Christology – Page 2 – The Two Cities

Review of Union with Christ in the New Testament by Grant Macaskill

Jun 14, 2014

Macaskill, Grant. Union with Christ in the New Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. 308 pages + 45 pages bibliography and indices. Hardcover. Retail: £75.00 ISBN: 978-0199684298. Long a pillar of Eastern Orthodox theology, theosis has been generating increasing interest across denominational lines in recent years. In Union with Christ in the New Testament, Grant Macaskill (University of St Andrews) utilizes an exegetical, historical, and theological approach to offer significant biblical insights that have far-reaching...

Review of The Father’s Will by Nicholas E. Lombardo

May 31, 2014

Nicholas E. Lombardo. The Father’s Will: Christ’s Crucifixion and the Goodness of God. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. 270 pages. Hardcover. £65. ISBN – 978-0-19-968858 In The Father’s Will, Nicholas Lombardo provides an apologetic angle on the crucifixion, seeking to prove the consistency of God’s justice in light of the apparent injustice of Christ’s crucifixion. In the process he provides a moral framework for judging different theories of redemption and in the end, suggests a...

Review of Union with Christ by Constantine Campbell

May 29, 2014

Constantine Campbell. Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2012. 463 pgs. (Paperback). $34.99. 0310329051 Campbell seeks to approach the subject “union with Christ” as a New Testament theologian, that is, his approach is exegetically grounded and theologically motivated. The first concern is represented by detailed exegetical work on the phrases relating to “union with Christ.” The theological concern is woven into this, but is then fully fleshed out in the final...

Eucharist & Eutychianism

Sep 10, 2013

I just have a few thoughts about the Eucharist for today (aka The Lord’s Supper, aka Communion, aka The Sacrament, aka That Thing Your Church Doesn’t Do Enough). I am mostly interested in hearing responses from others who have thought more deeply about this topic. I inherited a fairly low church view of the Eucharist from my church background. Of course, I wouldn’t have known it at the time, but my perspective was essentially Zwinglian—I...

No Room In the Inn?

Dec 20, 2011

Everyone knows how the Christmas story goes. As Stanley Hudson vehemently asserted in the most recent episode of The Office (8.10 Christmas Wishes) regarding the sensitivity to celebrate everything but Christmas during the Holidays: I want Christmas! Just give me plain-baby-Jesus-lying-in-a-manger Christmas! When our culture boils down the Christmas event it looks like this: baby Jesus in a manger. We’ve seen live nativity scenes and some of us have small-scale versions of it around our...

Time Travel & The First Christmas

Dec 13, 2011

Today (Dec 13) I am flying home after my first term at St Andrews. It feels like time has sped up ever since I arrived. An hour seems a bit shorter than I remembered in the States. Whole weeks have felt like insignificant blocks of time that pass by all too quickly. Why does time seem so relative? For others I’m sure time might appear to creep along slowly. As is often said, “time flies...

God with Us

Nov 25, 2011

…A manger was His Throne. From “Rise and Shine” by Andrew Peterson The aforementioned lyric from Andrew Peterson serves as a great illustration of the paradox that is “God with us.” Stop and think about that for a minute: God with us. Not God for us, or God near us; God with us! If that does not stir your heart to worship and awe check you pulse. With that said, it is that time of...

The Christ Hymn

Nov 6, 2011

One of my favorite sections of Scripture is Philippians 2:5-11. In this passage Paul paints for us a beautiful picture of humility and self-denial in the person of Christ. All to often I read this hymn and immediately I am struck by how I fail to model such humility. Whereas Christ climbs down the ladder of success and praise from others, I seem to want to climb as high as I can up that very...

Chalcedonian Hermeneutics

Sep 20, 2011

As orthodox Christians we all readily affirm the Chalcedonian Definition of Christology. Jesus the Messiah has two natures; being both completely human and completely divine. These two natures are distinct from each other, yet are united in the single person of Christ. All Christological heresies abandon at least one of these central tenets. We know what we ought to affirm regarding the Word of God made flesh (Jn 1.1, 14), yet when it comes to...

The Kenosis of Thor & The Kenosis of Christ

Sep 13, 2011

When it comes to super-heroes I am a Batman guy all the way. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the Oscar-worthy Christopher Nolan is the mastermind behind the resurgence of Batman’s popularity and Joel Schumacher’s grubby paws are nowhere near the franchise (although he did apologize). Yet, even before Nolan I preferred Batman to others, especially Superman (It also goes without saying that I prefer DC to Marvel). The perennial question, ‘Who would win in a...