Augustine, Aquinas, and our God of Love

December 7, 2019

I recently completed the comprehensive exams for my academic program. (Don’t worry, they were even more ‘fun’ than they sound). At the end of the verbal portion, one of my professors asked a surprising question: “How do you teach the trinity to your children?”

We had spent the last hour analyzing the East/West divide on the Trinity, parsing the importance of the periochoresis and filioque, and discussing how the divine monarchy informs present and past Trinitarian debate. But his last question, though out of line with the conversation, pressed to the heart of the matter.

In it was a subtle reminder that the Trinity is not an academic concept to be picked apart by ‘professionals’ in a sterile environment; rather the personal reality of our God engages our entire life, even our most fundamental relationships, and it is God’s personal identity we are called to teach to our children (Deut. 6:7).

John Smyth: The Danger of Haste

September 24, 2019

John Smyth won fame from himself when he established the first English Baptist Church in 1608. Yet, few Baptists know of Smyth’s contribution to the Baptist faith because he undermined his own legacy, rapidly changing his theological convictions.

C.S. Lewis on Theology as a Map

May 30, 2018

At the risk of beginning an article sounding like an ancient curmudgeon, kids these days can’t appreciate one area of life that has become infinitely easier over the last ten years: navigation. No more printing out eight-page documents with step-by-step instructions (and then shuffling through these going 75 down the highway). No more buying Mapscos at the beginning of a cross-country trip. Now, just turn on the data and you have a handheld portal that can lead you to anywhere in the world.

The Development of Theology: A Review of J.N.D. Kelly’s Early Christian Doctrines

April 2, 2018

Like many parents today, I am fighting what seems to be a losing battle with my kids, trying to keep them from the wonders of technology. Whether it’s on-demand shows or games and apps on the iPad, my kids live in a world where they can take all this technological entertainment for granted. I, on the other hand, clearly remember coding on my Apple II and waiting for cartoons to come on at a certain time of the week. Having experienced the development of technology over the past three decades, I have a much deeper appreciation of current technology, and, I hope, a wiser approach as to how to best use it.

In many ways, Christians today can be no different than my kids. They might be aware of their church’s Statement of Faith. They might even recite the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed in a church service from time to time. But for so many, these truths are something they take for granted, a theological package they’ve been handed, which they no idea where it has come from.

It is in this context that J.N.D. Kelly’s Early Christian Doctrines [1] is so helpful.

Authors

Period

Tags