Covenant-Making

Book excerpt: This collection explores the central theological notion of covenant. It has been produced in honor of Dr. R. Larry Shelton, respected scholar and beloved husband, father, colleague, and friend. Covenant--the unifying theme of this book--is a subject to which Dr. Shelton devoted considerable attention over his forty-five-year career as a scholar and teacher. His 2006 book, Cross and Covenant: Interpreting the Atonement for 21st Century Mission, stands as one of the most incisive treatments of the atonement from a covenantal perspective. The contributors of this volume consist of Shelton's current colleagues at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, those with whom he served in other institutions, and friends and former students whose vision of covenant Shelton inspired. These writers demonstrate that whether one considers such diverse subject matter as atonement theory, the church's mission, the discernment of (prophetic) spirits, non-western ontologies, soteriology, biblical interpretation, sanctification, theodicy, family life, or theology proper, one's understanding is deficient without giving due consideration to the role of covenant relationality.