Articles in Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals by Joshua Heavin
Journal of Theological Interpretation, 2019
2 Corinthians 13:3-4 is hardly a locus classicus for Paul's theology of the cross, but arguably o... more 2 Corinthians 13:3-4 is hardly a locus classicus for Paul's theology of the cross, but arguably offers a needed corrective to a recent trend in theological interpretation of the cross that I characterize here as "power dissolved into weakness." This essay offers a close reading of Paul's theology of the cross in this passage, demonstrating that Paul's theologizing into the Corinthian crisis is rhetorically predicated upon the inseparable unity of participation in the Messiah's cruciform weakness and resurrection power by the life of God. Subsequently, by probing the reception history of this passage, I attempt to draw out critical and constructive possibilities for the contribution of this passage to contemporary theological interpretation related to divine power, Christology, and regard for the vulnerable.
Journal of Theological Interpretation, 2023
The theological argumentation and exhortation for endurance in Heb
6:13–20 involves a notion of d... more The theological argumentation and exhortation for endurance in Heb
6:13–20 involves a notion of divine simplicity in which God’s being is God’s own perfections.
In Heb 6:13–20 the Lord’s self-oath from Gen 22:16 means that God is God’s own
faithfulness, swearing an oath “by himself,” having “none greater by whom to swear”
in order to guarantee an “unchangeable” promise to Abraham that has been eschatologically
realized in the heavenly priesthood of the risen Messiah. The first part of this
article sketches conversations past and present on the doctrine of divine simplicity,
from historically influential traditions to recent proposals to retrieve, revise, or abandon
simplicity. The second part develops a theological interpretation of Heb 6:13–20, comparing
its reading of the Akedah with Philo of Alexandria’s On Allegorical Interpretation
of Genesis 3.203–208. The third part indicates how a doctrine of simplicity informed
by theological interpretation of Heb 6:13–20 contributes constructive resources for
Christian hope.
International Journal of Systematic Theology, 2025
Participation in Christ and divine and human righteousness are vital, yet perennially debated, Pa... more Participation in Christ and divine and human righteousness are vital, yet perennially debated, Pauline motifs. Arguably, what is most distinctive and crucial about 'righteousness' in Paul's epistles is its christological re-definition in texts such as 1 Cor 1:30. I contend Gregory of Nyssa's theological interpretation of the Apostle Paul is a generative resource for understanding participation in Christ and interrelating divine and human righteousness. After sketching four crucial aspects of participation in Nyssen's broader theological vision, I explore three instances where Nyssen contemplates the meaning of righteousness and participation in 1 Cor 1:30, and explore their contribution for reading Paul today. This study 1 explores two of the most important and difficult themes in Paul's epistles, namely, participation in Christ, and the interrelation between divine and human righteousness. Since Paul redefines δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosunē; 'righteousness'
Book Reviews in Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals by Joshua Heavin
Religious Studies Review, 2023
What happens when Christianity arrives to a polytheistic tribal group and engages a radically dif... more What happens when Christianity arrives to a polytheistic tribal group and engages a radically different cultural context characterized by idolatry, divination, and human sacrifice? What kind of faith expression can that result in? How can the church be firmly established in that type of environment? The challenge to answer these complex questions is bravely undertaken in the current text. Drawing on primary medieval Christian sources, Dragnea engages them critically as he describes the conversion of the Wends, or Western Slavs-a marginal group living on Europe's periphery, and how it was addressed by the official church of that day and region. The book gives attention to the Wends' popular pagan beliefs and rituals before their embrace of Christianity, such as horse divination, fortune-telling, and cleromancy, which they had practiced for centuries. Their religious identity after conversion, characterized by syncretism, which impacted their new faith rituals, also receives focus. During a period when Christianization was viewed as an extension of
Bulletin for Biblical Research, 2024
Bulletin for Biblical Research
Book Reviews | 243 an example of ancient colonizing rhetoric enables him to give historical subst... more Book Reviews | 243 an example of ancient colonizing rhetoric enables him to give historical substance to the fairly obvious claim that Acts is a foundation document, which emphasizes community replication. Ancient colonization stories do not explain everything related to the origins of the church, of course (and Moore notes this), and so this study is one very useful supplement to our understanding of Acts 1-5 (and the emphasis on community replication).
