Continued from last time on Colossians 1:15b There is a great deal which might be said about the term “firstborn.” Primarily of course it concerns right of inheritance and prominence among brethren. As the examples of Isaac and Jacob and Judah and Solomon show, the first to be born is not the main idea in “firstborn” (prototokos). The primary idea involves status, not physical birth. Notice how this is true in Psalm 89:27, ” I also shall make him My …
Category: Worldview
Introduction To The Series There are all sorts of places one can launch out from when writing about the grand scheme of things in the Bible. Certain passages are just packed with theology! This has been seen and utilized by many writers down through the ages. From John Calvin to John Stott men have built solid arguments from expounding a few verses and establishing connections with the Biblical worldview. For all his faults Karl Barth is often a master at …
I like John Byl’s stuff. He doesn’t post often, but he is worth following. Here is an informative post about the spread of evolutionism in the PCA in the form of two books about Adam; one by Peter Enns, the other by C. John Collins. As someone who “naively” believes what the Bible says, I want to say, “Are you guys kidding?” PCA Divided On Biblical Adam While not as good as Byl’s piece, a while back I wrote …
This is the last set of my “Theses” about Creation. I hope they have stirred some thought. You can read the previous posts here: part 1; part 2; part 3. 16. This doctrine leaves room for man, as he comes from the hand of the Creator, to be responsible to believe God and to obey God. Whatever the effects of sin, this is man as God created him to be. The obedience of man to the good dictates of God …
I have been discussing the importance of “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.” Here are some thoughts which pertain to this important subject: Some Christians allow contemporary thinking to push out the Biblical Worldview. For example, someone recently wrote that rainbows are not objective realities. Now we grant that no one can find the end of a rainbow. but that is not the same as asserting that rainbows aren’t there. The colors of a rainbow are “there” just as much as …
Here are five more of my 20 Theses on the importance of the Christian doctrine of Creation. Parts One and Two can be read here and here. 11. The Doctrine of a Creation to be explored and understood encouraged the modern scientific process, which was begun in the Renaissance and made explicit in the Reformation, with its insistence that daily work, however menial, was to be done to God’s glory. This dignified and legitimated many areas including many scientific pursuits. …
This group of five ‘theses’ continue five in a previous post. They derive from a lecture of mine included in a course, “Doctrine of God (2): The Works of God in Creation & Providence.” 6. God certainly works in this world, and makes things according to the laws of thought, the laws of physics, and so on, of which He is the Source. Man’s works must follow these laws, but whatever he does is not a creation but a re-creation; …
The Doctrine of Creation is essential to coming to terms with “the mind of Christ” and to being able to interpret the world Christianly. Sadly, most Christians do not incorporate their view of life within a Creation framework. This leads them to see reality as splintered and only occasionally God-embossed. Here a some “theses” which stem from a lecture from the course “Doctrine of God (2): The Works of God in Creation & Providence” at Veritas School of Theology. They …
While I iron out my priorities I thought I would give this article another turn. This is a rerun for an old post which speaks to the radical atheistic reinventing of OT Israel by what has come to be known as “the Copenhagen School.” Rewriting The History of Israel Since about the beginning of the 1970’s a group of radical “revisionist” historians of Israel have been producing ever more virulent books and journal articles claiming to debunk the historical picture …
This post, while being very relevant to the context of my previous post and the one coming fast on its heels, is a “stand-alone.” I apologize for the formatting. When the Christian sets forth his outlook he will stress the kind of God to whom he is committed, the nature of the world in relation to God, and the nature of man as God’s creature. The Christian God is totally self-sufficient, and in Him there is an equal ultimacy of …
