The book of Revelation juxtaposes the judgment of God the Almighty and the Lamb, God’s messiah. The wrath of God is the wrath of the one who sits on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb (6:16–17). Heavenly voices praise the Almighty throughout the book because of his acts of judgment (11:15–19; 12:10–12; 15:3–4; … Read more
Eugene Peterson’s vision of pastoral ministry is grounded in the conviction that the pastoral vocation requires cultivating personal, communal, and liturgical God-attentiveness. The pastor is placed among the community to “pay attention and call attention” to the divine activity of the triune God. Within this vision, prayer is requisite. Prayer sets the individual before God’s … Read more
John Webster’s early theological formation was shaped within the currents of twentieth-century German Protestant theology, particularly under the influence of Karl Barth. In his early doctrine of revelation, Webster retrieves Barth’s theological ontology, locating revelation within the doctrine of the Trinity. Adopting a distinctly modern grammar of divine self-disclosure, Webster portrays revelation as an aspect … Read more
It has become a commonplace in books about the historical Jesus to refer to Jesus as a peasant in prominent, rhetorically charged places. Indeed, in many prominent works in the past 30 years, by such scholars as Crossan, Fredriksen, and Ehrman, this designation appears on the very first page of the introduction or body of … Read more
While the precise dating of the Gospels has remained an area of relatively constant contention, one current within scholarship has increasingly situated the Gospels in a predominantly second century milieu. In particular, second century biographies, novels, and other literary productions associated with the Second Sophistic movement increasingly are put forward as comparanda for best understanding … Read more
Among proponents of the covenant of redemption, there has not been unity of understanding regarding the Holy Spirit’s relationship to the pactum. David Dickson, often credited with the original formulation of the pactum as a doctrine, understood the Holy Spirit to be a witness to the covenant, rather than a party to it. He was … Read more
According to one way of understanding God’s attributes it is best to conceive of the divine attributes as God’s nature rather than a collection of separate properties that compose God’s nature. This account of divine attributes is an entailment of one version of divine simplicity. Accordingly, God is his love, holiness, power, etc. Furthermore, we … Read more
While it might sound surprising today, many of the early dispensationalists held to some form of the covenant of redemption. In the 1900’s those such as Dwight Pentecost, Lewis Sperry Chafer, R. W. Newell, and even as recently as John Walvoord, all argued for the utility of what is often called the pactum salutis. They … Read more
For this submission, I focus on Romans 5:19 as it relates to the question of whether the Lord Jesus was impeccable or peccable. While there is a generalized consensus and support for impeccability there are significant questions needing to be answered. One of those is on the topic of obedience. Was Jesus’s obedience compelled or … Read more
Representative of the broader project of Narrative Theodicy, itself a God-justifying account at the intersection of immanence and transcendence, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis suggest an intrinsic connection between the religiously neutral fairy-story/myth and the religiously positive Christian eschatological metanarrative. “One of the recurrent truths reflected in many myths and fairy tales … Read more