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Theologians

continuing the conversation with Robert Bowman – different selves, same being?

Thanks to Robert Bowman for his reply to my off-target criticisms. I thought I understood what he was doing, following in the steps of many a theologian, but evidently I was mistaken in my inferring that he holds to a one-self Trinity. In this post, I make a clarification, then ask two questions. He says that in trinitarian doctrine, the term [“person”] was and is… Read More »continuing the conversation with Robert Bowman – different selves, same being?

a reply to Robert Bowman on biblical monotheism, the Trinity, and the Shema

Thanks to Rob Bowman for his thoughtful reply to my previous post regarding the Shema and his argument with Sir Anthony Buzzard. While I sided with Mr. Bowman regarding the meaning of the Shema (as saying that YHWH is unique – who which only presupposes, but doesn’t assert that he is a god), I think Buzzard is correct that ancient Jews thought that YHWH was… Read More »a reply to Robert Bowman on biblical monotheism, the Trinity, and the Shema

podcast 43 – Dr. Stephen R. Holmes on God and humankind

0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:34:28 podcast 43 – Dr. Stephen R. Holmes on God and humankind Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify Is God a self – a being capable of consciousness, knowledge, and choice, like us, but infinitely greater? Or is God a community, or a something-we-know-not-what? Dr. Holmes’s language in his book  The Quest… Read More »podcast 43 – Dr. Stephen R. Holmes on God and humankind

Dr. Stephen R. Holmes's The Quest for the Trinity

podcast 42 – Dr. Stephen R. Holmes on his The Quest for the Trinity

0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:31:56 podcast 42 – Dr. Stephen R. Holmes on his The Quest for the Trinity Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify In this episode I talk with Dr. Stephen R. Holmes about his 2012 book The Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and Modernity (UK title: The Holy… Read More »podcast 42 – Dr. Stephen R. Holmes on his The Quest for the Trinity

Bring it on: How ___ became ___

One of the most interesting theological/ christological/biblical arguments is about to begin. Bart Ehrman’s book How Jesus Became God, released today, aims to explain what he views as a great misunderstanding. Also released today: an evangelical response by five professors: How God Became Jesus. Bring it on! Thanks to HarperOne and to Zondervan for these advance copies. Be on the lookout for content here on… Read More »Bring it on: How ___ became ___

James McGrath on the Gospel of John and Christology

An interview by Dustin of The DustinMartyr Blog – it’s McInteresting! …the early Christian apologists, such as Justin Martyr, were not arguing about monotheism with their Jewish contemporaries. They were arguing over whether Jesus was the Messiah, and whether certain things can be said about this man who was crucified, and things like that. But we don’t find monotheism as the topic. For me, the… Read More »James McGrath on the Gospel of John and Christology

podcast 27 – Interview with Dr. William Hasker about his Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God – Part 1

0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:25:44 podcast 27 – Interview with Dr. William Hasker about his Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God – Part 1 Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify In the last thirty years or so, many Christian philosophers have become “social” trinitarians. Not only do they “use the social analogy” for the Trinity –… Read More »podcast 27 – Interview with Dr. William Hasker about his Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God – Part 1

Boyd on Incarnation

Pastor-theologian Greg Boyd has been theologizing about the Incarnation recently. He tips his hand right at the start – he’s going kenoticist. Boyd’s reasoning, I think, can be illustrated like this. Consider this inconsistent triad: A fully divine being is essentially omniscient. A human being is not essentially omniscient. A fully divine being can be a human being. Why believe 1? Perfect being theology, and… Read More »Boyd on Incarnation

against despising analytic theologians

I recently read this somewhat disturbing post by our friend Fr. Aiden Kimel. Though he lightens things up with humor a couple of times, it is a pretty thorough condemnation of analytic theologians. A charge he makes by implication against analytic theologians (i.e. those trained in analytic philosophy who work on topics in Christian theology) is that like the “Arians” of old, we suffer from… Read More »against despising analytic theologians

podcast 23 – report from the second annual Los Angeles Theology Conference

0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:27:26 podcast 23 – report from the second annual Los Angeles Theology Conference Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify From left to right: Oliver Crisp’s Beard, Oliver Crisp, Thomas McCall, Fred Sanders, Karen Kilby, Lewis Ayres, and Stephen Holmes. In this episode I share my reflections on this conference, and specifically… Read More »podcast 23 – report from the second annual Los Angeles Theology Conference

