Papers by Kevin Vanhoozer
Journal of Reformed Theology, 2017
Scottish Journal of Theology, 2000
I have gone beyond the historic conditions of the debate. I think it is hard to avoid doing so, a... more I have gone beyond the historic conditions of the debate. I think it is hard to avoid doing so, and I am encouraged by the example of Dr McGuckin who does it too. At the time it seemed to contemporaries that Cyril had preserved the true tradition of the Church: this was the essential kerygma renewed in their days. His presentation of Christ seemed, with good reason, to be more profound and to touch the heart of religion. Cyril won the argument against Nestorius, and won it, so far as I can see, by a free decision of the Church. Not that the 'Antiochene' voice was left unheard: on the contrary, the agreed solution of 433, essentially 'Antiochene' in provenance, was embodied almost verbatim in the formula of Chalcedon and on the authority of Cyril. These other important points are well brought out by Dr McGuckin in a book where there is much to admire: good lines, with nails resoundingly hit upon the head: plenty of useful information, an excellent selection of texts in translation, some not available before; and above all, a warm appreciation of the theme. Not all the details go aright. Some small matters of interpretation will tease the cognoscenti. But where so much is right and so much is fittingly said, only the captious critic will complain.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jun 19, 1997
... xviii Part one Christian doctrine in the late twentieth century: the historical and intellect... more ... xviii Part one Christian doctrine in the late twentieth century: the historical and intellectual context 1 Historical and systematic theology 3 COLIN GUNTON 2 On doctrine and ethics 21 STANLEY HAUERWAS 3 The basis and authority of doctrine 41 GERARD LOUGHLIN 4 The ...
International Journal of Systematic Theology, Oct 1, 2017
is love' (1 Jn 4:8). This is a well-formed proposition of the type analytic theologians love-assu... more is love' (1 Jn 4:8). This is a well-formed proposition of the type analytic theologians love-assuming they know what love means. Suggestions abound: 'Love makes the world go 'round'; 'Love came down from heaven'-two statements set forth in songs that, taken together, speak of an apparently powerful yet condescending force. Scripture adds two more measures to these metaphysical generalities: neither 'height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Rom. 8:39). What kind of force, then, is the love of God? Can science verify it and, if not, can we still assert its reality? In particular: can we give a Christian dogmatic account of the love that is from God, is God, and for us in Jesus Christ? 'For God so loved the world': one faith, five loves, two models One faith Christian theology is the 'one faith' seeking understanding of the 'one God' and all things in relation to him who is 'over all and through all and in all' (Eph. 4:5-6). The doctrine of God is both the theologian's 'reasonable worship' (kogij hm kasqE iam-Rom. 12:1) and possible Waterloo: worship, because the more we come to understand the God who is love the more we are inclined to love and ascribe worthiness to him; Waterloo, because to go wrong in one's doctrine of God is to go wrong everywhere in theology. As John Webster reputedly cautioned one of his students: 'If your doctrine of God doesn't scare the bejeebers out of you, then you've missed the point.' 1
Tyndale bulletin, Nov 1, 1998
Classical theism is in danger of being overthrown by the current revolution in theological paradi... more Classical theism is in danger of being overthrown by the current revolution in theological paradigms. The doctrine of the effectual call affords a good case study of the broader God/world relation: if God's call and divine action in general are interventions, then grace appears ultimately to be a matter of efficient causalityan impersonal relation. Panentheists argue that God need not intervene in the world because the world is in God and, therefore, is open to his general call. On the panentheistic analogy, God is to the world as the mind is to the brain, and divine grace, like the mind, does not intervene but 'supervenes' on the world, God's body. It is not clear, however, whether God's personal agency can be preserved in this model. Rethinking the doctrine of the effectual call in terms of 'speech acts' suggests a new picture for the God/world relation, where the Spirit 'advenes' on the Word to bring about not an impersonal but a uniquely personal effect: understanding.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Nov 17, 2022
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd eBooks, Mar 11, 2013
