Theology beacon dictionary of theology
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- For Further Reading: Dayton, Discovering an Evangel- ical Heritage; Gundry, Woman Be Free; Scanzoni and Hardesty
- For Further Reading: Walls, "Word," Bakers DT; Wiley and Culbertson, Introduction to Christian Theology, 185-238.
- Further Reading: Bertram, "ergon, etc.," Kittel, 2:635-55; Braun, "poied, etc.," Kittel, 6:458-84; Hahn and Thiele, "Work, Do, Accomplish,"
- The Biblical Doc- trine of Work.
- WORLD VIEW. See
- REVERENCE, CHURCH, CHURCH MUSIC, BLESS (BLESSED, BLESSING), PRESENCE (DIVINE), LITURGY, PRAYER, PUBLIC PRAYER. For Further
- GOD, ATTRIBUTES (DIVINE), RETRIBUTION (RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE), ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, ANGER, LOVE. For Further
- The Wrath/" The Seminary Tower, Fall, 1958; Stahlin, "orge," Kittel, 5:419-47; W. White, Jr., "Wrath", ZPEB, 5.
- For Further Reading: ZPEB, 5:302-13, 995-1015; Brown and Mayer, "Scripture, Writing," Dictionary of New Testament Theology
- YAHWEH. See
- For Further Reading: Waetjer, Bakers DCE, 563; Brown, ed., NIDNTT, 3:1160-65; Wolf, IDB, 4:924-25.
- DEVOTE (DEVOTION), JEALOUSY. For Further Reading: Kittel, 2:877-88; "Zeal," IDB; Arndt and Gingrich. JERRY W. McCANT
For Further Reading: Jewett, Man as Male and Female; Mollenkott, Women, Men, and the Bible; Scanzoni and Hardesty, All We're Meant to Be: A Biblical Approach to Women's Liberation. NANCY A. HARDESTY WOMEN, ORDINATION OF. See ordination of women. WOMEN'S LIBERATION. The movement of the 1960s and 1970s is but a reflowering of the 19th-century call for "woman's rights." As women became active in temperance and abolition, their rights to organize, speak out, and engage in public political activity were challenged on the basis of traditional scriptural interpretations. From evangelical circles surrounding revivalist Charles G. Finney and from Wesleyan/ holiness groups came a series of defenses, first of woman's right to work for reform and eventually for her right to preach the gospel in its fullness. Finneyites Sarah Grimke (Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, 1838) and Antoinette Brown Black-well ("Exegesis of 1 Corinthians, xiv., 34, 35 and 1 Timothy, ii, 12," Oberlin Quarterly Review, 1849) declared that whatever was morally right for man to do was morally right for woman. Methodists Luther Lee (Woman's Right to Preach the Gospel, 1853), Phoebe Palmer (Promise of the Father, 1859), Catherine Booth (Female Ministry, 1859), Frances Willard (Woman in the Pulpit, 1888), and B. T. Roberts (Ordaining Women, 1891) all argued that John Wesley allowed women to preach and the Bible not only permits but encourages women's service to the church and the world. Thus many holiness and Pentecostal denominations do ordain women. After the 19 th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920, women's rights as an organized movement went into decline, only to be reborn as an adjunct to a renewed concern for civil rights. Goals of the women's movement have been equal pay for equal work, equal recognition under the law, and individual fulfillment unfettered by restrictive cultural sex roles. Within the church, women began to be fully ordained in a number of mainline denominations in the mid-1950s. During the 1970s biblical feminists sought to recover the liberating exegesis of Scripture used by their grandparents; to foster the use of inclusive language in Bible translations and worship materials; to achieve mutual submission and responsibility in home, church, and society; and to realize the full giftedness of every person in Christ, in whom there is neither male nor female (Gal. 3:28). See WOMAN, ORDINATION OF WOMEN.
There are many references in the OT to isolated messages, which God usually gave to prophets (e.g., 1 Sam. 3:11-14; 1 Kings 12:22-24; Jer. 1:4-5; 51:33; Ezek. 7:1 ff). The written Word of God as the aggregate of His recorded messages is the theme of Psalm 119 (though only a part of the Scriptures had been written at that time). In the NT the sacred writings are called "scriptures" (Matt. 21:42; Mark 14:49; Luke 24:27; John 5:39; et al.). The Bible as a whole can properly be called the Word of God even though it contains words which are not God's, as for instance the words of Satan or of evil men. Such are inspired in the sense that God directed the human writers to include them for a divine purpose. But it is through the Living Word, Christ, who was from the beginning (John 1:1 ff), that God has revealed himself most clearly to man (14:9). The above categories of the Word of God are so closely associated that they blend into each other. If, for example, Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), and God's words, whether spoken or written, are true (2 Sam. 7:28; Ps. 19:9), then the Word of God in all categories possesses the quality of truth. A dramatic example of the coalescing of their meaning is seen in Heb. 4:12. There, what seems at first to be a statement about the qualities of the spoken and written Word quickly becomes expressed in personal terms and is "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." All things are "manifest in his sight" (v. 13).
