The Credo Alliance: Why We Believe in the Classical Method

In the second episode of The Credo Alliance, Credo Fellows Fred Sanders, J.V. Fesko, Scott Swain, and Matthew Barrett discuss the importance of theological method for classical theology. The method of modern theology will only take you so far with its allergy to reason and philosophy, but the classical approach reserves a judicious place for reason, pursuing not merely knowledge but wisdom itself. Sanders, Fesko, Swain, and Barrett pay attention to Truth with a capital “T.” They follow the lead of church fathers like Augustine who appropriated Platonism’s profound idea of transcendent truth but transformed its insight for the sake of classical Christian theology. Metaphysics in theological method is essential both for our interpretation of Scripture and our understanding of God and all things in relation to God. At the end of this episode, the Credo Fellows turn to the Trinity’s inseparable operations as a test case to see what the classical method looks like and why the spirit of classical theology is so unique.

Fred Sanders serves as professor in the Torrey Honors College, an undergraduate program in the great books, at Biola University. He has written several books and articles including The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything (Crossway, 2010), The Triune God (Zondervan, 2016), and Fountain of Salvation: Trinity and Soteriology (Eerdmans, 2021). Sanders serves as a Fellow of Credo Magazine.

J.V. Fesko serves as Harriet Barbour Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author and editor of several books, including The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption (Mentor, 2016). Fesko serves as a Fellow of Credo Magazine.

Scott Swain serves as president and James Woodrow Hassell Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including most recently The Trinity and the Bible: On Theological Interpretation (Lexham Press, 2021) and The Trinity: An Introduction (Crossway, 2020). Swain serves as a Fellow of Credo Magazine.

Matthew Barrett is the editor-in-chief of Credo Magazine and host of the Credo podcast. He is associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Director of the Center for Classical Theology. He is the author of the award-winning Simply Trinity and his new book is called, The Reformation as Renewal. He is currently writing a Systematic Theology (Baker Academic).