Blog - Christian Theist In A Postmodern World - Theology for a Postmodern World

El legado de la Reforma continúa moldeando a América Latina

Crecí en Latinoamérica, en un país donde apenas el 4 o 5 % de la población era protestante. También era una época y un lugar donde el protestantismo se entendía casi exclusivamente como oposición a todo lo católico, y donde la mayoría de los católicos sabían muy poco sobre los protestantes, más allá de que eran herejes. La mayoría de mis compañeros de secundaria eran católicos de forma muy superficial. Pero otros eran muy devotos, y una de las manifestaciones de su devoción fue que se persignaron al saber que yo era protestante. En el primer capítulo de su libro …

Experiencing God in the midst of a cancer diagnosis

After two surgeries, three intense chemotherapy sessions, twenty-five sessions of radiation, five falls on the floor, and several appointments and visits to the emergency room, I had a faith crisis. Why did God permit an aggressive cancer to attack my body?, I frequently asked myself. Two years and a half ago this month (December 2024), my cancer journey began. This journey was full of suffering and uncertainty, but also of hope and thankfulness. If there is a positive thing that my cancer diagnosis brought to me, it was the kind of prayer life I have now. Praying psalms, for instance, …

Experimentando a Dios en medio de un diagnóstico de cáncer

Después de dos cirugías, tres sesiones intensas de quimioterapia, veinticinco sesiones de radiación, cinco caídas al suelo y varias citas y visitas a urgencias, tuve una crisis de fe. ¿Por qué Dios permitió que un cáncer agresivo atacara mi cuerpo?, me preguntaba con frecuencia. Hace dos años y medio, este mes (diciembre de 2024), comenzó mi lucha contra el cáncer. Esta lucha estuvo llena de sufrimiento e incertidumbre, pero también de esperanza y agradecimiento. Si hay algo positivo que me trajo mi diagnóstico de cáncer fue el tipo de vida de oración que tengo ahora. Orar salmos, por ejemplo, se …

Is the denial of penal substitutionary atonement a heresy?

As this article from The Banner — The official magazine of the Christian Reformed Church — points out, the CRC General Synod of this year had an interesting discussion regarding Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA), which is one of the many theories to understand and interpret the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice. Interesting to me was the question of whether the denial of PSA might constitute a ‘heresy’ or not. The CRC synod, after some deliberation, concluded: [I]t is a serious deviation from the teachings of the confessions of the Christian Reformed Church to in any way deny that Jesus Christ’s life, …

Herman Bavinck’s understanding of ethics

In his 1902 essay titled “Contemporary Morality,” Herman Bavinck starts by admitting that there is a lack of discussion regarding moral principles and issues in his society and his church. For him, the importance of paying attention to moral principles and moral issues is that by their own nature human beings have needs, which differ from visible things. In order to live their lives well, he says, people should know the rule by which they organize their lives. Bavinck claims that morality discussions can go from questions such as what is good and what is evil to practical matters such …

What Martin Luther King has taught me about God’s divine presence?

I was introduced to Mr. King’s writings by an immigrant Dutch professor at Seminary who moved to the United States when he was younger. He believed theology must be lived out and embodied, and Mr. King appealed to this idea. Throughout the years, I have noted how right he was! I was highly impacted when I read one of Mr. King’s books, Strength to Love, which made me aware about the importance of noticing God’s work in history. In Strength to Love, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. reflected in a series of issues that affected the American culture of his times, …

The image of God and its implications for theology and the church

The doctrine of the image of God is based on Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-3, and 9:3, which state that God made human beings—both male and female—in His image and likeness. The basic implication of this doctrine is that all human persons regardless of gender, race, and capacities are created according to the likeness or the image of God. Other texts in the Scriptures that are useful for this doctrine are Colossians 3:10 where Paul speaks of the renewed human being created after God’s image; 1 Corinthians 1:17 where Paul asserts that in some respect the male is both the image of …

The prolegomena of Aquinas, Calvin, Schleiermacher, Barth, Tillich, and Pannenberg

I have been reading Aquinas, Calvin, Schleiermacher, Barth, Tillich, and Pannenberg at the seminary for some years. One interesting question I had (like many other students) was regarding the differences and similarities between the prolegomena of these theologians. For this reason, I will try to respond to this question in a few sentences, hoping it can be useful for those interested in the topic. For Aquinas, God reveals himself both in Scripture (through special/divine revelation) and in nature (through general/natural revelation). Aquinas follows Paul’s words in arguing that the impious might have natural revelation through the senses of the creation …

Key themes in John Calvin’s view of the atonement

When one discusses Christ’s atonement and the relation between God’s wrath and love, many questions and themes emerge. In this respect one can find at least three major themes in Calvin’s view of the atonement/redemption as discussed in the Institutes: the substitutionary dimension of Christ’s atoning work, the atonement as a sacrifice, and Christ’s triumph over sin and the powers. These themes not only emerge from Calvin’s understanding of the redemptive work of Christ but also are considered being central in such discussions. Atonement as Substitution In a few words, the atonement understood as substitution deals with the fact that …

The atonement – Its biblical basis, main models, and major representatives

Despite the fact that the doctrine of atonement was never discussed openly in one of the church councils during the early Church, it is a doctrine that stirs up controversy in many theological circles. In its basic form, the atonement refers to the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ. There are several passages in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures that speak of the atonement. One of the best-known passages in the Hebrew Scriptures is Isaiah 53. Traditionally, this chapter has been considered to speak about the suffering servant who bears human transgressions and iniquities in order to heal his people. …

Kant as one of the greatest defenders of natural law

Kant believes natural law is written in the human heart. For him, the highest good can be understood as happiness, which is distributed in exact proportion to morality (First Critique). Therefore, in a sense, the highest good can be defined as the combination of happiness and virtue. However, this definition is not clearly held in all Kantian writings, something which arises an ambiguity that has been the object of ongoing research. For instance, in the Second Critique, Kant also speaks of the supreme good as a consummated or transcended good. A widespread way to approach the issue has been claiming …

How does John Calvin understand the role natural law plays in social and civil life?

Calvin’s understanding of natural law (also known as the interior law) can be clearly appreciated in a series of passages of his Institutes, but especially in his Commentary to Romans 2:14-16. Verse 14 of this passage states that the Gentiles by nature do what is established in the law, and this makes their natural disposition serve as a law for them. Calvin uses this verse to offer his own definition of natural law, where he connects natural law with people’s natural disposition. Calvin argues the Gentiles must have some rule of righteousness, for there is no nation so lost to …