Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (VI): Revelatory Correspondence, Text, Canon, and Conclusions

In terms of philosophical analogy, the Biblicism being advocated here is akin to the Correspondence Theory of Truth - the Logos-Scriptures being the epistemological measure and our task is to reflect (or mirror) and project these teachings as they are taught (in their context). This framing (in contrast to the Coherence Theory) is usually tied to Empiricism and on that point we must depart. We communicate an analogy wherein we must acknowledge the danger of our ideas becoming a filter or playing a mediatorial role in how God's truths are understood. Our understanding always runs the risk of being slanted or tainted by how our eyes, minds, and hearts see and understand these things and so that too is a cause for caution and humility. This in contrast to the kind of 'direct realist' approach (or ethos) seen in Fundamentalist literalism - an effort that results not only in oversimplification but is often blind to its own biases. It also differs (strongly) from the systematics approach which seeks to reorganize and reframe revealed doctrine into a coherent and comprehensive theological product - I use this term deliberately.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (IV): Hyper-Literalism, Rationalism, and Prima Scriptura

To some extent the rise of Dispensationalism in the early 20th century can be understood as an expression of this same reaction-to-liberalism dynamic, even though the theological system it spawned (despite its claims) was actually proven to be an inaccurate and unfaithful interpretation of the Scripture itself. It's hyper-literalism proved to be selective and driven by certain commitments. Once these were undermined by more solid exegesis, the entire system collapsed like a great house of cards.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (III): Academic Evangelicalism, Barth, and the Theological Modernism

This sphere of discussion is both delicate and frustrating as these well-meaning folks are (in some respects) upholding Scripture and yet pushing it beyond the boundaries of how it's supposed to function in this present evil age. And, they are guilty (we would argue) of imposing an alien epistemological commitment in their reading and interaction with the text which ultimately undermines a faithful rendering and interpretation.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (II): Lutheran Apocrypha, Fundamentalist Epistemology, and Evangelical Compromise

We must also mention the somewhat unusual structuring of Lutheran conceptions of Sola Scriptura - something a lot of people are unaware of. As already mentioned, it's largely confined to gospel-related questions - an issue itself not always easy to categorize. But in addition, the Lutherans have (historically) a two-tiered concept of Scripture. Following Eusebius, there are the New Testament Homologoumena - the undisputed books, and the Antilegomena which were disputed in some quarters for a time - a list that would include the Epistle of James along with Hebrews, 2 Peter, and Revelation.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (I): Initial Considerations and Confessionalism

Author Brian Godawa appeared on my radar back in the early 2000's when Christian publications called attention to his participation in the 2001 film To End All Wars. For my part, I didn't really care for the film - all the more as I refuse to accept some of the assumptions at work in the Anglo-centric narrative.

Godawa was an open Theonomist and was pointed to as an example of positive Christian cultural engagement. He seemed to be something of a rising star in those circles but then I didn't really hear about him again for the next decade or so. Then in the mid-2010's he popped up on my radar again in connection with his fictional works on the Antediluvian world and the Nephilim. I listened to and read some of his material in connection to these themes and found it palatable, interesting, and sometimes refreshing.

Vos and the Two-Age Ethics of Redemptive-Historical Theology

https://reformedforum.org/vos-and-neo-calvinism-rethinking-a-transatlantic-identity/

Bucey provides some helpful analysis regarding this rather pivotal episode in the life of Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949) and his 1886 refusal to join Abraham Kuyper at the Free University in Amsterdam. The young Vos instead made his way to Grand Rapids to teach at what would become Calvin College and Seminary.

Discerning Trueman's Confusion

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/12/has-hitler-won-on-the-left

Carl Trueman of Grove City College laments the moral decline in society and the kind of confusion that would lead to people celebrating the 7 October Hamas attack on Southern Israel.

Inbox: Christian Kids in State Colleges (II)

For as 'woke' as the environment supposedly is – he's been appalled at the Establishment-friendly narratives (that while sometimes critical of the United States) in the end defend it and justify American policy and conduct in such contexts as Vietnam and its other more recent wars. And so while a Right-wing adherent would be critical of what's being said, a New Testament Christian is left offended by what is in the end a defense of the Establishment regime and its countless episodes of imperialist theft and murder. And it would only be worse in the context of a Christian college.

Inbox: Christian Kids in State Colleges (I)

After having stated on repeated occasions that I don't believe Christians should send their children to public school, how can I justify sending my son to a state or public college? Isn't this the same thing?

