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 (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.

A Misrepresentation of Western Art

https://cne.news/article/4938-how-arts-draw-europe-back-to-paganism

This article struck me as rather strange. In many respects I can resonate with Placentino's concerns about pagan revival in connection with 18th and 19th century Romanticism, but at the same time I found his arguments wanting and often guilty of begging the question.

Deconstructing Dolezal

https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/book-review/not-god-divine-simplicity-simple/

I appreciated this review of James Dolezal's 2017 work All That is In God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism - a work that has generated controversy and led to the creation of new factions within Reformed circles. As the subject interests me, I find myself returning to it once again.

Calvinism's Inability to Reckon With Apostasy

https://philosophical-theology.com/2025/10/17/abandoning-the-faith-in-college-really/

DiGiacomo finds parental discourse surrounding the issue of apostasy to be confused but we could say the same adjective describes his discourse as well. The bottom line is this - what does the New Testament say? And this is the rub, Calvinism all too often commits itself to rationalist systemic frameworks that logically prioritize certain truths and as a consequence, verses (even if there are literally dozens of them) that suggest something to the contrary must be explained away and/or subordinated.

Christianity and Cynicism: Nonconformity, Dissent, and Defacing the Coin

Historians have long debated the relationship between the Cynics and early Christianity. There are some striking similarities to be found in the lives of the Cynics who emerged in the context of Classical Greece, a few hundred years before Christ - so much so, that some believe Christ may have been influenced by them.

The likeness is superficial. The Cynics rested their thought on a different epistemological basis and their ethics were also different - and yet similar enough at times to generate a lot of discussion. For those wishing to make direct comparisons or find some trace of lineage, it's a dead end. That said, the similarities can be striking and nevertheless generate some interesting reflection. The Cynics raise issues in terms of ethics and society that the Church can benefit from. And this is not something new or something that emerged in this era of comparative religious studies.

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.

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....

Herman Bavinck's Monism and Redefinition of the Kingdom (II)

One can only sit back in wonder when reading a statement like this:

It is on this basis that Bavinck can say: “There is thus a rich revelation of God even among the heathen—not only in nature but also in their heart and conscience, in their life and history, among their statesmen and artists, their philosophers and reformers.”

Herman Bavinck's Monism and Redefinition of the Kingdom (I)

https://www.wyattgraham.com/p/what-does-herman-bavinck-mean-by

Reading this article about Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of thoughts. His influence is profound and growing and yet is this something to celebrate?

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.

The Architect of Modern Evangelicalism (II)

In many cases his interpretation of culture, politics, and geo-politics will leave the American reader confused. Profoundly conservative, his views on economics are not at all in line with the American Right - and certainly not its waxing Libertarian wing. He condemns laissez-faire policies and the utilitarian arguments that capitalism so often resorts to. He understands that 'money creates power' and warns against it - but then still spends the whole of his life chasing after power and relying on alliances with those who possess wealth. I find it remarkable that he clearly understood and accepted the notion that a Christian political order without a regenerate populace would necessarily result in an oppressive system. It's something American Evangelicals largely do not grasp and of course they don't want to hear it as it flies in the face of the narratives about freedom and liberty. Americans can still dream and fantasize in a way never afforded to the claustrophobic ordering of nations in Europe.

The Dangers of Viewing the Godhead Through a Scholastic Lens (II)

Dolezal's admission of mutabilist language being present in the text and his resort to nonliteral, accommodationist, and anthropomorphic arguments in order to fit the language of Scripture into his theological grid has the potential if not the tendency to generate more problems than it solves. Once again, one is driven to think of the patterns exhibited in historical theology and the role such 'rationalist' systems-driven thinking has played. The road from rationalist scholasticism to theological liberalism is in fact a short one. The dynamics of Scripture don't lend themselves to such rigid constructions and there's a tendency (even a drive) to refine and ultimately compress both Trinitarianism and the hypostatic union into ever monistic and more coherent frameworks. It begins innocently enough, pushing to the edge of orthodoxy. But in another generation it's redefined and in another lost altogether.

The Perils of Viewing the Godhead Through a Scholastic Lens (I)

https://frame-poythress.org/scholasticism-for-evangelicals-thoughts-on-all-that-is-in-god-by-james-dolezal/

After following the Dolezal-Divine Simplicity controversy for some years now, I found this review of his book 'All that is in God' to be helpful. I have been quite open over the years that I'm not a real fan of John Frame. I remember being rather put off by his Worship in Spirit and Truth back in 1996 and yet despite my differences I'm always curious to read his works and see what he has to say. His take is often a bit different and always challenging, even when I think he's wrong.

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.

Conspiracies versus Conspiracy as a Worldview: The Epistemological and Ethical Rot of Libertarianism (III)

Due to the necessity of expansion and sheer avarice, Capitalism will inevitably turn to the international sphere and with that comes intrigue and war – and that in turn leads to secrecy and propaganda. As the public begins to grasp this, there is an erosion of trust. And if the forces of finance capital have also purchased the news media – the end result is at first mass conformity, but later this will turn to mass cynicism. For those who only see one small piece of the puzzle their already skewed viewpoint will be subject to easy manipulation. There are those who profit from fear and anger and if allowed to fester these emotional responses can take on a life of their own. And it's not just the Right that plays this game.

Confessional Presbyterianism: A System of Syncretism, Tradition, and Bureaucracy

https://theaquilareport.com/second-thoughts-about-the-proposed-witness-overtures/

We've just passed General Assembly season in the Presbyterian world and thus there's a lot of talk about polity, discipline, and procedure and yet as this article demonstrates, most of it is off-base and has little if anything to do with actual New Testament polity, but is instead rooted in tradition and what amounts to a functional rejection of Scriptural Sufficiency.