Emanuel CRIȘAN, Argumente biblice și teologice în favoarea creaționismului recent / Biblical and Theological Arguments in Favor of Recent Creationism, Jurnal teologic Vol 24, Nr 2 (2025): 5-18.
Abstract
This paper examines biblical and theological arguments in favor of recent creationism, the view that God created the universe and the earth in six literal days approximately six thousand years ago. After outlining the historical development of old-earth theories in the modern era, the study analyzes the main interpretations of Genesis 1-2 and discusses biblical and theological arguments that favorize recent creationism. The paper argues that accepting millions of years of suffering and death before Adam’s sin conflicts with the biblical teaching that death entered the creation through sin and undermines the coherence of the gospel. It concludes that the debate concerning the age of the earth is primarily hermeneutical and theological, not scientific, since it concerns the authority of Scripture in interpreting reality. The literal-historical reading of Genesis best preserves the internal consistency of Christian theology and honors divine revelation over human speculation.
Keywords: creationism, evolutionism, Genesis 1-2, young earth, creation, fall, death, Scripture authority
Emanuel DOBRIN, Apărarea eticii personale: Cazul Iov / The Defense of Personal Ethics: The Case of Job, Jurnal teologic Vol 24, Nr 2 (2025): 19-32.
Abstract
This article explores the ethical framework emerging from the Book of Job, focusing on two interrelated domains: the ethics of friendship and sexual ethics. Beginning with Job’s dialogues with his friends, the study examines the moral tensions between genuine solidarity and the temptation to offer reductive moral judgments. Job’s companions oscillate between empathy and condemnation, revealing how friendship can falter when confronted with inexplicable suffering. This dynamic invites reflection on the ethical responsibilities inherent in offering counsel, the role of presence versus speech and the limits of human understanding in moral evaluation. The second section addresses sexual ethics as they appear in Job’s self-defense, particularly his explicit renunciation of lust and his affirmation of covenantal fidelity (Job 31:1-4, 9–12). These statements are analyzed within the cultural context of the Ancient Near East, highlighting how sexual integrity was bound to broader concepts of justice, honor and divine accountability. Job’s sexual ethics thus function not merely as personal moral discipline but as a public witness to uprightness before God and community. Through a combined hermeneutical and ethical-theological approach, the article argues that Job’s ethical vision – integrating steadfast friendship, moral integrity and personal responsibility – offers a coherent model for navigating relational and sexual morality under conditions of extreme trial, contributing to ongoing debates in biblical ethics.
Keywords: ethical framework, ethics of friendship, sexual ethics, Job, friend
Sorin BĂDRĂGAN, Isus, Apa vieții: Motivul apei în iudaism și creștinismul timpuriu / Jesus, the Water of Life: The Motif of Water in Judaism and Early Christianity, Jurnal teologic Vol 24, Nr 2 (2025): 33-43.
Abstract
This study investigates the diachronic development and theological reconfiguration of water motif from ancient Judaism to early Christianity, showing that “living water” emerges as a unifying theme for creation, re-creation, purification, fertility, and soteriology. The early Christian re-appropriation of water imagery is highlighted in the Johannine and Pauline writings, which reframe creation, life, salvation, and (baptismal) regeneration in explicitly Christological terms.
Keywords: Jesus Christ, water, life, (new)creation, salvation, purity, baptism
Natanael VIDONI, Cadrul istoric și doctrinar al botezului în primele secole / Historical and Doctrinal Framework of the Christian Baptism in the First Centuries, Jurnal teologic Vol 24, Nr 2 (2025): 44-56.
Abstract
This paper explores the historical and doctrinal framework of Christian baptism, focusing on its theological development and the debates surrounding infant baptism (paedobaptism) during the first five centuries. The aim of the research is to analyze how this practice was theologically justified and implemented, tracind its origins, development and adoption in the Church. The analysis reveals that infant baptism was not universally practiced in the apostolic period, gaining proeminence only in the 5th century. This study critically evaluates historical texts, including the Didache, writings of Tertullian, Justin Martyr, and Cyril of Jerusalem, among others, shedding light on the gradual formalization and diverse baptismal practices.
