At the first turning of the third stair
Was a slotted window bellied like the figs's fruit
And beyond the hawthorn blossom and a pasture scene
The broadbacked figure drest in blue and green
Enchanted the maytime with an antique flute.
Blown hair is sweet, brown hair over the mouth blown,
Lilac and brown hair;
Distraction, music of the flute, stops and steps of the mind over the third stair,
Fading, fading; strength beyond hope and despair
Climbing the third stair.
Lord, I am not worthy Lord, I am not worthy
but speak the word only.
From - TS Eliot, Ash Wednesday
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Milton and Dostoyevsky
"Though different in so many ways, John Milton and Fyodor Dostoyevsky are one in their use of the biblical narrative of Christ's temptations in the wilderness at key moments in their works. Each address the problem of theodicy - seeking to justify the ways of God to men."
- Andrey Gorbunov, Literature and Theology 20.1 (2006)
- Andrey Gorbunov, Literature and Theology 20.1 (2006)
Sayers
"The one thing I am here to say to you is this: that it is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality, unless they are prepared to take their stand upon the fundamentals of Christian theology. It is a lie to say that dogma does not matter; it matters enormously. It is fatal to let people suppose that Christianity is only a mode of feeling; it is virtually necessary to insist that it is first and foremost a rational explanation of the universe. It is hopeless to offer Christianity as a vaguely idealistic aspiration of a simple and consoling kind; it is, on the contrary, a hard, tough, exacting and complex doctrine, steeped in a drastic and uncompromising realism."
- Dorothy Sayers, "Creed or Chaos", p 28.
- Dorothy Sayers, "Creed or Chaos", p 28.
Law and Love
(A) shared view of the relationship between love and law between the Old and New Testaments represents a major instance of continuity with respect to love and law between the testaments. However, in addition, in this case continuity should not be thought of as perfect symmetry for the NT gives love the priority (cf Rom 13:8, Gal 5:13) while it may reasonably be said that because the OT puts the love of neighbor in a legal context, it gives the system of law the priority...
- Richard Allbee, JSOT, 31.2 (2006)
- Richard Allbee, JSOT, 31.2 (2006)
Prophetic
This is taken from a 1952 article by Tadakzu Uwoki in the "Japan Christian Quaterly" and has striking relevance for today's context, particularly in relation to America's foreign policy:
"Politically speaking, the Japanese dared to make a great leap after the war. Democracy is taken for granted in these days. The trouble is that people are not well trained in the democratic principles. On the contrary, some are making use of them for undemocratic purposes. In any sudden change of a social or political order, it is quite natural that superficial gestures are taken to be genuine action. A similar phenomenon occurred some eighty years ago, just after the Meiji Resotration. The character of a nation accustomed to feudal ideas for hundreds of years, would not very easily be made over. There were Chrsitna leaders who warend the people that the change in the form of government would not alter the national characteristics at one stroke. Constitutionally-minded people must be produced through a longer preocess of education. The most urgent necessity was the cultivation of a new spirit and character in the nation. This warning was well-founded. The feudalistic character of the people remained alive far into the constitutional era."
"Politically speaking, the Japanese dared to make a great leap after the war. Democracy is taken for granted in these days. The trouble is that people are not well trained in the democratic principles. On the contrary, some are making use of them for undemocratic purposes. In any sudden change of a social or political order, it is quite natural that superficial gestures are taken to be genuine action. A similar phenomenon occurred some eighty years ago, just after the Meiji Resotration. The character of a nation accustomed to feudal ideas for hundreds of years, would not very easily be made over. There were Chrsitna leaders who warend the people that the change in the form of government would not alter the national characteristics at one stroke. Constitutionally-minded people must be produced through a longer preocess of education. The most urgent necessity was the cultivation of a new spirit and character in the nation. This warning was well-founded. The feudalistic character of the people remained alive far into the constitutional era."
Psalms
Psalm 1 not only identifies devotion to Torah as "the way of the righteous" but its authorial voice also embodies attentiveness to Scripture through its dependence on and interpretation of other texts. In fact, Psalm 1 is a tapestry of the writings of ancient Israel. In its first three verses, Ps 1 alludes to Deut 6:6-9, Josh 1:8, Gen 39:3, 23; Jer 17:5-8; and Ezek 47:12. These five allusions serve a critical exegetical function by actually modeling the very devotion to Torah that the psalm extols and by interpreting reality in light of this reading.
