Category: Blog

Imagine studying the doctrinal theology of Thomas Aquinas and then turning it, in considerable detail, into praise.That’s what sixteenth-century Jesuit Francis Borgia did. He wrote a book which is basically key sections of the Summa Theologia cast into the form of prayers. Litanies, to be precise: sequences of requests, for liturgical recitation with a set…

Here is an old book review of an older book: Tim Chester’s Delighting in the Trinity: Why Father, Son, and Spirit are Good News came out back in 2005. When it was re-released in 2010, a popular website asked me to review it. That review was published but has since gone missing from the web…

The important early Methodist John William Fletcher (1729-1785) wrote a short piece called Remarks on the Trinity, which has some, well, remarkable lines in it. On the Trinity. Fletcher has much to say on the subject of the Trinity, but apparently he was specifically provoked to write by Joseph Priestley, the unitarian. Fletcher says: Some…

Brian Daley has published (2017) his edition of Leontius of Byzantium’s Complete Works. in a handsome 600-page volume from Oxford Press (at a handsomely huge price, of course). It’s got Leontius’ Greek on the left pages and Daley’s English translation on right, plus a masterful 100-page introduction. We have waited a long time for this…

Theology.News is a new website that Chris Woznicki, Jesse Gentile, and I are running. It’s a clearing house for all kinds of current activity in the field of academic theology, and with all kinds of user-reporters pitching in, it will be a great channel that people can use to stay current without having to be…

Here’s a new book worth looking out for: The Theology of Benedict XVI: A Protestant Appreciation , ed. Tim Perry (Lexham, 2019). It’s just an interesting idea to call on Protestant witnesses to write about the theology of this very theological Pope, and Tim Perry pulled together a fascinating set of authors, including Kate Sonderegger, Kevin Vanhoozer, Ben…

In the spring semester —really in January 2020— I’ll be offering a short course on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit at Biola’s Talbot School of Theology. It’s a course based on the annual Los Angeles Theology Conference, and it’s the easiest course in the world to design because LATC is already designed to be a…

When I lecture on christology, I often use an illustration that I call the Chalcedonian Box. It’s a diagram that emphasizes the theological boundaries around the mystery of the incarnation. As a visual aid, the box is easy to sketch on the spot (on blackboard, whiteboard, or flipchart paper). It’s also easy to build up…

We read a lot of classic theology from ancient Africa. By “we” I mean the students in two programs: Biola’s Torrey Honors Institute and Talbot School of Theology’s Master of Arts, Classical Theology. Both programs are very Great Booksy, driven by the reading and discussion of primary texts, and both programs read a lot of…

Here’s a new book with eleven essays on Divine Action and Providence. As co-editor of the collection, I do hereby commend it for your consideration. I don’t know of another recent book that would serve so well as an introduction to the theology of providence. The opening two chapters by Oliver Crisp and William Abraham…