Category: Assorted Topics on Everything

28Jan 2019 by Stuart Johnson

Scripture and Tradition

For the sake of trying to be more specific, rather than referring to Trinitarian Theology as the term used to describe what it is Perichoresis Australia and the USA are declaring, more specifically, what we are trying to bring to modern Christianity is the gospel that was understood in the mind of the Ancient Church which is the foundation of Trinitarian Theology. Some people may not realise that what they assume to be the gospel they may hear from the pulpit in their local fellowship is far removed from what it is those early Christians believed in those first few centuries. Many times in the early church writings the Apostolic and later fathers of the ancient church made their appeal to Scripture and Tradition. When we use the term today,…

17Jan 2019 by Stuart Johnson

Keeping it simple

Assorted Topics on Everything

The message of the gospel is plain and simple and it has always been this way from the very beginning. At the Incarnation God united Himself to humanity. So simple in fact that the academically elite at that time were astonished that such lowly people were said to be included and claimed to be united to God. The spiritual elitists put themselves through blood, sweat and tears over many years to be included among their peers showing they had really tapped into the truly spiritual matters. They were often made to jump through all sorts of hoops and live to a set of self-determined moral standards. They were astonished about all the things the gospel claimed by people who appeared to have no knowledge of such matters. It appeared as…

03Sep 2018 by Stuart Johnson

The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed

Assorted Topics on Everything, Theology

The Nicene Creed was initially designed as a unified confession for bishops. For these leaders, this creed was the best reflection of the apostolic tradition and summed up all they held to be true regarding the gospel. It was a careful evolution from statements made throughout the church in the ancient mediterranean world that was handed to them from the apostles. If we examine these letters written firstly by Paul himself in 1Corinthians 15 and follow the early writers into the second century through to the Nicene Council of 325AD, we find there is very little variation between these statements of beliefs and the Nicene Creed. The Creed handed down at this council was not without its controversy. For the first time, a non-scriptural word homoousios was introduced, traditionally translated "same substance." …

13May 2017 by Marty Folsom

INVESTING, INCARNATING, INHABITING: Dr Marty Folsom

Assorted Topics on Everything

INVESTING, INCARNATING, INHABITING God is active in the world, although not in our face. Many think of God as detached, disembodied, and distant from this world in a heaven beyond our grasp. However, that is not the God revealed in Jesus. I would like to propose another set of terms to locate God as available for relating. We might use three terms to articulate who God is as the source of life, the presence of God in our history, and the activity of God in our place: investing, incarnating, and inhabiting. Investing is a term that can come from economics, and we will hint at that, but use it as a term of commitment that has resources for creating growth and flourishing. Thus, we might say we are investing in…

20Apr 2017 by Stuart Johnson

Athanasius Pt 2

Assorted Topics on Everything

In this blog, I want to explore the controversial word 'homoousios,' which was introduced as a result of the Nicene Council in 325AD. This was a very controversial decision by the council as it was regarded as a 'non-scriptural' word. Even though this is true, it was adopted to give precise meaning to the relationship between the Father and the Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. This word did not suddenly drop out of the sky. It was a steady evolution of the attempt by the church to give precise meaning to the Incarnation that maintained both the unity of the Divinity and Humanity of Jesus Christ as well as His union with the Father. There had to be union but there also had to be distinction so the words chosen had…

18Apr 2017 by Marty Folsom

Inter-Embracing and Perichoresis – Dr Marty Folsom

Assorted Topics on Everything

Intra-Embracing and Perichoresis Dr. Marty Folsom Describing “One God in three persons” does not automatically connect us to relating to that God who engages us. Yet, knowing and being known by this God is the central task of the biblical story. We are invited by the Jesus in the Bible to share this life, to abide in the shared love of the Triune God, and to share a koinonia that makes joy complete by the work of the Spirit. To that end, we wrestle with words to describe the reality of God’s way of being that it might encircle and enliven ours. The Bible declares there is One God. This is not a natural knowledge based in an observation of the material world; it is God’s own self-testimony. We…

19Mar 2017 by Stuart Johnson

The Theology of Athanasius Pt 1.

Assorted Topics on Everything

One can only begin to understand the enormous significance of the work of Athanasius when we place him in the whole context of the history of the church from the time of the Apostles through to the Nicene Council of 325AD through to the 7th Century. The elements of his method highlight the sharpness of his intellect and the enormous example of the self-discipline that is required on our part to remain faithful to the object of our faith, Jesus Christ. There is nothing new in the work of Athanasius. Rather, it is just a more refined and disciplined method of conveying the truth that had been handed down to us through the centuries beginning with the Apostles of Jesus Christ. What is highlighted in Athanasius is the consistency of his…

06Mar 2017 by Stuart Johnson

What about Ethics? – Stuart Johnson

Assorted Topics on Everything

Most of what I hear about ethics has much to do with arbitrary decisions usually grounded on morality. Though much of evangelicalism would accept that the Old Testament Law has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, ethical standards usually have some link with it. It varies from denomination to denomination from extreme legalism to a complete overlooking of most so called moral issues. Some are saying that Trinitarian Theology has virtually no ethics at all. This could not be further from the truth. As with all topics, our ethic begins with the Person of Jesus Christ as the Person for all persons. You see, the ultimate human ethical act par excellence was first carried out by God towards us in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Without Him, we would have…

22Feb 2017 by Marty Folsom

Does the Father have a Voice? – Dr Marty Folsom

Assorted Topics on Everything

It is clear in the Bible that Jesus is the Word made flesh, not a written word, but more like the voice of the Invisible God. Jesus has both body and human voice. But does that mean that the Father and Spirit have no voice? Can the one God have three voices? Does the Bible present us with a both unified life and three voices that give us access to the three persons of the Trinity? I will argue that our theology must conform to the one God in three voices because the Bible gives us this form of the one Triune God. At the LA Theology Conference on the Trinity, I asked Stephen Holmes if we could see the persons of the Trinity in the three voices of the…

17Jan 2017 by Stuart Johnson

The Last Word – Stuart Johnson

Assorted Topics on Everything

95% of all theological essays are criticisms of other theological points of view. This is something T F Torrance said in his lectures, The Ground and Grammar of Theology. There is hardly a group of people who will uniformly agree on the main points of Christian doctrine. With this attitude of theology especially within the academic field, each faculty from their particular campus will no doubt have their slant on how theology is to be understood. One has to conform to those who have the weight of qualifications to adequately meet the course requirements and achieve the satisfactory standard for accreditation. In most cases, the reality of what is revealed in Jesus Christ and the actual course content are in conflict with one another. Depending on the particular tradition, the message…