Islam-Inspired Modalism – Part 3

Dr. Timothy George is the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School and a very active evangelical author and editor. I was curious to see if his Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad? also exhibited Islam-Inspired modalism. This is a lucidly written, brief, popular book, which would be a good place for many Christians to pick up a lot of basic information about… Read More »Islam-Inspired Modalism – Part 3

why I’m not a Thomist 1 – the Christian tradition that God is a Being

Our friend Dr. Ed Feser has got himself worked up into full drunken polemicist mode. I earn ridicule and ire normally reserved for Dawkins types. Evidently I touched a nerve by pointing out that most (analytic) philosophers now – reflecting a fairly wide consensus since early modern times – think of God as the greatest being there is or could be, and not as “Being… Read More »why I’m not a Thomist 1 – the Christian tradition that God is a Being

Boyd: a broken Trinity?

Pastor Greg Boyd, on the theme of Jesus being forsaken by the Father (and Spirit?) on the cross: If God’s eternal essence is the perfect love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as I believe, then any suggestion that this perfect love was severed, even for a moment, would, by definition, entail that God ceased to exist.  Such a conclusion is, to my way… Read More »Boyd: a broken Trinity?

podcast 16 – How is Jesus “the one Lord”?

0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:30:28 podcast 16 – How is Jesus “the one Lord”? Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify Paul calls Jesus “the one Lord.” What does this mean? In episode 15, we saw why we can’t take Paul to mean that Jesus is Yahweh himself. In this episode, we see what, according to… Read More »podcast 16 – How is Jesus “the one Lord”?

Roger Olson asks: How important is the doctrine of the Trinity?

Theologian Roger Olson asks, How important is the doctrine of the Trinity? He seems to hold, with many others, that …the doctrine of the Trinity is crucial, essential, indispensable to a robust and healthy Christian view of God. But, The problem is, of course, that many, perhaps most, Christians have little or no understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. And they couldn’t care less. Indeed.… Read More »Roger Olson asks: How important is the doctrine of the Trinity?

podcast 15 – Are Paul’s “one God” and “one Lord” one and the same?

0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:22:02 podcast 15 – Are Paul’s “one God” and “one Lord” one and the same? Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul says, …yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ,… Read More »podcast 15 – Are Paul’s “one God” and “one Lord” one and the same?

7 Weird Theologians

Daniel Calder surveys the Top 7 weirdest Christian theologians. Of these, how many are atheists? Consider, for example, John Scotus Eriugena (c.800 – c.877). The author gives an encyclopedia quote which rings true to me. In general, the system of thought just outlined is a combination of neo-Platonic mysticism, emanationism, and pantheism which Eriugena strove in vain to reconcile with Aristotelean empiricism, Christian creationism, and theism.… Read More »7 Weird Theologians

podcast 14 – One God, One Lord, Two Interpretations

0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:12:50 podcast 14 – One God, One Lord, Two Interpretations Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify The apostle Paul famously says, …for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through… Read More »podcast 14 – One God, One Lord, Two Interpretations

Atheistic belief in “God”

Not “inconceivable” – but rather, “God.” Check out this interesting post, The Dread God Roberts, at our friend Dr. James McGrath’s blog Exploring Our Matrix. (Which amazingly, just had its 10th birthday. He was blogging way before it was cool.)  Dr. McGrath describes himself as a Progressive Christian. I commented over there, and he’s replied. The part of his post that got me going was this. Tillich’s… Read More »Atheistic belief in “God”