“But to protect the importance of faith we do not have to deny His presence, which is what many people, in opposition to formalism, want to do. They say, ‘No, we don’t want to find Christ in the water, we want to find him just by faith.’ But Luther and Calvin’s point is that the …
Was Jesus Faithless?
What I would like to do in brief compass is explain how a particular understanding of a pre-fall covenant of works requires us to say that Jesus was faithless. In short, I want to explain the problem some have with our rejection of their covenant of works, and then explain the problem with that problem. …
Auburn Avenue Hubbub (AAH) Cool Quote #2
“All who are baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, recognizing the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, the incarnation of the Son and his priestly sacrifice, whether they be Greeks, or Arminians, or Romanists, or Lutherans, or Calvinists, or the simple souls who do not …
Auburn Avenue Hubbub (AAH) Cool Quote #1
“More and more it has occurred to me that the big issues between the Anabaptists and the Reformers of classical Protestantism are still among the biggest unresolved agonies of modern American Protestantism.” Hughes Oliphant Old, The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), p. x.
The Irenic Bombshell
The Auburn Avenue Hubbub (AAH) of course has a number of texts going. But those who are theologically astute have no doubt noticed some subtexts also. One of those subtexts is the question about the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, and the grounding of those covenants. Fundamentally, what is the relationship of …
As Clear As I Can
Many bystanders have been trying to figure out what the whole “Auburn Avenue” controversy is all about. As one of the players in this, I feel it is my duty to try to make this as clear as I can. Some Lutherans are concerned about us because they have heard that somebody might be questioning justification by …
John Robbins is a Hoot
The most recent Trinity Review put out by John Robbins is dedicated to extinguishing the heresies of my good friend Peter Leithart. Congratulations to Peter are in order. It has been a long time coming, and he was beginning to worry. Of course for a Robbins to try to deal with a Leithart in this …
Nicodemus and Judas
The current controversy over the objectivity of the covenant is caused, in part, by the penchant certain theologians have for ignoring the importance of plot lines in story. These plot lines obviously show up in the stories of Scripture, and consequently, a lot of confusion results from theologians treating plot problems as though they were math problems. But …