Bulletin for Biblical Research
Bulletin for Biblical Research
Studies in Christian Ethics, 2023
Book Review: Pablo Irizar, On Distance, Belonging, Isolation, and the Quarantined Church of Today
Bulletin for Biblical Research, 2024
Bulletin for Biblical Research, 2024
Review: Donghyun Jeong. Pauline Baptism among the Mysteries: Ritual
Messages and the Promise of I... more Review: Donghyun Jeong. Pauline Baptism among the Mysteries: Ritual
Messages and the Promise of Initiation.
Bulletin of Biblical Research, 2024
Review: Mark J. Goodwin. Paul and Participation in Christ: The Patristic Witness
Bulletin of Biblical Research
Book Reviews | 109 midst known as mass incarceration (pp. 195-200). While I would have liked to h... more Book Reviews | 109 midst known as mass incarceration (pp. 195-200). While I would have liked to have seen him expand them, his brief reflections on how the letter might speak to the issue of reparations for African Americans is worth noting (p. 197n57). Young's work is thorough, well-argued, and hermeneutically and theologically perceptive. But perhaps most of all, it is timely. At this moment in the history of the United States when issues of race and racial justice are demanding attention by those who name Christ as Lord, Young has provided a fresh and convincing liberative reading of a text that offers a potential healing balm for the diseased social imagination that characterizes much of White American Christianity. Nazarene Theological Seminary
CV by Joshua Heavin
Thesis sustained with minor revisions; a significant revision of my thesis is currently under pee... more Thesis sustained with minor revisions; a significant revision of my thesis is currently under peer-review with an academic publisher. Redeemer Seminary, Dallas, TX M.Div. The curriculum for my 111 credit hour M.Div. program at Redeemer Seminary can be found here.
Writing for Magazines and Other Publications by Joshua Heavin
Papers by Joshua Heavin
Studies in Christian Ethics
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Articles in Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals by Joshua Heavin
6:13–20 involves a notion of divine simplicity in which God’s being is God’s own perfections.
In Heb 6:13–20 the Lord’s self-oath from Gen 22:16 means that God is God’s own
faithfulness, swearing an oath “by himself,” having “none greater by whom to swear”
in order to guarantee an “unchangeable” promise to Abraham that has been eschatologically
realized in the heavenly priesthood of the risen Messiah. The first part of this
article sketches conversations past and present on the doctrine of divine simplicity,
from historically influential traditions to recent proposals to retrieve, revise, or abandon
simplicity. The second part develops a theological interpretation of Heb 6:13–20, comparing
its reading of the Akedah with Philo of Alexandria’s On Allegorical Interpretation
of Genesis 3.203–208. The third part indicates how a doctrine of simplicity informed
by theological interpretation of Heb 6:13–20 contributes constructive resources for
Christian hope.
Book Reviews in Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals by Joshua Heavin
Messages and the Promise of Initiation.
CV by Joshua Heavin
Writing for Magazines and Other Publications by Joshua Heavin
Papers by Joshua Heavin
6:13–20 involves a notion of divine simplicity in which God’s being is God’s own perfections.
In Heb 6:13–20 the Lord’s self-oath from Gen 22:16 means that God is God’s own
faithfulness, swearing an oath “by himself,” having “none greater by whom to swear”
in order to guarantee an “unchangeable” promise to Abraham that has been eschatologically
realized in the heavenly priesthood of the risen Messiah. The first part of this
article sketches conversations past and present on the doctrine of divine simplicity,
from historically influential traditions to recent proposals to retrieve, revise, or abandon
simplicity. The second part develops a theological interpretation of Heb 6:13–20, comparing
its reading of the Akedah with Philo of Alexandria’s On Allegorical Interpretation
of Genesis 3.203–208. The third part indicates how a doctrine of simplicity informed
by theological interpretation of Heb 6:13–20 contributes constructive resources for
Christian hope.
Messages and the Promise of Initiation.