Thanks for taking time to visit my blog, Continually Sharpening. This name comes from Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (NIV).

As an evangelical protestant theologian, my goal is that as I study, teach, and write, I will have my theological views continually sharpened and refined. I don't claim to have everything figured out perfectly, and I never will in this life, but I hope that my views will be progressively sharpened and become more and more Biblical and in alignment with the truth.

And hopefully along the way, I can help sharpen others' ideas about Christian theology as well (yet in a way which is gentle, humble, and not at all sharp). I care very much about teaching people to think for themselves, to examine their beliefs critically, and to not just believe something because someone said it, but to think through claims and weigh them carefully in light of Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. I also encourage everyone to believe in Jesus as their personal savior who offers everyone the free gift of eternal life.

This blog is where I post interesting insights which are relevant to my areas of theological interest, or that I have found personally helpful in my spiritual development, with the aim of further helping me refine my views, and to help others be theologically sharpened by reflecting on these ideas also.

If you would like to contact me, you can email me at:

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For those who are interested in a short biographical sketch, here's the main points about me that you'll find are relevant.

Academic Details

Let's begin with my academic details:

• I graduated May 9, 2022 from the conjoint PhD program in Theological Studies at the University of Toronto and Wycliffe College, located in Toronto, Canada. However, my views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of any organization I am or have been affiliated with.
• I hope to eventually teach Christian theology in a seminary or university, write some books, and do whatever else God calls me to do along the way.
• For my PhD dissertation I studied the 18th century American preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards and his views of predestination. I attempted to discover why he held to the typical Calvinistic views on predestination (e.g. that God eternally predestines people to heaven and hell before any consideration or foreknowledge of their personal choices) when I believe it is fundamentally inconsistent with other major areas of Edwards' theology and philosophical worldview. You can download a free .pdf of my dissertation titled "An Examination of Jonathan Edwards’ Theological Method Concerning the Problem of Reprobation" by clicking here.
• My broader areas of theological interest include theodicy, theories of providence and predestination, eschatology, biblical inspiration, theological methodology, Bible prophecy, creationism, and Christian apologetics. Of course, this naturally includes biblical interpretation because interpreting Scripture accurately is necessary to make true theological claims related to the above topics.
• My first theological degree was a Master of Theological Studies from Tyndale University College and Seminary, located in Toronto, Canada. My thesis was titled "An Analysis of Clark Pinnock's Open Theism as a Potential Solution to Theodicy," completed in August 2015. You can download a free .pdf of this here.
• Before studying theology, I achieved a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. I worked in the aircraft simulation industry for five years before feeling the call to switch careers into theology.
• If you're interested in my professional academic achievements, here is a downloadable .pdf of my teaching philosophy and my current CV.

Theological Background

Since it's always helpful to know the influences on a person's Christian beliefs when considering what they say, here's some details about my theological background:

• I grew up in Calgary, Alberta, where my parents felt the conviction to raise me in Christianity from birth, for which I am truly thankful and blessed. I was baptized by immersion as a teenager in the Vineyard church that we attended at the time.
• I have attended churches in a variety of denominations over the years, including Nazarene, Vineyard, Mennonite, Wesleyan, Associated Gospel Churches of Canada, and currently, Baptist (Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec). I am not overly committed to one particular denomination, although I do find Baptist to be a good fit for me right now.
• I am a broadly evangelical protestant Christian, and currently I would label myself as part of the "Free Grace" movement.
• I hold to Biblical inerrancy as defined by the Chicago Statement on Inerrancy. When doing theology I always strive to put Scripture first, above reason, experience, and tradition, although I recognize these others always inevitably play a role in theology, as no one can interpret Scripture independently of these things. If there is a conflict between what God has revealed to us in Scripture and what philosophy, science, or history claim, then I will always side with Scripture, and will wait for human knowledge to catch up to it.
• When it comes to questions of providence and predestination, I am at least in agreement with Arminianism as summarized by Roger E. Olson in his book Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities (2006), but I'm also very interested in open theism as proposed by Clark Pinnock, Gregory Boyd, and others.
• I hold to the first six Ecumenical Councils and the creeds they produced, such as the Nicene Creed, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Chalcedonian Definition of Faith.

Publications and Presentations

Here are some of my recent publications and presentations:

• My presentation at the 2019 Wesleyan Studies Symposium held at Tyndale University College & Seminary in Toronto, ON. Titled "Purgatory for Protestants: Jerry Walls and Gregory Boyd on Purgatory and Sanctification." You can download a free .pdf of it here.
• My presentation at the 2016 Wesleyan-Pentecostal Symposium held at Tyndale University College & Seminary in Toronto, ON. Titled "Comparing Arminianism and Open Theism on Theodicy: An example of How Experience Affects our Preferences for Theological Systems". You can download a free .pdf here or listen to the free audio recording here.
• Zeeb, Janelle. "Open Theism and the Problem of Theodicy." Churchman 130, no. 4 (Winter 2016): 299-317. See the Churchman Journal page here.