Adapted from Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain, ed., Christian Dogmatics: Reformed Theology for the Church Catholic (Baker Academic, 2016). As I noted in my first post, some recent Reformed theologians worry that the covenant of redemption potentially undermines orthodox trinitarianism. Thus, Karl Barth asks, “Can we really think of the first and second persons […]
Defending the Covenant of Redemption: Part 2
Adapted from Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain, ed., Christian Dogmatics: Reformed Theology for the Church Catholic (Baker Academic, 2016). Before addressing the biblical bases of the covenant of redemption, we must consider two potential pitfalls that are to be avoided. On the one hand, there is the pitfall of overinterpretation. According to John Owen, […]
Defending the Covenant of Redemption: Part 1
Adapted from Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain, ed., Christian Dogmatics: Reformed Theology for the Church Catholic (Baker Academic, 2016). The doctrine of the covenant of redemption (also known as “the pactum salutis” and “the counsel of peace”) is a beautiful doctrine. It concerns the eternal purpose of the blessed Trinity to communicate the bliss of […]
Cyril of Jerusalem, Ron Swanson, and the catholicity of the church
In the Nicene Creed we confess that the church is “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” Of these four marks, the third mark–the catholicity of the church–is probably the most susceptible to misunderstanding among evangelical Protestants. The catholicity of the church, according to common Protestant confession, concerns the “universality” of the church. Under the authority and […]
“It is not we who can sustain the church…”
I begin every semester in my Church and Sacraments course with the following quotation from Martin Luther, which Karl Barth used “In Place of a Foreword” to introduce Church Dogmatics, volume 1.2. The quotation says so much about the relationship between Christology and ecclesiology in Protestant dogmatics. And it offers so much by way of encouragement […]
Psalm 19 and human flourishing
Human flourishing “Human flourishing” is a cultural catchphrase that can be overheard in the hallways of corporate America and in the institutions of public and private education. In recent days, human flourishing has served as a warrant for doctrinal and moral-theological revision in the church as well. Due to its widespread usage across our culture, […]
