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The article "Priests of Creation: John Zizioulas on Discerning an Ecological Ethos" explores the intersection of theology and ecology through the work of John Zizioulas. Zizioulas argues for an Eastern perspective in theology to address the ecological crisis, critiquing Western anthropocentrism and proposing a more holistic approach to creation. He emphasizes the ontological value of creation, viewing humans as priests who mediate between the divine and creation. While Zizioulas presents compelling arguments, the article suggests that the West may have the resources to incorporate his insights into a broader theological framework. [Extracted from the article]

What may seem astonishing is the near dismissal of the beatific vision doctrine in the last 50+ years of biblical and theological scholarship in contrast to the emphasis given to it throughout church history. The state of theological scholarship is changing. In what follows, we set forth a short survey of a theology of the beatific vision, while also introducing the rest of the volume on the beatific vision and theosis, of which we take to have an intimate and overlapping relationship. The editorial article has four parts: it begins by (1) introducing some of the relevant biblical material on the vision, proceeding to (2) develop a theological interpretation of those passages, and then (3) offer a short historical survey of the doctrine, focusing on the relevant medieval and Reformed developments. It finally (4) introduces the articles of the issue.

The doctrine of the atonement is a subject of perpetual curiosity for a number of contemporary theologians. The penal substitution theory of atonement in particular has precipitated a great deal of recent interest, being held up by many (mostly evangelical) Protestants as ‘the’ doctrine of atonement. In this essay, we make a defense against the objection to the Anselmian theory of atonement that is often leveled against it by exponents of the Penal Substitution theory, namely, that Christ’s work does not accomplish anything for those whom it appears he undertakes his atoning work, but merely makes provision for salvation.

The beatific vision is a subject of considerable importance both in the Christian Scriptures and in the history of Christian dogmatics. In it, humans experience and see the perfect immaterial God, which represents the final end for the saints. However, this doctrine has received less attention in the contemporary theological literature, arguably, due in part to the growing trend toward materialism and the sole emphasis on bodily resurrection in Reformed eschatology. As a piece of retrieval by drawing from the Scriptures, Medieval Christianity, and Reformed Christianity, we motivate a case for the Reformed emphasis on the immaterial and intellectual aspects of human personal eschatology and offer some constructive thoughts on how to link it to the contemporary emphasis of the body. We draw a link between the soul and the body in the vision with the help of Christology as reflected in the theology of John Calvin, and, to a greater extent, the theology of both John Owen and Jonathan Edwards.

As divergent as they seem to be, In God's Image; Marriage, Family and the Church; Restless Devices; and, Believing in Bits all have several overlapping themes that center on the embodied nature of the imago Dei. Each presents a set of questions that prompt consideration of how 'technology' influences, shapes, and informs our embodied practice of religion. In God's Image and Marriage, Family and the Church give us a broad vision of the human that helps situate and theologically engage the themes, concerns, and developing challenges in Restless Devices and Believing in Bits. The latter two gesture in the direction that aid us in thinking about the liturgical nature of what it means to be human. In God's Image offers a sampling of different proposals primarily from a Protestant perspective that open up questions for how one ought to unify the themes and teleological nature of the body. Through a brief interaction with all four works, I gesture toward Marriage, Family and the Church as providing A Boat with New Nets that might just help us to navigate our changing world of technological advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of familial identity is central to a growing number of theological works. The authors of the volumes here each represent a different set of issues, disciplines, and perspectives. The discussions, ironically, center around family. Made in the Image of God gives the readers a series of reflections on diverse theological topics oscillating around the image and identity. Forming Resilient Children is unlike Made in the Image of God in that it is not strictly speaking a theological reflection on diverse issues, but a work of developmental psychology focusing on the nature of the child and the familial context for the child. Married Priests in the Catholic Church offers the reader a series of ecclesial engagements on the topic of the vocation of priesthood as either married or celibate. Overlapping with the previous two volumes in content by touching on identity, the image of God, and the nature of creaturely relations to God, Married Priests is, in one sense, a sustained reflection on the meaning of familial and organic identity (as an image of God) to the Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]