Thomas Helwys: A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity
Of all the works penned by Thomas Helwys, A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity is his most famous. A Short Declaration is Helwys’ interpretation of prophesies in John’s Apocalypse as taking place in England. Helwys uses apocalyptic imagery and prophesy to address the contemporary issues of his day [1]. Before dealing with the book’s specifics, an overview is helpful. The volume is split into four books. The first book lays...
Thomas Helwys: A Short and Plaine Proof
John Donne famously wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” Likewise, no theology is formed within a vacuum, but rather emerges from within the context of human history. This is the same history in which God speaks, works, and incarnates Himself. We are called to remember the works of God (cf. Deut. 6:12; 1 Cor. 11:24; Rev. 2:5). For that reason, there is great value in studying history to try and understand how God has worked...
Surviving Seminary
by Zachery Maloney Being in seminary creates a number of tensions in one’s life, namely in the area of time-management. How do we balance various commitments? Balance is not really a word that we find in Scripture, though it certainly seems like a spiritual concern. If we’re all honest, most days end up imbalanced. The seminary student must accept the fact that the challenge of finding balance will never disappear, even beyond...
Epistemology for Pastors
In my last essay, I outlined a basic understanding of personhood from a Christian perspective. In order for pastoral ministry to yield the kind of fruit we pray for in the lives of God’s flock, we have to be sure that our assumptions about what people are square with the biblical account. As God’s image-bearers, we’ve been formed and made for relationships, fruitfulness, cultural stewardship, and dominion. All of these callings...
What Language Shall I Borrow?
Steve Jobs, the man who revolutionized the way we listen to music, was asked by his 2011 biographer what was on his iPod. In his answer, Jobs related a musical experience that had nothing to do with an mp3 player. Jobs had desperately wanted virtuoso cellist Yo-Yo Ma to play for his wedding. Though scheduling conflicts would not allow it, they soon developed a friendship. One day Ma visited Jobs’ home to play the J. S. Bach piece he...
Knock-knock: Toward a Theology of Humor
What hath a “knock-knock” joke to do with Him Who stands at the door and knocks? That is, does God care about humor? Often times, humor finds itself on opposite ends of the spectrum, from a spiritual perspective. On one end it can be borderline sacrilege, making the things of God out to be trivial at best and blasphemous at worst. On the other end are the perennial “pastor jokes”—those that incite equal portions of groans and pity...
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