The Henry Center Archive

2011 Kantzer Lecture #3 - The Great Reversal: From the Economy of God to the Trinity in Modern Theology

Bruce L. McCormack (PhD Princeton Theological Seminary) is Chair of Modern Theology at the University of Aberdeen. Previously, he was Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Seminary. One of his major publications is Karl Barth’s Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development, 1909-1936 (Clarendon Press, 1995).

2011 Kantzer Lecture #2 - From the One God to the Trinity: The Creation of the Orthodox Understanding of God

2011 Kantzer Lecture #1 - Is the Reformation Over? Reflections on the Place of the Doctrine of God in Evangelical Theology Today

2009 Kantzer Lecture #6 - An Exposition of Romans 9-11 with a Positive Proposal

Professor Williams' sixth and final lecture dwells on the relation of election to several key themes: universalism, justification, perseverance and above all, assurance. Though he insists that election grounds assurance, nevertheless, all must heed both the promises regarding salvation and the warnings for falling away. One and the same individual receives both promise and warning. The truly exceptional contribution of Williams lecture is his christocentric idea of assurance. More than good works or the internal witness of the Spirit, there is only one to whom we can turn for faith and assurance of salvation, Jesus Christ himself.

Stephen N. Williams (PhD Yale University) is Honorary Professor of Theology at Queen’s University and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Creation Project. His books include Revelation and Reconciliation: A Window on Modernity (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity (Baker Academic, 2006), and The Election of Grace: A Riddle without a Resolution? (Eerdmans, 2015).

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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2009 Kantzer Lecture #5 - Election, Regeneration, and Faith

The fifth lecture turns more explicitly toward systematic theological formulation. Williams’s primary questions here include the paradox of man’s freedom and God’s call, and the question of God’s justice and mercy in the decision to elect some but not all. In keeping with much of Williams series thus far, however, he is quick to re-emphasize the provisional nature of our conclusions this side of the eschaton. His model theologian here is Charles Simeon, who Williams believes would have centralized paradox in his theology rather than relieved it, had he developed it further.

Stephen N. Williams (PhD Yale University) is Honorary Professor of Theology at Queen’s University and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Creation Project. His books include Revelation and Reconciliation: A Window on Modernity (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity (Baker Academic, 2006), and The Election of Grace: A Riddle without a Resolution? (Eerdmans, 2015).

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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2009 Kantzer Lecture #4 - The Question of Election and Particular Atonement

In his fourth lecture, Professor Williams turns to election in the New Testament. He is particularly concerned here with predestination and election statements and the proper deployment of such statements in systematic formulation. Williams himself advocates reading these statements along broadly Augustinian lines and in doing so, proposes a moderate form of single predestination. Entailed in this is a passive view regarding God’s action toward the non-elect. That is to say, the non-elect are “passed over” rather than actively predestined to reprobation.

Stephen N. Williams (PhD Yale University) is Honorary Professor of Theology at Queen’s University and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Creation Project. His books include Revelation and Reconciliation: A Window on Modernity (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity (Baker Academic, 2006), and The Election of Grace: A Riddle without a Resolution? (Eerdmans, 2015).

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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2009 Kantzer Lecture #3 - The Question of Election as a Determination of Destiny

This third lecture begins the biblical consideration of the doctrine of election with a consideration of election in the Old Testament. The primary trajectory of Williams lecture is towards evaluating the dichotomy of election as privilege and election as responsibility. Leslie Newbigin and his emphasis upon election as responsibility becomes Williams’ primary interlocutor. Williams’ concludes that we ought to maintain the component of responsibility in election, but not at the expense of privilege in election.

Stephen N. Williams (PhD Yale University) is Honorary Professor of Theology at Queen’s University and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Creation Project. His books include Revelation and Reconciliation: A Window on Modernity (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity (Baker Academic, 2006), and The Election of Grace: A Riddle without a Resolution? (Eerdmans, 2015).

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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2009 Kantzer Lecture #2 - Barth on Election Integrated with Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms

In this lecture, Williams takes account of the enduring influence of Barth’s doctrine of election. He briefly lays out the major contours of Barth’s construction before going on to evaluate its merits. The lecture, however, becomes as much about instruction in interpreting other theologians and speculation as it is about the doctrine of election itself. Williams concludes that in Barth, atonement and election are swapped. The universal extent of the atonement is moved to election and election (and reprobation) to atonement, Jesus as the reprobate one.

Stephen N. Williams (PhD Yale University) is Honorary Professor of Theology at Queen’s University and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Creation Project. His books include Revelation and Reconciliation: A Window on Modernity (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity (Baker Academic, 2006), and The Election of Grace: A Riddle without a Resolution? (Eerdmans, 2015).

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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Stephen Williams brings a discussion of the issues that arise in debates about election. In subsequent days, Dr. Williams details Karl Barth’s view on the topic of election and the related topics of Christian perseverance and particular atonement, including an exposition of Romans 9-11. Dr. Williams then developed Barth’s single predestinarian view and addressed the doctrine of assurance in conversation with Barth’s own views.

Stephen N. Williams (PhD Yale University) is Honorary Professor of Theology at Queen’s University and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Creation Project. His books include Revelation and Reconciliation: A Window on Modernity (Cambridge University Press, 1996), The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity (Baker Academic, 2006), and The Election of Grace: A Riddle without a Resolution? (Eerdmans, 2015).

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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2007 Kantzer Lecture #6 - He Will Be With Them

In his sixth and final lecture, Professor Webster turns to the Church. Webster begins by appraising the recent trend of elevating Ecclesiology to a sort of first theology. Ultimately his remarks are critical, especially regarding the movements ontological re-ordering of Christ and the Church. Webster’s correction involves properly understanding the fundamental dependence of the ecclesial body upon the incarnate and resurrected body of Christ. Finally, Webster concludes his series with a pneumatologically rich sketch of a theology of Word and sacrament for the church today.

John B. Webster (1955-2016) (PhD University of Cambridge) was a notable contemporary British theologian of the Anglican Communion writing in the areas of systematic, historical and moral theology. His major publications included Eberhard Jüngel: An Introduction to his Theology (Cambridge University Press, 1991), Barth’s Ethics of Reconciliation (Cambridge University Press, 1995), The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth (Cambridge University Press, 2006), and Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch (Cambridge University Press, 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.

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

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

Connect with us!

https://twitter.com/henry_center

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