See CHRIST, LOGOS, BIBLE, INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. For Further Reading: Walls, "Word," Baker's DT; Wiley and Culbertson, Introduction to Christian Theology, 185-238. W. Ralph Thompson WORK, WORKS. This is the English translation of several Hebrew (e.g., maaseh, melakah, pod, yagia) and Greek words (ergon, poiema, pragma, ko-riao, energeia, etc.) whose generalized meaning is purposeful activity. Work or works may be variously classified according to the agent (God or man), sphere (sacred or secular), variety (physical or intellectual), evaluation (positive or negative, good or bad), purpose (contextually defined), and/or the distinctive uses of specific biblical authors. Scripture presents God himself as the Model of positively evaluated work, primarily in creation and redemption (cf. Gen. 1:1—2:3; Isaiah 43—45; Ps. 8:3; 19:1). Of His healings Jesus said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17, Niv; cf. v. 36; 9:3-4; 17:4; Matt. 11:2-6). Work, both physical (Gen. 1:28; 2:15; Ps. 104:14, 23) and intellectual (Gen. 2:19-20; 1:26, 28), intended to create, conserve, control, and classify, was part of God's original purpose for man, not a consequence of the Fall. Sin distorted the character of man, and since work is a fundamental act of human existence, it was directly affected by that sin. Work became wearisome toil, aggravated by an uncertain relationship between exertion and achievement (cf. Gen. 3:17-19; 5:29; 8:21; Eccles. 2:4-11, 18-23; 4:4-8; 6:7), and an occasion for sins of avarice (cf. Luke 12:13-21; Prov. 23:4) and exploitation (cf. Exod. 1:11-14; Jer. 22:13-17; Jas. 5:1-6). Idleness and sloth are considered vices (cf. Prov. 6:6-15; 10:2-5; 13:4; 14:23; Eph. 4:28; 1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:6-13). The apostolic ultimatum is: "If any one will not work, let him not eat" (2 Thess. 3:10, rsv). But through God's work of redemption even everyday secular tasks become sacred when performed in obedience to the divine will, "as to the Lord" (cf. Eph. 6:5-9; Deut. 2:7; 14:28-29; Job 1:10). When we move from "work" to "works," we find ourselves at once grappling with an age-old theological problem. There developed in late Judaism the notion that the fulfillment of God's law was a holy work which established a man's righteousness or a treasury of merit before God. This accounts for Paul's negative appraisal of "works," i.e., doing what the law requires as a means of achieving or securing salvation (Rom. 3:20, 28; 9:30—10:4; cf. Matt. 20:1-15; Luke 17:7-10). He argues that salvation is by grace alone, God's work. Even the human response of faith and the subsequent performance of good works are not meritorious, but a ceasing from vain efforts to secure self-salvation (Eph. 2:1-10; Rom. 3:21—4:25; 7:7-25; Gal. 2:15-21; 3:21-22; cf. Heb. 4:9-11). WORK ETHIC—WORSHIP 551
The obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5; 15:18) working through love (Gal. 5:6) will keep God's commandments (1 Cor. 7:19) and thereby fulfil the law's intent (Rom. 8:1-4; 13:8-10; 1 Cor. 15:58; Gal. 5:13-14; Eph. 4:10; Phil. 1:27; Col. 1:10). James's reminder that "faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (Jas. 2:17, Rsv; cf. vv. 14-26) only apparently contradicts Paul. Paul was writing against legalistic piety, while James's concern was dead orthodoxy which did not issue in a transformed life. See merit, fideism, vocation, justification, law and grace, mosaic law. For Further Reading: Bertram, "ergon, etc.," Kittel,
The Hebrew had no concept of the world as it is known today. To his mind the physical world was not the whole. Beyond were the heavens where God's throne was located with all His heavenly host. He did not think of the universe but rather thought in terms of the abode of God (heaven). God was the Author of both, and the orderly movements of the heavenly bodies and the seasons were testimony of His creating and keeping power. When man sinned, a curse fell upon all creation (Ps. 104:29). A striking fact is the way in which the NT uses "world" as something evil. Man is divided between the followers of Christ and the followers of the world: "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own" (John 15:19); "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (17:16).
