Essay / The Third Person of the Trinity
Adonis Vidu is Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He contributed chapter two to the new collection of essays on pneumatology that Oliver Crisp and I edited, The Third Person of the Trinity: Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics. I knew that Adonis’ chapter, “Filioque and
Essay / The Third Person of the Trinity
Oliver Crisp and I have edited a brand new book in Zondervan Academic’s Los Angeles Theology Conference series. This volume is on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and its title is The Third Person of the Trinity. The book is such a solid showcase
Essay / Theology
Ten hours of discussion of the actual text wasn’t enough for us, so Ryan Hurd and I are inviting some guests to come talk with us about the trinitarian theology of Amandus Polanus. This week we asked Dr. Tyler Wittman to talk with us about
Essay / Theology
We recently finished our series of conversations on seventeenth-century theologian Amandus Polanus’ 18 Axioms on the Trinity. Now Ryan Hurd and I are going to have a few conversations with people who know a thing or two about Polanus, Protestant Scholasticism, trinitarian theology, and related
Essay / Theology
Thomas Aquinas’ treatise on the Trinity in the first part of his Summa Theologiae runs from question 27 to 43. It’s a vast discussion, all but comprehensive in its coverage of the most important elements of Trinitarian theology. So sweeping an account could start from
Essay / Theology
I like this compact account of Trinitarian terminology in Vladimir Lossky’s Dogmatic Theology, 38-40. It’s especially good at showing the relation between the words ousia and hypostasis. Watch how Lossky relates the key terms to each other and uses them to draw out how they
Essay / Theology
Four hundred years ago, one of Protestantism’s most accomplished theologians published a series of eighteen guidelines (“axiomata”) for understanding the Trinity. They’re great. They have never been translated into English. Nobody talks about them. Until now! [cue movie trailer] When I stumbled upon Amandus Polanus’
Essay / Theology
On at least two occasions, John Webster reviewed combative books with which he largely agreed, but slipped in some gentle reprimands along the way. I think of these reviews often, as instructive instances of how a theologian can be constructive and peaceable even while entering
In the latest issue of the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, I co-authored a book review with Chris Gibson, a PhD student at Gateway Seminary. Chris and I have been working on the doctrine of divine impassibility and how it relates to human
Essay / Theology
Jesus calls out from the cross: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). Strong words of weakness. The very first hearers misunderstood them: “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” But he wasn’t calling on Elijah, of
Essay / Theology
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
Fletcher of Madeley (1729-1785), one of the first Methodist theologians, wrote a small spiritual masterpiece called Six Letters on the Spiritual Manifestation of the Son of God. It gets republished now and then: In a 1968 printing, Martyn Lloyd-Jones called it “undoubtedly a spiritual classic”