HOW did the death of Jesus work? How did it secure anything? Was it a price being paid? If so, who owed whom what? Was the Devil holding a deed that had to be paid? Or, is there something else altogether different that explains the “How” and “Why” of the death of Christ? These …
Category Archives: Theology
Annotated Bibliography for Genesis and the Eden Narrative
This bibliography is preparatory for a formal treatment of the theme, God on Trial (of which, see my earlier articles). I want to know, How does that theme play out in Genesis? Especially in the Garden of God? And, who has written on Genesis from this perspective? To that end, I must survey ancient and …
Pilate asked Jesus, “What is Truth?”
Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” and Jesus gave no reply… Pilate was looking at the answer and could not see; that’s why he asked. A word did not need to be spoken, for the Word was in flesh, standing in front of him. The answer was incarnated and positioned before his very eyes. Jesus …
We can love loving God more than we actually love God
Here is an irony: We can love arguing for God while neglecting a love of God. We can love thinking about God more than loving God himself. We can love the emotion of worship at the cost of loving God. We can love perfected theology more than we care for the Creator. We can love …
Suffering Exists Because Worship Doesn’t
Suffering exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not suffering, because God is ultimate, not our pain. When this present evil age is over, and the resurrected in Christ inherit the restored creation, their suffering will end. But worship abides forever. John Piper, in his book, Let the Nations be Glad, says the same thing …
God is News to Satan
In Genesis 3, the news of who God is and what God is like was experienced first-hand by Satan. The news also came to Adam and Eve. Indeed, all of Genesis is the revelation of God to His creatures. For us readers, and for those who directly experienced His activities — Satan included — the …
Protected: God on Trial
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Theologian of the Cross
For the Louisburg Herald, June 23rd, 2010. In his 1518 Heidelberg Disputation, Martin Luther classified two ways of looking at the world and God. Positively, a person is a Theologian of the Cross, or negatively, a Theologian of Glory. These are two rival theologies, and every person is one or the other according to how …
Richard Gaffin on the Resurrection
Why was Jesus raised from the dead? What does it mean? What does it have to do with redemption? What is its relationship to the doctrine of Justification? I ask, because Romans 4:25 puzzled me when I first read it. I remember reading it back in 1997. I remember it like yesterday. I was stunned. …
Review of The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity
Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. 306 pp. $14.95. Jenkins seems to disparage his friend’s view of “Christian” as referring to one who has been converted to Christ. Jenkins dismisses this as a “North American” type of Christianity (p. 100) despite the fact …