I was recently politely chided by a friend for not posting anything on the blog in recent days. I’ll have more to say in the days to come about some of the projects I’ve been working on, but in the meantime here is a beautiful and compelling passage from the first volume of James McClendon’s three volume Systematic Theology: Continue reading The Fundamental Love Story
Tag Archives: incarnation
The Word Became Flesh
One of the most interesting books I read this past year was Peter Leithart’s Delivered from the Elements of the World: Atonement, Justification, Mission (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2016). Leithart skillfully integrates insights from a variety of disciplines to present a compelling, and profoundly biblical, vision of Christian reality.
Here’s a key quote from the book that powerfully spells out the profound theological reality that the church celebrates at Christmas. Continue reading The Word Became Flesh
In the Shadow of the Inauguration
I came across this excerpt from the writings of Malcolm Muggeridge on Thursday. It seemed particularly timely in light of the attention given by the media over the past few days to the events in the United States surrounding the Presidential Inauguration. Muggeridge writes: Continue reading In the Shadow of the Inauguration
An Unsentimental Christmas
“Sentime
ntality, not atheism, is the deepest enemy of the Christian faith,” the theological ethicist Stanley Hauerwas has averred on numerous occasions. (This particular formulation is from Approaching the End (2013), 88.) Perhaps no time of year is as fraught with the danger of sentimentality for Christians as is Christmas. However, this seemingly owes more to the cultural observation of Christmas returning to its pagan roots in the winter festival of Saturnalia, then it does to the story of the Nativity. Continue reading An Unsentimental Christmas
A Christmas Conundrum
The Lutheran theologian Robert Jenson once published a delightful collection of theological conversations he had with his eight-year old granddaughter, entitled, Conversations with Poppi about God. While I may lack Jenson’s great erudition, my five-year old daughter certainly has no problem supplying the type of questions and comments that make for “book-worthy” theological conversation. (See, for example her question in the Advent sermon previously posted.) Her most recent question was raised the other day as we were driving home from a church Christmas event. Continue reading A Christmas Conundrum