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Theologians commonly appeal to Ephesians 4:23–24 in their expositions of human nature and the image of God. Is this an instance of irresponsible proof-texting, or a valid inference from the discourse of Ephesians? Indeed, there do seem to be good reasons to recognize an anthropological dimension in this text. Christian renewal is envisioned as restoration … Read more
Every death in Scripture conveys a message with purpose, and this study seeks to consider the function of the portrayal of Moses’s death in Deuteronomy 34. Lloyd Bailey has defined “bad” deaths as those that are premature or violent, but T. Desmond Alexander has countered that what distinguishes “good” from “bad” deaths is whether the … Read more
The prevailing view in OT studies is that monotheism is a mistaken postbiblical construct that does not cohere with the biblical texts. This paper will admittedly swim upstream against this widespread view. It sketches out a contrary perspective, arguing that the OT is consistently monotheistic, by challenging ten relevant claims as misconceptions. (1) Is evidence … Read more
Critics of the Nicene Creed routinely characterize it as a Hellenized distortion of the Christian faith. Even N. T. Wright complained about the fourth-century church “trying to make theological bricks without the biblical straw.” This paper argues that the Nicene Creed is rooted in Jewish theology and constructed from “biblical straw,” especially proto-creedal New Testament … Read more
During the late 20th Century, American evangelicals placed renewed emphasis on the spiritual disciplines through influential writings like Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines, and Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. These books, with combined sales in the millions, have exerted a generational influence regarding Christian spiritual … Read more
Most scholars agree that Haggai 1:15 contains a date formula that is unusual in its placement and form. Many have solved the issue by dividing the verse and attaching the second half (the year) to the following date (2:1, so also BHS). This division, however, may obscure an intentional literary structure. A close look at … Read more
In this essay, I argue that John Owen’s views of the Old Testament’s inherent Christological frame of reference and the nature of the literal sense of holy Scripture can correct and guide our own reading of Scripture today. Though quality work has been done on John Owen’s hermeneutics (e.g., Tweeddale, Howson, McGraw, Knapp, Hindsman), a … Read more
Michael Norton and Francesco Gino’s groundbreaking article (2014) showed that many people today create rituals in the face of grief and loss, whether the loss is the death of a loved one or a breakup, the death of a relationship. It also demonstrated how a simple invented ritual in the face of a lottery loss … Read more
The doctrine of actus purus—typically associated with Aristotle and Aquinas—finds its inchoate metaphysical assumptions worked out in the Nicene controversy. Figures like Marius Victorinus were instrumental in adapting Neoplatonic metaphysics to defend divine simplicity and immutability in a way that upheld Christian Trinitarianism and refuted Arianism. The Council of Nicaea thus became a defining moment, … Read more
The conclusion of Jesus’ parables in Matt 13:51-52, in which a discipled scribe is likened to a householder (οἰκοδεσπότης), continues to attract scholarly attention. For example, in the same 2023 LNTS volume, Jesus as Teacher in the Gospel of Matthew, Nolland (“Discipled to Be a Scribe for the Kingdom of Heaven”) argues the image depicts … Read more