The Henry Center Archive

Debate Question - How could a God of love and forgiveness, of tangible action and eternal hope coincide with such massively gratuitous and apparently pointless evil and suffering in the world?

Prominent public atheist Richard Dawkins contentiously calls the God of the Old Testament “the most unpleasant character in all fiction: … a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, … capriciously malevolent bully.” While no Christian would agree with such a hyperbolic statement, the God of the Old Testament has indeed been a stumbling block for many faithful folk. If the problem of evil and suffering is among the foremost intellectual challenges to belief in a benevolent God—how could a God of love and forgiveness, of tangible action and eternal hope coincide with such massively gratuitous and apparently pointless evil and suffering in the world—then the problem appears even more acutely when examining divine action and human suffering in the Old Testament. This year’s debate will feature four Christian perspectives addressing the topic, along with responses from each.

Paul Copan (PhD Marquette University) is Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is author of numerous books, including Did God Really Command Genocide: Coming to Terms with the Justice of God (Baker Academic, 2014), A Little Book for New Philosophers: Why and How to Study the Bible (InterVarsity Press, 2016), and Loving Wisdom: A Guide to Philosophy and Faith (Eerdmans, 2020).

Paul L. Gavrilyuk (PhD Southern Methodist University) is Aquinas Chair of Theology and Philosophy at University of St. Thomas. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Dr. Gavrilyuk was one of the first scholars from the former Soviet Union to come to the United States to pursue graduate work in theology. An Orthodox theologian and historian, he specializes in Greek patristics and modern Orthodox theology. His publications include The Suffering of the Impassible God: The Dialectics of Patristic Thought (Oxford University Press, 2006) and Georges Florovsky and the Russian Religious Renaissance (Oxford University Press, 2014).

Matthew Levering (PhD Boston College) is James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. He is author and co-author of over thirty books and is currently at work on a nine-volume dogmatics, whose first three volumes have appeared, most recently Engaging the Doctrine of the Creation: Cosmos, Creatures, and the Wise and Good Creator (Baker Academic, 2017).

Dennis R. Magary (PhD University of Wisconsin) is Chair of the Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is a contributing author to the ESV Study Bible (Crossway, 2008) and co-editor of Do Historical Matters of Faith Matter: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture (Crossway, 2012).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

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Lecture Title - The Surprising Mentoring Ministry of Edwards: Learning the Art of Leadership Development

Edwards was not only a great theologian and philosopher. His pastoral ministry deserves closer attention in the academy and amongst those on the front line in churches. Of particular note is his overlooked ministry of mentoring: he took trainee evangelists and ministers into his home, debated theology with them based on his Miscellanies, gave them popular novels to read, wrote informal letters to them treating them as peers, and cultivated the art of conversation like in the best circles of London. These priorities shed light on his understanding of the church, Christian spirituality, the Reformed worldview, and the needs of potential leaders in a time of rapid social and theological transition. Edwards empowers a rising generation of leaders through his practice of one-on-one soul care, providing us with an example and instruction for our own ministry.

Rhys S. Bezzant (ThD Ridley College) is Dean of the Anglican Institute and Senior Lecturer at Ridley College. He is author of Jonathan Edwards and the Church (Oxford University Press, 2013).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

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Lecture Title - How We Die: From Sherwin Nuland to the Early Christians and Back Again

In his well-known book How We Die, the late medical doctor Sherwin Nuland influentially argued that death in our day has become dehumanized and depersonalized. As a consequence, he suggested, the dying process now involves unnecessary suffering as doctors try everything to save us from death. Worst of all, death has become consumed by the doctor-patient relationship, and often by a clinging to impossible hopes about the extension of our earthly life, rather than being a time to focus on our other relationships and on bringing our earthly lives to a close. In this light, Levering will ask what difference Christ makes. By examining stories about the deaths of early Christians (not including martydoms), he will consider how we die in Christ and how this should be combined with our legitimate desire for top-notch medical care.

Matthew Levering (PhD Boston College) is James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. He is author and co-author of over thirty books and is currently at work on a nine-volume dogmatics, whose first three volumes have appeared, most recently Engaging the Doctrine of the Creation: Cosmos, Creatures, and the Wise and Good Creator (Baker Academic, 2017).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

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Lecture Title - A Firm Foundation: Six Pillars of Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Death

Without exception, human beings come face to face with suffering and evil. We may entertain only the vaguest and most cliché-driven grasp of such matters until we ourselves suffer, or until we ourselves recognize the sheer malignity of evil in ourselves or others—and then suddenly we swirl around and gradually sink into faith-devouring despair. Far better is it to build the mental and emotional structures, generated by Scripture itself, that train us how to think about suffering and evil before the evil day comes. This lecture seeks to establish six major pillars that together support a way of thinking about such matters—or, to change the metaphor, a kind of prophylactic medicine to ward off the most debilitating elements of despair.

