Credo

In the final episode of this Credo mini-series, Ronni Kurtz asks Matthew Barrett about his investigation of John Calvin in his new book,  The Reformation as Renewal. They discuss Calvin's juxtaposition of dead icons and living icons and his doctrine of participation. They also wrestle with misnomers over Calvin's reformed understanding of the Lord's Supper as well as his pursuit of catholicity by means of his fortification of a reformed church. Barrett argues that Calvin embodies the principle of renewal, made apparent by Calvin's insistent retrieval of the church fathers and medieval theologians before him. In this way, Calvin saw himself as a faithful steward of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church preserved across history, a persistent advocate for the restoration of true worship in his own day.

Many of us have benefitted from evangelicalism and had our faith formed by it. However, evangelicalism these days is in a crisis mode. It has fallen prey to the constant lust for power and dominion, both politically and culturally. Evangelicalism’s emphasis on conversion and winning souls has turned into an enterprise focused more on getting more people in rather than on the message of the Gospel itself. In this episode, Matthew Barrett and Karen Swallow Prior take a hard look at the current state of evangelicalism. Karen Swallow Prior traces back the weaknesses of evangelicalism to the Victorian England, where evangelicalism began to flourish. She shows that many of our evangelical assumptions on mission and evangelism are influenced by the imperialism and colonialism of Victorian British empire and are not necessarily biblical. Karen Swallow Prior also shows how this Victorian assumption in evangelicalism was deepened when the American evangelists took on a modern consumer capitalist mindset. Barrett and Prior call on evangelicals to devote what we have accomplished, the Gospel we proclaim, the institutions we create, and the wealth we accumulate, completely to the Lord.

We are living in a day when the Christian church faces challenges both inward and outward. Outwardly, we see Islam advancing as a world religion. Inwardly, we are experiencing a divisive period in our church regarding doctrine of orthodoxy like the Trinity. In this episode, Matthew Barrett and David and Jennifer McNutt, the authors of the book Know the Theologians, introduce the eastern theologian John of Damascus who is sometimes called the last of the church fathers. He faced unique challenges from both outside and inside the church. Outwardly, the church in 8th century was facing the advance of Islam and its conquest of Constantinople. Inwardly, the church was divided on the issue of icons in worship, asking tough questions like, Is it acceptable to use icons since Christ has become incarnate? Through it all, John of Damascus had one desire: to remain faithful in his context. So he wrote one of the most enduring books of theology: The Fount of Wisdom. Matthew Barrett and David and Jennifer McNutt meet to ask why John of Damascus is still so relevant to the church today.

We tend to have an ideal picture of the early centuries of the church. The early church was a period of flourishing and growth, but it was also a period of persecution. The early church had hardships both externally and internally. On the one hand, early Christians had to deal with a misrepresentation of the Christian faith in a society hostile to their beliefs. On the other hand, they had to deal with distortions of their teaching by heresies that rose up quietly among them. In this episode, Matthew Barrett talks with David McNutt and Jennifer McNutt, the authors of the book Know the Theologians, and discusses Irenaeus, a church father who had to deal with such hardships in the early church, including Gnosticism. How then did Irenaeus protect the church from such a prominent, appealing heresy?

Join Matthew Barrett, David McNutt, and Jennifer McNutt as they reflect on the relevance of Irenaeus to the challenges the church faces today, both from within and from without.

What is the analogy of being and why is it so essential to the Creator-creature distinction? In Part 2 of this Credo Colloquy, James Dolezal and Matthew Barrett continue their conversation on the importance of Thomas Aquinas but this time talk about why our language for God is analogical rather than univocal. As it turns out, thinking analogically is key to understanding everything from the language the Bible uses to describe God to our participation in the likeness of God and much more.

Dolezal also warns against the rise of voluntarism and nominalism in the centuries that followed Aquinas, the late Middle Ages. For Dolezal, voluntarism and nominalism chipped away at the foundation of natural theology and when they were applied to salvation they provoked Reformation, as seen with Martin Luther. In the past Protestants have been blamed for carrying voluntarism and nominalism into the modern era, as if they were responsible for the modernism to come. But as a Protestant himself Dolezal models a better way. Looking not only to Aquinas but to the Reformed Scholastics before him, Dolezal encourages Protestants today to return to the insights of that perennial philosophy called realism.

