the evolution of my views on the Trinity – part 7
Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy – its effect on my thinking.
the evolution of my views on the Trinity – part 6
Last time, c. 1998-2001, I was a social trinitarian along the lines of Richard Swinburne. While I was on the job market in 1999-2000, my former professor Stephen T. Davis was kind enough to invite me and a friend to attend the Incarnation summit, a follow up to the earlier interdisciplinary Trinity Summit. This was a great privilege, and I pretty much just observed. But… Read More »the evolution of my views on the Trinity – part 6
Is “Supports” Intelligible?
Building on the substance dualist view that our own individual substance/soul supports one mind (i.e., person), Williams, Craig, and Hasker propose models of the Trinity according to which a single trope of divinity—a divine substance/soul—supports three minds (i.e., persons) in like manner. Craig relies on this claim to flesh out how three persons can be said to compose one being, and Hasker relies on the… Read More »Is “Supports” Intelligible?
podcast 77 – Mr. Chad McIntosh on the Trinity
In this episode we meet new trinities contributor Mr. Chad McIntosh, a PhD student in Philosophy at Cornell University. We discuss his interest in the Trinity, the Trinity as a “holy mystery,” the concept person, why thinking about this issue is important, William Lane Craig’s Cerberus analogy, and whether the Trinity is found in the Bible or only in later tradition
reader question on the Trinity and numerical sameness
A podcast listener recently emailed me to ask (emphases added): I won’t hide that I’m a happy Trinitarian and yet that I’m thoroughly enjoying your podcast since it provokes my theology and forces me to actually think about why I believe what I believe. This is a healthy check I think. I am puzzled though about why the numerical issue is so important. If Jesus… Read More »reader question on the Trinity and numerical sameness
the evolution of my views on the Trinity – part 5
Thinking about Trinity in grad school, reading Richard Swinburne’s The Christian God.
the evolution of my views on the Trinity – part 4
Just starting to think about the Trinity, as a Masters student.
Philip Jenkins on Philo’s theology
At The Anxious Bench, eminent historian Dr. Philip Jenkins has a nice basic summary of Philo’s merging of Platonic theology with that of the Hebrew Bible. This summary fits nicely with the one I quoted towards the end of episode 76 of the trinities podcast. Dr. Jenkins says, in part: Having excluded God from the world, though, Philo used a Stoic concept to bring him… Read More »Philip Jenkins on Philo’s theology
podcast 76 – Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho – Part 3
How does Justin argue from Genesis that even when the world was created, there were two Lords?
the evolution of my views on the Trinity – part 1
In this series I’m going to get a bit more personal.
Want to sue yourself? Theology can help!
This unfortunate woman crashed her vehicle, injuring herself and fatally injuring her husband. But what’s interesting is what’s happening now: she’s going to sue herself, to get money from her own insurance company. A Utah woman will be the plaintiff and the defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit that has legal experts scratching their heads. … a Utah court has ruled Bagley, the representative of her… Read More »Want to sue yourself? Theology can help!
Barclay reviews Paul and the Faithfulness of God
Because you’re too busy to read the book, here is Dr. John M.G. Barclay review of Dr. N.T. Wright’s enormous Paul and the Faithfulness of God (kindle) in the Scottish Journal of Theology. (H/T Dr. Denny Burke.) Below are some choice bits (emphases added). You’ll have to read the whole thing to learn why there’s a Russian doll here. …the narrative of the Messiah Jesus, who takes on… Read More »Barclay reviews Paul and the Faithfulness of God
podcast 75 – Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho – Part 2
When it came to christology, what did Justin Martyr consider essential, as in, you’re not a Christian unless you believe it? The answers may surprise you. In this episode we explore the christology of Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho.
Lactantius on why God made us
“…what purpose God made man himself. As He contrived the world for the sake of man, so He formed man himself on His own account, as it were a priest of a divine temple, a spectator of His works and of heavenly objects. For he is the only being who, since he is intelligent and capable of reason, is able to understand God, to admire… Read More »Lactantius on why God made us
podcast 74 – Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho – Part 1
Has anyone ever seen God himself? The Bible seems to both affirm and deny this. In Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, Justin claims that the “God” seen in any Old Testament theophany was not the one God, the Creator (i.e. the Father)…
Craig on the historicity of the Adam and Eve story
Another interesting and intelligent podcast by Dr. William Lane Craig. Is the so-called “mitochondrial Eve” a problem? How about “chromosomal Adam“? He and his co-host Kevin Harris comment on a recent article by the always charming Jerry Coyne. To my knowledge, this is the only episode of the Reasonable Faith podcast in which the word “Jeebus” is discussed.
Marcus Borg’s atheism
At Christianity Today, some Christian scholars fondly remember the recently deceased Dr. Marcus Borg, liberal Bible scholar. Dr. Ben Witherington praises him as a “Christian churchman.” I guess I have no objection to that description, so long as we supplement it with this observation: Dr. Borg was a longtime atheist, who had moved from monotheism to agnosticism to atheism, like so many. It’s just that… Read More »Marcus Borg’s atheism
podcast 73 – Is Proverbs 8 about Jesus? Part 3
What did the famous Justin Martyr teach about Proverbs 8, and why?