Soteriology: The Eastern Orthodox View

At some point in the beginnings of human existence man was faced with a choice, to learn the difference between good and evil through observation or through participation. The biblical story of Adam and Eve represents this choice by mankind to participate in evil. This event is commonly referred to as “the fall of man” [...]

What is Soteriology?

1. The Subject Matter of Soteriology 1. What is Salvation? 2. History of Understanding Salvation 3. Contemporary Trends and Relevance of Soteriology 1. The Subject Matter of Soteriology (1) What is Soteriology? (i) Soteriology as an academic discipline is primarily a study of salvation, i.e., what it is, how it is acquired, and how it [...]

Ready to go? The second semester looms…

Now that the next semester is looming (!) and the holidays all but gone, I present a short book list for those intending to take the courses I am offering in February. 1. PENTATEUCH This is a first year course: an over-all sketch study of the first five books of the Bible. The textbook is    [...]

Romans: The Results of Justification

This week’s lecture on romans-lecture-7.ppt still develops the theme of Justification from Romans 5. Please check that your Romans 3 assignments are posted on your weblogs ASAP. Looking forward to reading your reviews of Conflict and Identity. and forthcoming lesson plans on Romans 7.

Missiology: The Prophets and their Mission

I  have been reading an article for the Missiology classentitled, The Biblical Foundation of the Mission of the Church by Robert Dobbie 1962. Dobbie does a wonderful job of setting the context for the Jewish idea of the coming Messiah. He states: The dreams of the new Kingdom included the religious centrality of Jerusalem, the political [...]

Paul and the Law

What was Paul’s view of the Law?  1. Introduction 2. The Crisis over Gentiles and the Law in the Early Church 3. The Status of the Law in Relation to Being Declared Righteous    3.1. Paul’s View of the Law Prior to Conversion    3.2. Paul’s Reassessment of the Law in Relation to Being Declared Righteous        3.2.1. [...]

Puritanism: Lectures

Greetings to Year 2/3 students joining us for Puritanism: History and Theology Here’s a student essay defending the subject, asking why-study-puritan-theology.doc and here’s the powerpoint of Lecture 1 puritanism.ppt. Your immediate task is to purchase Pilgrims Progresss and read through Part One. Peace and Grace!

The sovereignty of God: an Arminian perspective

This article was posted over at Arminian Perspectives by Kangeroodort. In the article he discusses the differences between Calvinists and Arminians on this issue. He asks a question that I have asked in the past. In fact, when I first started to study Reformed Theology this was one of my first objections. Kangeroodort said Is [...]

Wilberforce: “feelingly alive…”

  “If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” – William Wilberforce, 1759- 1833, the British abolitionist and subject of the recent film Amazing Grace

The Bluffer’s Guide to Theology

Can you identify everyone here? A free Mars Bar for the first student email… Find a solitary fact about each of the following and drop it into party conversation when the going gets slow: Athanasius, Arius,Montanus,Augustine,Anselm,Francis of Assisi,Tyndale,Wycliffe,Erasmus,Luther,Zwingli,Melancthon,CalvinBezaOwen GoodwinWesley,Whitfield,Edwards,Finney,Pusey,Newman,Muller,Spurgeon, Barth,Bonhoeffer,Bultmann,N.T.Wright