In this edition of the journal, we’re pleased to be able to respond to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in a number of ways. Peter Jensen’s editorial, “The Last Enemy”, is concerned with the Bible’s teaching on death by contrast with the world’s vain attempts to hide from it. He urges us to talk about death, and about “the gospel which tells us that this ‘Last Enemy’ too will be defeated.” Following on from this, Mark Earngey’s article, “Protestants and Plagues” considers the varied pastoral and theological responses to 16th century plagues, ending with some reflections on our current situation.
Tim Patrick’s article also takes us back to the time of the Reformation, with an analysis of early printed English Bibles and church formularies, to see how and why Protestants removed the apocryphal books from the canon, not least to undermine the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory.
Graham J. O’Brien’s examination of Christian pastoral care suggests that it has both present and eternal purposes, expressing God’s love to the wider world, and leading to the transformation of lives as people experience that love and respond in faith.
Finally, Joel Houston shows how George Whitefield’s doctrine of particular redemption was no barrier to his gospel preaching, but rather “the lifeblood that animated his characteristic evangelistic call to any and all that had ears to hear.”
As always, there is a wide range of book reviews to help guide your reading choices, including reviews of Kathleen Nielson’s Women and God, Paula Gooder’s Phoebe, Oliver O’Donovan’s Entering into Rest, and Greg Garrett’s Living with the Living Dead: the wisdom of the zombie apocalypse.
More details of the articles in this issue can be found here.
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