In an earlier post, I offered some thoughts on justification by faith in conversation with a Catholic theologian. What often arises from this line of inquiry is the question of whether or not, in light of the Catholic Church’s denial of justification by faith (preferring by faith + works of love), she is in fact… Read More Is the Catholic Church a False Church? An Attempted Answer

The book of Daniel is one book that has elicited much controversy. This is due in large part to the apocalyptic chapters found at the latter half of the book (Dan. 8-12). Yet, another oft-neglected issue deserves exploration, namely, the reason for the Aramaic and Hebrew portions of the book. The Aramaic section of Daniel… Read More Some Thoughts on the Message of the Aramaic Section of Daniel (Dan 2:4b-7:28)

Justification by faith alone is a significant doctrine and arguably the main reason why the Protestant Reformation happened. Yet, this doctrine is minimized in some quarters, obscured in others, and rejected or drastically modified in still others. Perhaps the clearest opponent to this doctrine remains the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church (hereafter RCC).… Read More Is Justification by Faith alone Wrong? An inquiry in conversation with a Roman Catholic and a New Testament scholar

In his book Grace in Auschwitz, Jean-Pierre Fortin[1] provides an account of Auschwitz by summarizing the stories of the survivors of Auschwitz. Here, we see an event reaching the heights of insanity and the depths of horror and tragedy. The cruelty, the evil of Auschwitz, which epitomizes that of the Holocaust as a whole, is… Read More Christ and the Horror of the Holocaust

The way of faith in Jesus is nothing if not paradoxical. Jesus does not avoid the paradoxical nature of our faith when he states, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). Jesus is making plain a theme that is found throughout Scripture, namely, that before… Read More To Serve the Lord means First to Live in Him: A Theology of Christian Service

In this monograph by Smythe, we are offered a fascinating tour of Barth’s theological exegesis of Paul, with a special focus on the letter to the Romans. The author laments over the denial or minimization of what she calls ‘forensicism’ in Paul coming from such quarters as (1) recent interpreters of Paul (i.e., the so-called… Read More A Book Review of Forensic Apocalyptic Theology: Karl Barth and the Doctrine of Justification. By Shannon Nicole Smythe. Emerging Scholars. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2016. Viii + 253pp.

In recent times, morality is a question spinning around in everyone’s heads. Not that this is a question that hasn’t been spinning around in prior times, but it has reached fever pitch. Why? Because morality shapes culture which in turn informs legislation. Morality gives rise to, in many cases, laws. In this case, a law… Read More Abortion In Light of Christ