Ahistorical interpretation of the Torah narratives in the Wisdom of Solomon

The traditional scholarly title (since the early twentieth century) for the last section of the Wisdom of Solomon, chapters 11–19 (or for some, 10–19) is the “Book of History.” This is a misleading designation because the author of the Wisdom of Solomon chose to present certain events from the exodus and wilderness traditions of ancient Israel not in the context of a continuous historical narrative, but rather as paradigmatic examples of God’s justice and mercy toward both the righteous and the ungodly. The purpose of the second half of the Wisdom of Solomon is pedagogical and apologetic rather than historical. The author’s avoidance of proper names and the consistent division of humanity in moral terms (the righteous vs the ungodly/unrighteous) rather than along ethnic lines (Israel vs Egyptians or Canaanites) should be taken seriously as an effort to universalize the lessons of Israel’s stories. The consistent message of both the antitheses and the excurses in chapters 11–19 is that God manifests both justice and mercy in disciplining human beings (both the righteous and the unrighteous) with suffering. Thus, it would be preferable to call chapters 11–19 either the “Book of Discipline” or the “Book of Divine Justice and Mercy.”

THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE AND TEACHING STRATEGY IN “FREEDOM WRITER” BY RICHARD LAGRAVENESE

<p><strong>Abstract</strong>: This research aims to analyze the educational value and teaching strategy in the “Freedom Writer” film by Richard Lagravenese. Based on the theories of educational value and teaching strategies, there are four primary points to analyze: 1) How is Educational Value in ‘Freedom Writer Film’ by Richard Lagravenese? 2) What are the Teaching Strategies in ‘Freedom Writer Film’ by Richard Lagravenese? 3) There are eleven kinds of educational value that appear in “Freedom Writer” by Richard Lagravenese based on Linda, they are honesty, courage, peace-ability, self-reliance and potential, self-discipline and moderation, loyalty and dependability, respect, unselfishness, and sensitivity, kindness &amp; friendliness, justice and mercy, and love. 4) There are five kinds of teaching strategies that appear in Richard Lagravenese based on Brown; they are content-based instruction, theme-based instruction, experiential learning, episode hypothesis, and task-based teaching.<br /><strong>Keywords</strong>: educational value, teaching strategy, film.</p>

Divine Righteousness and Forgiveness: The Old Testament Background of Hilastērion in Romans 3:25

We Start With An Analysis Of The Term Righteousness Of God In Romans 3:21–26. The Righteousness As A Gift To Believers (genitive Of Source, Verses 21–22) Is Founded On The Righteousness That Characterizes His Being (subjective Genitive, Verses 24–25). However, God’s Righteousness Should Not Always Be Interpreted As God’s Covenantal Faithfulness. For The Apostle, Divine Righteousness Brings Salvation And Leads To Judgment, As It Does In The Old Testament. There The Hilastērion, The Ark Cover, Brings These Attributes Together. After Investigating The Background, We Describe Paul’s Use Of The Image (Rom 3:25) With The Help Of Jewish Sources. In Christ, Divine Justice And Mercy Come Together In This Image. Finally, We Ask To Whom It Applies. KEYWORDS: (Day Of) Atonement, Forgiveness, Jewish Sources, Mercy Seat, Propitiation, Romans 3, Righteousness Of God, Hilastērion, Reconciliation, Sacrifice

Great Christian Jurists in the Low Countries

What impact has Christianity had on law and policies in the Lowlands from the eleventh century through the end of the twentieth century? Taking the gradual 'secularization' of European legal culture as a framework, this volume explores the lives and times of twenty legal scholars and professionals to study the historical impact of the Christian faith on legal and political life in the Low Countries. The process whereby Christian belief systems gradually lost their impact on the regulation of secular affairs passed through several stages, not in the least the Protestant Reformation, which led to the separation of the Low Countries in a Protestant North and a Catholic South in the first place. The contributions take up general issues such as the relationship between justice and mercy, Christianity and politics as well as more technical topics of state-church law, criminal law and social policy.

