The nature and extent of Karl Barth's significance in John Webster's theological formation is wid... more The nature and extent of Karl Barth's significance in John Webster's theological formation is widely recognised but remains to be explored in detail. Addressing this lacuna, this essay considers how Barth's doctrine of the triune God animates Webster's teaching on the same. In approaching the topic, I show how Webster carries forward Barth's deep sense of God's aseity in relation to the world and follows Barth in his commitment to the singularity of God's triune being. God's particularity and aseity converge in 'God's self-correspondence' (namely, that God 'in Godself' corresponds to God 'for us'), which represents the core of Barth's influence on Webster's theology proper. The final section responds to Katherine Sonderegger's recent criticism of Webster's 'relationalism', which counts God's relation to creatures as an integral aspect of God's eternal life. I reframe the issue in terms of Webster's late-career retractions of the language of inclusion and divine self-determination, arguing that the difficulties that Sonderegger identifies in earlier writings are overcome in the final decade of Webster's corpus.
International Journal of Systematic Theology, 2021
For John Webster, faithful reading of Holy Scripture occurs in the wake of the mortifying and viv... more For John Webster, faithful reading of Holy Scripture occurs in the wake of the mortifying and vivifying grace of the triune God. This baptismal movement from death to life is doubly characterized: it refers to, first, the missions of the Word and Spirit to slay and make alive, and, second, the mortifying and vivifying readerly activity of human creatures. As the extension of baptism into the Christian life, the ecclesial task of reading Scripture is a moral-spiritual undertaking, forming an integral part of the covenantal fellowship between God and creatures. The burden of Webster’s teaching, however, calls the significance of Scripture’s contingent origins into question; that is, the intrusive, initiatory character of divine grace risks undermining the historicality of Holy Scripture and so the faculty of historical-critical methods. The article first outlines Webster’s theology of scriptural interpretation. Next, it responds to the recent criticism that Webster fails to integrate sufficiently Scripture’s theological function as an instrument of divine speech with its contingent, historical character. Far from suspending hermeneutical activity, the baptismal shape of exegesis underwrites a ministerial use of historical and literary tools. Furthermore, the ascetic character of scriptural reading thwarts phenomenalism and naturalism, which, on Webster’s view, are forms of idolatry.
In dialogue with John Webster and Karl Barth, this essay considers the intersection of divine ase... more In dialogue with John Webster and Karl Barth, this essay considers the intersection of divine aseity and Holy Scripture. I argue that the doctrine of Holy Scripture is constituted by a backward reference, namely, the plentiful life of the triune God. The doctrine of divine aseity denotes God’s self-existent triune life which anchors God’s bestowal of life. Construed negatively, aseity establishes the incommensurability of God and creatures by distinguishing, without sundering, Scripture and God’s self-communicative presence. Construed positively, aseity constitutes Scripture as ‘a field of divine activity’, the sphere of the life-giving missions of the Word and Spirit. The triune God who lives a se, elects the texts of Scripture to serve as intermediaries of God’s vivifying address.
This essay offers an extended treatment of the trinitarian principles in the theology of the seve... more This essay offers an extended treatment of the trinitarian principles in the theology of the seventeenth-century English conformist Richard Sibbes (1577–1635). Sibbes established an asymmetrical ontological relationship between the eternal triune processions and the economic missions, wherein God’s immanent life of Father, Son, and Spirit constitutes God’s outward acts. The ad intra ordering—from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit—governs the economic missions of the Son and Holy Spirit. This trinitarian taxis, moreover, funds Sibbes’s creative pneumatology. The Holy Spirit’s eternal procession from the Father and the Son uniquely shapes the Spirit’s ad extra operations in unition, sanctification, and assurance. The Spirit eternally indwells the breast of the Father and Son and, as such, is supremely fit to witness to their eternal love among the saints. In Sibbes’s affectionate theology, God’s triune life serves as an anchor and repository for soteriological reflection.
