An Uncommon Logos and “A Common Word”: Reformed Reflections on Epistemological and Ethical Normativity within a Current Christian-Muslim Dialog

Introduction
In February 2008 Dr. Miroslav Volf presented four lectures on the Yale Response to A Common Word at my seminary. (Read my notes for each of the lectures.) Then, in May of 2008 I used Volf’s lectures as my topic for two term papers: One paper dealt with Dr. Volf’s methodology from the perspective of [...]

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Calvin Confronts Caroli’s Calumny: The 1537 Trinitarian Controversy and its Ecclesiastical and Theological Significance

Summary
In 1537 a Roman Catholic priest and professor, Peter Caroli, who himself had left the Roman Church multiple times to support the Protestant cause only to return again each time to Rome, accused John Calvin and the Protestant Reformers of trinitarian heresy. Caroli’s main arguments were based upon the Reformers’ unwillingness to subscribe to the [...]

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Paper: “Send Forth Thy Light and Thy Truth”: A Literary Analysis of Psalms 42–43

(The painting of David Playing the Zither is by Andrea Celesti (1637-1712). See the Web Gallery of Art for further details.)
Summary
Although divided by a chapter division in our English translations, Psalms 42 and 43 should be read as single song, a powerful lament by which Israel’s covenant LORD is called upon to send forth his light [...]

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An Uncommon Logos Between Christianity and Islam

Note: this post and the papers referenced below have been superseded. Please see the updated paper: An Uncommon Logos and “A Common Word”: Reformed Reflections on Epistemological and Ethical Normativity within a Current Christian-Muslim Dialog.
Abstract
My papers evaluate Dr. Miroslav Volf’s publications and lectures related to A Common Word. In the epistemology paper I examine Volf’s arguments [...]

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Review: Fools for Christ: Essays on the True, the Good, and the Beautiful by Jaroslav Pelikan

Summary
Through colorful biographical sketches of six “fools” from Christianity’s history, Pelikan presents a poignant exhortation: unless one’s head, hands, and heart being “foolishly” committed to Jesus Christ at every point, then one’s pursuit of dogmatics, ethics, and aesthetics become idolatrous journeys into insanity.
Review/Reflection
My response to Pelikan’s book is part review and part autobiographical reflection:

On Mastering [...]

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Luke’s LXX Allusion to Jacob and Esau in the Prodigal Son Parable Affirmed

Summary
Luke’s LXX Allusion to Jacob and Esau (Genesis 33:4) in the Prodigal Son Parable (Luke 15:20) Affirmed (10 pages; .PDF format; ~190KB) examines the Greek texts of Genesis 33:4 and Luke 15:20 to demonstrate the striking linguistic parallels in these texts and to suggest that Luke employs an allusion to the former in the latter.
Additional [...]

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A Friendly Critique of Richard Hays’ Hermeneutic Step in Ch. 13 of The Moral Vision of the New Testament

Overview
My senior seminar class is reading through Richard Hays’ ethical masterpiece, The Moral Vision of the New Testament. This profound book has prompted deep reflection upon the proper use of Scripture in Christian ethics, and Hays’ work has provided an opportunity for us students to evaluate our Reformed (i.e. Vantillian/Framian/Prattian) metaethic with a metaethic outside [...]

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What Is Justification? A brief exposition of WSC 33

Overview: My personal statement on justification
For last semester’s systematics 3 course I was required to write a very brief (no more than 5 pp.) “personal statement” on the doctrine of justification. Furthermore, the professor asked us to read Richard Gaffin’s By Faith, Not By Sight and a couple of chapters from N. T. Wright’s What [...]

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Paper on Revelation 20: Covenantal and Exegetical Foundations of the “First Resurrection”

Overview: What hope does a Christian have in death?
My paper seeks to answer this question from two angles: exegesis and covenant theology. First, exegetically, I attempt to build upon the work of Meredith Kline’s two articles on Revelation 20:1-6 (“The First Resurrection” and “The First Resurrection: A Reaffirmation“) by asking a question Kline did not [...]

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Preliminary Sociological Analysis of Bill Gothard’s Institute of Basic Life Principles

Overview: Whence comes Bill Gothard’s Institutional Success?
This brief paper examines the sociological phenomenon of Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles by asking the broad question, How has Gothard managed to perpetuate his teaching to 2.5 million people since 1964? My thesis is that Gothard’s institutional success comes from his ability to not only create [...]

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