The Researching of Adoption

Since the early 1990s it has been a wonderful privilege to research the biblical doctrine of adoption. This research began at the Free Church of Scotland College (now Edinburgh Theological Seminary), and continued at New College, the Divinity Faculty of Edinburgh University. Work continues on researching the doctrine and publishing the findings. Over the years the study of adoption has crystallized into six concerns:

1. To document and to narrate the historical neglect of adoption.

2. To look afresh at the biblical data.

3. To disentangle the filial or familial models or portraits of the New Testament.

4. To recover a more biblically-sensitive understanding of adoption.

5. To apply the doctrine individually and communally in a way consistent with the biblical data.

6. To apply the methodological and theological ramifications to the expression of the Reformed faith today.

The work is ongoing . . .