The doctrine of divine simplicity is a doctrine that some philosophers and theologians love to hate. The doctrine is accused of being confusing, incoherent, unbiblical, and just plain muddleheaded. One prominent example of rejection of the doctrine is Alvin Plantinga’s…
Something So Simple I Shouldn’t Have to Say It
[Update from the Editor: December 5, 2019] At the author’s request, we had temporarily removed this essay. Westminster Theological Seminary is reviewing the theology of Dr. Oliphint and have asked that faculty members (including adjunct faculty) refrain from blogging, podcasting,…
No Shortage of Bibles
The Hebrew-English Old Testament: BHS/ESV. Stuttgart, Germany/Wheaton, IL: German Bible Society/Crossway Books, 2012. pp. 3148. The Greek-English New Testament: N-A28/ESV. Stuttgart, Germany/Wheaton, IL: German Bible Society/Crossway Books, 2012. pp. 1674. The Systematic Theology Study Bible. ESV. Christopher W. Morgan, Stephan…
[Review] BibleWorks 10
We are embarrassed by a wealth of riches in this age in which we live. Books are not only available in print but in electronic form as well. We can build whole libraries of the best in Reformed and broader…
Why Are We Afraid to Be Reformed and Presbyterian?
Why are we afraid to be Reformed and Presbyterian when we teach church government and pastoral theology in our seminaries? I realize that not all seminaries that self-identify as Reformed and Presbyterian are negligent or derelict in their duty to…
Standing on Giants’ Shoulders (6): The Ancient Church and a Figural Reading of Scripture
After a hiatus we are back to our reading through and engaging with the text of Lewis Ayres’ Nicaea and its Legacy. We come now to the third point of departure that Ayres’ discusses in the opening chapter of the…
[Review] Preaching with Spiritual Power by Ralph Cunnington
Ralph Cunnington. Preaching With Spiritual Power: Calvin’s Understanding of Word and Spirit in Preaching. Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor/Christian Focus, 2015. pp. 126. A controversy has been going on for some time among generally Reformed churches in the United Kingdom (and regions beyond) regarding…
Standing on Giants’ Shoulders 5: A Series Formerly Known as Criterion
Is Origen the Root of All Kinds of Hermeneutical Evil? Renaming the Series This week we rechristen this blog series Standing on Giants’ Shoulders since that reflects more the character of what I am trying to accomplish with this series. Because…
Criterion 4: The Traditional Well-Worn Path
Lewis Ayres begins his consideration of the four points of departure in his Nicaea and Its Legacy by looking at the circumstances which obtained in the church from the time of Arius until the Council of Nicaea in 325 (15–20).…
Criterion 3: Let’s Begin at the Beginning
A New but Classic Text We are reading through Lewis Ayres’s Nicaea and its Legacy (Oxford University Press, 2004). Our goal is to read this relatively new but still classic text on the fourth-century Trinitarian controversy with intelligence and understanding.…
