Fred SandersSpies in Canaan from 1440 Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves
Resources
10 Things You Should Know About the Trinity
1. The Trinity is something God wants us to know. If you believe the Bible reveals that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then you ought to believe that God made this known because he…
Classical Theism Makes a Comeback
In recent years, there has been a change in the way theologians talk the doctrine of God. One way to describe the change would be to say that classical theism has made a comeback. By “classical…
The Trinity and “The Shack”
In preparation for the release of the movie version of The Shack (2017), I did a live interview with Biola’s chapel program to explain what’s going on with its presentation of the Trinity.
Making Christology Safe for ChristologyJohn Webster’s “Christology, Theology, Economy”
Whenever John Webster published one of his essays, it seemed you could hear from certain sectors of the theological academy the sound of theologians dropping everything. They wanted—we wanted—to make sure our hands were free so we…
Why I Don’t Flow with Richard Rohr
A review of Richard Rohr’s book on the Trinity. I don’t “go negative” very often, but I really wanted to intercept this book’s false teaching, and The Gospel Coalition was a good place to do it.
The Terrible, Wonderful Simplicity of God
“The faith of a devil!” When John Wesley preached about saving faith, one of the ways he distinguished it from the non-saving kind was with this bold paraphrase of James 2:19. That passage says “You believe…
Biblical Grounding for the Christology of the Councils
When theologians take up the crucial catechetical task of teaching about Jesus Christ, what principle of ordering should they follow? Which sub-topics within this rich field should be taught first, which ones postponed until later, and under what overarching categories should they all be gathered? In this article, I would like to commend one particular organizational schema for introducing Christology to students, and then demonstrate the advantages of that schema by offering a brief example of its key points. The method I recommend is this: follow the leading ideas of the ecumenical councils of the early church and then support them with biblical argumentation. Conciliar Christology is thus the framework for teaching Christology, with biblical material brought in to fill it out.
Hearing VoicesThe Trinity in the Old Testament
This is a 2015 lecture for my students at the Torrey Honors College, introducing prosoponic exegesis and its implications for the doctrine of the Trinity.
The Theology of the Pastoral Epistles
A 2015 lecture exploring what is unique about I & II Timothy and Titus, especially focusing on how the theology leans into the ethics.
On the Doctrine of Divine Blessedness
A four-part series at Ref21 on the doctrine of divine blessedness, published in 2015
Biola in the American Evangelical Story
Douglas A. Sweeney’s The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movementis a masterpiece of concise storytelling. In introducing the movement, Sweeney combines an insider’s sympathetic understanding with an objectivity and sense of perspective about what to report. The result is a short, readable book that can serve multiple audiences well. I am particularly interested in using Sweeney’s American Evangelical Storyto help new Biola faculty understand their own institutional heritage more fully. If Biola is going to equip and empower its faculty for the task of integration, one of the resources it should provide is a grasp of the school’s identity that is not just superficial.
Order of Salvation and Evangelism
The Order of Salvation Just as the ultimate goal of salvation is the magnification of God’s grace (we were chosen in Christ “to the praise of the glory of his grace,” Eph. 1:6), so the ultimate…
Too Little or Too Much: Troubleshooting Contemporary Trinitarianism
The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the classic achievements of early Christian theology. The fathers of the early church drew together the strands of biblical argument so compellingly that all through the Middle Ages…
Union and Communion with the Triune God
Truth should be practical, and the doctrine of the Trinity, being utterly true, surely ought to show itself practical in some way. “Sound knowledge,” said James Ussher (1581-1656), is “knowledge which sinketh from the brain into…
“Is There a Theology of California?”
In a previous chapter, I argued in favor of a localist approach to the work of systematic theology, and in particular to claim that such a thing was desirable in this particular locale, California. That chapter…
“California, Localized Theology, and Theological Localism”
Wallace Stegner once said, “Like the rest of America, California is unformed, innovative, ahistorical, hedonistic, acquisitive, and energetic—only more so.” As California becomes increasingly self-conscious as a social and political entity, an academic conversation is beginning…
The Promise and Prospects of Retrieval: Recent Developments in Trinitarian Theology
A brief account of how the movement of theological retrieval has affected contemporary trinitarian theology, circa 2014, for the Zondervan Academic Blog
Pagan Propitiation vs Biblical Propitiation
“Propitiation” is one of those five-syllable theological words that tend to break up polite parties. But it’s also a word that’s well worth the work of understanding, because whether we know it or not, all of us are walking around working on some sort of plan for propitiation. The big question is whether our plan is a Christian one. The Ancient Meaning Here’s what I mean: Propitiation is an ancient word, which we as Christians have in common with other world religions. To propitiate a god is to offer a sacrifice that turns aside the god’s wrath. Anyone who believes in a god knows that they need some way to stay on the friendly side of that god. So they give gifts to the god, or serve in the temple, or give alms. And if the god is angry with them, they pay a…