Evangelicals and Catholics together affirm divine authorship, yet they differ in how they underst... more Evangelicals and Catholics together affirm divine authorship, yet they differ in how they understand its implications for biblical interpretation, with Catholics typically claiming that it entails spiritual or allegorical interpretation and Evangelicals typically denying it. Evangelicals are wary of implying that what God says in Scripture today differs from what God spoke through the prophets in the past, or of following Thomas Aquinas in attributing multiple senses to Scripture: "One way according as to how things are signified through words; and in this consists the literal sense. The other way according to which things are figures of other things, and in this consists the spiritual sense." 1 It is through allegory that earthly things-rocks and mountains, for example-take on heavenly meanings. "The world is charged with the grandeur of God"-so Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1877. A century later, another poet, Annie Dillard, has to ask: Do the things of this world have meaning? Her answer is sobering, to poets and believers alike: "Everywhere Christianity and science hushed the bushes and gagged the rocks. .. drain[ing] the flow of meaning right off the planet.. .. The direction of recent history is toward desacralization, the unhinging of materials from meaning." 2 "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3:6). Is this an indictment of the literal sense, and hence literal interpretation, or is it perhaps an indication of the impotence of a certain stage of redemptive history? Conversely,
Blackwell Publishing Ltd eBooks, Nov 22, 2007
Cambridge University Press eBooks, May 13, 2021
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Apr 27, 1990
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 14, 2010
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 14, 2010
Journal of Psychology and Theology, Feb 24, 2021
One of the traditional perfections of Scripture according to historic Protestant orthodoxy, along... more One of the traditional perfections of Scripture according to historic Protestant orthodoxy, alongside inspiration, authority, and clarity, is sufficiency. Biblicists have taken this ball and run with it, insisting that everything we need to know, not only for salvation but for much else, is in the Bible. This essay attempts to clarify the concept of Scripture’s sufficiency by reviewing its history and by specifying how, and for what, it is “enough.” This involves distinguishing between formal and material sufficiency, and drawing distinctions between sources, resources, and norms. The paper argues that the sufficiency of Scripture must be understood alongside the principle of sola scriptura, and that the Bible alone is enough for ruling the church’s social imaginary, especially as this concerns the story of what God is doing in creation and redemption. Scripture is sufficient for understanding extra-biblical knowledge in the framework of biblical narrative and for perceiving reality as sustained and directed by the triune God. The essay concludes by offering recommendations for understanding the sufficiency of Scripture both in its proper domain (saving knowledge) and in areas outside its proper domain, such as the natural and social sciences, including psychology.
Oxford University Press eBooks, Dec 7, 2010
Wm. B. Eerdmans eBooks, 2001
Page 1. OTHING BETTE THEOLOGICAL ESSAYS LOVE OF GOD Page 2. Page 3. NOTHING GREATER, NOTHING BETT... more Page 1. OTHING BETTE THEOLOGICAL ESSAYS LOVE OF GOD Page 2. Page 3. NOTHING GREATER, NOTHING BETTER This One D8ZL-H3J-GHZJ Page 4. Papers from the Sixth Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference Page 5. ...
T&T Clark eBooks, 2020
is love' (1 Jn 4:8). This is a well-formed proposition of the type analytic theologians love-assu... more is love' (1 Jn 4:8). This is a well-formed proposition of the type analytic theologians love-assuming they know what love means. Suggestions abound: 'Love makes the world go 'round'; 'Love came down from heaven'-two statements set forth in songs that, taken together, speak of an apparently powerful yet condescending force. Scripture adds two more measures to these metaphysical generalities: neither 'height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Rom. 8:39). What kind of force, then, is the love of God? Can science verify it and, if not, can we still assert its reality? In particular: can we give a Christian dogmatic account of the love that is from God, is God, and for us in Jesus Christ? 'For God so loved the world': one faith, five loves, two models One faith Christian theology is the 'one faith' seeking understanding of the 'one God' and all things in relation to him who is 'over all and through all and in all' (Eph. 4:5-6). The doctrine of God is both the theologian's 'reasonable worship' (kogij hm kasqE iam-Rom. 12:1) and possible Waterloo: worship, because the more we come to understand the God who is love the more we are inclined to love and ascribe worthiness to him; Waterloo, because to go wrong in one's doctrine of God is to go wrong everywhere in theology. As John Webster reputedly cautioned one of his students: 'If your doctrine of God doesn't scare the bejeebers out of you, then you've missed the point.' 1
Choice Reviews Online, May 1, 1991
Open Theology, Oct 26, 2017
This article responds to Jordan Wessling's paper that engages a concern I expressed about analyti... more This article responds to Jordan Wessling's paper that engages a concern I expressed about analytic theology not doing justice to the sapiential requirements of theology. I examine Wessling's summary of my paper, conclude that his description is accurate and fair, appreciate his proposed solution, then go on to restate why I think he may not have fully allayed my concern. I suggest that analytic theology is a vital tool in the theologian's toolkit, but that ultimately more is needed in order to interpret Scripture theologically.
Uploads
Papers by Kevin Vanhoozer