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 (V): The Holy Spirit, Epistemological Poverty, and True New Covenant Biblicism

We've considered various Sola Scriptura camps that are found wanting in their claims as well as briefly touching on some of the groups that esteem Scripture down to those who functionally despise it.

We must weigh all of these versus a genuine Biblicist rendering of Sola Scriptura. For some this is an impossibility, for others Pandora's Box that can only lead to chaos.

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 (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.

Secular Humanism and Neuro-Nonsense

The other day while driving I picked up an AM radio station out of Toronto and heard an interview with an expert on neurogenerosity - which apparently has been a subject of discussion for the better part of a decade. I wasn't sure at first whether to take it seriously.

A Sure Formula for Self-Deception - Direct Realism's Road to Monism, Materialism, and Pantheism

https://theopolisinstitute.com/leithart_post/epistemological-dualism/

Right from the onset I disagree with Meek's airtight definitions and the way she wishes to imply how such epistemological dualism operates. I further disagree with Leithart's insinuation that this leads to the elimination of knowledge. It's a slippery slope argument that is misleading at best.

Evangelical Materialism and the Functional Denial of Scriptural Authority

I have often talked about the Materialist assumption at work in our culture. It is just assumed that everything that exists has some kind of scientific or physiological explanation. I heard a BBC reporter talking about the Scopes Trial and the 'teaching' of evolution. He corrected himself with the 'science of evolution' - implying that science is factual and based on actual things that can be verified while teaching is just theoretical or philosophical and thus subjective in a way 'science' is not. The poor lost man doesn't understand that science - especially as it's being understood in a Materialist framework is just as philosophically rooted and dependent as any other religious system.

Kuyper and Schilder on Eschatology and Culture

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/beginning-at-the-end-of-all-things/

The theology and thought of Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) is riddled with contradictions. On the one hand contemporary Dominionists wishing to posit a monistic view of society will quote Kuyper's famous dictum : 'There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!'

It's a pretty bold statement suggesting the boundaries of the Kingdom are all encompassing and there can be no room for dissent.

Memory and The Ister

From time to time I will watch (usually in segments) the 2004 film The Ister, which is a three-hour fascinating re-telling and interpretation of Heidegger's talks on the Hölderlin (1770-1843) poem which was written sometime in the early 19th century.

Fundamentalism's Baconian Epistemology

I encountered this on a website - an argument against transubstantiation by means of empirical deduction. It reminded me of what some have called the Baconian epistemology of Fundamentalism which is closely related to the Common Sense Realism so dominant in the early days of America. The pastor in question appeals to a perceived problem with the bread....

What is Good Art? Dominionist Aesthetics versus the Detachment-Discernment Ethos of New Testament Pilgrim Christianity (II)

Rather than reduce art to the Hellenistic categories of the good, true, and beautiful our understanding needs to be both wide and nuanced.

What is Good Art? Dominionist Aesthetics versus the Detachment-Discernment Ethos of New Testament Pilgrim Christianity (I)

https://g3min.org/art-that-accords-with-sound-doctrine/

This G3 article represents yet another attempt to formulate a Christian theology of art. It's clear enough that since the Scriptures don't speak to this - and verses have to be grasped at, the exercise is not one of doctrinal elaboration but philosophy cast in theological terms.

Realms of Enchantment and Mystery

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/living-wonder/

I rather enjoyed reading this review though I have not decided whether I will pick up Dreher's book. The work in question is Rod Dreher's 'Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age'. I found myself disagreeing with both Dreher and Darville the reviewer, but there's a great deal of food for thought.

Athens, Jerusalem, and the Foundations of Ancient Thought

For more than twenty years I have been fascinated by various similarities between aspects of ancient Greek philosophy and that of ancient India. As one reads of Pythagoras, Plato, some of the pre-Socratics, and the Orphic tradition, one cannot help but notice the striking parallels within the philosophical strains flowing from the Subcontinent. The explanations for this are many but often lacking.

Natural Theology, the Reformed Tradition, and Another Way

https://credomag.com/article/natural-theology-and-van-til/

Classical Theology in this case is in reference to Aristotelian-driven Scholastic Theology and Thomism. This group (Credo Magazine) represents the Thomist revival in Reformed theology. It's sort of ironic that all of this is starting to really take off after the 2017 death of RC Sproul who championed it - but didn't live to see it.

That said, the issues are complicated as there are also strong Scholastic tendencies and tensions within Van Tillian circles as the commitment to Confessionalism is retained. The advocates of 'Classical Theology' have a point in that the Scholastic ethos was dominant at the time the confessions were produced in the 17th century.

October 2024: The Multi-Faceted Crisis and the Spectre of Global War

The world is in turmoil and at such a degree and tempo that it's almost impossible to keep up with events. I could post multiple articles a day and it would not suffice. We are in a rather intense news cycle at present. Many of these issues qualify as mere 'news' and as such are somewhat beyond the purview of this project which among other things seeks to contextualize the Church in the world we live in today and explain how history, events, and ideas are impacting the Church for good and evil. Given the failures of Church leaders and in many cases their capitulation to the world, or in other cases their heresy and their corruption, I believe this task is important even if few will hear it.

Limited Epistemology and the Place of the Lost in Cosmology (II)

Modern Christians lament the sixteenth century Copernican Shift which initiated the reformulation of not just cosmology but epistemology and more fundamental questions such as meaning, teleology, and to what extent truth can be ascertained. If man and the Earth he inhabits is not the centre of the universe, then just what does that say?

Limited Epistemology and the Place of the Lost in Cosmology (I)

At certain times it hits you. Someone you know dies and that someone was a lost person, and you think about their life and you wonder what was it for?

Rejecting the Aquinas Jubilee

https://theaquilareport.com/what-the-jubilee-of-aquinas-says-about-rome-and-roman-protestant-relations-in-some-quarters/

I appreciated some of the issues raised in this piece by Hervey. Thomas and Thomism have certainly been in the air as his memory and a set of larger questions concerning Roman Catholicism are being debated. In these unsettled times as Protestants and Evangelicals thirst for so-called Christian Civilisation, there's a desire to find some kind of historical and cultural continuity. Protestantism falls short in this regard, and as such many are looking farther back to a time that at least seems to be more cohesive. Whether it was something to celebrate or not is debatable. After all, error can (in theory) be coherent, and paganism can create cohesive societies.