This paper will seek to answer a question prompted by a particular phrase in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, “What does it mean to aspire to lead a quiet life?” In its only other occurrences in the New Testament, the Greek word translated as aspire is associated with familiar Christian ambitions. Paul aspired to “preach the gospel” … Read more
There is a disconnect between the scholarly community and the pastorate. Academians parse all the possible meanings of a text and become exacting in describing the boundaries of said meaning. Pastors live with their boots on the ground, so to speak, and give answers that put hedges around the text to keep members farther away … Read more
In this study, I argue the Spirit of the Lord was always meant to reside in humanity having been made in His Image in order for the creative process of humanity to reach its full potential. Traditional approaches to interpreting the imago deo include the ontological, relationships and/or reasoning of humanity, and the functional, humanity … Read more
This paper proposes meditation on selected scriptures as one possible way of addressing a problem identified by the Baylor Religion Survey (2006): the disconnect, for many American Christians, between stated propositional beliefs about a benevolent God, and implicit mental models of God as angry, critical, or distant. Possible causes of this disconnect, and negative consequences … Read more
Within contemporary theological aesthetics, the goal of sanctification is articulated in terms of form and beauty. As the process of becoming more like Christ, sanctification involves being conformed to Christ aesthetically: the beauty of saints conforms to the beauty of Christ. The discussion here primarily focuses on Christ’s moral beauty, as humans are to imitate … Read more
This year marks the 350th anniversary of Thomas Traherne’s death (1637¬–1674) and the forthcoming fifteen volume annotated critical edition of his completed works published by Oxford University Press. As an Anglican priest, Traherne’s writing and meditative practices reveal a seventeenth-century Oxford divine and metaphysical poet that deserves attention from current scholars and practitioners of spiritual … Read more
This paper presents a pioneering approach to introducing children to the intricate world of biblical scholarship through the innovative medium of children’s picture books. Granted, children’s picture books are not new, but certain strategies for bridging the gap between biblical scholarship and children’s education via picture books is novel. Focusing on the often overlooked portion … Read more
Humans enjoy neither pain nor waiting—much less their combination. Whether the prolonged strain of ‘the problem of pain’ (with a nod to C.S. Lewis) forges or frays the divine-human relationship has much to do with one’s disposition towards the God responsible for it and, consequently, what response one adopts. This paper explores these issues via … Read more
The Exodus motif is applied to the people of God in 1 Peter 2:9-10. Israel’s journey, testing, and receiving God’s covenant were based on their identification as God’s son (Exodus 4:23). Adoption (huiothesia, υιοθεσία) is an important Pauline metaphor describing one’s connection with God the Father (as well as with the Son and the Holy … Read more
To adapt Mark’s Noll’s famous remark, the scandal of systematic-theological treatments on spiritual warfare today in contemporary Reformed systematic theology is that there are none. That is to say, in relation to doctrine regarding angels and/or demons, a theological exposition of spiritual warfare scarcely plays any part in the scholarship of Reformed doctrine today. On … Read more