Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.” 1 Timothy 5:1-2 This is the second in a series on biblical identity entitled “What Is (Hu)Man?”
Neither angel nor animal: the place of emotions in human being and wellbeing
Review: The Logic of the Body: Retrieving Theological Psychology, by Matthew A. LaPine “What is man?” (Ps 8:4). The psalmist’s question is not after a definition, much less a metaphysical description of human beings. His question expresses wonder at humankind’s place in the cosmos. Made “a little lower than the angels,” as the Septuagint has […]
More thoughts on theological anthropology: man as male and female
A couple of months ago I posted an article outlining some thoughts about the renewal of theological anthropology. Therein I suggested a number of resources from which one might draw and a number of topics one might address in promoting such a renewal. Given my desire to reflect globally on the topic, I refrained from […]
Renewing theological anthropology
“What is man?” (Ps 8:4). Theological anthropology (i.e., discourse about the nature, actions, and ends of human beings) is the discipline devoted to addressing the psalmist’s question within the context of the psalmist’s awe and wonder before the majesty of God. Anthropology lies at the center of contemporary controversies both inside and outside the church. […]
Every Sorrow Will Be Swallowed in Joy: Beholding the King in His Beauty
by Scott R. Swain Christian theology has a deep and abiding interest in the topic of happiness because it has a deep and abiding interest in “the happy God” (1 Timothy 1:11) and in the happiness of the people whose God is the Lord (Psalm 144:15). In our first installment in a Christian theology of happiness, […]
For Now We Rejoice in Part: Happiness Here and Not Yet
by Scott R. Swain God has promised his people supreme, unending, unshakeable happiness. Contrary to the claims of popular prosperity preachers, however, the supreme happiness God promises his people will not be realized in this life. Ours is a life characterized by sorrow in many ways. For now, we rejoice only in part. There are […]