Category: Blog
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Confessions, Then and Now
This semester I have the great opportunity of teaching a whole class dedicated to Augustine’s Confessions. This Christian classic is an amazing example of a literary masterpiece and it is also one of the most theologically dense books that I have ever read. Leading three hours of discussion on each of the individual books of…
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Worship in Truth
“Devotional book” is not usually a term of approval, even among those of us who use them. “Devotionals” can connote fairly lightweight religious reading, a thought for the day, a little something that fits on one page and reminds you to keep the right attitude. But the Dutch Reformed pastor Andrew Murray wrote almost nothing…
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Against Abstract Providence
Every theologian who wants to think biblically has to believe in providence. Like it or not (and after all, why not like it?), the Bible is about a God who rules and governs world events, from geopolitical reversals to the fate of little birds. This God is not surprised by how things turn out, is…
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Simple Faith, meet Theology
Jesus died for me. Anyone who believes this simple sentence has entered the sphere of Christian faith, and has learned the one thing that God is concerned to teach his human creatures, in order to bring them into his school for all further lessons. “Jesus died for me” is knowledge that can be grasped by…
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Experiencing Children and God
When I come home from the office after a busy day of work I know that my six year old daughter will scream “daddy” at the top of her lungs, and start running at me. She follows this up with what I would call a “leap of faith” into my arms. I have learned from…
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May God Curse Your Studies!
I’m beginning my fifth trip through Calvin’s Institutes this semester, which is my third trip with a group of students. I am always amazed at the power of Calvin’s writing, which is designed to bring the reader into direct confrontation with God. From the opening page, Calvin aims to make the reader conscious that theology…
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Maximum Maximus
Maximus the Confessor (580-662) can be hard to understand and challenging to teach. His literary corpus is extensive and much of it still remains untranslated making it difficult for non-Greek readers to have access to all of Maximus — to the maximum Maximus. Yet, even a little reading of Maximus can yield much fruit. For…
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When in Doubt, MEMORIZE
Here is the third and final excerpt from Jane Redmont’s 1999 book When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Daily Life. This excerpt includes some brief remarks I made about memorizing Scripture as a form of prayer. There are many other reasons to memorize Scripture: for information, to have key doctrines ready for quick recall, etc.…
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When in Doubt, PRAISE
Thoughts on praise and thankfulness, taken from my contribution to Jane Redmont’s 1999 book When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Daily Life. This excerpt (pages 188-190) is from the chapter entitled “Daring to Raise the Alleluia Song.” “Everything I know about praise and joyful prayer goes back to the very beginning of my Christian life,”…
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Tournament Joust
It’s the Blue Knight vs. the Yellow Knight in a jousting match. Normally the victor is determined by whose lance breaks into splinters, signifying that they have struck a mighty blow against their opponent’s breastplate or shield. But in this case, the blue knight has managed a direct hit on the yellow knight’s own lance,…
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Three Unions
Soon I would like to introduce and recommend the unduly neglected Adolph Saphir (1831-1891), but for now I’ll just quote him. Here is the voice of evangelical Christianity from a little over 125 years ago: clear, passionate, artful, scriptural, doctrinal, and comprehensive. If you know anybody who can still talk like this (or grow a…