D. A. Carson (PhD University of Cambridge) is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is author, co-author, and editor of over 45 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Zondervan Academic, 1996), An Introduction to the New Testament (2nd edition) (Zondervan Academic, 2005), and The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures (Eerdmans, 2016).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/

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Sermon Title - Hidden with Christ in God

What does it mean to be hidden with Christ in God? In this sermon, J. Todd Billings expounds Colossians 3:1-4 and reflects on our union with Christ in both his death and resurrection as a man living with cancer. Christ, seated at the right hand of God, reigns supreme as King and Lord, and no principality, power, disease, sin, or even death has the final word against God. God writes the end of the story, and until then, we are hidden with Christ in God – both in the sense that our victories are often not visible victories and in the sense that we are hidden in the hands of God, safe and secure in the midst of calamity. The night gives way to morning, and God will make things right.

J. Todd Billings (ThD Harvard) is the Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological Seminary. He is the author of Union with Christ (Baker Academic, 2011), Rejoicing in Lament (Brazos Press, 2015), and The End of the Christian Life (Brazos Press, 2020).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

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Lecture Title - Hope for Mortals: The Church’s Witness in the Midst of Dying and Death

Often Christians inhabit a theological vision guided by instrumental outcomes – a growth in the evangelistic and social outreach of the church, a revitalization of community and discipleship. But what happens to the church’s witness when all of our grand plans and visions for change stop short against the brick wall of death? In this lecture, J. Todd Billings reflects upon the way in which death, although the last enemy to be destroyed through Christ, also has the possibility of exposing the nature of a Christian hope which goes beyond trusting in our own efforts and plans.

J. Todd Billings (ThD Harvard) is the Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological Seminary. He is the author of Union with Christ (Baker Academic, 2011), Rejoicing in Lament (Brazos Press, 2015), and The End of the Christian Life (Brazos Press, 2020).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Sermon Title - The God Who Lifts Me from the Miry Bog (Psalm 40)

In his exposition of Psalm 40, D. A. Carson examines the psalmist David's response to God when the gloom of suffering and darkness is lifted. David appropriately offers joyful praise, in both personal testimony and public proclamation, to the God who pulls him out of a slimy pit. David then devotes himself to the living God and anticipates the ways that he will rely on God's help in the future in the face of his enemies and his own sin. We, too, must depend and wait on the God Who Helps and declare that "the Lord is great" indeed. May the Lord, our help and our deliverer, think of us and not delay.

D. A. Carson (PhD University of Cambridge) is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is author, co-author, and editor of over 45 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Zondervan Academic, 1996), An Introduction to the New Testament (2nd edition) (Zondervan Academic, 2005), and The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures (Eerdmans, 2016).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

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Sermon Title - Reconciliation: Finding Hope on the Trail of Tears

In the second message, Ivanoff emphasized that reconciliation is a journey that requires tears. Restored relationships require deep pain. And true neighbors (Luke 10) are those who are willing to enter into stories of brokenness – marriages on the rocks, racial tensions, uncomfortable places – and be fully present. True neighbors offer their lives and don’t hide behind band-aid solutions. There are many social ills that plague native peoples in the U.S., and most can be traced to social injustices (one of the most tragic being the Trail of Tears). To continue making progress, moreover, people must also move from being a neighbor to lamenting. To be gripped by the high cost of reconciliation is to embrace lamentation in prayer. For “reconciliation without lament cheapens hope.” By entering into people’s stories and lamenting with them, we together place our ultimate hope in the reconciling power of the cross.

Curtis Ivanoff (MA North Park University) serves as the Superintendent for the Evangelical Covenant Churches of Alaska. With more than a decade of vocational ministry experience as a pastor, college campus pastor, instructor and administrator, Curtis serves to advance the good news of Jesus in Alaska and the world.

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Sermon Title - Reconciliation: A Journey from Far to Near

In this first of two Timothy Series chapel messages, Ivanoff spoke from his own journey of understanding about the pain experienced by his people (Alaskan Eskimo) at the hands of the US government and, surprisingly, American missionaries. The indigenous Alaskans discovered that to become a Christian was to become an American. Cloaked in the message of salvation was the idea that the “savages” must be “civilized” and conformed to the American expression of Christianity. Discipleship was replaced with assimilation, and the local languages, customs, and even surnames were changed in the name of America’s imperialistic brand of Christianity. It is a tragic story shared by countless other indigenous peoples. The idea that Christianity, the “white man’s religion,” decimates local peoples has to be rewired. Yet, is this not the hostility that the cross of Christ put to death (Ephesians 2)? Alaskan Eskimos were once “far away” – literally, on the other side of the world from Jesus’ Palestine. Yet the blood of Christ has brought them near. The reconciling work of Christ now enables forgiveness and restoration.

Curtis Ivanoff (MA North Park University) serves as the Superintendent for the Evangelical Covenant Churches of Alaska. With more than a decade of vocational ministry experience as a pastor, college campus pastor, instructor and administrator, Curtis serves to advance the good news of Jesus in Alaska and the world.

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

Connect with us!

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