Everything in God's rejection and reprobation is a "lie" at the core of its rebellion against God's eternal Yes. It is against the order of God and as such qualifies as vanity and ultimately "nothingness."
All in Theology
Social Gospel #smh
Whew ... I'm ready to get the organ fired up & ask the Pentecostals to do some cartwheels in the isles.
Barth on Knowledge on Sin
Understanding this, Barth the preacher rarely ever presents "law" before "gospel." For it is only in the grace of the gospel that one can respond to the former reality found in the law.
Barth on the Corporeal Resurrection
"It would be sad if theology were trying to facilitate things and invent a Christianity without Christ's resurrection. And if we should find it difficult to believe, rather than modifying the message let us pray God that he gives us faith, through his Holy Spirit." — Karl Barth
Mary And The Church
It is good and right to enjoy the image of Mary and Eve gathering around the promised Seed. It is right to see that in the power of the Holy Spirit and Incarnate son, the church—Mary—crushes the serpent.
John Calvin on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary
One is certainly allowed to disagree with the analysis of Calvin. But perhaps it would be wise to acknowledge his warning about those with "an extreme fondness for disputation."
What to Read About Barth
Outside of concern about my feelings towards Barth's view of inerrancy, the only question I receive more often is what books I recommend reading.
Freed for Confrontation
How Christian forgiveness looks in the real world cannot be reduced to a formula. Or if only, the formula must be called Christian faith. Mutual confession of faith in Christ and the faithfulness of His Spirit is the path of reconciliation.
Defining Protestantism
People are reading Leithart under the presumption that he has all the answers. But he never claims such. He sees the unification of the church as a pneumatological event.
The Necessity of Reconciliation
When Christians focus on reconciliation, they must look outside of themselves to the active work of Christ. The example found in Jesus Christ removes the judgment of self-justification and false, self-gratifying forgiveness.
How Exposure Undermines Discipline
Brokenness is not a treasure. We carry the treasure in broken vessels. It is not an opportunity to have a new conversion story every week. Brokenness is a gift from God in the re-creation of His people and the re-formation of the Second Adam's wife — the church.
Forgiving is not Forgetting
Forgetfulness implies that our history is irrelevant to the redemption of God. It almost suggests our time in this temporalness is something God merely wishes to whisk away through the cross.
Atonement in Barth's Forgiveness
God's effort to reconcile with humanity through Jesus Christ becomes a tremendous encouragement to work through reconciliation with one another.
Murray on One Baptism
"If it is proper to administer baptism to infants, then the import of baptism must be the same for infants as for adults. You cannot have one meaning for infants and another for adults." - Murray
A Priori Creation Ethics
If there is any value in Wellum's principal point, it continues to linger even over his own promoted basis for Christian ethics.
The Value of the Geneva Catechism
I fully intend to utilize the catechism in leading my son in the faith, as well as sharing much of its treasure with any who will listen.
Calvin on the Sabbath
Calvin clearly supports a celebration of the Lord's Day. But he does not strongly tie it to the Sabbatarian principle of no work.
God's Ever Presiding Grace
"Baptism is more important than our birth." - Karl Barth