Keywords: early church, pedobaptism, credobaptism, doctrine, baptismal practice
Toader-Ionuț RUS, Problematica familiilor mixte în cadrul comunității creștine. Implicații teologice și pastorale în lumina răspunsului paulin din 1 Corinteni 7:12-16 / The Issue of Mixed Families within the Christian Community. Theological and Pastoral Implications in Light of Paul’s Response in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16, Jurnal teologic Vol 24, Nr 2 (2025): 57-68.
Abstract
This study provides an exegetical examination of 1 Corinthians 7:12-16, analyzing Paul’s response to the challenges of mixed marriages within the early Christian community. It explores the apostolic authority invoked in the passage, the socio-religious context of Corinth, and the theological and pastoral implications of Paul’s directives. The analysis highlights Paul’s opposition to divorce initiated by the believing spouse, emphasizing the sanctifying influence of the believer within the family unit. The passage ultimately underscores the believer’s responsibility to embody divine peace and contribute to the potential spiritual transformation of the unbelieving spouse and their children.
Keywords: apostolic authority, divorce in mixed marriages, exegetical analysis, family sanctification, Pauline ethics, pastoral implications, socio-religious context, theological interpretation, unbelieving spouse.
Beniamin-Emanuel EAVORSCHI, Evidențe biblice pentru existența lui Dumnezeu / Biblical evidence for God’s existence, Jurnal teologic Vol 24, Nr 2 (2025): 69-90.
Abstract
Proving the existence of God should not be a scientific endeavor reserved only for philosophical or natural theology. Separating the question of God’s existence from biblical theology is a mistake for at least two reasons. First, the separation is based on the false assumption that, since the main purpose of the Bible is not to prove God’s existence, it contains no evidence or arguments for His existence. Second, this separation stands at odds with the principle of the authority of Scripture. The role and authority of the Bible must be established and taken into account in any scientific endeavor. In fact, regarding the existence of God, biblical theology proves to be a truly valuable tool. Even though, from the Bible’s perspective, the existence of God is an a priori truth that is accepted by faith, it nevertheless contains countless pieces of evidence for God’s existence, both in Old Testament and in the New Testament. Throughout Scripture, this evidence reflects the natural tension between reason and faith, fueled by humanity’s desire for clear manifestations of the true God. The Bible’s solution is faith, the divine way, which always has primacy over reason. One of the strongest pieces of evidence is certainly the person of Jesus Christ. He is the most profound and effective form of God’s revelation.
Keywords: God’s existence, biblical theology, evidence, reason, faith, natural, supernatural.
Dumitru PISCUC, O Analiză teologică a conceptului de demnitate din perspectiva Epistolelor Pastorale / A Theological Analysis of the Concept of Dignity in the Pastoral Epistles, Jurnal teologic Vol 24, Nr 2 (2025): 91-112.
Abstract
This study provides a theological analysis of the concept of dignity (σεμνός, σεμνότης) in the New Testament, with particular emphasis on the Pastoral Epistles. Through an exegetical-theological examination of the relevant passages, it demonstrates that the biblical author employs this concept to describe a distinct and visible form of Christian moral conduct, essential for ministry and the fulfillment of the church’s mission. The article further argues that dignity is not an abstract moral ideal but is expressed in a renewed life, grounded in sound teaching and bearing witness to the living reality of faith in Christ. In the Pastoral Epistles, dignity – together with εὐσέβεια (godliness) – functions as an integrative ethical category, rooted in true doctrine and reflective of the ethically oriented, missionary lifestyle of Christians.
Keywords: dignity, ethics, Pastoral Epistles, moral integrity, godliness
