Theology

“Violence is not human destiny because the God of peace is the beginning and the end of human history… “Granted, pushing the stone of peace up the steep hill of violence … is hard. It is easier, however, than carrying one’s own cross in the footsteps of the crucified Messiah. This is what Jesus Christ asks Christians to do. Assured of God’s justice and undergirded by God’s presence, they are to break the cycle of violence by refusing to be caught in the automatism of revenge.” (Volf, E&E, 306) ...

Introduction: The Holy Trinity One God. Three persons. The Holy Trinity. The orthodox paradox of this Christian confession confounds many, due to its apparent contradictions, abstractions, and absence from Scripture. From Arius to Augustine and beyond, trinitarian debates have raged even among those who agree that God exists, that the Bible is true, and that it is therefore worthwhile to consider what the Bible says because it reveals the existent God. ...

(Here’s my paper on Psalm 2, submitted to Dr. M. Sydney Park in partial fulfillment of my Biblical Interpretation course here at Beeson Divinity School. Although I don’t consider this the best thing I’ve ever written, I’d love for you to check this piece out and let me know what you think, because no matter the limitations of the assignment, there’s always room for improvement. Plus, I didn’t have space to talk about all the issues whirring around in my head while writing this paper, and your constructive feedback might very well help me take my next intellectual steps. Click the title below for the .pdf version.) ...

A couple relevant excerpts (given recent posts) from “Violence and Peace,” the final chapter of Miroslav Volf’s Exclusion and Embrace (my emphasis added in bold; paragraph breaks added where noted): “God will judge, not because God gives people what they deserve, but because some people refuse to receive what no one deserves; if evildoers experience God’s terror, it will not be because they have done evil, but because they have resisted to the end the powerful lure of the open arms of the crucified Messiah. ...

The past week has been a great one for slipshod attacks on pacifism. First, from First Things (Stephen H. Webb) on October 15 —- “John Howard Yoder and the Violent Power of Pacifism” (emphasis added below): “Nevertheless, pacifists, at least the ones I know, can be very enthusiastic about the rightness of their cause. Since there is no rational justification for pacifism, defenders typically turn their rhetoric against their critics by casting them as stooges of the status quo. Since pacifists are against all forms of violence, anyone who disagrees with them must be in favor of violence. What this ploy misses is obvious. In a fallen world, not only is violence pervasive but it is also a toxin that, when legitimately used, can cure as well as kill. ...

INTRODUCTION: THE NATURE OF SCRIPTURE As the illocutionary act which testifies to the Son of God1 as the ultimate redemptive and revelatory locution of the the triune God, Scripture is used by the Spirit of God to accomplish the perlocutionary end of redemption of, in, and through the people of God.2 [Ahem, in order to understand my first paragraph, you must first be familiar with the basics of Speech Act Theory. If you’ve never heard of it before, click that link, and then come back here. It will be worth it, I promise!] ...

I highly encourage the following: 1. Read Scot McKnight’s The King Jesus Gospel. 2. Check out Tim Gombis’ insightful series of posts on The Gospel of the Kingdom, pt. 1, 2, and 3. Gombis hits the nail on the head here: Over the last several months, I’ve had several conversations about how the Gospels’ language about “the gospel” should shape how Christians conceive of the gospel. Whereas the New Testament mainly envisions a broader announcement of a larger reality, many evangelicals associate “the gospel” with a brief presentation, or information about the mechanics of an individual transaction that can secure divine forgiveness and the establishment of a personal relationship with God. ...

Update (April 2017): I’ve gone back to update/clean-up the formatting in this wonderful June 2013 guest post on the basics of inductive Bible study from my friend **Amy Elizabeth Chase Ashley,** one of the most gifted students of Scripture with whom I’ve been privileged to study. She blogs at . --- Jeremiah 29:11 When I accepted the invitation to speak at my parents’ church, I immediately started thinking about what message I would deliver. I decided to give a message on something that is very important to me after my four years at Cedarville and something I am very passionate about. I hope it will be engaging; I hope it will make you think; and I hope it will bring glory to God. If I can accomplish those three things, I will be satisfied. ...

Great news! The first ever guest post on this blog is coming soon from my good friend Amy Chase, an incoming student this Fall at Asbury Theological Seminary. Her post? A sermon titled “Jeremiah 29:11, Scripture: Handle with Care.” Stay tuned!

(TEXTS: Jonah 3:5-10; 4:1-11; Nahum 1:1-8) INTRODUCTION A great green theologian of old claimed that anger is based on fear, that it leads to hatred, and results in suffering. And while I do not wish to disregard the wisdom of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I would like to take a closer look at anger as discussed in Scripture, and to consider what makes certain instances of anger righteous or unrighteous, legitimate or illegitimate. ...

Deuteronomy 6:1-15 (NRSV) Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. ...

Without context, words can mean anything and everything, and therefore mean nothing. It is only through the delimiting influence of context that words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs have any meaning at all. Although this seems simple enough, it is often forgotten when interpreting the Bible. Due to influences as simple as our versification of the biblical text and as complex as the historical/theological developments which have dictated how we teach and interpret the Scriptures, many interpreters (wittingly or unwittingly) ignore context when trying to ascertain the meaning of particular biblical texts. ...

(NOTE: I wrote this essay for my Senior Seminar/Capstone at Cedarville University. You can download the original undergraduate thesis PDF.) Introduction: Reconciliation and the Lack Thereof The impetus for this study is a seemingly unanswered prayer. “[I pray] that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” (John 17:21 NET). Ever since Jesus of Nazareth first uttered these words, his followers have done what appears to be an increasingly-worse job of being one. A simple count of the various denominations and sects within Christianity at large—starting with the three prominent branches of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism—reveals the troubling truth that, although claiming to follow the same Lord, Christians around the world are often divided. In fact, it could be argued that the modus operandi throughout church history has been to pursue unity in orthodoxy through division.1 When dissenting voices arise, the group decides which option is “orthodox,” banishes the “heretics” (who often then form their own camp), and proceeds as the “pure” and “united” bride of Christ. Whether in 1054, 1517, or 2012, followers of Jesus the Messiah have often judged it more important to be correct than to be one.2 ...

Undoubtedly the title of this blog post could be taken in hundreds of different directions. However, given recent developments close to home, and the Answers in Genesis conference coming to Cedarville University on Sept. 23-24, I’d like to get people thinking about Ken Ham, his organization’s agenda, and how Scripture might very well be getting abused for the sake of Young Earth Creationism. I say this as someone who used to be a zealous defender of everything that Answers in Genesis stands for. I viewed the Creationism vs. Evolution debate as central and foundational to the Christian life. I would sit for hours on end and listen to guys like Kent Hovind and their defenses of Young Earth Creationism… ...

(Read Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 first!) CREATION AND REDEMPTION: CHRIST AND NEW CREATION Throughout the New Testament, the main use of creation theology is to link creation with redemption, resulting in the praise of the Creator through the Creator-Redeemer, Jesus the Messiah. However, the linked concepts of creation and redemption have a rich OT history. For example, cited impetuses for keeping the Sabbath are Yahweh’s creative work (Exod 20:11) and his redemptive work (Deut 5:15), revealing a close connection between the two actions.1 The logic behind this correlation is one of continued creation: Yahweh is personally invested in the success of his creative purposes, the functionality of his temple.2 Sin and Death will not have the final word. The Creator will redeem by creating anew through his Son. ...