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This study argues that the contrast between ‘γράμμα’ and ‘πνεῦμα’ regarding the understanding of the Greek term ‘καταργέω’ in 2 Cor 3:6-7 implies how their relationship in Rom 7:6 influences the interaction of the idolatrous subject, the ‘I,’ with ‘Sin’ in Rom 7:7-25. Paul reintroduces ‘γράμμα’ from 2 Cor 3, where scholars debate Paul’s interpretation … Read more
While classical theists in the tradition of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas argue that God is good because He is simple, relational theists argue that since God is good, He cannot be simple. For the relational theists, goodness necessitates an ability of God to respond, react, or change in some way to His creatures changing needs. … Read more
While the results of the Nicaea Council were unsettling to many attendees, the next several years following the signing of its credal statement in 325 had a veneer of peaceful acceptance. During that time, Constantine (the reigning emperor), Alexander (the bishop of Alexandria), and Athanasius (his soon to be successor), labored in their own ways … Read more
In a time characterized by inflammatory rhetoric on social media and immediate responses to every developing news story, Christians may feel it is their obligation to be angry at injustice or injury against the innocent. Christians will often use the phrase “righteous anger” as an excuse for these outbursts, as though anger produced from godly … Read more
This paper argues that Hannah’s poem (1 Samuel 2:1–10) was an integral part of its narrative context from the original composition of 1 Samuel. While many scholars contend that the poem was inserted later in the textual history of the book, both textual criticism and literary analysis suggest otherwise. Numerous studies have noted the literary … Read more
Religious liberty and its cognates, religious toleration and separation of church and state, are fundamental in the development of Western nations. However, in Eastern Europe, the principles and practices of religious liberty evolved much later. It was first in the missionary context that advocates of religious liberty met the obstacles of civil authorities and the … Read more
As we celebrate the 17th anniversary of the council of Nicaea, we do well to remember those who did all that they could to contend for the faith that was once for all given to the saints. One of those men was a well-respected African theologian and Church father, Athanasius 1 of Alexandria. As a … Read more
Vincent of Lérins is commonly employed by Roman Catholics as a stalwart defender of the Magisterium’s infallibility (e.g. Guarino, 2006, 2013; Congar, 1997, 2004; John Henry Newman, 1845; etc.). His Commonitorium provides an early intellectual case for the rule of orthodoxy: universality, antiquity, and consent. More specifically, ecumenical councils provide judgments of the Church as … Read more
This paper explores the pneumatological affirmations of the Nicene Creed on the Holy Spirit as “the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets” as a robust theological remedy for a self/identity fragmented … Read more
The virgin Mary’s obscurity in modern evangelicalism outside of Christ belies the significant role she played in early Christian debates, doctrine, and creeds. Though absent from the 325 A.D. version of the Nicene creed, Mary appears in the Constantinople version as well as the earlier Apostle’s Creed. Though she did not formally receive the title … Read more