Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology: Colloquium
Spring Colloquium: Apocalyptic: The Heart of Paul's Gospel?
Friday, May 5th and Saturday, May 6th
Wycliffe College, 5 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto
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This is a two-day event, from Friday, May 5, 2023 (9:30 a.m. - 5: 00 p.m.) to Saturday, May 6, 2023 (9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
In coming to understand the Apostle Paul’s message, a movement has gathered strength over the last two decades, based on reading Romans 1:16, ‘for in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed’, where the Greek verb is ἀποκαλύπτεται. This suggests a sudden interruption of God into history rather than Christ’s coming being the fulfilment or climax of history. ‘A liberating invasion of the cosmos’ was how J. Louis Martyn in his 2000 Anchor Bible commentary on Galatians called it, with a conscious indebtedness to Ernst Käsemann. Others (notably B. Gaventa, Martin de Boer, D. Campbell) have followed Martyn in emphasising the liberating power of the Pauline word or message, since in Galatians 1:16 (cf 2:2) the revelation of God’s Son is revealed (ἀποκαλύψαι) in Paul himself. However some scholars (notably N.T. Wright and R.B. Hays) have resisted, insisting Paul believed that history was meaningful in God’s purposes and that the Apostle envisaged a future historical outworking or fulfilment of the Gospel with Jesus Christ standing as fulcrum between the past (OT) and the future. To navigate these debates in the light of the texts and the theological stakes for the church’s proclamation, we will be in the capable hands of Susan Eastman (Duke) , Douglas Farrow (McGill), Travis Kroeker (McMaster), Jamie Davies (Trinity, Bristol, UK) and Wycliffe’s own Ann Jervis.
- Susan Eastman, “Jesus Christ, the Heart of Paul's Apocalyptic Gospel.”
- Douglas Farrow, “The Mystery of Lawlessness and the Day of the Lord: Lessons from 1 &2 Thessalonians.”
- Travis Kroeker, "Hastening the Awakening: Paul's Messianic Political Theology"
- Jamie Davies, “The Apocalyptic Paul”
- Ann Jervis, “Apocalypse of the Divine Jew in Paul”.
The Scripture and Theology Colloquium is a semi-annual gathering of faculty, pastors, students, and others who are interested in exploring the dynamic interactions of scripture and theology. Featuring a selection of world-class experts, the colloquia will alternate in focus, sometimes addressing larger theological topics and other times considering a specific book or chapter of the Bible. View recordings of past colloquia here.
Wycliffe College is a vital institution of Christian teaching and learning, engaging scholars, seminarians, masters, and doctoral students across the theological disciplines. Among its special commitments is the intellectual renewal of Scriptural and Theological study as a mutually informing discipline in the service of the Christian Church. The Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology serves this purpose by:
- Offering regular for-credit seminars on the theological study of Scripture, which will include exegesis, hermeneutics, history of interpretation, and Scriptural theology.
- Organizing regular colloquia at Wycliffe – one per semester – that will bring more established and younger scholars together with faculty and Advanced Degree students for discussion of current work being done in these areas.
- Foster an atmosphere among interested faculty and students at Wycliffe and the Toronto School of Theology that strengthens scholarly collegiality and mission.