Evangelicalism is presently divided upon the nature of the relationship between theology and scie... more Evangelicalism is presently divided upon the nature of the relationship between theology and science. In many circles, evangelical receptivity toward evolutionary creationism is held in suspicion. In this paper, I argue that modern scientific discoveries do not, of necessity, impinge upon the authority of Scripture. Benjamin B. Warfield serves as an example for future interdisciplinary dialogue by affirming the truthfulness of Scripture and appropriating a theistic form of evolutionary theory—a form which establishes God's supernatural intervention in the creative process and eschewed the naturalism commonly associated with Darwin's theory. Warfield's engagement with science was governed by his doctrine of divine inspiration. Therefore, he embraced evolutionary creationism insofar as it corresponds to and illuminated the Scriptures. Warfield's theological reflection and integration of the natural sciences ought to inform the present controversy within evangelicalism. Theologians may advance the discussion through selfless scholarship, epistemological openness, and serious engagement with general revelation, God's book of nature, and special revelation, God's book of Scripture.
In this thesis, I argue that Jonathan Edwards creatively develops his doctrine of justification w... more In this thesis, I argue that Jonathan Edwards creatively develops his doctrine of justification within the broad steam of seventeenth century Puritan thought. Redemption is an indivisible work of God, grounded in the eternal communion of the triune God. In the eternal covenant, Christ commits to purchase salvation on behalf of the elect, which he procures through his incarnation, solidifying the union between God and humankind. Through faith, saints are brought into union with Christ and all the benefits of the cross are thereby made available to them. Justification, offered by virtue of the believer’s union with Christ, consists in the twofold blessing of the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Infusion, which has been erroneously understood as a secondary ground of justification, is the regenerative work of the Spirit to transform the disposition of the individual. Moving beyond the Puritan tradition, Edwards identifies the infusion of grace as the Holy Spirit. Faith is the bond of this union, and as such, a non-causal condition of justification. The Spirit as bond provides is the foundation of evangelical obedience that necessarily follows participation in Christ. Edwards, in continuity with his Puritan tradition, posits no disjunctive between works and salvation. Obedience is a fruit of union and a condition of justification. In all of these matters, Edwards critically engages his Puritan predecessors.
The nature and extent of Karl Barth's significance in John Webster's theological formation is wid... more The nature and extent of Karl Barth's significance in John Webster's theological formation is widely recognised but remains to be explored in detail. Addressing this lacuna, this essay considers how Barth's doctrine of the triune God animates Webster's teaching on the same. In approaching the topic, I show how Webster carries forward Barth's deep sense of God's aseity in relation to the world and follows Barth in his commitment to the singularity of God's triune being. God's particularity and aseity converge in 'God's self-correspondence' (namely, that God 'in Godself' corresponds to God 'for us'), which represents the core of Barth's influence on Webster's theology proper. The final section responds to Katherine Sonderegger's recent criticism of Webster's 'relationalism', which counts God's relation to creatures as an integral aspect of God's eternal life. I reframe the issue in terms of Webster's late-career retractions of the language of inclusion and divine self-determination, arguing that the difficulties that Sonderegger identifies in earlier writings are overcome in the final decade of Webster's corpus.
International Journal of Systematic Theology, 2021
For John Webster, faithful reading of Holy Scripture occurs in the wake of the mortifying and viv... more For John Webster, faithful reading of Holy Scripture occurs in the wake of the mortifying and vivifying grace of the triune God. This baptismal movement from death to life is doubly characterized: it refers to, first, the missions of the Word and Spirit to slay and make alive, and, second, the mortifying and vivifying readerly activity of human creatures. As the extension of baptism into the Christian life, the ecclesial task of reading Scripture is a moral-spiritual undertaking, forming an integral part of the covenantal fellowship between God and creatures. The burden of Webster’s teaching, however, calls the significance of Scripture’s contingent origins into question; that is, the intrusive, initiatory character of divine grace risks undermining the historicality of Holy Scripture and so the faculty of historical-critical methods. The article first outlines Webster’s theology of scriptural interpretation. Next, it responds to the recent criticism that Webster fails to integrate sufficiently Scripture’s theological function as an instrument of divine speech with its contingent, historical character. Far from suspending hermeneutical activity, the baptismal shape of exegesis underwrites a ministerial use of historical and literary tools. Furthermore, the ascetic character of scriptural reading thwarts phenomenalism and naturalism, which, on Webster’s view, are forms of idolatry.
