Essay / Theology

Hyponymic Trinitarianism in the New Testament

You don’t expect to find a lot of trinitarian theology in texts on linguistics –at least I don’t. But there it is, nestled in (or nestle-alanded in, amiright) at the end of Stanley Porter’s new collection of essays, Linguistic Analysis of the Greek New Testament: Studies

Essay / Theology

The Apprehensibility of the Incomprehensible God

In his classic book On the Study of Words, Richard Chenevix Trench describes some of the advantages that come from the English language’s wealth of synonyms and near-synonyms. As one of his examples, he notes the difference between the words ‘apprehend’ and ‘comprehend.’ And his

Essay / Education

How to Teach a Class on the Doctrine of Scripture this January

Here’s the deal. I’ve arranged for a whole lot of experts on the doctrine of Scripture to be in one place at one time this January, presenting papers and having public conversations about it. So if you’re a  theology professor in southern California, you should

Essay / Theology

“Uninhibited Theology on the Grand Scale” (Webster on Torrance)

T. F. Torrance was a Fellow of the British Academy, and his fellow-Fellow John Webster recently published a 20-page biographical memoir of him: ‘Thomas Forsyth Torrance, 1913-2007,” in Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the British Academy 13 (2014), pp. 417-36 (click here for automatic download of

Essay / Education

Pastoral Theologians Part 1 of 2: A Living Theology

Read Part 2 here. There is great momentum toward the vocation of theologian pastor—a pastor who cares deeply about studying theology in a careful and sustained way. I hope there is similar momentum in the opposite direction, toward pastoral theologians. Lord knows we need them!

Essay / Theology

Event: Future of the Church, Sept. 9

Mark your calendar for an event Torrey Honors Institute is hosting at Biola University on Wednesday September 9 at 7pm (PST): The Future of the Church. It’s a follow-up to last year’s very popular Future of Protestantism discussion, and an attempt to go one step bigger

Essay / Theology

The Very Atmosphere Mentally Absorbed

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

Essay / Theology

Non-Competing Theories of the Atonement

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

Essay / Theology

Trinitarian Theology Pre-Holmes and Post-Holmes

So, it’s ridiculous to divide the history of trinitarian theology into the periods before and after Stephen R. Holmes published his book The Quest for the Trinity. For one thing, that was just 2012, so the the post-Holmes period isn’t big enough to say much about.

Essay / Theology

“Two Distributed Doctrines” (Webster)

In one of the “working papers in Christian theology,” which are widely assumed to be indications of where he’s heading with a forthcoming systematic theology, John Webster argues that the doctrine of creation should occupy a more determinative place in dogmatics. The essay is “Non ex

Essay / Theology

Unperplexed About Atonement

Adam Johnson’s new book Atonement: A Guide for the Perplexed is now available. John Webster says it shows “acute theological judgement,” and Kevin Vanhoozer calls it “a theological treasure trove.” So please move it to the top of your reading list. Johnson’s strategy in handling the

Essay / Theology

Generations Eternal and Current

Steve Holmes recently reviewed the book One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life, edited by Bruce Ware and John Starke (Crossway, 2015). In Holmes’ review, entitled Reflections on a new defense of ‘complementarianism,’ he interacts especially with the