Why do my favorite Puritans seem to with some frequency go back to Aquinas?” James Dolezal came to know Aquinas through the works of Reformed Scholastics (from Stephen Charnock to John Owen) who were appealing to Aquinas and commentators on Aquinas in their works. Once you read Aquinas and understand how he contemplates God and all things in relation to God, you can see why the Reformed tradition engaged often with writings not only by Aquinas but his heirs. With the recent drift away from an orthodox understanding of God and Christ, Dolezal is convinced Aquinas is essential reading for Protestants today. But it's not just about recovering sound doctrine. To recover sound doctrine we need the right metaphysic. The collateral damage of an anti-metaphysical mindset has been severe. So what's the answer? Realism, says Dolezal. For a realist metaphysic is key to supporting the biblical emphasis on our participation in the likeness of God, an emphasis that defines the biblical story from start to finish, from creation to the beatific vision. Naturally, Aquinas is relevant again as one of realism's advocates across the Great Tradition.

But what are we to make of modern critiques of Aquinas? Is his view that man’s natural reasoning can know the essence of created things apart from supernatural light mean that man can know certain things autonomously of God? Is Aquinas’ view of participation in God presenting an ontological convergence between Creator and creation or does it equip us to stand against the claims of ontic-identity? How does Aquinas's realism differ from the Idealism of more recent philosophers and theologians and what does that difference mean for our knowledge of reality? And what is Thomas’ view of God as pure act and is there such a thing as an absolutism in being that is not the “most” absolute being?

These are hard questions, but James Dolezal sits down with theologian Matthew Barrett and explains them with a robust clarity.

What is the meaning of intellectual life? In modern education, educators and students alike are often disillusioned by the attitude prevalent in educational institutions that emphasizes usefulness and practicality rather than contemplating the meaning and purpose of life. Zena Hitz shares her own disillusionment and frustrations as an educator, and how she found the true meaning of intellectual life in contemplating truth itself, including those questions most formative for one’s happiness in God. Zena Hitz and Matthew Barrett point us to the value of the contemplative life in this chaotic age of social media where people feed on the next thrill. Using Augustine as a foil, Zena explains why withdrawing from this world's ambitions might just save education...and the human soul itself.

Isn’t being dogmatic a bad thing? On the contrary, dogmatics is the lifeblood of the church.

In this episode, Matthew Barrett is joined by Reformed theologian Michael Allen as they unravel the task of sacred theology. Together, they explore the intricacies involved in writing theology, discussing the significance dogmatics plays in shaping our understanding of faith and doctrine. Drawing from their collective experience, they also pay homage to the legacy of John Webster, a towering figure in the recovery of classical theology. Allen shares his personal insights on Webster’s contributions to theological discourse, highlighting his classical insights into the nature of God and the role of theology in the life of the Church. But most of all, Allen tells us why friendship is so important for the task of dogmatics, bringing each of us into a community of theologians that can encourage us to take the road of orthodoxy when we may be tempted by the dazzling fruit of a theology that betrays the sacred scriptures and the great cloud of witnesses.

Join Matthew Barrett and Michael Allen as they discuss the task of theology, faith, and the profound mysteries of our Triune God.

You've most likely been told that Thomas Aquinas is off limits, a theologian who will corrupt Protestants and turn them into Roman Catholics. And yet, Protestant history tells a different story: many of our Protestant forefathers did not merely retrieve Aquinas but thought of him as part of the same tradition they belonged to in the end. This new episode of the Credo Alliance brings together John Fesko, Fred Sanders, Matthew Barrett, and Scott Swain to share their personal experiences studying Aquinas, explaining when and why they first engaged with his works. Moving beyond uninformed caricatures of Aquinas, these four theologians explain why it's so important to engage Aquinas as Protestants, both for the sake of recovering orthodoxy today and for the sake of understanding the Reformed tradition itself. Engaging Thomas should be an exercise in Reformed catholicity. All four of these theologians also give advice to college and seminary students, instructing them how to read Aquinas for the sake of renewing theology today.

In this episode of the Credo Alliance, Credo Fellows John Fesko, Fred Sanders, and Scott Swain join Matthew Barrett to discuss the Holy Spirit and the  eternal spiration of the Holy Spirit. They explore the historical and theological background of the Nicene Creed, and the implications of the Holy Spirit's procession from the Father and the Son. Additionally, they address the Filioque debate, highlighting both Eastern and Western perspectives, and emphasize the importance of securing the Spirit's personhood in relation to the Father and the Son. In doing so, the come together to contemplate a great mystery: how eternal spiration is distinct from eternal generation, examining the nuances within the Classical theological tradition. Throughout their conversation, these Credo Fellows navigate theological and biblical complexities, seeking to establish a clear understanding of the Holy Spirit's personhood and procession within the Trinity.