In The Christian’s Reasonable Service, Dutch theologian Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635–1711) provided simple yet profound accounts of the order between God and creation: “All change occurs either because the principle of change is inherent in us, or because our nature is such that someone else is capable of bringing about a change in us. God, […]
Friday, 14 October, 2022 by Seung-Joo Lee
Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) In his Reformed Ethics, Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) raised the question: “Is a Christian and Reformed ethic possible?” The answer he confidently provided was “most definitely,” and in the book he argued not for the possibility of Reformed ethics but also for its necessity. “[T]he life of Christ is implanted in us in […]
Friday, 13 May, 2022 by Seung-Joo Lee
Introduction Do you, as a Christian, have to overcome intellectual blindness? To put it more strongly, is it a sin to be blind to truths? On the one hand, it does not seem that intellectual blindness is a sin, for a passage like Exodus 4:11 states that it is God who opens and closes people’s […]
Wednesday, 02 February, 2022 by Seung-Joo Lee
Upon completing my doctoral degree in July this year, I spent subsequent months reflecting on the nature and ends of academic theology. I was fortunate to have received an excellent theological education at Westminster Seminary California, where I met some exemplary theologians who laboured hard to serve scholars, students, pastors, and churches. I was captured […]
Wednesday, 17 November, 2021 by Seung-Joo Lee
As Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) rightly stated, the Christian doctrine of providence is not merely a true explanation of the world, but also “a glorious confession of faith.” Because of the vital link between the doctrine of providence and the religious life of Christians, it can even be said that, without the correct understanding of divine providence, believers will […]
Friday, 15 October, 2021 by Seung-Joo Lee
The Christian account of divine providence, Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) states, is not merely a true explanation of the world but also “a source of consolation and hope, of trust and courage, of humility and resignation… It is not a cosmological speculation but a glorious confession of faith” (RD, 2.594). Because of the vital link between the doctrine of […]
Monday, 03 May, 2021 by Seung-Joo Lee
Franciscus Junius (1545–1602), a notable Reformed theologian in the tradition of Geneva, Heidelberg, and Leiden, is well known for his contributions to Reformed dogmatics. His employment of the terms “archetype” and “ectype” was so effective in discussing prolegomenal issues that even twentieth century Reformed theologians, such as Herman Bavinck and Louis Berkhof, reaffirmed the distinction’s […]
Monday, 08 February, 2021 by Seung-Joo Lee
Who is a theologian? What should a theologian do? Or, more fundamentally, what is theology? These are some of the most basic questions that theologians can grapple with, but they are never insignificant questions. Kevin Vanhoozer, for example, helpfully showed in his Letter to an Aspiring Theologian that answering those questions requires a deep awareness […]
Wednesday, 18 November, 2020 by Seung-Joo Lee
Paul Oscar Kristeller (1905–99), an eminent scholar of the Renaissance thought and culture, left an enduring insight that in order to appreciate the intellectual accomplishments of Renaissance movements, one should not only look at the achievements of humanism but also of scholasticism. He warned against exaggerating the gulf between early modern humanists and scholastics by […]
Wednesday, 26 August, 2020 by Seung-Joo Lee