Didache Vol 16 Number 1

DIDACHE 16.1 INTRODUCTION


Dean G. Blevins, Sr. Editor

Kent Brower, Nazarene Theological College Manchester

Greetings and welcome to the early first edition for the sixteenth volume of Didache Faithful Teaching. We are offering this “summer” edition in late spring since it represents a very special collection of papers from the Eurasia Region. I am extremely pleased to introduce our guest editor, Dr. Kent Brower, current Vice-Principal and Senior Research Fellow Chair of the Research Degrees Committee at Nazarene Theological College, Manchester. In addition, Kent serves as Chair of the International Board of Education for the Church of the Nazarene. Perhaps no other faculty person serves as quite the “ambassador” for global education like Kent. Dr. Brower’s introduction reads:

The papers in this edition of Didache: Faithful Teaching were presented at the 2015 Eurasia Regional Theology Conference in October 2015. The conference theme was ‘The Ministry of Reconciliation’, based on Paul’s famous 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 announcement of God’s reconciliation of the world in the Messiah and the call of God’s people to be agents of that reconciliation. This was an appropriate follow-up to the theme of ‘ecclesiology’ at the Global Theology Conference in Johannesburg, and a provocative introduction to the 2015 Eurasia Regional Conference that followed and pursued in worship and workshops the theme of ‘reconciliation’. The timeliness of the theme, given the huge refugee challenges in the Middle East and Europe, was an unplanned blessing. The conference itself had several goals. First, the region needed a theology conference. A regional theology conference was long overdue – it had been 10 years since the last one. Second, this was a conference open to all who were prepared to commit to the entire day, and to achieve a better gender balance within the participants. It was especially designed to give emerging scholars an opportunity to offer their thoughts with responses from more seasoned scholars. Third, it was intended to be integrative, so that all the sessions focused on the one theme, and all participants in the conference committed to being in all the sessions. The first session addressed reconciliation primarily from a NT perspective. In the church history and Christian theology session, the notion of reconciliation in the work of Basil was followed by reflections on church practice and the risks of succumbing to the idolatrous patterns prominent in the world. In the two final sessions we were asked to reflect on our practice in light of scripture and theology. The biblical/theological picture of hospitality was followed by a paper chiding the church for building walls without windows. The final two papers were specifically focused on reconciliation between Christians and Muslims. Each of these sessions concluded with questions addressed from the floor to the presenters. The conference was drawn to a close at the Lord’s Table, where we celebrated the reconciliation of brothers and sisters in Christ.

In addition to Dr. Brower’s introduction and editorial work for this edition, I also appreciate the support of Arthur Snijders, Eurasia Regional Director. Readers may discover more about the work of the region at the website http://www.eurasiaregion.org

I also want to extend particular thanks to John Haines, Eurasia Regional Education Coordinator, who remains a good friend and a strong supporter of young scholars throughout his region.

Table of Contents

 Introduction by Dean G. Blevins and Kent Brower

Session One: Bible/Biblical Theology

 Towards a Biblical Theology of Reconciliation: Connecting Paul’s concern for reconciliation with the theology of reconciliation in the Gospels of John and Matthew by Wolfgang Köhler

 Reconciliation: Now is the Acceptable Time (2 Cor 5:14-6:2)  by Svetlana Khobnya

 Response to Wolfgang Köhler and Svetlana Khobnya by Kent Brower

Session Two: Christian Theology/Church History

 A Notion of Reconciliation in the 4th Century Christian Cappadocia: Considering St. Basil’s Approach to the Life of the Church by Olga Druzinhina

 The Church Among the Powers: Enemies and Hindrances to the Ministry of Reconciliation by Davide Cantarella

 Response to Olga Druzinhina and Davide Cantarella by Stephen Wright

Session Three: Practical and Social Theology I

 Reconciliation Hospitality: Philouxenia vs. Xenophobia by Tatiana Cantarella

 Breaking Boundaries: Embracing the ‘Other’ While Holding Fast to Our ‘In Christ” Identity by Prakash Nemade

 Response to Tatiana Cantarella and Prakash Nemade by Antonie Holleman  

Session Four: Session Four: Practical and Social Theology II

 Identity and Belonging for a BMB  by Abed El Kareem Zien El Dien

 Do Muslims and Christians need Reconciliation: Another Middle East Perspective by Haidar Halasah

 Response to Abed El Dien and Haidar Halasah  by Dwight D Swanson  

Readers will be interested to know that other regional conferences will be published in Didache: Faithful Teaching in the future. In particular, the USA/Canada Region will host a regional theology conference Fall of 2016 on the “Pilgrim People Living in Exile.” Presentations from this conference should appear in the next edition.

As always, please note the journal publishes articles along the themes of theology, culture, and education within a Wesleyan heritage. Guidelines for submissions are available at the website. Professors may also submit outstanding student papers (with student permission) as long as they will agree to serve as the reviewer.

I also thank Ernalyn Longcop Fausto, with the staff of the Asia Pacific Region, who works diligently in the formatting and maintenance of our website, and Dr. Tammy Condon, a consistent promoter of Didache: Faithful Teaching, and primary motivator in the development of the Wesleyan Holiness Digital Library (WHDL) https://www.whdl.org/.