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?
podcast 72 – Is Proverbs 8 about Jesus? Part 2
Do our earliest surviving post-New-Testament writings interpret Proverbs 8 as being about the pre-human Jesus?
The Incarnation of God’s Logos (John 1:1-18)
In this guest post, our friend Mario Stratta expounds the prologue of the gospel according to John. – Dale I believe that the Prologue to John’s Gospel speaks about the Incarnation of God’s Word (Logos) in/as the “man called Jesus” (John 9:11). Where I disagree with the Trinitarians, Subordinationists and Arians, is that the Word had a personal subsistence (hypostasis), distinct from that of God,… Read More »The Incarnation of God’s Logos (John 1:1-18)
Nasmith on the theology and christology of Acts
At his blog Cognitive Resonance, Ben Nasmith has some observations about the theology and christology of Acts: …according to Acts, the God of Israel is the one who raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him. As such, Jesus is not the God of Israel. He didn’t raise and exalt himself. Rather, the God of Israel is the Father of Jesus. He is the God… Read More »Nasmith on the theology and christology of Acts
podcast 71 – Is Proverbs 8 about Jesus? Part 1
“The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.” Is this famous passage in Proverbs 8 about the pre-human Jesus?
what “pants” teaches us about “elohim” (“God”)
A RANTING guy on Facebook recently wrote to me, in part: The Hebrew word ELOHIM is PLURAL which is the real nature of DIVINITY. …The creator of the Heavens and the Earth in Genesis 1:1 is ELOHIM, a community of creativity! I replied that the word elohim is plural in structure, just like the English word “pants.”But elohim is often singular in meaning, just like “pants.” “These… Read More »what “pants” teaches us about “elohim” (“God”)