Archive for December 2022
The Incarnation of the Impassible God: The Mystery of the Incarnation is Diluted by Theistic Mutualism
One of the charges often hurled against historic Christian orthodoxy is that classical theism cannot be preached. Their complaint is that the God of historic orthodoxy – the First Cause of all things – is cold, impersonal, and distant. We are told that what we need is a god that is more accessible, a god…
Read MoreFar as the Curse is Found (a Christmas Poem)
He comes to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found He, on the move redeeming souls Heaven has a hound Who is this one whom grocery stores And radio jingles speak So casually acknowledging? The Lord of lords and King of kings God of God and Light of Light Blessed mystery The…
Read MoreThe Beatific Vision: Columns, Interviews, and More
The beatific vision is not a doctrine that must be deduced from scripture by good and necessary consequence. For the beatific vision is expressly set down in scripture. Paul calls the beatific vision the church’s blessed hope. John says God’s children shall be like him because they shall see him as he is. And Jesus…
Read MoreThe Incarnation
It was Gregory of Nazianzus who stated, “That which He has not assumed He has not healed.” As such, the Incarnation is not merely a historical occurrence. Rather, it is an event with deep soteriological implications. Furthermore, since God has become man, the doctrine has deep anthropological implications. Further still, since we expect Christ to…
Read MoreThe Light of Christmas
If you are anything like me, then Christmas is your favorite time of the year. Yes, we wear Christmas sweaters we drink, peppermint milkshakes, and we make fools of ourselves trying to ice skate. It wouldn’t be Christmas otherwise. But my favorite parts of the season are those quiet moments when we come together as…
Read MoreChristmas Trinity
Only the Son is incarnate, but the incarnation is the work of the whole Trinity. You can see why a distinction is helpful here: to recognize the undivided work of God toward us, but to specify the Son’s incarnation exclusively. Luther loved to use a homey image for this (one which he attributed to Bonaventure). The…
Read MoreEmmanuel, God Has Come
Tis the season. As we come to another Advent season, we are prompted once again to pause and meditate on our faith’s spectacular mystery: we confess that the Son of God, without ceasing to be God, became man. The Word was made flesh to dwell among us (Jn 1:14). The author of the story has…
Read MoreContemplation, Participation, and a Pinch of Optimism
December is a unique time of the year, allowing me to reflect on where my research has been and where it’s going. Looking back over the last several months, there are several ways research for my forthcoming Systematic Theology (Baker Academic) has developed: Theology as Contemplation First, theology as contemplation. At ETS I led a…
Read MoreTimothy Gatewood – Executive Editor and Associate Director
Credo exists to retrieve classical Christianity for the sake of creating and cultivating reformation in the church today. I (Matthew Barrett) founded Credo ten years ago to bridge the gulf between the academy and the church by making theology accessible to churchgoers, pastors, and students alike. And ten years later Credo continues to foster theological…
Read MoreO Come, O Come, Emmanuel
In Israel’s earliest days, God brought them out of Egypt, made a covenant with them, and began to lead them to the land of promise—the land that He had sworn to give to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 15:18–21). Israel, of course, was a cantankerous nation and lacked the faith to enter the promised land,…
Read MoreNew Credo Podcast! Modern Trinity or Classical Trinity?
Many moderns constructed their doctrine of the Trinity according to Rahner’s rule, which says the immanent Trinity is the economic Trinity and the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity. But should Christians even frame the Trinity in these terms? Are we conflating the Trinity with history itself by affirming this principle? But more broader still,…
Read MoreModern Trinity or Classical Trinity? Thomas Joseph White and Matthew Barrett
Many moderns constructed their doctrine of the Trinity according to Rahner’s rule, which says the immanent Trinity is the economic Trinity and the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity. But should Christians even frame the Trinity in these terms? Are we conflating the Trinity with history itself by affirming this principle? But more broader still,…
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