God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). But how, exactly? This is a great question to ask as we enter another Passion Week. In this sermon, originally delivered at Lendrum Mennonite Brethren Church in Edmonton, AB, I discuss the penal substitution theory of atonement. According to this theory, the atonement consisted of […]
christology
Why Jesus almost certainly had some errant theological beliefs
The discussion thread to my article “Eric Seibert on biblical violence and the Canaanites” includes an interesting discussion between Geoff and Steven Jake regarding whether Jesus may have had false beliefs, and in particular false theological beliefs. I don’t believe Jesus had any false theological beliefs about matters of soteriological import. In other words, Jesus knew […]
Why Jesus was NOT “tempted” (and why it matters)
The following is a repost of an article originally published at The Christian Post in 2009. * * * In their trials and temptations many Christians have drawn strength from Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been […]
8. A conversation on the Incarnate God with theologian Oliver Crisp
In May, 2013 I attended the Logos Conference at Notre Dame University. While there, I had an opportunity to sit down with my personal friend Oliver Crisp, Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. I got to know Oliver fourteen years ago when we were both doing PhDs at King’s College, London. Since […]
Inclusivism again: how we can be saved apart from hearing the gospel, and why the gospel still matters
In “If inclusivism is true does believing in Jesus still matter?” I presented an analogy for those who would argue that if knowledge of Jesus is not necessary to be saved by Jesus then we ought not proclaim Jesus. The analogy I gave was this. Healthcare workers are concerned above all with maintaining public health. […]
Reformed Rap comes of Age: Shai Linne on The Hypostatic Union
I am not a big fan of rap, hip hop, or any combination thereof. But I’ve long respected the work of Shai Linne. This brother backs more theology into a four minute rap song than most evangelical pastors fit into a four week sermon series. His latest single, called “The Hypostatic Union,” includes clever and theologically loaded lyrics […]
A breathtakingly larger canvas: The Cross in cosmic perspective
In my last article I pointed out that the New Testament (Paul specifically) seems to view the atonement as having truly cosmic implications. Thomas Torrance describes the cross as a “world altar” and says it “has cosmic significance in that it claims and suborns the world for its redeeming purpose.” (Atonement: The Person and Work […]
The Cross and the eXtreme Deep Field
Imagine that you are a geologist in the late nineteenth century. Your goal is an ambitious one: develop a theory that can explain the following geologic features: volcanoes, moutain ranges, earthquakes, and the puzzle-piece like fit of Africa and South America. A single, over-arching theory to explain all these varied phenomena? That would be ambitious […]
What is the atonement at least? Lessons from the ascension
It is no secret that atonement theories abound, each one vying to be the account for how God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. In this discussion it seems to be de rigueur these days to explain the abundance of atonement theories in terms of the fact that there is an abundance of metaphors of […]
The fallible Jesus?
The question of the knowledge (and ignorance) of Jess exploded back onto the blog this week when Andy Derksen commented the following in my article “How many wrong beliefs did Jesus have?” unless Jesus was in fact wrong about his very identity and mission(!) … whatever he actually *taught* as recorded in the gospels–including statements that have […]
Will the real Christian please stand up?
And so the discussion on Christian unity and Christian identity continues. I apologize for my spotty engagement in the discussion. On Friday I drove five hours to another city to teach a Christian worldview course Friday evening and all day Saturday. Too bad y’all weren’t there because one of the points I emphasized is the […]
Christians singing pagan songs … and liking it
Star 2 critiques my defense of Christians singing and enjoying “pagan” songs like “White Christmas” by asking the following (presumably rhetorical) question: “What is biblical about singing pagan songs that do not reflect the reason for Christmas, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world to save sinners?” There is so much wrong […]
How many wrong beliefs did Jesus have?
In a recent blog post I discussed the question of theistic evolution and the beliefs of first century Jews about the creation narrative. There I argued that the inconsistency between the beliefs of those individuals, even of Jesus himself, and evolution is not an insuperable problem to an evolutionary account of human origins. As I […]
Can Jesus make a better Caesar salad than my wife?
An earlier version of this article was posted at The Christian Post in 2009. Yesterday I was at the dinner table with my wife and daughter eating a tasty meal. As I crunched the crispy romaine lettuce dressed with croutons, parmesan cheese, lemon juice and the rest, I exclaimed to my daughter, “Nobody can make […]
