“Who are these, and where have they come from?” an elder asks John about the innumerable multitude (Revelation 7:13). John answers, “You know,” and the elder does know, as he goes on to explain. So why the pretense of ignorance? In part, the exchange takes us back to the early chapters of John’s gospel, where Jesus describes the life of those born of Spirit. Like the wind, they are audible, but you can’t tell where they come from or where... Read more
My initial reaction to Douglas Campbell’s analysis of “Justification theory” (Deliverance of God, 11-95) was quite positive. I still think Campbell scores some points against the individualism and implicit contractualism of some Protestant work on justification. But on a more careful reading of his argument, I’ve come to a much more negative judgment about it. Campbell chose to describe Justification theory in systematic, propositional, rather than historical terms. There are advantages to this approach, since he is able to isolate what he... Read more
My initial reaction to Douglas Campbell’s analysis of “Justification theory” (Deliverance of God, 11-95) was quite positive. I still think Campbell scores some points against the individualism and implicit contractualism of some Protestant work on justification. But on a more careful reading of his argument, I’ve come to a much more negative judgment about it. Campbell chose to describe Justification theory in systematic, propositional, rather than historical terms. There are advantages to this approach, since he is able to isolate what he... Read more
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the disciples laid their robes on the ground before Him, creating a carpet. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the backs of the disciples, elevated like a king. It’s a gesture found only once in the OT: When Jehu is proclaimed king. Jesus, the new Jehu, is coming to Jerusalem as a conqueror. Like Jehu, He comes to announce the destruction of a temple. John’s account is different. The people proclaim Jesus as king, but they... Read more
Epistemology has often been viewed as a debate between raitonalists and empiricists. Descartes set certainty as the gold standard of knowledge, and argued from doubt to conclusions that he considered indubitable. Empiricists insist that our senses are capable of giving us reliable knowledge of the world, and in many cases we have to rely on sense information to know things. There’s no rational argument to support to yellowness of dandelions. What’s left out in these debates is, well, most everything,... Read more
In a 2010 article in the Journal for the Society of Christian Ethics, natural law theorist Jean Porter probed the question of same-sex marriage, and concluded that there were no objections in natural law to same-sex sex or to same-sex marriage as such. The article is excerpted here. At one point Porter raises the question of whether same-sex relations are “intrinsically unnatural because they represent a violation of the natural complementarity of man and woman.” She responds, “The difficulty with this... Read more
Oliver Crisp admits that he has “been drawn to the margins of theological orthodoxy or to the doctrinally eccentric.” His reason is constructive: “those occupying such liminal places are intrinsically interesting subjects for theological exploration,” not least because “their work . . . throws light on upon the shape and character of more mainstream theology” (3). Still, Crisp insists, his recent Deviant Calvinism isn’t “about theology from the margins.” It only appears so because contemporary Calvinists don’t know the breadth of... Read more
Daniel Castelo’s Confessing the Triune God is a contribution to Cascade’s Wesleyan Doctrine Series. The Trinity is not a possession of Methodism, and much of Castelo’s book covers familiar ground – the roots of Trinitarian theology in the gospel, the early church debates about the Trinity, the danger of projection, and the relation of theology and economy. But Castelo strikes a distinctive Wesleyan note, not least because he includes some substantial and quite stunning quotations from John Wesley. For instance: “when... Read more
When the Lamb breaks the fifth seal, martyrs cry out for vindication. That launches a thread of the plot of Revelation that continues to the end of the seven bowls. At this point, these seem to be the salient moments: 1) Martyrs cry out for vindication and are told to wait a little longer until other martyrs join them (ch. 6). 2) 144,000 are sealed for martyrdom (ch 7), the last of the Old Covenant martyrs, drawn from Israel’s tribes.... Read more
When John first sees the heavenly worship as he ascends to heaven, the four living creatures take the lead with an unceasing Sanctus. The twenty-four elders fall down before the One on the throne, cast their crowns before the throne, and praise God for His glory, honor, and power. They are not singing, only “saying.” And they have no liturgical equipment or paraphernalia. After the Lamb takes the book, they break out in worship again. The living creatures and the... Read more
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