Theology

I’m scheduled to give a paper on Karl Barth’s reading of Romans 9:30–10:21 in Der Römerbrief at the 2019 Barth Graduate Student Colloquium at Princeton in August. Now, of course, it’s a pleasure and a privilege to give a paper at the colloquium. However, in hindsight, I don’t know why I thought giving a paper on chapter 10 of Barth’s Römerbrief was a good idea! Granted, I don’t have to solve all of the exegetical issues (of which there are many) in Romans 9:30–10:21. I just have to make some sense of what Barth thought about the passage. ...

John Webster’s Idea Like so many others, I desperately wish that John Webster were still alive. After all, my dissertation topic owes much to his essay: “Reading the Bible: The Example of Barth and Bonhoeffer.” The essay (previously published as ‘“In the Shadow of Biblical Work:” Barth and Bonhoeffer on Reading the Bible,’and then published in Word and Church: Essays in Christian Dogmatics (paid link)) begins: Two things at least are clear about the relationship of Barth and Bonhoeffer: that disentangling the history of their relation is of considerable importance for making sense of Bonhoeffer, if not of Barth; and that the disentangling is a rather delicate operation which involves some discriminating interpretation of the writings of two complex theologians. Much, for example, hangs on what we are to make of Bonhoeffer’s scattered remarks on Barth, revelation and non-religious interpretation in the prison writings, and of Barth’s puzzled response to them (87). ...

Sermon preached on Saturday, June 1, 2019 at Church of the Savior in Wheaton, IL. Scripture: John 17:20-26. ℹ️ Note This is an automated transcript of the sermon audio, lightly edited for readability. The original recording is available from Church of the Savior. Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. There are just some passages of the Bible that you can’t get away from. Sometimes it’s because a passage is particularly inspiring, encouraging, or comforting. Think Psalm 23. Other times, though, it’s because the passage really bugs you. And I’ll confess that tonight’s gospel lesson really bugs me. And I hope that by the end of the sermon, it really bugs you too. ...

(Here’s a PDF of this paper: STEELE_When Will Thy Kingdom Come.) Introduction: “Thy Kingdom [Has/Will] Come”? Just how eschatological is the Lord’s Prayer (=LP; Matt. 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4), particularly in light of its second petition, “Your kingdom come” (ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου, Matt. 6:10a; Luke 11:2d)? In other words, when will God’s kingdom come? Has it already arrived (not eschatological)? Is it in the process of arriving? Or will it arrive at some point in the future (eschatological)? Furthermore, who brings the kingdom about? Humans? God? Or some combination of the two? Settling the question of eschatology involves both the timing and the agency, the when and the who, of the kingdom. ...

Jesus Christ has gone into the far country in our stead, to bring us home to God!

It just happened again. I had to consult “BDAG,” A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (3rd ed.). I don’t own a copy, so every time I have to consult BDAG I think “I really should buy this.” But for the past decade or so, primarily because of BDAG’s cost ($150 on Logos, $130 used on Amazon, $165 new on Amazon) I’ve held off. Nevertheless, I’m seeking to build my “must-have” personal reference library to sustain a ministry as a pastor theologian. So, I think I need to buy BDAG sometime soon. While I’m at it, I might as well get HALOT, the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament… Logos sells them as a bundle. ...

I’ve always wanted to learn more about Andrei Rublev’s famous icon of the Trinity. If you’re also curious, check out this video.

Just came across this article in New Blackfriars, and it looks helpful, especially in the context of Anglican debates about women’s ordination. Title: “The Four Types of Priesthood in the New Testament: On Avoiding Confusions about What ‘Priesthood’ Means” Author: Geoffrey Turner Abstract: Christian discourse tends to treat the concept of ‘priesthood’ univocally, so that ordained priests are seen to share the priesthood of Christ. But a careful reading of Hebrews shows clearly that the priesthood of Christ is unique to him. There are four (even five) types of priest in the New Testament and each of them is distinct and not to be confused. ...

