From where I sit, academic theology is theology written to the wider academic community, set within an academic context, and driven by academic concerns and presuppositions. Ecclesial theology, on the other hand, is theological reflection written to the believing community, for the good of the church catholic, and born out of pastoral/ecclesial concerns.   Throughout... Continue Reading

We tend to have pride that our generation is better and wiser and dismiss past generations entirely because of things that we perceive as being unforgivable beliefs and actions. But, hopefully, this sentiment doesn’t make its way into our churches, let alone our hearts.   I was thinking recently about how many times I’ve thought... Continue Reading

Today, evangelical advocates of social justice want to fight against injustice and engage in the culture. But like the earlier social gospel advocates, they too have unwittingly allowed their theology of justice to be contaminated, this time by un-Biblical postmodern and neo-Marxist ideas, leading a group of evangelicals to come together in opposition to this... Continue Reading

Two men, two pursuits, two paths. Bill wanted to marry but remains single today. Mark was single and content, but now he’s married to Andrea. Often God’s path is not what we expect or once even wanted. For some, it’s singleness; for others, it’s marriage. Yet the goal for all — single or married, same-sex... Continue Reading

The longevity of Hell, that eternity of torment, has not so much to do really with us, in the greatness of ourselves as human being, but it has everything to do with the grand holiness of the personal, Triune God against whom we have performed that sin. And any sin unatoned for by the perfect... Continue Reading

I want you to notice a couple additional aspects of the development of thought through this psalm. The first is related to what we just explored. The psalm progresses from God’s people singing among the nations in the first stanza to all the families of the earth ascribing him glory in the second stanza. Is... Continue Reading

As we have surveyed the decisions (Canons) of the Synod of Dort in their historical (social, political) and theological contexts, reading the Canons in light of the Remonstrance in 1610 and the Opinions of the Remonstrance given to Synod in 1618, it has become increasingly clear that there is no tenable position between the Remonstrants... Continue Reading

I was leaning in the non-EFS direction—which is to say, the direction of classic Trinitarian orthodoxy—but I was still ambivalent about it. In the months (and now two and a half years) that followed, though, I’ve landed firmly. And so I thought I’d write a post summarizing my position on the issue.    It’s hard... Continue Reading

“The more we ascribe to Christ’s suffering, the less remains of ours; the more painfully that he suffered, the more fully are we redeemed; the greater his sorrow was, the greater our solace; his dissolution is our consolation, his cross our comfort; his annoy our endless joy; his distress in soul our release, his calamity... Continue Reading

Many people (including Christians!) say, “There’s just nothing we can do about it,” or even, “What’s the big deal?” Here’s the big deal: Porn is a worldview, and like any worldview, it becomes a set of “lenses” through which we look at the world, interpret what we see, and then live it out. Porn teaches... Continue Reading