Tag: Theology

Christians don’t believe in an abstract ethereal god. Christians believe in the triune God who has Self-revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Period. This should be an unremarkable assertion. There should be zero pushback to this. But in the so-called Great Tradition of the Church, and those who are ostensibly “retrieving” it, this isn’t the case. Classical theism, so-called, as a contemporary way to identify certain expressions of the antique past, especially with reference to a theology proper, have so synthesized, say, the Aristotelian categories with an ecclesiastical doctrine of God, that it is nay impossible to make a distinction, in…

Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?” –Jonah 4:11 Animals have become too humanized. They deserve respect, care, and love, indeed. They serve as companions, and as a source of comfort and release (and sometimes terror). But at the end of the day, they aren’t human beings. They have their rightful place in an “order of being,” but that order cannot (should not) supplant the value of a human being vis a vis God. I’m not suggesting…

There has been a resurgence, among Protestants, either towards affirming the classical theism of Thomas Aquinas (i.e., Christian-Catholic theology synthesized with Aristotelian categories) or rejecting it.[1] But even those, in the broader Reformed world who ostensibly reject it, still affirm it; insofar, that they operate with the philosophical-theological categories provided for by said Thomistic synthesis. I have, for decades now, been calling this Thomistic-Aristotelian mode of Reformed theology out. And yet, that machine will never really bust. It has tentacles reaching into the far reaches of the Christian world at this point. In the West, in particular, it has publishing…

This is no secret: I read lots of what would be considered “academic theology.” The thing is, I don’t read it to be an academic, per se. The thought occurs to me that there are many out there who read and do theology for purely academic reasons. But you don’t have to. You can read academic theology simply to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ; to be active in the sanctification process, as the Holy Spirit blows and kindles the fire of Christ’s love upon our new hearts of ‘flesh.’ It is true, some might mistake you…

What is dialectical theology? Barth is often referred to as a dialectical theologian; especially the earlier Barth. Some want to implicitly criticize Barth by asserting that because Barth was a dialectical theologian, he, eo ipso was a Hegelianizing theologian (i.e., putting Hegel’s dialectic to work for his theologizing). And yet, Barth is much more original than that. He was clearly a modern theologian, as is anyone who currently does theology in the 21st century. Even so, his methodology was to allow Holy Scripture and its reality in Jesus Christ to regulate his deployment of any other mechanisms he might have…

Class: Indigenous Thought & Theology Indian people have unique and beautiful ways of understanding the world. Indigenous wisdom – as it relates to living in relationship with the Creator, Mother Earth and other created beings – should be centered if we want to provide better care for our home and all our relatives. Indigenous Thought & Theology introduces participants to this wisdom and examines Indigenous ways of understanding, respecting and interacting with this wondrous world we inhabit. No pre-registration is required to participate. Just click “join the class” to attend. Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 Class: Indigenous Thought & Theology 2…

Dialogical theology. It is one of our theses we put forward in our first Evangelical Calvinism book. What is it; what are its entailments; and why am I such a strong proponent of it? In nuce, dialogical theology is exactly what it sounds like: it is a theological “method” that allows the object of theology, who is also Subject for us, to confront us, to speak to us first that we might speak to Him; that we might come to know Him as He knows Himself from a center in Himself for us in Jesus Christ. So, this approach, this…

for we walk by faith, not by sight . . .[1] It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ. That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the »invisible« things of God as though they were clearly »perceptible in those things which have actually happened« (Rom. 1:20; cf. 1 Cor 1:21-25), he deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross. A theology of glory calls evil good and good…

I think a lot of people involved in theological academics are driven by a competitiveness equal to professional athletes. There is this desire to over-excel in such a way that they out produce, or equally produce, by way of quantity and quality, with reference to their academic publishing (and other accolades). A constant need to prove to themselves, and others, that they are at the top of the game, and have achieved where most others have failed (or not even aspired to). The irony of this type of drivenness is that it is antithetical to a theology of the cross….

I have been made an Assistant Professor of Theology at Martin Luther School of Bible and Theology. I want to thank, in particular, Dr. Enrique Ramos and Dr. Fred Macharia for thinking of me this way, and giving me this opportunity to minister to and serve the church of Jesus Christ in this way. I am honored. And if you are looking for a place to study theology and the Bible in deep and ministerial ways, then do consider applying to MLSBT. The MLSBT website I am linking to is new and under construction (as far as the academics page)….