Is the Gospel Good News?
Edited by Stanley E. Porter and Hughson T. Ong
Is the Gospel Good News?
McMaster New Testament Studies Series, Volume
McMaster Divinity College Press
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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-1132-2
hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-1134-6
ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-1133-9
Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Names: Porter, Stanley E., editor. | Ong, Hughson T., editor.
Title: Is the gospel good news? / edited by Stanley E. Porter and Hughson T. Ong.
Description: Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2019. | McMaster New Testament Studies Series 8. | Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Identifiers: isbn 978-1-5326-1132-2 ( paperback ) | isbn 978-1-5326-1134-6 ( hardcover ) | isbn 978-1-5326-1133-9 ( ebook )
Subjects: LCSH: BibleTheology. | BibleCriticism, interpretation, etc.
Classification: BS543.A1 I7 2019 ( paperback ) | BS543.A1 ( ebook )
Manufactured in the U.S.A. 09/10/09
Table of Contents
Preface
T he 2015 H. H. Bingham Colloquium on the New Testament at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, held on June , was entitled Is the Gospel Good News? We thought that we already knew the answer to this question, but we were pleasantly surprised to hear the variety of answers proposed by our participants. None of them chose to answer in the negative (or at least leave it at that), but all of them offered their own individual perspectives on a range of topics related to the notion that the gospel is indeed good news. This Colloquium was the nineteenth in a continuing series held here at MDC. This conference continued the general format that we use for such conferences, although we expanded our usual offerings over two days. We were able to invite two scholarly guests to participate in the conference as plenary speakers, one a biblical scholar and the other a theologian (and chemist, and he will say more about that in his paper). They provided a range of helpful perspectives on our topic. In conjunction with other activities at MDC, we were also able to invite a number of our own alumni back to the College to participate in the conference. We were pleased to welcome graduates back from various parts of the world, and their contribution was profound, as is witnessed in this volume.
We have organized the papers around three broad topics: Bible, Theology, and Crucial Topics. The papers in the Bible section are themselves diverse, ranging over both Old and New Testament passages and ideas, and as will be noticed in the introduction and the essays themselves, many if not most of the other papers could well have been placed in this category as well. The Theology section includes papers that address focused theological topics in light of the question of what constitutes the good news. The third and final category, Crucial Topics, is in no way less important than the other two. In our vision for this conference, we wanted our participantsincluding our alumni from around the worldto be able to explore our topic from their particular set of interests, and they have done so. These papers provide some new and different perspectives on ways in which the gospel is good news.
The Bingham Colloquium is named after Dr. Herbert Henry Bingham, who was a noted Baptist leader in Ontario, Canada. His leadership abilities were recognized by Baptists across Canada and around the world. His qualities included his genuine friendship, dedicated leadership, unswerving Christian faith, tireless devotion to duty, insightful service as a preacher and pastor, and visionary direction for congregation and denomination alike. These qualities endeared him both to his own church members and to believers in other denominations. The Colloquium has been endowed by his daughter as an act of appreciation for her father. We are pleased to be able to continue this tradition.
The first volumes of the Bingham Colloquium were published by Eerdmans Publishing, but since 2010 all of the volumes in this series have been published by McMaster Divinity College Press, in conjunction with Wipf & Stock Publishers of Eugene, Oregon, in the McMaster New Testament Studies Series. We appreciate this active and continuing publishing relationship.
I finally would like to thank the individual contributors for accepting their assignments and for all their efforts in the preparation and presentation of papers that make a significant contribution of benefit to those who are captivated by the notion of the gospel as good news, whatever form that may take. I would especially like to thank my New Testament colleague, Hughson Ong, for working together with me to edit this volume for publication. We would like to thank the staff and student helpers and volunteers at McMaster Divinity College, all of whom were integral in creating a pleasant environment and a supportive atmosphere for the Colloquium. I would also like to thank my graduate assistant, Bryan Fletcher, for his work on the indexes.
Stanley E. Porter
Contributors
Lee Beach (PhD, McMaster Divinity College), Associate Professor of Christian Ministry, and Garbutt F. Smith Chair in Ministry Formation and Director of Ministry Formation, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario
Mark J. Boda , Professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario
Lynn H. Cohick , Provost/Dean, Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary, Littleton, Colorado
Paul S. Evans , Assistant Professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario
W. Ross Hastings , Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia
Jae Hyun Lee (PhD, McMaster Divinity College), University Chaplain, Handong Global University, South Korea
Matthew Forrest Lowe (PhD, McMaster Divinity College), Independent Scholar, Writer, and Editor, Hagersville, Ontario
Hughson T. Ong (PhD, McMaster Divinity College), Assistant Academic Dean and Registrar, and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Emmanuel Bible College, Kitchener, Ontario
Francis G. H. Pang (PhD, McMaster Divinity College), Assistant Professor of New Testament and Information Technology Systems Analyst, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario
Ronald D. Peters (PhD, McMaster Divinity College), Professor of New Testament, Great Lakes Christian College, Michigan
Stanley E. Porter , President and Dean, Professor of New Testament, and Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario
Nicole A. Reid (MTS, McMaster Divinity College), Independent Writer and Community Ministry Leader, Niagara, Ontario
Beth M. Stovell (PhD, McMaster Divinity College), Associate Professor of Old Testament, Ambrose University, Calgary, Alberta
Steven M. Studebaker , Associate Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, and Howard and Shirley Bentall Chair in Evangelical Thought, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario
