Bavinck’s Contemporary Morality
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
In his 1902 essay titled “Contemporary Morality,” Herman Bavinck starts admitting that there is a lack of discussion regarding moral principles and issues in his society and his church. For him, the importance to pay attention to moral principles and moral issues is that by their own nature human beings have needs, which are different from visible things. In order to live well their lives, he says, people should know the rule by which they organize their life. Bavinck claims that morality discussions can go from questions such as what is good and what is evil to practical matters such as marr ..read more
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Is the denial of penal substitutionary atonement a heresy?
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
As this article from The Banner (the official magazine of the Christian Reformed Church) points out, this year’s CRC General Synod had an interesting discussion regarding Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA), which is one of the many theories to understand and interpret the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice. Interesting to me was the question of whether the denial of PSA might constitute a ‘heresy’ or not. The CRC synod, after some deliberation, concluded: [I]t is a serious deviation from the teachings of the confessions of the Christian Reformed Church to in any way deny that Jesus Christ’s lif ..read more
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The image of God and its implications for the church
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
The doctrine of the image of God is based on Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-3, and 9:3 that state that God made human beings—male and female—to the image and likeness of Him. The basic implication of this doctrine is that all human persons regardless of gender, race, and capacities are created according to the likeness or the image of God. Other texts in the Scriptures that are useful for this doctrine are Col. 3:10 where Paul speaks of the renewed human being created after God’s image; 1 Cor. 1:17 where Paul asserts that in some respect the male is both the image of God while the female is the glory o ..read more
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The prolegomena of Aquinas, Calvin, Schleiermacher, Barth, Tillich, and Pannenberg
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
I have been reading Aquinas, Calvin, Schleiermacher, Barth, Tillich, and Pannenberg at the seminary for some years. One interesting question I had (like many other students) was regarding some differences and similarities between the prolegomena of these theologians. For this reason I will try to respond to this question in a few sentences hoping it can be useful for those interested in the topic. For Aquinas, God reveals himself in both Scripture (through special/divine revelation) and in nature (through general/natural revelation). Aquinas follows Paul’s words in arguing that the impious mi ..read more
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Key themes in Calvin’s view of the atonement
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
When one discusses Christ’s atonement and the relation between God’s wrath and love many questions and themes emerge. In this respect one can find at least three major themes in Calvin’s view of the atonement/redemption as discussed in the Institutes: the substitutionary dimension of Christ’s atoning work, the atonement as a sacrifice, and Christ’s triumph over sin and the powers. These themes not only emerge from Calvin’s understanding of the redemptive work of Christ but also are considered being central in such discussion. Atonement as Substitution In a few words, the atonement understood ..read more
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The atonement – Its biblical basis, main models, and major representatives
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
Despite the fact that the doctrine of atonement was never discussed openly in one of the church councils during the early Church, it is a doctrine that stirs up controversy in many theological circles. In its basic form, the atonement refers to the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ. There are several passages in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures that speak of the atonement. One of the most known passages in the Hebrew Scriptures is Isaiah 53. Traditionally, this chapter has been considered of speaking about the suffering servant who bores human transgressions and iniquities in order to hea ..read more
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Review of Divine Discourse by Nicholas Wolterstorff
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
In Divine Discourse, Wolterstorff offers a series of arguments to defend his major conclusion: God still speaks today through Scripture! In order to hear God speaking, however, Christians should reformulate their relation of the Bible and divine revelation. For him, the best way to comprehend the Bible is through divine discourse and not necessarily divine revelation. Let’s begin clarifying the phrase ‘propositional revelation’ Wolterstorff refers frequently. In a nutshell, propositional revelation refers to a non-manifestational revelation. That is, God does not self-reveals himself to human ..read more
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Review of The Nature of Doctrine by George Lindbeck
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
Based on his view of religion as a linguistic community, George Lindbeck’s The Nature of Doctrine calls Christians to pay heed to the integration of the Christian faith and secular scientific resources for the benefit of Christian ecumenical relations. In order to accomplish this task, Lindbeck wants to defends and propose a middle way to understand doctrine, its function, and nature. For him, the current state of affairs is very negative in terms of how people perceive Christian doctrines and dogmas. Lindbeck argues that doctrine should be understood as a linguistic system with its symbols a ..read more
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Review of By the Renewing of Your Minds by Ellen Charry
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
In Ellen Charry’s book By the Renewing of Your Minds she reclaims the pastoral role of Christian doctrines, once part of the theologian’s basic instruction, in the formation and development of our Christian life. The process of a cultivation of Christian virtues needs to be strengthened with theological content and not only with habits or repetitive actions. This is a very insightful claim that shapes the whole book through its chapters. If used rightly, Christian doctrine is an excellent means to nurture and discern one’s personal life and our communal life. Christian theology — patristic, m ..read more
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Kant as one of the greatest defenders of natural law
Christian Theist In A Postmodern World
by Rev. Isaias D'Oleo
1y ago
Kant believes natural law is written in the human heart. For him the highest good can be understood as happiness which it is distributed in exact proportion to morality (First Critique). Therefore, in a sense, the highest good can be defined as the combination happiness and virtue. However, this definition is not clearly held in all Kantian writings, something which arises an ambiguity that has been an object of an ongoing research. For instance, in the Second Critique Kant also speaks of the supreme good as a consummated or transcended good. A widespread way to approach the issue has been cl ..read more
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