One sentence spoken by Jesus had always perplexed me: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14).
I always thought to myself, "What sort of person would demand that their friends obey them in order to be considered their friends? Who would say they …
For my PhD dissertation, I am studying the American pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards, who lived in the 1700s.
To me, one of his most interesting writings is titled "Concerning The End for Which God Created the World," sometimes shortened to "End of Creation". It was one of the last …
For one assignment in a Christology course I took as part of my PhD, I wrote a review of Oliver D. Crisp's book The Word Enfleshed: Exploring the Person and Work of Christ (2016).
While this book is quite philosophical and not meant for beginners in theology, there were a …
One of my highly recommended books is Does God Love Everyone? The Heart of What is Wrong with Calvinism by Jerry L. Walls.
Walls has a very good introduction to the debate between Calvinists and Arminians, and good insight into what he thinks the debate is ultimately about.
I do …
I've called my blog Continually Sharpening, based on Proverbs 27:17, NIV: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."
I hope that as I study and teach, I will have my theological views continually sharpened and refined, so that they become more and more Biblical and in alignment …
While I'm not really a history expert, I was called on to TA a course last winter on the history of early Christianity. As part of this, I gave a lecture on early Christian heresies about Jesus, and why they were problematic.
If you're not familiar with the term:
Heresy …
In my previous post, I had discussed a form of theology I like to call Treadmill Theology.
This theology insists that continual obedience in doing good works and sanctification (growth in holiness) is mandatory in order to be finally justified (qualified for eternal life).
The problem is that it effectively …
It's probably safe to say that no one really likes to be on a treadmill. Even if it's good for our health and gives some people a rush of endorphins, is there anyone who wouldn't rather, if they had a choice, get off the treadmill and take a break?
But …
Some Christians and even pastors shy away from the difficult topics in theology such as evil, suffering, reprobation, and hell. They say we shouldn't think about such awful things, and should focus on the positive parts of Christianity.
However, I am drawn to the challenge of these areas, all of …
There is a concerning trend today in academia and public discourse.
It is the claim that not all views are worthy of being heard or discussed seriously. The idea is that certain ideas are beyond question or debate, and that there are settled truths which must be accepted by everyone …