Love is the motive that sets priorities, determines and gives direction. Love helps one to select and limit. Love directs itself toward pleasure, not suffering, hurt, and privation. Because of this guiding factor in life, the Bible teaches: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). To love the world is to accept the aims of the visible world, its plans, customs, and values. The worldly person is caught up in the spirit of the age. Worldliness is not an act, not things, but a spirit, by which one is engrossed with the now, the physical, as opposed to the eternal and the spiritual. See separation, spirituality, pietism, life-style, temptation.
Worship can only rightly be offered to God himself. He alone is worthy! The heart of Christian worship is adoration, the most self-abnegating devotion of which man is capable. It is part of the mission of the Church to recognize the need of cultivating in its members the spirit of reverence and awe that leads to adoration. Here is the vital spark of heavenly flame that is to inspire, promote, and sustain the life of the soul. The worship service is a tryst with God. "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee" (Exod. 25:22). Worship involves the whole man. It cannot be divorced from moral and ethical content. The qualification for fellowship with God is fitness for it. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart" (Ps. 24:3-4). Worship also embraces obedience and service (Luke 6:46). In Scripture there is no difference between
552 WRATH the two. The Hebrew verb "to serve" (abhaah), when used in reference to God, includes every form of service, whether offered in Temple worship or in daily life. In the NT the noun leitourgia (from which our word liturgy is derived) is used without distinction between worship and service. The revelation of God to man is never one of presence only; it involves also God's purpose. "There can be no apprehension of the divine Presence that is not at the same time a summons to a divinely-appointed task" (Baillie, The Sense of the Presence of God, 206). From the human side Christian worship implies both offering and receiving. The subjective element (man's receiving) is essential to all true worship: "Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary" (Ps. 96:6). Attendance at worship is intended in part for the therapeutic values that the Christian faith offers. Keeping a balance between the objective and the subjective aspects of Christian worship is not always easy. Our theology of God conditions our worship perspective. For some, God may be almost exclusively transcendent; for others, He is altogether immanent. Man's nature calls for a sense of both the ultimate and the intimate. But when one is magnified at the expense of the other, religious experience is in danger of becoming either cold and legalistic or overfamiliar and sentimental. The worship of God is a blend of both awe and love. See REVERENCE, CHURCH, CHURCH MUSIC, BLESS (BLESSED, BLESSING), PRESENCE (DIVINE), LITURGY, PRAYER, PUBLIC PRAYER.
As to God, the Bible speaks clearly about the wrath of God. The apostle Paul, for example, uses such phrases as "the wrath to come" (1 Thess. 1:10); "children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3); "the day of wrath" (Rom. 2:5); "vessels of wrath" (9:22); and other similar phrases. Obviously, the concept of wrath as it relates to God plays a significant part in Paul's theological understanding. In the Book of Romans, after introducing the theme of the Epistle in 1:16-17, he proceeds to deal with the issue of sin in the history of mankind. "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness" (v. 18, niv). Needless to say, these declarations make it abundantly clear that "a principle of retribution" is at work in this moral universe. Is the wrath of God personal or impersonal? Many scholars find offensive the suggestion that God's wrath is personal. They see His wrath as "an impersonal system of cause and effect in the moral realm." For example, Brunner speaks of the wrath of God as "the headwind against which every sinner walks." This position rests upon a fear that God's wrath may be understood in psychological terms, that is to say, it is some type of emotional rage, much like what we witness among humans. Therefore, God's wrath cannot be personal. On the other hand, God's wrath may be considered personal in the sense that it is His steady, holy displeasure at sin. As Purkiser writes, the wrath of God is His "unfailing and unceasing antagonism to sin, which must be so long as God is God." Moreover, His wrath is His judicial attack on evil. The end result of the divine wrath is twofold: (1) to maintain the created order; (2) to punish justly those who rebel against His providences and redemption and who persist in acting wickedly. Three facts must be kept in mind with respect to this issue of the personal or impersonal character of God's wrath. First, the moral law, under which all of us live, originates in the nature of God, not His will. This means that the wrath of God is not "an unbridled and normless exercise of vengeance" but an indignant response to sin based upon His own holy nature. Second, since the moral law arises out of His being which is unchangeable, it too is changeless. This removes any capriciousness from God's wrath. Third, wrath and love are not opposites. Hate is the opposite of love. "Wrath is the unfailing opposition of God's holy love to all that is evil," writes Purkiser. See GOD, ATTRIBUTES (DIVINE), RETRIBUTION (RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE), ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, ANGER, LOVE. For Further Reading: Purkiser, "Second Thoughts on WRITE, WRITING, WRITTEN—ZEAL 553