Brian Russell "Psalm 1 as an Interpreter of Scripture" IBQ, 26.4 (2005)
Brian Russell "Psalm 1 as an Interpreter of Scripture" IBQ, 26.4 (2005)
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Summer reading
For the month of June, I am consciously avoiding any specific theological reading unless absolutely necessary (for Sunday school preparation, etc). This is because I want to actually feel like I'm having a summer break; although I enjoy reading theology, it has practically become part of my job and so I'm drawing the line of demarcation.One was "The Professor and the Madman" by Simon Winchester. A very interesting account of two men who contributed much to the writing of the massive Oxford English Dictionary, a veritable tome and exhaustive treatment of the English language. The madman spent several decades from his place in the asylum writing and reading, in order to help with the citations of the OED. But the thing is, while he was clearly off his rocker in certain respects, in many other ways he was perfectly rational. It is a story worth reading. I enjoyed the chapter about Samuel Johnson's
dictionary too - he is one of my heroes.
The second was "Under the Banner of Heaven" by John Krakauer. It is basically a history of Mormonism mixed in with the story of a group of Mormon fundamentalists who believe in polygamy. Certainly Krakauer offers a "critical history" here, arguing for the persistent and uneasy tension between Mormonism and American culture. It's also includes disturbing accounts of murder. But all in all, I think it's a good digest of Mormon belief and history from an outsider's perspective.
I'm developing an interest of sorts in Mormonism - not out of sympathy, but out of curiosity. It is a very fast growing religion, and although Krakauer wants to place it as a religion at odds with American culture, I tend to think it shares several key characteristics with American life and thought. For one, Joseph Smith basically saw himself as an entrepeneur, and came up with a new "product" to match the tastes of his day. This was to be sure just one example where Christian religion and capitalist marketing have been mixed in the US. Mormonism is also heavily moralistic without a doctrinal center. This is not to say that they don't have doctrine - they do and much of it is flat out bizarre. But on the practical level the upstanding behavior of the community is held above "orthodoxy" and in many ways this reflects the pragmatic spirit of America from its beginnings.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Beckwith
Christianity Today recently interviewed Francis Beckwith, the former president of the Evangelical Theological Society who resigned because of his re-entrance into the Roman church. Here's a snippet of the interview: "The Catholic Church frames the Christian life as one in which you must exercise virtue—not because virtue saves you, but because that's the way God's grace gets manifested. As an evangelical, even when I talked about sanctification and wanted to practice it, it seemed as if I didn't have a good enough incentive to do so. Now there's a kind of theological framework, and it doesn't say my salvation depends on me, but it says my virtue counts for something."
This is disturbing to me on several levels. Firstly, I find it troubling that Beckwith's first mention of "grace" is in connection with "virtue" rather than "redemption." Protestants have traditionally had little problem with speaking of grace in connection with sanctification and conformity to Christ, but in our best moments we have clearly established that grace in this respect is impossible unless we are first clothed with the righteousness of Christ. In other words, before grace works "inside" it comes as a gift from the "outside" - that is, through Christ's life, death, and resurrection which doesn't just start the process of redemption but actually accomplishes it.
This leads to the second point, where Beckwith says that "as an evangelical, even when I talked about sanctification and wanted to practice it, it seemed as if I didn't have a good enough incentive to do so." My response: does the gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone not provide enough incentive to pursue holiness, that we have to substitute it with another gospel of faith plus works? Put simply, what about the incentive of "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me" or "We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life?" It is extremely vexing to me why one would want to exchange the death and resurrection as our incentive for sanctification for something else, which is inevitably a form of self-justification.
Which takes us to the last point, where Beckwith says "Now there's a kind of theological fraemwork, and it doesn't say my salvation depends on me, but it says my virtue counts for something." It seems to me that the underlying text here is, "Now I can finally contribute something to my salvation." In the Protestant scheme, our virtue does indeed count for something: it "adorns the doctrine of God our Savior" (Titus 2:10). What our virtue does not do is "count" before God as earned credit with the heavenly bank. We have two choices when all is said and done: the righteousness that is from the Law or righteousness that is by faith in Christ (Phil 3:9) -seeking my righteousness or receiving the righteousness of another.
