Over at ABC Religion and Ethics I have an article on The Socially Progressive Paradox: LGBTI Rights and Anti-Islamophobia. Note, I wrote this article about two weeks ago, and only just updated in light of the tragedy in Orlando, Florida. My point is that there is destined to be a conflict between campaigning against religious prejudices towards LGBTI people and campaigning against Islamophobia because Muslims are generally (there are  exceptions I know) not affirming of LGBTI people. I use the example... Read more

Whoa, if you don’t already know, right now my eBook How God Became Jesus: The Real Origins of Belief in Jesus’ Divine Nature, A Response to Bart Ehrman is 69% off at Amazon.com!!! Epic bargain … wish I bought it that cheap. The essays are by Michael Bird, Simon Gathercole, Craig Evans, Chris Tilling, and Charles Hill. But act fast because the deal ends on 19 June 2014. Read more

Okay folks this is not a drill and not a joke. Celebrated patristics scholars Prof. Lewis Ayres (Durham Uni), who is probably the guru-swami-ninja-jedi-master of patristic trinitarian theology, offers his two cents on Bruce Ware and the “subordinationist” view. To be honest, I mean Bruce Ware and friends no ill, I think they are sincere, they’re trying their best to be faithful theologians and readers of Scripture, and wanting to pursue practical applications. But I just don’t know if it is possible... Read more

Celebrated Patristics scholar Michel R. Barnes, who specializes in fourth century trinitarian theology, puts in his two cents on the exchange between Bruce Ware and Carl Trueman, making some astute and level observations on the debate. On a facebook exchange Barnes wrote: ___ When I first read the Ware piece above I thought this was yet another round in the Social Trinity/Can Women be Ordained debate that has been going on amongst many Evangelicals for more than five years. I... Read more

Over at Credo Magazine, Michael Ovey (Principal of Oak Hill in London) asks, Should I Resign: On the Eternal Subordination of the Son, to which he answers, “no.” He also has a forthcoming book called, Your Will Be Done: Exploring Eternal Subordination, Divine Monarchy and Divine Humility. He concludes: 1. There is historical precedent for asserting the eternal subordination of the Son. 2. The texts of scripture require us to recognise at the level of the persons distinguishable wills of Father... Read more

Over at the Zondervan facebook page, they are giving away 5 copies of What Christians Ought to Believe: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine through the Apostles’ Creed, register to enter, but it closes on 15 June 16. Sadly, it is only open to the USA, so huzzah for the US of A, but bummer for the rest of the world! But for my friends and mates in Australia, I’m offering to give away 5 free copies on my own to the Aussie... Read more

Over at Theological Theology, Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College in Sydney, enters the fray on the Complementarian-Trinity Debate. Thompson concludes in favour of Ware/Grudem: My purpose in this post has simply been to begin to explain why I for one would demur from any judgment that eternal relational subordination necessarily involves ‘reinventing the doctrine of God’, departing from orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, heresy or even idolatry. My own conviction is that it indicates an important strand of... Read more

After yesterday’s post about the Complementarian Civil War on the Trinity, all I can say is, “Well that escalated quickly.” I received numerous messages on social media and several emails, so I thought I’d post a follow up: First, when I say “Homoianism” I refer to the view that was common in the 350s and 60s that stressed the subordination of the Son to the Father and declared that the Son is like the Father “according to the Scriptures,” that is, it emphasizes... Read more

I predict that there is about to be a miniature civil war among conservative Calvinist Complementarians about Trinity and gender. One wing of that movement has been arguing for a while that the Son is eternally subordinate to the Father and importantly the way that the Son submits to the Father is mirrored in the way that wives submit to their husbands. So the hierarchy in the Trinity is said to provide grounds for a hierarchy in gender relationships. Since this trinitarian... Read more

I’m going to habitually post quotes from some of my previous books and essays in biblical and theological studies. Today, going back to my PhD thesis on Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission: I will argue in this thesis that Jesus was attempting to achieve and enact the restoration of Israel, and in continuity with other strands of Jewish belief, Jesus conceived of the restoration of Israel as resulting in the salvation of the Gentiles.   Jesus’ mission was Israel-centric,... Read more