There is not a plethora of books in the area of biblical studies dedicated exclu-sively to the topic of the Satan, and even among those that have recently emerged, most simply serve as a recapitulation of the available information. Ryan Stokes’ new monograph however changes this, boldly suggesting a new hypothesis regarding the meaning of the w…[Read more]

Although the topic of Ellen White’s relationship to the Apocrypha has recently begun to be given more attention in scholarship, the topic of her interaction with and utilization of the larger non-canonical literature outside her family Bible has received virtually no academic research. As such, this article seeks to correct this silence by u…[Read more]

The Apocalypse can be considered a theology of power. This article discusses seven ethical issues related to the use and abuse of dele-gated power/authority (exousia). First and foremost, delegated authority is a relational term with dual-directional aspects. It implies that both humans and heavenly beings are morally responsible creatures.…[Read more]

As in other Scandinavian countries, the Swedish Seventh-day Adventist Church has greatly benefited from the service of women. Today, many of them are pastors, who are now treated as fully equal with their male colleagues, except with regard to ordination. For decades, however, they had been discriminated against, in terms of financial support,…[Read more]

This article studies Paul’s farewell speech to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:18‒35. It has a unique role among the many speeches of Acts because of both its content and its position in the narrative progress of the book. In contrast to most other speeches in Acts, it is in-house; it is not spoken, for instance, for evangelistic purposes or as a l…[Read more]

During Robert Pierson’s leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as General Conference President from 1966-1979 the church experienced theological turmoil in a struggle between traditionalist and progressive perspectives. Pierson perceived a major threat to the conservatism of the church in the form of “creeping liberalism.” In his strug…[Read more]

According to the promotion text on the jacket, Jehu Hanciles’ book provides “a magisterial sweep through 1500 years of Christian history.” The distin-guished church historian Philip Jenkins agrees, and, in his foreword, credits Hanciles with redrawing “the historical maps by which we understand the Christian story.” Jenkins just regrets that he d…[Read more]

In der Einleitung seines Werkes weist der Autor auf den zweiten Artikel der Glaubensüberzeugungen der Kirche der Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten aus dem Jahr 1980 hin: „Es ist ein Gott: Vater, Sohn und Heiliger Geist, eine Ein-heit von drei gleichermaßen ewigen Personen.“ Doch dieser Satz stehe bei manchen Adventisten so sehr in der Kritik, dass ganze…[Read more]

This is a very spiritual book. As a sequel to the author’s volume titled Longing for God: A Bible-Prayer Journal (Pacific Press, 2017), it continues its personal character and focus on practical piety. It is also a book with a personal back-ground. Hasel recounts numerous details of the tragic loss of his wife Ulrike, who died of cancer, and his s…[Read more]

The book deals with a particularly complex and controversial subject: the Trinity. This is an introduction to the subject. The topic is covered in some 150 pages. Christians struggle to understand this transcendent notion of the Trini-ty (Father ‒ Son ‒ Spirit) because it goes far beyond what humans can imag-ine. The Bible presents a triune God…[Read more]

What Richard Rice has essentially achieved in The Future of Open Theism is to appraise the prominent issues in the development of the open theism dis-course and to chart new paths for its future, especially since the publishing of The Openness of God twenty-eight years ago. Rice, a leading voice of the open theism theology, sums up its major…[Read more]

What’s become of the “common good”? Given the current state of polarization, and the systemic and structural nature of social injustice, is it still possible to hope for justice? The article proposes that the basis for working together is not necessarily sharing “common ground” but a pursuit of “common ends.” A keynote presentation and response…[Read more]

Veränderungen in der kirchlich geprägten Religiosität in Europa stellen viele konfessionelle Ortsgemeinden auf eine existenzielle Bewährungsprobe. Die hier vorgestellten Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass es dafür in der Freikirche der Adventisten neben all-gemeinen demografischen und gesellschaftlichen Trends auch we-sentliche beeinflussbare Fakt…[Read more]

This article begins by briefly surveying the history of the cosmic week concept from its origins in pre-Christian texts through to the late eighteenth century. It then investigates its role in Millerite eschatological thought and the ways in which this impacted early Seventh-day Adventism. Between the mid-nineteenth century and early twenty-first…[Read more]

During the last forty years of the Protestant-Catholic dialogue was there any real change in dogmatic substance? Was the underlying theological question of justification by faith alone of 1517 really solved and thus the way to unity and reconciliation opened? The Roman Catholic Church of today is in many ways dissimilar to the church known by…[Read more]

This article analyses the religious impact of a number of past pandemics. After providing a brief survey of major epidemics and pandemics in history—from the fifth century BC Plague of Athens to the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020—the religious impact of a few of these health disasters is examined: The Black Death of the fourteenth cen…[Read more]