The Trinity and Christian preaching Recent days have prompted me to think about the relationship between trinitarian theology and Christian preaching. The first prompt came in June while participating in the International Presbyterian Church’s Catalyst Conference in London. Over the course of three days, I had the opportunity to listen to a lot of good […]
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 […]
That Your Joy May Be Full: A Theology of Happiness
by Scott R. Swain The Eudaimonia Machine is a work environment designed for what Cal Newport calls “deep work,” the state of undistracted, focused attention in which human beings are able to operate to the full extent of their creative capacities.1 This work environment “takes its name from the ancient Greek concept of eudaimonia (a state in […]
B. B. Warfield and the Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity
by Scott R. Swain B. B. Warfield’s 1915 ISBE article on the Trinity presents the Princeton theologian’s mature thinking on the biblical bases and meaning of the doctrine and offers a revisionist interpretation of the personal names of “Father,” “Son,” and “Spirit.” Instead of interpreting the personal names of the Trinity in terms of relations of […]
Read Your Bible with Self-Denial—and Find Yourself
by Scott R. Swain Jesus’s call to take up our cross has implications for the entirety of our lives, including how we read our Bibles. Building on this conviction, Q & A 157 of the Westminster Larger Catechism counsels us to read Scripture with “self-denial.” Unfortunately, this counsel is often ignored in evangelical Bible reading, preaching, […]
