A common argument heard among evangelicals today is, “If God isn’t Triune, then he can’t be loving.” That is, since love requires someone else to love, there must logically be a plurality of persons within God. This argument is central to the popular book Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves (IVP, 2012). And it’s […]
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The Invention of the Inspired Text: A Response from John C. Poirier
July 24, 2025 
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Note: This is a guest post by John C. Poirier, written in response to my review of his book The Invention of the Inspired Text (T&T Clark, 2021). I wish to thank Kyle Dillon for allowing me to answer his review and response. Among my book’s detractors, Dillon sticks out for the honesty of his […]
Continue reading Review: The Invention of the Inspired Text by John C. Poirier
July 15, 2025 1 Comment
Recently I taught a church Sunday school class on the doctrine of Scripture, defending the Protestant view of inspiration. During the class, I referenced a debate that had taken place earlier between Trent Horn (a Roman Catholic) and Gavin Ortlund (a Protestant). Horn, in arguing for the necessity of the papal magisterium to affirm biblical […]
Continue reading Review: The Myth of Colorblind Christians by Jesse Curtis
December 16, 2021 0 Comments
There has been a lot of discussion recently on the topic of American evangelical deconstruction (see also here and here). Such deconstruction generally involves subjecting the evangelical church to historical and sociological analysis, in order to demonstrate that evangelicalism is actually rooted in efforts to uphold—and to provide religious justification for—the social dominance of privileged […]
Continue reading Discussing abortion, Scholastic-style
October 15, 2020 1 Comment
In the spirit of Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica, what follows is an attempt to tackle the topic of abortion according to a medieval-scholastic disputation. The topic is divided into four key questions (philosophical, biblical, circumstantial, and legal) that follow the format of Aquinas’s Summa, first setting forth the objections, then stating the opposing traditional view […]
Continue reading What was Adam’s reward? A summary/commentary of Francis Turretin
July 11, 2020 2 Comments
One of the ongoing intramural Reformed debates centers on what would have happened to Adam if he hadn’t fallen into sin. Would he have continued in an earthly paradise? Or would he have been elevated to a higher, heavenly stage? Would his obedience have counted as “merit”? Does that make Eden a kind of temporary […]
Continue reading Does nature need addition? Bavinck against the donum superadditum
August 23, 2019 3 Comments
One of the central points of disagreement among the various Christian traditions is the question of the relationship of grace and nature. Should we say that grace opposes nature? Affirms nature? Perfects nature? Flanks nature? The answer that Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck famously gives is that grace restores nature: it gives back to us what […]
Continue reading Thornwell’s Inaugural Address of the Confederate Presbyterian Church
April 1, 2019 8 Comments
Note: In 1861, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was deeply divided over the issue of slavery, as well as the broader matter of the church’s role in addressing social and political controversies. It was a question of jurisdiction as much as one of morality. In May, the PCUSA General Assembly had […]
Continue reading Alexandrians vs. Antiochenes on Mosaic Law (Part 2)
May 31, 2018 1 Comment
Note: this is the second part of a paper originally written for a class on the History of Biblical Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Part 1 can be read here. Evaluation of Origen The advantage of Origen’s approach is that it compels Christians to read their Old Testament and wrestle thoroughly with its text. A […]
Continue reading Alexandrians vs. Antiochenes on Mosaic Law (Part 1)
May 30, 2018 2 Comments
Note: this paper was previously written for a class on the History of Biblical Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Due to the paper’s original length, I will split it into two parts (Part 2 can be read here). Introduction Ever since its inception, the church has struggled to understand the proper place of […]
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