I became an “egalitarian” in college, before I became an Anglican in seminary. It’s taken some time for me to get used to the different contours of the women’s ordination debate within Anglicanism. Growing up, the debate was all about particular Bible verses and whether or not women could teach and preach. However, in Anglicanism, although those same questions/arguments are present, I hear much more about whether or not women can administer the sacraments as priests. ...

This is the question we’re considering this week in our doctoral seminar on biblical and theological integration. Two of us are theologians and the other four are bible scholars. Should be interesting! (Note: we’ll have to save the difference(s) between systematic, historical, and dogmatic theology for another post!) Here are the articles we were assigned to read for this week: D.A. Carson, “Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology” in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, pp. 89-104. D.A. Carson, “Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: The Possibility of Systematic Theology” in Scripture and Truth, D. A. Carson and J. D. Woodbridge, eds. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983), pp. 65-95. G. Hasel, “The Relationship between Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology” Trinity Journal 5 (1984): 113-27; I.H. Marshall, “Climbing Ropes, Ellipses and Symphonies: The Relation between Biblical and Systematic Theology” in A Pathway into the Holy Scripture, P.E. Satterthwaite and D.F. Wright, eds. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 199–219. E.A. Martens, “Moving from Scripture to Doctrine” Bulletin for Biblical Research 15.1 (2005): 77-103. Kevin Vanhoozer, “Interpreting Scripture between the Rock of Biblical Studies and the Hard Place of Systematic Theology: The State of the Evangelical (Dis)union” in Richard Lints, ed., Renewing the Evangelical Mission (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 201-25. Other than that, for the rest of the semester, we’re reading at least selections from the following works. The goal is to learn from examples of biblical and theological integration. ...

There’s an intriguing passage in Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison where he discusses the relationship between “spirit” and “flesh,” in the context of discussing “restoration” and “sublimation,” in the context of discussing lyrics from certain hymns and songs that were meaningful to him in prison. Here it is, from a December 19, 1943 (the Fourth Sunday of Advent) letter to Eberhard Bethge: In recent weeks this line has been running through my head over and over: “Calm your hearts, dear friends; / whatever plagues you, / whatever fails you, / I will restore it all.” What does that mean, “I will restore it all”? Nothing is lost; in Christ all things are taken up, preserved, albeit in transfigured form, transparent, clear, liberated from the torment of self-serving demands. Christ brings all this back, indeed, as God intended, without being distorted by sin. The doctrine originating in Eph. 1:10 of the restoration of all things, ἀνακεφαλαίωσις—re-capitulatio (Irenaeus), is a magnificent and consummately consoling thought. (DBWE 8:229–30) ...

To start off the semester the other day, we prayed this prayer of confession together as a class. The professor didn’t remember where the prayer was from, so I tracked it down online. According to Justin Taylor, it was written by Bob Kauflin. Holy and righteous God, we confess that like Isaiah, we are a people of unclean lips. But it is not only unclean lips we possess. We are people with unclean hands and unclean hearts. We have broken your law times without number, and are guilty of pride, unbelief, self-centeredness and idolatry. Affect our hearts with the severity of our sin and the glory of your righteousness as we now acknowledge our sins in your holy presence. ...

As a part of my “pedagogical experience” at Wheaton College this semester, I was required to draft a syllabus for an introduction to Christian theology. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. Note: the length of this syllabus doesn’t necessarily correspond to the difficulty of this course Contact Information Email: [REDACTED] Phone: [REDACTED] Office Hours (Buswell Library Carrell): T, W, R, 15:00–17:00. Course Description This course is an introduction to the methods of systematic theology and the major topics within biblical revelation. Special attention is given to the rationale for these Christian doctrines, their systematic interconnections as well as their development within the history of Christian thought, and their contemporary challenges. This class is your opportunity to reinforce why you believe what you believe and to examine how it impacts your life. ...

(Sermon preached at Church of the Savior in Wheaton, IL.) I’d like to pray this week’s collect again: Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. ...