Michael Parker: Message from the Editor
This post is also available in: Arabic
This editorial has been published as: Michael Parker, “Message from the Editor,” Cairo Journal of Theology 1 (2014): 3–4 (pdf).
Despite the troubles and uncertainties of life in Cairo in the past few years, the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC) has continued without interruption to carry out its mission: the preparation of students for ministry and church leadership in Egypt and in the region of the Middle East in general. In seeking to fulfill this mission, ETSC has not merely been treading water, happy to survive amid the tumult. It has been developing and expanding in remarkable ways. Last year it inaugurated the Center for Middle Eastern Christianity; this year it is engaged in revising the curriculum and giving the campus a much-need facelift, including a renovated chapel; and soon ETSC will be expanding its campus onto an adjacent property, giving space for new offices and other facilities.
ETSC, which turned 150 last year, is clearly enjoying a period of renewal and expansion—perhaps even a renaissance, if that word is not considered too immoderate. As part of this effort we are now also launching an annual, online, academic publication, the Cairo Journal of Theology (CJT). The current edition was planned and largely executed by an editorial committee that consisted of Mark Nygard (General Editor), Hani Yousef, Venis Boulos, and Tharwat Waheeb. When Mark, my predecessor, returned to the United States last year, all that remained to be done was some light editing and formatting; hence most of the credit for this first issue should be given to the previous editorial team.
CJT is intended primarily to promote Christian scholarship about the Middle East, but the journal will also include articles of general interest to scholars of Christianity. Our first edition nicely demonstrates this bifocal perspective. It includes an article by David Grafton about the relationship of the church and state in Egypt and a review by Stanley Skreslet of Heather Sharkey’s recent history of American Evangelicals in Egypt, but it also has two contributions concerning European theologians: Willem de Wit’s article on Herman Bavinck, and Mark Nygard’s on John Calvin. We hope that this balanced approach will appeal to an expanding readership.
Welcome to this first edition of the Cairo Journal of Theology. PDF
