Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
My good friend, Jason Ewert, recently posted a review of Pastor Douglas Wilson’s book, Against the Church . Jason correctly notes that Pastor Wilson’s main pastoral motivation in writing this book is to combat dead orthodoxy. Dead orthodoxy is a real problem in Reformed churches that celebrate the primacy of…
At the church I pastor, we have four servers who distribute the communion elements to the congregation, and I distribute the elements to those in the foyer and nursery. The servers and I do not partake of the bread and wine until the congregation is served first. As this has…
We at Trinity House believe that the church ought to raise and train her future pastors. Part of that training may be carried out by specialized institutions like Trinity House, but the church and her leaders are ultimately responsible for that training. To encourage churches to assume that responsibility, Trinity…
Sandra Jacobs's The Body as Property examines the role of physical disfigurement in the Hebrew Bible, with focus on the Torah, and more specifically on the (fictitious) Priestly document, P. After an introduction laying out a rationale for the comparative method that guides her research, she explores circumcision, the use…
Yahweh saves. That’s what Isaiah’s name means, and that’s what Isaiah’s prophecy is about. Yah saves Judah when Aram and Israel pressure her. He saves Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege. He brings Judah back from the grave of Babylonian exile. But this triumphant message of Isaiah fizzles. The last few…
Are apostasy and assurance mutually exclusive? Some seem to think so. But let’s consider this a bit: No Reformed man would ever say that a man who is “saved” today will be safe forever no matter what . Rather we say, “your sins are forgiven, now, walk faithfully, glorify the…
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J. Todd Billings compares Milbank’s theology of gift with Calvin’s theology of grace in a 2005 article from Modern Theology . He focuses attention on Milbank’s criticism that the Reformation put such emphasis on the unilateral character of grace and so highlighted the passivity of the reception of grace that…
Stephen Webb has an illuminating discussion of Derrida’s views on giving in his book The Gifting God . Webb begins by saying that “deconstructionist has always been a critique of the event of the gift.” Derrida’s musings on the gift parallel his discussions of the history of metaphysics. According to…
John Zizioulas summarizes his “ontology of personhood” in an article in Christoph Schwobel’s volume, Persons – Divine and Human . Zizioulas begins with the question of the relation between being and personal identity: “It is all too often assumed that people ‘have’ personhood rather than ‘being’ persons,” so that personhood…
Barth has a stimulating discussion of Israel’s double-knowledge of Yahweh in the first volume of the Church Dogmatics. He begins with a discussion of what he calls the “hypostases” of God, a usage he takes from “religious science” rather than dogmatics per se. In this context, “hypostases” are anthropomorphic descriptions…
Barth says that non-Trinitarian theology inevitably deny either the unity of God or His revelation. If it maintains the unity of God “it has to call revelation in question as the act of the real presence of the real God. The unity of God in which there are no distinct…
Barth’s influence continues to grow, among evangelicals no less than others. David Gibson and Daniel Strange have edited a new book, Engaging With Barth (IVP, UK), that collects critical essays on Barth’s theology. The publicity information says, “This volume engages critically and courteously with Barth on a range of vital…
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