Paper Category: Systematic Theology

Investigating the Role of Divine Aseity in the Classical Theism vs Theistic Personalism Debate

This paper will examine the impact of divine aseity in the discussion between classical theists and theistic personalists. For the purposes of this study, “classical theism” refers to those who affirm the doctrines of divine simplicity, eternality, immutability, impassibility, and aseity. “Theistic personalists” refers to those who redefine or reject the previously mentioned doctrinal positions, … Read more

Beyond Independence: John Webster’s Reclamation of Aseity as a Basis for Trinitarian Theology

Contemporary theological discourse often narrowly frames aseity as God’s self-sufficiency or independence from creation. However, this construal risks divorcing aseity from the dynamic life of the Trinity. While respected thinkers like J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig define aseity as “God’s self-existence or independence,” John Webster contends that such a limited definition fails to capture … Read more

What Hath Saul Kripke to Do with Nestorius and Karl Rahner?

The Christian church has long appropriated and modified the thoughts of many philosophers, ranging from Socrates to Kant, for elucidating complex theological concepts. Saul Kripke, a recently deceased analytic philosopher, should be added to that vaunted pantheon. In this paper, I argue that Kripke’s analysis of metaphysically necessary but epistemologically contingent identity statements can be … Read more

Two-Minds Christology and the Cartesian Intuition

Although a Two-Minds Christology—whereby Jesus has a human mind and a numerically distinct divine mind—is arguably the traditional view, it has been challenged due to our shifting intuitions about what constitutes a person. That is, it just seems to many that a person just is her conscious life, what I call the Cartesian Intuition. Thus, … Read more

The Christology of Theodore of Mopsuestia in his Commentary on the Gospel of John

Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350-428) was heralded in his own day as “The Interpreter” for his skill in exegeting the Scriptures. However, a century after his death, he would be condemned as a heretic for his affiliation and assumed contribution to “Nestorian” Christology. Although many of Theodore’s writings were destroyed following his condemnation, a few … Read more

A Metaphysical Image of God and the Possibility of Natural Theology

This paper seeks to answer the question of the metaphysical possibility of natural theology. In other words, is there something about human nature that makes the task of natural theology a real possibility? The argument presented here is that it is mankind as made in the image of God that allows for the possibility for … Read more

The Image of God

This paper argues that the image of God is the authority and the enablement to rule creation. The properties of enablement are related to the image of Jesus Christ to which the church is to be conformed. This enablement includes the ontological property of rationality as well as morality, which exists in sufficient quantity to … Read more

Clinging: The Anthropological Goal of Covenant Relationships

This paper will explore the use of the asyndeton phrase of Genesis 2:24 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” The paper will pay close attention to the use of the Hebrew verb דבק. This verb, which means … Read more