Essay / Theology

The Joy of the Lord

by Fred Sanders on

Luke 3:21-22, the baptism of Christ: “the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove…” Brothers and sisters, we are reading here about the Holy Spirit, so what is there for me…

Essay / Theology

Jesus Was Also Baptized

by Fred Sanders on

Luke 3:21: "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying…" Picture the scene: There was a big crowd at the river, and people were getting dunked in the water by John,…

Essay / Theology

Webster's "Courses Charted but Not Taken"

by Fred Sanders on

A Companion to the Theology of John Webster is a great collection of essays on the development of Webster's theology, and on major doctrines important in his work. The epilogue is unique, though: it's a very helpful report and analysis…

Essay / Art

Jesse Hamm, Cartoonist's Cartoonist

by Fred Sanders on

Comics artist Jesse Hamm has died. Jesse worked in comic books at all levels: from the self-published days of photocopied zines, up through small presses and indie/alternative publishers, to Marvel & DC. Click through to the obituary at comics.com for…

Essay / Education

Torrey's Two Houses (2009)

by Fred Sanders on

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Torrey Honors College, we're looking back at some important moments in our history. One of those is the expansion and division of the College (then known as an Institute) into two distinct houses.…

Essay / Theology

Introducing Junius on the Trinity

by Fred Sanders on

Franciscus Junius (1545-1602) was an important theologian in the Protestant Orthodox tradition. He is most famous for his influential Treatise on True Theology, with its profound approach to theological method. Junius taught widely across all the major doctrines of Christian…

Essay / Theology

"To Him Belongs the Consummation of Things"

by Fred Sanders on

Petrus van Mastricht's Theoretical-Practical Theology (volume 2, chapter 27) has an excellent treatment of the Holy Spirit. I just want to unpack a little something he says in the introductory paragraph, before he gets to the main body of the…

Essay / Theology

Polanus: Reformed Scholastic Piety and Commentary

by Fred Sanders on

Having worked through Amandus Polanus' axiomata on the Trinity, Ryan Hurd and I invited a guest, Dr. Ryan McGraw, to talk with us about his own encounters with the writings of Polanus. This conversation covers a few topic: First, we…

Essay / Theology

Ephesians (Classical Theology Course)

by Fred Sanders on

Talbot School of Theology's Master of Arts in Classical Theology is mostly composed of three kinds of courses: Commonplaces (major doctrines); Master Practitioners (significant theologians); and Sacred Page (books of Scripture). Since the entire MA is designed to treat Scripture…

Essay / Art

Shraga Weil's Ram in the Thicket

by Fred Sanders on

Shraga Weil (1918-2009) was an Israeli painter who also did a lot of printmaking throughout his artistic career. I know he made prints because late in 2020 I came across one of them in an antique store at a deep…

Essay / Theology

Christmas Trinity

by Fred Sanders on

Here's something I wrote for Christmas 2020. I composed it to work best as a Twitter thread, and I'm not sure if it works as well as a blog post. But I wanted to make it available here at a…

Essay / The Third Person of the Trinity

"The Holy Spirit Teaches us to Die Faithfully."

by Fred Sanders on

Dr. Ephraim Radner delivered a memorable paper at the 2020 Los Angeles Theology Conference last January. Those of us in the audience were struck by the depth and honesty of what he shared that day about how the modern world…