“Over against both of these positions, I propose a form of critical realism. This is a way of describing the process of ‘knowing’ that acknowledges the reality of the thing known, as something other than the knower (hence ‘realism’), while also fully acknowledging that the only access we have to this reality lies along the …
Unity and Doctrine
This is an important issue to settle. For it is obvious that the issues surrounding Calvinism are not a dispute about secondary matters like baptism or church government. For those who have followed closely, this whole debate actually centers on the full meaning of the gospel. How should we then approach brothers in the Lord …
The Text?
“Reading the New Testament seriously, at the present moment in Western culture, sounds so problematic that some may feel like giving it up. The vineyard is overcrowded and apparently unfruitful. But this response, too, would be inappropriate. Whatever one’s viewpoint, this text matters . . . Whether, therefore, one has a Christian or non-Christian point …
Me and St. Peter
“There follows from this a vital and liberating point, which I first met in the works of the great Anglican divine Richard Hooker, and for which I shall always be grateful. One is not justified by faith by believing in justification by faith. One is justified by faith by believing in Jesus” (What St. Paul …
Short History of Calvinism
The History of the Debate This installment will not be exegetical. The purpose is simply to provide a historical backdrop for understanding how the debate about the biblical exegesis has been conducted, and when. We will limit our discussion to the history of the Christian church, although it is important to recognize that this is …
Knowing the Father
Here is N.T. Wright on the impact of the gospel. “On this basis, Paul argues in Romans 5-8 that all who believe this gospel are the true, sin-forgiven, people of God, who are thus assured of their future salvation, which will consist in their resurrection as one aspect of the renewal of all of God’s …
God Promises Us Our Children
A few days ago, I wrote about how I became a paedobaptist. I attributed that change to a connection that was shown to me between the promises of God for our children and the practice of infant baptism. That connection stirred up a reasonable question out there, which I would like to try to answer …
Different Kinds of Snakes
The fundamental problem with boasting is only connected to the direct object in one sense. The one who boasts must boast in the Lord. A man who boasts in the Lord is guiltless because the object is right (2 Cor. 10:17). But if someone boasts in anything on this side of the Creator/creature divide, the …
Faith As A Badge
N.T. Wright has some trouble seeing that old scoundrel Pelagius in places where I think we should be able to see him quite plainly. For example, Wright says, “Once we release Paul’s justification-language from the burden of having to describe ‘how someone becomes a Christian’, however, this is simply no longer a problem. There is …
A Category Mistake
While chasing a category mistake, N.T. Wright falls into one of his own. In the course of his discussion on law courts and covenants, he says this: “The result of all this should be obvious, but is enormously important for understanding Paul. If we use the language of the law court, it makes no sense …