The Scriptorium Daily

Author: Greg Peters

  • Marsden at Biola

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    Greg Peters
    in

    Renowned scholar of Fundamental Evangelicalism and the secularization of American universities, George Marsden, visited Biola this week as a guest of the Associated Students. On Wednesday a small number of faculty, including myself, had the opportunity to speak with him. When I asked him what he thought would keep Biola University from following the course…

  • On True Repentance

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    Greg Peters
    in

    Some time ago, I was having coffee with a friend when our conversation turned to the topic of repentance. Neither one of us could really remember a time in our Christian lives when we were so sorry for our sins that we threw ourselves at God’s mercy, repented of our sins, and begged for God’s…

  • Examinations as Evangelization

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    Greg Peters
    in

    Having just completed about thirty hours of oral examinations with approximately sixty students, I am tired. Yet, the process is always rewarding. What a joy to see how students are growing intellectually, emotionally and in every other way. And today, I also learn from an unexpected source that these examinations were also missional. “Huh,” you…

  • Dying for Infamy

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    Greg Peters
    in

    There’s a song on the Canadian band Nickelback’s latest album, All the Right Reasons, entitled “Rockstar.” Front man, Chad Kroeger, sings, I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs And a bathroom I can play baseball in I’ll need a credit card that’s got no limit And a big black jet with…

  • On the Difficulty of Being Thankful

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    Greg Peters
    in ,

    We live in a plastic, disposable culture but to say that is merely to state the obvious. Many respond to this plasticity and disposability by becoming activists, either on the world stage or in their own communities and homes. Others have simply chosen to ignore this fact and to continue feeding the materialistic monster that…

  • Why We Should Read Lesser-Known Books, or, the Anselm I Never Knew

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    Greg Peters
    in

    Anselm was born in 1033 in Aosta, Italy and while young was put under the tutelage of a relative who was a professional teacher. This man kept Anselm confined to the house so that he would study more diligently so that when Anselm returned home he was frightened by both his family and neighbors to…

  • Medieval Gazing and Eating

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    Greg Peters
    in

    A couple of weekends ago my wife and I took our kids up to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The opportunity to visit the Getty at will is certainly one of the perks of living in southern California. We were invited to go to the Getty with one of my students and her significant…

  • On ECUSA’s House of Bishops Statement (II)

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    Greg Peters
    in

    Read Part 1 here. Here I examine the second half of the ECUSA House of Bishops statement. It reads: 5. We support the Presiding Bishop in seeking communion-wide consultation in a manner that is in accord with our Constitution and Canons. 6. We call for increasing implementation of the listening process across the Communion and…

  • On ECUSA’s House of Bishops Statement (I)

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    Greg Peters
    in

    Read Part 2 here. As an Episcopalian, I have a vested interest in what is going on in the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) and take great interest in the statement issued by the House of Bishops on September 25, 2007. This statement is the bishops’ response to a request by the Primates of the Anglican…

  • Dante’s Ante-Purgatory

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    Greg Peters
    in

    For many Protestant Christians today the doctrine of Purgatory (especially in its medieval articulation) is blatantly wrong. The need for such a place is mainly the result of the medieval concepts of debt, penalty and merit (of Christ and the saints). To a medieval theologian Purgatory was necessary, even desirable. Thus, when Dante Alighieri went…

  • Counseling with Boethius

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    Greg Peters
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    During my graduate school years, I was fortunate to have worked on the pastoral staff at three different churches. They were all great experiences with different challenges and expectations. One element that was common to each position, however, was the need to engage at times in some form of pastoral counseling, bringing consolation to those…

  • Bringing Europe to Christ, Again

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    Greg Peters
    in

    On June 23 of this year, Pope Benedict XVI addressed a number of professors and rectors of European universities. In his address, the pope reminded those present that “Europe is presently experiencing a certain social instability and diffidence in the face of traditional values, yet her distinguished history and her established academic institutions have much…