Theology

This upcoming semester, I’ll be taking a seminar on the Doctrine of Creation from my supervisor Marc Cortez. I’ll also be doing my “pedagogical experience” in a Christian Theology course—also with Marc Cortez. Anyways, in case you’re interested, I thought I’d share what I’ll be reading for each course. Have you read any of these works? If so, what did you think? What will you be reading this semester? Doctrine of Creation Colin Gunton, The Triune Creator: A Historical and Systematic Study. (paid link) Elizabeth A. Johnson, Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love. (paid link) Catherine Keller, The Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming. (paid link) Ian A. McFarland, From Nothing: A Theology of Creation. (paid link) Jürgen Moltmann, God in Creation. (paid link) Arthur Peacocke, All That Is: A Naturalistic Faith for the Twenty-First Century. (paid link) Norman Wirzba, From Nature to Creation: A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World. (paid link) Christian Theology Beth Felker Jones, Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically. (paid link) Tom McCall, Forsaken: The Trinity, the Cross, and Why It Matters. (paid link) Timothy C. Tennent (ed.), Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology. (paid link) Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin. (paid link) Note: some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, if you click on the link and make a purchase, then, at no extra cost to you, I receive a small commission. I only ever recommend resources that I know will benefit my readers! If you’re interested in these resources, buying them through the affiliate links is a way that you can support my work!

While reading Beth Felker Jones’ Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically (paid link), I came across the following list of extremely helpful questions to ask while reading theology (on page 29). What are the key Christian teachings being articulated? What is the author’s driving concern or main theme? What counts for the author as authoritative (Scripture, tradition, reason, experience…)? Is the author’s theological method implicit or explicit? How does the author deal with the witness of Scripture? a. Implicitly? Explicitly? b. Does the witness of the Old Testament matter? The New? c. What biblical themes are privileged? d. What interpretive principles are at work? How do these claims relate to other doctrines? How does context (including gender, race, class, culture, and time) shape the theological voice? Is the theologian conscious of this? How does your context shape your evaluation of the piece? Practice reading charitably. What is the best possible interpretation of how the piece reflects an attempt to be faithful to Jesus Christ? How do these theological claims relate to the life of faith? Doe you bring other questions from your experience? If this theological proposal were taken seriously, how would it shape Christian practice? Would it affect our participation in spiritual disciplines? Our understanding of faithful living? Our practice of evangelism? Our life as the church? Add this to my 1 simple trick to read faster, 4 questions to ask while reading a book, and 3 questions to ask while reading the Bible. ...

Kevin J. Vanhoozer, affectionately known by some as “KJV,” has written one of the best, briefest overviews of what theologians (should) do. The entire piece is filled with gems like the following: To become a theologian, you must be willing to bear true witness and call out false witnesses, casting down idols and ideologies. That’s the shadow side of theology, but the best part is speaking light and truth in astonished indications of God’s goodness. I love John Webster’s definition of theology: “that delightful activity in which the Church praises God by ordering its thinking towards the gospel of Christ.” Being a theologian means getting to have not necessarily the last word, but the word about last things, “the end for which God created the world” (to cite the title of a dissertation by Jonathan Edwards). It’s not only a good word but the best of all possible words, namely, that God glorifies humans and all creation, magnifying his own glory and subjecting all things to the Lordship of Christ, so that “God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). It’s the privilege of the theologian to bear witness to the length, depth, breadth, and width of the cross and Resurrection. Karl Barth is right: “The theologian who has no joy in his work is not a theologian at all.” ...

Based upon my work over at Rookie Anglican, I was asked by The Telos Collective to write a blog post about the different ways that people are coming into Anglicanism. What’s drawing them in? You can read my full post over at the Telos Collective blog, but here’s a taste: Anglican Christianity, precisely because of its weirdness, can remind us that, in the words of Brad Harper and Paul Louis Metzger in Exploring Ecclesiology, “The church is a cultural community. It is Christ’s eschatological kingdom community, itself a culture that engages other cultures from Christ’s kingdom vantage point” (p. 207). ...