Hopefully the fact that the president of the ETS has run away from the true apostolic and catholic Church does not mean others will follow.
This is disturbing to me on several levels. Firstly, I find it troubling that Beckwith's first mention of "grace" is in connection with "virtue" rather than "redemption." Protestants have traditionally had little problem with speaking of grace in connection with sanctification and conformity to Christ, but in our best moments we have clearly established that grace in this respect is impossible unless we are first clothed with the righteousness of Christ. In other words, before grace works "inside" it comes as a gift from the "outside" - that is, through Christ's life, death, and resurrection which doesn't just start the process of redemption but actually accomplishes it.
This leads to the second point, where Beckwith says that "as an evangelical, even when I talked about sanctification and wanted to practice it, it seemed as if I didn't have a good enough incentive to do so." My response: does the gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone not provide enough incentive to pursue holiness, that we have to substitute it with another gospel of faith plus works? Put simply, what about the incentive of "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me" or "We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life?" It is extremely vexing to me why one would want to exchange the death and resurrection as our incentive for sanctification for something else, which is inevitably a form of self-justification.
Which takes us to the last point, where Beckwith says "Now there's a kind of theological fraemwork, and it doesn't say my salvation depends on me, but it says my virtue counts for something." It seems to me that the underlying text here is, "Now I can finally contribute something to my salvation." In the Protestant scheme, our virtue does indeed count for something: it "adorns the doctrine of God our Savior" (Titus 2:10). What our virtue does not do is "count" before God as earned credit with the heavenly bank. We have two choices when all is said and done: the righteousness that is from the Law or righteousness that is by faith in Christ (Phil 3:9) -seeking my righteousness or receiving the righteousness of another.
Hopefully the fact that the president of the ETS has run away from the true apostolic and catholic Church does not mean others will follow.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Chronicles
The Chronicler's adherence to a 'theology of immediate retribution' provides his dominant compositional technique, particularly formative in his reshaping of the history of Judah after the schism. 'Retribution theology' refers to the author's apparent conviction that reward and punishment are not deferred, but rather follow on the heels of the precipitating events. For the Chronicler sin always brings judgment and disaster, while obedience and righteousness yield the fruit of peace and prosperity.
- R. Dillard "Reward and Punishment in Chronicles" WTJ 46
- R. Dillard "Reward and Punishment in Chronicles" WTJ 46
Friday, April 27, 2007
FV
Doug Wilson is indeed a prolific blogger. I must say I am impressed with the sheer amount of coherent words he is able to string together on a daily basis, covering all sorts of topics. If he was a writer in ancient Israel they would had to fell half the trees in Lebanon to provide enough paper for his writing.
Anyhow, I was surprised to see that Wilson is responding to every chapter of every book that engages in a critical analysis of the Federal Vision. So he is currently responding to By Faith Alone edited by Gary Johnson, and he recently finished Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry edited by Dr. Scott Clark. The responses by Wilson can be found here. One consistent reservation that Wilson registers is the idea of the republication of the covenant of works at Sinai. He thinks that this is setting up God's people for inevitable confusion, because if the COW was republished at Sinai, it would mean there were two principle operating at the same time in redemptive history: the Covenant of works and the Covenant of Grace. If this is the case, then Wilson argues that we somehow have to distinguish between which parts of this era relate to works and which relate to grace - something that would be unnecessarily tedious. I don't want to get into it in detail here, but I think one problem is that Wilson does not seem to understand the typological aspect of the covenant of works in the Mosaic economy. Here I would simply recommend an interesting article by TL Donaldson called the "The Curse of the Law and the Inclusion of the Gentiles" (in New Testament Studies, 32 - 1986- pgs. 94-112). Here is a great paragraph from the article that relates to the subject at hand:
"Israel serves as a 'representative sample' for the whole of humankind. Within Israel's experience, the nature of the universal human plight - bondage to sin and to the powers of this age - is thrown into sharp relief through the functioning of the law. The law, therefore, cannot accomplish the promise; but by creating a representative sample in which the human plight is clarified and concentrated, it sets the stage for redemption. Christ identifies (with) not only the human situation in general (Gal 4:4), but also with Israel in particular, thereby becoming the representative individual of the representative people" (pg. 105-106).
