Category: Church and Theology

The Good Story of the Bible is intimately intertwined with the Story of God’s People. When we read the Bible today, we can never do so in a vacuum. Instead, we read Scripture in the midst of a tribe, the Church! Church history and theology might seem like a boring subject at first glance, but it’s absolutely vital in order to understand the Good Story.

Logos 10 Bible Software: The Ultimate Theological Learning Tool

TL;DR: If you’re serious about biblical and theological studies, you should invest in Logos 10 Bible Software. Do so via my exclusive partner offer for Logos 10 here! If I could go back in time and chat with Joshua Steele when he was a Bible & Spanish major in college, there are a few things…… Continue reading Logos 10 Bible Software: The Ultimate Theological Learning Tool

Don’t Stir the Pot?

I’m pondering the “don’t stir the pot” reaction that reliably happens every time we publish something on women’s ordination—most especially anything in favor of women’s ordination—over at Anglican Compass, where I’m the Managing Editor. (Note: This post is not a subtweet of anyone in particular. It’s just me thinking out loud about a phenomenon that…… Continue reading Don’t Stir the Pot?

Help! I’m looking for examples of “theological triage,” “doctrinal taxonomy,” or “dogmatic rank”

For a research project, I’m looking for examples of the reasoning that goes into what’s been called, among other things “theological triage,””doctrinal taxonomy,” or”dogmatic rank.” I’m referring to the process of distinguishing between various levels of importance when it comes to theological statements/positions. So, for example, the Trinity would usually be considered a “first-order” or…… Continue reading Help! I’m looking for examples of “theological triage,” “doctrinal taxonomy,” or “dogmatic rank”

“True Christianity cannot be a private Christianity” (Barth)

In short, if I am inhuman, I am also stupid and foolish and godless. The great crisis in which all worship and piety and adoration and prayer and theology constantly finds itself derives of course from the question whether and how far in these things we really have to do with the true and living…… Continue reading “True Christianity cannot be a private Christianity” (Barth)

Two of Bonhoeffer’s Most Convicting Paragraphs

The following is from Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship (usually known as “The Cost of Discipleship” in English, although the original title in German was simply Nachfolge). Bonhoeffer considers how we might respond to Jesus if Jesus were to show up and make the same kinds of concrete commands that he did in the Gospels. NOTE: I’ve taken…… Continue reading Two of Bonhoeffer’s Most Convicting Paragraphs

The “Via Media”? Or the “Middle Ground Fallacy”?

At this point, this is just a sketch. But I’m wondering how we Anglican Christians ought to be careful to keep our precious “via media” (“middle way”) mentality and methodology separate from what’s known as the “middle ground” fallacy. The “Via Media” According to Donald McKim in the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, the “via…… Continue reading The “Via Media”? Or the “Middle Ground Fallacy”?

An Outline of Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics

Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics Original Publication Dates, courtesy of PostBarthian.com. If you’re trying to grasp the contours and contents of Karl Barth’s massive Church Dogmatics, it helps to have an outline! Here’s a helpful PDF version, with subheadings included, from Princeton’s Center for Barth Studies. Barth_Outline of Church DogmaticsDownload Below is a version that I’ve…… Continue reading An Outline of Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics

The Guilt of Karl Barth: Strengths and Weaknesses of Barth’s Römerbrief Reading of Romans 9:30–10:21

UPDATE: Here is the paper that I gave at the 2019 Karl Barth Graduate Student Colloquium at the Center for Barth Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. INTRODUCTION: “GENTILES” = “WORLD” IS WORSE THAN “ISRAEL” = “CHURCH” On at least one level, Karl Barth’s Römerbrief reading of Romans 9–11 is supersessionist. In general, especially in the…… Continue reading The Guilt of Karl Barth: Strengths and Weaknesses of Barth’s Römerbrief Reading of Romans 9:30–10:21

I think Karl Barth missed the (pastoral) point of Romans

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…… Continue reading I think Karl Barth missed the (pastoral) point of Romans