proceedings of the Bi-Annual International Theological Conferences of the Department of Theology held in Emanuel University, Oradea, April and November 2017. The titles of the Conference were: “The Theology of the Cross,” and, “The Doctrine of Justification and Related Themes.” The papers presented here include those given in person by various colleagues of the Emanuel Faculty; others via a Skype call or by invitation. The International Conferences held by the Department of Theology were made possible through the commitment of members of the Emanuel faculty, the collaboration of Emanuel University Press, the Emanuel “Ethics and Society” Research Centre, and the contribution of distinguished colleagues from the Hungarian Baptist Academy, Budapest, The Irish Baptist College, UK and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. The Journal includes a range of papers on the death of Christ and the truth of justification by faith. The Christ hymn (Phil 2:5–11) is here, as is the focus upon the invitation in John 6 to “eat the flesh of the Son of God” and to “drink his blood.” Also the whole theology of the cross in the Fourth Gospel is considered. Again the concept of redemption in all the Gospels is discussed, as is a paper on the Holy Spirit and the death of Christ from a Pauline perspective. The theme of the cross in the sermons of Philip Doddridge is highlighted, plus two articles on Luther’s doctrine of justification and the treatment of this theme by the Reformer in the Epistle of James. These articles include a range of affirmations on crucial doctrines and theological themes which must not be lost or neglected. One remembers the exhortation of 2 Tim 2:1–2 to hold to truths that are fundamental and to entrust them “to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Hamilton Moore, Editor.