Anyhow, I was surprised to see that Wilson is responding to every chapter of every book that engages in a critical analysis of the Federal Vision. So he is currently responding to By Faith Alone edited by Gary Johnson, and he recently finished Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry edited by Dr. Scott Clark. The responses by Wilson can be found here. One consistent reservation that Wilson registers is the idea of the republication of the covenant of works at Sinai. He thinks that this is setting up God's people for inevitable confusion, because if the COW was republished at Sinai, it would mean there were two principle operating at the same time in redemptive history: the Covenant of works and the Covenant of Grace. If this is the case, then Wilson argues that we somehow have to distinguish between which parts of this era relate to works and which relate to grace - something that would be unnecessarily tedious. I don't want to get into it in detail here, but I think one problem is that Wilson does not seem to understand the typological aspect of the covenant of works in the Mosaic economy. Here I would simply recommend an interesting article by TL Donaldson called the "The Curse of the Law and the Inclusion of the Gentiles" (in New Testament Studies, 32 - 1986- pgs. 94-112). Here is a great paragraph from the article that relates to the subject at hand:
"Israel serves as a 'representative sample' for the whole of humankind. Within Israel's experience, the nature of the universal human plight - bondage to sin and to the powers of this age - is thrown into sharp relief through the functioning of the law. The law, therefore, cannot accomplish the promise; but by creating a representative sample in which the human plight is clarified and concentrated, it sets the stage for redemption. Christ identifies (with) not only the human situation in general (Gal 4:4), but also with Israel in particular, thereby becoming the representative individual of the representative people" (pg. 105-106).
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Islam
Here is the first paragraph of a paper I did for a "Witness to Muslims" class:
Malise Ruthven states decisively, “If there is a single word that can be taken to represent the primary impulse of Islam, be it theological, political, or sociological, it is tawhid – making one, unicity…”[1] The Muslim doctrine of God (Allah) underlies this noticeably strong emphasis on the oneness of Islam: it forms the very first part of the Islamic creed – “there is no god but Allah…” All subsets of Muslim belief and practice including the authority structure, the law, and the community subserve the aim of submitting to the one will of the one God Allah. Ruthven further asserts that “the overwhelming stress on God’s uniqueness reflects the polemical context in which early Islam was forged. Tawhid simultaneously challenges Arabian paganism, Zoroastrian dualism, and the Christian doctrine of divine incarnation.”[2] Indeed, one of the first visible acts of Muhammad was his destruction of all the pagan idols set up in Mecca, save one: Allah. Perhaps metaphorically this is how adherents of Islam might like to conceive of its status: a force that has dispersed all competitors and established itself as the supreme religion above all others. For fourteen centuries Islam, despite all its internal turmoils, has sought to remain committed to tawhid, zealously guarding it against pagan polytheism and Christian Trinitarianism.
[1] Malise Ruthven, Islam: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: OUP, 1997), 49.
[2] Ibid, 50.
Malise Ruthven states decisively, “If there is a single word that can be taken to represent the primary impulse of Islam, be it theological, political, or sociological, it is tawhid – making one, unicity…”[1] The Muslim doctrine of God (Allah) underlies this noticeably strong emphasis on the oneness of Islam: it forms the very first part of the Islamic creed – “there is no god but Allah…” All subsets of Muslim belief and practice including the authority structure, the law, and the community subserve the aim of submitting to the one will of the one God Allah. Ruthven further asserts that “the overwhelming stress on God’s uniqueness reflects the polemical context in which early Islam was forged. Tawhid simultaneously challenges Arabian paganism, Zoroastrian dualism, and the Christian doctrine of divine incarnation.”[2] Indeed, one of the first visible acts of Muhammad was his destruction of all the pagan idols set up in Mecca, save one: Allah. Perhaps metaphorically this is how adherents of Islam might like to conceive of its status: a force that has dispersed all competitors and established itself as the supreme religion above all others. For fourteen centuries Islam, despite all its internal turmoils, has sought to remain committed to tawhid, zealously guarding it against pagan polytheism and Christian Trinitarianism.
[1] Malise Ruthven, Islam: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: OUP, 1997), 49.
