Show Notes
Isn’t being dogmatic a bad thing? On the contrary, dogmatics is the lifeblood of the church.
In this episode, Matthew Barrett is joined by Reformed theologian Michael Allen as they unravel the task of sacred theology. Together, they explore the intricacies involved in writing theology, discussing the significance dogmatics plays in shaping our understanding of faith and doctrine. Drawing from their collective experience, they also pay homage to the legacy of John Webster, a towering figure in the recovery of classical theology. Allen shares his personal insights on Webster’s contributions to theological discourse, highlighting his classical insights into the nature of God and the role of theology in the life of the Church. But most of all, Allen tells us why friendship is so important for the task of dogmatics, bringing each of us into a community of theologians that can encourage us to take the road of orthodoxy when we may be tempted by the dazzling fruit of a theology that betrays the sacred scriptures and the great cloud of witnesses.
Join Matthew Barrett and Michael Allen as they discuss the task of theology, faith, and the profound mysteries of our Triune God.
Michael Allen serves as the John Dyer Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology and Academic Dean of Reformed Theology Seminary in Orlando. Previously, he taught at Knox Theological Seminary, where he held the D. James Kennedy Chair of Systematic Theology and also served as Dean of the Faculty. He has published many academic articles and books, including Justification and the Gospel: Understanding the Contexts and Controversies, Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval in Theology and Biblical Interpretation (with Scott R. Swain), Sanctification, a volume in the New Studies in Dogmatics series, and Grounded in Heaven: Recentering Christian Hope and Life in God.
Matthew Barrett is the editor-in-chief of Credo Magazine, director of the Center for Classical Theology, and host of the Credo podcast. He is professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the author of several books, including Simply Trinity, which won the Christianity Today Book of the Year Award in Theology/Ethics. His new book is called The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. He is currently writing a Systematic Theology with Baker Academic.