Myths Concerning Second Temple Judaism

Having recently finished Gerard Russell's Heirs of Forgotten Kingdoms (Basic Books, 2014) I found myself once again irritated and put off by popular but erroneous narratives concerning Second Temple Judaism.

Chiliasm, Totalitarian Cults, and The Pursuit of the Millennium

After many years I finally found the time to read Norman Cohn's The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages first published in 1957. For all the attention this book has received I was quite disappointed.

Cohn's thesis rests on a cobbled together narrative that confuses popular impulse and superstition with religious conviction. He tries to argue that various utopian and chiliastic movements of the medieval period were the cultural and ideological precursors of twentieth century Nazism and Communism.

Flags in the Church

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/11/the-history-of-national-flags-in-churches

The debate over flags in the Church is riddled with problems and clouded by false assumptions. There is a problem with the sanctuary model to begin with, the idea that a building is somehow a 'holy' place, a 'sanctuary' or that the front of the structure is some kind of focal point – a leftover of the unbiblical altar-theology of Romanism.

Nevin's Early Christianity

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (I)

The study of Church History is one dominated by narratives. For some it's a question of progress, a narrative of the application of principles, the expansion of the Kingdom in the form of Christendom and for others it's a story of remnant groups persevering in the face of apostasy and relentless persecution. Needless to say variations of the former model have proven to be far more popular and marketable.

The Hospitality Argument Regarding the Angels and Sodom

The ancient Greek myth regarding Philemon and Baucis tells the story of an impoverished couple visited by Zeus and Hermes in the guise of men. The gods had already traveled through the area and had received no hospitality. The poorest and most destitute household, that of Philemon and Baucis welcomed the gods and were even willing to slaughter their precious goose in order to put on a proper spread.

Heiser's Unseen Realm and the Divine Council (Part 3)

While I would love to recommend Heiser's works to family and friends, I cannot do so in good conscience. I know some would benefit from the conversation and an encounter with the topics he brings up and the Scriptural data he very effectively utilises. But buried in, around and in-between the lines are assumptions that can only be described as theologically liberal.

Heiser's Unseen Realm and the Divine Council (Part 2)

For me the tragedy is that Protestant Scholasticism created a theological paradigm that had little room for spiritual duality and tension. Because of historical abuses, the twisted absolute dualism of the Gnostics, Cathars and others there's been a strong monistic push since the 17^th century to resolve all tensions under the umbrella of Divine Sovereignty. This is pushed to an extreme in the theology embraced by many if not most contemporary Calvinists.

Heiser's Unseen Realm and the Divine Council (Part 1)

I first started thinking about the Divine Council many years ago when reading the works of Meredith Kline. In particular his 2001 commentary on Zechariah's night visions proved a thrilling read and stirred me on several investigative fronts. To this day it remains a favourite and I frequently re-visit it. Not only did it feed my already growing interest in Redemptive-Historical hermeneutics, it started me down a path of investigating typology and symbols and subsequently I discovered there were vast untapped riches to be found in the Scriptures, a treasure trove of revelation concerning the celestial realms and the mechanisms by which God has ordered the universe.

Modern Evangelicalism and the Chicago Compromise

In the wake of RC Sproul's death there have been a host of tributes written on his behalf. Recently I encountered an article praising Sproul and his role in framing the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy which first appeared in 1978. This statement is met with almost universal praise from within Evangelical and Confessional circles and there is much to praise indeed. While the over two hundred signers were certainly upholding the Bible in an age of unbelief, few realise or understand that modern inerrancy represents a shift in thinking and indeed a break from older Protestant understandings of Scripture.

It is noteworthy and admirable to find men of Christian faith upholding the Word of God. This is especially true in an era of materialism and scientism. They are to be commended for this adherence to supernaturalism and the notion of Divine Inspiration.

Final Salvation and Today's Calvinism

The question of Final Salvation is further clouded by what could be described as Today's Calvinism and the metanarratives it has attached to Historical Theology. I'm not merely referring to the so-called New Calvinism or movements like Young, Restless and Reformed. 

By Today's Calvinism I'm speaking of Reformed Theology and Calvinism in general terms. Specifically I'm speaking of North American Calvinism in the wake of the 19^th century. While international Calvinism went into decline and largely succumbed to Liberalism, the remaining sectors of conservative Calvinism underwent changes.

Princeton Seminary: Twenty Years of Reflection

If you've never been to Princeton, New Jersey I highly recommend it. It's a fascinating place filled with history and character. There's much to see and yet the real thrill is to just walk around, enjoy the streets and wander the magnificent old buildings of one of the most renowned of the Ivy League schools.