Text and Task: Scripture and Mission

by Michael Parsons

Overview

Practical, scriptural, and contemporary, Text and Task is a series of essays on Scripture and mission. It aims to show the significance of reading the biblical text appropriately and with faithful engagement for our theology and missiology. A team of biblical scholars suggests ways forward in areas such as the implicit missional narrative of David and Goliath, the story of Solomon and his Temple building, the genre of lament, the explicit gracious message of the prophet Isaiah, Paul's understanding of divine call and gospel, and the place of mission as a hermeneutic for reading the Bible. Theological chapters engage the issues of the Trinity and the unevangelized, the missional dimensions of Barth's view of election, the gospel's loss of plausibility in the modern West, the place of preaching in mission, and the idea of belonging to a church community before one believes the gospel. Drawing together scholars from the fields of biblical studies, theology, sociology, and homiletics, Text and Task relates critically engaged textual reading to contemporary ongoing Christian life, thought, and mission.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725231627
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	06/12/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Michael Parsons is Commissioning Editor for Paternoster Press and Associate Research Fellow at Spurgeon College, London. Previously, he was Director of Postgraduate Research at Vose Seminary, Perth, Western Australia. He lives with his wife and two children.
Michael Parsons is Commissioning Editor for Paternoster, Associate Research Fellow of Spurgeon's College, London, and the author of several books on the Reformation.

Table of Contents

Dedication vii

Foreword Walter Brueggemann ix

Preface xi

Contributors xiii

Abbreviations xv

1 The Loss and Retrieval of Ancestral Religion - in Ancient Israel and in Australia Mark G. Brett 1

2 'That the World May Know,' Narrative Poetics in 1 Samuel 16 - 17 David G. Firth 20

3 Solomon and the Building of the Temple Ashley Crane 33

4 Getting to the Heart of the Matter - a Lamentable Situation David J. Cohen 50

5 Luther on Isaiah 40: the Gospel and Mission Michael Parsons 64

6 Second Isaiah and the Greek Islands Marjo C.A. Korpel 79

7 The Significance of the Old Testament for Paul's Missionary Calling Richard K. Moore 91

8 Paul's 'Cloak' and the Completion of the Tanakh Duane Christensen 106

9 Paul's Gospel to the Gentiles and its Implications for Christian Mission to Chinese Lung-Kwong Lo 121

10 Truth with a Mission - Reading All Scripture Missiologically Christopher J.H. Wright 140

11 A Trinitarian Perspective on the Destiny of the Unevangelized Haydn D. Nelson 157

12 Communities of Witness. The Concept of Election in the Old Testament and in the Theology of Karl Barth Michael O'Neil 172

13 Repristination. The Recovery of the Gospel in Post-Secular Australia Stuart Devenish 187

14 From 'Behave, Believe, Belong' to 'Belong, Believe, Behave' - A Missional Journey for the 21^st Century Brian S. Harris 204

15 Prophetic Preaching for a Missional Church Michael J. Quicke 218

Indexes 234