Previously, I catalogued a bunch of different takes on Jordan Peterson, before giving my own take. Since that post, two other pieces about Jordan Peterson have been written that I’d like to share. “Jordan Peterson, Custodian of the Patriarchy,” by Nellie Bowles (New York Times) Nellie Bowles writes Mr. Peterson, 55, a University of Toronto psychology professor turned YouTube philosopher turned mystical father figure, has emerged as an influential thought leader. The messages he delivers range from hoary self-help empowerment talk (clean your room, stand up straight) to the more retrograde and political (a society run as a patriarchy makes sense and stems mostly from men’s competence; the notion of white privilege is a farce). He is the stately looking, pedigreed voice for a group of culture warriors who are working diligently to undermine mainstream and liberal efforts to promote equality. ...

UPDATE: Read my post, “Two More Pieces about Jordan Peterson.” If I remember correctly, I first heard of and listened to Jordan Peterson on an episode of The Art of Manliness podcast. (Or perhaps it was this episode.) However, I could be mistaken, because Peterson’s been popping up in conversation all over the place in my circles. Blog posts, podcast episodes, conversations with friends – Peterson has been popping up everywhere, so it seems. ...

I was recently privileged to see one of my favorite bands, The Oh Hellos, in concert at the House of Blues in downtown Chicago. I love all of The Oh Hellos’ music, but one song, in particular, has remained poignant to me ever since I first heard it. The song is called “The Truth is a Cave,” and I think it provides a beautiful picture of what I’m calling “the theological journey” – the stages one goes through in one’s knowledge of God. ...

Personal Productivity in Psalm 127 I love Psalm 127. Not because it makes me feel great, necessarily, but because it hits me like a ton of bricks whenever I read it (like I did last night, during evening prayer). Here’s how the Psalm opens: Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. I don’t know about you, but it’s easy for me to think that my success or lack thereof completely depends on me and the intensity of my efforts. ...

This idea has been bouncing around in my head for a bit. It’s not fully-formed by any means, but I’d like to get it out there and hear what you think of it. Here it is: “Mental Models” could be a helpful model for theology. What is a “mental model”? Definition of mental models Put simply, a “mental model” is a concept used to help explain how the world works. ...

I want to share with you the following prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas Before Study, based on Oratio S. Thomae Aquinatis ante studium, which Thomas Aquinas would pray before studying, writing, or preaching. We prayed it responsively before class (Patristic and Medieval History and Doctrine) with Dr. Piotr Malysz at Beeson Divinity School, and I’ve since turned back to this prayer often! A Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas Before Study O God, Creator of all that is, From the treasures of Your wisdom, You have arrayed the universe with marvelous order, And now govern with skill and might. You are the true fount of light and wisdom. ...

The Problem: Studying the Bible can Quickly Feel Overwhelming Right? Even with helpful books out there like How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (paid link) (that’s an affiliate link, by the way, meaning that I get a small commission at no cost to you if you end up buying the book), there are still so many potential questions to ask of any biblical text when we study it. ...

OK, OK. I get it. Claiming that every Christian should read these 5 books is a bold claim. But, honestly, I think that these reading recommendations stand up to the scrutiny. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with just the top 5 books that a busy Christian should read if she wants to learn the essentials about: Productivity and Time Management Bible Study Theology And, I think I’ve arrived at a pretty good shortlist if I do say so myself. If you read and understand these 5 books, you’ll be well on your way. ...

INTRODUCTION Theological hermeneutics – human understanding and interpretation in light of the identity and acts of the triune God – faces two problematic questions that, I believe, every biblical and/or theological scholar must be prepared to address. First, should the Bible be read in some special sense as divine revelation, or should we read the Bible like any other text? And second, should biblical and theological studies be one discipline, or two? ...

The following is an “It is Finished” sermon preached on Ascension Sunday, 2017. You can listen to the sermon here: Your browser does not support the audio element. GOODBYES SUCK You know, if there’s one thing I hate, it’s goodbyes. Anyone else here hate goodbyes? Yeah, and the fact that I hate them so much means I’m not really very good at goodbyes. Sometimes I get awkward and silent. Sometimes I get awkward and really chatty! Heck, sometimes I get awkward and I make poor choices, like the one time when I was getting ready to say goodbye to my family when they dropped me off at college. ...

Your browser does not support the audio element. There is something special about last meals, isn’t there? I’d like to show you a series of photographs. These photographs, except for the last one – which I added, are from a piece called “No Seconds,” and they were put together by Henry Hargreaves. I don’t want to belabor the artwork with my commentary, so I’ll give you a few seconds to take each slide in. ...