At the council of Nicea, the orthodox position defined Jesus Christ as “true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father . . . who for us humans and for our salvation descended and became incarnate, becoming human.” While squashing the controversy of Arianism, a new conundrum was clearly stated: … Read more
When Thomas Aquinas considers the fear of the Lord, he employs language that is largely emotional and postlapsarian. Fear of God’s judgment and fear of separation from God each feature prominently in Aquinas’s treatment of the fear of the Lord. A problem arises when one considers Isaiah 11, however, for it claims that the Spirit … Read more
In God, Heaven, and Har Magedon, Meredith G. Kline proposed an unconventional account of the relational order between the Son and the Holy Spirit. He argued that, in terms of the eternal generation of the Son, there is an inverted order within the Trinity—the procession of the Spirit precedes the filiation of the Son, and, … Read more
This paper compares the ancient and modern interpretations of three key texts that refer to the eternal Son: Psalm 2:7–8, John 17:5, and Romans 1:4. The difficulty each of these passages pose is the relationship between the eternal relation of the Son to the Father and the economy of redemption. They seem, if modern interpreters … Read more
This paper demonstrates that the covenant of redemption, or pactum salutis, is consistent with classical Trinitarianism. In order to do so, the paper presents four contemporary evangelical theological challenges to the covenant of redemption with respect to what has been called classical trinitarianism. Whereas some, such as Paul Williamson, have challenged the exegetical foundation, and … Read more
The purpose of this presentation is to reflect on Oneness Pentecostalism through the lens of the Nicene Creed, and the doctrine of the Trinity in particular. It is not intended to denigrate that denomination, but to respectfully engage in dialogue with the intention of affirming the Nicene Creed. Oneness Pentecostalism is a modern form of … Read more
This paper explores the significance of omitting the term ousios in the Creed of Nicaea (AD 325) and adding or substituting in its place “begotten by the Father before the ages” in a sampling of the creeds that have impacted the Nicene Creed. Comparisons of the Christological statements in the creeds of Caesarea (c. AD … Read more
NOTE: This proposal is being submitted to both ETS and EPS. While not accepting the more controversial aspects of his argument, J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig embrace one feature of Richard Swinburne’s natural theological argument for the Trinity: that mutuality is an essential requirement of love. Accordingly, God’s being essentially all-loving entails that … Read more
Robert Jenson famously lamented the lack of fixed dogma on Christ’s atonement. Although the early church responded to trinitarian controversy regarding the person of Christ, with the First Council of Nicaea providing an initial ecumenical judgment, the work of Christ remained a flexible doctrine for centuries. When contrasting the Apostles’ Creed and the Creed of … Read more
This paper explores the relationship between divine immutability and God’s creative and providential activity, arguing that immutability does not imply passivity but must be understood in relation to God’s purely actualized nature. As actus purus, God’s being is fully realized without potentiality, making his immutability not a limitation but the very ground of his continuous … Read more