miroslav volf

What Seminary Education Ought To Be [Part Three]

June 20, 2012 By Tony Jones 15 Comments

Seminary education as we know it is a relatively recent phenomenon. It was only at the Council of Trent, called by the Catholic magesterium primarily to fight nascent Protestantism, that the seminary was invented. In the 23rd session, on July 15, 1546, the Council decreed that seminaries be established and start admitting boys as young as 12:

Besides the elements of a liberal education, the students are to be given professional knowledge to enable them to preach, to conduct Divine worship, and to administer the sacraments.

Not long after, the young Protestants followed suit, and since then we’ve had residential seminaries — not unlike other universities and graduate schools.

But for the 15 centuries prior to the Council of Trent, clergy were trained otherwise. How?, you ask. I’ll tell you:

Miroslav Volf: Gimme an Atonement, Hold the Wrath

March 14, 2012 By Tony Jones Leave a Comment

Filed Under: theology Tagged With: atonement, lent, miroslav volf Leave a Comment

Fighting Words about the Atonement

March 12, 2012 By Tony Jones 21 Comments

Here’s a section of Doug Pagitt Radio, which I guest-hosted on Sunday, in which I hotly debate sidekick John Musick and caller “Steve” on the subject of the atonement:

Go to the DPR YouTube channel for other segments of the show, including interviews with Randall Balmer and Miroslav Volf.

Filed Under: theology Tagged With: doug pagitt radio, john musick, miroslav volf, randall balmer 21 Comments

Randall Balmer and Miroslav Volf

March 8, 2012 By Tony Jones 3 Comments

Those two will be my guests this Sunday when I guest host Doug Pagitt Radio, from 12-2pm on AM 950 in the Twin Cities, and streamed live at DougPagittRadio.com.

Randall Balmer

In the noon hour, I’ll be talking with Dr. Randall Balmer. Randy is professor of American religious history at Columbia University and the author of many books, including:

Randy and I will be talking about politics and religion in America today. In one segment, we’ll talk about Barack Obama’s first term, and in the other we’ll discuss the crop of potential Republican nominees. Religion is proving to be a big factor in presidential politics again this year, so it should be a great conversation.

Miroslav Volf

In the second hour, we’ll talk to Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. Volf is the author of many books, including,

We’ll talk to Miroslav about how Christians can cohabit this country with Muslims in one segment, and in the other I’ll get his take on the atonement — about which I’ve been blogging.

Listen in this weekend, or catch it later when we post the audio and video.

Filed Under: christianity in america, politics, theology Tagged With: doug pagitt, miroslav volf, randall balmer 3 Comments

Evangelicalism and Fuller Seminary

March 30, 2011 By Tony Jones 18 Comments

I spent a few days this week at my alma mater, Fuller Theological Seminary, promoting a Doctor of Ministry cohort that I’m leading/teaching over the next three years. Of course, the visit was full of nostalgia for me, including trips to some of my favorite restaurants, and drive-bys of my old residence (the Bresee House) and my employer (Pasadena Covenant Church). I visited Knox Presbyterian to see my Fuller housemate, Matt Colwell, preach, and I had coffee with another classmate and feminist/evangelical theologian, Linda Peacore.

It was amazing to me how much Fuller has grown since my last visit, which must be at least ten years ago. There’s a new library, and Fuller has expanded into several new buildings, including a sleek, modern space that houses Student Services and the D.Min. offices, among other things.

I was also honored to give a talk in Travis Auditorium, a spot that hold memories both sublime (the lectures of my late friend and mentor, Bob Guelich) and ridiculous (playing Captain Kirk in the Fuller Follies, alongside Carla Grover Barnhill (Uhura), Matt Colwell (Spock), and Craig Detweiler (expendable Star Trek guy in the red shirt)).

Join Miroslav Volf and Scot McKnight (and me)

March 1, 2011 By Tony Jones 1 Comment

I’m pretty keen on this event that I’m helping to coordinate with Rochester College and Doug and JoPa. It’s called, Streaming: Biblical Conversations from the Missional Frontier. This year the focus will be on the Book of James.

What Mark Love and the others at Rochester are trying to do is catalyze a missional hermeneutic by bringing top hermeneuts (yes, I just used the word “hermeneut”) together to tackle a particular book of the Bible. We’ll be talking about it in a scholarly way, but we’ll also be discussing how to preach and teach James in a missional way.

The keynoters are Miroslav Volf and Scot McKnight, surely familiar names to the readers of this blog. I’m excited to be in the middle of these two, and to be hosting the conversation along with Doug. I have no doubt that we’re going to pull some intriguing ideas from these two, and from you! But that means that you’ve got to join us there.

You can learn more about the event, being held May 16-18 in Rochester, Michigan, at the Streaming site. Hope to see you there!