THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SPIRITUALLY-MINDED

2021

Journal of Reformed Theology 8.2

The Journal of Theological Studies, 2008

Criswell Theological Review 21.1, 2023

I offer a close reading of John Owen's six rules for understanding the biblical testimony to the work of the Spirit toward the human nature of Christ. This essay demonstrates that Owen is a classical Trinitarian theologian in spite of the fact that some have pegged him as a Trinitarian revisionist. By setting his six rules in context and expositing them in conversation with Owen's other work and the ideas of Augustine and Aquinas I show that Owen is no revisionist but a model for how to blend biblical exegesis with dogmatic theology for the benefit of the people of God.

International Journal of Systematic Theology, 2013

Recent interpreters of John Owen incorrectly argue that Owen's trinitarian theology undermines the doctrine of inseparable operations (Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa). On the contrary, this article argues Owen upheld this doctrine like his Reformed Orthodox contemporaries, using the incarnation as a test case. Owen maintained the incarnation was an undivided act of the Trinity, which had its appropriative terminus on the Son alone – a pattern of thought he extended to the Spirit's work on the Son's humanity. Owen's creative use of the tradition is an example for contemporary theologians who would emphasize the Spirit's role in Christology.

In recent debate on the doctrine of union with Christ, the theology of John Owen has received mixed treatment, with some arguing that his is among the fullest on offer in Reformed theology, while others argue that it is overly forensic and pietistic, departing significantly from fuller treatments like that of Calvin. These arguments fail, however, because they insufficiently situate Owen's theology of union with Christ in relation to the "three-fold grace" of Owen's christology. This article argues that this three-fold grace structures Owen's conception of union with Christ, and provides important insights regarding the role of both the covenant and the incarnation for framing the creature's participation in Christ by the Spirit.

Pneuma, 2009

Rapid advances in neuroscience during the past fi fteen years require Christians to rethink traditional understandings of the human soul, sin, salvation, and sanctifi cation. John Wesley's understanding of means of grace and his theology of the Holy Spirit provide tools to integrate our understanding of the soul and sanctifi cation with current neuroscience. First, a new, more physical, Christian understanding of the soul is suggested. Th en Wesley's theology of sanctifi cation through acts of mercy is explained and related to current concepts of empathy. Th e relationship between empathy and sanctifi cation, as understood by Wesley, is then compared with new neurological fi ndings about human mirror neuron systems that are prerequisite for empathizing with others. Th e fi nal section suggests a new sanctifi cation narrative based on the interactions of the Holy Spirit, mirror neuron systems, and empathy, and then makes recommendations for Christian actions based on the correlation of brain function and operations of the Holy Spirit.

In Body, Mind and Human Life, Joel B. Green is approaching the challenges to the biblical interpretation in constructing a biblical theological anthropology in the context of modern neuro-scientific advances by dialoguing through the interface of science and theology. His expertise in neuroscience is brought to bear on his reflections as he keeps biblical hermeneutics in constant dialogue with the current neuro-philosophy that integrates neurosciences with the traditional concerns of the philosophy of mind. Main outline and content: In Chapter 1, Green is attempting a basic survey of the notion of human identity as conceived within the biblical as well as scientific worldviews. He further identifies that the materialistic or dualistic conceptions are not conducive to the construction of a theological anthropology as they stand discredited by the recent neuroscientific explorations and hence establishes that a monistic conception is both biblical and also as most viable. In Chapter 2, Green deals with the problem of " identity, " especially the theological significance of the creation of humanity in the divine image, and, he highlights the notion of " embodied relationality " for the human identity through his hermeneutical method. For this purpose, he is evaluating evidences from the biological sciences and neuropsychology in answering the questions of human distinctness from other creatures and gathers evidences from the biblical materials in order to reflect on the significance of the communitarian aspect of human identity. In Chapter 3, he takes up the challenges posed by neurobiological and neuro-philosophical advancements to the traditional theological affirmations of sin, original sin, free will, and especially the difficulties surrounding the relationship between human volition and responsibility. In Chapter 4, Green sets out to explore the concept of conversion and salvation as a " journey " where he identifies the pivotal role of the local community of believers and he identifies this communitarian construction as inevitable for our construal of the mission of the church in the world. In Chapter 5, he continues to probe the dominant body-soul dualism as it was considered indispensable to answer the eschatological questions about the continued identity of a human person after physical death into the afterlife. He especially pays attention to the reality of the total decay of the human body after death, and its implications for the traditional Christian belief in an embodied resurrection. He is relying on a monistic conception of human constitution and a spiritual understanding of resurrected embodiment to conceive the continued identity.