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In his inaugural sermon in the newly built Metropolitan Tabernacle, Charles Haddon Spurgeon unabashedly declared to his congregation: “I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist… I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist… [B]ut if I am asked to say what is my creed, I think I must reply: ‘It is … 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
Scholars and theologians who support LGBTQ ideology and relationships often justify their beliefs by referencing Gregory of Nyssa’s account of gender. Through his concept of “double creation,” Gregory suggested that sex as male and female is a secondary feature introduced by God, anticipating humanity’s fall into sin. Therefore, he argues that our sexual differentiation lacks … Read more
This paper applies a thematic Biblical Theology framework to Exodus 24 and John 21. One theme linking these two passages is the theme of divine hospitality. In DNTUOT, Brian S. Rosner writes, “One goal of biblical theology is to explore the Bible’s theological message in fresh and unexpected ways. ‘Salvation,’ ‘covenant,’ ‘temple,’ and ‘mission’ are … Read more
Many understand the rhetorical effect of the Gospel of Mark’s shorter ending to be that the implied audience should now take up the commands given to the failed followers in the story. But how is this possible? How is the implied audience to tell the disciples and Peter what was said at the tomb? Is … Read more
This paper examines the enigmatic phrase in 1 Corinthians 7:1b (καλὸν ἀνθρώπῳ γυναικὸς μὴ ἅπτεσθαι) by investigating why some Corinthian believers advocated for sexual abstinence within marriage. While previous scholarship has attributed this position to Greek philosophical dualism or Stoic-Cynic ethical debates, this study proposes that the Corinthians’ stance resulted from their application of Paul’s … Read more
Hebrews scholars have noted the significance of the Christological titles, ἀρχηγός and πρόδρομος, in the author’s argument (2:10; 6:19; 12:2). However, an Old Testament background has remained elusive, leading many to favor a Hellenistic origin for the terms. This study argues that the story of the Kadesh rebellion (Numbers 13–14) is the background for both … Read more
Previous and contemporary scholarship has called attention to the increasingly elastic and incoherent nature of evangelical identity in American discourse. The label “evangelical” has been stretched to encompass a wide array of often contradictory cultural, political, and self-identified groups, diluting its theological significance. Critiquing definitions based on culture, self-identification, and socio-historical analysis, this paper contends … Read more
This paper explores the theme of the vision of God in the latter prophetic visions of the throne room and temple and connects these to the beatific vision. Much of the contemporary scholarship has ignored or at least neglected the connection between the beatific vision and the prophetic visions in the latter prophets. This oversight … Read more
Although a Two-Minds Christology—whereby Jesus has a human mind in addition to his divine mind in the Incarnation—is arguably the traditional view, it has been challenged by what I call the Cartesian Intuition, which equates a person with a consciousness. Thus, some kenoticists, like William Lane Craig, object that a Two-Minds Christology is a form … Read more