Reclaiming Divine Wrath: A History of a Christian Doctrine and Its Interpretation (Studies in Theology, Society and Culture) PDF
Preview Reclaiming Divine Wrath: A History of a Christian Doctrine and Its Interpretation (Studies in Theology, Society and Culture)
stsc S t u d i e S i n t h e o l o g y S t u d i e S i n t h e o l o g y vol. 8 S o c i e t y a n d c u l t u r e S o c i e t y a n d c u l t u r e Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, there was prolific mis Stephen Butler Murray use and abuse of the concept of divine wrath in church pulpits. In pursuit of S t e a faithful understanding of what he calls a “lost doctrine,” the author of this p h Reclaiming Divine WRath study investigates the substantial history of how “the wrath of God” has been e n interpreted in Christian theology and preaching. Starting with the Hebrew B u and Christian Scriptures and moving historically through Christianity’s most tl A History of a Christian Doctrine and Its Interpretation important theologians and societal changes, several models of divine wrath er M are identified. The author argues for the reclamation of a theological paradigm u of divine wrath that approaches God’s love and God’s wrath as intrinsically r r a enjoined in a dynamic tension. Without such a commitment to this paradigm, y this important biblical aspect of God is in danger of suffering two possible outcomes. Firstly, it may suffer rejection, through conscious avoidance of the R narrow misinterpretations of divine wrath that dominate contemporary theo e logy and preaching. Secondly, irresponsible applications of divine wrath may c l occur when we neglect to engage and understand the wrath of God as inseparable a from God’s justice and love in Christian theology and proclamation. i m i n g D i v i n e W R a t h Stephen Butler Murray is Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and College Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. He is coeditor of Crossing By Faith: Sermons on the Journey from Youth to Adulthood. ISBN 9783034307031 www.peterlang.com Peter Lang Reclaiming Divine Wrath S t u d i e S i n t h e o l o g y S o c i e t y a n d c u l t u r e Series Editors: Dr Declan Marmion Dr Gesa Thiessen Dr Norbert Hintersteiner Volume 8 PETER LANG Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien Stephen Butler Murray Reclaiming Divine Wrath A History of a Christian Doctrine and Its Interpretation PETER LANG Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche National- bibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Murray, Stephen Butler. Reclaiming divine wrath : a history of a Christian doctrine and its interpretation / Stephen Butler Murray. p. cm. -- (Studies in theology, society, and culture ; ser. no. 8) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-3-0343-0703-1 (alk. paper) 1. God (Christianity)--Wrath--History of doctrines. I. Title. BT153.W7M87 2011 231’.4--dc22 2011014278 Cover image: St Michael’s Victory over the Devil, a 1911 statue by August Vogel at the entrance of St Michaelis Church in Hamburg, Germany. Photograph by Rolf Diekhoff. ISSN 1662-9930 ISBN 978-3-0343-0703-1 E‐ISBN 978‐3‐0353‐0178‐6 © Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2011 Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland [email protected], www.peterlang.com, www.peterlang.net All rights reserved. All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. Printed in Germany To Cynthia and Hunter Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Chapter One The Biblical Accounts Concerning Divine Wrath: The Old Testament, the Inter-Testamental Period, and the New Testament 9 Chapter Two The Development of a Christian Theology of Divine Wrath: From Early Christian Apologists to the Medieval Theologians 47 Chapter Three The Development of Protestant Considerations of Divine Wrath: The Era of the Reformations 105 Chapter Four Divine Wrath Amidst the Rise of Evangelicalism and Liberal Theology: From Wesley to Ritschl 151 Chapter Five Divine Wrath in the Twentieth Century: Theological Proponents and Opponents to the Wrath of God 181 viii Chapter Six Reclaiming Divine Wrath: An Apologetics for Contemporary Christian Theology and Preaching 253 Bibliography 271 Index 297 Acknowledgements It is a happy moment at the conclusion of a long project when an author is able to look back and thank those who helped to bring him to this point. In the case of this book, which began as a doctoral dissertation at Union Theological Seminary in New York, it is easy to begin with one’s commit- tee, those who have of fered long hours of assistance and guidance in the course of my writing this monograph. Delores S. Williams, my disserta- tion chair and indeed my invaluable advisor since I first walked through the doors at Broadway and 121st Street into Union Theological Seminary, has been not merely a friend to the writing of this dissertation. She has been a friend in teaching me by her graceful example, in truly mentoring a budding theologian while of fering the most sacrosanct of wisdom along the way. Christopher L. Morse inspired me to pursue my doctoral studies at Union Theological Seminary. It was in my first class with him at Yale Divinity School that I realized, perhaps more than anywhere else, the vital importance of examining the continuing relevance of the doctrines of the Christian traditions in light of the contemporary challenges of church and society. David L. Bartlett has been my dean, my professor, and my collabo- rator, and it always is an honor to hear his unsurpassed sermons, just as it was to learn by his example, from his classes, and through his counsel at Yale University Divinity School. Of course, there are others who have taught me along the way, who have been especially inf luential to my development as a systematic theo- logian and homiletician. I am grateful to Jim Squire, Alison Boden, Jerry Streets, and Rick Spalding for being there as my pastors over the years. I am especially appreciative for certain professors who went out of their way to teach me throughout my undergraduate and graduate years of study: Doug Sturm, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, Jef frey Turner, Frank Wilson, and Maria Antonaccio at Bucknell University; Serene Jones, David Kelsey, Letty Russell, Harry Baker Adams, and Tom Ogletree at Yale University
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