I recently heard it stated, building on the approach of John Sailhamer, that background studies is not necessary to understand the text of Scripture. It is argued that there is nothing in Scripture that dictates using anything outside of the text to understanding or apply the text. While there is some validity to this argument,… Read More Should We Reject Background Studies for Interpreting the Bible?

In a recent online forum, the question was broached regarding whether or not Christ was impeccable in the incarnation. The question was raised because R. C. Sproul, a recently deceased theologian, argued that the notion of impeccability, i.e., that Christ was unable to sin, undermines his role as the second Adam who was truly tempted… Read More A Sinless Christ? How Christ’s Incarnation Informs his Impeccability

Trinitarian theology can be a tricky area of theology to explore and interrogate. One of the primary reasons for this is that the Trinity is one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith. The purpose of this blog post is to look at Trinitarian theology in conversation with John of Damascus. John of Damascus,… Read More In Conversation with John the Damascene on the Trinity

In Ephraim Radner’s fascinating book A Time to Keep, he notes a transition that sociologists, economists and histories have seen, which Radner gives the title ‘the Great Transition.’ This “refers specifically to the rapid increase of life expectancy of the population on average, from around thirty-three years in 1800 in Europe to almost eighty years… Read More What is wrong with the shape of the learning in a digital age?

In a prior post, I gave some attention to the doctrine of justification by faith. With this post, I am circling back around to look at the doctrine again but from a broader theological perspective. It is clear that with some articulations of justification, the separation between justification and sanctification is obscure (or, in the… Read More If God’s acts speak of God as he is, how does this apply to salvation?

I recently read a brief but informative volume on the Mercersberg Theology (hereafter, MT) by William B. Evans[1] which highlighted some thinkers that proved influential in this theological movement. These influences, in turn, seem to shed light on a certain connection in modern theology that I will discuss below. To begin with, a recent movement… Read More The (Possible) Implications of the Mercersburg Theology for Modern Theology

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