The Scriptorium Daily

Category: Theology

  • Pastoring with Gregory of Nazianzus

    Pastoring with Gregory of Nazianzus

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    by

    Greg Peters
    in

    I recently read The Pastor as Public Theologian by Kevin Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan in which they rightly recognize that the role of the pastor-theologian has gone by the wayside, replaced, for example, by the pastor-CEO, pastor-therapist and/or pastor-social activist. Should pastors be all of these things? Sure, but not primarily. First and foremost pastors…

  • A Theology of Ice Cream

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    Greg Peters
    in

    Americans eat more ice cream than any other country – a whopping four to five gallons a year per person! A good chunk of that is eaten by a much smaller portion of the population, present company included. I love ice cream and I eat a lot of it! To justify, perhaps, this nearly sinful…

  • “Learn Again How to Discern” (Kavin Rowe)

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    In the Torrey Honors Institute, our students study the Bible (along with classic theology texts) and the great books (including literary, philosophical, and political texts). The two sides of this education are constantly informing each other. I was recently reminded of one of the ways this happens by a commentary on Luke that includes an…

  • Basement of the Museum

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    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    On the second page of a long book about the plays of Aeschylus, critic Thomas Rosenmeyer explains how he intends to proceed. He wants to help modern non-specialists, readers who are getting their Aeschylus in English, by showing them how to avoid “some of the more common errors of perspective that tend to put the…

  • The Story of Monasticism; or, What Monastics Can Teach Us

    The Story of Monasticism; or, What Monastics Can Teach Us

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    Greg Peters
    in

    NB: This blog originally appeared as a series of blogs at Baker Academic Blog. Why wouldn’t everyone want to be a monk or nun? These days you will get your own room, never have to overthink the daily “What will I wear?” debate, be allotted plenty of time with God and, if you choose wisely,…

  • “The Holy Round of Creeds and Chants and Mysteries”

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    I spent much of the summer in England, and perhaps that prepared me to notice this poem when I happened across it. I found it in an issue of The Churchman’s Companion from 1858. CATECHISING A True Incident And can it be the holy round Of creeds and chants and mysteries, That from the Church’s watch tower…

  • The Kingdom in Person

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    Origen of Alexandria (ca 184-254) apparently coined the word “autobasileia,” meaning something like “the kingdom in person.” It was in his commentary on Matthew 18, as he was discussing the parable that begins: “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” Origen, who had…

  • The Very Atmosphere Mentally Absorbed

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    The age of the full-scale “hellenization” critique of early Christian doctrine seems to have passed, at least for now: anybody who wants to assert that the church’s early thinkers allowed the pure biblical message to be contaminated by Greek thought has to write so many footnotes qualifying the charge, answering compelling objections, making reasonable concessions,…

  • Theology of the Pastoral Epistles (Lecture)

    Theology of the Pastoral Epistles (Lecture)

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    Here is video of a lecture I gave last semester on the theology of the pastoral epistles. The time I spent studying Titus and 1 & 2 Timothy last year at Los Angeles Bible Training School was very productive theologically. It seems like there have always been plenty of reasons to neglect and marginalize these…

  • Witness to the Fittingness of the Atonement

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    Adam Johnson
    in

    Perhaps you have heard critiques of penal substitution based on the fact that it seems rooted in divine violence, which in turn supports violence within families and social structures. Perhaps you have heard debates between adherents of different views of Christ’s work, both of which seemed important and warranted. Perhaps all you can think of…

  • Non-Competing Theories of the Atonement

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    Adam Johnson
    in

    As I told my veteran pastor of my plans to do graduate studies in the doctrine of the atonement, a wry smile creased his face as he asked: “So… which theory of the atonement do you believe in?” I responded: “All of them!” The purpose of this book is to offer a more expansive answer…

  • “Put Away Thy Daintiness!” A Call to Meditate on Christ’s Atonement

    “Put Away Thy Daintiness!” A Call to Meditate on Christ’s Atonement

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    by

    Adam Johnson
    in

    Augustine writes in his Confessions: “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Immediately following this petition, he prays: “Grant me Lord to know and understand.” The ensuing few pages are filled with an impassioned plea for…