In dialogue with John Webster and Karl Barth, this essay considers the intersection of divine ase... more In dialogue with John Webster and Karl Barth, this essay considers the intersection of divine aseity and Holy Scripture. I argue that the doctrine of Holy Scripture is constituted by a backward reference, namely, the plentiful life of the triune God. The doctrine of divine aseity denotes God’s self-existent triune life which anchors God’s bestowal of life. Construed negatively, aseity establishes the incommensurability of God and creatures by distinguishing, without sundering, Scripture and God’s self-communicative presence. Construed positively, aseity constitutes Scripture as ‘a field of divine activity’, the sphere of the life-giving missions of the Word and Spirit. The triune God who lives a se, elects the texts of Scripture to serve as intermediaries of God’s vivifying address.
This essay offers an extended treatment of the trinitarian principles in the theology of the seve... more This essay offers an extended treatment of the trinitarian principles in the theology of the seventeenth-century English conformist Richard Sibbes (1577–1635). Sibbes established an asymmetrical ontological relationship between the eternal triune processions and the economic missions, wherein God’s immanent life of Father, Son, and Spirit constitutes God’s outward acts. The ad intra ordering—from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit—governs the economic missions of the Son and Holy Spirit. This trinitarian taxis, moreover, funds Sibbes’s creative pneumatology. The Holy Spirit’s eternal procession from the Father and the Son uniquely shapes the Spirit’s ad extra operations in unition, sanctification, and assurance. The Spirit eternally indwells the breast of the Father and Son and, as such, is supremely fit to witness to their eternal love among the saints. In Sibbes’s affectionate theology, God’s triune life serves as an anchor and repository for soteriological reflection.
Evangelicalism is presently divided upon the nature of the relationship between theology and scie... more Evangelicalism is presently divided upon the nature of the relationship between theology and science. In many circles, evangelical receptivity toward evolutionary creationism is held in suspicion. In this paper, I argue that modern scientific discoveries do not, of necessity, impinge upon the authority of Scripture. Benjamin B. Warfield serves as an example for future interdisciplinary dialogue by affirming the truthfulness of Scripture and appropriating a theistic form of evolutionary theory—a form which establishes God's supernatural intervention in the creative process and eschewed the naturalism commonly associated with Darwin's theory. Warfield's engagement with science was governed by his doctrine of divine inspiration. Therefore, he embraced evolutionary creationism insofar as it corresponds to and illuminated the Scriptures. Warfield's theological reflection and integration of the natural sciences ought to inform the present controversy within evangelicalism. Theologians may advance the discussion through selfless scholarship, epistemological openness, and serious engagement with general revelation, God's book of nature, and special revelation, God's book of Scripture.
In this thesis, I argue that Jonathan Edwards creatively develops his doctrine of justification w... more In this thesis, I argue that Jonathan Edwards creatively develops his doctrine of justification within the broad steam of seventeenth century Puritan thought. Redemption is an indivisible work of God, grounded in the eternal communion of the triune God. In the eternal covenant, Christ commits to purchase salvation on behalf of the elect, which he procures through his incarnation, solidifying the union between God and humankind. Through faith, saints are brought into union with Christ and all the benefits of the cross are thereby made available to them. Justification, offered by virtue of the believer’s union with Christ, consists in the twofold blessing of the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Infusion, which has been erroneously understood as a secondary ground of justification, is the regenerative work of the Spirit to transform the disposition of the individual. Moving beyond the Puritan tradition, Edwards identifies the infusion of grace as the Holy Spirit. Faith is the bond of this union, and as such, a non-causal condition of justification. The Spirit as bond provides is the foundation of evangelical obedience that necessarily follows participation in Christ. Edwards, in continuity with his Puritan tradition, posits no disjunctive between works and salvation. Obedience is a fruit of union and a condition of justification. In all of these matters, Edwards critically engages his Puritan predecessors.
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