Alcinous, a pagan philosopher of the second century AD claimed that God is “eternal, ineffable, self-sufficient, without need . . . and perfect in every respect.” The only way to know such a God was to ascend from earthly things to higher realities: “First one contemplates the beauty found in bodies, after this one passes on to the beauty of the soul, then to the beauty in customs and laws, then to the vast ocean of beauty; after this one... Read more
Israel is Egypt. For Israel to become Israel again, she had to go back out to the wilderness, where John ministers, and she’s going to have to cross the Jordan all over again. Wrath is coming on Israel/Egypt, and only those who repent and receive the baptism of repentance will survive the burning. John’s baptism is the blood on the doorposts that marks the homes of Israel, protecting the marked ones while the angel of death destroys the Egyptians who... Read more
Why does John the Baptist wear camel skin? Commentators often connect this with John’s role as Elijah, the “Baal of hair” or, as I like to say, the “Hair-baal.” That’s correct, but the specificity of “camel hair” seems to point to something else. Camels are unclean – they chew the cud but don’t split the hoof – and hence represent Gentiles. John is putting himself in the position of a Gentile, he becomes a Gentile beast of the desert, leading... Read more
Matthew 3:16-17: When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. As I’ve said in the sermon, Jesus’ baptism is the “one baptism” in which all believers share by our baptisms. What happened to Jesus... Read more
Over the next couple of years, Trinity will go through a significant transition, as I phase out of some responsibilities at Trinity to take on new responsibilities with the NSA graduate program. I will not be leaving Trinity, but over the next two years you’ll see a different face in front of you more and more frequently. It will be tempting for some, no doubt, to consider moving from Trinity. If you have been here for me, and I’m not... Read more
According to Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’s cross of reality, individuals are always stretched out on a cross, in four directions – to the past and to the future, to the inside and to the outside. Growth and maturity come when we endure the cross in faith that when we are torn to pieces we will yet by revived, that our death on the cross of reality is the gateway to life. Like Jesus, we are glorified through the cross. Churches are also... Read more
Among other things, the Federal Vision has been an effort to articulate a Reformed catholicity, and the fight in the PCA is in part a fight between catholicity and sectarianism. The massive vote at GA against the Federal Vision was, to put it gently, not a blow in favor of catholicity. Read more
I confess. I have read a good bit of NT Wright, and appreciate much of what he has to say. His books on Jesus opened the gospels for me in ways that nothing else did. Wright, for those who don’t know, is a bishop in the Church of England. I confess. John Milbank, another Anglican, was my dissertation advisor, and his Theology and Social Theory is a fairly constant presence in my theology. I confess. Russian Orthodox liturgist Alexander Schmemann’s... Read more
It may seem that emphasizing the promissory nature of baptism and the Supper is a reversion from the Reformation. On the contrary: In popular medieval piety, no common believer could have assurance simply by hearing the promises of God, receiving baptism, occasionally receiving the Supper. To have real assurance, they had to find a mystical backdoor to God. The Reformers said that God’s promises are true. God hasn’t hidden Himself. The gospel says, He’s come out of hiding; He’s come... Read more
If some of the baptized end up in hell, how can baptism be an instrument of assurance? Might as well ask the same question about the word: If some who hear the Word end up in hell, how can the Word be an instrument of assurance? In both cases, the answer is: Baptism and the Word failed to assure because those who received the promise did not believe it, or did not continue to believe it. They made God a... Read more
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