Book Review: Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 1, by Geerhardus Vos Over the weekend I had the opportunity to work through the first volume of Geerhardus Vos’s Reformed Dogmatics, which is devoted to theology proper (i.e., God’s being, attributes, and triunity; God’s decrees; and God’s “natural works” [naturae opera] of creation and providence). I confess to being a […]
More on the Trinity and divine action
In previous entries in what is becoming an impromptu antiphonal blog series on the Trinity, Fred Sanders and I have focused on the nature and relevance of the doctrine of inseparable operations (see here, here, and here). To this point, we have considered ways in which the unity of God’s being informs the unity of God’s action towards […]
On not destroying fruitful trees: a brief defense of the doctrine of inseparable operations
I recently read an essay by a leading evangelical theologian arguing that many “egalitarian” discussions of the doctrine of the Trinity threaten to compromise basic tenets of orthodox Christianity and to undermine, at least implicitly, the authority of the Bible (1). Over the course of the essay, the author extensively criticized some of these approaches […]
A trinitarian theology of salvation in miniature
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13.14 B. B. Warfield long ago observed that the apostolic writings do not develop but rather presuppose the doctrine of the Trinity. The New Testament is not evidence of a transitional […]
Pushback on the pushback
Over at First Things Peter Leithart recently posted some comments on Gijsbert van den Brink’s article in the July issue of the International Journal of Systematic Theology. Therein, van den Brink addresses recent lack of enthusiasm in academic theology for “social trinitarianism,” i.e., the belief that “Father, Son and Holy Spirit might best be conceived of as three distinct and […]
“Great kindness; great mercy”: Augustine on adoption
Augustine’s second homily on the Gospel of John offers one of the richest commentaries on John 1.12 that I have read. His explanation of what it means for God to give us “the right to become children of God” is worth quoting in full: “What did he bestow on them? Great kindness; great mercy. Singly born, he […]