Trying Portia

Extraordinary in itself, the 2016 performance of The Merchant in the Venetian Ghetto produced an equally extraordinary collateral performance. Staged in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a ‘Mock Appeal in the Matter of Shylock v. Antonio’ was heard by a bench presided over by Ruth Bader Ginsberg. A curious aspect of the Appeal was that Portia made an appellee. This essay investigates the decision to try Portia. What cultural, political, religious needs were served by bringing Portia into court? Thinking about Justice and Mercy, law, bonds, and love, this essay asks: when the verdict was pronounced, was antisemitism recuperated by misogyny?

Imaging the God of Justice and Mercy: Theological Allusions in John Wesley’s Thoughts upon Slavery

John Wesley’s influential booklet, Thoughts upon Slavery, argues that slavery is inherently evil and ought to be abolished, largely using the non-religious language of justice, mercy, natural liberty, and natural law. In key places in his argument Wesley alludes to theological concepts. This article contends that these allusions are not random but refer to key theological components of the core of Wesley’s theology. It relates these allusions to expositions of the core concepts in Wesley’s other writings to argue that slavery, and other forms of social injustice, are inherently incompatible with the core of Wesleyan theology.

Retrieving and Articulating Liberative Aspects of the Sabbath Doctrine in Context of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa

The crisis in Adventism in South Africa is that eschatology has been an escape wagon from liberative mission, or at best, an optional, even disposable aspect of the gospel. This attitude or understanding of seeing everything in the future with no connection to the present has caused Adventists to shun social, political and cultural responsibilities. This article explicates and advocates the position that Adventists must explore the broader message and liberative meaning, purpose and function of the Sabbath. As a re-interpretation of the traditional, legalistic understanding of the doctrine of the Sabbath, the model proposed locates the Sabbath at the centre of a radically liberative mission to the poor. It argues that rest, as a mark of wholeness, must be realised in those aspects of human life that the Sabbath addresses; and that theology is not averse to liberative mission. Any theology which claims to be a biblical theology must link its understanding of the gospel to social concern. Therefore, this article aims to retrieve and biblically articulate aspects of the Sabbath doctrine. Adventists cannot be persuaded to operate meaningfully in responding to the millennial hopes of the poor outside of formal recognition of the potency of the Sabbath as a time of deliverance or liberation of people from social, emotional, political and material consequences of sin. Thus, in the following sub-themes the broader liberative message and meaningful aspects of the Sabbath will be explored. The universality of the Sabbath will touch on the following: the Sabbath as a time for release from labour, from oppressive life, indeed a time to embrace even justice and mercy. The Sabbath entails an inclusive mission, God’s dominion-free order in a world impacted by violent engagement with oppressive powers; Sabbath as missionary in its nature will also be explicated.

Law, Mercy, and Reconciliation in the Achaemenid Empire

The kings of the Achaemenid Empire are known for employing a number of particularly gruesome punishments for those who were deemed guilty of rebellion. While it is certainly true that the Achaemenids punished rebels with utmost severity, it is also true that they were, at times, willing to forgive rebels, and even to rehabilitate them. In this paper, I investigate the mechanisms by which the Achaemenid kings were able to show mercy to rebels. By examining a number of relevant cases from a period of a century and a half, I argue that the decision to be merciful was based on the king’s familial or social relationship with the rebel, the rebel’s relative strength vis-à-vis the king, the geography of the revolt, and the presence of other external factors which might also restrict the king’s powers. By a comparison with royal inscriptions and texts found throughout the empire, I demonstrate the ways in which these reconciliations stood apart from, and even in contradiction to, administrative and ideological norms concerning law and justice within the Achaemenid Empire. Finally, by reviewing the traditions and attitudes towards justice and mercy among the Achaemenids' Near Eastern predecessors, I put this policy in historical context and show that it is a unique response to a problem faced by other ancient empires.