[2] Ibid, 50.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Music
A diversity of friends means a diversity of musical tastes, and I rather like that. So here (without consulting them) are some friendly favorites:
My friend Peter likes Orishas, a Cuban rap group that is really quite musically diverse.
My friend Stephen likes Carla Bruni, a French jazzy-type singer with great song-writing skills.
My friend Scott likes Christian Forshaw, a great saxophonist who integrates choral works with his creative instrumentation.
My friends Justin and Erika like Regina Spektor, a great lyricist with a unique voice: the song "Samson" is worth pondering.
My friend Ellis likes (or at least used to) Blessid Union of Souls, a band with clever (if sometimes depressing) lyrical rock ballads.
My sister Tami likes the Magnetic Fields, an old-school sounding band with very melodic and memorable tunes.
My friend Peter likes Orishas, a Cuban rap group that is really quite musically diverse.
My friend Stephen likes Carla Bruni, a French jazzy-type singer with great song-writing skills.
My friend Scott likes Christian Forshaw, a great saxophonist who integrates choral works with his creative instrumentation.
My friends Justin and Erika like Regina Spektor, a great lyricist with a unique voice: the song "Samson" is worth pondering.
My friend Ellis likes (or at least used to) Blessid Union of Souls, a band with clever (if sometimes depressing) lyrical rock ballads.
My sister Tami likes the Magnetic Fields, an old-school sounding band with very melodic and memorable tunes.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Prolegomena
So I've been reading Provan/Long/Longman's book A Biblical History of Israel which on the whole is very well written and a great overview of ancient Israel. One thing I have noticed though is that while the book is some 300 pages (with small print), a full third of the book is dedicated to historiographic concerns - essentially a justification for writing a history of Israel using the biblical text as a primary source. While it's a helpful discussion, I wonder if these authors have gotten caught in today's almost obsessive preoccupation with prolegomena, seen especially in Christian theology and philosophy.
One of my professors has said that prolegomena is like clearing the throat before one speaks. What is funny is that if we take this analogy to our present context, then there are many scholars and writers today who seem to spend the majority of their time clearing their throats and then finally getting around to saying something worthwhile (if they ever get there!) I think one of the unforunate aspects of the contemporary academic landscape - call it "postmodern" if you like - is that many feel like they have to spend a good deal of labor and book space with preliminary issues and philosophical questions, and then end up doing less with their actual object of study. Thus, a scientist in a Christian university has to come up with a "Christian philosophy of science" before he ever looks at something under the microscope. Bavinck, a theologian who himself wrote a very lengthy Prolegomena to his dogmatic theology, wisely comments right at the beginning that in going through introductory matters like the authority of Scripture and the place of the church and tradition in theological formulation, one is already doing theology! This seems like a wise insight - and it warns us not to draw a map before we've actually hit the trail.
One of my professors has said that prolegomena is like clearing the throat before one speaks. What is funny is that if we take this analogy to our present context, then there are many scholars and writers today who seem to spend the majority of their time clearing their throats and then finally getting around to saying something worthwhile (if they ever get there!) I think one of the unforunate aspects of the contemporary academic landscape - call it "postmodern" if you like - is that many feel like they have to spend a good deal of labor and book space with preliminary issues and philosophical questions, and then end up doing less with their actual object of study. Thus, a scientist in a Christian university has to come up with a "Christian philosophy of science" before he ever looks at something under the microscope. Bavinck, a theologian who himself wrote a very lengthy Prolegomena to his dogmatic theology, wisely comments right at the beginning that in going through introductory matters like the authority of Scripture and the place of the church and tradition in theological formulation, one is already doing theology! This seems like a wise insight - and it warns us not to draw a map before we've actually hit the trail.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Christology
"To summarize, it is not via kenotic Christologies but via a theology of divine accomomodation that we are able to uphold the two natures of Christ in one person. Not only in the incarnation but throughout the history of God's covenant with his people God remains God while entering into solidarity with human beings and creation more generally. God is "haveable" because he has given himself, and yet he remains "other:" free from as well as for the world. By uniting himself to our flesh, the Son executes in time the redemptive determination in eternity. The incarnation is therefore the culmination of covenantal accommodation. We have indeed met a stranger, but is hs also flesh of our flesh, a mediator "who in every respect has been tested as we are, and yet without sin" (Heb 4:15). In this event, God is haveable without being fully possessed; given without being enclosed; brought into the most intimate solidarity with humanity without any loss to the deity that would place redemption beyond reach. As in all analogical revelation, so too here - even in the univocal core that is Jesus Christ - there is more to God than meets the eye."
