Volume 9.1
Essays On Love
Fall 2022

From the exhortation in the Shema to love the Lord fully with heart, soul, and strength (Deut 6:4) to Jesus’s call to his disciples to not only love the Lord but to love their neighbors as themselves (Matt 22:39), the command to love permeates Scripture. In fact, throughout history the church has regarded love as the cardinal virtue. Indeed, Jesus goes on to say that “all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (22:40). If love is so central to Christ’s mission in the world—and therefore the church’s mission—how is this virtue cultivated and highlighted in our current ecclesial structures and activities?

This current volume of the Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology seeks to explore the many ways in which the virtue of love can impact our hearts, our rela- tionships, and our congregations. Robert S. Kinney concedes in his article, “New Testament conceptions of love differ from their classical background which differ from Patristic and medieval and more modern ideas—yet there are remarkable similarities throughout.” What consistent truths about the virtue of love can inform our interactions with one another, our theology regarding worship, and our relationships across racial boundaries and polarizing divides?

Essays

Volume 9.2
Essays On Forgiveness
Fall 2022