Systematic Theology

Survey of current debates among Barthians on how to understand Barth's notion of the relation between God's eternal act of election and the ontological Trinity.  Also, an exegetical study is offered by which one might better understand the relation between the pre-existence of Christ quite prior to and independent of his acts ad extra and pro nobis.

At the heart of Van Til's critique of Barth's theology is the Westminster professor's understanding of the latter's Christology as re-cast along actualistic lines.  If Van Til is correct that at the heart of Barth's theology is an actualized Christology, then the basic tenants of Van Til's read are sound, contrary to recent Barthian and Evangelical dismissals of the Reformed apologist's work.  We seek to show that Van Til's understanding of Barth's theology is actually supported by recent scholarship on Barth's thought.

David Bentley Hart's book entitled That All Shall Be Saved is a powerful argument at first glance, but upon further reflection it entails many difficulties. This paper will seek to refute its thesis by appealing to Scripture, critiquing the inner logic of Hart's argument, and by proffering an understanding of sin that willfully rejects God.

Christian universalism (the view that all people are eventually saved) is largely predicated upon a negative reaction to the traditional doctrine of hell. It is therefore a "second option" to those who see hell as illogical, unnecessary, and/or cruel. In this article, I will argue that hell is not only logical and just but that it is also conceivably necessary. I will do this by way of a theological examination of those who occupy hell's harrowing halls. This is essential because the loss of the traditional doctrine of hell can mean the loss of souls along with it. Doubting hell is playing with eternal fire.

Stephen Wellum's chapter in Believer's Baptism argues that a proper interpretation of Jeremiah 31 sees God's new covenant as more exclusive than the old covenant. In this paper, I argue that this interpretation of Jeremiah 31 is faulty on numerous grounds-it does not comport with Jeremiah's prophecy, it does not comport with the New Testament, and it does not comport with current ecclesiastical reality. Foundational to my argument is that Jeremiah's prophecy is one of expansion, not of exclusion as Wellum's exegesis and sacramentology require. In other words, Jeremiah promises a harvest, not a winnowing fork.
This article is published in The Confessional Presbyterian 1:17 (127-133)

Karl Rahner, SJ (1904–1984) was one of the most influential Catholic theologians of the twentieth century. Theologians often encounter him first through his trinitarian “rule,” which states that the “economic” Trinity is the “immanent” Trinity and the “immanent” Trinity is the “economic” Trinity. While many can recite the rule, few understand its significance. We endeavor to offer a comprehensive study of Rahner’s doctrine of trinitarian personality by tracing this thread through the doctrine of God, theological anthropology, Christology, and soteriology.

By understanding the hypostases of Son and Spirit as ad intra self-communications, Rahner formulates a means for the triune God to communicate himself to human beings, the divinely equipped recipient of his gift of self. When the eternal Son of God expresses himself concretely, he is expressed as a hypostatic union of divine and human natures. Through this hypostatic union Christ actualizes and consummates the relationship between God and man by becoming the climax of divine gift and its human acceptance in freedom. For Rahner, this divine self-communication elevates humanity to consummate life through the beatific vision.

In this study, we argue that Rahner’s formulation of trinitarian personality cannot sustain a fully trinitarian gift of self, because it is trinitarian in mode of delivery only—in manner, but not in matter. Therefore, it is not properly a divine gift of self. By
appealing to the twentieth-century Reformed theologian Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987), we propose a doctrine of perichoresis to ground a biblical-theological and systematic model of æonic image conformity as an alternative. The beatific vision (and glorification) ought to be construed in a covenantal context as an eschatological transformation, which recovers the threefold image of God bestowed upon man at creation and elevates him to an estate higher than that in which he was created. In contrast to Rahner’s theology of divine self-communication, the glorified man does not become incorporated ontologically or hypostatically into God. Rather, as believers are conformed to the image of Christ, they participate in his resurrection glory, manifesting more fully its ultimate source, the triune God himself.

In commenting on I Peter 4:12, 13 and what is said there about Christian suffering, Calvin speaks of the “usefulness of the cross.”1 This usefulness, as he sees it, has two parts: (1) the refining trial God makes of our faith and (2) our becoming partakers with Christ. In this address I will reflect on what Calvin considers the “far surpassing” utility of the second aspect, what Peter and the rest of the New Testament, especially Paul, call the fellowship or participation of Christians in the sufferings and death of Christ. I propose to do this by exploring our theme (Christian suffering) within the context of the broader, perenially debated issue of biblical eschatology, particularly the eschatology of the New Testament. A subtitle to these remarks, then, could be “Eschatology and Christian Suffering.”

A survey treatment, in short compass, of so rich and multifaceted a topic as the Holy Spirit in Paul is bound to be supercial. A surely more promising alternative is to identify and reect on those viewpoints in his teaching on the Spirit that are dominant and most decisive. My ...

If Wayne Grudem's recent publications on the gift of prophecy are any indication, the debate over what the NT teaches about the duration of that gift is taking a new turn. Formerly we who follow the debate had only to study the arguments of the charismatic school (which affirms that prophecy continues) and the cessationist school (which denies that prophecy continues). Now, however, we must reckon with a third position based on the proposals of a Biblical scholar who does not place himself in the charismatic school but who nevertheless affirms that prophecy continues. To some this development will signal little more than the need to rename the charismatic school of thought—for example, by replacing "charismatic" with "noncessationist." But this would be to trivialize the work of Grudem, something that should not be done given the scholarly breadth and pastoral sensitivity he brings to his writings. Despite the very admirable traits Grudem displays, however, I...

The church of the Lord Jesus Christ, at least in the western world, lives in a sound bite culture and breathes an atmosphere which affects the way Christians interact with one another. Inadequately considered internet postings caricature opponents' positions, and sweeping anathemas pollute the ether of theological discussion. Like a breeze flowing in off the ocean, Dr. Richard B. Gaffin's most recent book, "By Faith, Not By Sight," refreshes the reader. No, it doesn't solve all of the problems of pollution. But, in addition to wrestling with issues of substance, it models how believers can and should communicate with and about one another.

The generalization of the Hilbert transform for three-dimensional magnetic fields in magnetic recording is presented. This generalization is based on the simultaneous use of "magnetic charge" and "electric current" models of the recording media. The Fourier representation of the 2-D Hilbert transform is discussed, along with its unique scaling properties.