Evangelical attributes

Robert Jenson attempts to expound the attributes of God as explications of the statement “God raised Jesus from the dead by the Spirit.” He objects to the traditional “bipartite classification” systems prevalent in Protestant dogmatics, citing John Gerhard’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Holiness and Absolute

In his Systematic Theology , Charles Hodge quotes the following from DF Strauss’s Dogmatik : “The ideas of the absolute and of the holy are incompatible. He who holds to the former must give up the latter, since holiness implies relation; and, on the other hand, he who holds fast the . . . . Continue Reading »

Proverbs 19:16-21

INTRODUCTION These verses are framed by corresponding general exhortations, verses 16 and 23. Both proverbs describe the way to life: Whoever keeps commandments keeps his soul or life (v. 16), and the fear of Yahweh leads to life (v. 23). There is a “what’s more” progression . . . . Continue Reading »

Bridal city

Even before Cain, there is a hint – only a hint, but a hint – of a better city to come. It is not good for man to be alone, Yahweh says of Adam, and then takes a rib from Adam’s side and makes that rib into a woman. Eve is not a city. But Eve is the prototype of a different sort of . . . . Continue Reading »

City of Cain

Girard says that “the Bible unveils the victim mechanism that lies behind polytheism and mythology, but not only behind polytheism and mythology, for its full expression underlies everything we know as human culture. The Bible recognizes this in the story of Cain and Abel. Because Cain . . . . Continue Reading »

Real Hellenist Stand Up

During much of the modern period, the development of Trinitarian theology has been seen as a “Hellenization” of the original Christian faith. Harnack for instance, “asserts that Logos Christianity, the Nicene dogma of the Trinity, and the Chalcedonian dogma of Christ are the . . . . Continue Reading »

NC Rivalry

Over at the Books & Culture online magazine, Jason Byassee of the Christian Century - and a Duke PhD - lists some of the best lines from Will Blythe’s To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever: A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the . . . . Continue Reading »

On Trinitarian Revivals

Lewis Ayres offers some important historical perspective to the claim that there has been a Trinitarian revival in the last several decades: “it is important to notice that claims for a revival of Trinitarian theology have been made in a number of circles since the early nineteenth century in . . . . Continue Reading »

Divine energies

Lossky summarizes the problem for which the doctrine of divine energies is the solution as follows: “If we were able tat a given moment to be united to the very essence of God and to participate in it in the very least degree, we should not at the moment be what we are, we should be God by . . . . Continue Reading »

Sermon notes

INTRODUCTION Jesus’ final exhortations anticipate the eschatological discourse of chapters 24-25. Jesus is warning Israel that the only way her house – i.e., the temple – can survive is by hearing and keeping His words. By the time we get to chapter 24, it’s too late. Israel . . . . Continue Reading »