- Michael Horton, Lord and Servant, pg. 177
- Michael Horton, Lord and Servant, pg. 177
Sanctification
"Our conformity is rather to Jesus Christ in the mundane experience of his historical existence, an existence marked by fears and trails, faith and hope, continually strengthened, comforted and inspired by the Spirit of God through suffering and temptation as he sought in loving obedience to accomplish the will of the Father. Our destiny is not that we might be made divine but rather that we might at last become truly human."
- Alan Spence, "Christ's Humanity and Ours" in Persons, Divine and Human, pg. 97
- Alan Spence, "Christ's Humanity and Ours" in Persons, Divine and Human, pg. 97
Sunday, March 18, 2007
NNPP
A new acronymn we should coin: "Not the New Perspective on Paul" - taken from a lecture given by Francis Watson, a talk which is a model of British academic wit and exegetical acumen. What's interesting about Watson is that he's actually a former NPP proponent who has turned from his old assumptions and now become a tremendous critic of his former school of thought. I always think it's a rarity when academics not only change their mind, but are willing to actually admit it in such a public manner. In this respect, Watson mirrors the one he has dedicated his scholarly life to studying: the Apostle Paul.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Prayer books
I heard a stirring sermon this morning from a fellow student on the subject of prayer, from Colossians 4:2-4. He concentrated on the importance of "being watchful in prayer" and what that entails.
I realize that reading about prayer should certainly not replace prayer itself, but the following three books have helped me to think about prayer more biblically, and I commend them to you if you are interested in the subject:
Lord, Teach Us How to Pray by Alexander Whyte
The Soul of Prayer by P.T. Forsyth
The Method of Prayer by Matthew Henry
I realize that reading about prayer should certainly not replace prayer itself, but the following three books have helped me to think about prayer more biblically, and I commend them to you if you are interested in the subject:
Lord, Teach Us How to Pray by Alexander Whyte
The Soul of Prayer by P.T. Forsyth
The Method of Prayer by Matthew Henry
Barth and Trinity
"As for how we are to conceive of the three members of the Trinity, Barth holds that God can have only one personality, for if Jesus Christ were a personality different from the Father, He would not be the Father's self-revelation. He therefore suggests abandoning the term 'person' to refer to the members of the Trinity, because that word inevitably implies 'personality' which would amount to tritheism. Barth prefers the Cappadocian terminology of three mutually related modes or ways of being of the one God. He connects God's personhood or subjectivity with the divine substance or 'ousia' rather than with the three 'hypostases.'"
- Metzler, Norman, Concordia Theological Quarterly 67.3-4, pg. 273.
- Metzler, Norman, Concordia Theological Quarterly 67.3-4, pg. 273.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Pannenberg
"Pannenberg's understanding of the nature of the theological task gives rise to a theology oriented toward two intertwined focal points - reason and hope. The significance of the term 'reason' is obvious...theology is a rational undertaking. The term 'hope' capsulizes the thoroughgoing eschatological orientation of his program. Since his entire systematic theology focuses on the eschaton we may characterize it as a theology of hope. Foundational to the whole of Pannenberg's theology is the concept of the kingdom of God understood as the glory of the Trinity demonstrated in God's rulership over creation."
- Olson and Grenz, 20th Cent. Theology, pg. 190.
Sort of sounds like they're describing Vos, aye?
- Olson and Grenz, 20th Cent. Theology, pg. 190.
Sort of sounds like they're describing Vos, aye?
Christology
"It is here usual to enquire, whether Christ as Mediator is inferior to the Father, and subordinate to him. But this controvery, it seems, may be easily settled among the orthodox: if the Mediator be considered in the state of humiliation, and the form of a servant, he is certainly inferior to the Father and subordinate to him; see John 14:28 "The Father is greater than I." Nay, we may look upon the very mediatorial office in itself as importing a certain economical inferiority, or subordination; as being to be laid down, when all things shall be perfectly finished, and God himself shall be all in all , I Cor 15:28."
Herman Witisus, The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man, pg. 184.
Herman Witisus, The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man, pg. 184.
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