'The Wrath/" The Seminary Tower, Fall, 1958; Stahlin, "orge," Kittel, 5:419-47; W. White, Jr., "Wrath", ZPEB, 5. Willard H. Taylor WRITE, WRITING, WRITTEN. Writing is the recording and communicating of visual and verbal symbols objectively (White, "Writing," ZPEB, 5:995). While oral tradition merely restates horizontal communication, writing transmits data across time spans beyond the life of the individual or his social group. Documents have been found in western Asia dating back to 3000 B.C. From them still earlier beginnings may be inferred. Long before Moses it was not necessary to depend on oral transmission to preserve a tradition. In Abraham's day, five distinct and complete writing systems were in common use around him (ibid., 1014). Though memory was highly cultivated in the ancient East, important matters have long been put in writing. Laws, court records, decrees, and contracts are kept for accurate reference. Throughout the Bible, writing is an important mark of revelation. One is forbidden to tamper with it (Rev. 22:18-19). The word for a writing or writings (graphe) is used 51 times in the NT, referring exclusively to the Holy Scriptures. To say, "It is written," is tantamount to quoting God himself (e.g., John 7:38; Rom. 9:17; 10:11). Since Scripture is God-breathed, it is of unique value to the people of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Once God has gone on record, His decree stands written. And His Word is Truth (John 17:17). See bible, biblical authority, tradition, inspiration of the bible. For Further Reading: ZPEB, 5:302-13, 995-1015; Brown and Mayer, "Scripture, Writing," Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 3:482-97; Schrenk, "Grapho, etc.," Kittel, 1:742-73. WlLBER T. dayton Y,Z
YAHWEH. See jehovah yahweh. YOKE. The yoke as noted in the Bible was a bar which connects two animals, usually two of a kind. The construction of the yoke varied as to material. Often the construction was that of a piece of wood made to curve near each end, and connected to this bar were two other pieces of bowed wood which were to be placed around the necks of oxen. In»biblical times the yoke was also used on human beings when they were taken captive from their homeland (Jer. 28:10). Slaves, too, were sometimes held captive by the use of a yoke. Figuratively, any burden imposed on another or any means of subjection would be viewed as a yoke. It is for these reasons the yoke became the object of one of the metaphors of Jesus' teaching. The metaphor would be well understood when used as a symbol of slavery to the law or slavery to sin. Theologically, the most significant aspect of the yoke as a teaching metaphor is the concept of slavery. The slavery noted by use of this metaphor is spiritual rather than physical. Jesus and Paul both used the yoke to allude to those who had become slaves to the law. The law applied in an extremely legalistic way became a yoke of burden (Acts 15:10). Gal. 5:1 is a direct reference to such servitude with regard to the law. By comparison, servitude to Christ was easy (Matt. 11:29). When comparing Christ's yoke with the yoke of the law, "the contrast is not between 'yoke' and 'no yoke' but between my teaching (light yoke) and the current scribal teaching (heavy yoke)" (ISBE, 5:3127). The yoke of jesus is to do the will of the Father (John 8:29). When an individual comes to Christ, he is coming to one whose use of the law does not produce a legalistic bondage. See servant service, obedience, discipleship.
554 ZEALOTS—ZOROASTRIANISM meanings such as (1) the capacity or state of passionate committal to a person or cause; (2) orientation to a worthy goal; (3) envy or jealousy. Sometimes it means jealousy in the married life (Prov. 6:34; Song of Sol. 8:6). When used of God or of man in relation to God, it usually has religious significance. Often in the LXX it is used to denote a specific intensity in the divine action and is sometimes listed with orge (Deut. 29:20) and thumos (Num. 25:11; Ezek. 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 6:15), where God is described as a "jealous God." God is jealous for Israel as a husband is jealous for his wife; Israel is peculiarly His own according to the covenant made with her. His jealousy is as much a part of His character as righteousness, holiness, and love. In the NT it is not God, but rather His Son (John 2:17) and His spiritual sons (2 Cor. 7:11; 11:2) who express this "divine zeal" in behalf of God's holiness and kingdom. A basic mark of God's purified people is that they are "zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). See DEVOTE (DEVOTION), JEALOUSY. For Further Reading: Kittel, 2:877-88; "Zeal," IDB; Arndt and Gingrich. JERRY W. McCANT Directory: sites -> default -> files -> publications publications -> Table of Content forward introduction publications -> Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies Georgia Institute of Technology publications -> Housing Counseling Research in Chicago publications -> Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Audiences publications -> New Brunswick Info Sheet on First Nations Child Welfare publications -> Paap’s Electronic Newsletter 14 November 2008 Volume 11 Number 22 towards ‘smart’ subsidies in agriculture: lessons from recent experience in malawi publications -> Information support of pedagogical process for the children experiencing difficulties with acquisition of preschool educational programs publications -> Asus’ ZenFone ar has Google’s augmentted and virtual reality baked in — but not combined publications -> School Readiness and Early Grade Success Consultation Memo Atlanta, ga Download 6.66 Mb. Share with your friends:
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