The Scriptorium Daily

Category: Blog

  • What is Grace?

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    Matt Jenson
    in

    What is grace? A word used so indiscriminately in casual conversation, and often enough in theological exposition, can threaten to lose all significance. Here is a simple, but comprehensive definition: Grace is the effective presence of the triune God to pardon and empower. Let’s unpack that a bit. First, grace is effective presence. That is,…

  • There’s a Party Over at First Things

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    Last weekend Joe Carter, the founder of Evangelical Outpost and now the web editor of First Things, put together a group blog called Evangel. Justin Taylor almost immediately declared it the best group blog in evangelicalism. And in its first week of existence it has logged 94 posts, 497 comments, over 30,000 visits, and a…

  • The Peace of Westphalia

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    Fred Sanders
    in , ,

    Today (October 24) in 1648 the Treaty of Münster was signed. Together with the signing of an earlier treaty, this event is known as the Peace of Westphalia. It brought a resolution to the terrible conflicts we call the “wars of religion,” chiefly the Thirty Years’ War. Peace is good and war is bad –the…

  • Happy First Day of Creation

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today, October 23, is the day the world was made, a little over six thousand years ago. It was a Saturday night. It happened late in the day, at the time of day we would call nightfall once there was a night to fall. Archbishop James Ussher, Anglican Bishop of Armagh, is remembered these days…

  • T.R.I.U.N.E. God

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    The main reason the doctrine of the Trinity can be difficult for inquirers to grasp, or for believers to get comfortable with, is that it contains so many ideas within itself. It is a doctrine that summarizes vast stretches of biblical revelation, integrates them, and holds them together so they can be taken in at…

  • The End of Paul Tillich’s Life

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (October 22) is the day Paul Tillich (1886–1965) died. Tillich is one of America’s most famous theologians, but he’s co-owned by the Germans. He came to America in the 1930s after having spoken out decisively against Hitler. Tillich taught at Union Seminary, Harvard, and Chicago, and ruled the roost of academic theology in America…

  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Talker

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    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whose birthday is today (October 21, in 1772), is remembered today as the poet who left us the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the strange fragment Kubla Khan. But in his own time he made waves as an amateur theologian. And as he remarked to a friend, his reputation was different…

  • Stuart Hamblen’s Cowboy Church of the Air

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (October 20) is the birthday of Stuart Hamblen (1908-1989), the cowboy singer. His story is a little bit larger than life. The public conversion of this radio star at Billy Graham’s 1949 Los Angeles crusade was a major media event. Hamblen had lived a rough enough life: hard drinking, playing bad guys in Western…

  • For The Love of Service

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    Paul Spears
    in

    Have you ever had a week that was so taxing that the only thing that keeps you going is the belief that it can only continue for so long? I recently had one of those weeks. I had finally made it to the Saturday following the aforementioned week. I was anticipating a day of rest…

  • Happy Birthday to Matthew Henry: Read the Bible and Pray

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (October 18) is the day Matthew Henry (1662-1714) was born. The right way to celebrate his birthday is to read the Bible and pray. Henry left a literary legacy that helps you do both. His commentary on the Bible is a remarkable achievement: a one-man show, available in one volume (though the classic form…

  • Aquinas on Divine Missions

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    At the very end of Thomas Aquinas’ treatise on the Trinity (questions 27-43 of the first part of the Summa Theologiae), he deals with the way the Son and Spirit are sent into the world by the Father. That is, he takes up the subject of the divine missions. It’s a brilliant discussion in its…

  • F. F. Bruce’s Birthday

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (October 12) is the birthday of Frederick Fyvie Bruce (1910-1990), a great Bible scholar who described himself as an “unhyphenated evangelical.” A collection of Bruce’s shorter writings bears the title A Mind for What Matters, and the phrase fits him well. In fact, it can be downright intimidating to read Bruce and to see…