Archive for December 2021
Have I Done Enough? Facing our Finitude
Creaturely finitude is less an idea we discover and more of a reality we run into. All of us bounce between the illusion that we are in control and the world’s demonstration that we are not. Whether through tragedy or simply as the result of aging, we all are repeatedly reminded that we are fragile…
Read MoreTranscendence: A Uniquely Christian Concept
What does the word “transcendence” mean? The answer is complicated because the concept expresses a relation between two metaphysical spheres or levels of reality and there is no agreement on what these spheres or levels are. One thing can be transcendent to another without being transcendent to a third thing. Perhaps an example will clarify…
Read MoreThe people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light
Each year we revisit the Christmas story, stunned by the scandal of it all: a king born in a feeding trough for goats and donkeys, the Son of God born to a teenage girl still a virgin, heaven’s angels singing to dirty, insignificant shepherds. The humiliation of our Lord’s incarnation humbles us in all our…
Read MoreTaking the Trinitarian Christ out of Christmas
Who is Jesus? Few questions could be more relevant at Christmas. Yet a new Lifeway Research study reports a statistic that has the potential to deflate the Christmas spirit. Only 41 percent of Americans believe the “Son of God existed before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.” That means 59 percent either do not believe or…
Read MoreWe Have Seen His Glory: An Advent Sermon
Well, church, we have made it to the end of another year. Many of you, like me, may feel like you are crawling past 2021’s finish line rather than gracefully bounding across it like you had hoped. You may find yourselves weary. I pray that this Advent season refreshes you with the promised hope of…
Read MoreThe Trinitarian Beauty of Adoption: The Holy Spirit
This is the final post in a three-part series looking at the Trinitarian contours of the doctrine of adoption. Thus far, I have tried to show how the Father from eternity past predestined us to be adopted into his family as sons and daughters. This adoption into his family is through the work of his…
Read MoreSimply Trinity Wins Christianity Today’s 2022 Book Award in Theology/Ethics
With the end of the year fast approaching, we are presented once again with the opportunity to reflect on the year that the Lord has given us with thanksgiving and gratitude. Yet it is equally a time to look ahead to the coming year with prayerful hope and anticipation. Reflecting on the year that was…
Read MoreAuthor’s Corner
Each week on Credo we welcome you to join us in the Author’s Corner where we will meet a set of authors whose recent books deserve your attention and might even help you grow in your knowledge of theology, history, philosophy, and the scriptures. We hope the Author’s Corner can keep you up-to-date on the…
Read MoreThe Second Way
The Summa Theologiae is one of the most influential works of Christian Theology ever written. Yet many people today are unfamiliar with Thomas Aquinas and his works while others remain skeptical of his theological and philosophical methods. Nevertheless, contrary to the caricature that has been painted by his detractors, Christians today have much to learn from the…
Read MoreThe Trinitarian Beauty of Adoption: The Son
In the previous post, we began to explore the Trinitarian contours of the doctrine of adoption. We saw how the Father in eternity past predestined us for a relationship with him. He predestined us for adoption as sons in his family. In this post we will see how this adoption into the family of God…
Read MoreChristianity Today’s 2022 Book Awards Winner: Simply Trinity
When it comes to books on the Trinity, words like accessible, welcoming, entertaining, and soul-stirring typically don’t come to mind. For Simply Trinity, however, all these descriptions apply. Barrett invites readers to enter into the landscape of historical Trinitarian theology and see why the classical doctrine of the Trinity is good news for Christians today.…
Read MoreInseparable Operations: Good News for Salvation? Matthew Barrett and Adonis Vidu
The external works of the Trinity are undivided. Until recently, this statement was an uncontroversial affirmation of the doctrine of inseparable operations. In fact, for nearly two millennia, inseparable operations were simply assumed to be an integral premise of the Christian faith. Yet modern treatments of the Trinity have left the essential unity of the…
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