Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The 2002 Auburn Avenue Pastor’s Conference and the Assurance of Grace Recently, there has been some controversy over the presentations of four speakers at the Auburn Avenue Pastor’s Conference. Accusations have been made including a denial of justification by faith alone and something close enough to “baptismal regeneration” that it…
Today, many in the Reformed world view a meritorious covenant of works as essential to a proper understanding of the gospel. These theologians believe that God set up a program in the Garden by which Adam would merit eternal life and blessing by his obedience. These same theologians usually regard…
After I graduated from college in 1989, I spent a summer in the Atlanta area in Georgia learning that I was not cut out for construction work. Then I met George Grant, one of my favorite authors. He was working for a church in South Florida in charge of their…
One meaning of “righteousness” in the Bible is moral uprightness. Perhaps a more basic meaning would be faithfulness. For example, Psalm 96.13 praises God, saying: He will judge the world in righteousness, And the peoples in faithfulness. In Hebrew poetry two lines often say the same thing using different words.…
I once saw “eschatology” defined as the study of edible French snails. But it really means the doctrine of the last things in Christian theology. In American Evangelical culture it is usually reduced to science fiction stories. But for the Apostle Paul it was actually the key to the Christian…
To understand the view of Nicholas Thomas Wright regarding Christ’s work of redemption, one must begin with the centrality of Adam to the plight of the human race. Anyone who has heard Wright’s lectures on Philippians will not be able to forget his haunting appeal to Genesis 5.3 as a…
Showing page 233 of 309
Showing page 1 of 43
Isaiah 66:3-17 is organized in a modified chiasm: A. Fourfold abominations, 3 (“blood of swine”). B. Punishment of enemies, 4-6 (begins with “hear the word of Yahweh”). C. Zion gives birth, 7-9 (“says your God” at end). D. Jerusalem’s joy, 10-11. E. Peace like a river, 12a (begins with “thus…
In an essay in a recent issue of Pro Ecclesia , Bruce Marshall observes that traditional Christological formulas no longer do the work they were designed to do in Hegelianized contemporary Trinitarian theology. Two sets of Christological distinctions are relevant. On the one hand, there is the creedal distinction between…
In an appreciative response to Bruce Marshall’s piece on Hegelian Trinitarian theology, Paul Molnar questions whether, as Marshall argues, we cannot affirm that the Son is abandoned by the Father without concluding that the Son has ceased to be God. Molnar writes, “The Father and Spirit remained one in being…
My head started spinning only a few pages into Andrew Dean Swafford’s Nature and Grace . He offered initial support for maintaining a distinction of nature and grace by appealing to 1 Corinthians 2:9 and arguing that the “original creation is surpassed by man’s new creation in Christ” (4). To…
We hear much talk of “cruciformity” these days: Christians participate in the suffering and death of Christ, not only imitating Jesus in taking up His cross, but sharing in His death. Cruciformity is true, but only a partial truth. Consider Jesus: He didn’t get to the cross until the end,…
Building on the work of David Kahneman ( Thinking, Fast and Slow ), and Cass Sustein ( Nudge ), and others, Max Bazerman of Harvard Business School discusses The Power of Noticing in a forthcoming book. He starts with the Youtube video that we’ve all seen: You’re asked to count…
Showing page 570 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
