While Critical Theory as a school or tradition of thought is not new, it has come to some prominence in recent years. While there are numerous persons and writing with varied perspectives within this school or tradition, it is nonetheless possible to summarize the principles and convictions of Critical Theory in a general way. This … Read more
This paper looks at some essential themes in post-apostolic Christianity through the epistolary interventions of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna. Each of these writers led churches in one of the three most important regions of the Roman Empire and the emerging geography of early Christianity. Though their letters were occasional … Read more
Throughout the nineteenth century, the status of both free and enslaved African Americans in the United States dominated discussions within the Black community and represented no small point of debate outside of it. Free Blacks faced the problem of laying claim to the rights and privileges of their American nationality during a time in which … Read more
Randall Balmer (2010, 2021) has helped dispel the myth that American evangelicals responded with reflexive outrange to Roe v Wade. A number of years indeed passed between the monumental SCOTUS decision and the adoption of (what would become known as) the pro-life position as a plank in the American evangelical platform. However, having cleared away … Read more
From the beginning of the tradition, Reformed Christology argued for a Neo-Chalcedonian understanding of the distinctiveness of Christ’s two natures in the unity of the eternal person of the Son. During the first three generations, Reformed doctrine developed in self-conscious differentiation from Lutheranism’s emphasis on a metaphysical communication of attributes (Cross, Drake). After the agenda-setting … Read more
The controversy over the so-called way of ideas and the British Trinitarian debates most famously intersected in the debate between Bishop Edward Stillingfleet and the polymath John Locke (The way of ideas was a philosophical movement moving through Descartes and Locke that, curtly stated, emphasized the importance of clear and distinct ideas). Stillingfleet accused Locke … Read more
In recent days there is a renewed focus in some circles about the role of creeds and confessions in Baptist life. In modern practice a lack of a defined practice of confessional subscription results in confusion in determining boundary lines for partnership and cooperation. In an effort to determine these boundary lines, Albert Mohler introduced … Read more
Benjamin Keach (1640-1704), well-known for his role in the so-called hymn-singing controversy of the seventeenth century, initially rose to prominence as a catechist for baptists and like-minded associations within Protestant Reformed Orthodoxy. Despite the absence of formal educational opportunities (or perhaps because of that very lack), Keach’s pedagogical instinct reached far beyond mere theological indoctrination … Read more
1 Corinthians 15:8 represents the single occurrence of the Greek trauma root in Paul’s letters, ektrōma. This term normally denotes a stillbirth or miscarriage, and Paul’s appropriation of such an unsettling metaphor to describe himself has proven difficult to account for. Further complicating this self-reference is the experience Paul is attempting to portray, Christ’s appearance … Read more
Ali Bonner in The Myth of Pelagianism argues that Augustine misrepresented Pelagius as a perfectionist who taught that good and evil were equally within human power. She claims Pelagius only taught that “human nature was inclined to goodness, and that man had free will.” She disputes Augustine’s teachings of “original sin,” what she calls “an … Read more